Happy Birthday Bobbye!

September 5th, 2002 is one of my 3 favorite dates ever!  It's Bobbye's birthday.  I can't believe 20!!!  She hates when I tell the story, so...I talked about this a little bit the other day in my  post; a \letter to my 21 year old self 

Her due date was estimated between the last of September and the first of October.  She wonders why I don't remember her actual due date..It was 20 years and it was a high-risk pregnancy...And, oh yeah, did I mention...IT WAS 20 YEARS AGO?!?!?!

It was the first anniversary after 9/11 and I didn't want her to be born on the 11th.  I didn't want her to have to deal with the stigma of what happened that day being associated with her birthday.   Everyone deserves to have a unique and happy day on their birthday.  

We got to choose the day (night) she was born and even the doctor and nurses who delivered her.

The nurses gave me a surprise baby shower the night before.  They gave Dalon an "I'm a big brother shirt".

Bobbye is a beautiful girl inside and out.  She works in a veterinary office and has joined the National  Guard.  She will be going to basic training soon.

So, Bobbye, Happy Birthday, and I can't wait to see what GOD does in your life!  I love you!!!1

Learning To Be Gracious

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It is better to give than receive.

This is drilled into many of us since birth and while I believe there is a lot of truth in this,  we can feel guilty when someone does something for us or especially if they give us something.

Do you need to learn how to be GRACIOUS???

It's hard because we don't want to feel like we "owe" someone  If someone does something for us, we automatically look for something we can do for them.  If  someone gives us a gift, we start looking for something to give them back; usually something bigger or more expensive.

$1,000,000 is spent by Americans every December to buy gifts for people; a lot of them we don't even know that well.  Gifts that, by mid-January, most people can't even tell you what they got.

Now, I like gifts as much as anyone. (Hint, hint Barrett. {I'm not talking about gifts from my husband here. LOL!!!})

We need to learn how to say "thank you".  Many times these simple words are greater than anything we can ever give them.  Because it's now about the gift they gave us or the time they spent with us.

It's about...us.  It's about how much they love and care for us.  It's about them sharing part of themself with us.  It's about them being able to bless us.

When we aren't able to or unwilling to be gracious, we may be keeping others from doing the will of GOD and subsequentially keeping them from being blessed.

I DO NOT want to stand in the way of anyone being blessed by GOD.

The greatest gift can never be repaid...all we have to do is accept it.

When Jesus came to save us from our sin...from ourselves.  Only HIS blood was sufficient to pay the debt  that we so rightly deserve to die for and be banished to the darkness of hell and away from HIM

The only thing GOD asks of us is to accept HIS love and to share HIM with others.

Can we be gracious enough to do that?

Thankful Thursday -

 

My life verse(s) is Psalm 139:13-14:

"You made all my body's delicate, inner parts and knit me together in mother's womb.  Thank you for making me so wonderful and complete. Your workmanship is marvelous - how well I know it."

I love these 2 verses for many reasons...

First and foremost, GOD gave me the most incredible mama ever!  I wasn't the easiest child to raise; (Shh, don't tell those Norman boys!!!).  The idea that GOD chose to gift me with my Mama amazes me.  My Mama is about 5" tall and you would never know she had 7 kids (5 boys and 3 girls [she was blessed with a daughter when she married my stepdad, Garry]).  She did everything for us.  She made it look easy.  It wasn't until I had my 2 kids that I caught a glimpse of what it meant to love someone so much from the depths of your soul that you feel love for them in every breath you take...

Thank you, Mama, for loving me like that!

The other reason I chose these as my life verse(s) is that with my Ceberal Palsy, but especially with the Bipolar, sometimes I can't understand why GOD allowed me to be wired like this.  (I know everyone feels this way now and then!)  I get stuck inside my head and it can be hard to tunnel my way out.

I think I naturally associate GOD with goodness and I can't/dodon't measure up.  I'm broken and because I can't see anyone elses' brokenness, I feel shame and guilt. I feel like I've disappointed everyone,  especially GOD. But Mama always "God doesn't make (no) Junk!!!

Still, I see flaws in myself, but not flaws in others.  I can forgive flaws in others that I can't or won't forgive flaws in myself.

Musician Adam Jones said: "I am my worst critic and I think everyone in the band is a perfectionist."

This quote is a perfect example of what we all think but won't say out loud. 

Why can't we see ourselves as GOD sees us?  After all, we are made in HIS image.

DA...DA...DA...SIN!!!

Sin broke the mirror that allowed us to see ourselves as GOD sees us.

It's only through accepting Jesus' love and the hope that HE will restore and fix the mirror for us so that once again we can look into the mirror and see the image of GOD reflecting back to us.

HEATHER'S VOICES: My Voice from my 21 Year Old Self

HEATHER'S VOICES: My Voice To My 21 Year Old Self: Remember when the teachers use to make us write a letter to our future or past selves?  Here's another one...   It's your 21st birth...

My Voice To My 21 Year Old Self

Remember when the teachers use to make us write a letter to our future or past selves?  Here's another one...

 

It's your 21st birthday.  You have finals tomorrow, but don't worry, Becki's taking you to Nashville Friday night.

When you're 22, you'll get your one and only tattoo.  It's a small teddy bear on the inside of your left ankle.  This way, no matter what job you get as a Social Worker, you'll be able to hide it when you need to and show off when you want to.  You believed the Bible loosely says that you are not supposed to make cuts on your body and that your body is a temple of GOD.  You didn't see your body as a temple of GOD.  So, naturally, you got a tattoo.  You'll like it until your 4-year-old daughter asks if she can get a tattoo.  (PS. she'll get one when she 17.)

When you're 23, you'll take a Philophsy class during a 2-and-a-half-week summer class (turns out you even need the class) that will change your life forever. You'll meet the guy you've been praying for.  His name is Barrett and he'll tell you he just wants to be "friends".  So, you'll be "best friends" for a year.  Right after you graduate from MTSU with your BSW, he'll tell you he loves you.

You will marry your best friend and the love of your life on November 7, 1998.

On July 13, 1999, You'll have a little baby boy. Dalton Keith and your greatest job as a Mama will begin.

In July of 2002, you'll be 6 months pregnant with Bobbye Susanna and you'll find out you're in preterm labor; this will win you a 6-week vacation in the hospital.  One of the hardest days you'll ever have is the day your 3-year-old will call you and he'll say "Mama, please let me come home. I promise I'll be a good boy."  It will break your heart and you'll cry for hours.  On September 5th, you'll give birth to the most beautiful, precious little girl in the world.

In the summer of 2018, you'll be on vacation and you'll fall.  You'll look up at Barrett and say "It's time," and you'll know he'll understand what you're talking about.  You've always wanted to be the one to decide when you needed more care and decide when it was time to go to a nursing home; you didn't want him or the kids to have to make the decision.  Although it gets hard at times, you know it's been the best thing for the whole family.  It has also allowed you to use that Social Work degree.  Well, your minor was in gerontology and all...Plus, you've met people and friends you might have never met otherwise.

Those are the big moments. But remember, these moments are surrounded by smaller ones that are equally important.  Enjoy yourself. Love and pray for everyone like it's the last thing you'll ever do. Never regret telling people you love them. Make more friends than enemies.  Forgive others, even if they don't apologize and you think they should.  Trus GOD even when, especially when, you don't want to.

And...and...

Forgive and love yourself...Because GOD does.

THE VOICE OF MY MARRIAGE PRAYER

 

Our engagement pic ~~ 1998

"Don't urge me to leave or turn back from you.  Where you go I will go and where you stay I will stay.  Your people will be my people and your God will be my God.  Where you die I will die and there I will be buried.  May God deal with me, be it ever so severely if anything but death separates me from you." (Ruth 1:16)

Yesterday, I talked about Ruth and how she is my biblical heroine and this verse is one reason why.  Years ago I heard someone talking about choosing a bible verse to pray over your marriage.  I chose this one because even though it is something that was said by Ruth to her mother-in-law, it can apply to marriage too.  Marriage is hard and anyone who says it has never left the altar.

{Side Note: I am not judging anyone's relationship. It's none of my business.  I don't want anyone to judge Barrett and my relationship because there are aspects of our relationship that no one knows about except Barrett and me.}

I chose Ruth 1:16 as my marriage prayer because I do want this to work. Our relationship can be really rough at times.  I love this man more than anything!!!!  I don't think either one can point to any one certain thing that is wrong, but because we are 2 broken people and we will be broken until we get to Heaven.  Because we are 2 broken people, we will have issues in our marriage.  I've devoted my life to this man; regardless of whether he's devoted to me (PS, he is!!!)  I want him to know that I'm just as devoted to him today as I was when I said "I do" on November 7, 1998.

On a bigger scale~sorry Barrett~I think this verse also reflects our relationship with GOD because we are supposed to follow HIM wherever HE leads us and HE doesn't want anything to come between us (I don't either!)  As close as I want to be to Barrett, I want to be even closer to GOD.

Us~uhm...later

 

THE VOICE OF RUTH - FAVORITE BIBLICAL WOMAN

 

Mary is probably the most famous women in the Bible and many people's favorite biblical heroines  She did give birth to the Savior the world, so there's that.

That being said, who is your next favorite biblical woman?

When I was a young wife and Mama I wanted to be a Proverbs 31 girl, as many others do.  But, I always fell short (I've heard biblical commentaries talking about how the Proverbs 31 Woman was probably not just one woman, but vast examples of the qualities a godly woman should have. Maybe I'll blog about this sometime.)

While the bible is full of women heroines.   Mine is Ruth: she wasn't the mother of all creation. She wasn't a queen who persuade the king to spare the Jews-risking her own life. She wasn't a judge.  She didn't give Jesus a cup of water or wash His feet with her tears...

She was a simple peasant girl; widowed, with no where else to go.  She chose to cling to her mother-in-law and vowed to follow her ever she went.  Ruth 1:16 says:

Where you go I will go and where you stay I will stay.   You people will be my people and you GOD will be my God.  Where you die I will die and there I will be buried.  May the LORD deal with me ever so severely if anything but death separates you and me.

There are two tones to the story.  The first is the story of a dutiful daughter-in-law who loves and obeys her mother-in-law.  and went to find food.  While on this pursuit, she meets Boaz who treated her kindly.  He was a relative of Ruth's late husband and a kinsman redeemer.

Now, we must remember and understand that back  then, women were seen as property and not really as humans.  They "needed" to be "taken" care of.  It was actually a business transaction and she needed someone to "buy" her in order to "take care" of her.  

Boaz wasn't Ruth's late husband's nearest kinsmen redeemer, but the male relative  that was closer kinsmen redeemer  had too much to lose to "take" care of her.

So Boaz redeemed her and they became ancestors of our LORD, JESUS.

The reason I love Ruth is she's simple and pure.  She doesn't try to be something she's not.  She's content to settle down, get married and have a baby.  I believe that this is the life GOD intended for us when HE first created Adam and Eve.

The other tone of the story is a preview of Jesus.  He is the great kinsmen redeemer; the only one who has no sin and therefore is the only one who is pure enough to stand in our place and die for our sins to regain our favor with GOD.