Land of the LOST!!!!!!

When it comes to watching television, there aren't many shows that I "have to watch." American Idol, take it or leave it. Survivor.......to coniving for me, Dancing with the Stars.......I just don't get it?
But when it comes to LOST, I can't miss an episode! Not because I would be lost in the storyline if I missed it (because I would!) but because I love it! There are so many twists and turns, it keeps me constantly guessing and I love that!
I was thrilled when it went from 9pm on Wed. to 10pm. because Steven was barely home by 9 and trying to catch him up on the first 15 minutes when I was trying to figure it myself was a challenge! But now no more, it's on thankful Thursday and boy am I thankful!!!

Emma has practice tonight at 7pm but I have a feeling she'll be leaving a few minutes early!!

Jackson Hole 2008

Well it's Monday morning, and it's hard to believe that our trip has come and gone. We had such a great time. Someone asked me yesterday if we had fun and I said fun doesn't even describe it!
Here are some highlights:
*Watching Emma and Dougie learning to ski again. They were pros after the first hour!
*Getting to spend time with my family.
*Me busting it while trying to follow Emma and Mia on a ski trail. Laura and Skye were at least inpressed with my spunk!
*Snow ice cream.
*Seeing how Caleb fell in love with his Grandma and Paps.
*Uncle Garry's chili.
*Me, Steven, Mom, Dad, Dusty, Emma and Mia singing Row, Row, Row your boat in rounds. All for Caleb's entertainment after a day of sight seeing in the car!
*Coming across a bridge and getting to see 2 moose playing in the water!!!!! So cool!
*Little Debbie brownies.
*Singing "O Christmas Tree" with Dougie while riding up the ski lift.
*Changing the word dinosaur to 'sinasaur' thanks to Chaz.
*Drinking hot chocolate coming down from the top of the mountain.
*Finally making it down (without falling) the trails behind Emma and Mia!
*Steven and Paps singing some old, old songs! Something about a hole in the bottom of the sea.
*Buying Laura and myself a Starbucks!
*Realizing how much I love to ski!!!!!!!!
*Praising God at the top of the mountain (I was actually only at the top of the green slopes but it looked and felt like the top to me!) for His amazing creation!

Here's a slideshow. Get ready, there are a lot of pictures! Below the pistures is a video of Max and Emma. Max is in the orange and Emma is in the blue. Enjoy!

And we're off........

We're just about packed and ready to go. We'll be picking up the kids at school and heading to Atlanta. Then we fly out in the morning. Please be praying for us. I'll be posting some pictures when we get home! 40 degrees here, 1 degree in Jackson Hole!!!!!!!!!

What's you latte personality?

Here's a little latte fun. Anyone who spends anytime around will soon learn that I love Starbucks frappachino! So when my 'friend' (we've never actually met but I think we would be friends) Linda, posted this quiz, I couldn't pass it up. Take this quick quiz and see if it describes your personality.
Here's what mine said:

What Your Latte Says About You

You are easygoing and pretty simple to please. You don't put up a fuss... ever. You can be quite silly at times, but you know when to buckle down and be serious. You have a good deal of energy, but you pace yourself. You never burn out too fast. You're addicted to caffeine. There's no denying it. You are a child at heart, and you don't ever miss the opportunity to do something playful. You are expressive and friendly, but you are never pushy.

What does your latte say about you?

Fit Friday

Well, here's my weekly report. I didn't do as well this week as I wanted to but that leaves room for improvement! I worked out Monday and Friday. Both times, I used a Tae-Bo video by Billy Blanks. It kicked my butt, which I guess is the whole point. I was sore until Wednesday from Monday's workout! So the way I'm figuring, I'll be sore through the weekend and recover just in time to go skiing next week. By the way, I won't be posting a Fit-Friday report next week because we'll be in Jackson Hole. And though I'm certain I won't be working out, I'll get plenty of exercise by hitting the slopes! Be sure to check out Kelly's tips on exercise and diet.

Winter Weather

For all you people in North Georgia, we are jealous! We didn't get any snow, the most we got was a little bit of sleet. But you know you're in the south when it starts sleeting in the early afternoon and someone calls the preacher to find out if church is cancelled!!!

Insecure vs. Secure In

I haven't posted in a few days because I kept waiting for my kids to do something cute, or to have pictures of some exciting adventure, anything to keep me from having to write about this! But of course, nothing worthy of writing about has happened so I know this is God's way of prompting me to share this. So here it goes:
Steven has been preaching a series on the life of David. This past week's message was on David and Bathsheba. Steven came to me on Saturday and wanted to run an illustration by me. He was not only asking my permission to use it but wanted to know if I thought it fit. So go with me now to somewhere around 1998, a good 5 years before we even met (this is an important fact for later!)

Steven is single, pastoring his first church. He is grocery shopping one evening and notices a very attractive woman and begins to "check her out." In the midst of letting his eyes wander, the woman turns around and catches him. She isn't upset or shocked by his behavior but smiles and shows interest. Steven becomes embarrassed by his behavior and proceeds to check out. After putting his groceries in the trunk, he turns around and the woman is coming towards him carrying a rose. She is pretty forward in her conversation and it ended by Steven giving her his number. On the way home, the Holy Spirit begins to work on Steven and he knows that this is not a road he should go down. He even felt the Lord saying, 'Steven, if you pursue this, it will be the beginning to the end of your ministry. You need to count the cost before you pursue this.' When he arrived home, he called a dear Christian brother, shared with him what had taken place and asked him to pray for him. When the woman called, Steven was able to tell her that he was a Christian and that he had acted inappropriately and he was sorry for misleading her. The conversation ended and he never heard from her again.

Now back to 2008, when Steven shared this with me, (it was the 1st time I had ever heard this story), I knew that it would be a perfect illustration for his sermon. But I did share that it would bother me if he went on and on about how attractive the woman was. He assured me that he would be appropriate but that her attractiveness was an important part. The Bible refers to many beautiful women but as far as he knew, Bathsheba was the only one referred to as "very beautiful." (2 Sam. 11:2) So I told him that it was fine with me and that I thought it was a good illustration. But as the evening went on, the insecurity in me grew stronger and stronger. I let the enemy tell me things like, "I bet he thinks about that all the time and wishes it had turned out different. Just think, right now, he's supposed to be studying and I bet he's thinking about her." I found myself wondering what she looked like. What was she wearing? Just how beautiful was she? I actually began comparing myself to a woman that he met 10 years ago! By the time we went to bed, I was so insecure and had let the enemy have such a hayday in my mind that I had to say something. (Which for me is a huge step, because I usually "stuff" my feelings.) I told Steven exactly what I was feeling and thinking. (Which I know sometimes he thinks, how in the world can all that be going on in your head!) I won't go into what we talked about because those kind of things are between a husband and wife but just know I went to bed feeling secure in my husband's love for me. But that's not the end of the story.
The next morning during my quiet time, God began to gently chastize me (cause that's what He does for those He loves.) He began speaking to my spirit and asking me questions like, "Is your security found in your husband's love?" "Can he love you perfectly?" I knew immediately that I, once again had failed to look to my Lord for my security, the only One who can make the promise to never leave me and keep it, the only One who loves me unconditionally, the only One who can truly change me on the inside. I confessed my unbelief and as we say "got right." And then He dropped the big question,
"Did you really want to let the enemy use your insecurity to distract your husband from what I've called Him to do?" ...............oh my.
I went to Steven, apologized and told Him how the Lord had been dealing with me. He was so forgiving and understanding.........it truly is amazing.
During the sermon, Steven shared the illustration, I was prepared...... I was ready...... because I am secure in my Father's love and I get the blessing of the love of a wonderful husband. When he finished sharing the illustration, I was quietly thanking God for His love for me and the Lord whispered to me,
"You see, I chose for you a husband who would remain faithful to you
...........before he even knew you."


But God demonstrates His own love for us in this:
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Romans 5:8

Lord, you are so good to me and I am so unworthy!

Fit Friday

This may not interest any of you but I know I have a deep desire to get physically fit. So what I'm thinking is that each "Fit Friday" I will give a summary of of how I've done the previous week. Like I said, you probably don't care how much I workout each week but it's a great way to keep me accountable.

Ok, here's my summary for this week:

Mon.- planned to meet a group of friends to go walking @ 5:30, remembered that fact about 7pm.

Tuesday- nothing

Wed.- nada

Thurs. - zilch

Fri. - Meeting friends @ 4:30 to go walking. Hubbie just made dinner plans, we're meeting @ 4:45, guess that means no walking.

Ok, so I pretty much tanked this week. Hopefully, next week will be better! Check out Kelly's blog, she came up with this idea. She lost over 50 pounds in 8 months, woohoo, Go Kelly!

New Year's verse

Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart, I will glorify your name forever.
Psalm 86:11-12
These are the verses that God has chosen for me for 2008. I would like to elaborate on these verses and how I think God may use them in my life this year but it would be futile because I don't know how God is going to work. I do look forward to sharing with you in the weeks and months to come what God is doing in my life.
With that said, I'd like to share with you what I learned this morning in my quiet time. A few weeks ago, I read something on a "friend's" (we've never met but I feel like we're friends) blog. Her 4yr. old daughter said this prayer,
"Good morning God. This is your day. I am your child. Show me your way."
That simple prayer really spoke to me and I wrote it in the front of my prayer journal. I look at it almost everyday and this morning, as I was praying and asking God to show me His way for today, a quiet whisper told me to read Psalm 143. So turned in my Bible and began to read. As I began to read verse 8, I was reminded that God's word is alive and will speak into our very lives~
Let the morning bring to me word of your unfailing love
Good morning, God. This is your day
for I have put my trust in you,
I am your child
Show me the way I should go,
Show me your way.
for to you, I lift up my soul. Psalm 143:8

God used His word to show me that the prayer of a 4 year old child is exactly how He wants me to approach every single day. Every day, I have to surrender to God's will and not my own. It's not so much about living a Christian life, it's about living as a Christian today.

Funny Story

I hope this story isn't one of those "you had to be there" kind of stories because this is so funny! This past Friday night, we were playing a board game with Emma and Dougie. The game is based on High School Musical, so throughout the game, you either had to sing or dance. On one of Emma's turn, drew a "secret talent" card, which meant she had to act out her talent and we had to try and guess it. She laid on the floor and began doing "the worm." Being 80's children, Steven and I yelled out, "You're break dancing." "No," she told us and she stayed on her stomach and continued to move on the floor. "You're swimming," I yelled. "No," she answered and continued these weird movements on the floor, all the while, staying on her stomach. At a complete loss of what she was trying to act out, we told her that we gave up. She jumped up and said, "I can't believe y'all didn't guess it. I was belly dancing!"

I laughed so hard that I cried and when I could finally speak, I tried to explain to her what belly dancing is. Now we're a little more culturally diverse in our dancing skills. Break dancing, belly dancing, it's all the same!

You can't spell Sugar without UGA!!!!

If any of you have known me for any length of time, you know that my family and I are huge bulldog fans. And those of you who have known me since I was little, know that this has been a life long love for me! But I have to admit, at the beginning of the game, I was sure wishing that someone else was playing Hawaii. I love to root for the underdogs, and I was conflicted in my emotions. I, of course, wanted Georgia to win, but I also wanted Hawaii to complete their perfect season. And then when you hear about all that Colt Brennan has been through and how he's turned his life around, I wanted this to be a great final game for him. But on the flip side, UGA has several players who were playing their final game as a Bulldog, so what's a girl who loves the bulldogs but also has the God-given gift of mercy to do?

Well, thanks to Hawaii's #29 Keenan Jones, it didn't take me long to get my emotions straight! When He took that unbelievably cheap shot on one of my favorite's, Mikey Henderson #27, a senior playing his very last game as a bulldog, their was no more thought of Hawaii's perfect season. If that's how you want to play, then sic' em dawgs and show them beach boys how it's done in the SEC!!!!

(Yes, I have the gift of mercy but I also have a very competive streak, go figure!)
And as many of you probably already know, UGA 41 - U. of Hawaii 10

Glory, Glory to Ol' Georgia, G-E-O-R-G-I-A!!!!!!!

Vacation Countdown is on!

Ok, this countdown doesn't accurately represent our vacation but it was the only one I could find! We will be heading to Wyoming to go skiing and I can't wait!!!