Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful women out there! I just want to share some of the most influential and lovely ladies in my life. They have been such blessings to me in so many ways. It's hard to put into words.
My mom, Carol: She is probably the most patient person that I know. Not kidding. She puts up with so much crud from us, it's kind of ridiculous. I would love to say that I have always stood up for her or defended her from the teasing and ridiculing. But, in truth, I was one of the worst culprits growing up. I still think about things I did or said to my mom when I was younger and phew....let's just say that Trafton would get a serious beating from his daddy if he ever said them to me. She is so smart and so good at what she does for a living; she takes her time with patients at work and sacrifices her own time at home to make sure that people are taken care of. It doesn't stop there though. When she gets home, she continues to put others' needs before her own.
Mema: This is my dad's mom, who passed away several years ago. Even though she's gone, I still feel a connection to her. Not to get all freaky, but sometimes I can almost feel her spark and spirit inside of myself. My daddy once told me that I remind him alot of Mema. This is one of the best things anyone has ever said to me. She didn't take crap from anyone, but she loved people. She loved to sing and dance and just be silly.
Jenn: This is one of my dearest friends who now lives in Greenville. If it were up to me, they would live in our spare bedroom. I hate that she is far away. There are so many times where I am happy about something or in tears and upset when I think "I wish Jenn were here. She would understand." Chris will testify: he hears me say I miss her constantly and he is amazed by the voicemails that we leave each other. You know when you leave a 2 minute long message on someone's phone and you actually start asking them questions? Then you remember that it's a voicemail and it can't talk back? Yeah, that's the kind that we leave each other. Between babies and work, it's hard for us to get in touch alot of the time. But whether it's venting about our husbands, comparing notes on children, or just catching up, I always know that I can say anything to her and she will understand and not judge. I love her, her family, and her parents dearly.
Angela: I have written about this sweet lady before, but I can't say enough about her and her family. Even though they just recently came into our lives, Chris/Trafton/I are so thankful for them. Angela takes care of T. three days a week, but has also become one of my closest friends. I love to bounce things off of her and get mommy advice. She faithfully prays for us and is so understanding when I have to switch days on her or leave Trafton late into the afternoon. And I can't describe how much we value Angela and Terry as a couple. Terry can make us laugh until our sides hurt. So not only did God give us a great sitter, we also were blessed with a family of friends too.
Susan: This sweet lady was my Young Life leader in high school. I know that God would have gotten His hands on me one way or another, but Susan played a HUGE part in it. He used her patience and love to really speak to me. She took me to a Young Life camp when I was 15 and I discovered redemption through Jesus. It was exciting and confusing all at one time, but Susan would sit and answer my questions late into the night. Although we don't talk alot anymore, I still have such a deep love and appreciation for her leading me to Christ.
Debbie: I am honored to work with this lady every day. Last week, Debbie had to miss three days because her oldest son was graduating college. (Yay, JJ!) I had a terrific sub, but I missed my mama :) You know when you laugh so hard that it hurts OR you laugh until no sound comes out? That's what she makes me do sometimes. On the flip side, I have cried to her and her eyes well up with empathy. She is so understanding and so NONjudgemental. She is just the kind of person that I need working alongside me in my classroom.
Joy: Have you ever seen the movie "Monster In Law"? Jane Fonda plays a conniving, vicious mother in law who refuses to let go of her son and refuses to love his new wife. Yeah, this is pretty much the opposite of Joy. She not only cares for Chris and Trafton, she also cares for me. She is soft-spoken and a wonderful listener (um, the opposite of me! I am trying to learn from her.) and she truly has a servant's heart. Each day when I pick Trafton up, she always asks me how I'm feeling or how my day was. And she's not asking to be nice; she truly cares and wants to hear. She folds our laundry (one of my LEAST favorite things to do) and washes dishes (I hate stoneware....why can't they make some that runs through the dishwasher?!) for us.
Thank you, Lord, for placing these special mamas in my life. I hope some of their goodness will rub off on me. :)
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Sunday, May 6, 2012
So it's 7:00 am and I already have a disgusting image stuck in my brain. This, I'm afraid, is going to be a nasty blog. I try to stay positive and celebrate God's blessings when I write, but I'm going to have to vent a little bit...
A friend of mine at school was telling me the other day how she is a magnet for animals: the lost, the hurt, the rejected....she just seems to want them all. She's not the only one. For those of you who know us, you know that I am constantly begging Chris for a slew of animals.
Goats- so they can eat the grass and he won't have to cut it. Duh!
Horses- so we can ride and love them
Cows- I love their sweet eyelashes and I want to raise one from a calf
Otters- yes, I realize that this is bizarre. I can't resist their cute, whiskered faces. All I'd need is a pond out back....not too much to ask, right?!
Ducks- they would share the otters' pond, of course.
The point is, I am very similar to my friend. I will donate to the ASPCA and Humane Society in hopes of helping animals. I will pick up strays and beg to give them a home. I will cry when it appears that animals are hurt on a movie. I will call my trooper of a husband at 7:00 am and ask him to drive and move the turtle that I saw in the road on my way to work. (And yes, he will sometimes agree to it. That's why I love him.) I used to cry when my mom would kill bugs in our house, insisting instead that she place them outside. And I still encourage my kids at school to take them outdoors instead of squishing them. It gets extreme, but my line of thinking is this:
God has created EVERYTHING on earth and we are to respect it. He has created all of mankind, but also all of the little creatures. In the old testament, he does place us in charge of animals and grants us the right the eat some of them. He does not grant us the right to take advantage of them or mistreat them.
Yes, my husband is a deer hunter. I realize that this might seem a bit hypocritical for me to be preaching about caring for animals while he shoots them. He has not been hunting in quite a while, which I am silently celebrating :) But I don't tell him not to go, because I know it's something that HE enjoys. I even went with him once in our early dating days. I'm not gonna lie: I loved getting up early and going to get coffee and breakfast at Hardee's while it was still dark outside. I LOVED spending the day with him and watching him all decked out in camo. And I loved putting on my own snake boots that he purchased for me (ahh, redneck love!) and holding a gun to see what it felt like. I also had a realization while I was with him: Chris is respectful of animals and follows the rules when it comes to hunting. He does nothing illegally and He obeys God by bringing home the meat to eat. There are no deer head trophies in our home, and he doesn't flaunt the fact that he is able to kill something. He hates to see animals suffer too, which is why I know that he hunts for the right reasons.
So back to the disturbing image that I came across while drinking coffee this morning. Read the following:
As that dog lay on the ground fighting for air, Quanis Phillips grabbed its front legs and Michael Vick grabbed its hind legs. They swung the dog over their heads like a jump rope then slammed it to the ground. The first impact didn’t kill it. So Phillips and Vick slammed it again. The two men kept at it, alternating back and forth, pounding the creature against the ground, until at last, the little red dog was dead."- This is who Nike chooses to support and endorse. So I'm done supporting them. I can't even imagine shaking a hand with so much blood on it, much less putting money in it.See More
A friend of mine at school was telling me the other day how she is a magnet for animals: the lost, the hurt, the rejected....she just seems to want them all. She's not the only one. For those of you who know us, you know that I am constantly begging Chris for a slew of animals.
Goats- so they can eat the grass and he won't have to cut it. Duh!
Horses- so we can ride and love them
Cows- I love their sweet eyelashes and I want to raise one from a calf
Otters- yes, I realize that this is bizarre. I can't resist their cute, whiskered faces. All I'd need is a pond out back....not too much to ask, right?!
Ducks- they would share the otters' pond, of course.
The point is, I am very similar to my friend. I will donate to the ASPCA and Humane Society in hopes of helping animals. I will pick up strays and beg to give them a home. I will cry when it appears that animals are hurt on a movie. I will call my trooper of a husband at 7:00 am and ask him to drive and move the turtle that I saw in the road on my way to work. (And yes, he will sometimes agree to it. That's why I love him.) I used to cry when my mom would kill bugs in our house, insisting instead that she place them outside. And I still encourage my kids at school to take them outdoors instead of squishing them. It gets extreme, but my line of thinking is this:
God has created EVERYTHING on earth and we are to respect it. He has created all of mankind, but also all of the little creatures. In the old testament, he does place us in charge of animals and grants us the right the eat some of them. He does not grant us the right to take advantage of them or mistreat them.
Yes, my husband is a deer hunter. I realize that this might seem a bit hypocritical for me to be preaching about caring for animals while he shoots them. He has not been hunting in quite a while, which I am silently celebrating :) But I don't tell him not to go, because I know it's something that HE enjoys. I even went with him once in our early dating days. I'm not gonna lie: I loved getting up early and going to get coffee and breakfast at Hardee's while it was still dark outside. I LOVED spending the day with him and watching him all decked out in camo. And I loved putting on my own snake boots that he purchased for me (ahh, redneck love!) and holding a gun to see what it felt like. I also had a realization while I was with him: Chris is respectful of animals and follows the rules when it comes to hunting. He does nothing illegally and He obeys God by bringing home the meat to eat. There are no deer head trophies in our home, and he doesn't flaunt the fact that he is able to kill something. He hates to see animals suffer too, which is why I know that he hunts for the right reasons.
So back to the disturbing image that I came across while drinking coffee this morning. Read the following:
As that dog lay on the ground fighting for air, Quanis Phillips grabbed its front legs and Michael Vick grabbed its hind legs. They swung the dog over their heads like a jump rope then slammed it to the ground. The first impact didn’t kill it. So Phillips and Vick slammed it again. The two men kept at it, alternating back and forth, pounding the creature against the ground, until at last, the little red dog was dead."- This is who Nike chooses to support and endorse. So I'm done supporting them. I can't even imagine shaking a hand with so much blood on it, much less putting money in it.See More
Um, yeah. I can't express the anger and disgust that enters my mind when I read this. I know that as a believer I'm not supposed to hate. But my dislike for Vick and those who dogfight comes mighty close to hatred. Karma can be a wicked thing; Revenge is left up to God and I hope that one day these evil people encounter a fiery storm of judgment from Him. Thankfully, the Lord also reminds me that He knows everyone's heart. Perhaps Michael Vick has realized the error of his ways and has asked for forgiveness. I have no right to judge him or anyone else, but that doesn't erase the fact that he commited the unspeakable to other living creatures. I don't want to support or like him, and I certainly do not like the fact that he injured countless defenseless animals and is allowed to play football again. Our society is so twisted, but that's a whole 'nother blog.
Here is my suggestion: If you beat a dog till it's death, the same will be done to you. If you choose to electrocute an animal, purposely injure an animal, or throw an animal out of a moving vehicle, the same will be done to you. When you cause unimaginable pain and do so intentionally to something so innocent, the same will be done to you. And by the way, when you take pleasure in hurting one of God's defenseless creations, doesn't that make you a bit psychotic?! In my opinion, you have some big issues.
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