Do Good Anyway!

It's been quite a while since my last post. I've got lots of goodies going on right now. One of my goodies being my continued daily walk with Christ, which leads me into this post.

I don't know about you, but the DVR is the best thing going since the self-adhesive stamp! I am able to record one of my favorite programs and  watch at my leisure. My leisure for television (other than cartoons), almost always being, after everyone is in bed.

Joyce Meyer comes on Trinity Broadcasting Network and I LOVE HER! I have two folders: 1. Joyce Meyer (to watch) and 2. jm keepers (protected keepers).

Joyce (yes, she and I are on a first-name basis; although, she doesn't know my name) always says things exactly as I need to hear them.

I was on my third program (each is 30 minutes) the other night while sewing my wedding dress (another one of my goodies that I have going on right now) and Joyce said, "Do good anyway!" It sounds so simple, right? Well, we all know it's not. In the moment, it's easy to be ugly! Just think about it next time you're faced with the chance to do good or be ugly. Which do you choose?

Joyce, of course, introduced an example I can relate to when she said, "Have you ever just wanted to smack somebody?" I immediately laughed because I certainly have and you have too (whether you want to admit it or not)! Well, we are all given the opportunity to "DO GOOD ANYWAY!" We are all given chances many times every day to do good anyway.

Later on in the show, Joyce was discussing how  a woman came up to her and said she wanted her money back because she had been implementing the techniques Joyce suggested for two weeks and nothing was happening. Joyce either told the woman this or was thinking it (can't remember which; that episode was a keeper, I'll go back through and see eventually):

You gave the devil your whole life up until now and you can only give Christ two weeks??? This statement is so true! 

How quickly we tend to forget God created us,

--- Genesis 1:7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

He knows our path,

--- Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

and He gave His Son for our sins.

---John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

In conclusion, I, as well as anyone, knows how difficult it is to do good anyway.

My question to you is ---

What do you have to lose?

Have a Blessed day, Beloved!

My Mind Takes Me Everywhere.

I guess I'll fly in on March 31st and post for this month. It's been busy, to say the least and glorious, to say the most. I continue (after three and a half years) to get the classic question, "Oh, you don't work?". This would be the question that encouraged me to start this blog and the inspiration behind the title of it. I suppose I'll get this question for years to come, when we decide to have another child and I'm still "not working". I do my very best to remain humble in these moments because sometimes, people are rather rude. I try not to be. Sometimes I succeed and sometimes I inadvertently, let a little sarcasm slip. No one's perfect. I certainly, am not.

Moving on.....please keep in mind, I haven't posted since February 15th, so I'll be rambling on to pack everything I can think of, in this post.....

As you may or may not already know, Owen stays with Mo and Pa on Friday nights and we get the chance to relax. Don't misunderstand, I love my munchkin, but I wholeheartedly feel that, to be the best parent I can be, I need time to focus on absolutely nothing and regroup. Wouldn't you agree?

I have been overly exhausted recently due to (I tend to start too many projects at once, ALWAYS) lots and lots of extra activities including:

1. Planting our garden. We have bunches of goodies this year! You ready for the list? Here goes.... Baking potatoes, new potatoes, onions, cantaloupe, watermelon, peas, spinach, brussels (had no idea there was "s" on that; learn something new every day) sprouts, cabbage, tomatoes, zucchini, squash, cucumbers and silver queen corn. Plus, I added sunflowers and zinnias into the mix for a little Wedding photography coming up in June.
2. Creating flower beds at our Church (where we will marry in a couple short months).
3. Getting my Web site prepared for the state PBL competition in Altanta, GA (that will be here in 13 days!). 
4. Gathering ideas for the Wedding (thank you, Pinterest....where have you been all my life?) including: favors, flowers, decorations, invitations, programs and my dress. Oh dear, I haven't even started on my dress and the big day is June 9th.
5. Yard work. Ugh. I am working diligently on it, but it never seems to be finished.
6. Exercise, exercise and even more exercise. I have dedicated myself to a healthier weight. I am down 79 pounds now and I  am feeling like a million bucks!
7. Of course, school. I scheduled only one class this semester because I wanted to have enough time to be able to work in the garden. Little did I know, I would be planning our Wedding, too! So, yay me, for scheduling accordingly without even really knowing it (rarely does that happen; as a matter of fact, I think this makes the first time that has EVER happened).

Okay, that about sums up all the "extras", I think. Heck, if I don't write it down, I can't remember (which just reminded me of something). If you've made it this far, thank you for being patient. 

As 5:00 p.m. rolled around last night, Owen left and it was just me at home in complete silence. Ahhh. It was great after the slight meltdown he had in the grocery store yesterday over a box of movie-sized M & M's, that I wouldn't let him have. All I could do was laugh, as people were staring at us. I'm not sure what they were thinking and quite frankly, it doesn't matter. To me, this is one of the joys of parenthood, you can choose to let the heavy weight of others' judgement weigh on you, or not! Yesterday, I didn't. AHA! Take that, unwanted judgement!!!!

I started my evening off with silence, only for a moment though. I had to catch Cliffhanger Friday of General Hospital on the DVR. I don't know if I've said this before or not, but I love the DVR. I can catch what I want to watch when it's just me and in half the time! Definitely one of the best things created since the self-adhesive stamp. 

I'm an uptight Mommy. Owen watches no television other than safely selected cartoons and movies. No violent (other than Tom & Jerry) cartoons and no rude cartoons. Period. We don't encourage the words stupid or idiot. I have no desire to have him walk around name-calling. I'm sure he'll learn plenty of that when he goes to school (sigh).

After GH, I enjoyed a 6 mile bike ride! YES! A shower that was a normal shower (if you're a Mommy, you know exactly what I'm talking about) and a late dinner! To top it off, a free weekend of HBO (which I didn't even watch, but I did record a movie or two) and I fell asleep on the couch! I didn't even realize it until I woke up at 6:15 a.m. this morning (on the couch with every light in the house on)!

Believe it or not, I think I'm finished. I have lots on the agenda this morning to tackle, so off I go! 

Have a Blessed Day!

The Wedding Planner

Being the organizer that I am, I have to have a planner for the wedding or I will never be able to keep up with all of it. I originally planned on doing something a little different, but here's what I came up with:

Simple and Cute

This is the "2nd Choice" sticker. I had a different one, changed it because it looked darker than the graphic and realized, it was the lighting! All is well, I like this one better anyhow!

Isn't she lovely?

You can find this free graphic and lots of others at The Graphics Fairy.

Scribble Your Emotions!

I have recently been "introduced" to a fabulous gal with awesome ideas! Today I tried: Scribble Your Emotions from Be Inspired Design! Here's what I came up with:

As you all may or may not know, I'm getting married in June and of course, am looking for lots of creative flow to plan my wedding! I drew this little diddy in my Wedding Planner Sketchbook because this is currently how I feel!