Sunday ramblings

This morning I am overwhelmed by the great love that Jesus has for me. This morning I have been studying the Last Supper. Like Siesta Beth, I so hope that He tells the Passover story when we gather together in Glory! Can you imagine us all sitting at His feet and Him telling us the great stories of the Bible—much like we have done with our children? The story is always better coming from the One who experienced it.

Today will be yet another busy Sunday—we don’t have adult SS class today because of a health fair going on at church. I so look forward to worship service—it is a highlight of my week to gather with fellow believers and sing of His great love and listen to His Word proclaimed. We will come home and have lunch and hopefully a nap before we have FPU at 5 p.m.

Tomorrow is President’s Day, so that means a day off work—yay! I have a mammogram scheduled for 9 a.m. in the morning. It is a little overdue! I haven’t had one since my breast reduction surgery 10/25/06. I am a little apprehensive because I don’t know how it is to have a mammogram with small breasts! Mama is coming down to ride with me. I thought it would give us a chance to spend some time together.

I spent yesterday cleaning up the house—I just love a clean houseJ Then I messed up the sunroom with all my scrapbook stuff! LA has kind of taken over my sewing room with her paint stuff. This is a canvas that she painted for a baby shower gift for a lady at church--isn't it cute?

That room needs to be about triple it’s size—of course Eddie would say that I don’t use it enough now. I am just so appreciative that he built it for me. It is a perfect little room for crafting—but for only one person at a time. It gets a little claustrophobic when both of us are in there trying to work on stuff! When I am working on scrapbook pages, I kind of get stressed before I actually put a page together—it’s like once it’s down, it’s down. I know that it’s supposed to be a creative outlet—but my perfectionism tends to creep in and I want each page to be perfect. I am getting better and not analyzing each page so much. My pages lean toward a very conservative layout—just mats, borders, journals—no buttons, bows, bells or whistles for me. Gosh, I would never complete a page if I started having to worry about all that!!

I have been listening to Chris Tomlin this morning—he is so gifted! I especially like the song, “Glory in the Highest”. It really speaks to me. The whole CD, “See the Morning”, is great! The DVD that came with it was awesome—Louie Giglio speaks a profound message! I wish everyone could hear it.

Hoping to have a day filled with love and laughter—and worshiping the One from whom all things are given.

Coffee and the Lord

Well, it is Saturday morning and I am just finished with my Bible study and it’s not 6 a.m. yet! Oh, how I love these early mornings with the Lord. I have really grown closer to the Lord through this study—90 Days with the One and Only by Beth Moore. I am on Day 75 so just a couple of weeks left. When I started this at the first of December, my prayer was that I would grow to love Jesus more and to truly understand what others meant when they said that they loved Him. I knew that I loved Him because of all He has forgiven me, but I didn’t understand that deep emotional agape love that I saw in others. Now I realize that the reason that I didn’t understand was because I wasn’t spending enough time with Him. I know that I am still not nor will I ever be close enough to Him (this side of Glory), so I will have to keep striving and grow closer and fall more in love with Him every day. Sometimes, I will wake up before the clock goes off at 5:15 in anticipation of spending this time alone with Him! My family and friends can’t understand why I would get up at 5:15 on a Saturday morning. Four months ago I wouldn’t have understood it either!

I have also started another study—this one with a group of ladies from church. I was approached and asked to be a part of this study on becoming a mentor. At first, I was sure that I could never be a mentor but I went to the meeting just to see what it was all about. I was assured that if at the end of the study I didn’t feel the Lord’s call, I would be under no obligation to become a mentor. It is a good study so far.

Eddie and I are into the 2^nd baby step of Financial Peace. One of the main reasons I wanted us to take FPU was so that we would both be on the same page where our money is concerned. When he would ask me about the finances, I would get defensive and think that he thought I was not doing a good job. In our almost 28 years of marriage, most of our disagreements have been about money.

I am so fortunate to have such a Godly husband—the Lord has truly blessed me beyond measure! I hope that LA and Trav will one day have a marriage as happy as ours has been. I pray that the Lord is working in the lies of their future spouses right now—that He is preparing them for each other.

LA has made some canvasses to supplement her (lack of) income while she is in school. She made one for a baby shower gift last week—well Julie took it to work and LA received 3 orders for more! She showed a girl at school a picture and she ordered one—when she took that one, another girl ordered 2 more! She has so much talent—I am so proud of her, I know that she will be a great hairdresser. I let her cut my hair last week for the first time—I think she did a great job (saved me $25 too!!).

Travis has decided that he is going to use his income tax refund to build a computer. Boys and their toysJ I guess they don’t understand my love of decorating and scrap booking either! He is spending most evenings working at Whiteford’s—just like in high school! A girl at work said that she saw him in there the other night and she said that she thought he seemed so much happier working there than he did at the bank. I think he liked what he did at the bank, but they didn’t have enough to keep him busy and he was bored. He may still work at the bank again this summer, I hope that he will go straight through and take summer school so he can hurry and finish with school.

I think that Eddie is getting fishing fever—he has been watching so many programs on TV and surfing the net checking fishing reports. It won’t be long until we can put the boat back in the water. The time that we spend together on the water fishing is so precious. Sometimes I think that we shouldn’t have gone into debt to buy that boat, but it is something that gives us time together and strengthens out marriage. We both have such a love for fishing—now if we could just catch some fish!

Well, I hope to get some scrapping done today. I am working on catching up my Christmas album and then I will go from there. It is so overwhelming to think of how many pictures I have—I wish I had started this when my children were small. Oh well!

Financial Peace

Well, today we start Financial Peace University at church. It is one of those things that I know we need to do and I have been wanting to do, but when it comes down to it, I am scared! It's kind of like a diet---it's fun to talk about and plan but when it come down to actually doing it, it's a different story! Also, another way it's like a diet is that I have been wanting to go splurge while I can before I have to change my ways. In the 27 1/2 years that we've been married, I have always been in control of our finances. I have always paid our bills on time and have never missed one, but when it comes time to talk to Eddie about them, it really bothers me. This is the way I think; he thinks that I don't so a good enough job and we should have plenty saved....and I get defensive. This is honestly the only area of our marriage that we struggle with, so that is why we signed up to take this class. Hopefully, it will open the lines of communication so that we will both be on the same page.

Snow Day?

I just love winter weather! Living in the south, we don't get a lot of snow but when we do, it is so exciting! If you go to the grocery store, you will find everyone buying milk and bread...now I have always wondered why milk & bread? Bread pudding maybe? Milk sandwiches? Even though I don't eat bread and I don't drink milk, it is hard for me not to run to the store and stock up just because everyone else is doing that. Today the forecast is for rain changing to snow with accumulations around 3 inches. Now, that means no driving....southerners can't drive in the snow:) The ladies will have their husbands drive them if they must get out. Don't you just love the chivalry? We have to make sure that our men know that we need them to take care of us! Sometimes I like playing the "damsel in distress" --- it makes me feel special when my man takes care of me. A feminist, I am not! But other times, my independent side kicks in and I want to show him that I am capable of taking care of myself. That little attitude usually backfires on me though....the next time I want him to do something for me, he will remind me that I have done it for myself before. That is what happens when I don't ask God for His help also. When I try to do things on my own, I usually mess them up. I stick my foot in my mouth or tear someone down with my words or my actions. It is hard to remember that the Spirit is living within me and that all I have to do is to call upon Him for strength, wisdom, mercy, or whatever the situation calls for. The thing with God is that, unlike us humans with our weaknesses and sinful nature, He doesn't remind us that we messed up before...He removes our transgressions as far as the east is from the west--Praise God!! His mercy is new every morning!
I am just loving "90 Days with the One and Only" by Beth Moore (my favorite siesta!) Each day is as though it was written just for me. Today was about the disciples inability to cast out demons, how when Jesus, Peter, John, and James were gone to the mountain and the disciples were left alone, they forgot the power that Jesus had given them. (Mark 9:14-18) It was like they had to have reinforcements there to be able to function. That reminded me of how much I ride the coattails of others that I have deemed more spiritual than me. It reminded me that in my weakness, He is strong. I know that I need to rely on Him and not myself, but my little independent side wants to be in control! Imagine that!!
I am going to enjoy this wonderful Saturday staying home and waiting and watching for the snow!

Such a Sweet Sunday

Sunday is such a busy day for me as I'm sure it is for most people. It's rush, rush, rush to get to church on time, then where to go for lunch, come home to have time to change clothes, maybe a quick nap, then back to church for my small group time. By the time I get home, it dawns on me that my weekend is over and I have to go back to work tomorrow!
In the past, Sundays were always depressing to me, especially Sunday afternoons. Let me explain! On Friday afternoons, I was so ready for the weekend, I was going to accomplish so much in the two days that I had off from work but what I was doing was setting myself up to be disappointed. Well, by Sunday afternoon, I had realized that I had accomplished very little, if anything, that I had planned for the weekend.
Now, I try to just enjoy my time at home. I really love for my house to be clean, so usually that means spending some time cleaning on Saturday (which doesn't really feel like work, because it feels so rewarding when it's done).
Since I have been getting up early every morning to spend quiet time with God, I have really just looked forward to that time, so much that I get up every morning (yes, even Saturdays and Sundays) at 5:15. The funny thing is that usually I wake up even before the clock goes off! Now, I have never really been an early riser. I just anticipate spending my sweet time with Jesus...just Him and me....while the world still sleeps...while it is still dark outside....oh, but the Light shines inside, though!
Well, this morning, we had a wonderful Sunday school time, an awesome worship experience--the music was so good--"This is Your House"---"Shout to the Lord"---"Spirit of the Living God" and the choir sang "Here I am to worship". Tony (pastor) shared that his daughter was pregnant with twins after struggling with infertility for several years...Praise the Lord! Then he had a powerful message on the church---that it is not an institution, but a kingdom of priests. We are to live the commands, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and strength and your neighbor as yourself." I know that I am guilty of not loving my neighbor as myself. Stepped on my toes!
This afternoon, we were to start Financial Peace, but because we had so many people sign up, we will be starting next week. I am excited, but scared too!
When we got to church, my friend Michelle had locked her keys in her car...with her 21 month old inside. We were all frantically trying to get her doors unlocked. Fortunately, he was happy and not fussing (at least not at first). After about 35 minutes, thanks to a wonderful friend with Triple A, a wrecker service came and unlocked the doors. Whew, that was not fun! Poor fellow just didn't understand.
Tomorrow, Leigh Anne starts cosmetology school. This is something that she has wanted to do since she got out of high school but her daddy and I discouraged it. Now, since she has lost weigh and is more confident, I think she will be very successful at it. At least, she has her bachelor's degree to fall back on if this doesn't work out. I think it will work out though because she thinks this is what God has called her to do. He has given her a gift of artistic flair and style. She is such a beautiful person, inside and out!

2008?

Where has the time gone? A lot of things have changed since I last posted....the main one being me! I have lost almost 100 pounds now! I still can't believe it myself! I don't have any great pictures, but maybe you can tell from this one.
I have decided to change the focus of this blog from weight loss to my spiritual journey. I have been touched by so many different blogs, that I was inspired to come back and try this again with a new and better focus.
I am currently in the middle of '90 Days with the One and Only' by Beth Moore and I can only say "WOW!" I am falling head over heels in love with Jesus! I am learning so much more about Him. I am so glad that I started it when I did...it was the first of December and it just tied right into the season. I have a totally new outlook of how Mary might have felt. Sometimes, I forget that she was just a young girl who did not know the end of the story. I think that it's easy to say that we believe something when we know what the result will be, but how much more faith does it require when you don't know?
I hope that 2008 will be a time of change for me.....to become more like Him.

Motivation

I am finding it very hard lately to stay motivated. I hope to concentrate more on improving my health than worrying so much about how I look. I know that if I can improve my health, I will naturally look better! Since I had my breast reduction surgery, I feel so much better about myself. I thought that I would be more motivated to continue to lose, but it's been as if just the opposite has happened. I am more comfortable in my body these days. It sure is hard to figure this complex process of being an overweight woman!! Maybe one day, I'll understand and can then I can solve all the problems that obese women face each day!