Journey's

God has a journey for all of us. Some of those journey's are fun and filled with excitement and adventure. Some journey's you encounter with fear and trembling. I have learned and am continually reminded that my loving Heavenly Father is with me each step of the way no matter what Journey I may be facing at any given moment. There are so many Godly people that have walked the path of life and experienced the joys and fears that I have. Many have gone on to be with their loving Abba Father that got them through the good and tough times. I am so grateful that they chose to expose their paths for all to see and share what God brought their way to get them through. I am continually stretched to trust in God's character. To be pushed to let go of my white knuckle grip on what I have absolutely no control over. To see and believe that God does cause all things to work together for His good to those who love him and are called according to His plan. (Romans 8:28) Even our failures are apart of the "all things" in this verse...can I get an amen! I am learning to trust in God's omnipotence. For there are times when I have wandered away from Him and what a lonely and miserable time that was. So, when I see others that have wandered far away from His grace, I hurt for them and I pray even harder that they will return to the wonderful, matchless love of Christ. I'll close with a poem I read in a book by Ruth Graham.
Fleeing From You

Fleeing from You,
nothing he sees
of Your preceding
as he flees.

Choosing his own paths
how could he know
Your hand directs
where he shall go?

Thinking he's free
---free at last---
unaware that Your hand
holds him fast.

Waiting for darkness
to hide in the night,
not knowing, with You
dark is as light.

Poor prodigal!
Seeking a "where" from "whence"
how does one escape
Omnipotence?

Thank you Father for loving us so much to be everywhere we are.

My Triathalon heros...

What was I thinking??? Participate in a Sprint Triathalon?? The challenge was laid out for whoever wanted to take it. I thought, prayed, started training and before I went on vacation in June I was committed. My two hero's for this would have to be Jennifer and April. Although I could not have done it without the support of my dear husband (who rode many miles with me on our bikes) these two ladies spurred me on. April kept me on track with the training schedules, answers to medical questions, what to eat and when it was okay to push through the pain and soreness. She never got tired of helping and encouraging. Thanks April, your help meant more than you will ever know.


Jennifer, my other hero. She too was an inspiration to me. Just to watch her train and take care of two children and keep her home running was a blessing to watch. And then on top of all that, she never let me quit (which I wanted to do at least once a week). She ran, swam, and rode bikes with me as often as was possible. She shared her clothes with me (which I still haven't returned):) and told me to take Advil. She even set up my new iShuffle with her Praise and Worship playlist because she knew it would help me get through the running portion of our training. But, even after all of these things she did for me I think the one aspect I respect her the most for is her words of love to me when she showed me a negative character trait that I had allowed to take root in my life. It was a brief but powerful comment that was relayed in love and I can say it was a turning point for me. Why? because she was right. The comment that she made is really not what is important, what is important is that it was said in love and God gave me the ears to hear and receive it as such.

God taught me so much in the past nine weeks. I look forward to the NEXT event with these lovely ladies and whoever else would like to join us. It's well worth the time and effort.

Love these ladies..........

A Good Day!

I had a fantastic day today and I just wanted to share it with whoever cares. Today started with going to the Aquatic Center and swimming 400 meters. I loved it. The first time I swam, a few weeks ago, I did so in a pool that was 25 meters. I did okay but it seemed like I was swimming forever and I also had a lot of let cramps which was not any fun. So today (a few weeks later) I swam in a 50 meter pool. It felt like it was easier and NO leg cramps. Yeah! Next, was back to home where I worked on my bible study I'm doing for the summer on Ruth. The story of Ruth is pretty amazing and I am really enjoying learning more about God through this study. For lunch I met my youngest at Chick-fil-A. I don't get to spend much time with him so I was grateful for the 45 minutes we had together. Back home to start some laundry. Then, outside to mow the back and front yard. I love mowing the yard. I know, this is probably weird but what can I say.... I remember working in the yard with my dad as a young girl. He pretty much taught me all that I know about yard work and somehow it's still a connecting point for me with him even though he has been with the Lord for quite some time now. After mowing, I washed my NEW car. Another thing I saw my dad do many, many times. Somewhere between mowing, washing the car and laundry, I started dinner. Dinner was amazing, if I do say so myself. :)
I cooked a recipe that I grew up on and also cooked for my family when they were all at home. This is where I connect with my mom. I learned by watching her cook for her family. The entree really doesn't have a name. It's thin sliced pork chops cooked with a "red sauce". The pork chops are salt and peppered, then a very, very thin slice of lemon is place on each one, sprinkle brown sugar over each one and cover with a sauce made from ketchup and a little water. They are baked in the oven at 350 for about 45 min. to an hour. Amazing!!! and yes we had rice, lima beans and corn muffins to go with it. Very comforting for all. (and nothing was left)
After dinner I was off to my in-laws house to gather some day lilies and visit for a short while. I was tempted to plant the day lilies when I got home but decided it was to dark :)
So, there you have it!!! This was a good day for me. I am so grateful to God for giving me the health to do the things I love. I am also most grateful for a husband who has provided for me, protected me, and allowed me to work part-time so I can have days like this again.
I shared my good day with you, what does a good day look like for you? I would love to hear......

Fall Traditions...

I am a fickle "season" person. I spend some thought time, just a little, each season trying to decide which one I enjoy the most. I go back and forth between Spring and Fall as to which one is my all time favorite. When Fall gets here it is my favorite and when Spring rolls around again next March/April I'm sure it will be my favorite. But for now it's Fall in Georgia. The bright sunshiny days with the temps. in the low 70's, no humidity (Yeah!!) and the cool evenings and mornings are wonderful. The leaves are starting to change and we are still on day light savings time so there is still daylight until about 7:00pm. A very refreshing time of year.
Also with Fall comes a few traditions we have done throughout the years. So, today we went to the Smith House in Dahlonega. There you eat family style all the fried chicken, roast, ham, black eye peas, fried okra, cream corn, collard greens, mashed potatoes and gravy, slaw, green beans, rolls, corn bread, and strawberry short cake you can hold. Definately a heart attack meal waiting to happen but we figure once a year is not so bad. After our meal we then walk around the Dahlonega square and browse, and enjoy the scenery.


Stan and I out side the Dahlonega court house

Mark and Michelle at the Smith House

After our time in Dahlonega we are off to Burt's Pumpkin Farm. Now mind you, when we started going about 20 years ago it was nothing like it is now. It was crazy busy. But, it was still a lot of fun and we got two great pumpkins to carve later.
..






We had a great day!

April, May and June

What a crazy few months and I/we have loved every moment that has been given us. We started out in April going to Panama City with David, Debbie, Amber and her friend Taylor. We stayed in a condo on the 16th floor and the view was amazing. Not to mention having time with our best friends in the world (30+ years) it was a nice break that we needed.

Then it was off to NYC with my girls and Debbie, April and Amy. We had a fabulous time and I am still smiling just thinking about the time together.
The first of May found us in Arizona with Destin and April. This was a really special time for us to see God's wonderful creation, get some rest, and hang out with my amazing niece and her husband.

We just returned from visiting Matthew and Emily. We went to the beach in Wilmington, NC on Saturday. While there we rode a ferry over to South Port and ate at one of those "mom and pop" places that has been around forever. I can truly say I have had the best crab cakes, ever.
The fun part about this picture was watching them climb up in the tree. Cute couple.....
This is on the ferry over to South Port. I just love this girl and I am so proud of her. She works hard and whatever she pursues, loves to have a good time, and she takes really good care of our son. Plus, she is a great shopper, which is what we did on Sunday...
I just feel really blessed. God has done exceedingly, abundantly, above and beyond all that I could ever ask or think.... Thank you Lord for my health and for putting so many people around me that love me.
What's next???? June 1st it's back to WACHOVIA BANK for me. I will be the Teller Manager at the Kennestone office which is right by the hospital. God has made it very clear that this is His will for me. I'm acting out of obiedience and trusting Him for the future. He knows how important my family is to me because He put the love that I have for my family in my heart. So, I'll trust Him to make me available when I'm needed or called upon to help.
LaurieAnn is coming in June for her birthday, Yeah!!!! and we will see most of the family again in June at the beach.

Arizona was awesome!!!

Yeah for Fro Yo....gotta find one in the ATL

This past weekend at Destin and April's home was truly a memory that we will treasure for a long time. We got to see some amazing sights but best of all we were able to spend a lot of time with Destin and April. Destin and April both had all day Saturday and Sunday off which is a rare event for them. Saturday we slept, shopped, ate, slept some more, went to a D-backs game, and had some really good pizza after the game.
Sunday was church, grilling out, hanging out by the pool, napping, hiking, and some really good mexican after the hike.

sundown over Phoenix...good times!

Monday we traveled to the Grand Canyon and came back through Sedona to see the red rocks.
We ate at a really cool restaurant on their outside deck where we could watch the sun go down.

There are not enough words to express the beauty of this awesome sight....

All of this was very special but what blessed us the most was just spending time with Destin and April. We are very blessed to have 4 great children and the Lord has given very special mates to 3 of them. But we are "triplely" blessed to have nieces and nephews who love the Lord and are serving him each and every day!!! We love Destin and April as if they were our very own. Granted, we did get live around April as a child, which was very interesting at times :) So, to get to be around her as an adult and see and talk about what God is doing in her life was a real treasure.










Memories...........they are what last. Let's keep making them........................

After eight years.......

he's done. Mark played his last football game last night at JSU. Stan and I were able to go and we had a great time. It was a bright sunny day with a few clouds in the sky and a cool breeze blowing. Mark started the whole game on the 2nd string team and they won 34-17. It was the perfect ending to a wonderful time in his life and ours. Playing college ball at any level and for any sport is not easy. The first year if the toughest and he succeeded in many ways. He has always been fun to watch because he was such a passionate player. But no matter where he was playing he always managed to find us in the stands and acknowledge that we were there. He was even able to find us at GA Tech last year, not an easy thing to do. He played hard and worked hard even when he was asked to play defense in high school which is not his strong suit.
Mark has been our "hobby" for the last few years since all of his siblings have moved out and started their own lives. What a fun "hobby". His goal was to play college football and the Lord allowed him to do that. Starting spring practice as a red shirt freshman in the 2nd string position was a huge accomplishment. But his passion is gone for playing the game. After much council he has decided to, come home, work on getting his gpa up, lose 50 lbs., and earn/save some money. Please keep this big "teddy bear" in your prayers as he seeks God's new plan for his life.

GOOD TIMES!!! WE LOVE YOU SON AND ARE VERY PROUD OF YOU :)