March 21, 2009
Well, we have a little over a week before we move back to Alabama. I am a bit unsettled by it all. Dont get me wrong I love Alabama, part of my heart will always be there. I’m glad that we will be close to family. God has blessed us with an amazing family. That being said, it’s hard for me to believe that after such a short time here in Franklin this is so emotional for me.
God has surrounded us with such amazing people, and I don’t want to leave. Friends these days are not always that easy to find. I’ve had very few friends like I have here. This has caused me to kind of question why that is.
Other than family, I’ve never had friends before who would do the things our amazing village (church small group) has done for us. I was so amazed at how they showed up when we needed them. These were bonds that formed through our church. The thing that confuses me is why haven’t I found that before? I’ve been in church all my life.
Church should be the place where relationships like that form. So my question is what kinds of things nurture or hinder the forming of those relationships? Are we afraid of being real with people at church? Are we too prideful to let them see our faults…our humanity? I think that can be the problem most of the time. I found that having time weekly to meet with a small group helped tremendously. Many large churches try to do that with Sunday School, but how much can you open up in a hour? We also took the time to share our stories, our lives, with each other.
I know that I don’t have all the answers. I’m not really trying to. I just know that I’m afraid that this move will cause us to lose what we’ve found, and I’m afraid we won’t be able to find it again. This will just be another opportunity to trust God.
March 10, 2009
Isn’t it interesting that grace and pain so often go together? I have recently experienced quite a bit of both. It is so easy to see God’s grace when you are beginning to walk out of the pain, but not so easy while you are right in the midst of it all. God has shown me that even when we go through the pain He is in control, and He loves us so much that He chooses to pour out grace in amazing ways.
In the past few months our family has gone through a lot, but that is a story for another time and another place. Right now I want to use this forum to thank the family and friends that God has blessed us with. I am so grateful to those of you that choose to walk through life with me and my family, especially when it gets messy. It’s easy for people to pull away because they don’t want to get their hands dirty. I just want all of you who are walking with us to know how much we love you. God has used you all in amazing ways. Thank you for your prayers and words of encouragement.
January 14, 2009
What is it that I am always looking for?
I stumbled onto this topic today as I was trying to decide what to write about. The thoughts kept going through my head about writing something interesting, something intelligent, or something that people would want to read. Then it occurred to me that stressing so much over it was really a form of pride. It wasn’t the desire to write a quality blog post that was prideful, it was the motives behind that desire. I didn’t want to sound stupid. I wanted to write something that would impress people. I wanted to raise my stats, and so on. I was seeking approval from the people who were going to read this.
It really all comes down to pride. When it comes to pride my greatest struggle has been my concern with what others think of me. I go to a lot of trouble to try and make others like me. The interesting thing is that causes me to be miserable quite often. For example there are the days that I change clothes 2 or 3 times because I don’t think my outfit is stylish enough. I am beginning to learn that some people love me no matter how goofy I act or how unstylish I am. Most of this comes from my desire to get approval or compliments from others. Once again though my Father reminds me that His approval is all I need. He really is all we need.
January 8, 2009
Well, many of you may know that recently my family and I made the long trip to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl. Yes, I am a huge Alabama fan. I was disappointed that they lost, but despite what many people think I am glad that I went. I am one of those people who believes that in this game the loss of one player did make a difference.
It has been widely reported that Andre Smith was sent home because of dealings with an agent. Many have said that he got what he deserved, but is that really true? There are many sources stating that it was a family member that put him in contact with the agent. Another thought is that the agent himself knows NCAA rules, shouldn’t he be held libel in some way. What do you expect a college student to do when he is faced with the opportunity of making millions? And don’t get me wrong, if he goes in the top 5 as expected he will make millions.
Why did the loss of Andre Smith hurt Alabama so much? It completely changed the chemistry of the offensive line. It is very likely that had Andre Smith played, Utah would not have been able to sack John Parker Wilson like they did. If John Parker Wilson had not been sacked like he was, he would probably have been a little more comfortable in the pocket. These are all just suppositions of course because it didn’t happen that way.
I’m still very happy with the season that the Crimson Tide had. I would have been skeptical if anyone had told me that Alabama would go 12-2, defeating Tennessee and Auburn along the way. Nobody believed that Alabama would be #1 for 5 weeks. Preseason rankings didn’t even have them in the top 25. Don’t get me wrong a little sugar would have been nice, but I’m happy. I was more upset over the Florida loss than the Utah loss. I will just hold out hope that next year the Tide will make it back to #1. For now, I will be happy with sugar in my coffee.
December 11, 2008
Why is walking through life with others so difficult? It comes down to the same old question that people have been asking for years. Why do bad things happen to good people? I have asked that question in a few different ways over my lifetime. Why does she have to battle cancer? Why did he have to go through all of that as a child? Why are they having to go through this?
The thing that I have found is that it usually doesn’t come out, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” It usually ends up coming out more like, “Why are bad things happening to the people I care about?” Am I being selfish? Does it reflect the idea that I don’t want people I care about to hurt? Or is that I am scared to go through these things with people I care about? Do I have what it takes to walk through the pain with those I love?
I have learned that walking through life with others is not easy. We have been created for relationships though. That means to me that even though it’s difficult, it’s necessary. Recently I have been walking through some tough stuff with someone that I love very much. It hasn’t been easy at all. Often I don’t know the right things to say or do. I feel helpless a lot. The thing is that God is showing me that it’s necessary. I have seen that, “God’s way are not our ways” more clearly than ever.
So, am I excited that we are going through all of this? The answer is actually yes. Yes, I am excited because I know that God has something awesome on the other side of it. Yes, because through it we have been shown love in amazing ways. Yes, because God is allowing us to be an instrument of His glory. Yes, because God’s grace and mercy is becoming more real to me everyday. I’m learning that even though walking through the pain may not be easy, but it is so worth it.
November 28, 2008
Thanksgiving has come and gone. This year I am even more thankful than ever. It is amazing all the blessings that God has given to me. Andy and I are very thankful of course for our beautiful daughter, as well as the rest of our family. God has continued to provide for our needs. God has blessed us with a great group of people in our “Amish Village.” Before you ask questions, we aren’t really Amish. It’s just a joke, besides could I have a blog if I were Amish.
Anyway, back to what I was saying. We can go through all the obligatory things that we should be thankful for: salvation, family, friends, shelter, food, clothing, etc. I, however, am more aware this year of how thankful I am for my family. My husband and I have been discussing his past a lot lately, and it has been very eye opening. That seems strange to say after we have been married for 9 years, but we continue to learn new things about each other. I was astounded to find out that my husband has very few memories of holidays as a child. He could actually only recall about 3 or 4 holidays in a span of 17 or 18 years. What do I do with that? It breaks my heart to know that he did not have what I had as a child, a household filled to overflowing with love.
This has all made me so much more thankful for my family. I am thankful for the love that surrounded me throughout my life. I am thankful that they accepted Andy as one of their own. My family is not perfect by any means. Whose is? The awesome thing is that now we are able to build our memories together. I know that without a doubt we were created for each other, and I am so thankful that we got here. God is working in such an amazing way in our lives, and I can’t thank Him enough for that.
What are you thankful for?
November 6, 2008
I am really sick and tired of hearing about how horrible the last 8 years have been. I am probably one of the few supporter’s that President Bush still has. Frankly, I believe that he is a good man who has led this country as best he could. His hands were often tied by a Democratic led congress, yet he still accomplished some great things. This blog is not meant to be a political blog. I just write about things that come to my mind. Right now, it really hurts me to see people attack others simply because they don’t agree with their politics.
You may have heard of the ONE Campaign. This is a wonderful campaign that was formed to help provide to aid to those who need it most in Africa. On their blog they posted an excerpt of a Q&A about what President Bush has done for the cause. Please read this, and see that he has done something great for Africa.
President Bush’s Africa Legacy
October 24, 2008
I don’t know about anyone else, but I am so ready for this election to be over. The politics are getting so old. I know people who are voting for each of the candidates. Guess what though? Their vote is not going to affect my friendship with them at all. Politics are not why we were friends in the first place. We will still be friends when this is all over.
My problem right now though is all the Hollywood politics. I really would just like for entertainers to do their job rather than telling me who to vote for. Let’s think about reality for a moment. My lifestyle is totally different from all of these entertainers. I don’t have stylists to choose my outfits, assistants to run my errands, or a forum to tell the world what I think about politics. Why should I want to vote the same way that they do? We have absolutely nothing in common. I need to make my own decisions, think for myself, not choose a candidate because that’s who my favorite actress or actor likes.
Why does this bug me? Have you ever seen an actor or actress perform in a role that totally changes your opinion of them? I have, and when they start taking on politics it can do the same. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not one of these boycott people. I’m not going to boycott a movie just because of something an actor does or says, but it does put a damper on my enjoyment of their work from time to time.
Recently Ron Howard filmed a commercial for a certain candidate. In this commercial he reprised his roles as Opie and Richie Cunningham. Andy Griffith was there as well as Henry Winkler. Now, I just don’t think I will be able to watch reruns of those shows without remembering this election. I’m sorry, but after our new president takes office I would rather forget this election. Just a thought.
