Chuck E. Cheese

We took Joshua to Chuck E. Cheese on Saturday to celebrate his upcoming 3rd birthday! Tomorrow (3/3) is his actual birthday!! We went to Chuck E. Cheese with some of our neighbors and their kids. We all had a blast and Joshua had a really great time. We got in the car to go to church this morning and he said that he wanted to go back to Chuck E. Cheese, not church. :)















All partied out!! He's actually laying on the couch right now (6:20pm) and I can't get his little bootie up. It's going to be fun trying to get him to bed tonight. :)

SOOOO EXCITED

I am so excited and happy and I can finally share with you all WHY!!! :) I interviewed for a job a couple of weeks ago and today I finally got the call that I GOT THE JOB!!! I am the new Administrative Assistant to the Dean of Theology at Southwestern Seminary. It's the same organization I was working for but a totally different department. I will actually be a supervisor to about 6 other people. I have my OWN office with WINDOWS!! YEA!!!! And, I'm going to be doing something that I know I am going to LOVE. I love challenging jobs and jobs that will let me interact with lots of people and that's exactly what this job will be like. I will also get a great pay raise and health benefits which is something I've been praying for. My other job was good but I had no benefits at all with it and I was making much less than what I was making back in S.C. So, I've really been wanting something else for quite some time and then this position in the Theology Department came open and I'm so totally thankful that God has chosen me for this position. I'm so excited about starting. I actually begin Monday morning!!! PRAISE THE LORD!!! He is sooooo good to me!

I've been beyond stressed out all this week just waiting to hear back from the Theology Department and I haven't had a full nights sleep since last weekend. I am so glad I can finally get some rest tonight and not have to worry about getting this position. In so many ways I am just at a loss for words because I am so thrilled. I can finally do something that I'm good at and that I love. I have missed my Associational job back in S.C. so much and now I'll be able to do something that is similar but different than that. YEA!!!!

God has really had his hand on our whole move to Texas and getting this job just gives me that extra encouragement that we are doing the right thing and that we are right where God wants us. The job I had in Archives was a great beginning point for me and the abilities I used there played a part in me getting this new job. I was able to show my abilities and people noticed. And, that is just awesome to me. And, God took those people that noticed me and used them to help promote me to a better position. It's just so cool and so humbling how God works. You really never know what He's preparing you for so it's always the right thing to do your best where you are and even though it might seem no one notices, God does and He will reward our hard work.

SO YEA YEA YEA YEA YEA YEA FOR ME!! I'M SO THRILLED!!!! THANK YOU LORD!!!

This Is Great

I got this in my email today and just had to share it with everybody. It's HILARIOUS!! I'm still laughing about it. :)

Most of America 's populace think it improper to spank children, so I have tried other methods to control my kids when they have one of 'those moments.'

One that I found effective is for me to just take the child for a car ride and talk.

Some say it's the vibration from the car, others say it's the time away from any distractions such as TV, Video Games, Computer, IPod, etc.

Either way, my kids usually calm down and stop misbehaving after our car ride together.

I've included a photo below of one of my sessions with my son, in case you would like to use the technique.

Still Alive & Kicking

I feel like I haven't been in "blog world" for a while. I've just got a lot on my mind so I figured I had better not blog until my thoughts are straight... that way I don't end up putting my foot in my mouth. (That would be pretty yucky) But, I wanted to let you all know I'm still here... and doing well. Hopefully, after today I will have more direction as to what's happening but until then... who knows.. :)

T.G.I.F

I can't tell you how glad I am it's Friday. I am just totally whipped today. I've worked out every day this week averaging at least 4 miles a day. WOW!! I'm trying to lose some more weight before I go to the beach in a month. :) You know us girls.. got to look our best. :)

It's been a good week though. We've just been hanging out doing our same old thing.

I am working on a few areas in my spiritual life right now. God has really been pointing some things out to me this week that need my attention. Some things that have caused pain to me in the past that I'm now understanding and trying to actually forgive myself for. For those of you that know me, you know that I've struggled a long time with letting some things go from my past and even though I have come to a point of accepting, forgiving, and letting go there are still some life lessons there that I need to take with me into my day to day life. And, they are good lessons. Lessons that are making me a better wife, a better mother and just a better person. But, we all know how it works. Satan sees that I'm trying to move forward and he tries everything he possibly can to make me go 4 steps backward. And, it is a constant up hill battle. This particular week he has been bringing Renee Grace to my mind and making me feel so bad about the situation with her.

For those of you that don't know about Renee Grace, go back and read these 2 entries below.

http://courtney-inhishands.blogspot.com/2007/07/soooo-lost.html

http://courtney-inhishands.blogspot.com/2007/08/picture-of-renee-grace.html

(You'll have to cut and paste the web address in the web bar. I couldn't figure out how to get it where you could just click it here) :) I'm not too internet smart. :)

I can't tell you the amount of times I have cried and hurt over Renee's death. Yes, I feel like my own child has been torn from me and there is nothing I can do about it. And, as soon as I come to a point of accepting her death and knowing that God is ultimately in control of all things. Satan comes back and begins slapping me around with all kinds of emotions and thoughts that are not right, and they are emotions and thoughts that my God doesn't want me to feel because the matter is settled.

It's just so frustrating at times. And, it wears me out emotionally. I would do anything in this world to have Renee back in my arms, but that wasn't part of the plan God had for my life. He allowed her to come in my life for a season and even though I never held her or saw her face to face, she will forever be mine, my little girl that I dearly love. And, I know one day I'll see her in Heaven and be able to give her all the love I wish I could have given her here. But, until then I'll carry her memory with me and trust that God knows what He is doing and only has my best interest in mind. I do take joy in knowing that she is healed now and is able to run around and play like normal kids do! And, I know Jesus is taking care of her and loving on her each and every day and that is just very awesome to think about.

I Have to Brag a Little

I just have to brag a little about my precious little boy!!! Rodney went to pick him up today and his preschool teacher told Rodney that Joshua did a very nice thing today. There was a little boy sitting off in a corner by himself and Joshua went up to his teacher and asked why is he sad? His teacher told him that the little boy didn't feel good and that he was sad because of that. So, my awesome, precious little boy walked over to the littly boy and told him he was sorry that he didn't feel good. And, he just kindof hung out with him a little so the little boy wouldn't feel all by himself.

When Rodney came home today and told me that my heart just melted. I am so proud of Joshua. I asked Joshua about the situation and he told me all about it and how he made the little boy feel better. He always notices when other kids are happy or sad and he always wants to help them. It is so neat to see how God uses our little babies. And, it sure does speak right to be my heart reminding me that I'm suppose to be that same way. When we see other people hurting we are suppose to reach out to them with the love of Christ.

We've started reading a new book with Joshua at night. It's called, You Are Special, by Max Lucado. It's an awesome book about how this small town of wemmicks (wooden people) would give each other stars and dots. They would get stars if they did something good or they would get dots if they did something bad or just didn't "measure" up to the other wemmicks. The little wemmick that had lots of dots met a little girl wemmick who didn't have any stars or dots and the little boy wanted to know why. The little girl explains that she goes to see Eli, the wood carver every single day and that spending time with him helps the stars and dots not stick to her. The reason they don't stick is because it doesn't matter to her what other people think about her, it just matters what Eli thinks of her. In this story Eli represents Jesus and the little girl represents who we can be if we will take the time and spend time in God's presences daily. So, the little boy goes to meet with Eli and as he begins to spend more and more time with Eli all the dots the other wemmicks had given him begin to fall off. It didn't matter to him anymore what the other wemmicks thought of him. He just wants to please Eli and Eli only wants to help the little wemmick feel as special as he is.

Our God thinks we are so special. Each and every one of us were created by him and for him and he takes great pleasure in us.

We've only been reading this new book for the past 2 nights and already Joshua is so excited about it. He loves to read it and I love instilling in him good, solid, Godly values. And, even though he's only 2 I know that as he reached out to that little boy today that it was God working in and through him to help someone else. Because anything good in us can only come from God. Without Him, we can do no good.

Well, I began this blog just trying to brag on my baby boy a little bit. But, it went much deeper than that. I hope that reading this somehow blesses and encourages you! I know it has already encouraged me and blessed my heart.

LaLa Land

I had a horrible sinus headache yesterday so I took some Benadryl Allergy medicine to try and get rid of it. Well, I only took one pill but you would have thought I took the whole darn bottle. I got home from work and was asleep on the couch by 6:30 and the only thing I remember after that is Rodney waking me up at 8:30 and telling me to go get in the bed. That pill put me OUT!! I woke up this morning and asked Rodney what I did last night because I was so out of it I didn't remember. :) :) He just said, "girl, you were OUT." He had given Joshua his bath, fed him dinner, played with him and put him to bed and I slept through every bit of it. And, that is saying a lot because my house is never quiet, especially with Joshua running around. :) But, through all of that at least I forgot about my headache. :) And, I feel so refreshed and energized today. The clock went off at 5:45 this morning and I got right up without even having to hit the snooze button. So, me and Amanda went to work out and TAAAA DDAAAA here I am. :)

The moral of the story: No more benadryl allergy medicine for me!!

One month from today I will be turning 29 and that just doesn't seem right to me at all! In fact, it's just WRONG! :) I'm really starting to understand the phrase that you are only as old as you feel. So, I'm feeling like I'm still around 23 and I like that. :)

I feel so random today too. Who knows what that's all about! :) :) :) You know one thing I really like is that I can make people laugh. I never thought of myself as a "humorous" person but lately I've been noticing that people tend to laugh when I'm around. (hopefully that's a good thing) I hope they don't think I'm just a nut case. :) Any who, I was at the gym this morning and one of Joshua's preschool teachers came in. I said hi to her and she asked me how I was. I looked at her and said, "well, i'm about to jump off this darn machine because it's trying to kill me today." And, she just lost it. I was thinking, "hum... i'm funny, I guess." :) :) Then she said, "you are so funny. everytime I talk to you I just know you're going to say something funny." Awe.. that makes me feel good. I want people to have fun when they are around me. YEA! And, then I met with another lady this morning and she told me I seemed like a real fun person. YEA!! SO, going back to the turning 29 thing.. I don't think so.. I'm going to stay young and cool as long as I possibly can. :)

Well, I better get my random self off here and actually go get some work done. Have a great day everybody!

Ready to Relax

28 Days Until Vacation!!!! YES YES YES YES YES!!

http://www.moodygardenshotel.com/

Something to Think About

No matter what you're going through, always remember you are going through!

Updated Joshua Pictures

Joshua building a fort on his bottom bunk bed.
The adventures never stop when Joshua is around.



This is a very tired little boy.. couldn't hardly hold his eyes open for the picture. :)

Two of the cutiest boys in the whole wide world.
Joshua's animal kingdom. He LOVES playing with all his different kinds of animals. He's been asking for some dinosaurs. So, I'm thinking maybe I'll get him some for his birthday.
Chilling out and playing on his lap top. :)
Joshua was having fun tackling mommy. He was tickling my feet and tackling me. He definitely likes to play rough.. ALL BOY!! :)

Verse of the Day

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9

I have this verse of the day thing that I get in my email and this was the verse for today. I was just really encouraged by it, to keep on doing good and working hard because in the end I will reap whatever harvest the Lord has for me. Reading this just gives me the energy to keep pressing on.

Saturday Events

Well, it's a rainy, stormy day here in Fort Worth. But, we've had a good, productive morning. My mother in law is coming to visit in March so we decided to put Joshua's bunk bed together. His bunk bed has a twin bed on top and a full bed on the bottom and we decided when we moved in that we would not put the full bed up and just let him sleep in the twin bed. But, I want my mother in law to have a bed to sleep on when she comes so we put them together this morning. Joshua is having a blast climbing up and down the ladder to the top bunk and he is actually sleeping on the top bunk right now for his nap. It still has the wooden guards on the side so there is no way he can roll off of it. So, I told him as long as he was careful we would let him try sleeping up there for his nap. And, so far so good. :) He thinks it's pretty cool to be that far up. :) But, he is a boy so I knew he would like it. :)

I visited with one of our neighbors a little bit this afternoon. So, that was fun. Over the past week I've really gotten to know 2 of the other ladies here in our neighborhood and we've been having fun hanging out together. We get up and go walking every morning at 6am. It was nice to just be able to walk over to her house this afternoon and have some "girl" time. :)

Other than that, we are just chilling out today. My house is clean, my son is napping, my husband is watching tv and I'm blogging. What more could I ask for. :) :) :)

I'm going to try and take some pictures of Joshua this afternoon and put some updated ones on here so hopefully I'll be adding them today some time too.

Hillsong Break Free Live

Remember to scroll all the way down to the bottom of my blog to turn the playlist off so you can listen to the video. :) :)

a little homesick

I'm a little homesick tonight. I haven't had many "homesick" moments but I really wish I was in S.C. right now. :) Good ol' S.C.!! I miss our family the most when things are unsettled here. Our family just brings me calmness and security that no one else can match. Family is so special and I guess you just don't realize how much you need them until you are far away and can't get to them. :( I just keep reminding myself that God has brought us to Texas for something special and that really does excite me and helps me stay on track and just keep doing everything He has called me to, to the best of my ability. One thing God tells us is that the road we travel won't always be easy but the one thing He promises is that He will always be there with us. And, that is so comforting in trying times.

I just needed to share my heart a little to my great family and friends. :) I love you guys so much! And, don't worry... I'm going to keep my head up and keep smiling!! :)

And the Frustration is just building..........

I'm not really going to go into the situation that is frustrating me but I do want to ask for your prayers. I'm having a tough time right now with someone and something. And, I'm just trying to figure out how to handle the situation. Which if you know me, you know I don't like unresolved conflict so this is making things pretty difficult for me right now. Once I'm at liberty to talk about it I will. But, the only thing I need right now is prayer and lots of it.

I love you all so much! And, just the support and love I get from all my family and friends that read this really encourages me and helps me be strong. So, I just hope you all know that. :)

Our Weekend

We had a very nice weekend. It was beautiful outside so we definitely spent a lot of time out doors. I've included a picture of a bug habitat that me and Joshua put together on Saturday. Rodney had to work at the church on Saturday so me and Joshua went a little bug hunting adventure. (The bugs in the picture are not real though. They are some little plastic bugs he had) :) :) Mommy couldn't handle letting him bring real bugs in the house. :)

So, after the bug hunt we just hung out outside and Joshua had a blast just playing and I sat and watched him while talking to one of our neighbors. Then, today we did our church thing and didn't do much else at all. So, it ended up being a very nice, fun, relaxing weekend. Which is just the kind I like.

Locked In A Closet

You're totally going to love this story. It is one I can add to the "happened at Roberts Library" collection! :) (which is where I work just in case you didn't know that)

Yesterday, me and Emily (girl I work with) needed to go up to the Archives closet on the 3rd floor of the library and look for a newspaper clipping. Dr. Cathey (our very smart boss) told us to go up and shut the door to the closet while we were looking for the clipping so noone would bother us. Now, you have to know that this closet is not very big at all and it has tons of stuff in it. So, there is not much floor room either. So, me and Emily decide we can trust our wonderful boss and shut the door. We looked around for what we needed but didn't find it so we were getting ready to go back downstairs when Emily looks at me and says, "Courtney, I think the door is locked." I was like, "ok, i really hope it's not. let me try it." And, yes the stinkin door was locked.

We knew there were some students sitting on the other side of the door and maybe if we knocked they would come help us. But, we were both really struggling with that decision because then they would all know we had locked ourselves in there. So, we stood for a few minutes just looking at each other trying to decide do we swallow our pride and knock on the door or do we just wait for Dr. Cathey to come look for us. We decided we were ready to get out of the closet so Emily knocked on the door. A student came up to the door and said, "yes?" And, Emily replied, "I'm sliding the key under the door." The student didn't need any more explanation. He knew we were locked in, so he took the key and unlocked the door. We stepped out to a crowd of about 7 students that were just dying laughing at us. We were both laughing so hard we couldn't talk at this point so we just shut the closet door and went back downstairs not saying a word to anyone.

Well, as soon as we got back in our office Dr. Cathey knew we had been up to something because we still couldn't control our laughter. We told him the above story and he just died laughing. We thanked him for the heads up about the closet door and he hasn't let us live it down yet. Needless to say, he's having a blast with this one. He told several people today that came into our office that me and Emily are great escape artists and then proceeded to tell them our very embarrasing, yet hilarious story. :)

For those of you that really know me, know that this is totally something I would get myself into. It just seems that I always end up in little predicaments like this one. :) I wasn't going to blog this story at first, but since our wonderful, nice, sweet, loving boss has begun to spread the word for us I figured I better fess up. :)

Happy Birthday to my Man

Today is Rodney's 33rd birthday. :) So, it's party time around our house today. Joshua is so excited about his daddy's birthday this year. I had Joshua give Rodney his present this morning and so Joshua carried it in to his daddy and screamed out "Happy UpDay Daddy" :) SO CUTE!!! He can't quite say the beginning of birthday so he created his own word. :) Then, we took Joshua to school this morning and his class is having a party for one of their teachers today so the teacher was telling Joshua that they were having a part and Joshua lit up and said, "for my daddy's upday!" :) SO CUTE AGAIN!!! :)

So...

Happy Birthday Rodney!!!! I love you so much and I'm so glad I get to spend my life with you!

Super Bowl Fun

Last night was the first super bowl that I have watched in the past 6 years that I didn't have 20-30 teenagers running around my house. And, I have to admit I missed it terribly!!!!!!! Don't get me wrong I had a blast watching the super bowl with Rodney and Joshua and it was nice not having to get all the food ready and then clean up afterwards. :) But, I did miss the "big party" we had every year with our youth group. :(

But, like I said we did have lots of fun so here are some "highlights" from game night at our house.

1- CHILI (oh yes, it was wonderful and my awesome husband cooked it) :) :) :)

2- Commercial where the lizards were dancing to thriller!!! Me and Joshua jumped up and joined in on the dance. It was great.

3- Joshua was so much fun during the super bowl. Everytime I would get excited about something he would do and say exactly what I was doing and saying. Here are a couple of examples:

The Giants missed a catch inside the in zone so I stood up and put my hands in the air and said "they missed the ball! How could they have missed that ball." Well, as soon as I sat back down Joshua jumped up and threw his hands in the air and said, "they missed the ball! How could they have missed the ball." Of course, it was much cuter with him saying it. :)

When the Patriots came back and scored in the 4th quarter I wouldn't believe it. And, yes I shouted, "NO, they didn't!!" and yes, Joshua did the same.

BUT, the all time best was when the giants came back and scored in the last minute of the game. I was sitting on the edge of the couch so Joshua came and sat down right next to me on the very edge of the couch and as the ball was thrown and caught I was banging my hands on the coffee table screaming YES YES YES YES YES and Joshua joined right in screaming YES YES YES YES YES!!! Then we threw our arms in the air and said "GO GIANTS"

At the end of the game Joshua told me he likes football. :) I said, well, it's a good thing because so do I!! :) He was definitely late going to bed since I got him all excited and hyper about the game. We needed some time to chill out and calm down afterwards.

It was an overall good game. The commercials were not as good as they usually are. But, it was still a great, fun night at home with my family! :)

Joshua.... The Photographer

Me and Joshua went for a walk around our neighborhood this afternoon and these are some of the pictures that JOSHUA took all by himself. He did such a good job!!

Joshua loved to take pictures of the bikes.
Leaves on the sidewalk
BIG TREE!!!

Me holding a stick so Joshua could take a picture of it. :)
SLOW: Children Playing.... had to get a picture of that. :)
Holding acorns in my hand so he could take a picture of them.
This is my favorite one that he took. I was so impressed with how good it turned it out.

Sick Again

It never fails!!! Anytime Joshua gets sick I get it a couple of days after. I have been running a 101 fever all day and have felt yucky and weak all day long. But, of course being my crazy self I took Joshua to the zoo today too. I hate sitting still and I just had to get out of the house. Well, I'm totally paying for it now. When we got back home I took my temperature again and it had gone up to 102, but I've got it back down around 101 now. We had a blast as I tried to get myself from exhibit to exhibit but I am totally out of it and weak now.

Well, I'm going back to rest.

Metochai

I went to my first Metochai meeting at the Seminary tonight. This is a monthly fellowship for Seminary student wives. It was wonderful! It was so nice to connect with other women just like me who know what it's like to work full time, have a husband attending school full time, and to have a child who needs your attention full time as well. I can't even begin to tell you how overwhelming all this can get. I'm usually the kind of person who just puts on a strong front and "looks like" I'm handling everything ok but wow, seminary life can be a bit overwhelming.. well, maybe not a "bit", it's more like an avalanche of stress. :) So, to be able to go tonight and talk with other seminary wives did me a world of good.

We also had a great time of praise and worship and a special speaker came to speak as well. It's nice to get away and just be refreshed and encouraged. And, that's exactly what I got tonight.

Mommy Moment :)

Not too much is going on today. We just all did our normal thing and had a very good day. I think I've said this before but I enjoy days like this where everything is just normal and you just do what you always do. There is something about the consistency that I love. I guess the main reason is because you never, ever know when that might change, so I'm going to enjoy the calmness while I can. :)

We do have a busy day tomorrow. I have work, Rodney has school and Joshua has preschool as normal and then right after work we are heading to church for our Wednesday night Bible Study.

I had a "precious mommy" moment tonight. Joshua wasn't feeling well so he was extra cuddly tonight and after I gave him his bath he was so cold. So, as I was drying him off Rodney put Joshua's blankie in the dryer so it would be nice and warm when we got downstairs. So, I just held Joshua while he was all wrapped up in his blankie and he eventually fell asleep in my arms. It has been so long since he has fallen asleep in my arms. Now he's a big boy and he likes to go to his own bed to fall asleep but tonight I got to hold him and love on him as he went to sleep. It was so sweet. It just reminds me how fast they grow up. He's not a baby anymore. He turns 3 in March which totally blows my mind.

Well, I'm going to get off here and go take a shower, do my Bible Study and then head to bed.

Feeling Better

I am finally feeling better, PRAISE THE LORD!!!! My voice is still scratchy but it's nothing like it was. I was able to get back to the gym today. I did 5 miles and then worked out in the weight room some. YEA ME!! :) It feels so good getting back to my routine and feeling better.

It must be everybody call Courtney and catch up day because once I got home tonight my cell phone didn't stop ringing. My really awesome friend Krista that I went to college with called. I haven't talked to her in 6 years and it was just sooooo good to hear from her. She lives in Houston, Texas and we used to joke with each other in college about Texas and SC and which one was better. She gave me a magnet that says, don't mess with Texas as a joke one time and I gave her a SC magnet back and we were both talking about how we still have those magnets hanging on our frig's. I really believe the friends you meet in college are ones you will have the rest of your life no matter where you are. I have college friends in TX, PA, MN, Jersery, the Philippines.... and we all are able to keep in touch and just share with each other about what's going on in our lives. It's just awesome.

Then I heard from Elise, one of our youth from our previous ministry. She is so precious and has just meant so much to me since the first time I met her. Then I heard from Bill Wright, a guy I used to work with at Columbia Metro and a very great friend and I just checked my email and had an email from one of the Columbia Metro pastors. :) It's so good connecting with people and just knowing that they genuinely care for you and want to know how you're doing. Krista is suppose to come visit some time soon so we can just catch up and hang out. That's going to be great!!!

Friendships are so important. And, that's something that I've truly missed since moving here. I'm starting to connect with the lady's I work with and I'm really excited about the friendships forming there. We just really need friendships to help us keep going sometimes.

Well, I'm off to catch up on some emails!!!

Weekend = Rest

YEA!! It's the weekend, but BOO, because I'm still not feeling well. I thought I was better when I woke up this morning but as they day has progressed I've started feeling worse and worse. My head feels like it weighs 10 pounds and is going to fall off any minute. :) So, needless to say I didn't get to work out again today which I totally hate!!! I am so ready to get back in the gym. I love working out and since I'm starting to see some good results I'm not happy about being sick right now. It really throws me off. So, I am going to rest up and see how I feel tomorrow.

Not too much else is going on. Rodney is doing research for a paper right now. He's got to write a paper on the Divinity of Christ: supporting it and defending it against other religions.

Joshua has gone to bed for the night. We are potty training Joshua right now and oh my word, it has been very interesting. Here's a quick example. This past weekend we had him running around the house with no diaper or underwear so that he would know that if he got the feeling to potty he would have to go to the bathroom. It was working GREAT!! And, then I hear him. "Mommy, I pee on the table" I was thinking I know I didn't hear that right. But, to my not so happy surprise I did. He had been playing with his race cars on the kitchen table and had stood up in the chair and went pee pee all over my kitchen table. He's such a nut. But, for the most part he is doing really good!!! He hasn't had very many accidents at all. I'm very proud of him. :)

I'm off to bed so I can get some rest and beat this awful sick feeling. Talk to ya tomorrow!

From God to Me

This new study we are doing at church is really awesome and has me thinking about prayer in a totally new way. I was praying last night and as I was praying God gave me this awesome revelation about prayer. You know, we tend to think prayer is all about us talking to God but it's not just about that. It's also about God talking to us. We have to stop talking long enough to hear God talk to us as well. I'm beginning to see prayer as more of a conversation me and God are having. So, here's a new thing I'm doing. I love to journal. I always write my prayers down in my prayer journal and I'm going to continue doing that. But, what I'm going to begin adding to that is what I hear God saying to me. Here's what I mean. I write my prayers out as if I'm sitting next to God telling him all about what I have going on. So, I'm going to create a from God to me section in my journal where I write out what God is saying to me as I pray. I truly believe he talks back to us and we can hear his voice, but we've got to listen for it. Here is an example from my prayer journal last night.

From God to Me:
"Courtney, I wish you would realize how precious you are to me. I have placed so much potential in you, yet you are too afraid to pursue it. Reach out to me more. I want to help you. I'm not against you. Trust my voice. You are my child, so there is nothing you could do that would make me go away. Trust me, I am not walking out on you. You're my baby girl! I am so proud of you for taking an active role in your prayer life. I'm looking forward to communicating with you more. That is why I created you. I am interested in you and want to know your thoughts and feelings. It is nice hearing your voice tell me things I already know. I love you so much, Courtney. Sweet dreams and I'll talk to you in the morning."

Ok, so I'm sure some of you probably think I'm totally crazy but here is why I'm doing this. As I was praying last night I really focused and tuned in on what I heard God trying to say to me. And, as I began to listen I heard (not out loud in a voice) God telling me exactly what I wrote above. Once I wrote it all out I read back over it and it was so awesome. It was like reading a letter from God that He wrote specifically to me. And, the great thing is that I can always look back in my journal to see and read the words that God himself spoke to me.

I think too many of us have a misconception about prayer and that is why we so often get frustrated with our prayer lives. Remember, it's not just about you talking to God. Prayer is communicating with God. And, to communicate with someone you not only speak to them but you also listen. Give it a shot and see how it works for you. If you do, leave a comment telling what it was like for you. I know for me, it's going to become a continual way that I communicate with God.

Tired... not feeling so good

I'm feeling kindof yucky tonight. I started feeling bad this afternoon at work and now I just feel so weak and tired. So, needless to say I'm home resting tonight. We have the "possibility" for freezing rain and stuff tonight so I'm keeping my fingers crossed and praying really hard that we get enough to cancel work tomorrow. :) :) It would be so nice to just stay home all day and get more rest. So, keep your fingers crossed. :)

Well, I'm off to eat some dinner and lay my bootie on the couch!

Ready to Serve

We went to church tonight for the first night of our new Bible Study. It was so refreshing to be able to sit and absorb everything the teacher was saying and not be responsible for anything. Although, I do miss being the "teacher." I'm starting to really miss teaching. It is my passion and I'm ready to get plugged back in. I guess after being a youth minister's wife for the past 8 years and always having some sort of responsibility at church I'm just used to it and it feels weird not doing it. I don't intend to stay this way very long though. God has gifted me with the gift of teaching and I'm not just going to sit on it. I've signed up to work with the 6th graders at our new church and I'll get to meet with the same girls each week and lead small group discussions with them. I am so excited about that. I'm just waiting on all the background check stuff to come back and I'll be ready to go.

I also intend on getting involved in some sort of teaching scenerio with other women. I thought about doing this at work. But, I've got to ask around and see if anyone would be interested in meeting and doing some sort of Bible Study together. I probably wouldn't do it every week since we are all so busy. But, I think maybe once every two weeks during our lunch time might work. We'll just have to see. I am just going to explode if I don't get back to a leadership/teaching role soon. It's in my blood and I feel weird not doing it. :)

Oh, and here's a cute Joshua story. :) We were in the car on our way home from church tonight and Joshua said, mommy I hold your hand. I was like ok, so I gave him my hand and he just sat there and held it and rubbed the top of it. I went to move my hand because it was starting to hurt a little with it stretched all the way in the backseat and he said, no mommy, I hold your hand. It was so sweet! I guess he just needed to hold my hand. :) He's so precious!!

Psalm 34:1-8, (msg)

I bless God every chance I get;
my lungs expand with his praise.

I live and breathe God;
if things aren't going well, hear this and be happy:

Join me in spreading the news;
together let's get the word out.

God met me more than halfway,
he freed me from my anxious fears.

Look at him; give him your warmest smile.
Never hide your feelings from him.

When I was desperate, I called out,
and God got me out of a tight spot.

God's angel sets up a circle
of protection around us while we pray.

Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and
see how good God is.

Just a Quote

I'm doing this Bible Study right now and I just want to leave you with one quote from the author, Angela Thomas, that is just totally revolutionizing my world right now:

"God will give us the kingdom life we thought we did not deserve and that we thought we were unworthy of.We just need to come to our senses, turn our hearts toward Christ and let God take it from there."

PLEASE PRAY

We got a call from our realtor just now and he said we have a lady who is very interested in our house back in SC. He is pretty sure she is going to make an offer at the beginning of next week. Will you please join us in praying that this will work out? I would greatly appreciate it.

Poor In Spirit

The President of SWBTS (southwestern seminary) is doing a sermon series on the Sermon on the Mount during the course of this semester. Well, yesterday he did an overview of the Sermon and gave the general ideas of what Christ was trying to get across. I really got stuck at the part where it talks about us being "poor in spirit." I have read this sermon so many times, but this time this particular part of the sermon is sticking out to me.

I'm thinking back today about how I was feeling last night (see my previous blog entry) and I think my pondering on this point actually affected me more than I expected. I truly believe Christ is beginning a new work in my life. I would be crazy to try and deny such a thing. His Word has been so alive to me recently and I'm finding myself thinking things, and experiencing things that I know are coming from the very heart of God. It might sound totally crazy, but He is reaching out to me and really calling my name on certain areas of my life right now.

Angela Thomas wrote a bible study about the Sermon on the Mount called, A Beautiful Offering. I decided to use this in my bible study today to get more direction about what God is trying to teach me right now. Below are Angela's writings on this topic.

"I am exhausted. Maybe as empty as I have ever been. Zombie-like. Numb. Physcially, mentally, and emotionally baked........... Exhaustion seemed to highlight every area of my brokenness. It magnified my frustration over every imperfection. The place this poverty of spirit takes me can be depressing, paralyzing, and overwhelming." She goes on to say, "It's embarrassing to come to Jesus with a poor spirit. I think, look at all God has done for me. I should be stronger. I should be an overcomer. I should have renewed energy because of my joy over His love for me. I should be healed by now. More godly by now. Near perfect by now."

WOW, that's exactly where I was last night and I just took it and wrote it off as, oh well, I'm just tired physcially. But it's not physical - it's spiritual. I had taken what Dr. Patterson talked about with me all day yesterday and my very soul, my inner being was grieving and crying out about how unworthy I felt. I was completely out of it last night and talked to Rodney about it and he started trying to help me understand what in the world I was feeling. I was numb... I was zombie-like in that my thoughts were standing still and I could not focus my mind on anything else except for why I feeling so "poor in spirit." And, I was embarrassed by it. Even talking to Rodney, I was like why am I feeling this way? After everything God has done for us, for me: why am I so "poor in spirit" right now.

All I can figure, is that Christ is using what I'm feeling to draw me closer to Him. Because, that's what He does. I know that anything Christ brings my way: be it, feelings, circumstances, etc. He is only bringing them my way to draw me closer to Himself. To give me a deeper understanding of who I am in Him and who He is!

Angela also wrote, "what gives me hope is coming to know the heart of Jesus in this passage. When He began to talk to the people about becoming more like the kingdom, He could have said anything like, 'work hard, pray hard, give everything an it probably still won't be enough to please God.' Instead, our tender Savior began here, with blessings. In Matthew 5:3, we can see for ourselves that there is blessing for the poor in spirit."

So, instead of focusing on being poor in spirit, I will put my focus on desiring the presence of God and allow Him to teach me and use me for His glory as I try and understand all this.

hello.. do we have a brain signal..... :)

Ever just have a blank, no brain activity kind of night. Yeah, well that's exactly how I feel tonight. I'm all of a sudden totally out of it. We had a blah, blah kind of day. It was a good day, it was just one of those "normal" nothing too exciting kind of days.

So, I guess that's about it for now! Pretty exciting, huh? :) :)

SNOW... must be nice :)

Hello There! So, I hear good ol' South Carolina is getting some snow. How wrong is that?? I am all the way in Texas and not getting to see any of it. I tell ya, that's just not right! :) Well, I hope all my great SC buddies and family are enjoying it for me!! :) I'd love to be there with ya!

Rodney's classes start tomorrow. So, we get to begin this journey of him being a full time student and me working full time and taking care of Joshua. I'd be lying if I didn't say I'm a bit nervous about it. I know it's going to be stressful at times and that just scares the mess out of me. I do know that no matter what God is going to take care of us and get us through this. I just hope I'll remember that when things get a little tough. But, overall we are so excited about this opportunity and just THRILLED about how God is going to use through all of this. That is worth it all!

We had married student orientation last night and got to meet a lot of Rodney's professors and we also got to meet Paige Patterson, the President of Southwestern. That man is a HOOT! Everyone seems really nice and Rodney really likes all his counseling professors.

Well, I'll write more tomorrow and let ya'll know how Rodney's first day of school went. :)

100th Post

This is my 100th post since I've started blogging so I want to do something that I need your help on. I'd like to know "who" is looking at my blog just for fun. So, what I'm asking you to do is to leave me a comment just with your name or whatever you want to write (i've put the directions below) so we can do a sort of "ROLL CALL!" :) Sounds like fun, right?

Directions for leaving a comment since some of you have told me you don't know how... :)

1- click on the comments button at the bottom of this post

2- To the right you will see where you can type your comment, below that is a word verification you'll need to do too. It's just so I don't get lots of spam mail. :)

3- If you don't have a blogger account you can just click on the little dot beside anonymous, just make sure to let me know who you are in the comment section if you do this, because otherwise I won't have a clue who you are. :)

4- Click the orange button that says publish post and you're done. :)

I think this will be a lot of fun so PLEASE leave a short comment and let's see how many we can get. :)

Today

Well, Rodney starts all his school stuff tomorrow. He has orientation all day tomorrow and then classes start on Thursday. I can't believe we've been living in Texas for almost 2 months already. It's amazing how fast time goes these days. Please remember to pray for Rodney as he gets started. He is very excited about starting this program and learning how to be a great christian counselor. I know he's going to do great.

I haven't been up to much. Just the same old stuff everyday. I was totally exhausted this past weekend and just caught up on a lot of rest. I took a nap on Saturday and Sunday and it was absolutely wonderful. I don't get to do that much, so when I do I really enjoy it. :)

We are trying to potty train Joshua now. He's doing ok, it's just going to take time I guess. He's in the bathroom right now and he told Rodney to go away so he could potty. He's a mess!

Well, that's about it for tonight. Nothing too exciting going on here.

FRIDAY!! Let's Celebrate!

It has just seriously been a LONG week. I don't know what the deal is but I feel like this week has lasted FOREVER! But, YEA it's Friday and it's almost the weekend.


I wrote a blog last night that I must explain. Women should not be able to BLOG at least a couple days out of the month, when their emotions are shall we say at a highly dangerous levels. :)

I have a very unique relationship with both of my dads. And, when I say BOTH I mean one is my adoptive dad and the other is my biological dad. Both of them have pretty much let me know that I'm not the most important person in their lives and that's just the way they want it to be. This is nothing new to me but every now and then all the emotions will just rise up out of nowhere and all the stuff they have put me through just surfaces; and no matter how long I've dealt with it or how much I've made up my mind not to let it affect me it always stings like it was the first time.

I've come to a point in my life where I can "live" with this and it not affect me daily like it used to. I just don't think I will ever get to a point where it completely disappears though. I'm only human.

I think from the way I wrote things last night I worried some people and I really didn't mean to do that. I just had to get that off my chest so I figured I would just blog it instead of making my husband sit and endure my emotions about it yet again. :) Bless his heart, he has definitely been through it with me and my craziness. :) But, he's wonderful and is always supportive and encouraging. He's just awesome.

I'm much better today though..... because I'm medicated. (hahahahahahahahahahahahaha) :)

Love ya'll so much!

pray for me

ok, Please bare with me a few minutes and just let me get something off my chest.

Have you ever watched a movie that changed your whole mood completely? The movie "sisterhood of the traveling pants" was on tv tonight. I've seen the whole movie before and it's a good movie. But, tonight it just ticked me off, and brought back some feelings I really didn't want to deal with again. One of the girls in the movie struggles with her relationship with her father and of course I'd have to turn it on right when she is really sad and upset about it. Having 2 dads of my own, that for lack of a better word right now, SUCK!! Seeing this part of the movie brought back all the "crap" I've been through with both of them.

You know, I get to a point in my life where I think, "you know what, i'm not going to let this bother me anymore." And, then out of nowhere all the emotions, the pain, the hurt, the betrayal, the rejection from them surfaces and I just explode.

It might sound totally silly and stupid but it's how I'm feeling and I'd really appreciate your prayers about this.

The Mind of Christ

It is simply amazing what we can do when we allow ourselves to be given over to the plan and purpose of God.

I've never been much on "sharing my opinions." I guess I've always thought that if I share my opinion I'm either going to tick someone off or hurt their feelings. But, as I'm growing and maturing in my faith I'm learning that my opinions and thoughts; as long as they are filtered through Christ in a growing, nurturing relationship, are thoughts and opinions that the very Spirit of God is laying on my heart and mind. Now, pay close attention to how I said that.... AS LONG as "my" thoughts are filtered through Christ IN a growing, nurturing relationship WITH HIM" I truly believe God gives us His thoughts and opinions on issues, and His thoughts and opinions become our own. I think that's what it's talking about in 1 Corinthians 2:16 when it says "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him? "But we have the mind of Christ."

I can not receive or know the thoughts of God unless I'm daily speaking to Him and listening to Him. In having a relationship with Christ, if we are truly giving ourselves over to Him and living for Him, we become concerned with what concerns Him and we become passionate about the things He is passionate about.

All this to say, I'm excited about my own growth over the past couple of weeks. God is allowing me to enter into and sharing with me such a deep, thriving wisdom. A wisdom that is giving me insight and direction in areas of my life that I've been "clueless" about for quite some time.

I'm also remembering that when we are experiencing growth in certain areas of our lives that there will be a time that the things learned will be put into practice.

Well, this was just a thought I wanted to share. Hope it makes sense to you all and is helpful in some way! And, I'm really hoping I've not made you dumber for reading this. (hahahaha) :)

8 Years of Bliss

I guess you can't understand this unless you're married; but after 8 years of marriage I love my husband more today than I did 8 years ago. I grow more in love with him each and every day I experience life with him. So, with that said I'm not blogging for very long tonight because it's HUBBY TIME!! :)

HAPPY ALMOST ANNIVERSARY

Tomorrow (Jan. 8) is mine and Rodney's 8 year anniversary! I totally can't believe we've been married that long. It has been a wonderful 8 years though and I can't imagine my life with anyone else. I married the most caring, loving, faithful, adorable husband of all time!

Fellowship Church

We had been visiting Fellowship Church for the past month and after praying about it and talking it over with each other, we decided to become members there. We went to the Newcomers class last night and officially joined. YEA! I can't tell you how excited I am to be involved in an active, growing church. It feels so good to settle down in a local church that is eager for you to be there and be involved in the ministry of the church. And, Joshua LOVES the church. I just praise the Lord for allowing us and calling us to be a part of such a wonderful church. We really need this!

Hair Cut

We found a really cute place to get Joshua's hair cut. Here is a few pictures of him.

Joshua and His New Helmet :)

More Joshua Pictures; can't ever have too many :)

Taking some time out from his busy schedule. :) This is usually where you can find Joshua when he gets home from preschool. He likes to chill out for about 30 minutes and watch one of his DVD's on the couch. But, after this 30 minutes he's full force the rest of the night.

Blog Away

So, here I am again. Just sitting here, relaxing after another long day. Joshua is watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Rodney's out picking up dinner and I'm enjoying some time to kick my feet up and do one of my favorite things.. blog. :)

I worked out again today! YEA for me! We don't have much planned for this weekend except for tomorrow night. We're going to a newcomers class at the church we've been attending. They have childcare, and Joshua just loves their children's center. And, they are going to feed us dinner which is great for a poor seminary student family. :) Before the meeting starts they have their Saturday night worship service we are going to attend. It's just like the Sunday morning service, same message and everything. The church is so big they start their services on Saturday night and then have 3 services on Sunday as well. So, I guess you could say we're going to church Saturday night. :)

Me and Rodney are having a game night tonight after Joshua goes to bed. I'm excited about just spending some time with him playing cards and stuff. We both love playing games and it gets pretty interesting since we're both so darn competitive. :)

Well, I'm off to spend more time with Joshua before his bed time. Talk to you all later! Love ya!

Uneventful

I didn't make it a "new years resolution" but I'd like to try and blog something everyday. Some days it probably won't be much but at least I tried right? :)

Today was pretty uneventful. It was just another normal, good day. I went to work, took Joshua to school, came home for lunch with Rodney, went to work out after work and came home to do all of our night stuff. I'm so thankful for days like this. I'm totally ok with uneventful days, because not everyday will be like this and you just never know when something is going to blow up on ya. I'm at a good, stable season in my life right now. God is blessing the socks off of us and although our circumstances, surroundings, finances and some other things have pretty much changed dramatically I can still hold my head up high and give total praise to my God. I'm happy and content. And, I'm going to treasure this season to the fullest so that when something does come my way that's unsettling I can know that my God is in control no matter the circumstance.

Job 2:10 "He replied, "Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?"

Good Good Day!

It was back to work today and back to school for Joshua. And, it sure did start out with a bang. I have to share this because as soon as it happened, I sat in our hallway upstairs and laughed for like 10 minutes. I took my shower this morning and I like to put my robe on before I pull the shower curtain back so I don't get cold. Well, this morning I put it on and lifted my foot to get out and my foot got stuck in the robe. So, needless to say I was in the process of falling when I thought HEY... I'll grab the towel rack which came right off the wall and I was just standing there holding it in my hand. I started laughing so hard... thankful that the wonderful towel rack saved me from breaking my neck.

We had some great time off just being able to relax and enjoy each other over the chrismas and new years break. But, it's back to our routine now. Joshua got a USC backpack with rollers for christmas and he loved taking his blankets and school stuff to school in it today. He was so proud to just roll his little backpack in. It was adorable. His teacher said when the mommies started coming to pick their kids up this afternoon that Joshua ran over to his cubbie, grabbed his backpack and was ready to go. He just waited on me and Rodney to get there. Joshua is growing up so much. Just over the past couple of weeks he has begun to do and say things like a little grown up. Of course, some of it has gotten his little self into trouble and has landed him in time out, but for the most part it's just all really cute.

Rodney is going to buy his school books tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed that this doesn't cost an arm and a leg, and a kidney, and a hip bone.. etc.... etc.. etc. :) :) (haha) I know he is very excited about starting his classes. I think he's had enough of being Mr. House Husband/Dad. He's done a really great job at keeping things going though. He's a great husband and has really gone above and beyond since we've been here. I'm so lucky to have such a wonderful man in my life. I don't know what I would do without him.

I actually went to the gym today. I am soooo proud of myself. Me and Rodney talked about a schedule so that each of us could go to the gym during the week because one of us has to watch Joshua. I'm really excited about working this out so that we can know out times and just go and get our workout done. It felt really good to get back into the gym today and just have that time to myself and exercise.

As soon as I got home Joshua came running with an excited voice saying MOMMY HOME!!! Now, that's something to come home to. I love it! I put him to bed tonight and he was actually requesting songs for me to sing. He wanted me to sing rock a bye baby, jesus loves me and our very special mommy/joshua song.. You are My Sunshine. Then, we had to read 2 books and sing You Are My Sunshine one more time before he would go to sleep. I gave him a hug and a kiss and he held me tight and said "wait a sec. mom, do leave yet." It's moments like that, that just make your heart melt. I'm so lucky having such a wonderful son as well as a wonderful husband. God has truly blessed me beyond my wildest dreams.

Well, I'm off to get ready to go to bed so we can start all over again tomorrow.

Isn't He Adorable? awweeeee :)