Entering the Next Chapter

Many of you may know that I am not a sports fan. Often when sports are on, my sighs can be heard from another room. Especially sporting events that take up multiple days. When I heard it was time for the Olympics to come on I knew that it meant days of torture for me. You see, my hubby loves sports. He watches, reads about, talks about, and listens to most anything that is focused on sports. He becomes so engaged in the sporting event that the world around disappears.  This year I decided to approach the Olympics with an open mind. I even sacrificed and watched the opening ceremonies with my hubby last night for our date night. I love that in this point of my life God is constantly finding new ways to teach me and mold me. As I was contemplating the Olympics I noticed some ways that God would want me to be more like an Olympic athlete. I am not saying that God wants me to begin gymnastics or to become actively involved in a sport, but God does want me to have the same determination a

Dear Friday, Thank you for going quickly. I love when we come to part but sadly that only means that the summer is going more quickly.  Dear Annie and Mom, Thank you for the night off. The girls will love the quality time and the sleep overs. I look forward to the peace and quiet and the opportunity to sleep in.  Dear Hubby,  I love you and if you are ever in question just remember... I watched the olympics with you.  Dear Olympics,  I know it sounds a little anti patriotic, but I hate you. I find no interest in you and wish you did not take up the time slots. Why must you last so long? I wish you could only last a day or two.  Dear God,  Thank you for leading my love into your arms. Thank you for your grace and your provision. 

Dreams come in so many different shapes and sizes. A couple years ago my daughter Abigaile created a dream of her own, a dream to be a big sister. She was four years old and she was ready to be a big sister. We had tried to explain to her that we might not be able to since I had a lot of health issues at the time and because we had been trying for a few years. Dreams move us to believe when others don't. As we were walking through Walmart, a little onsie had caught her eye. She asked if we could purchase it. I told her that we couldn't afford to purchase it, especially because there would be no little body to fill it. She reached into her little pocket and pulled up a few wrinkled bills, change, candy wrappers, and lint. She looked at me again and said, "Can I buy it for my little brother or sister? I will give my money. That day she bought a onesie. We took it home, folded it up, and put it in a frame. I wrote the words, "Our dream" on the glass and wrote th

This letter is intended for Christian women and ladies. I do NOT expect a non-Christian to follow these rules and guidelines. If you are a non-Christian you can feel free to continue reading and maybe even respect my plea, but I in no way expect it of you.  Dear Christian Women and Ladies,  I write this letter to you as a plea and as a lesson. Let me start with the plea.  My husband, like so so many other men, has a constant struggle with lust. Do not be fooled, even the most godly men can struggle with this sin. We all struggle with sin. Romans 3:23 states, "for all have sinned  and fall short of the glory of God." I believe that while we all sin and all sin is equal, I believe that we each may have certain sins we struggle with more. In our society sex and lust are all around. There are billboards, book, music, pictures, pornography, women, but it is a very sad thing when it can be found among Christians. Please, as a sister, a Christian, a woman, and a friend do not

All about the modesty look. I don't like having all my junk hanging out. Also, trying to help out my fellow brothers, by not leading them to stumble or sin.  I hate feeling like I need to cover the hubby's eyes when females are dressed provocatively. Many men struggle with lust and we aren't doing them any favors by dressing that way. We can still dress to look cute or sexy, for our spouse, without showing it all.  Mama Kat is my favorite Youtuber and one of my favorite bloggers. I love so many blogs but I enjoy the participation aspect on her site . The writing prompts are always fun and challenging. 

Last week I had to face a major trial, and I am still facing it. You see, someone who I really care for has an addiction. Without my realizing, the pull of this addiction became overwhelming for the person and lead them to steal something so precious and priceless from me in order to get the high that they needed.  Friday morning I had found not only evidence of the addictions grip but all noticed that the item was gone and with it my trust. They had broken into my room when I lay asleep, and now I feel completely invaded. I know that comes with invasion of privacy, but I think it also comes from trusting someone and being betrayed by that same person. "You know the effort I have given And you know exactly what it cost And though my innocence was taken Not everything is lost Not everything is lost nooooo" -Brandon Heath "Your Love" Over the last year God has been teaching me that He is in control. I have learned that people will sin and make bad ch

Distant... so distant. Trapped in my own head. Isolated... so isolated. Laying alone in my bed. Dear Hubby, I am so sorry. I don't know what is going on. I feel so disconnected. So overwhelmed by the day to day of life. Thank you so much for trying to make me happy. How sweet of you to run out just to get me a tea. I don't like feeling like this and hope to be back on my game soon. I just constantly feel exhausted. I wish I could stay in bed for a few days, but I know the world won't stop just because I did. I love you so much and am so thankful for you. Dear Eb, Baby, my poor baby. I wish I could take the pain of your teething away. I wish I could make you feel more comfortable. I know that you are trying to communicate as best as you can. I am sorry I can't just hold you while you scream. Please, get some rest and be a strong girl. Please, give mommy a break from the constant crying. Dear Abbie, I am sorry I have been so distracted. I have not forgotten a

Have you ever heard the quote, "Never bring a knife to a gunfight?" I think that as a Christian this should be one of our mottos. The last several days I have been under attack, and I know that I am not the only one. It feels like the devil is so quick to pounce.  I have been feeling down, been agitated, and have been emotional. I have felt disconnected from my family and my friends. I have been bombarded by the lies.  Living in a society that is so set on political correctness and personal rights has left us with a misunderstanding of spiritual warfare. Guerrilla warfare is not included in our understanding of the rules. Why do we assume that Satan fights by our rules? Why do we assume that he won't kick us while we are down? Why do we assume that he won't attack our families? I think that these assumptions come from living in a country such as ours. The same assumptions are made of God. We often forget His great power and authority. We often think that God ne

So todays Vlog challenge was to talk about one of my favorite songs and to show my best lip syncing skills. I was thinking of all the songs I love. I felt a little nervous about the lip syncing. Then I began to think about my cousin Amanda. We used to go on road trips together or just hang out listening to music and singing. We LOVED our boy bands... especially N'Sync. So in honor of her today I decided to lip sync to N'Sync's Drive Myself Crazy. I need to go through my stuff because I know I have pictures of us in our Grandpa's van with our headphones on and lip syncing to N'Sync.  I have a close bond to all of my cousins but Amanda has been a sort of little sister to me. I love you Amanda.  What is your favorite song to lip sync to? What song do you have good memories from? 

So today's vlog challenge was to put something that readers would be surprised to find out about me. Since I am pretty open I decided to answer the ten questions that are asked on Inside the Actors Studio.  Here are the questions if you wanted to answer them... 1. What is your favorite word? 2. What is your least favorite word? 3. What turns you on? 4. What turns you off? 5. What sound do you love? 6. What sound do you hate? 7. What is your favorite curse word? 8. What profession other than yours would you like to attempt? 9. What profession would you not like to do? 10. If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? I did have one question posted to me...  Q: Who was you best friend from third grade?  A: Leah was my best friend from second grade and Annie was my sister from second grade.  Pick your favorite question and post the answer to in the comments section. If you have any questions for me feel fre

Today's Vlog Challenge was to describe the worst date I had ever been on. For me that would have to be my wedding. It was also the best date ever since I got to marry my hubby.  What was the worst date you had ever been on? Why?

Dear Friday,  Thank you for coming so quickly... please end just as quickly.  Dear New A/C Unit,  You had me at hello. I love you, especially that you are the quiet strong type.  Dear Spin Class,  You are a literal pain in my ... booty. It is still hurting which makes me fear going back again, but I will. Dear House,  So I know I tell you each week that you will be cleaned and organized but please don't be mad... we do now have three rooms completed. I will work on you more this week.  Dear Body,  Thank you for not giving in yesterday when I pushed you to your limits. You have done so well at the gym and with the diet. I know you can make it just one more week.. We will take it a week at a time.  Dear Hubby,  I love you. Thank you for putting up with me. Don't take this note as weakness, I will still kick your booty at this weight loss contest... your booty will hurt so bad you would have thought that you took the spin class. Dear Eb, 

On Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop, there are many writing prompts that are listed each day. One that really spoke to me was as follows:  Write a poem that about a time you felt betrayed. Merriam Webster Dictionary defines "betray" as  to lead astray;  especially  :  seduce  to deliver to an enemy by treachery  to fail or desert especially in time of need Although it may sound a little crazy I feel that I have betrayed myself for several years, through my lack of action towards improving my health and taking control of my weight issue. I lead myself astray by ignoring the issue and by providing junk food. I delivered myself into the devils arms through believing and repeating his lies and by giving into temptations. I also deserted the younger version of myself, when I began to use food as a way to comfort myself. There were plenty of times that I could have taken the time and effort to discover what part of me was hurt