Psalms 61;2b

When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Football Superbowl Photos





I have put some of these photos on facebook, but I figured this is a site where I want to save them for the fact that some readers are not users of FB...
Just for the reasons of documentation, this team was coached by Scott Trent, Jack Price, Anthony Bledsoe. This is the last year that Lukas will be able to play in this league. This makes his 3rd year playing tackle football. He loves it! He played defensive end this year. The first two years, he played tight end...He definitely showed improvement this year. I really worried, because his first year, he had no idea about plays or anything. Now, of course, he thinks he knows it all...it is so funny to listen to him call out plays while watching games on TV.
He is a Steelers fan...and a Tennessee Vols fan... As you can tell by the pictures, his big Sis is proud of him. They have gotten closer in the past year. She is very protective of him..well, when they aren't fighting... LOL

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

The Comet Trail...

So, Haley's Comet passed by Earth between the year 1211 and 911 BC. Its tail is just now being seen on earth...which is way too cool....so last night was the night that Earth was closest to it and able to view it the best. (or this morning, actually...) so we set our clocks for 6am, dragged a blanket, pillow and sleeping bag out on the porch, and laid down to watch the show...yes, it was around 30 degrees outside...but...the sky was so clear...it was the coolest thing to be lying there watching the sky...we actually saw between 7-10 streaks across the sky in the 40 minutes that we laid there...the only thing that got cold was my ears and Morgan's nose...LOL Lukas could not be still...kept wanting to raise up at every sound...I said..."Son, we are not worried about Monsters right now, please BE STILL!!!!!" LOL I think he ended up seeing only about 3 cause of his twisty turny butt!!!!! But overall, it was another memory made for them to remember...the morning we watched the sky in our warm sleeping bags on the porch....

so here is what I found on a website...look up Haley's Comet for more info...

The annual Orionid shower, so-called because it appears from the direction of the constellation Orion, is created when earth passes through trails of debris floating through space.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

The Will of God

We don't usually know the will of God...What is the will of God?? Is it what God thinks is best for me? Yes... is it changed by my prayers? yes, I do believe it is changed by my prayers as evident in the book of Exodus when the Children of Israel made the golden calf....God wanted to destroy them, but Moses begged God not to do it...

Exodus 32:1 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. 32:2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. 32:3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. 32:4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 32:5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD. 32:6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.

32:7 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: 32:8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 32:9 And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: 32:10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation. 32:11 And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand? 32:12 Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. 32:13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever. 32:14 And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.

So, this tells us that we CAN change God's mind as to what is supposed to happen...right?? Okay, so I was thinking this morning on the way to work....I am the world's worst to not ask God for anything...and if I do ask him for anything, I quickly follow it with, "Lord, whatever your will is, you know it, not me..." I am thinking that the devil hampers my prayers alot by reminding me that things that I pray may not be God's will...that I shouldn't ask...that God may give me my wishes and I may not want them after I get them... Ok, so am I weird, or does the devil bother other people like this??
I do believe there is a perfect will of God...I believe he has a pattern for my life...
But this morning, on the way to work, I was thinking....of these verses....

Luke 11:9-10
And I say unto you, ASK, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that ASKeth receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.


John 14:13-14
And whatsoever ye shall ASK in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the son
If ye shall ASK any thing in my name, I will do [it].


John 15:7
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ASK what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.


These scriptures tell me to ASK!!!! There are things in my life that I have messed up....messes I have made, things I need God to move in...I am gonna stand on the authority of God's word and ASK!!!!!! I think the devil has hampered me too long!!! God knows my heart...He knows that I want his will above everything else...I prayed this morning...."God, if this is not your will, then change my desires...change my wants..."
1 John 5:14-15
And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ASK any thing according to his will, he heareth us:

And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ASK, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
Ephesians 3:20
Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ASK or think, according to the power that worketh in us,


WOW...what if He DID do above all that I could ask or think!!!!???? Wow..this is a good promise!!!! I am gonna claim it! I am gonna ask!!!!

Look at all the people in the bible who asked things of God...Elijah prayed for fire on the sacrifice... Nehemiah prayed that he could build the wall back....Hannah prayed for a child... Hezekiah prayed and God added years onto his life...Elijah prayed that it wouldn't rain and then that it would...
Okay....so I guess everyone got their bible study for this morning, huh... LOL

Thursday, October 08, 2009

Prayer request...

Please pray for my children..they are having a very hard time...The devil is trying to get to Morgan in so many different ways...she is such a strong person and strong in her faith. On Sunday night, on the way home, she was crying and telling me about some thoughts she was having and God intervened with a phone call, even as we spoke...it was totally awesome....and to know that he cares for her that much....it was so precious.....
Lukas is all of a sudden having a valley too...not sure what is up with him, but there have been some disturbing actions on his part that have me concerned....but I know it is just the devil trying to get him to fall apart too...
Please just pray for me that I can be the Christian mother that I need to be..I fall short so many times...I really couldn't raise them right without God's help.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

The Wings

Weird things always happen to me... and then Lukas' humor shows up...

So we are driving on Hwy 107 between Greeneville and Erwin, which is a fairly straight road, and you know what that means...we are traveling at a slightly high rate of speed...probably about 65...and out of nowhere, a bird hits the hood of my car...and I can actually see feathers sticking up over the hood....gross....
So we continue driving, talking about how weird it is that a bird would hit our car....
Morgan says, "Mom, what time is is? Hurry, we are gonna be late...."
I said, "Morgan, I am going as fast as I can...I don't have wings..."

Are you ready for this??



Lukas said..."yeah, well, except those on the front of our car!"

Needless to say, we cracked up!!!!! We actually still laugh about this!!!
Obviously he is the funny kid that has to comment on everything the teacher says....He has had all women teachers so far and they just fall in love with his humor...BUT this year, he has a male teacher...and he told me last night that the teacher was telling them to be quiet and Lukas said he piped up and said..."yeah boys, or I will have to get my paddle out" and the teacher said to Lukas..."Lukas, I'm over it, get up here and sign the discipline list".
Serves him right! I think I will email the teacher and tell him to jerk a knot in his behind and he might quit thinking he is the class clown!!!!! LOL He is taking after his uncle Tim and Anthony and his Papaw Wayland...

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

BUSY Life!

I am soooo busy...actually, that word wont even describe how busy...
so, I started back to school at my job and then on top of that, I am taking 2 college classes at night to begin working on my RN. I had wanted to do that for a long time, but it seems now, the time is right...so actually, I am excited about that, but I really think 2 at this time of the year was more than I could chew... that explains why I haven't posted alot in the past month! Morgan is in volleyball, in a starting position sometimes and I try to go watch her games on Thurs nights.., and of course she has practice every other night...then Lukas has his football games on Monday and practice every other night except Wednesday and Friday...Then I have class on Tues and Fri nights...and church on Wed. so that is my work week schedule...and then...Sunday is church....Saturday is usually filled with kids plans or my plans of fun...

I am taking 2 classes at night...one is in Morristown and one in Greeneville. I actually love getting to meet new people and of course I love school anyway, so just studying and attending is wonderful for me...I would truly be a student for life if I could afford it!!!! LOL As Morgan says, Momma likes to "know it ALL"...LOL The first class is Intro to Speech...I have no problem talking in front of people, so this class is actually a breeze...I teach Sunday School, I teach First Aid/CPR, I teach at my day job usually every week...so I love this class...
The next class is a developmental class! UGH! Algebra!!!!! I hated math in school, and never tried to learn it! not that I would have remembered any of it 20 years later! LOL I have spent the last 2 weeks just reviewing myself over all those math things you never use...not fun!!! But the teacher is good and I like her...we actually had a test yesterday and I am hoping for an A!
I expect nothing but A's...I know that sounds weird, but I have a confidence now that I didn't have in my earlier years...I know I can do it...When I graduated high school, I used to think I never would make it thru algebra...but unfortunately for me, I wasn't pushed by the right people and I settled for less...so now it is my turn! My turn to get the degree I always wanted! When I went to LPN school, I graduated with a 3.97 GPA...I don't want to settle for that this time...I want a 4.0...Sorry, that's just my goal...
Okay, so gotta run, Lukas coming home, gotta go get Morgan from practice, let her change clothes and it is off to church.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Hourglass Figure

Wanna hear another Lukas story..? Well, we are in Sears shopping for school clothes and I see one of those long halter like sundresses that are so popular right now...I am looking at them and saw one that was my size and say to Lukas, "Oh, Lukas, here is a pretty one and it is my size..." Not really expecting a response, he piped up and said..."Mom, those dresses are for women who have hourglass figures................yours is kinda a pumpkin figure...
Trust him to tell me the truth...needless to say, the dress never left the rack.

We were talking about girls on the way home last night from church and I commented that "she was a little wild thing"...he said...yeah, Mom, I like them kinda wild....!!!!!!

Raising a son is gonna absolutely kill me!!!!! I don't know which is worse, a son or a daughter...

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

The Lover is at it again...

Lukas all of a sudden told me and Morgan that he had a girlfriend...
"Already?" I said...
"Yeah," he replied..."I work fast."
Need I say more??? Then later, he proceeds to tell me that a girl who moved away last year and came back this year told her girlfriend that she was gonna "get Lukas, no matter what!!!"
Wow...maybe I shouldn't be worried about Morgan, and start worrying about Lukas....
Kids are so funny...

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Speeding Ticket Woes...

So I am unaware of an upcoming attack from Satan yesterday just going along, having a decent day...but about 3pm, satan starts to bother me and cause me to get so mad at one particular person and then I want to cry, but I hold it...call a girlfriend and tell her all about it and feel better...hey,at least I didn't cry...so I realize in my conversation to her that it is just the devil and he knows how to get me...so I rebuke him and go home, try to take a nap before I drive to church, ( cause I am the world's worst for falling asleep while driving...) I can't get to sleep just doze...then head to church...well...guess what...satan isn't done with me yet...I pass a cop on the interstate going 69 in a 55 cause I was in Johnson City city limits...I knew he had me...and fairly, I wasn't mad, causeI knew I deserved it. I just sat there and prayed while he had my drivers liscense. Lord, just have your will...I know I deserve this...
He came back to the car, laughed and cracked a joke (which was really wierd for me...I mean, he's fixing to give me a ticket and he wants me to laugh with him??? whatever!!!!) but then he said...I'm just gonna give you a warning....Oh My!!!! Praise the Lord...I mean, wow!!! I drove off feeling really blessed..I mean tremendously blessed...satan had once again lost a battle... God is so good to take care of me... Just feeling blessed...and I didn't even deserve to be!!!!

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

My children on first day of school...




Here is Morgan on the first day of school at RMS...going into 8th grade....And Lukas going into 4th grade at HES...he's really enthused....

the Whole Armor

I am so blessed to have a daughter like Morgan... As she was getting ready for school yesterday morning, (her first day) she came downstairs and said, "Momma, I have on my helmet of salvation, my breastplate of righteousness, my loins girt about with truth, my sword is in my backpack, and my feet are shod with the preparation of the gospel...." I mean, wow...what a better way to send her off to the first day of 8th grade...I totally don't deserve to have her as a daughter.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Welcome Back!!! LOL

Hey...I know, it has been several months since I have blogged and I am back at school now, and will basically be bored...so, I will have nothing better to do but to share my crazy thoughts....so yes, I am recovered from my car accident...I still am having trouble sitting on my coccyx this morning in this chair, but other than that, I am doing fine...occasional huge muscle cramp in the side of my broken collar bone, and it(my arm) will get numb usually 1-2 times per day according to the way I am holding it...but nothing lasting...so I am still blessed....anyway, I have lots to blog about, so you'll be hearing alot from me.... :)

Monday, June 29, 2009

Ever Faithful...

It has been a while since I posted...I am so busy with summer...I love summer and try to do something outside every day...I have even been taking my lunch breaks outside in the middle of the night on the swing in the courtyard..so awesome..and the storms...I love them...as long as they don't cause any damage... :)
My storm rages on...I actually looked up last night and said, God, how much more can I take??? But this morning, I turned on the TV...which I NEVER do on Sunday morning...and was flipping thru trying to find some song to satisfy my troubled heart...and it was on Gaither Homecoming...the Crabb Family singing..."Through the Fire"...and at that moment, it became my motto for today...here are some of the words...

HE never promised that the cross would not get heavy and the hill would not be hard to climb...HE never offered victory without fighting, but HE said help would always come in time...Just remember when you're standing in the valley of decision and the advisary says Give in....Just hold on...Our Lord will show up and HE will take you thru the fire again!!!!!!

I once again was in awe at how God shows up and takes our burdens upon himself...he carried me today as well as my burden...I wish for one minute that I could put into words what God has really proved to me over the past 10 months...and I am sorry enough to still have doubts..and fears and such...he keeps showing up...time after time..and the most precious part...like the manna for the children of Isreal, He only gives me enough to get thru till the next battle...
I read a verse on Facebook that reminded me that David said..."weeping endureth for the night...but Joy comes in the morning..." My morning is coming...God continues to remind me of this time after time...HE IS EVER FAITHFUL...

I do want to encourage everyone to go read Isaiah 6...I heard a really good message on this and the part that stuck out to me was the praise that "moved the doorpost"...My interpretation of that is that the praise was so great, that is shook the house...I want my church to be that way...I want my children to grow up in a church where the smoke actually fills the santuary...I have saw this before...How strong is your praise?

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Sadie's 2nd prom...

Well, here is her Prom pictures from her boyfriend's prom...I enjoyed taking these much better...the environment was better..the sun wasn't as bright...anyway, here they are...

Recent photos....



I took these pictures of my niece and my lovable great nephew, Loftin...I just want to squeeze him to death!!! LOL

A sign said...

"If you love me, keep my commandments..." a quote from the Bible by Jesus...
So how simple is that?? I just cant understand how some people can say they love God, but still deny Him by their actions...I just don't understand why they can't see?!!! But that is the problem...they do see..they do realize that they are not "right"...they just don't want to admit it to them self or to others...too proud...my heart breaks for these people...must God take everything from them for them to see? "If you love me, keep my commandments..." How sad that we can't even do that for Jesus, yet he gave his life for us...
breaks my heart...

Thursday, June 04, 2009

Catching up...

Been a while since I posted...too warm and pretty outside for me to stay inside...but wanted to take a moment to brag on my children...yes, they are most precious and I can't even thank God enough for giving them to me. I know everyone thinks their children are the most special, but I really can't imagine how they can be as special as mine...
I always said I could never be a single Mom..and I still believe that if my children were younger, that I couldn't do...maybe that is because Tom was a active Father in their life and did help me with any issue with them... My children are older and able to take care of themself, basically, so I believe that is what God knew before putting me thru this situation. I am working at the Nursing Home this summer and my shifts are varying...day shift, evenings, nights, etc...so often, I am not home to be able to do everything a Mom should...Morgan has done a wonderful job at keeping that house clean...now, mind you, she is hormonal, which brings out the "cleaner" in her, but she did deep clean and took curtains down and washed them, washed the shower curtain, dusted baseboards, etc...see...I told you she was awesome...but that is not the half of it...
She decided she wanted to cook too...so I had to work graveyard on Tues. I went to bed about 2pm until 6:00pm...when I awoke, she had baked chicken with a special sauce, garlic bread and smashed red potatoes...WOW....very good food!!!!!! She and Lukas had cooked the food while I was asleep and the best part, it was coming out of the oven just at 6pm...I really am bursting with pride....
Lukas has been helping me mow and weedeat the yard...he loves to mow and since I have about 1/2 acre to mow, this helps tremendously....I'm just so blessed to have them.
I am doing better with my injuries...still like to stand alot to rest my coccyx...wearing my figure 8 brace totally makes my collar bone feel better..can lift my purse with my left arm now...
There is a nurse at work who wrecked last week and flipped her vehicle 3 times...She was still in ICU after 4 days with a chest tube...I got cold chills and the hairs stood up on my arms when I was told this...That really shoudl have been me...I am still feeling trememdously blessed...

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Lucky..BLESSED...

I am not lucky...yeah, that's an easier way to say it...but I am totally blessed..as time has passed and I have actually went and looked at my van, I seem to get sicker and sicker each time I think of how blessed I am...The pictures on the cell phones didn't do justice to how my van really looked....oh my...it made me wonder myself how in the world I wasn't paralyzed or brain dead at the least...so, no, I won't be posting pictures here..I don't feel that is something I want to remember..maybe later, when I can deal better...
I drove today for the first time...went to the ortho doc and he put me in a sling that holds both my shoulders back in order to keep the collar bone in alignment so it can heal straight...only problem is...and don't laugh....I forget and use my left arm sometime and MAN...do I remember real quick! I cannot pick up a glass plate with pizza on it...I can barely pick up a coffee cup with milk in it...so, back to the driving, it wasn't as bad as I thought, although all I did think about while I was on the road was safety...imagine that!!!!
We don't know why things happen, but let me tell you what had came out of this....and yes, for all you medical workers, I am quite frustrated with the system....in order to go to the ortho, I had to go back to Laughlin ER to get my xrays...so they gave me a CD with the results and films on it...of course I stuck it in my computer and spent some time looking at the actual xrays...then I figured out how to actually open the radiologist report...the shoulder CT scan said...."a 5mm nodular density is seen on the left lung" and basically that a follow up CT scan should be done in 3 months to re-eval...or in layman's terms...to see if there are any changes...to see if it grew...
(well, nurses know just enough to be dangerous...so yes, I'm freaked...)but do you know that i have yet to this day, 7 days later, to hear anyone actually tell me this! If I hadn't put this in my computer, then what? how would I know this? The ortho doc looked at my xrays...who knows whether he looked at the report or not...but shouldn't someone be in charge of notifying me of this??? I know, I know, it is probably nothing, but geez..I would like for a medical person to actually acknowledge the fact that I should have a CT done about August....
And while I'm chatty, I might as well go ahead and say that the last 2 days have been hard...I miss Tom so much...Morgan told me to "get over it" ... I tried to explain to her that her Daddy was my whole life...I am still praying that God will take the feelings away....so I can have some peace...I'm not even hormonal...I feel like I have learned so many lessons...ok, enough about that..
Lukas got an award at school for having all A's all year long...actually, I think he has had all A's since he has been in school...so Mama's proud....
He also will have his art displayed at Fort Henry Mall this summer...probably the ones I posted earlier...Man, I'm so proud to be his momma!!!! He thinks its exciting that he has learned to weed eat...heck, I'm excited he can do it too....I love to mow, but hate weed eating!!! LOL
I'm rambling..so signing off....

Friday, May 15, 2009

my wednesday morn.

first off. Im typing with a hand and a half....which means that one arm is in a sling and the hand is sticking out enough to type...so therefore, maybe no punctuation,capitalization, etc.
now. I am one of those chronically late people. i'm always late for everything, but I do try,
I really do. and that is where I get into trouble. I drive fast...so yes, I was driving about 70ish or faster on the way to school. and for the record, this is my first wreck...but a car was coming around the curve and I tried to slow down on my side of the road,but my wheel dropped off the pavement. and I did struggle to bring it back under control for a good 200-400 feet...so in the road is a big S skid mark. I then saw that I wasnt' gonna get it under control and hit a culvert and at that point, not sure what happened next...I knew the van was rolling..and I knew everything was being thrown. I came alert enough to know that the van was rolling and that my head was down at the coffee/drink holder..the next thing I know is that it was upright on its wheels again...now the gossip in the neighborhood where I wrecked says I flipped 3 times...not sure how many times I flipped...all I know is that I was going back the other way when I landed...so I think I hit that deep culvert, went head over to top and then rolled back up on top...I havent been there to take any pictures of my van to see if this theory holds out and I will post when I do...maybe...
My elbow is like ground meat. and it had dirt. mud and glass in it...so that means that at some point, it has touched the ground...so I am thinking that if I wasn't such a big ol girl, that i definitely would have been thrown out...no. I wasnt wearing my seatbelt because for a long time now, when it rained,the seatbelt would get wet down in the door where it rolled up...so alot of times when it was or had been raining, I didn't put it on. Everyone that looked at the van commented on how I was lucky to be alive...I know I am....It is a blessing to know that God has bigger and better plans for you than death.
My right eye is black and blue and purple and any other color and swollen. I have terrible bruises aLL over me...some bruises, like the one on my coccyx, I have no idea how I got it and it keeps me from sitting,lying or pretty much anything!!! I can stand in a comfortable position...LOL So that's the scoop...I'm staying at Mom's and she is taking care of me...cause I can't get nothing on but a hospital gown at this point... thankfully,I can go to the restroom alone and she has a shower that has a "bench" in it, so I can do this alone....
I am one lucky person...I really am....you know, it is funnywhen you think you have God's plan figured out...but really. we have no clue

Monday, May 11, 2009

My Mother's Day card...

Morgan got me a funny card...it said somethign to the effect of, "Mom, remember all the times when I was a child and asked for___" (I can't remember the word it said here...) but inside it said, "I don't either"...LOL
Lukas handmade his card and to me, it was beautiful....it said Happy Mother's Day on the front and inside was the sweetest writing.....

Thank you for everything you have done. I know it is a hard time right now. so hang in there. I pray for you.

Isn't that just so sweet???

Thursday, May 07, 2009

Daily Praying for my Children...Justice

Today, the character trait that I want to pray for my children is Justice...I want God to help my children love justice as HE does and to act justly in all they do...
Psalms 11:7 says For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright
Micah 6:8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
Psalms 82:3 Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.
Proverbs 21:3 To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
What is justice exactly? The "quality of being fair" is the simplest it can be put...I try to teach them to show kindness to the poor and treat them fairly as everyone else. If our kids see us as grown ups do things unfairly, they are the first ones to point it out to us. I like to explain to my children the reasons why a certain decision was made, that way, they understand and don't come up with their own concoctions in their head...To get somewhere in this world's work force, most often things are not fair...I see a woman frequently who has made it to the top of a company, but she has hurt tons of people to get there. Yet, she claims to be a Christian...
Alot of us adults want to be at the top...but can we get there the Christian way?

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

Downtown Greeneville

On my field trip yesterday, as the bus stopped at red lights, I was able to take pictures of downtown scenes...here are a few...
I think someone said this was an old theater, but they only show stage productions here now...


Lukas

Last night, we went to his school to the Fine Arts Festival and to hear him sing with the Bearcat Chorus. On the wall, were his pictures, so rather than keep the bulky picture, here is a photo of it...I love the mosaic picture of him...His don't look the happiest in the world, but there were several self portraits that looked absolutely sad....and for the record, here is one of him in the school yard...
He created the watercolor behind his silhouette...

Loftin...My great nephew


He is here with his Momma, Sierra...I just love this child!!!!

Sadie's Prom this year...





Farm Animals...




He was chewing and he had the cutest little teeth in his mouth....

Farm Day

One of the perks to being a school nurse is getting to go on field trips when the student you are in charge of goes...One of my students is in 3rd grade and has no physical disabilities...she just wears an insulin pump...so...at Farm Day, I get to wander around and take all kinds of pictures....so here goes...This was our first stop on a wagon ride. He was from UT and this plant sitting in front of him, can you guess what it is?? I had no idea...looks like monkey grass to me....LOL
This was the next stop...and here, we saw a cow in a holding chute and lots of equipment and long arm gloves...I was sure hoping we were gonna get to see an artificial insemination...LOL
but now that I look back, that probably WAS too young a subject for third graders...As you can see, we are looking at an ultrasound of a cow who is about 5 months into pregnancy. pretty cool, huh?
Oh if you didn't know the plant mentioned above, it is a wheat plant....

Monday, April 27, 2009

Church Splits...

This is definitely a life changing event...and I approach this subject with caution as I don't want anyone to be hurt or feel accused...
First I want to say that I have been on both sides...several times...the first even took place when I was around 12 years old. I had to leave all my church friends that I grew up with. As a child, I barely knew what happened, but I do know that alot of hurtful things were said that caused my parents to cry and be in turmoil for a long time. My parents kept from me the things that were said or done...they didn't want to ruin the influence of the people that left...these people were not reconciled till about 15 years ago and they still dont get along the best in the world, but are able to worship together...
What is funny is that splits happened in the Bible several times...
Acts 15
After the Jerusalem Council, Barnabas and Paul were planning on making their second journey. Barnabas wanted to take John Mark, but Paul opposed the idea because Mark had departed from them on the first Journey. Consequently, Barnabas took John Mark, and Paul took Silas and the two groups went their separate ways (Acts 15:36-41). After Barnabas gave his cousin a second chance, Paul was later able to call him a coworker (Philem 24; cf. Col 4:10) who was helpful to his ministry...so basically, Paul and Barnabas came to the point to agree to disagree...

Genesis13;8-9
So Abram said to Lot, "Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brothers. Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.

Tom and I went thru splits at Faith two different times. Both times, it took the core of the church workers...Tom and I worried and prayed and prayed and worried... but you remember what happened? God had people to step up and take the place of those who had left and these people became strong members of the church body. Unfortunatly we don't know the full picture and God's plan...what I don't think is in God's plan is backbiting, strife, remarks that are a bit too forward, etc.
My next point that I want to make, is that I have never been part of the "leaving" split... I have never been in the group that left...so that makes me be in a much greater turmoil...I love my church and my church family...they have been so good to me...but then I hear of comments that were made and I try to analyze why comments with that kind of malice were made and I wonder where the christian attitude is...? This is not the people that loved me...
What if we ARE doing what God planned?? What if God knows what he is doing and has split the church up intentionally? I have prayed and prayed for confirmation that I have done the right thing and have gotten confirmation several times..but why are people still so bitter and angry about the split? Is it because of the hurt? Why do they feel the need to lash out at one another? Is that God telling them to do make hurtful or spiteful comments? I am praying even as I type that I don't say something that will offend anyone...I have mentioned to several people that talking bad about the church we left is NOT acceptable...
Most often when you get together a bunch of people, there will be conflict...I tried to explain to Lukas and Morgan why things happened...the only way I knew how to do it was that some of us were raised expecting more in the way of being fed and worship...If you have a shepherd who can feed his flock only tender meat, then the ones who need the tough meat will never get satisfied...the tough meat helps to clean the teeth, helps the digestive system...etc. I like to be plowed...I like a preacher to get right where I am at and open up things deep in my soul that I have closed off or sugarcoated....
I have heard preachers preach and do great jobs...but never left me thinking harder on anything...basically, I needed something deeper...why would others fault me for that?
The preacher last night at the church preached on "examine yourself"....I want to examine myself to make sure I don't have any hatred, malice or strife in my heart...in this day and time, we can't afford to loose people who are dear to us. Please try to understand that God is in control and he is doing what is good for each of us in the long run...making comments and backbiting will only cause hurt and anger....
Nothing in the Bible states that Paul talked bad about Barnabas and ridiculed him...I wont let anyone ridicule my church family just because our wants are different....
Again, I hope I havent hurt anyone or said anything to confuse anyone...your feedback is welcome...

Thursday, April 23, 2009

I don't need a man!!!!! LOL

LOL...I don't need anyone to tell me how to do things...yes, granted, it is easier to holler at brothers or dad to fix what is wrong, but I hate being dependant on someone...always have....so..my "back up" lights were out, my headlights only worked on bright, my radiator coolant needed refilling and my rear windshield wiper needed changing...so, guess what ol'Sherry did? She read the book and done this maintanance herself!!!!!! I am so proud of me! yes, it took longer than necessary and yes, I still don't have the tail lights fixed, but I have come to the conclusion that it is a fuse...so, I 'm gonna prance to Wally world, get a fuse and replace it...!!! I don't need a man!

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Lukas has a blog now...

It is so cute...you must go check it out and leave him a comment on one of his posts....
the address is
http://lukasblogging.blogspot.com
I don't think he totally understands the concept yet of a blog, but that's okay...he kept wanting to have a myspace page and I wouldn't let him, so when Morgan got her blog, he asked if he could have one and I kept putting him off and putting him off, so I finally gave in...
He jumped up this morning after I fixed it for him last night and said, I have to see if I have any comments..I explained to him that we hadn't told anyone yet...so I will try to remind you to frequently go check it out...it will be fun to see if this matures or fizzles out...

Thursday, April 16, 2009

I knew it...

LOL, I said to several people that things in my life are sooo stressed...friend trials, family trials, church trials, and that doesn't count the normal everyday stressors that happen...but yeah, it happened...now there are job trials..and it doesn't mean these are bad, just that there are decisions to be made...something else to stress me out! Do people spontaneously combust at some point if there is too much stress on them? If you see a blob on the wall or sidewalk, it is probably me...and I am sure if you looked hard enough, you could see the devil with his telescope just laughing...enjoying himself...making my life miserable...God's Grace is sufficient...!!!

Monday, April 13, 2009

Jaida at Easter (09)

Jaida (my brother's daughter) loved the egg coloring...we do the teacups with tablets/vinegar...she had her 4 cups and by the time it was all over, she was spooning all the colors into other cups...she had switched the eggs out from one cup to another so many times that all her eggs turned out purple...and of course she thought they all were beautiful...and we did too!!!
Here is my mom and Jaida...
And Jaida's Mom, Helen...

Easter 09

Well, we had a good Easter...went and did the traditional lunch at Mom's on Saturday and then a mom/kid effort of coloring eggs and hiding them..except this year, we didnt hide/hunt eggs...my kids are just getting too big for that and Helen thought it was a little bit too chilly for Jaida....so, here is a few pix of me and Morgan