Where in the world did 2009 go?

I just can't believe that we are looking at the last few days of 2009. I hardly know where to start, when reminiscing about this past year. There is so much to say about all that has occurred this year. Here are a few things to note:
a number of my friends had healthy babies this year- Williams, Akins, Deffenbaughs, Williams & Moffitts!
My nephew learned to say my name- definitely worth mentioning! :)
Learned that my office was closing down, so I found another job...at AchieveGlobal. So I returned after 4 years.
Working with Mona in an office setting for the 1st time in my life.
Moved out of my mom's house for the 2nd time in my life!
Ventured back to Cusuna for the 1st time since I left back in 2008. Loved reconnecting with my friends.
A cell tower was built in Punta Piedra, which means cell phones are all over Cusuna now-a-days.
Ran my 1st 5K...what an adventure. I have never been so happy and tired at the same time.
Ran/walked my 2nd 5K at Animal Kingdom- it poured rain the entire time. Not my favorite moment.
Abby learned to sing "Rudolph the nose red reindeer!" It is so funny.
Attended my first USF football game (went to 3 in all w/my friend Corrine)
Have my first pair of Burkenstocks
Learned so many details about Auburn football all season long- Thanks Keith!
Went to Tybee Island with a group of gal pals and ate at Paula Dean's restaurant. YUMMY!
Spent tons of time with my Mom, Kristen, Katie, Andy, Abby & Zac filled with fun & laughter.

These are just a few things that happened in 2009. I am looking forward to what 2010 holds in store for me.

Be Blessed...Happy New Year!

My mind is a thinking...

It's Thanksgiving once again...I'm not exactly sure where this year has gone. I feel like it has been so long and full, yet I also feel like it is flown by.

Well, yesterday I watched a special called Heroes on CNN. They were honoring "Heroes" who have made a difference in this world. It began a long trail of thinking that is still going on in my head currently. What am I called to do in this lifetime? I know that I want to make a difference in this world and feel like the location has been solidified for me...CUSUNA, HONDURAS. Now it's just a matter of what to do? There is so much that needs to be done and I need to start brainstorming on how to raise money for this mission.

Through studying the culture of the Garifuna peole, I have learned that their heritage is extremely important to them. That is no different than each of us...where we come from is always going to be a part of who we are. I think about a friend of mine from Alabama who sometimes wants to forget about his past. Well, where he came from makes him who he is today; something that I try and remind him. Recently, who wrote a paper describing the change in his life that was needed by getting out of the place where he grew up. I challenged him to describe some of his background to paint a true picture of the place he was trying to leave behind. Not so that he could receive sympathy, but the paint a realistic picture of this past.

Well, as I think about the needs of the Garifuna people in Cusuna, there are many resources that they do not have (i.e clean water). What if I use my connections and resources to bring some needed help to the village? Not just talk about it or even just dream about it...but actually do something about it. Every little bit helps and the dream becomes a reality with the first step.

So, I've got a lot of thinking, brainstorming and planning to do. But I am extremely for the opportunity to do something for my friends that live there and look forward to seeing what the future holds for us. I hope to update you soon on this project.

Hope you and yours had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving!

Be Blessed,

BB

Kitchen Sink Is Down...

Now you know when it comes to me, there is ALWAYS a story. Well, here's the lastest in the crazy adventures or me...

On Friday, our office received the following email: This e-mail is to let you know that the kitchen sink is down for repairs. Please do not use the sink for anything. We have a repairman on the way. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

Now one may think, that's no big deal. Well, here's the story BEHIND the story...

I had an 18 pack of Diet Pepsi left over from an event a few months ago that has been sitting in the church office. Seeing as we recycle cans here, I brought in the 18 pack, poured the soda out and recycled the cans. While pouring the cans out, Jillian (our receptionist) walked in and were just chatting. WELL, she stepped in a puddle and said, “I wonder where this came from?” To my horror, I looked down and saw a puddle of soda on the floor. It kept coming out from underneath the cabinets. I could only imagine that there was a huge leak inside the wall. NOPE, we soon determined that the overflow drain (who knew we had one) was plugged up and now the soda was coming right back out…all 18 cans of it! We went through 3 rolls of paper towels. Once we cleaned up most of it, Jillian went to get Clorox wipes so we could clean up the stickiness from the soda. On her way out, she noticed a large wet spot in the hallway. The soda has leaked all the way through the wall and out to the hallway. We now don’t have access to the kitchen sink and they are wet vacuuming the hallway.

Seriously, a person can't make this crap up!

Oh well...I only get one life to live...so I'm livin it...spilled soda and all!

Happy Turkey Week...I'm sure there will be a new adventure soon!

BB

New Adventure...

I am getting ready for my new adventure...which starts tomorrow! I finished my time at Apria today and am launching into a new career with AchieveGlobal tomorrow. I am thoroughly excited and nervous all at the same time. I've got my work cut out for me, but I think it will be a really good change for me.

It was hard to say "See you later" to a number of my friends today. But, when one journey ends a new one begins. So I am lasing up my boots and looking forward to the journey. I have been blessed with some GREAT pals at Apria. I have learned so much and been stretched beyond what I could possibly imagine. I have walked a faith road there that some days seemed more than I could handle. Yet, I walked hand in hand with Jesus every day. Hoping that I would learn along the way, and I have. Learned to give...learned to listen...learned to serve...learned to sit quietly...learned to lead...and learned to follow. Through it all, I have learned more about what God wants for me in my life. What a journey this walk has been for me. I have found friends and made friends that have impacted my life.

Thank you to everyone that has challenged me, loved me, supported me and even pushed me to be better that I was. I truly owe a lot to you and look forward to seeing what the next chapter holds...

Here goes nothing...

Another year older and hopefully wiser

I recently celebrated my 28 birthday. It is difficult to believe that I have come this far in life. I remember just yesterday I was a much younger Becky, but how time flies. I find myself still awaiting a number of things, yet content with who I am and a mountain of experiences to lean upon. I have wondered numerous times if I have taken the best road in life. Am I where I am supposed to be? Have I journeyed more paths than were required of me? Have I answered the call to live life to the fullest? What will the next 29 years be filled with? I have hopes and dreams, but I also understand that I want the best. I recently read "The Noticer" by Andy Andrews (highly recommended by Keith). The theme of the book is "Sometimes all one needs is a change of perspective." Isn't that true? We can be overwhelmed by life and the situations that is throws at us. However, let "Jones" come by and paint a different picture and the entire outlook is different. Well, I have decided to paint my picture differently. I want to think deeper and respond slower with my words. I want to love more intensely and life life more freely.

Can't wait to see what type of artist I turn out to be...

Why you tripping? All I did was fart...

What's the big deal about farting, anyhow? You know that EVERYONE does it...but AJ does receive honorable mentions. He rarely does it and my friend Rocky swears he never does in front of his wife...is this still true dude?

Well, here's my tale (you know I always have one).

We had a food cook-off day here at Apria that I crashed (because it wasn't my team that was having it). They had so much yummy food...you would have LOVED it. :) Well, afterwards I had some gas, so I excused myself to take a quick walk outside to release it. Well, a group of gal pal smokers were outside smoking and Arloa asked me what was wrong. I said, "Nothing, I had to fart so I just walked over there to let it go." They roared laughing and said, "I just didn't expect you to say that!" A roar of laughter exploded among us!

Hey, at least I didn't shart...:)

What does it mean to wait?

Patience is a virtue...but what if you don't have any. I've been thinking about this very thing for the past few weeks. How patient am I? If you know me at all, you know that I am not very patient...but God is teaching me to be patient. It takes an ENORMOUS amount of energy for me to be patient. I just want to jump the gun and go. But, there are moments where He simply states "...to be still and know that I am God."

Here I stand knocking on the door of my 28th birthday and I think, have I reached my potential? Have I achieved everything set out before me to accomplish? I unfortunately have to say no. Yet, I find myself asking for other things in life. I want to embark upon the marriage and family trail. I want to live in Cusuna, Honduras for a while. I want to live out my life to the complete fullest. What will this take? What can I still offer? Am I truly open and ready to jump? Well, right now He is calling me to be still and know that He is God. Now this takes patience...

What is He calling you to be still about? Things that make you go hmm...

A long week again...

As I am finishing up another day here at work, I've reflected on how LONG my days have been recently. They have been REALLY long and drawn out. I can't explain it much other than saying, "They are long enough and slow enough for me to almost stop breathing." I just might have stopped breathing two times today...:) But it also have given me plenty of time to reflect on life and where I am...and where I want to go. I am blessed to work with some dear friends of mine who I can talk about life with. My "twin" at work and I have a lot of "life" talks. Today we talked about marriage and the hopes and dreams of it all.

I learned yesterday of a dear friend of mine who lost a close friend of his. My heart just sank when I thought of the loss that he is experiencing. We never know what we have until we loose it. Isn't that the unfortunate thing. I've lost a few friends and a parent over the years and it just makes you stop and think of the impact they had on your life. Was it positive? Was it negative? And then in turn I think...did I impact their world at all? It makes me think of the song, "Lifesong" by Casting Crowns. What a powerful song. Does your lifesong sing to God? Whose name is written at the end of your day? I want God's name to be the signature at the end of my time.

I have to tell you about the man named Brad that I met over the weekend. His friend flew him down here to help pack and move his family back to Ohio. Well, on Friday night he went out and got wasted then woke up in someone's back yard without his shoes on. When we awoke, not knowing where he was, got up quickly and left. He was so disorientated. He smelt of alcohol and was dirty and had no shoes. I noticed that there wasn't even a pair of shoes next to where he was sitting. I thought to myself, "I'm sure he's got a pretty interesting story." Well, next thing I know he followed me into the laundry mat and asked, "Ma'am, may I ask you something?" "Sure," I responded. He proceeded to tell me his story and was embarrassed to not have his shoes at all and didn't even have a clue where they were. He asked if I would purchase him a pair of sandals from Wal-Mart so that he could walk back to his friends house. I agreed. So I took off and purchased a pair of sandals & a t-shirt w/$5 he gave me. On the way back I returned w/McDonald's as well. I thought, the least I could was feed him as well. He was blown away at the generosity and kindness. He said, "You must be an angel. I am not a bum or a bad person, I just made some stupid decisions that got me her." I reassured him that we put our pants on the same way and it could be me in this situation. I was blessed to be able to give to him and what a blessing he was to me in disguise. I had the opportunity to pray for him and bless him...something that I will never forget about it. When he asked me how he could repay me, I challenged him to pay it forward. He promised he would. So Brad, if you ever find this blog, remember our conversation and always remember to pay it forward!

I'm out...Beckster

Dinner w/a friend is like reading a good book...

I had dinner last night w/a pal of mine that I have known for a long time. However, we've never gotten together outside of church. What an incredible time we had together getting to know each other and sharing "life stuff." I am just amazed how having dinner w/a friend is like reading a really good book. SIDE NOTE: I've only been a true book reader for 7 years now, but dang it was like reading a really good book. We shared parts of our hearts and lives that ministered to the other...and we found comfort in the fact that someone else knew exactly what we are going through. Isn't it crazy...that sometimes it takes us getting out of our hectic schedule to sit with an acquaintance and somehow that person quickly becomes a good friend. Another God blessing in my life!

Thank you for sharing what you shared with me, friend...it is an honor to be your friend. I love you..."warts and all." That's something my friend Jean says...love ya Jean! I'm glad that God loves me, Warts & All! :)

Psalm 19:14- "Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in thy sight. Oh Lord, my strength and my redeemer."

Reflecting...

I sit here today in a reflective state of mind. Thinking about all of the wonderful memories that I made in Cusuna over the past 6 years. Can you even believe that I have been traveling to Cusuna for 6 years? Weird, but awesome. I have loved each trip. I think about Nessie, a girl that I met on the 1st trip there and have connected with each trip since. She was 4 years old and was wearing a cute purple dress. Now she is 10 years old and even more beautiful. She loves Jesus and wants to be an astronaut when she grows up. And then there is my friend Diani...what a special gal. She & I have been friends since that first trip as well...although it has taken her much longer to speak to me. She is VERY shy and a woman of few words. She is 22 years old and has a 7 month old daughter named Ashely. Both ladies are gorgeous and a blessing to me. My friend Belkin and her family are near and dear to my heart. Belkin is the friend who washed my clothes for me every Wednesday while I lived there for 3 months and I watched her kids. I specifically got really attached to Adrianna. She's my girl and I call her mona, which is monkey in Spanish.

Well, today I have cleaned out all of my letters from Honduras and read through most of them again. Some brought tears and others brought laughter. I am keeping a few special ones to cherish, I just need to get them in a book of some sorts so they aren't just loose papers. We'll see.

On an extremely random note, I might go see Rent tonight w/Sean (my cousin). How cool will that be...we'll see.

I've GOT to get to work now...LATER!

BB

Here, but not home

So, here I am...back in Tampa and at work today, Monday, July 6. It is with such mixed emotions that I sit here. My heart longs for the day when I am back in Cusuna, Honduras. I feel like God spoke a lot to me while there about what I am going to be doing for the rest of my life...it's all very exciting and crazy and overwhelming all at the same time. But, my heart is at peace about it and just find myself praying and asking for God's guidance for each next step.

My entire trip cost...$1,500. My time there...priceless. I can't even begin to explain how alive my heart and spirit feels when I am there. To serve God in such tangible ways by loving on people and sharing the love of God with them, is AMAZING. From the moment that we entered the village, "Becky! Becky! Becky!" I was reunited with tons of my friends and family there. I was able to see 11 of the 12 girls that were in the mentorship program. 6 of which had babies...my heart just broke. They are now 14 (4) & 15 (1) and 22 (1) years old and if nothing is done about it will be a mom in Cusuna for a lifetime. Not that that is a bad thing, but they dreamed for more. One dreams of being a pilot, another a teacher and another a computer programmer...but now they have a child to look after. And because of their social structure, they are not married nor do they have the necessary support needed for them to continue their education. I want to change that reality for them...I just don't know how to do that just yet. Some of the sweetest moments were walks on the beach with each of them or talks we had walking from the church to the mission house. They just look for someone to believe in them, guide them and encourage them along the way. I believe in each of them and want to help them attain their goals in life. My friend Diani, such a special friend, made a world of difference in me. She is the 22 year old that now has a 7 month old girl named Ashley. What a cutie pie! Diani, known in the village as Simpatica (not a nice nickname), is severely bow legged. It is painful for her to walk, but as a matter of practicality she has to. It is extremely difficult for her to walk while holding her child because of the balancing that she must continually do so she doesn't fall over. It breaks my heart. I am going to work hard and see if there is a way (there has to be) to correct her legs.

We were able to get A LOT of work done on the fish farm...HALLELUJAH! We've got a ways to go, but are so thankful for all that was accomplished.

Just can't wait to post pics to share the experience with you...it was amazing!

Love you tons and can't wait to share more with you,

Beckster

Loved to be Loved Well...it's true

What a weekend I had...

I attended the 1st every women's retreat w/ladies from my church. What an incredible weekend it was! Even now I find it hard to describe all that God has done for me, shown me and ways He loved on me this weekend. I learned something...that I actually do love me some girlfriends! There is nothing better than a true gift of friendship! A friend is someone who you can laugh with, cry with, shop with, eat with (HOLLA) and just be you with. I have been blessed with some of the greatest girlfriends of all time. And most of them were sitting in a room with me Friday night and all day Saturday.

I learned a lot about me and felt like I was LOVED on a whole lot by my Father in Heaven.

I am thoroughly exhausted and ready for rest, but this week I have my neice and nephew all week while my sisters and brother-in-law are down in Wimauma teaching Kids' Church for Camp Meeting. We are going to have a blast. I am thinking we will take a walk tonight when we get home after dinner and play for a bit before they head to bed. Do you know what Abby said yesterday? As I was trying to get her to say that I was her favorite, she insisted that I wasn't. That Mimi is her favorite...what does she know? She's only 2...:)

Well, this tired chicky is going to sign-off and go play Operation for my afternoon break...WAHOO! We try and keep it fun...I'll tell you how it goes!

BB

Another day of not getting out of bed...BOO!

How do you do something for so long every day and then just all off the face of the earth? Well, I have done it. I have now officially FALLEN OFF THE WAGON....AGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG! I have now not officially gotten out of bed to run, walk or some what in between in a LONG time. So long I hate to even count the time. What's the deal, dude? I don't even know. I have just gotten out of the habit and can't quite figure how to get back up on the wagon. It's almost as if I have fallen off a jet ski in the middle of the lake and can't figure out for the life in me how to get back on...not that this has EVER happened to me before! :) I HAVE TO CRAWL BACK ON....Help me Lord!

So, here's why this is so important to me. A friend of mine named Mona asked me if we could join Weight Watchers together. It's okay if you laughed, I sure did the first few times. Here is what you need to know about her, she's a "SB friend" or "pencil friend." TINY...you guessed it! I was not, being plump, about to enter into the WEIGHT LOSS WORLD w/her. She needed to loose what I could probably sweat off in 1 hour of working out. Well, after a little coaxing we did it. We joined. Although I was still a little wacked about it, I went. I knew I had to...if you knew me then you know how LARGE I was. I still am not on the small scale but have come a LONG way. Well, that began my journey and I have been walking this journey. I actually started training for a 5K last fall and ran it in February. What a thrill that was. I'll have to share some stories from that experience another day. Well from this to that...with this excuse and that...I have fallen off the wagon. But I, Rebecca E Bohnenstiehl, am officially pulling myself out of the water and getting back on this daggon wagon. I must...I MUST...I must decrease my girth! :) I will walk on my 15 minute breaks (unless it is Catch Phrase Wed/Fri) and 1/2 of my lunch break. So I will walk the 1st 30 minutes and eat the last 30 minutes. Like Ramona & I said yesterday, "It's bathing suit season and I'm supposed to be fine already." Well, world...HERE I COME! I will finish this race. I will complete my goal...I will get out of bed each morning to finish this journey!

Who wants to call me in the morning to remind me?

So Here We Go...

I am definitely the fan of being random and thinking out loud. Sometimes it goes well and other times...well?!?!?! So why not start a blog...seems reasonable. Why not think aloud and share it with everyone in my world! Oh, my family is going to LOVE this idea.

Well, I am definitely blessed with one of the coolest families on the face of the earth. I don't tell them as much as I should, but I really do dig them. I think I'll keep them around. Luck them...:)

I am currently on a roller coaster of life right now...who knows where the heck I'll end up. I am 27 years old (knocking on 28 in just a few short months), not married and wishin so, desiring kids but definitely not ready for them and just trying to figure out what the heck I'm going to be when I grow up...don't tell anyone!

Just finished a conversation w/my friend Michael here at the office. He thinks I should teach English in a foreign country. How cool would that be. I think I'm going to look into this option. I do think I was made to live in another country and experience many other cultures. There is just so much of this world that I want to explore and get to know. I've had an "African Safari" dream for a long time. Maybe I'll do that when I turn 30...that will be sooner than I'd like. On the list of countries I'd like to visit: Cuba, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Nicaragua, Egypt, Indonesia, China, Japan, France, Germany, Canada, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Scotland, Jamaica, Russia. Gosh, so many more but that's enough to list for now.

I'm sure there will be plenty of stuff to share as the days move one....so stay tuned.

Oh, here is a random blog that I sent friends from work on a "zipper incident." Just another day in my life:

So...as I was sitting at my desk today thinking about the wonderful weekend I had and how yummy the food was that I inhaled. Trust me when I say it was WAY OVER the human limit. On Sunday I thought I just might spontaneously combust...I had eaten that much food. I had to deny myself dessert or I just might have busted...LOL!
Well, I had to get up to get something off of the printer and Nate was there. We talked for just a minute (okay so truthfully I was giving him a hard time...again) and as I was thinking about the food (again) while I was walking back to my desk...and I heard it. My zipper just busted. It ripped right down the seam. I could not believe it. Then I was standing there like a dumb idiot and gawking at my broken (wide open) zipper that I had and thinking, "What the heck do you do now?" Well, my white t-shirt isn't long enough to cover the entire zipper & my kangaroo pouch (as I affectionately refer to it as). Now, I understand that it is harder to get rid of something that you've named, but it's what I do. I name a lot of things in my life. Each of my cars have had names. The Titanic (1st car- White Lincoln Crown Victoria...don't hate!), Bella (Silver Ford Thunderbird), Bessie (White Pontiac Sun Fire), Wally (Black Kia Spectra) and now Maggie (Nissan Centra...she's magenta)! I wonder how many people actually name their cars? I'll have to google that tonight. Back to the case at point, so I here I am standing there in the middle of my front lobby w/my broken zipper. I sat down...that didn't help matters. Now the barn door is WIDE OPEN and I am thinking, "What the devil shall I do?" So I went into the adjacent office to fix my zipper. Now I am not Mrs. Fix, but I was certain that I could do this. I got my zipper in the start position and viola. It worked...until I came back out to walk towards my desk. RIP...it ripped again and this time a piece went flying. Goodness-gracious-great-balls-of-fire! So now I am sitting at my desk w/a white t-shirt, jeans w/a broken zipper and a green scarf tied around my waste (trying to as fashionably as possible cover my open fly zone). Isn't that LOVELY!

Truth, this has got to be enough for now...

Deuces,

Beckster