Suddenly Sutton

 If you're close to me, meaning you see me daily or even occasionally or have talked with me in person, on the phone or even had text conversations within the last year, you would know that I am remarried! It's wonderful news I would have liked to share with each of my friends and family in person, but woah... I have a lot of family and lots of people I've met over the years that I like to call friends.  There's just not enough time in the day to keep up with everyone as much as I would love to!  But, I said "YES" and afterward, "I Do!" And I've been a happy new bride ever since! I met an extremely wonderful man who seems to love my family almost as much as I do! He's caring, so very generous, thoughtful, an extremely hard worker and he loves me with everything he has! We have so much fun together! He makes me laugh so uncontrollably sometimes that my sides hurt, and anyone who knows me knows I love to laugh! He keeps me grounded, he's my strength when I'm weak and my happy when I'm sad! He's the best to ever happen to me and I seriously can not thank God enough for bringing him into my life! He has saved me in more ways than anyone could ever imagine! I've never been in love like this.  It needed to happen I needed to experience a love I had never experienced before.  I can truly say I've lived now and I never ever want to live without my Michael Alan David Sutton.  This first year of being his wife has been a truly magical year! We said I do on one of the hottest nights in Vegas last summer August 10. My mom, my kids, my sister and her family were all in attendance to show their love and support! It was a memorable night and one I will celebrate until my dying day and hopefully for eternity as that is how long I hope my husband and I will be together!  We have so much to look forward to in our lives together, we've only just begun and already we've been able to see and do so many things together. I'll never be lonely as long as he is by my side! Well of course and our furbaby Koda also, we both love him with our whole hearts and love to spoil him too! I end this post with a few pictures of our new life together with plans to share our travels and our experiences within this new chapter of my blog. 

To New Beginnings! 

8 1/2 Years Later

  Where do I begin? Life is about change, it’s always changing. Just like the weather and the seasons and the books, TV shows, movies, music and the food and drinks we consume as well as where and when and with whom we consume it all with… change is inevitable. Change isn’t always easy, I think it’s almost never easy. There’s always an adjustment period even if you think the change is for good. About a year ago I made a career change, it was difficult to say the least and I had new challenges and nightmares about those challenges. I can say today I most definitely love what I’m doing for work and I hope I can continue doing it for years to come. So I feel I can honestly say change is for good and just like the song from Wicked that comes to mind every time I use the term change is for good, I really think that this is mostly true for every person that has ever come into my life that “because I knew you, I have been changed for good.”  Have you ever read the lyrics to that song? It’s so good, so simple and just so true to me concerning so many people in my life. My whole life, people come and go, I realize now that’s just the way life is and it’s ok, as much as it can hurt, it is just the way life is for now.  Not forever I still believe in a better eternity than this temporal world. I have to believe, I have to have faith and hope. Call me weak but I don’t want to live in a world without hope for an eternal world of love, happiness and eternal living.  And so I won’t, I will remain hopeful for as long as I have air in my lungs. There are too many people dear to my heart that have been taken from this world all too soon that I truly want to be reunited with, so for them I’m holding on to faith and hope.  Which brings me to love and back to change. Did I mention I’m a failure? I am. I failed at my first marriage of 25 years to a most amazing man! Regrets? The only regret I have and it’s a huge one is hurting the ones I love most in the world as a result. I never had any intention of hurting anyone, and daily I live with shame and feelings of guilt, which by the way my amazing therapist is helping me to navigate. If you’ve ever thought you don’t need a therapist, you do!  I never thought I needed a therapist, oh but I did, I really did. The sad part about mine though is I got one about 37 years too late!!! A person who endures sexual abuse their whole life from age 4 until age 14 by a person that was supposed to be one of the most trustworthy persons in their life, most definitely needs a therapist to work out all the demons, the pain, the shame, and the mental twisted torture they endure to this day, as a result. Without a therapists help it seems inevitable that person would fail in their first marriage. It’s such a sad story, even more sad that it’s a true one. It doesn’t end there though, Alas there is change, and thankfully forgiveness which I pray for and impart with daily. It’s the only way I can go on and live my life in truth and in love. I’m remarried now and I’m finding happiness in my new life and love. All of my family are more important to me now than they ever have been in my life. It’s true to say you find out who your true friend is by going through all of life’s traumas. The idea the last 3 letters in the word friend spells end rings true to me, because that’s definitely what happens between most friends. I’m so thankful for the friends near and far who have stood by me and my family through all of our change. Those friends prove to be more like family.  Family is forever, that rings more true to me and the word family ends in ILY which to me means I Love You, and no matter what, unconditionally I will always love our family. 

Face to Face

I'm really not sure what I would do without the saving grace of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I would be so lost, completely and utterly lost, without Him. I don't understand how others who don't believe in Him, make it through life? He truly is my Rock, my Fortress, my Shield, my Refuge, my Strength, my Deliverer, my Redeemer, my Hiding Place, my Comfort, my Hope, my Peace and my Joy. No matter how many times I fail Him, He pursues me, even when I don't want Him to, He forgives me, provides for me, works through me and loves me like no other can.  I'm wowed by my God, over and over and OVER again.  In writing this I just remembered a song that I used to sing when I was a child, looking it up now so I can post it... Hopefully I can find it!!... Found it... Here it is, and sung by 'The King' too! ;) http://youtu.be/wzvvgmf7Cs8

Do you remember singing this song in your younger days? I hope i'm not the only one who remembers it! 

Well back to topic, JESUS, what would I do without Him?! I really don't want to find out, it would not be pretty, that i'm sure of. Everything good in me comes from Him alone, and slowly, carefully, sometimes painfully, He's working on me to remove all the bad. I just need to allow Him to, and I need to stop trying to hold onto things that i'm not ready to give Him yet... Ugh, why do I have to have a sinful nature at all? I wish it could just be completely gone... I'm thankful for the hope that one day, it will be gone. In the twinkling of an eye, changed from mortal to immortal, and I'll get to see my Savior God, face to face.  Oh what a glorious day that will be!! Until then, I pray that His patience will never run out on me. 

40

I haven't really shared this with anyone but I think I've been depressed lately. Emotional, irritable, happy one minute sad and crying the next. Wanting to sleep, a lot, taking naps, sometimes two in a day, as well as just not wanting to get out of bed, so not like me!! It's not the best roller coaster to be on. And as my 40th is quickly approaching, less than a week away, I can't help but see vivid scenes of my life flashing before me as well as the many faces of friends, family and acquaintances in those scenes. Is this what everyone's 40th is like? Why do I care about a number? Age is just a number, right? I don't feel old, I feel young, and that could be part of my problem. I don't feel 40. I feel immature in a lot of ways. I feel like I still have so much to learn, and experience and I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up! Don't get me wrong. I love my job. Raising my son and daughter is definitely thee most rewarding job in the world! I love being their Mom! I have a blessed life. Just the other day I was chatting with an inquisitive woman, and she couldn't believe that my husband doesn't make me work. She kept telling me how lucky I was. And I get it, I understand. I really am lucky, blessed to be more accurate. God has been overly and abundantly generous to me. I really do owe Him a debt of gratitude for my life! 

So big deal, 40, why are you freaking me out?! Maybe it's because the saying is true, "What  messes us up most in life is the picture in our head of how its 'supposed' to be." I know in my last post I stated that "I am NOT a failure", well here are a few reasons why I have to fight, to not believe the lie, that I am: Relationships~ friends come and go, I hate the fact that they go, I would prefer that they always stay. Thinking of people I love that I've lost contact with, gives me feelings of failure in those relationships.

Missions and Outreach~ not being able to financially support, or give more time and resources to those in need, gives me feelings of failure in those areas. 

Answering God's call~ not being able to fulfill an area I feel God has called me to serve Him in, because of reasons beyond my control, gives me feelings of failure. 

Hobbies~ not succeeding in certain areas that bring me joy to do, as well as not completing or advancing in other areas, such as playing the piano, these reasons too can bring feelings of failure to my mind. 

Organized and scheduled living~ biting off more than I can chew and spreading myself thin to where everything gets done out of survival rather than done well, and with passion, this can definitely bring feelings of failure.

And one more thing because I don't want to list EVERYTHING:

Desires~ having so many wants, and never feeling satisfied makes me feel greedy, selfish and spoiled...More feelings of failure, hooray! 

So maybe y'all understand my last post better now, and yes despite all the reasons listed above, I still know i'm not a failure! I know I am a work in progress, and that any feelings of inadequacy I may have, are brought on completely by my own mind. I choose to believe God when He says, "My burden is light". He alone covers my inadequacies, and I just need to give Him my burdens and allow Him to replace them with His unexplainable joy, once again. 

So as I turn 40, ( ugh, my stomach just turned typing that) I need to remember this quote which is true in so many ways. "Most people mess up something good, by looking for something better, just to end up with something worse."

I Am Not a Failure

Wait, the blog world still exists? Guess I should blog then. 

When I'm asked introspective questions, that I'm not prepared for, (this happened awhile ago) I will answer as quickly and honestly as possible, but then, if the questions are weighty enough, I'll still be processing the questions and my answers hours later. It's a curse. Hence the reason my eyes stay open long into the night. Without going into the questions or the answers I'm talking about, I'll start with a different introspective question which came as a result of the initial questions.  'Am I the only one who ever feels like a failure in ALL areas of life?' I know it's a bit extreme, but I'm usually an all or nothing person, therefore, I'm pretty extreme by nature. Although, lately I've really noticed a change in my own character and I'm actually becoming not as all or nothing as I've always been. This can be a good thing and a bad thing, but for now I'm only going to talk about one good thing I've noticed about myself lately. One example, tonight when dinner and dessert came around, both consisted of 'small' portions even though I was hungry and could have justified eating way more. I'm so amazed how much control God has given me these days when it comes to food. I can honestly say He has set me free from the sin of gluttony! I used to eat, a lot, anything and everything, sabotaging my body, this very temple that He created to dwell in, with all kinds of and a lot of unhealthy food. Until, I confessed my sin, repented and asked Him to take complete control and help me to use wisdom and practice self control with my eating. It didn't happen overnight, it was a process and took a few times of surrendering all over again, but He's amazing and faithful! And It's now been a few years since He shed light on my sin and I laid it at His feet and WOW, have His blessings followed. Now 50 pounds lighter, 4 dress sizes smaller and no longer in the pre-diabetic, high cholesterol categories, my doctor is super happy with me! It's a good feeling for sure. So why do I feel like a failure then? I know I'm not, so the only reason I can think of is because that is what the enemy Satan, wants me to feel. Well, guess what? I'm done. From this day forward I publicly declare and proclaim in the name of Jesus, I am not a failure! I am, in fact, MORE THAN A CONQUEROR in Christ Jesus my Lord, and starting today I am determined to live that way! In all areas of my life!! I do know who I am in Christ. I know that who I am in Christ is none of my own doing, but ALL because of His doing. He is holy, He lives in me, therefore I am holy. He is perfect, He lives in me, therefore I am perfect. He is righteous, He lives in me, therefore I am righteous. He is worthy, He lives in me, therefore I am worthy. Again, not because of anything I do or don't do, but all because of what Jesus has already done for me and is doing in me. So today, I will no longer walk in defeat and feelings of failure, but I will walk in His victory, in His truth, in His peace and in His love. I know He has more for me, more for my life and my destiny, so my question is, 'What other sins Lord, can you reveal to me? My heart's desire is still the same, change me from the inside out. Please, set me free from the sin that so easily entangles me. Continue to change me from glory to glory and have your way in me.'

Christmas Day!~ Thankful Challenge Finale (Part 2)

Happy Birthday Jesus!!! I started my morning with thanksgiving in my heart and on my lips to my Lord Jesus and for His plan of salvation for all of us! Can you imagine, the Ancient of Days, our self-existent eternal God, Who stands outside of time, Who has no beginning and Who has no end, is celebrated all over our world,  because He stepped into earth's history as a newborn, fully human, fully God? He humbled himself to be born as a baby boy and split time in our world in half? Amazing to think about! He loves us so much more than we can even imagine, and I am so thankful to Him for His unending love!

At 12 and 14, I'm  thankful my kids still get so excited for Christmas morning! It's always fun watching them open presents. Later in the day my 8 year old niece and nephew came over to open presents together too, and I realized watching the happiness, joy and excitement of the kids  open their presents, is really one of the best things about Christmas!

It was fun to watch the older kids open their gifts too!

(Nana's homemade gift from Belle)

I'm thankful for each of the gifts I received, yes it's true "it's more blessed to give than to receive", but I'm certainly blessed when given to as well! :) My daughter made everyone homemade gifts this year, I loved her thoughtfulness and the extra work she put into them. Here's a picture of what she made for me.  A purple bead cross to add to my cross wall and chocolate in case of emergency, she knows what I need! ;)

Since this is my last thankful challenge post, I'm adding a bonus thankful: I'm thankful I got to spend an entire day celebrating my sisters 40th with her. We shopped for fun girl stuff, ate a delicious barbecue lunch, watched Into the Woods movie, followed by meeting up with the rest of our family for pizza, chicken wings, cake and ice cream for dinner. We always have a lot of fun together and I can't wait to spend an entire day with my sis again! She's the best and always makes me feel blessed! I love my sis!

Christmas Eve~Thankful challenge finale (part 1)

Well again I was supposed to write three things I was thankful for yesterday and I actually got half way on writing it last night, but, in a moment of not thinking straight, I closed the blogger app before saving what I had written and lost the post... Argh, can you say frustration? I guess it builds character?! :-{ 

Anyway, Christmas Eve was wonderful! First preparing food and cleaning up the house for a traditional Christmas family dinner, then off to a beautiful candlelight church service we went! I'm so glad we did too! Christmas Eve is just not the same to me without congregating with fellow believers to contemplate the miraculous birth of our risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I'm so thankful for a Creator God who completely humbled himself to become like one of us. When I think about the true humbleness of my God, how could I not consider every person better than myself? 

"Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:3-11 ESV)

No matter WHO it is, or WHAT they have done, we are called to forgive, to be peacemakers, to LOVE our enemies in word and deed and to pray for them... This can only be done through a sincere act of humbling ourselves, and with help from Jesus, it's very doable!

I'm thankful Dad was able to attend candlelight service with us! In case I haven't said it, I love him, he's the best father-in-law I could ever want! He really enjoyed the service, which made us happy too! 

I'm also thankful there is a time for feasting and celebrating with family and friends. I can think of no better reason for it, than to honor our Lord and Savior. Christmas Eve Dinner at our house with lots of family was delicious and super fun! We all had a great time of visiting, playing games, and

Exchanging gifts. Traditions are awesome! :)

Girls, Cheese Dreams, Humor~ Thankful Challenge Day 23 (a day late!)

This should've been posted Yesterday, but once again, I was too exhausted and needed to sleep first.

I'm thankful I have a daughter! As complicated, emotional and unpredictable us girls can be, I'm so happy to have my very own young lady to raise and watch grow. She ordered new eye glasses the other day, and she was so excited when she got the phone call they were ready, that we had to leave asap to go get them. Well once she tried them on she was sad because she was no longer sure she liked them. Reassuring her that they looked great on her wasn't helping, at all! So I said, "ok, well, let's try out all the other frames again and see if we could find something she liked better." It finally became clear to her, no pun intended, that she had made the right choice for herself. Isn't my daughter beautiful?! :) 

I'm thankful I got to spend the afternoon with Kathy, my sister in Christ, whose wisdom and insights I cherish as well as covet. We had such a wonderful time together. She asked me if I would help her with an open house she was having for the church staff and I'm glad I said yes, not just for the 'cheese dreams' either! After a relaxing beef brisket lunch, we got to work making them and oh my.... 'cheese dreams' are so delicious and BONUS... I got to hold a tiny, pretty baby girl today!!!

I'm thankful my family are fun and have a great sense of humor! When I walked in the house after being gone all afternoon, my husband, kids and father-in-law, were all sitting in the family room watching a fireplace video and singing "Joy to the World", I didn't believe them for a minute, but it was funny and made me laugh! :D

YIKES! Cramming 3 days into 1! ~Thankful Challenge Day 22

It's the most busiest time of the year! :) I've been too busy to sit down and write my thankfuls for the last few days, so now I'm cramming 3 days into 1! 

Let's see, Saturday:

I was thankful I got to spend the entire day in my pajamas cleaning house and stuff... The and stuff part was listening to lots of music. I'm so thankful for music, but I've already mentioned that fact in a past blog.  Saturday I was thankful for my flowers, cards and gifts from loving, generous Kidz Praize parents, participants and staff from my church, given to me after Friday night's musical. The gifts were all so unexpected and big time blessings too!

I'm thankful I will get to see my daughter's winter choir concert on video that my sister recorded for me, since I had to miss it last Wednesday night. I can't wait to have a few minutes to sit down to watch it. 

I'm thankful for Fausto's and the fact it's so close to my house, I LOVE their Carne Asada Super Nachos!!!

Sunday:

I'm thankful we had some extended family join us for church service and that it was an awesome service too!! From the worship to the preaching, loved it!

I'm thankful my father-in-law really enjoyed lunch at Raising Cane's. He definitely would like to eat there again.

I'm thankful for football games, classic Christmas movies and old school movies that are fun to watch, while baking Christmas cookies, into the wee hours of the morning. 

Monday: 

I'm thankful for my husband who does so very much to help me around the house, pick up items I need from the store and just plain keeps me sane! Just like one of my favorite couple quotes from the "Who's That Girl" Madonna movie that I haven't seen in ages, (remember the movie?! I Love it!) Movie Quote: "Because we're a team, a lean, mean, fighting machine of a team!" In short, my honey makes me look good. He's awesome!!!!

I'm thankful for online shopping and after driving around in this crazy city today, I realize I need to utilize it a lot more!!! I like when I see things in myself that I really need to work on changing, like my procrastination habits. I know one New Year goal of mine, stop procrastinating so much!

I'm thankful my 12th annual Christmas cookie exchange, dinner party was a success! So much fun with some truly beautiful and wonderful friends! We laugh a lot when we play pictionary, and I got to taste all the cookies brought, to decide on the hostess choice award. Someone had to! YUM!!!! I should be a food critic, seriously how fun would that job be?!! ;)

Musical, Breakfast, Director- Thankful Challenge Day 19

I guess I've been busy, because right after the musical tonight, my girl attached herself to my side and wouldn't let go. I'm definitely not complaining! I love spending time with my beautiful, sweet girl! I'm thankful she had so much fun performing in the musical this year and I'm so thankful when parents tell me their kids LOVED being in the musical too! Besides the fun and the sharing of the Good News through song, the kids have some of the Word hidden in their hearts now due to memorizing the lines and songs! That makes me happy!! The musical turned out wonderful! I'm very proud of the cast, choir and crew who made it all happen! 

Kind of random...my father-in-law took us out to breakfast this morning. He always spoils us and I'm thankful for that, but I'm mostly just thankful for him and the time we get to spend together!

Back to the musical topic, I'm so thankful to have worked right beside such an  amazing director, Staci Maxwell, for the 5th time! I really can't believe this musical was number 5 together!! Time sure does fly! If God allows and only if it's His will, I hope we get to do many more! I can't think of a better person I would want to lead with! :) 

A bonus thankful: I'm extremely thankful for everyone, friends and family included, who took time out of their busy holiday schedules to come see the show and I hope everyone enjoyed it! Merry CHRISTmas!

People Who Shine, Calvary, A Friend's Surgery~ thankful challenge day 18! 😊

Today I'm thankful for extremely thoughtful, willing and dedicated people, who shine brightly in this world! Today I noticed a handful!!! From my women's Bible study group, to those in my own family, to those working hard long hours on the Christmas musical! Just wow!!! I'm so amazed and inspired to try to live even more with open hands than I already do. When God works in the hearts and lives of His people, it really shows. After all our faith in Jesus is displayed through our actions.

I didn't mention this on my blog yesterday, but I feel compelled to, today.  Yesterday the Angels in Heaven were rejoicing because Luis at the Calvary downtown outreach, came to a belief in and confessed Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of his life! It was a beautiful moment that I will never forget!! And I'm so thankful I was able to witness it! :)

I'm also thankful my friend's surgery went well today, and although I'm sure she's sore, tired and probably has so much to get done before Christmas...I trust God will heal her completely and that her symptoms and reasons for having the surgery will all be healed as well. Praying she'll be feelin back to normal in no time!

My bro, Outreach, Friend~ Thankful Challenge Day 17

Tonight I'm thankful for my brother in law! I won't give details why, but all I will say is, he loves me, he really loves me! And I'm so grateful! He's the best bro in law I could ever wish to have! 

I'm also thankful for Calvary Downtown Outreach and the ministry that is happening there! It's an awesome place where Jesus is reaching the lost and changing lives!

And another special mention, I'm thankful for my friend Natalie, who for the most, part, helps me daily. She's always willing to go that extra mile for me and is very thoughtful and dependable, which are important qualities to have in a friend! :)

Today!~ Thankful Challenge Day 16

So today I'm thankful for friends who aren't afraid to celebrate a birthday 16 days belated! :) I was tremendously blessed today by my very thoughtful, loving and generous friend Amy. I'm so thankful we are forever sisters in Christ and I'm glad we get to encourage and pray for each other in this roller coaster ride we call life. My heart is filled with hope knowing "... that he who began a good work in you (us) will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."(Philippians 1:6 ESV)  His goal is to transform us into the image of His Son, and I can't think of anyone else I would most want to be like than Jesus! :)

I'm thankful my husbands nephew and cousin both graduated from UNLV today! I'm very happy for them and even though we weren't able to make it to the ceremony, we are celebrating with them in spirit and pray for all of God's best for their future!

I'm thankful my son enjoys band a lot because he's pretty good at it! He's learning both the French Horn and the Trumpet this year. We had so much fun watching and listening to his Christmas concert tonight. I'm looking forward to his high school band days and beyond!! I'm anxious to see what the future holds for him in regards to his playing instruments, but... I really need to just focus on the here and now enjoying the time as much as possible! He's already growing up way too fast as it is!!! (Sigh)... I'm not sure how he grew so fast, I've told him many times to stop growing. I should punish him for disobeying me! ;-P

Special Mention, Raising Cane's, Piano Recital ~ Thankful Challenge Day 15

I just read my post from last night and I'm glad it made sense and that I didn't say anything I shouldn't have said... I was falling asleep the entire time I was writing it!!!

Today was a very good day. First of all, I'm thankful for my dear friend Dana who definitely deserves special mention. She is one talented and gifted, selfless servant. I love her and her husband! They're both just awesome. I'm so thankful God brought us closer together in one of the hardest seasons of my life. She's a true friend and my forever sister in Christ!

I'm thankful I got to have lunch with 4 amazing ladies today, at Raising Cane's. I love each of them so much, they're just super fun to be with and the chicken fingers were sooooo yummy!

I'm thankful I got to see my niece and nephew in their first piano recital tonight! They both did awesome!  I'm very proud of them and I was weakened by their cuteness, once again. They're completely ADORABLE! 

Busy Weekend Thankfulness~ Thankful Day 14

Oh my goodness! I LOVE MY GIRL SO MUCH!!!! We just have the best time together, laughing HARD! She just went to bed, but I'm telling you, she is a funny girl, so quick witted and just completely fun to talk to.  I'm so thankful to God for blessing me with her beautiful self! 

It was a crazy fun, busy, busy weekend!  I'm thankful for all who participated in the parade or showed support by coming out to watch us in it last night.

I'm thankful for my Honey's place of work and for the really nice and delicious Christmas dinner party thy have each year for their employees. We had a nice time last night visiting with friends and relatives who were there.

I missed blogging my thanks yesterday, so here are three more:

I'm so thankful for our interim pastor and all of the hard work he is doing and the sacrifices he and his family are making for our church! Praying God blesses he and his family abundantly!!!

I'm thankful for the Kidz Praize kids and for all of their hardwork and dedication to this years Christmas musical! So excited to see it all come together for their performance this coming Friday night!

I'm extremely thankful for our life group, and especially our life group host family! Tonight we had our Christmas party together, which was fun!!! I'm looking forward to all that God has in store for us in the coming new year, as we draw closer together as a life group family and closer to JESUS too!

Time flies!! Thankful~Day12 (Part 2)

Time flies when you're having fun! It's almost midnight!! Which means it's almost tomorrow and I haven't finished listing 6 of my thankfulness today... So here is 4,5 & 6:

4. I'm thankful for my daughters Girl Scouts group and leaders. She's been with them for 7 years, as far as I can remember. Today they had a Christmas party and she had a late, but great night!

5. I'm thankful for finding a dress and shoes to wear to my husbands work Christmas party tomorrow night! I'm a procrastinator in case you didn't know, and I finally went out shopping for it after 6:00 tonight.  Found it pretty fast too, which was a bonus! :)

6. And yet again I'm thankful for Pentatonix Christmas albums. I really am enjoying driving around store to store, shopping and singing away with their beautiful voices and fun music arrangements! Here is another favorite I just have to share! ENJOY :) http://youtu.be/o10drRI3VQ0

Bible, Spontaneity, DONUTS! ~Thankful (part 1) Day 12

Apparently my exhaustion continued to the next day, because once I got home from my busy yet amazing day yesterday, I crashed, hard. So today I'll list 6 things I'm thankful for... 

I'm THANKFUL for:

1. The Bible! It is the life changing, Living Word of God and I love how The Holy Spirit speaks to my heart with it everytime I read it. Enjoyed final Ruth bible study, worship and prayer time with Immersed in the Word ladies life group yesterday, anxious to see what study we will do together next!! :)

2. My spontaneous friend Moriya, (I love spontaneity) who blessed me so much yesterday with a fun afternoon of mani and pedi's together, satin hands lotion for my dry, thirsty skin, a nail polish kit and a night out with ladies for some retail therapy and great discounts!

3. Hot fresh Krispy Kreme glazed donuts! No other donut compares!!! Us ladies stopped in for one last night, and I'll be going back today in celebration of today's date, 12-12, buy a dozen get a dozen free! My kids will love me and I'll get another perfectly sweet, fresh, hot, soft and delicious melt in your mouth glazed donut! YUM!

3 more things to list...To be continued... NOW GO GET YOUR FREE DOZEN KRISPY KREME DONUTS! :)

http://www.krispykreme.com/DayoftheDozens

Exhausted but thankful! ~Day 10

I'm falling asleep as I write this, having a very hard time keeping my eyes open!

Today I'm thankful for clothes!!! They're stylish, their colorful, their fun, their comfortable and they're a necessity sooo, I don't feel bad buying them! Haha!  I do buy lots, but I also give away lots and I shop at discount stores and get way more for my money that way.  Today my family and I along with many others from church youth group wore cheesy sweaters, see told you clothes were fun! 

I'm thankful for no school days where my kids and I can just relax and hang out together. Today was one of those days.

And I'm also thankful for my vehicle! I love driving it, and I can't imagine what it's like to not have a car.   I bought my first car, a midnight blue TBird in 1995, loved that car! And I've owned a  vehicle ever since. One of these days, I hope to Own a Corvette, don't laugh, it could happen! 😉

GOD IS GOOD~ Thankful Day 9

I'm thankful today for two Pentatonix Christmas albums that I bought a couple of weeks ago and listened to ALL DAY today! I even played a couple of songs, through my Jambox in the middle of Panera tonight, for a couple of friends from church Bible study group, they liked them! Their music really puts me in the Christmas spirit! 

I'm thankful for a flexible schedule that lets me do pretty much anything my heart desires. I had plans to work at home all day, until... I needed to run an errand to church and wound up staying there for 4 hours, working on paper chains and candy cane invites to pass out at the Christmas lighted parade this Saturday. I'm hoping it doesn't rain on our parade! I heard it's in the forecast, yikes!

And I'm so thankful for the teachers at my kids school, who work hard everyday to educate my children and who gave us good reports on them today. Always good to hear good things about your kids!

GOD IS GOOD.

Perseverance, Grace and Random Strangers~ Thankful Challenge Day 8

So just being honest but I thought this being thankful for 3 things everyday challenge was supposed to make me feel more thankful and content... It's not working. I'm positive I shouldn't post this, but I'm going to. I've got issues.  I have to say I've never felt more discontent in my life than I do now. Again, I've got issues. I have sooo much to be thankful for!!! More than I can wrap my brain around, and I know this, yet I'm still dealing with these feelings that at times seem too much to bear. What is wrong with me?! Honestly I already know. I've been praying for quite some time now, probably for a good 10 months, that God would change my heart's desire to desire only the things He desires for me. For some reason all these months later, I'm still praying that prayer.  I'm a dreamer, and a visionary. I like to imagine my life in ways that are completely different than reality.  I love my life, I love all the people in my life, but I still have a longing for more, for different, for "better", which is insanely ridiculous. Why am I not content? Whatever the reason sometimes I just want to escape. Sometimes I want all new, and not new stuff but just new surroundings, new mission, new calling, new purpose... Sometimes I want to move somewhere more simple where everything is just simplified, not chaotic and just completely relaxing and filled with only natural things.  Anyone else ever feel this way? Or am I alone? I'm sure I'm not alone, I'm sure there are quite a few in this world who can relate.  So I'm not sure how to fix my issues, I know only God can help me in this, and so I will persevere, and I will not give up asking Him to change my hearts' desires to align with His. I will continue to serve, continue to be willing to be used by Him and continue to try to be what He has made me to be. Feelings of discontentment will remain until He calls me home, hopefully not for the same reasons I just described above, but instead because I'm longing for my heavenly home, a better country, a place where contentment is made complete in Christ Jesus, a place far better than one I could ever dream up or imagine! "But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city." (Hebrews 11:16 ESV)

So in conclusion I bring a sacrifice of praise before my Lord and I say Thank You today for the perseverance you provide me to not quit and to never give up. Thank You for the grace you provide, that I'm so undeserving of and help me to give it as quickly as I receive it. And finally, Thank You for friendly random strangers who just want to chat, but who remind me how important a feeling of community is and of the fact that every single person in this world has been made in Your image and is worth a friendly smile, a genuine "hi, how are you?", a helping hand, or a chance to go first in line.