I'm baaaaaack!!!!

I can't believe it's been a whole year since I've posted anything here. Where has it gone? I was going to be consistent with a blog, but life happens, I guess. In fact, I lost my blog address. Fortunately, I found it again. So let me update everyone on what's been going on in my life. I've been in Texas for the past year, and it's been a crazy time. I have never seen such a hot place. Literally. Here it is, February 14, and it was 72 degrees today. Supposed to be 75 tomorrow. I used to think I would really like that -- the heat during the winter, that is. But I've discovered that it's not as fun as I figured it would be. Being from northwest Indiana, I just plain ol' got tired of the snow every winter. There was tons of it each season. Big, thick blankets of it, even. And months of dreary days. Blah. Depressing. I hated that, and I still do. I don't want months of snow, ice and frigid cold. But I don't want months of heat, either. I guess I should explain. This past summer here was, in my humble opinion, pretty much hell on earth. I got here in January, and by March, it was pretty warm. Ok, I thought, I can handle that. Then it got warmer. And warmer. And by May, it was reaching the high 90s. It just continued to get warmer and warmer. We had a whole summer -- literally -- of 100-plus degree days. No break. Day after day after day. No rain came. Just scorching heat. I have never seen such a dry, crackly place. There was a pond at the place I was living, and it almost dried up. Everything was parched. In fact, the fire danger was sky-high, and the area where I was living had a massive wildfire that destroyed numerous homes. Suffice it to say that by the time October rolled around, I was hoping for some relief. But it hasn't come yet -- we have been mostly in the 60s and 70s this winter. We had 10 minutes of snow the other day. That was it. I MISS the snow -- at least a little of it. I want to experience the seasons again. I don't think there will be a spring here. We'll just dive right into hot summer in about a month and it will be here for a long time. I am not looking forward to it. I'm really missing Tennessee. I loved it in the Pigeon Forge area, and if God allows, I'd like to head back that way. It would be a relief to be back there in the green beauty of the Smoky Mountains. It has been so dry and brown here. So this is my update on my life for right now. We will see how and where God leads. He might have me stay right here, and I guess that's OK if it's being in the center of his will. I'm hoping for something else, but I'll do whatever he says. Stay tuned and I promise to write more!!!

God is moving...and so am I!!!!

Wow. I stand amazed at how God is working in my life right now. Overwhelming.

I have been wanting to go to Texas to be with my daughter and grandkids for several months now, but the time has not been right. I needed to work and save up money to make this grand move, so I stayed. And I waited for a sign that it was time to go. Well, several weeks ago I just knew it was right. Time to get started packing and readying to move down the road. I wasn't sure how I was actually going to do it -- takes a lot of money to make that kind of a change, and I didn't have a job or apartment or anything.

I've never been one to shy away from stepping out on faith, but this one was pretty scary. I've been steadily packing. And packing. And I put a bunch of stuff up on Craigslist that I was wanting to get rid of before I left (and of course, the money for it doesn't hurt, either). Well, I was planning on staying here and working -- to save up more money -- until the first part of February. But everything changed today.

I went in to work and there was a note in my mailbox that said to see the Human Resources lady. This is the lull in the year, and our theaters typically lay off several hundred people until March, when the shows resume. Everyone pretty much knew they would be laid off -- but I worked all winter last year and thought it would be the same this year. So the HR lady says she gets the dubious honor of telling me that the company has decided to eliminate my position and I am being laid off -- immediately. Wow. I was counting on several more paydays to give me some extra money. Guess not.

Actually, I had been worrying about this move, because I don't have a job. It's called falling without a net. Hopefully, I could get a job quickly when I got there, because no more money would be coming in for me. Well, it's funny how God sees ahead of us. Because I will be on unemployment very shortly, and it pays almost as much as I make working full-time. So I can make this move knowing that there is an adequate net underneath me. And while I was kinda bummed about being laid off, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

And to top it off, I've had people at my house this evening, looking at some of the bigger items that I have to sell. And they bought both of them. So I have enough money to make the move, and enough to live on until I can find a job. And because I am laid off now, I qualify for food stamps, and I'm not too proud to accept them while I'm transitioning.

Praise God for his compassion and care!!!!!