Jesus is my Homey

Have you ever noticed that if you change one letter in a word, it completely changes the meaning. There is a huge difference between having a cola and having a coma. I mean we can plan to have a cola! Or even saying, "I love the rain." or "I love the pain". Completely different! And I bet, if you went outside right now and said I love the pain, someone would swoop in and call special services for you!
But in all seriousness, changing a letter can change how you view something. I was reminded of this by my sweet 3 year old. I am the Cherub Choir director at my church. This means that I teach 2-5 year old children a little bible lesson and songs. When I took the job...well volunteer position, I decided that the kids needed to learn the basics. You know, the songs that we learned when we were little. "Jesus Loves Me", "Joy, Joy, Joy", "Jesus Loves the Little Children", etc. While the kids love these songs, you can only sing them 100 times before you start looking for new material. I noticed that before my little cherubs left for Children's Church each Sunday morning, we would sing "Gloria Patri". This is an easy little song and could make the kids feel included. I began teaching it in January. Now remember, these are 2-5 year olds, they can't take too much for too long of a time. But by Spring Break they had it. I would look around during service and notice that they were singing. I was also told by my daughter that "Glory be to the Pather" was her favorite song.

To get to the point, and for those of you who don't know this song, here are the words:

Glory be to the Father
And to the Son
And to the Holy Ghost
As it was in the beginning
Is now and ever shall be
World without end
Amen, Amen

Harper sings the song, but instead of saying Holy Ghost, she says Homey Ghost. I've tried to correct her (even though it sounds so sweet), but she insists that it's Homey Ghost. This got me when I least expected it. You know what...it should be homey ghost! This slang word has been used to mean friend/pal. And when you think about it, Jesus should be our homey!

Do you treat Jesus/God as your friend and companion, or do you think of Him as someone who has the power to help you or not help you. If you think of Him in the later, please let me help you to realize that he is your forever friend. He will still be there with you, even when the world has let you down. He will strengthen you and guide you, if you just listen.

John 15: 13-17 says:
Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.

Do you hear this, I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit.  Jesus chose us! We are his friends and he will help us get what we need. He will make sure that we are taken care of and loved. This gives me so much peace. I know that everything I have ever wanted may have not been in God's plan, but everything I have ever needed, He has provided.

I have amazing friends! I mean the best friends in the whole world. I truly believe that God placed each of them in my life for a reason. And you know what else, that's what friends do. They give you what you need, when you need it. Guess who else does this...GOD! Lay your burdens at his feet and know that he will take care of you! Who else would give up their life, so that you could live? That sounds like an amazing friend and homey!

Here is the video of my sweet girl singing Glory be to the Father!

Basketball Overload

I am so glad it's April! March madness has been going on for it seems like 17 months now, and the TV has been turned into every basketball game ever played by any team ever.  With the exception of the Mississippi State games I despise March madness. My father on the other hand loves a good basketball game.

As he walked into my house the other day, he could not stop talking about the amazing game he had watched the night before. It was a match up between Duke and Kentucky, with Duke winning by 1 point in overtime. It was a buzzer beater!! My dad detailed the game, he was so thrilled to have watched this amazing match up. Funny thing...he had already seen it-in 1992! My husband picked up on the fact that he was detailing a game that happened when we were kids and told dad that it was an old game. Dad couldn't believe it, it was just on TV!

I don't know if you know this, but there is an ESPN classics channel and it anytime in the day you can turn this on and watch a game that was played at some point in the past. These games are chosen because they're really good games with dramatic plays and edge of the seat excitement. This basketball game was ranked as the top game of the century. It had been playing over and over for weeks.

Moral of the story...men never grow out of ball games and they don't pay attention. If I had flipped the channel on and seen a guy wearing shorty shorts playing basketball, I would have known it was an old game. But men, they don't notice these things, obviously. So ladies, when you significant other doesn't notice that you just cut 12 inches off of your hair or that you lost 40 pounds-don't worry, some don't know they are watching a 25 year old basketball game!

Have a great day and remember to laugh! It makes life so much more fun!

Confession Time

Hello, my name is Emily and I am an over-sharrer.

Now that we have that out there, I feel like I can move on. Ha, in all seriousness, I think I have a problem.

If you know me, then you know that I'm pretty much an open book. I wear my heart on my sleeve, I have my feelings written across my face, and if you ask me what I think, I'm going to tell you. I have tried to curb these thoughts and actually think about what I say before I say it, but I admit it, my mouth sometimes explodes!

I overshare. I tell people about dreams I've had, I tell students personal stories to encourage them (even though graduate school told me not to do this), I share what I ate for dinner, I tell too many stories about my family. I JUST DO IT, OK!? But I have to share my latest "problem". I take videos and pictures of my 3 year old doing funny/awkward things and save it for all posterity.

Now I know what you are thinking, "Emily, we all do this." But really, I don't think that you do. I video her in the bathtub, using the bathroom, saying funny things, if she's stuck and can't get out, if she's crying for no reason. I'm terrible!!! I keep these videos so that one day I can show them to her and tell her how funny she was (or I hope still is). I would love to share the videos with you, but I'm hoping that 15 year old Harper will appreciate that I'm only sharing this picture. So if said 15 year-old Harper is reading...Harper, I love you, come out of your room, I won't embarrass you today! Well, any more today, after this picture! 😆

Just remember, this is just one of literal thousands of pictures and videos I have.

I'll just call today #toomuchtuesday

You are Worth It!

I was talking with a student the other day about their college career. This student was in a very tough major and didn't know if he or she could make it. Of course I know that they can and will do great things. That is why I love my job...seeing the potential in students before they see it themselves.

But, this conversation made me remember something my grandmother told me when I was younger. She said, "Do not let anyone determine your success or failure; the only one who can do that is you." Of course when Gaga (that's what we called her) said this to me, I smiled, took the advice, and didn't think too much more about it. But now, as a working woman, these words ring so true.

We let the world tell us that we are too loud, too big, too dumb, too weak, too small, not good enough, too smart, etc. We allow others to determine our worth and our lot in life. My grandmother was right, the only person that can tell you that, is you. How you feel about yourself can determine many things. The "face" that we put out to the world is the only one we have...why not love it!? Why not wake up today and succeed? Why not take the risk and reap great rewards? Why not look in the mirror and believe that you are worth so much more?

For so much of my life I let others thoughts of me determine how I felt about myself. I let the world tell me I wasn't pretty enough or smart enough, when in my heart I knew that God created me the way I was for a reason.

1 Samuel 16:7 says:
   But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

Although this verse is talking more about our outward appearance, it rings true for every part of our self worth. The world judges you by your appearance; but that can be how you appear to work, how you appear to think, how you dress, how you act in certain situations. God loves you, no matter what, he sees your heart.

When I was talking with the student I mentioned above, I made sure that they knew that their heart was in the right place. They were majoring in something that changed lives and they loved it. The only person who could tell them they couldn't do it, was them. Just like for me, the only person who needed to know I had self worth, was the person staring back at me in the mirror. Once I accepted this truth, I was a much happier person.

Now this doesn't mean that you can't have days of self doubt...believe me, I do. But what it means is God is there with you. He is walking beside you and knows your heart, he sees your potential.
I'm going to leave you with the words of one of my favorite Contemporary Christian songs. It has helped me when I doubted myself and when I doubted that I could pick up and carry on, I hope you can use it as an anthem too!

In the Eye of the Storm

In the eye of the storm, You remain in control

And in the middle of the war, You guard my soul

You alone are the anchor, when my sails are torn

Your love surrounds me in the eye of the storm

When the solid ground is falling out from underneath my feet

Between the black skies, and my red eyes, I can barely see

When I realize I've been sold out by my friends and my family

I can feel the rain reminding me

In the eye of the storm, You remain in control

In the middle of the war, You guard my soul

You alone are the anchor, when my sails are torn

Your love surrounds me in the eye of the storm

Mmm, when my hopes and dreams are far from me, and I'm runnin' out of faith

I see the future I picture slowly fade away

And when the tears of pain and heartache are pouring down my face

I find my peace in Jesus' name

In the eye of the storm (yeah, yeah)

You remain in control (yes you do, Lord)

In the middle of the war, You guard my soul

You alone are the anchor, when my sails are torn

Your love surrounds me (Your love surrounds me)

In the eye of the storm (in the eye of the storm)

When the test comes in and the doctor says I've only got a few months left

It's like a bitter pill I'm swallowing; I can barely take a breath

And when addiction steals my baby girl, and there's nothing I can do

My only hope is to trust You

I trust You, Lord

In the eye of the storm (yeah, yeah) You remain in control

In the middle of the war (middle of the war), You guard my soul (yeah!)

You alone are the anchor (ooh), when my sails are torn

Your love surrounds me (yeah!)

In the eye of the storm, You remain in control (yes you do, Lord)

In the middle of the war (in the middle of the war), You guard my soul

You alone are the anchor (ooh), when my sails are torn

Your love surrounds me in the eye of the storm, oooh

Oh in the eye of the storm

More posts are coming, and I promise, they won't all be this sappy or sweet! :) 

Be Still and Know

I wanted to try something different today. This has been on my heart and when a sweet friend asked me to share something with her blog, I decided to put it here too. I am by no means a perfect person, but with God I have a chance to be perfect forever. I hope this touches at least one person!

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10

This year has been pretty tough. My mother was diagnosed with cancer and it shook my world. To have the strongest woman I know, sit down and tell me that she has a disease that the doctors are not sure is curable, is a huge blow. No matter your age, you always need your mom. So when this happened, the worst thoughts crept into my mind. What would happen if she lost her fight? Who would I call when I needed something? What would happen to my dad (who she has thought for, for the past 40 years)? The only thing I knew to do was pray.

I prayed in the car, in the shower, when I went to bed at night. I tried finding the right words, but nothing seemed appropriate. I begged God for my mother’s life; I pleaded with Him. But in the silence a voice kept repeating, be still and know, be still and know, be still and know.

If you know me, then you know that there really isn’t anything that “still” about me. I am pretty high strung and I am always on. My mind races in different directions, getting ideas as fast as I forget them. When God spoke to me, I did not know what to do. Just imagine a woman on her knees in her craft room, looking up to the heavens and saying, “Yes? God is that you?” I was not sure what he wanted me to do. How could I be still? My mother’s life was on the line, this was one of the biggest hurdles I had to face in my 30 something years…be still, wait...yeah right God!

But it seems that even in our darkest days, God finds a way to show you what you need. I needed to be “still”. I needed to clear my mind, trust in God, and wait for the answers that he was preparing. Trusting in God’s plan is not easy. Like I said before, I pleaded for my mother’s life. But God wanted something different from me. He wanted me to know that he had a path laid out for my family, all I had to do was trust him. I needed to be still and know that he had this. He had my troubles, my doubts, my fears. He knew my heart.

If you are questioning God’s plan for you, or you do not understand how to be still, look at this translation. The God’s Word Translation of this key verse is “Let go of your concerns! Then you will know that I am God. I rule the nations. I rule the earth.” Just by seeing a different version, you can take a different meaning. Let go of your concerns, cast them on God. Because he rules everything, he will take care of you.

The path that God has led my family on this year has been trying. It has not been easy or happy at all times. But even in the pain, I knew that by trusting God’s plan, good would come. I am happy to say that although my mother’s fight is not over, she is fighting! She is drawing on God’s grace and continued support. My Christian walk has grown and my faith has been restored. Such a tragic diagnosis has healed my heart and the path of my family. God has honored me with a patient husband and a “better than normal” three year old. He has shown me how wonderfully blessed I am with Godly friends who have been with me every step of the way. God has used this trial for triumph. And to think, it all started with me being still. 

Run to God, lay your burdens at his feet. Be still and know that he will wrap his ever loving arms around you, all you have to do is ask. Have a great weekend!

Hello Again!!

Hi y'all!! It's been about a hundred years since I posted anything on here. As always, life has happened and we have been busy. I've always wanted to be really good at this blog thing, but I'm not. I really am going to make a better effort to showcase some of our life. We have really funny things that go on in our crazy world. And I'd love to share those with everyone. On a daily basis we say that our life could be a reality show.
For instance, my dad has been living the bachelor life for a couple weeks since my mother has been at MD Anderson in Houston, TX. My cousin was at mom and dad's house doing some chores for me and he reported that dad went grocery shopping alone today. What does an 80 year old bachelor buy at Wal-Mart you ask? A fruit tray, a vegetable tray, and 7 jars of jelly. YES...7!!!! I mean what does one man need with 2 fruit trays and that much jelly? When asked he said that it all looked so good. Haha! You have to appreciate a man's logic.
I have tons more stories that I can share, especially of my 3 year old, yes Harper is 3!! Where has the time gone?
Tomorrow I have a special treat...a surprise that I've been working on with a sweet friend, Brittany Moore. Brittany has the cutest online shop, Chasing Portland. She makes shirts, orders clothes, and can design anything you want. On top of it all, she is one of the Godliest women I know. Check her out at Chasing Portland.

Here are some pics of the past couple YEARS (since it's been a while)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Well it's that time of year again...time to trim the tree and deck the halls. While I absolutely LOVE Christmas, I really dread getting all of my decorations out and finding a place for them. But, once the deed is done, I love the look of it! I mean we have a new home, so this year was a little overwhelming.
Have you ever had one of those moments where you panic because you don't know where you are going to put your tree? No, you haven't? Well take it from a crazy like me...it is not a fun place in my head! We finally found a place for the tree, the decorations, and most everything else. Pictures are coming soon, but I will leave you with this..

This is how I felt about decorating. I wanted to stop here, but we pressed on.

Here is our mantel...disregard the sports news on the TV..this is just a sneak peek at the decorations.

And last but not least, since I didn't do a Thanksgiving post, I had to share a picture of our little turkey!

Have a great week!

-Em