I wrote this post...

...to say, I love you! (sung, of course, to the tune of "I Just Called to Say I Love You" by Stevie Wonder)

I was singing that out loud this morning. While I was driving. With my windows down.

I knew what the title of the post would be, but wasn't sure on the rest.  I'm still not sure! 

I've been a pretty busy lady since the middle of last week.  None of what kept me away from writing blog posts or Examiner articles was in any way bad.  I just had to make priorities out of some stuff, and some of that "stuff" was simply spending time with my family.  If you didn't know that your family should be your number one priority -- email me, we need to talk.

Over the weekend, I told a close family friend that I'm more content now than I have been in my entire life. 

That's huge.  Anyone who has been privy to my family's personal life knows that being able to say something like that, and mean it, is huge.

I decided a few months after moving to Arizona that I wasn't going to let circumstances keep me from moving forward.  Believe me, there were PLENTY of times I felt terribly down.  Moving to the other side of the country away from family and friend was not fun.  I asked the Lord early on to send Christian friends, to help me find a church "home."  I knew I needed to other believers in my life. The back and forth with employment was -- hard.  But, God always sent encouragement to me one way or another. He helped me to keep pressing on through the trouble that came. He showed me that I needed to make sure I didn't ride along with the "storm," but to walk right through it to the other side.

I am content. But being content doesn't mean I'm staying in the same spot physically, mentally, or spiritually. I don't want to get into a rut. I simply have chosen to be thankful and grateful for what I have right now, and keep a vision of even better things to come.

Like Paul said to the Philippians:

I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. (Philippians 3:12 -- NLT)

 I haven't lived out all that God has planned for me, but I will keep going, ever reaching for more of Him, and the abundant life He promised me -- a life worth living!