I can't wait to share with you...

Hey Bloggy Friends,

Thanks so much for all of your sweet comments and offers to help me the next time I take a tumble.

I'm doing a Bible Study with the in-town Proverbs 31 staff and we're studying the most wonderful book "He Speaks to Me" by Priscilla Shirer

I can hardly wait to share what we are learning. Here's just one little tidbit from our study today.

In discussing the Canaanite woman who called out to Jesus to have mercy on her daughter in Matthew 15:22.
"Undeterred by the Master's silence, the Canaanite woman continued to beg Him for help.
He gave her a reason for not helping her (vs24). She ignored it.
He insulted her (vs26). It didn't matter.
She didn't care what the reason was or what others thought of her.
She just kept coming. She fell down before the Lord, willing to accept whatever He would give."

"She left the presence of the Master knowing more about the silence of God.
When she received no response, she bowed lower to the ground.
She humbles herself further and persisted in her request.

I wonder if she would have been as humble and persevering a believer if she had received an immediate response."

What are your thoughts sweet freinds as you wait to hear from the Lord?

My Monday Just Got "Worst"

Hey my Bloggy Friends,

Okay, I know I've used "worst" incorrectly but I will always do that because my sweet daddy always used that word incorrectly and it's a sweet reminder of him. So... please save the English lesson.

If walking into the Janitor's Closet wasn't bad enough for one day as I was leaving the office and walking to my car in the parking lot my shoe caught on one of the brick pavers and I fell!

My purse flew open and scattered it's contents, my water glass landed about 5 feet in front of me, my sunglasses tumbled in the grass, and I crushed my little lunch container when I landed on it.

Now if this wasn't humiliating enough the two women who were walking three feet in front of me and heard the crash kept right on walking to their cars without stopping, or even turning around.
They did however wait patiently in their cars until I had collected all my belongings before starting their engines and then as they drove within two feet of me as they left the parking lot neither one even looked in my direction.

Is it me or was this just plain RUDE?!?!?!?!

Hello people, where are your manners?

What are your thoughts?

Happy Tuesday friends, today I promise to stay away from the drink machine and Janitor's closet.
Hopefully I can remain upright as I walk in and out of the building.

I'm In The Closet

Okay my Bloggy Friends,



Here's one to make you laugh!!!!

Monday's are always busier than you can imagine at

Carolinas Counseling Grouphttp://carolinascounseling.com/, but today has been much busier than normal. Whew!!!!!!

One of the counselors wasn't feeling well and I offered to run downstairs to get her a soft drink from the drink machine. Not wanting to be away from my desk or the phone for too long I literally ran down the flight of stairs, jammed my money into the drink machine, grabbed the drink then turned to run back upstairs to deliver the drink to the ailing counslor.

As I turned on my heels to head back up stairs I bumped into a man waiting in line for the drink machine and in my haste to race back to the office I opened the first door I came to thinking it was the door to the stairwell.
Okay, it wasn't!!! It was the door to the janitor's closet.
Now what's a pretty, pretty princess to do?
I'm embarraseed for sure and not wanting to add to my embarrassment in case the thirsty man at the drink machine is watching.
So...
I pulled my foot out of the mop bucket I stepped into and emerged from said closet and headed back to the office as if nothing ever happened.
I just hope I don't ever run into the thirsty man from the drink machine in the hallway ever again.

Happy Monday sweet friends,

The Sweet Winner IS...

A Sweet Good Morning Bloggy Friends,

May I have a drum roll Please......

The winner of the random drawing is
Melissa with her post on October 21 at 5:39 pm.
Congratulations Melissa!!

Please contact me at my e-mail address zoeelmore@carolina.rr.com
and leave your contact information and your choice of candy.
I'll pop your bag of candy in the mail to you.

Sweet Weekend Blessing friends,
Zoe

P.S. I am still having trouble receiving any e-amils from gmail addresses. If any of you have tries to e-mail me and didn't get a response I do apologize.
I hope to have my e-mail dilemmas solved really soon.

Sweet Personality Part 2

Good Morning Bloggy Friends,

Thanks for all of your "sweet" posts regarding our candy personalities.
Many of you have asked about mine so here goes.
I don't eat candy.
Really; I don't eat any candy or refined sugar or flour any more.
Two years ago I gave up the sweet stuff and haven't looked back.

Here's the back story...
Two years ago I was crying out to the Lord after gaining 20 pounds in five months.
I begged the Lord to reveal the reasons why I was gaining weight at such an alarming rate.
After days of pleading I heard the Lord whisper to my heart, "Baby girl, get up off your knees and go have a look in your garbage can."
I walked into my kitchen, opened the pantry door and saw something that made me weep with disgust and embarrassment.
Lying there in my garbage can were the empty wrappers from
TWO (one pound) bags of Peanut M&M's.

I had consumed TWO pounds of candy in less than one week!
Hey, I'm not a nutritionist, but I can figure out the direct correlation between weight gain and two pounds of candy every few days.
After looking at my eating habits I discovered that my diet was primarily fat and sugar.
Not a good thing!!!

So... that very day I gave up the refined sugar and refined white flour (for the most part) and I haven't had any candy or desserts since.
I still bake cookies and brownies for my family and friends.
Hey, I still bake 300 pieces of baklava and 200 Greek Wedding cookies every Christmas; but I never eat any.

Can you guess what happened to my weight when I stopped consuming so much fat and sugar?
I lost the 20 pounds in a few months.

For the record; other than Peanut M&M's; my favorite candy was Snickers.

Keep posting friends, I'll be drawing for your favorite "Personality Candy" on Friday and every post is an automatic entry into the drawing.

What's Your Candy Personality?

Good Morning "Sweet" Friends,

Several weeks ago we had some fun looking at our different personalities.

Today I'd like to see what your candy personality might be.

Fun Fact:

Studies show all it takes is three bites of your favorite candy before your brain releases stress-relieving hormones!!

I say bring on the hormones!!!!!!!!

In honor of my baby sister's birthday today with each post until October 25 you will eligible to win a bag of your "candy personality".

I'm treating you to a random drawing.

3 Musketeers
Does well in groups but can be somewhat pompous. Loves to wear fancy costumes.

Wears hats in public that are ill-advised.
Created in 1932 by Mars, the candy bar got its name because it originally had three pieces in one packet: vanilla, strawberry and chocolate.
The Fun Size (15 grams) has 63 calories.

Almond Joy
These folks are happy-go-lucky. and are often the life of the party.
Introduced in 1946 by the Peter Paul Candy Manufacturing Co. in New Haven, Conn.

It's a companion to the Mounds bar, which arrived in 1920.
The snack size (17 grams) has 80 calories.

Bit-O-Honey
These people have contradictory personalities, hoping to express generosity but also having the passive-aggressive desire to damage the fillings of trick-or-treaters.

You are competative and conscientious. You are a patient person.
The honey-flavored taffy was first manufactured in 1924 by the Schutter-Johnson Co. of Chicago. It is now made by Nestle.
One piece (7 grams) has 26 calories.

Butterfinger
Evasive, slippery, not necessarily to be trusted.
Invented in 1923 by the Curtiss Candy Co. of Chicago.
The crunchy bar wrapped in chocolate is now made by Nestle.
The Fun Size (18.5 grams) has 85 calories.

Candy Corn
Purely deluded people. They don't get that candy shouldn't attempt to imitate other food groups, particularly corn.
Invented in the 1880s, it was first manufactured commercially by the Wunderle Candy Co. in Philadelphia and by the turn of the century at the Herman Goelitz Candy Co. in Cincinnati.
A serving of 22 pieces (40 grams) has 140 calories, or 6.4 calories per piece.

Good & Plenty
Optimistic, perhaps overly so. Acquainted with the bitterness at the center of most lives.
The licorice candy was first produced in 1893 by the Quaker City Confectionery Co. in Philadelphia and is considered the oldest branded candy in the country.
A serving of 33 pieces (39 grams) has 140 calories, or 4.2 calories per piece.

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
Generous souls. Those who understand the salty in life, as well as the sweet. You are always there for your loved ones. You are the friend everyone wants.
Created by Harry Burnett Reese in the 1920s. Reese was a former dairy employee of Milton Hershey, founder of the Hershey Co. In 1963, the Reese candy company was sold to Hershey for $23.5 million.
A one-cup package (21 grams) has 110 calories.

Snickers
Just going with the crowd, the safe candy choice, guaranteed to please the masses. Dependable friend.
Created in 1930 by Mars, Snickers bars sold for a nickel. The Fun Size was introduced in 1968.
The Fun Size (17 grams) has 80 calories.
Twix
You have an outgoing and social personality.A Mars product, caramel-and-cookie Twix bars were created in the United Kingdom in 1967 but weren't sold in the United States until 1979.
The Fun Size (16 grams) has 80 calories.

Twizzlers
Sickos. Truly demented. Plastic people living plastic lives.
The Twizzlers brand was introduced in 1929. The red licorice strips are manufactured by Y&S Candies, a company established in 1845 that is now a Hershey subsidiary.
The snack size (14 grams) has 37 calories

Please tell us about your candy personality!

Happy Birthday to my sweet sister Maria in Dallas Texas.

Happy Fall

Good Morning Bloggy Friends,

Thanks to each of you for your stories regarding the on-line devotional.

It is my hope that we will continue to intercede for one another and encourage one another as well.

A big thank you to those of you who e-mailed your tips for coloring your own hair!

While I do touch up my own roots from time to time I usually leave it to the professional.

In the past I've ruined all our towels and our bathroom wall when coloring my hair.

It's a good thing my hairdresser is a friend and gives me a discount.

Thank you Lord!!

Someone sent this to me and I wanted to share it with you.

From one pumpkin to another!!!!!!!

A woman was asked by a coworker, 'What is it like to be a Christian?'

The coworker replied, 'It is like being a pumpkin.'

God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off of you.

Then He cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff.

He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, and greed.

Then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine

for all the world to see.'

Happy Fall Sweet Friends

Tomorrow I'm posting a Candy Quiz....

Your Roots Are Showing

Good Morning Bloggy Friends,

Welcome to those of you stopping by after reading the Proverbs 31 on-line devotional today.
http://proverbs31devotions.blogspot.com/
From my last post you know that we have been through several fiery trials in the last week.
From a kitchen fire to a disturbing diagnosis for our youngest son Joseph.

Friends, my spiritual roots have been on display big time!

I can't nor will I say that fear and anxiety never entered my mind, attitude or behavior during all of this but I will let you in on one truth. When these did make an appearance, the Lord was right there whispering His sweet words of comfort and presence to my heart and I was able to experience His goodness in such a sweet way through all of this.

While the fire was extinguished quickly without any damage to the kitchen and Joseph's tumor diagnosis has been revised to something easily managed all of this did give me pause to check the health of my spiritual roots. I discovered a few things; some are healthy while others are in need of some extra time with our “root specialist” Jesus.

Perhaps you find yourself in a difficult or stressful situation at this very moment.
Let me encourage you to take a deep breath and listen to the quiet whispers of our sweet Jesus.
He is here for each of us all the time,especially during these difficult and stressful situations.
He is here to provide exactly what we need to maintain a strong and fruitful spiritual life.

I hope you will share your story with us and allow us the joy of encouraging you.

Firey Trials

Good Morning my Bloggy Friends,

Well our trip to the beach was restful but quiet eventful at the same time.

Saturday morning Tom and I were scrambling up some eggs as we prepared breakfast for our friends Tom and Debbie when the stove top caught fire.

That's right friends, I served up eggs flambe' and I didn't even have a recipe. I would try this one if I were you! HA!!

It seems that in the days or weeks previous to our arrival someone had not thoroughly cleaned the drip pans on the stove top after a greasy spill. It wasn't bad enough that the one burner I was using caught fire; but the fire quickly spread to the other three burners. Yikes!!

Our poor friends, expecting a quiet breakfast were instead treated to a "fiery" show with their meal.
Oh well... no one can say the Elmore's are a boring couple.

If that weren't enough; our youngest son Joseph was experiencing some pretty intense headaches last week and when he went to his physician he was told the cause one one of two things.
One - A cyst on the base of his head
Two - A Tumor on the base of his head.

Greaaaaaaaaaaaat! Just what every 23 year wants to hear on a Friday; you could have a tumor.

Long story short; Tom and I began praying on Friday when Joseph called to give us this upsetting news.

Yesterday I went with Joseph to see his physician and to get the results of the head x-rays that were taken on Friday.

The results were inconclusive and his Dr referred us to a specialist.
Joseph and I went to the specialists office to schedule an appointment.
We were greeted with some very interesting news.
The Dr. had an opening that very day; in fact his opening was just 15 minutes from our arrival time.

When the Dr came into the room and introduced himself I recognized him as a member of our church.

After careful examination Dr. Silver concluded that Joseph does not have a cyst or a tumor; just some inflamed muscles and lymph glands. The inflammation is pressing on the nerves and causing his pain.

An inflammatory should take care of things, but if needed there are some other options.

Praise the Lord!!!!!

Friends, I hope you've been able to see all of the examples of God's handiwork in each of the situations I've just described.

From placing me at the stove in order to put out the fire to going before our son to provide the care he needed and to provide it through a very godly man.

Each of us is going to experience some fiery trails in our lives; perhaps you're in the midst of your own fiery trial at this very moment.

Let me encourage you to look for God's handiwork in in the midst of your fiery trial today.
It's there; He is going before each of us today to prepare the way for us to experience His presence.

If you have an experience you'd like to share I know we would all benefit from your thoughts.
Perhaps you are in desperate need of some interceding prayer.
Leave your requests here and allow your sister in Christ to join you in prayer.

Friends, one of the neatest experiences you can have is to step out of yourself and spend some knee dropping, hand raising time in prayer for someone else.
Will you join me in praying for those requests that will be left?

Really Fresh Chicken at Bojangles

Hey Bloggy Friends,
Before we set off for the beach I just had to tell you this hilarious thing that happened to me today.

After my work out I was running a few errands; I was super starved so I pulled into Bojangles for some chicken strips (Don't tell my trainer).

After the girl in the drive through handed me the order I pulled away from the window and parked the car in order to enjoy the tasty, crispy chicken treats.


Now for those of you who don't live here in the south I will tell you that Bojangles is fast food heaven for those who like tasty, crispy, chicken with a bit of spice, sweet tea and good ole' country cooked veggies. I would love to eat there weekly, but I allow myself one tasty visit every few months.


Okay, I know I'm off track again... Sorry!!!

While I was enjoying said tasty chicken I looked out my window to see a live chicken just like this one walking around in the Bojangles parking lot.
Talk about Fresh Chicken!!!!
I laughed so hard my diet pepsi came out my nose.

Happy weekend sweet friends

To Sunset Beach

Hey Bloggy Friends,

Here's the Big Bad Blister update...

I've soaked it till my skin is pruneie and it's much better. Thanks for all the suggestions.

It's so much better in fact I ran on the treadmill last night. Yes, I said "ran".

Okay, I only ran for 3 minutes at the end of a workout; but I've

NEVER run for 3 minutes in my life.

I'm serious. I almost missed my college graduation because I couldn't run a mile in less than 10 minutes as required by my university.

I had to repeat basic P.E. the four years I attended UNC-Wilmington.

If that wasn't humiliating enough; my P.E. instructor was as old as Moses and she could run as fast as the wind; leaving me in her dust.

Sorry, I've digressed. (ADD strikes again HA!!)

I'm so looking forward to this weekend.

Tom's been out of town all week, returns tonight in time to teach his graduate class at UNCC, then he's off tomorrow on another business trip to return at 7:30 tomorrow night.

I'm planing to have the car packed and ready to drive us to our place of restoration; Sunset Beach.

I wish each of you could join us there.

Big Bad Blister

Hey Bloggy Friends,

Tom and I had the opportunity to go to the Carolina Panthers football game yesterday.
Our sweet friends and neighbors (Chuck and Laurie) gave us their tickets. Woo Hoo!!

It was a great game and the Carolina Panthers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 34 to 0!!

We enjoyed sitting with the Engstrom's friends and co-workers as well as cheering for our team.

Here's the rub (pun intended).

Tom thought it would be a great idea to park our car 2 1/2 miles away from the stadium in order to save some money on parking and to miss the slow post game traffic.

Great idea; I like saving money, enjoy walking, and I'm all about missing slow post game traffic.

Had I know his plan before leaving for the game I would have chosen to wear different shoes.
If you know me at all you will know that I LOVE wearing pretty, pretty princess shoes and all of my shoes fit into that category with one exception and I wasn't about to ruin the look of my outfit with clumsy old tennis shoes.

Anyway... By the time we reached the stadium before the game had even started I had a blood blister on the bottom of my right foot right in the center. You can imagine how much bigger it became after we walked the 2 1/2 miles back to our car.

Today, I'm hobbling around like an old woman.

Oh well...I guess pretty has it's price.

What's Your Type Part 2

Hey there Bloggy Friends,

It's been so interesting to read all of your personality types.

I mentioned in my last post that Tom and I had first taken this test about 15 years ago and had just recently taken it again.

The first time I took the test I was an Otter/Otter and
Tom was a Beaver/Lion
This time the results show that I have morphed into an Otter/Retriever and Tom has morphed into a Beaver/Liotter.

If you haven't already done so I would encourage you to do this with your children.
We even did this in one of the offices I work in and it's been amazing.
When the office lion begins to roar; we can gently say "You're lion is showing a bit today."
We use it for all the different types and have found that everyone responds really well without getting their feelings hurt.

I'd love to hear how that might work our in your office or home.