A Lifetime of Love

I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the Lord: “O Lord, save me!” The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The Lord protects the simplehearted ; when I was in great need, he saved me. Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you. For you, O Lord, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living. ~Psalm 116:1-9 NIV This is me. This is my life. This is my God. As I live each day and struggle with the mundane and not so mundane, I pray I meditate on these words as a reminder of God’s love and mercy and kindness and grace for me. Thank you Lord for who You are. I challenge you to keep a journal or log (or blog!) of God...

Well, my wonderful husband spilled the beans yesterday. . . he was planning to surprise me for my birthday with another couple's conference at the Wilds over Valentine's weekend. But, there is a waiting list and we are number 10. I am praying for some others to cancel but am not counting on being able to go. How did I get it out of him, you ask. Let me back up to Friday night. We had a T-n-T event at church and just as we were about to begin the adult game time, TJ's phone rang. It was his grandpa who lives in PA. He was calling to tell TJ he had just registered for the Spring Family Camp in April at the Wilds and he wanted us to attend with him. Yesterday I was filling out our registration form and writing the deposit check. I inquired about the Valentine's conference (I really want to go as the speakers are going to be GREAT!) because I wanted to register for that, as well. He opened his email to show me he had already attempted but it was full. So, while I am disapp...

I ended my last life post when I went on my first date with TJ. That was in April 1998. I was 19, he was 23. We have been together ever since, but here is the story of how our relationship has evolved over the years. We began to date seriously, and I moved in with him and his friends in June or July 1998. I know it was sin (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8), but I still didn’t understand how the fear of the Lord (Proverbs 1:7) should shape my decisions. Even though I was saved, I wasn’t spiritually growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord (Colossians 1:10). TJ and I occasionally went to church together, but our schedules changed and I was going back and forth between swing (3:30-11:30pm) and mid shift (11:30pm-7:30am). Plus, there was a hurricane that devastated Puerto Rico that summer, so TJ was gone every weekend supporting the hurricane relief effort. One weekend while he was away, I got a phone call from one of my commanding sergeants and went TDY to Chile, South America and some other ...

I finished the main bag this afternoon; I still have a smaller bag that I need to make (to hold diaper creams, loose change, ink pens, etc). What do you think? I love it- I think it turned out better than the one I made for myself! I will be personally delivering it to her the first weekend in February. My mom and I are going to visit together. I am excited and looking forward to it! I begin school on Monday. I am a little nervous about taking 4 classes; I haven't taken this many at one time since my first semester. I have a break between classes for about an hour and a half on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I am hoping to be able to get some uninterrupted work done on those days. Please just pray for me. I am looking forward to the semester, especially one class in particular. I will be working one-on-one with students who have autism. If you know me, autism and mental retardation are "my thing". These two areas of special education are my passion and I have extensive k...

Thirteen Things about South Carolina Mom 13 of the many places I have lived in my almost 29 years of living. . . 1. Columbus, Ohio- born here 2. Houston, Texas- moved here at age 2 3. Richmond, Texas- moved here at age 5 4. Mayfield Heights, Ohio- moved here at age 8 5. Cincinnati, Ohio- moved here at age 9 6. Boys Town, Nebraska- moved here at age 10 7. Akron, Ohio- moved here at age 12 8. Tallmadge, Ohio- moved here at age 13 9. Wichita Falls, Texas- moved here at age 18 10. Vacaville, California- moved here at age 19 11. Travis Air Force Base, California- moved here at age 21 12. Belmont, North Carolina- moved here at age 23 13. Somewhere, South Carolina- moved here at age 24 Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others' comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment link...

I just read Mimi's latest update on Julian. I am convicted with each update I read. I take my children for granted every day, and I have found myself trying to be more thankful and kind and loving towards them. We are trying to break Ta's habit of wanting someone to lay with him until he falls asleep. We want him to be an independent sleeper. Well, the past 2 nights I haven't stuck to my guns. I've laid with him, talked with him, hugged and kissed him until he couldn't stand it anymore. Then I kiss him one more time before taking my post until he's asleep. His last images before he drifts off to dreamland are me standing at his door. Speaking only for myself, I guess I just realized I was being selfish by wanting to hurry up and get downstairs. I know, I know. I do need some time alone with just TJ, but at the same time, my kids are growing so fast and soon they won't need me to lay with them, let alone want me to. I think this is another meaning behind A L...

She looks just like my brother-in-law! I have never seen a baby with light colored hair; quite a change from my own kids' dark hair. I can't wait to meet her- hopefully it will be soon!