Don't be a Hater- Daily, I choose to live my life for Christ

This post may be all over the board, because I have a lot of thoughts going thru my head lately. I thought I should get that out there, because when something is really weighing on my mind, my "ADD" goes into overdrive.
I am quickly getting fed up with Facebook(this coming from a Facebook junkie). And I think there have been a time or two or the last several months where I felt this way too. Those moments are coming closer together now(and I contemplating deactivating it at least temporarily). For me, personally, Facebook is becoming one of those devilish things that is keeping me from having a closer relationship with God because I allow certain things from it to control me. This in despite of the fact that I also think it can be largely used for ministry when you count in the fact that you can reach a lot of people thru your Facebook statuses. They don't necessarily do the things, but they still see it and sometimes you can lead others by example.
With that being said, as probably everybody knows, there has been a lot of hype lately in the media(tv, Facebook, etc.) about Chick-Fil-A announcing their stand on gay marriages. It's no secret, considering the fact that I choose the Biblical approach to this, what my feelings on gay marriage is. It's the same for abortion, rape, murder, theft, insert sin here-you get the picture. I don't agree with any of it and from the Book that I read, neither does God. And before I go any further, some of this will be my opinion and I don't expect everybody to have the same opinion as I do. I do, however, believe that we all have rights to our own opinions and beliefs. It is America and that is what we are suppose to stand for as America. Also, in the Biblical sense, God knows there will be varying beliefs, opinions, etc. otherwise, we wouldn't have a Heaven or Hell. We wouldn't have the choice to live a Christian life and have a home in Heaven in the end. Matthew 7:21, "Not ever one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." KJV So yes, there are different opinions about a ton of different issues. I choose to take the Biblical approach to all these issues. I have been shocked at people and their stances on moral issues lately, because to be honest, with certain people, you just don't expect it. Sometimes people take you by surprise. But, I will say this, we are suppose to love everybody. James 2:8-9, "If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." KJV Did Jesus love everybody? Of course He did, but He also told people where they were wrong and asked them to turn from their ways. I think, as Christians, we forget to love as Christ loved. We don't have to agree with people's lifestyle to still love them. I don't agree to the fact that some people are drug addicts or alcoholics or curse like a sailor, but I still love them. Sin is a sin is a sin. Whether it be murder, gossip, or judging. I don't struggle with murder, but I do struggle with gossip and judging people. I am just as wrong for those things as I would be if I murdered someone. Sadly, some of those sins are harder to overcome than others. Something I thought about today-when I was in the grocery store, I spoke to several people by saying hi or I hoped that they had a good day. I don't know these people and I don't know the lifestyle that they keep, but I was still nice to them. Can't you imagine that is what Jesus was like? I would imagine that as He was traveling around that he greeted everyone with love. He still preached and taught to not sin and tried to get people to turn from their ways, but he still loved. On the other end, if we ever have children, I want them to know that I don't condone sin of any kind, but also make them understand that we do make mistakes. I also want to teach our children to love, but I also want to keep our children away from sin as much as possible. And I don't care what sin it is, we don't want our children to grow up thinking it's okay to curse, judge, murder, steal, drink, do drugs, to be homosexual, again insert sin here. Again, we choose to live our lives by the Bible. You don't want your children around drug addicts because you don't want them to think it's okay to be a drug addict, right? There is no difference to me as a Christian about which sin children are around. I hope that people still love me even though I am a Christian and I am of the Church of Christ faith. Sometimes you really do have to agree to disagree and Romans 12:18, "If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men." Atheist and agnostics don't agree with my Christianity and I don't agree with their way of thinking. Again, if I meet them in the grocery store, I don't know their beliefs and I still speak in a friendly and Christian manner. I choose to mostly associate myself with Christian people because they are who help keep me strong in my faith. I will, however, not turn my back on those that do not lead a Christian life because how else are we suppose to show them God's love, hope and forgiveness.
I am not perfect and I will admit that. I, sadly, fail everyday. Thankfully, I have God's forgiveness.
1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." KJV
So to sum it up, everybody sins in one way or another. We didn't escape sin, afterall Eve introduced it to us. We do however have the choice to choose to work hard everyday to stay away from sin. Romans 12:21, "Do not overcome evil but overcome evil with good." NKJV and James 4:7, "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." NKJV
I have admitted that I make mistakes and that I do sin. Just because I am Christian doesn't mean I think I am perfect. I will, however, stand up for Chick-Fil-A and their announcement because if you get the right to choose to be homosexual, Chick-Fil-A and Christians get to choose the right to disagree with that lifestyle. I will love you all anyway. I have always favored Chick-Fil-A for their food and loved them even more because they closed on Sundays and took a Christian approach to their business ethics and I will continue to eat there. Because homosexuals are getting more publicity and more freedom of speech shouldn't mean that Christians get to lose theirs. I am taking the Christian stand for anything because I choose to live my life for God and follow the Bible as closely as I know how. I do ask that as Christians, we try to stop being so judgemental about everything. And that is easier said than done because it's human nature to be judgemental- about everything. We should still teach God's word and stand up for what is right and try to lead by example in our daily living. We should still say no to cursing, homosexuality, abortion, murder, alcoholism, drug addiction, etc, but we need to let God decide Heaven or Hell.
This is in no way meant to offend anybody. I didn't set out to make anybody mad and I am not so ignorant to know that not everybody believes the way that I do. I am trying to show that sometimes, myself included, we tend to point out all the wrong in everybody and forget that sometimes if we love like Christ loved, then maybe we will be that shining light for others.
In Him,
  The not so perfect Christian

Ramblings and so forth

I haven't posted anything in awhile despite having good intentions and wanting to. I really thought when I got here that I would take more time to blog. So far, it hasn't happened. Yesterday marked a month since we moved. It's hard to believe that a month has already passed. It's already going so quickly. Jeremy has already completed two of his classes. And this is his 5th week, but this week is different. They don't have classes, but are required to attend a lectureship in Southaven, MS. Students have to be in attendance from Monday thru Thursday and it starts at 9 in the morning and ends approx 9 at night with a 3 hour break in between times. Today has been a great start so far. The speakers were great and they have a bookstore set up. I LOVED that, I was like a kid in the candy store. I love books and what better books than ones to help you become a better Christian. I have other exciting news(no, I am not pregnant), but it will have to come after the 1st of the month. I will explain why later on. We had a wonderful ladies class at the lectureship today. She spoke on Ruth and how us as women could learn a lot from her demanor, and I agree. I was really hoping that these two years at Memphis would help me grow in my Christianity. That's something I have sadly been lacking. I need spiritual growth and I haven't been feeding myself properly with studying the Bible. We all have downfalls, because we are human. I have many of them, but not studying like I should is one of mine. I have felt like I have been in a rut for a long time and coming here was intimidating because I felt that I wasn't worthy to be a part of this. I felt that I didn't have the knowledge and understanding like I should. But after speaking to a couple of people, both at school and off campus, I have realized that it is something everybody struggles with. I will never know everything that I need to know, but I am also not going to learn it without working at it. The devil comes at you more when you aren't feeding yourself in God's word and constantly working at being a better Christian. Today, I purchased some of what I think will be wonderful books and I am planning on working at being a more diligent and faithful child of God. I feel a change coming on and I am excited about it. I know that being a minister's family isn't going to be an easy task and not everybody will always do what you think they should as a Christian, but we have to make the most of the situations. I am going to TRY(and that's a big word) to focus periodically on having a blog with a devo mixed in with it....if that makes any sense. It may take me some time for me to get comfortable with it, but I hope to eventually share this with you and maybe you can grow along with me. We can always use encouragement in some way or another. I am not someone who feels comfortable speaking out loud to people a lot of times-I think it's self esteem related, but with a blog, I have a little more courage. :)
So I hope everyone is doing well and remember when the world gets to tough for you to bare, turn to God. He will help lift you and strengthen you-PRAY!!!!
God Bless!!

Another one bites the dust...

The title to this has been mine and Carolyn's(my sister) phrase this week. She was gracious enough to come help me Saturday and again today. Sometimes when we unpack boxes, we will sing "another one bites the dust." She is OCD and a very organized person. People that really know me, know that I am not very organized. At this place, I really wanted to try and be more organized. Some of the stuff I have done on my own but, for the most part, my organizational help has come from my sister. She has some great ideas. We got a tremendous amount accomplished today. You can now walk down our hallway and only see a rug. And you can actually walk in the office and spare bedroom without tripping over something. I still have more to do, but I am about wore out and ready for an unpacking and organizing break. It's hard to believe that we have been here almost week now. Time has flown by and I have been very busy. Apartment life is interesting, but not in a bad way. It's just not what I am use to. Everybody is nice and friendly and I still have lots of people to meet. I am really enjoying setting up everything. My favorite so far has been my bathroom. It may sound silly, but I am in love with it! It makes me happy! This weekend will be our first full weekend here and it's also Jeremy's birthday, so that is exciting. I miss everybody back home and I don't like that I can't see them whenever I want to, but I actually haven't been as homesick as I thought I would be. But I think it's because I have been SOOO busy unpacking and putting everything away that I haven't had time to think about missing home. It may all hit me when things slow down and I am done unpacking. But by then, I may be use to everything. I think Jeremy is adjusting well to everything. During the summer, he goes to school at 7 and gets out at 1. I haven't really got to spend a whole lot of time with him. I still think God was preparing us for this adventure when Jeremy got the job at 911 working 3rd shift. But I am so thankful for this opportunity for Jeremy. He has been wanting this for months and has been looking forward to it. And he talks about it being hard, but he doesn't mind it.
Anyways, I guess that is all for now. I will write more later. God Bless!

Whirlwind

Written 6/26/12
Hello everybody! I think it's been awhile since I have blogged. I say that because I don't remember the last time that I did post a blog. As most who read this know, we were going to be moving and we did. Today is day 4 since we did move. My sister-in-law said she had never seen anybody load up that quick and unload even quicker. We had some AMAZING people helping us out both in Pulaski and in Memphis. It took a little longer to load it all because for one that's a process figuring out where to put everything and two, I didn't have everything packed. I learned a lot in this process by the way! It was stressful to say the least and anybody that has ever moved, knows this. But we made it safely-thanks be to God!! It's been a whirlwind ever since we got here trying to unpack and get everything set up. Jeremy's first day of school was yesterday and I think he really liked it. He said it was hard but we knew that was to be expected. Anyways, that's all for now. Thanks to everyone who prayed for us! God Bless!!

Am I what God wants me to be?

Two in one night- I haven't had much time at home lately because we have either been at work or at the nursing home or taking care of other business. I haven't focused a lot of attention on my blog.
I am a thinker. Jeremy says I read too much into things and people's thoughts. He is right, I guess. I have to learn to be me and not what I think everybody wants me to be or what they are. Everybody is different and I am different and it's okay to be that way. I get a lot slack a lot because I say random silly things or because I am disorganized or I am forgetful. I'm not perfect and I will be the very first one to tell you that I'm not. Just today I asked Jeremy if I was a good person. I don't want to not be a good person and I always want to be nice to people. I don't want to be selfish and although I know I can be, I don't intend on being that way. I would much rather go out of my way to be nice to someone than to tell them off. However, that doesn't mean that I don't ever want to blow a fuse. God and Jeremy know me for me. And honestly that's the only two that matter. They both know my heart better than anybody and God knows it most of all. I just wish I could understand that those two are really the only two that matters. I love them both because I can be myself, my true, honest to the bone self. I know that no matter what I do they will love me. That's a wonderful feeling and something I try to stay mindful of and thankful of. I have a lot of growing to do as a Christian and I am looking forward to the next two years in Memphis because I think they are going to help me in so many ways. And maybe I will learn to love me too and learn to be a better person and most importantly a better child of God and a better wife. Jeremy said the other day that we don't need to look back on what we have been but wake up everyday and say am I a good Christian today, and am I reflecting what a Christian should be and I am doing things the way I should. So live everyday for God and what He wants us to do and the rest will fall into place. God Bless!!!

Prayers and grandparents

I'm not sure what my last post was even about. I have been struggling lately to even figure out what day it is. I do know that I asked for prayers for Grandaddy. And I will ask again that you will please keep praying for him and for the family, and especially for Granny. I have thought a lot about things over the past week and everyday when I visit them. They aren't my blood grandparents but they might as well be. When I was in the 6th grade, I lost the only grandparent that I ever knew. It was my Moma's mother. She was a very very wonderful woman and I still miss her a lot. But I was blessed in more ways than one when I married Jeremy...I gained another family which just happen to include grandparents. I think a lot of them. They are each special in their own way. Ga ga as the younger ones call him, always has candy or gum and quarters or dollars for the great grand kids. Oh and you can't forget the chocolate milk. It's very sweet to see how much joy all the kids bring to them. And when you leave he always has a kiss on the cheek for you. And Granny will always always make sure you aren't hungry and would give you the shirt off of her back. They are two very special
people and have made a big impact on those around them. It was told Saturday that Grandaddy would not get any better. And he has actually
been a little better the last couple of days. We don't know what's going to happen, God knows and He is in control. If something does happen, I can't help but to think of Granny and it breaks my heart to think that somebody would live alone without their spouse after being together for almost 60 years. A marriage is not always easy but it says a lot when you are still holding strong to the marriage vows you made 60 years before. She will have a support system by her side no matter what, but it can never replace a spouse. Just keep praying for everyone and that God's will
be done.

Where do I start...

Well today is a new day and I'm not to sure yet about how I feel. I don't think my brain is processing everything. Yesterday was one more of a day. We didn't get much sleep the night before and woke up early to pack some more before our moving help arrived. At 8:30am, I got a phone call from our realtor saying that we didn't need to move. There was an issue with the closing that was suppose to be 4 days away. It could take up to two more weeks before we get to close if we get to close at all. So back on the market our house goes. If these people get the house, they do and if they don't maybe somebody else will. I am unbelievably thankful that I get to sleep in my own house for a little bit longer. Not closing brought on a new set of issues that wasn't planned. But, as of right now, I am just in the mind set that God will provide. I am tired and tired of worrying about everything. This where God wants us to be, I have no doubt.
The next rough part of yesterday was hearing about Jeremy's grandfather and visiting him. He was transferred from the hospital to NHC yesterday. He is not doing well at all and he is quite pitiful. I am asking for prayers on his behalf and on the family's behalf, especially his wife. I just ask that you will pray that God's will be done and that He will give them all strength thru this. Thank you!
I hope everybody has a great weekend.
God Bless you all!

Nerves

Hello Peeps! I haven't posted in awhile, things have been crazy in our neck of the woods. But whose life isn't crazy? Especially people with kids. I have shed many tears over not being able to get pregnant and then I get to moments like these and wonder if I would be able to balance it all. I know, where there is a will, there is a way and God would lead me thru it however He sees fit. But either way, we have 2 more nights in our house. If I think about it too much I will cry. I guess it's the woman in me with being so sentimental. It was our first house that we ever bought and we came home from our honeymoon and moved straight into the house. It's been a great house. I have always thought I would want to move away to a bigger city. And it is exciting but I am really sad about leaving everything and everybody behind. Because even though Memphis is only 3.5 hours away and we will only be there 2 years, who knows where we will end up after those 2 years. And we were so very blessed to have someone from our church offer a home that the own for us to live in until the Memphis move. It's mostly away from our immediate family, but it's in a beautiful and peaceful setting. With that new setting comes new worries with staying there by myself. Luckily, Jeremy will not be working very much longer so I won't have to deal with it too terribly long. We won't have satellite or cable, just the Wii and our DVD player, books and my sewing machine. It will be like a little getaway from awhile. I just ask that you will keep praying for us as all the changes take place. It's a lot of emotions. I also ask that you will keep our friends, The Britton's in your prayers. They are making a big movie to Georgia next week. :( And the same goes for them, it's a big change with lots of emotions. They are going to do wonderful work but it's still hard leaving your family and everything you have known behind. Not only for them, please keep everyone that is going thru a tough time, in your prayers. We don't always know what other people are dealing with, but sometimes life gets tough and we need God to help us thru. And my last prayer request is for Jeremy's grandfather. He is back in the hospital. Bless his heart, he doesn't get to stay out very long. So keep him and Granny and the family in your prayers. Thank you all! God Bless!

Contract!!!

Well after a wonderful weekend spent in Dover at the Land Between the Lakes COC and back to Culleoka at Scribner's Mill, I got a call this morning from our realtor saying we have a contract on our house. I literally almost started boo hooing on the phone with him. Keep in mind, the person that gave us our first offer on our house, has never stepped foot in it. Crazy!!! Well maybe not crazy, because God had His hand in it!!! We accepted their offer. Now please pray that inspection and the appraisal will go well so we can close on it. They are wanting to be closed by April 30th. This will leave us homeless for almost 2 months. So, I am also asking for prayers on our behalf to help us figure out what we need to do about that situation. As much as I am so sad about leaving my home, family and friends, I am almost ready to get all this over with and get settled in in Memohis. I am such a worry wart and I am honestly afraid that I will completely batty by June. You might also want to pray for Jeremy for that reason! :-) That's all for now, just wanted to share the good news and ask for prayers!

Purity and Parenting(I know...I'm not a parent)

I wished I could shout it on the mountain tops to young people that sexual purity is a good thing. And it's a glorious thing and most important is one of the best gifts from God. He gives us this gift to hold on tight to. And one day it's time to turn that gift over, but it's only suppose to be for our spouses. Hormones are a terrible thing and hard to fight sometimes. I only wish for those young people to have more respect for themselves and each other and most importantly, more respect for God. I'm not sure what it would take to make kids understand this. I say a lot that I am not perfect, I have made plenty of mistakes. I would like to take the mistakes I have made and learned from and try to help teach others. I know that first, the change needs to be made in each individual household. Parents have got to step up and be parents and not friends. I am a believer that you can still be your child's friend(to a degree). I say that meaning that they should be able to come to the parents to talk. It's always awkward talking to your parents about things, but if they felt more comfortable about talking about things to their parents then the parents may have a better understanding of what they need to do to keep their child away from the harmful and non Christian things. That doesn't mean that there shouldn't be a line. The parents are still the role models and the disciplinary people. If a child isn't telling them what's going on in school and what Johnny or Susie told them about sex or drugs or alcohol, how is the parent suppose to ward these things off. I am not a parent so I don't know what it's really like. I know from the child's perspective because that's all I have been up to this point. I told Jeremy the other night that I so wished for boys because I feel like Jeremy is an excellent example and would teach some boys how to be respectable men and how to treat a lady. He still opens the car door for me and we have been married for almost 6 years. I am not naive enough that kids are still going to make mistakes, but we need to figure out why they do and how we can help change that and help be positive and good Christian role models. I don't know how parents deal with the mistakes their child makes and probably most parents never know the mistakes they have made. I learned some heart ache recently of someone that I try to mentor and realizing that I don't think they listened to a word I said. It makes you feel like a failure. And it breaks your heart. We just have to follow God and know that we have to live by His word and He will show us the way. Good luck to all you parents! You don't have a easy job! God Bless!

It's MY blog

I realize the title of this blog sounds very selfish, but I have a reason for it. Today didn't start off as the greatest of days and my night last night wasn't most wonderful. Usually those are the times when I want to blog the most. I use to write in a journal religiously and it was a huge comfort and it provided the most comfort when things weren't going great. I had just told Jeremy last night that there were several people on Facebook recently that only post negative things and I was thinking that it makes me feel depressed. Not everybody wants to read/listen to a "Debbie Downer." But today as I was contemplating a blog, I was already beating myself up for it because it was too "Debbie Downerish." And then I realized that it's MY blog. I am not forcing anybody to read it. Although I do put it out for the public to read. Just like all those Facebook people-it's THEIR Facebook. They have a right to put whatever they want(just wished some would abstain from posting profanity of any kind). Nobody is perfect. I repeat, NOBODY is perfect. I am sure not perfect. Ask Jeremy or my boss or my friends. I make mistakes way more than I would like to admit and way more than I want to. But what most people don't realize is that I beat myself up for these mistakes. Jeremy is probably the only one(other than God) that knows how much I beat myself up for the smallest things. And people regret their mistakes but I dwell on mine. I am like a pig that wallows in the mire. I wallow in my mistakes and what other people think of me. And I don't exaggerate this at all. Jeremy just told me last night that I have to stop worrying so much. I am seriously doomed for a heart attack or nervous breakdown because I am a natural worry wart about EVERYTHING! I waste a lot of time worrying, I know this. As much as Jeremy wants me to stop worrying, I want to even more. I live with myself everyday and sometimes having my brain is no fun. I get tired of worrying about what everybody thinks of me and if I smiled big enough or what if they think I don't like them or what if they think....on and on and on it goes. I can't please everybody and until I can fully understand that, I will probably be a worrier. But one thing I am going to try and not worry about is what I post in my blogs. Again, I will not always please everybody, but this is my blog and I am going to not focus on everybody else. Maybe, somewhere a long the way, what I write will help somebody. Just like with my Infertility blog. I offended somebody and it was in no way, shape or form meant to offend anyone. It's just something that I deal with and maybe somebody going thru the same struggles will read my blog and it will help them. I do always hope that I don't offend anybody because that is the kind of person I am. But I am going to try not to hold back as much as I usually do. I have tons of things to be thankful for everyday of my life and so does everybody else. You can always find something to be thankful for. I do firmly believe that sometimes the struggles we have emotionally aren't things that we can help. I think they are genetically engineered in us. I was adopted, but my birth mother passed away in July. I realized afterwards(because of some info that I obtained) that she apparently struggled with some of the things that I struggled with. I did not have a relationship with her. I had met her a few times and we lived in the same town but she did not raise me. But I do have her genes and I think there were probably some similiarties in how we handled things. I may not ever know, but it is interesting to think about. So don't beat yourself up. Again, we aren't perfect and we don't always have good days. Just try to find something in every day to be thankful for. God Bless

Rest Your Elbows on this and Dig In

Wrote on February 4, 2012.

Okay, I am back again. This will probably be short and sweet. But I had to tell y’all about our new kitchen table. We sold ours almost 2 weeks ago. I hated to give that thing up, but we toured the apartments that we will be living in and there was no way that it would fit.  So I have had my eye on a table on craigslist for quite some time. Even offered the people a price for it and they refused. It was beautiful and espresso in color. I REALLY wanted that thing. Well I realized after it went off craigslist that I hadn’t even asked Jeremy what he wanted in a table. I had just been obsessed with this particular table. We have talked on and off about getting a “pub style” table(one that is counter height if you aren’t familiar with them). We have wanted one for a long time but I never thought it would look good in our kitchen. I don’t know why I had that in my head. But anyways, the one I was obsessed with was not counter height, but I was having trouble finding a “pub style” in our price range, so I was going to settle. Poor Jeremy didn’t give up. He has had his eye on this table and chair from Wal-Mart in Columbia for quite some time. To me that was a big no-no, because how sturdy could it actually be?? Well I came off my high horse and let Jeremy get it yesterday. It was below our budget and less than what we sold our old one for. It’s actually solid wood too. Well Jeremy worked his tail off for hours last night putting it together. And to be honest, I was still a little sour about it. They had posted my other table again at a cheaper price on craigslist. If you haven’t picked up on it yet, I REALLY REALLY wanted that other table. But as I am typing this, I am sitting at our Cherry(that’s not really a cherry color) “pub style” dinette set and I LOVE it. It’s awesome and VERY sturdy. Even if I am still a little bummed about the other dinette set, I am really happy with our new one.  Thanks to Jeremy for all the hard, aggravating work he has in the new one!!! 

Preacher in Training

 I have got to start posting the dates on the entries of my blog because I can’t post right away because I don’t have internet access. Sometimes it takes awhile for me to post my blogs. So today is January 29, 2012. Probably a typical Sunday to most people, but not to the Thornton household. Jeremy has paced and sighed and paced and sighed all weekend and particularly today. See today, he preached his very first sermon. To some, this may not be a big deal, but to us it was huge. I am very sentimental anyways. I can’t say enough how amazed I am at the job he did. For it to be his first sermon, he looked like he had been in the pulpit several times over. His message was about love. I am not sure I could have been more proud of that man than I was tonight. I watched my best friend and husband preach a sermon on something that we all need to work on. I can’t explain the feeling to anyone that hasn’t experienced it.  He is so humble in everything he does. Not that I had my doubts before, but after seeing him in action, I have no doubt about what God intended on him doing. And this is not meant to be conceited in any way or meant to be take any way other than just what’s on my heart. There were several people that come after church to offer their kind words and their encouragement. The outpour was such a blessing. I felt like sunshine rays were radiating from my whole body. A teacher brags on your child and it makes you happy. I heard people brag on my husband and made me “swoon with pride.”  Again, that’s not something meant to be conceited. But I know how hard he has worked on this sermon and how much sighing and worrying and stressing over it and then to know he got up there and did a job like that. It made me even more excited for the journey we have ahead of us. We were very blessed to have Jeremy’s family come to church with us that night and listen to his sermon. We were also blessed to have one of my sister’s and her husband and son and his wife and my parents. Some of Jeremy’s co-workers and one his best friends were there. My wonderful sister planned a little party at our house for after the church service. Our families all came and ate. It was very nice! She made some awesome food! She is always so thoughtful! Thank you Vickie!!!

If any of you would like to hear his sermon, you can go to fairviewcoc.org and click on the “Worship” tab and look for the “sermons” and click there and look for his name. He has been blessed by being ask to speak at the Culleoka Church of Christ on February 26^th. We are excited about this! Thanks to everyone for the prayers and support you have given Jeremy and I. God Bless you all!

You is Kind...

You is kind. You is smart. You is important.

If you don’t know where that quote came from, I will tell you. It’s from the movie, “The Help.” It’s an extremely good story line, but the language isn’t so great. But in the movie the nanny tells a little girl, “You is kind. You is smart. You is important.” I wish every child had the opportunity to know this. Jeremy and I have talked about writing a book about parenting. I know, I know- we don’t have any kids so how could we possibly know what it’s like to be a parent. We don’t. But it’s interesting to watch how other people parent their children. I have said before that God hasn’t blessed us with children yet because He is letting us watch and gather information from everybody else that is a parent so we will know what to do and what not to do. I know that parents get frustrated and lose their tempers and don’t handle things right from time to time. They have had a long day at work, they lost their job, somebody they love is sick or their best friend won’t speak to them…there are a million ways that any person can be frustrated and stressed out enough that they take it out on the ones they love the most. I’m not talking about a once in awhile kind of thing. Your kids will grow up to be adults one day…what kind of adult do you want them to be? Or you going to fuss at them for how they raise your grandchildren when they are only doing what they themselves were raised to do. Suicide is becoming a thing of society. Kids are unhappy and their last resort is to kill themselves. I can’t imagine what is so bad in life that could make a child do that. This may not be the case every time, but parents do play a big role in this. How often do you show love to your children? I don’t mean how often do you tell them you love them, but how often do you LOVE them. How often do you take the time to listen to them tell you all about their day and what they did in school? Most importantly, how often do you tell them about God and the kind of love He shows us? That’s the greatest gift anybody could ever give their child- a Christian home. One where mommmy and daddy doesn’t fight. Daddy doesn’t come home drunk and mommy isn’t looking at every other daddy. God took me from all that and that was by far the best blessing. I say that because if God hadn’t given me that gift, I wouldn’t have any of the other wonderful blessings that I have now. Things aren’t always perfect in any household. But you can strive everyday to make sure that you put forth an effort. You may get more out of your spouse or kids than you every thought imaginable. Make sure your kids know that they are important and that they matter. It will change their life and may even change yours. You may see results in your children that you have been looking for. Think about your childhood-do you want your children to grow up like you did? Some of you may, some of you may not. Don’t settle for mediocre parenting. Jeremy said something to me recently that really hit home in our situation, “actions speak louder than words.” You can say it all day long but are you doing it?

Love God, Love your spouse, Love your children(in that order). Again, I know that I am not a parent and I don’t know how hard it is. I understand that, but parents need to understand this-from the outside looking in you, you are taking them for granted. I’m not talking about everybody either, so please don’t get offended. It’s just some thoughts I have had recently. God Bless!

Work

Please note-This was written about a month ago.

Well our house officially went on the market today. Well I have been saying that, but the sign actually went up yesterday. It became available on the internet today. To me that means that it’s now on the market. I have some mixed emotions. I feel relief that it’s one thing off our backs. And I do feel sad because of the whole sentimental thing-first house and not to mention I LOVE the location and our little spot of land. Okay enough of that before I start crying. J I have less than 5 months until my last day of work. I have told several people that I am leaving. I probably shouldn’t say this publicly and I don’t mean anything towards any of the rest of my clients, but I have favorites. The ones that I see regularly that have “adopted” me as their own and I have “adopted” them as my own and we just sort of click. I love ALL of our people, I enjoy working with them. I guess I have just bonded more with some. Well one in particularly who is just amazing. His attitude on life is outstanding. After being a big, burly working man for years, he came down with an illness. I didn’t see him for awhile because he was so sick and honestly didn’t really talk to him a whole lot before he became sick. He is now just skin and bones for the most part. They have recently said that the original diagnosis is no longer his diagnosis but they still don’t know what is wrong with him, but he is getting stronger. His response to all of this, “prayers work.” He says all the time that he isn’t giving up and he doesn’t.  He is so positive about it all. He can’t eat but he still cooks for his family and enjoys doing so. We could all learn a valuable lesson from him.

I had to tell him yesterday that I was leaving. I had been dreading that because just thinking about telling him made me cry. It actually went pretty good though. I will miss him and everybody else, but I will be back to visit and I plan on keeping in touch.  And God is going to bring so many more amazing people in my life that I won’t be able to keep up with them all. My reply to this- BRING IT!!! I am ready!