a difference a hug can make

Today as I was working, one of the older ladies from our congregation came in. She was in need of a ride to the bank. She is definitely a more haggard looking woman and isn't very clean. She has a son that lives with her but he doesn't take care of her. We don't know if she eats and bathes regularly...she is in need of a lot of help. She had walked from her home to the church to look for a ride since the bank was too far. Several of the staff were gone to lunch and the pastor came in and asked if I would take her. Deep down in my heart I was hoping he would take her. I didn't know this woman and to be honest I was a little afraid of having her in my car. I know that wasn't a right attitude to have at the moment but that soon changed. We got to my car and I had to help her in as she was rather frail. As we rode to the bank we had conversation about her life. I found out that after we were done with the bank, I needed to take her home. Since I am fairly new to the area, I had no idea where the road was that she lived on! So here we were, a woman who is loosing her mental capabilities and a woman who had no idea where she was going! We really took the scenic route but after several minutes we found her home. I went around the side to her door to help her out of the car. She just laughed and apologized for the run around and thanked me for taking her. It was then she reached over and hugged me. At that moment I forgot that she was frail and unclean. I hugged her back. I left with a smile on my face and a real blessing in my heart. That incident reminded me of something. We have a choice to react to each and every situation that we are faced with every day. Initially I wasn't too thrilled with having to take her to the bank but as I took the time to listen to her and enjoy getting lost with her I remembered that she is God's creation just like I am. God loves her just as much as He loves me and I should love her as He does. What a lesson! I went back to work feeling extremely touched and blessed by the unexpected car ride.

some like it hot

i found this article in the yuma sun today. let me tell ya, walking outside in 114 degree weather is hot...the fact that it's a dry heat does make a difference but it still feels like you're walking into an oven!

The high temperature is expected to reach 111 to 112 degrees today, Tom Kines, Accu-Weather meteorologist said, well above the norm for this time of year.

The high temperatures are caused by a strong ridge of a high pressure over the area that will rapidly thin out on Wednesday and allow cooler air to come in, Kines added.

Accu-Weather predicts high temperatures of 111-112 degrees will be reached by 4 p.m. with temperatures cooling to 99 degrees by 8 p.m. The humidity is expected to be 25 percent with visibility 10 miles today.

There will not be much of a breeze today. Winds from the southwest of 10 to 20 miles per hour are expected on Tuesday with possible gusts of 30 mph or more on Wednesday, Kines said.

"The good news is, there will be a break in the heat coming mid-week, if not Wednesday then Thursday," Kines said.

Temperatures are expected to drop to the mid-90s later in the week and on Friday and Saturday temperatures are expected to dip into the 80s, about 10 to 15 degrees below normal for this time of the year, he said.

BY WILLIAM ROLLER, SUN STAFF WRITER

i think the heat miser is sending too much heat our way...i wish snow miser would send some relief!

our desert landscape

i decided to drive around yesterday and take pictures of lovely things in our neighborhood. everything has been blooming for a while now but i'm not sure how much longer it will last. here is some of the beauty that surrounds us.

escape, transform, rejuvenate...we did it all!

what a wonderful time we had at the spa today! we went and signed in and they ushered us into the waiting room. you could smell soothing scents and hear relaxing music. we sat and waited. art was a bit hesitant and wasn't quite sure what to make of it all. our masseuses came and got us and took us to our couple's room. i ended up getting a hot stone massage and art got a basic massage. it was amazing. afterward art was feeling pretty good. i knew he would like it if he just tried it! i think i actually heard him say that he might try it again...so we'll see. we were instructed to come home and relax the rest of the day, so that's what we're doing. it feels good to pamper yourself every now and then. we send our thanks to all of you who voted for our story. without you we wouldn't have had this special opportunity!

couple's massage day!

so today we are going to enjoy a couple's massage. we won this spa day package from a local contest. we had to write our love story and then people voted on who they thought had the best. it was not a well organized contest, but we won! art isn't that big into being pampered so i told him as long as we did the massage, i would be happy. after all, the gift cards are just that....i can use them for any service! so this will be art's first massage. it will be interesting to see how it goes! i'm really looking forward to it especially since i didn't sleep well last night. lotus day spa, here we come!