6 things

Okay, I was tagged by Chrystal....so here are 6 fairly random things about myself.

1. If I could get my mother to move to China....we would be packing right now!! I would love to live in Emma Grace's birthcountry.

2. I once convinced a Nashville Trolley driver to let me drive the trolley through Nashville!! Seriously, I cant believe he actually let me!!!

3. I am addicted to recipe websites and their e-newsletters....most recipes of course, I never try.....But I guess you could say I love to collect them.

4. I have been told many times that I should hire myself out as a professional mourner....being as I can cry over the simplest things......even at funerals of people I dont even know.

5. I am a "closet" Martha Stewart want-a-be. I love entertaining and fixing fancy foods and a pretty table and pulling out all the fancy China.

6. I was on a traveling puppet team when I was in Bible School. Loads of fun...(mostly)....9 girls traveling across America in a van, ministering in a different church each night.

So, there you go...a little insight into what you may or may not have known...most everyone I know who blogs has already been tagged so I am limited....but I am tagging....Amy , Laura, Tammy, Deanna and Joy (you both need to start a blog)

THE RULES
1.LINK TO THE PERSON WHO TAGGED YOU
2.POST THE RULES TO YOUR BLOG
3.WRITE 6 RANDOM THINGS ABOUT YOURSELF
4.TAG 6 PEOPLE AT THE END OF YOUR POST AND LINK TO THEM
5.LET EACH PERSON YOU HAVE TAGGED KNOW BY LEAVING A COMMENT ON THEIR BLOG
6.LET THE TAGGER KNOW WHEN YOUR ENTRY IS POSTED

Paint??

No, that's not paint....that would be purple marker. Lovely, huh? Yes, this would be what greeted me when I picked Emma Grace up from Mothers Day Out today. She was instructed to use the marker to write her name (which she did), but then after writing it 5 times, apparently she got bored and decided to "paint". Her teacher kept apologizing and said they had scrubbed and scrubbed...to no avail.
The little Picasso is actually quite proud of her work...she is really into purple right now. This morning, she picked out this dress, complete w/matching flip-flops and purple panties. She stated rather happily...."I'm all purple today!" I guess her hands were feeling left out.
For those of you who know me well, you know my aversion to "messes". I am not a huge fan of play-doh, moon sand, dirt, sand, mud, fingerpaints, etc.....you get the idea. Of course, I have enjoyed quite a laugh out of this. I think the tide is about to turn in our house....for 3 years we have enjoyed a rather calm child.....but as her 4th birthday nears....I think we may be in for a wild ride. I 'm holding on tight!!

Great Weekend!!!

It's been over a week since I blogged...but I have been really busy. I wanted to make sure that I shared with everyone the amazing weekend that I had last weekend and all that God did!!

Last weekend was our annual Children's Revival/Family Crusade. It is always a busy time and can be somewhat stressful preparing for it, but ALWAYS worth it!!

Once again, Mike & Vickie Oliver were our evangelists and they are always such a blessing. They are a wonderful example of a couple who are completely committed to the work of the Lord....for the children!! Friday night we had over 250 in attendance and it was awesome to look across the sanctuary and see children from different walks of life all there for the same reason....to worship God and feel His presence and His love. We brought in over 40 children from the area trailer park and apartments who had never been in a service of this kind. I believe that a seed was planted that will continually be watered over time and these children will become mighty in the work of the Lord.

In both services (Friday pm/Sunday am), we were blessed by the ministry of Explosion of Praise which is our children's sign language team, Rock-n-Soul Puppet Team and the children's choir, The King's Kids...which I am proud and blessed to be the director of.

I am so proud of our kids...they were very sensitive to the presence of God and they let Him use them in ministry.

Sunday morning while the kids were singing, the anointing fell and out of 21 kids......I only had about 5 who could sing....the rest were speaking in tongues and worshiping. It was the most amazing thing!! At that point you just throw out the schedule and agenda. It didn't matter what was scheduled next. God showed up and He was going to do a work in His time!!

The children and the entire church worshipped and prayed for close to an hour. The end result......a great weekend with several baptized, 28 filled with the Holy Ghost and the touch of God placed on so many!!

I truly believe that God is about to do great things through the Children's Ministry of The Turning Point and I am so excited to be on the front line of it all.

I encourage you....if you don't have a home church and you are looking for something....Please come visit us. You will be welcomed with open arms and smiling faces and a God who loves you.

Happy Birthday to Me!!

So, how would you like to spend your birthday?? I am guessing probably not the same way I spent mine. Last Friday was my 36th (yikes) b-day and I spent it with 20 kids....ages 5-12....all night long....at a lock-in!! I must be a crazy person.....no, seriously, it was a lot of fun!! It was a cast party and lock in for our musical we performed in June. We haven't been able to schedule it earlier b/c several kids were out of town all summer at grandparents, vacation, etc. So, with the busy month....the event fell on my birthday.

We really had lots of fun....games, food, videos and the most exciting part....an ice cream sundae bar!! It was a hit!!

After much wrangling, coaxing and threatening...we finally got all the kids down in their "beds" by 1:00 am. Emma Grace hung right in there with them. She loves getting to be with "the big kids"

We got up at the crack of 7:30(!!) and got the kids breakfast, dressed and home to their mommas....then we cleaned up the mess.

We enjoyed the night and all the fun....but we were EXHAUSTED!! and the day was not done....we still had a birthday lunch with my family....a visit to my grandmothers, all important naps and we had tickets to the Sounds game for that night. What I really wanted to do was go to bed, but we went to the game and had a good time. After the long day...we were asleep by 11:00....which is very unusual for me....but rest well needed.

It was a busy and tiring weekend...but it was fun and I enjoyed being able to spend it with "my kids"! They are a great group of kids and always leave me with lots of laughs and smiles!!

Cleaning the Slate

Okay...so it has been a while since I blogged...I have been a little busy. A friend emailed me this morning and said she is in need of some humor. I hate to disappoint her, but I don't really have any humor in me today. I am just a little down today.

Do you ever feel like just packing up and moving away to a new place and starting fresh? That's how I feel today. I told Jason last night that I wish we could sell the house and move somewhere where no one knows us and just start over.

I am not going into a lot of detail, but I have a lot going on in my life right now and I have made mistakes (as everyone has) and I have disappointed people. For the people who know me well, you know that I am a worrier. I worry about what people think of me, I worry about gaining approval, I worry about being a perfectionist. Not sure what it ties back to....but it is a character flaw....and I am a big enough girl to admit it.

I tend to obsess on tasks that I am given and I want them to be perfect. But sometimes in the middle of the task, we become so focused on the "work" that we lose out in other areas.

I would like to say right here to whoever is reading this....if I have ever hurt your feelings, said a cross word to you, had an attitude with you, taken advantage of you or taken you for granted.....I would sincerely like to apologize to you. I will admit...I have a bad habit of speaking before I think...and I don't have much of a filter. I am opinionated and sometimes it gets me in trouble. But with that being said....I am not a mean spirited/cold hearted person. I don't purposely set out to hurt anyone. If you know me at all....I have a hard exterior...kinda like a turtle, I guess....to protect myself from people getting too close and being hurt. But inside, I am a big softy who cries at the drop of a hat. I don't like drama or conflict/confrontation, etc....

I really feel like I am rambling here....but I guess that maybe this blog today is more for me....a therapy of sorts. I am sorry I don't have a funny story to tell today....maybe tomorrow will be better.

Emotional Tears.....

Well...as I am write these words I am wiping the flow of tears from my face. I am a little emotional today. For various reasons. The most recent being something fairly simple, I guess. I have been watching the girls gymnastics and the award ceremony. I am proud of both the US and China. The US placed Gold and Silver, with China making Bronze. The girls are so amazing and so talented. I don't really know why the award ceremony is making my cry. I guess b/c my child is taking gymnastics and she told me the other night "I want to be in the Olympics". I am partial to the gymnasts. Also...for obvious reasons I pull for both sides....I love the US and support our athletes...but I also dearly love China. It is a beautiful country with beautiful people. I will always have huge love for the country and its people and I hope Emma Grace does as well.

Another reason for the flow of tears....I spent this afternoon/evening at the funeral home paying my final respects for my aunt. I am saddened by her loss. She was 1 of 14 children and the last remaining child. My grandfather, who I was extremely close to, was her brother. As a child, when I would spend time at my grandparents in the summer, Aunt Opal would always come over. She would always make comments as to "how spoiled I was" by my granddaddy or "how crazy we were about each other". So tonight, as I sat and watched the slide show of family pictures (many of my grandfather), it was a little like saying goodbye to him all over again. He was a wonderful man and a wonderful example of a Godly man....hard working, honest, husband and father. He always was and will always be my hero.
I originally had more that I wanted to say, but at this point.....I just cant go any further.

Rest in Peace, Aunt Opal......we will miss you!

Out of the mouths of babes...

My baby girl brings so much laughter to our home...she just cracks me up sometimes with things she says. Other times she amazes me with her innocent wisdom.

Today we rode with my mom to Knoxville to pick a friend of hers up who has been staying with her daughter and son in law. As we were getting ready to leave, Emma Grace was trying to convince me to sit in the back seat with her. This is the conversation that transpired...

Me: No, baby, I am going to sit in the front.

EG: (whiny voice) But who is going to sit back there with me?

Me: Jesus

EG: (continually growing whiny voice) But I want someone who is real

Me: Jesus is real

EG: (really annoyed now) But I want somebody real that I can play with!

Needless to say, when we got in the car we had a long discussion about how Jesus is real and He is always with you, even though you can't see Him. She has never really seemed to think about this concept until lately and she is having a hard time with it.

Jump forward several shopping and traveling hours later....we are "trying" to find our friends house based on Mapquest directions....which I am convinced was created by the devil!! So....we are lost...I am trying to help mom and figure out where we are going and Emma Grace is wanting to CONTINUALLY talk.....no idea where she gets that from...;0). Here is that conversation...

Me: Emma Grace honey, please be quiet for a few minutes. We are lost and trying to figure out where we are going.

EG: But we are already found....

Me: We are? Who found us?

EG: Jesus....He came down from Heaven and He found us

Isn't that the sweetest thing? I'm tellin ya....you can't make this stuff up. The girl amazes me.....she is such a little wonder.

I am blessed beyond what I deserve.