One BAD Blogger....

No... I have not given up my blog for Facebook:) I like Facebook. I really do. It is fun to reconnect with old friends and it has been an awesome network for our upcoming move. The thing I do not like about it is it continues to foster superficial relationships. I had the opportunity to go on retreat this past weekend. One of the things we discussed is that in a world that consists of internet, cell phones, texting and the video conference call... we have never been lonelier. These are all great things and they sure help when I am a world away from my family and loved ones. However, nothing beats having a cup of coffee (or a can of diet coke in my case!) with a friend. So, with that in mind, I have no intention of giving up my blog as I feel it is my can of diet coke with the people I love!

I do apologise for my prolonged absence. Things have gotten a little hairy here at the House of Payne. Our biggest news is that we have received orders to the Pentagon and are due to leave our beautiful Island home of 6 years for the busy city streets of Washington DC at the end of May or Early June. We should know a more definite date soon. I hope so too as TMO (movers) dates are filling up quickly. We will need to pack our Household Goods about 8-9 weeks before we want to see them in the US. This means a late March early April pack out. My days have been filled with trying to figure out which school system will be the best for the boys and house hunting on line. This is a hard feat as what looks good on the internet could be surrounded by pawn shops and strip joints for all I know! My sweet husband is headed to VA right now for a job turnover and some house hunting. We pray he is successful on both accounts so it buys us a little more time here on Okinawa.

I know this is hard to believe, but with all the business surrounding an overseas move, I really have not taken many pictures! My latest batch of photos is from my recent retreat weekend at the church! Our Women's Ministry hosted a women's retreat last weekend. We decided to use Beth Moore's Loving Well - Retreat in a Box. It was an absolute blast! We wanted to make this an affordable weekend, so we hosted it at the church. We had ladies bring their air mattresses and camp out in the building. We ordered food in from Macaroni Grill and the local deli. It was perfect... except maybe the air mattress part... We had over 50 women in attendance for this fun filled weekend. The best part was walking a way knowing a few more church members more intimately and growing even closer to Christ in the process. Here are a few photos of our event!

Our decorations coordinator knocked it OUT of the park!!!

Small group roomKey Verses for the weekend

Youth room transformed and the M and M's MCing!!!

We totally played Lisa F's favorite PJ game!!! Amanda did a great job!!!

You never know what you will get when you borrow an air mattress from someone! Nice foot pump!!!

My Girl Joanne... You truly are a "Super Mom"!
If you are ever in need of a quick retreat theme, I highly recommend Loving Well. I always like to walk away from something like this with one take away lesson. This weekend did not disappoint. My lesson? Love is a NOUN! We all know that "God is Love". But I never looked at it as something that just was. As Beth taught us this weekend, just as I am a woman and can never change that, God is love and He can never change that. He is the root of all the loving relationships in our lives. It is His love that allows us to love everyone we come in contact with from those who are easy to love, to the difficult to love to the impossible to love. With out the love of Chrst, it is impossible to love anyone else well.
I hope you enjoyed my little update... I promise to be a better blogger in the future!

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