Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Some days...

Some days you're the cookie...some days you're the monster!

Today...well, I'm afraid I've been more of a monster than anything. I am so exhausted. Thankfully, my precious little guy has been so busy with all his Christmas toys that he's hardly even noticed that his mom is a grump today!

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Such a small price...

My mind is so full tonight, and has been most of the day. My husband called me early this afternoon to tell me that a lady in our church's dad had an accident and was killed early this morning. When he told me who it was, my heart slowed it's beating in my chest, and my mind took me back to a busy day about a month ago.

A little over a month ago, I was getting things ready to go out of town to see my mom and some friends in Texas. I had been busy packing and getting bills paid and things ready for the trip, so I just decided to swing through the drive-thru at McDonalds and grab Landon and I some lunch.

As I payed for our food, something just impressed me to pay for the gentleman's order behind me. For a moment I wondered where that thought came from since I could see him in my rear view mirror and clearly didn't know him. I was about to pull forward, when I felt it again...so I asked the cashier at the window if I could please pay for the gentleman's order behind me. She looked at me a bit funny and asked me if it was my dad...then she really looked at me funny when I told her it wasn't, and that I didn't have a clue who he was, that I just wanted to be kind to someone today.

After I payed for both orders I had to pull up and wait on part of our order. The man pulled up to where I was waiting and motioned for me to roll down my window. He asked me why I had payed for his order. I explained to him that I just felt like being nice to someone, and told him I hoped he had a wonderful day. He asked if I knew him, and I told him no. I then told him that he probably knew my father-n-law who has pastored one of the churches in town for over 32 years. When I told him my father-n-laws name he smiled and said, "My daughter goes to your church. I know who you are. You're Anthony's wife."

His next words will forever ring in my ears. He said, "Ma'am, you don't know what this done for me today. Thank you. You just made my day."

See, I didn't know the story or the history of how he had been hurt and had previous unpleasant dealings with church people. I didn't know that I was putting something positive where there had only been negative before. I wasn't aware of all the stories of how he had given to every single person he could and helped out so many people in his life. The wonderful stories I have heard about how he was so kind and helpful to everyone he met makes me wish I had done more than just pay for a little meal. It makes me wish I had gone an extra mile and filled his truck up with gas too. I assure you, if I had known how short his time left here was, I'd have made it a point to do much more for him.

I can't help but think about how we never know the real impact of the simple things we do for others. I say simple because the meal that day was only $5.86, such a small price for a memory. Oh, my prayer today is that I always be listening for that small voice, that nudge, to do something so simple for another because we just don't know where that individual is walking or for how long they are walking among us!

Monday, December 28, 2009

I have NO PICTURES...

ZERO...ZILCH...NADA...NONE.

I was so sick with a virus Christmas day that I didn't even take my camera out of the car. To say I'm sad would be an understatement, because Landon was so happy the moment he seen all his gifts. Trust me, it's a Christmas that I won't forget...pictures or not. I think I'll always have that picture in my mind of how horrible I looked. When we got home that night and I looked at myself in the mirror, I didn't iron my clothes, brush my hair, nothing! I just went 'as is'. I have to admit, I'm glad no one had a camera to take a picture of me because they would never let me live that one down!

Hope everyone had a blessed, happy and WELL Christmas...now on to a New Year!

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Add this to my Christmas list...

Landon found one more thing he wanted to add to his Christmas list...

That's right...A BUNGEE SWING!

I finally gave in tonight when we were finishing up our Christmas shopping and let him ride the bungee swing. I have been telling him for the last six months that he didn't weigh enough to get on it. Tonight he changed his question. Instead of asking "Do I weigh enough now, Momma?" he decided to ask his daddy, "Daddy, how much do I weigh?" Daddy says, get on the scale son and we'll see. As luck would have it he met the weight requirements.

Honestly, my heart was in my throat when they started getting him strapped in the swing.


He was all smiles...


...and wanted to add one to his Christmas list.


When he was finished swinging, I asked him if he was scared. He replied, "No, not even a little. I love flying high like that mom...next I'm gonna jump out of an airplane."

Ummm...I don't think so, sweetheart!

Sunday, December 20, 2009

He's Gone Country...

We turned our backs for one minute and this is what we found...


The water was ICE COLD...but he didn't care! He said he just had to feel it on his feet one time.


Checking his minnow bucket...I told you he had gone country on us!


But he's happy as can be...and that's what matters!

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

I HATE FRUITCAKES...

Thought I'd share a recipe I just received...

For the record...Frankly, I always *suspected* that this is how they made fruitcake ...

Ingredients Needed:
4 Oz. Fruit Bits
1 Railroad Tie
Wood Saw
Large Rubber Mallot
Safety Goggles

WEAR YOUR SAFETY GOGGLES. (Children: Get help from an adult!)
Cut a one-foot section from the middle of your railroad tie.
The resulting block of wood should be the size and shape of a loaf of bread.

Then, take some fruit bits and pound them into the block with your rubber mallet. Spread the colors around, or you might wind up with an ugly fruitcake. Don’t be afraid to throw some elbow grease into that mallet! Good fruit bits should be much harder than the railroad tie, so you can’t break anything.

For best result, you should pre-treat the fruit bits by setting them on top of your garage for a year (or by microwaving them on HIGH for 30 minutes).

Finally, cover it tightly in plastic wrap, and give your loved ones the timeless and enduring gift of fruitcake! Tis the season...to be receiving fruitcakes...from FRUITCAKES!

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Ornament Exchange Party

Last night was our ladies ornament exchange party. I love ornament exchanges. It's just a great time to sit and talk and relax and of course eat with all your friends.



This lady here; Norma, was Mrs. Claus last night. She brought a gift to every lady at the party. We all went home with the neatest Christmas socks. THANK YOU, Norma! She is one of the sweetest and most thoughtful ladies I have ever met!


The lady who was going to be giving our devotional last night was sick so I got a call early that morning asking if I'd do the devotional. They wanted me to give a devotional on something about ornaments since it was an ornament exchange. Ummm...yeah, I was stumped at first. How in the world can you get something religious out of ornaments? I had nothing...but prayer, and that was enough. I told my husband that I had done my part and prayed for God to guide me and give me words to say and studied and read some scriptures...the rest was His job. I'm just a mouthpiece.

I think my husband was getting a bit nervous when he seen me taking a nap a few hours before the party and all I had on the desk was a sheet of paper with Two scriptures on it. When I woke up, so many thoughts were coming to me that I could barely write fast enough. It's a little lengthy, but I'll share here what I shared with the ladies last night.


Galatians 5:22 The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; against such there is no law.

Matthew 7:19 "Every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."


Christmas is full of pretty trees, pretty packages, bows, etc. Christmas is a time when we can help but notice all the decorations and lights that are put up. We spend lots of time and money to decorate for the Christmas holiday. I couldn't help but wonder today, HOW IS MY LIFE DECORATED?

Is my life decorated the way God instructed it to be. Is it decorated with the ornaments of the fruits of the spirit?

LOVE: Do I have that true Godly love that the world is searching for? "By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, that you have love one to another?"

JOY: The world offers a fleeting joy. The joy one finds in the things of this world is allusive and like chasing a mirage. People spend years chasing after things that they think will bring joy to their lives only to find out that when that object is obtained, they are still left with that feeling of longing for more. Can others see the joy of God that I've found in my life?

PEACE: With all the chaos surrounding the world today, individuals are naturally drawn to someone who radiates a Godly peace. He is that peace that passes all understanding. Simply put, that means having a peace that does not make sense to you mentally. In times when you should be pulling your hair out and biting your nails, you have an overwhelming sense of peace in your spirit. Is my life decorated with that kind of peace?

LONGSUFFERING: I used to think this word meant to suffer-long. I was pretty sure my life had been decorated with this ornament. Then I read the meaning of the word. It means the 'willingness to stick with things'. Simply put I think it means that God will give me the ability to endure the trials and tribulations and tough times as I wait for my victory. Hmmm...so, am I gonna believe what I see in front of me, or what I know God is capable of doing? AM I going to believe the doctor's report, or am I going to trust in a God that has the power to heal? Definitely an ornament I need to work on.

GENTLENESS: We've been told since we were children to 'Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you', but gentleness goes further than just being nice. I'd always considered myself to be a nice person, until I was put to the test several years ago. When I stood at a crossroads and was asked to show mercy and kindness and forgiveness to a man who had trespassed against me many times, my first instinct was to hold on to the pain and the bitterness that he had caused. I was secretly happy to see him in the position that he was in, it made my heart smile to know that he was experiencing true pain in his life. I was set to turn and walk away without giving forgiveness until my husband took my hand and said, "Honey, you don't deserve the gentleness and kindness of a Holy God and His forgiveness...but you have freely received it...therefore you should give it! That's the day I truly experienced a spirit of gentleness...a feeling that went beyond just being nice. God help me to always remember to give gentleness because You have dealt with me with much gentleness!

GOODNESS: In all it's uses 'good' is a word that means a desirable quality, or something commendable and reliable, kind and noble, admirable, and very much welcomed. Goodness is excellence of character. Now, that's an ornament that we should all seek after.

FAITH: Faith is probably the hardest ornament for most of us to obtain. Mainly because there's only one way to grow faith, and that's by being tested. Faith is believing in something you don't see...long after you thought it would appear. I remember the time in my life that my faith pushed to the limit...the ultimate test for me. When my husband and I walked into my doctor's office after a sonogram had confirmed two weeks earlier that our first baby had no heartbeat and that I was carrying our child dead inside of me. If I ever had faith, it was on that day. I had faith that God was going to give me a miracle, faith that He was going to let this second sonogram prove that the one thing I wanted most in life was going to be a living miracle. When things turned out differently and I was admitted into the hospital that afternoon, I had gone from the highest point of faith to the lowest point of doubt. My ornament of faith had been shattered and I decided to place it in a box in the attic of my heart for a long time. But, I'll never forget that day I decided to unpack my faith and exercise it again and believe once more in a God who is faithful to His promises. I had to wait for 17 years to hold a child of my own, but that only made my oranment of faith all the more precious! I pray that this ornament is one that I leave out long after the Christmas tree is put away. I can always use a little faith in my life!


MEEKNESS: Humble in spirit and manner.
As women we have to bear up under many cares and burdens in a single day. We have husbands to please and take care of, children to nurture and train and teach, a home to maintain...just to name a few. My duty is not just to perform all these things and task but to do so in a way that brings glory to God. WOW...some of us are thinking that this is an ornament that just don't match our decor and colors. Just toss that one out or maybe put it in a box to use another time, another year. But that's not where it belongs. No, it belongs in my life, decorating my life...making me more like Him. I have to remember that if I am lacking the ornament of a meek and quite spirit then I will find myself in a constant irritation, being easily provoked daily. Lord, remind me to pick up the ornament of meekness daily and hang it upon the branch of my life.

TEMPERANCE: Having control over our tempers and emotions.
I know...you're probably thinking exactly what I thought. I DO NOT NEED THAT ORNAMENT! It just don't match, it's the wrong color, it's too big and weighs the branches down too much...let's just leave that one off...it's just too much to deal with! But then I read this scripture in James 1:19-20 "Wherefore my beloved brethern, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God."

Lord control my heart, my mind, my will, my emotions, and yes, Lord...even my tongue!
Lord, let me hang the ornament of temperance upon my tree and polish it daily.

Just as we cherish certain ornaments that we hang on the branches of our Christmas trees year after year and they become heirlooms tied to special memories, my prayer is that each of us would stop and take the time to decorate our lives with these ornaments of the spirit so that our lives would shine so much brighter than any Christmas tree ever put up. After all, our purpose in this life is to let HIS ways shine forth from us so that we can lead others to Him.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Out of the mouth of babes...


Well, it's been a busy few days for me. We had our Ladies Christmas party/gift exchange in Beaumont, Texas on Thursday night and had a wonderful time. Then on Friday night we had a Redneck Christmas Party with our youth group that was about the funniest thing I have ever attended in my life! Definitely different and very entertaining. I'll have to do a post on that one with pictures later. Then on Saturday night we had our church Christmas banquet.

At the church Christmas banquet Saturday night, the church gave my husband and I and my in-laws our gifts. The church family decided that they wanted to give Landon his own special gift, so they bought him a really neat tent with tunnels and all that he was so excited about. He told his daddy that he wanted to tell everyone thank you again Sunday night, so we thought what harm could that do?

Let me tell you...It was HARMFUL!

After our service Sunday evening, my husband told Landon to come to the platform and stand by him, and then he asked me and my in-laws to come stand there also. My husband said, I think Landon will speak for all of us when he tells you thank you tonight. REALLY???

Well, Landon gets the mike and he tells the church these exact words...
"Thank you for my gift you gave me. I really like the tent. And, last night my daddy crawled in the tent with me and he was crawling in the tunnel part and he got stuck in it, and my mom wanted to get her camera and take a picture, but she couldn't because my daddy was in his pj's...ONLY MY DADDY'S PJ'S IS ACTUALLY JUST HIS UNDERWEAR!"

As you can imagine, my husband turned all shades of red, and went to the baptistery door and just sat there hiding...my father-n-law went to sit in his chair and just laughed his head off...I went to hide behind the piano and my mother-n-law followed me and sat down and just couldn't stop laughing. Meanwhile the church family is falling out of the pews laughing. It was one of those PRICELESS moments. One that I wish someone would have caught on video. I'm sure we could have entered that one and won something!

I had to laugh because my father-n-law made the statement that 'You're never too old to learn something'...and we just learned that Landon should never be given a microphone! Oh, the things kids decide to share with everyone.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Holiday Express

The Holiday Express came to our little town this evening. Landon had so much fun touring the train and seeing all the cars decorated for the holiday.




There was someone special on this train...

And Landon was on a mission...


He has been asking for the last several days if santa was real or fake. UGH!!! I asked him what he thought, and he replied, "Well, you and daddy told me that Christmas is really about Jesus and his birthday most of all, and some santa's have more lines (that's what he calls wrinkles) than others, and the santa in the Christmas parade was not as fat as some of them are, so YOU tell me!"

I personally don't think it's fair when kids throw the questions back at the parent. It's just now playing fair!

Well, today he told us that when he seen santa he was going to ask him if he was a fake or if he was a real man that could walk. My husband and I are thinking it's going to be an interesting little visit with santa. So, Landon sits on santa's lap and pops the big question...

ONLY...It wasn't the question we thought he was going to ask! No! He changed the rules in the middle of the game...looked right at Santa and asked, "ARE YOU PENTECOSTAL?"

See, he's a little obsessed with knowing what religion or belief that everyone chooses. 'Just a little' is an understatement! He asks everyone...and even asks us when we have to go to a funeral if the person that has passed was Pentecostal. We have no clue where this has come from. We can only assume that it's because our church name is Pentecostal House of Praise and he hears that name and our church associated together a lot. We have assured him that just because someone does not wear the name Pentecostal don't mean they aren't going to heaven. I personally don't care what people call themselves, as long as an individual is obedient to the Bible and follows the plan of salvation. That's what matters!

Back to the subject...
Me and my husband were not worried at all because we knew the man that was playing santa. He is a friend of my husbands that works at the police station, and he also happens to be Pentecostal. The greatest part of the night was the look on Landon's face when santa bent down and whispered in his ear, "Yep...santa's Pentecostal AND he has the Holy Ghost."

Seriously, Landon was grinning from ear to ear and just nodding his head.

We get back in the car and here's our conversation...

Landon: Mom, I think I know now...santa is just some kid's dad playing dress-up.

Me: You think so, Landon?

Landon: Yep, and mom...I looked and he don't have ears behind that beard!

Dad: Landon what are you going to do if santa leaves you a present under our tree Christmas morning?

Landon: OPEN IT!

Oh, What a fun night we had tonight!


Saturday, December 5, 2009

Weather...SNOW!

We enjoyed the snow yesterday evening and last night...it was so beautiful! I'm excited that there's still snow on the rooftops and cars and ground for the Christmas Parade in town this morning. The only bad part of the weather is that our church is just outside town, and we have no electricity as of yet and we have a funeral scheduled at the church for 1pm. I'm taking Landon to the parade while my husband sits and waits at the church for the electric to come back on, so he can get the heat going hopefully in time for the funeral. I'll have pictures of the parade up later...Landon is so excited to see Santa in the parade!