Pure Joy...

James 1: 2- 4 (NIV)

2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Wow. Those verses are so powerful. How hard is it to consider your trials pure joy? I know that this is something that I struggle with. No matter how big or small the trial is, it is not always easy to be joyful. I tend to complain or whine about whatever it is to my poor husband. However, I know that God is using trials in my life to draw me closer to Him, and this my friends, is joyful. God is using trials in my life to show me that I am in no way in control. As a control freak, this can also be scary at times, but in my heart I know that this is the best way. God is God, and I am not. He knows what is best for me. His timing is perfect. He knows His plans for me. It doesn't matter what I want (although sometimes I have a hard time remembering that).

The Snow Continues...So I'm Going to my Happy Place

It has snowed for several days in a row here, so I thought I would post some pictures of our cruise in August 2010 to remind me of warmer weather. We finally got to go to the Western Caribbean without a hurricane rerouting us. Our stops were Labadee, Haiti; Ocho Rios, Jamaica; Georgetown, Grand Cayman; and Cozumel, Mexico.

We didn't have an excursion in Labadee. We just enjoyed the beach and walked around the market area. This was quite an experience. One guy told us to make him any offer on a souvenir, and he would accept it. When we did, he laughed at us and told us that he had a family to support. He was quite persistent, and we did end up buying some things from him.

In Ocho Rios we took a river tubing excursion. The water was soooo cold!!! This idea had never even entered into my brain. I thought, "Water in Jamaica, it must be warm." HA! The ride down the river was beautiful! After we finished, we enjoyed some Jamaican jerk chicken and some shopping.

In Georgetown we took a beach excursion. It was wonderful! I love going to the beach, and I particularly love it when it is in the Caribbean. The water there is so clear and beautiful! God really is an awesome Creator! Grand Cayman is a neat place. They have no unemployment because everyone there believes that they should work, and they are determined to find some sort of work. There are other neat things about living there, but I forget what they are right now. :0(

Finally, we went to Cozumel! This was our favorite stop on this cruise. I absolutely loved Cozumel, and I definitely would have liked to have had more time there. The excursion we went on there was also our favorite excursion (quite possibly of all time). We went to a beach resort area and took a traditional Mexican food cooking class. We made an appetizer (it is hard to explain what it was), fish wrapped in banana leaves, and rice pudding for dessert. It was all delicious!!! We got the recipes, and we have since made the rice pudding at home. If you know me, you know that I love to cook. This was my kind of excursion! What you may not know is that my husband also enjoys cooking. He typically wants to help me anytime I am in the kitchen. I love it!!!

We also enjoyed our days at sea when we just got to spend time on the cruise. Our cruise director, Graham, was awesome! This time we tried a balcony room. Oh my! I don't know if we can ever go back to any other room now. Royal Caribbean did a great job again of providing us with an excellent vacation!!!

Now my only question is, when is our next one???

Thanks, God for allowing us to have this opportunity and for giving me a fantastic husband that I love spending time with!