We Are Here

I am so glad to be here. It is so beautiful. Of course we love going to the beach and it has been tradition since I was a little girl. This year we are ocean front with my parents. Most years we stay on the canal or second row with a pool. The girls were convinced that without a pool this year we were doomed. How funny! I have to say though no-one here is longing for a pool. All of us have been in the ocean swimming and jumping those waves. Being ocean front makes it so much easier to spend more time on the beach as you only have a few steps to walk to get a bite to eat or cool off. Yesterday Meadow was out all day long, from after breakfast until late in the afternoon and was begging to go back at bed time! :) All of us agree that if money allows we definitely want to stay ocean front in the future. Well I must go and join the family in the sand. :) I'll post more of my heart and links to Oak Island and even the house we are staying in when I return.

Headed To Oak Island

We are leaving for vacation with my parents on Saturday. I can't wait. We always try each year to pay for a vacation at tax time so nothing can zap it during the year. Last year was a hard year so we didn't get to go. This year was going great until right after we had paid for and committed ourselves to our beach house. Then Tony my husband ended up being out of work for almost 6 weeks. I'm not even going to get into what that done to us. We seriously contemplated cancelling but decided that since it was already paid for we were still going. We really do need it. And sometimes you just gotta do what ya gotta do!

Miss Mandalyn from Grace & Hope tagged me for a meme so I'm going to do my best. I haven't learned all the tricks of the trade yet so mine won't be fancy.

Here are the rules:
Link to name of person that tagged you.
Include state and country you live in.
List top five favorite local restaurants.
Tag 5 other people and let them know they've been tagged.

So....Here I go I live in Southwest Virginia near the Blue Ridge Mountains and to get to any of my favorite restaurants you have to travel around an hour. I don't have a favorite local, sorry but yuck! :)

1. Fresh Seafood- I love seafood it is my all time favorite, fried oysters, scallops, shrimp, lobster, crab legs, steamed clams, crab cakes and hushpuppies. I think I have to say dad's kitchen is the best...so I lied I have one favorite local place to eat. We usually do fresh seafood dinner at dad's two or three times a year.

2. Olive Garden- My favorite appetizer is the fried mushrooms my favorite entree here is the Chicken Marsala and of course the salad and breadsticks make this a perfect meal.

3. Outback- Filet Mignon with the Lobster Tail, baked potatoe and salad. mmmmmm

4. Kabuki's Japanese- Chicken and Shrimp and I love their rice. (I skip the soup)

5. Hamm's- The best sandwhiches and fried chips with homemade ranch dipping sauce. Yummy!!

And I tag...(well ladies I'm new so....I only have one to tag this week so I'm going to borrow a line I seen on another blog) You, you, you, you and Tammy's Moments

Have Fun! I did! :)

Beautiful Tutus

Once again at 5 minutes for Mom there is a great contest going on. Take a look at these gorgeous tutus!! These would definitely make a little girls dreams come true! Thanks 5 minutes for Mom!

Tonights Class

I teach on Wednesday nights and I am l-o-v-i-n it!! I have only been at my church for four months now and I have to admit I was reluctant to take a class to teach. My pastor met with me and talked extensively with me about my gifts and we prayed and finally I gave in. I wanted to say no because I didn't know if I was ready or not. The whole self doubt thing creeping in I suppose. I prayed hard but the Lord wouldn't release me to say no. Once I had committed myself I really felt good about it. Obedience feels good. It also feels good that my pastor knew what the Lord was calling me to do I must say this is new for me also. He just smiles at me now as he is learning how hestitant I can be and I am learning to trust him.

After the first day with the children I would be teaching I was ecstatic. These kids have hearts so deep, a good portion of them are bused in and their lives are on the hard side if you know what I mean. I also have several that come from God fearing homes and are very well versed in the Bible and have a great understanding of salvation and the bible. It is a good balance and the Lord uses those familiar with Him to help some of the others understand things. They even help me word things in different ways so it makes more sense to the class. I find it incredible. It was definitely a God thing because they bonded with me as strongly as I bonded with them. They listen when I speak. That is a great accomplishment in itself and I give God the praise and glory for it.

Tonight the Lord softened and opened hearts. I had three receive the free gift of salvation from the Lord!!! WooHooooo!!! Praise God! And all I can do is sing and worship my Savior Jesus Christ, my glorious Father, the miraculous Holy Spirit......Praise Your Holy Name J-E-S-U-S!!!

Lord You are good, And Your mercy endureth forever
Lord You are good, And Your mercy endureth forever
People from every nation and tongue
From generation and generation

We worship Y-O-U
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
We worship Y-O-U
For who You are

You are good, all the time
All the time, You are good
You are good, all the time
All the time, You are good

We worship Y-O-U
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
We worship Y-O-U
For who You are!!

We worship You for who You are
For who You are, For who You are
And You are GOOD!!!

Ro 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Mt 12:21 And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.

Acts 10:45 And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Acts 11:1 And the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.

Acts 11:18 When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.

Acts 13:48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.

Ro 10:10-15 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

Joh 3:15-18 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Odds and Ends with my Girls

Meadow spent the night with my best friend's little girl Lydia last night and I can't believe how quiet the house is without her, nor can I believe how much I miss her. My heart aches with a loneliness but she is coming home today and I'm excited to see her. She loves spending the night away from home it just doesn't happen often. I would rather that my girl's friends stay with us.

Yesterday the girls cleaned the house for me and they done a great job. Everything looks great and I suppose tomorrow we will be packing preparing to go on vacation. I can't wait to go and have time with my family away from all the regular things you have to deal with. My mom and dad are going and my sister who lives in Myrtle Beach is riding down so really it will feel like a reunion of sorts.

Last night my middle daughter Sky went to bed early. She was pooped and bored with cleaning so she copped out by going to bed. How funny?! She'd do anything to get out of cleaning!!

My oldest daughter Heaven and I sat up talking. I love times like that. Times that she opens up and pours herself out to me. The trust that she bestowes to me is touching. I never ever at that age talked with my mom and when I did it was lies, never did I share with her the reality of what I was going through. Not Heaven, she comes to me and shares her deepest struggles and for that I feel honored. She does say before she gets started, "Mom, I need to talk to you about some things but before we get started I need you to promise that you'll stay out of this and let me handle it ok?" *Sigh* with a Big Grin! :) I get the picture and when she is done pouring out her troubles I have to admit it is hard stepping back and allowing her to handle things. She does listen to my opinons which are sometimes more harsh than her own but at least she listens and weighs things out. She asks if she can sleep with me since her daddy is on the road and I say yes...knowing Sky is already in my bed! They love sleeping with me when their daddy is gone and since Meadow was away there was room for all three of us. When we turned in she asked me to say her prayers. Of course I obliged and I laid hands on her and said her prayers. When I rolled over I hid the tears that fell because I was so touched that my almost 17 year old would ask her mommy to say her prayers for her.

I am so thankful for my daughters. God is so good to me and sometimes the blessings that He floods me with are almost too many for me to absorb! I am so grateful... so thankful...to my Daddy upstairs, my heavenly Father....How great a job He does in taking care of His little girl. I'll always be His little girl.

Le 22:29 And when ye will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving unto the LORD, offer it at your own will.

Ps 50:14 Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High:

Ps 69:30 I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.

Ps 95:2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.

Willing to Wait on the Lord

Today was an awesome service......to be honest every Sunday is. I am especially grateful for where the Lord has led us to serve and worship Him. We were in a different church for over 4 years and there were so many problems. Not that God wasn't working and teaching us so much through all that we went through there. We did learn and we did grow in Christ. My husband wasn't in church at all when I started attending our old church and it was this church that God used to convict his heart and bring him to repentance, to wake him up and speak boldly to him calling him into a deeper walk with Him. Praise You Father!

We loved this church but the problems grew as we did. Looking back I find that so odd because logically it would seem that as we grew the problems would deminish but I suppose in the spiritual realm the opposite would be true. After a few years my husband and I began to view our church home differently and my heart began to long for a place that wasn't so full of strife and rebellion. For a little while this seemed to seperate us because in my mind since I had been walking with God longer I assumed that I was hearing God's voice before my husband and that I was right and he would eventually come to see that. :) The Lord taught me through this experience to lean on and trust my husband and to wait patiently upon the Lord. Even though my heart was longing to be free the Lord still had a work for us to do there and I'm thankful that my husband was listening more closely to God than I. I learned to be submissive and I relinquished my will and allowed God to be Lord in my life while allowing my husband to be the head of our house and lead this family spiritually. Which was after all the petition I had taken to the Lord many years before. It was God answering prayer. Isn't it funny sometimes how we pray for things and as the Lord brings them to pass they don't always unfold the way we might want them to but in the end we can see God's mighty hands and know that our Abba Daddy was taking better care of us than we could have ourselves!?

In January this year the Lord moved us. I have to say that even though my heart was longing for the change it made it none the less painful. Leaving a church home is like losing family and there is nothing pleasant about it. For three weeks we mourned so deeply that we couldn't bring ourselves to even visit other churches. But on that third week the Lord was beckoning my heart and I could feel Him leading me to a church, one that was close and that I was familiar with. Hmmmm...but God this isn't what I had in mind. Then He gave me scripture about gathering regularly and I said," yep, I hear You my Father but is that really where You want us?" It seemed too easy for Him to lead us to the church that only less than 2 minutes from our home. Then that Sunday morning the phone rang and the friend calling was visiting the very same church the Lord was calling me to and invited us to visit with them. Isn't that just like God? Such a caring Father that He didn't want us to go in alone? Finally we decided to give in and go.

God never ceases to amaze me. That mornings service was from Exodus on coming out of Egypt. That message couldn't have been anymore about what we had been through nor could it have been any more what we needed to hear and we knew at that moment that God was speaking to us boldly. We were reminded that our Father hadn't forgotten nor forsaken us and that His hand was guiding us where He wanted us to go. You know the Lord had prepared a place for us. You cannot begin to imagine the feeling, the realization of that. The love that our Father has for us is simply not famthomable. We have been at our new church home ever since and it keeps getting better. Our growth has once again picked up and my prayer for everyone is that they be where God has planted them in His perfect will. If that place is hard right now, listen and be willing to learn the lesson and be patient willing to wait on the Lord because He has a place prepared for you too!

Ps 25:5 Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.

Ps 25:21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee.

Ps 27:14 Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

Ps 37:7 Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him

Ps 37:9 For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.

Ps 37:34 Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.

Ps 52:9 I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints.

Ps 59:9 Because of his strength will I wait upon thee: for God is my defence.

Ps 62:5 My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.

Pr 20:22 Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the LORD, and he shall save thee.

Isa 30:18 And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.

Isa 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

La 3:25 The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.

La 3:26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.

Ho 12:6 Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep mercy and judgment, and wait on thy God continually.

Mic 7:7 Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.

Nexcare Bandages

Nexcare giving away bandages check it out at 5 minutes for Mom !

Friday's Feast

Once again I'm participating with Annie from My Life as Annie. How fun!!

Appetizer- List 3 emotions you have experienced this week
mmm well let's see I could list way more than three but I'll keep it short!
........ laughter at Meadow who is such a trip!
........ sheer joy at the news of Tammy's copper levels rising. Praising and thanking our Savior for His healing power and for answering prayer! Woohooo!!
........ and then tonight I think the only word to describe me is hormonal. Where it came from I don't know but it hit me like a ton of bricks. Praying it leaves quickly.
Soup- Name a car you'd love to have.
Well any car? Does it have to be economical or can it be one that I just want? Lets do one that I'd love to have if I didn't have to be economical. I would love to have a Cadillac CTS white or cream color, all leather interior, loaded!
http://www.cadillac.com/cadillacjsp/model/gallery.jsp?model=cts
Salad- Describe my typical morning routine..
Rise and shine. Hit the potty make sure everyone is up and at em. Remind the girls to feed the outside dog and I let the pups out to potty and play. Most of the time my older two start their days earlier than Meadow and I. So usually they are up and doing school and chores. They generally have a small breakfast unless dh is home in which he rises first and has breakfast ready for everyone. He is home often and we get spoiled to having a hot breakfast ready for us. Meadow and I take a few to get woke up and then we begin our school day. Mornings at my house aren't exciting! :)
Main Course- Have you ever e-mailed someone famous?If so, who, and what did you say to them? Did they reply?
Nope.
Desert- Do you listen to podcasts? If so, which ones?
Nope

Oh No She Didn't!!

Yesterday was a wonderful day. At first I really didn't know if I wanted to blog for the world to read or if I would keep it private. Dh is so impressed with my blog page though he encouraged me to share it with the world and so I did. After sending out the link I wondered to myself, "Now what do I do if I want to share something that I don't want everyone reading?" Naw, that won't happen...right? Wrong! It didn't take long for the story to unfold. So if you will picture this with me......

Sunshiny beautiful day, birds chirping, bees buzzing, flowers blooming and Meadow my dear little five year spashing in her pool. Her friend Nikki who is four came over to play with Meadow in her pool. We all took turns throughout the day keeping an eye on them. They were determined to splash every bit of water out the pool and we just laughed and let them have at it. What fun! We noticed after a little while that little Meadow had snuck out past the dog's house and had pulled her bathing suit down and was *gasp* squatting to pee! Dh said, "Jen, are you going to let her do that? The whole neighborhood can see." How funny that he asked if *I* were going to let her do that like he had no input on the matter. Well I just smiled and said, "Yes dear, it'll be fine, if she were your son you would encourage this behavior wouldn't you?? Let's just let her squat!" (After all we are country girls and a country girls gotta do what a country girls gotta do!)

Well the fever caught and before we knew it Nikki had joined Meadow in squatting around the yard. How funny to see them running from corner to corner of the yard peeing a little here and a little there. It reminded me of the movie Doc Hollywood with Michael J Foxx where he goes to the country and meets the girl who goes around in the woods and pees everywhere to keep the deer away so that the hunters can't kill em. Dh says they looked like they were marking their territory! LOL!

Well the day wore long and the water had long left the pool when little Nikki came crying through the front door. She said, "Meadow peed on me!" And I thought WHAT?!? "How did she do that Nikki??" and she replied very calmly at this point,"She peed in a cup and poured it on my head." I wailed,"OH NO SHE DIDN'T!!!" I was disgraced, ashamed, humiliated and left with mouth gaped open wondering how in the world this had happened? MY daughter? NO WAY!?! Not my little Meadow, surely not....but alas....Meadow comes through the door with her head hung low. "Yes momma, I did it and I don't know why." So she apologized to Nikki, I had Sky put Nikki in the shower and Meadow and I went to the bedroom. I explained what I knew she already knew about how we don't dare do things like this and then we kneeled and she repented and asked the Lord for forgiveness and then she took her spanking.

Well little Nikki didn't want Meadow in trouble. She came and got me and looked up at me with those big brown pouty eyes and said, "It's ok Meadow poured pee on me, my momma don't care, I use to pour pee on my head all the time when I was little." I replied, "Oh No You Didn't!" What a friend. What a moment. Thank God for forgiveness and for great friends!

(And *I* can't believe I just blogged this story!)

Without Mother Nature by Sky and Caleb

Without Mother Nature

Without mother nature the sun would fry
The birds would die and we would sigh for tie-dye t-shirts
The squirrels would have NO nuts
The dolphins would become a klutz

The sharks would dance
The monkeys would wear pants
The grass would turn purple
The grapes HOT pink and tater-tots would be extinct
The moon would fart and the schools would part

The peas would teach
Pumpkins would become a peach
You would wear makeup on your toes
And fingernail polish on your nose
Mountain Dew would be in stew

Steam would be a team
Carrots would eat parrots
You could eat ink and NOT stink
Your tongue would be in your lung

And that is why MOTHER NATURE is here

Time Travelers Tuesday

Reading through some blog pages from Bluebird Blogs I came across My Life as Annie. I thought how neat it would be to participate in looking back on my life at 18. So here it goes....

Eighteen. 18. That sure seems like a lifetime ago. For me that was in September of 1989. How lost and in the world I was. I was definitely looking for love in all the wrong places. I was on my own...well I should say not living at home with mom and dad. I had dropped out of high school repeating the tenth grade. I had fallen for the wrong guy but wouldn't admit it. I thought I could fix the world. I had great ambitions and huge plans that I just knew would take form soon. I thought I knew it all. *sigh* Little did I know how far off I was from truly knowing anything! I found myself pregnant with my oldest daughter that December. I was ecstatic and yet ashamed inside at the same time. My family had spoken for years that I would be the first grandchild pregnant only I had held out on them and it came much later than the predicted 14. I held my head up and determined that I would be the very best mother that I could be to my child. My my my.....so long ago.....I battled depression, suicide, self worthlessness and also spent five years of my life in an abusive relationship. I don't remember the styles or the most popular songs but I do remember where my God brought me from! The Lord used my daughter to show me His love for me and I named her Heaven to remind us always of where we would spend our eternity. I praise God for forgiveness, redemption and deliverance!!! Woohooo! Because He set me free and filled me with joy, a desire to live and to serve and He showed me that I am the righteousness of Him in Christ Jesus! 2 Corinthians 5:21 The Lord led me to the one He had waiting for me and He restored me. I did go back and get my GED and I also graduated from college with my Associates Degree in Business Management. The Lord led me to homeschool my children and to be there for them as I knew my mom had so desperately wanted to be there for me. So here we are living in VICTORY! Thank-You Dear Heavenly Father, Dear Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit.

If you know what its like to be where I was in pain and on the wrong path I want you to know that there is a better way. The Father sent His only Son Jesus~the Word made flesh....Jesus~ Son of the Living God, Jesus~born of the virgin Mary, to die on the cross to save us from our sins, to be crucified a sinless innocent man to save us~you and I. Oh what a price that was paid! He rose three days later...God raised Him from the dead, freeing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep a hold on Him! Acts 2:24 All you have to do is go to Him prayer, cry out to the Father, Oh Abba Father, to YOUR Father in the name of Jesus. It is as easy as ABC....A...Admit you are a sinner, hopeless with no good thing in you without Christ, B...Believe in Him John 3:16 " For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." C...Confess your sins to Him, pour your heart out to Him and ask Him to forgive you. Receive His forgiveness being sure to forgive yourself so that the enemy cannot use your past to accuse you. Seek the Lord, find fellowship with like believers, read God's Word it is your food, food for your spirit now. Build your relationship with Christ. Ask for guidance and understanding. Begin the journey with the Lord so that one day your ears will hear, "Well done my good and faithful servant!" Matthew 25:21 Live in Victory my friend! Whom the Lord has set Free is Free Indeed!

John 8:36 If therefore the Son shall set you free, ye shall be really free.

WoW!! Look at this design....

I believe it is time for me to put a little time into my blogging. I am so impressed with what Susie at Bluebird Blogs has done here for me. Thank-You Susie!

Today is a beautiful day. It is so bright and sunny here. My dh is home and helping me out around the house, with school and meals. I feel like I'm on vacation! Last night I woke up around 3:30 am with incredible heartburn. Yuck city! I thought I was going to be sick to my stomach. I got up and felt relief as long as I wasn't laying down. I was wide awake once up so there was no chance in going back to bed. I prepared for the day by doing some little things that had been left from the day before. I spent a lot of time in prayer and reading my Bible. It was wonderful to have this alone time with the Lord. The house was so quiet. I watched the sun rise through the french doors in the kitchen. The colors changing over the mountain left me speechless and in awe of God's great wonders. How mighty and awesome He is! What a blessing for me to enjoy and be ever thankful for. I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit and allowed it to lead me in my prayers. The Lord laid much on my heart to pray for and I was so appreciative of His presence. He called me into time with Him and I was blessed by it!

I laid back down somewhere around eleven. I just couldn't make it all day on the sleep I had gotten. Dh of course tucked me in and took over for me so I could rest. I slept well until around one and I awoke to the sounds of the house running smoothly. When I look around me I notice that there are few women in our lives that have a husband who cares so much and is so dedicated and faithful as mine.

Lord, today I thank-you whole heartedly for the precious man that you prepared for me before I ever knew him. I thank-you that you knew my every need in a man and provided them to me in my dear husband. I ask that You watch over him and lead and guide him in the ways that You want him to go. Use him Father. Create in him a mighty leader that will know and see the path You have prepared for us. That we will not veer nor sway from it but walk steadily and faithfully on our journey with You. We love and praise You Father, we offer up Thanksgiving to You for all of the great and many blessings that You have provided for us. In Jesus sweet and precious name I pray, Amen.