On a lighter note!!!

Hello everyone! How thankful we should be for little children! (Well, except when they are screaming their head off in the checkout line...) Just kidding. It is amazing how smart kids can be, even in the infant stage. I recently attended a Kindermusik class one of my friends is instructing and was really impressed how the small children responded and that they already knew what to do in class. They ranged from 6-8 months all the way to 2 years old. I was really impressed!

Last weekend, I was honored to become a godmother to the daughter of one of my best friends. I am so thankful that they thought of me to be the godmother. Meet Camilla Anne!!!

I have been thinking a lot about that and it is really a big responsibility. Of course, the first major responsibility is that if God forbid anything happens to them, her godfather and I will have to take responsibility of her. This is something that I pray never happens but it nevertheless is a major responsibility. The other responsibility is that I have to be there for her, supporting her through everything she does from now on. I will need to hold her up in prayer through many of life's ups and downs. I will need to relay to her that I am there for her no matter what. It is a huge responsibility and I am ready for the challenge! I love Camilla with all my heart and will be there with her parents through dance recitals and soccer games or whatever it may be. Showing her God's love through me, now that's important!

I once heard someone speak about leaving a legacy to their children. What will your legacy be? It is a very interesting question and it is up to you to decide what you want to leave behind. A loving heart, thankful, kindness towards everyone or complaining, bickering or nagging? I know what I want mine to be, how about you???

"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." Prov. 21:6

God is here!

Hey, I was totally going to go in another "less serious" direction this time but I can't miss this opportunity to share how God showed me He is with me!! Since my last post the man who shot my fiance plead guilty and I had mixed feelings about the situation. My heart knew that I should forgive him, and that is what I want to do, but my head feels differently. My situation is going to need constant prayer to keep me from feeling resentment and hurt but God is here!!

The morning of our court date I attended my new bible study. The main topic I got for this week (and it really applied to my situation) was about meanness. It is a virus that we can spread to one another. I don't want to spread meanness to others so I choose to focus on the good. It is a choice and it's not an easy one.

The second thing God brought to my attention was through a blog I regularly read. The topic was forgiveness. She talked about how holding on to something is a waste of energy and how it will eat you alive. She also said to give it all to God and He will deal with it. "Every time you're tempted to pick it back up again, thank him out loud that He's busy handling it and that, once the battle is won in the heavenlies, you'll see it evidenced on Earth." How awesome is that??

God knew that I needed extra assurance. I can't get through this battle without him! Please keep me in your prayers that I continually choose good!!

"I can do all things through him who strengthens me." Phil 4:13

The Little Things...

Hello, I have thought about doing this blog for a while now but wasn’t sure and of course could always find an excuse not to do it. I think it actually started as a joke, but that’s not the point. I have many “little things” that I am thankful for and I started making a list so I wouldn't forget! : ) But I wasn’t sure what to talk about first and I probably started with another excuse not to do it. As I was eating my cereal tonight the topic hit me. The last couple of years have had many ups and downs and being the person that I am, I don’t like to dwell on the negatives. This is something that I really don’t like talking about and most of my close friends know about this but I generally avoid the topic. I started thinking about how I was limiting God by not speaking about it. I’m not saying that I will be able to talk about it in public, but this is a start. Whew!! Here we go….

Four years ago this week, I lost my fiancé in a senseless shooting. It has definitely been one of the hardest times in my 29 years on this crazy planet. I still don’t understand why this happened but I know it was all a part of God’s plan. You might think that there isn’t much to be thankful for in this situation, and at the time I felt that way also, but God was there and He still is. First, He has made me a stronger person through everything that has happened. I have Him to thank, as well as the friends and family who have been there for me through everything. Second, through this tragedy God has blessed our church more than anyone could have dreamed. For those of you who don’t know, my fiancés’ dad is the pastor and through all of us affected, there have been many lives that have come to know Jesus, which is the biggest blessing there could be. God used us for his glory!! How amazing is it that God used me, just a regular person. I don’t feel special, actually I feel pretty inadequate most of the time, but God used me and I am so thankful that He allowed me to see that.

There is probably much more to be thankful but God hasn’t opened my eyes to it yet. And as I write this, with tears, I am still thankful that God is with us and that He never leaves us.

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” Col 3:15 NIV