Uncategorized

The real me…it ain’t always pretty

I have basically used the same photo of myself online for the last 6 years. Why? I don’t know…because I looked better five years ago?

I still had all my hair (surgery two years ago to remove a couple of benign tumors left me with two huge hairless patches of scalp — right in front of my head).

I wasn’t as heavy (too many hours spent doing web design at a desk, snacking and not getting enough exercise has wrecked me).

I was just….cuter.

Now I’m pre-menopausal and half-bald thanks to the dermatologist who shall remain unnamed. But I’m still me. I still have the same warped sense of humor I’ve always had – just with less hair and more flesh. 🙂

So why come clean now? Why not hide behind the facade of my 5-1/2 year old photo? Funny you should ask. I’ll tell you.

I’ve agreed to do an online LIVE seminar (my skin crawls everytime I type the word “live”) on blog and graphic design for my friends Amy Bayliss and Lisa Boyd of DIY Ministry.  I really wasn’t  planning on the LIVE part, but after much consideration, I decided I would. I mean, if I were paying for a seminar, I’d want to see the actual speaker — to connect. Besides, this is who I am now.

And it ain’t always this pretty:

by | 3 Comments
friends

The Importance of Good Friends

The day I married my husband I gained a best friend. Well, actually two of them. This is Angelle.

She’s a farm girl at heart, but now works in the big city. She left me. Yep, she moved away from our little corner of Texas to greener….er…pastures. And look at who she took with her:

Yes. My youngest daughter’s best friend — but not just him – she also took this fine  young boy:

My son’s best friend. It hasn’t been easy around these part since they left. We all miss them terribly. Fortunately, they only moved 3-1/2 hours away. It’s not cross-country. So we are still able to see them. Every weekend. Yes,  you read that right. We see them every weekend. Long story, but our family travels to her city every weekend for another reason – it will make for a good blog post later down the road.

So I still get to see these sweet faces on a weekly basis.

And I get to see my best friend, who is country-city chic at the same time. Of course, it’s only for a day…but I’m thankful for it. And thankful for her.

Never underestimate the importance of good friends. They are hard to come by.

 

**I took these photos of Angelle and her boys last Fall. We are planning on shooting her family in their new city this weekend. I can’t wait!

by | 2 Comments
31 Days of Praise

31 Days of Praise {to be cont}

Sometimes, even with the best of intentions, I fail. Last month, I was struggling to keep up with the 31 days series and when I got behind, I gave up. I have 12 more posts in the queue waiting to be edited and published. I will do it…just not in the  month of January. To the beautiful ladies of “A Woman Inspired Conference” who kept the series going, thank you.

See you soon with the final posts of my series!

by | 1 Comment
31 Days of Praise, family

31 Days of Praise {Day 18} Happiness

Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. ~Psalm 16:11

Abraham Lincoln once said that “Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”

While there is some degree of truth to this, we would all do well to remember that God has outlined some pretty specific ways for us to be happy in His Word:

  • The Bible says that those who fear the Lord are happy. (Ps. 128: 1, 2; Prov. 28: 13, 14)
  • Happy are those who keep God’s laws. (Prov. 29: 18)
  • Happy are those who have children. (Ps. 127: 3, 4)
  • Happy are those who do not condemn self. (Rom. 14: 22)
  • Happy are those who trust in the Lord. (Prov. 16: 20)
  • Happy are those who require wisdom. (Prov. 3: 13)

Isn’t it great to know that God cares so much about our happiness that He tells us things we can do to be happy in our lives? We are truly blessed – and should praise Him for our Happiness.

Please visit the other ladies who are participants in the 31 Days of Ministry Online:
Amy Bayliss {Cajun Inspired} : 31 Days of Heart Matters
{A Martha Heart} : 31 Days of Prayer
Karin {Mommy Matters} : 31 Days of Intentional Parenting
Jenny {867-53oh9} : 31 Days of Social Media
Dawn {My Home Sweet Home} : 31 Days of Encouragement
Lisa Boyd : 31 Days of WordPress

*Links to all posts on this subject can be found here.

by | 0 comment
31 Days of Praise, faith

31 Days of Praise {Day 14, 15, 16 & 17} Time

See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. – Eph. 5:15-16

One thing I’ve really wanted to work on this year is time management from a Biblical perspective.

I’ve read Stephen Covey’s book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and I know that he says the “the essence of effective time and life management is to organize and execute around priorities.” As Christians, whatever we value most in life becomes our priorities. My number one priority is my relationship with God, then my family.

From a Biblical perspective, time management isn’t necessarily about the ability to manage our time. It’s about surrendering the time we have to spend to God. And that’s a good thing – I’ve always struggled with day to day time management…homeschooling kids, trying to run a business, family and church obligations — but add to that mix the fact that I’ve been taking care of my mom for the last 4 months and, well, you can imagine, .

I really needed this past weekend to focus on what God would have me do going forward – with my blog, with homeschooling, with our Friday School Co-op. I’ve been feeling stretched too thin for a very long time, and it’s no one’s fault but my own.  I have a hard time saying one little word – “no.” But God expects us to say “no” to things that aren’t important – we are told to redeem our time in order to recover it from waste and improve it for great or important purposes.

Matthew Henry said that “Time is a talent given us by God, and it is misspent and lost when not employed according to his design.” Won’t you join me in praising Him for the gift of Time?

Please visit the other ladies who are participants in the 31 Days of Ministry Online:

Amy Bayliss {Cajun Inspired} : 31 Days of Heart Matters
{A Martha Heart} : 31 Days of Prayer
Karin {Mommy Matters} : 31 Days of Intentional Parenting
Jenny {867-53oh9} : 31 Days of Social Media
Dawn {My Home Sweet Home} : 31 Days of Encouragement
Lisa Boyd : 31 Days of WordPress

*Links to all posts on this subject can be found here.

by | 0 comment
31 Days of Praise, faith

31 Days of Praise {Day 13} Because He Listens

I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live. – Psalm 116:1-2

They say love is blind, but I’ve heard it said that when we love God our affection has its eyes open and can sustain itself with the most rigid logic. In other words, we love Him because He first loved us. It just makes sense.

David spent so much time in prayer with the Lord. The Psalms are full of his prayers, praise, and petitions and I love to spend time reading them. Many times when David prayed, he couldn’t find the words, but God listened and knew his heart and answered him anyway.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve had some pretty rough days in the past year. There have been times I was at a loss for HOW to pray, I couldn’t find the words to say to express my grief, anger, and frustrations to the Lord. But the Bible says that He inclines His ear to us – He is waiting and listening for us to pray to him – whether or not we are able to use our voice – He hears us, because Jesus is making intercession for us.

I will praise the Lord today because He listens to my prayers. Spurgeon said, “Answered prayers are silken bonds which bind our hearts to God. When a man’s prayers are answered, love is the natural result.” I love the Lord my God and praise Him for answering my prayers.

Please visit the other ladies who are participants in the 31 Days of Ministry Online:

Amy Bayliss {Cajun Inspired} : 31 Days of Heart Matters
{A Martha Heart} : 31 Days of Prayer
Karin {Mommy Matters} : 31 Days of Intentional Parenting
Jenny {867-53oh9} : 31 Days of Social Media
Dawn {My Home Sweet Home} : 31 Days of Encouragement
Lisa Boyd : 31 Days of WordPress

*Links to all posts on this subject can be found here.

by | 0 comment

1 2 3 4 … 143