Busy

It has been forever since I left a message. I have been working more than 40 hours a week and Brad's dad came in town. I will have a lot to post when I have more time. In the meantime, please keep praying that Brad will find a job. He is still searching.

God works in mysterious ways..

This week has been a real adventure. Our paycheck was suppose to go in the bank on Friday but it didn't. We did not get it until Monday. We almost bounced a check due to this issue. Also, we were at church discussing our employment issues when a man brought us a $1000 check. Can you believe it? Then, today, out of the blue I got a phone call for a job working 40 hrs a week for 3 weeks on a special project. I will make enough money to pay bills for 2 more weeks. That should get us through half of May. We know God has a plan for us we are just taking it day by day. Please pray that these next 3 weeks goes well. Brad will play Mr. Mom and Todd had to adjust to this concept in a matter of hours. Please continue to pray for Brad's job search. He is under a lot of pressure and his dad is coming in town next week. He does not do much supporting of Brad just criticizing. Anyway, this was a lot of various information. Just keep us in your prayers. We have a totally different mind set this time that when we lost our job in OK. It is some easier, but it's never an easy road.

It's a Journey

James 1:2-7
2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

Boy, This is hard. It is hard to take anytime, especially during adversities. Brad found out today that his company laid off 3200 people and his region was one that was let go. It is really hard to look at that as "pure joy". As many of you know, we have had our fair share of adversities in the financial/job category. We have been very blessed with health, however. And we praise GOD for that! When I read this scripture for encouragement, I found something that really jumped out at me. It was verse 6. The message says:

People who "worry their prayers" are like wind-whipped waves. Don't think you're going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.

Worry your prayers..keeping your options open... that is an interesting thought to me. I tend to worry alot. I am sure that is, in large part, a faith issue. However, I claim I like to be prepared. But, prepared for what? What can you really prepare for? Today was a showing that you can't prepare for anything. Could I have save more money, yea, especially if I weren't giving it to church and VBS. Could I have gone to work this year and made more money, sure, if I would have given up this precious time with Todd. Could I, Could I, Could I.. yes, but the truth is in the following verses:

12Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
In the end, this is all that matters. I love the song "Stand in the Rain" by Superchick. So we will stand in the rain and God has promised we want drown.

Lord, we turn to you and know that you will protect us and care for us. It may not be the way we would like, but if it's your will, be done. Just save Todd's innocence in it all! Amen.

Music Tag

OK, I was tagged by Erika. I am supposed to list 7 songs I am either currently listening to or that mean something to me. I decided to explain them since some of them are new songs and are not well known. I really enjoy music, so picking 7 is difficult. So I had to do 8!

1). Calling For a Flood by John Waller- This is a new CD for me and this song is asking God to flood my life with Him and to take over every aspect of me. That is my desire... to be completely filled with Him!
2). Still Calls Me Son by John Waller- This song beautifully describes the love of God. That no matter what I have done or will do, God will be waiting with opened arms.
3). Stand in the Rain by Superchick- This song has been very important to me. The beat in this song is amazing but the words far surpass it. This song discuss that, even though we have pain, we should stand strong because eventually we will make it through the storm and be stronger. This has been such a blessing as I struggled with the inability to have another child. It helped me to realize I could stand in the pain and not drown. That one day, I would be finished with this storm. Powerful song!
4). My Wish by Rascal Flatts- This song is really good. It sums up many of the things I wish for Todd's life.
5). Only Imagine by Mercy Me- This is an older song but it hits me as much today as it did the first time I heard it. I can not wait for the day that I see my Lord. My mind can't fathom how great this is going to be!
6). If you Want Me To by Ginny Owens- This song was a big part of a turning point for me. After our situation in Oklahoma, I was left questioning a lot of things. I was angry and confused with God. I heard this song at a low in my spiritual life and it totally changed my mindset and my heart. My thoughts became lines from this song.."I'm gonna walk through the valley, if you want me to. It may not be the way I would have chosen.. but you never promised it would be easy, you only said I'd never go alone."
7). My Savior My God by Aaron Shust- This song is a good reminder that God is always there and will forever be my God. Todd loves to sing this song and I hope that the message is forever in his head!
8). Be Lifted High by Michael W. Smith- I love all of his music. This is a new song that I came across and loved this line, "And I fall on my knees so that it's You that they see". I hope that is how I live my life!

There you have it. Yes, I do listen to other songs that are not by christian artists. I just have so many that are that impact me daily!
I tag:
Franklin
Tracy
Becky

Weight Loss

I have been attending Weight Watchers for 8 weeks. As of today, I have lost 17.6 pounds. It has not been hard, either. I have cut down what I eat, but have not gone to rabbit food and cardboard! I count my points and am careful about how I use them. I also exercise some but not much. Brad has lost over 30 pounds in the same time frame. I feel so much better. My energy has sky-rocketed! I hope to be much lighter soon. I will keep you updated!

It's been forever

No, I have not fallen off of the Earth! I have been so extremely busy the last few weeks. I keep a girl normally one day a week but for 2 weeks had her 4 days a week. Also, I am organizing VBS this year and that is taking LOTS of time. On top of that, Todd is starting soccer and that takes time and we went with the teens to winterfest in Gatlinburg. And, most importantly, I am putting together applications for teaching jobs. Anyway, I have been busy. I will try to post more later!

Facing The Giants

I wanted to watch this movie at the theater, but never got around to it. However, I was able to watch it on the way to Winterfest. It was a tear-jerker. I thought the movie was good. It was pretty predictable but well worth watching. It is so nice to watch a movie that is clean and entertaining. It made an entire bus of middle school and high school kids silent. That has to say something!!!

If you do not know, a church in Georgia did this movie. The actors are people from their church, so some of the acting is a little exaggerated. It is still good. It almost received a "R" rating because it focused on God too much. That is messed up!!! If you have seen it, what did you think?

Winterfest

Brad and I had the opportunity to chaperon a trip to Gatlinburg, TN. There is an event every year called Winterfest. It is a rally for youth. It has been going on for many years. I attended as a high school student. This year there were 11,000 people there. It is AMAZING. Jeff Walling was the main speaker. I have always thought he was blessed to be able to reach teens in a way that most people cannot do. The worship service is unreal. If I had to say one mode of worship that connected me most to Christ, it would be singing. I love to sing and music can convict me faster than anything. That was no different this time. The music was so wonderful. It is how I hope Heaven will be! The theme this year was "The Prize" based on Philippians. It was really good and gave me a lot to think about. Please pray for all of those teens that made a connection this weekend, maybe for the first time.

Who is this kid?

Todd has been cracking us up. Here are two occasions that dealt with racing.

Todd has really been into Cars (from the Disney movie) ever since he saw it the first time. Brad and I enjoyed the movie as well, but we do not enjoy racing. Todd saw us flipping channels and racing was on. He asked to watch it. Brad and I could not believe it. I would rather get a root canal than watch racing (OK not that bad but almost). He watched it for a minute. He then asked when it would be over. I informed him it still had 100 laps to go. He said,"Are you kidding me! Never mind". Brad and I laughed and we relieved all at once.

Tonight, Todd was playing with his collection of Cars. He loves to race the main race cars from the movie (King, McQueen, and Chick Hicks). He gives us play by plays of who is leading and who has crashed. Tonight he looked at us and said" The King is in the lead but he only has a slim lead". Brad and I looked at each other and laughed. I thought it was so funny to say a slim lead. You just never know what he is going to say!

My Wish

This is a song that Rascal Flatts sings. I absolutely love the words to the song! The music is great as well, but it is the words that speak so much louder than the music.

When I heard this song the first time, it was at a time that I needed to be reminded that we are not on this Earth for ourselves but for the glory of God. He has not promised us an easy path but one that we can endure. He does not promise us all that we want in life, bit all that we need. He is always there taking care of us in every step and loves us more than words can express.

The next time I heard this song, I thought it summed up what I want Todd to grow up knowing and believing. I want him to know that he will have choices, but that Christ will lead him down the correct path. I also want him to know, that through it all, his mommy, daddy, and Christ will love him through all of his endeavors.

My Wish

by Rascal Flatts
I hope the days come easy and the moments pass slow

And each road leads you where you want to go

And if you’re faced with the choice and you have to choose

I hope you choose the one that means the most to you

And if one door opens to another door closed

I hope you keep on walkin’ ‘til you find the window

If it’s cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile

But more than anything, more than anything

Chorus

My wish for you

Is that this life becomes all that you want it to

Your dreams stay big, your worries stay small

You never need to carry more than you can hold

And while you’re out there gettin’ where you’re gettin’ to

I hope you know somebody loves you

And wants the same things too

Yeah, this is my wish

I hope you never look back but you never forget

All the ones who love you

And the place you left

I hope you always forgive and you never regret

And you help somebody every chance you get

Oh, you find God’s grace in every mistake

And always give more than you take

But more than anything, yeah more than anything

This is my wish

I hope you know somebody loves you

May all your dreams stay big

Credits:
Steve Robson, Jeffrey Steele© 2006 V2 Music Publishing Limited (BMI), Jeffrey Steele Music (BMI) All rights on behalf of V2 Music Publishing Limited administered by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, 8 Music Square West, Nashville, TN 37203. All rights on behalf of Jeffrey Steele Music administered by BPJ Administration, PO Box 218061, Nashville TN 37221-8061. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Is this real?

I cannot believe this is real. I came across this on the computer. They are saying it is a minature flying saucer. It only goes 15 miles an hour but can fly when traffic is bad. Would you really use this? I think I could sit in traffic and still get where I am going faster. Read more about it at this site. http://www.hammacher.com/publish/10321.asp# I think I will purchase one for Brad. Does anyone have an extra $17,000 dollars I can use?

Weather

Okay. I am so sick of weather people and the weather! I was awake at midnight and they were still predicting 1 to 2 inches of snow today. Do you know how much we got? NONE! Todd was so disappointed! I understand that things change, but that seems too fast to totally miss everyone in the area. I think I can predict weather just about as accurately. My prdiction is that it will be cold tomorrow and a 50% chance of precipitation!

Random thoughts

As I posted earlier, I plan on going back to teaching this next school year. I was looking at the county I was wanting to teach in to see when school began. It begins August 1st!!!! Can you believe that? I remember the days of starting in September. This really makes me sad. Kids do not have a long summer break anymore.

This brings me to my next idea.. VBS. I do not know about your area churches, but here participation has been down the last few years. I am looking at heading up our VBS at church. I will bw in charge of everything from choosing the material to getting the people and crafts. This is stepping out of the box for me. I am not a good leader. I am going to see if there is enough interest and if so I am the leader. We are going to a 1 day VBS because the summers are so short. It seems there are not enough weeks to make VBS an entire week. Please pray for the church that they will step up and for me that I can do this. Especially pray that we can reach lost souls. Pray that I will know what to do to get them to hear God's message!!

I will keep you posted!

Tagged

I've been tagged by Becky.

The tag instructions...
1) Grab the book closest to you
2) Open to page 123, go down to the fourth sentence
3) Post the text of the following 3 sentences
4) Name the author and book title
5) Tag three people to do the same


Here it is..
"Ask yourself, your spouse, and your friends:what sets this child apart? Childhood tendencies forcast adult abilities. Read them. Discern them. Affirm them. Cheerlead them.

Cure For the Common Life by Max Lucado.

I tag.. Tracy, Franklin, and Cory

Are you kidding?

Brad called me yesterday to inform me he had been lusting. No not over a woman ,over an electronic device. It is the new tv that was released at the electronics show. It is a 108 inch tv. Yes, you read that correctly. Can you imagine? They say it will not fit through most people's doors. Now, I like TV, but I am not picky about the size. Brad, however, thinks the bigger the better. I would much rather spend that money on decorations for the house or a vacation. Anyway, I just could not belive the size of the screen. Look at the man in comparison to the hand on the screen. Unreal! I do not know the cost of this TV,but a 103 inch goes for over $70,000! Yeah, we won't have one anytime soon!!

A time of reflection

At the beginning of a new year, I like to look back over the year and reflect on things that have happened. However, I also like to look to the upcomimg year and think on things that will begin.
2006 was a good year. It had a lot of eventful things to remember.

We were very blessed for Brad to get a new job. Todd and I have enjoyed having Brad around more and for him to be far less stressed. He works less time and gets paid more. God truly was watching over us and leading us in this decision.

We have been very involved in church this year. After many paiful years, we decided we were ready to get involved with the teens again. We teach the middle school class and we love it!!! We have also stayed very connected with our church family this year and developed very important relationships.

Todd turned 4 years old and started preschool. He loves school and is doing well. This has been a year full of excitement for him! He is smart and witty so he keeps us laughing!

My mom's health seems to be doing well. She had no new lesions and that was a good sign!! We pray that God will continue to bless her with health.

I had a lot of personal health bills this year due to my gall bladder. I am relieved that it was nothing more serious but I do not understand how something so small can be so expensive!!

Now for things in 2007...

Todd will turn 5!! That is impossible for me to believe! Time has gone so fast that I can't believe it. He will also begin Kindergarten. This is exciting to him and sad to me. Where has the time gone?

Since Todd will be in school full time and we have no other children (as of yet), I will be looking for a teaching job. I look forward to the extra cash, but not the time and effort that it will require. Please keep me in your prayers that I will find a job that will be a good fit.

We are working hard to pay off debt. This has aquired since we moved from Oklahoma and were tight on money. We want to pay it off!!!

We are going to Winterfest in Gatlinburg, TN. This is a youth rally I attended as a teen and I am looking forward to returning. It was a big highlight and uplifting time for me each year.

I want to be more focused on Christ's vision for me than ever before. I want to truly seek his face this year.

I know this year will be a great year. I look forward to a lot of firsts and a lot of memories. I pray that you all have a wonderful 2007 that is blessed and happy. May God lead us all to be better people that shine brighter for Him and affect more people!

Christmas

We had a really good Christmas this year. Brad's mom came to town to see Todd on Christmas. We usually go there around the 1st of December. We couldn't do that this year since Brad did not have vacation days built up. Todd had 3 days of Christmas. We open presents from Brad's mom and Dad and our presents on Friday night (mainly so his mom could see Todd enjoy the gifts she got for him). Sunday we spent with my family. We had a really good time and the kids enjoyed playing with their new toys together. Of course, Santa came and we saw his presents on Monday. We really need an addition on our house for all of the toys! Brad got me diamond stud earrings for Christmas..something I have always wanted. I also got clothes and some other beautiful earrings from my brother and sister-in-law. It was a wonderful year and God has truly blessed us with money, time, and family!

Clean room?

We had asked Todd to clean his room last night. I had been using a Magic Eraser and he thought that looked like fun. I agreed to let him do it in his room. In a matter of minutes, his room took a turn for the worst. He had knocked over storage containers that held Thomas stuff. After he got done with the Magic Eraser, he had to clean up his mess. This picture was the way he cleaned up the mess ha had made. I could not help but laugh! I guess everything was off the floor. He then told me it looked like a junk yard. Who would have know he would already be looking for the easy way to clean!

How many days?

This year Todd is SOOO excited about Christmas! We actually have 2 different calendars counting down the days until Christmas. Every morning that is the first thing he does. Then, he tells me how many days until Ba-Ba (Brad's mom) is coming into town, until we go to my parents house, and until Santa comes. He is really excited this year. I know this is going to be a fun year for him. It is a little hard to think about Christmas when we have had 70 degree weather, though. We finally have cooler temperatures today!

I cannot imagine..

I was laying on the bed with Todd as he was preparing to go to bed. We had exchanged our "I love yous" and he was curled up getting relaxed. It was at that moment that I began to think about what my life would be like if I did not have Todd. I am sure I would have more money, but no one's face would light up when I showed them the vary rare Cars character that I had purchased. I would probably have the BMW that I have always wanted, but no one to sing "How Great is our God" with me while driving down the road. I would probably have a bigger house, but I would not hear the patter of feet running around in it. I would have more free time, but what would I do with it? I am sure I would have more sleep, but I would miss out on the sweet hugs and cuddles from my precious son. I cannot fathom how different my life would be without Todd. God gave me this precious soul that lights up my whole life. As many of you know, we have tried to have another child for quite some time and have had no success. For a while, I was so upset that I was not able to have another child. It was then that I realized that God had given me the most precious gift and all I could focus on was what I did not have. It took me some time to change that mentality. I still long for another child ;however, I have a son that keeps me busy and I am blessed far more than most people.