ALL things work together for good…

Throughout my life I have been constantly reminded that “All things work together for good to those who love Him, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Perhaps it is because this week I have been especially nostalgic, or perhaps it is what this particular week in history means in the whole grand scheme of my life, but I have been reminded once again how true this verse is.

Growing up, I was never the most popular, I was never the girl that all the boys flocked to, and all too often I have been guilty of asking God why each situation that I wasn’t happy with, had to be that way. More times that not this particular verse has been given to me. Looking back on the past twenty two years, I can say that every word is true in my life.

Losing my grandparents, while one of the hardest times in my life, has taught me not only to appreciate the ones I love with every fiber of my being, but also has afforded me numerous opportunities to minister to others experiencing the same thing.

Another thing that I always struggled with was simply being liked.The amazing thing is that most of the people I cared so much about pleasing and being accepted by aren’t even in my life anymore. I look at their lives, not in judgment, but rather in amazement and wonder why I cared so much to begin with. I honestly see that NOT being liked or accepted by those people worked out for the greater good in my life.

Finally anyone who knew me in high school probably knows that I struggled with my best friend having a boyfriend and me being the third wheel. At the time it was painful and I just couldn’t understand what was wrong with me. Now I realize that there was nothing wrong with me, and that the whole situation led me to Drew. I cherish the fact that Drew was my first and only boyfriend. I didn’t have to search and go through guy after guy to find the one for me. I can also see how God still uses memories from the past to not only teach me things, but also to appreciate Drew and the course my life has ultimately taken.

These are just a few of the examples of God teaching me through this verse. I don’t always understand, but looking back I can see the good in most situations in my life. When the bad days come I know I am given this promise, and on the good days I am reminded just how true the promise is.

This is my life...

So I am fully aware that I have been absent from the blogging world for far too long, but the truth of the matter is that the past two weeks of my life have been devoted to school work and little else. Between reading about the Battle of Stalingrad and then writing a paper on it, writing a paper for Research Methods and studying for my Spanish test...I have been one busy girl!
I can't conplain, because deep down I love the challenge. I feel absolutely crazy because as challenging and labor intensive as this WWII History class is, it is my absolute favorite this semester. I am even contemplating taking the WWI class with the same professor just as a random elective. I really know nothing about WWI and so I feel like learning something new will be fun...crazy yes, but once I am in the know about both World Wars I feel like I will be a more well rounded person.
I honestly should probably write more, but I have nothing to share as the last two paragraphs pretty sum up what my life has been the past two weeks, and I am really tired of writing at this point...so until the next time.

WAR EAGLE, roll tide, Lost Dog, & Hitler

Yes, it sounds crazy but our weekend included all of those things. The weekend began on Friday with Drew working late and me reading a book for my WWII history class, thus the "Hitler" in the title of this blog. This reading about the German invasion of Russia continued throughout the weekend and will continue throughout this week until I have finished the very tedious read that is "Stalingrad". On Saturday, I woke up planning on a fun day of crafting with Jenna and Erin...not long after I woke up my mom called to say that our dog Daisy (who still resides at my parents house until the invisible fence is in) was missing. I became a little hysterical, threw on some clothes and began the search for our precious pooch. Needless to say there was no craft day. We looked for Daisy for a good hour and then concluded with hanging signs and a slight emotional breakdown. We had made plans to go to Auburn to eat dinner with my lifelong friend Nicole and her boyfriend Andrew. We had a fantastic time and in spite of the irony, watched the Bama game in Tiger town. It was a great way for me to get my mind off our sweet puppy out in the world all alone. Sunday morning I woke up with a terrible migraine, probably brought on by allergies and my emotional outburst the day before. Consequently I missed church. This is going to throw my whole week off I am sure, but I know I would never have been able to sit there feeling the way I did. A wonderful thing did happen on Sunday, though. My mom and dad were on their way to church and found Daisy about a mile from our house. How she got there we still don't know, but it is great to have my sweet girl safe and sound. I have never been a huge dog person, but Daisy is changing my mind about that. Drew almost has the fence in and we plan to move her to her new home in the next few days.

Road Trip

This is an accurate picture of my day...currently I am blogging in the car on the way to Jacksonville (thanks to my BIL who posssesses an Iphone with wireless) I love technology!

Don't you just love a love story?

Today is the anniversary of the beginning of one of my favorite love stories. This story begins with two friends, a pastor's wife and a song leader's wife. Both ladies just so happened to be expecting at the same time. Babies are always exciting, but to share in the experience with a friend is sure to be much more thrilling. Although this was not the first pregnancy for either women, this element of sharing in the joy of life had to have made the journey more meaningful.These women were such good friends that they even had their baby shower together. On August 31 the first baby arrived, a girl that the pastor's wife named Nancy. Two days later on September 2 the song leader's wife had a bouncing baby boy named Jim. If you haven't figured it out yet, this is the story of the day my parents met. The two ladies were my grandmothers. After my parents were born, my grandmothers shared a hospital room and even commented on how neat it would be if the two grew up and got married. Little did they know this would really happen. Most people can't say that their parents love story began at conception, but mine sort of did. I used to think this was kind of weird, but now I realize how neat it is that God orchestrated the events of my parents lives and in so doing also orchestrated mine.
I am so thankful for the example of my parents and all they have given me. And although this is the anniversary of my parents meeting, it is more specifically my daddy's birthday. Most people don't see the side of my daddy that I do. While I do respect his work ethic and reliability, I think one of my favorite things about my daddy is his sense of humor. We are alike in many ways, (even if he refuses to admit it.) This is a special day in my life, and just another example of why I love LOVE!