Blog Party Like a Rock Star

Ok... well, maybe not like a rock star... maybe more like a 28 year old wife who feels about 38 (sometimes)... especially on days when her class of 8 year old's was extremely rambunctious... only to come home to a disaster (mind you - no kids of her own yet)... then sadly realizes that 9 o'clock seems so late anymore... especially to party like a rock star... :-)

Anywho... :-)


5 Minutes for Mom is hosting a bloggy shindig over at their place--I am not a mom... but decided to join in on the party this year.

I am still kind of new to blogging (haven't made it to my 100th post yet) and am definitely interested in getting out there in the bloggy world. Don't get me wrong- I love my current faithful readers... all 4 of you... but I am excited to meet and be met.


So here goes nothing... Let me introduce myself:

~I LOVE my husband and will be celebrating 3 years of marriage on July 30th.
~I am currently reading Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers and can't put it down. *girls... I know, I know... you told me so :-)*
~Photography and pottery are my two creative passions.
~This is my favorite poem.
~Just as that poem stated... I am a Christian. I realized I was a sinner and needed Jesus to forgive me when I was in the 9th grade. It has been a roller coaster ride since...I am not perfect nor will I ever be. But I do know that I am forgiven and I am seeking to serve the Lord with the life that I am leading. (with His help of course)
~I love flip flops... especially the ones from Old Navy!
~This video makes me cry. (a good cry)
~This video makes me laugh. (hahaha)
~I love ... (yeah...) ya know... the little dots :-) If you read any of my posts... well, lets just say it's an obsession

If you have stopped by, and are joining in on the Blog Party... please leave me a comment and let me know something interesting about you! Yay! I am excited to have new blog friends!

Ok- now for the yummy part!

I have decided to share with you... my new bloggy friends (the old ones as well)... a 'secret' family recipe!

Let me start by sharing with you how this recipe came about... many, many moons ago, when I was a little kid... my mom was attempting to make broccoli casserole... she forgot the rice and whaa-laa! fabulous Broccoli Cheese Soup :-) It is very good... let me know what you think! Ok- that was a good story.

~Melt 1 stick of butter/margarine (yes I know- I didn't lie!?! I never told you it was healthy- I just said it was GOOD!)
~Saute 1 small chopped onion {more or less based on your preference-my preference=the more the better}

~Stir in a bag (12-14oz.)of frozen chopped broccoli- let it cook down a bit. {This past time, we couldn't find chopped broccoli- I mean seriously... I even went and asked one of the ladies stockin' the freezers. She said she didn't think they carried it any more. What??? They had every other vegetable chopped... but not the one I needed- Go Figure! Therefore- my hubby had to use his mad choppin' skills for me... Thanks Hun!}~Once the frozen broccoli isn't completely frozen anymore, stir in 2 (or 3 depending on how cheesy you want your soup- I would wait until after the next step to see if the 3rd can is needed) cans of cream of celery soup (I use the cheap stuff).
~Now here comes the good stuff...stir in a 15oz jar of Cheez Whiz®. The real stuff... not that no-name imitation cheese spread... that won't cut it. Trust me- I've tried...and it isn't worth it just to try to save 50 cents.~Next comes Shawn in a b... oh wait... got a little side tracked. Next comes evaporated milk. How much you ask? Well... it's a taste and see kinda thing. The soup is really thick and rich... so use your own judgement. :-)
Th-th-th-that's all folks! Add a little pepper to taste (or garlic powder like me) and serve it hot with bread. Enjoy!

Thanks for stoppin' by! Go Check out my prize listing...

111 — Arbonne Baby Care Herbal Diaper Rash Cream

Prize details: Rebecca is an Independant Consultant for Arbonne - Pure Swiss Skin Care. Arbonne uses only the best herbal and botanical extracts, oils, fragrances and vitamins. Arbonne’s Herbal Diaper Rash Cream is excellent for sensitive skin. Key Ingredients: Zinc oxide, avocado and peach. (Retail Value- $14.00)

&

93 — An original 5×7 matted print

Provided by: Rebecca’s Originals (my other site)

Prize details: Rebecca’s Originals is happy to contribute a 5×7 print of the winners choice. Available prints have been uploaded for viewing. Visit http://rebeccasoriginals.blogspot.com/ to visit, comment, and make your selection.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As for the giveaways... hummm there are so many good ones.... I don't know! I like prize 106... and...101...110...90... 124

Paid the Price

I received this as an e-mail forward the other day... typically I don't read, let alone open forwards... but I am glad I did this time...


DON'T LEAVE IT ON THE DESK

There was a certain Professor of Religion named Dr. Christianson, a studious man who taught at a small college in the western United States.

Dr. Christianson taught the required survey course in Christianity at this particular institution. Every student was required to take this course his freshman year, regardless of his or her major. Although Dr. Christianson tried hard to communicate the essence of the gospel in his class, he found that most of his students looked upon the course as nothing but required drudgery. Despite his best efforts, most students refused to take Christianity seriously.

This year, Dr. Christianson had a special student named Steve. Steve was only a freshman, but was studying with the intent of going on to seminary for the ministry. Steve was popular, he was well liked, and he was an imposing physical specimen. He was now the starting center on the school football team, and was the best student in the professor's class.

One day, Dr. Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him. 'How many push-ups can you do?'

Steve said, 'I do about 200 every night.'

'200? That's pretty good, Steve, ' Dr. Christianson said. 'Do you think you could do 300?'

Steve replied, 'I don't know.... I've never done 300 at a time.' '

Do you think you could?' again asked Dr. Christianson.

'Well, I can try,' said Steve.

'Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I have a class project in mind and I need you to do about 300 push-ups in sets of ten for this to work. Can you do it? I need you to tell me you can do it,' said the professor.

Steve said, 'Well... I think I can...yeah, I can do it.'

Dr. Christianson said, 'Good! I need you to do this on Friday. Let me explain what I have in mind.' Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room. When class started, the professor pulled out a big box of donuts. No, these weren't the normal kinds of donuts, they were the extra fancy BIG kind, with cream centers and frosting swirls. Everyone was pretty excited it was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend with a party in Dr. Christianson's class.

Dr. Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked, 'Cynthia, do you want to have one of these donuts?' Cynthia said, 'Yes.' Dr. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, 'Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?'

'Sure!' Steve jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten. Then Steve again sat in his desk. Dr. Christianson put a donut on Cynthia's desk. Dr. Christianson then went to Joe, the next person, and asked, 'Joe, do you want a donut?'

Joe said, 'Yes.'

Dr. Christianson asked, 'Steve would you do ten push-ups so Joe can have a donut?' Steve did ten push-ups, Joe got a donut. And so it went, down the first aisle, Steve did ten push-ups for every person before they got their donut. Walking down the second aisle, Dr. Christianson came to Scott. Scott was on the basketball team, and in as good condition as Steve. He was very popular and never lacking for female companionship. When the professor asked, 'Scott do you want a donut?'

Scott's reply was, 'Well, can I do my own push-ups?'

Dr. Christianson said, 'No, Steve has to do them.'

Then Scott said, 'Well, I don't want one then.'

Dr. Christianson shrugged and then turned to Steve and asked, 'Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Scott can have a donut he doesn't want?' With perfect obedience Steve started to do ten push-ups.

Scott said, 'HEY! I said I didn't want one!'

Dr. Christianson said, 'Look!, this is my classroom, my class, my desks, and these are my donuts. Just leave it on the desk if you don't want it.' And he put a donut on Scott's desk. Now by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down. You could start to see a little perspiration coming out around his brow. Dr. Christianson started down the third row. Now the students were beginning to get a little angry.

Dr. Christianson asked Jenny, 'Jenny, do you want a donut?'

Sternly, Jenny said, 'No.'

Then Dr. Christianson asked Steve, 'Steve, would you do ten more push-ups so Jenny can have a donut that she doesn't want?' Steve did ten....Jenny got a donut. By now, a growing sense of uneasiness filled the room. The students were beginning to say, 'No!' and there were all these uneaten donuts on the desks. Steve also had to really put forth a lot of extra effort to get these push-ups done for each donut. There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved.

Dr. Christianson asked Robert, who was the most vocal unbeliever in the class, to watch Steve do each push up to make sure he did the full ten push-ups in a set because he couldn't bear to watch all of Steve's work for all of those uneaten donuts. He sent Robert over to where Steve was so Robert could count the set and watch Steve closely. Dr. Christianson started down the fourth row. During his class, however, some students from other classes had wandered in and sat down on the steps along the radiators that ran down the sides of the room. When the professor realized this, he did a quick count and saw that now there were 34 students in the room. He started to worry if Steve would be able to make it. Dr. Christianson went on to the next person and the next and the next. Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time. He was taking a lot more time to complete each set.

Steve asked Dr. Christianson, 'Do I have to make my nose touch on each one?'

Dr. Christianson thought for a moment, 'Well, they're your push ups. You are in charge now. You can do them any way that you want.' And Dr. Christianson went on. A few moments later, Jason, a recent transfer student, came to the room and was about to come in when all the students yelled in one voice, 'NO! Don't come in! Stay out!' Jason didn't know what was going on.

Steve picked up his head and said, 'No, let him come.'

Professor Christianson said, 'You realize that if Jason comes in you will have to do ten push-ups for him?'

Steve said, 'Yes, let him come in. Give him a donut.'

Dr. Christianson said, 'Okay, Steve, I'll let you get Jason's out of the way right now. Jason, do you want a donut?' Jason, new to the room, hardly knew what was going on.

'Yes,' he said, 'give me a donut.'

'Steve, will you do ten push-ups so that Jason can have a donut?' Steve did ten push-ups very slowly and with great effort. Jason, bewildered, was handed a donut and sat down. Dr. Christianson finished the fourth row, and then started on those visitors seated by the heaters. Steve's arms were now shaking with each push-up in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. By this time sweat was profusely dropping off of his face, there was no sound except his heavy breathing; there was not a dry eye in the room.

The very last two students in the room were two young women, both cheerleaders, and very popular. Dr. Christianson went to Linda, the second to last, and asked,

'Linda, do you want a donut?'

Linda said, very sadly, 'No, thank you.'

Professor Christianson quietly asked, 'Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn't want?' Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow push-ups for Linda. Then Dr. Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan.

'Susan, do you want a donut?'

Susan, with tears flowing down her face, began to cry. 'Dr. Christianson, why can't I help him?' Dr. Christianson, with tears of his own, said,

'No, Steve has to do it alone; I have given him this task and he is in charge of seeing that everyone has an opportunity for a donut whether they want it or not. When I decided to have a party this last day of class, I looked at my grade book. Steve here is the only student with a perfect grade. Everyone else has failed a test, skipped class, or offered me inferior work. Steve told me that in football practice, when a player messes up he must do push-ups. I told Steve that none of you could come to my party unless he paid the price by doing your push ups. He and I made a deal for your sakes.'

'Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Susan can have a donut?' As Steve very slowly finished his last push-up, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 push-ups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor.

Dr. Christianson turned to the room and said, 'And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, on the cross, plead to the Father, 'Into thy hands I commend my spirit.' With the understanding that He had done everything that was required of Him, He yielded up His life. And like some of those in this room, many of us leave the gift on the desk, uneaten.'

Two students helped Steve up off the floor and to a seat, physically exhausted, but wearing a thin smile.

'Well done, good and faithful servant,' said the professor, adding, 'Not all sermons are preached in words.'

Turning to his class, the professor said, 'My wish is that you might understand and fully comprehend all the riches of grace and mercy that have been given to you through the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He spared not His only Begotten Son, but gave Him up for us all, for the whole Church, now and forever. Whether or not we choose to accept His gift to us, the price has been paid.'

'Wouldn't you be foolish and ungrateful to leave it lying on the desk?'

Playing Dress-Up

We have been celebrating Read Across America this past week at school in conjunction with Dr. Seuss' birthday. As part of the week long celebration, we have had a few dress up days at school. In honor of Dr. Seuss' Wacky Wednesday book- we dressed wacky... on Wednesday. :-) The 2nd grade teachers had a little too much fun with this! (One of my students asked me why I dressed up like the tooth fairy- haha)

Then today, everyone was to dress up as a book character. Can you tell who I am? No... try again... no... oh- yup! You got it... Pippi Longstocking! Some of the guesses of my children today were... Ronald McDonald...a clown...The Cat in the Hat... now- mind you that we actually had people dressed up as the Cat in the Hat all week... I don't know what some of my kiddos were thinkin! Only one of my kids guessed it right- and I later found out it was because apparently her mother tried to get her to dress as Pippi.

Anyways... several children in my class came dressed today... and let me just tell you.... one of my students tickled me the most! She walked in with a branch from a bush tied in her ponytail. It had tons of little leaves that hovered above her head. The other kids were making the strangest faces. One student looked at me and asked- "Why does she have a tree on her head?" I just had to laugh. Then she walked right up to me, and as serious as a 7 year old to say... she said.... "I'm the Giving Tree!" It was tooooo cute!!!

Well Hello Storm Season...*UPDATE*

This week, NC recognizes 'Severe Weather Awareness Week'. This includes class discussions on storm safety as well as a state wide tornado drill tomorrow (Wednesday)...

Too bad that that is one day too late! We had (and are still having) some crazy intense storms come through. A tornado watch is still in effect for our area until midnight tonight.

However, the wind and weather was so intense earlier (around 6ish) that we prepared to take cover. All kinds of bells and whistles were going off on the TV. The towns beside and right below us all had tornado warnings and were instructed to take cover immediately. It was scary!

Shawn- being the protector- got out an old foam mattress for us to cover ourselves with if needed. The pic below shows it sitting right outside our bathroom door in case that moment came... luckily- it didn't... and hasn't yet. I will be honest... I don't think I have ever been that scared. At one point- for about 15 seconds- we thought a tornado was coming through... I have never in my life seen rain and wind like that before. Then it just dissipated.

Oh boy... TV just went out... weather channel shows a big cell coming through again.. looks like we are up to a tornado warning now... guess I better go!*UPDATE*

Well...I am still here :-) and as Erin pointed out... I am still connected to the blogging world so everything is going to be just fine.

THEN... as I was going back to add the above update... I noticed that this was my 50th post! WooHoo! (not quite sure what making it to 50 posts mean... but I am excited... maybe some balloons or flowers... or maybe not...whatever :-)

I Won!!! I Won!!!

Ok y'all! I have to brag... I Won!!! I entered my very first bloggy giveaway a few weeks back and I WON! Beginners Luck I guess...Isn't it cute! It is a personalized travel mug. I got to choose the design (pink and green dragonflies of course). Then I got to choose any personalization- initials, name, etc. I have gotten so many compliments...

& it makes me smile :-)

Go and check out ellie bellies for yourself.

You can also enter their giveaways at this blog.

They have tons of cute stuff!!!

I have fallen...

IN LOVE...


no- not with my hubby... yes i do love him ever so much! i love him more each day... but i am talkin' about this blog.


i love recipes... always have... i love to find really yummy ones. but i must confess, rarely do i ever attempt them. i just enjoy reading them (i get that from my dad). one thing i really love is a good recipe with a picture...


if you are anything like me- go check out the pioneer woman!


her recipes are practically sinful...oh but do they look good!

...the day of love...

I say that sarcastically... everyday should be about love. And boy do I love Snow Days! Do you remember that feeling when you were a kid? The snow would be coming down good and you would have an ear close to the radio waiting to hear them say those magical words.

Or even better...when you went to bed with a possible forcast of snow and then you woke up to a winter wonderland? Then you were almost too excited to go back to bed (and you know how hard it is to get up when you GOT to get up).

Yeah...as a teacher... those feelings are still there! This morning both of our cells started ringing at the same time- at 6:00a.m. I nearly jumped out of my PJ's I jumped up so fast. I just KNEW what that call was for! And let me just tell you, when my alarm goes off at 6:00a.m. on a regular school day, not only do I not get up, but I hit snooze about 3 or 4 times and then barely drag myself to the bathroom. And of course since school was canceled, I had a hard time getting back to sleep! Go figure. :-)

The Lord's handiworkHeidi playing in the snow
Shawn's mini snowman....
and his message to me! ;-)
Shawn cooked me dinner tonight (like he does many nights). It was very yummy! He grilled a pork tenderloin, fried some potatos, made teriyaki rice (from scratch) and also grilled some brussel sprouts. He is so good to me!

The Lord has really blessed me with a wonderful, kind, loving, funny husband!

Midnight Snowbunnies

Well... Happy Valentine's Day (kinda early though- it's just after midnight)

We just got some unexpected snow. I am sure they knew aout it down at the weather station, but somehow, Shawn and I didn't have a clue it was coming.

We were just talking earlier about all the rain we have been getting the past few days and how we wish it would drop a few degrees... YAY! It Did!

Now we are all excited and can't get to sleep. That is one cool thing about being a teacher... SNOW DAYS... I sure do hope it doesn't melt off by morning or I am going to be one sleepy 2nd grade teacher.

Weekend Getaway

well... I haven't had the time to post (in detail) about this past weekend... but i wanted to get a least a start on it and finish it later. see, i am going on a ladies retreat this weekend and i am sure i will want to post about it when i get back... if i wait until i get back from this weekend... i will be way behind so here goes...

we went to the beach... in february... it was nice... about 70...really windy...water was too frigid for even the toes...room was so/so...but the trip was 'free'...

more later (with some pics of course)

Puppy Love

*Warning-Two posts in one day-This may cause extreme and uncontrollable excitement*

We had a visitor today...

She has been wandering around our neighborhood for the past week now... and she never seemed too interested. A few days ago she was in the yard and I tried to 'shue' her off and she just cowered. It was kinda sad. She seemed almost afraid.

Well, today, as Shawn was out front taking the lights off the Christmas tree (yes you read that right) she showed up again. She wouldn't come near, but laid there on the far side of the yard with her head down slowly wagging her tail. I saw that she had a collar on so I approached her to see if there was a tag. I guess she took that as an open invitation...we were safe and not going to hurt her. Once I pet the top of her head and carefully checked her collar she was all over me. Jumping up and down, all over me, rootin' her head on my leg. Then she wouldn't stop following me. She came up on our front stoop and made herself at home. She even sat at the front door and whined to get inside. I do hope she has a home and that they are looking for her. I can't stand to see animals not being taken care of, and we can't possible keep another dog.

A New Groundhog Day Family Tradition

With the thoughts of starting a family in a future, I have been contemplating more on family traditions. I think back to the traditions that my family did and all the special memories I have from my childhood. Then my mind starts moving toward new traditions that I would like to incorporate in the future with my husband and (someday) children.

I must say, that this year's Groundhog Day activities are deffiniatly new for me. I wouldn't necessarily repeat this 'tradition' every year to come...but ya just never know. :-)

(be sure to look closely to the time-stamp...and yes it was today)

I suppose we could have hung pink and red hearts...then green shamrocks...maybe even plastic Easter eggs...too bad all the needles were falling off.

haha (I do hope you realize that I am joking)

It's No Wonder...

Well...once again...this post is for those of you who know my crazy dog. She is weird, paranoid, terrified of anything and anyone new, and really doesn't like guys (especially if they are wearing a hat).

I feel that this video kind of explains why she is so crazy... lol

I mean, who would be normal living with this guy... oh, wait a minute...I live with him. Oh well, enjoy, but ignore the clutter.

Rewind-Episode #2

Rewind...back to September 22nd.

It was a warm, sunny day. The smell of burgers and hotdogs made mouths water. Laughter filled the air.

Friends from church gathered at the Hatfield house... about 30 or so. The guys enjoyed pitchin' shoes and the girls chatted away.

And then there was Heidi... my dog... for those of you that have had the privilege of being around her...yeah... you know what I am talking about.

She has NO people skills what-so-ever. She especially doesn't like boys and carries on like she is under attack. And for some reason, she only jumps into the laps of pregnant people (it has happened a few times now).

However, once the crowd went on their way, she loosened up and enjoyed herself.

Here are a few cute pictures of her playing in the ice we dumped out from one of the coolers of soft drinks. She had a BLAST! She would not get out of it...

Let me know if the four pics of my dog won't load... when I tried to post it I got a message that there was an error in my HTML... thanks!

Winter Wonderland (NC Style)

Yay! I love snow!

This is, I'm pretty sure, the 1st measurable snow fall in about 3 years.

Like a Morning Fog

James 4:13-15 (New Living Translation) 13 Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” 14 How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. 15 What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.”

Proverbs 27:1 Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.

We tend to place a lot of faith in our plans for the future. We take tomorrow for granted. I find myself putting things off...expecting that tomorrow-next weekend-next month will be there. The fact is, we don’t know what tomorrow may bring or even if there will be a tomorrow. The one thing we can be sure of is that God knows what tomorrow will bring. Tomorrow is in His hands.

The Lord has recently reminded me of this in a -not-so-easy-to-swallow- kind of way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She wrote to me, "I was searching on myspace for people that can be positive influences in my life. I ran across you and thought I'd add you and send you a friendly hello."

She continued to say that she was back in the area and was trying to get her life back on track. She wanted to come back to Westwood...back to church where she knew she belonged...but was struggling with a few things. I encouraged her to come and not worry about what people might think, and sure enough, she was there the next morning! She even made it to Sunday School! It was such an exciting time and I was eager to see how the Lord was going to use me is this situation. Once service was over, we made some quick small talk, hugged, and planned to keep in touch during the week. How was I suppose to know that there would be no tomorrow for Jessica? How was I suppose to know that God had other plans for His child who had recently returned to Him. He was ready to take her home. It wasn't until later that evening that I got the call about the accident. My plans...her plans...were not His plans...But...His plans are far more than I could ever imagine...We must trust His plans.

Jessica White 1-17-08

I'm A Weener!

So- I entered the local Kirby Gallery Photography Contest again this year... (I have entered for the past two year... go check out my other blog to see those pics http://rebeccasoriginals.blogspot.com/ )

and I got "the call" today! WooHoo! They called to tell me that I won 1st place in the Animal category, 3rd in Black & White, as well as, 3rd in the open category. YAY! There were about 15 to 20 pictures entered into each category... so I am very tickled to win three ribbons :-) can you tell that I am excited...

Here are the pics...

Rewind-Episode #1

As I have mentioned before, I have a whole folder of "bloggable" pictures. It is a shame to let them all go to cyber-waste. And on top of that, several friends have told me they don't want to be left out in the cold... so here goes...

Rewind...back to September 24th. I took this picture just so I could post about it. Yeah- that didn't happen.

DunDunDun

Until Now!

Yup... it is exactly what it looks like...your eyes are not playing trick on you... and no... we don't have a pet frog that lives in our toilet.

As you can (kinda) tell from the top pic, that frog was hiding. And he did so quite well. So well, in fact, that Shawn did not notice the frog until AFTER he got up. (Use your imagination...boy, getting up, off the toilet...please don't make me spell it out for you)

I know, I know... poooor frog!

Needless to say, he was glad to be set free. :-)

Well, that concludes the very first Rewind Episode...stay tuned.

Christmas Pictures in January :-)

Well... Christmas pictures in January... are you surprised?

Don't be! :-) And don't worry ladies, I have plenty of pics from last year that I still plan on posting. They are going to be a part of an upcoming "rewind" series of posts... :-)
Anyways... here are a few exciting pictures from the holiday...

Thanks to Mike... Shawn tried to disguise the fact that he got me a CD. My mom's cocker (Gini) guarding her new baby. Gotta love takin' naps.

Us :-) Christmas dayMy mom and step-dad, Bob.

My sis- Amanda
The in-laws :-)
Cara and Brad
Shawn- like a kid again
Shawn and his brother Austin having too much fun...

New Beginnings

I love new beginnings! I love the feeling of a fresh start...this comes mostly from my lack of follow-through and procrastination. So when given the chance to start over- I am all for it!

As the new year rolls in, so many people make resolutions... me?...not so much...

However, I do reflect on where I've been, where I am, and where I want to be. I pray that God will mold me and change me this coming year to be more focused in my spiritual walk. As I was reflecting today (in the shower of course) I found myself singing the following song...

I stand to praise you,
but I fall on my knees
My spirit is willing,
but my flesh is so weak.

So light the fire
Light the fire
In my soul
In my weary soul
Fan the flame
Fan the flame
Make me whole
Make my spirit whole
Lord you know
Lord you know
Where I've been
Where I've been
So light the fire, in my heart, again

I feel, your arms around me,
as the power of your heeling begins
Your spirit moves through me,
like the mighty rushing wind

(repeat chorus)

I love this song...I always have. The words are so true to me-so much of the time. I have a "flesh woman" that lives inside of me (Having a Mary Spirit-by Joanna Weaver) and she loves to sleep in and watch TV instead of spending time in the Word.

I want to grow closer to God. I want to spend time with Him daily. I literally have 20+ books/devotionals on the shelf that are dust covered.

My spirit is willing...but my flesh is so weak. The Lord knows me...knows my weaknesses...knows where I've been and where He wants to take me....

So, as I once again start fresh, my prayer is that the Lord will light a fire under my rear-end! :-) Don't we all need that sometimes?!?