Grace Is For Sinners

If you have been reading with me for any amount of time you have heard me mention Serena Woods.


She is the author of one of the best books I've read in a long time. It's titled "Grace Is For Sinners" The title says it all, friends. It is a raw reminder that grace is not predetermined...if your good. It's not something that you have to earn or work for. Its not even something we deserve.

Grace is for you.

Grace is for me.

Grace is for sinners, it's for all of us.

Earlier this week on Twitter Serena gave a video of her testimony for her church. With her permission I am sharing that video here because:

A) I want you guys to know that "Grace Is For Sinners".

B) I love Serena's heart, and her love for the Lord. Because her story is not an easy one to hear, let alone tell. She has went through the pits of hell and came out on the other side with her message that it doesn't matter what it is.......You are forgiven, and you are loved.

Don't forget to mute the music at the bottom to watch the video.

So, pour you a cup of coffee, get comfy and let me introduce to you my friend Serena.

The Itsy Bisty Spider

My friend Lona wrote this post about finding a spider in her shower. It made me laugh so hard coffee shot out of my nose at an alarming rate.

Lona, my medical bill for the third degree burns to my nose holes is in the mail :)

Anyways, I commented this little story to her post, but then decided to share it here.

I know! Don't the three of you that actually read this feel so lucky?

The other day we were at my Mom's house and Zach and my niece were playing outside. My sister and I was looking at a magazine while the kids played quietly. When all of a sudden Zach lets out this terrible scream one of those "something is freaking wrong" screams and starts shaking all over.

I thought he had set down in a yellow jackets nest because I had been battling one for the past 10 minutes.

Seriously, that sucker has a warrant out on me! He chased me all over the yard, and even between cars! So I was certain he has went for my offspring instead.

I go running to see what is wrong.

I jerk Zack up and start looking him over for injuries.

And then I find the culprit.

This guy...




He had a Grand Daddy Long legs crawling up his leg and he was terrified!

Now, I myself don't really have a "fear" per se of spiders. I don't necessarily care for them but its not really a fear.

My fear is of the creatures with no legs. Blah... lets not even talk about those now...shew!

So, I save the day once again like the awesome Mommy that I am.

Then I promptly went around the corner of the house where my traumatized baby couldn't see me and laughed my ass off.

I know, I'm great!

Stupid Texas!

OK before you guys that are actually FROM Texas go and get mad at me for that title let me explain. I have NO ACTUAL PROBLEM with the state of Texas.

My baby sister's husband has been in Iraq for the last year and she and my niece have been staying here in North Carolina with us.

Well, he is coming home soon. I am so happy that he has made it back safe and sound! BUUUUT...that means she will be leaving with my niece (Sweet Cheeks) back to Ft. Hood.

Seriously, now you know why I call her sweet cheeks.

I don't really know what I'm going to do without them. I hate more than anything to see her go. Its bittersweet really, I am so glad that she gets her husband back, because I am very aware that so many don't. But a little piece of me will be going with her.

I just want her to stay here with me. Because, you know, Texas is stupid!

Why?

Zach is in a phase. To be totally honest its not really a fun phase.

Its the dreaded WHY phase!

I hate this phase. Seriously, you can't tell the boy something without his automatic response being "why?".

"Zach put your coat on we have to go."

WHY?

"Come on Buddy it's time for bed."

WHY?

"Please don't hit"

WHY

"Eat your dinner, please"

WHY

You see, it don't matter what you tell the boy, the response is going to be "Why?" You answer that question, and the response is "Why?".

So, my question is this...

WHY?

Today

Today was a hard day.

Today I was bitterly reminded that today is all we have.

Today I was reminded of the fragility of life.

Today I was reminded that even though I want to with every fiber of my being, I can't fixed everything.

Today I learned that there is a true beauty in being with someone in their darkest hour.

Today I saw that raw pain is overwhelming.

Today I set with a work friend while she helplessly watched her husband die.

Today she had to let go of the man that she has been married to for 30+ years since she was 16.

Today she will have to go home alone, sleep alone, wake up alone.

Today she will start her new normal.

Today I prayed alot.

Today was a hard day.

Today is all we have.

What is $75 Worth To You?

What is $75 worth to you?

A pair of shoes?

A new purse?

Groceries for the week?

How about your house? That's right. Do you feel that the home that you and your family have built, the place where you feel safe, is worth $75?

Well apparently if you live in a little town of Tennessee, that's all its worth.

This video enrages me, and makes me sad. Watch it and let me know what you think.

I'm Still Alive, I Promise!

Soooo, I know that I haven't been on here for a while now. Looks like I took some totally unplanned time off during the summer. :) But I'm back now and looks like we have some catching up to do. So here we go...

First things first...I FINISHED SCHOOL!!!! July 31 was my last day of school! On August 31 I took my NCLEX (the test you have to take to get your lisence). I was in the room for 25 minutes and came out almost in tears because I just knew that I had failed the stupid thing. Most people usually take about an hour to finish it, so I just knew I failed. On September 1 I found out that I PASSED!! I am offically a RN!

To celebrate we went to the beach. We had decided to go to the Outer Banks because we had never been there before and wanted to try something new. We had a great time...

Isn't he getting huge?!?

We went to the cape lookout lighthouse. My favorite part of the trip. It was so beautiful.


Zach loved the sand.

Again, my baby is growing so big! It makes my heart hurt.

It was so beautiful there. This was the view from the balcony!

Other than that I have been working, and spending time with my family. Being in school so much, and working on top of that I didn't have any free time. I have spent the summer soaking up all this new time that I have.

I also got a new car last week. Well, new to me not a NEW car. But there is a looooong drawn out story about that. It deserves it's own post later I think. It involves my old car, Brandi, and a cinder block. Ya, its not good. But I am really happy with my new car so alls well that ends well.

So, that is all that I have for now. I'm sleepy and I think this post is starting to make no sense. I will try to post more again soon.

Hope you all have a wonderful day.

Through the Fire

The last post is still on my heart a little today and I was reminded of a song that I want to share. I mentioned this before but a dear friend of mine is having it very hard lately. If you have read here any length of time you all are familiar with my friend Brandi. Without saying to much she has been through a tough week and is having a hard time. This song makes me think of her situation, her Plan B. Then I got to thinking that this song would be good for anyone going through a Plan B right now.






So many times I've questioned certain circumstances
Or things I could not understand
Many times in trials, weakness blurs my vision
And my frustration gets so out of hand
Its then I am reminded I've never been forsaken
I've never had to stand the test alone
As I look at all the victories
The spirit rises up in me
And its through the fire my weakness is made strong

Chorus:
He never promised that the cross would not get heavy
And the hill would not be hard to climb
He never offered our victories without fighting
But He said help would always come in time
Just remember when your standing in the valley of decision
And the adversary says give in
Just hold on, our Lord will show up
And He will take you through the fire again

Bridge:
I know within myself that I would surely perish
But if I trust the hand of God, He'll shield the flames again, again

I don't know what your situation is tonight, but please know that you have not been thrown into the fire alone.

**I want to try something new here, if you are going through something right now and you feel OK with sharing leave it in the comments so that we can all pray for you.

I can promise you that I will pray for every single one, and if you want me to pray about something that you don't want to share so publicly e-mail me, either way lets join together as Children of a Father who loves us and walks us through the fire!

Plan B

I have been reading this book by Pete Wilson

This book has moved me to tears more times than I care to share. It is about when life dosen't turn out the way we think it should. We are forced to turn to a Plan B in our lives, somewhere we may have never considered ourselves going. And when we find ourselves in these Plan B situations we find ourselves questioning where God is and why he let this happen. It is great for someone questioning where God is in their situation.

I am watching a dear friend go through her personal "Plan B" right now. I wont go into any detail here but to say the least she has had a really rough couple of months. She has always had this saying, and I think it is probably one that we all have heard but it goes:

"God will never give you more than you can handle"

I have actually heard this phrase a lot in my life. And really it is a great thought, but I was reading in Pete's book last night and came upon something that I want to share with you guys:

One particular phrase I seemed to hear over and over was this: "God will never give you more than you can handle"

It sounds so sweet and biblical, like something my grandmother would have done in needlepoint and hung on the wall in her house.

The problem is nothing could be farther from the truth.

Where in the world did we get such a whacked theology? Where's that verse in the Bible? Hallucinations 4:32 maybe?

Here's the truth--and this one is thoroughly biblical:throughout life you will face one situation after another that will be completely beyond what you can handle.

--Pete Wilson "Plan B" Chapter Eight pg 102

Here is what I took from that--God will absolutely give you more than you can handle because--read this carefully--whatever our situation is, it was never meant for us to handle alone.

God will never set you out on your own with a pat on the back and a "Good Luck". That is simply not how he operates. God expects total surrender, and that means our situations as well. How beautiful it is to know that we are not alone. We never have been. We are accompanied by The One who loves us and knows our needs.

So, the next time you feel as though you are just hanging on by a thread and that thread is about to break at any moment, just remember when that thread does break-and it will- you have the King of Kings waiting to catch you when you fall.

**Thank you Pete for bringing this to light for me**

A Picture Is Worth 1,000 Words...

Wednesday is my friend Brandi's birthday. She will be turning 25 again, since last year I wrote this nice post about how we met, and how important she is to me and blah blah blah...

Well this year I am not being so nice (I'm still a little upset about the unwanted furry creature in my house. No, we still haven't caught that thing) and I wanted to tell you all about a problem Brandi has suffered from for years....

It is IMPOSSIBLE to take a picture of her with a normal face!!!

Just let me show you... Here is some tongue, and Abby looks a little drunk
5 minutes later and now we have closed eyes

And now she looks drunk

Now she's ashamed of her blatant disability to keep a straight face!

This one has a story that is a whole 'nother post for a whole 'nother time. Just know that the white stuff on her face is flour, and I threw it there.

This one is my fault I look terrible

A little blurry, and she looks like she's about to vomit everywhere

And FINALLY we have a keeper!!

Happy "25th" Birthday Brandi! I love you and your goofy face!

Of Mice And Men

Hello All,

Sorry that I have been away for so long (not that enough people read this to notice). This is my last semester of Nursing School and I have been putting all my focus on that.

But I only have 23 more days and I will be officially done! Not that I'm counting.

I do have a story that I think you all might get a kick out of.

You see, the other night I had already went to bed and Keith was still up watching TV. Just when I had gotten to that area between asleep and awake I herd:

BANG!

CRASH!

BOOM!

And any other onomatopoeia's you can come up with!

I wake up just knowing that Keith had fell and crashed the TV on top of himself or something. OH BUT NO!! What is actually was is so much worse!!!

THERE IS A MOUSE IN MY HOUSE!!!!

Clearly I am a fan of the ALL CAPS today! As you can imagine I am HIGHLY UPSET ABOUT THIS!!

I may have to move clear across town to get away from it.

You know, I've herd they will track you down.

The noise I was referring to was Keith chasing the thing around the living room with a shoe.

So, lets recap shall we?

I am half asleep, awaken to strange noises, and when I walk into the living room it is demolished, Keith is standing in the middle of a battle zone with one shoe on and the other in hand, standing in that attack position, and there is an unwanted furry creature IN MY HOUSE!

So, I done the only thing I knew to do. I looked at Keith in a voice I'm sure Linda Blair couldn't reproduce and said:

HANDEL IT NOW!

Then I turned around and went back to bed. As of now the little fur ball has yet to be seen again, but when it does, it has a men's size 11 waiting on it :)

Hope you all have a great (MOUSE FREE) day!

I had to do the Caps one more time for good measure!

Pink Blossom Photography

Do you remember the beautiful pictures from this post from our Easter Weekend?

As much as I would love to pretend like I have some mad skills behind the camera the truth is I don't.

The fact that I just used the term "mad skills" pretty much proves my lack of talent.

Those beautiful pictures are the work of someone I'm proud to call a friend, Christina Bryant, owner and founder of Pink Blossom Photography
She is very talented, natural light photographer who is just getting her buisness off the ground. But don't take my word for it...see for yourself!

I encourage you all to go check out her site and see some more of her work. And if you like it....you never know....maybe we can talk her into traveling for some on site jobs.

Anythings possible!

No Blond Sister Left Behind

A couple of weeks ago, due to a death in the family, my favorite Aunt came into town from Dallas. It had been three years since I'd seen her, so to say I was excited would be a huge understatement!
Meet my Moms younger sister, and my favorite aunt Karen.
Just so you know I my other Aunt Kandee was with Karen, but for whatever reason I don't have a picture of her.

(Kandee, I need a picture of you woman! Don't make me get all nasty, because I. Will. Go. There!)

Anyways, so on Friday night we all decided to go out to eat together. There was seven of us and three babies so needless to say we had to take several cars. On the way down there my sister Stacee and I rode with our aunts, Michele rode with my Mom and the babies, and my Dad rode with Stacee's husband.

We had a great dinner. We talked, laughed, reminisced, and ate like never before. So, after dinner when it was time to go my sister Michele decided that she wanted to ride with Karen this time. So, we got in the car and left. My Dad and Stacee's husband got in the truck and they left.

As we were leaving Michele asked:

I hope Stacee knows to ride with Mama, what if we leave her?

I responded with my super concerned, "I'm a great big sister response":

OH, one could only hope we do, cause I would never stop laughing!

Not to soon after that (about two miles down the road) my Mom calls. The conversation went a little like this:

Mom-I wanna know how all three of you girls fit into that back seat?

Me- What are you talking about? OH MY GOD MAMA!! IS STACEE NOT WITH YOU?!?!

Mom-NO SHE'S NOT WITH ME!!!! I THOUGHT SHE WAS GONNA RIDE WITH KAREN SO I LEFT!!!

Me- OH MY GOD!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

I seriously started laughing so hard at that point I couldn't talk!

We had just left Stacee at the restaurant! I was seriously about to pee all over Karen's leather interior.

I finally get calmed down, and then I hear this noise. I look around to find that I have Stacee's cell phone! I. Lost. It.

So, not only did we leave her sitting at the restaurant, but I had her cell phone so she couldn't even call anyone!

My mom finally got back to get her, and she was wondering around the parking lot still looking for Karen's car. She had no idea that she had been left. Which only makes it that much funnier because how long can you wander a parking lot without wondering whats up?

Not long for normal people. About 7 minutes if your Stacee.

We finally made it home all safe and sound, the only casualty was Karen's leather seats!

Meet my sister Stacee, whom I love dearly! No really I might abandon her and laugh hysterically at her misfortune, but I love this girl!!!

The Beautiful Touch

This is my 100th post!

I have taken my time writing this one because I wanted it to be something special. (I don't know why I want it it be special now, since I have been bringing you a whole lot of nothing for the past 99 times, but bare with me here)

I didn't know what I wanted to do with it, and to tell you the truth I was kicking myself for not saving the giveaway until now.

So, I have thought and thought and thought and...well you get the idea. There has been one story that has continued to stick out in my mind over and over and...well, you know.

I don't know why this story(actually I do) because I haven't thought of this story in years and years and....OK I'm gonna quit now :)

Its the story of the woman that touched Jesus' robe as he was walking to heal a sick girl. It can be found in Mark 5:21-35.

Jesus was at the height of his popularity and large crowds followed him wherever he went. He was on his way to heal the dying daughter of a friend. When a woman that had been bleeding for 12 years heard of his arrival she said "If I can only touch his garment I will get well". She stood behind Jesus and touched the hem of his robe and was immediately healed. The blood stopped.

Jesus felt the touch and asked "Who touched me?"

His disciples, confused, told him there was no way to know who had touched him because of the throngs of people that were following him. With that many people I would venture to guess that people were bumping into each other all the time. But this time was different. Jesus already knew who touched him and why. He was giving her the chance to come to him.

The women then walked up to him, and she was afraid. Because she had literally had her period for 12 years. She had been shut off from society, her friends, her family, she was an outcast. She has not had contact with another human being for the past 12 years. She was ceremonially unclean.

So, in a sense she defiled Jesus when she touched him. She was afraid that he was angry, and now she would have to be killed for her treachery. But here is the beautiful thing about this story...

Jesus looked at her and said "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction"

So why is this story weighing heavy on my mind? Well, you see it's two fold.

First, this woman had incredible faith. She didn't need to speak to Jesus. She didn't need to meet with Jesus. She didn't even need him to acknowledge that she existed. She believed he was the son of God, and she believed in him enough that touching the edge of the clothes he had on was enough. Can you imagine faith like that?

Second, even though she "defiled" him, even though she was "unclean", even though she was a social outcast, He loved her, and accepted her. Did you notice that he called her daughter? the wretched woman who no one loved. This disgusting creature who deserved death for just touching him. Not only did he love her, but he healed her! No matter where you are in your walk, what you are going through, or what you have done HE loves you as a father, and he accepts you for who you are. There is not one of on this side of heaven that is any cleaner, or deserving than that woman. Sure, we may not have been bleeding for the past 12 years (THANK GOD) but we are just as unclean, and disgusting as she is. We also deserve death like she did.

But, what sets us apart from her is she was willing to take a huge chance based on faith.

Are you?

Our Easter Weekend

How was yours?