He listens when we pray…

There are moments in our lives that we can look back on and see that they changed our lives forever and taught us just a little bit more about our Lord. This day 18 years ago is one of those days for me.

Eighteen years ago today, God not only blessed me with a baby sister, but He also taught me that He listens when we pray. When I found out I was going to be a big sister, I immediately started praying for a baby sister. My mom kept telling me that Jesus might send me a brother instead, but I was confident that if I prayed for a baby sister that is what I would get. Let’s just say that God delivered in a big way.

I remember my Aunt Dianne driving me to the hospital after school and I remember looking thru the window at a little bald baby, not fully realizing that my world was forever changed. At first I thought she was so cute, then that changed to why is this thing getting all the attention? Being five and a half years apart meant that we never really met in the middle as far as childhood interests, but as long as she did what I said we were ok. We had a few rough years, but now I count her as one of my very best friends and I couldn’t imagine my life without her.

 

She has changed from a nerdy, annoying little thing, into a beautiful, tenderhearted Christian young lady. I honestly can’t believe she is 18 years old. I am so proud of her strength, her courage and her willingness to help others. I am so thankful on this day especially that God listens when we pray.

It’s good to feel safe

I want to start by saying that I have been absent because for some reason the computer decided to get a virus. Thanks to my sweet brother in law Randall it is now good as new.

Today Drew and I had an alarm system installed. For those of you who don’t know about our break-in about a year in a half ago, it was horrible and traumatizing. Having always been a little paranoid, this experience took my fear to a whole new level. We considered getting the system right after the break-in, but it just didn’t seem practical for financial reasons. Living right on the road, we see lots of people walking, riding their bikes or broken down and some of them make me a little nervous. This week we decided to throw aside practicality and got the system installed. It has only been a few hours and I already feel better. I have come a long way since that fateful October day, but this little piece of security technology and several more intense prayer sessions might just be my ticket to a full recovery.

Recent Readings

 

So I told you last week I was reading a book called Rena's Promise. I am incredibly intrigued by World War II. I think it is the idea of our country working together for the cause, the clothes and maybe the fact that my Pappa was a veteran of this particular war. At any rate, I find myself constantly reading books from this time period.

Rena’s Promise is the story of a Holocaust survivor and her sister. The two spent almost the entirety of the war in Auschwitz. This type of WWII book tends to be depressing, but this one was more of hope and the endurance of the human spirit. While there were definitely devastating portions of the book, it was nice to read about not one but two survivors. If you are going to read a book about the Holocaust, I would definitely recommend this one.

After finishing a book like that, I felt like I needed something a little more upbeat. So last night I started reading It's All About Him by Denise Jackson wife of country music superstar Alan Jackson. So far it is refreshing to read that one of my favorite men in country music is a believer. Not only does this book cover the ups and downs of the couple’s marriage, but so far it has had quite a bit of emphasis on the relationship with the Holy Spirit. I am excited to read it and will definitely share my thoughts on it once I am done.

I am so excited to be able to share with you all what I am reading. It has been so long since I have been able to read for fun that I feel like a drug addict, I just can’t get enough. HAHA!

Time for something new

I have always been enamored by the world of politics and government. It could just be an innate predisposition, but it is probably from my Pappa who introduced me to this world at a very young age. When I was in first or second grade, I remember him picking me up from school and taking me to see Bob Dole in Montgomery. All the pageantry and excitement just drew me in. Whenever I went over to my grandparents’ house I could always be sure that Fox News or CSPAN would be on. There were times when I was confused, and each time I asked a question, Pappa would take the time to explain whatever it was I had a question about.

This past and final semester of college I took a class on speechwriting. This class was by far one of my favorite classes, and also made me realize that becoming a political speechwriter is a feasible goal for me. Now the problem is getting my foot in the door and setting the stage for this as my future.

I am pleased to announce that thanks to my good friend Clay, I am putting my foot in the door starting February 1. I am officially an intern for the Alabama House of Representatives. I am super excited about this new adventure and can’t wait to see what the future has in store. Things are looking up folks!

Monday Musings

Since I graduated, people keep asking me what I feel like or what I am going to do now. The answer is I feel about the same, but different and I want to do everything. I feel the same in that I am still me, but I feel different in that much of my identity has been about me being a student. I am the girl who finds small victories in giving the right answer. While I can still be right, it’s not the same outside of the classroom. I know that there are lots of new and exciting things just waiting for me, and I am ready to get started. When I say I want to do everything, I mean there are so many things I haven’t been able to do because it interfered with school. Here’s just a few things on my list:

1. Read more

2. Work out

3. Eat better/Try cooking new things

4. Learn to ride my dirt bike

5. Travel more

I realize these things aren’t spectacular, but I find joy in the little things.

Today AUM started classes, and I thought I would be sad, but I’m not. In fact I feel relieved that for once, I can read at my own pace, when I want and what I want. There isn’t the rush to get to Montgomery followed by the endless drive home. Today has been pretty relaxed, as I was off work. I slept in, worked out, went to the grocery store and started dinner in the crockpot. While these are seemingly uninteresting things, I enjoyed every minute of it, because I wasn’t rushed. I think with school, that is always how I felt. I never really had time to slow down and for once I am enjoying that luxury.

I feel like graduating has opened up a door of all new possibilities for me, I just have to be willing to take that next step.

Time for a Change

Happy Tuesday!

As you have very well noticed, I decided that with the new year, I needed a new look for the blog. I periodically need a little change, and just like I often get the urge to randomly rearrange my living room, I also feel the need to mix things up in cyber space.

Having said that, I thought I would share a recommendation. For anyone who loves Food Network, this is a must see. DVR is my friend, and having said that, I recorded and just watched “Rachael vs. Guy.” It is a celebrity cook-off in which seemingly has-been celebrities compete to win $50,000 for their choice of children’s charities. I must say I am a sucker for competition reality TV (America’s Next Top Model, Project Runway, Cupcake Wars etc.) and although I originally I thought I wouldn’t like this show, I was immediately drawn in. I am officially declaring that I am on Team Lou Diamond Phillips, not only because I was in the same elevator as he and his wife a few years ago, but because he made some killer looking ribs (who doesn’t love a man who can make ribs?) I suggest that everyone check the show out, even if you don’t like cooking, watching Cheech and Coolio make it a highly entertaining watch.

In the reading world, I just started reading a WWII account called Rena's Promise. So far it is both heartbreaking and captivating. I will let you know my full assessment when I finish.

Life is pretty exciting right now, between it being slow season at work and having extra time to do whatever…I am one happy girl!

“May the odds forever be in your favor”

So I am not normally one to jump on the bandwagon of a popular book series, but this time I did. After a conversation with my friend Jenna about the Hunger Games Series I decided I would give these books a try.

It isn’t often that I find a book that is so good that I would rather read it than participate in the daily activities of life, but these books did just that. I literally read all three of them in a matter of four days. Suzanne Collins definitely knows what she is doing, because these books are brilliant.

Despite the type of books you normally like to read, I feel like anyone who likes to read, even a little,will love these books. Set in the future, the books center around the lives of a group of teenagers in a place called Sector 12. In a time when food is hard to come by and the government rules all aspects of life, desperation and the will to live drive Katniss Everdeen and her companions to do the unthinkable. I won’t say much more about the premise of the book, because that would give the plot away, but these books are definitely a must read.

I am not exaggerating when I tell you I literally stayed up until 3am some mornings reading. It was like I couldn’t read them fast enough to find out what was going to happen next. Having said that, I will tell you that if you are going to read them, go ahead and buy the box set because once you have finished the one book, you are going to be dying to read the next one. If you click on the Hunger Games link in the first paragraph I have a link for the box set on Amazon.They are actually on sale right now, so if you have some extra cash I would recommend getting them.

Now that I am done with the books I am highly anticipating the release of the first movie based on Book 1. Often movie adaptations disappoint me, but the trailer already has me excited. Bring on March 23, 2012!