"That" Girl

Were you ever "that" girl? Never quite measured up. What were you trying to measure up to? I guess I was always wishing for a better outward appearance. I loved what was on the inside a ton but just always wished I could just flip the inside out. I guess now that I am writing about this I suppose maybe I did succeed at that! I think I was liked by people and seemed to have plenty of friends. What people really knew back then was my heart and who I really was. Now fast forward 20 years and the message is even more clear! God does not see what the world sees (or what we see in ourselves). God sees us under a microscope and still thinks we are B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L! He cares about what is going on inside of us; where the true beauty is. I still have days when I get choked up thinking that I once thought I would never find anyone. I just really thought I might be alone forever! My first boyfriend was when I was 18 and he was..well...lets just say not what God really wanted for me. My dating days began to pick up a little when I went to college but I kept dating the supposed "hotties." AWFUL for me! I really lost myself in this season of my life. Not the proudest moments for me but God was still there with me. I remember thinking one day that I should find someone who treats me special and to stop looking on the outside. Two weeks later I met my knight in shining armor!!!! I know what you are thinking...I looked past the outward appearance...NOPE! He was actually adorable, cute, and handsome!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just knew he was my special little package! I did not know God at the time but I just knew that for some reason he wanted to give me this gift!! Lord, Thank you! Thank you! Thank YOU! Ryan has been the best gift in my entire life and YOU were there to give him to me!!! He is an angel on this earth! I love HIM! I just pray that you will bless him and keep him safe all the days of his life!

The small things~

My boys are still small. At the tender ages of 5 and 7 they are just starting to find their way in this world with an AWESOME tour guide~>God. He has been revealing himself to our boys in more ways than one. I remember our first experience was when one of the boys gerbils became quite ill. The boys and I prayed for this little creature and I even asked for prayers in my bible study. This all happened on a Tuesday. That gerbil was seriously sick. So sick that it could hardly move and the other gerbil just kept pushing it around in the cage. I seperated them that Tuesday and tried my best to hand feed it. Later that evening our sick little gerbil was healed! Seriously! I put him back with his buddy and he lived for at least another year! It was God's healing! A couple weeks later one of them escaped and Carson was quick to send up prayer for help in catching it.Good thing he suggested it because I was about to EXPLODE! Seconds later we had that little sucker in hand! Awesome! I am notorious for misplacing things at home and now it is pretty common for me to pray for God's assistance in tracking these items. My boys have quickly caught on! (Although Carson always wants me to pray for help when he loses something. He thinks I have a direct line)  It just doesn't matter how small or big your problem is...God cares and wants to help. It is pretty cool that we all have a direct line and we can dial our Father up at anytime and He is always home!

The Perfect Pedicure

I LOVE getting pedicures! My addiction started about 6 years ago over at Nails of America. I grew attached to Hannah. She is such a doll! By now she just feels like family. It was a nice Spring day when I was enjoying my luxurious pedicure when I saw this tall woman walk in with a sweater that resembled the color of this background. My first thought was, "great sweater!" My next thought was how striking she was. After about 20 minutes I was gently tucked under the foot dryer and Mrs. Blue Sweater was right next to me. It took less than a minute for God to nudge me. This was one that I really tried to ignore because I knew it was going to be awkward. Well...I went ahead and did it anyway. I said, "excuse me...I just wanted to tell you that I think you are absolutely beautiful but as funny as this sounds I feel like God wants me to tell you how beautiful He thinks you are." She was quiet for a minute and then opened up like a spring rose bud! After so much hurt and years of heartache a divorce was the outcome. She was just now getting out and had just recently started going back to church. She even found a really nice single group to connect with at her church. Uncomfortable? YES! Worth it? YES! She was suppose to hear how God feels about her. We are all messengers! God needs us to deliver His heart! He is counting on you! If you feel strange and uncomfortable doing something then you are on the right track!!! People will think you are weird if you are serving yourself but when you serve the LORD wholeheartedly=SUCCESS=MISSION Accomplished. (people may think you are weird regardless:) but WHO CARES! Ha! Ha!)

I saw Mrs. Blue Sweater not long ago at Black Walnut. I asked her if she remembered how beautiful she was? It took her a minute to figure out who I was but weird or not...I did what I was called to do. I feel good about it! God is at work everywhere! Even at the nail salon!

Las Vegas~ 2 Years Ago

Oh Yeah! Las Vegas baby! What happens here stays here right? Ryan and I decided to take a couple days and travel here for some fun loving! We ate at some incredible restaurants and even tried foi gras! Which for the record was disgusting! We saw the Blue Man group and many beautiful hotels. But mostly we just enjoyed each others company and reconnected like old times. Our days were usually filled with lots of walking and it was pretty typical to see homeless people scattered about begging for money. It wasn't until our last day that I saw him. We were already down the escalator when my heart was being squeezed. I asked Ryan for some money and he was not exactly Mr. Cooperative. He fussed with me a bit and then finally forked over some money. I shot back up the escalator and met up with this gentle soul hunched at the corner of the bridge. I sat down and began chatting with him. I asked him about his family and honestly I didn't waist time asking him if he knew Jesus. He replied with a confident yes. As the tears filled my eyes I was quick to relay the message of how much God loves and adores him. We ended our conversation with a prayer and kiss on his head. I handed him the money and off I went back down the escalator to meet up with Ryan again.

Back home I began unpacking and realized that not everything stays in Vegas. I will never forget Don. He is one of God's children. He is someones son, father, uncle, grandpa......He is one of God's beloved~ Who knows what Don did with the money after I left him. Does it even matter? There was message he needed to hear....You are loved! Your are precious! You are not forgotten~

Can you just imagine how many people are out there who feel like they have been forgotten. Hard to believe there are brothers and sisters out there who do know Jesus personally and yet are still empty. What are we to do? I say get BUSY!!! God's sweeties are everywhere! Each one of us can make a generational difference!!!  God has put a special request on each one of our hearts. What is He saying to yours??? GET BUSY!! Have FUN! Share HIS LOVE!

The highlighted smile:0)))))

Today was such a sweet day with my angel bud Leanord. I'm glad Ryan's mom was with me to see just how special he is! My first witness of God's affections! I am really not going crazy!:) After leaving Leanord we were on our way to pick up my little Lukey from school and then hit Sam's Club for a few things. As soon as we walked in I SAW him! My sweet little check-out guy was working the exit!!! I gotta tell you that I have never shopped so fast. I was literally chucking stuff in my cart so I could make sure I saw him. You see...I have been carrying a card in my purse for 3 weeks in anticipation of seeing this little sweetie! I would say he is in his 20's and wheelchair bound. His brightness could power up all of Sam's Club. I find myself thinking of him often. I SEE him! Today was finally my chance to share with him just how special he was! As we approached the receipt clearing exit my heart began to pound. I had my card in hand...ready to give...Nana and I handed him our receipts with the anticipation of that glorious highlighted smiley face....................WHAT! No SMILEY face!!!! Today he just put a SCRATCH on my paper! I handed him my card and gave him the biggest hug I could give. I teased him for not giving us the smiley face! His expression was PRICELESS! What did I put in his card? My hope was that he not only felt loved and special today but everyday for the rest of his life! Who is this guy? KENNETH!!! You better give that boy a big squeeze if you ever see him! Who have you seen lately????

Here is Leonard!!!! I took him to lunch today at his favorite place~> The Olive Garden (We had so much fun catching up. Would you believe he is actually 86! His birthday is January 3rd. I am thinking about a surprise birthday party next year for him! You may be on the invitation list!