Today is a more serious post than my birthdays ones. My family is going through some difficult decisions and changes right now. My grandparents are not doing very well and my granddad had a stress test done yesterday and it showed that he had a mild heartache in the lower part of his heart. My granddad (aka Poppy) has had so many heart surgeries that we don't know if he could with stand another. My grandmother (aka Granny) is diabetic and she is having problems with her hip and her legs. My dad is taking good care of her, but she is still in a lot of pain.
My parents are making decisions about the future of our family with all of us graduating from college and with Poppy and Granny needing someone to look after them very regularly.
Please pray for my family as well as for me...I need to know where I fit into all of this. I want to be there for my family. I am very close to my grandparents and love them very much. I wish I had my priorities more in line to go spend more time with them. One of my weakness and tendancies is that when I know someone close to me is about to move or leave me I will pull away from them in effort to fill the void before it occurs...I don't want to do that...I want to be there for my grandparents and spend time with them as much a possible. I need prayers that I will be strong and do what they need even when it gets hard for me to bear. I want my priority to be them and not myself. I also need to focus on the positive about the time we have instead the time we won't have.
Thanks to all my friends for being there for me. I don't what I would do without you!!!!
( went for a little run...did a few things around the center)
Then I went to Tupelo with my bestest friends (Sean and Dave) to one of my favorite restaurants, Logan's Roadhouse....it is SOOOO good...I had steak (as usual)....then we went to Old Navy to do a little shopping.....we came home (dave forgot his cellphone at logan's so he had to drive back to tupelo to get it)....meanwhile...I got calls from my family with a little singing involved and a few more emails....then my sister, carla came by for a visit....
after she left Sean, Dave and I cooked casadeas (i don't know how to spell it)....then we went to walmart and bought scrabble and ICE CREAM!! we played for several hours...it was lots of fun (even when we got tired and started having a hard time spelling words...with all vowels ..right, dave....if Sean ever tells you he can't spell or he is not good at scrabble...don't believe him (love you sean)....
THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO MADE THIS A GREAT BIRTHDAY!!!!
To all my friends that took time to call, email or mail me a card...it made it very special...I felt very loved....
It was a birthday filled with many laughs, lots of silly string, full stomaches (twice), too much ice cream and an increase vocabulary...so all in all it was an WONDERFUL day!
Today is my birthday...I am the big 27 years old today...but it is not 30 so I think I am ok with that....I am looking forward to a great day.....I am going to lunch with friends...I have had four special people so far tell me Happy birthday...so it has been great up to this point...I will let you know the details when the day is over!!!
Thankful for another year to serve God. I pray that I will be able to do that to my complete potential!!
Thanks to all those who have made my birthday special so far!!!
well the christmas break is almost over and i will be back to my old routine again of work and school (but I do squeeze fun in there too....probably more often than I should)........a week from today the residents will start returning to prepare for another semester....i hope that we have a great semester ahead of us....i am looking forward to the semester with mix emotions and lots of goals...
1. i am getting closer to graduation (only if all my classes workout as planned)...
2. i will be applying myself, so i don't have to retake classes and i hope to not be taking classes i don't need (right, dave)....
3. i will be preparing for my mission trip this summer and trying to make sure all of my school stuff is taken care of before I leave...
4. my sister is getting married (so i am trying to lose weight and then i have to find a pink dress)
5. i am doing some form of exercise everyday (that is the plan...so far so good)
6. i am working on reading the Bible in a year...thanks Matt for holding me to this
7. i will be taking care of my responsiblities at the ucsc resident manager
8. i will be serving in the area of planning events such as parenting dinner, teacher appreciation banquet, ucsc get together and whatever else is put before me (maybe I should get my degree in party planning and organization)
9. Most of all I want to get out of my comfort zone and share my faith...LIVE AS IF I WERE DYING
I have a busy semester ahead...I am looking forward to all it will bring, but I am kinda of ready to get started so that I will quit thinking about all that needs to be done....but I have one week to prepare and to enjoy being out of school...I still have a little time to get things in order.
Casey had some good thoughts Wednesday night in class...we talked about appling what we have learned from the Fall semester class on 1 Peter...there was lots to think about and many ways to serve. It is time for me to get out of my confront zone and start REALLY living for God. (Bible study = Imitation) God is the only one I need to impress...not the world!
As you have probably heard the saying....Actions speak louder than words...something that goes right along with it....YOU MIGHT BE THE ONLY BIBLE SOMEONE IS READING...so what are you or am I telling them?
I am looking forward to each new day that I have to live for God...as my youth minister once said...when you leave your house each day remember you are now entering your mission field! I hope that I am able to keep this in mind with the new semester ahead and keep things in prespective with all the activities and responsibilities that will come my way.
Today I am thankful for:
The people in my life that told me about Christ
New beginnings and opportunities to share my faith
The time I got to spend with Tracey today...thanks again for Lost
People to keep me accountable and on the right track
The simple acts of kindness shown to me the last few days
I haven't made any New Year's Resolution, since they are usually broken...so the things I want to do this year will be goals instead of resolutions....since I am pretty good at keeping my goals.....one of my goals is to read the Bible in a year...I have a daily Bible reading schedule and I have someone keeping me accountable to so we will see how this goes...I am excited about it...I know it is going to help me....another goal of mine is to get into shape....I have been running and have lost a few pounds...but I would like to keep it up not only to lose weight but to be in shape....my sister is getting married in about 16 weeks so that is another reason to watch my weight....one more goal is to do well in my classes so that I will not have to retake any and still graduate in December.....
This year has many new challenges....I have already seen a few and know there is many more to come....but even in times of disappointed or failure I am going to try to have an Unspeakable Joy (like Bob said in his sermon Sunday)....knowing that no matter what happens God is in control and everything will be OK.
Today I am thankful for:
A New Year to start over
Friends that can keep me accountable in the good and the bad
The abiility to ask for forgiveness when I make mistakes
My phone to call a friend when I need advice
A church family that loves me and looks out for me
The ability to read so that I can read the Bible
The ability to run so that I can get into shape
All my blessings which I take for granted
My sister, Gena and the time we have gotten to spend together over the break HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!
Well 2004 is in the past....thank God for a new year! I am looking forward to what the new year will bring...I had a good new years eve...it wasn't what I originally had planned but it worked out and it was fun....i think it was where I suppose to be anyway or needed to be....(right, Sean)....we played Turbo Cranium and the Scub Squad came in last but we played hard and we think the cards were rigged...
I hope that everyone had a great new years...don't forget to eat your greens and blackeyed peas....if you want to be rich and lucky.....
Thank God for New Opportunities...I am looking forward to the BIG things and the small things He is going to do in my life this year!!!