Something to help me remember

So, there is this new song that I absolutley LOVE!!!! I find myself listening to it whenever I can. And when I'm not listening to it, I'm singing it or humming it anyway. I love the words. I think it is my mantra right now. (thanks for the cool word, Uncommon Blonde) Anyway, I wanted to share the words so that it could be an encouragement to others.

Still Standing

You gave me courage to believe
That all your goodness I would see
And if it had not been for you
Standing on my side where would I be

If not for your goodness
If not for you grace
I don't know where I would be today
If not for your kindness
I never could say
I'm still standing
If not for you mercy
If not for your love
I most likely would have given up
If not for your favor
I never could say
I'm still standing
But by the grace of God

To you I lift my offering
And set my heart on higher things
For if it had not been for you
Standing on my side where would I be

On Christ the solid rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand

I'm still standing
But by the grace of GOD!!!

Be blessed!!!!!

The Powder Brush

So, I was putting my make-up on this morning and I came across a powder brush. It has a long clear handle and has lasted quite a long time. So, as I stood there looking at it a flash of memories began to flood my mind. And it occurs to me that the powder brush was a birthday present from my buddy, Uncommon Blonde. She probably doesn't even remember giving it to me but I do, vividly. It was the first make-up present I had ever received,from someone other than my mom. And it was on my 16th birthday. Now those of you out there that were fortunate enough to have attended the party, this will be just a funny reminder but to the others.....here goes nothing.

The year was 1995 and it was my 16th birthday. Now, I was a huge fan of everything 70's. So, it was just natural that the party was a celebration of the decade that brought ME into the world. My parents rented a roller skating rink for the event. And all of the guests were asked to dress in 70's attire. I wore a royal blue polyester pantsuit. Thinking back......I thought I was soooooo cool. I ironed my hair and wore a headband reminicent of the Brady Bunch. My dad decided to play DJ. So, all of the music was 70's. My favorite was Inna Godda Da Vida.

So, there we were skating around in circles and having a blast. At least I was. I had never had a huge birthday party before and I was so excited to have all of my friends there. There were even some guests that came that weren't invited......you know how that goes. But I didn't care, I was disco princess for the day.

Then came time to blow out candles and open presents. And the only present I remember distinctely getting is the powder brush from Uncommon Blonde. There were other presents but I don't remember what they were. I don't know if Uncommon Blonde picked out the gift herself or not but she did not know that here I would still be thinking about it 12 years later.

And thank you for helping me remember that wonderful day. It is nice to stroll down memory lane occasionally.

A side note........do you realize that the kids in high school these days are "dresssing up" as 90's people when they have costume parties......makes me feel old. Apparently they like to dress up as "Saved By The Bell" kids or even "Beverly Hills 90210". It must be the cool tight rolled pants. LOL. I guess every generation does it to the one before.

So, take a minute and remember something great from your past experiences.....it's totally worth it!!

NO FAIR!!!!!

So, not only is my brother not coming into town for Thanksgiving.........he and his lovely wife went on a cruise. I will miss him while our whole family is together for the day but I think I am actually more jealous......... I hope he is having fun for me.

Thanksgiving????

So, here it is Thanksgiving again. I think that this is probably my favorite holiday of the year. Although the rest of humanity seems content to play down its relevance and are ready to jump to the selfish and commercialized side of Chritmas, I am not. I love the fact that Thanksgiving Day has not been turned into something that its not. It is still a day that families spend together. It is still a whole day in which we conciously take the time to think about the blessings in our lives. I love the smell of dressing cooking, the sound of football games in the background, THE LEFTOVERS!!! But my favorite part is the fact that I am with my family and friends. And I realize that the rest of the world does not celebrate Thansgiving either. Which makes it important as well. We can be grateful for the freedom we have in the good ole USA. Freedom that is being preserved right now by our brothers and sisters in arms across the globe. My heart goes out to the families of those soldiers that are putting themselves between the those that would try to destroy our freedom and the rest of us. It makes me even more thankful for the fact that we can celebrate Thanksgiving.

I also realize that I am blessed beyond measure in so many ways. I have alot to be thankful for.

I was at a funeral today and a young woman was sharing some thoughts about her grandmother. She recited a quote by an anonymous author that really stuck with me and I feel that this week it has relevance.

"I was crying because I had no shoes, and then I saw a man that had no feet."

It makes me realize that even things that I consider liabilities in this life can be counted as blessings if looked at through a different set of lenses.

So, after being inspired by a fellow blogger I have decided to conciously sit down and write out my blessings. Of course there are an infinite number but I can try to cover the big ones.

1. My Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, he created me and without him I would be nothing and

have nothing. He is my everything.

2. My health.

3. My husband. (what a man)(I love him so much, you have no idea)

4. Reid (he is an entire blog all by himself)( a precious sweetie!!!)

5. Pierce (also deserves his own blog) (my little angel baby)

6. My mom (also my best friend)

7. My dad (what a nut! lol)

8. My brother (what an awesome guy)

9. My sister (also my best friend and a nut too)

10. My in laws (great additions to our family)

11. Our home

12. Our vehicles

13. Our jobs

14. Our church family

15. Great friends

16. and so many more!!!!!

Changes

Well, this morning was a big difference from most of the other mornings around my house. Both of my children were up around 5:00am. Yikes!!!! I am NOT a morning person. I think both of them had gotten cold in the night. The heater was on but you could feel the cold seeping in through our 70 year old wood floors. So, I decided to try to put them in bed with my husband and I. Not a good idea. They both just flipped and flopped until all 4 of us were awake. So, here I sit at the computer at 7:00am showered, dressed, make-up on, and with hair fixed. Aside from the fact that I am still tired, I feel pretty good. Several years ago I worked for a school photography company as a photographer. I had to be at the schools when they opened so I could set up before school started. So most days I was up by 4:30 or 5:00am. Looking back, I actually enjoyed those days. I got to see the sunrise every morning and I was off work by noon or 2:30 at the latest. It was good pay and I got to spend time with kids. Not a bad job. Of course that was before I had children. There is no way I would be able to do that now. Nor would I want to.

Now that I have brought it up.........yes, I am a stay-at-home mommy. I love it!!!!!! I am so blessed to have a husband that supports me in this. Although I whine about it sometimes, he works SOOOOO hard to provide for me and the boys that I am able to be home with them at this point in their lives. I teach music for 3 hours a week but I consider that "me time" rather than a job. Plus, it has not taken me away from the boys. Which brings me to the next blessing. I have a wonderful mother that has made herself available to watch my kids whenever I need. I also have a great mother in law that also watches the boys if needed. I realize that in this area of my life, I am somewhat spoiled. I get to stay home with my boys, and have family that can watch them if I need to run out and buy groceries or get a haircut. Its great!!! And no, I am not flaunting...........I am just thankful and grateful and want to say so. So, if you are a mommy out there and you work outside of the home.........more power to you! I am not knocking working at all. It is just not for me at this point. Everyone has to make their own decisions and this is mine.

Oh! and by the way........this is totally off the subject..........but I HATE THE NEW TIME CHANGE!!!! enough said.

So, its Friday again. Time is flying by faster and faster these days. Every time I turn around, another week is gone, then another month and now almost a whole year since my littlest guy was born. Where does the time go? And as I look back I wonder what significant things have I done to show for the time? Yes, I have been raising two little boys....that is a major thing. But what things outside of myself, my family and my little comfort zone? I think I need to think about that some more. I know that I have more to offer than I am putting out there. We all do. And I have begun to realize, with the help of some pretty cool people in my life, that there is a great big world out there and that there are alot of very good things to get involved in. I don't have to stay focused in one town, community or group. When we look at the little things going on around us it is easy to get discouraged and self-involved. But if we look outward, our blessings become launch points for ministry. Our setbacks become foundations for building great things. And everything looks different. So, I am ready for a change. And I think it has more to do with mindset than geography or occupation.
So, off I go to sing songs to God with all of those sweet children at school. If you live close you ought to come by some time. There is nothing like listening to children sing praises to God. It's like getting a sneak preview to heaven.

Domestic Diva

So, does anybody else out there feel like the clothes take on a life of their own and mulitply when you start washing them? What started out as 4 loads of laundry has become 8. Whats' up with that? Surely, my little family isn't that dirty...........

And today is occurs to me that I need some more closets in my house. I simply do not have enough places to put all of the "stuff' we own. I used to be quite a pack-rat. Not anymore, now I am the "throw it out" queen. Before we had children I thought that our house was "nice sized". Now I think it is shrinking. Either that or the toys are actually growing and getting larger in size. And to think that Christmas and the boys' birthdays are just around the corner. I do not know where we are going to put the boys if their stuff keeps growning. ;)

I had all of these ambitions of all of the wonderful domestic diva things I would do before I got married. Boy, was I naive. Now I still do them. Okay, for those of you out there that actually know me, I will qualify that statement. I do some of them some of the time. Better? I actually do not mind laundry. Although, I hate ironing. I will not buy clothes if they look like they will need ironing at some point. Some call it lazy, I call it planning ahead. I know I won't wear them if I have to iron them, so why buy them? I have a dozen cookbooks and do not cook as much as I should. Now, I do cook and feed my family but I do not consider "Hamburger Helper" cooking. I cooked quite a bit when we first got married. Actually, I cooked every day. But after a couple years of eating alone because my husband worked late, I stopped knocking myself out. Now that I have two little guys that need healthy, nutritious food to eat, I will have to get off my butt and do better. Anybody out there have any time-saving ideas or recipes?
I actually enjoy vaccuming. There is just something about those little stripes in the carpet that make me happy. I just wish they would stay looking like that. We have wood floors and ceramic tile in all rooms but one. So I don't get to vaccum as much as I would like. Oh well, what a problem to have, right? That leads me to my next quandry. Mopping the floors. I love those Swiffer Wet Jets. They work wonders. But I feel that I need to clean the floors in between with the mop and bucket. And since I have wood floors in some rooms and tile and vinyl in others I feel that I need to clean with two seperate products. Murphys Oil Soap for the wood. I hate the way it smells but it keeps the floors from looking dull. And then a Mister Clean for the ceramic. Once again, a lot of work for it not to look any different. Man, I am just rambling today. Sorry about that.

I am wanting to completely gut one of our bathrooms and re-do everything in there. We have not done anything in there since right after we moved in. The placement of everything is wierd. So, I am saving up for a remodel. Anyone out there want to donate to the cause? ???? ;) hahahaha just kidding.

Well, now that I have postponed the inevitable, I guess I should go finish the laundry, sweep and mop the floors and clean the bathrooms before my little angels get up from their naps. Here's to all of the other Dmestic Divas out there. Cheers!! ( oh, I am holding up a Dr. Pepper, by the way)

Sundays

I love Sundays. Its the only day of the week when my entire little family is together from sun-up to sundown. Plus, we get to go to church and praise the Lord. It recharges my mental, emotional and spiritual batteries. It also allows me the time to think about the blessings in my life instead of being bombarded by "life" and its little annoyances.

I realize now why my parents tried so hard to keep Sunday afternoons so treasured. They must have felt the same way. I didn't always agree with spending that day together but now I am glad that we did. There are so many happy memories that I remember. I wouldn't trade any of them.

I am also grateful to them for the fact that they always took us to church, whether we wanted to go or not. Now, church is such a special part of my life. I am thankful for the teachings that I heard, the scripture that was written on my heart, and the relationship that developed between me and my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Like everyone else out there, I have gone through some junk but its the truth of Gods Word and the strength of Gods character that has kept me going. He was there with me when I had the blood clot in my lung that tried to take me out. And here I stand healed. He was there with me when my sister left this earth and went to be with Jesus. And here I stand comforted. He was with me when I met my husband. And here I stand married with two beautiful sons. He was with me, He is with me, and He will continue to be with me. And He is there for everyone else if they will just turn to Him.

I am so thankful and grateful for today. The fact that I am alive and well to see my husband and two sons is a tremendous blessing. If I could just remember that at the dawn of each day, then I should have no cause to grumble and complain. God is good! And He makes all things new. I love Him so much. He is my everything.

A side note to all you blog readers out there. If you don't know the comfort, joy, peace, and love of God's presence, I pray that you will seek Him out. He loves you so much. All He is waiting for is you, just you. Turn to him. He alone is the answer to all of your questions.

Riding the waves

I have spent the last half hour reading blogs of people that I love and consider to be friends, even some family. And it occurred to me that we are all riding our own waves. Some waves are high. Leaving the rider feeling happy, content, hopeful, and ready for the day. While other waves are bottoming out and leaving the rider feeling despair, loss, hurt, pain, and longing for a different day, any day. Life does come in waves, doesn't it? Oh, that it could be a steady ride, especially if we could ride high. But that is not reality.

Maybe those of us that are on the highs are supposed to reach down and help encourage those that are riding low. That is what friendship and love is about. God did not intend for us to walk this road alone. Of course, God is by our side, an ever present help in times of trouble. But what about the people we hold dear? Why are we so hesitant to let others help us? Maybe its pride, but I don't think so. I think we are afraid of letting others and ourselves down. It says in the Bible that "a three strand cord is not easliy broken". So, to me that implies that if we want to stand strong we need other rallied around us to uplift us and encourage us. It also means that we are to encourage others. It goes back to the early church when everyone sold what they had and put all their possessions together and everyone "took what they needed". If we would do that as friends, families, churches and communites imagine the strength and blessing that God could pour out. And I'm not talking about physical possessions right now. But spiritual, emotional and mental possessions. If you've read a scripture that spoke to you, share it. If you heard an excellent sermon, share it. If God gave you a revelation regarding a situation, share it. And if you need a scripture, ask. If you need revelation, ask and seek out others that will pray. It says in the Word that " you have not because you ask not". I am the worst about not admitting when I need help. If someone asks how I am, my automatic answer is fine, great, or wonderful. Even if I have had a crappy day. Why do I do that? Would it be so terrible if someone knew that I had weaknesses and would like help, prayer or both?

Let's lift each other up! I know that God loves me but I can't tell you how much it has brightened my day to know that my friends love and are thinking about and praying for me.
To my family and friends out there, I love you guys! And if you need me, let me know. I mean it!!

Today was a first for me....

Well, as some of you know Mule Day was this past weekend. For those of you who don't know......it is a whole day to celebrate mules....yippee....I can hardly contain my enthusiasm. Anyway, I live across the street from the palooza event and therefore get to take advantage of the many visitors to our small town by charging them a fee to park in my yard. So, we made a nice little profit.

And today I went Christmas shopping. It was so nice to have some cash in hand and to be able to actually browse through Toys'R'Us without running into a million other parents. Because lets face it, I am such a procrastintor that I always wait until the last minute to shop for Christmas. But not this year. I deserve a gold star or something. Well, I didn't get a gold star today but I did stop at my favorite bakery to reward myself with cake, lots of cake.

On a side note, both of my children have their birthdays in December as well. I know, I know.....poor planning. But its too late to change it now. So I had quite a bit of shopping to do today for the kids. But guess what?? I did it!!! I am finished with shopping for the boys. It feels great. I still need to shop for my hubby, parents, and M-I-L but that won't take long. So, go ahead and pat me on the back if you feel so inclined. Yeah, I'm bragging... get over it. ;)

So, now I am trying to plan my youngest boys birthday party. I am absolutley no clue what to do. My oldest loved all things tractor so I made ( yes I made it ) a John Deere tractor cake and we decorated with green and yellow. But my little guy doesn't seem overly fond of anything, except his mommy. And I'm not about to make a cake with my picture on it. That would just be a little creepy. Don't you think? So I have contacted a wonderful cake decorator I know. Maybe she will have some ideas (its you, Mrs. Sofa, by the way). So, any of the rest of you have any ideas let me know. He is turning "1".

Good night!!!

it's just me, that's it and that's all

well, I have been informed that I am too hard on myself. That is not my intent. So, I will strive to be more laid back. Not sure how long that will last but it's worth a shot, right?

Anyone else out there loving this fall weather?

Comparison trap

It occured to me that it is so dangerous to compare yourself to others. It keeps me from feeling content with my life, my blessings, my talents, and my destiny or purpose. I have come a long way but I still have a long way to go. I find myself thinking sometimes " I wish I could be more like _____" or " why couldn't I do _____" even though I know that it is not what God has called me to do. The first time I remember feeling this way was when my brother learned to play the guitar and began writing songs and singing them. I have always loved music and it just drove me crazy that not only could he play the guitar but that he did it well and it seemed to just flow so easily. Don't get me wrong, I know that he put alot of time and energy into learning his instrument. At least, I realize that now. I was blinded by my own jealousy for years. And it also kept me from having the relationship that I always desired with my brother. There have been several lost years of opportunities where he is concerned. Anyway, while I spent so much time focused on him and what he had or could do, I was not taking ownership of the gifts and talents that God had given me. And unfortunately, it was not until my brother moved away that I realized this. Since then, I have learned to play the piano and now lead praise and worship too. But I want to weep when I think of the time that we could have done it together. And the wisdom that I could have learned from him when he was around so much. Now he has multiple ministry opportunities, a beautiful wife, a crazy dog, an awesome day job and not near enough time for me. But at this point in his life he is doing what he should be doing. But it doesn't make the fact that I missed out on some time with him any less frustrating. And all because I was jealous, stubborn and looking at others when I should have been looking to God and asking Him what He had in store for me.

Now I am wondering what other great friendships I have missed out on because of my own ignorance. I never want to be that person again and I don't see her that often anymore. I hope I see her less and less as I mature in the Lord. I know that God has great things in store for me. And I need to trust that He knows how He created me and what He wants for me. If I focus on that and am obedient, God can do something wonderful in me, with me and for me. Thank the Lord for His grace and the fact that He gives another chance to get it right.

I guess I should try this out.......

Well, apparently I am the only one that is not blogging on here. So here goes nothing.

Today has been a great day. I think the fact that I got an extra hour of sleep helped. ;)
The boys (the hubby & the kids) woke up in good moods, we ate breakfast together and then went to church as a family. Service went well. I really enjoyed the music. The new pastor has given me a measure of freedom in leading praise and worship and it is nice. I was rather hesitant about my role as praise and worship leader when I found out that my dad, also my pastor was leaving the church. But I have been pleasantly surprised with working with the new pastor. It's good. So, anyway, church was great. Then we went to lunch and then back to church for a welcome fellowship for the new pastor.

Totally unrelated topic now:
I must say that I do get tired of fake people though. Without getting into anything........it is a really BIG pet peeve of mine. Why can't people just be who you know they are? Do they really think they are fooling anyone? It makes me want to call them out on it and let them know that I am onto them. But the sensible side of me keeps me from doing it. I guess the truth always comes out at some point and it would probably be better if it wasn't at my doing. But I still can't stand it.