He Delights in Me! A Recap

Below are just a few of the things that the Lord has used to delight my heart recently (some of which I already posted in Facebook)...  :)

Sept. 18:  Such a wonderful Friday evening and Saturday with friends and family! Unfortunately not feeling well now, but it was such a fun 36 hours! :) Greek Festival, my sister Tiffany spending the night & watching Avatar on our Nine-FOOT theatre screen, a GOOD 8.5 hours of sleep, & then day out with hubby, sissy & parents for Dad's birthday: Zoo, dinner, & Floyd Country Store for some bluegrass & dancing! :) Much-needed good times!


Sept. 23:  The book of Daniel in the Holy Word of God is awesome! I don't think I've read it all the way through before and it's been awhile since I've read the parts that I have learned before. Did you know that it is estimated that Daniel was actually around his 90s when he was thrown into the den of lions?? And the ways in which the Lord works in the lives of the powerful King Nebuchadnezzar and King Darius is just amazing to me.

Nov. 22:  (During the month of November, I posted on Facebook something I was thankful for every day of the month. This particular one stood out in my mind, so I wanted to share it here.)  Today, Nov. 22, I am once again overcome with thankfulness for my Lord, Jesus Christ and that God gave me the ears and mind to hear and perceive when He speaks to me. I spent most of my drive to work this morning in silence, praying for others' needs; I finally broke down and asked God to forgive me, but I had so many things on my own heart that I need help working through. He listened as I told Him the thoughts of my heart and my doubts and insecurities and thanked Him for listening and then I finally turned the radio on for the last 10 minutes of my drive. He knew exactly what I needed to hear. The words of the song that came on are still ringing in my head "...you gotta believe, He wants you to see that you are someone worth dying for." Thank you, Jesus ♥ I love you! 

Jan. 3:  for my last dulcimer lesson (yesterday) - at least for now while I start my new job - I learned my first "rag" song: the "Dill Pickle Rag"! haha so much fun! :)
 
Jan. 9 post after 1st day of my new job:  Waking up an hour later than usual = Awesome! 10-minute drive to work = priceless! During my drive to work, saw cute lil white ducks playing around a tree in someone's yard, dealt with NOOOOO Traffic problems, a beautiful and very crooked creek bending its way through someone's yard, and as I got out of the car at work, a "V" of geese flew overhead. As if they were greeting me! These same geese landed in Ferrum's pond and were honking like crazy when I left today! :) It will take a little while getting assimilated into the Admissions and Ferrum culture, but everyone was kind and I look forward to "learning the ropes" so I can be more useful there! My supervisor (who is GREAT!) and a couple other coworkers treated me to lunch and I had an amusing mocking bird hanging out eating berries on a tree right outside my window. :) To top it all off, I was HOME before 5:30 p.m. and again, NOOO traffic problems!!!!! Amazing!

Jan. 10: Day 2 at new job: Yes, the 10-minute drive still amazes me and had to deal with absolutely NO traffic stress either way! Today on my way to and from work, I noticed a gorgeous mountain view, a house with about 3 car-lengths worth of chopped up firewood in the yard, and a goat in the same yard where I saw the three white ducks yesterday! Today was already a little easier as I got connected to my computer and set up my voice mail, got a campus tour (to be finished later), turned in most of my employment paperwork, and got a special lunch-visit from my dear sister-in-law Ariel. :) :) We got to walk around campus a bit, go down to the duck pond and laugh at the ducks and geese. As soon as we approached, three white ducks (my favorite!) waddled up to us really quickly (probably thinking we had food) and then turned away when they realized we had nothing for them! We got to see our new friend Kat and I got my photo ID made! Still LOTS to learn and I pray that I will get over this virus that is still hanging on to me and that I will learn everything quickly and come up with lots of ideas!

Jan. 11: Wow! What a third day of work! There is such a high learning curve at my new job!!! Sooooo many things to learn, it's nuts! And I like it! :) I only wish I could learn it faster and hope and pray that my coworkers and supervisor will continue being patient with me as I learn! They're a great bunch of people, I just miss knowing what in the world I'm doing! haha I actually contributed something very small today, so Yay! hehe My drive to and from work was rainy, but still totally awesome, plus I got my parking decal today! I think it's funny that there is a convenience store right near the entrance to the college called Happy Papy's! haha Also, I called my doctor this morning and told her my situation, so she was kind enough to call in a second round of antibiotics for me without me having to go in for an appointment. Lots of things to share, but I can't put it all here or I'd bore you to death! :)

Jan. 12:  Fourth day of work and I'm loving it! :) Actually got a couple of things done and was able to contribute a couple of ideas in addition to learning more things! I can tell how much others enjoy working at Ferrum too, so that makes such a difference! While I was working today, a tufted titmouse (one of my favorite lil songbirds) landed on the outside of my window and hopped along it doing I-don't-know-what. He was really close to me and I didn't move! So precious! It's so nice to get home when it's still daylight, still wonderful to have such a lovely and short drive home! I love the way there's such a diverse presence of civilization along my 10-minute drive to work: 6-7 churches, huge and lovely plantation-like houses with lots of land and horses, farms, basic split-level homes and ranches, apartments, trailers, businesses, an antique store with an ultra-cluttered porch, and falling-apart homes that look like they haven't been lived in for decades!
 
Jan. 13:  Day 5: I finished my first week at my new job and I love it! I'm exhausted, but I know it's a really good sign when I feel torn about leaving at the end of the day! I noticed on my way to work this morning that the sun is rising behind me as I drive to Ferrum and on my way back from work this evening, the sun was setting behind me as I drove toward home...so the prettiest colors in the sky are always behind me when I drive to and from work! haha that means that I'm liable to have an accident trying to look at the beautiful sky behind me while I drive the other direction! Such beautiful countryside! So many happy and excited people working in Admissions at Ferrum and lots of excited people coming into the Admissions building for campus visits...lots of positive feelings! I met two of the football coaches today and they were both hams! hehe I love my new job! ♥

Jan. 20:  10th day of my new job! :) I'm almost official: I got my desk nameplate and name badge today; now just have to wait for the business cards! :) I am a little overwhelmed by so much to learn, but I'm loving it all so far! Still LOVE the drive between work and home! Yesterday, I saw the 3-4 white ducks waddling up their owner's driveway and it made me laugh. Today, I saw beautiful views of the mountains in the distance and a blanket of fog settled in a nearby valley. I love it here!

Jan. 24:  Oh, how I love the chapel bells at Ferrum! I wish I could think of the name of all the songs they play! :) So beautiful!


Jan. 27:  it just tickles me pink as punch when a little tufted titmouse lands right on the outside of my office window and looks in at me! :) Such a gorgeous day at Ferrum today!

March:  God's creation around the pond at Ferrum delights me:  I observed two male mallard ducks sitting in the water, facing each other, and quacking back and forth and sometimes quacking over each other. They weren't moving or doing anything else but quacking back and forth like they were deep in conversation!  Wonder what they were talking about?  Probably fussing because neither of them had a "lady"! Most of the time, you see mallard ducks in pairs - male and female; however, there are 3 male mallards at Ferrum that do not have a lady (maybe there are not enough females to go around!). These 3 males do not seem to have a "territory," so they roam around together. :) 

I love many kinds of birds, but for some reason, one of the "happiest" birds is the blue bird.  I'm always excited when I see one and am always in awe at their gorgeous blue feathers.  I love watching and hearing the mocking birds sing all of the calls of the birds in the area!  What neat ideas God has!  They mimic just about any sound!  The ones near our house mimic ambulance sirens since those are often passing our house to go to the rehab. Every time I walk outside on campus, there are birds everywhere singing their hearts out. The campus is always surrounded by music!

One of my favorite things to observe at the Ferrum pond is when the ducks plunge their head below the surface of the water to fish; meanwhile, their feathery booties and webbed feet wiggle in the air above the water!  I get especially tickled when I see the white ducks do this:  something just gets my funny bone when I see their white booties bobbing up and down above the water and their bright orange feet wiggling in the air as they try to plunge their head deeper.  :)  Along one point on the pond, a thick tree apparently fell into the water awhile back, and mostly (but not completely) uprooted. But that wasn't the end of the tree!  It appears as though the tree may have re-rooted under the water because there are many shoots climbing vertically toward the sky! The underside of the fallen down tree has spaces where ducks like to take shelter.

I always get tickled when I see ducks passing by right outside my office window, heading toward the bird feeders located outside my other office window. This one particular pair of mallards feed on all the seed dropped on the ground, but they will chase away any other mallards that come near. Also outside my window today, I was watching a squirrel precariously perched on a branch of the small tree outside one of my windows. He was scratching himself or something when he suddenly slipped or lost his grip on the branch, and he fell and quickly caught himself half-upside down on a lower branch!

The honey bees and butterflies are starting to come out along with the buds! 

All of these things make me smile or laugh and remember that the Lord delights in me!