Preschool or . . . .

Jedi training? Yes, apparently DH and I are not paying for Carter to go to preschool 2 mornings a week, we are paying for Carter to go to Jedi Training 2 mornings a week. He is in a 4 year old class full of little boys. I think there is only 2 or 3 little girls in the class. Most of the little boys are friends and very much into Star Wars, so, when it comes time to play outside, they all are Jedi masters and servants. This even carries over into the classroom when the servants have to sit next to the masters during circle and snack time. All I can say is, "Bless Mrs. Beth and Mrs. Amanda's hearts!" Luckily, Mrs. Beth had 4 boys, so she is use to all of their doings!!! I may not be posting regularly over the next few days. Jedi Training is out for fall break and one of the kids and I will be heading to Montgomery for wedding stuff this weekend. However, I will be back and until then

May the Force be with You!!

A Special Day

We have been trying to enjoy every moment we can of the amazing fall weather we are having. Not a special event. . .

Not a special outing. . .

Not a speical day

except for the fact it was just me spending time with my 2 favorite kids on a beautiful day,

but then again,

how special is that?


Pretty special!!

Welcome BATW Visitors!!!

I know you are all a little jet lagged from the trip to Japan, so, while you are resting your eyes for a bit, I will tell some of my daily readers what is going on today. I have been a part of Debbie's Blog Around the World (BATW) since the beginning. My friend, Melissa, introduced me to it and I have loved it!! I have met so many new friends and am glad I can share a bit of myself today. For those of you who are not part of BATW, I would highly recommend it!!! Anyways . . . .

This is actually Denver's airport. I could not find a picture of Memphis' airport. However, I am sure this was a stop for some of you as you came in from Japan!

I hope you all landed safely in Memphis. Nashville's airport is usually cheaper, but it is 2 1/2 hours away instead of just 1 hour and 15 minutes. Plus, while you are in Memphis you can visit . . . .the Peabody Hotel - if you time it just right you can see these ducks waddle their way to the fountain for a little swim.

Graceland, Elvis' home,

and St. Jude's Children's Hospital. This place has a special place in our hearts. We have 3 children in our community who are currently being treated at St Jude's. One young lady is Miss Priss's teacher's aide's daughter (did you catch that?). She is now in remission and will graduate from high school in May. She is planning on running in the St. Jude's Hero marathon in December.

You can even check out a Broadway play at the Orpheum or

hear some jazz music on Beale Street.

From Memphis, you will head west on 64 until you hit Hwy. 100 and this will bring you straight into our little small town. If you love the outdoors or need to stretch your legs, I suggest you go to Chickasaw State Park. We love going there for a hike around the lake, riding horses or just playing around outside.

Our little town is right beside Chickasaw and, boy, are we booming!! My family has lived here for 6 years now and we have gone from one red light to three!!! Plus, they have just finished a by-pass around our little town so big truckers don't take out the red lights like they did one time. Stop by the house for a BBQ dinner unique to Chester County. You just missed the BBQ festival, but there is always BBQ to sell.

You can always hit our 1950's Bell's Drive-in Diner for "The Best Hamburger This Side of Heaven." They have been voted "Best Hamburger" in Tennessee!! However, you will need to bring cash with you - you really do step back in time, as they will take cash and checks (?)!!! Arrive between 11:00-11:30 for lunch or 4:3o for supper. This hometown diner is always full!!

Take a drive down Main Street and you will run into one of things we are famous for:

Our favorite thing about our small town is Freed-Hardeman University. This is where I met DH and where we came back to raise a family. DH works here and who knows if we will ever leave. The pay is not much but the rewards are too numerous to count!! Come the first week in February to hear lectures on the Bible from people all over the world or come the first weekend in April to see a student production called, Makin' Music, like none other. Whenever you want, come on down. FHU is always "teaching how to live and how to make a living."

The Bell Tower of FHU


We are also famous for being the home of Eddie Arnold . . . . . .

and the original Walking Tall movie was filmed in our little town. One of my college professors was in the movie - she is always willing to tell you about it!!!

People thought we were crazy moving from Nashville to Henderson. "You will be so bored!" they said. Bored we are not - blessed we are. I hope you have enjoyed a little preview of West Tennessee (I will leave Middle and East TN for someone else to talk about). Feel free to look around my blog - it is mainly about my family and my faith. I am a stay at home mom who loves to scrapbook, make cards, play with my kids, read and teach Bible class (check out my Bible class teacher idea blog here.). I can't wait to meet ya'll and hope ya'll will come back to visit me soon! I will have BBQ and sweet tea waiting for ya!

Preparing a Feast

I am getting ready for my visitors tomorrow. My house is clean now!!! So I go to the next step - the meal. I find that in order to keep clean I need to have a daily feast of God's word. I have found these simple steps work in getting ready to prepare and partake in this Divine Feast. I get the materials I need ready so I can be ready to go when it is time for the feast to begin. Let's get ready . . . .

First, I need to open the tablecloth to put on the table. Nothing can be taken in if our minds our not open to God and His word. Our minds should be ready to take in and focus on what God is going to say to us. Beginning this time in prayer is a good way to open and prepare our minds for this important feast.

Place the plates on the table. We need to desire to eat this fine food. The Psalmist in Psalm 19:10 tells us that God's word is "more to be desired . . . .than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb."

Unfold the napkin and place it in your lap. When we open God's word we see God's truths unfolded in His word. When we place God's word in our laps, we see His law as truth and can apply them to our lives.

Use your fork. As one who is coming to this spiritual feast, we need to be ready to dig in to God's word. We are told in 2 Timothy 2:15 to "be diligent." So, get the fork ready to dig in and enjoy what He has in store for you.

Use your spoon. We do need to dig in to God's word, but unless we sip and savor it, we may not get all we should. When we take in God's word, we need to meditate on it. "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." Joshua 1:8

Use your knife. As we take in and meditate on God's word, we need to let it cut our hearts so it will never leave us. "Your word I have hidden in my heart." Only then will it make a difference in our lives.

Keep your glass full. When we prepare for and participate in a feast like this, our cups will overflow with blessings from God. You will see your God feeding you (1 Peter 2:2), cleansing you (John 15:3), sanctifying you (John 17:17), building you up (Acts 20:32) and leading you (Psalm 119:105).

May you be blessed as you prepare for and partake in God's feast for you today and every day.

Cleaning House

Tomorrow I am expecting (and hoping for) a lot of visitors! I want to be sure the house is clean and the food is perfect!!! Anytime company comes, I get very anxious - is everything clean? Will they like their visit? Will they see God in our lives? etc. etc. etc. As a general rule, women spend a lot of time and energy making sure their house is in order but how much time and energy do we spend making sure our lives are in order. 1 Corinthians 6:19 says that "(our) body is the temple of the Holy Spirit." So, is your house clean or dirty? If it is dirty, it is time to clean it up!!!

It's Clean Up Time!!!

Evaluate your house. What rooms need to be clean and what areas need improvement? Is everything around your house pleasing? Cleaning out the junk is always necessary when we are cleaning our house because if junk is laying around it will affect our lives. Mark 7:21-23 tells us "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, . . . ." If our hearts are filled with evil things then when we speak and act, that is what will come out from us. These things get in the way of reaching our highest potential.

Get the tools ready to clean these areas we have noted that need cleaning. Our main tool is the word of God. Hebrews 4:12 describes the word of God as "living and powerful . . . piercing even to the division of the soul and spirit . . . it is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." When we get into the word, we see what we need to do to improve our lives to better glorify our Heavenly Father. We can use other tools to help, like Bible study books, but our main tool should be the Bible.

Gather your cleaners to scrub everything clean. There are 3 different kinds of cleaners we can use to get ourselves clean from the evil things in our lives. Forgiveness from God is one of them. 1 John 1:9 reminds us that "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteouness." Mercy is also used to cleanse us. Titus 3:5 tells us through "His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit." Grace can also help us get rid of those things keeping us clean. Jesus' blood was a gift we did not deserve but we receive it to wash our sins away.

Now that we have our tools and cleaners ready we have to do the work. We can have all we need but if we don't do anything with them, they are useless. We have to take the tools God has given us, open the word up, dig in there and take advantage of the cleaners he has given us. We need to take God's word and as the Psalmist said, "(hide it) in my heart, That I might not sin against You." We need to daily get our cleaning tools and cleaners out to get clean and to stay clean. We have to be determined to keep and stay clean but it is a decision we have to make. "Walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." Galations 5:16

I pray that your house is clean and will remain clean so God's light can shine through you to others.

What Have You Been Reading?

I love to read - anything and everything!!! I found this list of Sunshine and Lemonade and knew I had to share this on my blog. I have always loved books and hope to find more favorites from this list.

1. Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2. Italicize those you intend to read.
3. Underline (or color) the books you LOVE .Share this list in your blog, too, if you like.”

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien (could not take - I tried)
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible (where would I be without this one?)
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott (love love love)
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien (again, tried)
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald (loved it!)
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck (not a Steinbeck fan, sorry)
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy (have this one on my shelf)
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis (have read most of these and need to finish the series)
34 Emma - Jane Austen (love this one)
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen (again, have this one on the shelf to read)
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne (one of my favorites for years)
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery (makes me happy)
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding (not a favorite)
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen (again, makes me happy)
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck (not a fan)
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo (know the play by heart, so should read the book on my shelf)

I was most disappointed that the Little House series was not on here. What are your top 5 (or more) favorite books?

Hot dogs, Hamburgers and Company

It was Miss Priss's turn to choose the menu for Friday night. When I asked her what she wanted for supper, she replied, "Hot dogs, hamburgers, and company!" When she says company, she means her college boys!! So, we gathered a group of some of her favorite boys and had a good time. I had some steaks in the freezer so we added those to the menu as well. The kids (mine and the college) were so excited. While DH grilled, all the kids played outside and enjoyed each other.

Eric and Rachelle (the only college girl that came - bless her heart!)

and

Harvey, Ben (I use to babysit him!!) and Fergie

all enjoy the dinner entertainment

And this would have been the entertainment -

Little Man, Miss Priss and David Lee working on their Air Band skit

I have always had the philosophy "The more the merrier" when it comes to having our college kids over to eat - even on a budget. There have been many times I have looked at the table and thought, "We are not going to have enough food to eat but we will eat until it is gone." However, after a prayer of thanksgiving and seeing the kids have plates (yes, more than one) of food, we will still have leftovers - maybe not 12 baskets full, but some left. I choose to believe that this is God's way of telling me He can do great things with anything I bring to Him.

Thursday Night Soccer

Thursday night we were able to see these sweeties play soccer. My sweetie (who is the only brunette in the picture) and her teammates played one tough team and did very well. They are getting better and better. We have laughed at how this team is the under 40 (pounds, that is) team. They are the youngest team and the smallest team. They are also the least aggressive team!! However, they are loving each other and the game which is all that counts at this point in time. This picture cracks me up!! This is from last night and just proves the point that we are smaller than most of our opponents!!! David vs Goliath!!!
Little Miss thinks it is her duty during Little Man's games to help her dad coach. She will yell advice from the sidelines and gets bored pretty easily!! What does Little man do during Little Miss's game? Ran in continual circles for almost an hour straight playing for the Tennessee Titans!!!
What a night and what a sport!!

Fear of the Future

There are many fears we have about the future - marriage, job, money, death of self or loved ones, salvation of others, war, etc. The fear of the future is not new to you and will not magically disappear after college. We live in a world that is always on the go and fearful or worrying about something. American epitaphs could read like this: Hurried, Worried, Buried. It is humanly impossible to have an absence of fear (Isaiah 21:3-4 and Habakkuk 3:16) but we can do something about not letting it get unhealthy - especially when it comes to fears about the future.

We always need to keep our fears in check so they don't plant roots. Fears that are rooted make us become resistant to any new things and changes God has for us. We don't need to live in the past. This builds up more problems and you live always doubting and being skeptical of things now and in the future. We don't need to live in the future. We can't always be looking ahead and trying to get control or worrying about things that may or may not even come our way. Marcus Aurelius said, "It is not death (or our future) that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live." So that leaves today. What can we do today to prepare for our future and the unknown?

Proverbs 31:16 and 21 - She prepares today for tomorrow and does what she can to make sure she is ready. Proper planning and preparation can help our fear of the future. Taking special classes, special training, internships, setting money aside - things you can do now to help with things in the future. Worrying is like a rocking chair - it gives you something to do but it doesn't get you anywhere.
Proverbs 31: 17 - She girds herself with strength and strengthens her arms. We have to be physically, mentally and spiritually alert to fight our fears. Physically, fears can make us sick when we need to be strong. Mentally, fears can mess with our heads and not make us as sharp. Spiritually, fears can make us forget about God and His power within us. God is bigger than any fear and will help us get past it if we let Him and ask Him. (1 Samuel 23:16)

Nehemiah 6:9 - strengthen my hands

Isaiah 43:2 reminds us that God can do so much for us if we move the "what if's" out and the "what God can do's" in. Fear is like a baby, when you nurse it, it grows.

Proverbs 31:25 - She will rejoice in time to come. She can rejoice in her future? How? She can rejoice because she knows that fears will come with the future and the unknown but God:

1. is bigger than any fear. Nothing is too small or big for Him. Psalm 56:11 - What can man do to me?
2. notices everything.
3. is unlimited while we are limited.
4. is in control.
5. is always there. Isaiah 43:1-5
6. will help us overcome and will rejoice with us. Zephaniah 3:17 - The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.

We believe that the task ahead of us is never as great as the Power behind us." - unknown

So, how can we tap into the Power behind us?

1. Pray - write your fears down and give them to God. Philippians 4:6 - . . . but in everything by prayer and supplications, . . . let your request be made known to God.
2. Lean on other Godly people to help you - Have them pray with and for you. Have them hold you accountable for holding your fears at bay.
3. Get into His word - His word reassures us and gives us hope.

Exodus 14:13-14 - . . . Do not be afraid. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord . . .The Lord will fight for you and yous shall hold your peace.

Joshua 1:9 - . . .Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

Psalm 27:14 - Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; . . .

Psalm 55:22 - Cast your burden on the Lord, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.

Isaiah 44:8 - Do not fear, nor be afraid; . . . Is there a God besides Me? Indeed there is no other Rock; . . .

Isaiah 46:3-4 - . . . Who have been upheld by Me from birth, Who have been carried from the womb: Even to your old age, I am He, And even to gray hairs, I will carry you! I have made and I will bear; Even I will carry and will deliver you.

Jeremiah 31:3 - . . . I have loved you with an everlasting love . . .

John 14:27 - Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you . . . Let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid.

Romans 8:35, 37-39 - Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? . . . Yet in all things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us . . . nor any create thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God . . .

2 Timothy 1:7 - For God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: "Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown!" And he replied: "Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than any light and safer than a known way."

Taken from "The Gate Year" by Louise Haskins

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me and I will listen to you. And you will see Me and find Me, when you search for Me will all your heart.

- Jeremiah 29:11-13

Tuesday Blessings

Yes it is Wednesday, and I am posting about Tuesday's blessings this week but I have a VERY good reason. I am posting late because my blessing on Tuesday came VERY late (for me) last night and I have just now recovered!!! DH and I sponsor a social club on FHU's campus. Each Tuesday night our PKA girls meet together for a devotional at 9:30 pm (I know some of you are thinking that is not late - I don't know how some of you stay up so late!!!). This semester different young ladies have been speaking on fears we have in our lives and how we can overcome those fears with God's help. Last night was my night to speak and my topic was "Fear of the Future and the Unknown." (They always give me the tough one!!) The night was a blessing for me for two different reasons:

1. The girls - DH, kids and I have come to love each of these students so much. Every time we have a chance to be with them at church, a social event or just hanging out at the house, our lives are blessed beyond measure. Last night 56 of the young ladies came to devo. What a blessing to see these young ladies take time away from playing sports, studying, eating or socializing to spend time with other Christians learning more about God and what His word has to say. I arrived about 9:20 or so and immediately was blessed with hugs, words of encouragement and smiles from new club members as well as old. I did not get home until after 11:00!!! Some of the girls just wanted or needed to talk afterwards and we stayed until security kicked us out!! All of the girls are such a blessing to me and my family. (I was going to take pictures, but seeing that I was out WAY past my bedtime, I forgot my camera!)

2. The study - I was not very happy over my topic. It was not something I could wrap my head around for the longest time. I looked for help and found very little. I got very frustrated, but finally, I allowed God's word to speak to me and I found a lot of information!!! I hope to have some of my findings written out soon to share with all of you. I am not the most eloquent speaker or writer, but maybe what I found can help one of you at some point in your life. I was so happy that what I thought was a burden became a blessing.