Words you don't expect to hear from your 5 yr old

As I've mentioned over and over again, I never know what will come out of Reese's mouth. Tonight he said a word I can't even spell. Thankfull for spell check right now!

I can't remember the sentence now but he said anaphylactic shock. He couldn't tell me what it meant but he said "well Joanna said it when she got into the ants.".

So you may be wondering who Joanna is. Joanna is from a movie called "You Again". It is a bit of a girl movie but he loves it! He has watched it too many times to count. He refers to Joanna a lot and I think he thinks they are the best of friends.

Speaking of friends, he made a new one today. Our church is under construction to add more space right now. As we came in this morning he saw Mr. Bill (superintendent). Wednesdays are show and tell and Reese happened to bring his work gloves to show his friends. He told Mr. Bill that he could borrow his gloves if he needed them. As i walked him back to his class he said he wanted to be like Bill and wondered if he would hire him when he got big.

Later in the day he saw Bill again and told him he liked his boots. I have no doubt that Reese will work in the construction industry or in pest control one day. Whatever he does, he will be really good at it!

Thankful

I am in awe! Without getting too deep into some personal things I have to share an answer to prayer. Last night I had myself a little pity party. I literally cried and prayed about a situation for a while. I felt better and went bed.

This morning I get up and Denson brings up the very thing I struggled with the night before. I almost couldn't listen to him for thinking in my head "Dear Lord you have answered my prayer, within hours! How? Oh my, I just can't believe it!". In true Sheila fashion I of course cried. It was a great morning for both of us, knowing God was obviously at work. I did finally ask if he had read my prayer journal because I thought it was odd that he woke up talking about what I went to bed thinking about. God is awesome like that, no doubt!

A friend told me years ago that there were no coincidences with God. I believed it then and thankful for the reminder today.

Oh, and one last thing. In doing my bible study tonight, Job was referenced. And what is our Pastor preaching on? Job! God has a word for me through Job and James, no question!

Blessed be the Name of the Lord

The title of this post was from yesterday's sermon. Very powerful sermon on Job. The current sermon series is called "Overcoming". Just what I need to hear right now. I have a lot to overcome.

This verse spoke volumes to me - Job 1:21 And he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.".

And of course I have a song to reference because, let's face it, that's how I roll. This one is a little more obvious, "Blessed be your name".

Blessed Be Your Name lyrics


Blessed Be Your Name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name

Blessed Be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's 'all as it should be'
Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Beautiful song for sure. But when we are on the road marked with suffering can I truly say it and believe it? Most days I say I can and I am....but I had a moment this evening where I doubted. Then I felt angry for allowing myself to doubt. "God, are you there? Are you really working things out? The peace I feel, is that you or am I crazy? Help me!".

The pity party has come to an end and I'm going to take some advice I give Bailey. "Now Bailey, you need to smile. It's hard to be mad or sad when you are smiling!".

That goes along with one of the points from Sunday: Worship may be our only source of strength when we face extreme suffering.

So tonight I will choose to say "Blessed be the name of the Lord!"

R & B and Reese

Reese Dean is an absolute mess. I never know what the boy is going to say and where in the world he got it from.

Today, leaving school he says "Momma, when I get big I want to listen to R&B tracks". Well alrighty then. So tonight I asked him what that meant. He said it was a cool party with college kids, Drake & Josh, and TV producers.

I'm not real sure what to think. But I am pretty sure I will need to keep a super tight reign on him when he gets older.

Busy, busy

I guess it's that time of year where life becomes busy again. Bailey will be inducted into the National Honor society Friday and we had to get her a dress. Can you believe the girl doesn't own a dress? I'm telling you she is growing like a weed. She is 10 yrs old and only 4 inches shorter than me. Her foot is a little bigger than mine. She is growing out of clothes so fast!

So tonight I took her shopping for a dress (we actually agreed on everything). Came home, cooked dinner, cleaned the kitchen, washed 2 loads of clothes, bathed Reese, put Reese in bed and finally done. Now is the time I really wish I had some ice cream! I think I kinda deserve it :)

Both kids start ball practice this week. Should be interesting!

Draw near

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (James 4:7, 8 ESV)

Today's Beth Moore study on James was on the above verses. This sounds easy enough but it's a lot harder when putting it into practice. And it is impossible without help from God. As a matter of fact I had a conversation with a friend today about things we used to do but don't anymore. God literally took the desire away to do certain things. Could I have stopped on my own? Maybe, but not for long.

I never understood until it happened to me. I drew near to God and He drew near to me, like for real! My eyes were opened and now I want EVERYONE'S eyes to be opened. If only they knew how much better life could be. But they involves submitting yourself to God. Submitting is not a favorable word these days. But when you understand what that means and the freedom that comes with it, you are glad to do it.

I'll end with these 2 points from, you got it, my friend Beth :)

He knows the well- deliberated plan for your life and how all things must fall into place for you to fulfill your destiny. So submit to God.

The devil is trying to steal from you and destroy you and make it look like it was all your idea. So, girlfriend, submit to God.

Normal?

I will say this again and probably 30 more times before the end of the year.....how in the world will I manage to blog daily? What have i gotten myself into??

Today was a pretty uneventful day. Or I'm just so tired that all the craziness is really just normal now. What is normal anyway?

There are lots of changes being made and hopefully more in the near future for us. Maybe one day I will write exactly what all this changing is about but for now will you pray for us?

Hopefully tomorrow will bring a more exciting post :)

Softball/Baseball Season

Bailey and Reese both tried out for ball Saturday. This will be Bailey's 2nd season and she has improved so much! Can't wait to see how things go.

This will be Reese's first year and I'm a nervous wreck. Even with his mostly out going, big personality, he can still be shy at times. There were tons of kids in his age group and he didn't know anyone when he first got there and he wasn't about to go on the field. Luckily Denson calmed him down and after getting in the dug out to wait his turn he actually started liking it. The coaches will for sure have their work cut out for them. You may want to start praying for him now :).

With the busyness ball brings blogging daily will be a task. I will apologize now for short post that may or may not have any entertaining or useful information. I may end up doing bible study in the car while they are practicing but I am not going to let that fall to the wayside.

Here is to a busy next 3 months!

He's still working on me...

So I've slacked on blogging the last few days. This week has just been hard. But I've learned some things and plan on making some changes. This makes me think of a song we used to sing when we were kids, "He's still working on me, to make me what I ought to be....."

I what to live with no regrets. Stepping out of my comfort zone and loving others regardless of how much it hurts. By that I mean, talking to, helping, and actually caring for those that need it most. The hurting. The broken. The sick. The abused. The forgotten. And you know what? That is going to hurt. It's going to hurt because I can't do those things without involving my heart. It's been easier to just act like I don't see those people. But I always regret that because I really do see them and kick myself for not doing what God is gently pushing me to do.

I've also realized that wisdom from above is in no way, form or fashion harsh. I've heard lots of Christian's and myself included be a little harsh in telling others about the truth. Sometimes we just want to be right that we don't care how we sound. Harshness probably makes people just tune us out.

With that being said, the truth is still the truth whether a person believes it or not. For instance, I can tell you a cop is 2 miles up the road and you shouldn't speed. You can say you don't believe there is a cop and go on your merry way. However, you go speeding by and although you didn't believe there was a cop, the truth is there was and now you are getting a ticket.

Back to the whole wisdom thing. James 3:17 "The wisdom from above is first pure, then peace loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without favoritism and hypocrisy".

Beth Moore wrote in her study:
Harsh people are never wise people. The may be smart. They may even be right. But they are not what the Bible calls wise.

This James study is some good stuff and like I've said before- James is all up in my business!

She is gone

I really wish I had some good news to give about my friend Brandi but I don't. She lost her fight with CF this evening. Please pray for her family and friends. Her blog is located down and to the right of this post. It is called how to be a bankgrl.

I am just heartbroken. Days like these make me ask "Why? WHY???". There isn't an answer that will make me feel better and really it's not for us to understand.

Despite her health issues, Brandi lived life to the fullest. She always had a smile on her face. You would never know she was sick. She was smart and worked hard. She could have gotten on disability but that was not who she was. She loved her family dearly. Oh, and she loved her (as she would say) kittehs.

I have repeated this numerous times tonight but I still just can't believe it. Thank you lord this world is not my home!

Heartbroken

I guess that's really not the title you expect to see on Valentine's Day and I really wish it weren't the case. My friend Brandi, who happens to also have a blog and whom I worked with in two different departments at the bank is fighting for her life tonight.

She has cystic fibrosis. She was in the hospital for what she calls a "tune up" and she got worse instead of better. Earlier today she was put on a ventilator and is in critical condition. Please say a prayer for and for her family. Understandably they are having a hard time and not ready to let her go. I really can't believe this is happening. And at the same time I always knew this day would come far to early.

Praying for a miracle!

Season of love!

If there is a season of love, it would be February. And really, this is one those topics that keep coming up for me right now. I know, you're thinking, well duh Valentine's Day is tomorrow. But, I don't recall hearing these things last year or the year before. Maybe I heard them with my ears but not my heart. Very possible.

I realized from my study on Saturday that I should be intentional in being friends with people who I may not particularly like or care for. I should be nice to every person I come in contact with period. I should not judge them or have preconceived ideas of what they are like. Especially not having a fat clue as to what their life has been like. Pretty common sense but I need reminders sometimes.

Sunday's sermon was preached by our Youth Pastor and was called "Hallmarks of Love". It was a great message. Below are a few points from the notes:
The way in which we love others is a hallmark of our relationship with God.

The way in which we love others is a reflection of God's love expressed through the gospel.

The way in which we love others is a result of how we abide in the love of God.

The way in which we love others is empowered by the love of God.

When we realize just how much we are loved, it makes us want to love others. I'm going to work on being better at that!

Nothing to report here

Well, after a much anticipated and talked about trip to see Billy the Exterminator Reese changed his mind!!! We got in the car and he said "Daddy, my tummy feels funny and I just want to go home and ride my four wheeler. I don't want to stand in line.".

Totally caught off guard but it did not hurt my feelings. As a matter of fact we went home and I fell asleep at 8:30. We are such part animals!

Saturday we had a great bible study. I will write about that later as well as the sermon that was preached today. Great, life changing stuff!

And speaking of life changing, I am actually watching the Grammy's. Luckily I have Bailey to tell me who all these cool people are because I have no clue. But I do know who Whitney is and I loved her when I was a kid. Such a talented artist and I am so sad she is no longer here. RIP Whitney, we will always love you!

Billy. The. Exterminator

Reese Dean LOVES reality TV. Of course he doesn't even know what that means. I guess he gets it honest because I love it too!

Back in December he got to meet Troy and Jacob from Swamp People. He was thrilled! Tomorrow night we are going to the World of Wheels and Billy The Exterminator will be there. I just can't let Reese miss out.

Reese can pretty much recite lines from most episodes, he wears a chain on his pants (like Billy), carries around snake tongs and has even been known to cuss a little, just like Billy. The boy is pumped!!

Ive asked him a few times or 100, what he was going to say to Billy. His first response was:
"I'm going to ask Bill why he had a heart attack in that storage building.

I'm not sure he'll even say that but tonight I asked him again. he said "Mom, you've asked me that 1000 times already!". Well, I guess I'm turning into the Mom that asks a question, turns around and immediately forgets what the response was.

Oh well! Hopefully things will go well and i can post pictures later. Good night!

Thankful

I have so many different things going on in my mind right now. Mostly thoughts and concerns for people I know that are hurting. I know that includes so many really all around the world.

I know that in these hard times God is working in a lot of hearts. He is also making things happen that are true miracles. I forget that sometimes. It's easy to get caught up in my circumstance and forget He is in control. But I am still clinging to the truth. Thank God for the many reminders to help me get through the day.

Religious, good or bad?

I'll be honest with you, when I hear the word religious, my thoughts tend to go to the negative side. Before I became a Christ follower I thought of people who went to church every time the doors were open and seemed to have the perfect life and looked down on those that didn't. And if you have a different opinion than them you were "of the devil".

Now that I am on the other side, I hate to say my opinion hasn't changed much. Just the word turns people away and I can't really blame them. In a lot of cases, the religious folk act and do the same things non-religious people do, they just stand behind their religion and say it is ok because they are forgiven. And then we say "Those other people, you know the sinners, well they are going to hell in a hand basket". (best southern fake voice I can do)

But we have put that stigma on the word because we don't live out our religion! We should stand out and instead we blend in.

The Word religious means manifesting faithful devotion to an acknowledged ultimate reality or deity. Doesn't sound bad does it? Because it isn't. It would be like having a bad experience at a fast food restaurant (maybe that's not so far fetched) and saying all fast food hamburgers are bad based on one experience. That's just not fair. Besides we are all human and have bad days. So if you've had 1 bad experience or even more with religious people don't let that keep you from making the best decision you could ever make by making Jesus Lord of your life. Yeah, I know that sounds religious but He changed my life and I just don't know of a better way to put it :)

Lastly, an insert from today's study on James (Beth Moore).
You make up your mind who you want to be and daily die to the rest. You surrender yourself to living in the tension where you'll always be stretched and often broken. Religion pure and undefiled is grit without the grime. You accept that far easier ways to live exist, but you were born for nothing less.

This study is all up in my business

So week 3's homework has been difficult to digest. But desperately needed.

Day 1 was on James 1:19, My dearly loved brothers, understand this: everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.

I need help on this. And the funny thing is this lesson was on Sunday. This is the day of the week I usually have serious attitude issues and lose my patience the quickest. I love the fact that coincidences are not really coincidences but divine appointments. I've had lots of those lately. Those are the good days. The days I feel Him walking by side. Wonderful Savior!

I have some changin' to do

Well, I guess I need to adjust my posting frequency. I know I said every single day but I think I'm going to have to change it to Sunday thru Thursday. Especially with ball season coming up and the fact that both kids will be playing. Still not sure how that's going to work.

Saturdays study on James was amazing and went right on along with the week I had. It talked about how joy and anguish can coexist. She also gave 2 examples of anguish.
Pain+anxiety=anguish
Suffering+dread=anguish

I think that accurately describes my emotional state right now. But, i know everything will work out according to God's plan.

There are two other points I would like to share.
Mental anguish can be like the mind in labor.

Anguish is meant to lead to a birth.

Don't give up, don't stop believing. Our pain will make us stronger and if we allow it, bring us closer to the God of the universe. I'm praying for a week of focusing on Jesus. A week of seeing Him work in many lives for His glory.

Happy Birthday to my little Ground Hog!

Today is Reese's 5th birthday! Where has the time gone? Bailey was 5 when he was born and it just doesn't seem like either one of them should be 5 and 10.

I made him pancakes for breakfast, which are his favorite. Since he is allergic to eggs he doesn't eat cake so I made cake batter balls. He was so excited but after eating them he really didn't like them. He was so sweet though and told me it was ok, he would just eat the outside of it, which was a candy coating.

We went skating tonight and that didn't go as well as I planned. He was over confident thinking it would be easy but it wasn't. I was over confident thinking I had skated a bunch as a kid and it wouldn't be a big deal. We were both wrong! I busted it right away. I couldn't keep myself up and him too which resulted in a disaster. He still had fun and I'm sure we will do it again.

I did witness a pretty funny parent moment. The song "tootsie roll" came on. That was from back in the day so none of the kids paid attention to it. However, all around the room you could see the mommas dancing or at least moving a little. I have to admit I kinda wanted to break it down :). I guess I should have because my cool points were already in the negative at that point. Oh well, next time, if I can stay on my feet long enough!

I'm seeing a running theme.

Words are not adequate to even begin to tell you what I've been through the last week. My last 2 posts have had the word overcome in them. I really feel the Lord speaking to me through that word.

Today I had another encounter with this word. At work I received info on the next sermon series in order to promote it. When I opened the email and saw it I cried. It is called "Overcoming". That is some powerful stuff!

A friend had me listen to a song by Kari Jobe called "Find You on my knees". If I could write a song right now it would say exactly what she is singing.

But I will find you in the place I'm in, find you when I'm at my end,
Find you when there's nothing left of me to offer you except for brokenness.
You lift me up, you'll never leave me thirsty,
When I am weak, when I am lost and searching
I'll find you on my knees.

Beautiful song and I will add it to the list of songs you must find and listen to :)