Wordless Wednesday-When Middle Schooler Comes Home

This is what happens when my middle schooler comes in the door!

Trying Something New

Today I started something new with the boys. They each have a little journal that was given out by Army recruiters somewhere- maybe when we were in Baltimore. Anyway, they are very "boyish" looking and have been laying around forever.

Today as I was straightening up their rooms (actually just piling their stuff on their beds so THEY can put everything up) I decided to put those journals to use.

I wrote a short note to each of them. Telling them I love them and then something positive. I told Luke how great it has been that he is getting up on his own with his alarm clock every school day. And how much I appreciate his good attitude (believe me mornings used to be UGLY around here). For Mark I wrote about how great I think he is handling the transition into middle school and how proud I am of him for dealing with all of the changes in such a positive manner.

Then I wrote in each that if they ever have any questions or anything they want to talk to me or Lewis about they can write about it in the journal and put it under our pillows. We'll write back and put it under their pillows. They are each sitting on their pillows now.

I hope this works. I'm sure it's tough for boys to come right out in the open about certain situations, so maybe they'll feel more at ease writing it instead of saying it. We'll see!

Anything to keep the lines of communication open.

Thanks to Julie from The Diva Cast for the idea!!!

Our God is an Awesome God!

Man oh man. What a weekend I had. I spent part of Friday, all day Saturday and most of Sunday with a group of amazing women!

Our church held a women's retreat in the beautiful NC mountains. Our topic was prayer and let me tell you I did a lot of it. Our speaker was amazing. And what was even more amazing was the story we heard from our guest speaker, Valinda Miracle. If I had a lifetime of years I don't think I could put into words the blessings we received from hearing her testimony. This woman has a story that will touch your heart in so many places there won't be a single crevice left untouched!

And then, to end an awesome weekend I was given two wonderful gifts.

1. My middle school son Mark and I had a wonderful conversation on the way home from youth group. We just talked- not about anything specific- we just talked.
2. I walked up the stairs as Lewis was in Luke's room getting ready to tuck him in (he's my fifth grader). As I ascended the stairs- I hear in stereo the two of them saying the Lord's Prayer together as Luke's goodnight prayer.

Yes, our God is an awesome God!!

A Hedge of Protection

As I sit here writing this post I have a pit in my stomach that just won’t settle. I know it’s ok to feel this way- but at the same time I feel kind of silly being this upset.

Why am I upset you ask- well let me tell you why- my “baby” (ok, really he’s my oldest but still) is starting Middle School tomorrow.

I’m not upset because he’s growing up and moving on to new endeavors. What is bothering me is that it’s –Middle School-! I’m terrified for him. He’s entering what I view as the “real world”.

When he was in elementary school, he was “loved on” (well by most elementary school teachers). He wasn’t- for the most part -faced with the many temptations that are going to be in front of him daily. It’s a scary thought. I thank God that He has allowed us and guided us as parents to direct Mark’s feet along the path of Godly instruction and I pray that He will continue to be a light on the path before him.

Already at this age, Mark is a young man of strong conviction. He knows what he believes and how important it is to live up to and stand by those beliefs. I pray that he will feel our Lord Jesus Christ standing right there beside him during those times when he needs it is especially hard stick to those convictions. One of his teachers from last year told me in a conference that she saw Mark as a role model for her two boys- She told me she would be blessed if her children grew to be the type of young man that Mark is. The boy makes his parents proud.

So, why it so hard for me to watch him take this step? I know that the only thing I can do is to pray a hedge of protection around him that Satan can not penetrate. Satan even complained about the hedge of protection that God placed around Job- “Have you not put a hedge about him and his house and all that he has on every side?” Job 1:10.

As I searched the Internet for prayers for children I found this information about praying for a hedge of protection:

1. Ask God to bind and rebuke the power of Satan in the life of each one in your family. Be mighty through God to pull down strongholds. “No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man” (Mark 3:27)

2. Pray in the same and through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. “And I will do whatever you ask in My Name, so that the Father may be glorified and extolled in the Son.” (John 14:13). Christ’s name is Protector, the Good Shepherd that gives His life for His sheep.

3. Claim the Scripture that relates to the kid of protection that is needed. For example, for protection from sin, you can claim a verse such as Romans 6:14, “For sin shall not have dominion over you”. For protection from discouragement, you could claim the promise, “…for He Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. I will not, I will not, I will no in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let you down.” (Hebrews 13:5)

My Prayer for Mark:

Precious Heavenly Father, I ask You, in your infinitely love and grace, to bind and rebuke the power that Satan may attempt to have over Mark. I pray a hedge of protection around this precious child of Yours. Lord, because You are Mark’s rock and fortress lead him and guide him in his steps. Lord, guide his steps that he may be a light that leads others to You. Dear Lord Jesus- though Mark may fall, he will not be utterly cast down, for You, Lord grasps his hand in support and You uphold him.(Psalm 34:24) InYour most gracious and loving name I pray- AMEN!

Sshh- they're listening!

Ok, the title was really supposed to represent the fact that I think my Pastor has bugged my house because the prayer below was sent out in a mass e-mail this morning and yesterday was not a day where I was careful with my words:

Today's Prayer
Dear Lord, Thank you for this day and for the instruction you provide through your Word. Please help me to always have a soft answer to turn away wrath, not harsh words that stir up anger; help me to use knowledge rightly, not to speak foolishness. I pray that my tongue would build up others as a tree of life giving shade and shelter and never speak perverseness that would break the spirit. Let me always receive your instruction and correction with an ear to hear, a mind to accept, and a heart that is humble. (Based on Proverbs 15:1.) I thank you and offer this prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

But as I read the prayer over and over I started thinking that I shouldn't have focused on the fact that maybe someone outside of my house heard my words- but two certain people inside my house.

How can I possibly expect my children (both tweeners) to speak respectfully to each other and to me when I don't speak respectfully to them. It's all in the tone of voice I tell them- as I say the words in an extremely harsh tone of voice.

I don't want to be one of those "do as I say not as I do" parents! I want to be a Christlike example!

Pray for me will ya??!!

I feel the love!

Ever wonder how much your family loves you? I started thinking about this the other day because Lewis made a really loving comment to me in the truck on the way to a baseball game.

He told me that he'd cut Luke's finger nails that afternoon (only the right hand, Luke had done his own left hand). I asked if he'd cut his toenails too- the answer- "No, and you know if anything were to ever happened to you I'd have to find another Mama for the boys right away because I just can't do some of those things".

This made me stop and think of all of those precious times when my family let me know how much they love me and how much they need me. Here are a few examples:

After I re-painted the boys bathroom shortly after moving into this house I ordered a new shower curtain. It was a Tarheel shower curtain. I didn't tell the boys I'd ordered it so when it arrived in the mail I was excited about showing it to them. When Mark saw it he gave me a huge hug and said "you're the best mom in the whole world"! Who knew a shower curtain could lift me to such a lofty appointment!

One day I took the boys to Target to let them spend some of their Christmas and birthday money that they'd saved up. I can't even remember what they wanted to buy but they were a little short on funds so I told them I'd make up the difference. Glory hallelujah- the excitement and "I love you Mom"'s that came from that exchange were unbelievable.

And of course there are those times when I join right in on all of the "male" contests activities going on in the household- yes- often I can burp and do other things just as loud and obnoxiously as they can- and Lewis will tell the boys "that's why I love your Mama". or "you gotta love a Mama that can do that".

Goodness- it's no wonder I feel so loved!!!

A Sound I Love to Hear

I was sitting on the couch tonight after Mark and I got home from his baseball practice and I heard a sound I love to hear. Luke and Lew were up in our bed and Lewis was reading to Luke. I'm not sure exactly why, but just hearing Daddy reading to his little boy was a blessing to my ears!!!

Do you ever find that it's the little things that bring a blessing in your life?

They Make Their Momma Proud!

Ok, brag time for me!

The other day I had a conference at school for Mark and one of his teachers told me- "He is just such a great all around kid. He has the best spirit, the best soul, the best attitude. When I look at him I see what I want my boys to grow up to be!"

Then Tuesday afternoon he came home from school not feeling well. Little Younger brother Luke volunteered to get a cool wash cloth for his head and then at night he was standing by the bed rubbing his big brothers head and telling him he loved him and hoped he felt better!

Just warms the soul!!!

Back in Church

Man, as much as I hate to do this- I have a confession to make......we have only been to church 4 times since May. How terrible is that. We moved into our new house in May and decided we wanted to find a new church. We still loved the church we had been attending for 16 years but just felt we needed something more. Especially for our boys. Our church was pretty small and the children's group was comprised of about 10 kids on a good day. The youth group wasn't much bigger. Not that there is anything wrong with that- but we wanted to find a church with a strong program for kids and youth in the hopes that the boys would become involved and want to stay involved during those intense teen years!!

So anyway- we said we'd start visiting churches but then we didn't want to go to one just one Sunday then be out 3 Sundays because of travel baseball. Why, I'm not really sure but that was our thinking.

Another one of our desires was to find a church with a good contemporary service. Again because we thought it would appeal to the boys- plus we had attended church with my brother and his family, going to their contemporary service- and just felt a wonderful sense of Worship. That is what we wanted. Finding that in a Methodist Church isn't that easy around here. Most of the Methodist Churches are either small and their contemporary service (if they even have one) is far from contemporary. Other churches are very large, established churches that are made up mostly of those people that have been attending there since the 1800's- well ok, for many many years. I'm sure if you even mentioned Contemporary service in those churches you'd be run out being whipped with a palm branch! LOL

This past Sunday we visited a new church and immediately felt "right" about it. Although it is very large (they have 5, yes 5 services each Sunday-one of those being a Spanish service) the sense of worship in the service we attended was amazing. The boys loved it right away and so did DH and I. The music was wonderful, you could just see (and hear) the Spirit through the Praise Band/Choir.

One thing DH said he liked the most about the service was something the Pastor Preacher said. Throughout the service the theme was stopping amidst this busy time to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas. Realizing the importance was not on the tinsel, the presents or the parties- but on the expectancy of the birth of Jesus Christ. When Preacher Gayle stepped up to begin her sermon she said "Well, my sermon has already been talked about I guess we can all go home- but wait I'm a PREACHER and you know I'm gonna PREACH". Lewis said he liked that because a dear sweet Preacher- Preacher Patty- who was our Preacher for many years and who died of breast cancer almost 2 years ago- always said she was a Preacher not a Pastor because it was her calling to PREACH!!!


Man, this sure has gotten long. Basically what I wanted to say is that I think we've found a church or rather God has directed us to the Church for us! As Luke said when we were walking through the grocery store after the service- "It sure did feel good to be in church again"!!!

The Way it Should Be!

My Grand-daddy had a stroke a week and a half ago. He'd been suffering from Parkinson's Disease and had gradually become a man very different from the Grand-daddy that I grew up with. The disease had changed him in many ways. Fortunately (or unfortunately) I had not seen him much as the disease progressed. I know that I could have made more time to visit but there just always seemed to be something going on. And to be honest, I wasn't really sure I wanted to see him.



About 2 months ago all of the family made a trip to the mountains for a family "union" as he called it. There were 25 members of our family that got together. My Grand-daddy decided he wanted to share some things with us. As he talked, and talked, and talked I began to see how sharp his mind still was. Even if he couldn't remember things that had happened recently (the man met a woman at the assisted living home where he was living and after knowing her for about 1 month they decided to get married-when he went to get the marriage certificate he couldn't even remember her name--but that's a whole different story! LOL). He talked about the grandchildren coming to his place in the mountains to visit. The weeks we spent there playing by the creek bed and throwing rocks in the creek. It was really sweet to hear him recalling those memories.



Then he had the stroke! It was a massive stroke and because he had a living will he was placed into what they call "care mode" after 5 days. And then it became just a matter of waiting.



On Tuesday afternoon I really felt a tug at my heart. I felt God telling me that I needed to go to the hospital. I knew my Grand-daddy may not even know I was there but I wanted to see him, to tell him I loved him and to be there for my Mom.



So yesterday I made the 3 hour trip to the hospital. I was able to stroke his hair, tell him I loved him and tell him that I was praying for him and that I knew God was going to take care of him. It was a difficult thing to do but I felt so at peace when I left.



Then yesterday afternoon after I got home we decided to take the boys to the fair. As the kids were running from ride to ride and wasting spending money on games I stopped to think. "Gosh, my Grand-daddy is dying and we're here having a great time" But then I thought "That's the way it should be". Grand-daddy wouldn't want us to be sitting around grieving and worrying, he'd want us spending time with our families and enjoying life.



Late last night we received the call. Grand-daddy had gone to be with his Precious Heavenly Father. I had prayed that God would heal him- either heal his body here on earth or heal him by giving him a brand new body in heaven. I thank God for answering my prayer and I smile at the thought of my Grand-mommy waiting at heavens gate beside Jesus- both ready to hold him in their arms and welcome him home- Because "That's the Way it Should Be!

I love you Grand-daddy!!

I've been convicted!

No, I haven't been convicted of a crime...although there was that one time in high school-oh my what am I saying!!!

Anyway- here is what I'm talking about. I love to read. Usually I'll pick up just about any book and read it. If there are parts that aren't- well exactly "acceptable" I usually just try to ignore them. But lately something has been going on in my little brain- or more likely my heart- and I just can't ignore those "unacceptable" parts any longer.

I bought several books at Book-A-Million the other day. I just glanced at the back to see what they were about. One I didn't even look at the back- the title and the cover looked intriguing so I bought it. The other day I picked one of them up to start reading it and on the first page- you know the first page of the first chapter where you usually only get about 1/2 a page of text- there were 16 "bad" words. 16 on 1/2 a page! Why?? And one of them was what I consider to be the worst. I just couldn't continue reading. So I put that one away and picked up one of the others that I'd purchased. This one was the one that I didn't read the excerpt on the back. Well, it was almost as bad. The language wasn't as bad but the subject matter was worse. UGH! So that one went away too.

And then there is music. I LOVE to listen to music. And again, usually anything goes. But lately there has been that tug on my heart when certain songs come on the radio or come up on my Ipod. So I change the channel or skip over them (yes, I know I need to delete them from my Ipod).

I'm not really sure what's going on and why the Lord has decided to place this on my heart but I'm glad he has. As I read or listen I find myself asking myself "Would I want my boys listening to this or reading this"! It's really a wake up call!

So I challenge you-think about what you are reading, saying, listening to, watching on TV. I'm not saying to stop all of it (I do have a Grey's Anatomy addiction) but just think about it- maybe you'll be compelled like I was to at least start doing something about it!!

New Beginnings

I've started sitting out on the porch in the mornings while the boys wait for the school bus. I usually read my Bible and do my Quiet Time then. It's usually fairly quiet- with just the sound of cars driving by, an occasional truck and the sound of the neighbor kids leaving for school. But this morning was really different. Even before the bus came- it was exceptionally quiet. Once the bus came it was almost completely silent- it was almost strange. But it was great. I sat there after reading my Bible and just listened- to nothing. It was sprinkling a little and it was just peaceful.

I found myself thinking about the changes in the seasons and how Fall was almost here. I know that most people think of Spring as the time for "New Beginnings", or even New Year, but today I was thinking about Fall being a new beginning. I kind of feel like DH and I have reached a "new beginning" with our relationship (yep-after 17 years even!! LOL), the boys started a new school this year and they definitely went through a new beginning. We're making some changes at the house- painting, yard work etc. So that's a new beginning. But it's more than that.

There are lots of new beginnings going on in Bloggityville- and I'm planning on getting involved in several of them. Jules over at Everyday Design is gonna make my blog look all new and spiffy! But I also want it to be a time of new beginnings for me personally. I want to make some changes in my life- changes that will be permanent- not ones that will last a few weeks and then fall to the wayside. I'm not going to post about them now- but I'm really going to be working on making the changes.

Here are the blog world new beginnings that I'm going to be participating in -check them out- you might be interesting in participating too!!

Fall Into Reading 2007 over at Callapidder Days

Tales from the Scales- weight loss challenge

Everyday Mommy- Read-A-Long- Bible Study

What new beginnings are happening in your life??

Vacation Recap-with a few pics

I finally figured out the trouble with my new memory card for my camera. Had to buy a whole new card readers. Anyway I've added a few pictures of our vacation!



This pic reminds me of the beginning of some tv show but I can't remember what it is. This was one of our morning walks- 3.5 miles everyday! That's me second from the right in the grey and black.

We vacationed in Drasco, AR-

we went here last year as well. It's on a lake right at the edge of the Ozarks and it is absolutely beautiful! The nearest Super Wal-Mart for grocery shopping is only 24 miles away but it's a 55 min. drive because of all the winding roads!!

In all we had 13 people there. My family of four, Lewis' brother and his wife and daughter(from Houston), his sister and her husband and their two kids (although they are really young adults now) (from Phoenix), my mother in law and then a family friend of the Houston family-although she is now a family friend to all of us.

Believe it or not, even with that many family members together it all went smoothly! No major arguments, no one threatened to kill anyone or drown anyone in the lake!!

We spent Monday at a place called Dam Site Marina (what a name huh??). The kids and the men folk all spent their time jumping off cliffs that ranged from probably 20 - 30 feet. Then two of them were brave enough to jump off the 50 foot cliffs!!! Not me baby- I kept both feet on the ground this year-last year my SIL and I braved the 30 foot ones.

Then we rented a pontoon boat Tuesday/Wednesday and spent most of both days on the water. It was awesome. The boat had a hard top and I spent most of mine time lying up there. It was so hard to resist sitting up there perched with a nice tall drink and waving like a good Southern beauty queen (ok, a girl can dream can't she). Most of us even were brave enough and jumped off the top of the boat. Then everyone (including my 71 yr old mother in law) had a turn being pulled behind the boat on tube. Lots of fun in the sun those days.

We also played lots of game- Sequence, Scatagories, Categories (or something like that), 99 (a new card game the Phoenix family taught us), chess, ping pong, Turbo Yahtzee and Air Hockey! There really weren't a lot of dull moments. And then there was my favorite past time-reading. Loved just laying around the house reading. My SIL and I actually stayed home one afternoon just to have the house to ourselves and read in the quiet. It was wonderful!

We really did all have a great time and we're already planning our trip next year. The Houston family and our family have vacationed together for the past 7 years- it's awesome!!

Ok, so I'm sure I've bored you long enough- oh wait-I have two funny stories to share- on the way up we stopped in Sieverville, TN at the Knife Works shop- spent some time looking at knives and buying a few- Mark found something that he wanted to buy using his own money and then Luke asks if he can buy a leather jacket with his own money(he's been wanting one ever since he watched Grease a few weeks ago)- Here is how the rest of the dialogue went- what? child you don't have that much money- but Mom, it's only $16.99- What (again)-no Luke I'm sure it was $169.99 and you just missed the other 9- No Mom, they are only $16.99. At this point Lewis pipes in and says that if they have leather jackets for only $16.99 we'll buy you one. So Luke marches us over to the jacket section and I'll be darned if they don't have "leather" jackets for $19.99. Of course it was close enough to $16.99 that we bought both boys one. Then later we're in the car and Luke says he's hot and needs the air turned up- the next thing we know he's wearing the leather jacket


Funny story number 2- are you still hanging in there??? We had two neighbor sisters take care of our cat while we were gone so we wanted to get them some souvenirs. We bought them Elvis things when we stopped in Nashville right outside of Graceland and I wanted to get them a t-shirt from the area where we were staying. I looked at the Dam Site Marina where the cliffs were and it look quite a while to find appropriate ones. Didn't really want something with Dam Site on it and "Get some color in your cheeks at Dam Site Mariana" with a woman wearing a thong just didn't seem right for a 10 yr old, a 7 yr old and a 3 yr old- so finally I find some cute ones that say "Nautical and then had Greer's Ferry Lake" on them. We get the goodies home and start putting them all together to take to the girls- upon further inspection I see that the t-shirts say NautiGAL not Nautical!!! UGH!!! Thank goodness one of the other marinas would let me order online and ship appropriate t-shirts for me! Whew that was close!!!

I promise to share some pics as soon as I get them down loaded- I know you're waiting on pins and needles!!!

Recovering from Vacation

Man, whoever said that you need a vacation to recover from vacation was right! After we returned from our trip to Arkansas- yes, we really did purposely vacation in Arkansas- I of course had mountains of laundry to do. Didn't matter that we had a washer and dryer at the rental house- we had spiders and bugs so I ended up washing everything again. Then on top of that I ended up with a stomach virus. Spent all day Monday in my jammies either in bed or on the couch and didn't get out of my jammies until 1:00 today! Unbelievable!

So, needless to say I don't have pictures downloaded yet. I promise I'll give a vacation recap in the next few days (I know you are waiting on pins and needles to hear all about it) and will try to get some pictures posted-although my BIL took most of the pictures.

So, that's a little update on my recovery from vacation!

We're Baaaack!

Yep, I was gone for 9 days- did ya miss me?! We arrived home last night after a LONG 14 1/2 hr drive from Arkansas to SC! We had a wonderful trip! I'll jump on later to share some pictures and stories of our trip! It was a great time spent with family- all 13 of us!!!

A Ray of Sunshine Behind the Clouds

My boys have recently discovered that there are fish in a pond down the street from our house. So yesterday we met DH for lunch and then went to Dick's Sporting Goods and they picked out new fishing poles. DH took the poles back to work with him and one of his buddies got them ready for use. When DH got home from work my three guys got everything ready and were just about to head down to the pond when.....

FLASH....CRACK....BOOM another summer storm headed in! Oh my were there some disappointed looks on two of those faces (ok, DH wasn't so disappointed).

So they decided to wait it out and try later. So what was the ray of sunshine- well as the storm roared through we all ended up on the porch reading. Yep, all four of us-we each had a book in had, two of us in rocking chairs the other two in the porch recliners-sitting back listening to the rain, the thunder and the wind chimes as we read our books. It was really some nice family time. And then the boys decided they wanted to play in the rain- I love the sound of kids laughing because they can play in the rain!

So that was the ray of sunshine!!

Oh BTW- yes they did go fishing- Luke caught 17 brim, Mark caught 16 and Lewis caught 2 and a HUGE headache!! Tee Hee!!!