It's all about me on my Birthday...

So today is my Birthday. That's right...I turn 21! Yay!!! Even my own kids didn't believe that one! Oh well...at least I try. I have had such a wonderful day so far! I woke up not feeling too hot this morning. Tired, weak, platelets running low. I got ready slowly this morning, went in the kitchen to make breakfast and soon after started feeling better!  Eve woke up and walked in the kitchen and gave me a great big hug and told me "Happy Birthday". I dropped Jasy off this morning and my mom had made me cookies and had them wrapped up for me to take to to work. She always makes me coffee in the morning so she had it, my cookies and my present all laid out on the counter beside the coffee maker. I thought that was so sweet. I went to work and soon after a teacher walked in with a gift for me. She made me the cutest handmade apron!  She makes the cutest things! Her and another teacher went into business last year and their just AWESOME!! (http://www.littlewhimsies.wordpress.com/) I about cried when she gave me her gift. She is such a kind person and you can tell she has a heart for God. (She also brought me muffins and food always makes a way to my heart!) Then another friend came in and brought me a notepad set-another sweet, sweet person. My second class of the day came in and sang me Happy Birthday in the cutest little song!!! About made me cry! I checked my email soon after and saw how I was getting post, after post of Birthday wishes on Face book. That meant so much to me! Then...a teacher comes in bringing me the most beautiful flowers!! On the card read, "Happy Birthday, I love you, Jason". What a sweet man I am fortunate to have. He also called work and left me a voicemail singing "Happy Birthday" to me. It was so funny! I only worked until lunch today then I went home and put on some pj's and TOOK A NAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not a long one, but enough to energize me and make feel so much better!!!  It has just been an amazing day so far! I am so thankful for my life! Wonderful family, friends and the best Savior/friend that I could have. Simple things in life mean so much to me. In fact about so many know so little about me. So for my Birthday, I am going to fill you in on the "little crazy facts of me". Just some of them because I still need some friends.

• I am a GERM FREAK!!!  That's right, I drive my family crazy and I worry about things that you can't actually see. I take my own sheets, comforter, and pillow on vacation, I Lysol everything in sight, I wash my hands so much that their going to look 90 in about another year.
• I hate FROGS with a passion!!! I am so scared to death of them that I might run you over to get away from them.
• My favorite color is purple. Just love it so much!
• I will NOT lay my head down on my pillow if I haven't showered. Even if I take a nap, I cover my pillow with a clean blanket so it doesn't get soiled.
• I worry about crazy, little things all the time. I worry about people (friends/family) and try and figure them out until I drive my self insane. I pick at the skin around my thumbs when I am worrying and make my fingers bleed. (this drives Jason crazy) 
• I go by schedules. I LIVE by schedules. My cell phone calendar beeps a hundred times a day reminding me to ; pay the house, cook for church, leave house to take Eve to gymnastics, type Jason's homework, send card to friend, call friend, pick up groceries, remind me of what groceries to pick up, etc, etc, etc. (this drives Jason crazy too)
• This leads to this I AM SO FORGETFUL!!!! Especially when I am tired. I couldn't tell you my birthday probably.
• I love clean sheets. Nothing like crawling in a clean bed, with a clean body, with a clean face, and go to sleep. I love to read my Bible then. When it's quiet in the house and I am comfy.
• I LOVE  watching gymnastics! I always have. I just don't like watching my own daughter compete. Practice, yes, but compete, no!!! Tears my nerves up and I think I am going to hurl!! I sit and pray over and over the whole time, and my hands and legs are shaking so bad that I try and make it not noticeable to the people around me.
• I went to Cosmetology school after High school. I did, I almost graduated, then I changed my mind. I didn't want to mess with strangers hair anymore bc I am a germ freak!
• I think I have ADD. I really need to go to the doctor and get on medication.
• I have a low platelet disorder that makes me really weak, tired a lot of times. I ran a 5k the other week when I had really low platelets and I about passed out. I kept going though bc I am competitive and I don't like to be last.
• That leads me to I am a perfectionist. I love to plan everything out in my head. Then I drive myself crazy adding, changing, and planning until it's almost perfect to me. When the girls have birthday parties, I have planned them for months ahead. I love decorating but I don't know when to stop and say it's good enough. (this drives Jason crazy)
• I hate Chiwawas. Those dogs are so annoying to me. I don't know why. (Don't tell my sister that)
• I am scared of the Ocean. I will get in enough to cover my knees then I get out. I am afraid of being swept away by the current.
• I love Biggest Loser, American Idol, Amazing Race, but I never watch tv anymore. I don't have time bc it's not on my schedule anymore. I record them and watch them when I get a chance. (never)
• I have been coloring my hair since 9th grade. I think it's an ash blonde in winter and golden blonde in summer but I really couldn't tell you.
• I LOVE to dance!! Back in the day I could tear up a dance floor. Now Eve says I am embarrassing and that I need to stop. NEVER!!!
• I love to laugh. Sometimes I am just plain crazy! People tell me all the time that I'm crazy so I finally beilieve them.
• I burp all the time. I do. Even when Jason and I were dating, I would just let them rip. He married me so he must not mind too much. It hurts to hold them in. I will around people that don't know me that well but when you get to know me...be prepared!
• I yell when I sneeze. It's like I am being murdered. (It drives Jason crazy) It hurts if I don't yell. I hold it in when I can't  yell and it about kills me.

Okay, that's enough for now. Don't you feel more normal now?

How is it...

Don't you just love the fall in the air? Aww....my favorite season is finally here! With it comes the changing of the leaves, and crisp Autumn weather. Nature is so beautiful and we really are so blessed to live here in the South! It's not too awful hot (well this past summer was record breaking) and it's not too cold-just right if you ask me.

I have had a lot on my mind lately, in fact you could say that I have had too much to say and didn't know where to start. School is going well for Eve and for Jason. Lots of work for both. Eve is doing remarkably well balancing her after school activities and keeping her grades up. I am proud of her determination and drive there. Jason is trying so hard to get all his work done, find time for us and still get a little rest. Bless his heart. This morning his alarm clock went off at 4am and when his feet hit the floor, I heard mumbles and grumbles of a tired man. I felt sorry for him. I think he went to bed early last night though-midnight. Please pray for him and his guidance, and the strength that he needs. Jasy is doing well too. She started taking ballet last week (she has been begging for awhile). She looked so cute in her little leotard and tights-I could have squeezed her little cheeks off! Her Nannie and Papa took her on a field trip last week. She got to go to the Apple Orchard and pick apples. Then they went to NC and picked up a new toy for Papa. A new coon dog that she named "Speck". She's been growing flowers too that she planted there and I think she has more "farming knowledge" than any of us! Now me...I am trying hard to find time for myself. I haven't found it yet but when I do I am going to be excited. I want to go running so I will have the energy that I need to full fill my list everyday, shop a little, get my toenails done, maybe just sit in a tub and soak for about an hour until I get all pruny. However, I am enjoying being a mom, and a wife and thanking God that He gave me the life I have!

I have been thinking a lot lately about people in general. I can't figure them out. I have really tried to and I just get even more confused and upset.  Here are a few thoughts that have been running in my mind;

• How is it that you could have everything right in front of you and you not know it?
•  How is it that you claim to be a christian but never go to church or witness to your own family? He gave His life for us and yet so many won't even fight for Him?
• How is that deep down you know that you should be serving God and doing the plan He has laid out for you, but you put Him last?
• How is that we are so quick to judge others but  are so easy on ourselves and our ways?
• How can you have such wonderful talent and waste it away? Don't they know that God handpicked them to have it and He can take it anytime?
•  How is it that you have friends that love you and ache for your burdens but you won't pick up the phone to call them and say "I'm okay"?
•  How is it that this world is so full of sin and perverse ways that so many of us don't even get upset anymore when we see it everywhere we go?
• How is it that people think that their okay if they made a profession years ago but never dart the door of a church or even have a desire to serve Him? How is that those same people will send their kids to Vacation Bible school once a year but not ever think about it any other time. -Do they not care that their kids could die and go to hell?
• How is it that someone, that doesn't know God, lives a sinful life, can tell someone that their "praying for them" when they don't even pray period?-Why is it a "figure of speech" and a "kind thing " to say to someone who is going through a difficult time instead of what it needs to be? "I will pray for you"-when their not even a child of God-Don't they know that it won't be heard?

I don't understand the ways of people and the thoughts that cross their mind. I want to just tell them sometimes to wake up and get with it, but I know that if I do then I will ruin the witness that I might be for them by just not saying anything. Please pray for me that I will stop trying to figure out people and just leave it up to God. All I can do as a friend is PRAY for them and plead their case before God. Lift Up !! . . your Prayers. 'Do not worry about anything; instead PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING.' Philippians 4:6

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions...

Life is just full of decisions. Should I eat the healthy granola fruit bar or the yummy looking honey bun for breakfast? Should I drink one or two cups of coffee this morning? Should I wear my hair up or down? Should I cook or get take out? All of those are an everyday part of our lives and although they seem so hard or aggravating to make daily, their really such a blessing! Aren't we blessed to have a choice of what to eat? Aren't we blessed to be able to have hair to fix? Aren't we blessed to have the money to be able to afford to go to the store to get food to cook or get takeout? We all get so caught up in our own little world that we forget about the REAL WORLD right in front of us. What about all of those people who don't have anything to eat, nowhere to sleep, no companions, no hope in tomorrow? We could easily be those people in a blink of an eye. Are you thankful that you were able to get up out of bed this morning and able to stand up on your own? You could very well be dependant of someone to take care of your every need. Those legs that are so sore and achy after a long day of work, could very well not be functional and you could be without a job tomorrow. We take for granted all of our little blessings and complain too much about wonderful little decisions that make our lives so much better. Let's all start praising and thanking right now. "Thank you Lord for this wonderful bowl of Cheerios that I am eating for lunch"! "Thank you for the roughness on the bottom of my feet because I am able to stand up at a job that I am thrilled to have." "Thank you for the laundry that seems to always reoccur no matter what I do because that means that we are blessed with clothes on our backs." Most of all "thank you for my hope in you for tomorrow because with you, I will never be lost or be lonely"!

 I could go on and on and on...

Shall we?

My motto...

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. That's my new motto! Wanna join me?

Another name in the Book of life...

Heavens are rejoicing this morning! One of my uncles got saved this morning! HALLELUJAH!!! I know a lot of people, including myself have been praying for him for a while and thank God he made things right. He called my dad last night around 11:00 and asked if he could come over and talk with him. He said his heart was so heavy and he needed to make things right. He asked if their cousin who is a preacher could come over with him too. My dad hung up the phone and called their cousin and turns out that he was down the road from their house at a gas station getting gas. He had just left a revival. It took him 2 minutes to get to my parents house. When they got there they talked and read the scriptures. My uncle recited John 3:16 over and over bc he said that someone had told him that verse when he was just a young boy and he kept it in his mind for all these years. (you never know what you say to someone can stick with them for the rest of their life!) I can see my uncle Claude who passed a little over a year ago, having a good ole time when they called his name out in heaven this morning! Add Charles "Erby" Burrell to the Book of Life! My mom said that my dad was there until 4:00 in the morning having a good time. Please pray for my uncles family.  For his wife, his kids, his grand kids that  he can be a witness to them. GOD IS SOOOOO GOOD!

100 contest...

So Eve and her Daddy are having a little contest to see who can score the most 100's in school this year. They both are doing really great but Eve has taken the lead by a few I must say.

I am so proud of Jason and how he is handling work and school full time. Heck, he still has time to do a few of his little honey do's here and there. Like Weedeat (I am scared to death of loosing a limb or I would do it) and taking the trash off. The grass cutting has been put in my lap along with some others but I am just happy that we have a yard to cut!

Jasy is learning her letter sounds and is doing fantastic! My parents are her teachers and they do a remarkable job with her! I am so blessed!

Trials and blessings and the need for missions throughout...

Have you ever had a change in your life that at the moment was so hard and you didn't know why God was putting you through it? Only to look back and see the disaster that happened after you crossed through? To see the bottom fall out and know that God only put you through that trial because He was looking out for you. I am seeing that more and more in my life. How good God is and how everything that He does is for the good. Even the darkest of times have a bright path leading to happy times. Not to mention that those trials make us stronger and more aware of things around us that the devil tries to blind us with. I praise God for His wonderful mercy, awesome goodness and saving grace!

A few months back I asked you to pray for a lady that I work with that was doing mission work in India in the summer. She came to my classroom yesterday and brought a scrapbook/writeup of her journey. It was so touching!! She talked about how they bartered at local markets, tasted the local cuisine, and saw the slums that people lived in that in America would be considered abuse. They traveled to Ujjain, one of India's four holiest cities. There people waited for hours to offer sacrifices and try to find blessing and favor from false Gods. Man-made statues, animals, even old trees! There in that city was a river where people bathed, washed clothes, emptied the remains of cremated bodies, brushed their teeth, and dunk themselves as a way to obtain salvation and favor in the eyes of the gods. They even visited a temple where they held sacrifices of babies on each new moon! It would be and understatement at how devastated that city was for them.The Lord used this to break their hearts for the people of India and give them eyes to see them and love them well. The next day in Indore, they went out into the villages and their group was able to share the gospel with over 40 people! Eyes were fixed, people were curious and God's name was made high! The pictures were enough to make you weep in sorrow for these people. Dead animals lying in the streets, trash piled up everywhere, pictures of people digging in trash cans for food. We need to pray for this country and for the cities within. That God might destroy the idols of worship and draw the lost to Himself through the light He is shining. Pray for the missionaries who live there everyday. Pray for their safety and a heart that never grows acquainted with the darkness there but seek to uproot it.

How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? Romans 10:14