One more

I am: actually Dustynne Witt though most know me as Noelle Mathison...long story!
I know: I'm a goose.
I want: my ears to un-plug. (Oh, the 'joys' of being sick! Ugh!)
I have: a Savior and Master that died for me, and a wonderful, wonderful family to love.
I wish: I would get more comments.
I hate: semi's, fluorescent lights, and plastic wrap.
I miss: my sister.
I fear: sometimes.
I feel: very deeply. (Yes, I stole that from Jasmine...)
I hear: just about everything.
I smell: everything too strong. Me and my sister.
I crave: nothing, right now -- I'm sick.
I search: for anything that gets lost.
I wonder: what I'll learn in the next year.
I regret: the many mistakes I've made in all my fourteen years.
I love: the Lord and my family.
I ache: to go deeper with my Lord.
I care: very much.
I always: think.
I am not: tagging anyone on this post.
I believe: that God works in mysterious ways.
I dance: when I'm really happy.
I sing: as often as I possibly can.
I cry: yep.
I don't always: do what I should.
I fight: off bees whenever necessary.
I write: and write and write.
I never: like winter anymore by February.
I listen: to the Wissmann's as often as possible.
I need: to grow closer to Jesus.
I can usually be found: inside, doing something.
I win: battles over the enemy in the strength of the Lord!
I lose: sleep when I'm too excited.
I confuse: a lot of people.
I am happy about: too much to describe!
I imagine: that some things will never change.

Six things...

...that I've learned in the past year:

1. That I have changed drastically in this short, but long, period of time.
2. That God is faithful, even when we forget that temporarily.
3. That when a relationship or situation makes you angry or anxious, it's usually because something you want or need is being blocked.
4. I've been reminded over and over again that once we surrender our will to God, He will often give us the desires of our heart -- and not until then. Or, even if He doesn't give back to us exactly what we wanted, He will give us a peace of mind, knowing that we did the right thing.
5. I've learned just how much I have to be thankful for.
6. I've learned that I still have a lot to learn. :)

My, the tags are bouncing around lately! Thank you to dear Jasmine for this one! :)

...And, I tag whoever wishes to participate. (But you have to let me know. :)

Oh, and one more thing I've learned -- that being around kids (which I love) has a cost: being sick three times in the past two weeks!

Fall favorites

As Jasmine tagged whomever wished to participate, I decided I might as well have a little fun with it too. :)

So, here's my fall favorites...

1.) Favorite smell...dinner cooking when I walk in the door from the dark and cold.
2) Favorite food...peanut butter cookies.
3.) Favorite color...brown. I really like brown -- especially with pink. :)
4.) Favorite drink...coffee. :)
5.) Favorite treat...coffee. :)
6.) Favorite place to visit...Pittsburgh, PA.
7.) Favorite candy...I ditto Jasmine's answer -- skittles!!! :)
8.) Favorite movie to watch...Luther (2003).
9.) Favorite clothing to wear...t-shirts and skirts. I wear summer clothes as long as I can. :)
10.) Favorite outdoor activity...again, I ditto Jasmine -- playing tag outside when it's cold enough for your nose to get chilly. :)
11.) Favorite football team...GO STEELERS!!!
12.) Favorite fall holiday...Reformation Day. Then Thanksgiving.
13.) Favorite haunted place (haunted as in frequently visited)...the office or my bedroom.
14.) Favorite food at Thanksgiving dinner...mashed potatoes. :)
15.) Favorite pie...pumpkin!
16.) Favorite fall hobby...hiking.
17.) Favorite fall memory...last fall was a really neat time for me. I'm not sure exactly why -- I just have good memories of the entire fall season. So there. :)
18.) Favorite fall sight...leaves so thick they cover part of the road.
19.) Favorite season...I like all the seasons.
20.) Overall favorite fall thing...looking forward to the snow. (Remind me in January that at one time I actually was looking forward to the snow! :)

...And tagged again...

...this time by by Anna from Anna's Blog. (Thank you, Anna! (smile))
I am to put down...

Five Things I Love, Excluding Family (and family includes the Lord :)

• Writing
• Blogging
• Summer and winter
• Eyebrows
• Music

And as an added touch, three things I hate:

• Plastic wrap
• Semi's
• Fluorescent lights

And I, too, will tag one person:

my dear Mommy :)

Tagged...

I've been tagged by Megan at AIMING for Perfecton! (Thanks, Megs!)

Now, here's the rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag sixish people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know he or she has been tagged.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

All right, lemme give this a shot...(random, huh? it might have been easier for me if I was supposed to put six weird facts about myself. yeah, that would have been very easy.)

1. I didn't like bluegrass until I was 12. Now I love it.
2. My birthday falls very near -- and sometimes on -- Inauguration Day.
3. I love the streetlights on Route 28 in Pittsburgh, PA.
4. It's very hard for me to sleep without a little bit of noise.
5. I love harmonies.
6. Two of my favorite things to do when I was four or five were 1) Dig in the flower garden (for no reason) and 2) Scrub pennies in a sinkful of soapy water.

And now, I tag...

Hillary at Hillary's Blog

Anna at Anna's Blog

Maria Pauline at Beautiful Grace

Andrea at Sunset Hours

Amos at ShuttersBuddy

and

Megan at PBC Blog

Pennsylvania trip

After a very blessed trip to Pittsburgh, PA (to pick Mom up)...
...we are all back, safe and sound. I'm sorry for not being in touch sooner -- we've been very, very busy the last couple weeks! I appreciate all of your prayers, everyone! (smile)

:: Brandi and I tackle Jacob ::

:: And I got to go to my precious Giant Eagle...(sorry, family joke I guess (grin)) ::

:: At Mummers' house, where we spent the night (after a straight-through 17-hour-drive!) ::

All in all, it was a very successful, blessed trip -- again, thank you for your prayers! (And if you would happen to think of my sister, Brandi, please continue to pray for her!)

It was so amazing to be back there in PA -- it brought back so many memories. Having been away from 'civilization', so to speak (if you'd visit the U.P. here, you'd know what I was talking about!), it was very different from what I've been used to for the last 3-1/2 years -- something I've missed. (Frankly, I'm not the rural, out-in-the-sticks-where-there's-hardly-a-lick-of-population type of girl. But that's where God has me for now, and I've come to accept it.)

So there you have it, folks -- a very brief outline of our trip to Pittsburgh! (smile)

The promised picture post

Before me, was them...

And then, a couple years later...

And a couple years later...

And a couple years later...

And a couple years later...

And a couple years later...

And a couple years later...

And a couple years later!

So there we are in a nutshell over the past 16 years.

And just for some added fun, I thought I'd share with you all a few home videos from the past couple years. Go ahead and laugh -- I sure did! (big grin)

The naughty 5th-grader squirms out of math. :)

Okay, so maybe this one was a bit corn-y...

And last but not least, my personal favorite. LOL! (I had such a serious look on my face!...and yes, that was a doll.)

Hello!

Greetings in the Name of the Lord!

I have been absent from the blogosphere for quite a few months now, due to the Lord leading me to step back for a while, and now here I am back -- with a new blog! :)

The Lord has really been impressing upon my heart the principle behind Psalm 37:4 lately, and He reinforced this impression by leading me to Isaiah 42:1, which says: "Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth..." This verse really struck me as it never did before, and I saw something about the Nature of the Lord which, although I knew it, I had never fully contemplated it: He delights in me! He doesn't just love me (and He certainly doesn't just put up with me)...He delights in me! What a simple, yet profound thought!

Really, it works both ways. He calls us to delight in Him, and He also delights in us. And what does it really mean to delight in Him? I'm not 100% sure yet. I'm still discovering the answer to this question. :) So far I see this: To delight in Him does not mean you are not to take pleasure in anything else. But it does mean that your primary source of love comes from and goes to Jesus. You get your ultimate satisfaction from Him, and you delight in loving Him, serving Him, honoring Him, obeying Him...simply you are filled with joy simply to be able to love Him! It's awesome when you think about it. To be given the privilege to have a literal, more-real-than-real love relationship with the One who created you -- who knows you better than you know yourself -- is incredible. Wouldn't you say??

This concept inspired in me a poem that I wanted to share here on my little bloggy nook...

Thy Soul Delights In Me

Thy soul delights in me:

I, depraved with sin,

Am actually loved by Thee;

With all my faults, my rebellion within:

Still, oh perfect Love, I am loved by Thee.

I am Thy servant, whom Thou upholds;

Thy Love, oh Love!, around me folds;

And though I flouder, though I fail,

I am upheld by a Love to sweet to describe...

Oh Lord, Thy Love is ever upon me;

Though I see it not at times,

It is there -- wastefully abundant;

Thy Love is like an ocean, Lord --

Oh, let me return it to Thee full.

Thy soul delights in me:

I, depraved with sin,

Am actually loved by Thee;

With all my faults, my rebellion within,

Still, oh Perfect Love, I am loved by Thee.

--Dustynne Mathison, June 2008

I'd also love to hear anyone else's thoughts and/or insights as to what it means to delight in the Lord!

Well, 'nighter's for now...God bless, thanks for stopping by, and come again!