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 :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Well, here we are on the brink of beginning a brand new year! And of course as we think of the new year we always think what resolution am I going to make this year. I've been thinking about a couple of things I'd like to do or accomplish so I thought what better place to share them than on my blog. :)


1- Be more consistent in my time with God!!!

Spending time with God always makes a huge difference in my day! There are just some days that I simply don't make time for Him. I want this to change and to spend time with Him daily!



2- Share my faith and lead at least 2 people to faith in Christ.

Sharing our faith should a part of our daily lives. I don't know about you, but sometimes that scares me half to death. But, I want to get to the point where that's not true. I want to share my faith like I would share anything else.



3- Pray with my husband every night before bed.

We used to do this very consisently and it really drew us closer together.


4- Become actively involved in a women's ministry.

God has placed a very special calling on my life in this area. I want this to be the year that I begin to pratice the gifts he's given me for this ministry.


5- Last, but not least! Yes, I want to lose weight. :)


So, there's mine! I'm really focused on my spiritual life right now. I've not been as consistent as I have needed to be and I have not relied on God as much as I should. It's just so tough sometimes. But, the truth is, God is the only reason I've made it this far in my life. Without Him, I don't even want to think of where I may have ended up.

To God Be The Glory for the Great Things He Has Done!

Joshua

Here is a picture of Joshua with one of his favorite Christmas toys. :) He loves this thing.

Christmas Pictures

We're Baacckkkkk

We're back safe and sound in Texas! YEA!

We had a terribly long day yesterday with plane delays and layovers. Man, I didn't think I would ever get home. And, Thursday morning Joshua woke up with awful congestion and a bad runny nose so I wanted to get him to the doctor before we left. We were so stinkin busy. But, we have arrived and I'm back at work today. Joshua and Rodney are both home getting some rest today. Joshua has tons of new toys to play with so he's on cloud nine playing his little heart out and Rodney is probably in the recliner, trying to keep his eyes open. :) The nice thing is that when I get off at 5 today I don't have to come back to work until next Wednesday so I just keep telling myself that over and over and over and over again so I can get through this day.

I'm going to try and post some pictures from Christmas tonight. Joshua was so cute and really got into everything this year. We went to the mall the day after Christmas and Joshua told me he wanted to see Santa. I told him that Santa had already left to go back to the North Pole to get ready for next year and then I asked him why he wanted to see Santa. He then said, "say tank-you to santa, mommy." AWWEEEE... so sweet!!! He's so precious! I could just eat him up. :)

We were on the plane flying into Dallas last night and I had my arms propped up on my knees and my head laying in my hands and Joshua starting patting me on the shoulder saying, "mommy, you ok?" I told him "yes, I'm fine. I'm just sleepy." He then put his hand on my head and pulled me over towards him and rubbed my head for about 5 minutes. I told him thank you and he said, "mommy, ok now." I told him, "oh yes, mommy is much better now."

He is just so thoughtful, and bless his heart he cannot stand for his mommy to be sad. If I ever get upset about something or cry he always comes to comfort me. It's just the sweetest thing. He has a very tender heart up under all his hyper, tough man exterior.

Well, I'm off to get some more stuff done. I'll catch up with ya'll later!

Merry Christmas Eve

Well, we have made it to SC!! We flew in on Saturday and are loving every minute we are getting with our families. Joshua LOVED flying. I was so scared he would flip out since this was his first plane trip. But, he didn't. The only time he got mad and upset was when they were calling the different sections to load the plane and it wasn't his turn yet. He was so ready to get on that big airplane and when he did he was the happiest kid on earth. He got to sit by the window and thought it was so cool. So, unlike his mommy, Joshua loves flying.

When we got here I got to head off to the spa for an afternoon of relaxation!! It was so awesome. I got a facial and an hour and a half massage!! It felt so wonderful (in fact, Dr. Cathey I'm sure you are totally envious by now that you didn't get a massage,but don't worry I got you a gift card and they even serve vegetarian food!!) HAHAHA!! :) That's just a little inside joke for my new boss!! :)

We headed off to Lancaster on Sunday morning to see my family. We spent Sunday and most of today with them and then headed back to Columbia to be with Rodney's family. Right now, we are getting ready to put Joshua to bed so Santa can come visit tonight. He is so excited about Santa this year. He's been running aroung in his Christmas pajama's and wearing his santa hat yelling, HO HO HO!!!

I really didn't realize how much I missed SC until we flew in on Saturday. It felt so nice to be back home to all of my familiar sites. I really like Texas too, but there is no place like home. :)

Well, I'm off to force my child into bed!! :) Hopefully, he will fall asleep fast!

Merry Christmas Everybody!

Believing God

There are a few books that I will pick up and read more than once and one is Beth Moore's book, Believing God. Here is a quote from her book that has just really made me stop and think today:

"The only way we are going to impact the world and the next generation is to prove that our faith in Christ is real and that it works."

I just pray that I'm living the kind of life that will impact someone for the cause of Christ. Because, that's what it is all about anyway. What better gift to give my Savior this Christmas season than a life that is totally sold out for and to Him!! Happy Birthday Jesus!!!

Joshua's Christmas Pictures

We took Joshua to have his Christmas Pictures done at Picture People last night. These are some of the BEST ones we had taken. We had a family picture done also. I'll add it after you've had time to FULLY ENJOY THESE!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

September 23, 2006

I have lots of old journals and files that I have written over the years and I was reading through some of them this morning and found an old journal entry that I felt like I should share:

"Focusing on the Sovereignty of God

I spent my weekend in West Virigina at a Beth Moore conference. I asked the Lord to show up in my life and change me this weekend and he was not slow to answer my request. I went into this weekend just positive that God was about to break me to pieces and just leave me devastated. For some reason that has been my struggle all week long in preparing for this conference; scared to death that He was going to hurt me. My background is one of abandon, hurt, and total confusion; so for some time now I have thought I deserve nothing more from God than that. I have expected God to hurt me and turn his back on me because of my past.

Oh, but to my glorious surprise that is NOT the GOD I serve. Tonight the Lord spoke to me so clearly, saying "Courtney, I'm not a mean God and I'm not out to hurt you. You think I'm trying to break you when in reality I'm trying to lift you up." WOW, what a remarkable word from my God. One thing Beth said tonight I know was said just for me totally revived my whole world, "So much of our personal misery is wrapped up in our own insecurity. We have got to remember our feelings do not determine God's presence or God's feeling about us in our lives. Don't you dare let Satan trick you or tell you otherwise."

God is always there for us and he is not emotionally messed up or insecure about who He is. He is our stable and consistent God. This is so awesome because I really needed to know that I don't have an insecure God. The God I serve is the one who can and will lift me up."

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Every now and then I like going back and reading my old journals. It takes me back and reminds me of all the great lessons God has taught me. I've been a Christian for 17 years. AND, OH MY WORD I FEEL SO OLD SAYING THAT! It's almost unbelievable that I've been walking with Christ for that long or that I've even been alive that long. WOW!!! (I'm having a getting old mental moment right now) :) Ok, I'm better now. .... well, maybe not.. I'm a little overwhelmed by this fact. :(

OK... well, I have a feeling I'll remain in my overwhelming phase for a little bit but I'll try to get back on track now.

So, before I was so rudely interrupted by my 17 year confession.... :) Isn't it amazing to know we serve a God that looks past all of our "booboo's and scars"? He doesn't see us as a scratched up mess.. He just see's His Child! He see's ME!! The real ME, and loves me regardless.

Living in Awe!!
God's Daughter >>>> ME!! :)

Just Another Normal Night

I haven't done an update for quite some time now so I figured I'd give you guys a head's up on what we've been up to.

Our weekly schedule pretty much consist of work for me, school for Joshua, and lots of errand running for Rodney during the day. We get home around 5:15pm everyday and just do our normal family stuff. For about the first 30 minutes of being home Joshua has a snack, some juice and watches about 30 minutes of whatever show he is in the mood for that day. After that I'm usually playing with Joshua up in his room or in the living room and my wonderful husband is cooking dinner. We are pretty laid back and just do whatever we feel like at night. But, trust me something interesting is always happening around here.

For example, I was upstairs changing my clothes tonight and I hear Joshua walking up the stairs. He was on a frantic search for his blankie. :) I came out to help him find it and his hands were BLACK!! I was like what in the world have you gotten into now. We have our bikes by our front door because they are pretty expensive bikes and we don't want anything happening to them outside. Joshua had been playing with my bike and got grease all over his hands. It was so funny because he had not even noticed it before I said something about it. And then he was going crazy trying to get it off. He DID NOT like that grease on his hands. I think it kindof freaked him out. He was very happy to have nice clean hands again once we were done scrubbing them.

Now, he is jumping from the coffee table to the couch. Trust me, the child never slows down. He's always trying to come up with some sort of new "special ability" to show off.

I started this post about 3 hours ago, but Joshua came in the room and decided I was finished typing so he shut the lap top and said, "play, mom!" So, mommy got up and went to play with Joshua. We have done everything from play with playdoh to making really cool slopes for his cars to zoom down. :) He has such a great imagination... it's always so much fun playing with him. He's starting to slow down now, so I'm off to read bedtime stories and snuggle with my sweet little baby!

Santa Picture

OK, so I have to explain the not so "elegant" santa picture for this year. Joshua has totally not been about any sort of "professional" picture taking for quite some time now. I mean we are talking NOT happening. :( Well, we decided Thursday night we would go out to the Hulen Mall and have dinner, walk around, let Joshua play in their indoor play area for little kids and just hang out. Joshua was having a BLAST! Then, all of a sudden I asked him, thinking he would say NO, if he wanted to get his picture taken with Santa. To my surprise, he was like, "YES!" He was all sweaty from playing in the little playground area and dirty from eating dinner, and totally not wearing "santa picture" clothes. But, he was READY! So, we went, got his picture taken and have now been able to make another wonderful, funny memory with Joshua. :) He sat down right next to Santa and just started talking to him. He said, "Santa, I want a truck, A BIG Truck, Santa." Santa was like, OK at least we don't have to guess on what you want this year. (hahahaha) It was so stinkin funny. He sat there and talked to Santa for like 5 minutes nonstop. It was ADORABLE!!!

So, Joshua doesn't "look like" he was ready for a Santa picture, but trust me since he wanted his picture taken we were getting the picture taken. :) And, for all of you that know Joshua totally know that this picture couldn't describe him any better. That's my little man!

Afternoon Fun

We had a wonderful afternoon. Joshua took some kids little scooter thing and rode it around the neighborhood for a little while. All the kids just share their ourdoor toys around here. Good thing because Joshua LOVED the scooter and wasn't giving it up until he was D.O.N.E!! :)
We all rode our bikes around the neighborhood today too. It was so cute just riding around with Joshua and Rodney. We all had a blast. Joshua has totally mastered his tricycle skills. I am so proud of him. He is totally whipped tonight though. He's laid out on the couch with his blankie totally not moving.. :) Once we were done riding out bikes Joshua just kept on going. He probably rode for about 30-45 min. straight. :) We went to pick up some dinner and as soon as we got back home he was like, "mom, i ride my bike again."

Our Morning Adventure

We spent most of our morning outside. It's like 80 degrees, and is just beautiful here today. Now, Joshua is totally exhausted and taking nap. He had a blast running aroung the school campus, climbing trees, playing with sticks and all that "boy" stuff. :) It's so nice having all this beautiful land to just let him run and play on.

I think we're going to go back out and play somemore this afternoon when he wakes up. If we do, I'll definitely put more pictures up.. :)

ENJOY!