I Put on My Big Floppy Beach Hat

     There it is!  My Big Floppy Beach Hat has been patiently perched on the hook in the back of my closet since last August, waiting for warm and lengthy days of springtime to come.  As soon as I put it on, it flippantly says goodbye to winter with the flowing wave of its brim.  And I go with it with a joyful and anticipating "spring" in every step.  Under the rim of that floppy beach hat, rests the hopes and plans for the coming season.  Some of these anticipations have been around for awhile and have been kept and protected from the beating sun, and others blown away by the winds of time and experience.  As a sifter filters the flour, my big floppy beach hat, has sifted my dreams, separating the temporal from the eternal.  And what remains and always carries me into the colder months is my life vision, my purpose...part temporal/ part eternal.  In this Easter season, it is resurrected anew from beneath the rim of that floppy beach hat.  So, with a fresh breeze in the air carrying warm thoughts of my friends and family, a limey margarita in my left hand, and Mattie's leash in my right hand, I will flip-flop into the springtime, Big Floppy Hat and all.
Oh, and one of my favorite hopes and plans is that we might joyfully collide along our walk very soon so that we can share in each others' life, margaritas or not:)

Expert or Average?

In order to be an expert person living above the bar, you must be willing to do what the average person who meets the bar or comes below it is not willing to do. “Well, I sure don’t want to be thought of as that average person I know.” But who am I to judge what I consider to be an average person and their journey?  The real comparison is within me.  Am I being the Expert Amanda or the Average Amanda.  And only I know that.  Only I know if I’m being the best Amanda I can be, waking up early, doing all I can do, even what I haven’t been willing to do.  Or am I being the Average Amanda who is afraid to take a risk, holds back my love and encouragement, procastinates, and lacks patience with my 3 year old.  Each moment you find yourself in, challenging or not, you have a split second decision to make:  “Am I going to be an average me right now or the expert me right now?”  And in that moment you define yourself as an expert or not.  Moment by moment we must seek God’s help to be experts at living. We only have one shot at this life; we might as well do it well above average. Right now, I sure do miss my Alabama white sands along the Gulf Coast, but I'll choose to take a look to the West out my window at the majestic Pikes Peak, God's creation.  I love you all and love this voyage I’m on with you over the rushing ocean or rocky mountains, wherever you happen to reside this season.   

Blessings! Amanda Clark

I started a blog! Finally!

Hi!
So after being urged from several friends and family members, today I'm starting a blog or more of a journal which I hope does not disappoint.  Though I do have moments of inspiration which I tend to share with my closest friends, rather infrequently, which probably urged the suggestion for me to blog, my days are primarily consumed by moments of spontaneity from the 2 men in my life, my husband Edward and my son Cole, from my dog Mattie, and above all from the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who together turn the rushing waters of my life into a smooth, rich wine for the savoring.  Thank you all for encouraging me to write.  I smile at the thought of each of you.