Following HIS Lead

so i unfortunately landed myself as a Longhorn fan this season....my precious pee-wee hockey team was the Longhorns...

sadly, the season is over; we were 6-2-1, were league champions, and came in 2nd overall in the tournament. our star forward was named MVP in the league!

and i was the offical assistant coach..i even got to sign the certificates!
but no worries, another season starts in January..so yall will get to hear all about it!

let me tell ya..it was intense tonight..we ended up having 2 shoot outs! it was like it was the Stanley Cup or something.

gig'em longhorns :)

grace & peace,
lish

[preface: i've been post-happy lately..meaning i've been posting a lot, for no apparent reason.]

okay so, its the first weekend in a while that i actually dont have any plans of any sorts..

i dont think i'll be able to stay in brenham ALL weekend, so a trip into CS will probably happen Saturday.

its Friday..Fridays are my favorite
on the agenda:
put up clothes
wal-mart
chores
Goblet of Fire
maybe a movie tonight
& i'll probably end up having to drive Chris to Houston-because i'm that great of an assistant ;)

have a great friday friends->its the end of the week!

blessings to all,
lish

so i've started reading goblet of fire again.

i definitely want my own wand to put up clothes with. harry potter & laundry are a good mix. magic would make chores a whole lot easier :)

i'm just sayin'

i'm dedicating this post to Jeff Hildebrand: the most amazing guy i know.

enjoy the fabulous fall weather.
The Lord is our hope and salvation.

grace & peace,
lish

wow.
they are amazing.
an awesome balance of entertainment and worship. it was so apparent that they wanted us to have a great time at the concert, and at the same time really get to meet with the Lord.

I was able to see my favorite JAM staffer...Michelle! and since i kinda went with the BSM kids from blinn I got to know them better..still havent really connected with anyone.

overall, it was a good night, minus the getting in really really late. i'm not really a concert type person, but i'd go see Crowder & band any night of the week. they blew me away!

if we all had theme songs..i think this would be mine right now.

I crumble at Your kiss and grace
I'm a weakling in the dust
Teach me how to cling to You
With all my life and all my love

Father come to me, hold me up
'cause I can barely stand
My strength is gone and my breath is short,
I can't reach out my hands
But my heart is set on a pilgrimage to heaven's own bright King
So in faltering or victory I will always sing

And on the road to beautiful
My seasons always change
But my life is spent on loving
know You in Your power and pain

Father come to me, hold me up
'cause I can barely
strength is gone and my breath is short,
I can't reach out my hands
But my heart is set on a pilgrimage to heaven's own bright King
So in faltering or victory I will always sing

You're my portion in this life
You're my strength now in my fight
And to You I pledge my heart
In the pain and in the dark
I'll love You


in this new season for me, a more eternal perspective is needed for my day to day responsibilities..i think thats the hardest thing to walk in-finding eternal perspective in a day by day, moment by moment faith.
i'm also thankful that self-control is a Fruit of the Spirit, not Fruit of Alisha.

feeling philosophical:
Say for instance you have one of those math problems where train A is going 60mph and train B is going 45 mph they are headed towards each other and you have to figure out where they have to meet, it doesnt matter how fast they are going with Jesus, they will meet when HE wants them to-sure with math & physics or whatever you can prove that at such and such time they will intersesct, but its all the cities they pass and people aboard the train that matter; our God is a relational god, personal, alive, active, constant and in control of all circumstances.

i dunno if this makes any sense, but lately i feel so caught up into where i'm suppose to go next, i'm forgetting to look out the window.

grace & peace,
lish

exert from my daddy's bday celebration tonight...

so the past couple of weeks have been significantly better, i can even venture to say that B-town is kinda growing on me...dont take that as "i'm lovin' it here" but its one of those things that could be worse.
work has been work, i had my first sunday school lesson, that minus the cd player not working, went really well..it was harder than i thought it would be because the group of kids is very diverse, and i thought they would border more on the older than the younger and that wasnt the case. worship was jacked up, thats all i can say to describe it; but thankfully the Lord answered my prayers and today in staff meeting i was able to share my heart and marcus and chris were very understanding..so i'll keep doing it for a couple more weeks and then my worship duties will end.
for those of you that are wondering, my coaching debut was a success! a tie (8-8) and a win (7-3)-not too shabby, eh? the second game was pretty intense for 5-8 year old peewee roller hockey, but we managed it.

i might have touched on this before, but a lot of the "brenham getting better" has to do with me consiously decided not to attend personal pity parties. its hard because me and my selfish nature want to say "look at me, see all i do? feel sorry for me..", nor do i see the fruits of my labor...but it doesnt work like that. i'm to be the salt and light in every situation no matter what my feelings say...and thats what so great about Jesus, He doesnt work off of feelings-He's constant & always in control, unconditional and sovereign.

this is definitely going to be a good week. micah is coming on Thursday! and then.....drum roll please....my LIBBY will be in CS this weekend..i dont know if i'll be able to keep my excitement contained until then, i might just burst! ya know those cheesy best friend necklace you get in like 2nd grade..well this amazing girl has the other half of mine..yup thats right, Libby and I will be reunited for the weekend & i cannot wait. i have missed this girl so much..phone calls & emails definitely do not make up for face time! and i also get to go to a women's conference with my mom, my other best friend, i'm looking forward to it, it will be a good refreshing weekend of renewal & fun!

some more thoughts passing through my brain:
i really want to be overseas at this moment
how to get my spanish fluency back up to par
what the rest of my work week will look like with the boss gone
new neighbors in the complex who are kinda friends
how to be friends with someone who you really dont immeadiately click with, especially when they really want to be your friend
whether or not i should eat a bowl of bluebell
who my first bf will be
looking forward to caley moving here


anyways, i miss my "crew"
you guys have a great week
grace & peace,
lish

i want to dedicate this post to mi familia...i luv'em!
My Daddy..the Vince Lombardi :) who records my favorite tv shows every week on VHS for me because my budget is so tight i cant afford cable :)
My Momma-i dont have enough space to explain how great she is..if you know her, you know!
My Little Sis...the coolest chica in the world..& i'm so lucky and blessed to have her AND shes gonna get to be my roomie!
My Brother-who i'm very proud of whos far far away in Washington & i miss him bunches, but thankfully he's coming at Christmas
Boots..poodle extraordinaire..the sweetest, most spoiled dog ever

I think this will be the first weekend in about 2 months that i'm not going to College Station to see them...yup..i've got other plans! Saturday is Helena Reunion so Friday night i'm gonna grab some BBQ at Dimebox's casa, then head over to do some pre-reunion preparations [insert mischevious grin here], then Saturday i'll be seeing my fam for a little bit, meeting up with random folks, then the Reunion will start & fun times will be had!

i gotta head to worship practice, then the washer & dryer at 305 Academy has my name on it for the night...most likely a movie will be put in & more alisha/courtney bonding will take place.

so when i started writing this is was about 6 0'clock..now it is going on 2am and i just finished working out at the gym. the night was insane..we had practice, then i had to help with youth girls, i got done with that, then headed over to courtney's to start laundry, went back to the SHAPe for more practice and finally at 11 we back to Courtney's to finish...folded my last piece of clothing at 12:30-came home changed and hit the gym..i'm now super exhausted & really not wanting to put the clean sheets on my bed because i dont wanna have to take a shower in order not to get them dirty...i think its a couch night..
tomorra is a crazy day..i already know it.

who wouldve ever guessed that i'd be up this late because i was acutally busy?!?

anywho, much love,
lish

Sister Homecoming was fabulous...a new fish, tennis, junk food & movies...not to mention some amazing company. Caley is THE coolest sister ever & a great bestfriend.

aren't we cute? hopefully the new pics will attract more readers.

thats all for now..i'm gonna go make some breakfast-for-dinner (thanks for the great idea william)
hope yall have a wonderful week.

grace & peace, lish

so i can not believe that i forgot to update about this..
i guess this shows how ingrossed in work i can become once my weekend is over...

last Friday....went home to see the familia-i had a rough week and was craving some familial lovin'..so mom cooked spaghetti & had banana pudding icecream with bananas on hand (my favorites)..it was glorious...so i come in Friday afternoon and couldnt find anyone to have lunch with me-which just put me down on my luck..because i come into CS tryign to feel loved & just get rejected by like million people..okay, only 4, but still...Friday afternoon was great. I hung out with Meghan & Trisha, caught up on their lives..i cant believe my "kids" are jrs! next i went to my favorite roomie's new casa...quite loverly, me & Tracy gabbed for an hour or so..good times-its times like those i really miss living with girls :) anyways..went back to the house for dinner & then heres the "exciting" part

...after dinner Caley goes to work and Mom, Dad and i are left with the evening to ourselves & thus begins the Dianna/Vince battle over the tv and plans for the evening...mom wants to walk, dad wants to clean & watch tv..mom wants to do anything BUT watch tv..and so forth they go on and on, while i'm in the pink chair cracking up-a typical married couple & me on the sidelines-cause while its funny to me, its their normal behaviour :) so Dad gets tired of Mom and goes to the bedroom and Mom and i are left alone in the living room...30 minutes later Dad comes out and then Mom leaves...so then its me and Dad and he thus proposes "hey, you wanna go to the nursing home & meet our friends?"
you see, Mom and Dad have started this "ministry": every Wednesday they go to a nursing home by our house and spend time with elderly people who dont get visitors. well..more recently theyve started playing dominoes & have worked up quite a social network at the home...so, with nothing else to do i say "sure, why not? what else are we going to do?"
we go to the nursing home where i meet 1. Mrs. Barbers, who has alziheimers..kinda in short term memory loss form..while its sad that shes in that condtion..she keeps great spirits & even manages a joke here and there about herself..plus you just have to laugh when she comments "its a wonder i can find my butt every day to wipe.." or "how do i know you? who are you again? when did you get here?--over and over again. Mom and Dad have been going every week for like the past 2 months & she never remembers them. #2 Mrs. Nobels, she was cranky, from what Mom said, something has been bothering her so she hasnt been herself..but she was pleasant enough and good at the game and then there was #3 Johnny..he was quite an amazing dominoe player...he could've fit right in with the men here in the projects that play all the time..and i think a time or two he was wanting to slam them down to get his points (which is apparently what youre suppose to do)..but he refused unfortunately. Dominoes was great fun, i seemed to get really good hands & felt bad for schooling them when none of the peeps i was playing with were in their right mind, but everyone got a chance to go first & somehow we always tied;)
After game night, mom and i picked up a movie while Dad cleaned (Fever Pitch..it was good, clean, pretty funny)-when everyone was accounted for again at the house we popped it in & settled in for the night. not really what i envisioned my Friday night to look like, but it was fun nonetheless.

its interesting how something so trivial (the visit to the nursing home) could mean so much...i mean Mom was telling me how the nurses tell them that Thursdays & Fridays are great days for the people they visit at the home because they just go on and on about their visitors..and all i did was play dominoes for and hour and a half-which is something i enjoy doing.

i love my weekends at home...they tend to be more random and spontaneous, which is good since i dont live there anymore...Saturday I had the house to myself, had lunch with Anna (i always try to get in a Cheddar's meal when i'm in town), then Saturday night Caley and i hung out..we went to DQ so i could get the 4-1-1 on her trip to Seattle & life...nothing better than your sister & a rootbeer float....we went by sweet's but it was crowded & we just felt awkward..weird how 4 months will "grow you up"

so that was my weekend..its weekends like those that make being a Lombardi so great...i love my parents, my sister & brother..and even Boots too :) they are wonderful people..not cause their my family and i gotta love them..but deep down they want the love of Christ to pour from their lives at all times. Home will always be "where my mom lives" :)

grace & peace,
lish

Henry died today. its bittersweet in a way.

I was cleaning his bowl this afternoon and after returning him to his home i noticed his labored breathing and how he was laying on his side, all dead like. and for some of you that know Henry, this isnt too abnormal..(his famous trick being "playing dead"). but knowing my fish's behavior..i knew this wasnt normal. so, thus began the attempt to save Henry.
first i changed his water again, then i made sure his gills were functioning right..they looked a little abnormal. then i went to the one pet store in town and bought aquarium salt and put him in a salt bath for a little while. but all my attempts failed. Henry was just plain old.

In my search for healing remedies this afternoon i ran across the life expectancy of a male betta fish, and the average fish only lives 2 yrs. Henry was about 5-i think he set some sort of record. He was old and tired, he was losing his color and i think he might've developed a fungus that catalyzed his death. So my faithful fish companion is no more, but i feel like I did a pretty good job taking care of him, seeing as he lived more than twice his expectancy...which those of you that know me, know me & Henry's history...he definitely made it into the garbage disposal a total of 4 times, survived a summer without me (I was so worried Caley would kill him while i was in Costa Rica), [Meghan claims I raised him from the dead my junior year..but i refer back to Henry's tricks ), made it through 3 moves (2 were across town, the other to another city...) and not to mention the countless times i probably forgot to feed him. he was a survivor-one tough cookie.

While some think it strange...Henry and I had something special-i mean he went through college with me..cause 75% of college i lived alone; he was with me through thick and thin..and yes i talked with him-not to get answers, but to kinda vent...you know...anyways, im gonna miss my little swimming pal. i flushed him..he was dead so i didnt think it too inhumane..supposedly the pressure from the flush blows the fishy into smithereens...

so tomorra, i'm headed off to the pet store to get another fish.
i love fish...you should get one; theyre great to have-they are like youre most low-maintience pet ever
& i've already picked out a name Alexander..and no, i will not call him alex.

thats all..Lombardi Homecoming commences in t minus 20 hours!
grace & peace,
lish

my great day included:
1. membership at Sam's Club
2. lunch at Mi Cocina with the one and only Evan Stewart
3. the purchase of The Big Book of Bible Games
4. a relaxing night at home with a good book
5. working out at the gym

i gotta keep truckin' on. productivity is a good way to keep perspective. I have a meeting with the FBC Children's minister tomorra that i'm real excited about..i think he is going to be a good source of wisdom and opportunity; plus from our phone conversations he sounds like youre typical children's minister :)

grace & peace,
lish

oh & get excited about Lombardi Homecoming Saturday night...my wonderful sister is coming to spend the night with me..whoo hoo!

so i joined a gym. i went for the first time tonight..for the following reasons.
1. to avoid awkwardness...my thinking, its a small gym, not very many people in Brenham should be there...
2. to avoid males..again, my thinking, its 9:30, the gym shouldnt be crowded & if by chance there are people there, they will leave me alone..we're there to work out, not carry on conversations
3. working out late makes me sleep incredibly well....
conclusions: going to the gym at 9:30 does not prevent
1. awkward situations from happening
2. creepy Christian boys trying to subtly figure out how they can get your number without actually having to get it
but it does
allow for a good nights rest
apparently my gym is a hang out for a couple of the BSM kids because one of the guys works there. one good thing that happened was that i was invited to a Bible study on Friday & a prayer meeting on Sunday, not to mention how incredibly sore i'm going to be tomorra morning-but thats a good thing right?

lifes been very convicting lately. Taking my head out of the self-pity i've been absored in, things look clearer, not better or improved, but liveable i guess. its all about "feeding His sheep". I love Him and aim to keep His commands, its as simple as that for me right now, and does it ever really have to get more complicated than that? the more i examine my walk with the Lord, I realize I have such a simple faith, and its that simple faith that i feel is put into question by my fellow brothers and sisters here, and it frustrates me...so pray for that-my pride takes that and runs to Satan with it and its bad news all around when that happens.

going to bed.
sending lots of love out across cyberspace.
grace & peace,
lish