A weekend of laughter and tears! - Women of Faith

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....

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!

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

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.”