Faith's Findings

First, let me start off with a disclaimer that this is in no way a blog to tap into your sympathy or pity for me however it is a very personal and raw blog. If this was a Law and Order blog, it would be an SVU story. And so it begins…. (Dramatic beats please) "Just because I work incredible good out of unspeakable tragedies doesn't mean I orchestrate the tragedies. Don't ever assume that my using something means I caused it or that I need it to accomplish my purposes. That will only lead you to false notions about me. Grace doesn't depend on suffering to exist, but where there is suffering you will find grace in many facets and colors." — William P. Young (The Shack) Once again I was working in my flowerbed, alone with my thoughts, prayers and heavy heart. Lately, with my own self revelations I guess you could say I have been trying to wrap my mind around the concept of forgiveness and God’s grace. There have been many events in my life where this is a constant le...

Sunday I attended the Alexandria Mardi Gras parade with a good group of friends and some of their friends. We all gathered at a friend’s fabulously decorated house ate and hung out until we made our way to our spot on the parade route. Our group ranged in age from 1 year olds to 82 year olds, hey we like diversity and to make sure everyone is included! As time drew near for the parade to pass our spot on Texas Avenue we slowly began to be overtaken by another group. (This is not a blog about “spots” at parades, just bear with me.) I don’t mind the mingling of groups, I mean its going to happen, that’s what parades and being in the public is all about however, what I do mind is the lack of respect that seems to have overtaken our society by storm. As I was standing in the back of a pick up truck with my girls and their kids, enjoying the sights and sounds of the parade, my dear friend broke and started running towards the crowd. This group of unruly, disrespectful drunken teenagers had ...

Can I just start off by saying how I have missed this BlogSpot? I think of it often and have blogs in my head on a constant reel it’s just now finding the time to sit down and write them out. I miss talking out loud to myself as I type these things and hoping you read them with as I speak them into the keyboard! [I’m really not crazy! ;)] I am going to try to do better in between school and life! With that being said, let’s get back to business!! Some of you might have seen where I was a pageant judge this past weekend and some of you might not have seen this…so this past weekend I was asked to come judge the Miss Simms pageant in Simms, Texas; a small community right outside of Texarkana. This experience was seriously all kinds of fun!! But, let me start at the beginning of this weekend journey. I needed to be in Texarkana between 6 and 7 on Friday night, so Friday morning I promptly left my house at 8:30am (with my luggage) to head to Avoyelles Hospital to do a little work before I ...

Hello, 2011!! Christmas has once again come and gone and we have 349 days until the day returns (don't waste your time counting to see if thats right, I have it programmed in my phone as a countdown ha!) This year's Christmas was differnt and I can not even really explain it. Maybe it was because I was sick most of the time; maybe because I was absolutely broke and did not get to shop like normal; maybe it was because of some new changes that took place..whatever it was I did not "feel" Christmas this year until Christmas Eve night. I was driving back home from Greg's on 107 and my ipod was playing "Breath of Heaven" by Amy Grant and as I passed the beautiful manger scenes and the dazzling lights, I found Christmas. Sure, I only had about 24 hours of it left but what mattered was that I found it. It was not in the gifts, the lights, the decorations, the food, the friends, or the family no...but it was within me. It was a stirring deep within my spirit, ...

God has two dwellings; one in heaven, and the other in a meek and thankful heart. Izaak Walton So, maybe I have neglected this blog now for months and just maybe all of my “readers” have moved on…however, as I laid in my bed tonight with the day of Thanksgiving only moments away, my heart is full and God is reiterating a lesson on thankfulness in my heart… Last week I found myself in the check out line with a girlfriend and I was complaining about my bra sizes being so expensive…immediately that still small voice within spoke “be thankful”… I was not to be thankful for the expensive bras but thankful that illness had not taken my breasts away…maybe this is far fetched and maybe this is just how my mind and heart operate; but more and more over these past few months “being thankful” has been a theme in my heart and especially in the last week…to the point where one friend has all but banned herself from complaining to me, especially when I told her to be thankful she was traveling in tr...

525,600 minutes, 525,000 moments so dear. 525,600 minutes - how do you measure, measure a year? In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee. In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife. In 525,600 minutes - how do you measure a year in the life? How about love? How about love? How about love? Measure in love. Seasons of love. 525,600 minutes! 525,000 journeys to plan. It’s been 525,600 minutes we have now lived without you. One year without you in our lives and it still doesn’t seem to be a reality. A year ago, we stood by your bedside as you said your goodbyes, your last I love you’s and took your last breath…you left this, your temporary home and went to be with the Lord. There’s a peace in knowing that you are not suffering anymore and that you are watching us from above; but it doesn’t make the pain any easier. Oh how I would give just about anything to sit in your living room that always had the distinct smell of coffee, brut and moth balls…and drink one more cup of...

Some of you might wonder why I am writing a post on motherhood when infact I am not yet a mother. Truth is, I always thought at this point in my life I would be however life had other plans. I guess my maternal hormones are working in overdrive these days with my friends having babies. It's kinda crazy!! However, I have had the utter privelege of playing pseudo mommy to Asher these past few days and I have learned a thing or two about the club of motherhood that I want to be apart of one day! I am sure some of you can relate to some of my findings!! I learned that no matter what kind of day you have had, when you walk in the daycare room and that little face beams with joy at the sight of you and those little chunky hands reach for you; nothing else matters. I learned that privacy in the bathroom while getting ready, is really overrated. I learned that when you are holding a sleeping angel, your bladder really can wait longer than what is probably healthy. You can bake a cake while...