I Covet Your Prayers

tomorrow. 9/26/08 Thanks sistas!

Manic Monday

The girls are doing so well in school. Some days I'm so busy and others it seems I haven't a thing to do. Heaven and I went shopping and found her wedding dress, slip, bra, tiara and veil. I cannot believe my little girl is getting married. I believe earlier this year I was posting about having empty nest syndrome because she was going to be leaving for college. Now she will be attending the local community college for a couple of years before having to transfer out to finish her degree to teach English.

I have been debating what to do with myself, although I'm not 100% sure that I won't be homeschooling again next year, you just never know. I didn't start college at the Christian School as intended because of the classes. I thought it was a program that I could get a teaching certificate and a bible degree in so that I could teach in any Christian School but this one was bible classes only and wouldn't benefit me anywhere but there. I will be substituting though, actually I'll be teaching 4th grade tomorrow. I do love teaching. I wish our church would buy land and build a fully functioning Christian School. (I'm praying)

I have been contemplating going back to school to take the RN program. The thing that gets me is that I'll need at least 3 semesters of math and science before I can even apply to our local nursing schools. It will take me 4 years to finish, and that is if I passed all classes each semester and I passed the HESI test at the end of each semester. Here, even if you pass the semester, if you fail the HESI you must repeat that semester until you pass the HESI. I have a friend that failed the HESI twice and it took her an extra year to finish. That is a long time and a long commitment. Especially due to the high demand. I'm almost 37 and they only accept a limited # of students each year with a portion being given first to those just graduating and those that are already LPNs. I'd hate to take 2 years of prerequisites only to have to wait even longer to get in.

I investigated attending our local Tech College, the one I graduated from before, I could finish a degree in Medical Assisting in about a year. This would be my fastest option but I called several local Dr.s offices and they don't recommend it. In our area MA's aren't hardly used at all and I would have to travel to have a job. I'm an hour away from three different larger cities that would employ MA's so I'm hesitant to go that route also. Pay start out isn't that high either and with gas prices I just don't see the benefit.

Decisions, decisions.

That and trying to plan a wedding. I really haven't a clue where to start. Right now the big question is where? They want an outside wedding and not a typical church wedding so that greatly limits me. Pray the Lord show us the perfect place to hold a wedding in this beautiful county we live in.

Other than that all is well on the homefront. Oh, other than Roxy. She will be one in November and she still is NOT potty trained. She is in a crate and she is being taken outdoors, I also have pee pads down inside and she uses those too, BUT she still continues to poop and pee in the girls bedrooms. I'm getting to my wits end with her. We all spend lots of time with her, we even took training classes and I've read two books. Nothing is working. I've contemplated trying to find another home for her. That breaks all of our hearts but we just don't know what else to do. sigh...

I knew it was coming

Matt proposed to Heaven today! I just got the phone call. I knew it was coming because Matt had requested to have dinner with Tony last week and he asked Tony if he could have his daughter's hand in marriage. Tony gave his blessings, even though we do feel she is really young. I believe a late spring/early summer wedding is planned. I have so many mixed feelings , but at the same time, I'm really happy for them. Well, not much time, just wanted to share the news.

Wordless Wednesday

Young Love

For more Wordless Wednesdays go to 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordless Wednesday Hub.

Be Still Sunday # 3

To see other Be Still Sundays visit Natalie at Married to the Preacher.

Thankful Thursday

I have so many things to be thankful for but today I'm keeping it simple. I'm thankful that the Lord has given me time with this little fella, short as it may be. He is so precious. For those who missed yesterday his mommy is in prison and he is staying temporarily with my sister in law. Please keep them all in prayer. Have a blessed day!

Wordless Wednesday

This is Aiden. Please keep this little fella in your prayers. His mommy is in prison. My sister in law met her while she was doing some time and they bonded. She had no one to take him and he would have gone into foster care. Now my sister in law is taking care of him and I really believe that it is helping her, plus we get to help too! Thank-you for your prayers for him and his mommy.

For more Wordless Wednesdays go to 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordless Wednesday Hub.

Poppin In

You know it seems like I've been busy busy busy but I can't remember what I've been doing! Sigh. If I don't mark it or write it down on my calendar then I simply can't recall what I've done. It can be frustrating.

I do remember yesterday. We were heading up the Mountain to spend the day with my mil and help her make some peach jam, can peaches and pick apples. We received a phone call from a couple at church and they were having a yard sale and invited us over. She said she had lots of clothes to fit Meadow. Boy did she ever! I filled two huge boxes of clothes, everything from sweaters to skirts, shirts and dresses. She got seven pair of shoes. I was thinking about what to offer her for the whole lot of things and she said, I'm blessing you with these, I'm sewing seed. I was stunned. WOW! I know it was well over a hundred dollars. I haven't been given second hand things in a long time and I really miss it. You don't realize how much money it saves you until you go shopping and are forced to buy things new. Even if I do find them on sale for $4 or $5 which is a great deal it still doesn't compare to yard sales or hand me downs. I love em. So I've spent the day cleaning out Meadow's room and reorganizing and purging making room for her nice new things.

I was able to talk my sister in law into letting me keep her 4 week old little boy (the one who's mommy is in prison). I have been up since 5:30 this morning! Can you believe that?! Wowzers! I love it. It's awesome having him here, listening to his squeaky little noises and smelling that fresh baby scent. I get to keep him until tomorrow. If I can find my camera chip I'll post a picture of him in the morning for Wordless Wednesday.

Till then....

Be Still Sunday # 2

I'm a little late again this Sunday. It's hard for me to get here some Sundays. I hope you have had a wonderfully blessed Sunday!





To see other Be Still Sundays visit Natalie at Married to the Preacher.

Then Sings My Soul Saturdays-3

Since beginning to read Angie Smith's blog Bring the Rain Selah has become one of my all time favorite artists. This song called "Wonderful Merciful Savior" just touches my soul. It's so peaceful and powerful at the same time. Be sure to scroll to the bottom of my page and turn off my playlist so there will not be two songs playing at the same time. Hope you enjoy and for more TSMSS's visit Amy at Sign, Miracles and Wonders. She is running a giveaway for the next four weeks. It's pretty exciting over there and lots of fun. Hope you can join us! Thanks Amy!
Here are the words.

Wonderful, merciful Savior
Precious Redeemer and Friend
Who would have thought that a Lamb
Could rescue the souls of men
Oh you rescue the souls of men

Counselor, Comforter, Keeper
Spirit we long to embrace
You offer hope when our hearts have
Hopelessly lost the way
Oh, we've hopelessly lost the way

You are the One that we praise
You are the One we adore
You give the healing and grace
Our hearts always hunger for
Oh, our hearts always hunger for

Almighty, infinite Father
Faithfully loving Your own
Here in our weakness You find us
Falling before Your throne
Oh, we're falling before Your throne

Sharing Words of Knowledge

I have a bloggy friend who shared something today that really brought me a lot of understanding. Over the last couple of years I've wrestled with my beliefs in terms of denomination so to speak. I came from being a baptist all my life into a strong word of faith church and then God moved us to a different church. It is still considered word of faith but with so much more understanding, not just name it and claim it. I've learned that I must conform to God's will and NOT try and conform His will to my life/wants/desires. It's been a journey that is for sure. He is in control NO matter what happens. He isn't punishing me, He loves me. He knows whats best for me. He is my Father. The post below elaborates on this. Thank-you my friend for allowing me to share your revelation.

Begin share~
Granite : a hard stone and traditionally has required great skill to carve by hand

One of the things that the LORD constantly reminds me of is HIS mercy that I received when I am honest about my sin. Where I am in my walk with him is so sweet, yet challenging.. I love that I know without a doubt that I have this FRIEND I can be honest, real, and HE not be offended by anything I say. Last night as I was visiting a friend we had very encouraging conversation about trials, sufferings and what the LORD was doing in each of our lives. What humble moment that was for me... I left her house feeling very refreshed and encouraged to walk another day in acceptance in what the Lord's will for my life right now...

Remember the revelation I was talking about yesterday?? Here it comes, the LORD Is so faithful y'all, HE IS... He remembers me and I am nothing but dust... My friend read this excerpt from out of a book I am reading on trials and we both were blown away at what the LORD was saying to each of us through this entry:

' I once stood in the test room of a great mil. All around me were little partitions and compartments. Steel had been tested to the limit and marked with figures that showed its breaking point. Some pieces had been twisted until they broke, stretched to the breaking point and their tensile strength had been indicated. Some had been compressed to the crushing point, and also marked. The master of the steel mill knew just what these pieces of steel would stand under stain. He knew just what they would bear because his testing room revealed it. It is so often with God's children. God does not want us to be like vases of glass or porcelain. He would have us like these toughened pieces of steel, able to bear twisting and crushing to the uttermost without collapse. He wants us to be, not hothhouse plants but storm- beaten oaks; not sand dunes driven with every gust of wind, but granite rocks withstanding the fiercest storms. To make us such He must bring us into His testing room of suffering. Many of us need no other argument than our own experiences to prove that suffering is indeed God's testing room of faith." -J.H. McC

"It is very easy for us to speak and theorized about faith, but God often cast us into crucibles to try our gold, and to separate it from the dross and alloy. Oh, happy are we if the hurricanes that ripple life's unquiet sea have the effect of making Jesus more precious. Better the storm with Christ than smooth waters without Him."- Macduff

I have no words after that...I just asked that we all continue to encourage one another through the fire. We need each other. It was good last night for me to hear my sisters heart and not think about myself...Others are hurting as well, please feel free to share this with a sister you know who needs that extra push today..May the LORD continue to give us grace to endure. Have a great weekend! Please feel soooo free to leave comments! :)
End Share

That was awesome wasn't it? It has really helped my faith to grow and it has helped me to understand why things happen the way they do sometimes. I think about my own girls and how I have spoiled them so, and to some extent that is fine but I also look at the attitude that spoiling them has created. It has been a struggle to regain control and fight off the rebellion that is in their hearts as a result of a lack of discipline. Don't get me wrong my girls are good girls but you simply cannot give someone absolutely everything they want, you cannot protect them or excuse their actions with no consequences, leading them to believe that the world revolves around them and that the world owes them something without creating a monster. They need to appreciate what they have, they need to work for what they have, they need to learn to serve others, they need to be taught how to be humble. If they do not learn to be submissive to authority (which is often us the parents) then they will not be submissive to teachers, employers, they will struggle through life blaming everyone and everything for the problems in their lives but themselves. Most importantly they will not be submissive to the Lord.

Sometimes we have to take our hands back, the same way the Lord does with us and allow them to be twisted and marked, compressed and crushed to refine them and strengthen them to be able to handle what this life has for them and to be used for His glory. They must be trained if they are going to be mighty warriors for our King. Love can sometimes be confused with giving one their own way. If you love me, you'll do this. If you love me, you'll do that. I know many times my girls will tell me that I don't love them because I am disciplining them. How many times have I cried out and told God, "How could you love me if You allowed this to happen to me!" How many times have I cried out and told Him, "If you love me you'll answer this prayer!" How many times have I stamped my feet and demanded my own way or prayed prayers and when they weren't answered the way I seen fit I questioned His existence? I have missed many great lessons my Lord was trying to teach me. I have failed to see how I could have glorified my Father, My Savior in so many ways. I have refused to follow Him in His will if it did not line up with my will.

There are consequences for our actions. Yes the Lord forgives us and we should receive that forgiveness with no shame or guilt after repentance but there are still consequences when we choose to sin. There must also be consequences when our children refuse to obey.

Basically it was a wrong way of seeing things. I'm ever so grateful that the Lord is teaching me how to truly see Him. How deep His love truly is for me. How blessed I am to be a child of the King! I hope that this will help help other see our Lord through spiritual eyes and not through our physical ones. May God bless you all greatly this day!

My friend's blog For Yours Is The Kingdom.

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for so many things. I am thankful for meeting other Christian bloggers and thankful that the Lord uses us to help one another. Its great to meet other people with like struggles and you always bump into those who have been through so much more than you have. When you meet those people and see how they've handle their battle you learn that you have so much more growing to do and that you aren't as far along as you thought you were. To me that is always a wonderful revelation because then you are able to move deeper into your own relationship with God. You also realize that you are not alone. Sometimes the enemy wants to single you out and separate you from everything and everyone else so he can really come against you but the Lord is always opening doors and windows to allow us to see past the moment. This week I've had such sweet reminders of my God being in complete control. Complete control. Not the enemy but my sweet Father in Heaven, My Savior His Son Jesus Christ and the precious Holy Spirit. For this I am ever grateful and very thankful.

I'm also thankful for the rain! :) God bless you and have a blessed Thankful Thursday.


For more Thankful Thursdays visit Sting My Heart

First Day of School!!

And I have no pics! What?!?! Yeppers I forgot my camera. But on the brighter side the girls had a great day. I was so glad to hear about friends made and work done. It's raining here so they didn't have P.E. and they were both ecstatic about that! LOL! I just stopped by for a second to let everyone know how it went. Great Day! Praise the Lord!

Tomorrow is the Big Day

I can't believe it but Sky and Meadow are going to start school tomorrow at our local Christian school. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. After seven years of homeschooling this is going to be a major change for me and for them. Meadow is already pleading with me to continue to homeschool her but I think that is just a tinge of fear. This year the school is trying a new schedule and they will only have to go to school 4 days a week. Monday-Thursday. They will have every Friday off. This leaves me a day for dentist and doctors appointments so hopefully they won't have miss much school at all.

I know that the girls are going to enjoy and benefit from this little school. I'm not as emotional as I thought I would be. The tears haven't came as I expected, just a simple peace. I feel so right about our decision. I'm so thankful for that.

Here are a few pictures from the end of the last school year. We went and tried out the Christian school and these pictures are from a field trip. They are very reassuring to me that this is going to be a good thing for them.

They do look like they are having fun don't they?

P.S. There are pictures up of Heaven's mission trip in South Africa on our ministry blog if you would like to see them click below.

Be Still Sunday

I'm a little late but posting this anyway. I really like this idea.





To see other Be Still Sundays visit Natalie at Married to the Preacher.

Then Sings My Soul Saturdays-2

This song is by Kellie Coffey. I love how it shows struggle and then offers hope. It shows God answers prayer. For more Then Sings My Soul Saturdays visit Amy at Signs, Miracles and Wonders

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Friday

It's pretty today and the house is clean. We are going to have leftovers for dinner, left over Beef Lombardi, one of our favorite dishes, with dinner rolls and maybe mashed potatoes. Dh called and he is coming home from work early. I'm ecstatic. A long weekend together. We are going to try and install a closet organizer in Meadow's room and tomorrow night we are going to a combo birthday party for my nephew Tyler and my daughter Heaven who just turned the big 18. I just look forward to spending some time with my family. Here is the Beef Lombardi recipe from Southern Living. It's yummy! I hope you all have a blessed weekend.

Beef Lombardi

Ingredients

1 pound lean ground beef
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can chopped tomatoes
1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1 (6-ounce) package medium egg noodles
6 green onions, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 cup sour cream
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
Garnish: fresh parsley sprigs

Preparation

Cook ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat 5 to 6 minutes, stirring until it crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain.

Stir in chopped tomatoes and next 4 ingredients; cook 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and bay leaf, and simmer 30 minutes.

Cook egg noodles according to package directions; drain.

Stir together cooked egg noodles, chopped green onions, and sour cream until blended.

Place noodle mixture in bottom of a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Top with beef mixture; sprinkle evenly with cheeses.

Bake, covered with aluminum foil, at 350° for 35 minutes. Uncover casserole, and bake 5 more minutes. Garnish, if desired.

Note: Freeze casserole up to 1 month, if desired. Thaw in refrigerator overnight. Bake as directed.

To lighten: Substitute low-fat or fat-free sour cream and 2% reduced-fat Cheddar cheese. Reduce amount of cheeses on top to 1/2 cup each.

Yield

Makes 6 servings

Southern Living, OCTOBER 2003

Thankful Thursday

Today I am Thankful for time.


For more Thankful Thursdays visit Sting My Heart

Wordless Wednesday

For more Wordless Wednesdays go to 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordless Wednesday Hub.

Roxy is a mess!

Roxy has a grooming appointment tomorrow. She is a mess. She doesn't like to keep her hair up anymore. I have to redo it every morning to keep it out of her eyes and usually its out just a little while after. I have spent several hours over the past few days brushing and dematting her. I bathed her Saturday but it surely doesn't show today. She's just gotten too long. I'm going to have cut down really short with pom pom feet and puppy cut her face in hopes that it will help me keep her cleaner. Her breath has been ferocious!! I'm going to have to figure something out for that. She is still as precious as ever I just can't believe how much hair she has, and to think if I didn't groom her it would keep on growing!

Tired lately

I'm sorry for my absence. Heaven is home and doing well. She has decided to wait one year before leaving for college. She just celebrated her 18th birthday Wednesday. My baby isn't a baby anymore! The girls have had VBS this week and we are getting ready for their new school which starts week after next. I'm so excited for them and do pray that they like it.

Today I had to have blood drawn and when Heaven and I returned home we started cleaning and I began to fix our favorite dish, Enchilada Pie. I had extra enchilada sauce in the fridge and when I went to get the container out the lid popped off and the bowl flipped and that RED sauce poured down the back of the inside of my refrigerator. I couldn't stop the tears of frustration. Heaven and I worked and worked to clean that sauce up but it stained the plastic lining. Then while Heaven was trying to clean out from around the light bulbs one popped on her and she started crying. I had to laugh then! What a struggle. Lately that seems to be happening to me. Everything I touch either breaks or spills. It's been a rough week.

I'll try to be back as soon as I can. Tony just came through the door so I need to go. Just wanted to let everyone know I'm alive! Hugs.