Contentment

Contentment? Hmmmm....boy, have I been lacking in that area the past few days. For those of you who follow me on Facebook knows that I was struggling bad yesterday.

You see, I have a really hard time knowing that I have to work...a couple of times a year. In the spring and in the fall...I absolutely hate working. In the summer when it is in the 100's or in the winter when it's in the 30's....I don't mind at all. **YES, I'M THANKFUL FOR MY JOB AND MY WONDERFUL BOSSES....I'M NOT TAKING IT FORE GRANTED**

It started on Monday when it was absolutely gorgeous outside and I was stuck inside. I didn't deal with it right then and there but allowed it to fester and by yesterday...I was entering into full blown depression.

I have to be very careful during this couple times a year because I am so "unhappy" that my tongue will hurt others who are doing all they can for our family. I would come across ungrateful, selfish and probably spoiled. I am not saying that my tone, body language and attitude still doesn't say all of that but I am trying to not speak those exact words that are running through my mind.

When I get like this...I just want to be left alone and I don't want to talk to anyone. It is the safest place for me to be at the moment.

I love taking care of my family and devoting all my time and attention to them and our home. However, for me...I can't do it to my liking working a full-time job. I get very resentful when I start feeling like this.

I love to do all the housework, yard work, cooking, shopping and anything else that needs doing so my husband doesn't have to when he comes home from work. He is working two jobs...his regular job 5 days a week plus having to take call one week out of three. His second job is a part-time police officer in our town...which he loves. He works his full-time job and then goes to the PD for another 7-8 hours only to get up the next morning and do it again.

We use his PD check to save for vacations, home improvements and now a car for Tyler when he turns 16...which isn't far away.

We have looked at our finances, what we owe, our home and everything to see what we can get rid of so that I didn't have to work and there just isn't anything at this time. We desire things that we "want" to do that aren't "necessities" in life. These are new carpet in our home, vacation up the east coast, a car for Tyler that we can pay out right and a car for me the same month. We are striving to become debt free. Can we live without all these things? Absolutely!

All of that doesn't go hand in hand with me quitting work. I know this but it doesn't change the fact that I long too. I was a SAHM for 9 years and I loved every minute of it. I never got bored and I was at home, not out running around. I always had things to do to keep me busy. I loved it and I long so badly to be there again.

I have many friends, not all of them that don't have to work and that doesn't help either. Do I envy them? No, but I wish we had done things differently so that I didn't have to work.

I have gone over and over our 18 1/2 years of marriage and asked myself...what do you regret? What would you change if you could? There are only two things that I "regret" and would change if I could but....I CAN'T. I would have been more money conscious early in our marriage when my husband got big bonuses and I would have paid a vehicle off and kept driving it. We have had a car payment x 18 1/2 years. So, no sense crying over spilt milk but rather learn from your mistakes and don't do them again.

There are things that I will never regret and would do again regardless of the outcome. I don't regret taking the trips/vacations with my family that we have. They created memories that will last a lifetime...I would go on every one of them again. I don't regret buying our camper because it brings us so much pleasure, relaxation and more memories that we share with Tyler and our grandson, Mason. I hate having a camper payment but it is worth the sacrifice.

I began to pray last night for the Lord to help me to be content again with our lives and our situation. I work up this morning with a new attitude and a new determination to make the best of what I have.

You see, I have a great job. I work from home, with great, generous bosses but I just have to put the hours in and work to get it all done. So, why am I whining....because I don't want to even do that. But, that isn't an option, now is it? NO!

I was determined this morning to be creative and have the best of both worlds! So, as I type this...I am sitting outside on my patio, with my laptop, on a make shift desk, sitting under the umbrella and only squinting a little bit. I have my radio playing K-Love for the neighbors, a cool breeze, my Diet DP, my work, sunglasses on, my dog is out here with me and here's to a great day. Can't get much better than that...except, being unemployed! lol

I am learning once again to be content in whatever situation I find myself in.

Philippians 4:11-13
I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. (12) I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. (13) I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

1 Timothy 6:6-8
But godliness with contentment is great gain. (7) For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. (8) But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.


Have a wonderfully blessed day!

Happy Fall Y'all

If you come to my home today...you will be welcomed by my Fall decorations. They say "come on in, be our guest for the day and our family, hearts and home are warm and inviting!"






When you are walking up to my front door...(only if the garage was shut :-) You are greeted by a beautiful fall wreath hanging on my front door.




And my Happy Fall Y'all sign on your right. I need to buy some mums to go on my front porch but I forget to water them and they die every year. I'm not sure that I want to waste any money on them this year, but we will see.






If my garage door is up...you will be greeted by 2 more different fall decorations at that door. I have one hanging on the door and one to the right of the door.










As you enter our home...we have a few more decorations that say "it fall and we love it". I have a scarecrow on my kitchen table and 2 on my hutch that I've had for a long time.









I don't decorate for fall like I do for Christmas by no means and certainly don't own that many fall decorations...but, I love the ones that I have. :-)

















Lastly, is an arrangement that I made years ago and I still love today. It is my iron wheelbarrel that sits on my coffee table filled with pumpkins and fall leaves in and surrounding it.

So, that's Fall at our home...hope, you felt a warm welcome. Come by anytime and stay longer the next time.

Have a wonderfully blessed day!

Sleepless Night, Worry and Anxiety

What does worry and anxiety have to do with fear and sleepless nights?

The enemy of your soul, Satan, the one who wants to destroy your peace, your family, steal your joy and cause you to turn from God because he wants you to think that God is doing this to you instead of him. Another lie of the enemy and another form of his deception.

We all hit bumps in our lives...some feel like tiny bumps that could easily go unnoticed...ones that don't leave a mark on our lives and others feel like huge pot holes on the road of life. The big ones are the ones that leave us wringing our hands, pacing the floor, twisting and turning all night, make us sick at our stomachs, not able to concentrate or enjoy the simple things in our lives.

These are things that can attack us in many areas of our lives...to name a few...work - lose of a job, difficult employer or co-works, people at work that gossip about us, finances - not enough money to pay our bills, unexpected expenses come up and no way to pay for them, loss of income or income reduced for one reason or another, sickness - life threatening, life altering - can't work, more expenses, threat of pending death due to illness, death - loss of a loved one whether it is a spouse, child, parent, sibling...it causes great pain and leaves a huge void in our lives, marriage - troubled marriage due to accidents, addictions, adultery, pornography, financial struggles can greatly affect a marriage, some marriages will end in divorce, or a spouse walks out on their family and you are looking at being a single parent, children - accidents, rebellious children, defiance, drugs, alcohol, pornography, personal attacks on your children by others, people spreading lies about your child, others making your child feel like an outcast, children who turn their backs on God and refuse to live for Him, homosexuality - whether it is a child, spouse, sibling, parent...homosexuality will destroy a family AND the list could go on and on.

We get all worked up, stressed out, anxious, physically sick, nervous, insomnia, depressed, can't eat or eat everything in sight...all because of worry and fretting over many things that we have no control of in the first place.

We try everything that we know earthly possible to "fix" what is causing all the turmoil in our lives and many times...we make things much worse.

Our Heavenly Father wants us to come to Him FIRST and not try to "fix" it first and come to Him as our last resort. There are many times that we will come to Him, lay our cares at His feet and the situation will not change (divorce, death or loss of a job..etc) will still happen but He will be right there with us, providing, protecting and loving us...NO MATTER WHAT COMES OUR WAY. God sees the whole picture where we only see what is right in front of us.

Pastor Rusty preached a very powerful, awesome message yesterday titled...All Stressed-Up and Nowhere To Go!

He made a statement that will stay with me for the rest of my life...one that is so simple but yet so powerful.

WHEN YOU CAN'T SLEEP AT NIGHT....DON'T COUNT SHEEP INSTEAD TALK TO THE SHEPHERD.

Take all your cares, everything to Him in prayer today...regardless, of how small or how large...how "fixable" or what seems impossible...God has a plan and a purpose for everything that happens in your life...TRUST HIM!

I Peter 5:7
Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully. (Amplified)

Matthew 6:25-28
(25) "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? (26) Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? (27) Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? (28) "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.

Matthew 6:33-34
(33) Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. (34)"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.

Have a wonderfully blessed day!

The Cows, The Constitution and The Ten Commandments

I received this email and I thought it was "right on the mark", funny but so true.

Think about this:
1. Cows
2. The Constitution
3. The Ten Commandments

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COWS
Is it just me, or does anyone else find it amazing that during the mad cow epidemic our government could track a single cow, born in Canada almost three years ago, right to the stall where she slept in the state of Washington ?

And they tracked her calves to their stalls. But they are unable to locate 11 million illegal aliens wandering aroundour country. Maybe we should give each of them a cow.

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THE CONSTITUTION
They keep talking about drafting a Constitution for Iraq .... Why don't we just give them ours? It was written by a lot of really smart guys, it has worked for over 200 years, and we're not using it anymore.

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THE 10 COMMANDMENTS
The real reason that we can't have the Ten Commandments posted in a courthouse or Congress is this --you cannot post 'Thou Shalt Not Steal' 'Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery' and 'Thou Shall Not Lie' in a building full of politicians .... it creates a hostile work environment.

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Also, think about this ... if you don't want to forward this for fear of offending someone --
YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM!

It is time for America to speak up!

Have a wonderfully blessed day!

I Am Finished!!!

Today is Day 39 of my weight loss program and yes, I am supposed to go 40 days but it has been a roller coaster week for me as far as weight loss. I've been up and down all week and whatever I might lose or possibly gain is not going to change the fact that I have to go another round anyway.

I am ready to eat again, but what I am really looking forward to is...taking my hormones again!!! lol

I have been waking up numerous times over the past few weeks with night sweats/hot flashes. They don't last long but it is enough to disturb your sleep. I get them during the day but not as bad as I do at night.

I have to continue the 500 calorie diet for 3 more days without the HCG and then I can eat what I want, when I want and as much as I want with the exception of sugars and starches for 3 more weeks. The final 3 weeks I get to add back my sugars and starches...little by little.

After the mandatory 6 week break, then I can go for round 2...might I add...the final round.

Check out these pictures and let me know what you think. I wore this shirt July 27th when we went to Florida on vacation and had the privilege of meeting my bloggy friends.

Debra and Kim...you will really appreciate these pictures. lol I am wearing the same shirt today as I did 52 days ago.

Can you see a difference? I sure can and it makes the sacrifices that I've had to make for the past 39 days...well worth it!!!





Have a wonderfully blessed day!

What A Week...Full of Joy and Sorrow

So much has happened over the past week...joy, sorrow, tragedy and triumph.

Tyler played his first Senior High School football game last Friday night against an old rival, Wynne. The 10th graders haven't played much in the past years with our coach so we never expected him to get on the field or very little. He was told last week that he would be on the starting punt return team. We were excited about that. At least, he was on the field.

This was the picture on the front page of our local paper on Monday. Tyler is #15, standing by Coach Gray, assistant coach. It looks like everyone was looking at Tyler because...I'm sure he said something funny. He loves Coach Gray and he jokes around with them all the time.

Tyler got in 4 times on punt return and did an awesome job at a position that he has never played before. We were so proud of him.

We beat Wynne 21 -0. Go Patriots!!!

With the excitement of our first game of the season came tragedy. My dear friend, Tamara's brother, EW was headed home from work...going to Wynne and an SUV carrying 6people were headed from Wynne to Marion to the ballgame.

They ran into a severe storm and had a head-on collision. It critically injured EW in his truck and 2 died from the other vehicle. The 1st one to die was a precious lady who had been the high school secretary for 25 years and had just retired in May. He husband was driving and was unhurt. There was an elderly man in the front passenger seat who died later of internal injuries as did Mrs. Forrester. Another man suffered a broken hip, one had internal injuries as well. The 16 year old passenger in the 3rd seat was cut up but otherwise, unhurt. Both people who died were up and walking around after the accident but Mrs. Forrester died in route to the hospital and the man died later at the hospital.

Back to joy...we took Tyler and two of his friends to the movies last Sunday and we went to a different movie than theirs. Then, Roger and I had a wonder date day last Monday together. We went shopping for carpet, Tyler some bedroom furniture and had to get the things to complete our household projects we were currently doing.

Back to tragedy: Our daughter, Sommer called us Monday while we were out and asked us to pray for her friend, Monica. She was in a car wreck Sunday night, in which, the driver was drunk and killed her other friend, Kendal. Kendal's funeral was this morning. How sad and my heart hurts for this family.

Monica is in surgery today for 3-4 hours and with 3 surgeons. She has a collapsed lung and broken pelvis. The pelvic surgery is today and it is very tricky. The doctors have told them that it was only by the grace of God that she has made it this far.

Please remember these families in your prayers. So much heartache and pain.

Finishing up with joy...I have lost 21 lbs. and Roger has lost 33 lbs. Whoohoo!!!

Have a wonderfully blessed day!

Changes Are Good This Time

This is when change is good! Look at my before and after profile pictures. The one on the left was taken in June '09 and the one on the right was taken today.

That is what a 21 lb. weight loss looks like in my face! I will write more later because right now...I'm swamped with work that has to go out today.

So much has gone on this past week...from joy and being proud to heartache and tragedy for others.

Love you all! It has been crazy busy around here for the past few weeks so that I why I haven't posted or visited you guys. I'll be back...hopefully, sometime next week in a normal routine again.

Have a wonderfully blessed day!

Prayer Request

I would like all of my prayer warrior friends to pray for Earl Wayne who was in a serious car wreck yesterday in the severe thunderstorms that roared through our area.

Earl Wayne is the younger brother of a friend of mine, Tamara, since 2nd grade. We all grew up together.

In this wreck, he was a single passenger in his truck and crashed head-on with an SUV of 6 people headed to where we live for a football game because we were playing them last night.

Earl Wayne's injuries consist of broken ribs, broken leg and swelling of the brain with fluid from a leak. The good news is that it hasn't increased or decreased overnight and he is stable but critical.

Two people have died from that vehicle...Mrs. Forrester had just retired in May as the high school secretary. She was out walking around after the crash but died in route to the hospital of internal injuries.

Her husband was driving and he is fine. The front seat passenger, Mr. Waddell died last night at the hospital from internal injuries. He was an elderly man who appeared to be fine also.

The man in the back seat behind the driver has a broken hip and the man behind the passenger was first considered fine but has integral injuries also.

The 16 year old that was in the 3rd seat is bruised but fine.

Please pray for the Waddell family, the Forrester family and for complete healing for all the other injuries passengers.

Have a wonderfully blessed day!

Peace, Peace, Wonderful Peace Coming Down From The Father Above!

My heart is still burdened today for my loved one but I am feeling better. The past two days have been very, very emotional days for me. I spend most of the Monday crying and working. It is very difficult to see the computer screen, adding machine numbers or my papers through so many tears but I got it done.

Yes, crying at times does make you feel better but it didn't lighten my load of burdens that I was carrying. It didn't take much for me to start crying...just thinking about my life, family, children or future, looking at a friend's pictures of her telling her son goodbye when they dropped him off at college, a song...just about anything started the flow of tears yesterday.

The good thing is that I slept very well the past two nights and awoke with a fresh peace of God in my heart both mornings.

I spent nearly all day Monday in prayer...while driving, working, cleaning, cooking and showering...I was praying for my loved one and for myself to be able to handle it, for wisdom, guidance and peace. All of this comes only when you fully trust Jesus Christ and allow Him to do the work that needs to be done.

This loved one knows the Lord as their personal Savior and lives for Him, however, life is difficult and others can be cruel...making life miserable at times or difficult, at best. There are times in our lives that we feel lost, alone, isolated or just out of place in life. You are serving your Heavenly Father but you still feel alone. I know that feeling because I have felt it many, many times in my life. This is why it hurts me to see another person suffering at the hands of others. You can't control the other people and you are only responsibile for your own actions but that doesn't mean that you won't get hurt in the process. My nature is to protect others whether they are my children, my friend's children, my friends, family members...older than me, younger than me or my age. My claws come out when I see someone hurting someone that I love. I get angry and very protective. Then, the saddness kicks in when I have to accept that I can't do anything to help them in the physical, but they have to deal with it in their own way and in their own time. My helping them in the physical would only make matters worse, most of the time. However, there is a very fine line that I have drawn when it come to my own family as to how much I will tolerate others doing to my immediate loved ones. I have to step back and look at the situation through prayer and try to calm down. All I can do is pray for them, plead the blood of Jesus over them and ask the Holy Spirit to lead and guide them.

Matthew 11:28-30(28)

Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. (29) Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. (30) For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light."

Lord, I come to you today and I lay my heavy burdens at Your feet. I will walk with You, praise You and thank You for carrying my burdens for me. I thank You that Your yoke is easy and Your burden is light.

I will rest in You, Lord as You cover me with Your peace. Your Word promises me that if I lay my burdens down at Your feet and take Your yoke upon me that You WILL give me rest. I claim this promise from Your Word over my life today.

Teach me Your ways, Lord so that I can continue to walk and live in Your peace. Unrest will rob me of the fullness of Your peace, job and happiness of life. Therefore, I choose to lay it down today, at Your feet and walk away knowing without a doubt that You will carry it and take care of the situations that have caused such a heavy burden in my life.

In The Precious Name of Jesus, Amen!

Have a wonderfully blessed day!

Psalms 139:13-18 ~ Spoke Volumes To Me

** I posted this yesterday on my Facebook but felt led to post it on my blog today. I am feeling better today but my heart is still very burdened for my loved one.**

As I am heavy hearted this morning....this passage of scripture ministered to me. You see, there is someone that I know and love dearly that is struggling to find their way in life. They know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior but I'm not sure they are seeking His face in these areas of their life.

I have tried to talk to them, give advise and guidance but I'm still not sure that it didn't fall on deaf ears. It breaks my heart to see another person suffering because the way life treats them sometimes. I can relate so well to their feelings, emotions and how I handled things in my past...some the right way and others the wrong way.

God has already been in our tomorrows and He knows exactly what lies ahead of us because He created us and He knew us before we were ever formed in our mother's womb.

This is what God's Word has to say:

13 Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;you formed me in my mother's womb.

14 I thank you, High God--you're breathtaking!Body and soul, I am marvelously made!I worship in adoration--what a creation!

15 You know me inside and out,you know every bone in my body;You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,how I was sculpted from nothing into something.

16 Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;all the stages of my life were spread out before you,The days of my life all prepared before I'd even lived one day.

17 Your thoughts--how rare, how beautiful!God, I'll never comprehend them!

18 I couldn't even begin to count them--any more than I could count the sand of the sea.Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with you!I am so thankful that God knew me before I was ever born, while I was still in my mother's womb. That alone is awesome and hard to comprehend at times....verses 13-16.

But, my favorite part is that according to God's Word...he already had my life planned out according to His divine Will. Is that saying that I have to go the direction that God already has planned for me? "No" because God gave me a will, a choice and He will never force me to choose His ways or His plans for my life...verses 16-18.

Oh, how wonderful are His thoughts of us! He wants us to serve Him, love Him and He wants to bless us beyond our wildest dreams...He has nothing but good times and thoughts for His children.

How much easier would life be if we were to seek His face and His will rather than our own? There would be a lot less heartache, suffering and pain in our lives if we would just as for His guidance.

I am praying this for my special someone that they will seek God's face and be willing to hear His voice.

Are you facing a problem, a crossroad in your life, a situation that is out of your hands now...or maybe you know someone who is...PRAY, PRAY, PRAY and seek His face and His divine will for your life, family, job, situation or for your friends and family members. He hears our cries and is just waiting for us to come to Him for help. He will never force His help on us but He longs to come to our rescue and take care of ALL things we are in need of, concerned about...His way is perfect every time.

Have a wonderfully blessed day!