Thanksgiving

Things I am thankful for: (and I am sure I will have to add more things as I think of them)

1. God's never ending grace and my salvation through the blood of Jesus.

2. My family---husband, children, extended family, and friends as well.

3. That I live in the U.S.A. and the freedoms that entails.

4. That every day we have our basic needs met. While we are struggling financially, we always have a roof over our heads, food to eat, and a car to get us where we need to go.

5. Silly as it sounds...my pets.

6. That I have been given the opportunity to further my education to become a teacher.



Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!!

It's Basketball Season

I am just so excited that basketball season is underway again. We are going to 2 games this week. HURRAY !

GO Wake Forest Demon DEACONS!!!!

Season's Greetings

It is hard for me to believe it is less than a week until Thanksgiving. We will be heading to Georgia for the holiday. My husbands family is very large. Both of his parents come from families with 12 children. Instead of trying to get everyone together for Christmas, they have a HUGE Thanksgiving dinner with all the family. Typically we have about 75 people gather at the family home. So, every year, that is our destination. It is wonderful to see all the cousins catch up, see how much children have grown, and just for everyone to spend time together.

I have not EVEN started Christmas shopping yet. That is very unusually for me, but we just haven't had the money. Every time I look at the shopping list I made I get anxious, but I know it will work out.

This weekend should be quiet. We don't have the kids so we plan to get a few things done, but mainly rest, relax, and snuggle. I don't like the short days of winter, but I sure love the perfect snuggle weather at night.

We had an interesting dilemma this week. Apparently, my stepson has been talking with his mom about his fears about the Rapture. His mother is Methodist and honestly, quite ignorant about most Biblical things. A few nights ago she said something to the effect of, "Your church is filling his head full of nonsense about this Rapture thing."

We finally discovered that he had just heard another kid at church asking questions.....over 3 months ago. Far be it from me to understand how a kid's brain works and why this has come up now. But, we did research to show him that there is nothing to be afraid of. He seems to be OK now. He thought when/if it happened we would all be swept up to heaven and separated to never see each other again. The problem is going to be, as the kids grow older, the differences in what our churches teach. I guess we will just take it one step at a time.

Below is what I prepared to give to his mom so she will have any idea of what we told him....also for her own knowledge. I hope it sounds ok.....

The Rapture.

The term comes from the Latin verb rapture, and the Greek word harpizo, both meaning "to be caught up" or "to be snatched up." Jesus will "snatch us" out of harm's way.

The word "rapture" does not occur in the Bible. The concept of the Rapture, though, is clearly taught in Scripture. The Rapture of the church is the event in which God removes all believers from the earth in order to make way for His righteous judgment to be poured out on the earth during the Tribulation period. The Rapture is described primarily in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and 1 Corinthians 15:50-54. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 describes the Rapture as God resurrecting all believers who have died, giving them glorified bodies, and then departing the earth with those believers who were still alive, who have also been given glorified bodies. "For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever" (1Thessalonians 4:16-17).

1 Corinthians 15:50-54 focuses on the instantaneous nature of the Rapture and on the glorified bodies we will receive. "Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed - in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed" (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). The Rapture is the glorious event we should all be longing for. We will finally be free from sin and in God's presence forever.

George Huff

Do you remember George Huff from American Idol 2 seasons ago? He finished in the top 5. Anyhow, he released a Christian CD a few months ago and today was at our local mall doing a lunch time concert. My mom and I went and he was GREAT. That man has been blessed with an obvious talent and the gift of entertainment. I was very impressed with him as a person and well has his singing abilities.

If you would like to check out more about him or his recent CD, his website is:

http://www.georgehuffworld.com/

She's making a list...checking it twice...

Ready or not the holiday are now upon us. Time was flying by before, now it is going to seem like a sprint to the end of the year.

We had the kids start making their Christmas lists today. After all, we have to coordinate with 4 sets of grandparents, as well as our ex's. It is never too early to figure out who is planning to get what.

Chelsea, our 13 year old, wants an iPod or MP3 player. I think I understand the difference, but not sure what it better. Is an iPod compatible with most computers & downloaded music? Is an iPod or a MP3 player better? How big of a memory do we need to invest in? ( we are counting pennies, remember? )

We just got back from a weekend trip to visit the in-laws in Georgia. We used to make it down there once every other month, but as the kids get older, we tend to get busier. The last time we were down there was for Memorial Day weekend. WOW! But, it was very nice. While not exactly a vacation, time away from home is always nice. Now tomorrow it is back to the rat race until Thanksgiving.

Also....Tim's work has a rather formal Christmas party every year in uptown Charlotte. They are getting us a room for the night so we don't have to drive back so late at night. Anyhow, I have outgrown all of my nice dresses...any suggestions for where to get a nice dress without spending a fortune. I saw a few nice things at Ross, but nothing I just "had to have".

Enjoy this beautiful Autumn week everyone.

John 20:21 Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." 22And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit."

Dancing with God

When I meditated on the word Guidance, I kept seeing "dance" at the end of
the word.

I remember reading that doing God's will is a lot like dancing. When two people try to lead, nothing feels right. The movement doesn't flow with the music, and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky. When one person realizes that, and lets the other lead, both bodies begin to flow with the music. One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back or by pressing lightly in one direction or another. It's as if two become one body, moving beautifully. The dance takes surrender,
willingness, and attentiveness from one person and gentle guidance and
skill from the other.

My eyes drew back to the word Guidance.

When I saw "G: I thought of God, followed by "u" and "i".

"God, "u" and "i" dance."

God, you, and I dance.

As I lowered my head, I became willing to trust that I would get guidance about my life. Once again, I became willing to let God lead.

My prayer for you today is that God's blessings and mercies be upon you on
this day and everyday. May you abide in God as God abides in you. Dance
together with God, trusting God to lead and to guide you through each
season of your life.

And I Hope You Dance!!!!!!!!

Basketball Season

I did think of something positive! I am thrilled that basketball season starts today. In fact, because my stepson is sick, I'm skipping class to take the other kids to the first Wake Forest game of the year. HURRAY!

Silence, PLEASE!

It has been a while since I have posted. Have you ever gotten to the point where you are so tired of constant noise that you just need silence...even from your own self?

Perhaps it was because I was raised an only child, but the constant chatter and bickering of my kids gets to me some times. And not only the kids, but life in general. Between our family, work, school, my own hobbies...sometimes I just need a break. I run out of things to say and really don't want to think about anything.

Hey...Does anyone else know how it came to be NOVEMBER? I mean...it seems like it was just spring and now Christmas is less than 2 months away? How does time pass so quickly once you become an adult?

I am home today with a sick child. He has a tummy bug, which will hopefully pass quickly. However, while we have learned to contain most illness to one child, the tummy bugs seem to always go through each of us. Sometimes twice. (UGH) I have class tonight and Tim is supposed to be taking the kids to the first Wake Forest basketball game of the season. But, with one sick.....not sure what we will work out yet.

I have about one month left in this semester of school...and I am so glad. About this point each semester I start getting burned out. I get bored, put off assignments, and have a hard time paying attention in class. I start each class with a bang and go out with a fizzle.

Ever felt like you were in a state of decay? I started a part time job as a church secretary about 2 months ago. I really like it and felt like it was where God wanted me to be. It was the only job offer I got. Anyhow....I am just not making enough money. We are getting further and further behind on all our bills. I know God doesn't want us to be struggling financially (again. But, I am not getting a sense from Him as to what I should do. Look for yet another job? Work 2 jobs? Go back to work full time? And if so, what about school? I guess that is another reason I haven't' been posting....kinda depressed & anxious about that aspect of our lives right now.

Well, that is enough for today. But, I am going to challenge myself to come up with something more interesting and positive to post in a day or so.