1 Samuel 1

So I have to admit that I got a little behind on my bible reading. Last night, as I was trying to catch back up, I read 1 Samuel 1. If you're interested, it's about Hannah and how God opened her womb to have a baby boy. I was really touched by this story. Oh and by the way, I've read Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Dueteronomy, Joshua, Judges, and Ruth and I'm working on 1 Samuel.

* * * The Birth of Samuel * * *
1 There was a certain man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.
2 He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.
3 Year after year this man went up from his town to worship and sacrifice to the LORD Almighty at Shiloh, where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests of the LORD.
4 Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters.
5 But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the LORD had closed her womb.
6 And because the LORD had closed her womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her.
7 This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the LORD, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat.
8 Elkanah her husband would say to her, "Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don't you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?"
9 Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on a chair by the doorpost of the LORD's temple.
10 In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the LORD.
11 And she made a vow, saying, "O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head."
12 As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth.
13 Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk
14 and said to her, "How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine."
15 "Not so, my lord," Hannah replied, "I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the LORD.
16 Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief."
17 Eli answered, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him."
18 She said, "May your servant find favor in your eyes." Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.
19 Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the LORD and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah lay with Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her.
20 So in the course of time Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, "Because I asked the LORD for him."

* * * Hannah Dedicates Samuel * * *
21 When the man Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the LORD and to fulfill his vow,
22 Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, "After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the LORD, and he will live there always."
23 "Do what seems best to you," Elkanah her husband told her. "Stay here until you have weaned him; only may the LORD make good his word." So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned him.
24 After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh.
25 When they had slaughtered the bull, they brought the boy to Eli,
26 and she said to him, "As surely as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD.
27 I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him.
28 So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD." And he worshiped the LORD there.

Thank You for Holding, this is Miranda..

Oh how I've so much to blog about! I know I've been a lazy blogger lately, but I've had so much going on. This weekend, I finally took time to spend with my band.. you know my Guitar Hero XBox band. :) I love that game!! I pretend like I'm good at it and I get to really dancing around and then Bryan walks in and I stand up straight and act like I wasn't just dancing like an idiot. I overheard Pat (our friend) say the other day, "Miranda takes this way too seriously." Haha!
So, I have a new job. Not by choice, I have been actively putting out resumes to find a new occupation. The Agent that I work for (did work for) advised us on October 1st that she would be retiring at the end of the month requiring that all staff prepare for new jobs starting in November. Some took an early retirement, but the rest have all found something new. So Friday was my last day at her office. There were a lot of tears shed, but we are all so blessed to have something else lined up. We had a really nice dinner at Bonefish Wednesday night and Friday was our last day. Although, I am sad to not be with the people that I have grown to love, I am excited about what happens next.
So I have to tell you about my new job. Starting tomorrow, I am going to be at an independent agency that specializes in homeowners and auto insurance. I am going to keep up my Life, Health, and Variable Annuity License, but I won't really need it here. He is basically a one-man show who needs someone in the office while he sells outside the office. I'll be doing everything from answering phones and filing to selling and servicing. I'm really excited about the diversity and independence of the job. I have three years of insurance experience, but this independent agency is a first for me. We'll see what happens.

So since I haven't been on any medications since we decided to quit the fertility treatments, I can feel the difference in my body. I've put on about 4 pounds, my face has been breaking out again, and I've been extremely fatigued. I took about a two hour nap yesterday and today. Normally, I can't handle too much caffeine and I've had coffee almost every morning during the week. Who knows.. maybe it's all in my head. I thought that the custom of women was upon me at one time, (haha) but turns out, I was wrong.. so that sucks. I've taken 3 pregnancy tests in the last month, all signs point to "NEGATIVE! - That's what you get for not treating your PCOS!" PCOS symptoms are very similar to those of pregnancy. Oh and the other day I took an ovulation test (which was also negative) and as I put the box back under the sink, (it comes as a multipack kit) I read something along the lines of "Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) may receive unclear results from this test." I was like.. "Well great! Baby, listen to this!" We should really buy stock in the ClearBlue Company.

So the best part of my day today is definitely that it is mine and Bryan's *One Year Anniversary! No, no special plans today, but I can't believe that it has been a year already! I love him with all of my heart and I feel so blessed to have him in my life. We are just hanging out at home together today, but he's watching the race, so I took a minute to catch up on this thing. He woke me up this morning and the first thing he said was "Wake up sleepy head." and as I was opening my eyes, "Happy Anniversary!" It was so sweet. It came up on us fast it feels like, but I don't feel at all like it was a hard year. I've heard that the first year of marriage is the hardest, but I don't feel like that's the case with Bryan and I. I mean, other people and circumstances have been hard on us, but we have worked together like a team and became stronger through it all. Thank you Bryan. I love you with every part of me.. forever and always.