Did you know that thoughts create? Anything that has ever been created started with a single thought. Anything good or bad that happens to us started with a thought. I don't know how guys are but I know for sure that in a woman's mind, we can destroy ourselves with just our thoughts. I blogged a few days ago about me waking up one morning in a complete panic. I think that I have had so many consecutive days where I have been totally focused on keeping my thoughts in line that the enemy is trying a new tactic. Because I woke up this morning and was in a total panic again.
I immediately just started saying over and over and over "Lord, let my thoughts, plans and ideas line up with your will and with your word" It didn't take long and I was fine. I left and went to drop the girls off at school. When I was alone by myself in the car, before I ever got back home, I caught myself 3 different times thinking bad thoughts. But you know what? When I caught myself thinking about lets say for example...one of the thoughts was a memory, I just asked myself if that thought was going to move me closer to God or further away. I thought to myself..."What is this thought going to create in my life?" Now that I am sitting here writing about this, I realize that all three times were a memory of how someone has hurt me. And all three times I realized that thinking about those particular thoughts were only going to bring negativity into my life. To stay focused on those things would only cause me to have insecurities, and to not trust others.
By doing this, it brings so much peace. Honestly, it is peace I haven't been feeling for quite some time now. And we can ALL use some peace in our lives, right? I wonder how different our lives would be if we took EVERY thought captive? It amazes me how we can start out with a single thought and we can let those thoughts take us to some seriously ugly places before we even realize what we are doing to ourselves. So I challenge you as well as myself to try a 24 hour challenge. For the next 24 hours, catch yourself. When you think a thought that is NOT positive, ask yourself what that thought or those "thoughts" are going to create in your life or are currently creating. I think what we will learn together is that we have created a lot of our own stuff in our own lives. And that WE are responsible for a lot more than we want to admit to. But the only way to change it is to take personal responsibility and do something about it!!
You may be thinking "Okay, so now what?" Well, if the thoughts are not creating something that benefits you then you must change that!! Think about some of your fondest memories. Listen to music that lifts you up. Call a friend. Look at pictures of people who make you happy. Reflect on some of your greatest achievements. And while you are thinking about "those" things, ask yourself what you are creating in your life. I am convinced that there will be a huge shift. I am up for the challenge, are you?
Monday, May 9, 2011
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Honeysuckle
One of the things I have SO enjoyed being here in Georgia is that every time I go for a walk no matter where it is I am walking, I can smell and see Honeysuckle. I honestly don't have a lot of good memories from my childhood but boy when I smelled that smell it sure brought back some great childhood memories and I felt so blessed and so thankful.
Did you know that our beliefs are wired with emotion? My mentor explains it this way...do you remember where you were on September 11, 2001? Do you remember exactly what you were doing, who you were with, your reaction? The result for ALL Americans after that day because of all the deep emotions we felt was that we are no longer safe. I'm sure we can all think about some of our deepest fears and trace it back to when that belief was wired in. Just like someone who is terrified of dogs. Most likely they were scared by one at some point in their life or bitten by one or something like that. I'm sure you get the point. I can actually hear an 80s song and be instantly transported back to what I was doing when that song was playing. But the bad thing is that I wasn't saved then and didn't live a very good life at that time. So the memories aren't good.
A few days ago I was on a walk, smelling the Honeysuckle and I could also smell someone cooking out. Mmmmm.....it smelled so good. You know what it is like when you smell something like maybe homemade rolls and it just reminds you of your momma's cooking. All of these things kinda relate, don't you think? I started thinking of the good smells, the good emotions, the good beliefs I have. The things that actually bring back GOOD memories. As I smelled that Honeysuckle I instantly thought to myself, I want to wire in a belief right now. So the next time I smell Honeysuckle this is what I will remember. I started praying for my husband and my marriage. I couldn't believe the things that started coming out of my mouth. I just said God I thank you for my marriage! I thank you for my husband! This is the husband YOU have given me! I commit my marriage to you! I ask you Lord that ALL my plans, thoughts and ideas line up with YOUR will....with YOUR word. Lord I pray you would draw my husband back to you. I pray that no matter where Deryl turns that he will bump into you!! Lord God I pray that you would bring scripture to his memory. Lord that you would put a hedge of protection around him so tight that any time he even attempts to get outside of your will that he would be pricked immediately by the thorns of that hedge and run back to you!!
I KNOW that was the Holy Spirit!! I know it! And you know what? Deryl and I went on a walk today at a different place and there was so much Honeysuckle everywhere!! Each time I smelled it, I remembered more and more of my prayer. I just kept praying it again over and over in my head. As we held hands, I just silently spoke that prayer over him. So it worked so mightily!! I know that each time in the future that I smell Honeysuckle, I will be reminded of that prayer. And you know what is SO awesome? That I am convinced that one day when my marriage is FULLY restored, I will smell Honeysuckle and see how far we have come. I will see how faithful God is. I will see HIM and HIS mercy and goodness.
I think the enemy would LOVE nothing more than for us to focus on all the negative beliefs we have. But isn't it so cool that WE have the power to wire in POSITIVE beliefs!?!? I just love that. I love that God gave me this revelation. I challenge you to pray and ask God to help you wire in a belief that HE has for you. And I KNOW He will give you some God size ideas on how to do it. Please let me know what you experience. God is SO awesome and so creative. I can't wait to hear how he blesses you in YOUR life with some awesome new beliefs!! Beliefs that are special and specific for YOU!!!!
Did you know that our beliefs are wired with emotion? My mentor explains it this way...do you remember where you were on September 11, 2001? Do you remember exactly what you were doing, who you were with, your reaction? The result for ALL Americans after that day because of all the deep emotions we felt was that we are no longer safe. I'm sure we can all think about some of our deepest fears and trace it back to when that belief was wired in. Just like someone who is terrified of dogs. Most likely they were scared by one at some point in their life or bitten by one or something like that. I'm sure you get the point. I can actually hear an 80s song and be instantly transported back to what I was doing when that song was playing. But the bad thing is that I wasn't saved then and didn't live a very good life at that time. So the memories aren't good.
A few days ago I was on a walk, smelling the Honeysuckle and I could also smell someone cooking out. Mmmmm.....it smelled so good. You know what it is like when you smell something like maybe homemade rolls and it just reminds you of your momma's cooking. All of these things kinda relate, don't you think? I started thinking of the good smells, the good emotions, the good beliefs I have. The things that actually bring back GOOD memories. As I smelled that Honeysuckle I instantly thought to myself, I want to wire in a belief right now. So the next time I smell Honeysuckle this is what I will remember. I started praying for my husband and my marriage. I couldn't believe the things that started coming out of my mouth. I just said God I thank you for my marriage! I thank you for my husband! This is the husband YOU have given me! I commit my marriage to you! I ask you Lord that ALL my plans, thoughts and ideas line up with YOUR will....with YOUR word. Lord I pray you would draw my husband back to you. I pray that no matter where Deryl turns that he will bump into you!! Lord God I pray that you would bring scripture to his memory. Lord that you would put a hedge of protection around him so tight that any time he even attempts to get outside of your will that he would be pricked immediately by the thorns of that hedge and run back to you!!
I KNOW that was the Holy Spirit!! I know it! And you know what? Deryl and I went on a walk today at a different place and there was so much Honeysuckle everywhere!! Each time I smelled it, I remembered more and more of my prayer. I just kept praying it again over and over in my head. As we held hands, I just silently spoke that prayer over him. So it worked so mightily!! I know that each time in the future that I smell Honeysuckle, I will be reminded of that prayer. And you know what is SO awesome? That I am convinced that one day when my marriage is FULLY restored, I will smell Honeysuckle and see how far we have come. I will see how faithful God is. I will see HIM and HIS mercy and goodness.
I think the enemy would LOVE nothing more than for us to focus on all the negative beliefs we have. But isn't it so cool that WE have the power to wire in POSITIVE beliefs!?!? I just love that. I love that God gave me this revelation. I challenge you to pray and ask God to help you wire in a belief that HE has for you. And I KNOW He will give you some God size ideas on how to do it. Please let me know what you experience. God is SO awesome and so creative. I can't wait to hear how he blesses you in YOUR life with some awesome new beliefs!! Beliefs that are special and specific for YOU!!!!
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Through the Storm
Last night when I was at church I was in such a grumpy and sad mood. I hate being like that but it was just one of those times where I couldn't snap out of it no matter what I tried. We started singing the song "Nothing is impossible". I started thinking to myself, am I going to praise God "when" I see him come through for me? Or am I going to stand on His word and praise him "UNTIL" he comes through?
I think it is definitely so much easier to wait to see if he will answer our prayers. But that mentality is not faith at all. It is really holding onto and believing that the worst will actually happen and there is only a slim chance God's word is true and that he will do what He says in His word he will do.
The only way for me or you to praise Him in the storm is to just do it. I decided that I wanted to praise him through it, during it and wait for the expected, promised results. This morning I woke up in a panic. I know that HAS to be the enemy. I immediately started quoting the word and praying and asking God to give me my hope for today. I went and looked at Facebook and a friend of mine had left this on my wall.
I think it is definitely so much easier to wait to see if he will answer our prayers. But that mentality is not faith at all. It is really holding onto and believing that the worst will actually happen and there is only a slim chance God's word is true and that he will do what He says in His word he will do.
The only way for me or you to praise Him in the storm is to just do it. I decided that I wanted to praise him through it, during it and wait for the expected, promised results. This morning I woke up in a panic. I know that HAS to be the enemy. I immediately started quoting the word and praying and asking God to give me my hope for today. I went and looked at Facebook and a friend of mine had left this on my wall.
Is there anything that you are having a hard time believing God for? Maybe it is just me! But I think that we ALL have "something" we have been WAITING on God to come through for us on. Maybe some things are bigger than others but if it is what YOU are waiting on then it is important to YOU. If you are hoping God will heal your marriage or heal your body, they are both important to GOD. Let's start praising Him while we wait for His promises to be fulfilled in our lives!!
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Quick or right?
Romans 8:28 - And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Probably one of the MOST quoted scriptures, right? I've been quoting this scripture so much over the last few months. Today, I was reading the word while I was waiting in line to pick up Rachel from school. I was really focused on Psalm 91. While I was reading, a few pieces of paper fell out of my bible. I picked them up and found that two of the papers were filled with things that I was grateful for all the way back to 1999. I wrote in 1999, 2001, 2006 on this random sheet of paper. In every single entry I wrote about how I am so grateful for our health and my perfect marriage. I started thinking about how God is so faithful and how it truly is all about perspective.
Someone might look at my situation and think I don't have a good marriage right now or how could I be thankful for my health after last year. But you know what? God is still God! I am still thankful for my health and so very thankful for my marriage. I still have one of the greatest marriages I know of and I am cancer free! The last sheet of paper that fell from my bible was a bunch of things that I used to speak out every single day and don't know why I stopped but will definitely start doing this again. I'll share what those things are at the end of this post.
The word says that there is life AND death in the power of the tongue. Our words have POWER. I have been speaking out every day all the things God's word says about me and about my husband. Everything I wish he would be, I am speaking that out. Rather than focus on everything the enemy would have me focus on, I am focusing on the fact that he is a child of the most high God! Trying so hard to treat him in love. Sunday night, Deryl got super, super sick. He had some kind of 24 hour bug. He was asleep and I just started rubbing his head and silently speaking things over him. I just thanked God for him. I thanked God that Deryl is a good man, a godly man, the perfect husband and father, that he loves God with all his heart and desires to serve God and God alone, etc. After this, I just said to God..."God heal my marriage, please let this come to pass soon". Clear as day I heard God say..."Do you want this done quick or do you want this done right?".
Wow, this is what we really always want, right? When we get hurt physically we want it to go away! Who wants to be in pain?! It was kind of a hard pill to swallow because I realized that this just isn't something that is going to go away over night. But I am not going to focus on that. I am choosing to focus on the fact that God is doing something awesome in my life. God is going to make sure this is done right! How awesome is that? It truly is ALL about perspective. I don't want a band-aid on my marriage. I want God's complete restoration so we can take that journey and share it with others. I wish I could have just taken a pill and got through my cancer journey but then I wouldn't have the awesome, incredible story that I have!
So I ask you about your own situation that you might be walking in right now...do you want a band-aid? Do you want a quick fix? OR do you want it done right, fully restored, fully changed GOD's way?
Here is the list of things I had written down to speak over my life every day. Feel free to use or add to or just use as a starter of ideas for your own list.
Probably one of the MOST quoted scriptures, right? I've been quoting this scripture so much over the last few months. Today, I was reading the word while I was waiting in line to pick up Rachel from school. I was really focused on Psalm 91. While I was reading, a few pieces of paper fell out of my bible. I picked them up and found that two of the papers were filled with things that I was grateful for all the way back to 1999. I wrote in 1999, 2001, 2006 on this random sheet of paper. In every single entry I wrote about how I am so grateful for our health and my perfect marriage. I started thinking about how God is so faithful and how it truly is all about perspective.
Someone might look at my situation and think I don't have a good marriage right now or how could I be thankful for my health after last year. But you know what? God is still God! I am still thankful for my health and so very thankful for my marriage. I still have one of the greatest marriages I know of and I am cancer free! The last sheet of paper that fell from my bible was a bunch of things that I used to speak out every single day and don't know why I stopped but will definitely start doing this again. I'll share what those things are at the end of this post.
The word says that there is life AND death in the power of the tongue. Our words have POWER. I have been speaking out every day all the things God's word says about me and about my husband. Everything I wish he would be, I am speaking that out. Rather than focus on everything the enemy would have me focus on, I am focusing on the fact that he is a child of the most high God! Trying so hard to treat him in love. Sunday night, Deryl got super, super sick. He had some kind of 24 hour bug. He was asleep and I just started rubbing his head and silently speaking things over him. I just thanked God for him. I thanked God that Deryl is a good man, a godly man, the perfect husband and father, that he loves God with all his heart and desires to serve God and God alone, etc. After this, I just said to God..."God heal my marriage, please let this come to pass soon". Clear as day I heard God say..."Do you want this done quick or do you want this done right?".
Wow, this is what we really always want, right? When we get hurt physically we want it to go away! Who wants to be in pain?! It was kind of a hard pill to swallow because I realized that this just isn't something that is going to go away over night. But I am not going to focus on that. I am choosing to focus on the fact that God is doing something awesome in my life. God is going to make sure this is done right! How awesome is that? It truly is ALL about perspective. I don't want a band-aid on my marriage. I want God's complete restoration so we can take that journey and share it with others. I wish I could have just taken a pill and got through my cancer journey but then I wouldn't have the awesome, incredible story that I have!
So I ask you about your own situation that you might be walking in right now...do you want a band-aid? Do you want a quick fix? OR do you want it done right, fully restored, fully changed GOD's way?
Here is the list of things I had written down to speak over my life every day. Feel free to use or add to or just use as a starter of ideas for your own list.
- Father, I'm excited about today. This is a day YOU have made; I'm going to rejoice and be glad in it. God I know you reward those who seek you so I thank you in advance for your blessings, favor, and victory in my life today.
- I refuse to go backward. I am going forward with God in Jesus name. I'm going to be the person HE wants me to be. I AM going to fulfill my destiny.
- Greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world.
- NO weapon formed against me is going to prosper.
- Everything I touch prospers & succeeds.
- God, I know you are making something good out of all of this. I know you are a GOOD god and you have my best interest at heart. YOU promised in your word that ALL things work together for my good! God, I may not understand this, but I know YOU are in control. YOU said YOU would take this evil and turn it around & use it to my advantage. So Father, I thank you that you are going to bring us through this!
- Your word promises you'll do MORE than I can ask or think.
- We've done everything we know to do so according to your word I am going to keep standing firm.
- I know at the perfect time, you are going to make things happen.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Dead Candles
Last night, we went to church....on a Wednesday night! WOW, I can't even remember the last time we went to a church that had Wednesday night services. Anyway, it was really awesome. The pastor involved everyone in discussion and it was really cool.
While I was listening I imagined a room full of dead candles....you know, just used burned out candles. The service had started out with a song that said something like "no one can take me from you". I just couldn't stop thinking about that line in the song, how true it was. How it doesn't matter your current circumstance, your history, any tragedy or any mistake you have made, NO ONE and NOTHING can take you from God. We are HIS!! Even when we feel miles away from him, we are still his.
When thinking about the candles I imagined that this is God's people. We are like those candles at many times in our lives. We have the word of God that is active and alive inside us, we have what we need to live out our lives each and every single day right there inside of us. But what we don't do is do anything to light the wick! All it would take for those candles to come alive again is a match. But as long as they sit there, they remain dead...lifeless...useless to anyone.
I don't know about you but I don't want to be a dead candle. I don't want God's light to be burned out in me and the only thing people see is darkness. I want a fire burning so strong in me that people can't help but follow the light. I want to focus so fully on him that nothing else in this life matters. What will you do? Will you sit around and wait for someone else to light your candle or pick up the match yourself and do it now?
I know some of you probably wonder how in the world you would light your own candle. I think so many of us, me included, expect others to light it for us. We go around expecting others to know we are dead on the inside and want them to bring life to us. But we remain the same because we can only get true life from God. Only God can truly meet our needs. As long as we expect to get our needs met from others, we will continue having to get our needs met that way and be disappointed. Some ways I use to light my own candle is reading the word, praying, doing daily devotions, I love listening to worship music, and I am sure there are many other ways as well. Pray, and God will surely reveal how to light yours!
While I was listening I imagined a room full of dead candles....you know, just used burned out candles. The service had started out with a song that said something like "no one can take me from you". I just couldn't stop thinking about that line in the song, how true it was. How it doesn't matter your current circumstance, your history, any tragedy or any mistake you have made, NO ONE and NOTHING can take you from God. We are HIS!! Even when we feel miles away from him, we are still his.
When thinking about the candles I imagined that this is God's people. We are like those candles at many times in our lives. We have the word of God that is active and alive inside us, we have what we need to live out our lives each and every single day right there inside of us. But what we don't do is do anything to light the wick! All it would take for those candles to come alive again is a match. But as long as they sit there, they remain dead...lifeless...useless to anyone.
I don't know about you but I don't want to be a dead candle. I don't want God's light to be burned out in me and the only thing people see is darkness. I want a fire burning so strong in me that people can't help but follow the light. I want to focus so fully on him that nothing else in this life matters. What will you do? Will you sit around and wait for someone else to light your candle or pick up the match yourself and do it now?
I know some of you probably wonder how in the world you would light your own candle. I think so many of us, me included, expect others to light it for us. We go around expecting others to know we are dead on the inside and want them to bring life to us. But we remain the same because we can only get true life from God. Only God can truly meet our needs. As long as we expect to get our needs met from others, we will continue having to get our needs met that way and be disappointed. Some ways I use to light my own candle is reading the word, praying, doing daily devotions, I love listening to worship music, and I am sure there are many other ways as well. Pray, and God will surely reveal how to light yours!
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Here is our moving story...FUN, FUN, FUN!!
Thursday, we went to go pick up the moving truck and trailer. We got back to the house and Deryl started moving the jack to get the trailer off the truck so we could start loading as soon as the guys came to help. Well, the jack totally broke and we hadn't even been home 5 minutes! We called Budget and they had someone come out to take a look at it. The guy had to drive from Grand Prairie to Grapevine to get a part then drive back to us to fix it. Luckily it all worked out because we were ready to go and he finished fixing the trailer at the same exact time. So that worked out perfect. We ended up not getting to leave the house to be on our way until 10:30. So we went ahead and drove to Shreveport and then stayed the night there.
We got up the next morning, ate breakfast and were on the road again. This was about 8:30 a.m. We were so excited because the GPS said we would arrive to our destination at 6:30 p.m. Around 11:30 a.m. I think it was, Heather and I heard some motorcycles speed by going the opposite way down the highway. Right after that we heard a noise again but couldn't figure out what it was. We rolled down the windows and it was tornado sirens!!!! We had been listening to CD's so we hadn't heard any of the alerts on the radio and it didn't look stormy. Anyway, we really didn't have any idea where we were other than the fact that we were in Mississippi. They kept mentioning on the radio different cities but we only knew what county we were in.
Now let me just say that when we ate breakfast, which none of us usually do, we decided to eat at IHOP instead of just running through and getting fast food. Also, when we stopped for gas after eating breakfast there was a big mix up when Deryl checked out. So between breakfast and the mix up, we ended up being delayed about 30 - 45 minutes before we headed out that morning. Well, by the time we ended up in Jackson, Mississippi a tornado had ripped through about 30 - 45 minutes prior!! So, the delay was a GOD delay and spared us from the tornado. There were 9 deaths because of this tornado. Trees were on top of houses, debris all over the roads, a semi-truck flipped over, and I-20 was completely shut down. The traffic from all of this delayed us for close to 3 hours. It was amazing to drive by seeing all the destruction and all that God had spared us from. But not so great for the people in that town.
When we finally got through all the traffic mess and were on our way again, we hadn't been driving long and it started storming really bad....pouring rain. Literally, from Mississippi to Georgia it poured rain almost the entire time and every few minutes there were sirens on the radio and we were under tornado watches and warnings the entire rest of the trip. Finally, at around 11:45 p.m. we "think" we are in our friends neighborhood where we are going to be staying for a couple of months. I had been there once before and it just didn't look right. It looked like we were in the country but they live in a neighborhood. There was a road that said "no outlet" but that was where our GPS was telling us to go.
SO, Deryl pulls up some thinking he could turn around but we decided for me to just go down the road and check it out first to make sure it was okay. Rachel & I drive down and it looked like it was right out of a scene from the Blair Witch Project!!!! OMG, it was really scary and really creepy. I knew then that we were definitely not in the right place. Some bird was making an awful noise and Rachel and I just knew it was going to fly down and attack us at any moment! We went back and told Deryl & Heather what was going on and Deryl realizes that he is not going to be able to back the truck and trailer up. So, there was a big field and he figured he could just turn around. Well, he backed up a little bit then turned around and the truck got MAJOR stuck in the mud!
During the trip, Deryl drove the moving truck with the 4 runner on a trailer pulled behind it. I followed him and had spent the last who knows how many hours driving behind him in the pouring rain. Now, I just couldn't take it anymore and no more rational thoughts were in my mind!! There was no way to get out of this without help. Well, lo and behold some "good ole boys" who had obviously been doing some serious partying, stopped to see what was going on. They were driving a big dually. They tried pulling us out and the truck started sliding to the right WITH the trailer on the back. Yep, for those of you who know me....I started to PANIC, PANIC, PANIC!!!! Oh my goodness, it was so scary. By now, several of our friends showed up and I felt a little more at ease. The original guys that tried to help left and went to get another dually. In the mean time, everyone else unhooked the trailer and got the 4 runner off as well.
So, the drunks came back and believe me, this was definitely not their first time doing this. They knew exactly what they were doing. They got their first dually onto the road and put a chain on the end of it and hooked it up to a second dually. They put a chain on it and hooked it up to the moving truck. And within seconds, it was out of the mud. I don't really know what happened after that because as soon as I knew the truck was unstuck I left with my friend to go to their house. I couldn't stand the thought of watching them put the trailer back on the truck and it was starting to rain again.
So finally, after 1:00 a.m. we were finally at our destination. But the next morning after thinking over the whole trip, I realized that it had stormed all the way here to our new home. But when we got here the storms had stopped. The very next morning, it was so beautiful outside. And it has been so gorgeous...just absolutely perfect weather. I thought that was just so awesome. I think it was God showing us that although we have had several months of major storms in our lives, the sun is coming up. That something beautiful is on its way.
This morning we got up and went to church and saw some of our old friends. It was really refreshing. Such an awesome time of worship and a great message as well. I was really concerned about the girls and how they were going to feel about it. They both loved it! And they get to go to church camp this summer for SO much cheaper than it would have been in Texas and it is in Gatlinburg. I am so excited for them.
I will be enrolling them in school tomorrow and they will hopefully start on Tuesday. So please keep us in your prayers and pray they will have NO problems in school whatsoever. I will be looking for a support group this week and Deryl starts his job tomorrow.
Thursday, we went to go pick up the moving truck and trailer. We got back to the house and Deryl started moving the jack to get the trailer off the truck so we could start loading as soon as the guys came to help. Well, the jack totally broke and we hadn't even been home 5 minutes! We called Budget and they had someone come out to take a look at it. The guy had to drive from Grand Prairie to Grapevine to get a part then drive back to us to fix it. Luckily it all worked out because we were ready to go and he finished fixing the trailer at the same exact time. So that worked out perfect. We ended up not getting to leave the house to be on our way until 10:30. So we went ahead and drove to Shreveport and then stayed the night there.
We got up the next morning, ate breakfast and were on the road again. This was about 8:30 a.m. We were so excited because the GPS said we would arrive to our destination at 6:30 p.m. Around 11:30 a.m. I think it was, Heather and I heard some motorcycles speed by going the opposite way down the highway. Right after that we heard a noise again but couldn't figure out what it was. We rolled down the windows and it was tornado sirens!!!! We had been listening to CD's so we hadn't heard any of the alerts on the radio and it didn't look stormy. Anyway, we really didn't have any idea where we were other than the fact that we were in Mississippi. They kept mentioning on the radio different cities but we only knew what county we were in.
Now let me just say that when we ate breakfast, which none of us usually do, we decided to eat at IHOP instead of just running through and getting fast food. Also, when we stopped for gas after eating breakfast there was a big mix up when Deryl checked out. So between breakfast and the mix up, we ended up being delayed about 30 - 45 minutes before we headed out that morning. Well, by the time we ended up in Jackson, Mississippi a tornado had ripped through about 30 - 45 minutes prior!! So, the delay was a GOD delay and spared us from the tornado. There were 9 deaths because of this tornado. Trees were on top of houses, debris all over the roads, a semi-truck flipped over, and I-20 was completely shut down. The traffic from all of this delayed us for close to 3 hours. It was amazing to drive by seeing all the destruction and all that God had spared us from. But not so great for the people in that town.
When we finally got through all the traffic mess and were on our way again, we hadn't been driving long and it started storming really bad....pouring rain. Literally, from Mississippi to Georgia it poured rain almost the entire time and every few minutes there were sirens on the radio and we were under tornado watches and warnings the entire rest of the trip. Finally, at around 11:45 p.m. we "think" we are in our friends neighborhood where we are going to be staying for a couple of months. I had been there once before and it just didn't look right. It looked like we were in the country but they live in a neighborhood. There was a road that said "no outlet" but that was where our GPS was telling us to go.
SO, Deryl pulls up some thinking he could turn around but we decided for me to just go down the road and check it out first to make sure it was okay. Rachel & I drive down and it looked like it was right out of a scene from the Blair Witch Project!!!! OMG, it was really scary and really creepy. I knew then that we were definitely not in the right place. Some bird was making an awful noise and Rachel and I just knew it was going to fly down and attack us at any moment! We went back and told Deryl & Heather what was going on and Deryl realizes that he is not going to be able to back the truck and trailer up. So, there was a big field and he figured he could just turn around. Well, he backed up a little bit then turned around and the truck got MAJOR stuck in the mud!
During the trip, Deryl drove the moving truck with the 4 runner on a trailer pulled behind it. I followed him and had spent the last who knows how many hours driving behind him in the pouring rain. Now, I just couldn't take it anymore and no more rational thoughts were in my mind!! There was no way to get out of this without help. Well, lo and behold some "good ole boys" who had obviously been doing some serious partying, stopped to see what was going on. They were driving a big dually. They tried pulling us out and the truck started sliding to the right WITH the trailer on the back. Yep, for those of you who know me....I started to PANIC, PANIC, PANIC!!!! Oh my goodness, it was so scary. By now, several of our friends showed up and I felt a little more at ease. The original guys that tried to help left and went to get another dually. In the mean time, everyone else unhooked the trailer and got the 4 runner off as well.
So, the drunks came back and believe me, this was definitely not their first time doing this. They knew exactly what they were doing. They got their first dually onto the road and put a chain on the end of it and hooked it up to a second dually. They put a chain on it and hooked it up to the moving truck. And within seconds, it was out of the mud. I don't really know what happened after that because as soon as I knew the truck was unstuck I left with my friend to go to their house. I couldn't stand the thought of watching them put the trailer back on the truck and it was starting to rain again.
So finally, after 1:00 a.m. we were finally at our destination. But the next morning after thinking over the whole trip, I realized that it had stormed all the way here to our new home. But when we got here the storms had stopped. The very next morning, it was so beautiful outside. And it has been so gorgeous...just absolutely perfect weather. I thought that was just so awesome. I think it was God showing us that although we have had several months of major storms in our lives, the sun is coming up. That something beautiful is on its way.
This morning we got up and went to church and saw some of our old friends. It was really refreshing. Such an awesome time of worship and a great message as well. I was really concerned about the girls and how they were going to feel about it. They both loved it! And they get to go to church camp this summer for SO much cheaper than it would have been in Texas and it is in Gatlinburg. I am so excited for them.
I will be enrolling them in school tomorrow and they will hopefully start on Tuesday. So please keep us in your prayers and pray they will have NO problems in school whatsoever. I will be looking for a support group this week and Deryl starts his job tomorrow.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
The Reality of Breast Cancer
Although very hard to view, especially if you are a survivor, these pictures are all of women I can truly admire. And all the more reason why you should do your monthly self-exams and get your mammograms done. These pictures show the reality of breast cancer. A side no one sees or can even begin to imagine or understand.
http://thescarproject.org/gallery.html
http://thescarproject.org/gallery.html
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