What A Day!!!!!!

This has been one long day for David, Keely and me. I happened to wake up at 4 this morning, and we had to leave home around 7 to take Keely to Birmingham to University of Alabama Medical Center. My heart is very saddened and hurting for my sweet, precious 12 year old Grand-daughter. Keely has Rheumatoid Arthritis, and it has affected most of her body. In fact today we found out that it has caused some bone damage in her right jaw. We are going to see another Dr. for her to have some injections in her jaw so she does not have anymore damage. To watch your heart, your first Grandchild, being taken to the MRI room crying because they could not let me go with her will just tear your heart out. I know that God's plans are always good, and I do believe we are to give thanks for everything in our lives, but this is hard. I thank God for his blessings on Keely. I do realize this could be much worse, and that we are thankful for. I have faith in God to know that he will take care of my Keely, give her strength, and know that everything she is going through will continue to make her a very strong young lady. I so wanted to take her pain and fear away today! I ask all who read this to please keep her in your prayers. Pray that her anxiety would be less each time she has something done, and pray that God would heal her according to his perfect will for her life. I also ask that you pray that she sees the blessing in this, because when you go to University of Alabama Medical Center, and see all the other kids so sick, you realize that there really is someone worse than yourself. If you are blessed with children or Grandchildren that are a picture of health, be sure to thank God for this. There are a lot of children who suffer each day from many diseases. I pray that God takes care of all of them.May the amazing love of God fill each of your hearts with joy and peace each day.

Local School Puts On Production Of "Grease"

Last night I had the honor of going with one of my best friends, and the one person I have been friends with the longest in my life, Terrye and also her daughter Stacie to see Amanda, Terrye's granddaughter in this play. It was just wonderful! From the start to the finish I was thrilled to see the excitement in those kids faces as they performed for us. Something that really made me smile was to see the young men playing the parts in this musical were loving it. From the young man who played the part of Danny to the guy who played the school geek Eugene, they all were in character and enjoying themselves tremendously. I could really tell these kids had worked very hard. Each one of their faces showed they were into the show, you know really into entertaining us. I love the show Grease, and have seen the movie lots of times, plus saw a production of it put on my adults, but the kids from Clarkdale School made it come alive. Each one knew their dance steps, and they all were in perfect timing together. Another amazing thing to me was the way the guys just sang from their hearts. These were handsome young men, who you could tell were athletics. So many kids do not want to show that side of themselves to anyone, especially peers. I could see that this school has not only provided these kids with an education, but they are also providing them with the right kind of self-esteem. I would also say this comes from the parents too. It really did my heart good to see this. To see kids of today, the 20Th century, being kids. I wonder sometimes if this comes from living in small town Mississippi, or does this happen in small towns all across the United States? I remember being in a musical in high school myself, but I can not remember the name of it. I do remember the fun we had, and the joy it brought to all who saw it, just as last night did for me, and the others there. I would not want to live anywhere else, I do know that for sure. I feel living in small town Mississippi, and living in an area where there is a Church on every corner as the saying says, makes a big difference in people's lives. The smile on Amanda's face made my friend smile all over, and that in itself was a blessing to me. You could tell Amanda was having fun, and isn't that what kids are suppose to do?

Life Is Good!

I am sitting here this morning taking in a lot of thoughts running through my mind. Some are heart wrenching, some are hurtful, some are sad, but when I slow all of that down, all my thoughts turn to good things. As a Mother when things are not quite right in your children's life you feel it, you feel it really deep in your heart. My youngest son is going through a tough time right now. He loves his little girl so much, and I am so very proud of the Daddy he is to her. I could sit here and tell you all the wonderful things he does with her, and for her, but to me the one that stands out is the hugs and smiles he gives her, and the ones she gives him in return. He takes her to Church to learn about God, and at night she already ask him to read the Bible to her. That is a blessing. You know divorce is a horrible thing, it is hurting my son so much, and that hurts me. In spite of this he tells me my faith is strong in my Lord Jesus, and I know that all things work together for the good for those who love the Lord, he tells us in his word. When I have my Grand-daughters here with me, how can life not be good? The youngest, Aubrie, will be 2 in a few days. We are planning a Curious George party, as she loves him. She has really amazed us with her talking. She has been talking none stop for months, and I mean sentences, and remembers everything you tell her. Maggie, the 6 year old, well where do I start. Laughing here!! She is a non-stop ball of energy, who smiles all the time. Her little freckles just shine, and you never know what she is going to say. She told me one night that her Papaw was getting on her nerves! She can make the saddest person in the world smile. Keely, our oldest, and to be honest our angel, has some health issues and that does make me sad. She has RA, and is only 12 years old. She has had to be the bravest little girl. She was a premie when she was born, and I spent a lot of time in the hospital rocking her until she was able to come home. I admit I have a very special bond with Keely. She is growing into a very sweet young lady, kinda quiet now, but I think that comes with her age. When she smiles, wow, the room lights up. She tugs at your heart all the time. You know things can happen in this world that can bring you down, but I have something inside that brings me back up every time. That is a renewing of the Spirit of Christ. In the mist of all these storms, I have a peace, and a joy, that makes life so good for me. How could a person stay down with 3 wonderful little girls loving them? How could a person stay down with the amazing love of God living inside them, and carrying them through? Life is good, it is a journey to the end, and as a born again Christian that end is the beginning of real life. One day when it is my time to go, or when the Lord comes back to earth, I will be with my Lord and Savior for eternal life. Did you read that? ETERNAL LIFE!! The Bible doesn't say eternal death, it says life. I am so blessed, and I realize that each day on this earth things can happen to bring me down, but I stand on the truth, and the truth is that with faith in God there is no way to stay down. Get in the word, read your Bible, so many times in my life I have started a daily time with God, and then got lazy, or allowed something to take that time away from me. I, with God's strength will not stop reading his word. It is so filled with exciting stories, and advice to get through each day. I wish for anyone reading this to just do it! Just spend time with God's word, and in prayer talking to the best friend you will ever have. Ok, I hope I have told you what makes life so good for me. First of all it is the amazing love of God, and second it is the amazing family he has given me. The wonderful thing about my good life, is that you can have it too. All you need to do is trust in Jesus, read the Bible, spend time with him in prayer, and appreciate the family he has given you. This is my prayer today for all who read.

Does Time Heal Emotional Wounds?

I do not want to have a pity party, but I feel like having one. Things that happened so many years ago that you know beyond a doubt when you ask God to forgive you, he did, and he forgets them, but people sometimes do not let you forget. I do not understand why people want to hurt people. What is the purpose, and why would something I did 35 years ago matter today, when this person has nothing to do with it, nor anyone in her family? I cryed today, but I prayed a lot too. I will not let people take my joy or peace that God has given me. Do people not realize that God is in control of everything in this world? Every breathe we take, he allows us to. Yes we can do things that he would rather that we didn't, just like this person has done to me. I am praying for this person, that is all I need to do. I can not do anything but pray, this is what God wants me to do. He tells us we must do as he did, love the unlovely, well that is what I am trying to do. Emotions happened to be what my Bible study is about right now, and hurt, and anger are two I am feeling right now. God says it is what I do with the anger that matters, and God will heal my hurt feelings, I know that. I choose to vent my anger here, and to God, he listened to me, and understands. I also choose to give my hurt feelings to God, letting him give me strength to deal with them,and I know they will go away. I have God in my life, and in his time he will heal this for me too, as he has done do many times in my life. Please have faith in God, he is there and wants to carry all our burdens, that I know, because he is carrying mine right this moment.

God Answers Prayer!

I am so glad I fought through the pain and went to church. It was really a blessing to worship with other believers. Today Bro. Tony spoke about Abram and Sarai and how when God had not spoken to them in years about having a child of their own, they decided to work things out for themselves. When we do that, just as they did in Genesis 16, we have to suffer the circumstances. When decisions are made when under stress, especially life changing decisions, they can be very wrong. He talked about what we should do when we do not feel God answering our prayers. First we need to stay focused on God, stay in his word, the Bible, and pray. Wait on the Lord, his timing is right, ours can be all wrong. The second thing we must do is keep our emotions under control. We can sometimes let our feelings make our decisions for us, and that can lead to really bad choices. The third thing is not to let anger take over. We mush learn to keep our tongue under control. So many times we say and do things in a moment of anger that effects us the rest of our lives. Words can be forgiven just as actions can, but they can not always be forgotten. The main thing is to stay focused on Jesus. Let him guide us, and always wait for his guidance. He will give it to us. God answered my pray this morning when I was able to attend church, and learn more about his amazing love. As we start a new week, in this new year, I pray we all can wait on the Lord, stay focused on him through prayer, and Bible time. God bless all, and please take time to read his word, he has so much to tell all of us.

Asking God For Help With My Pain!

Pain, it is here again this morning! I need God's help to get up, get ready to go to church, and spend the time I so need studying his word with others. If I could say I hate anything it is pain. It works on your emotions, it makes you think you want to just give up, lie down, and never get up. It makes you want to just sleep, well that is what it does to me. When sleeping you do not have to feel the pain. I do not know what has thrown this Fibro into a full attack, but I am praying it will soon be under control again. I have to fight to keep it from taking all my joy away. I have so much to be thankful for, and I will fight with God's strength to keep this pain from taking my joy today. So many things go through my mind when I am like this. That is when pain robs me of my joy. You know when you allow the devil to give you negative thoughts. I sit here thinking I deserve the pain, you begin to think your being punished for something, or that you are just not a good person. Why do I allow pain to do this to me? I have to ask Jesus to help me get pass this point of self pity from the pain, and trust God to know he will take this pain away as he always does. Father forgive me for my doubts, and thoughts. Give me peace to know you love me, and that this pain will soon pass. Give me strength to get ready for Church, and a joyful attitude to give to others I greet today. I ask these things in Jesus name. Amen

The New Year, What Will It Bring!

Last year was a pretty hectic year, but with God's grace and amazing love we got through it. There were some good memories made this past year, and I am so thankful for them. I traveled to California to visit my special friends Dani, Nonnie, Tara, and Justin. I was very glad I went, as the person who brought them into my life Stan, my dear wonderful friend, has gone on to be with the Lord. He and I grew up together in Stonewall, and he was an amazing, wonderful friend. I am thankful to have known this man, and that he shared his precious family with me. I had a wonderful trip, and will never forget the talks Dani and I had. God has blessed me with this amazing friendship, and I am forever grateful to have them as part of my life. I had a problem with my back next and had to have some back surgery. The things that happened in the ER, will forever be in my mind, but I have forgiven the people who were very mean to me there. My foot still is not working, but God had a reason for this to happen, and I accept his good plans for my life. Just as I know Gods plans for Toby's life, and Aubrie's are good. I hate the he and Kristi are not making their life together with Aubrie, but I have seen so many of my prayers answered through this time. I am so glad I have Jesus to give all my burdens to. This past year we found out that Keely has Arthritis, and that was tough to think about, but there again, Jesus carries us through this, just as he has any of our sicknesses in the past and in the future. You know when you think about it, why would I ever want to try and fix any of our problems in this world? God made us, created this world, died and rose again from the grave to give us ETERNAL life, why would we ever not have total faith in him? I a thankful I have him to carry all my burdens to. I have been reading a Bible study about our emotions, and how they can effect us in our walk with God, and with our families and friends. God gave us these emotions to help us deal with life. Last night I was reading about anger. It is OK to get angry, it is how we deal with it that is important. The Bible tells us to not allow our anger to cause us to sin, or say things we will regret. I pray for guidance to deal with any anger I feel this year. I have thought at times I wish I knew the future, but God knows as a human I could not deal with it. So as my sweet Mommy would say, just live one day at a time, that is all we are to do. God's grace is sufficient for that day, and he will take care of the things of tomorrow, that is what his word tells us. What will this year 2009 bring, I do not know, and I do not care to know, but I will live each day with God as my guide, trusting him that I do what would be pleasing to him with that day. I pray all of us live each day with the joy that only comes from the peace of God in our hearts, trusting him to carry any burden that comes our way, and praising him for the blessings he has given us each of these days.