"I'm leaving......on a jet plane......

don't know when I'll be back again...."

It's time for me to say goodbye for a while.

The event that I work all year long for has arrived.

On Thursday, my team and I will take off for Borislav, Ukraine.

We'll be gone for 15 days.

During that time we will pour our hearts out to the Ukrainian people.

We have a women's retreat for a few days......

and I'll be teaching a three session Bible study during that event.

Then we visit lots and lots of Ukrainian homes.

Last year we made 55+ visits.

At the end of the two weeks, we sponsor a "tea" for the seniors.

And throughout the two weeks, we will be doing

whatever we feel like God is leading us to do.

It's a very rewarding trip.

It's hard work......not a vacation......SO out of our comfort zone...

but OH SO worth it!

And just today, after talking with a very, very dear friend (♥ you, dear one)

I realized that I need a break from the cookie world and the blog world.

I've been pouring my heart and soul out into this blog and my cookies.

Not that there is anything wrong with that in general......

but I think I've gotten a bit out of balance. : /

I think it is time for me to regroup and think about what is REALLY important.

Somehow, I don't think blog pageviews, number of comments,

number of advertisers, or number of dollars raised for Ukraine

should be at the top of the list.

And I'm sad to say that I've made those things

WAY TOO IMPORTANT.

In fact......I've made them so important,

that I'm ready to quit with discouragement at how hard I've worked vs the lack of "pay off".

Stupid.....I know. When I read that last statement,

I see in black and white how stupid it really is.

You see.....I believe God has me going to Ukraine right now......

to remind me (again!) what REALLY matters.

It's not in raising money for a good cause.

It's not in being the best cookie decorator I can be.

It's not in "building up my blog readership".

It's not in making a difference in the blog world.

It's not in "competing" with those super, duper cookie decorators.

It's not in how many people like my cookies and comment about them.

It's not in wracking my brain trying to come up with the most outstanding ideas for cookies.

It's not in the "wow" factor.

What REALLY matters is:

God (His glory.....His kingdom.....His Gospel.....His fame)

My Relationships (My family......my friends.....and those I'm to minister to)

My HEART (including humility, godly attitude, & selflessness).

I've been so focused on making money for Ukraine......

on becoming a Cookie "Queen"......

on building up a large blog reader base......

....that I've missed it. :(

So it's time to get life back into perspective.

I'm not sure what that means for when I return from Ukraine in a few weeks.

But somehow I know that things will be a lot different.

For now.......here's some cookies I made to commemorate the Ukraine trip.

Hopefully when I return from Ukraine and from my sabbatical......
I will have my head on straight again.

Thanks for always being here and being so supportive.
Hopefully some of you will stick around and be here when I return.

With love from me to you.

Time to go share some of that love in Ukraine..... :)