Six Months Later

I need to face facts -- I may never be a blogger.  I have made multiple attempts at being a blogger, but it just never happens.  First of all, I am really not a writer.  I can't come up with catchy things to say and though I think my family gives me a lot of fodder, so to speak, I can't really articulate it in a way that makes for great reading.

However, there are many times I feel a compelling urge to jot down my thoughts.  So, I am going to try a new approach to my blog.  I am just going to share what is on my heart and mind.  If it's not appealing to you, it won't offend me in the least if you don't want to read it.  I am not doing this blog for the sake of having multiple readers.  It is just a place for me to get my thoughts out of my head where I can come back and look later. 

Some of the interesting things going on in my life currently is that I just finished my freshman year of college.  I got all A's this semester, so I am pretty proud of that.  Only 3 more years to go!  :)  Kayla, our oldest daughter, has just finished her first year of nursing.  It has been a difficult year for her adjusting to life outside of college and in the working world, but I think she has done splendid and her heart is still set on being a missionary to Haiti and the Lord is moving her along in that direction.  Not as quickly as she would like, but He is moving and I know He has a perfect plan for her.  Shelby, our middle daughter, is engaged and is planning on a fall wedding.  Lindsay, our youngest, is still trying to decide what she wants to do.  Right now she is working almost full time at Sonic and loving it and is saving money for a car.  No firm decision yet made on schooling but we are still in negotiations.  LOL  Our grandson is growing like a weed and is the apple of our eyes!  We get him every weekend as his momma works 12 hour shifts on the weekends at a local nursing home.

Lately, I've been reading several books that have really been ministering to me and causing me to question and think on deeper things.  That is good.... but with knowledge also comes responsibility.  The Word of God says that we are to be "doer's of the Word", not only hearers.  I have learned so much recently in many areas of my life, which is also part of the reason I wanted to rekindle this blog.  Even if it isn't eloquent, I want to keep a record of all that I am learning and thinking on and also record what I am "doing" in response to it.

So, we'll see how I do.  Goodnight blog world....hope to see ya tomorrow!

Slacker!

YIKES!!!!  It's been a week since I posted!  Didn't take me long to fall off the wagon, huh?  Well, I would try to recap what the past 7 days entailed, but I can't remember.  LOL  Again, that is one of the reasons I need to blog daily, so I don't forget!

The highlight of the past week had to have been our grandson's birthday party!  He turned 3 on Christmas Day.  We held off on his party so that he could get the full enjoyment of a birthday party separate from Christmas.  Actually, I think the guy made out better with his birthday gifts than he did for Christmas. LOL  He got lots of nice gifts and all of his aunts and his great aunts and great uncles, as well as the great grandparents were there and even his great-great uncle was there. It really was a housefull but he had a great time.

It has been more of an adjustment than I thought it would be having Shelby & Jalen move out on their own.  Though we still see them every day, it is just different.  I miss the little guy giving me hugs and kisses before bedtime each night.  But I know this is a good thing for them and I can see positive things coming from it already.  Change is not always easy, but good things can come from it when we allow it to.

Here's looking to a productive week ahead!

Wisdom

So this morning I was reading in Proverbs, chapter 2 to be precise, and I started thinking about all the references to wisdom and how to get it, etc.  I've heard a lot of sermons that quote James 1:5, "If any of you lack wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all..."  Most of those sermons apply that verse to anything we need to know.  But if you look at it in context, it is clear that what James is saying here is that if we don't have the wisdom to understand how trials and tempations work in our lives to make us mature, then we can ask God to give us the wisdom to understand "that".  So, if that verse applies to wisdom for that specific thing, are there Scriptures that explain how we get wisdom for other things in life?  I think that is what I discovered in reading Proverbs 2 today.  It actually kind of reads like" "He is ____ for you or will do _____, if you are/do ______." 

Proverbs 2:6-10 (New International Version, ©2010)


6 For the LORD gives wisdom;

from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

7 He holds success in store for the upright,

he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,

8 for he guards the course of the just

and protects the way of his faithful ones.

9 Then you will understand what is right and just

and fair—every good path.

10 For wisdom will enter your heart,


and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.

I just thought it was another great passage to ponder at the beginning of a new year, and how encouraging it is to know that HE GIVES US WISDOM so that we can understand what is right and wrong, so that we will know how to live our lives.  We have no excuses....wisdom is ours! 

Happy New Year!

1-1-11  It is officially here!  The beginning of 2011!  It is the time when people make goals for things they hope to accomplish over the next 12 months.  I, like most everyone else, have a list of goals I want to shoot for this year as well.  I make them every year, but sad to say, for the most part, at the end of the 12 months I have not really achieved any of the goals I set.  This year I hope to change that.  At the top of my "list" this year is to "be intentional".  If I can do that, then I should at least be able to end this next year with some success.

Every year one of my main goals is to get more organized.  I can get things organized somewhat but maintaining it is where I run into difficulty.  For years, I have heard how having a planner is the best thing for getting and staying organized and I would agree, I think.  I have bought too many planners to count and while each one of them was "just the one" I thought would work, I just never seemed to get much past the "setting it up" stage.  I do believe that using one would really help me in terms of keeping my life more organized and so it is one of my top priorities this year.  There are many goals I have and maybe if I can get it organized on paper, I will eventually be able to see progress in every goal I've set.

I know I've said it before, but another top goal of mine is to maintain my blog on a regular basis.  I have thought about setting a specific purpose for my blog so as to attract more readers perhaps, and I have had some ideas about how to do that, but overall, I really want my blog to just be an extension or record of who I am.  So it will likely have many components.  I hope to soon be able to design it better, but I haven't had the funds to hire a designer for it and I would honestly prefer to learn how to design it myself so I could change it as often as I wanted.  In the meantime, I will just work with what I've got and be grateful for it.:)

So, as 2011 gets underway, I hope we all can believe for a better year ahead and that we will all be more intentional in our living, and that when the dawn of 2012 approaches, we can look back and see how far we've come!

Christmas Day

Well, it's officiallly the day after Christmas now, but I can't sleep, so I decided to "blog". :)  I am truly hoping to make a change this next year with my blogging habits and make this a much bigger part of my life.  There are so many things that I think about that I would like to share, and also archive for my family, but I will share more of that in another post.

I have been pondering the idea of how New Years Day comes so soon after Christmas Day.  For years I have always thought it was kind of aggravating that the 2 holidays are so close together because it just seems to make for a very busy time.  However, today as I was thinking about goals for the New Year, I was also thinking about the real reason for Christmas.  For those of us who believe in Christ, we acknowledge that God was the first gift-giver in that He gave us His son to become the sacrifice for our sins. What a humbling and sobering thought when we consider the gifts we give.  As I started reflecting on this amazing gift we've been given, I then started seeing how amazing it is that New Year's Day comes so soon after.  As we ponder the amazing gift we've been given, which when we accept it, wipes our sin slate completely clean, only then can we really appreciate the fullness of what a New Year brings to us as well - a similarly clean slate to begin life anew again so to speak.  The two holidays really do fit well together - A gift that brings new life.

Christmas Eve Ramblings

Well, it is obvious that I didn't reach the goal I had for my blog this year.  :(  But I do have some ideas about next year and I am hoping to find someone who is able to help me get a really good blog going.  I do want to recap my year though. I didn't get around to sending out Christmas cards this year or making a holiday newsletter, so this will be my year-end wrap up.

January 2010 - Shelby & Jalen moved home only 3 months after her wedding.  I decided to enroll in college after almost 20 years from my last class.

February 2010 - Tom & I celebrated our 22nd anniversary and Tom turned 41!

March 2010 - Kayla turned 21 and Lindsay turned 16!!!!  Shelby passed her GED!!!!!

April 2010 - Shelby turned 19!!!!  Lindsay hired at Sonic AND KFC/Taco Bell!

May 2010 - I survived my first semester back to college and Kayla graduated from college!!!!!!  Tom left MO-DOT for Ozark Mountain Tour Trucking (assigned to the Justin Beiber tour!)  Shelby's divorce was finalized!

June 2010 - Kayla started her new job at St. John's as a graduate nurse.  She was hired on full-time (an unusual accomplishment for a grad nurse to get full-time to start off). I took a summer course in college (college algebra).  Shelby started a new job at the nursing home and CNA classes.

July 2010 - Me, Shelby, & Jalen went to Kansas City to see Tom on tour.  Lindsay, Britian, & I went to Memphis to meet online friends and to see Tom on tour there.  I turned 41!!!!!  Kayla took and passed her state board test- is an official RN!!!!!

August 2010 - I started another semester of college.  Enrolled in 15 hours.  Started a new job that was full-time.  Lindsay went full time at Sonic and quit her KFC/Taco Bell job.

September 2010 - Tom came home for 4 days!!!!!! 

October 2010 - Tom came home for 3 weeks.  Got another job offer and turned in his notice at Ozark.  Will be home November 5!!!

November 2010- Tom came home to start new job!  Lindsay had a wreck that totaled her car, but God was with her and she and her friend and the other driver only had minor injuries.  Thanksgiving with all the family!!!

December 2010 - Shelby found an apartment for her and Jalen to rent starting the first of 2011.  Kayla came home day before Christmas Eve to have Christmas with us as she worked Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  First Christmas without all of us together on the actual day...:(  We filed for bankruptcy.  Maybe not the best thing to remember, but the economy hit us hard over the past 2 years and Tom has had multiple jobs, all of which paid much less than his previous job of 18 years, and we never could recuperate fully.  We are grateful for the fresh start and hope that 2011 will bring many good things to our lives and to the lives of our children and our friends!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!

Challenge

A friend shared with me that November is the national blogging month and the challenge is to write on your blog every day of the month. Well, I already messed it up since I didn't blog yesterday, but I am going to try to still blog every day just to see how many days I actually succeed. :)

So many times I feel like the Lord puts things on my mind that I want to write about, but then when I sit down to actually type it out, it leaves me or I can't seem to write it the way I "hear" it in my head.

Anyway, I do have a couple of "topics" in mind, but I am going to save them for another day so I will be sure to have something to write about...LOL

So,stay tuned...:)