SUMMER OF 2009 ~ Where does the time go?

It has been a long time since I have “blogged” WELL… Here I go… It has been a great summer. Here are the highlights….

Working the Springfield Cardinal games:
Selling foam fingers, caps, and t-shirts…Actually it is a lot of fun. I typically work outside in the “portable” where I can catch some of the game and visit with fans. It seems like everyone is in a good mood at the ballpark. I have worked in the Team Store several times this year. My co-workers are a hoot. Go Cards!

VBS:
I lead the training for Greene County Association for the Middle Children Teachers, and then taught the 4th graders at my church. We had an Outback theme this year which was pretty cool. I had the privilege of leading 2 girls to the Lord that week!:)

July Vacation Week #1:
A friend from college came to visit. It was a relaxing week. We hung out at the lake, went fishing, and to a ballgame. It was a nice change of pace for a week. I feel like I am always going in a dead run, and to just stand on the bank of the lake and fish was so peaceful. I did not catch many fish, but that is ok. A copperhead enjoyed the fish my friend caught!

Lake with the Fam:
What more can I say, I love my family. I have a blast every time I go! The Edward’s are pretty great too.

July Vacation Week #2
CAMP! The highlight of my summer! I had 10 terrific girls in my cabin. They were so enjoyable. We had a ball at the pool, the spring, and just hanging out in the cabin for “family time”. The services were phenomenal. Listening to 219 little girls sing was absolutely beautiful!

Well this summer is winding down… I will work for Allary full time for another two weeks. On August 24th I will be a full time student at Missouri State University!:) I will continue to work part time at Allary and at Hammons Field. BSF will resume September 14th

That is my summer in a nut shell… I am happy with my tan. I think I will hit the fair this weekend with Shelly. I hear there is a demolition derby on Sunday!

How to get a husband…

We had some new fabric come in today. Let me back up….I work in a sales office for a company that sells scissors, sewing notions, sewing baskets and such. We have a lot of fabric come to our office. We look through it to choose what we will show to our customers. It actually really is fun. It is always interesting to see the different tastes people have. Anyways….We had some samples come in today that were like 50’s retro. Most were very clever. One in particular was hilarious! It was called “How to get a husband”. It had advice on it such as:

Don’t argue…His always right.
When you meet his mother…smile
Show him you love housework
If he is the generous type…grab him
Don’t be too sexy
And the list goes on.

There are pictures to go along with each piece of advice. Funny Stuff!

If I had only had this list before now maybe there would have been some hope… Nah!:)

Looking for rainbows…

The title of the blog may paint a picture in you mind of someone skipping through a field, oh so, optimistically, looking for rainbows. Well I am not skipping, for one, I am 33 years old, and someone might have me committed. But I am looking for rainbows in this world.

It was sprinkling while I was driving to work this morning. But the sun was shining. So of course I started looking at the sky for a rainbow. (I promise I was careful, I kept my eyes on the road as well) This reminded that no matter what happen in life we can always look up to see something beautiful. No matter how the rain falls in the storms of life and we think that the sky is dark and filled with clouds there is a Light that we can look to! Jesus is that light! Will our situation immediately change when we look to him? Ummm, that has not been my experience. But what does change is my perspective. I can see past the storm, and have a hope of what is to come.

I am not in the middle of a storm right now. My life is going along pretty smooth. But I look around me and I see friends whose lives are simply in turmoil. It breaks my heart. I know if they simply look to Jesus and His word that they would have all the answers that they need. Ephesians 6:12 says: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” This is a verse that I remind myself of daily, it reminds me that my focus is to be on the Lord. When the “cruddy” circumstances and conflicts happen in life, it diverts our focus. When my “needs” (or what I think are needs but are actually wants) are not being met, when I don’t feel “warm and fuzzy” all over, where does my focus go? To ME! What good does that do?

I truly want to strive to live everyday with my focus on the Lord, and what he want me to do. I do not want to live with my head in the clouds where I do not see the needs of people around me. I want to live my life to the fullest, with eyes to see the hurts of others, so I can come along side of them and point them toward the hope that I have.

Here are the words to a song that I have been listening to a lot lately...

Mighty to Save

Everyone needs compassion,
Love that's never failing;
Let mercy fall on me.

Everyone needs forgiveness,
The kindness of a Savior;
The Hope of nations.

Savior, He can move the mountains,
My God is Mighty to save,
He is Mighty to save.

Forever, Author of salvation,
He rose and conquered the grave,
Jesus conquered the grave.

So take me as You find me,
All my fears and failures,
Fill my life again.

I give my life to follow
Everything I believe in,
Now I surrender.

My Savior, He can move the mountains,
My God is Mighty to save,
He is Mighty to save.

Forever, Author of salvation,
He rose and conquered the grave,
Jesus conquered the grave.

Shine your light and let the whole world see,
We're singing for the glory of the risen King...

Wonderful Weekend!

I just enjoyed a 4 day weekend! I did not go out of town or anything like that, but this weekend was a true pleasure! Thursday I worked for about 2 hours, then went home and got a lot accomplished. I did learn one thing though… If I did not have a day job I think I would have to have cable! There is nothing on network TV worth watching during the day. I have to admit that I had to watch Maury to see if Tyrell was really the father of Latisha’s baby! Oh, my word girl! (Just so you know I am being sarcastic!)
And, then of course no Thursday night is complete without tacos! Yumo!

Friday was a busy day. I attended the Missouri Baptist VBS training so I will be able to lead workshops for the Greene County Baptist Association. It was a good time and I gathered a lot of information that will be very useful. I tried to take a nap Friday night with no luck. My church had a lock-in that night. It started at 11:00 pm at Incredible Pizza. There, the night was filled with pizza, cinnamon rolls, skeeball, air hockey, and (for a few) Dance, Dance Revolution. (Yeah, I am too much of a white girl. I have no rhythm!) From there we drove back to church. I had three teenage boys in my car and it was quite entertaining to listen them sing with Taylor Swift. Good times….At the church the time consisted of silly games and broken eggs. Honestly it was a great lock-in. Everything was planned very well! I stayed at the church until 5:00. But it was not bedtime yet! I went home changed clothes and went to my BSF leaders meeting.

I made it to bed a little after 9:30 Saturday morning. I woke up around 3 and realized that I had talked to someone while I was asleep. (That is a strange feeling!) All I could remember is that I think I agreed to go to dinner with them that night. I picked up my cell phone and my question was answered. Yes, I had indeed spoken with someone. What all I said was still in question. I gave my friend a call and he said that I was rather funny. He had asked me how the lock-in went and I said “umm, I can’t think of the word”. He could have gotten me to agree to anything. I totally don’t remember anything from our conversation other than dinner (food is pretty important to me. ha)

Well, I did enjoy marvelous evening with a great friend. Dinner at Ocean Zen is always fabulous! Then we spent the rest of the evening laughing while watching a movie and talking. Lots of fun was had! I look back on that night fondly.:)

Well Sunday finished off my weekend. I had a kid ask me a question that I have been asked many times by students. Most of the time when I give the answer it is good enough for them. This time was a little different. During a transition time in Sunday School I had one of my fourth grade boys asked "Miss Carla, are you married?” I smiled and said “no”. Then he responded with another question, “what, so, you just never met anybody?” Hhmm… Well, back to the story of Elisha.

What a grand weekend! Not terribly eventful, but perfect for me. I love my life!

Creative Discipline…

Just had to share this bit of wisdom that a fourth grader shared with me Wednesday at Awana. We were in our small groups going over verses and somehow the girls got to talking about what their mothers did if the girls talked back to them. Well, one girl spoke up and said “I never back talk my mom, well I did once. You see she has a rule, if I do, then she gets to pick out my clothes for school the next day. Yeah, and she does not pick out things that I would wear, or that even matches.”

I thought that was so funny. I looked at her and said “your mother is one smart lady”. To which she smiled and nodded in agreement.

If I ever have a little girl, wow, I will be sure to remember that one!:)

Waiting for life to start....

Waiting for life to start, does that even make sense? You know the feeling of anticipation that you have at a ball game after you find your seat, become familiar with your surroundings, you have a hotdog in your hand and an ice cold drink. You stand for the National Anthem and then you are ready to hear the crack of the bat (or helmets depending on the game) You know that the excitement is about to start. Waiting…I don’t know why I find myself listening for the crack of the bat to know that ”life” has started. Life has started and I am in the middle of the game not just sitting in the stands watching. And It is a good game or um, life.:)

I love that I am independent. I truly enjoy living alone. I will not change who I am for any man. (This is not a down with men blog!, I would love to be in love…someday) But I am defined my relationships and roles. As a Christian, a daughter, a sister, a friend, & a teacher. I am so glad to be in this crazy “game” of life. And I refuse to just sit and watch from the cheap seats. I want to live a life of no regrets!

Can you tell I am ready for baseball season?!:)

This Hymn is My Prayer....

The following is a wonderful hymn by Kate B. Wil­kin­son. Kate wrote this song in 1925. This song is truly my prayer. I desire to have the mind of Christ. When you read these words, let them be a reminder of how we are to live our life.

May the mind of Christ, my Savior,
Live in me from day to day,
By His love and power controlling
All I do and say.

May the Word of God dwell richly
In my heart from hour to hour,
So that all may see I triumph
Only through His power.

May the peace of God my Father
Rule my life in everything,
That I may be calm to comfort
Sick and sorrowing.

May the love of Jesus fill me
As the waters fill the sea;
Him exalting, self abasing,
This is victory.

May I run the race before me,
Strong and brave to face the foe,
Looking only unto Jesus
As I onward go.

May His beauty rest upon me,
As I seek the lost to win,
And may they forget the channel,
Seeing only Him.

Amos 5:13

I often have an opinion…about everything. It seems like I either love something or I hate it.(Which is funny., because I can’t hardly stand the word “hate” being spoken out loud ~ if that makes any sense.) It took awhile to realize that I was like this. It is funny how things in life tend to make some of my personality traits very evident to me. Am I going to change because of my new found revelation? No, I will not. But one thing I will change is how I respond. Looking back, there are some moments that have been proud of the way I have respond to difficult situations. But that is not always the case. Many times, when my expectations are not met, I find myself letting others know about it.

I read the book of James a lot! It has so many verses having to deal with the tongue. In BSF last week I came across the verse Amos 5:13 “Therefore, the prudent man keeps quiet in such times, for the times are evil”. I want to be a “prudent woman” I want to be a woman of Godly character. My prayer today is just that, and God’s wisdom on when to speak my opinions and when to keep my mouth shut!:)

Simple Joys of Life...

I had a great day yesterday! Did anything momentous happen? No, just the everyday pleasures of life. My boss bought my lunch (again). Orange Chicken from 5 Spice! My Fav! On my way home from work I was able to talk to a wonderful friend. (I know I should not talk on my cell phone and drive, but anyways) I am just reminded of how blessed I am to have the friends that I have. Two of my best friends live in Alabama and Indiana. Praise Lord for unlimited mobile to mobile!:) To top off my day yesterday was Awana. I work with the 4th grade girls. What I blast! We had 16girls & 6 leaders last night! So, every girl got plenty of attention and help. What a blessing! It was POX night, which meant the girls got to put dots on us for every page they completed. They worked very hard. As you can see…

Last night as I walked in to my apartment alone, I felt such a peace, and contentment. I know that God is using me. That is the true desire of my heart. My life my not be exciting to many but I love it, and would not have it any other way!

Well it is Wednesday...

Well, it is Wednesday, the second one of 2009. Wow, what happen to 2008? Really, It seems as though 08 went by in the blink of an eye. Right now I am looking back and looking ahead. I am a planner! I love to have things mapped out. I truly enjoy sitting down with calendar and filling it up with activities. I enjoy seeing what am I going to be doing next week, next month, next year....But I am learning some things you just don't and can't plan for. Such as a fun day playing in the snow with my nephews, a crazy fun game of domino's with family and friends, an long phone conversation with a friend, or the death of a grandmother.

Anyone who knows me knows that I have had a rough past several years. Last year was better, but there were still sometimes in it that were hard. Cancer in family members, deaths in the family and so on. What I am finding out in life is that life is short and precious. I truly want to savor every moment. I do not want to look back on my life and have any regrets. Sure, I have some, we all do. But I want my life to be a testomony of what the Lord can do. I want my words and actions to bring glory to God. I am realizing that it is ok to be still sometimes (even though it is hard for me).

I don't know if anyone other that myself will ever read any of this but that is OK.
I just thought It would be fun to keep a blog, and to go back and read the changes that have occured in my life. I have been so blessed even in the "trials" of life.

Here are some blessings that I have in my life...
*My family
*A great job
*Wonderful friends
*The ability to laugh even in the hard times.:)
*BSF
*My 4th grade Sunday School Class
*Football (even though the Colts are out of the playoffs)