Wow! What a weekend. It was awesome. So for those who do not know, every year Olive Baptist has Odyssey Weekend. Which is where a group of kids spend the entire weekend at a host home (volunteers from the church who offer their home, food and transportation) with an Odyssey leader (usually a college student who travels to Pcola for the weekend to lead lessons and what not). Well, Justin and I were the host home for the 9th grade girls (well, one of the groups of 9th grade girls anyway). These are MY girls. I taught them in discipleship classes on Wednesday nights and when those were over I promised them they could be at my house for Odyssey… and so they were. These are the most drama-ful girls you will EVER meet. Well, I guess they are just typical of teenage girls but I could never explain the sheer joy that came over me Friday night after our lesson. They were sooo non-typical at this time. So let me just tell the story. Everyone arrives Friday night around 6:30, 7ish.
They chilled out and played a while but then it was time to start our first lesson. It went fairly well, like most bible studies with teenagers do, a little distracted but not bad. And just when we thought we were done, and it was time to pray. Britney (our leader) asked for prayer requests and the journey began. Every one of those girls had something huge they were dealing with in their lives, one by one they each cried and poured their little hearts out. It’s so amazing how you can do this general little lesson and get little response and then by just asking someone to discuss something personal the bottom drops out! That is all they wanted, someone to ask them what they were feeling, someone to look at each problem they were facing and show them how to see it through God’s eyes. Our prayer session lasted 4 HOURS that night. And the greatest thing was not that these girls were weeping over their own problems, but that they were balling over each others’. Some were so hungry for the truth. Not just the truth of how much they are loved, but the truth in general. Whether it was bible stories they wanted to hear, or exactly WHY Jesus had to die………they weren’t just settling for what they already knew, but instead their hearts desired more…….It was such an innocent sweet passion for their Lord. This is how I know that Heaven is going to be awesome one day. Because no matter how wonderful my life is or how amazing my husband is or how exciting anything is to me at any moment………nothing EVER makes me feel like I do when I see someone hungry for God, when I get to talk about him, and when I get to be in a place where everyone is there acting like no one is there but God. Those truly are the most monumentally marvelous moments in my life. And I am so glad these girls were part of one of them.
Well, after the discussion ended it was like 2am so I went to join my husband in the warm bed he was already cuddled in. And surprisingly the girls went to sleep not long after. On Saturday morning Ms. Joy cooked breakfast pizza for us and we had another lesson. The girls were so good during the lessons. Dennis soon came over with the camera and the girls scattered like roaches…….they weren’t wearing any makeup and their hair wasn’t fixed, so we defaulted to the next best thing…the Prissy fashion show. Haha. Dennis filmed Prissy in a few of her outfits, one being her new Hawiian getup which is the most adorable thing ever. She has a grass skirt, coconut bra and a lei……..hahahahha! I HAVE to post a picture. We ate pizza for lunch and then headed to the beach to do another lesson before the concert at church that night.
We got to take some cute pictures but it was way too windy and loud to do the lesson out there, so we went to SurfBurger and attempted to do it there, but we ended up only suffing our faces with Chili Cheese fries.
So we decided to head to the church early and do our lesson there before everyone started showing up. Which was a great idea until we got there and EVERY door was locked. Who knew it was so hard to break into the church?? We eventually got someone to let us in and had a great lesson. 
Where we talked about how to deal with hurt and how to forgive. They talked about how every problem they have in their lives, they can put the cross between them and that person, meaning……look at the horribly unbearable thing Christ forgave you of (crucifying him on the cross) and your little quarrel doesn’t seem so important does it?? Oh I hope they really use that in their lives. It’s so sad how we take that cross for granted………how we forget to take responsibility for slaying the most perfect man who ever walked to planet……and we hold a grudge because someone stole our boyfriend, it’s ridiculous! After that the concert started, it was a band called FUEL. They were great, the lead singer was the cutest. My girls were in love and I was so glad they got to see that there are attractive men out there who will sing their hearts out to the Lord, and live their lives out to the Lord. They needed to see that. After the concert we made a Wal-Mart run to get supplies for crafting our T-shirts! 
Then we went home and got our Martha-Stewart on. Of course the main ingredients were pink and rinestones! We called ourselves the Lil’ Mamas, for no good reason, just cause we liked it! Well we had another lesson that night but I missed it because I had to go around my neighborhood with this little puppy who decided he liked my porch. A group of 9th grade girls of course wants to bring him in, so instead I had to find his home. Well, we were all exhausted by this time so we went straight to bed.
Sunday was mine and Justin’s anniversary! I got a dozen long stemmed red roses. It was so cute to wake up to the sound of little voices saying, “Happy Anniversary Tyners!” hahahah. 
I’m glad I got to start it off with them, I truly adore each one of them. God has amazing plans for those girls, wow, I cannot wait to see it! We headed to the rally at church and enjoyed more great music. A few of the kids stood up and expressed what they went through and learned during the weekend. I was so proud when some of mine stood and told of how they felt they belonged………I want them to feel that with me especially, I want to be there to comfort them and cry with them and laugh histerically with them and booty dance with them and shoot………EVERYTHING with them! I love them!
Well, after church Justin and I headed home and cleaned like mad men, only to find that Ms. Joy was planning to clean our whole house while we were out celebrating, we kinda ruined her surprise but, luckily for us, we hadn’t finished the whole house. So we scurried off to the Pensacola Little Theatre to watch “Barefoot in the Park”, it was a cute little romantic comedy. 
We laughed and cried and the whole theatre experience was just great. Then we came home to get really dressed up and tried to decide where to spend our anniversary dinner. We went through the obvious choices Jackson’s, Bonefish, Melting Pot. But we ultimately decided to go to a Hibachi Grill, we had our first date at a Hibachi Grill. Plus there is a new one right by our house we’ve been meaning to try. We thought it was quite appropriate. It is the perfect kind of place for us. It is so entertaining and a fun experience in general. It was great. 
Oh yeah, I know everyone is dying to hear what we got each other for our anniversary. Well, my gift wasn’t that great I gave Justin his choice between this new fancy handgun he has been begging for or a new wildlife video cam he has equally been fond of. I didn’t go an purchase either of these because I have no idea what or how to get them. So we will go this weekend and let him pick one out! Yay. Oh but here is the big news!!! I’m getting a car! Oh yeah, you heard me, the one I have been eyeing for a while now, well, Jus ordered it in like October in order for it to be here by our anniversary, but it’s late! So, I have to post picture of it when I get it! Yay. It’s the Solstice, never been made before so I’ll be one of the first, how exciting is that for a girl who has never had anything new in her life! Oh yeah. I cannot portray my excitement. This is what mine will look like: 
And he said he got all the upgrades it could come with, two tone leather and all! It will tentatively be here next week but Jus says they just don’t know for sure……….oh gosh, I don’t know if I can wait any longer! AHHHHHHHHHHH! I had the best little anniversary with my husband of one year. Can you believe it?? A whole year already. It’s gone by sooo fast. I love him more now than ever. I really do, some people just say that, but I not only love him more, I appreciate him more. He is amazing. He is such a hard worker, and he loves my Jesus with all his heart……..what more could a girl ask for? Oh goodness, I am SURE I left something out of this wonderful weekend, but I’ll post again if I think of it! Haha. I love you all. And I will leave you with my favorite quote from Odyssey weekend, “I’ve learned this weekend that I really want to be….uh…….what’s the word……oh yeah……..a role model.” hahahahha
Well, today starts Odyssey weekend with my 9th grade girls. I’m really excited, I just love them so much. They are just at that stage where they are cool but they still want to be extremely goofy. In a couple years they will all be too mature to dance crazy and make faces in pictures……you know, all the fun stuff you miss when you grow up. I am ready to enjoy them just how they are now, with all their love triangle drama and all!
Last night we had the “get-to-know-you” banquet where everyone found out which houses they get to go to and we met the leaders of each group. Our leader is the cutest girl from Hot-lanta (for all you under-rapped children that is slang for Atlanta……you know who you are!) Anyway, she is seriously the sweetest girl ever, which is not gonna cut it with these rugrats………they will devour the weak, hahaha. A good commanding “shut up!” always quiets them for me but I don’t think she has that in her. Haha. Some people are just too sweet! No really, she is great and I got to talk with her a bit, she really loves some Jesus which makes her perfect in my book! We are gonna have the best time. 
Last night we had so much fun, we are already planning hot tub runs and what not! I’ll definitely post all about our weekend on Monday, if I’m not drop dead tired by then!
Well, my Prissy girl’s birthday was yesterday and I must say she sure knows how to party! Haha. After giving her numerous phone calls on the answering machine all day, Justin and I finally came home from work. I hurried to bake Prissy’s birthday cake, yes there are birthday cakes for dogs that require baking. We then joined everyone for bowling night which was fun.
Jennifer, Toby and I excluded Kristen for a while to discuss her shower plans, but we soon felt too bad for her sitting all by herself at the other table soooo, we played with her too. 
Dallas graced us with his presence also (eat your heart out Kenli and Brooke) hahaha! Afterwards, everyone came back to our house for Prissy’s birthday party! We all put on our party hats and got our horns ready. Prissy enjoyed our singing, she got pretty excited, I think she even tinkled a bit……..but it’s her birthday so we let her get away with it.
Then her and Daddy blew out the candle on her doggie cake and she opened her present from Mom Wow. It was Milkbones and some toys!
Daddy and I gave her a present too……..sooo many rawhide bones, she loves those things, keeps her busy for hours. After running around frantically greeting everyone at her party she finally settled down enough to eat her homemade cake. 
She devoured that thing! Mommy is such a good cook! Haha. The people guest got to enjoy real cupcakes, although the puppy cakes were tempting. I love that little doggie. She is the ultimate example of unconditional love. No matter how much I say “NOOOOO!” or how long I leave her by herself allll day long………she still wags her tail uncontrollably when I get home every day and jumps on my leg until I lean down far enough for her to kiss me. I can only imagine how much I’m gonna love my kid one day.
Well, we’re semi-swamped here at work so, I’ll cut this one short!
“To err is human, to forgive, canine.”
“Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.” – Mary Ann, age 4
I got a recipe for a doggie cake. I'll post pictures later!
Well, let’s see, what has been going down in the life and times of the tyners’??? Friday night was quite boring (you say boring, I say relaxing). Justin’s company is doing their yearly inventory which translates to “my husband is at work every minute that he is awake and the only time I get to see him is when he is snoring”. Not so great, but I appreciate so much how hard of a worker he is! I will never be fearful of going unsupported. That is a blessing I take for granted a lot. Anyway, he had to go in on Saturday morning too! I know he is sooo tired! Plus Kurt and Toby just got into their new house (sooo much closer to us now, yay!) so part of the weekend was spent helping them with that. Now they have all their belongings in one residence. Whew! Well, while Justin was at work Saturday morning I decided to see how domesticated I really could be. I went to Mom Wow’s house and sewed the morning hours away. She taught me how to sew a hidden seam, but I am MUCH better at the good ‘ol topstitch. All my memories of high school Home Ec came flooding back, I felt like baking a 7 layer cake after that! Hahaha. Jo was in town so I got to see her for a while too, before she had to go to her Bridal Gala that is. Then Rachel and I went to Ruby Tuesday’s for dinner where we both ate 1/3 of our meals…………restaurants serve in such big portions now. I mean, can normal people really eat all that food. They don’t have one thing on the menu that isn’t 10 lbs. of grittles……..and I feel so bad leaving half my food on the plate, but Justin assures me that it is better than getting a To-Go box everytime and letting it rot in our fridge. I guess he has a point. Anyway, then we rented a movie at Blockbuster and took it home to watch it with my cozy little hubby. Tori came over too! That movie was really funny. I like movies with weird kids in them, kids are so quarky, they make me laugh, while Tori develops crushes on all the misfits…….she’s weird like that. After it was over you would think that we would call it a night, and on any other night we would have but that night, MISS AMERICA was on!! Miss Alabama made it to the top 3 as usual (represent!) and Miss Oklahoma won, although I think Tori and Justin are planning to boycott, they really liked Miss Georgia. Afterwards Tori tried to convince me that I should try out for Miss America but I had some hang ups on my talent…….juggling, nah………..booty dancing, maybe, oh no…………then we decided Ms. Joy could teach me one really hard song on the piano and I’d do that…….seems sophisticated enough huh? Anyway, well I was definitely opposed to the idea until I realized that they pay her to travel and go do fun things for a whole year! Freakin right! Where do I sign up? Hahah, probably not gonna happen!
Sunday was a good lesson in Sunday school. My heathens from last Sunday felt convicted for their disrespect (these are the hummers, remember) and they were on their best behavior…….volunteering to read and pray……..haha, I like this guilt thing. Anyway, we talked about the Second Coming of Christ. There are a lot of things we as Christians don’t educate ourselves on and one day will be led astray (unknowingly) because of it. For instance, in the bible it says clearly (more than once) that when Jesus returns it will be seen by all people at the same instant…………soooo, if someone comes to you and says, “hey the Messiah is in Isreal, Jesus has returned!” A christian should know right off that this “person” is NOT the messiah. He says, he has already come in human form, this time, he will be in all his glory, and people in Africa will see him while people in Australia, and America are gazing at him too! When he comes we will ALL know, no one will have to tell you! These little facts are the reason the Bible is such a blueprint for our lives. He tells us what is going to happen! Wow! Okay so, I’m stepping down from my podium now. Okay so where was I? oh, after church Jo, James, Toby, Kurt, Dallas (Ice Pilots player originally from Wisconsin), Justin, and myself ate over at Ms. Joy’s house. Where we introduced Dallas to fried Okra, I’m not sure he liked it so much, next Sunday we’re takin him to Cock of the Walk for some Hush Puppies (he’s scared!) haha. Dallas also informed us that we don’t talk slow enough to be southern! Haha, we have the accent but too much speed. After lunch guess what me and Justin did??……….no silly, we took a nap! Hahaha, and I rushedly woke up in time for the Odyssey host home meeting. Which means that Justin and I are letting a bunch of 9th grade girls (whom we love with all our very hearts) stay at our house all weekend while we feed and entertain them in any way possible! Fun! Sad news is that Dennis will not allow any rolling or prank-type trips………..there goes my whole “entertainment” plan! Crap! After the meeting I went home to cook some dinner. Just requested breakfast foods so I whipped up some good stuff, well all except for the eggs. While I was cooking I assured Justin that the eggs were not bad, oh no, I just knew those eggs were just as good as any other eggs. That is until Justin took the first bite and ran to the garbage can………we soon found that they expired last month sometime……oops. But none-the-less, we enjoyed our egg-less breakfast.
Well, tonight is workouts and MNSC (is it my night?? who knows). But Justin won’t be able to make it, he is taking his “little brother” Joey to do something fun. Later tonight, and all the rest of the week, I’ll be spending my nights cleaning for the munchkins to come over, except for Tuesday cause that is bowling (and Prissy’s birthday!), and Wednesday cause that is church, and Friday the rugrats will be there! Thursday beware……..here come me and they dust-buster!Oh yeah, and my 11th neice/nephew will be making his debut today! It's a boy we already know. Congrats KC and Stephanie (and Megan and Chase) We'll be home to see him soon!
Okay so I put these quotes on my facebook profile too because i stinkin love them so much!"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love." Rebecca- age 8
“When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth." Billy - age 4
"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other." Karl - age 5
"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs." Chrissy - age 6
"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired." Terri - age 4
“Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK." Danny - age 7
“Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss" Emily - age 8
"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen."Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)
"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate," Nikka - age 6 (we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)
"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday." Noelle - age 7
"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well." Tommy - age 6
"During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore." Cindy - age 8
"My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night." Clare - age 6
"Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken." Elaine-age 5
"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford." Chris - age 7
"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day." Mary Ann - age 4
"I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones." Lauren - age 4
"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you."Karen - age 7
"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross." Mark - age 6
"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget." Jessica - age 8
And the final one -- Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child.
The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.
When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry."
Now how fabulous was that??? Makes you wanna go squeeze a little kid huh?
This song doesn’t really relate to me, I had a great dad. But after going through the Josh McDowell conference on Sunday, I realize how important the love of a Father really is. You can totally feel the pain of the girl in this song and then you are overcome with the rush of hope that comes at the end. We, as humans, take so much for granted in this life. We have such limited vision as to what is really out there for us. But God provide all things.
As a child she remembers bits and pieces
But most of it she's chosen to blockout
cause daddy never treated her the right way
He didn't understand what lovin was about
So she's opened up her heart to the whole world
Hoping someone will come and ease the pain
She's on the edge of a fatal decision
And she's drowning in the middle of the rain
She's looking for the love she never had
Looking for the love she missed from dear old dad
The world is out to get her
And she is left fadin’ away
She starves herself to meet a certain standard
Because the world says she's got to look so good
but Her heart is being eaten on the inside
And she'd do anything to change it if she could
See a father's love is something that we all crave
But something that so few of us receive
It's funny that so many feel forgotten
When all we've got to do is just believe
She's looking for the love she never had
Looking for the love she missed from dear old dad
The world is out to get her
And she is left fadin’ away
Now even the best dads fail sometimes
Being human they can only do so much
If we can't rely on them to be perfect
It must mean that we were made for Holy touch
That's why Jesus is the Love we've never had
He is the Love and Way to dear old Dad
He is out to love us
Yes he is out to love us
You'll never go hungry when you put your trust in Him
He is out to love us, and take us to a place of peace and rest
Okay so, the last few days in a dash. Monday night = workouts, oh yeah! It was a date with Billy Blanks. I’m actually really excited about working out again. I’ll probably get over the excitement soon, but I will persevere! Hah. While I was kicking imaginary butt, Justin was with is “little Brother” Joey. They went and played laser tag. That boy really loves Justin, but unfortunately he hates to lose just as badly as him too, I see some conflict in the future, haha. Yesterday I finally got to eat lunch with Tori after our month long hiatus. It was refreshing. Oh but that wasn’t the end of my Tori-Sunday. We got to test drive cars together after work…….hhaha, all the men at the dealership where doing their hail mary’s after we got back! Hey, they shouldn't try to make conversation while we’re driving. I told them not to let me sit up front with her because with our powers combined we become even worse drivers than when we are alone……..who knew? Then it was back home getting ready for bowling night. Well the guys (Kurt and Justin) had a work night at Ferguson that lasted too extremely long so me and Toby opted for last year’s 2 hour season finale of CSI…….oh and it was GOOD. Then my little Jus came home and we relaxed the rest of the night. In case I haven’t said it in a while being on call is FOR THA BIRDS! Church with our kiddies tonight where Dennis is making a big announcement that I can’t discuss until a later date. If I told you, I’d have to kill you. And I’ll leave you with an FSU sophomore year throwback……..PTL (aka: Praise the Lord)!
It’s been a while since I last updated. Reason being that Justin and I took Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday off for a “mini vacation”. We went up to his family’s hunting camp and relaxed. We had been planning this for a while now, Ben and Sam were going with us and bringing Hayes (their new baby) and Jus and I were bringing ours….Prissy. Well, it was nice and quiet up there, due to the fact that cell phones don’t work! Ahhhhh! Anyway, I thought it was fun, I mean nothing thrilling, but nice to relax and not worry about anything. Samantha didn’t find it as relaxing as me. I guess with a baby to deal with, roughing it in the woods isn’t as refreshing as it should be. She was ready to get back home after the second day so I rode home with her and then hopped back in my car and drove back. After getting home, I could have just stayed home but, my husband was up there and I wanted desperately to be with him for the next couple of days………even though he was hunting for most of the time. Prissy and I had fun though we cooked and watched TV and when the boys came home every afternoon and night we got to go fun places with them, like Waffle house, haha. Ben and I left on Friday night and Justin stayed till Saturday. This is his last weekend of hunting this year (cause our anniversary is next weekend, yay!) so I agreed with him staying to get it out of his system. Anyway, he shot a big eight point! What a great little hunter/gatherer I married! He hurried home Saturday night and that boy was sooo tired. We got up the next morning for Sunday school and church. Sunday school wasn’t the best. Probably because I have a few hemroids that decided to hum throughout the lesson, and when I got them to stop doing that, they started with the fake coughs………but the service definitely made up for any angst I was feeling. It was awesome. They say Christians go to church on Sunday to get fed, to refill their spiritual tanks…….and so many times that isn’t done, but this Sunday, I left church clappin! We had Crimson Flood from Liberty University there, three guys who can sing like nobody’s business. They were awesome, then the choir sang my favorite “choir song”……..Great is the Lord Almighty. Oh gosh you know those song that the choir sings and they all get really into it, so much that you feel like you are in heaven looking at the angels. That is this song, it has so much power and I just can’t picture heaven any better! Then we had a guest speaker, Josh McDowell. I had heard him speak before when I was in youth group in high school, but now that I am an adult I guess I really listened. He focuses on the family, and how to raise good kids and youth in our church. He talked about how important the father’s relationship with a child is. The mother’s relationship is also important but as we all know, it is taken for granted and in a child’s eyes the father’s relationship is adored. When that bond isn’t there or isn’t strong in a child’s life, statistics show that they have more problems in life, and a huge number will turn away from the faith. It was a great message for Christian men to hear how the child rearing depends greatly on them too! We then headed off to Sonny’s BBQ with Toby, Kurt, Ms. Joy, Ben, Sam and Hayes. After getting stuffed we went and got Justin some new shoes, and I didn’t even buy any! I should get a plaque. Dennis asked us to help work the Josh McDowell conference the church was giving that afternoon from 2-5 and I am sooo glad he did. It was a Parenting conference. Justin and I wouldn’t have gone otherwise, we aren’t parents. But sitting through that three hour conference made me realize how doomed our kids are now a days. I’ve noticed that just with my youngest sister (senior in high school) that things have changed dramatically. Kids don’t know what truly being a Christian is. And the sad part is, because they only know what they see, and most see parents who claim Christ as their Lord but don’t follow his scripture, they don’t trust that his grace is sufficient for them, they don’t place faith that he will provide, and they don’t treat their children as well as they treat their pastor. He talked about how you have to set rules for your kids, but rules without relationship leads to rebellion. They may not like your rules but if they like YOU as a person, they won’t stray from you. They will mess up, but they will run back to the loving arms of mom and dad instead of drugs and others. There were too many little points to mention but I took good notes and hope that God will imbed all these principles in my heart so that I can raise a child so strong in the Lord when the time comes. One huge thing I got from his seminar was about discipline. And he didn’t even say this out-rightly, but I inferred it from the things he spoke of. I am a stickler for sticking to the rules God has set before us. I truly believe that God doesn’t want me to live my life with the attitude of “how close to sin can I get without actually doing anything wrong” but instead with the attitude of “how incredibly far can I run from sin and how holy can I be”. And I am 100% sure that God is pleased with that attitude. But I have cast that expectation on those that I love. And undoubtably my children one day. Instead of comforting someone who has gone astray, I feel that need to correct them and help them do right again……just because I love them soooo much and want them to truly be the best they can, I have such a deep desire for that. But Christ says in Romans 12:15 “Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.” And it hit me. I am going to want my kids to do right, to live so according to the Word that it hurts, I am going to have this desire for their lives, I already do. But rules without relationship leads to rebellion. I know that I have to hold them accountable when they do something wrong and I don’t want to make lightly of their sins and gloss over it, but I don’t want to be so downtrodden by their mistakes that I forget to love on them in their time of need. I pray that God grows me in this area, that my first reaction would not be disappointment or hurt, but that it would be compassion to rejoice with them when they are happy and cry with them when they are sad.
The conference was just great. We went out with Matt and Kristen to Chili’s afterwards and discussed bachelor and bachelorette parties and wedding planning in general. Their’s is in 2 months! Sooo close.
We arrived home after a long day and relaxed for a while, then Ben and Sam came over a visited for a little bit. Oh yeah and who can leave out little Hayes who thinks the TV is hilarious. Haha. It wasn’t even a funny show but he was cracking up in that cute little baby laugh that makes your insides happy. I can’t wait till we get to that point in our lives, you know, baby point! Well, now I am at work after the major hacking that went down before I went on vacation, our company layed off sooo many people which left only 3 of us in my department, which means I’m on call that much more often…..fun! 
Oh yeah but two majorly exciting things happened while I was gone………Tori came back from France, in what might possibly be the strangest trip of all times, where she proceed to get car-jacked by an archangel, flew all the way to tally and then had to turn around and go back to NC where they started, and Bubba and CG were reunited in car heaven where they now frolick in an asphalt meadow together. And on a more upbeat note, Emily and Chris are FINALLY engaged, hence the title of this blog which I promised to her weeks ago. Good luck you guys, if two people were ever meant to be together, if two people could make it through good and bad and survive the attacks Satan has hurled at them……..it those two kids. The wedding will be fabulous I am sure, Emily-style all the way! I love you guys, good luck!
Tonight is workout night with toby. Last week I decided I would run a mile on the track at Olive then do the rest of my workout in the new facilities. Well, for some unknown reason I just knew that 22 laps around was a mile, so I ran my little heart out and wondered a bit why this mile was a tad bit harder than usual, I chalked it up to my laziness lately and kept running. Afterwards, only to find that I ran almost 2 miles! Haha, turns out 13 laps is a mile, sucks to be me! I really am such a blonde sometimes. Tonight we have TaeBo and Yoga, let’s see if my flexibility is up to par, I seriously doubt it is! Love you all have a fabulous day!
I really have no idea why that is the title of this blog, you’ll find no references to Slim Jim’s, snapping, or the Macho Man in this post whatsoever………
Wednesday night was kind of discouraging. Justin and I teach a “Marketing” class at church with the high school kids. Our job is to make flyers for upcoming events, design T-shirts, you know, advertising stuff. Well, we started off alright but we soon drizzled down in our efforts. It seems that there’s not much you can do after you’ve designed two T-shirts (neither of which got any airtime), revamped the bulletin board 10 times, and design handmade flyers when only one girl in the class has any drawing ability. So, we ran out of things to do. It’s not that the kids don’t want to do something, or that we don’t want to give them something to do but……….we need computer access in order to design and print flyers, we need material to somehow bring Marketing into the Bible. I just feel discouraged about the whole thing. Justin and I began to wonder if we had just too much on our plates. There isn’t one night of the week that we aren’t going somewhere and doing something, not one night were there isn’t a responsibility we need to fulfil, and then we have Sunday morning Sunday school with the 10th graders (which I love). It takes a lot out of you after working 40 hours a week. We were just soooo excited to jump in and get involved with the youth, we just really have a passion for them and their salvation. I am not sure if we tried to take on too much though. Pray that God will give us endurance to finish our course. Maybe we will cut back next year, but for now, we have dedicated ourselves to this task and we WILL finish. I just hope we finish in a pleasing way. I don’t want to just finish the race by jogging in, but by sprinting with all my might……..I guess it’s good that we have dedicated all our energies to the kingdom, at least I know when we do finish we will be so exhausted that we just lay down at the finish line. At least my savior will know that I ran with everything I had. That motivates me. 
Friday night was DATE NIGHT. I like it. As you can see above we don’t have much time to just enjoy each other……..but Friday Justin asked me out on a date. It started with our new found interest……Hitman (the video game) hahahaa, who would have thought I would love that game so much. Anyway, we got past the current level and then got ready for a wonderful dinner out. We went to Bonefish……which = Bang Bang Shrimp…….the love of my life. Well, behind Jesus and Justin of course! Haha. Besides the fact that the place was extremely too packed and we had to wait an hour before getting to eat…..it was fabulous. During our dinner I got up and went to the bathroom. While in there I saw this woman who had been talking to me while we were waiting to be sat. She asked how my dinner was going and we “bathroom small talked” for a minute. Then she got all serious on me……turns out she was a modeling scout from Orlando who wanted to sign me up….hahahah, no thanks! Been there, done that. Fun for a minute but…….I thought about this deeply when I was in high school when I modeled for Loreal, runway, none-the-less. Not that it wouldn’t be exciting, or that the money wouldn’t be great. And I do love to have my hair and makeup done and all that jazz but…….I really feel that I would have a hard time being successful in that business while staying successful for my Jesus. And nothing will prohibit me from being successful for my Jesus. Not that I am against modeling in any way, I even enjoyed it in college but, in order to make it a career I feel I would be tempted to give up some of my morals. Plus they put a 5’10” girl in 5” heels and had her walk up and down a 4 foot wide stage……in case you don’t know, clumsy is my middle name. I am just saving myself from inevitable embarrassment! Hahaha. Anyway, our night ended smashingly and I had the best time with just my husband. God has blessed us recently with the laughing bone. We laugh now more than we ever have, he’s just so stinkin funny. I love to laugh and even more, I love to make him laugh. This simple act is worth so many words to me. I thank God for putting us both in the spirit of laughter lately. I am reading the book “The Excellent Wife” and am learning to be truly grateful to him and for him. He is a wonderful husband and man, and I was made to be his helper in life. And I will strive to do just that. I will have to write a post with all the things I am learning from this book. Some aren’t easy to swallow, but they are all biblical which is why I will swallow! And follow.
Saturday Prissy and I went to the vet, turns out she has an allergic infection in her ear……..maybe it was the wicker chair she ate, or the chocolate chips that I accidentally spilled in her dog food (I thought I got them all out). Now she is on Roids!! My pretty little butch baby. Don’t laugh, she can probably bench press you by now! Then, oh glory, that dog finally got a haricut…….reallllll short. Haha, but the funniest part is when we got back to the house Justin decided that the ponytail part wasn’t short enough and that he would cut it himself. Now she has this chopped up looking ponytail and the hair behind it stands straight up too! Hahaha. She still looks cute.
Sunday was fabulous as usual. We taught about the Lord’s Supper and I was surprised to know how many people don’t know what it means and how seriously Jesus speaks of taking it in the right mindset. I know I haven’t always participated in it properly. We sang one song in the service that I really love:
“Knowing you, Jesus, Knowing you
There is no greater thing
You’re my all, you’re the best, you’re my joy, my righteousness
And I love you Lord.”
Yeah, that’s it! There is no greater thing. Who are we to have to priviledge to KNOW our creator. We hear people brag all the time about meeting a certain celebrity or actually KNOWING someone famous. How much more should we be bragging to know the very God who created the famous. It’s just beyond understanding. But when you grasp it even a bit, it’s an amazing song to sing.
Okay, on to lunch. We went to Cock of the Walk with Rachel (cause we miss her and Charles so much) and Kurt and Toby, Ben and Sam, Mama Fufu……turns out half the church was there! Then we of course went home to participate in our Sunday nap. Mine lasts an average of 2 hours and Justin lasts for 6……..but whose counting. It got late and we were hungry but have NO food at our house. Probably because we are NEVER there. So, I went to the grocery store where I ran into Ms. Joy. She came over and we had a great meal. Now Justin and I are getting back into our workouts. I’m meeting Toby today at the church gym, it’s fabulous, they got all brand new equipment and an indoor track, so I don’t have to fight off those scary men out in the real world. I hope we can fit this activity into our ever so busy lives! 
Galatians 2:20 – I am crucified with Christ, yet I live. Not I, but Christ who lives within me.
I’ve known this verse for nearly all my life, I’ve quoted it, memorized it, and, less times than I should have, lived it. For some reason I was sitting in my office, being bored and I just started thinking, “Galatians 2:20”. I couldn’t even remember what that verse said. I knew that I knew it. I knew that it was a very familiar verse, but at that moment I just couldn’t remember what it said. So I looked it up. “For I am crucified with Christ, yet I live. Not I, but Christ who lives within me.” I am crucified with Christ…….does that mean I have to die?? Well, when it comes to the sin in my life, my ideas of how life is supposed to be, my dreams, and my selfishness……yes, I have to kill those things. In this way, I and the things that I live for everyday, are crucified with Christ. But wait…….. “yet I live!” So while I was doing all this dying to myself, I forgot the most empowering phrase…….I still live. I can still have an abundant life as long as I remember that it is NOT I, but Christ who lives within me. I now live for him………every waking moment.
So, as I am sitting here pondering this thought I get the urge to read…….which is not like me, I hate to read! I just happen to have this little devotional book sitting on my desk and I pick it up. I do the poking drill, you know, where you pick up a book open it to some random page without looking and poke a spot on that page……….from that spot you begin to read. When I did this I came upon a little section called “A Breath of Fresh Air”. God is so amazing in the way he leads us day to day. I would like to quote some of this section that I read:
“For many years I was troubled by the observation that even after receiving Christ, so many people live in various degrees of defeat. Why, I wondered, was there so little love among many believers? And particularly, why did I so often struggle with my own sins and shortcomings? There were occasions when I was inconsiderate and self-centered, even though I knew that the Spirit of God lived within me.”
“I came to understand that sin steals back into our lives, even though Jesus has completely conquered it. He has removed the deadly venom from the serpent, Satan. Though defeated at the cross, that snake is still capable of biting if we do not keep our distance. I have seen it so often in my life as well as in the lives of people I know and love. We know Christ but we struggle with sin. Paul spoke of the conflict between the flesh and the Spirit in Galatians 5:16,17:
‘So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires
of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary
to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature.
They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what
you want.’
God’s loving presence is much like the air we breathe. We cannot live – truly live – without it.”
“We dwell in a very polluted world, and we breath in many unhealthy things every day. Often, by watching television or listening to music, we breathe in foul things from our world’s culture. Spending time around certain people who are poor influences, we take in polluted ideas. We need to exhale the pollution of sin, and inhale the goodness of God’s forgiveness and grace. When you sin by committing a deliberate act of disobedience, spiritual breathing restores the fullness of God’s Holy Spirit in your life. Spiritual breathing is simply exhaling the impure and inhaling the pure.”
“This one concept has enriched my life like no other. I discovered that there was a way for me to take my sins and lay them before God even as I struggled with them. Our spiritual lungs are choking on foul air, and we do not even realize it. We must remember the height from which we’ve fallen – up on that spiritual mountaintop, where the air is pure and clean. Then we must take a deep breath of air administered by God’s Spirit, and turn back toward the heights we would like to reach once more.”
So Friday night we went to the Ice Pilots hockey game. It was lots of fun, one guy broke the glass and we had a 30 minute delay, it was cool though. We even ended up sitting with Dr. Ted and Bennett, they added a great perspective on the game. After the game they were going to open up the rink for public skating, which is the main reason I wanted to go. And they did open it up, but I have never seen that many people wanting to ice skate in my life. We decided to plan it for another night. The next morning Jo and Ms. Joy called and said they were bringing over doughnuts and milk…….I wasn’t complaining! Then Sharry and Josh made it into town. Sharry and I headed to the bridal shop to try on a dress or two while we sent Josh and Justin to pick up some groceries for our fondue party that night. Not only did they succeed in their mission but they did it quite quickly, we attributed their time to Josh, who I hear is an avid grocery shopper. New Year’s was so much fun! We met Joanna at the bridal shop. She bought a wedding dress, Already! And picked out our bridesmaids dresses too (Agua with Yellow flowers) It’s going to be an outside wedding, so pretty. I don’t think I have informed my blog readers about my dilemma. Or should I say priviledge. I get to be in two weddings on one day!! Crazy I know. Kristi had her wedding planned for May 13th and Jo and James tried their hardest to find another date in their time frame to get hitched but, all sources pointed to May 13th……..so it’s a done deal. One wedding is a 3pm and the other at 6:30pm. I’m sure I can do it! I love to dress up, so this day should be extra fun! Haha, I just hope it is perfect for both the brides. Anyway, Then it was time to grab something to eat before the par-tay. Sharry and I voted for Red Lobster and by the time we got there and waited an hour, I was not a happy camper. I get reallll grumpy when I am hungry. We eventually got to eat and headed back home. We started up our new fondue fountains, one with milk chocolate, one with caramel chocolate, and one with cheese. Tons of people came and we had so much fun. Even my little audge and PJ got to come for a while. After we stuffed ourselves we decided to play Catchphrase, with a big group it is one of the funnest games alive. And we did laugh! We watched the ball drop (twice) and then all got our new year’s kisses (twice). It was great.
The next morning we staggered (because we didn’t get to sleep until after 1am or so) out of bed and headed to church. Then we had new year’s lunch over at Ms. Joy’s where she cooked us black eyed peas, for good luck. The next day (Monday) Justin and I both had the day off….I love it when that happens. We slept in and then went to Village Inn for breakfast. I let Justin buy a video game a blockbuster, even though I really didn’t want too. I’m glad I did, cause we had a lot of fun playing it. The concept of the game is really horrible. It’s all about a Hitman, but it does involve some strategy and problem-solving so I liked that part of it. Due to the fact that Justin doesn’t read the directions of the missions, I have to be there to decipher what we are supposed to be doing. We laughed so hard at that stupid game, especially when Justin got so frustrated that he strangled the guy we were supposed to be saving……….turns out the guy won’t get on the elevator Justin wanted him to. Hahahahhah! And now it’s today and we are at work.
Today when I was in the mall on my lunch break I saw the cutest little girl walking with her mom. If you are an avid reader of my blog then you know of my ambition to be a “Mall Mom” so I of course watched the two in envy. The little girl kept turning around and walking backwards, and this made me smile (for the first time today, after spending a not-so-exciting morning at work). I watched her walk this way for a while and continued to enjoy it emensely. But then she started to fall behind and this did not suit her mother well. She turned around yelled at the little girl and grabbed her arm so that she could ensure the girl would walk properly. I felt bad for the girl, all she wanted to do was walk backward, to enjoy this simple skill that she probably just grasped. And I picked up two things from this experience. Number one was there are sooo many different perspectives on one situation. I mean just think, there is the perpective of this little girl, bored from walking around the mall for hours with her mommy, trying to entertain herself, finally finding something she could do…….walk backwards, that’ll be a hoot right?? But then there was the perspective of the mother. Probably annoyed trying to fit her stroller through the clusters of people, perturbed because the little girl wanted to walk rather than ride in the stroller, and probably angered by having to tell the little girl three times previously to turn around and walk right. Her reaction makes sense if you look at it that way. It’s so important to see others perspectives. While the mom was obviously annoyed it might have been helpful for her to see the perspective of someone on their lunch break who smiled for the first time today because of her little girl walking backwards………Anyway, the second thing I took for that scenario was, to enjoy whatcha got. Kids have a way of taking the most simple things and having fun with them. Walking backwards………not only do you risk falling over an obstacle you can no longer see in front of you, but you slow yourself down also. Is it really worth seeing the worth in rewind?? May it is?? I should take all the little things I have been given and individually enjoy them. Funny how we can have a million blessings in our lives and still focus on the one problem we face at the moment. Makes me feel ingrateful. So on that note, I have a simple thing that I enjoy to share about: Solo cups!
Random thought, I really like to drink out of Solo cups. Weird I know! But here’s the deal, it’s not that I like the cup itself, it’s not like it has some advantage over any other cup. It’s just the feeling it gives me I guess. I’m trying to rationalize this in my head as I write. I guess it goes back to the fact that during holiday get-to-gethers or big functions in general, there are always Solo plastic cups. Blue or red, you take your pick. So, in turn, my mouth/head/taste buds relate that cup to fun times. I was just sitting here at work and happened to be drinking out of a Solo cup. Well, I finished my drink and went and got another can, normally I just drink straight from the can but, I had this perfectly good cup there, and it just has a different feel about it. Drinking from a Solo while I’m at work makes me remember when I was in Elementary school and we had our Christmas parties. That was always the best day because we were at this place where we normally do sooo much work but for that moment our only job was to relax, have fun, eat cookies, exchange gifts, and drink from Solo cups! Haha, so I guess drinking from this cup while at work, I kinda feel like it’s party day! Anyway, go grab you a Solo and enjoy your day! Or better yet, try it while walking backwards!
