Pen to Paper; Spirit to soul

Love Lifted Me by Sara Evans....a book review

2012-01-17T11:19:00.000-06:00

Awesome love story! A marriage rocked by infidelity and addiction - a very modern romance, indeed!

Love Lifted Me is the story of a couple that get a fresh start after the husband battles his addiction to pain pills. He wins his battle, and some hearts in the process, in a small Texas town before returning to his wife and home in East Tennessee. After returning home, he realizes that his heart is just not in his former day job and takes a big risk to live his 'hip-pocket dream' - in the same small Texas town where he found victory through Christ.

Sara Evans, country singer and author, found a way to show the emotions of grace being played out in a marriage.

While I was reading, I will admit there were times when I truly felt I was reading a fairy tale. There were situations where a child was involved that would have played out very differently in real life. However, that is why it is called a book of fiction!

There are two previous books in this series that I have not read, but that did not keep me from being able to jump right in and enjoy Love Lifted Me. Now, though, I will probably go back and read the first two. I think Ms. Evans did an excellent job of referring back to major issues of the first two books without re-telling the whole story, though.

So, my suggestion would be to start with book one, The Sweet By and By, followed by Softly and Tenderly, and then read Love Lifted Me.

I am a huge fan of romantic fiction, so if you are expecting a hard hitting book, this is not it! This is a pretty fru-fru book, but written well and I enjoyed it immensely!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....

God's girl,

Pamela

I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Marriage and Death

2011-12-11T19:34:00.001-06:00

Weird title, huh? What does marriage have to do with death? Well, we are close to celebrating our 23rd wedding anniversary and I would have to say that our marriage has "died" at least twice. Two times, our love was tested beyond what we thought we could do. Once was through a time of extremely deep depression. What we thought was love for one another died.

Okay....follow me here.....I'm sure we've heard the excuse that a couple's love for one another died and that is why they are now divorced. Before my own marriage fell apart, I thought those people were just NUTS!!! How does love just up and die???

Of course, now I understand that concept - the romantic, butterflies floating, heart palpitating "love" does eventually stop. And when that happens, a part of our "love" does die. From what I have seen in our own marriage, and marriages of friends and family, there is usually a traumatic event that brings this about. That event may be the revelation of a secret; abusive behavior, an affair, a hidden addiction. The event may be a physical death - a child, a parent, or perhaps a sibling. The traumatic event could be the birth of a handicapped child, or a severe injury to themselves or another family member.

In some marriages, there may be more than one of these traumatic events, and spouses can become weary and throw in the towel.

The main point is this.....in every marriage, there usually does come a point of death.

The most common death of a marriage is emotional. For me, it was letting go of my dream of an "ideal" marriage - whatever that is!!! For my parents, it was the desire for healthy children.

What was your point of death in your marriage? That point where you had a choice to make - stay together or give up on the marriage.

Before I go any further, I have to say no matter what the choice, there is grace!!! God's grace covers our decisions when we choose to follow Him. I am not judging any one's decision.....it is a very personal decision and should never be made lightly!

Are you in a traumatic season right now? Do you have a choice to make?

Can I encourage you to communicate with your spouse about what you are feeling? If you aren't sure where to begin, ask someone that you can trust. Sometimes, it helps us just to talk with a friend.

If we can hang in there together through difficult periods, though, a true, deeper love is born and forged by fire between a husband and wife. That is true love.....sacrificial love.....Godly love.

Does this mean there is no "happily ever after"? I don't think so, just "happily ever after" has to be worked for some times.....parts of our life or dreams have to be sacrificed. However, when we make that sacrifice, what we find on the other side is a very deep love that gets harder and harder to break with the traumatic events of life.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow......like love that lasts

God's girl,

Pamela

The Grace Effect by Larry Alex Taunton....a book review

2011-11-29T13:38:00.001-06:00

November is National Adoption Month. This blog will be filled with Christian-ese, so consider yourself warned.

James 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, [and] to keep oneself unspotted from the world. (ASV)

Romans 8:15 For ye received not the spirit of bondage again unto fear; but ye received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father

While the book, The Grace Effect, is a story of redemption through adoption, it is also a bit of history textbook. I'm not sure that a review written by me will do it justice, but I will try.

When we think of adoption, do we think of rescuing a child, or loving a child? Did God rescue us because we needed to be rescued or because He loved us?

We find our answer in 1 John 4:19 We love, because he first loved us.

He first loved us. He saw us playing in the world, and His heart was overwhelmed for love with us. And He chose to adopt me....to make me His own! Wow!

The Taunton family, well Mom and the three sons, met a young girl in Orphanage #17. That just sounds like a lovely place, huh? Orphanage #17 is located in Odessa, Ukraine. "Sasha" stole the Taunton family's hearts while they were on a missions trip to the Ukraine.

The Grace Effect is a uniquely woven story, of how Dad, Larry Taunton, came to love a child he had never even met and the process of adoption through the lens of an atheistic society.

It is a very moving narrative. As a reader, I found myself rooting for Sasha and the Taunton family as they were asked for 'gifts' to get papers moved from one place, or another....or people! I wanted to sing the alphabet song along with the family as they began teaching Sasha to speak English. When the family learned that Sasha was fully their child, according to the Ukrainian government, I desired to hug Viktor's neck - he provided translation and assistance for each step of the adoption process.

If you have ever considered adopting a child, any child, I would put The Grace Effect on a list of 'must read books'! If you are curious about how orphans in the once Eastern bloc are treated, read this book! If you have a love for children, read this book!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.....like adoption!

God's girl,

Pamela

I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

MACARTHUR by Mitchell Yockelson....a book review

2011-10-21T11:48:00.000-05:00

How did Douglas MacArthur earn the nickname "America's General"? This question is thoroughly answered in the biography, MACARTHUR, written by Mitchell Yockelson.

There are so many interesting tid bits of information in this book for me. Having been married to a soldier for over 7 yrs, (we are still married but he is no longer in the Army!) it was interesting to hear of MacArthur's relationships with other powerful soldiers. Such as, Black Jack Pershing...My Dear's first 'job' in the Army was working on the Pershing Missile in Southern West Germany. And Major Dwight Eisenhower, who later became president of our great USA!

MacArthur's Father, Arthur MacArthur, was a decorated Civil War soldier. He fought on the side of the Yankees in such skirmishes as Stones River, TN (Murfreesboro) and received a Medal of Honor for his actions on Missionary Ridge, TN (Chattanooga.)

Arthur MacArthur and Douglas MacArthur were the first Father and Son to receive the same military award....the Medal of Honor!

Douglas' parents were a highly important part of his life. Until his death in 1896, Arthur was a very involved Father. In 1899, when Douglas moved to West Point, his Mother, Pinky, moved with him. Douglas cared for her, always moving her with him, or to a place of safety, until her death in December, 1935, in the Philippines. Douglas later brought his Mother's remains back to the states and buried her in Arlington Cemetery next to his Father.

The book chronicles MacArthur's early military career up until his resignation from the Army in 1851, after 52 years of military service. It also explores his personal life and how he was a leader both on and off the battlefield.

I have enjoyed reading the book. I learned so much about the World Wars that I did not know. I also learned that the Korean conflict began on June 25, 1950.....forty years before my first child was born! There are several interesting facts and stories that I can't even begin to share them with you - you might want to consider just getting the book and reading it yourself!!!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....like strong military leaders that fought to keep our freedoms!

God's girl,

Pamela

I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

She's 18?!?

2011-10-01T23:42:00.001-05:00

Today is my baby girl's 18th birthday, the one I call Cupcake. And, Funfetti cupcakes are what we made to share with her friends tomorrow while they play like children at Chuck E. Cheese!

I am simply amazed that 18 yrs have passed since that warm, sunshine-y day in El Paso when she finally decided to join our family. I remember some pretty long, hard days during these 18 yrs, and if you've followed my blog since the beginning I'm sure you remember some of them, too! However, to realize that the time has passed and today she becomes an adult is just mind-boggling!

Many times I have referred to the fact that this is the child that has kept me on my knees...and trust me, that is a good thing! She has reminded me over and over again that I am not a perfect Mom, that I can only be her Mom by sitting at the feet of Jesus each and every day and because of that, I am a better wife to My Dear and better Mom to her and CD - and for that, I would not trade!

Cupcake has shown me a new way to live, to love, to know God because she has never been afraid to ask the hard questions. I know some of you would say she argued with me, and at times, she did, but her stubborn desire to know the ins and outs of life and the rules have made me question many things that I held as firm belief. Come to find out, I should have questioned them long ago, but I was afraid. I'm so thankful that she was not afraid to explore and question the world around her!

Some highlights, and lowlights, that I remember of these years:

Cupcake did not like to be swaddled! She preferred to be free....imagine that!
She NEVER liked a schedule! Never!
She smiled and laughed at CD more than she ever did at me, they were fast friends!
I loved her hair up in a "waterfall"....it just made her little round face so cute!
She loved all things Winnie the Pooh!
My precious 4 yr old, at my feet, asking Jesus to start a relationship in her heart.
She has always loved to learn and was very anxious to start Kindergarten....at the door of the school, she never even looked back to wave goodbye on her first day.
Cupcake liked playing soccer, until she got a cleat scraped across her nose....my poor baby!
In 4th grade she told me she was thinking of trying out for the band, and proceeded to come home letting me know she would be playing the trumpet! WHAT? Why not the flute? I don't know, but she was really good at the trumpet!
She's really good at Art and being creative, too!
BOYS....not sure why, but they have always held a certain appeal for her - to the point of driving us insane, I think!
I have always loved hearing my girls giggle and converse together....makes my Momma's heart feel good, especially as they have grown.
The hard years....8th, 9th and 10th grade. I'm not sure I ever showed her enough grace, but she made sure that I loved her during that time!
My 'little bitty' coming home from a job fair and letting me know she would be a lifeguard! Really?
Watching her grow through this difficult year....she was the one that took care of me on those days when I simply could not imagine moving after losing David.
Seeing Cupcake and my big Sissy enjoying one anothers company - they are so much alike!
Just last week, we got to have fun making her mum for homecoming....she is so creative!

I LOVE MY CUPCAKE!!! I LOVE MY BUNNY-GIRL!!! I LOVE MY LITTLE BITTY!!!
I am so thankful that God chose My Dear and I to raise her in His love and admonition. We are truly blessed for her being part of our family.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABY GIRL!!!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....like my 18 yr old, Cupcake!

God's girl,

Pamela

A weekend of laughter and tears! - Women of Faith

2011-09-03T12:53:00.000-05:00

I was totally blessed and overwhelmed to, as a blogger, receive tickets to Women of Faith; Over the Top in my area last weekend! I will be honest, though, and tell you that I did not take full advantage as a blogger of all that was offered. I never met with the speakers, I didn't take many pictures, I didn't even take notes because I had everything in my bag BUT a pen!! I was pretty much just a regular gal there for a good God time....and that is exactly what I had!!!

My blog readers know that this year has been very difficult and gearing up for school totally kicked me to the curb! (Speaking of school, did you watch on Facebook as God performed a miracle for CD and she was able to return to school this semester??? That was awesome!!) CD is back at her Bible college, starting her second year. Cupcake is a senior, and I'm still not sure where the time went!

Anyway, I said all that to say this: I needed a Women of Faith weekend - BAD!!! Unfortunately, just getting there wasn't easy. Trying to settle things for My Dear and Cupcake proved to be difficult, even though it is just the two of them!

However, I boarded the train just before 9am on Friday morn and made my way downtown!

The morning started with a tremendous praise time led by the Women of Faith Worship Team followed by Patsy Clairmont and Andy Andrews....LOTS of energy and laughter from those two!!!

Andy Andrews makes ADHD look absolutely hysterical! He simply cannot stay in one spot, and I think he gives hope to the Mom's and Grandma's that their precious, energetic children can become productive adults!!!

As he told about his homeless experience, I picked up a juicy morsel that I hope to keep close for quite some time...the greatest things happen in life because of how we act when life's not fair! We've taught our girls that life is not fair, that God is truly just and that is why we depend on Him and His wisdom. Mr. Andrews helped me to wrap my brain around the fact that when hardships come, my attitude is very important! I've heard it for years, but concept to reality has been hard to teach!!!

Patsy Clairmont is just a spit-fire full of wisdom! I always have a chance to laugh, and usually a chance to cry, during her sessions!!!

Ok...my thoughts are still a jumble and I know you didn't drop by to read a moment by moment account of a Women of Faith weekend so...

Brenda Warner. Oh, if I could have a couple of hours and some tea with her, I know I would walk away with so much knowledge, friendship and wisdom to last for a long time! She has a very matter-of-fact way of telling her story but I sat there and cried through most of it. She was a Marine, I was an Army wife. She is Mom to a special needs child, I was a sister of one. She's married to a football player, and I LOVE football!!

As Ms. Warner was wrapping up her session, my heart was fully open and I felt so vulnerable. I wasn't sure what God had planned for the afternoon, but my heart was ready for it!

And then....I know Sandi Patty shared a portion of her story, but I could not tell you what it was. I just remember that toward the end, she began singing her hit song, "We Shall Behold Him' and it was beautiful. Of course, my mind went to David, already beholding the glory of our Lord, and the tears began to fall again.

Then, the kicker.....she motioned for someone in the audience to join her on stage, and it was Lisa Smith. If you don't know her story, Ms. Smith is Down's, a physically handicapped young lady. Her sign language is beautiful, her movements are large, her face just shines as she signs! By this point, I was full out weeping!

The tears are falling again as I type. There will soon come a day when I will see David again. I will hug his sweet neck, kiss his precious bald spot, hear another "I love you." However, before I get to do all that, I will have the opportunity of a lifetime - to fully, heart open, worship my Savior and King in full abandon, face to face!!! I can't imagine....I think I will probably be speechless as I enter the splendor of Heaven. To see my Lord, and say Thank You. To let Him know that I love Him with my whole being....that will be Heavenly!!!

Thank you to the Women of Faith team for allowing me a way to be there! Thank you to Thomas Nelson, because without the BookSneeze program, I would have never had the opportunity to be there! Thank you, Women of Faith, for also hosting a prayer room. My time with Susan was so anointed and God breathed peace over me as she prayed!

I'm not sure that what is truly in my heart has been conveyed here! I can truly say....

PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW.......

God's girl,

Pamela

My only compensation for this article is the tickets I was given to attend Women of Faith.

Did you know....

2011-07-03T19:38:00.001-05:00

That I love chocolate?

That I won, with God's grace, an Xbox 360 Kinect for my family for Christmas?

That I recently won gift cards to my favorite TexMex restaurant? (Facebook contest!)

That I love God? (I hope so!)

That life has been different this summer than we thought it would be? (I'll try to post more about that later!)

That I've lived in 5 US states and 2 countries? (US and West Germany)

That I love to read?

That I was once a Teacher's Aide in an Art classroom?

That I became the Art teacher after that?

That I have ~~crap~~ craft stuff everywhere in my house....the living room, the garage, the bedroom, the laundry room....

That I am 'somewhat' of an artist?

Oh, maybe you thought I was but did you really know? If you know me irl* then yes, you would know that!

And, that is my segue into this post....

One reason that I am not posting as often here in the last few months is because I now write an article for Examiner.com. I am the National Children's Craft Examiner - and yes, that is a mouthful!

I am really not a good salesperson, so I've just sort of written my articles and hoped people would be interested enough to click on the title and see what I had to say. My readership has grown - I had over 100 more page views for June than I did for May - so somebody is reading it!

However, I know that I need to somewhat 'advertise' what I put time and effort into and work hard on! So, here's my first advertisement:

I really like to watch children get excited about creating a piece of art work of their very own! On Examiner.com I give parents, grandparents and caregivers tips and suggestions for engaging a young creative and encouraging them to be what they naturally are....creative!

Thank you for reading my advertisement!!!

I hope that if you are involved in a young child's life in any capacity, that you will please take the time to check out my article. I enjoy encouraging others, but this is a very different format than I am used to and it is a bit challenging at times!

However, I am so thankful for this opportunity! And while I love to be creative myself, if any of you would like to see me work on something special (in other words, if you have an artsy idea for young creatives!) please let me know and I will see what I can accomplish!

Okay, enough about what I have been up to lately....what are y'all doing special or different this summer? I would love to hear about it!!!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....like young creatives

God's girl,

Pamela

*in real life

Engage Hope Here!

2011-06-08T17:15:00.000-05:00

It was truly a Sunday like no other Sunday I have personally experienced! WOW!!!

The sanctuary was crowded because both Sunday morning services were condensed into one shortened service. We started off with rousing worship and then had a few people follow our Lord into believer's baptism, including one of our awesome youth workers...go Lewis!

Then Pastor Jerry shared just a short bit, a devotional really, and encouraged us as we prepared to step out into our community and be the hands and feet of Jesus!

We then closed the service with the same rousing worship song...and the electricity in the air was palpable! You would have thought we had just been given a new car or something, the way everyone excitedly, but orderly, exited the sanctuary!

Then, we went to our vehicles and headed off for our volunteer destination. Our family chose to work in the local public school district and got to help teachers as they prepared for the end of school. The one I worked with was so grateful that she would have time that week to actually be with her young students and not have to spend all week having the kids help her clean up the room!

CD and Cupcake helped her as well by sharpening pencils, and hopefully those pencils lasted her for the final week!

My Dear helped another teacher rearrange her classroom so she won't have to spend valuable time over the summer doing it herself!

AWESOME DAY!!!

We also had teams in other schools in the district, we had a team leading a block party at a local apartment complex, a team that visited with elderly residents at an assisted living home, a team gathering food for a local pantry, a team sorting clothes for young pregnant ladies to receive from a local crisis pregnancy center, a team cleaning up stalls and trails of an equestrian center used primarily for handicapped clients and others out and about in our community plus teams praying back at the church, a team delivering drinks and snacks to those of us 'in the field' and a hospitality team to welcome visitors that would show up for 2nd service and not realize that the church had left the building!!! I know that is all one HUGE run-on sentence but, you get the point!!!

Man, it was an awesome day! Hebrews 6:19 is written on the back of our EHH shirts: This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast...

What an opportunity to put feet to what is preached from the pulpit, and it was led by our Pastor. I am so thankful to be a part of the body of Christ!

I look forward to doing it all again in July and being blessed by those we have an opportunity to help in some small way!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.....like Engage Hope!

God's girl,

Pamela

Curiosities of the Civil War - a book review and a give-away

2011-05-03T11:52:00.007-05:00

My favorite historical time period is the 1860's. My Mother's favorite movie is Gone With the Wind and I grew up in Middle Tennessee where the Battle of Stones River was fought so it really is no surprise! As a teen, I watched John Jake's, The Blue and The Gray and loved it!!!

However, this blog is not about my love of the Civil War, or of my teenage years, but rather about a new book by Webb Garrison in which he details some unknown facts surrounding the Civil War.

I really don't like this book. There is really nothing wrong with the book itself, but it is not my style and therefore I have struggled to get through it.

It is written in small chunks of information, not as a story. For some, this is a terrific way to learn trivia but not for me. When I would see a name for the second or third time, I would begin trying to envision how their story would go - and be stuck for the next hour writing a very fictional account in my head!

This is not to say the book isn't worth reading. There are some very interesting tidbits of information in here, such as the chapter "Rally Round the Flag, Boys!" in which he talks about the flag bearer and the color guard protecting him.

I did learn some facts, but trying to read through this book was torturous for me. I will say, though, that I may be totally alone in my reading style!

Bottom line, if you are fascinated by the Civil War or just love the time period, it is an intersting book to check out because it sure was a curious time for our country.

Now, for the give-away portion....
I have two books up for grabs and both of them are aimed at ladies. One that I have reviewed here A Time to Embrace by Karen Kingsbury and one that I simply read, Though I Speak by Kim Pearson Wiese, a local writer in my area. They are both Christian based and tend to have a romantic theme. Leave me a comment and let me know what you are reading now and which book you would like to recieve. I will choose two winners by Saturday evening. Please only enter for the give-away if you live in the US or have a military address - My Dear will strangle me if I spend too much money!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....

God's girl,

Pamela

I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

A Mancard!

2011-04-08T16:46:00.005-05:00

Many of you know that I love making cards but I really struggle to make one to give a man....really struggle! I can give My Dear cards with hearts and flowers but not other men!

Well, his Uncle's birthday is Monday, and life has been really hard for his Uncle here lately so I really felt I wanted to make him a special card....but he's a man! Yes, this is a serious struggle!! I have TONS of papers - pink, floral, hearts, butterflies - all female!!! Sad, I know.

Well, I got an idea from the card sketch link on the right hand side of my own blog and thought maybe it was something I could actually do and make manly!

Here it is:

What do ya think? I'm happy and I hope My Dear's Uncle will be, too!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....

God's girl,

Pamela

A Church in Mourning

2011-03-20T22:20:00.001-05:00

Oh, dear blog friends, we have suffered another loss. This time in our church family. I know that nothing I write here can truly honor all that he was, but I'm gonna give it my best shot!

David Shaver was a servant! A big man, standing eye to eye with My 6'4" Dear, with an even bigger heart! David loved God and loved teens! Crazy love that man had for teens!!! God's love!

David was what CD refers to as her "Colombia Daddy" when they went on the mission trip together in July '09 - he was her team leader. When she graduated to the Adult Bible Fellowship from high school, he became her teacher. (our church's Sunday school) For Cupcake, he was a leader in her life group each week. He always had a huge hug for the students that he ran into - no matter where he ran into them!

For us as parents, he was a big hug, a listening ear and a loving heart. Never judging, always loving...that was David.

He was also a huge part of the homeless ministry SOUL - faithful to head to downtown Dallas at 6:30 Sunday morning, rain, shine, freezing, burning, he was there!

God chose to take home a warrior and he will be missed!

The void that David has left behind will be hard to fill, but I know that God has already made those provisions - that's how He works. I also know, after going through grieving my David, that it may not happen overnight - and that's okay. God's timing is still perfect!

David was also a huge Pittsburgh Steelers fan! One of our other youth workers is a Green Bay Packers fan and on Super Bowl Sunday, they both dressed in team colors....terrible towel, cheesehead and all! It was a hoot! His bride accompanied him to all kinds of football games; high school to professional!

On a personal note: Our family saw David yesterday. Apparently just before he passed away. We were walking into Subway and heard Cupcake's name being called. Looked over, and there's David walking with one crutch - he recently had knee surgery. We waited for him to walk over to us and chatted for just a few moments, we would have taken longer if we had only known. Talked about how he was getting better, all the medicines currently in his cabinet and just general conversation. Then, we all got our very special hug and went our separate way - he was going next door for a haircut.

I am humbled by the thought that our family was privileged to receive some of those last hugs. I am saddened by the loss of another giant of the faith. I am heartbroken for his precious wife of 26 yrs. My heart is heavy for the teens and young adults who are mourning. I feel for his parents, who have lost a precious son and his siblings that have now lost a brother.

David Shaver, you are loved and will be dearly missed!

On another note of loss; My Mom has learned that her baby brother, Donny, passed away recently. He had cut his family ties, so we only learned of his death after the fact. Please pray for her as she grieves losing her baby brother, now, too.

We may not understand God's ways, but I am learning that I can trust Him in all things!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....like crossing paths with David Shaver.

God's girl,

Pamela

Hollywood, I am Amazed!

2011-03-16T10:09:00.005-05:00

Spring Break didn't exactly go the way it was planned and I'm trying to be okay with that! So, to mix it up, I took Cupcake and a friend to see The Tourist at the cheap theater. I really did not know much about the movie going into it, other than Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie were the main players. Going out, I told My Dear that we were going to an action/romance but when we got back, I told him there wasn't 'that much' action since we can see more on TV on any given night!

I sat by myself, in the back of the theater (it was pretty crowded and there were not enough seats for all of us together except for the front, where I can't sit!) and it really felt like I was just watching a nice little flick in my living room. Very few surprises, a sprinkling of laughter here and there, the movie didn't draw out too much emotion! Kind of disappointing. Cupcake said, "It was cute!"

However, as I was awake once again from 4:30 to 6:00 this morning, some things were rattling around in my head....and I became SHOCKED!!! Would you believe me if I said there was NO intimation of sex in the movie? NONE!

What there was was a sweet kiss between the main characters, and a passionate kiss as part of a dream sequence! All they did was KISS!!!

I would not say this is a family movie for everyone, though....at the beginning there is an f-bomb, there is shooting and killing, there is a bit of suspense.

So, now, I think I really like the movie! The story-line is predictable for some but a really interesting twist at the very end! I may even watch it again once it comes out of NetFlix! Now that is daring!!!

Thank you, Lord, that we could go see a cute, fairly clean movie when plans changed.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....

God's girl,

Pamela

This is not a formal review of the movie. I will not be compensated for monies spent, I just wanted to let my readers know that I saw a really nice movie!

An Honest Look at My Personal Grief

2011-02-19T04:40:00.013-06:00

I have been hesitant to share with you just how I am doing. Why? Well, I don't personally know everyone that visits my little place on the computer, but mainly because I really want you to think that I am okay.

And I am okay, but I still grieve for the sweet young man that God chose to take home just four short months ago. So, it is the middle of the night here - 4am to be exact - and I am wide awake again with thoughts of David running through my head. There are still tears, but now there are smiles, too and I wanted to share some of this process with you.

This picture is still hard to look at...for nearly 35 years we have been a family of 5, now we are a family of 4 - and the fact that we buried the baby first has been a hard thing to come to terms with for me. I don't care that we were never promised as long with David as we got, I still wanted more. However, in my grief, God has met me with the promise that He knew how long we would have David - Psalm 39:4 NIV
"Show me, O LORD, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life."

I remember while growing up in Christian school, we would laugh at friends that said they had memorized John 11:35 but during these last few months, I have not laughed at that verse, it has brought tremendous comfort to my aching heart and soul. It simply says, "Jesus wept." It is the passage talking about Jesus friend, Lazarus, that passed away. I believe Jesus knew that He would raise Lazarus from the dead but He showed compassion and humanity for Lazarus family and friends in His tears. Then of course, the verse in Psalms 56 -Record my lament; list my tears on your scroll-- are they not in your record? My tears have been noticed by the God of the universe...and I rest in that promise!

I smile through the tears tonight as I think of the beautiful melody that David 'sang' when he would go to sleep and when he would stir in the middle of the night. I miss that music! I think of the belly laugh that he had, that literally shook the whole house. I'm thankful for the times that my children got to be part of that...like here:

A couple of weeks ago, I thought I was doing so much better. We have a friend who is having a baby and I decided to do some candlewicking for her baby gift. Only problem, it has been nearly 20 yrs since I've had my pattern book out and I really didn't know where to find it. I tore up the house looking for that book, and in the process came across a picture of me, David, CD and Mom on the Batman ride at Six Flags over Texas.

After finding that picture, in which I am holding David's hand, I sat and cried for hours! Those are the times when I am reminded that God is in the midst of my grief, in fact, His glory is greater than my grief. I have that on my cell phone, by the way. It looks like this: His Glory > my grief! I can say that because I truly believe Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

I am blessed to have been David's big sister! I can see that through the tears and a smile right now. God has met me in my place of grief, and I have seen His Glory! I have the promise that one day, I will be reunited with David, in the presence of our great God! How awesome is that??? Philippians 3:20 NIV But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,

I'm still human, I'm still gonna cry, I still miss my baby brother. But I'm okay.

Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow....

God's healing girl,

Pamela

Fasting by Scot McKnight - a book review

2011-02-04T08:25:00.004-06:00

This book is part of "The Ancient Practices Series"

Fasting has always been such an odd Christian discipline for me to understand. I have previously approached fasting with the end goal of receiving something for my hard work - even though at the end of my fasting, I would not see that goal come to fruition. I have spent years absolutely STUCK on Isaiah 58, the Biblical chapter that talks about a fast acceptable to the Lord. STUCK!!

When I saw this book available, I got excited because Isaiah 58 has been in the forefront of my studies lately, and I really desired to see a viewpoint that was different than my own....I desire to see God's viewpoint on this subject.

Mr. McKnight defines fasting this way: "Fasting is a response to a sacred moment, not an instrument designed to get desired results."

Okay, so he just blew my thinking totally out of the water!

Mr. McKnight uses many references in the book, many from Isaiah 58 and other Biblical references. He has also done tremendous research on the subject, going back to writings of monks and early church leaders, i.e. St. Augustine, to contemporary authors as John Piper and Dallas Willard.

This is not just a sit down and read book - it is very educational and invites the readers to examine why we feel the way we do and to see how that lines up with God's Word.

I could sit here and type quote after quote that tugged at my spirit but I want you to read the book - not just take my experience for yourself. Mr. McKnight shows the benefits and dangers of fasting, not just the spiritual side. However, he always emphasizes that our body and spirit come together in a sacred moment to naturally fast.

I want to end with a quote that sums up the book, for Mr. McKnight and for me (since my heart and mind has changed through reading this), "Communication with God is, in my opinion, the intent of fasting."

I desire to seek God with my whole heart(Jeremiah 29:13), and sometimes that includes pulling my body into the seeking by fasting. I pray that I do it according to God's ways and not my own!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow...

God's girl,

Pamela

I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

A Time To Embrace by Karen Kingsbury - a book review

2011-01-04T09:54:00.004-06:00

I enjoy reading anything from Karen Kingsbury but this book came at a difficult time in my life and I am thankful that it did. This book leaves a reader with hope...not the Pollyanna, pie in the sky kind of hope but REAL HOPE based on love and faith in Jesus Christ and standing with one another.

My Dear and I just recently celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary so I already felt a connection to the main characters, Abby and John Reynolds, who already celebrated two decades of marriage and didn't get there without some difficulty. Ms. Kingbury's honest look at real relationship will have any reader pulling for the couple shortly after the book begins!

She also shows how our relationship with our children can impact our marriage relationship when one of the younger characters goes a bit far with his computer usage. The love that Ms. Kingbury wrote into the Dad's character really was heartfelt from me, the reader.

Just like in life, though, our daily struggles seem to dim in comparison when an absolute crisis hits our family.

Ms. Kingbury writes with real emotion as the reader walks through a time of crisis with the Reynolds family. She doesn't lessen the daily struggle of life but rather shows how a family unit can draw closer to God and one another through those struggles and crisis!

I strongly recommend this book, especially if you like contemporary Christian fiction. It is a romance, but not sappy according to this hopeless romantic!

I won't give away the whole book, but be prepared to smile through your tears in the last chapter!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow...

God's girl,

Pamela

I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Happy Birthday, David!

2010-12-14T09:46:00.003-06:00

Today is his first birthday in Heaven....and I miss him horribly!

I'm trying to imagine the party he is having, sharing so much more than his birthday with our God, grandparents, angels and other saints but I'm a finite being and just can't quite put it all together in my brain!

Psalm 139:14 I praise you because you made me in an amazing and wonderful way. What you have done is wonderful. I know this very well.

That verse was just perfect for David...God formed him just the way He wanted to. The death certificate says 'congential malformation of the brainstem.' No matter what, he was my baby brother...and a very special one indeed!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....and David was a huge blessing!!!

God's girl,

Pamela

Memories, Comfort and hopefully a Smile

2010-11-30T08:06:00.006-06:00

I thought by now this might be easy...but I was wrong! David has been such a HUGE part of my life since I was 7 yrs old and the hole left behind seems to be bigger day by day. Two weeks from today would be his 35th birthday, which I know makes it even more difficult, and of course, Christmas is just a few days later. All those years ago, he was our Christmas present. Now, he's God's!

I remember when our girls were small, my two and my niece, they would want to be very near to David no matter what he was doing. They would walk down the hallway with him, staying so close to him that he would bump into them as they moved down the way. There were times when we were scared that one or both of them would fall but that didn't happen. However, in the last few days, the memory of our littles running between David's legs down the hallway have been a source of joy and tears for me! He loved his nieces, his nieces loved him.

My youngest, Cupcake, posted a note on Facebook that showed her feelings so eloquently...."My Uncle was special, born with special needs, but to me he's always been just a little boy stuck in a mans body." As she was grieving a few days after we got home, she mentioned that she really didn't think God would take David this time, because "he's always gotten better." That is a big part of the ache we share, that so many times God did touch David's physical life and restore his health...until now.

My CD said,God was gracious in so many areas before he left and for that I am grateful. Yes, He was...gracious to give us David and allow us to love him for all these years!

I was so comforted by the outpouring of love shared through Facebook friends. God used so many friends to give us words of comfort that have been a soothing balm for my hurting heart! I would like to share some of those with you...I hope you don't mind.

From my high school friend, Sean, He as well as you have been the Sunshine in a lot of peoples lifes. I loved him and enjoyed watching him when he was younger.

From Sean's Mom, Miss Jeri, The Angels are welcoming that Precious David into Heaven . No more pain and sickness.I know he will be missed. It was my joy to be his Beginner Sunday School teacher for several yrs. He was always a joy.

From my church friend, Dorothy, I pray that after the tears, the memories would be yours forever and provide smiles and joy.

From my friend, Julie, we were friends before David was born...David was such a joy to be around. I rememeber him and his sweet smile like it was yesterday.

From our Aunt Trudy, David was so precious.

From my school friend, Kim, I'm so saddened to hear about David....I know he meant so much to you and your family and will be missed greatly!

From our cousin, Fonda, David was such a sweet and caring young man. and God Bless him always.. keep looking to God for Peace and Comfort. and try to remember the good times and what Joy he brought to your life.and others. I know personally, he touched my life. all the obstacels he had. he always seemed to be happy. and i do remember him growing up. always smiling.. and anxious to see us when we all went to Nannys' house.

Another school friend, Lisa, Heaven is certainly sweeter with David there.

Another school friend, Richard, Our loss, Heavens gain. David has perfect health now Praise God!!!!!!

My Bible study friend, Linda, Your sunshine is now able to truly shine.

Our church friend, Kay, We remember him from when he was a happy, loving little boy back in the old "Deetsville" days.

My school friend, Wendy, Sweet sweet David I know will be missed!! He was absolutley nothing but sunshine!!!

Another school friend, Penny, David was one of God's sweetest creations to touch all our hearts.

My friend, Melissa (who married a school friend), So thankful that David is running down those streets of gold tonight.

Another school friend, Kristi, I know you all loved David deeply and will miss him terribly. I do rejoice in the fact that David finally has his glorified body and is having a ball in heaven.

Another school friend, Brenda, David was so sweet. Now he is in heaven and your family has its own guardian angel. He was an angel on earth! Now he is in heaven with the Lord.

My friend, Cheryl, who lost her Mom earlier this year, I went to sleep last night picturing David RUNNING down the streets of gold into ...Jesus' arms!

My school friends, BB and Georgia, Cheryl's sister, David was such a special guy with such an impact on everyone who knew him! I bet he is celebrating up there with my Mom!
David was a blessing to all who came in contact with him.

Cupcake's friend, my 'son' Joel, Perhaps they are not stars, but rather openings in heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy.

So, this post is longer than I thought it would be....if you've made it this far, thank you so much for reading! Re-reading these expressions of comfort and love have soothed my heart today. I hope some of them made you smile...they did me!!!

I am so thankful for all the friends that have walked this road with us...including many of you, my blog readers. There were others shared in private messages and e-mails and I am so honored by all who took the time to love on us! Thank you!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....like written expressions of love!

God's girl,

Pamela

Love and Respect for a Lifetime...a book review

2010-11-08T09:49:00.003-06:00

by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs

I believe I have found a new 'go-to' wedding and anniversary gift!!!

This little gift book packs a whole lot of scriptural and practical ways to relate to our wonderful spouses in a mere 152 pages...and I love it!!! (yes, I pretty much just love books, but this one is really cool!!!)

A quick summary of the book is on page 106..."Winning or losing during conflict is not the goal. Oneness is..." Oh, how true and how my heart was lifted to read these words in black and white!

We are coming upon 22 yrs of marriage and while I wish someone would have given us something similar in the beginning, I think the fact that we have fought through so many areas and issues makes this book even sweeter now...so, it really is for every stage of marriage!

I hope that if you do purchase Love and Respect as a gift, that you will take the time to read it for yourself and ask God to help you apply the principles in your own relationships, not just marriage!

The book is an easy read, and while it can be convicting at times, Dr. Eggerichs is never condemning or condescending, in my opinion. This is a companion book to Love and Respect; The Love She Most Desires, The Respect He Desperately Needs. I'm hoping to read that one soon!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....like my wonderful husband of 22 yrs!

God's girl,

Pamela

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Processing my weekend in the mountains

2010-10-18T23:26:00.013-05:00

My Sissy and I buried our baby brother yesterday.

Mom buried her baby boy.

Dad buried his only son.

The mountains of North Carolina have always held a special place in my heart, but now it will be even more special. Now, those mountains hold my little brother's shell.

David was the only one of the three of us not born in October and after the service yesterday, Mom mentioned that October was her month for welcoming babies, not letting them go. I told her David wanted his own special day in October – and special it was for him!

One of the pastors yesterday spoke of “the prison of bones” and David brings a deeper perspective to that. David’s body was never like it was supposed to be; he was born with multiple birth defects including lack of nerves, eyes that would not completely open and just recently we learned no arteries in his legs.

When he was younger, David didn’t let anything stop him…he started walking when he was three – flanked by Sissy and me! He participated in the 50 yd dash and shotput at Special Olympics. He was an honorary rodeo clown for the Mesquite Rodeo as a young teenager. He told everyone about the love and grace of God. He was a busy young man! And, a man who loved the Lord.

His joy was contagious! You couldn’t be around David without cracking a smile at some point!

On Saturday evening, my family had arrived in NC and we were very graciously welcomed by a retired couple that let us stay in their beautiful home. My Dear and I were standing out on their deck looking at the lights below and he began to comfort me. I was having a difficult time processing it at that point. I don’t know what all he said but I thought about the fact that if I asked God to raise David from the dead, he could! I know that sounds just odd but I was really missing him at that point and Jesus did raise Lazarus from the dead after 4 days!!!

Then I thought of how David would feel…he is now free from his very broken body! He is now in the presence of our Almighty God, praising and singing at the top of his lungs! And I realized, he would kill me if I wanted to have him back that badly!!!

Tim Surrett sang “Wish You Were Here” at the funeral….a very fitting song to know that it is how David is probably feeling about now! He is no longer a prisoner of that broken body…he is WHOLE! And, in the presence of Jesus –which is exactly where he wants to be!

I still miss him, and I know that I always will. However, I don’t ache like I did at first because I know he is so much better in Heaven! I am also reassured that one day, in the not too distant future, I will see him again….after I get over the ‘shock and awe’ of seeing my Lord for the first time!

I'm praising God from whom all blessings flow....and David was a HUGE blessing!

God's healing girl,

Pamela

I wrote this on the way home yesterday. Didn't want to change anything, though...I'm truly processing these emotions. Thank you for reading.

David Lee Odell Eddy

2010-10-14T08:49:00.002-05:00

December 14, 1975 to October 14, 2010

God called His angel home this morning. David passed away peacefully in his sleep.

I'm thankful...that I got to see David in July.
I'm thankful...that I got to hold his hand and give him kisses.
I'm thankful...that he was at home.
I'm thankful...that Mom and Dad got to take care of him the last couple of weeks.
I'm thankful...that I got to hear him clearly say "I love you" last week.
I'm thankful...that my Sissy had the opportunity to be with him this week.
I'm thankful...that David will always be my Sunshine!
I am so very thankful that for 34 years and 10 months, I have had the privilege of being David's big sister!

Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow....including COMPLETE healing!

God's broken-hearted girl,

Pamela

My Sunshine

2010-10-12T16:41:00.004-05:00

David has been home for a couple of weeks. Hospice is not there full-time so Mom and Dad are exhausted. He's had a few rough days lately; yesterday they came in and took x-rays and changed out his trach. There was too much activity throughout the day and he didn't rest very well last night.

My Sissy is in Tennessee this week, helping them as much as she can. I'm thankful that she can take the time to go up and help out.

Around here, we are still praying for provision and seeing when the best time to go is according to CD's schedule. My heart is really struggling at times, but I am trying to rest in my precious Savior's arms knowing that He is in control.

Thank you for continuing to lift up our family during this time.

Is there something we can pray about with you? Please don't hesitate to let me know.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....

God's girl,

Pamela

I can't do this without crying....

2010-09-16T20:26:00.006-05:00

but I'm gonna try!

UPDATE:We learned this morning that David will be going home on Thursday with hospice care. Thank you for continuing to lift him up.
A fund has been set up for expenses, please ONLY give if you feel led. You can designate any gift for the Eddy family. The address to mail donations to is:
Victory Baptist Church
278 Victory Church Rd.
Sylva, NC 28779

David has good days and not so good days. He has good nights and not so good nights. I wish I could be there with him.

He was off of the ventilator for nearly a week, but his body just wasn't strong enough. He's back on the respirator full time again. They haven't yet found the root of the initial reason for him going into the hospital in July.

Talking with Mom today, they have mentioned them taking David home with a hospice nurse to care for him there.

Can I tell you how much I have cried? and prayed? and cried? and praised?

Oh, my....David. My kid brother!

I see the world differently for having David in my life....I see through rose colored glasses - the ones I borrowed from him! Seriously, I have never seen him ANGRY! He would rather laugh at anything than to be upset about it! I think he LOVES laughing at us, his big sisters! He does that alot! I asked some of my Facebook friends to share a special memory of David and two of my friends from high school mentioned his smile! Yeah, it's a very special smile!

He loves to touch....just reaches out and touches whoever is walking by! He reaches out to touch and says our name, usually to answer with, "I love you."
When he gets excited, he LOVES to clap; for someone, something on TV, something that was said...he just claps - LOUD! That boy has some strength!
He loves to sing....it has always been a comfort to me when we visit Mom and Dad, or they come stay at our house for a while, to hear David 'sing'. When he goes to bed at night, he rocks from side to side and truly makes a joyful noise! If he stirs in the night, he comforts himself with the same motion.

I know it may seem funny that it is a comfort to me. You see, though, when I was 17 or so, it bugged me to wake up in the night and hear him singing....our rooms were side by side. After My Dear and I married, in the five months I still lived with Mom and Dad, I learned to enjoy that noise, knowing it would be absent for most of the nights ahead.

I wanna hear him say, "I love you" again....I wanna hear him sing himself to sleep. I want to feel him reach out for me when I walk past....I WANT him to be okay!

However, I am a big enough girl to know that I don't always get what I want, that is God's department. So, I'm trusting God to take care of David, in His way.

Thank you for taking the time to read about my special Sunshine. Thank you, also for continuing to lift David and our family up in prayer.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....

God's girl,

Pamela

Out Live Your Life by Max Lucado - a book review

2010-09-10T07:31:00.004-05:00

You were made to make a difference

"Salvation is the work of Christ. Compassion is the consequence of salvation."

I want to be clear up front; this is a Christian blog book review of a Christian book written by Christian author, Max Lucado. I certainly pray you will read and be blessed!

This book, Out Live Your Life, is written in true Lucado fashion...down to earth and easy to read. Mr. Lucado's position is one that we've heard many times,"None of us can help everyone. But all of us can help someone." Then he continues, "And when we help them, we serve Jesus." Mr. Lucado gives stories of how people have made a difference in the lives of those around them and specific ways that you and I can give of ourselves.

Mr. Lucado bookends each chapter, there are 16 in all followed by a discussion guide, with scripture and at the end of each chapter is a prayer asking for what is specifically mentioned in the previous chapter. For example, the prayer that follows the chapter "Stand Up for the Have Nots" includes, "Help me to be creative without being condescending, encouraging without being egotistic, and fearless without being foolish."

He is only asking for what God has already asked of us....Luke 10:27 He answered: " 'Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' "

I've told My Dear, it is like a change of thinking for me. One principle that I have walked away with is that I can help those around me and not ever even have to mention the name, Jesus. I realize that when I say something along the lines of I am here on behalf of Jesus, or my church, I look arrogant to the 'least of these', and that is not my desire! That is the impact the book has had on me personally....how might it change your thinking?

I would recommend this book for every Christian who has ever read through Acts and wondered if we could still look like the first century Church. I would recommend this book for every Christian who has ever asked, "How can I serve those around me?" It is truly an easy read that can change our thinking.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....

God's girl,

Pamela

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Cast of Characters by Max Lucado - a book review

2010-08-26T11:18:00.004-05:00

Common People in the Hands of an Uncommon God

2 Corinthians 12:9 My power shows up best in weak people.

Common Sense....Common Courtesy....Common Good
These are phrases that I have heard all my life. What does it mean to be common?
One of Webster's definitions is "occurring or appearing frequently; familiar."
I think that is fair because I believe we can see something of ourselves in the characters of Lucado's book, Cast of Characters.

Some of his characters are famous, like Matthew and Paul and Moses. Some of his characters are less known, like Abigail and Mephibosheth. However, famous or not, we can relate to the 'common folk' of the Bible and that gives me hope that our lives count in the eyes of a loving God.

I love how Max Lucado takes a biblical principle and makes it simple yet profound! Through this book, I see 1 Cor. 13 in a new light; you know, 'the love chapter.' He says, "Many people tell us to love. Only God gives us the power to do so." We cannot live out a love that 'is not proud' or 'does not boast' unless we have surrendered our heart to the God who calls us to love like that!

My favorite chapter is on Job, though. I've read the book of the Bible, I've heard the sermons preached, I've sat in Bible study and thought I had picked Job's life apart...until now. "Before he heard God, Job couldn't speak enough. After he heard God, he couldn't speak at all." Oh, the power of Almighty God!

If you have ever wondered if you would be able to be one of God's chosen in life...for a mission trip, a Sunday school teacher, or maybe even just to speak into someone else's life, then I would encourage you to read this book!

Near the end of the book, Mr. Lucado writes about the common bond between Sarah, Peter and Paul and how Uncommon God changed their minds about Him. I love one particular sentence used in this chapter and feel it sums up the point he is trying to make. "...when they gave up, God stepped in, and the result was a roller-coaster ride straight into the kingdom."

I want to be ready to give up and truly give it all to God and let Him make my very common life uncommon for His glory!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....

God's girl,

Pamela

I'm really still here!!!

2010-08-17T16:06:00.004-05:00

I'm not sure that I can even put into words what the last month has been like in my life! However, I sure can try!!

You can ask the ladies in my Bible study...I was really missing seeing my Mom, Dad and little brother the beginning of July. I was staring into so many memories around me leaving home, about to let my oldest 'go' out on her own, and feeling so sentimental - I'm not sure it was pretty! At that point, it had been two years since we had physically been together.

I know...shameful!

Taking a trip to see them got lost in the shuffle of a senior year, mission trip, camp, summer band, school and work. Them coming to us is not a truly viable option because David tends to get sick when traveling.

Then our walls of busyness came crashing down! I'm pretty sure my world stopped with that one phone call - "he's in ICU on life support."

That first Sunday after he went into the hospital, David pulled his vent tube out in his sleep and crashed...our hearts sank but we were thankful that they were able to quickly revive him. Mom kept telling us that we didn't need to come, David was getting better.

One week to the day of receiving that first phone call was My Dear's birthday, and I didn't really want to miss it. However, we got a phone call that morning telling us that they had tried to wean him off the vent and he had crashed again! By this point, I didn't feel my heart could take much more. Obviously, my sister felt the same way and we made the decision to head to Tennessee the following weekend.

Three of us girls headed up...my sister, my niece and me, along with their dog! It took us 14 hrs that Sunday and we chose to go to my brother-in-law's that night rather than the hospital because David had been stable and we wanted to get rest before we saw him with the ventilator...that was a sight we did not want to see!

When we arrived at the hospital the next morning, a nurse came out the doors of the ICU and told my Dad that David had come off the vent!!!! You simply cannot imagine our excitement! When we finally did get in to see him, he had an oxygen mask covering his nose! That was a beautiful sight and yes, I took pictures!!!

When we went in the next day, his breathing was more labored and he appeared to be in pain. The scariest part was the rattle of pneumonia still in his chest..and it had been almost two weeks since he went in! That night, he crashed once again! And, once again, they were able to revive him quickly...thank you, Lord!

We spent one more day with him. Poor baby, he looked so tired. He couldn't talk to us, could only blink his eyes to tell us he loved us!

As we headed for home the next morning, they began doing surgery on David to put in a trach and a feeding tube. We got the call somewhere in Mississippi that everything had gone well and he was in recovery! I swear, you could HEAR that sigh of relief!

Today, he is in a long term, acute care hospital about 40 mi from their home. He's had some rough nights and is once again experiencing pain. They hope to wean him from the trach within a few weeks, which would be a very good thing!

I call every couple of days and ask Mom or Dad to hold the phone to his ear so I can talk to him...while he can't talk, I know he can hear me. I sure do love that kid!

God gave me an interesting scripture the day after we arrived in Tennessee...
Ecclesiastes 7:2,3 It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart. 3 Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart.

Gave me lots to think about and pray about...and praise Him for! We have been so blessed!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow...like David's healing!

God's girl,

Pamela

Still Praying for David

2010-07-19T09:47:00.002-05:00

David is still in ICU. Please continue to pray for his healing.
For the most recent updates you can go to David's caringbridge site. Mom and I are working to keep that post updated.
Thank you so very much for your prayers and support!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....

God's girl,

Pamela

Prayers Needed for A Very Special Gift

2010-07-15T15:30:00.001-05:00

The original post is below on our Very Special Gift and right now, that gift needs prayer.

UPDATE for July 16, 2010...

David is awake and trying to communicate with Mom around his respirator!!! Thank you so much for your prayers! Please continue to lift David up for complete healing! We are hoping to head up to see David when he is home recovering!!!

My sister and I just learned that David is in the hospital in Cleveland, TN. He is in ICU on life-support due to complications of double pneumonia. We thought he was doing better after being on anti-biotics but apparently, something has gone horribly wrong.
Sissy and I are trying to find a way to get there and be with David and our parents. Would you please pray that God would provide...especially healing and finances!

December 14, 1975...a day forever in my memory, in my heart!

I don't know what time they woke us up, all I remember is leaving the house in the dark of night and it being so cold outside that we were smoking! I believe I made a comment about the smoking and my Mom did not reply...which was highly unusual!

We drove to Aunt Martha's house (otherwise known as the children's home, a local ministry in Murfreesboro, TN) and my sister and I made our way to one of the unused bedrooms on the girls side. In my memory, just a few hours later, my Dad came in as we were getting ready for church and let us know that we had a baby brother! We were so excited, we had hoped and prayed for a baby brother!!!

They named him David after the biblical David, the one who fought Goliath and won! Very fitting, indeed!

Little did we know at that time that David would forever alter the course of our lives!

David was born with many handicaps, both physical and mental. As a child, I can remember watching others stare in the store, or whisper as they passed by. However, I don't ever recall being embarrassed by him being my brother!

He is a miracle...not supposed to have survived childhood according to doctors. Not supposed to learn to walk, talk, write...all of which he accomplished at one point in his life! I am proud to be his big sister, and to have experienced history in the making as he has grown into a wonderfully sweet man!!!

David turned 34 a few weeks ago...I won't tell you how old that has made me feel!!! I will tell you, I am so thankful for every one of those 34 yrs...and look forward to sharing many more birthdays with 'my sunshine'!!!

David, you are my sunshine and I love you!!!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow...

God's girl and David's big sister!

Pamela

Post 125!!!

2010-06-25T16:42:00.006-05:00

This is my 125th post...and on a very special 25th of the month!!!

Today is CD's 20th birthday!!! Happy Birthday to my sweet babe! I can never say in words all that you are to me. You are the precious one that God chose to make me a parent and for that, I am more than grateful!!!

If I were a more intuitive person, or maybe just more mature,(I was 21 when she was born) I may have realized an awesome truth months before you were actually born. I would have realized how God was shaping your personality inside of little ol' me!

Ps 139:14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
Oh, how true! I have loved this verse even more as my girls have grown into lovely young women! His works are wonderful!!!

Oh, my CD. She was not a mover and shaker, she preferred to just sort of roll every now and then! I was always surprised when she began moving because it really did not happen all that often. The only time she really KICKED me was when her Daddy was talking to my belly and called her Cristopher, our chosen boy name! At that point, I got a good swift kick from inside of me and I made the statement then that it was a girl and she knew her name would not be Cristopher!! (We waited until birth to know what she was!)

She really wanted to hide!!! In those last few weeks, we did lots of walking around the PX and one day a lady struck up a conversation about the size of my belly. Of course, the first thing she asked was when I was due. When we told her it was the 22nd, she responded there was no way, that I only looked about 5 mo along! Unfortunately it was true...CD would burrow herself toward my right hip! Many times I would stand, only to fall flat down, because she had put my entire right leg to sleep!

I learned when pregnant with Cupcake, that I should be able to feel the baby moving at least 10 times per hour. If someone had told me that with CD, I would have been freaked!!! I can tell you she never moved more than 2-3 times per hour!!!

Now, her personality traits follow so closely with what she was in the womb! She is so not a mover and shaker! She prefers to arrive early to everything,(although she came 3 days late!) but once there, she kind of hides in the crowd. She doesn't necessarily want to be in the spotlight, nor have an army of friends around - she prefers to do life one or two friends at a time!

Imagine, this child that many times seemed shy and reserved, now desires to learn how to be a Worship leader!!!

Where Did You Come From, Baby Dear?

~George MacDonald

Where did you come from, baby dear?
Out of the everywhere into here.

Where did you get your eyes so blue?
Out of the sky as I came through.

What makes the light in them sparkle and spin?
Some of the starry spikes left in.

Where did you get that little tear?
I found it waiting when I got here.

What makes your forehead so smooth and high?
A soft hand stroked it as I went by.

What makes your cheek like a warm white rose?
I saw something better than anyone knows.

Whence that three-cornered smile of bliss?
Three angels gave me at once a kiss.

Where did you get this pearly ear?
God spoke, and it came out to hear.

Where did you get those arms and hands?
Love made itself into hooks and bands.

Feet, whence did you come, you darling things?
From the same box as the cherubs' wings.

How did they all just come to be you?
God thought about me, and so I grew.

But how did you come to us, you dear?
God thought about you, and so I am here.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow...especially my CD and all that she is!

God's girl,

Pamela

Captivating; Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman's Soul

2010-06-19T10:04:00.003-05:00

by John and Stasi Eldredge - a book review

The heart of this book is to let us, as women, know that we have "a beauty to unveil", and "an irreplaceable role" in the lives of our families.

"As Paul..writes, man 'is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man'(1 Corinthians 11:7). Not an afterthought. Not a nice addition like an ornament on a tree. She is God's final touch, his pièce de rèsistance."

Do you feel like a work of art? Holy art at that? What do you feel is your role in your marriage? Are you a servant or a life-saver? Or, are you both?

God created us, the ladies, to be the ezer kenegdo, like one who comes to save.

Can you soak up that principle in your life? I know I am trying to.

I am God's masterpiece, truly! I have an irreplaceable role, not only in my family but in my church, in my community, in my world!!! This is what God created me to be!

So, why are we as women so tired?

We are wounded, plain and simple. In the book, John relates how he felt ambivalent about joining Stasi in writing this book. He tells of how most men feel afraid to delve into his woman's world because "he won't have what it takes to help her there." This also applies to our Father's, and that is where the wound began for most of us.

Are you ready to dig deeper into what God has for you as a woman, as a wife, as a Mom? I know I am.

I recommend this book for every woman! This was my second time to read Capitivating and I will have to say that I was more blessed through it this time. The Eldredge's use scripture and modern culture references to point us to what God had in mind when He created us as women.

I pray that you have been blessed by this review.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....

God's girl,

Pamela

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Today has been a God day...

2010-06-03T21:10:00.004-05:00

...I'm not ready to call it a good day, though.

I'm sure we've all heard the idiom "Trouble comes in 3's." I hope that means we are through with the car trouble, and any other trouble, for a bit...a really long bit!

#1. CD and I head out Tuesday, crawl in the van, turn the key, hear the motor turning over but it would not crank. At.all.

#2. I call My Dear and ask if he has any clue about what I might do to get it going...I had things to do! He responds with a very depressing "great!" Um, not really, Dear!! Come to find out, he had a flat tire on his car and was waiting on AAA Texas to come change his tire (since he was dressed for work!)

#3. Okay, so for two days, I have taken My Dear to work so the girls can get to where they are supposed to be, when they are supposed to be there. Can I just add, I LOVE TRAFFIC??? (sarcasm indeed!) Today, we had friends coming over to spend a bit of time with us and they arrived at the house as I was leaving to pick Bunny up from school. I would come home with Bunny and we would eat, visit, then take CD to work in a bit...at least, that was MY plan! So...I go to the high school, pick Bunny up and head toward home. We were no more than 1/8 of a mile down the road when I hear the clunk-clunk of a flat tire - again, on HIS car!

I called AAA Texas and they quickly dispatched a service truck to my location. The original thought was that we could air up the tire and drive the car the 1/4 mile to Sam's Club which is where we bought the tires. Remember, it was just Tuesday that AAA changed his tire out with his spare, so I had no spare...only another flat tire in the trunk! However, we noticed a hole in the sidewall - yes, the sidewall, and realized it would never hold air even for the 1/4 mile drive.

I'm not kidding about Sam's being so close to the high school! And Wal-Mart, too.

The tow service then dispatched a tow truck, which took about 30 minutes to arrive. By this time, My Dear had borrowed a co-worker's car and had arrived just a moment earlier...I am so thankful for both Neil, his co-worker, and My Dear choosing to come to my rescue, as it was!

Jeff, the tow truck driver, was very proficient at putting the car up on his flat bed and we were at Sam's in moments. Only to learn that Sam's no longer carried our size tire! They could special order, but it would take a week, something we don't have!!! So, we then had Jeff drive to the Wal-Mart tire center, right next door to Sam's - no joke!

At Wal-Mart, we were able to buy 4 new tires. By the time they were on, it was time to head to pick My Dear up from work...so I was on the road, again!

I am not trying to complain...in fact, I have a lot to be thankful for at the end of this day!

I'm thankful for family and good friends that have shuttled my children around for the past couple of days...you know who you are and I love you so much for serving us this way!

I'm thankful for cloud cover today, that kept the Dallas area temps in the 80's - not the high 90's as was forecasted earlier in the week!

I'm thankful for the 3mph breeze that continuously blew across my face while waiting for the tow service to arrive, and the tow truck!

I'm thankful that both vehicles broke down in places that were safe and out of harm's way!

I'm thankful for the ONE Father that stopped to ask if we needed help! About 100 cars passed by (including a policeman!) and only one truly stopped to offer his service!

I'm thankful that we now know what is wrong with my van - it needs a new computer!

Again, I'm thankful for Neil allowing My Dear to use his vehicle, and my sweet man for coming to my rescue!

Truly, it has been a God day! He has been my Strong Tower and my Refuge!

I'm ready to put this day to bed and can't wait to see what God has in store for us tomorrow...I think!!!

Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow....

God's girl,

Pamela

Tears...A Guest Post

2010-05-23T14:13:00.007-05:00

Through much prayer, I have decided today to let a friend of mine share her story with you, my dear blog reader. I hope that you will be touched! I also pray that if your story is similar, that you will please reach out...leave me a comment so we can be praying for you, find real life friends that will hold you up, both spiritually and emotionally, dig deep into the Word of God because He truly does have all the answers.

With no further ado....

The Tears of an Addict's Wife

How many times have I sat before God, crying once again because of my husband's addiction?

Since I've known about his secret life for more than half of our marriage, I would say that I have cried countless hours for me, my marriage, my children, but more often than not, for HIM!!!

Some time into this journey, the Lord revealed something precious to me, something so wonderful - MY TEARS ARE GOOD! After all, David says in Psalm 56:8 that God puts our tears in a bottle and keeps record of them in his book.
( Ps 56:8 You number my wanderings; Put my tears into Your bottle; Are they not in Your book? )

Now, I wonder if God has different bottles for me:
A bottle for tears cried in emotional overload as I married this wonderful man. The tears I have shed seeing him return home from a military mission. And the tears I cry as I snuggle deeper into his arms in the middle of the night, knowing he truly loves me.

A seperate bottle for the tears shed in sadness as I board a plane alone, leaving home for the first time. The tears that I cry when I am alone even now and miss being with my Mom and Dad, who live several hundred miles away.

A whole different bottle for tears of indignation at the sight of terrorism, both here and abroad, knowing that innocent lives have simply been taken by hate. Tears that fall when I truly consider those less fortunate than myself.

And yet another bottle just for the tears I cry for my husband and myself when his addiction is out of control. As you can see, I cry alot!

If God does keep them all in one bottle, just how big is mine?

The most wonderful thing, though, is what these tears accomplish; they cleanse my spirit as I come once again before the Lord and allow Him to smooth the hurt place in my life - truly broken and spilled out before Him. These tears give me strength to keep walking on the path God has for me. Most importantly, these tears show me and God just how much I still care for the man whose life I share.

Psalm 56:9 When I cry out to You, Then my enemies will turn back; This I know, because God is for me.

I suppose that knowing all this, it really is okay to cry for my sweet husband. And I'll do so, as long as this battle is waged, for I know in the end, my God WILL win! LV

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....

God's girl,

Pamela

Alone....Really Alone

2010-05-15T10:45:00.003-05:00

Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. Ecclesiastes 4:9

I am a middle child, have been since I was 7. I am a wife, have been for over 21 years. I am a Mom, have been for nearly 20 years...YIKES! I love the fact that those are pieces of my life! But how would I know ANYTHING about being alone?

That's just it, though. I am very rarely, truly ALONE! I don't sympathize well with people that are alone, I have zero empathy for them. And some of the closest people in my life know what it is to be alone. When my girls were small, I would dream of what it would be like to be alone, especially when My Dear was in the field!

On the rare occasion that I am alone now, I have so many things that I can do that I struggle with knowing where to start! I usually spend the first hour just sitting, enjoying the stillness - that is if the dogs are settled! So see, even if I am alone, I still have the dogs!

However, the other day, I had a very rare glimpse into being and feeling alone!

I am in an awesome Bible study group at church, and a few of the ladies have started walking at a nearby trail. One morning, I had an opportunity to join up with one of the ladies and walk the trail with her. Now, I like to walk around my neighborhood but the most I can ever seem to go, even with the dog, is about 1 1/2 miles....not really all that far! Well that day, walking with another adult, a friend at that, we walked nearly 3 miles and it seemed to pass quickly and I wasn't even sore the next morning!

I was able to walk 3 miles because I was with a friend, and not alone! I had a really good return for my labor!!!

The next time I could walk was a few days later, and timing transpired that I was unable to meet my friends at the trail. I chose to walk around the neighborhood and push Bambina in her stroller.

And I felt so alone!

It was difficult to even go 3/4 of a mile basically by myself! Every little thing seemed to annoy me...the sun was hot, the wind was hot...and blowing my hair into my face and eyes, the uneven sidewalk was even bugging me - and it has always been uneven!

I came home that day with a new perspective...I seem to be having a lot of those, lately! It really is easier to complete a task with a friend. God made us relational...we need our family and friends because of that. However, when I felt truly alone, God was with me. He has promised, even made a covenant with me, to not leave me alone! Hebrews 13:5 For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."

If you are alone, or feel lonely, please know that God is with you. Also, please don't be afraid to let someone know...ask for prayer, invite someone over for dinner or even ask a friend to walk with you. I know that is a temporary 'fix' but maybe someone you know needs a change of perspective - trust in God that He will lead you to the right person. Get a good return for your labor!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....

God's girl,

Pamela

The Storehouse of God

2010-04-23T15:03:00.005-05:00

I am a news & weather junkie...really! I feel a need to watch our local news once a day and HAVE to watch the weather forecast before I go to bed! Is that an addiction?

I feel as a Mom that I need to know how my girls need to dress tomorrow, according to the weather! However, I do realize that watching the weather doesn't always mean I'm going to let them go out dressed appropriately for the day.

I am always amazed, though, to see how often the forecast changes from day to day in the 7 day period. I'm not sure why I get surprised, it is only a forecast!

A while back, life got really busy. I mean so busy that I didn't have time to catch the news or weather for a couple of days in a row. This was one of those times when the forecast changed tremendously within that couple of days!!!

I watched the weather forecast one evening and the weatherman called for only a chance of showers over the weekend....a 10% coverage! 10%! That's not much chance of rain! I took notice but didn't figure we would get much, if any, rain for the upcoming weekend!

Boy, was I wrong! I missed the weather forecast for two days, and lo and behold, it seriously changed - to 70% chance! I will have to say, though, it was really cool to lay there in the middle of the night and hear the unexpected rain gently fall to the ground!

It reminded me of the scripture in Job 38:25-28....
25.Who cuts a waterway for the heavy rains and sets a path for the thunderstorm?
26.Who waters the land where no one lives, the desert that has no one in it?
27.Who sends rain to satisfy the empty land so the grass begins to grow?
28.Does the rain have a father? Who is father to the drops of dew?

I love that my God is in control, even of the rain! I am once again reminded that we are mere humans and that He sends the rain to satisfy the land and allow the grass to grow!

I hope He is sending rain your way this spring, to water the earth and your life!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....like rain!

God's girl,

Pamela

Please Welcome….

2010-04-20T08:47:00.000-05:00

Trevor James

He was born yesterday at 6:16 pm!

Weighing in at 6 lbs, 13 oz and is 21 3/4 in!

His proud parents are Kayla and Chris!

Kayla and our CD are friends from our previous church.

Kayla, congratulations!!! We love you!

Please pray for Kayla & Chris, they are still newlyweds and he is stationed overseas with the Army. Chris was able to get home for baby Trevor’s arrival!

God is so good!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow….

God’s girl,

Pamela

“We don’t allow children”

2010-04-14T17:00:00.001-05:00

Seriously? That is what I was told when I started strolling Bambina into a local upscale resale shop earlier today! I walked out of there thinking, “Then you don’t allow my money, either.” I’m not sure that I can say I will NEVER visit this store, but it will be many years before I am even tempted to…and by then, they will probably be out of business!

Contrast that with Jesus attitude toward the children in Matthew:

Matthew 18:2-5 says

2.He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3.And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5. “And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.

Then, when we got together with CD afterward, she asked if I had read her latest blog post on childlike faith! I thought how much that is like God to gently remind me that even though, for just a moment, I was angry with a worldview, His view is so much higher than mine – and the world’s!

Not only is Bambina accepted by Christ, when I humble myself and approach His throne, I am fully accepted there!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow….like acceptance!

God’s girl,

Pamela

A change of perspective

2010-04-13T07:50:00.004-05:00

I'm not sure if that is an appropriate title but I know there has been a change somewhere! I really felt led to limit my computer time over the Easter holiday but I could not have told you too much about it, specifically. However, I noticed in those few days off that I spent more time with my husband and children...and face to face relationships are most important!

So, I'm still learning exactly what this means for me, less computer time. Less Twitter. Less Facebook. Less Tumblebugs!

With Bambina, I still don't have opportunity to phone, or write, but I know that God's desire is for me to have real relationships...not just on the surface.

As you can see, I'm trying to figure out just what this means for me...but I'm still searching. The good thing, though, is that God is in the search and that is the way He likes it and the way I want it to be!

Thank you for hanging with me through this journey. I pray that God will be glorified and that this truly will work for my good and His glory! Rom 8:28

Praise God from whom all blessings flow...like my bloggy friends!

God's girl,

Pamela

Easter Sunday!

2010-04-02T08:25:00.001-05:00

Happy Resurrection Sunday!!!

I’m actually taking the weekend off from the computer, but on the off chance that you may drop by I wanted to let you know that I hope your weekend is awesome, that your days are blessed!

Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow….like His Son, Jesus!!!

God’s Girl,

Pamela

She Held the Hand of God

2010-03-28T12:48:00.003-05:00

We decided that since our whole family was together on Friday evening, that we would catch a movie we have all wanted to see for quite some time, The Blindside. Since we were meeting My Dear there, we chose to eat at CICI’s Pizza close to the theater, not on our ‘normal’ side of town.

We girls were running a bit late and My Dear had already purchased our meals, so we rushed in, grabbed our food and joined him at the table. I noticed a large area of stuff near my chair, all covered by a camouflage tarp, as I sat down. As I was in a hurry, I did not give what was near me much thought…now, I kind of wish I would have!

When I had taken a few bites of dinner, the gentleman at the next table asked if his stuff was in our way. I then looked at our table neighbor for the first time – a homeless man! Why had I not noticed him, or for that matter, his stuff? You may remember I reviewed the Andy Andrews book, The Noticer, a few months back and mentioned that I wanted to notice more around me…obviously, I still need to work on that!

I felt a tug on my heart that I should carry on a conversation with him, but how do I even begin that? I’m still a work in progress. Very soon, though, this man was leading a conversation with me! It was such a delight!

He is from the area, having lived in our city for many years. He graduated from my daughter’s rival school, South, when North was just starting out. He told us the grocery store in the center was at one time a Piggly Wiggly, and then became a Safeway before shutting down over 20 yrs ago. He told us how he lived in a brand new home on a close by street at one time, and how his family was one of the first tenants in a brand new apartment complex where the Super Wal-Mart now stands. I do remember the apartments!

My Dear and his family lived near the area for several years, including the almost three years we were together before marriage, and visited this shopping center many times. At one time, there was a Furr’s Restaurant in the center and that is where my in-law’s brand new Buick was stolen in the spring of 1990…yep, the same one My Dear drives now! There were some things about the area that we already knew, but he was such a wealth of information that we all listened intently!

As I began to gather my purse, I noticed our CD had come to stand by the man’s table and was talking to him. I heard her ask him if she could pray for him and his response humbled me. He said that was his ministry, to pray for others, but he did not mind her praying for him. OH, MY!

Then, my sweet, now adult child reached out her hand to gather his and prayed!

A sweeter prayer, I’m sure I have never heard. I know she touched God’s heart, because I could feel mine breaking under the weight of innocence and grace!

Matthew 25:40 Then the King will answer, "I tell you the truth, anything you did for even the least of my people here, you also did for me." How is it that our children can teach us so much more than we could ever teach them?

Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow…like homeless men and precious daughters!!

God’s girl,

Pamela

MOM'S BIBLE; God's Wisdom for Mothers

2010-03-21T18:27:00.004-05:00

A BOOK REVIEW Notes by Bobbie Wolgemuth

What emotions come to mind when you see the title, Mom's Bible?
Do you see your own Mom's hands lovingly turning the pages of her Bible, or see her tears falling on well-loved, onion skin pages? Do you picture in your mind's eye, her sitting on the second pew, taking notes from the pastor's sermon?

When I finished my review of This is Your Brain in Love, I asked my youngest daughter, Cupcake, to help me choose the next book. I was stuck between two books and truly could not figure out which one I wanted to review. She suggested Mom's Bible. I could not see just how important this decision would be in the next few weeks.

You see, the struggle of the last few weeks in our household has centered around our precious Cupcake. She's 16! Need I say more?

This Bible,Mom's Bible, has been a tremendous source of comfort and strength during these difficult weeks. Even more so than my 'normal' Bible. It's not perfect, I have found some minor flaws, but my overall opinion is that it came into my life just when I needed it and is perfect for this season of my life. Hmm, I believe God knew that when it was a presented choice!

Mom's Bible has devotional areas written by a team of ladies headed by Bobbie Wolgemuth. These devotionals are excellent, I did not find one that I could find fault with - theological or otherwise! They are under such headings as "Walking in..."(areas such as awe and tenderness), "Insights", "Passing It On", "Moms in the Bible", "Godly Character" and "Our God is..."(like Exalted and Holy One). These devotionals all fall on pages close to their scriptural foundations so it makes it easy to find a context for each devotional. At the back of the Bible is a topical index for each of these devotionals.

If you can't tell, I have been very impressed and impacted by these devotional areas. God has used many of them to show me a new way to pray for the situations going on in our home! These devotionals are written for all Moms...from new babes to adult children, we can all learn something about relationships with our children from the hand of God.

As much as I have loved this Bible, I have found some design flaws.
I'm not sure just how I feel about the particular version, New Century Version. I grew up on KJV and have used NIV and New American Standard for the last several years, so a 'new' version is a bit difficult to embrace!
There is also a problem for me with the numbering of individual verses...I have my 'quiet time' in the early morn by a soft, incandescent light and have found it problematic some mornings to find a particular verse. The numbers are small and tend to blend in with the lettering.
While I like the idea of the 'First Touch' verses, inspirational verses in a different color, the actual font color is lighter and was difficult for me to read in various lighting situations...even in fluorescent lighting at church.

If you are in need of a new Bible, I would suggest you look into Mom's Bible. It is truly meant for Mom's of all ages and stages of life. Mom's Bible does a great job of reaching into our emotional state of Motherhood, in my opinion.

It is sold in hardback and leatherbound versions. I like the hardback for this time in my life and it has synthetic oninon skin pages, so while reading I could truly feel I was holding a Bible in my hands...because I was!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow...like His Holy Word

God's girl, Pamela

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

It's me, oh, Lord, standing in the need of prayer!

2010-03-14T21:37:00.006-05:00

Could you please pray for our family? I desire our home to be as beautiful inside and out as this picture...and we can only do that with God's grace and mercy!

We are going through a sticky situation as a family! We are praying for unity during this time and for all of our hearts to change, to reflect the love of God! Not only outside of our home, but to each other, as well.

Thank you for sharing your time with me and my family. I pray your week ahead is blessed!!!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow...like my family!

God's girl, Pamela

Getting to know YOU!

2010-02-28T15:33:00.004-06:00

Well, I will have to say this was fun last week...and I really like having fun! I know that eventually this cannot be the only post I do each week but for now...well, for now, this is all I got! I have a hard time doing housework when Bambina is here (Miss PD) and I cannot be on the computer for more than 30 seconds with her, so this is what I got for now! I am getting to a point where my house is driving me insane, so I'm working on cleaning a couple of rooms each weekend and praying that my family will figure out just how Mama does want the house to look! (yes, you may laugh at my naivete'!)
I do want to share that I am reading through 'Mom's Bible' right now, from BookSneeze. It is absolutely wonderful and I am enjoying working through a new version..as in, a version I've not read before. I've not yet given myself a firm date to review it, it is a Bible and that takes just a while to read! However, I will post my review here for all of you to read, hopefully in the near future!

So, now you know what I have been up to! Okay, without further ado, here is this week's Getting to Know YOU! I hope you enjoy and if you want to join us on this blog meme, visit Keely here.

The questions..

1. Would you rather bungee jump or sky dive?
2. When using a public restroom do you squat over the seat or sit?
3. Favorite flower?
4. Pedicure of manicure?
5. How many siblings do you have?
6. Do you pee in the shower? (gasp!)
7. Bikini, tankini, or one piece?
8. Where do you hate to shop at, but go there anyway?
_____________________________________________________________________________________

1. Would you rather bungee jump or sky dive? I think I would like to try a tandem sky dive, where I am strapped to a veteran sky diver!

2. When using a public restroom do you squat over the seat or sit? after not knowing where I 'caught' something from many years ago, I now wipe off the seat, then cover it with toilet paper, then sit. Previous to that, I hovered and it is not easy when you are in a hurry!

3. Favorite flower?

can't you just smell those??

4. Pedicure of manicure? manicure

5. How many siblings do you have? I am a smack-dab middle child, one older sister, one younger brother!

6. Do you pee in the shower? (gasp!) umm, NO...and yes, I think this is TMI!

7. Bikini, tankini, or one piece? I have a one piece that I like right now...hubs does, too!

8. Where do you hate to shop at, but go there anyway? I'm with Keely on this one, Wal-Mart! But since we have to watch all those pennies right now, that is where I go because overall, it is usually cheaper!

Well, there you go. More useless random facts that you may or may not have wanted to know about me!

Y'all have a blessed week!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....

God's girl, Pamela

Getting to Know YOU!

2010-02-21T21:45:00.004-06:00

So I've been popping in occasionally on a blog from a fellow Texan for a few weeks now and have decided to join in on her Sunday meme - "getting to know you."

If you would like to join in, jump over here and link up with your answers.

Okay, here I go -

The questions..

1. How often do you wash/change your sheets?
2. When is your birthday?
3. Have you ever met a bloggy friend in real life?
4. Brad Pitt or George Clooney?
5. If you could change one thing about your body what would it be?
6. How often do you wash your hair?
7. Do you have pets?
8. How many social networks do you belong to..if you had to give up one, what would it be?

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1) How often do I change my sheets? I change them every other week...religiously (or at least try to, really hard!)

2) When is my birthday? October 10, 1968

3) Have you ever met a bloggy friend in real life? Well, a couple of my real life friends are fellow bloggers...Hi, Kat and Tona.

4) Brad Pitt or George Clooney? Seriously? I have to say neither...sorry!

5)If you could change one thing about your body what would it be? There are a couple of things but I think the one I struggle with most is my 'tree trunk' legs! I've always had them...even when I was skinny!

6)How often do you wash your hair? Every other day...it is naturally curly and I've been told not to wash it any more often than that.

7) Do you have pets? We have two dogs...one is the family dog and the second belongs to CD but for now is part of the family! Christmas was born in our home Dec 22, 2003 by our puppy, Ziggy. We got Ziggy shortly after learning I was prego with Bunny and had to put her to sleep Oct 1, 2004...the day before Bunny's 11th birthday! That was a rough time! The other, Sasha, came from my parent's home as CD's Christmas present in 2006! They are both mixed breed and SPOILED ROTTEN!

8)How many social networks do you belong to..if you had to give up one, what would it be? I blog, (obviously!) have a Facebook and MySpace, (but don't use it often) and I Twitter! I could very easily give up MySpace.

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Okay, I'm sure that is more than some of you wanted to know about me! I'm not sure yet if I will make this a weekly post but for now, it was fun!!!

Y'all have a great week and be blessed!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....

God's girl, Pamela

HEAR NO EVIL – My Story of Innocence, Music and the Holy Ghost by Matthew Paul Turner (A Book Review and A Give-Away!)

2010-02-15T07:30:00.019-06:00

UPDATE: Beth...One Blessed Nana is the winner of Hear No Evil!!! YAY Beth! I will try to get in touch with you over the weekend to get your book to you! The winner was chosen by random.org!

Have you ever been afraid that listening to a syncopated drumbeat would cause evil spirits “ to shimmy their way inside” your head?

Have you ever been part of “covert operation, See Sandi Sing” so that your fellow church members would not be aware of your love for all things Sandi Patty?

Have you ever questioned, “Should I know who Dylan is?”

If you can answer yes to at least one of these questions, then you should read Matthew Paul Turner’s latest memoir, Hear No Evil and be prepared to laugh!

I would say Mr. Turner had been a fly on the wall of my life as I grew up in Fundamental Baptist churches in the Southeast but I can’t because he is younger than I am. However, our experiences with music and culture are very similar! The difference is, he can tell his story with humor and make us laugh!

After graduating from his small Christian school in Maryland, Matthew chose to go to Belmont College in Nashville to study music business. While there, he was confronted with different theologies and ways of relating to God. He also was exposed to secular culture and lost his “movie-theater virginity.” His fellow students questioned his beliefs and his upbringing and he questioned theirs. Then, he began visiting a church that some fellow students attended, and it wasn’t a Fundamental Baptist church…it was Presbyterian!

He went to church with his friend, Josiah, who was a Calvinist. Matthew says, “Talking to Josiah made me feel dumb,” only because Josiah knew why he believed a particular theology. Matthew responds in the book with, “I didn’t study God. I just memorized scripture verses and practiced Bible Trivia….I knew a thousand Bible verses by heart, but I couldn't explain why God’s story was important to me personally. At least not without using hell as a starting point.”

Matthew went on to manage a Christian coffee house in Nashville, booking Christian talent and hosting open mic night for people trying to become Christian talent! Oh, the stories he has to tell...I'm sure he left out more than he included in the book! He was also editor of the popular CCM, a magazine dedicated to Comtemporary Christian Music. While working for CCM, Matthew had opportunity to interview several well-known gospel artists, including Amy Grant. He even tells a bit about that interview in a chapter of the book titled "Chasing Amy."

While Matthew’s writings stir up many memories in my own life, I appreciate the fact that he can do so with laughter and wit. I also appreciate the heart this man now has for God…you can get to know Matthew a bit by reading his blog and visiting his website.

This book, Hear No Evil, is seriously funny and worth reading!

I'm excited to say I have been given one copy of Hear No Evil to giveaway!!! Just leave a comment below by Thursday, Feb 18, and I will have random.org choose a winner on Friday, Feb 19. Thank you to Matthew Paul Turner, Ashley Boyer and WaterBrook Press for this opportunity to bless one of my dear blog readers!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....like really good books and really cool authors!

God's girl, Pamela

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group. If you would like to purchase this book or for more information please visit Random House.

A blog of randomness!

2010-02-06T21:28:00.003-06:00

Well, I have so many thoughts running through my head...they don't all go together but they are pretty good and I want to share with y'all!

This is my bonus year with CD, and it really is a bonus for all that she is teaching me. She is such a student of the Word (Bible) and truly seeks God so our morning conversations are rich and full of something new she has come across. One of those conversations revolves around verses found in 1 Corinthians:

1 Corinthians 6:12 NIV
[Sexual Immorality] "Everything is permissible for me"--but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"--but I will not be mastered by anything.

1 Corinthians 10:23 NIV
[The Believer's Freedom] "Everything is permissible"--but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"--but not everything is constructive.

Wow! Those are powerful. I have run across them before, and been blown away, but this time I really feel like God wants me to grasp the truth of these verses...everything is permissible! Everything is not just permissible for me but for others as well, so another area to learn a special grace! I would ask that if you have a Bible close by, that you read the verses around these to get the context of these verses.

Another passage that is changing my heart is Acts 9. We are studying through Acts in our ABF class on Sunday morning and this week we are reading chapter 9. This is the chapter where Saul is met on the Damascus Road by Christ Himself and truly becomes a Christ follower after just persecuting those that were believers! This passage has spoken to me that it is really NEVER TOO LATE to see Jesus for who He really is...our Savior! I can't give up on those around me that seem to be so far from the Truth, I still desire to love them any way that I can.

Okay...next piece of random...hubs and I talked tonight and in the coming weeks, I would really like to share some of my personal testimony. Not exactly sure when I will have time for that but if you would be interested in reading it, would you please let me know? I do not want to bore any of you!

Next...Right now I am reading Hear No Evil, the latest book by Matthew Paul Turner. It is an awesome, easy read and I will be reviewing it right here next week. Also, I will be giving a copy of Hear No Evil away - sponsored by his publisher!!! I am pretty excited about it!

Well, I think that is all that I have for now. Are you looking forward to Valentine's Day or is it just another day for you? No matter how you feel about the day, may I say

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....

God's girl, Pamela

This Is Your Brain in Love by Dr. Earl Henslin - a book review

2010-01-30T12:11:00.006-06:00

The subtitle of this book drew me in - New Scientific Breakthroughs for a More Passionate and Emotionally Healthy Marriage. Now, seriously, who doesn't want that?

However, I want to be truly honest with you...this is one of the hardest book reviews for me to write. There are so many emotions and thoughts swirling through my brain that I'm not sure I can actually put down a coherent review for y'all!

One of my favorite sentences in the book is, "Cheap sex never satisfies. Soul sex, however-now, that is a gourmet experience." Oh, my...I believe this may be the whole crux of the book, that the writer wants us to experience soul sex in our marriages! Isn't this what our Creator desires for us, as well?

Dr. Henslin, before he begins the scientific explanation of how our sex lives are fully wired in our brains, shows us what we can learn from Jewish tradition. I got stuck on this section for several days because our 'western' thinking is so far from the Jewish tradition. After reading this section, and letting it sink in, I feel that if we begin to teach some of these points to our children there might not be as much divorce in the next generation. Of course, that is my very personal opinion.

Dr. Henslin then goes on to show us the five types of imbalanced lovers - and aren't we all imbalanced from time to time? He also gives practical tips to help us and our partners learn how to live and love in spite of these imbalances!

I learned that I am a Scattered Lover...a bit ADD!

Dr. Henslin balances a very scientific book with stories from his own counseling experience. He also shows "Ways to Foster Honesty in Marriage" and has an appendix on "The Joy Diet", which will also boost our brain power! (and physical stamina, as well.)

I'm not so sure that this is fully a self-help book. Yes, the basics of a self-help book are there, but I found so much more inside these pages. I hope you can read it for yourself and truly find hope for a better marriage - the one you are in now!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....like an awesome marriage!

God's girl,

Pamela

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Focus Weekend!!!

2010-01-17T17:23:00.006-06:00

If you have followed this blog for anytime, you know we love our church! Focus weekend is one of the reasons we love it! Our Student Pastor has taken bits & pieces of various youth retreats and sifted the good from the bad and each year, it gets better!

This year, Brad Fogarty was the speaker. Actually, I would have to say the Holy Spirit was the speaker because Brad did a terrific job of setting aside his agenda and letting God lead the services! IT WAS AMAZING! I should have taken a box of kleenex because I cried at every service...no kidding!

It is so cool to see our children choose to become a Christ-follower or watch them find a deeper way to love their Lord and Savior. I have been so blessed this weekend!

I only have two children, both girls, but this morning when I went into the sanctuary, I learned my quiver had doubled!!! Seriously...I sat my stuff down in a chair, stood up and there were four beautiful teens, two boys and two girls, standing there waiting to hug me and say Good Morning! Only one of them was my natural child! I so love getting hugs from kids...especially the big ones!

I hope to post more on this weekend in the near future but right now, I really need to process some of what went on for myself. I have been challenged to guard my heart more closely as I continue to follow Christ on a daily basis. Please understand, I am so far from perfect, only forgiven and covered by the blood of Jesus Christ!

I pray that as you read my little blog, that you will be blessed by the Creator of the Universe! I pray that you see His light, not me!

I'm so Praising God from whom all blessings flow....like teenagers!

God's girl, Pamela

A Fitting Memorial

2010-01-12T14:01:00.005-06:00

Do you remember Kevin from this post?

He passed away last Monday, January 4, 2010. Peacefully. So ready to meet his Lord. So ready to be HOME!

We learned that Kevin had family here in the Dallas area but chose to live independently, even when that meant homeless. His Aunties and several cousins were there. And the family that brought Kevin into our church, into our lives, was listed in the obituary as his family!!!

The memorial Friday morning, Jan 8, was officiated by the Pastor that oversees S.O.U.L. Ministries and I love how he blended Kevin's favorite scriptures in his brief message! One of Kevin's favorite scriptures has stood out to me during these few days...Hebrews 11, the Hall of Faith!

I desire to have the same level of faith that Kevin did. To know, beyond knowing, that the path I am on is the perfect path God has for me...the same way Abraham, and Noah, and Enoch did. I desire to live surrendered, the way Kevin did, to whatever it is the Lord has for me - whether pain, trial or a sense of comfort, like Paul! As you can see, God has really used the end of this man's life to shape some of my thoughts to look more like His, and the journey has been awesome.

I was totally moved by some of the stories when the podium was opened for audience members to say something about Kevin...oh, and the audience....HUGE!!! The funeral home was somewhat small but the room was filled, wall to wall with people there to remember Kevin and pay their respects! The last audience member to speak, though, (if I can stop crying long enough to type this out!) totally got to me! He was a homeless man that never met Kevin. NEVER! Someone had invited him that morning at The Bridge, Dallas homeless shelter, and again, someone invited him at The Stewpot.

It was no random invitation, though! NO, SIR! He was meant to be in that packed room on a very cold Friday morning - and it wasn't just to get warm. He heard the gospel preached, and he saw how people from all walks of life had loved Kevin. And he had a word to share - stay in touch with family. Don't start walking a path so alone.

I struggle with this, to a degree. I get busy and forget to call my Mom - I did it just this past Sunday...so sorry, Mama! I spend my time writing this blog to give family a glimpse of our lives, but then forget to e-mail or write them later on.

Now, I am trying...to be available, first for my sweet man and our girls!

I don't think I can convey in this little blog just how much of a blessing Kevin was to me. I know I cannot give enough glory to God - He deserves it ALL!!! I'm thankful we found a sitter for Miss PD (man, it was hard leaving her!) and found our way to Oak Cliff for a memorial service that I won't soon forget.

Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow....

God's girl, Pamela

My All-Time Favorite Christmas Carol

2009-12-11T16:02:00.006-06:00

"I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day"...yep, that's it. Have you ever heard of it? Have you ever heard it?? It's not as popular as some other songs but it is my all time favorite...since I was about 5 or 6 yrs old!!

We got a record - I know some of you remember those! - of Christmas songs with a song book and it was one of the songs in there. I swear, I drove my sister insane listening to the song over, and over, and over again!!!

However, to this day, it is one of my faves. A few years ago, Mercy Me added it to their Christmas CD and that made me very happy!

Well, in this age of technology, I looked up the origin of the song. I have thought all along it was English, but I was wrong. That's not that surprising, huh?

Here's some of what I learned, if you are interested ;)

It was written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow on Christmas Day in 1864. Now, I am a Civil War junkie and was excited to learn this has a place in American history during the Civil War! During the timeline of the War, Longfellow lost his wife to a fire, and his son, Charles, was severely wounded in the War.

He wrote the poem, "Christmas Bells" after both of these events occurred in his life. It originally had seven stanzas, now down to five. The two that were cut out show a man who was still grieving from all that life had handed him during the War.

Having learned a bit more of the reasons behind it, I love the song even more! Now I hear that Jars of Clay and Casting Crowns also sing the song...that makes me even happier!!!

I love the last stanza where Longfellow shouts to the world, "God is not dead, nor doth He sleep." I am so thankful that my Savior knows what is going on in my world, and is a very present source in my life!!!

I hope you enjoy reading all seven stanza's and for a few days, the music will only play this song so you can enjoy it that way, too.

What is your all-time favorite Christmas Carol??

I pray your Christmas is peaceful, joyful and full of grace!!!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....

God's girl, Pamela

"Christmas Bells"
(The original poem, complete with all seven stanzas)

"I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till, ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;
"For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead; nor doth he sleep!
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!"

A Homeless Man Made our Church Cry.....

2009-12-07T17:30:00.004-06:00

His name is Kevin.

We were introduced to Kevin shortly after we began attending our new church. At that time, he had recently been diagnosed with tongue cancer and was having surgery to remove part of his tongue. Soon after, we got to meet him when one of our families began bringing him to church after S.O.U.L. ministry. He is such a sweet man and we have all been blessed by knowing him!

Within a few months, the cancer spread and he lost the rest of his tongue and some of his throat. At that time, we rejoiced as a church family because it looked like it was done! During the following months, he was a regular attender and several of us got to know him...even though he could not speak!

Well, last week Pastor Jerry read a letter written to Kevin's church family...and we all cried! Not a dry eye in the house, y'all!!! Sobs were heard all around our area, where many of the usual S.O.U.L. ministers sit.

The cancer has returned...and has become very aggressive. It doesn't appear that Kevin has long to live on this Earth, unless God intervenes. However, his life has already touched so many of us, it has not been in vain.

This is a homeless man, our ministry was to reach out to him, but as God so often does, Kevin blessed us more than we could ever imagine!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow...like Kevin, a homeless man

How have you been blessed by others, when you were wanting to bless them???

God's girl, Pamela

Take Your Best Shot - by Austin Gutwein

2009-12-01T15:47:00.012-06:00

I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!

Austin has left me with a sense of anticipation to see just how God will use my family as we begin to simply take our best shot!!!

In his first book, Austin Gutwein tells the story of how Hoops of Hope began when he was just 9 yrs old! Austin is the founder of Hoops of Hope....THE FOUNDER!!! He founded Hoops of Hope at the tender age of 9!!!

Austin blew me away in the introduction when he said, "...I'm a normal kid who heard, 'Austin, God wants to use you' enough times that I started to believe it." He tugged at the very heart of my being with the statement, "Kids are really trying to make a difference in the world."

Yes, dear Austin, that is exactly what they desire to do! I've seen it over and over again in my daughters lives...the crisp dollar bill given for birthday money goes straight into the offering plate for the missionary family visiting from who knows where, the love that went into choosing a Jesus gift to share with the homeless ministry at church - for our family, this meant one of their favorite toys as we taught them to give Jesus their best! - tediously choosing a warm blanket for someone they will probably never meet!

My own precious daughters have warmed my heart as they have given from within themselves...and they are not alone. Austin says it so well, "They're reaching out to people in need, and they're stepping out of their comfort zones....They want to do something bigger than themselves."

Austin's heart was touched when he watched a video of a girl named Maggie that lived in Africa. Watching the video started a fire in his heart, one that he could not extinguish...and didn't! With his parents support, his family began sponsoring a child through World Vision. However, it didn't stop there....

Austin wanted to do more for the aids victims in Africa and as I read his story, I was shaken to the core to see how God used the gifts a 9 yr old boy could bring to change so many lives in a far off continent! This book...the Hoops of Hope organization...they aren't about Austin, and he knows it. They are about reaching out to the orphans and those less fortunate, just as God calls us to do.

I pray that you will pick up this book, especially at this Christmas season. Pray as you read it, and ask God what you can do...maybe not in Africa but what about your neighborhood, church or community. Then, pass the book on, maybe even to a teenager, because you never know who God is calling to take their best shot!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....

God's girl, Pamela

P.S. Today is World Aids Day...check out Hoops of Hope to see if there is an event near you...they have several scheduled in various places for this weekend.
My family is headed to a concert tonight, featuring Kari Jobe and the Watoto Children's Choir from Uganda to celebrate this day. We really are excited to see just what God has in store for our lives...starting tonight.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

2009-11-26T11:00:00.004-06:00

I pray that you are reminded of all that we have to be thankful for! Most of all, I am thankful for the Gospel...the good news of Jesus and what His life, death, burial and resurrection means for me!

I am so thankful for my family...the sibling rivalry going on in my home this morn is making me smile! You see, all too soon, the walls of my home will be absent of the noises that young women make...the squeals, giggles and sighs!!! I am thankful to be their Mom!

I love my husband, dearly!!! It is a privilege to be his wife and I am thankful for our marriage as we quickly approach anniversary #21!

I am thankful for each of you...that either choose to read my blog regularly or just drop by from somewhere else. I pray that your holiday season is blessed with love, joy, peace and grace that comes from our Father above!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....

God's girl, Pamela

My Art Philosophy

2009-10-23T20:43:00.008-05:00

I have always enjoyed working with my hands to create crafts and various, elemental works of Art. The only one who can appreciate them is my Mom!!! There are occasions when my dear honey will like something I have created, or at least he says he does! Even though I enjoy giving many pieces away, in the form of cards or some sort of painting for wedding gifts, I don't see a lot of value in my Art. I know I am not alone in this.

However, probably 10-12 yrs ago, I heard a young man speak on the true value of creativity. I took his words to heart and tried to raise my then small girls to see true value in all that they did...writing poems, songs, drawing, whatever creative juices were flowing at various times in their life. What I didn't do, was take his words to heart for me. I still look at my 'art' as elemental. I can look back and see where I have grown and matured in my processes but I will never be Grandma Moses or Picasso. I can't ever see anyone paying $100 for a work of mine! And you know what, that is okay!!!

Well, in this season of creative slumber - Miss PD takes up so much of my time and my family gets 'the rest' - God has really been speaking this word back to me. So, I want to share with you, okay?

Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

We are created in His image, just like I am formed in the image of my parents! I have His DNA deep within me! So, what all do we know about God?

The Bible begins with the account of creation. Now, I am not like God in the fact that I could even begin to just make something out of nothing! I have to have tools...but, God is VERY creative!!! Have you been to the ocean? Have you walked through the forest? Have you seen some of the animals and creatures our God created?

HE IS VERY CREATIVE!!!

Have you read the God breathed scriptures...Psalms, Proverbs, Ruth, John?? Those were penned by men, but breathed by God Himself! His poetry resonates deep within our souls, His stories tug at our very hearts.

HE IS VERY CREATIVE!!!

Have you heard the music in the wind, or the water? Those were created by God, as well.

Eph 2:10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Workmanship suggest someone pored over raw materials and used tools to create something of value! We are His something of value! We have value within us...no matter what we do!

I want to say that I feel, according to the scriptures, we all are creative somehow! It doesn't have to be art, or music, or writing! Are you obsessed with organization? Can you look at a situation and see a better way to do things? These take creativity as well.

We watch a lot of football around here and sometimes hear the sportscasters say, "That last play was very creative!" It means that someone used a bit of their creativity to see things in a different way.

Do you feel like you march to the beat of a different drum? Maybe that is your creativity trying to unleash itself!!!

I encourage you, look around your life in the weeks ahead and really take time to see how your creative juices flow! Seek the Lord and see if this lines up with His word for your life.

I can't wait to get back to cutting, drawing, gluing and using my hands to be creative!!! If you wouldn't mind, I would love to see some of your creative work...photos, cards, drawings, writings, WHATEVER!!! Would you please upload them and share with me???

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....

God's girl, Pamela

What Difference Do It Make? by Ron Hall, Denver Moore and Lynn Vincent

2009-10-11T22:01:00.007-05:00

A book review

Warning: This book made me cry....buckets!!! From the beginning, I found myself with tears in my eyes.

I have heard of the book, Same Kind of Different as Me, but not yet had a chance to read it. What Difference Do It Make? is a follow-up of sorts to that book. It is not just a non-fiction work, but rather a true 'story' of how many lives can be changed by one woman's obedience to God.

Ron Hall and Denver Moore have spent the last several years developing a very strong friendship based on their shared love of God and a very special lady, Ron's wife, Deborah. Deborah reached out to the homeless at the Union Gospel Mission in Ft. Worth, Tx and simply brought husband Ron along. Deborah passed away from cancer but Ron and Denver have continued their friendship, written a book and now speak about homeless issues to various audiences.

This book, What Difference Do It Make?, highlights ways that other people reached out in their own neighborhoods and home towns after reading Same Kind of Different as Me. The subtitle, Stories of Hope and Healing,is definitely fitting. The true stories show how one person may not be able to change the world, but they can change one person that can start a chain of giving hope to the masses.

I could not pick just one story to highlight....too many of them tugged at my heart! However, I love Ron Hall's Thirty-Day Plan to End Homelessness! Do I think I can do it, or convince my friends or church to do it? I don't know. So, why do I like it?

I like the idea of being able to reach out to those 'less fortunate' than us without being judgemental. I will be honest, in my Dallas suburb, I don't see many homeless, but I do see those 'less fortunate'. I desire to have the freedom to just give...not expecting anything in return. If I give money and they blow it on alcohol, drugs or clothes, it doesn't matter. The point is that I give and then it is no longer mine...because I gave it up.

I am walking away from this book with a new perspective on giving. The people that shared their stories simply gave without judgement, without expectation, other than waiting and watching what God would do with the gift. When I consider that I have nothing that has not been given by God, how can I not give of my life, my faith?

The book is written primarily to Christians, those that already know Christ. However, the principles shared in the book are needed in every walk of life; To simply give of ourselves. I highly recommend the book to anyone that feels the tug of God on their heart to give more, give deeper.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....

God's girl, Pamela

On Being a Mom of Teenagers!

2009-10-05T16:14:00.006-05:00

Oh, Lord, Ps 139:14.I praise you because my daughters are fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. (Pamela's paraphrase!)

My girls have such tender hearts. I will be honest right here and now....we have not always handled those tender hearts well. Lord, please forgive me.

Both girls struggle with relationships....one struggles with maintaining friendships, the other struggles with choosing friends (and lots of them!) over family, school and anything else!!! In one week, our whole family dynamic shifted ever so slightly...and it all started with relationship issues!

CD had a disagreement with a close friend, and really thought that would be the end of a close friendship. However, she never told us what was going on! That was on Sunday and you could just feel drama coming in the door!

Monday, I got a text from Bunny that one of her former acquaintances (from the group she hung out with last year) had killed himself over the weekend. I picked her up early from school and we planned to either visit the funeral home for the viewing or the funeral...neither happened.

On Wednesday of that week, CD had an ortho appt. that I was going to ask her to take herself. Daddy beat me to the punch....he asked if Miss PD and I would like to head out with him to a client visit that day. Miss PD has learned to say 'dog' and always wants to pet and kiss ours and his client has several dogs and hubs thought it would be neat to see how she reacted to different dogs. I loved the idea and said yes...it meant we got out of the house for a while.

That same Wednesday evening, the viewing was scheduled for the young man from Bunny's school and I was trying to work out in my head how we could do her home group and the funeral home in a timely manner as we were driving back to our side of town.

Once we were getting close to home, we got a phone call that parents dread...."Mom, I've had an accident."

CD was pulling out of the ortho office parking lot and saw a vehicle coming with it's right turn blinker on and thought they were turning into the parking lot....they didn't! She got hit in the driver's side front quarter panel, pushing the tire back about 10 inches! She also got bit by the airbag; her right hand and arm cut and her left arm a little burned.

Needless to say, plans for Bunny changed at that moment. Everyone's plans changed! I went to bed for the next week feeling so thankful for my daughters...that they were safe and sleeping soundly under the same roof as us! It was a very emotional week and I am glad it has passed!

God was so in control, though...of course!!! Our Windstar was 14 yrs old and they called it a total loss and gave us more for it than we imagined! Within a week, we were able to find a Plymouth Grand Voyager, two years newer but more miles. The good thing, we were able to buy it with the settlement from the accident.

Pics of the Windstar are on hubs phone and he is not home at the moment so I will try to get that later. The 'new' van:

We have all shed tears. We have all hugged one another tighter. We have grown as a family through this trial. I know it seems trivial, but this was one emotional trial that I don't want to go through again! We are so thankful for the many blessings of life!

Relationships? Well, CD worked things out with her friend and they are still growing in God together. Bunny still misses seeing his face around school. His death affected her in ways I'm not sure she thought it would. We've had to learn to lean into God through this time! Honestly, though, where else would we rather be?

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....

God's girl, Pamela

Change of tactic

2009-09-30T22:05:00.004-05:00

If you haven't noticed, that's just fine - I've not had the time or energy to blog lately!!!

I was hoping that as Miss PD grew, she is 17 months now, that it would mean a bit more independence for her and a few extra minutes for me! Well, that hope was not grounded in reality, obviously!!!

She's really a funny girl! She wants her independence...until I get busy doing something!!! I can be emptying the dishwasher, trying to do laundry, trying to fix lunch, or getting on the computer - it doesn't matter to her!!! She can be playing 'by herself' and seem so content but as soon as I move to do 'something', she is right by me in just a few seconds, holding onto my leg so tightly!!!

Since she holds my leg, it makes moving impossible..as in the case of emptying the dishwasher or moving laundry from washer to dryer. It is frustrating for me.

So....I have changed my tactic. I am working now on being Miss PD focused. I know, that is not good for her but it really is helping the strain in my household!!! The meltdowns come fewer and farther apart! Basically, even though I am home, I treat the day like a work day. When Miss PD leaves, I then 'come home' to fix dinner and care for my family and home.

I hope to one day soon be able to return to blogging on a regular basis. I will still be a book review blogger for Thomas Nelson, just life happenings will have to be shared at a later date.

Speaking of Thomas Nelson, if you have a chance, grab the book, "Same Kind of Different as Me" by Ron Hall and Denver Moore. It will bless your socks off!!! (and maybe someone else's!)

Love to you all!!!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....

God's girl, Pamela

FEARLESS; Imagine Your Life Without Fear by Max Lucado - a book review

2009-09-08T06:45:00.000-05:00

Every day we face reasons for fear: our children, our marriages, our jobs, traffic, family issues...and the list could go on, depending on our circumstances! This is exactly what Max Lucado tackles in his latest book, Fearless. With chapter subtitles such as Fear of Disappointing God, Fear of Worst Case Scenarios, and Fear of What's Next, he uses his simple but eloquent writing style to bring fresh perspective in a fearful world.

I learned an interesting Bible tidbit near the end of Facing the Giants: "Well, in God's word He said 365 different times, "Do not fear." Now if He says it that many times, you know He's serious about it, don't ya?" Mark Richt, the football coach of the Georgia Bulldogs, mentions this to Grant Taylor as his underdog team is about to head into the state championship. I remember thinking that was once for each day of the year! "Do not fear" must be an important mandate!

Max Lucado uses several of those 365 scriptures to lead us into an eye-opening view of a Holy God! He lists just twelve scriptures on pp 11,12 that deal with having courage and not being afraid. He begins each new chapter with a different verse that reminds us, again, not to fear!

I appreciate how Max Lucado can be so honest in his writings, really transparent at times. He begins this book with a very personal, emotional story about his brother, Dee. Lucado later tells a story of Molly, the family dog, that most everyone can closely relate with. When he shared about his personal feelings before heart surgery, I came away hoping I can learn to face death bravely.

I am walking away from reading Fearless with a deeper insight into the grace of God. My favorite quote is from the chapter on Fear of Disappointing God, "Nothing fosters courage like a clear grasp of grace. And nothing fosters fear like an ignorance of mercy." I was reading through this book as our pastor was bringing a series of messages on the types of grace that God gives! It still amazes me that that is usually the way God works!

I suggest this Lucado book, not only for the faithful Lucado readers, but for anyone that lives, works and relates in this present world! Even if you do not consider yourself a fearful person, it can be exciting to see just how big and good our God is in a fresh way!

I want to leave you with one line that rocked my world for several hours: "Heaven's best took hell's worst and turned it into hope." Praise the LORD!!! He can do this in our lives, as well.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....like His grace!

God's girl, Pamela

What's He Really Thinking? by Paula Rinehart - a book review

2009-08-29T20:21:00.006-05:00

Have you ever noticed that God brings someone or something into your life just at the moment you needed it most? That is exactly what happened when I received this book from Thomas Nelson, the publishing company.

I don't think I'm alone to say that we have a cyclical issue in our marriage. An issue that rears it's ugly head every few months or so, and threatens to ruin all of the hard work we have put into the last 21 years! I also don't think I'm alone when I say that when this issue comes up, he and I see it as polar opposites! So What's He Really Thinking? is a very intriguing title to me.

I appreciate the author's first major point tremendously; "Men aren't women with big feet and beards. They are completely other." It brings validation to my thought that he really has no clue how I feel! Why? He is absolutely nothing like me...in feelings, opinions or thoughts! NOTHING!

Paula Rinehart, the author, spends a whole three chapters on "Understanding the Man You Love". She uses scripture and her background as a counselor to point out many of the ways we are different. She uses stories of real people to show just how much many couples have in common...perhaps different discussions but many common threads.

I really enjoyed the chapter on Intimacy, especially finding my heart wrapping around the thought that, "Some of this man's weaknesses and flaws are the front door through which you enter and experience the love of God, which is the best of all loves." Oh, how true!

Without our personal struggle, I would not run to my Heavenly Daddy in such a state of need. I am convinced that I would not know the depth of love and grace that my God freely gives and then invites me to give...as part of being a "good forgiver."

No matter what stage of marriage or life you are in, this is an excellent book! It will help to remind you of why you married your particular man in the first place! It will give you practical ideas for ways to change your conflict. The author also gives several appendixes with ways to pray for, understand and love, not only the special man in our lives, but all of the men God has given us.

At some point in the future, I would love to do a ladies Bible study using this book as our guide. Would you be interested in joining me?

Praise God from whom all blessings flow...like my precious hubs!

God's girl, Pamela

My Dear CD,

2009-08-23T22:32:00.005-05:00

If you would like to join other bloggers on this Wednesday walk, visit Lynnette's site for all the details.

This post seems perfect for a Wednesday's Walk and even though I originally posted late Sunday so that my CD could read it before she headed off to school, I really wanted to share it with y'all. Hope you enjoy and have a terrific week ahead!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow...

God's girl, Pamela

Ps 139:17,18a How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand....

My heart is overwhelmed! So many memories of you growing up right in front of my eyes! I am such a blessed Mom to have spent my days with you as part of them for the last 19 yrs!

I cannot wrap my brain around the fact that you start college in less than 12 hrs! Your graduation day seems like such a dream - did it really happen already??? If I allow myself, I can remember the first few moments of your life and lots of moments between then and now.

Your very first day of school....Bethel Temple Mountaintop, El Paso, TX.
A very difficult move from El Paso to Dallas just a few months later.
Kindergarten graduation from GCA....and GrandMom came to watch!
Your struggle starting first grade at GCA. We decided to keep you home the 2nd semester and that was when you came down with chicken pox....and passed them to Bunny.
Your first day at Ethridge Elementary....my first day of public school - ever!
Soccer!
The very consistent 100's on your elementary report cards - man, my child is smart!
The move we made to BNCS for 4th grade....you were excited, but unsure. I'm sorry, that may not have been the best move for you.
Upwards basketball!
The tears through 6th grade...once again, I'm sorry!
Seventh and eighth grade at Webb.....and uniforms!
Basketball!!!! Basketball!!!
Freshman year at North Garland: choir and basketball!!!
The biology trip to Denison with Mrs. Hess...and that lovely centipede!
Sophomore year: Miss Harvey and how she began to shape your life for the future!
Junior year.....that was a hard year!
Senior - choir, lack of basketball and watching God change your heart and mind! New church, new friends, new outlook!

Now, all of a sudden, you are going to college! For the first time in 14 yrs, we won't all go together to drop you off for the first day of school! I know that God has His gentle hand upon your life! I know your Spanglish is going to drive me crazy for a few months!
I know that I have been blessed to do my best to "raise you in the nurture and admonition" of the Lord. I know that I have failed many times but God always reaches down to pull me back up and try again!
I love you and am praying that your first day in your new normal is blessed by the God of the universe in unbelievable ways!

Mom

Summer is already over??? Seriously???

2009-08-09T16:48:00.004-05:00

Ah, yes, Bunny is back in summer band so technically, summer is over! This makes me so very sad!!! Where did my summer go???

Well, let's see....During the first three weeks, Bunny was baby-sitting full time and getting into trouble. That meant that I didn't get to sleep in and was emotionally spent from trying to understand why we were back in the same place with attitudes and actions!

Then, the girls went to camp and I had one of the young boys Bunny was watching here at the house along with Miss PD...and at that point, I thought it wasn't easy!

The girls came home and we had just a few weeks before CD left for Colombia so there was finalizing everything for that and Bunny was home with me due to the boys Grandmother taking one month of leave for an injured hand. Bunny was touched at camp and is really working to let God lead her life. It is not always easy - when is it? - but God has become so real in her life! Somewhere in there, July 4 came and went.

Then, the week before leaving for Colombia, CD got sick one evening after VBS. We really thought she had just gotten stressed about some aspect of the trip so Miss PD was here the next day. Then, a couple of days later, the day before CD was to leave, I took care of Miss PD in her home because she had spent the previous night sick...just like CD had been!!! Oops!

Poor CD just kept texting me about the little things she would think of left for the trip...and she was leaving at 6 the next morn so this was our last shopping day! We did get it done, though, by the grace of God!

Unfortunately, the night after CD left, I came down sick and a few days later, dear hubs did as well!!! Only, instead of us being better the next day, we took 4-5 days to get fully well!!! So, Bunny was home with sick parents the whole week that she should have been having fun being the 'only child'!!! And, if you've been counting, (hahahahahaha!) my sweet hubs got sick the day after his birthday!!!

The next week, Bunny went back to work, CD went back to work and it was kind of nice to be home during the day with just Miss PD. Last weekend, hubs and I were blessed to have a date night! It was really nice to enjoy a pleasant, good dinner (Esteban's is now a pretty top fave!) and a nice evening stroll around our Town Center.

I knew we would need the date, because come Monday morn, Bunny was back at school for summer band and I have both of the boys that she has babysat this summer!!! Three kids in the house...two of them being boys!...has definitely been different!

So, all of a sudden, school actually begins in two weeks and I have another week ahead of three children in the house! I also have a band fitting this week and a meeting for our coffee bar volunteers from church!

I know God's timing has been perfect, we need the extra money to pay for band! God has been gracious in allowing us to open our home to children who need love and Him in their lives!

Also, while Miss PD has been taking steps for a few weeks, this past week, she actually begin walking around the house a bit!!!!!!! This is exciting news! She has come so far and I know that she is beginning to be a sponge and soak up so much of the environment around her!

Now, that is why there has not been much blogging these past few months!!! I tried for a while but realized that my family was missing a big part of me when I was on the computer for too long!

I have missed keeping up with so many of you and hope that in the weeks ahead, life will slow down and I hope to spend more time with y'all!!!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....

God's girl, Pamela

Happy Birthday, Dear Hubs!!!

2009-07-22T10:10:00.004-05:00

If you would like to join other bloggers on this Wednesday walk, visit Lynnette's site for all the details.

Today we are celebrating his birthday for the 23rd time together!!! WOW!!! That makes us sound a little bit old, huh??? YIKES!!!

Today's memory is of that very first shared birthday...his 18th! Man, we thought we were hot stuff! I also don't have too many memories of that evening.
I, unfortunately, don't have any pics of that birthday...this one is pretty close to it when we went to Six Flags that summer.

We went to dinner that evening with his parents and Grandmother to a restaurant off of Stemmons Frwy...Mother Tucker's. Does anyone remember this one? The food was really good....that I do remember well!!!

We had only been dating a few months but already realized we were falling in love, and those around us knew it! Just a couple of months after this, we literally began talking about our future...together!

My gift to him that evening? Why 18 kisses, of course! Too bad he hasn't let me continue that tradition for many years - something about how it would take too long!

I love birthdays and my desire is that everyone notice and make a big to-do on my special day! However, oppisites do attract and his desire is for the day to pass quietly and shared by only those closest to him. So today, that is what I am trying to do...this is my big to-do for the day!!!

To my dear hubs...I love you. You are such a precious part of me and I am privileged to be your wife and share in your daily life. I pray today that you will be blessed and that in the year ahead, you will continue to seek God's will for your life, family and business.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....like my wonderful 41 yr old husband!!!

God's girl, Pamela

Illness and Mommyhood

2009-07-19T13:39:00.008-05:00

UPDATE: Finally able to eat something substantial this morn!!! My whole upper body aches, though. I am able to take the day off, thank you, Lord!!! Now, the rest of you, BETTER NOT GET SICK!!! Love ya!

So if you are a Facebook friend, you have seen both of these subjects take a front seat in my life this week. I have been somewhat surprised by both, even in the midst of knowing that God is not.

Tuesday evening, the girls came home from VBS; Bunny talking about all that had happened in the 4 yr old class and CD being very quiet. She answered the question of what did she do at VBS, then disappeared to her room upstairs. We were not surprised since she is a perfectionist and packing on Tuesday when you leave on Saturday is so the right thing to do. Then, not half an hour later, she came down telling us she was not feeling well and had not been since having Goldfish at VBS. As her parents, we figured she was beginning to stress about the trip ahead and encouraged her to settle her spirit before going to bed.

She did go back upstairs...and back down within ten minutes!!! She had gotten physically ill! No fever, just an upset tummy - for the next six hours!!! I finally crawled in my bed about 6:15 Wed morn and slept a few hours before Miss PD made her entrance for the day. I did what I should have done...told Miss PD's Mom but since there was no fever and extenuating circumstances of stress surrounding the trip, I really thought we were fine.

WRONG!!!

Miss PD's Mom called me Friday morn, little Miss had started getting physically ill around 10 pm the night before and had finally drifted off to sleep around 5AM. I went to their home that day to watch Miss PD for just a couple of hours, getting lots of texts from my CD of all that she was remembering she needed to get before leaving early Saturday morn. We had also planned a dinner party for family that night so they could say their goodbyes and prayers over her...somehow, I know with God's help, we pulled it all off!!!

The alarm went off, very rudely, at 2:25 AM so we could get luggage and people to the van and to the church by 3:15 AM, with the final destination of the airport by 4! We watched our oldest walk through the airport security for the first time without us! Very surreal...trust me!!!

We then headed for some breakfast at Whataburger...Bunny loves their taquitos! We came straight home and all crawled back in bed for just a bit more sleep. Needless to say, being up for a portion of the night re-arranged our whole day and even on a Saturday, not much housework got done...oops!!!

I was first up, no surprise, by about 9:30 and checking Facebook and Twitter to make sure they had made it to the Miami airport! Her youth pastor, Doug, had uploaded some pics of her and friends and I surprisingly found that did my heart some good!

For a little bit, anyway!!! (This is at the hotel in Colombia!)

Then, I noticed just how quiet the house was while the other half of my family continued to sleep...and it began to drive me nuts!!! All of a sudden, I could not pull away from the computer for fear I might miss something new pertaining to CD! I found myself leaving this status on FB, " I know y'all are gonna be sick of me, but....I did not realize I would miss CD this much!!! And she is still in Miami!!! She is my early riser and I am lonely while the other two still sleep!!!!"

I have been trying to 'let go' little by little, but I am now convinced that cannot be done...I just have to at some point let go!! I see the difference in my relationship with the girls - Bunny is my buddy, CD has become my friend!

So, to wrap this up, I come downstairs last evening and see hubs eating and I was overcome by a wave of nausea. Within the hour, I was sicker than a dog!!! However, unlike CD and Miss PD, I am now 16 hours into this and still can't see the end! Please pray for my dear hubs as he tries to keep up with me! As I said earlier, I know that God is not surprised by this. I am praying that the Colombia team that we spent about forty-five minutes with, will not come down with it over there!

I really wish my Mom were here to take care of me! However, I know that my Father is always near...especially when I'm ill.

Moms, stay healthy, okay???

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....

God's girl, Pamela

I Remember When....

2009-07-15T03:00:00.000-05:00

If you would like to join other bloggers on this Wednesday walk, visit Lynnette's site for all the details.

Can we play a game today??? Well, I suppose since it is my blog you really don't get a say in that, now do you!!!
Yes, I'm feeling a bit snarky....thanks for noticing!!!

Somewhat still on the subject of letting go, what are some of your favorite memories from your babies...ya know, when they were still babies??? And because it is my blog, that means I get to go first! Yippee!!!

I remember when....

...She would not go to sleep when it was bedtime!!! The first approx. 6 wks of CD's life and about 8 wks of Bunny's, they simply REFUSED to go to sleep before 2 AM!!! They would do so well during the day, not always taking really long naps and waking around 7 pm to nurse, get a diaper change and hopefully interact with us! By the time 11 pm rolled around, I was getting tired but my girls were just getting going good!!! At around midnight, they would begin to get fussy - didn't want to nurse, had clean diaper, nothing was poking them, they would just get fussy! Closer to 1 AM, they were no longer fussy...they were all out crying!!! For up to two hours!!! Screaming at the top of their little bitty lungs!!! They refused to nurse, did not want a pacifier, just wanted a little lung work out apparently!!!

Finally, at close to two months, both of them learned to go to sleep somewhere between 9 and 10 pm. Other Moms would tell me this was normal behaviour but I was really never sure about that!!! Man, am I ever thankful they finally started sleeping at a decent hour!!!

I remember when...

...I woke up one morning, shortly after having Bunny, listening to a baby cry and wondering why in the world my Mom did not get the baby!!! I even went so far as to look out the front window to see if there was a car out front before I came to the full realization that this was my home, my baby and my job to go get her!!! I must have been really tired...ya know, that whole staying up half the night thing!

I remember when....

...CD would play with her sippy cup by shaking it violently up and down and having fun watching all the liquid splash out!!! Yes, this was long before the no-drip sippy cups!!! It didn't take long, though, for her to realize that the only sippy cup she could truly play with was one filled with water. So, in order to get 10 min. of peace to clean the kitchen, I would put water in a sippy, snap on the lid, put her in the middle of the kitchen floor with the cup and say, 'Play'! I do believe between the ages of 12 and 18 months, that was her favorite thing to do!

I remember when...

...Bunny would go outside, just inside the gate to the backyard and scoop up dirt by her fingernail and put it in her mouth!!! She loved to eat dirt!!!

I remember when....

...Bunny was just figuring out how to go downstairs and the girls wanted to go out and play, having to go down two stairs to get out the door. Hubs had recently changed the oil in the vehicle and left it standing in the large round container right by the stairs! By now, I'm sure you have guessed that Bunny made it from the first to the second step but when trying to maneuver down to the ground, she fell head first into the oil!!! Poor baby, we laughed so hard and she was screaming!!!

I remember when....

...It was 114 degrees on CD's 4th birthday!!! El Paso can get hot, y'all!!!
...They loved to sit on the patio and finger paint!
...They would want to play in the water but drink more from the sprinkler than went on the lawn!
...They wanted to sleep together in the same bed...and it only lasted about an hour!

I remember when....

...Barney was the first thing we watched on TV. But their favorite show was Lambchop!
...Life seemed simpler! I knew where my babies were...right under my feet no matter what I was doing! It was hard, I do remember that, but I knew where they were!

Okay, now it is your turn!!!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....like my beautiful daughters

God's girl, Pamela

She Still Calls Me Daddy

2009-07-11T07:26:00.006-05:00

by Robert Wolgemuth

I will have to be honest: I was kind of in a hurry the day I chose this book for my next review and didn't really take the time to read what it was about! I am so far out of the prime demographic - Dads that have recently given their daughters in marriage or those with a daughter's impending marriage on the horizon - but truly found so much practical advice for now and in the future, when our two girls do make that walk down the aisle!

If you have read my blog at all over the last few months, you have noticed that 'letting go' has been heavy on my mind for our oldest daughter! While I realize that we do not yet fully let go (she is still under our physical, spiritual and emotional protection) there is some breaking away that needs to be done so that in just a few years, when she does find the man God has set aside for her, we will be gracious in doing just that - let her go!

One thing that caught my attention was how the author parallels letting go with how we raised our daughters in our home. The chapter on protection will be re-read a few times around here, I'm sure! When they are small, it is our job as parents to protect our children in so many ways; touching a hot stove, crossing the street, talking to strangers. When we give them away in marriage, it becomes our job to protect their marriage....even if that means from us! Protecting their marriage means we give them respect as a family and let them grow together, and not expecting our children to always be available to meet our needs.

I really enjoyed how the author, Robert Wolgemuth, made the book personal by using stories, good and bad, of letting his own two daughters go. His story of purchasing a dining table for his daughter is a reminder that none of us are immune to doing the wrong thing in regards to our grown children. I have relayed several stories from the book to my daughters in hopes that we will remember to put into use what was learned from this book - several years from now!!!

I would certainly recommend She Still Calls Me Daddy to anyone - Mom, Dad, Grandma - who is realizing just how fast the children in our lives are growing up and are beginning to see a need to simply let go.

My favorite part is when he acknowledges that the young man at the end of the aisle does not deserve our daughter, but that she was first a gift to us and we are simply re-gifting this precious young lady! Did we deserve the gift God gave us twenty or so years ago??? Do we deserve the gift of His Son???

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.....

God's girl, Pamela

Honor and Respect

2009-06-13T08:13:00.007-05:00

This is going to be an odd, transparent blog. See, I have questions! I think I have the respect part down (my Momma can tell me that!) but the honor thing...I struggle with, especially in regards to family.

This last year has been hard on our family. There are things going on in our household that I don't feel the freedom to share with anyone! These same things are causing me to be so emotionally drained that I don't feel I can see straight most days.(no rumors please, my marriage is just fine thank you!)

Add on to that a baby in the house 8-10 hrs a day, plus school, church and all those other 'things' that are just part of life.

I am tired!!!

Now, please hear my heart...I know that God is in the midst of all of this. I see His hand at work in so many ways that I am continually blown away! Have you read Acts lately???
The Vicky Beeching song playing as I began typing sums up alot of my spirit walk...

"You are my strength and you are my song giving me hope and guiding me
on

(chorus)
At all times I will sing of your greatness
At all times I will sing of your love
At all times I will sing of your faithfulness
For your goodness remains and your love is the same at all times"

That doesn't change the fact that I am tired...really tired! Those of you that have raised teenagers know exactly what I am talking about, I know!

So, as the wife and Mom of my particular family, I feel torn. How do I respect the issues going on in my own home and yet honor extended family? I went to bed last night feeling like I just could not give any more of me away for the day, or the month for that matter!

My question to you, my dear blog friends, is not so much for advice but...

How do you show honor?

What are some practical things that you do to let your extended family know you really do love them?

For those of you that are older adults, how do you expect to see honor?

I do understand this is a season in life. I know that soon, the winds will change and life will become a different normal (the sooner would be better, please Lord???)Somehow, though, I need to get through this season and I want to do it well.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and thank you for praying for my family.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow...like blog readers

God's girl, Pamela

Graduation Day

2009-06-10T07:38:00.007-05:00

If you would like to join other bloggers on this Wednesday walk, visit Lynnette's site for all the details.

This will be a short memory post...but a terrific memory it is!!!

The day we have looked forward to for 14 yrs, we held her back a year to mature a bit in 1st grade, and it went by in a flash...just like those 14 yrs feel!

Only one fly in the ointment....THEY SAID MY DAUGHTER'S NAME WRONG!!!! I will admit, she has a bit of an unusual name...but not unheard of. There is also a Hispanic way to say her name - and that is what they did!!! I was MAD!!! MAD, I say!

As y'all know, we love this school!!! They have very rarely said her name wrong! On the most important day of high school, the end, they mess it up! Oh, my!!!

Her former Chemistry teacher was sitting next to me and trying to console me by saying how many names they were messing up. It didn't help...only made me madder for those young people and their families, too!!!

My niece was chuckling at me afterwards telling me that I didn't even clap for CD as she walked across the stage! Apparently, I was too stunned and just sat there saying, "Are you kidding me?" I can see that of myself!

Okay....putting that to rest.....

She graduated #41 in her class of over 470!!! She graduated with honors, a 3.6 GPA, and a Texas Scholar!!! She's my daughter and I am so proud of her and her accomplishment!

The choir sang for the very last time - it is a tradition for them to sing "From Sea to Shining Sea" at graduation. When they finished the song, there were lots of hugs given and even though we weren't close enough to see, I'm sure there were more tears shed.

Now, life moves on. We still have one in high school - she will be a sophomore next year. I'm not sure if life will slow down or not....when something ends, it always seems we find something to fill up that time!

CD's plans are to attend a local community college for a while. She is still seeking exactly the path God would have her to take. Would you please partner in prayer with our family as we seek His face? For the summer, she has her last camper year at youth camp to look forward to and her mission trip to Columbia, which is all paid for!!!

Sorry this does seem rushed...gotta get other stuff done around the house before Miss PD comes!!!

I am definitely one very proud Momma!!!

Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow....like children!

God's girl, Pamela

Six Days in May

2009-06-03T17:50:00.005-05:00

If you would like to join other bloggers on this Wednesday walk, visit Lynnette's site for all the details.

As I've posted earlier, May always seems to be a very busy month and this year has been no exception!!! In fact, it seems to be busier than normal...or maybe it is just all of the emotion going into this time in our lives as parents of a graduating senior!!! Not sure, but there were six days that passed in a blur, yet I want to remember most of them for a long time! We took pictures and even some video and near the end of those days, sleep was very needed!!!

On Thursday night, CD (formerly DD1!) had her final choir concert...as in, this A Capella Choir will not sing together again in a concert setting!!! She has been in this choir for three years and has made some really deep friendships during that time. This year's choir has really gelled and become a 'family' within the school and it has been so neat to watch them work and grow together! It was a choir of 16 seniors....16!!! That is a lot of people that they will have to replace next year! I do not envy the director during that process!

I did cry, I cannot lie. As CD received her rose, I could not keep the tears from falling down my cheeks! I've watched the rose ceremony for 4 yrs now and it was even sweeter to hear my own daughter's name and accomplishments being called in front of everyone!!! The tears really began, though, as they sang a version of the Irish blessing, "The Lord Bless You and Keep You." Knowing that the time was short, many of the students began to tear up themselves and this Momma/booster club president, just could not keep the tears away!!! These kids have a special place in my heart because I know just how hard they have worked to get to this point and to know that after Saturday, the choir will change is a very hard reality...even for me!

Then, we woke up early that Saturday morning to make a trip to Waco for my niece's graduation ceremony at Baylor University!!! It started raining on us about an hour away from home and truly rained on us until graduation was over!!! We were in the auditorium/stadium listening to the rain pound the roof!!! However, to see my niece graduate with honors was so worth the trip!!! I am so proud of her accomplishments! She graduated with a BA in journalism and I know there is an awesome road of life ahead of her!!! GO JD!!!!

The next day was Senior Recognition Sunday at our church...ya know, the new one!!! So, that meant that the trip to Waco was fairly short lived! Thankfully, we have a 10:30 am service and that is the one we attend as a family so we did get a bit of extra sleep that day! There was also a lunch for the graduates so I didn't even have to cook - what more could a Mom ask for???

It was so neat to watch CD's pictures up on the big screen during the slide show. I was a very nice Mom and turned in mostly studio pics of her...except for the one of her and the Beluga whale - I just could not resist!!! The church gave each graduate a journal and the youth pastor called them up one by one to tell what they planned for the next stage in their lives and CD was called up first!!! She was not excited about that part of it but she did so well. She plans to go to community college this fall and get most of her basics then in a year or two head to a nearby university to get a secondary teaching degree! Can I just say, I did not cry that day!!! AT ALL!!! I PROMISE!!!

Then, to wrap up the insanity, we had Bunny's final freshman band concert on Tuesday evening! Both of her high school's bands, Symphonic and Honors, received sweepstakes at UIL this year!!! I would say that is a big accomplishment, but their director expects just that of them, so no one was really surprised! Bunny had been concerned for that night, though, because in practice some songs just were not coming together between woodwinds and brass. But can I just say, THEY BROUGHT IT!!! They sounded great!!! She is in the symphonic band, and will be again next year, so they are only losing a couple of seniors from their section (trumpets). I don't think it will make too big of a difference!

So, that weekend served to let me know that I should have bought stock in Kleenex a few years back! It was so neat to watch my daughters display their talent! It was equally awesome to see my niece and my oldest receive recognition for what they have worked so hard for....graduation!!! I am proud of these young ladies! They each bring their own brand of joy and smiles to our family and I would not trade for anything!

I have no pics right now because my desktop computer keeps acting up so I am doing this on hubs laptop! Just when I think it is fixed, another error box pops up with a different problem!!! Oh well, it's all gonna be okay!!!

Thanks for sharing a bit of the craziness that encompassed six days in May!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow...

God's girl, Pamela

The Noticer by Andy Andrews

2009-06-02T07:32:00.007-05:00

I'm sure you have heard some whisperings about the latest work of Andy Andrews, author of The Traveler's Gift. My curiosity was piqued by just the title. One of my faults is that I miss the subtle things in life. I see what I see and usually don't go any further than the surface. In many ways, I desire to be a noticer.

A Noticer. That is what Jones called himself. I wish I had that same ability. Jones took it a step further, though, and was willing to share what he noticed.

How many times do we find ourselves at an impasse, or a crossroad in life? We truly don't know what to do or even which way to turn. For many of us, that is when we turn to our faith. For a Gulf Shores community, it seems God's answer was to send them a man named Jones - or was it Garcia, or even Chen? God sent who they needed, when they needed.

Jones brought a fresh 'perspective' to each situation in which he chose to involve himself. He had a way of seeing past the facade of a person and seeing into their soul. He would become your best friend, if you let him.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Noticer. From beginning to end, it doesn't seem to be a heavy handed book but by the time I put it down, I had begun to re-think many areas of my own life. Hard, oft times hidden areas. Jones take on worry, for instance, is that smart people worry. To him, our "creative imagination" creates all sorts of improbable situations that lead us to worry. Boy, somebody read my mail on that one!!!

My favorite quote from the book is during a conversation Jones had with a young businessman who had made many wrong choices in life and business. "It may take a long time to decide to change...but change happens in a heartbeat!" In my own life, I need to change some things and quit taking my sweet time deciding to change!

Do you need a fresh perspective? Do you need a faith-filled perspective? I suggest you pick up a copy of The Noticer by Andy Andrews. It won't take long to read but by allowing God to shed some fresh perspective in your life, the results may be long lasting!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....

God's girl, Pamela

A C T S

2009-05-30T20:49:00.007-05:00

I am reading through the book of Acts at the moment...taking my time to really study what the probable writer, Luke, had to say about the fulfillment of the promise of a Comforter. It is amazing to me how God moves by using not only my personal alone time, but also sermons that I hear and devotions that I read to coincide with one another. They seem, at times, to just go hand in hand together!

I was reading a Proverbs 31 devotional the other day (May 22) about God's Messengers. The devotional referenced Acts 6 which I had just been reading. It is somewhat a reference to the fact that we each have a different calling in the Kingdom, but of course there are many nuggets of truth in this passage. What caught my deepest attention was that Stephen was chosen as one of seven men to basically wait on tables! The devotional solidified the fact that Stephen was chosen to serve in this way...as a waiter.

Stephen. The martyr!

In the very next chapter of Acts, Stephen is martyred for freely sharing his faith in Christ. Of course, you probably remember that a man named Saul held the cloaks of the men throwing the stones.

Saul. Who later had THE Damascus Road experience with Jesus. The man who became Paul and wrote 2/3 of the New Testament.

I am having a hard time wrapping my feeble, human mind around the fact of simply serving with such a heart of love that I would be willing to be martyred for waiting tables! Do I really want to grow so deep in my faith that I am willing to lose everything, even my life, for a small act of service? Or even for a large act of service?

If I am willing to grow that deeply, how do I get there? Yes, there is the Bible reading and daily prayer, fellowship with the saints and deepening my personal relationship with my Savior, Jesus Christ. But, I've been doing that for years and I don't feel all that deep into it! If someone asks if I am a Christian, I don't hide it; however, I don't just go up to strangers on the street and share my faith.

Then, I was reading a post a few days later on MckMama's blog and Prince Charming was mentioning that he likes to use the A C T S acronym to pray.

A Adoration
C Confession
T Thanksgiving
S Supplication

I have heard this before, many years before actually. Isn't it neat how God brings us full circle? He reminds us, ever so gently, drawing us nearer to His bosom. This is His promise: Hebrews 10:19.Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20.by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21.and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22.let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23.Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

I question my own life...Do I love deeply enough to serve no matter what the cost? I hope so. God's promises are so clear, why is it so difficult to simply lean into His heart and fully serve?

Do you question yourself, or have you developed such a servant's heart? If you have, I would love to ask some questions of you. I know that God brings so many areas of life into focus at just the right time. Maybe, this is my time.

Thank you for letting me share from my heart.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.....

God's girl, Pamela

I Am Wrecked

2009-05-13T06:30:00.016-05:00

If you would like to join other bloggers on this Wednesday walk, visit Lynnette's site for all the details.

I am doing this as a Wednesday's walk because this is a fresh memory that will linger for many years in my spirit. Oh, my friends, I am fully wrecked at this moment. I cannot yet say it is in a good way. However, I firmly believe in Romans 8:28! It says "ALL THINGS"!!!

A gentleman and his young son were found dead Friday morning in a park that my girls and I love to visit. They were members of our church, and even though we did not know them, we chose to stand with the body of Christ and attend the funeral yesterday.

Here is the link to the news story: Deaths at Ranch 111

Now, for my thoughts.

We did not personally know this family. We have only been a part of the same church since December and since Brody was his oldest child, we never had the opportunity for our paths to cross. Today, I am thankful for that.

I simply cannot fathom the hopelessness that would lead a father to take his son's life and then his own. Only God knows what was going on the in waning hours of Matt Knapp's life.

I listened intently as Matt's testimony of leading so many people to Christ was shared; first by his boyhood pastor that is now a staff member of our church, then as his brother shared his unique views of Matt's life, and lastly by our pastor who has known Mr. Knapp for a couple of years and watched him leading the young boys in Bible study faithfully on Wednesday nights.

Someone very close to me once attempted to take her own life. Even though it has been many years ago, I have found myself drawn back to memories of that time as God redeemed her precious life and has given her many more years to praise His name and live for Him. I would not have thought it possible, but I am even more thankful now that God spared her life than I have ever been.

The church was full....standing room only, truly. I know each one of us was comforted by the words of Mr. Knapp's boyhood pastor when he said, "Don't judge a whole life by the one act that ended it."

Romans 8:37-39
37.No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
38.For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
39.neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I will choose to hug my babies a bit closer tonight. I will choose to be thankful for the precious husband God has given me. I will choose to love. I will choose to follow Christ.

What is your choice?

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....

God's girl, Pamela

PS If you have time, please read my previous post about my daughter's unexpected award given at her public school for her faith ! Thank you.

I'm a Very Proud Momma!

2009-05-08T06:05:00.006-05:00

Let me begin by saying, I love our DD1's public high school!!!!!! Love it!!!!

As most of you know, we are wrapping up her senior year! She has attended the same school all four years and is the president of NGSTRONG this year. In so many ways, we have been blessed all of these years by teachers, coaches and other students. Many of my Facebook friends came from previous classes at her high school!

We knew she would get two graduation awards: Texas Scholar and Honor graduate. She has worked hard for good grades and is ending her high school career with a 3.5gpa. That is all any of us were expecting...oh, and the top student in their class is graduating with a 4.75gpa!!! INSANE!

We were totally BLOWN AWAY by the goodness and grace of God, though, at last night's award presentation!

BLOWN AWAY!!! BY GOD!!!

When we were walking in, they gave us a sheet of paper that listed all of the various organizations that would be presenting either cash awards or scholarships to students. It was a long list, y'all! Dear Hubs looked at me at one point and asked, "Do you think she will get one of these?"

WE HAD NO CLUE!!!!

Before they began giving out those special recognition awards, they introduced the special people that were there representing families or companies that offered the recognition. The Craig Bennett family was asked to stand, his Mom, Dad and sister. We were told their son had been a football student at the high school in the early 90's and was tragically killed in a car accident the summer of '93.

Within a few minutes of beginning the awards presentation, one of the school counselors called our daughter's name. She was sitting near us and we all looked at her as she walked down, in disbelief. What was she getting? No one even told us about this being a possibility!!!

As she walked on stage, the counselor said our DD1 was receiving the Craig Bennett award. He explained further that Craig had been a strong Christian man, with deep morals and values that he was not afraid to share at school. Our DD1 was chosen for this small award because of her unwavering faith! He mentioned to all those in attendance last night that our daughter, God's precious daughter, was this years president of NGSTRONG and had lived out a life similar to Craig's!!!!

SHE WAS AWARDED, IN FRONT OF HUNDREDS, FOR HER FAITH!!!!

She is definitely more humble than me....I could have never been given such an award for the fact that pride would have taken over!!!! God knows the heart of my firstborn and has seen fit to lavish her with this very precious gift!

Can you say TEARS!!!! We were all tearing up! We have watched her walk with God through so many struggles during high school. We have prayed over teachers, students and coaches over the years. WE HAVE BEEN BEYOND BLESSED!!!!

If you want to stop reading right now, please do. I am about to crawl way up on my soapbox and share!

Dear Hubs and I are graduates of a Christian high school in our area. We could never have been used in the public school arena because of our attitudes....we really know very little about what it means to be in public school. When we moved into our home 12 yrs ago, we knew the high school was close and were a bit concerned about living so close to the school. We enrolled DD1 in our old school, partly because that was what we knew....that is where we were comfortable!

Then God moved!
DD1 did not do well in first grade at our alma mater...first grade, y'all. So, what is a Momma to do? Well, I prayed! And God began to pull me out of my boat of comfort. I felt a tremendous stirring to enroll DD1 in the elementary school in our neighborhood, the one right behind the high school. I thought, surely, this was my own small way of thinking. God could provide a Christian school for her, including the finances....if that was His will!

Can I just say that we never have known exactly why this is God's calling on our children's lives. NEVER! There have been a lot of tears and sleepless nights over things going on in their lives and most of those start at school. Many times, I have said if they could only be in a private school, things would be better. Many times, I have been wrong!!!

His will, the God of the universe, y'all, desires for my children to go through the local public school system.

The beginning of DD1's sophomore year, God stirred deep in her heart to pray for her basketball team. I mean really pray, not just throw them up before the Lord and go on her merry way. She really put hours into praying for each one of them, and the coaches.

It would have been really nice for all of us, if those prayers had just been answered during the course of that year. But, as most of you know, God does not work on our time....He has His own time table. That year, she became co-captain of the JV basketball team...at the behest of the coach, not the team. Many of her teammates were angry that the position went to her, and they were not silent about how they felt. While we were so proud of her for following through with what the coach asked of her, we could feel a portion of her pain as we watched her cry over games, players, everything!

Then, the end of her jr. year, she came in one day and said she was feeling God was asking her to not play basketball her senior year. Can you say broken hearted??? She had started on the team her freshman year...three years straight. She had invested so much time in this area of her life, while upholding a great gpa and being part of the honor choir two of those years!

God spoke! And my precious daughter listened.

This year has been a roller coaster all it's own! NGSTRONG has taxed her limits of leadership...those under her are high school students - can you imagine??? For the second time in high school, she has taken an advanced class, but not taken the final exam for college credit. We changed churches in the middle of the school year. She has matured. In her spiritual walk, she has greatly matured.

She knows she wants to work with young people in her career. Right this moment, she is not sure what that looks like. She had a plan, but now feels God calling her down a different path. Out of her comfortable boat.

Many of her coaches, teacher and counselor's have been unwavering Christians. I know they hold their students up in prayer. You can feel it when you walk in their classrooms or office!!! They love their students because they love God more.

We need Christians in our public schools! My daughters have seen much more of life than I had at their age. Some of it, I will be honest, I would have preferred they waited to see. However, through all of it, God has held the hearts of my precious children. God has a plan for their life, and it started in public school!!!

My soapbox is that if you feel God calling you to put your child/ren in the area's school system, don't be afraid of it! Do what God is calling you to do. I personally know it is not easy but this moment, I would not trade these years for anything!!!

My heart is full. I am a very proud Momma. I am a very grateful daughter of our King.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.....

God's girl, Pamela

My Nephew

2009-04-22T07:25:00.003-05:00

If you would like to join other bloggers on this Wednesday walk, visit Lynnette's site for all the details.

My parents are blessed with 5 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren! Of those 7 children born to me, my sister and my niece, two of them are boys! Yes, only 2!!!

The oldest of those boys, RB, was born on the Ides of March my sophomore year of high school, while we were studying Julius Ceasar!!! I thought that was so cool! It has always made it easy to remember his birthday...even if I do want to forget just how many years have passed since then!

The youngest of those boys is brand new to this world! He turned one week old yesterday! Congratulations to my precious niece on adding to her family!!!

Various circumstances have led to the fact that I haven't really shared much of life with either of these young men. It has sometimes been a hard lesson to learn that what we expect out of life is not what we always get! I would have loved to have had a relationship with RB, my nephew, since day one...but now, I will take what I can get. Realizing it takes both of us to communicate but only one of us to close that door, I pray that this time, I won't be the one to close the door.

So, a couple of years ago RB and a couple of his friends came down to visit with his Mom for a few days. I'm glad he brought along friends because down here, hubs is the only male in the family....and he was busy working that week! I cannot imagine what it must look like when all 5 of us girls are together - laughing, giggling, making high pitched noises!!!! I can imagine even less what it would be like to be an only male in that group!!!

We ate lots of food...'cause that's what you do with family!, played Dance Dance Revolution until we could not breathe, and stayed up way too late! But we had fun! One evening, RB and I decided to go for a drive and see other parts of our fair city that he had not yet visited. We came to an open field that is used for motor biking and mudding on the weekends , across the street from one of mine and Sissy's childhood homes . The field had really deep ruts all around and it leads to a creek bed...where my Sissy and I played as children!

It was just the two of us out in that field...an opportunity for a memory! Even though he was in his young 20's, he was still such a kid at heart out there in the middle of nowhere! He was trying to pretend to be tearing down trees with this little branch that he found on the ground! He was talking of making a fire and fixing up whatever he caught on his hunt that day! He was re-living boyhood moments...with me!

I have been privileged to raise two girls. They have their own fantasies..about princes and dresses and forts made with sheets and pillows. And while I have also been a teacher, I've not spent much actual playtime with boys...I simply don't know how they operate! I saw that night as a memory-making time with the boy that I never had the opportunity to know!

Isn't it neat how God gives us special moments...especially when we aren't looking for them? Redemption for a lost relationship. Redemption at the foot of the cross.

I heard from RB recently. I know he needs prayer. I know God is holding him tightly!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.....

God's girl, Pamela

PS...I love to receive your comments. I would also love to visit your blogs. Miss PD makes it impossible to spend time on the computer so it may take awhile before I actually get to visiting yours. Thank you for your patience! Thank you for visiting!

The Ripple Effect

2009-04-18T07:40:00.003-05:00

Just in case you were wondering...I am feeling much better!!! Almost fully like myself again!!! Now, though, my poor Sissy is fighting it!!! I did not pass it on, the dr. is telling her it is viral and she will just have to let it run it's course! That is apparently why it has just been so hard to shake! Thank you, Lord, for your grace during this time of illness!!! I ask that you, my bloggy friends, please pray for my Sissy and my FIL - he is fighting off something similar! This illness NEEDS to stop! Thank you so much!!!

Well, I could have written my post about the ripple effect about our being ill and watching those around us deal with our being ill. However, God has a very special way of showing Himself in the details of life...and I'm not really a detail person!

As many of you may remember, DD1 is president of the Christian organization at her high school. Each organization must have a sponsor and she has been blessed with two wonderful teachers to sponsor hers! Today, I want to encourage myself (and you) in watching how God works over the years of our lives...day by precious day...to further His kingdom - even using school sponsors!

We met Coach Wilson last year when DD1 began dating the then president of the organization. There was a youth gathering that DD1 had been invited to by her boyfriend and when we pulled into the parking lot, there was a truck full of teenage boys in the back....and I do mean full!!! And I swear, just as many teenage boys piled out of the front of that truck, too!!! DD1 spied her boyfriend (they are no longer together, by the way) just as I realized the driver of the truck was headed my way. I rolled down my window and he kindly introduced himself. Very humble, nondescript, did not even identify himself as a sponsor of the club, only as a coach!

I did not think much of it.

When DD1 began her senior year, she was asked to lead this same organization. As parents, we have been so proud of her as she truly seeks to lead her peers through the halls of a public school with Christ as their true guide! Through her leading the club, we have also gotten to know just a little bit more about Coach Wilson.

Fast forward just a little bit as we began our search for a new home church. I had passed a church last year when Bunny was going through her worst time that I got very excited about. I could not explain to you why but I felt really drawn to this particular church. When we finally made the decision to make the move, hubs and I drove by one evening on the way home from somewhere, passing right by the church. We saw several vehicles out front and he pulled into the parking lot. This was a Monday night, I believe. Both girls had fallen asleep in the back of the van and were not interested in visiting a new church at this point!

The church doors were open, and my fearless hubs began walking down hallways...me following closely behind! We found the youth area and began looking at all the pictures and activities listed on the bulletin board!!! They were a busy youth group! The pictures were of so many different people, not the same one or two in each shot....I was impressed by that!

Hubs and I began to talk and walk toward the front of the church, and when we came around the corner we saw a lady apparently locking the doors we had recently entered. Poor thing, we scared her so badly when my hubs simply says, "How are you doing tonight?" The foyer is large and she had not seen or heard us come around the corner! She quickly recovered, though, and began to answer our questions about the church and ask questions about our family and situation.

Well, wouldn't you know it!!! God had a plan! The lady we met was Natalie...the admin for the youth pastor and leader of the freshman girls small group!!! Bunny is a freshman this year! When she asked if the girls were with us, we told her they were resting in the van outside and she asked if she could come meet them. Natalie was so full of energy and was very passionate about her work. When she met the girls outside, she asked them where they went to school. Come to find out, she is an alumni of DD1's high school!!! Very exciting stuff for me to watch God work!!!

We made the decision within a couple of months for the girls to visit their youth service when our former church was not meeting. We were making the move more for the girls (so we thought then!) so this seemed a fairly logical decision.

When our girls came home that night, they were so excited about the youth group! It was larger, the youth pastor showed a passion for the students and the small groups were a hit with my girls....being split into grade and gender when our previous youth group only had 3 girls in the whole high school....and two of them were mine! It became clear within a few weeks that we needed to fully make the move as a family.

Shortly after the move, we realized our new church home was part of a movement called I Am Second. We had seen ads and heard radio spots for it but had never really looked into the movement. So, I sat down at the computer one night and began to click on people's pictures on the site to hear their testimony. One of those people was Natalie!

As I listened to her testimony, I heard a very familiar name...Craig Wilson from high school!!! We soon learned that Coach Wilson and Natalie's Craig Wilson were one in the same! Craig had shared Christ with Natalie in high school, then they went their separate ways but both ended up right back here in our town...serving God in their own unique way! Both working with teenagers!!!

I have watched Coach Wilson have a very positive affect on DD1 as she has hit some pretty rough patches this year. (yes, part of life!) I have watched Bunny grow in Christ under the loving care of Natalie. And when I look back just 15 yrs ago, these two people walked the same halls and served the same Lord!

Can you imagine the people that will be lined up in heaven to welcome these two precious people home??? I know that Natalie is not the only life that Coach Wilson has touched, but even if she were....his crowns to throw at Jesus feet would still be so many just because he invited Natalie to touch the hem of Jesus garment! And Natalie's life....she touches teens each and every day for the cause of Christ!

God set a plan for my family in motion many years ago...when I was home with two little girls in El Paso! He raised up a teenage boy to courageously share his faith at his high school and He raised up a teenage girl to hear the word of the Lord from this same young man! And look at all of them now...serving our risen Savior and furthering His kingdom!

THANK YOU, LORD!!! Ps. 145: 3,4 Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts.

As far as I know, Coach Wilson will still be reaching teens at the high school next year. Natalie has changed positions, she still leads the freshman girls small group but is planning on serving the Lord in Ethiopia one day in the near future. These two precious people will continue touching lives for the glory of God. I know because of their position in my girls lives, that my girls will also be a light to shine to all men and 'tell of Your mighty acts'.

I am looking forward to watching the continuing ripple effect!!!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!!!!

God's girl, Pamela

PS...I'm sorry this is so long! I really am working on not being quite so wordy! Thank you for visiting and please feel free to leave a comment if you are moved by this post. Thanks!

walking down the aisle with a scraped knee

2009-04-15T08:00:00.004-05:00

If you would like to join other bloggers on this Wednesday walk, visit Lynnette's site for all the details.

I am so sorry to have been away for so long...and yes, I know I am only apologizing to the two people that read my blog on a somewhat regular basis - and I really do love y'all!!! Remember, I said I was getting a bit sick?? Well, turns out I got really sick! I am finally slowing down on the coughing and was even able to host the family Easter lunch here in our home!!! This annual lunch gathering includes both sides of the family...his Mom and Dad along with my sister and niece. This year, we were also privileged to have Casey join us from the Honor Academy! It was definitely a blessed Easter! And yes, church was absolutely awesome!!!

Mom, Daddy and DL, I miss y'all something terrible! I wish we could spend some sort of holiday together....that is what I'm praying for and that it would be SOON!!! I love y'all!!!

Okay, now that I have that out of the way, are you ready to share a memory from a very long time ago? The occasion was the day of my sister's first wedding...circa April 1981! I cannot even fathom it has been that long ago since I was a 12 yr old girl!!!

We traveled from Texas to Middle Tennessee during Spring Break to attend the wedding. We had only moved to Texas 6 months earlier and still had many friends and family in the Middle Tennessee area that she wanted to be at her wedding. This basically meant, for a 12 yr old, that the comforts of 'home' were left behind right before an important life event...I was not exactly happy about that part of it!

In Tennessee, we stayed with friends in a newer subdivision, but remember, this was the early 80's and the road was still not fully paved around the subdivision....there was still lots of gravel on either side of the 'road'! And the gravel was the rub!!!

While I would not consider myself a tomboy, I did enjoy spending time outdoors - especially when a bicycle was handy. The family we were staying with had some extra bikes hanging in the shed so I took one as my own that week! The bike riding was my escape from the fast wedding preparations taking place inside!

The family also had two boys a couple of years younger than me - and we all know it is more fun to ride bikes together than alone! We had taken time most days to ride around for a bit and by Thursday, I was feeling very comfortable and confident on my loaner bike! Confident enough to race the oldest boy!!!

As I'm sure you can guess by now, I did not win the race. I cannot remember exactly why, but as we were riding along, I pulled a bit farther into the shoulder of the road than was necessary and went spinning out of control on the gravel! I tore my knee up really well!!!

We were not far from the house so it did not take long for my Mom to come running to the accident! I had landed with most of the weight on my left knee, the rest of it on my hands! I was bleeding from all three of those places and quite a bit! I did try to walk to the house but could not put any weight on my left leg, it hurt too badly!

The worst part? The accident happened on Thursday afternoon and the wedding was going to happen on Saturday!

My Dad finally came and carried me in the house. They ran a bath for me so we could try to wash out all the dirt and loose gravel. It was determined that the cut was not deep enough for stitches so there was no need for medical care. That was fine with me! I was so embarassed to have had the accident in the middle of the day when neighbors could observe what happened! I was a very self-conscious 12 yr old!!!

Thankfully, my dress for the wedding was long and would cover the HUGE bandage I would be sporting! I know in the picture, we look so much like Southern Belles...this was Middle Tennessee, though!!!

I did manage to limp down the aisle and stand by my Sissy as she said her vows. I don't really remember much of the day, other than my limping (self-conscious!!) and being in some pain!

Unfortunately, the marriage did not last. However, I still cannot fathom that it has been 28 yrs ago! My Sissy and I have grown and changed so much since then. She is now one of my best friends in the whole wide world and if I could smooth some of the memories away for her, I certainly would! I look up to her in so many ways...as a friend, Mom, employee, citizen.

I'm thankful that God put us in the same family all those years ago. Don't tell her but I love that she refers to me as "Mini-Me" because I truly have always wanted to grow up to be just like her! I love you, Sissy!!!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....like my big Sissy!

God's girl, Pamela

Answer to Prayer

2009-04-03T07:41:00.002-05:00

Well, you hate when babies are sick but....

The sweet little one that I babysit has been fighting a bug for over a week and the cough was only getting worse. On Wednesday, her nap only lasted 25 minutes...she woke herself up coughing and could not get back to sleep! Her Mom finally got her an appt. yesterday morn and come to find out, she has double ear infections and they are both of the severe variety!

Poor baby!!!

However, Mom kept her home yesterday, started her on the antibiotics and just let her rest. And us? Hubs and I had a chance to TALK without interruption!!! It was awesome!

There were things said yesterday that I can so see God's hand at work....I knew it was there, just life was whizzing by so fast that it was a big blur!

So, for today I will rest in the hands of my dear Savior, knowing that He is in control. I will be thankful for the sunshine - both inside and out! I will contine to look to see Jesus!!!

Thank you so much for your prayers....I was so tired - yes, I got a bit of the bug, too, and that is to be expected. I will be okay in a few days, though!!!

PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW......

God's girl, Pamela

Un-Able

2009-04-01T08:42:00.008-05:00

I am unable to post a new blog today. I had a memory in mind to share with you, my fellow walkers, but I'm just not able.
If you've not had the opportunity, please read my follow up piece to my Morgan story.

I know that God is GREAT...have you read MckMama's post today?

Also, be watching closely! Do y'all remember my friend, Jill's sister-in-law, Melanie from around October? Well, she will be sharing her testimony at her home church on Easter Sunday and hopefully, the video will be available shortly after to share with y'all!

God is doing amazing things!!! I can't wait to see what His mighty hand is working in our lives at this time. Please pray for us...there is too much to share. No one is dying...thank you, Lord, but situations are coming up one by one that we must face head on with God's help and HEAL as a family!

Time is short....I must close.

Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow...yes, I believe

God's girl, Pamela

Oh, dear friends.....

2009-03-29T20:50:00.003-05:00

I have been so moved by writing this letter to Colleen - even after all these years. The tears have flowed freely as I have typed responses and read comments. Y'all have been so sweet to encourage me and Colleen.

Patricia, I do understand what you were saying in your comment and unfortunately, I took the opposite path and did not fully trust God with my girls. Larissa can attest to this because yes, I did freak out recently when our youngest was not at her school where she was supposed to be!

I know that God allows all things for a purpose and reason but this is one situation that I simply cannot wrap my human mind around. As I'm sure you can tell from the letter, Colleen and I have not kept in touch over the years. We are now Facebook friends and hopefully, we can keep more in touch in the future. I'm sure that God has worked wonderful truths in Colleen's life and in the lives of her other children that I simply do not know about.

I know that many view our personal struggle in our marriage as an easy way out...."Why don't you just divorce him?" and they do not understand the larger truths that God has worked into my heart and life by choosing to honor my marriage vows, "For better or worse, till death do us part." I'm sure Colleen can testify to this as well.

I want to close because I feel I have said enough, maybe even too much.

Thank you to each of you for joining me on this particular walk. Thank you for reading and learning about a very special young lady, Morgan Chauntel Nick. Thank you for your prayer support for this family.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....like friends God uses to draw us close to Him

God's girl, Pamela

An Open Letter to Colleen Nick

2009-03-25T06:30:00.002-05:00

If you want to join us on a walk down memory lane, please visit Lynnette's blog to join in the fun!

Now, to share my letter to a friend.

Dear Colleen,

I've taken too long to write this letter and for that, please accept my apology. You played a very important role in my life 18 yrs ago and for that, I will always be grateful! Now, you are never far from my mind as I cannot even imagine the pain you walk in each day.

I was a very young Mom and still learning the ropes of being a wife when we met in February '91 in Grovetown, Georgia. John had befriended dear hubs while in training at Ft. Gordon and within a matter of weeks, DD1 and I had made the unexpected move from Dallas to Georgia. Just like God, He gave me the neighbor that I needed for that season in my life - YOU!

I remember about a week after we met, you asked if I was a Christian. Our conversation ultimately led to me attending church with you. I was raised in a Christian home, attended and graduated from a Christian school - where I met my groom - but had grown apart from the Lord in our two years of marriage. I was already feeling the tug of the Holy Spirit to draw close to Him, and introduce my precious daughter to His love; you happened to be the catalyst for putting my life back on His track.

Your friendship was exactly what I needed in the coming months, as my Mom endured a difficult medical trial that brought me back to Texas for a month. You cried with me when I sat outside after dinner with Mom and Dad, where Mom had gone to put the ice cubes in the glasses but when we sat down, there were no ice cubes in the glasses...they were all stacked neatly on top of the ice tray in the freezer still!

You were the one to first cut DD1's hair, those really long strands that continued to fall in her face. You taught me the value of play as the three of y'all, dear hubs, you and John, ran around the trailers squirting one another with water out of syrup bottles...or whatever you could find handy to hold water!!!

Then, as soon as you came into my life, you moved on...to Kansas. I never forgot you, or the fact that you were the main reason I was back serving our Lord and Savior. I also never forgot Morgan. Her beautiful blonde hair, her precious smile and the adorable way that she asked you for mie-rk....her special way of saying milk!

Life moved on....I talked to you from our next duty station, Ft. Bragg, shortly after Logan was born, if I remember correctly. Then, we lost contact with each other. But, I never forgot you, or Morgan.

What do I remember about that September day? That dear hubs was in the field, had only left a couple of days earlier and was due out for at least 30 days, and the girls and I had gone to do some shopping at Wal-Mart in El Paso. DD1 had just started Kindergarten and Bunny would be two in a few weeks.

It was September, 1995. I'm walking out of Wal-Mart, DD1 walking in front of the buggy and Bunny sat in the buggy seat. I knew that Wal-Mart posted pictures of missing children but it was something that I only rarely noticed. As I pushed the buggy past the board that day, though, I noticed and I stopped immediately!!!

The smile was unmistakeable, the name sent chills through every part of me...Morgan Chauntel Nick. I had always loved her middle name, never realizing it would be there one day for all the world to see.

For the sake of time, I want to mention that you can read all of Morgan's story at this website. She was taken from a baseball game in June 1995, and the story has not ended.

Oh, my friend. I've held my babies tighter and made sure to keep them in sight...they can testify to this and it has NOT made them happy! I simply cannot imagine the pain that your heart feels each day as you awake to this reality. I cannot fathom how you have raised two precious children in the midst of your pain...I think I would hole away until the world righted itself!

You have been so brave, to introduce legislation and speak to so many high up in business and politics. Your love for Morgan has been channeled into helping other families in similar situations. You have never let go of hope!

Thank you, for being willing to speak into my life that February day...DD1 is now a leader in her school and youth group. People know where she stands in accordance with her faith. Bunny is growing in Christ...the teenage years have not been easy for her but she is learning more each day about walking with her Savior.

DD1 gave her heart to the Lord in 1999 and Bunny this past January. Our marriage has seen struggles, but with the grace of God, we have survived and thrived. This is only one of the crowns that you can lay at the feet of Jesus when that day comes. Because of your testimony, we are a family of Christ followers!

Your sister in Christ,

Pamela

"It's only one date, Dad"

2009-03-18T17:02:00.002-05:00

These were my words 23 yrs ago tomorrow! I was trying my best to get my Daddy to let me go to the Sports Banquet with a young man from school...but not from our church. And therein lies the rub!

Here's the Story:

GCA's home church, Lavon Drive Bapt.

We were a little more than two months from high school graduation. We had turned in our term papers, knew who our top two graduates were, had all of our money for our senior trip to Grand Canyon, AZ. We were ready to blow the joint!

Until,

On Wednesday morn, March 19, 1986, I walked into my homeroom in which my teacher was a friend of the family. Miss H called me up to her desk and my best friend came up with me...for moral support, of course! Miss H told my BF that she needed to speak with me alone. UH OH! This could not be good, could it? I was sure I had done everything right, I am a people pleaser after all!

Once my BF had walked away, Miss H asked me if I had plans on going to the annual Sports Banquet in April. My answer, 'No'...short, sweet and to the point. I had never gone to the banquet, why would I want to go this year??

She then proceeded to tell me that a boy in the school, not in our class, wanted to ask me to go with him to the Sports Banquet. Okay, curiosity is peaked but who in this little school would want to go to the Banquet with me?

And then, she said his name!

Um, NO!!!! Not happening!

The rest of the conversation went something like this:

Miss H, "Why not?"

Me, "Well, I'm not going to the banquet, I don't care who asks me."

Miss H, "You know, I have yet to grade your term paper?"

Me, "Is this a bribe?"

Miss H, "No, not at all!"

Me, "Okay, fine, I'll ask my Dad and I'm pretty sure he will say no!"

I started going to GCA in the seventh grade. About my freshman year I made the statement that I would never date a guy from GCA....I went to church with many of them and knew them way too well!!! And here we were, two months away from graduation and I'm seriously considering asking my Dad if I can go to the banquet with the 'nerd of the school'...yes, the whole school, y'all!!!

I wrote a note to this young man, telling him that I would need to talk it over with my Dad but I would ask if I could attend the banquet with him. I had Word Processing 7th period and I knew he had Computer Science 6th period. I also knew that his computer was right behind the one that I sat at. Oh, perfect!

All through my 6th period class, choir, I had butterflies! What was I doing even considering this??? I just knew that EVERYONE would laugh at me for going out with him...especially to a school sponsored banquet! This guy never said more than two words to ANYONE and then they had something to do with computers!

The one thing I will never forget was the smile on this kid's face when I handed him my note! It truly lit up the room and I don't remember ever having seen him smile in the whole 6 yrs I had been at GCA! As you have probably figured out, I soon fell absolutely in love with that smile...and the young man behind it!

Back to my story....I went home that night and before my Dad could ever even get home, my suitor was calling me! I told him my Dad was not yet home and he would need to call back later. But, he wanted to TALK...more than the customary two words!

I started thinking maybe he wasn't as 'weird' as we all thought he was. By the time my Dad got home, I was okay with asking if I could go to the banquet with him. Sure enough, though, my Dad made a point of the fact that he went to a church with different beliefs than ours. Christians, yes, but more along the lines of charismatic.

And at some point during this conversation, in my best little girl, "Daddy, PLEASE" voice, I said, "But, Dad, it's only one date!" And this is where my Daddy gave in!

By the time I graduated from high school, we were a couple! By the next September, when he began his senior year at GCA, we knew we wanted to eventually get married!

Y'all know the rest of the story.....although, there are a lot of chapters left to be written by the hand of God! And I hope you will share this journey with us!

Be sure to drop by Lynnette's blog for more awesome memories and maybe even post one of your own.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....

God's girl, Pamela

I Saw Something Awesome

2009-03-13T16:20:00.005-05:00

As we headed into court on Wednesday morn, I could not help but notice the elderly woman just ahead of us. You could tell from her actions that she was maybe more nervous than most of us to be there - unfortunately, she had no one with her for moral support. Her movements were slow; as she was placing her letter on the table, the way that we 'signed in', two people between us got impatient and put their letters down without waiting for her. My Momma would have smacked me to know I had even thought of that...so I didn't. I waited patiently.

She sat at the end of our row and listened very closely as the DA gave his spiel on the different ways tickets could be handled at this pre-trial date. When they offered the paper to fill out for a payment plan, she pored over it and made sure to put something on every line...even getting out her little address book for phone numbers.

We sat through several people telling the DA their story, you could hear most of what people were saying to him because the courtroom is a confined space. Most notable was the first case - a teenage girl that was speeding and stopped by a county officer and given a ticket. Her ticket was dismissed, however, because the officer was in the wrong county!!!

Then, when they called the name of the elderly woman, she once again began her slow move. I will have to say, we had several warm days at the beginning of the week but on Wednesday, the court day, it turned cold and rainy so any one's body would be moving slower than normal!!! She made sure to grab her papers - the one used for your payment plan - her umbrella and her purse. She seemed burden, though, even without all of that!

When she approached the DA, I think tears had probably already started forming. Her offense was the same as mine, an expired inspection sticker, but she had not been able to renew her inspection within the allotted 20 days. The DA was a very personable man and she gained his pity if nothing else. She explained to him that her car would not pass inspection because she needed new tires but could not afford a whole set of new tires. As she was pleading her case, two ladies on the row in front of us were laughing...the more sorrowful her tale, the harder they laughed. I was embarrassed to even be sitting that close to them.

At one point, the elderly woman halfway turned to those of us in the pews and said, "One day, you will be old, too." That should have been humbling but these two ladies continued to laugh so much...kind of like my sissy and I have done at a funeral! A gentleman in the row ahead of these ladies was fed up with their laughter, though; he turned to them and simply said, "You know she is crying?"

The atmosphere changed very quickly, like lightning! The laughing stopped, even though just moments before it seemed they could not stop laughing for anything.

Then, I saw the most amazing thing....one of the ladies took out her checkbook. We could all hear the DA telling the elderly lady that her fine would only be $15 but the court fees she would have to pay would be at least $100. And in a flash, one of the laughing ladies was writing a check....to pay the court fees for the elderly lady!!!

My dear hubs walked out of the courtroom with a heavy heart....he would like to have had a way to buy the lady new tires so she could get her car inspected. However, I think God moved on those He had called out for that day! The elderly lady was so surprised by the generosity of the young lady that it brought fresh tears.

I know that God is always at work around us and sometimes He chooses us to be His vessel, but on this day, He chose a stranger to pay a burden that needed to be lifted. Have you seen His hand move lately?

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....

God's girl, Pamela

My 1st Court Date

2009-03-11T06:40:00.001-05:00

Update at end of post....

What a way to start a memory post, huh? If you would like to share a memory, or just read other's memories, pop over to Lynnette's blog to join in the fun!

I know I've been away for a couple of weeks but life has just really been...well, life! I did start a post earlier in the week but when I looked back over it, the post did not qualify for BYKOTA! So, I'm back for the moment with an embarrassing memory.

Those of you that have followed my blog for a while may remember our financial struggles during last summer. God has been faithful and somehow provision has come...even when we don't see it. We are still behind on several bills but there is beginning to be some light at the end of this tunnel and with God's grace, we will make it through.

Well, one of the consequences of running out of money was that the inspection on my mini-van expired in August - the same month that Miss PD's Mom lost her job thereby causing me to lose my job. The same week that I began babysitting her again in November, I was pulled over by a constable who couldn't help but notice my expired inspection sticker as he drove past me.

Now, the hard part is that this is only like the 3rd time I have been stopped by a policeman in the 22 yrs I have been driving! The first time was for going just a bit over the speed limit (5 mph) and that was in the first five years of having my license. The second was about 7 yrs ago on my way to school, when a policeman pulled me over for not fully coming to a stop at the 4-way stop in our neighborhood.

Those first two times, I was quickly on my way with a warning to slow down and a warning to make sure I completely stopped.

The third time, though, was not the charm....this time he issued me a ticket! Since we've not had the money just lying around to pay the darned thing, a court date was set for today...this morning at 8:30 CST. We are praying that we will be able to at least start a payment plan, if not get the price of the ticket lowered.

So, if you are reading this on Wednesday morn, would you please say a prayer for me and for the judge. I want it to be fair, I really do but my first ticket in 22 yrs of driving???

I know that one day, this memory will probably make us laugh...but it is not right now! My stomach is an absolute bundle of nerves, and that is okay because even Jesus had a moment of fear as He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane and He cares about my fears, too.

"Lord, not my will but Yours be done"

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....

God's girl, Pamela

God is so good...ALL THE TIME!!! As I said, this was my first court date and come to find it was only a pre-trial hearing. I didn't even have to mumble 3 words to the DA because I laid the inspection receipt, dated the same day of the ticket, on the table in front of him. I was only charged 1/10 of what the fine would have been if I had so desperately wanted to avoid this date that I went ahead and paid the ticket!!! 10% - as in a tithe!!!! Ain't our God so good???? He knows our financial situation so well that He stretched our faith - and nerves! - and took care of 90% of the ticket!!!
I know this is the same that any other person would go through but it just feels so good to give the glory back to my Savior because He orchestrated every move to this point. Someone in my family has learned a lesson in humility, someone has learned a lesson in submitting to a husband (a-hemm!!!) and we have both learned to lean on God even more!!!!
God is SO good, thank Him for the blessings of life!!!

Serving and Hospitality

2009-03-06T08:32:00.003-06:00

Several years ago, we decided as a couple to open up our home by inviting people in for Sunday lunch. It didn't work like we wanted it to. Our girls were still small and I was working outside the home at that point. What does that have to do with it? Well, I am a messy and I was not comfortable with that part of me enough to say, "Please come to see me and my family and be blessed, just don't look at the house." This is a very difficult area for me....I desire to be accepted and have felt like I needed to be perfect to get there! Including a spotless house.

We did have several families over, it just became the same families, the ones that I knew were okay if they found a toy under the table, or something else very out of place. However, I did notice that several families mentioned that their children were so comfortable in my home - maybe because they could play without someone picking up behind them?

So, now we are part of a different church, a much larger church! My girls are much bigger and understand a bit more of what I am asking - starting around the age of 8, they began to ask why the house HAD to be CLEAN to invite someone over! And even though I still work, it is from home so housework doesn't get put to last on the list!

We are ready to open up our home....starting last Sunday! We had a family come over that the husband works with the youth home group our girls are in on Wednesday nights. They have two younger girls and we had fun, except for their youngest who was bored! I tried to get my girls to bring out some old toys...like the marble track, but that didn't go over well. But, my sweet came to the rescue and put in Wall-E for them!

For tonight, I have invited my sister and niece over for some Friday night pizza and a movie fun! And, we've invited a young couple over for Sunday lunch....no younger kids for mine to entertain! I am really looking forward to it.

My girls and I sat down the other night and wrote out a list of who all we want to have over and it is over a dozen families! I am excited! I love being hospitable...even though I stink at it! I enjoy being able to bless folks with a good meal...not healthy, but good!

So, this morning, I am reading in Luke and I come across a verse that really speaks to this part of me....but I will be honest, I am probably taking it totally out of context!

Luke 16:9 TLB I tell you, use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. In this way, your generosity stores up a reward for you in heaven.

For me, I would rather touch people's lives right here in my own backyard, if you will, than to just be happy sending off money to some organization and hoping they do what is right with my money. Now, I agree we need to support missions and charitable organizations but for me, this speaks to also using our money in our hometown to make friends. I don't make friends when I send in a check to a faceless organization.

I really like making friends! I also like making friends from different parts of the world and hope that by writing this blog I am doing just that. I know I can count a friend in Michigan and one in Japan and a precious young lady in Lindale and I hope that I can count you as well. However, I'm not gonna spend much money on y'all....the best friendships are free!

I guess the whole point of what I am trying to say is that I desire to be a blessing, and using the home that God has given us to do just that. So, if you ever plan to be in the North Texas area, drop me a line and if you wanna see me and not my house, please stop by and say Hi! We can share God's love over a big ole glass of sweet iced tea!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....

God's girl, Pamela

Please continue to pray for Sean

2009-02-27T15:16:00.002-06:00

I apologize for my lack of true blogging lately...life has been a bit hectic around here, but I wanted to pass this on.

Here is the latest from his sister, Tara. Sean is in the hospital in Ft. Worth, about 60 miles from us and we have simply not found a way to get over there to see him.

Hey Friends - Just a quick update on Sean. He is still in the hospital but out of ICU - Thank you Lord!! If you were to go and see him your first thought would be he is all good but his mind is just not there. He is in need of therapy but w/out insurance the hospital is having difficulty finding a rehab that will accept him unless he is able to pay it up front. Please pray that something will work out soon as he is ready to get out of the hospital. He is struggling w/anger because he is not able to reason. We do know this is normal for brain injury - he needs therapy. For example my gum smacking was bothering him (nothing new), he didn't know how to ask me to stop but instead got angry about it. We are not at all getting upset w/him because we know that he does not know what he's saying. A couple prayer request - pray for healing in his brain - complete restoration. Of course we think we know what's best and exactly what he needs SO could you please pray that no matter what we keep our eyes on the Lord and know that His perfect plan is already in place. MOST IMPORTANTLY the Lord knows EXACTLY what Sean needs. I continue to be blown away at your text, e-mail, encouragement and most importantly prayer throughout this whole process - THANK YOU from all my family!!!

GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME especially in the things we just don't UNDERSTAND!!

Love - Tara

Please continue to lift up the whole family. Also, please pray that Jehovah Jireh steps in quickly in the case of rehab. Thank you so much.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.....

God's girl, Pamela

Fat Tuesday and Lent

2009-02-24T19:00:00.003-06:00

HHMMM, interesting title! Are you observing Fat Tuesday or Lent? How do you celebrate the days?

As I'm sure most of you know by now, we absolutely love our new church and are so thankful for the places we have come to find rest there....including my girls in a youth home group. Well, one of the home group leaders has encouraged them to celebrate Lent this year....and one of my daughters will.

Now, in the past, I would have traveled a similar road so that we could do something 'spiritual' together. Not this year, though. I am choosing to not celebrate Lent by giving up anything!

Why?

So glad you asked (>;

There is really nothing God is impressing upon me to give up for 40 days. If I had to absolutely choose something to give up to spend more time with God, it would have to be my blogging (and those I read) or my Facebook. But, these are places where you can share concerns and I can pray for you and you can pray for me, these are the places where I keep an eye on my families electronic world.

So, are you celebrating Lent this year? If so, what are you doing? I will pray for your strength and that you will grow so much closer to our Lord during this time.

Oh, and my jealousy issue...I decided to be a grown-up and contact the lady via a private Facebook message myself. We have started a dialogue and I could actually see us becoming friends in the future. Hubs has still not accepted her 'friendship'...not sure if he will or not but I'm thinking of adding her to my list of Facebook friends! Maybe this Sunday, we will actually see each other at church!

For those of you that partnered with me in prayer, thank you so much. Asking what He would have me to do was the only way to have a fair response for all parties.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....

God's girl, Pamela

Is this jealousy???

2009-02-21T10:29:00.003-06:00

I have shared with y'all before about my precious hubs being a bit unpopular through high school but there was one young girl that had a crush on him for years! She was three grades under him and her sister was in his class and something apparently caught her attention when she was about 7th grade. He did not reciprocate the feelings but she never stopped liking him, even after we had gotten engaged.

I just about watched her heart break 20 yrs ago when I showed off our wedding pics at church a couple of months after the wedding. I remember feeling so empowered that I had proof that he was fully mine!!! It was horrible looking back on it but as a 20 yr old bride, I wanted her to KNOW he was taken and totally off the market!

So, why am I telling you this 20 yrs after the fact, when I have shared how much our marriage has survived and thrived in spite of??? Because this young lady has found his Facebook profile and not only invited him as a friend but left him a private message as well. And since I am such a trusting wife (hahahahahaha! still working on that one!!!), I read the private message since he was still logged in on Facebook on his desktop computer.

It seems that she attends the church that we have recently moved to...do I hear "It's a Small World" being hummed in the background??? Even as big as our little city has grown over the years, we still end up in the same church???

So, I'm not sure exactly what I'm feeling but I really want to let her know that he is still mine and he is not going anywhere! I want her to know that I have stood by him through some really dark parts of life. I want her to know that we have two teenage daughters that we love very much. I want her to know that it is my privilege to be his wife, to walk beside him no matter how rough the path...or smooth for that matter.

Am I the only one that has ever had these feelings??? Please tell me I'm not alone! I don't think I feel jealous, there is nothing to be jealous of....he has not responded to either the friend invite or the pm....but there is something here causing my heart to race a bit and my blood pressure to rise. I have an increased desire to prove to him and those around us that I still love him tremendously and I'm not going anywhere!!!

Oh, my, is this immature or what??? There have been times during our marriage that he has caught the eye of other ladies but my reaction has never been this strong. Perhaps the fact of knowing this young lady has had feelings for him that pre-date mine. Maybe, I'm still jealous of the fact that she was willing to like him in spite of how others felt in school and it took a bit for me to see the real him and like him. I really do not know.

Does anyone have anything to share on this subject? I would really like to hear how others feel about this quandry I'm in. I think I may look her up in church tomorrow...in case you are wondering, her last name has changed but her relationship status is listed as single. And to think that I pressured dear hubs into signing up on Facebook and he finally did it within the last couple of months!

Okay, I am going to close now because I think I could just ramble on quite a while...and I don't want to do that to anyone! Sorry if I've already rambled too much!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....especially my precious hubs!!!

God's girl, Pamela

Time for a Sean update -
He celebrated his birthday with his family this week! What a b-day celebration that must have been! They have moved him out of ICU and have started taking him off some of the medications. Last I heard, he had grown agitated and a bit confused by all the commotion going on but at least he is doing better and we know that God is still working this miracle in his life!

Thank you so much for your prayers and sweet thoughts. The family is appreciative as well, they know that many saints are praying for him and are thanful for that.

I pray your weekend is safe and awesome!!!

I Love My Sissy....

2009-02-18T11:45:00.004-06:00

..and I drink a little but ONLY with her! We both like Irish Cream on occasion...like once every other year or so!!! My memory today is about one of those occasions!

It has been a few years back, since I remember that both of my children were in elementary school! My sister also has a daughter and each of our daughters are three years apart, i.e. now they are 15, 18 and 21. We were over at my Sissy's apt. on a Friday night, watching movies and just being together. Sissy and I had shared one glass of Irish Cream and I had started drinking a Sprite when the party started!

Notice...ONLY ONE GLASS!!! I was not even buzzed...but you will never convince my children!

One of our children came into the living room and did or said something funny! I honestly don't even remember what started the laughter, and my family will tell you that my Sissy and I do start spontaneously laughing for NO REASON!!!

Anyway....I started laughing so hard then tried to reel it all in and take another drink of my Sprite. But, alas, I am so female and once I start laughing it is really hard to stop! So, I took a drink and noticed my Sissy snickering beside me, which wells the laughter back up in me - the one with the mouth FULL of drink! Of course, being such a lady, I tried not to spew all over the living room furniture so I tried to swallow some while making it to the kitchen sink! By the time I got to the sink, though, I was choking so badly! So what came out of my mouth was very disturbing..and I won't go into detail, okay?

My children refer back to this night as the only time they have ever seen their Mother drunk!!! I have told them over and over that for me to have such a clear memory of it means I was sober as all get out!!!

Yes, my Sissy and I do like to laugh and most of the time, we don't need anything alcoholic to start with! Take for instance the memorial service! Once again, not sure what we began laughing at but it must have been funny! It was the two of us and a friend of hers that attended the memorial service together. Her friend could not understand what was so funny and the more we were 'shushed' the harder we laughed! Imagine it: Two 30 somethings dressed to the nines for a memorial service but they keep making VERY rude noises trying to reign in the laughter while no one else is laughing! I'm sure from behind us, it did not look polite or professional!

Our children tell us that if we are in a different room from every one else that they simply cannot tell us apart! They can hear us talking but when the laughter begins, all bets are off as to who is who!

I love my big Sissy because she makes me laugh!!! (even if we don't know why!!!)

I hope you have enjoyed reading about this very special person in my life...be sure to drop by Lynnette's blog to read other memories and maybe even add your own.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....like my wonderful Sissy!

God's girl, Pamela

BYKOTA & a Sean update!

2009-02-17T07:36:00.004-06:00

Does anyone else remember this tag word from your teenage years, or maybe young wife/young mom years??? It has been running through my head quite a bit here lately. So, I'm here to confess and ask you to forgive me....for not following BYKOTA - please?

I have been guilty on here as well as on FaceBook of being absolutely cheeky! However, Ephesians 4:29 says, "Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear." Ouch, that hurts!

The problem is that my family and those that know me on a day to day basis are not surprised by my sarcasm, nor are they hurt, usually! It gets a laugh, sometimes, and many times eases tension between parties - I am such a peacemaker! (that middle child thing, I think!) Some of my dear friends on FaceBook and right here at my blog, though, do not know me personally. And then there is the whole 'tone' thing...how I type it may not be how everyone reads it.

Good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. or read! And, folks, I really do desire to serve your needs right here on my blog or through an FB friendship. That is why God has designed us to be a body of believers, to fill each others needs according to His grace.

Now before you shoot me down, I know that Christ is the only fulfiller of ALL our needs but He asks me to be an encourager and a mercy-giver and I have let down my guard here lately and not been much of either. Once again, I am so sorry, please forgive me???

Also, now that this is out on 'paper', would you please hold me accountable? If you see my razor blades start glinting in the SON, please remind me to BYOTA. Cause sometimes, I don't listen....hmmm, could that be my humanity???

So, do you remember BYKOTA?
Ephesians 4:32a

Be
Ye
Kind
One
To
Another
(KJV)

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....

God's girl, Pamela

Update on Sean
Sweet Friends - Your continued prayers are carrying us through - Thank you!!! I wanted to give you a quick update on the MIRACLE man!!! He is still in ICU wanting to sleep alot and very confused. He does know us and is still his sweet self. The nurse said she wished all her patients were just like him. He does not like to sit up because he feels dizzy and his neck hurts but they want us to make him try. We are still waiting to see when the next CT scan will be, I asked before I left tonight and she said the dr. hasn't given orders for one. I think they feel his swelling is going down because of his progress. He is still in need of your prayers, I continue to tell him how many people are praying for him all over the world. The nurse said the doctor told her he is a MIRACLE - the doctors had already called in the people to meet w/Leticia about donating his organs. WOW - GOD IS GOOD!!! We are so blessed to have each and every one of you praying - he is still in need of much prayer. They are planning to move him out of ICU in the next few days. His b-day is this Thursday so he told me he wanted a white cake w/lots of chocolate frosting. He also requested a GOOD dinner as he gagged on the sweet potatoes my mom tried to make him eat!!! THANK YOU LORD for every day waking up knowing the LOVE of the FATHER would carry us through!!!

My whole family thanks each and every one of you for your prayers.

Love,
Tara

Praise the LORD!!!!

2009-02-15T11:07:00.002-06:00

Instead of doing all the talking today, I'm just going to post the latest from Sean's sister, Tara:

Sweet Friends - WOW - Sean is a MIRACLE. He is breathing on his own and is off all sedation. He is a little slower in his responding to us but THANK YOU JESUS he is responding. He ate a little lunch today and actually got up to go to the bathroom w/some help. They are going to move him to another floor sometime tomorrow. What a journey, it has truly increased our faith to see how God does answer prayers in such a way that we could have never imagined. I'm so indebted to each and every one of you for all the prayers, calls, texts and e-mails you have shown all of my family. We serve a MIGHTY SAVIOUR who is there through all things and shows us LOVE that we can't even understand. My brother Ratty and I were talking about how we have never experienced a miracle in our lives and how amazing it is that we EXPERIENCED this one. Thank you for walking w/us and showering us w/your love and sweet words and of course they yummy snacks. GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME!!! Sean has a long road ahead of him - I will keep you posted on his recovery. Please continue to pray as we are not sure about the swelling and where he is in regards to the therapy he will need. We love all of you. Thank you that we serve a GOD who is MIGHTY TO SAVE - He is there through the good and bad times. I'm so thankful he has been there for all my family during this hard time - we wouldn't be where we are w/out His steadfast arm holding us up.

Much love,
Tara

Can I hear a HALLELUJAH!!!!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....

God's girl, Pamela

Please Pray!!!

2009-02-13T08:05:00.006-06:00

I know y'all, my sweet bloggy friends, are more than willing to pray for others and right now, I am so thankful for that. I am coming to you with a request to pray for someone that means a lot in my life...A LOT!

Talk about memories!!! Sean Leetch is in just about every high school memory I have! And I want more memories of him...at our 25th reunion coming up in just a couple of years, as we become grandparents (he'll be first!), and as we just grow old! He is the closest thing to a big brother that I could ever have! And right now, he is in a fight for his life.

This picture of Sean was in either our Junior or Senior year book...this was taken on Crazy Day during Spirit Week but don't let that fool you...he was crazy!!! He was the epitome of a class clown and always brought laughter with him when he entered a room.

He was also a very sweet friend! If I was having a bad day, he had to make sure I was smiling within just a few minutes because he could not stand to see anyone down or upset! He was the one you could tell anything...especially the secrets, because he never told anyone else! NEVER!!!

My sweetest memory of him, though, is when dear hubs and I had just began dating. See, hubs was not popular in our high school....in middle school we had called him some pretty harsh names and by the time we were in high school, he was totally drawn into a shell that no one could penetrate. He was always hanging around the computer room and knew his computer stuff but had never really matured socially because he had been put down so often. Of course, to think of it now hurts my heart because I now love this man so much and I believe Sean Leetch had a hand in that.

Sean and I were Seniors and future hubs was a Junior when the English teacher asked me to go to the Sports banquet with him. My friends in my class were shocked that I agreed to go! Before the banquet even came, though, I had been having phone conversations with dear hubs for a couple of weeks and I was beginning to see who he really was...and I liked him - a little bit! I had told Sean of these phone conversations and, being such a protector, he always made sure things were going okay between us. Sean would come up as future hubs was carrying my books to my next class and ask him how things were going. They began to talk but my future hubs saw Sean as more of a threat than anything!!!

Future hubs then asked me to the formal Jr/Sr banquet - our Christian school's answer to prom - and I then gladly said yes! And, scandalous, I know, but I decided that I would kiss future hubs for the first time that night! I told Sean of my plan and he did all that he could to make sure that I knew what I was doing!!!

Sure enough, May 2, 1986, dear hubs and I shared our first kiss - before we went into the banquet! He parked the car and turned to me and sweetly asked, "Can I have my kiss now?" How could I say no??? We went into the hotel and I think Sean could tell by the smile on my face that we had already kissed because he hurried over to us and asked how it was!!!

That very night, it appeared Sean let up on my future hubs a bit! He no longer was constantly grilling him, he was actually talking to him and you could tell the difference. By the time we went to school on Monday morn, everyone's attitude toward my future hubs had changed...he was beginning to be accepted, because of Sean Leetch.

We have gone our seperate ways, seeing Sean on occassion at homecoming games and at class reunions. He still brings the laughter even though his own life has not been an easy road. His parents still serve tirelessly at the church where we first met, over 30 yrs ago.

And Sean is now in a fight for his life...literally!

No one is sure what happened, and I will be honest, I am very sketchy on the details. However, I do know that two weeks ago, he was rushed to the hospital having been found with a severe head trauma. The prognosis right now is really unsure. His brain is tremendously swollen, but Sean shows progress when he is allowed to come off of the heavy doses of medicine....like responding to his Mom's touch and his sister's singing!!!

Sean is 41 yrs old!!! He's a terrific Dad! He loves those close to him with all that he has!!! Sean is a true servant and would give you the shirt off your back if he felt you needed it!

I feel it is time for me to do something for Sean and what I can do at this moment is ask that you pray for him and spread the word that a family in Texas needs prayer. Sean is married to Leticia and they have children. He also has two younger sisters and a little brother that now have families of their own.

THANK YOU!

Hopefully, the next time I sit to type up a post, I can say God has begun the healing process! Hopefully!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....

God's girl, Pamela

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-11T08:21:00.007-06:00

Don't forget, on Wednesday's you can join in on the memories by visiting Lynnette's blog.

Yes, I know it is early but that is the memory that I have decided to share today - so I am only a few days early!

Hubs and I did not get to share our first Valentine as a married couple together. He was in AIT, training for his permanent 'job' at Ft. Sill, OK and I was here in Dallas with my parents. However, that Valentine's day, he was a sweetheart! He called me a few days before and told me to be looking for a package that I could not open until Valentine's! Wait to open a package from him??? Was he nuts???

The post office came through for him, though, and delivered said package on V-day!

What was inside, you say?

Isn't he adorable??? He has our last name imprinted on his pocket, just like a BDU would have in real life, he has a dog tag that says Ft. Sill and at one point in time, he had a BDU cap....it is somewhere between here and Ft Bragg, probably!!! We were newlyweds so this was a very poignant gift for me! I LOVE HIM!!! (the bear and the hubs!)

The next Valentine's, we were up way too early getting ready for hubs to go to the field and I was 16 wks prego! As I rolled over in bed to give him a kiss, I felt our sweet baby moving and invited him to feel. That was the very first time he had felt our baby move, Feb 14, 1990. He left that morn at 5am and didn't come home until the first week of March. No romantic dinner, no flowers, no time together.

After that, all Valentine's tend to run together. We were parents of small children and finding time and money for such a day just became a burden....physically for him, emotionally for me. I still desired the romance of the day, he didn't! Before too long, romance was totally out of the question...making it through the day became important!

Fast forward a few years, we now had one in elementary school and one still at home but I was falling in love with this man all over again and really wanted to share the day in a special way. I set a lovely table with paper goods, heart shaped balloons and red and white carnations. I was very pleased with myself!

Unfortunately, he was not pleased! I never did learn why but when he came in from work and saw the table, he blew a gasket!!! Well, I of course, melted into tears and I'm sure the block could hear the yelling and screaming that ensued...I know my children won't forget that part of it.

A few more years went by, sometimes I asked for flowers or if he would take me out to dinner and sometimes he surprised me by coming home with roses for me and our girls. His take became, "I love you everyday, why should I have to show it on this certain day because Hallmark wants to make money after Christmas?"

But this year, 20 yrs after that first love filled Valentine box arrived at my parents house, he is sharing the love again! Please, meet 'Rett:

And I am feeling very loved!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....

God's girl, Pamela

PS - the storms blew through late last night....just moments after DD1 and I walked in the door from picking her up at work! Most of the damage is north of us but our city got hit hard not too far from us, they have not yet confirmed a tornado and more than likely it is straight wind damage but our area has some clean up to do today. Thankfully, our neighborhood was spared. However, our friends north of the border in Oklahoma are dealing with loss of life this morn due to the same storm system. Please pray for them during this time. Thank you.

4:32 a.m.

2009-02-09T06:27:00.002-06:00

That is what time it started raining at my house this morn.

Downtown Dallas shot.http://www.wfaa.com/cams/victorystudio/

I am a news junkie...or at least that is what my kids will tell you. However, I only watch news a couple of times a day. And since we don't have cable, I am limited on my choices! But, I do watch the local news mainly for the weather!

This is Texas - you never know what you are gonna get!!!

For the past week, they have been predicting rain would come today. For the past week, I didn't believe them! Last night, though, I listened closely and when Steve McCauley said there would be a 90% coverage, I thought maybe we did have a chance....but I never thought it would start so early!

His little graph showed a moderate chance for rain in our area between 3 and 6 am, and a high chance of rain between 6 and 9 am with the system east of us by noon. So, I'm laying there, awake, at 4:30 this morn when I hear a strong gust of wind...about 40 mph....then hear moisture pelting the window! RAIN!

Our area is considered to be in a moderate drought with a strong possibility of being worse as we get closer to summer. We just had a pretty severe drought in 2005, we don't need another one so soon! That is why it was so nice to hear the rain start to fall - even at 4:30 in the morn.

Thank you, Lord, for your rain to wash the earth. Your rain to water our ground. Your rain to replenish our wells (namely our city water supply!). Thank you, Father for your rain that makes all things new!

They are predicting another round in the morning....more severe with the slight chance of a tornado. I will have to say though, that we have lived in this spot for more than 12 yrs now and only had one true tornado scare...THANK YOU, LORD!!!

Well, my girls are ready to head to school so I must close for now.

I pray y'all have a great Monday! And an even better week ahead.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....like water from above.

God's girl, Pamela

Making Memories

2009-02-04T13:57:00.004-06:00

I told you we had a family date to go look at the stars, well we did! Go look at the stars, that is. It was a bit chilly standing up on the hill but beautiful! In fact, we have a few memories from that little hill.

You see, in the Dallas area, they have man-made lakes. This particular one was made in the late 60's and I remember going swimming there with my Mom, sister and little brother way back when. (in the 70's!) On one side of the lake, there is also a Baptist encampment and I have been to that a few times as well. But the little hill is closer to our house than either the swimming beach or the camp, and still close enough to the 'country' to be dark enough to see the stars!

The little hill is close to the dam so water can be at all different levels on the other side of the hill from the road...you really never know how much water you will see till you crest the hill. We went and stood on the hill, surveying just how dry the lake was a few years back during a drought. We went back out a few months later, during a heavy spring rain to see just how full it was getting. We've gone there just to look out at the water during the cold months...dreaming of warmer days ahead yet dreading 100 degree days ahead!

So, Friday night, we went to the little hill to look at the stars! Boy, were they sure bright! There were no clouds in the sky and even though I don't know all the names of the star formations, dear hubs is always willing to share his knowledge with the girls...and we could see lots of formations! Venus was also shining very bright near the western horizon and there was a crescent moon just beginning it's descent.

We didn't stay too long, the wind made it really cold standing out in the open and that close to the water...the shore looked to be about 20 ft from where we were standing.(about normal) Just being together, able to laugh at something funny, to be there to help someone down the little hill, to learn all the different formations that are a very small part of His creation. To think that God knows each star by name, and we could only see a few of them!!! Those are the memories I carry away.

All too soon, my children will leave our home and begin to make their own memories. All too soon. I don't ever want to stop making memories together, just adding people to the group....men who love God and are sold out, children learning from their parents and grand-parents.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow...family and memories!

God's girl, Pamela

Don't forget to pop over to Lynnette's blog to view more special memories.

Y'all are so sweet!

2009-01-31T19:06:00.002-06:00

Thank you so much for your sweet comments! Many of you have been married for just a few short years...don't worry, we are just getting started, too...and it was just so heartwarming to know what I already knew - we do not walk this road alone!

My congratulations to GrandmaKathleen and Karabeth...they have survived more than 30 yrs with their respective spouses - now that is commitment!!!

I love what Mrs. Mazza said, "...God has the power to use ANYTHING, to get his point across...a burning bush, a talking donkey, or a marriage cross-stich." This was a totally new perspective for me and I love it!!! Yes, He certainly got my attention that there was nothing I could do to salvage our marriage. Only He could do that!

I'm going to wrap it up now...hubs keeps calling while he is driving home from a clients and I can't think, type and talk all at the same time! And since I obviously love him more than y'all....well, gotta run!!! He is planning to take us out to look at stars tonight...how romantic can you get on a Saturday night!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....

God's girl, Pamela

A Broken Memory

2009-01-28T06:56:00.003-06:00

Today I'm going to share a memory of a very difficult time in our lives as husband and wife. I'm not sharing to elevate our marriage or seeking sympathy or trying to make anyone feel bad. I am sharing because I feel God would have me to share this particular memory to encourage another young wife in her walk. And because this memory shows just how awesome our God is!!!

After 20 yrs of marriage, I have learned that most every marriage hits a brick wall within the first 10-15 yrs that humanly speaking, seems impossible to overcome. These times usually come when you have small children...and that adds a stress of its own! But, what I have seen is that God usually allows these times to grow us up into Him and into who He is calling us to be. Some of you know, though, it is really hard to walk through those times!!!

I KNOW WE ARE NOT ALONE!!! If you are walking through a hard time in your marriage right now, please know that YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!! Not only is God right there, holding you every step of the way, but a lot of marriages around you have walked through something so similar. If you need help, please search out someone that you can talk to and lean on in order to possibly save your marriage and your sanity!

I'm not saying that every marriage is salvageable...that is simply not true. However, God's grace is there just for you to hang onto, no matter what happens in your marriage and your life! Knowing just what we have walked through, I have a soft spot in my heart for marriages and I would love to see them all continue...but I know that is not always possible. No matter what is going on in your life, you are in good hands as long as you are in God's hands!

Okay, now for my memory:
In the mid-90's, God began to reveal heart issues between dear hubs and I that we could either ignore and kill each other, or deal with and continue to love one another...and did it ever get rough to actually live in the same house!!!

Christmas 1994 - the girls were 4 and 1 and life seemed simple, not easy but simple. I knew what our days looked like and I loved being a Mom of young children. However, like I said earlier, God was beginning to reveal deep heart issues...and it hurt.

By late '94, I had realized that my dear hubs was running from the hand of God! I was also beginning to realize that my marriage could not survive without leaning on God and His word! One Sunday morning in January '95, I was getting me and the girls ready for church and hubs was sleeping soundly in our bed....and I do mean soundly! It bugged me that we were struggling to make it through the days together and yet he chose to sleep on Sunday morn...and that is where I found hope - in the community of church and digging corporately into God's word.

We lived in post housing at the time, a 1940's duplex that had a long hallway from which you could look from one end of the house to the other. Standing at my bedroom door, I could look down the hall and see all the way to the outside wall of the dining room with no obstructions. On the outside of the dining room wall was a small storage room connected to a carport. I know this is a boring description but if you can follow this, you will understand just how big God was on this particular day!

On this particular Sunday in January 1995, I was walking from my bedroom to the girls to begin getting them ready for church...only a few steps away....but before I could even get to their door, I watched as our wedding cross-stitch, made by my Mom, literally jumped off of the outside dining room wall! I heard the crash before I could move my feet down the length of the house - a very loud crash for a simple 8x10 photo frame! There was a picture right next to this frame that DID NOT MOVE at all! To this day, it is still a mystery to me how this particular decoration simply fell off the wall! We were all on the opposite side of the house and no one, not even the dog, was in the dining area.

When I made it to the mess on the floor, I realized that the glass had shattered into little tiny pieces....lots of them! I simply sat down and cried!!! The cross-stitch itself was fine, only the frame was broken...but it was not just broken, it was shattered. I thought, "This is what has happened to my marriage. Our marriage isn't just broken, it is shattered." The reality of that broke my heart into those same little pieces! As I sat there in my tears and sorrow, I felt God say, "Yes, this is what your marriage looks like and there is no way that you can just glue the pieces back together. But I can!!!"

Then God gave me a verse. It had been used in our wedding, along with many others, but now that we had been married for 6 yrs, it started to make sense in living daily life...not just a flowery verse at a wedding.
Matthew 19:6 So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.
As I went through that week, I found myself meditating on my verse. As a young bride, I had heard that verse warning others to not try to tear apart our marriage. That week, I began to see the verse in a different light...let man not separate. This didn't just mean others, it also applied to the two of us!!! I began to realize that if anyone could tear apart our marriage, it was us!!! Our selfishness, our past wounds, our stubborn pride! Those were the things we needed to guard against...things of ourselves!!!

Present day - we just celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary on Dec 27!!! I love this man more now than I ever could have imagined on our wedding day! It is truly a privilege to be his wife!

The road to this point was NEVER easy!!! We have both had to learn to give up those icky parts of our hearts and let God bring in the new attitudes that He had for us. Hubs now attends church with us and while it is not always perfect, he tries very hard to be the spiritual leader of our home. I could take the easy road and tell you what HIS problem was that almost destroyed our marriage but that would not be fair....he was not alone in that! I had some really deep wounds myself. Some places in my heart that God had to expose and heal and boy, did that hurt some days!

WE ARE NOT PERFECT!!!! We still have days that we struggle with those old hurts and attitudes! We still argue...sometimes selfishly! Please hear me, the only way that we could have made it here is with the hand of God guiding our steps! With God holding our hearts and our hands, we can give each other the grace needed to make it through those rough days!

The cross-stitch??? Well, I never did put it back together! It resides in one of those boxes in the garage. I know it is there!

Would I trade those struggles??? NO WAY!!! It is during these struggles that I have learned to lean even more on the arms of our Lord! It is because of my imperfect humanity that I see so deeply my need for our Savior!

I pray that you have been blessed today. I know this was not an easy read...it was really hard to write! However, I pray that you will be encouraged to hold onto your faith and hope in our precious Lord...He is always right by your side, no matter what you are walking through!

To read more memories, some very light-hearted, please visit Lynnette's blog.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....like my marriage and my dear hubs!

God's girl, Pamela

25 Random Things

2009-01-27T08:44:00.002-06:00

I have been tagged on Facebook so thought I would just go ahead and put this up here as well....kill those two birds with one stone, you may say!

1.I am still learning to lean on the arms of Jesus. Pretty sure this will be a lifelong process!
2.I count it a privilege to be my dear hubs wife.
3. I have loved every bit of being a Mom!
4.I love chocolate...I'm a true chocoholic!
5.I used to like picante sauce on everything...until I had baby #2, now I'm all about the sweet!!!
6.In my lifetime, I have lived in over 30 houses. I lived mostly in the country until I got married! Now, I drive through the "country" to breathe!!!
7.I had my first baby in a German hospital. I did love my midwife there, though!
8.I had my second baby in a military training hospital....vast difference between the two!
9.I delivered both sans epidural....not by choice!!!
10.I look more like my Mom's side of the family.
11.I married a true Texan...born here, raised here.
12.I love mountains...especially the Smokies!
13.I am a bit of an extrovert....depends on the situation!
14.I love to read.
15.I love to watch pro football!!! Go Cards!!!
16.I 'love' too many things!!!
17.I make greeting cards...I like to encourage people in their daily walk!
18.I have a friend that used to work for a high-end coffee place and she would give me a pound of coffee every so often, so now I am pretty much a coffee snob!
19.I love working with babies and early childhood education.
20.I am a messy!!!
21.I got married when I was 20 and have been married for 20 yrs!
22.I love my house! It is perfect for my family!
23.I am a romantic! Hopelessly!
24.I have to eat breakfast...otherwise, well you don't want to know.
25.I am a middle child and I'm from Tennessee...that should explain it all!!!

Y'all have fun! Stay warm and careful on the slick roads.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....

God's girl, Pamela

When life hands you lemons, what do you do???

2009-01-23T10:06:00.005-06:00

I know I said I would post this yesterday, but I ended up having Little Miss PD for 3 hrs longer than originally thought and after that...I just could not think anymore! So, sorry!!! But here it is!

I am just getting to 'know' Karabeth, a pastor's wife, from being part of the Wednesday meme sponsored by Lynnette and was VERY surprised to learn that she had given me an award for a blog post that showed great attitude/gratitude. This is so ironic to me because I can remember a day not too long ago that I would have been last on a list for great attitude/gratitude! Okay, so it has been 10 yrs or more but still, that hasn't been all that long.

Isn't it amazing, though, when God gets hold of our heart, not just a pastor preaching and convicting our mind or our parents yelling at us or a policeman giving us a ticket or getting demerits in school...well, y'all know what I mean! When the Holy Spirit zones in on a particular piece of my 'personality' and asks me to change...how can I say no??? (okay, so saying no might seem easier sometimes!)

That is what He did with my attitude...the stinky one! Now, as I am typing, I am concerned that I might just get a big head for confessing that I AM OVER THIS ISSUE so let me just say right now....I AM A SINNER SAVED BY GRACE and I still got a long way to go to look like Jesus!!! I still have my days where it is easier to complain, easier to yell, easier to just be icky...and those that know me, I am sorry for those days - please forgive me?

Anyway, thank you very much to Karabeth for making my day a little brighter and visiting my blog.
There are rules for posting this award and they are easy to follow, but follow you must! (see, I can still be bossy!)

1.Put the logo on your blog or post.
2.Nominate at least 10 who show great Attitude and/or Gratitude.
3.Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
4.Let them know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5.Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received this award.

Now that that is out of the way and you know a little more about me.... My nominees for the Lemonade Stand are: (in no particular order, of course!)

Marianne Johnson. An awesome woman of God with 3 very special children!
Micah Johnson. Marianne's oldest and a young mighty man of God!
Amy Haas. A friend of Marianne's that lost her youngest daughter last summer.
CaseyMay. A young lady that just blesses me to pieces with her love for our Lord!!!
Charity Lehmann. A lady that knows trials but knows Who holds her hand.
Larissa. One of my first blog friends. She is a Marine wife.
YAMS. Not sure how to give them this award, but they do deserve it. Melanie had a very rough Autumn but is on her way to full recovery!
Abigail Kraft. I'm just getting to know this young lady as well but her spirit through loss shows just how much she has learned to lean on Jesus.
Spring Fricks. This writer has done nothing but bless our family since we met in Dec. via blogworld!
Carolina McCurdy. What can I say? She is the most amazing woman of faith that I know. I can only wish I knew the Lord at 18 the way that she does. I could go on and on but drop by her posts and you will see what I mean! (yes, this is my daughter - my DD1)

I hope y'all can and will take the time to read through some of these blogs. God shines through in the lives of these ladies and I am blessed to be a part of their world...even if it is via computer!

Thank you for your patience, once again. Hope your weekend is blessed. If you get a chance, please pray for our church youth groups FOCUS weekend - that young people would be blessed and grow deeper in their walk with God.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....like blog friends, new and 'old'!

God's girl, Pamela