Tonight's post finds me with a heavy heart. I am facing a storm in my life that I am not yet ready to share. Please forgive me. Hopefully I will be able to share with you soon. Know that I covet your prayers. You see, its really easy to talk about His mercy being new every morning, and how He is not at all surprised by the trials in our lives, but it is a different story when you are living it first hand and its your trial and your storm. There are a lot of uncertainties that are before me. It seems dark and I am not sure about a lot of things, but this is what I do know. I know the Creator of the Universe, who placed each and every star in the sky and every grain of sand on the shore, loves me. I know that before my Mother knew I was in her womb He formed me. I know I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I know that He, unselfishly, sent His only Son to die for my sins. I know that He has a plan and a purpose for my life. I know that He has given me a talent to sing and use my voice to tell others of Him. I know that He is always with me. I am never alone. I know that He hears my prayers. I know when I don't know what to pray His Spirit intercedes for me. I know that is able to do immeasurably more than I could ever think or imagine. I know that He may not keep me from hurting but He does keep me from being hopeless. I know that in the midst of the storm He will whisper reminders of who He is. I know that because of Him I can face anything. I know because of Him it's possible to have a peace that passes all understanding. I know that He is who He is no matter where I am. I know that with Him nothing is impossible. I know we must worship Him and thank Him no matter what. I know that I will Praise Him in this storm.
=],
Gracie
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
My Mack Truck.......
Several months ago, I was introduced to a clip off MADtv featuring the character "Bon Qui Qui" working at King Burger. It is a HILARIOUS video and if you haven't seen it, you can search it on YouTube. This video begins with her on the phone telling her friend about a fight she had with her boyfriend and she says, "Girl, I will cut him up". This has become the catch phrase for me and several of my friends at work. When someone aggravates us or is hateful, we will say to each other, "I will cut him/her up". This has been going on for quite some time now and has become quite the joke in our office. A few weeks ago, one of my friends even gave me the world's smallest knife, which is a real knife that is about an inch long (pictured below).
Now settle down, people, this doesn't mean I would literally cut somebody up, it's just a figure of speech.
This morning as I got out my Bible for my daily devotion, I just opened it up randomly. Imagine my disbelief when these were the first words I saw:
In case you can't read it it says:
~~~~Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk. Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:31-32 (The Message translation)
GUILTY!!!! I must admit, I literally laughed out loud. I couldn't even get to the backbiting part because I couldn't get past the cutting part. I knew immediately He was talking to me! I mean how could I not. If that is not a clear message from God, then I don't know what is. It might as well have said, "Gracie, stop with the cutting up stuff-Love, God". I mean, who needs a flashing, neon sign when you have this?
I couldn't wait to get to work and share this with my co-workers. They got a good chuckle out of it, too. We talked about how God works, sometimes without us even realizing it and then other times, like today, by hitting us with a Mack truck.
=],
Gracie
p.s. I have officially retired the world's smallest knife =D
Now settle down, people, this doesn't mean I would literally cut somebody up, it's just a figure of speech.
This morning as I got out my Bible for my daily devotion, I just opened it up randomly. Imagine my disbelief when these were the first words I saw:
In case you can't read it it says:
~~~~Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk. Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:31-32 (The Message translation)
GUILTY!!!! I must admit, I literally laughed out loud. I couldn't even get to the backbiting part because I couldn't get past the cutting part. I knew immediately He was talking to me! I mean how could I not. If that is not a clear message from God, then I don't know what is. It might as well have said, "Gracie, stop with the cutting up stuff-Love, God". I mean, who needs a flashing, neon sign when you have this?
I couldn't wait to get to work and share this with my co-workers. They got a good chuckle out of it, too. We talked about how God works, sometimes without us even realizing it and then other times, like today, by hitting us with a Mack truck.
=],
Gracie
p.s. I have officially retired the world's smallest knife =D
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Weekend Update..........
Now for the best part of D-Now.....
This is our 6th year to be a host home for D-Now. All the sleepless nights, the many miles driven, the food bought, the crumbs and empty cups/cans everywhere, the smelly house, the cold showers, the picture frames and towel racks broken, were so worth it when our youngest daughter, Kylee,12, accepted Christ last night at the D-Now rally. She came forward this morning during worship service to make a public confession and to say she wanted to be baptized. I have prayed for this day since she was born. This alone is the most important decision she will ever make. God is faithful. I am reminded of Isaiah 43:1b which says "...Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by name; thou art mine." I am so thankful today Kylee is His. 12 years ago, without us even asking, God surprised us with Kylee. We had Haley 5 years earlier after many painful years of infertility. We were so thankful God finally answered that prayer that we didn't want to be greedy and ask for another child. We were content with what we had. I'm so thankful God knows what we need, when we need it. Had he listened to my plan, Haley would be an only child. Instead, she has a beautiful, 12 year old sister who is kind, caring and compassionate that also happens to be sassy, and funny, and out spoken (not sure where she gets that from, wink wink). She has brought countless smiles to my face and immeasurable joy to our family. Take a moment and meet the my favorite surprise, Kylee Brooke
I'm thankful for His plan for us. I am thankful He knows, far better than us, the plan He has for us. Aren't we know it all's? Don't we think we have it all figured it out sometimes? Don't we try to tell God how to fix it it? Don't we limit God?Let's don't be content. Let's let God work HIS plan in our lives. I can't wait to see what He has in store for us next. Did I tell you I was thankful Kylee accepted Christ? Yeah, I am =)
Ok, I have a new blog friend and we have been talking weight loss. Over the last year I have lost 70 pounds. She asked for before/after pictures. This is not the biggest I ever got, but this was on my birthday in January 2008.
I decided I was tired of being fat, tired of being the fattest one, and really just tired of being tired, plus my Doctor told me I was fat and had to lose some weight. I eat what I want but I try to eat normally, not be a glutton just because it tastes good. For example, today at lunch I wanted a cheeseburger. Yep, a big, fat juicy cheeseburger mayonnaise and all, but I only ate half of it. I was drinking only real Mtn. Dew's but now only drink water, unsweet tea, fat free milk, coffee, and a nightly cup of hot chocolate (yummy). I'm not a sweet eater normally though I have an addiction to Reese's peanut butter cups, and I would rather eat mashed potatoes than anything. I struggle everyday. I HATE exercise with a passion and would rather do without food than exercise. It has been a VERY slow journey and I still have 30 pounds to go but I'm getting there one pound at a time. I started out in a size 22, needing a 24 but I refused to buy them. I now wear a size 10. This is before and after close-up pictures, well not really an after picture because I'm not finished=)
I have rambled enough. I hope you have a wonderful week!
=],
Gracie
Saturday, February 14, 2009
D-Now
As I said in my previous post, this weekend is being consumed with Disciple Now, aka D-Now. What is D-Now? I'm glad you asked =) Disciple Now is a weekend event our church sponsors for the youth in our church as well as our community. Various people in our church volunteer their homes for the weekend to house kids. Each school grade is divided boy/girl and then are assigned to their homes away from home for the weekend. Count 'em, that is 14 different homes. The kids arrive at the church on Friday evening at 5 for pizza dinner, then move to the sanctuary at 6 for a mini rally. At 7, they head to the host homes, for the night. Once at the host homes, they have a group bible study. We are hosting the 11th grade boys. Why boys when we have daughters? I'm glad you asked =) Girls are TERRIBLE! We were host home to 6th grade girls when our oldest daughter, Haley was in 6th grade and it left me scarred for life. They pair up and yes, they already have their "clicks" formed then. There were a couple that were way too experienced and wanted to educate the others on sex and what they do in the movie theater-which DOES NOT involve watching a movie (IN 6TH GRADE!!!!!!!)and there were some that had decided they wanted to be witches and would only wear black, girls take 48340950495 showers and we NEVER had hot water. From that year on, we have only hosted boys. They are wonderful. Feed them, they are happy. If they fight, they take it outside and roll around the yard a few minutes, and then it's over as if nothing ever happened. Depending on the age you may have to force them to shower, but our 11th graders bathe like normal people. There is a down side in that they are not shy about sharing their bodily functions with you, lol.
This morning they got up, had breakfast, a bible study, and then headed to the church at 11:30 for sub sandwiches. After lunch, we divided up in grade teams and headed to our assigned area of the community for a scavenger hunt. We went door to door collecting nonperishable food items, baby items, school items, toilet paper, etc. Each item has been assigned a point value. Once all the items were turned in, someone is counting them as we speak and the points are added to see which grade wins. (Hopefully 11th grade=)! ) In just these few short hours, we collect enough food to support our local mission center for a whole week. Now, THAT is alot of food. We have just gotten back to the host homes to "rest" for a couple hours. We'll then head BACK to the church for chick-fil-A supper followed by a huge rally. Alot of decisions will be made and alot of lives will be changed. After the rally, a basketball tournament is held to determine who will have bragging rights for the next year. After the game, they will head back to the host homes for the night. I would say to sleep, but very little of that is done by any of us this weekend, lol. In the morning, we will head back to the church for breakfast and then worship together. After church, they will all go back to their homes and their own beds and I will most likely take a NAP, a really long nap! It is an exciting weekend, it is a busy weekend, it is a no sleep weekend, but it is a fun, rewarding weekend that I wouldn't miss for anything. We love these boys. This is the 3rd year we have had this same group. This year we have 12 boys and 2 leaders. That is a small number. One house has 41, yes 41, boys!! Another has 37 girls. We are thankful for our 12, lol. Last I heard there were 250 something 6th-12th graders participating in D-Now. How awesome is that? Well, that's all for now, my 2 hour "rest" period is up. Time to head to the church for supper, and the rally, then (hopefully) to see my 11th graders win us bragging rights at the basketball game.
=],
Gracie
This morning they got up, had breakfast, a bible study, and then headed to the church at 11:30 for sub sandwiches. After lunch, we divided up in grade teams and headed to our assigned area of the community for a scavenger hunt. We went door to door collecting nonperishable food items, baby items, school items, toilet paper, etc. Each item has been assigned a point value. Once all the items were turned in, someone is counting them as we speak and the points are added to see which grade wins. (Hopefully 11th grade=)! ) In just these few short hours, we collect enough food to support our local mission center for a whole week. Now, THAT is alot of food. We have just gotten back to the host homes to "rest" for a couple hours. We'll then head BACK to the church for chick-fil-A supper followed by a huge rally. Alot of decisions will be made and alot of lives will be changed. After the rally, a basketball tournament is held to determine who will have bragging rights for the next year. After the game, they will head back to the host homes for the night. I would say to sleep, but very little of that is done by any of us this weekend, lol. In the morning, we will head back to the church for breakfast and then worship together. After church, they will all go back to their homes and their own beds and I will most likely take a NAP, a really long nap! It is an exciting weekend, it is a busy weekend, it is a no sleep weekend, but it is a fun, rewarding weekend that I wouldn't miss for anything. We love these boys. This is the 3rd year we have had this same group. This year we have 12 boys and 2 leaders. That is a small number. One house has 41, yes 41, boys!! Another has 37 girls. We are thankful for our 12, lol. Last I heard there were 250 something 6th-12th graders participating in D-Now. How awesome is that? Well, that's all for now, my 2 hour "rest" period is up. Time to head to the church for supper, and the rally, then (hopefully) to see my 11th graders win us bragging rights at the basketball game.
=],
Gracie
Thursday, February 12, 2009
TGIF......
Can anybody say TGIF??? I certainly can! It has been a long, long week and I am so glad to see Friday peeking just around the corner. The weekend is not going to be relaxing in any way as we will be serving as the host home for Disciple Now 11th grade boys. Both of our girls will be at their respective host homes for the weekend as well. It will be a busy but fun time.
I was thinking this morning that I am so thankful God is not at all surprised by the trials we have in our lives. They don't sneak up on him. He is not wringing His hands or pacing the floor wondering what in the world He is going to do. He knows the plan He has for us. He knows what we will be facing today, tomorrow, in four weeks, and even in four years. He knows how to prepare us for the things that we will be facing and His mercies are new every day. That means He knows how much mercy we will need to face the trials of the day, and He willingly gives it to us. We don't have to force Him to share, we don't have to beg. He WILLINGLY gave us the best He had. How great is that?
I was thinking this morning that I am so thankful God is not at all surprised by the trials we have in our lives. They don't sneak up on him. He is not wringing His hands or pacing the floor wondering what in the world He is going to do. He knows the plan He has for us. He knows what we will be facing today, tomorrow, in four weeks, and even in four years. He knows how to prepare us for the things that we will be facing and His mercies are new every day. That means He knows how much mercy we will need to face the trials of the day, and He willingly gives it to us. We don't have to force Him to share, we don't have to beg. He WILLINGLY gave us the best He had. How great is that?