Don't Quit

Love this picture!

Found this today and just had to post. It came at the perfect time, so many tough things going on right now.
Don’t Quit

When things get wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you are trudging seems all up hill;
When the funds are low and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh;
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.
Success is failure turned inside out;
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt.
And you can never tell how close you are
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit –
It’s when things seem worst that you mustn’t quit.

“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Women of the Word

I was so excited when I opened my email to see that I was the spotlight on Living on Love and Cents,My Slice of Sanity, ONE + ONE = FOUR, and Flutterbys and Frogs for Women of the Word Wednesday! This is a great way to bring God into our lives, lift each other up in prayer and give each other encouragement and support.
This is an especially hard week as Sunday, January 30th marks the 1 year anniversary of my brother's death. This week has also been filled with joys that I am trying to enjoy while also preparing for a sombering day. Monday the 24th I turned 30, ironic that I am 30 and my brother died on the 30th. My wonderful friends and I will be doing dinner next week so I am very excited to see each of them as it is hard to get together in a world full of kids, work, and everyday things. Today, the 26th my oldest daughter turned 5! I brought a cookie cake to school a little while ago and just got back. She shared a birthday party with her little sister a week ago and they had such a blast tumbling. Here are some pictures...

I will leave a verse this week to reflect on that I use to bring me comfort, strength, and peace in the upcoming days. If you are in need of these things I hope it can be uplifting for you as well. It is a simple verse but a powerful one that reminds us just how much Christ loves us.
Hebrews 13:5 “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
I ask for prayer this week for my family as we face this coming Sunday. I will be speaking at the grave for a small rememberance ceremony. I have rewrote the speech about 5 times so far so wish me luck. I want it to be just right.
With Love,

Love Day

1 John 4:16
And we have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him

Facing the Obstacles in our Life

In Joshua 1:1-9 the Lord tells Joshua of his plan for him to lead the Israelites into the Promise Land. I cannot imagine how terrified Joshua must have been when he was put in the shoes of Moses to continue in his task. The Lord promised Joshua that he would be with him just as he was with Moses. The Lord continued to give Joshua reassurance, telling him to be courageous and strong. Obeying all the law, not to turn from it, meditate on it, do not be terrified or discouraged for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you may go.
As I face many uncertainties and huge obstacles to come this year, the challenges I am already facing. Marrital problems that have been escalating, the demands of a job and mother, forgiveness, and the anger I am repressing. I think there is no way I am going to get out of the place I am in. But I have to remember God promises to always be with us.
Joshua 1:9 Be strong and courageous, do  not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."
What powerful words and yet so often forgotten. Always depending on ourselves will only lead to failures which is why we must meditate daily on his Word for the reassurance we need, in order to be prosperous.This is hard to imagine in the midst of the struggles this world brings. We must continuously be reminded and always remember, nothing is to powerful for the Lord, but our own fear and worry reveal the doubts we have.
John 16:33 I have told you these things, so in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble, but Take Heart! I have OVERCOME the World.
If you are in need of prayer, the prayer request over with Ginger and Charlotte is a great place to go and get some encouragement while these ladies pray for you.

Stylish Blogger Award

I had originally started this post on Sunday night but the power in our house went out before I could finish. Then the snow/ice storm hit Atlanta and well here I am now. I referred to my special present I received in my last post and since then I received a second one. My first blog award! I am so excited! 

The ladies over at these oh so generous and lovely blog's The Hickman Four and Undeserving Grace gave me a sweet surprise. I must say many many thank you's to them both. I am very grateful that you thought of me.I didn't know much about blogging before I started but I am so thankful I did. It's a whole different world and escape for me. I have been inspired by so many.  

Rules for accepting this award are:
1. Thank & link back to the person who awarded you this.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Pay it forward to 10 recently discovered great bloggers.
4. Contact those bloggers and tell them about their award

Here we go:

#1. I really need to learn that sometimes it is best to just keep my mouth shut (way more often than I do)

#2. I am a total Type A personality; perfectionist, competitive, impatient, high stress, and I tend to like things done my way. If it is not how I want it, then it isn't right. I will redo something a gazillion times until I am finally satisfied.~which I believe will lead to me having many health problems
#3. Which  also contributes to my complete indecisiveness
#4. I am very forgetful when it comes to personal tasks that need to be done. You can tell me something and a minute later I forget. I write lots of notes or should write lots of notes at home.
#5. I love Christ and know how much he loves me. I just wish to become more like Christ and disciplining myself to be a better example of Him and what he has done for me.
#6. I still have the same friends since high school, haven't travelled very far. I love them dearly and wish we had more time to spend together.
#7. I wish I would have gotten the chance to travel before I had kids because saying "one day" or "some day" doesn't always mean you will be here to see that "one day." The only guarantee we have is what we have already done.

So, I will now pass my Stylish Blog Award to some very special blogs, not only because you have a stylish blog but because the person behind the blog is undeniably stylish too!
I send this out with love and blessings to:
 Love Is Everywhere
 Dunlizzie's Corner
 Pineapples-n-Pickles
All Work and No Pla Makes Mommy Go Something Something
Splendiferous Girls Club

Freckles and Fudge

For The Love of Blogs

Melody-Mae
Pain To Purpose
The Little Lady

What to say, what to do, and what has already been said

I was completely surprised and pretty shocked by something I received when I opened my email after I got home from work last night. At 2AM you really don’t think something is going to put a smile on your face, but it DID and I am grateful. Brought joy to my heart, which mostly happens through my girls but unexpectedly I received it tonight/today. More to come later…
Lately I have kind of been in a null on blogging. I usually have a ton of things going through my head that I want to say but recently I felt that maybe I had been throwing a sort of pity party. I don’t feel my posts have been encouraging but more depressing and dull. I don’t want to be the one who harps on the same thing and talks about it over and over. The kind of person you expect what their post will be about because they are all pretty much about the same thing and it doesn’t really interest you anymore. While the reason for starting to blog was about letting my feelings out in hope of self healing. And it has slowly begun to do that and much more. I have talked to many fascinating women whose stories have also inspired me.
In short, and not to drag this post out anymore, because I know a lot of them can be wordy and long(like I said, lots of things going on in my mind).
I have come across some quotes and verses that have given me inspiration and hope this past week. I am reading the last book in the series by Stephen Ministries * the ones the church sends every few months for those who are grieving* The books go in order by what stage you could be at during your first year after your loss. Well, the last book, I don’t even know if you can really call them books because they are very short, is called Rebuilding and Remembering. Since it is coming upon the 1 year anniversary of my brother’s death in a mere 20 days. Here are a few things I read that brought some comfort which could be applied to many situation’s life has handed you.
Tests of faith, perseverance, strength, and wisdom. Things we often need to be reminded of and as hard headed as we are, embedded in our brains daily.
The opening verse is Jeremiah 31:13 “I will turn their mourning into gladness, I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.” And believe me, when you are to the point where you are filled with so many different feelings you want to explode, he is there to calm your soul and give you rest.
Bob Diets in his book Life After Loss “The anniversary date of a loved one’s death is particularly significant. You will have done something you thought was impossible a few months earlier. You will have survived an entire year without someone who was as import to you as life itself.”
Henri Nouwen Heart Speaks to Heart “I trust in you Lord, but keep helping me in my many moments of distrust and doubt.”
Gary Sittser A Grace Disguised “Out of my pain, God became a living reality to me as never before.” I especially like this one! I now know we cannot fully understand how much we need him without coming to a point where you can’t live without him.
“Death changes us, the living. In the presence of death, we become more aware of life…It can inspire us to decide what really matters in life-and then to seek it” Candy Lightner Found of M.A.D.D. Giving Sorrow WordsAbraham Lincoln “The best thing about the future is that it only comes one day at a time.”
There are many others but like I said before, wanted to keep it short. Doesn’t really look like it turned out that way. So even if you don’t have the time to read it all, maybe skim it and pick out the parts that apply to you. These all do not have to be focused on death, they can apply to any life challenge that will change us whether good or bad.

Comment Love Day

1.) Link Up and Leave a Comment Here Afterwards. If you don't we will delete your link. It's only fair that everyone linking up do this.

2.) Head To The Blog In Front (before) your Comment to leave them a comment on their post. (No Copy and Pastes, Must be something Related to their post) Tell them where your coming from and wish them a good day!

3.) Visit at least 2-3 Other Blogs in the Hop and Do the Same.

4.) Return The Love when you get a chance.

5.) If I find any of you asking for a follow in return, we will remove any comments and links you put on this site. This is not a place where you can go asking people to follow you. It makes people feel uncomfortable and it's not nice. If someone wants to follow you, they will. They will because you were being sincere. This also goes for asking someone to check you out. All you need to do is leave your link after the comment. You don't need to ask or demand things.
Thanks for being here. Jump in and share the love. We like to encourage you to also mention a blog you love in your posts (we like to call them shout outs), it's a great way to get involved, gain friends and readers.

I wanted to show some Love to a special blog and lady over at All work and no play makes Mommy go Something Something. I have found we have so much in common and just love to read her funny, quirky, and put a smile on your face posts. She is a fighter, and an ass kicker! But what a joy she is as a person. Though I have never actually met her, we have shared some special emails. I hope you all will go show her some love and check out her personality. Which ROCKS btw!

With Love,

Learning, enduring, and persevering

For days I have been contemplating what I want for 2011. I knew that there were several challenges that lay ahead and I could not say that it would be an easy year. Not that an "easy" year even exists, we all have our own set of trials that we must overcome. I just already know a few of mine.There were many difficult things that happened in 2010, things I never saw coming. I had such high hopes for 2010. I just knew it would be the best year yet. Instead in it's first mere month, my life completely changed. Life as I once knew would be replaced by much heartache on January 30th. All of my past struggles seemed to grow faint as I now faced a year that would be filled with tribulation. I have often felt isolated, lonely, sad, hurt, and angered on most days. Life as I had known would take me down a path of uncertainty, confusion, strain, and strife. Although 2010 brought with it unbearable things and life changing events, there are some things that I have learned. Some of them things I never wanted to know and some that brought with it many things I needed to know.
* Life is something not to be taken for granted. In a fraction of a second a life can be taken away.
* I realized that I cannot do it on my OWN, I need HIM with each step I take.
* Knowing who God is and having a relationship with him are two very different things.
* Just because one bad things happens doesn’t mean more bad things won’t occur.
* I have a lot more strength that I ever wanted to know but God showed me in him you will have all the strength you need when you actually need it.
* Tears can be a very healing thing.
* Things of this world are merely “just things.” We will never take them to our true home.
* I never really grasped the effects a loss can have on someone, if someone told me about their loss, I never thought much more about it. I just gave them the “I’m sorry” line.
* Over time, those who you once thought mattered, trickle away and you realize they didn’t.
* There is a hole in my heart and I feel a part of me is gone. But I have also been given some new parts.
* You can hurt the one’s that are closest to you. Taking your pain and anger out on them isn’t really going to help.
*There are so many blessings in life we take for granted.
* God is good.
I am sure there are many more lessons to be taken away from this past year. But that might take up a book. These are just a few that I hope to learn from. I mess up often, taking one step forward and two back. Keeping my eyes on God and fully surrendering to him all of my worries and fears will lead me to who he wants me to be. I hope to find my purpose and how to use some of these things to help others. Taking it one day at a time and most often one step at a time. The only book on how to live your life is found in the Bible. I need to use the tools God has given me to heal, trust him, surrender, maintain faith, grow, become more like him, and not always look at the negative but see the positive which he provides. We all must face our maker and what a glorious day that will be, but we are here for now and must make the best of what we have in living out our temporary life here on Earth.
So my verse for this year, the lesson of trust, surrender, and faith. He has allowed me to make it this far, he will continue to give me perseverance
Isaiah 40:31 But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength, They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
With Love,