lately...

For some reason, everything has been bothering me lately. I can't put my finger on it, but I have been experiencing all different emotions this week: sad, mad, happy, overwhelmed, frustrated, excited, discontent, annoyed! But usually I can just by-pass all these emotions and go with the flow; this week I can't. So here is what is helping me get through it:

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; and you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." ~John 15:1-5

I could go on and on about how these 5 verses have held my heart this week, but the bottom line is my father is pruning me and I must trust him and abide in him!

The OT frequently uses the vineyard or vine as a symbol for Israel, God's covenant people, especially in two “vineyard songs” in Isaiah. However, Israel's failure to produce fruit resulted in divine judgment. Jesus, by contrast, is “the true vine,” and his followers abide in him and produce fruit.

What Jesus is saying here is that we as believers can not sit still, we must be pruned daily and that is what he is doing with my emotions this week...pruning them! I think it's pretty normal to feel all these different emotions but it's all in the way we handle them. I can't let my emotions control my decisions or abilities but rather I must trust in my God and act on truth...not react to emotions!

If you read this say a little pray for my "pruning" this week and that I would abide in HIM and not my emotions!

Final car payment

Robby and I paid off my car tonight!! I am so excited, we officially have no more car payments ever again! We paid both our car's off two years early and look forward to paying cash for the next one! We will never finance another car again!

IT's a great feeling not owning someone money, now we are almost debt free! Just a couple more thousand and we can join the small number of people in the world that have no debt! All thanks to our mentor, Mr. Dave Ramsey. If you don't know about him or his "Seven Steps for Financial Peace" then I encourage you to check out his web site, click here. We started his program 9 months ago and it has changed our lives! We are on our way to step #3 soon!

Happy Mother's Day

Today is a very special day for all the moms and moms to be. It's a day we celebrate their hard work, love and dedication. God designed moms to be the glue of the family - the substance that holds our families together. It's our God - ordained career laid out by the creator from the very beginning of time. There is no other job a women has more importantly than being a mom!

In the Bible, Titus and 1 Timothy talk about us being the "keepers at home" and I love that God has called us to prepare a house like His house, a home like His home - a beautiful picture and foretaste of what is yet to come. The biblical term used for "keep house" actually means "to govern or manage a house or the domestic affairs of a family." We get to be the master of the house, all that goes on is our domain!

I just read a book several months ago called "Youniquely Woman" Becoming who God designed You to Be; by Kay Arthur, Emilie Barnes and Donna Otto. It was so good and there was a whole chapter devoted to "parenting with a purpose". I pull this book out every so often and revert back to it. It is so good for moms, wives and women who want to live intentional and serve the Lord.

Thank you Lord that your design for women is to be the helper and keeper of our homes and the role model for our children. Thank you for the example of the Proverbs 31 women, may we aspire to be like her and please our king!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL THE MOMS!

Broadhurst Pollock Wedding

Last weekend we took a trip to Orlando, FL with our friends Will and Brittany for Lindsey Pollock and Blake Broadhurst's wedding. Lindsey and I were sorority sisters and Robby and Blake played football together at Troy. Robby was a groomsmen in the wedding and loved being there for Blake. It was a very adventurous weekend to say the least!The bride and groom cutting the cake...Lindsey was a beautiful bride!

A close-up of the cake...

Robby and I

Our friends Will and Brittany

A special treat of the weekend was getting to see our old friends from Troy, Demetrius and Amy Summerville. In this picture Amy is with their youngest child Journey. They also have the most adorable baby boy Jayden. Check out their blog here!

And the last special treat of the weekend was getting to go shopping with one of my heart friends Laura Susan (LSC)!!! We are in a small group together with our other heart friends Claire and Lauren. We call ourselves heart friends because we really do love, care and pray for each other. I could not make it through my week with out these girls, they have become my family in Columbus and I am so thankful for their friendship. Anyway I'll stop gushing over them and tell you that LSC was in Orlando for a pharmacy conference (she is a pharmacist) and since I was there too we decided to hit one of the major malls in Orlando! We had a blast in this big city and ate dinner at this fabulous Italian restaurant. I am so glad we got to spend some time together, away from our normal routines! Love ya LSC!!

Phil 3:13-14

These two verses are very important in my life right now, I thought I would share. Hope it speaks to you...

I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Jesus wants us to spend time in His word...reading the scriptures. Have you done this today? Do it! He loves you and wants you to draw near to Him!

The Gospel

John Piper had this to say a couple days ago on his Desiring God website. I love the wisdom this man has and the challenges he puts out to Christians. Read it and tell me what you think..

(Author: John Piper)

Here is a simple exhortation that I have been trying to implement in our family:

Seek to see and feel the gospel as bigger as years go by rather than smaller.

Our temptation is to think that the gospel is for beginners and then we go on to greater things. But the real challenge is to see the gospel as the greatest thing—and getting greater all the time.

The Gospel gets bigger when, in your heart,

• grace gets bigger;
• Christ gets greater;
• his death gets more wonderful;
• his resurrection gets more astonishing;
• the work of the Spirit gets mightier;
• the power of the gospel gets more pervasive;
• its global extent gets wider;
• your own sin gets uglier;
• the devil gets more evil;
• the gospel's roots in eternity go deeper;
• its connections with everything in the Bible and in the world get stronger;
• and the magnitude of its celebration in eternity gets louder.

So keep this in mind: Never let the gospel get smaller in your heart.

Pray that it won't. Read solid books on it. Sing about it. Tell someone about it who is ignorant or unsure about it.

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel.... For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)

The Time

I was reminded this weekend just how fast life goes by. We celebrated my grandmothers 91^st birthday on Friday night. She has had a wonderful life, and she is still going strong. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be at that age but I am so thankful that Grandmommy is still here! Thank you Lord for blessing us all with her life! Happy Birthday Grandmommy!

I also got to see my youngest sister go to prom! Katie looked beautiful as always and it was a real joy to watch her get all dolled up. It seems like yesterday I was going to prom…oh how the time flies by!

I also got to spend time with my little Bryanna (she is on my hip in the picture) and I just love her and miss her so much. Every time I go up to Birmingham she always has something new to tell me and always a new game! This was one of the hardest times though that I ever had leaving her. She just cried and was so upset and didn't want her howie to leave...I cried too. I wish I was in her life everyday, I guess it will only get harder as she grows. But the good news is that she knows her aunt howie and loves her!!