Random facts about me.

So I got tagged with this, so I’ll go along with it. Here were the instructions. BTW, I’m not tagging anyone to have to participate!

“Once you have been tagged you have to write a blog with 10 weird, random things, facts, habits, or goals about yourself. At the end choose 8 people to be tagged, listing their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment (tag, you’re it) to read your blog. You can’t tag the person who tagged you. Since you can’t tag me back, let me know when you’ve posted your blog so I can see your answers.”

1.) I don’t like to go barefoot. I call it ‘bare feet phobia’. Even in my own home, I’ll always have some sort of shoe on…just socks won’t do! BUT, after I went to Hawaii, where the tradition is to remove your shoes before entering a home, I am a little more at ease about this!

2.) Hysterical laughter is my nervous habit and has caused me trouble several occasions!

3.) I love Wake Forest University [Go Deacs!] but since they often lose at sporting events, I am a Duke fan! [Go Devils!]

4.) I have a thyroid disorder called Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. [It's fun to make fun of that name! In fact, I have to say it in an accent like Hiro Nakamura on Heroes when I refer to it! HA!]

5.) I’ve never done drugs – never even tried it. I’m a chicken – thank you Jesus!

6.) I buy things in twos. . . two cans of this, two boxes of that…just has to be in twos.

7.) I prefer to drink water at room temperature.

8.) I hate taking polish off of my toenails so it either grows off [haha gross] or gets painted over.

9.) I’m a perfectionist. If I can’t do something perfectly, I won’t do it at all. (amen sister)

10.) I put my right leg in pants first always!

Blooper Laughs

I feel like it is time to take another try at writing about some bloopers I’ve encountered. I need some good whole-hearted belly laughs.

This one today, again “outs” someone, but rates right up there with some of the funniest moments I’ve ever experienced. Today, Granddaddy is getting outed. This story is about another funeral. [I swore I wasn't singing at another funeral, but somehow it just keeps happening.]

My family had been asked to sing at a funeral of one of the bike riders in my dad’s GWRRA chapter. It was a sudden death and completely unexpected. My heart was breaking for the family because this man really was the glue for them. Of course, my dad said that we would sing [without asking me or Granddaddy - so we both got roped into it].

So, we start to sing the song Amazing Grace. Now,I don’t know many people that don’t actually know that song – at least heard of it – or may not know all of the verses but does know the first verse right? It is a very familiar song and if you’ve been in church much, you’ve heard it many times. For the record, Granddaddy always sings the lead and Diddy and I sing harmony. We start out singing [Diddy and I are following along in harmony], and I hear something other than the correct words coming out. Now, I’ve said before that my nervous habit it hysterical, uncontrolled laughter. I was nervous. I was at a funeral. I didn’t want to sing because my heart hurts so much during those things right? Well, Granddaddy forgot the words to the first verse of Amazing Grace so I guess he thought he would just ‘go with the flow’. Ha! He started singing, “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound. I forgo-oo-oo-t the words!” Uhm, yeah…I completely lost it! I might add that, the harder I try to stop laughing, the worse I get! Oh my, I was in complete hysterics.

Some time later, I found out from the family – after they heard what actually happened, that you could hear this whole mishap on the funeral recording. How’s that for being ‘caught’?

Til next time, enjoy laughing at my expense!

Telling Everything You Know

My kiddos make me proud when they talk about praying for others! I’m proud of them when they have academic successes. I love it when they make the right decisions to do the right things! But, there are times that they also tell everything they know – and then some! Of course, like all children, my girls can also embarrass the fool out of me! As I was listening to one of them tell me a story about what they told someone, and I was utterly mortified, I had this thought. My Father loves when I pray for others. He is proud of my successes. He loves for me to do the right thing at hard junctures. I can also embarrass Him by what I say and how I behave. OUCH!

It isn’t necessary to tell everything you know every time you speak to someone. Pray that today, the things that come to your mind and out of your mouth are pleasing to the Lord.

On a side note, gossip is just plain wrong. I once heard a pastor say that it is gossip if you are not part of the problem or solution. So, check the things you feel the urge to say. Especially if it may hurt another person.

Just a thought!

What makes you you?

There are things that stir you to action.

For me, music drives me from my very core. It lifts me from a down place at times. It soothes me. It is my security blanket.

What makes you proud?

My family and friends make me so proud – especially if they are following the will of the Lord. Also when they choose to do the right thing even if it is the hard thing!

What makes you stop short of nothing to achieve _______ ?

What runs through your blood?

What drives you?

What is in the center of you?

What are your goals? Your dreams?

One goal I have is to record an album from start to finish. I will do this one day!

I challenge you to write down these things and put them in a place to refer back to them when you’ve gained success in a goal. You may have to change this list from time to time, but what is it that YOU value? Where ARE you going in your life? What are the most important things in your life? If you’ve never sat down to do this, I urge you to take the time! It’s SO worth it! I’ve only given a few examples because I want these things to be your ideas and not mine. Sit down and think! Pray! Now, write! Watch your dreams come alive! Let me celebrate with you! Share some of your dreams and goals!

Choices

I have found myself in a very strange place today. I have a strange emotion running through. I have a choice to make. I want to make the right choice. My heart hurts and because of that, I get mad. I don’t understand. The Lord called me to do something very difficult this past weekend. I fought Him. I didn’t want to be obedient. In the end, I chose to obey and sit down and write a letter to someone. What was difficult about this situation is that He was dealing with MY heart on some things – things I didn’t even know were still there. When I finished, I can’t tell you the weight that was lifted. I have a new task now – to praise Him through it all – and lift a new family up to Him every day in prayer. It was my choice to be obedient or not. We all have those choices. What choices do you find before you? Will you stand strong and make the right choice – even if that choice isn’t your first choice?

I fight my own urges to do things MY way, but He has greater plans for me than that! This is one of those moments where I have to sit still and let God be God. I think it’s a test for me to see if I will stand His course – no matter what. This makes me think of a movie scenario…Facing the Giants is an incredible movie. In the middle of the movie, the wife of the coach is trying to have a baby. Coach asks, “will you praise Him anyway – even IF we can’t have a baby”? She didn’t answer. As she got news there would be no baby, she walked to her car, lifted her hands in surrender and says, “I WILL praise You anyway!” I choke every single time I watch that movie at that part!

So Lord, I will praise You though I face good times, bad times, and ugly times. I’m Yours. I have a vision, a purpose, and no man, woman, child, or devil can take me out of Your will. I am determined to stand fast and watch what You do in this situation and praise You for the miracles You have yet to do. Thank You for choosing me. It’s more than I deserve!

What kind of attitude is present when you face difficulties or choices to do something you aren’t sure you are ready to do? How do you handle those situations? Are you going to praise Him anyway?

Goals-What are yours?

GOAL is defined as:

1. The purpose toward which an endeavor is directed; an objective.

2. Sports
a. The finish line of a race.
b. A specified structure or zone into or over which players endeavor to advance a ball or puck.
c. The score awarded for such an act.

3. Linguistics
a. A noun or noun phrase referring to the place to which something moves.

What goals have you set for yourself? Have you ever wondered if your goal was a hit or a miss? I thought of goals as being something that I would work HARD for, and see great accomplishments. I worked, I thought, but didn’t really see much fruit in my labor. I wrongly decided  one day that I would never have a goal because I didn’t want to fail.

As I read the definition of GOAL, I get freaked out because the definition actually said, “the purpose to which an endeavor is directed”. OOOHhhh my toes, just got crunched. What is MY purpose for living this life? To “Go and make disciples of ALL men” – how am I going to do that if I can’t even get off my tail to complete one single goal. The finish line . . . mmmm, is this something that I have ever seen? I haven’t done EVERYTHING that I can to tell folks about how to grow.

Philippians 3: 14 says, “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” How is that for understanding what I am supposed to do with goals – and the fact that I am supposed to have them? OUCHY!

All this boils down to this:  I haven’t really been pressing too hard if I choose not to even have a goal because I am too stinking afraid to fail at something?

So, today, I choose to make a goal and stick to it. *if I fail, if I succeed, at least I lived as I believed, no matter what they take from me, they can’t take away my dignity. . .* [ok, so I couldn't resist singing that song. . .]

If I fail, so what – that really just means that God has another plan for me. He will make that failure into something that glorifies Him and in the end, that is all I really want. Failure is all about the way that you look at it anyway! Will it stop you or will you learn from it?

So, what are your goals? Long term or short term, lets hear them – at least I can pray for you guys!

The Value Of A True Friend

This is an old blog I felt worthy of re-posting.

Friendship. It’s strange to blog about the obvious, but I’ve been thinking lots lately about what true friendship really like. Here are a couple of things to check your relationships by. I don’t think I’ll ever underestimate the value of real friendship – ever again because I found a “soul sister” to share my life with!

1. Transparency. You can’t be very close if you can’t be real. Having to hide who you are or how you feel is the first signal that you don’t have the friendship you think you may have. You can’t wear masks or hide behind things with friends or you’ll never grow and nurture that relationship. True friends love you when you’re angry, happy or sad. They see you when you don’t have your hair fixed or makeup on, but they don’t judge you for not having ‘it all together’ or being ‘lazy’. Transparent vulnerability has led to pain for me in some instances, but that pain only served to make me stronger in the end. I am who you see. No masks.

2. Empathy. You can say, ‘I feel so sorry that you’re experiencing’ something, but unless you’ve lived it, you don’t really know how to ‘console’ them. I believe God puts people in your path to help you through things. I have just realized that there is another being on this earth that has struggled with the VERY same fight I have had for most of my life. After experiencing what empathy means on THAT level, I understand how important that is within a friendship! Sure, you can feel sympathy for people experiencing things, but its not the same! For example, I honestly couldn’t know HOW you’re feeling if you were trying to tell me your dad abandoned you. My daddy loves me and would do anything in the world for me – I couldn’t imagine him abandoning me. My heart would hurt for you, but I couldn’t TRULY understand because I haven’t walked it. Look for those people that have similar experiences and positively grown from them. Don’t sit around bashing ‘dad’ together. GROW! Pour into one another and use the similar experience to deepen your bond.

3. Honesty. A true friend creates an atmosphere for you to feel comfortable being honest – with everything – the good, bad, and ugly. This atmosphere is conducive to counsel without fear of rejection or judgement. If you cannot be honest with someone, check your motive behind befriending them.

4. Encouragement. On a down day, you look to your friends to listen and ‘advise’ you on your situation. You’re looking for wise counsel. I had a friend tell me that she was thinking of leaving her husband for an old flame. As she sat there telling me everything wrong with her husband – and right w/Mr. Facebook, my mind literally flooded with counsel. Some of which wasn’t wise. It was just ME! When she stopped sharing, I said, “You know, your husband may not show you in the best possible way, but he is crazy about you. How do I know that? He goes to work every day so that you can stay home and raise your children. He does everything within his power to get you anything you want.” Sure, I could have agreed with the ugly things about her husband, but the truth is, he IS crazy about her. She was just blinded by his inability [at that time] to speak her love language. I loved her enough to speak the truth to her. I think because I encouraged her instead of discouraging her, they have gone on to have an incredible marriage.

5. True friends make you a priority in their life. They are always happy to see you and when you need them, they are only a call, text, or visit away!

Friends are special people. I challenge you to take an inventory of the friendships you have and see how healthy those relationships are. If they are life giving relationships, count yourself in the lucky few category because most people only experience a strong acquaintance with others. They lack TRUE friendship. If you are in a friendship that speaks ‘death’ or zaps your energy, trust God to show you how to end it. Your health, physical and spiritual are worth far more than a damaging friendship.

I have pulled away from friends that were amazing, but when we spoke, there was always some sort of gossip. It hurt, but I’m learning how to make ‘not gossiping’ one of my “friend requirements”. Isn’t it funny how your perspective changes when you begin to grow up?

Don’t give up!

I read this posting from Os Chambers and it struck a chord deep inside! Let it minister to you too!

April 16, 2010

Can You Come Down From the Mountain?

While you have the light, believe in the light . . . —John 12:36

We all have moments when we feel better than ever before, and we say, “I feel fit for anything; if only I could always be like this!” We are not meant to be. Those moments are moments of insight which we have to live up to even when we do not feel like it. Many of us are no good for the everyday world when we are not on the mountaintop. Yet we must bring our everyday life up to the standard revealed to us on the mountaintop when we were there.

Never allow a feeling that was awakened in you on the mountaintop to evaporate. Don’t place yourself on the shelf by thinking, “How great to be in such a wonderful state of mind!” Act immediately— do something, even if your only reason to act is that you would rather not. If, during a prayer meeting, God shows you something to do, don’t say, “I’ll do it”— justdoit! Pick yourself up by the back of the neck and shake off your fleshly laziness. Laziness can always be seen in our cravings for a mountaintop experience; all we talk about is our planning for our time on the mountain. We must learn to live in the ordinary “gray” day according to what we saw on the mountain.

Don’t give up because you have been blocked and confused once— go after it again. Burn your bridges behind you, and stand committed to God by an act of your own will. Never change your decisions, but be sure to make your decisions in the light of what you saw and learned on the mountain.

Changes Start Today

Well, as I sit here today, I have begun to reflect on the many changes in my life. I don’t really know where I am going in life, of one thing I am certain! I am following the Lord ALL the way there. I admitted to a friend today that my conversation with God has suffered from  busyness. As I began to speak those words from my mouth, I began to realize…He is NEVER too busy to speak to me, to move on my behalf, to make me a priority. That said, today…I have to make a change. If I am going to claim He is the number ONE, I have to let Him BE the number ONE!

Lord, You have my life-You have blessed us beyond measure, and I am grateful for that! I am Yours. Anything and everything that I have is Yours. I know that when I give my time completely to You, You’ll make the way for everything to be completed, and I will stand in awe of having ‘done so much in so little time’. I thank You for Your unyeilding love. I am so grateful You never give up on me-even when I deserve it!

Changes in my life today-start with this-He is my everything! I have to make Him a priority in every part of my life! He hasn’t changed His residence in my heart – even when I decided that I was going to be disobedient or do what I knew wasn’t ‘right’. I must continue to maintain my relationship with Him. He’s my Rock, Refuge, Shelter when I need Him-He’s my Ever-present Help-He’s ALL I need…even when I don’t “need” Him. He’s only a breath away. Isn’t it amazing that He never gives up on us when it appears to Him that we’ve given up on Him?

 

It’s all in a name. . .

There’s something very personal about calling someone by name. I find that I am more motivated to remember someone or something if I mark it’s identity with a name! Some of us are terrible at remembering names, but there are others of us that connect names with something personal to help us remember! *hint hint*

I say all of that to say this. Here are the names of some men that have served, currently serve, are active, are reservists in our military. They all need prayer. Despite what you may feel about our military or our government, these men are real – with regular lives just like you and I. They have families that care deeply for them. We get caught up in our busy routine’s that we forget to take the time to support our troops via prayer.

I’m just asking that you join with me in prayer for them this week [or when the Lord prompts you to pray]. Pray for these guys. Call out their names before the Father. Never forget that they represent the freedoms that we have to serve our mighty God! Join me in praying for these guys! You may be blessed more than they are! It’s my privilege and honor to pray for them! I salute their honor, loyalty, and commitment.

If you would like to submit a name to be added to the list, add a comment, send a tweet, or facebook comment.

Here are the men listed so far:

Matt Carman, Jamey Cline, Mike Lowery, Matt Furtick, Dustin Peets, Tom, David, & Mark Rippy, Kevin and Jared Crown.