Just a Really Good Day!

Today has just been a really good day!
Sunday school was good this morning. We were talking about putting things off, like losing weight, witnessing, staying right with God, daily prayer and the list goes on. We talked about how we are not guaranteed even another minute on this Earth and how we should truly live each second like it was our last. This brought alot of things home for me about my daily walk, my weight and so on.

I left Sunday School and played hooky from church and took my mom, Baleigh and her friend Emily to Jackson for my mom's birthday. (I know, shame on me!) We ate a late breakfast at Cracker Barrel, browsed in a couple of places and then took my mom to see the movie "The Women", which is all she asked for for her birthday.

You would know the major plot to the movie is how we live and carry on in a way that we think is pleasing to others and how you don't truly live until you have happiness in yourself. These women thought they were holding it all together and everyone watching them could see different, the message was that you can't hold anything together if you have no joy or self acceptance yourself.

Again, I here you Lord! I really enjoyed my day with my mom and my daughter. We laughed, talked and simply enjoyed each other's company. We aren't guaranteed tomorrow, so I am glad that I had today!

By the way, I didn't eat all of the icecream!

"Moo-llenium Crunch", the next best thing to Heaven!

Well, I did it again! After being inspired by a friend, I cleaned out my closet last night. I have recently changed sizes and I finally got the nerve to get rid of my old pants and hopefully leave them behind. Except for the fact that I came home and rewarded myself this afternoon with a gallon of "Moo-llenium Crunch" icecream by Blue Bell. Maybe I need to keep a pair or two.

No I didn't eat the whole gallon, but that's not to say I won't before the weekend is over. Ha! Ha! You know how you look at someone and think, "What in the world were they thinking", well sometimes I look at myself and think, "What in the world were you thinking?".

Sure would be nice if I could seek comfort in a good walk or a salad. Better luck next time!

Have a "great" weekend everyone!

I Need My Mouth Stapled, Not My Ear! :-)

In my heart of hearts, I am a fit and energectic woman just screaming to get out! To bad this women hasn't let the rest of my body know. I have bought all of the exercise equipment, paid "hundreds" to Weight Watchers, taken a variety of diet gimicks, subscribed to healthy magazines and even went as far as to let someone put a staple in my ear and I am still overweight. I think in all my wisdom I'm finally beginning to figure out that you have to actually do something more than pay your money or read to get into better shape. Darn it!!

I know that our body should be our temple, but if that is the case, mine seems to take on the shape of Budha!! Ha! Ha! I had Bunko last night, which I enjoy. Good food, good friends and good fun. We were talking about how hard it is to lose weight. Why is that? It should simply be mind over matter, but my "mind" won't do what it should "no matter" what I want!

My children got a parent involvement sheet that wanted us to keep a weekly log of things that we do together day-to-day that count as exercise, HA! I got to thinking about it and unless you can count walking in the kitchen to cook or walking back and forth from the laundry room as exercise, I am truly sad! I believe they mean something in addition to those things, ya think. The closest thing I do to a leg lift is getting in the bathtub. I am 35 years old and I do nothing "intentionally" for exercise. I watch each birthday pass me by and always vow that I am going to get it together, but never do. My biggest fear is waking up one day and realizing that my children are grown and my youth is passing and I have just wasted it. That I wasted having the energy to not just watch my kids play, but play with them. That I spent the years that I should have been really enjoying life to the fullest, tired and worn out. One thing that is sticking out the most is watching my beautiful baby girl growing up and taking on my self image, as well as my attitude on being fit. She deserves more!

I am tired of being tired! I have blamed it for years on my being busy, but these days, EVERYONE is busy, that's just an excuse I use.

Simply put, I need to get up off of this big "tush" following me and make changes in my life. I've started some cut-backs on food, not a diet, simply cut backs. Today I walked a mile after school, mind you I counted every single minute until I was through, but I made it. Maybe my "mind" will realize that is does "matter". I need to do this not just for myself, but for my family!
Wish me luck, I assure you I will need it! :-)

Are you growing "Quince" or "Apples"?

Today was a good Sunday. Mainly because the Lord gave it to me. After all, he gives us the gift of another day and we are the ones who choose how our day is going to go, regardless of what happens in it. The devil's attack is inevitable, it's how we respond that counts.

Today's sermon was on "the fruit that we bear" and how people can tell alot about us by our fruits. My devotion this weekend was on being a "Godly Women". That was a double whammy wasn't it. As I sat through todays sermon I wondered how fruitful I was. I remember being tricked into eating a quince when I was little. It was a bitter bitter fruit, unlike the apple which is sweet. Hum! I wonder if the fruit I am bearing is "bitter" or "sweet"? I was also reminded of the verse in John,

I am the vine, you are the branches; He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing. John 15:5

As I thought of this verse I wondered not only how I lack in being a "Godly women", but also how I lack being as fruitful as I should. My heart desires nothing more that to be a "God fearing" women, but I find myself letting life and the flesh rob me of this more than I should. When I am robbed so are the ones that I love, because my life affects their life. I allow circumstances to dictate my emotions and I allow the "hustle and bustle" of day to day to demand my thoughts. In the process of doing this, I don't think that we are as fruitful as we can be. Being fruitful is so much more than me reading a quick devotional or praying for someone, to be fruitful I need to never stop growing in Christ, not just in those instances, but at all times.

I love to grow flowers, though many don't make it. I think about the ferns that I love so much. They start out so beautiful and green. As I begin to neglect them they become dry and start to have noticeable signs of neglect. As I starve them completely of water, they simple start to break away piece by piece. I think I am alot like my ferns are at times. I know, that sounds crazy! Think about it, we get so fired up for God and we just glow in his spirit and then we slowly start slipping and not keeping ourselves fed on God's word. We too start to get dry and don't thrive like we should. We think we look okay, but others see. As we continue to neglect ourselves spiritually we simply start losing bits and pieces of ourselves much like the fern. What is so wonderful though, is that if I simply give that fern a little water, you start to slowly see the life creep right back in. God is offering us all we need to keep ourselves fed spiritually to bear fruit, beautiful fruit.

Lord help me feed on your words daily so that I might be fruitful for your kingdom. Lord help me to be the women that "YOU" would have me to be.

Going Through the "Big D" and Don't Mean "Dallas"!

Well girls, I didn't come back from revival fired up tonight! The sermon tonight was on divorce. This is a subject close to my heart because I have lived it with my mom, my family and my friends. I know that divorce is not what God may have intended, but I know many "wonderful" and "God fearing" people who have gone through it. I know women who gave it their all, to the point of losing themselves and it just didn't work. I think that you have to have walked a mile in the shoes of others before you can truly say what you would do. I am a simple women with a simple mind, but I do not think that God intends you to stay in a marriage that is not a Godly marriage. I don't think that God wants you and your children to stay in a situation that is abusive mentally, physically or spiritually just so you can say that you aren't divorced. I thank God that my mom had the courage to go through divorce. The effect that it has on children was really focused on tonight. I thank my momma for having the courage to realize that sometimes there are worse things than your child "NOT" having a daddy at home and that is daddy "COMING" home.

Hold your head high momma, I love you! Beth

As for the long term affects on your children. We all want to live those Cinderella stories and my mom just wasn't that lucky. Yes, while growing up, times were hard and tennis shoes and jeans were holey, but just as my "Best Friend" recently blogged about herself, we had praying mommas. Momma prayed for me to have the husband that she never had, God sent me "HER" Cinderella story. I am "blessed"!

Sometimes I just need the dirt beat out of me!

What a crazy Monday back at school. We've been out for a week, I can't seem to get my lesson plans together and on top of everything I have duty! I am sooo tired. I came home today and managed to scrap out some supper (the joys of hamburger helper and green beans) and made it to revival. Boy could I have curled up and went to sleep! I know that is a crazy title for a blog, but that's one of the things that stands out most about what the pastor said at revival tonight.

He said, "Just as the women used to go to the river and beat their dirty laundry against a rock to get the dirt out of it, many times we also must take a beating before we give up and clean ourselves of sin". I think he knows me, Ha! Ha! Why is it that I find myself beating all around the bush not wanting to admit I am wrong, that I take a beating out of life before I give in.

Another thing that he said was, " The sin we cover, God will uncover. The sin we uncover God will cover". Those are "powerful" words to me. I find myself trying to make my way the right way! Why not, right! Well, newsflash to me, it's God's way. I have taught my own children and Sunday school children and school children that, "God sees everything". Why is it that I think that I can hide my heart? It doesn't matter what I do to camouflage it, God knows. After all, you can put perfume on a skunk, but it will still stink! Okay, I'm delirious, I know, but I thought that was cute. :-)

The words, however; that stepped on my toes the most tonight was about something that I find myself doing alot. Many times I don't voice it, but once again, GOD knows! It was, "Coming to worship with unconfessed sin will completely rob you of the joy of worship. It will allow you to notice everything that you think went wrong with the service, but nothing of God's message and worship you were intended to experience. Sin affects everything!". Wow! It is through these words that I realized why many times I am not worshiping to the fullest. It isn't because someone doesn't accommodate my taste or do things like I would have, it is because of ME.

What a powerful night in worship, what powerful words! Lord, I am sorry that I have to be beaten against a rock before I finally get clean. I am like a child that their father is constantly telling, "Don't get dirty" (the dirt being sin), and I still do what I want and think that my father will not see the dirt. Dirt is dirt and their is no way to hide it.

Okay, I know I have rambled tonight, but I have just been excited about the words that it seems that God has sent especially for me. I think HE knows me or something! Have a "great" week!

I Hear You Lord, Loud and Clear!

What a day, what a day! God showed up and showed out in my heart today. It was one of those Sundays where God convicted you about something from the time you walked in the door. It started out in Sunday school. Our lesson was on forgiveness. One of the key verses was:

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." Collossians 3:12-14


I really needed this verse. I find myself not wanting to forgive others that I think have wronged me. I get mad at the fact that people count on me to forgive them. I get mad that when I forgive someone they don't seem to appreciate it and I get mad at them again. This morning I set and pondered, "Beth, just who in the world do you think you are?". With all that God has forgiven me for in my life and continues to forgive me for daily, who am I to walk around prideful wanting others to make me happy, comfortable and never wrong against me. I felt God telling me, "People make mistakes Beth and news flash, so do you". Walking a Christian walk isn't going to be a bed of roses and I know this in my heart, but I still find myself straying. Lord this morning you have convicted me strongly about being responsible for "my" actions. I have said a million times that I cannot control what others do, but I CAN control what I do and how I react. During the message today the visiting pastor made the statement, "The world has to see something diferent in us as Christians. If all we do is go to church, but the world doesn't see anything different in us then all we've done is simply go to church. You cannot walk with a Holy God and live an unholy life." What powerful words he spoke! I have failed lately to walk that Godly walk. Don't get me wrong, I turn to God daily, but do those closest to me see God in me. You see, for me it is really easy to let those who aren't close see God in us. Whether it be an encouraging word, praying for or with someone or whatever it may be. But the true me, is how I am with those closest to me. I fear lately that has been an ugly sight. The pastor made another statement that said, "Why are children living in sin and straying. Because their parents are!". That popped me right upside the head as well. I fuss at my children for raising their voices or tearing each other down with their words. Lord I fear they learned it from the best, me! Why do they lose their temper, because they see me doing it and not having patience. Why do they tear at each other with their words. Lord they have heard me tear others down with my words. I know what I am doing is wrong and I still let those words leave my mouth.

I have had a humbling day, but am fired up. God has revealed himself to me today in a mighty way and has forced me to look at myself. I am falling short. I must continue to forgive others, because I have been forgiven. It is as simple as that. I need to shut my mouth and let God lead. It doesn't matter how many times someone has hurt or wronged me, as a Christian I must take up the cross and press on and forgive. I am falling short outside of church. It is in the times when I let my guard down with those closest to me that the true me is seen. Lord I pray that I bind my tongue in my mouth and not speak words that tear others down. That I can be the same person to my family and friends, that I can so easily be to others. And Lord lastly, but definately not least. I pray that I can be a better example for my children. Lord I know that I won't be able to get back even the second that just past. If you took me home today, did I truly provide for my children. I feed them, cloth them and even take them places that are fun and spend time with them. But am I leading them in your truth? Am I living your truth as an example for them. How short I fall, but today "revival" has not just taken place at church, but in my heart. I was sooo full when I left church that I couldn't wait to get on this computer and share what He had done for me today. Anybody can talk the talk, but Lord help me to also walk the walk, YOUR WALK!