Roll Tide Roll...

Ready for the Tide to Roll in!

Go Alabama.

I love days at home. I love to wake up and know I have no plans today - it is a clean slate. Yesterday was just that kind of day. After the girls left for school Steven and I just hung around the house all day. Steven is growing so much and is so funny these days. He says he's my best friend - I do love that little boy. Today promises to be just as great. Although I do hate that Shannon had to go to work today.

I got up and started making some homemade cinnamon rolls. Can't wait for them to be ready but it's an all day thing. The bread part of the recipe is from an Amish cookbook. You mix the dough and then let it rise for two hours. Then instead of making loaves I roll out the dough and sprinkle it with sugar and cinnamon and butter, then roll them up and let rise two more hours. After that they are ready to bake. They taste great and the recipe makes a ton - like 5 pans of them. I usually freeze the extra pans. Can't wait to taste them - it's been so long since I made some.

Well, Steven is asking to got to McDonalds to get a sandwich and play on that playground inside. :o) and i was thinking we might go see my nephews (little Fly Boys) play this evening. So it looks like my clean slate is slowing filling up.

Blessings ya'll!

Do Not Worry...

What a great sermon tonight at Union Baptist Church with Bro. William Burns. He preached on Matthew 6:25-34. Do Not Worry. A simple yet extremely powerful message from Jesus. And perhaps there is no better time than now to heed this instruction. Family, health, terrorrism, the economy- there is more than plenty to worry about for everyone.

Matthew 6:25-34

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life^[a]? ²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Think about the lady in the Bible with the issue of blood. She had suffered with this issue for 12 years. According to the book of Mark, she had consulted many doctors about her problem but it had only grown worse. But it wasn't until she heard about Jesus, put her faith in Him and had the courage to go to Him that she was healed. (In those days, she would have been deemed “unclean” and unwelcome in society. But she had faith that if she just touched His cloak she would be healed.) How much better her life would have been if she'd have gone to Jesus first when she needed help.

Mark 5:25-34

“A large crowd followed and pressed around Him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind Him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, ‘If I just touch His clothes, I will be healed.’ Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from Him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, ‘Who touched my clothes?’ ‘You see the people crowding against you,’ His disciples answered, ‘and yet you can ask, “Who touched Me?”’ But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and knelt at His feet, and trembling with fear, told Him the whole truth. He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering’”

What can we learn from her:

            1. Jesus honors our faith, however small.

            2. Jesus is approachable in every circumstance.

            3. Jesus has compassion on the needy who come to Him in faith.

4. Jesus sometimes allows circumstances to enter our lives that reduce us to desperation so that we will reach out for Him.

And what we can learn from Matthew 6:25-34:

            1. Depend on God not self
            2. Worry shows a lack of faith in God
            3. Live one day at a time. Don't borrow trouble from tomorrow.
            4. Put your confidence and trust in the Lord.
            5. Our Heavenly Father will take care of us.
            6. Live one day at a time - don't borrow trouble from tomorrow.

So the next time you find yourself worrying about anything at all - big or small -stop and remember the words of Jesus, and ask yourself "What good will it do to worry?" and ask God for help!

Wild Animal Safari

The kids and I loaded up and headed to Pine Mountain, Georgia, today to the Wild Animal Safari with a small group from our church. The girls had been to Wild Animal Safari before but this was my first time. If you've never been I have to say it is something to see. You can rent a Zebra Van and drive through their 500-acre park. Animals, everything from Pigs to Giraffes, come right up to the van to be fed. The vans are a sight. It's an older model van, painted in zebra strips, with bars in place of the windows.

Here's our group hanging out of our Zebra Van.

I have to tell you when that first big animal came up to our van and his big tongue rolled out of his mouth inches from my hand, not only did Steven start screaming, but I was not far from it.

Wow. That thing is scary.

This was a common sight throughout the mile long ride. They even sold slobber towels in the gift shop. Also, you have the choice to drive your own vehicle through the park. But beware, we saw one car driving through and when they got tired of feeding an animal they rolled their windows up. Well, that animal just went to licking their window. I bet they had to find a car wash when they got done.

We all had a ball. After the drive through the park, we went through the Walk-About which was a small zoo. I didn't get a picture of it but Sydney brought paper and pencil so she could write down every animal we saw. She is so funny. It was a long trip to Georgia and back but very enjoyable with good friends and lots (and lots) of laughs.

                  

Shelby hanging out of the van window.                   Steven trying to pet a Zebra.

                

Ragan & Haley feeding an animal.             Animals in the road as we were driving.

               

Sydney hanging out of the window of the van.    Can i come in?

If you've never been to the Wild Animal Safari - go. It's a fun and memorable trip. But a few tips:
1. Rent a van (did you happen to see the horns on some of these animals)
2. Bring baby wipes or a hand towel (slobber will happen)
3. Buy lots of food and try not to feed it all to the animals in the begining. You have a mile long ride with tons of animals.

Blessings to all.

Feels like Fall

Yay. Both girls came home with all A's on their progress reports. They are settling back into school wonderfully. We finally got that cooler weather back tonight. I love it. Went out for a 2.25 mile run then came home, got supper in the oven, grabbed my yoga mat and ventured outside for some yoga. I love the way doing the yoga poses makes me feel. I even tried a new pose: Tripod Headstand. (Thanks to Beth - She has to do it for a class at school) I got the Tripod part down but then you extend into a headstand. That one's gonna take some time. But I love challenging poses. :o) Now to get supper on the table and kids ready for bed. Blessings to you all.

New Beginings

I am new to blogging. I have been following blogs for about a year but this will be my first time blogging myself. Looking foward to sharing a little about myself.