JOY

As I sat in church last night, I felt as though my toes were totally being stepped on! And I questioned myself "DO I HAVE JOY?". Here I am listening to the words that are haunting me by night. So I decide I have to continue to make a change. Bro. Greg stated "The secret of JOY is perspective". Where has my perspective been. Well for those of you who have been reading, I have been having a moment for almost a month now...and yes moments do last that long.

• Joy comes from understanding the truth. "I know the truth!!! God is faithful and just"
• Joy comes from having peace from God. "Well I know I am a child of the most high king, but am I listening to him? Do I realize that I don't have to carry my burdens by myself? Come unto me, all who are weary, and I will give you rest"
• Joy comes from being accepted. "I know that I am loved"
• Joy comes from seeing the big picture. "My God has a plan, and I asked him to use me; therefore, I must be able to accept the changes he has to make in order for me to be the person he wants me to be".
• Joy comes from having hope. "Rom 8:25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it."

I am running in a race, that I know I will eventually win! God is in control! Thank you to those of you who continue to pray for me. You will never fully know how much of a blessing you all are to me!

"Sometimes the devil sends his best before God sends his best"

TODAY IS THE DAY

TODAY is the DAY
By Lincoln Brewster

I’m casting my cares aside I’m leaving my past behind I’m setting my heart and mind on You Jesus I’m reaching my hand to Yours Believing there’s so much more Knowing that all You have in store for me is good Is good

Chorus: Today is the day You have made I will rejoice and be glad in it Today is the day You have made I will rejoice and be glad in it And I won’t worry about tomorrow I’m trusting in what You say Today is the day

I putting my fears aside I’m leaving my doubts behind I’m giving my hopes and dreams to You Jesus I’m reaching my hand to Yours Believing there’s so much more Knowing that all You have in store for me is good Is good

Today is the day God has made and I will REJOICE and be GLAD in it!!!! Sometimes the ball is not in our court and sometimes we can not control everything. Therefore, it is important to realize that giving God our HOPES and DREAMS or our FEARS and SORROWS, is the only way to make it through the day. Thank you Lord for making this day for me to dwell in!

I WILL PRAISE YOU THROUGH THIS STORM

Praise You in This Storm
I was sure by now,God, that You would have reached down and wiped our tears away, stepped in and saved the day. But once again, I say amen and it's still raining as the thunder rolls I barely hear You whisper through the rain, "I'm with you"and as Your mercy falls I raise my hands and praise the God who gives and takes away.

I remember when I stumbled in the wind You heard my cry to You and raised me up again my strength is almost gone how can I carry on if I can't find You and as the thunder rolls I barely hear You whisper through the rain "I'm with you"and as Your mercy falls I raise my hands and praise the God who gives and takes away

I lift my eyes onto the hills where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth I lift my eyes onto the hills where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth

And I'll praise you in this storm and I will lift my hands for You are who You are no matter where I am and every tear I've cried You hold in your hand You never left my side and though my heart is torn I will praise You in this storm.

It's a new day and a new picture. I thank all of you for the prayers that I am receiving! I know that God is listening and he is faithful. My mom mentioned this song to me last night as I drove away from Tom and Steph's house. It is my life right now. Between my dad's sickness and the other big purple elephant that I have been dealing with I have just been wollowing (probably a horrible spelling but just sound it out) in all of my issues. But God, I will praise you in this storm. I don't know why I am going thru this right now but you do! You are the maker of Heaven and Earth. I WILL PRAISE YOU IN THIS STORM!!! So today, I pledge to smile more, to get on with my life, to actually return to the gym, to give Taylor and Clay their beds back, and most importantly to PRAISE him even when my world doesn't make sense.

2 Breaths

Sharon asked me yesterday how I was doing and I said "I'm trying to breathe". I got a message from Sharon today and she said "Well take 1 breath today and try and take 2 breaths tomorrow". What a thought!

So I have sat here and tried to figure out all of the things that are going on in my life, and although I know my God is comforting me and helping me, I am still hurting and I am still mourning this loss. I talked about it last night at church and I know that God is doing a work in my life. He heard my prayers and has chosen to help me weed out my habits and keep me from compromising into things that can cause me to stray. So here I stand again, asking God, Please help me to be the witness I need to be. Help me to move in the path I need to be in! And as always, God please give me the Strength, Endurance, and Faith to keep on moving.

New Chapter

Time to start a new chapter in my life!!! One that I didn't think I would ever be starting again. For those of you who know me well or those of you who are just loyal readers, Stratton and I officially broke up on June 15. I have been bombarded with all of these thoughts of why I am not good enough. Why did this persist for 2 years before he decided to tell me this. "He said, He wasn't as sure about us as he felt he should be". What a blow to my heart. The person who has said he loved me for 2 years, is now not sure how he feels about me. I could say that I am taking this well, but that would be complete understatement. I know this is 2 blogs in a row, but I ask you to please pray for me! I am hurt and a little lost. The life that I thought I had is now changed and will never be the same. Each day is a little better, and each breath is a little easier to take in!

A little stressed!!!

Okay so I am really in need of vent time. This week has been so hard. Here I am so excited about camp and getting all of my stuff finished and what happens? I get sick! That's okay I can totally bounce back! But what worries me is My dad went into the hospital on Tuesday. For all of you that don't know, my dad's health is not the greatest at this point due to his need of a liver transplant! (Totally the condensed soup version!) Anyway the dr's in Jonesboro put him on a high dosage of antibiotics and that has totally messed his insides up! SO now he is in Memphis getting better! I never realized how hard it was going to be away from my family until dad got sick! I can't be there and do what I need to do for him. I am not there to ask the questions to the doctors and so I feel completely separated! Really tough stuff!

On a worse note, some lunatic feels that it is necessary to break into cars over by where I work. They are stealing things like garage door openers and insurance and registration information. Scary!!!! And to top it all off, When I got home from church last night, I started to put my pj's on and of all things, someone was shining a stinkin' red lazer light in my window! SUPER SCARY!!!! So I called the neighbors and they came over and looked around. I called the police and they said they would put extra patrol over on my street. As I hung up with them the little bad person did it again! So I immediately called the police back and they sent over patrol. My sweet little lady neighbor was watching the house when it happened the 2nd time and saw it. Talk about a horrible nights sleep!

So here I am at work trying to keep from crying cause I think that I have had about all I can handle this week! Realizing God never puts more on me than I can handle. I put what I have in his hands and ask him to help me! Give me courage to be there for my family, Give me peace to understand that I can not change things that are out of my control, and Give me endurance to move forward and be productive! HE knows better what I need than what I can express and so if he needs to tweek these requests I know he will! Please pray for me this week and the following while I am at camp!

Love you guys!!!!

This is hard!!!

So I weighed in last Monday and I was slightly sad with my results. I lost another 2 and 1/2 pounds, but he said I gained 3 pounds of muscle...As a female, you want to see the number go down...not stay the same, but I am continuing to chug along. One day the number will be down to where I want it. I am supposed to weigh in again today, so I guess we'll see what kind of progress I made in a weeks time!!! Wish me luck!!!