Back to blogging

OK - so after a sabbatical to blogging...I'm back! I guess I'm not really the type of person to share all the details of my life for three reasons: 1. I don't think I'm that interesting, 2. Who really cares? and 3. I'm not a good writer. But, I think I'll give it another whirl and we'll see what happens.

I am so happy about the warmer weather!! I just feel so much better and I love to be outside with the kids when the weather is warm and sunny. I almost love Spring as much as I love Autumn, however the Fall brings something that Spring doesn't have...college football!! So, that's why Spring is my second favorite season. With the warm weather I decided that I would try to run my first 5K. In January, one of our friends, John, challenged Chris to a half-marathon at the end of March. Through that, God has implanted this love for running in both Chris and I. It really is a God thing because before January, the only time I ran was if someone was chasing me! So, anyway, Chris ran his first half-marathon on March 2nd, I signed up for my first 5K to be run on March 8th. Well, the weather wasn't exactly warm for my race...in fact, it was snowing outside!! HOLY COW! So check out the picture of my mom and I running our first 5K. I am signed up to run another 5K on April 19th at Mt. Pisgah United Methodist. I'll run that one by myself because I want to aim for a personal best. See what amazing things God can do!

P.S. Never mind the 8-year old running past me... :-)

I'm thankful for...

FRIENDS! Chris and I are so blessed to have the friends that God has put into our lives. I can remember about 4 years ago praying that God would send me some "best" friends. Someone that I could call at any time for any reason, show up unannounced and know that no matter what, we would always be friends. God has put those kind of people in my life. We know that in the lowest of the lows or the highest of the highs, our friends will always support us and love us. They are funny, compassionate, caring, generous and just plain cool! To our friends - WE LOVE YOU!

I CANNOT believe how fast time is going by! It's already THANKSGIVING! The past few months have been extremely busy for us. First, both of my boys broke their left legs within one week of each other. That was quite an experience!! Second, I thought I was going back to school to be a nurse, but after three weeks of class I realized how much I love being a stay-at-home mom. The bottom line was that my little ones aren't going to be little for long and I didn't want to look back in a few years and regret being away from them. Anyway, I dropped my classes and love taking care of my kids everyday. I still have moments that I want to pull all my hair out, but I'll take that any day over being away from my kids if I don't have to. I wondered why God worked out all the details for school, only to have me quit 3 weeks into it. But, I truly believe that he wanted me to realize how much of a blessing my children are.

(The dates on the pictures are wrong. That camera was messed up and finally ended up breaking a few weeks later!)

Sometimes I get very brave and allow my little ones to do something very messy. This time, I let them paint...with washable paint of course! I put Daddy's old t-shirts on them and set them at the table with a pallet of paint and a large piece of paper. At first they really did try to use the paint brushes, but then it became more fun just to use their hands. It was fun to watch although it didn't last very long. They had a great time and I got a few cute pictures!

This is a picture of Laura, Richard, Amos and me. The four of us, Calae, Fay, Pastor Jerry, our translator, Christopher, and our driver, KB, made up team B. These two guys in the picture are unbelievable! They go to the Bible College in Penai, India, that Global Harvesters started. These guys carried and set up and broke down our equipment at each of the schools that we went to. They are work horses!! They wouldn't even let me carry my guitar! But, there's one thing about India that's very different from the US. They are never in a hurry. Time is of no value in India. Which can be quite frustrating if you need to get movin'! So, even though I needed my guitar quickly sometimes, they still wouldn't let me carry it. They are very sweet and never complained about any of the work we did. And I truly enjoyed meeting them, working with them, and hopefully I'll get to see them again soon.

Sometimes it's hard for me to see how I've grown spiritually over the last couple of years. I know I definitely have, but sometimes it's hard for me to articulate the changes. But, tonight I had the pleasure of taking my sister-in-law out to dinner. We talked a lot about going to church, about God and about growing spritually. I think the dinner was as therapeutic for me as it was for her because I could talk out some of the things I've been trying to put my finger on. For instance, over the past year these are a few of the things I've learned or done:

1.) God will stop at nothing to make me more like his son, Jesus Christ.
2.) The reason God allows trials in my life include, but are not limited to, exposing the weak areas of my spiritual walk, belief and/or trust in Him
3.) I have studied in depth Galatians, Ephesians, Phillipians and Colossians with my accountability group
4.) I have begun reading the Bible in its entirity for the very first time in my life (I've been a Christian since I was 8 years old and I've just now read things in the Bible that I've never read before!)
5.) I pray so that God will change me, not so that I can change Him

I'm not saying any of this to impress anyone. I'm just saying that I am beginning to realize how God is using me and that he can and will use me if I allow him to. I have grown in knowledge of our Lord and Savior but, more importantly, I've grown to trust him more. I challenge you to see how you've grown spiritually over the past year and if you can't think of anything...you might want to go have dinner with a Christian friend!

That's me on the far side playing the guitar. I just received the guitar from my husband for Christmas, so I haven't been playing very long. But, I really enjoy the challenge and I love to play praise and worship songs. So, I decided to take it with me to India. Boy was I S-T-R-E-T-C-H-E-D!! I was so nervous because I was THE only guitar player on our team and I received the music on Sunday night before going to our first school on Monday morning! I did pretty well...at least I hung in there! It's amazing how God uses us the most when we're out of our comfort zone. "O, O, O, O, O, O, Heaven is in my heart!..."

Wow...it's been a very busy summer! The month of July was pretty much taken up with preparing for and going to India for 16 days. It was an absolutely amazing trip! The purpose of the trip was to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to as many people as we possibly could in a short amount of time. We went into schools, elementary through college, and did a short program at each one. The program consisted of several songs, a skit and a very simple gospel message. Between our 3 teams, we were able to share the gospel to around 110 schools, speaking to tens-of thousands of students. This trip was my second trip to India. I think I was able to enjoy this trip a bit more than last time because the culture shock wasn't as great. The sights and the smells absolutely overwhelmed me the first time, but this time I knew what to expect. Don't get me wrong, this was certainly not a vacation by any stretch of the imagination. Going to and being in India is very difficult. It all starts with a 24-hour journey just to get there...two plane rides of 10 hours each! But, like I said, we were able to share the gospel with thousands of people...so what's two 10-hour plane rides, really?

...to be continued...

I would like to encourage you to take part with me in "Operation Neighbor." It's something that the Lord has laid on my heart...that we as Christians need to pray for our neighbors. You can pray for their health, safety, family and jobs, but most importantly, their salvation. Each week I pray for three of my neighbors and on Saturday I leave a note in their mailbox telling them that I've been praying for them that week and how to get in touch with me if they have any specific request or need. This is such a simple idea and I'm sure that I'm not the only one that's ever thought of it! However, our good intentions and what we actually do are often two different things. So, I'm challenging you, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, to join with me in praying for our neighbors. Prayer is more powerful than we can even imagine and I know that the Lord will bless our efforts. Go, "Operation Neighbor"!

It's been a while since I last wrote a blog. As you can see, we've been at the beach and we also went to visit Chris' brother and his family in Charleston. Now we're just hanging out at the pool and doing fun summer stuff. I'm trying to mentally and spiritually prepare for the mission trip to India that I'll be going on from July12 - 28. Please pray for me...Satan is attacking me with all the "what if" scenarios. I'm trying so hard to find my strength and peace in Christ and because of that I will rest assure knowing that He is in control.

All I can think about right now is my absolute favorite song: "Who Can Satisfy?"
We sung it in church this morning and these are the lyrics:

Who can satisfy my soul, but you?
Who on earth can comfort me
And love me like You do?
Who could ever be more faithful and true?
I will trust in You, I will trust in You, my God!

There is a fountain
Who is the King
Victorious Warrior and Lord of everything
My rock, my shelter, my very own
Blessed Redeemer, who reigns upon the throne

If you can get your hands on this song, it is absolutely amazing! You can't help but to lift up your hands in praise and worship to our King when you sing it.

Grandma Jane, Sandy, Ginger and myself took the kids to "Imagine It!" museum in downtown Atlanta last week. We had a good time, so I wanted to post some pictures of the kids. The museum is like a huge playroom on steroids. It's really cool for kids and moms, too!

Days like today make me so grateful for good health. I often take good health for granted, but God reminds me of how blessed our family really is. This morning Ivey woke up complaining of a stomach ache and I just thought that maybe she just needed to eat some breakfast. I don't have much compassion on stomach aches because my mom never did with my sister and I. Unless we were actually vomiting or close to death, we went to school or whatever else we were involved in. So until, I see my child actually throwing up, I don't pay much attention to their complaints. AND... after having three kids there is A LOT of complaining so I often just don't listen unless one of them is in great distress. Well, I was pulling in to the parking space at the gym and Ivey threw up all over herself in her car seat. Oh, well. So much for the rest of the day!! She threw up a couple of more times after that but now she's feeling much better. She's pretty much back to normal which is wonderful. I just wonder how it makes God feel to hear me complain. I really don't have anything to complain about. I have a wonderful family, good health and many more blessings. But, even if I didn't have those things I still wouldn't have anything to complain about! The Bible says that we have peace that passeths all understanding and a joy that is pretty much unexplainable. I didn't say "happiness", I said joy. Thank you, Lord, for loving me and dying for me. Thank you for loving me and calling me your own even when I complain about absolutely everything that doesn't even matter. And thank you for not waiting until I'm in complete distress before you decide to listen. Even though, that
is when I learn the most about you. I love You!!!

There's not much going on here. We've had a pretty routine Monday...I went to work out this morning, came home and played with the kids, did laundry, took the kids outside and, of course, we had nap time! It has been such a beautiful day today and the temperature is absolutely perfect! I love to go outside everyday and check on my flowers. I've planted quite a few flowers in the front and I can't wait until they're all blooming. For some reason, having a yard with lots of flowers lifts my spirit. Speaking of lifting my spirits, this week is one of my favorite weeks of the year. This week is Mother's Day, my birthday AND my anniversary. This year I'm turning 29!! Only one more year to go before hitting the big 3-0! Chris and I are celebrating our 6th anniversary and I can't wait for the next 6! School is winding down so Morgan doesn't have much homework which is a huge stress relief for me and him! Chris and I will be getting ready to go visit Matt and Georgianna next week and then we'll be at the beach for a week. My absolute favorite place to be is at the beach. I can't wait! This time of year is so much fun!

Well, my 16-year old niece told me that if I'm going to have a website it needs to have more "pizzazz." I'm not sure what her idea of "pizzazz" is...but I'll do my best. I'm posting a picture of my new tattoo. I can't believe I actually went through with it, but I did and I'm so glad I got it. The tattoo is three flowers. Each one is the birth flower for each of my children. Starting from the left is Morgan's birth flower, a calendula. In the middle is Ivey's birth flower, an aster. On the right is Gavin's birth flower, an iris. So am I the coolest aunt or what?!

Is it really May 4th already? I can't believe how the time just flies by. I don't really have any great spiritual insight today...just feeling like regular 'ole me. I do have kind of a funny story though. I have really been praying about being more disciplined in my quiet times. I got up early Tuesday morning to have some time to myself to read the Bible and pray and wouldn't you guess...I had no more sat down and started praying before I heard Gavin crying! I just kept praying because I knew that Satan didn't want to spend time in the Word. Anyways, I had gone all day yesterday without having a quiet time and, honestly, hadn't really thought much about it. I was getting ready for bed last night and wanted to watch TV in bed before going to sleep. I was searching and searching for the remote control in our bedroom and couldn't find it anywhere!!! I even had Chris helping me look forward and we never could find it. So, I decided that I should probably spend some time reading the Bible and praying anyway! I read in the Bible and studied a little bit and then went to turn off the light. After I got back in bed, I reached down to grab the covers and I grabbed the remote control! In the dark!! I just laughed to myself - God really does have quite a sense of humor.

Wow! I have had such an awesome week! I knew that Satan would be attacking me this week, but I continued to press on. I spoke at our MOPS meeting yesterday and it went great. I was very nervous beforehand because I purposefully did not write anything down. I specifically prayed for the Lord to lead me and to speak through me and I really didn't want anything to get in the way of that. I knew that I not only wanted to share my testimony, but that I wanted to share the plan of salvation. And I did! I was very honest. I tried not to sugarcoat anything, to tell the Truth and to back it up with Scripture. I even gave an invitation at the end which was quite unexpected, even for me. I just felt that the Lord gave me the opportunity to share the gospel and that he wanted to me to give everyone the opportunity to accept it. There were quite a few moms who raised their hands and wanted to live a fuller life for Jesus. I'm tired of being a mediocre Christian. I've finally realized that I have to answer to no one except Him and I'm going to quit making apologies for it. I know that Satan will continue to attack me and I know that if I don't have my armor on, then I'll give in. But, I pray that if that happens, I will get right back up, dust the dirt off my britches and raise my hands to the Lord. Thank you, Lord, for allowing me the opportunity to introduce others to you. I have planted the seeds, may you make them grow. You are the one and only way...may I always chase after you. A verse from one of my favorite songs (and we sang it today at the Ladies' Tea at church)..."Light the fire in my weary soul. Fan the flame, make my spirit whole. Lord, you know where I've been so light the fire in my heart again!"

Satan is definitely on the attack. I knew he would be. I don't want to give him too much credit or attention so I'll stop with that. I'm finding myself a little short tempered with my kids and becoming too busy to read my Bible or if I do, doing it half-heartedly. I pray that God will strengthen me and remind me to put on the full armor of God everyday to protect myself from the devil's schemes. Please pray for me as I think about what I want to share with our MOPS moms this Friday. With the shootings at Va Tech and the anniversary of a friend's death coming, I'm reminded that we never know how long we'll be here on earth. Only the Lord knows the number of our days. We must have a sense of urgency to share Christ with others and to not be ashamed. Lord, please help to not be ashamed of You. Please give me the strenth and determination to tell others about you, starting with the people closest to me. Thank you, Lord. Amen.

I don't know what God's doing in my life right now. My spiritual walk ebbs and flows just like everyone else's, but today it's flowing and I like it! I have been trying to read through the Bible and I'm currently reading in 1 Samuel. I've learned so much. Amazing, isn't it! I actually read something the other day that I had never read before...ever...and I've been raised in church since before I was in my mother's womb. Today, for some reason I just couldn't get enough. I'm at the part where Saul becomes very jealous of David and wants to kill him. David knows that he hasn't done anything wrong and he's scared for his life. I should stop here and read the book of Psalms...since it's an account of David's spiritual life which, by the way, also ebbs and flows. Anyway, I don't really know where I'm going with this other than to say I'm excited about God! I am giving my testimony to our MOPS moms next Friday and I don't know exactly what I'm going to say yet. I mean, I know my own testimony but I want to give the moms more than that. I want to give them Jesus in a way that they understand. I'm praying that the Holy Spirit will be at work and that we'll see more moms come to trust in our Lord. God, please continue to allow me to be a part of your work. Thank you for the opportunity to tell others about you and may I not be afraid to tell them what you've done for me and for them. Right now, all I can think of is a phrase that Chris' friend, Colby, always wrote in his journal..."All of me for only You." Colby died suddenly on May 14, 2006, at the age of 26. He was playing ultimate frisbee with some friends and then a few minutes later his friends were performing CPR. Colby was an awesome guy and loved the Lord with all his heart. Because of Colby's close walk with the Lord, we know that he is spending eternity with Jesus. My burden is for those people I know who don't trust in the Lord. We aren't promised another minute on this earth. Death is real. And so is eternity apart from our Savior. God knows exactly how many minutes, even seconds, each of us will live on this earth. He determined it before we were ever born. The problem is that we think we'll die when we're ready to die, that somehow we'll be forewarned. Well, the truth is that we won't know, so we always have to be ready. We always need to be telling others about Him so that they can spend eternity in Heaven. Lord, please give me the courage to tell others about you and fuel the fire within me to do your work.

My, how time flies! I can't believe it's been a week since I've written on the blog site. I am healing wonderfully from my surgery. I'm feeling better everyday and I'm pretty much back to normal now. Our family had a great Easter weekend. We went to church Sunday morning and had our family from the surrounding area over to our home for Easter lunch. After lunch we had an egg hunt for the kids. My yard was covered in eggs - Grammy Sandy went a little bit overboard!! But, the kids had a great time. We are very thankful for our Savior and the price he paid for us. Even though Easter is the formal day when Christians celebrate Jesus' resurrection, we should actually celebrate it every day. Thank you, Lord, for loving me enough to die for me. Our pastor said something in his sermon Sunday morning that really pricked my heart. I have wondered this myself before, but he put it so eloquently. He said that some people demand to read the fine print in order to buy a $29 coffee maker or have their 6 lawyers read over a business deal to make sure it's "safe", but they are willing to roll the dice on eternity. Basically, people won't dare take a chance on something trivial, but they ARE willing to take a chance on where they'll spend eternity. They won't take the last step of faith in order to ensure that they'll spend eternity with Christ. Why? I don't get it. I will continue to pray for my family members and friends who aren't on the straight and narrow path. Only the Lord can save people, but I can do a better job of introducing them to the Savior. I have a few people in my family and circle of friends whom I know are not believers in Christ. Some of them will tell you that they don't believe in who Jesus is. Others may call themselves a "Christian", but the Bible tells us that we will know a tree by its fruit. I'll continue to pray for the Holy Spirit to soften their hearts to His calling and I'll continue to try to minister to them the best way I know how. Hopefully, more of them will celebrate Easter next year and believe in it's true meaning.