Don't Drop Your Ball!

New Years Eve Day! A time of both reflection and analysis for me. I like to look back over the past year and see everything that has happened, but mostly I enjoy looking forward at what still needs to be done.

Tonight I plan on watching the ball drop for the second year in a row! (you can see how dedicated I am to tradition). Mostly I am watching it this year because I want to see Anderson Cooper host and listen to all the performers.

A couple of things I am doing at the end/beginning of the year. Maybe you could call them New Year's resolutions but I am not sure.

** Making a photo book compiling all 2008 random pictures. It will include Eman's trip to Togo, our first house, Niagara Falls, lots of snow in Ohio and of course just some romantic pictures with my husband.

** Using www.mint.com to analyze our finances for 2008 and understand how to improve our financial security for 2009. I am all into researching CD's right now and finding clever ways to save more money. That is our number one goal for 2009...improve our savings account.

** Eat healthy. I have discovered that I am probably allergic to gluten. (and maybe chocolate but I am not 100% sure yet) So using a great cookbook called the "Eat Clean Diet" I am feeling alot stronger and healthier. I don't go home every day with a horrible pain in my stomach.

** Learning a new Yoga routine to do at home. I have seriously been using the same video for about 5 years now. Time to mix it up a little bit!

Let me know what you are thinking about this New Years Eve!

Lunch Break

I have a variety of ways I spend my one hour lunch break. Sometimes I run errands, sometimes I go shopping. Often I go home, make a salad and watch CNN for a little while.

Today was different. Today's lunch break was a prayer time with Emmanuel. To bare your heart before the Father with your spouse is for me one of the most precious experiences. Thanking God for your blessings, asking him to fill your needs.

It has always been the binding factor in my relationships. The friends who pray with me are the ones who have my heart.... Emmanuel prayed on our first date and I was instantly taken to the throne room before my God.

Don't take this awesome gift for granted. If you know someone who is hurting, call them up and pray with them over the phone. If you need some of that intimate time with your spouse, grab them by the hand and spend a few minutes in prayer together. I assure you, it is a few minutes or a lunch break worth spending.

Christmas Morning

Hello to all my friends who read my blog. It is Christmas morning, early. Emmanuel and I are sharing his birthday and Christmas with some dear dear friends. A family that adopted Emmanuel when he first arrived to the states, and have since adopted me into their family.

We are in Northern KY...just a couple of hours outside of Louisville. Enjoying a country Christmas. My view this morning was of a beautiful pond in the backyard.

Sometimes we are blessed in mysterious ways. Quiet ways. Not always how we percieve or anticipate. So if today you find yourself dissapointed in any thing or any way, focus on the blessings you recieved that you did not expect...because I am sure you will find them.

My love sent to you this Christmas,
Mary

Behold....my new smell!!!

Emmanuel and I exchanged our one present to each other on Sunday afternoon...the reason being that instead of buying multiple gifts for each other, we just bought one and then took each other shopping for winter clothes.

(Today was 3 degrees outside and our California remnant of a wardrobe is just not cutting it.)

Emmanuel totally surprised me with a new perfume!! He handed me the bag and said...

" I know you know what it is"

"No I really don't" I said....but inside I was guessing a sweater since I complain of being cold all the time.

Much to my surprise I found two huge bottles of Calvin Klein "Euphoria" in my gift bag!! It is seriously the largest and most beautiful bottle of perfume I have ever owned.

"Babe," I said.. "Why did you think I would guess this"?

"Because when I came home from shopping I smelled so strongly of women's perfume that I rushed upstairs and scrubbed my hands. I was tempted to take a shower but I figured that would be too obvious. I thought you must have smelled all the perfume on me and known that is what I bought!" Said Emmanuel

So now...my new smell is euphoric and it will last me a very long time...

Thanks Babe for a great Christmas present!!!

Do I look Gay?

I so so so wish my camera was working so I could take a picture of myself...but I will try and give you a visual.

I have on Tommy Hilfiger jeans, caramel colored boots, a white button down shirt with a blue quarter length sleeve sweater over the top. I am thinking I look pretty cute for casual Friday right?

Eman comes to kiss me goodbye this morning and his comment was "You look gay"

I spinned around and said "WHAT?"

He said.." Well you don't look gay but you look like the gay lady on TV.... you know Ellen, she dresses like that".

I said "Ok so do I look like Ellen or do I look Gay because I think there is a difference'!

The verdict - a peck on the cheek and a quick comment that I of course did not look gay and looked beautiful.

But all day I have been wondering?????

Stockings on my Fireplace

This Christmas is not quite shaping up how I had envisioned it. We have gotten lots of bad news in the last two weeks that have altered what I envisioned our first Christmas in our home to be like.

I am choosing, by sheer gut power of my will to focus on my blessings instead of what my imagination is telling me should have been.

Although the attached picture is of our apartment in San Diego, we have the same exact little tree and little stockings...only this year they are hanging over my lovely gas fireplace. Up against my newly painted wall inside my very own living room.

I may not have been able to put the presents under it that I wanted, or cook the meal that I was hoping, but we are safe, we are warm, we are healthy and we are happy.

You will not be getting a Christmas card from me this year...but I plan on doing what I did this year and send out Easter cards instead. :) You will probably spend more time reading it anyway.

Happy on my I-pod

This week I was volunteering in my company's shipping department and listening to my I-pod. I accidently downloaded a Natasha Bedingfield CD instead of just the one song I wanted....OOPS..that showed up on the budget. Haha...

Yesterday my company announced that our profit sharing plan has been discontinued for 08 and 09. So my hopes of a large chunk of change next week are down the drain.

The lyrics to one of Natasha's song rang in my head....

Got my dreams, got my life, got my love

Got my friends got the sunshine above

Why am I making this hard on myself

When there’s so many beautiful reasons I have to be happy

Elephant Butt

Elephant Butt

Thanksgiving is over.

I have consumed pies, cookies, bread, pasta, potatoes followed by many glasses of wine and coffee. Coffee with Cream and Sugar.

I should not be surprised by what I see in the mirror.

Thanksgiving brings the Elephant Butt syndrome.

It would be okay if my butt just got big, but it is the saggy party I hate.

So I hit the gym, spend countless hours on the ellyptical

and hope that just in time for Christmas my butt is firm again.

By Mary Agbovi

No applause necessary

My weekly update

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and for the first time since we bought our home, it is going to be filled up. Amber, Adrienne, Ashley, Wydia and Stephen are coming for 4 days! I have my Holiday menu picked out and am going grocery shopping tomorrow...we are going to decorate the tree and get it all ready. Life is good.

Thanksgiving is coming up and in essence it is the time to be thankful, I found myself thanking God for several things this week. Below is the list with a short commentary on each one.

My husband- This week we went to financial counseling through our church and I was so proud of him as together we humbled ourself before God and our counselor asking for wisdom into our finances. We are learning so much together and I am blessed to be his partner. Learning to save and invest is our newest journey.

My Attached Garage = This week we got a foot of snow! I was so thankful for not only my attached garage that kept my car clean and warm, but for the HOA fee I pay every month so someone will come plow my road and driveway. Thank you Lord!! If I "get" to live in Ohio for a while than I am so thankful someone else is taking care of my snow.

Consignment Shops- I was able to buy a designer pair of pants, an Adidas fleece and two cashmere/wool sweaters very cheaply! Very nice and warm when it is 26 degrees out.

If my life were a movie...

This Sunday in our Adult Bible Fellowship we were asked the following questions to discuss with our small group.

"If your life were a movie, who would you want to play you, what would the title be and how often would Jesus appear in it"?

At first when we got in our group we all kind of looked at each other..terrified to begin. But as we went around in a circle people really opened up about their lives. There were some pretty interesting stories that came out. One guy was the oldest of 12 children who were born to a refugee family from Eastern Europe.

What did I say?

I would want Hillary Swank to play me. :) I love her pep and passion. Although I am not as buff or brunette as her it would still be my choice.

Jesus would appear frequently in my movie. Saving me from myself, looking out for me when life got crazy, helping me through school. I think my life would be an interesting movie!! Maybe one day after I write my book. :)

Hair and House

My blog postings are seriously veering away from anything spiritual. However with that in mind I still must tell you about my hair! I got it cut last night. I got it cut short. It is now blonde and short. I almost shed a tear. Because...I don't like it. I like the front. It is all angular and piecey. But the back is WAY tooo short. I took in my demo picture of Aeonflux and walked out with a different haircut. Not sure how it happened....
All this drama and I can't even post a picture. Our camera is broke. :)


Tonight we are having a small open house for my co-workers and a few people from our gym. I am hoping it will be fun! I have never had co-workers over like this but I think it will be a great group. It will be nice to fill up the house and have some action... Thankfully also we have a packed weekend with people from Church. The Agbovi's are making friends!!! YEAH!!!

Carpet Cleaning

I was so excited yesterday to finally have my carpets cleaned! Buying our first home stretched us so thin on money that it has taken me 4 months to get this done. Now was the perfect time....before we buy any more furniture and right before an open house I am having this weekend with co-workers.

I hired Sears who showed up and proceeded to sell us extra stuff... On top of the cleaning we are now fully deodorized and scotch guarded. For my mom friends...bring your babies over to crawl around on my floor!!

Last night I got home from work...heated up my left over linguine and proceeded to watch "Journey to the Center of the Earth" with Eman. At an intermission he was pulling the blinds down and as fate would have it- spilled my glass of red wine on our newly shampooed carpet. Poor guy felt so bad!! I thought it was kind of funny. I can't remember ever spilling anything our 2.5 years of marriage. The one day we have our carpets shampooed we spill the worst possible beverage! Haha...

Good news..it was behind a coffee table and after about 30 minutes of blotting, wetting, blotting, wetting, blotting, scrubbing....it is down to a dull yet tasteful pinky color.

When you come visit me I will show you the spot. :)

Happy Tuesday

What to do when you don't have kids....

Sometimes not having kids has certain disadvantages. Like when you go to the zoo and there is no one to get excited about seeing a monkey for the first time. Or when you want an excuse to go get an ice cream cone and there are no little ones around to take the blame. Or when Christmas rolls around and the excitement level is lacking.

I came across another such time. The Donut Man is coming to our church tonight. I LOVE the Donut Man and think he is such a talented singer/songwriter. I used to watch and listen with my little brothers and sisters.

I am a brave person...but certainly not brave enough to walk into church without a child. Haha...that would just be weird. So, I sent "invitations" to at least 4 people I knew with kids. I figured if any of them took the bait I could just tag right along and no one at church would know the wiser. My infatuation with the Duncan the Singing Donut would be my little secret. Did it work? Nope...no one has heard of him. (insane I know)

But then to my rescue comes my friend Allyson who also does not have children! We are borrowing her 4 neices and proudly attending the performance tonight. I will be in charge of two and she will have the other two. The best part....they will have a ton of fun, I will get to enjoy the performance, their parents get a night off and then they go home!

Angry Salad

My next post will finish up my side of the Rupert story...plus the cameo of 50 cent as well.

But today I wanted to share the fact that I am REALLY cranky. It started last night...continued throughout today and I see no end in sight. Why? Not quite sure.... It stems from a combination of boredom and impatience.

Being a good wife I did warn my husband that I was cranky. Being a good husband he proceeded to apologize for all the things he could think of in the last 24 hours that he might have done or said. Sweet right?

Until I asked him how his lunch was. I packed him a salad. I got a message from him saying his salad was angry. Is this even English? His logic....since I was angry while making it...the salad was therefore angry upon eating it.

That did not help my crankiness.

Rupert the Goat part 1

We had some friends over this weekend and were telling them the story of how we got our Beta....

The story of our fish all starts with the story of a goat. My Step-Mom tells the story best so here is installment one.

August 22, 2006

It was, hands down, the funniest practical joke I’ve ever seen.

A few days ago a Chinese person called us, speaking no English, and asked where we live. I told him I didn’t know him and wouldn’t be telling him where I live! He asked if any Chinese people lived with us, and I assured him they did not. The rest of what he tried to say was lost on me. After I hung up, I said aloud, “I hope that wasn’t a package delivery company.”

Yesterday afternoon I received another phone call, this time from a gal who spoke fair English. She said she had a package for “Mr. Garry” and wanted directions to our apartment and to know if we’d be home between 7 and 8 pm.

At 7:30, we all heard a funny cry outside our apartment door. I went to the door, but the sound was so pathetic, I was afraid to open the door. I was afraid something was injured in our hall. Garry came to open the door, and at the same time the phone rang. Manda answered and a gal told her, “Your package is outside your door.” Oh.

Garry started to laugh, and Manda ran out with him. They brought in, on a leash, a goat. A kid, less than a foot tall and bleating for all it was worth. Around the little darling’s neck was a cardboard sign tied on with a bit of green plastic bag: “To Gary Shultz, From Emmanuel Agbovi. Note: Payment for my wife.” On the reverse it said, “Give me milk 6 times per day for 2 months… I eat grass!” With him was a pet bottle.

We laughed till we cried. Nicole looked on the Internet for whether a goat can drink cow’s milk. I alternately sat and paced, realizing that there was no way we could keep the goat. We live in an apartment, with no outside space and very thin walls. By now all of our neighbors knew we had a goat! In order to have a cat in the house, we had filled out a lot of paperwork, gotten permission from the apartment owners, and paid a hefty deposit. What would they say about a goat? Manda called her friends to come and see it. Garry called people who might know someone who would want a goat. Nicole tried to feed the baby. It drank a little and fell asleep with her petting it. Manda’s friends came by to see it.

Who sent the goat? Oh, we knew quite well who sent it: our new son-in-law! For over a year, Garry has been teasing him that if he wanted to marry his daughter, Mary, he would need to pay a dowry. Since he was a poor college student, Garry said one goat would be sufficient. I asked Garry this morning if he had learned his lesson about saying such things, and his reply was, “I’m thinking about Christmas…”

Now for the glory part of the story, the part where Father’s amazing hand shows through it all.

My friend Kristen called asking if it were true that we had a goat. I said it was indeed true, and she laughed to hear it bleating in the background. We talked about what we could do with this little treasure, whom Manda had now named Rupert. Options included finding a friend of a friend out in the country who would be thrilled with a goat or driving along the freeway until we saw a goat herder and giving him a gift. As we talked, between us we came up with a possible family for the goat – the Vanderlaans. They have been known to raise pigs and chickens in the past, so just maybe… I called them. They were excited! They said it was an answer to their recent Thoughts, and that their daughter is allergic to cow’s milk and they have been contemplating learning to raise a goat to provide the milk they need. They were willing to take the little fur ball within the hour! So we bundled it up in a towel and all of us got in a taxi for the end of this fun story.

We passed the bundle off to the Vanderlaans successfully, and everyone involved was happy. Their goat was delivered to our address!

August 24, 2006

Today, Garry spoke to Elizabeth Vanderlaan, who says they think our goat is a female sheep, but that it is certainly well-loved by her children! The little girl is taken for walks five times a day and cuddled and played with in between. A home-schooling family appears to be the perfect place for the little darling! Yeah!

DC Trip

I have never gone to DC without coming back full of life and energy. There is something about being there that makes me feel invincible,accomplished and ready to take on the world. This trip was no different. Besides a horrible plane ride from Cleveland to Phillie and the fact it made me miss my sister Holly.....the trip was great.

Thanks for your prayers that my awful week would end up better..
Besides alot of boring legal networking there really isn't anything exciting to blog about my trip. We were in conference all day but did enjoy a nice dinner out on the city Thursday night. The topic was all about a new toy legislation that Congress thinks will make children safer..but the reality is it won't. :) Good news I know for you Mom's who read my blog...

Anyway it is back to real life. Went to a free pilates class this morning and really enjoyed it. Went to get some laundry soap so I can do my laundry while I bake a batch of chocolate chips cookies and watch the first season of Alias. Oh and I also picked up the third book in the WICKED series so will enjoy that this weekend. So I am headed home to multi task in all of the above areas. :) Have a great weekend...

Busy week ahead turns crazy!

So on Saturday I posted that my week was going to be busy...but it was a self-fulfilling prophecy that now I regret!! A few quick highlights of how this week is shaping up...

7 am Sunday morning we get woke up by the police. Our friend Franck has flipped and totaled his car on his way home from the night shift and is being delivered at our doorstep while his car is being hauled away. Thankfully he was not hurt- nor hurt anyone else but that means we are now his chauffer.

Monday- my laptop at work keeps freezing

Tuesday- my laptop dies completely

Only positive thing that has happened so far is a phenomenal yoga class at my gym Monday night. Yes- I do Yoga. It probably is inline with my voting for Barack Obama. The right wing liberal that I am now. Meditating and voting for a Democrat. They probably go hand in hand...

Pray that my Wednesday is a better day. Because I am on an airplane from Cleveland to Philadelphia- Philadelphia to DC- DC Metro to my hotel. And I HATE public transportation. Something bad always happens to me on Public Transportation. "Hard to be Hot"

Busy Week Ahead

It is Saturday afternoon and I am out running errands. Our home computer is down so I decided to spend some quality time at the library and check my e-mail. :) I went to Akron this afternoon and waited in line for an hour to vote. From what I hear that is not a horrible wait but for living in a civalized nation there has got to be a better and more efficient way for people to vote! We can file our taxes online...why can't we vote online in the privacy of our own homes?

I was herded like cattle with at least 200+ other people while we waited for 4 workers to shout our names into the crowd for our ballot. I waited for 45 minutes to try and hear my name called...has no one heard of microphones? Seriously...

Anyway..the deed has been done. I voted for Barack Obama!

The week ahead should be great. I leave Wednesday afternoon for a CPSC conference in Washington DC. I am really looking forward to traveling and also the conference. It directly relates to my job so it will be invaluable information. There is so much changing in the Toy Industry that it is hard to keep up.

Anyway..that is the Saturday afternoon news flash for Mary Agbovi..
Over and Out

Happy Ending

It is Wednesday already and I am back to work...but I did have to let you know that my vacation had a happy ending. We awoke on Sunday, had a nice breakfast and while getting ready for church made the decision to go to Niagara Falls for the night!! I quickly got on the internet, booked our hotel, threw some clothes in my gym bag and we were off.

We had a great time!!! Both of us had never been there specifically or anywhere in Canada. My favorite part was our two mile run Monday morning down to the falls. The mist blowing in my face and hair, a brisk 50 degrees outside...it was invigorating!

There is so much to do and see at the Falls that we can't wait to go back...a perfect little weekend getaway. A sincere public thanks to my hubby for taking pity on my boredom! We had a great weekend together..

Progressing

So just in case you all are on the edge of your seats...waiting to hear how my vacation is going- I thought I owed my blog audience an update.
Here it is- I have done absolutley nothing worth blogging about. :) I guess if I thought about it..that would probably be my ideal vacation. I mean who needs the hassle of airplanes, romantic beaches, shopping, pedicures and fancy dinners. Totally over rated.
It is much better to use your days off for sleeping!

So I write this blog this morning still in my PJ's- a peppermint mocha coffee that I made myself in my hand. My husband is off to work with a great breakfast in his tummy and a packed lunch in his hand.

I leave you with a thought for my next blog. What is Normal?

Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for - in order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes and the car, and the house you leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it. - Ellen Goodman

Home Business

We are stuck....that was what we decided yesterday while driving home from the gym. Emmanuel and I are talented, educated and passionate about life. Yet we can't seem to funnel that into something productive and lucrative.

We need to start our own business....we have awesome people skills, organizational leadership. But what to do?? This is our big question!!

Some of the top ideas

1. Importing coconut and marketing a toasted snack from an African recipe
2. Creating a training program for small business - or consulting
3. Just having a lot of kids to keep us busy and occupied

Life is a journey so what is the next step??

Let the Vacation Begin

Today starts 10 days off of work. What am I going to do you ask?? I HAVE NO IDEA!! Haha...
As the week progresses I will let you know if anything cool transpires. Right now it is looking like a lot of reading, sleeping, movies, yoga and gym time. :)

Death by Suburbia???

I have isolated a problem. I have a bad attitude. Is there such a thing as "Death by Subrbia"? What is your initial reaction to a title such as that?

This is the topic of our Sunday School class. We are reading a book with this title and from the minute I heard it...it has rubbed me the wrong way. Hopefully I am alone in this...hopefully my background and the filter with which I view the world, life and my relationship with God makes me singular in my contempt.

Suburbia is by definition = a residential area outside the city center.

Culturally I guess we all have a picture in our mind when we think of the suburbs... Starbucks, Suv's, Cute houses, kids running in the streets, book clubs, yard sales.... Sounds like a scary place to me!

Trying to keep an open mind...I began reading the book. I figured if I was going to have an opinion...it should at least be an educated one. I got to page two and closed it...I just can't bring myself to do it... Every barb at suburban life was like a knife in my heart.

Maybe the reason is this. I love the suburbs. It is safe.... It is what I have prayed for, put myself through college for, moved 2000 miles for... I see the suburbs as an answer to prayer and a gift from God. Finally I have my own yard, finally I have my own cute little house, it will be my kids soon running through the sprinklers.

Does this make me less dependant on God? I guess maybe it could...if my heart was not so full of gratitude for what He has done in my life.

Nothing too important

I am LOVING my new job....there is something about my title that just brought a real peace to my heart. Like finally..I may actually be doing what I went to school to do. Not fully...but closer than I have ever been.
I am getting teased at work because of it's length! But I didn't pick it so personally I think it is too long also.

Manager of Regulatory Compliance & Consumer Incidents

A mouthful right? "Turn over business card for rest of title".

At our cubicles we each have a name plate...we were encouraged to put something clever under our names so if you think of anything let me know.

The view from my new desk is GORGEOUS also... I have a panoramic view out the front of the building. The grass is always landscaped and the trees are turning colors right now. We went running last night down at the lake to get the benefits of this autumn season. :) Life is good today.

Do I feel safe?

Now that I started this blog...I actually think of so many things to put on it!! There was an episode last night...driving to work this morning...what happened during my day....etc

So I guess I will just write what I am thinking about right now. I am thinking about a song sung by Pink. Now I am not especially proud that I know the lyrics to her songs but the episode last night triggered it.

For some reason- we can blame it on being female...I had a good cry last night. It was a deep sobbing kind of cry. Curled up in the fetal position on the floor kind of cry. Compared to my last post you may seem surprised that I can succumb to such behaviour. Believe me it doesn't happen often- that is God's blessing on my husband! After figuring out he was not the cause of my breakdown he gently tried to pull out what was wrong. He let me garble out some silly phrases...choke out a few answers to his questions..and then he figured me out. "Babe" he said- "Do you feel safe?"

Now I have always thought of my husband as insightful but this took the cake. He hit my issue on the head. I was not feeling safe at the moment. And you know what I was afraid of....myself. I was feeling small, insignificant, insecure. For no apparent reason but a multiple of them at the same time. Does this ever happen to you? Life just kind of overhwhelms you?

There is nothing stopping me from reaching my goals, I have a great life. I have a great husband and yet the thing I fear the most is myself. I fear falling flat on my face and not having the strength to stand up. I fear going down a wrong path and not realizing it. But what a fog of smoke and mirrors. God is here with me...holding my hand. Not only does he protect me from evil out there....he will protect me from myself. His spirit in me will keep my mind and heart.

So today I put on my power suit, drank my starbucks and accepted my promotion with all the strength and dignity I really wasn't feeling. Thank God for his protection, protection from ourselves.

"Every day I fight a war against the mirror- Im a hazard to myself. Dont let me get me, I'm my own worst enemy"

Why the name?

My first question if a friend of mine started blogging would be "Why the Name".... well I am glad you asked!

One of my main goals in life is to write a book and speak at Women's conferences. I have such a passion for Christian Women. We need mentoring, leadership skills, help with our relationships and careers. Sometimes I feel so stagnant as a woman I could scream. Typical women's ministry consists of tea parties, bake sales, book clubs and social dinners... (this is a generalization but I think you know it to be true).

I was reading today about the 50 most powerful women by Fortune magazine. I would love to meet some of them and ask how they made it so far. Are they Christians? Did they have to sacrifice their morality for that power? I am young and hopeful enough to hope and pray that not all of them did. I am strong enough to believe that you can keep your dignity and be a women leader...


But I slightly digress. Back to the point of my blog title....

Growing up there was one name that was like poison cast upon my young girlish heart...Eve. Her name brought fear and shame upon me. That wicked woman with the apple- responsible for all our sin and pain. She was the cause of it all. Women can't be trusted, women have evil ingrained in their very being. Her husband couldn't rely on her. God couldn't rely on her.

How my heart broke with Eve's burden. How she messed it up for us all! But I could never hate her, no I pitied her. Knowing how emotional God created us, how sensitive we are- she must have felt and grieved for what she had done like none of us have ever suffered. She went from perfect union with her husband. She had a perfect relationship with God. She knew what it was supposed to be like and then- when it wasn't. That was seriously lower than your worst PMS day ladies....

Especially as a young girl I was burdened with how God viewed Eve. Was I cloaked with an extra coat of shame because I was born a woman? I felt like my life was dictated by the fact that somehow I was more evil, less intelligent and destined for failure because of my sex.

Many things have brought me from this mindset...but one important light bulb, God moment stands out. You may have heard sermons preached on this point...but personally I never have. That moment is when Jesus arose. Now not in the Easter version "Up from the Grave He Arose" type of viewpoint. But after he arose.....the first person to see him....a woman.

Somehow it seems like a restoration. Eve brought sin first into the world, but Mary was first to see salvation from it. Eve experienced the first seperation from God, Mary experienced the first restoration of our relationship with God.

And so the name of my Blog. Being a woman is a beautiful thing. God created me. He knows me. He forgives me. He restored me. I can be proud that Eve was the mother of us all... and I am her daughter.