Birthday!

Today was the first day back to school and work for two weeks.

We were sad to go back but so thankful for the time we spent together.

I'm so thankful for my sweet family.

so after working/school I went to Guntersville to see Kacey play.

Dad went with me. They won!

then we flew up the mountain and got to Grace's game to see the very end but she was

thrilled I was there when she was done so it made it so worth it! ;-)

They won as well 13- 2 and she had 4 points!

Then Arby's and home.. what a full wonderful day!

They usually make me a cake but with all the ball games this week I was thrilled with a wonderful Red Velvet! YUMMO!

Can you tell we were all tired.. happy but tired..
see my necklace?

yes, my village is still out and a nativity and maybe the girls trees but everything else has been put away!

Thank you for making my day special!

I love it!

They also gave me this before work this morning.

Can you read it?

When Kacey and Grace were babies, we always read, Goodnight Moon.

As they grew at night and when we would leave each other we would always be silly and say

I love you to the moon

they girls would always say things like

I love you to Wal mart or

I love you to mars

I love you to pluto

I love you two times more than you'll ever say

but we would always end with

I love you to the moon & Stars

to the mailbox and back again..

Why?? that was just us...

So this thrilled my soul.

the moon reads i love you to the moon & stars

circle: to the mailbox

circle: and back again

and then it has two star charms... one for each girl.

I can't tell you how much it means to me and then to know the girls worked for the money and wouldn't let anyone else pay for it made it even more precious...

Thank you all for making my birthday precious.

:-)

Stay!

You remember in Jr. High when you read about the flight or fight reflex.... Well I flight...
Just this week I ill advised a friend to flight, not from a place but from a task... then God convicted my heart and I called praying the Lord had convicted her as well to right a wrong. I was wrong, I do that sometimes when my words and decisions are from me and I've not prayed to the Lord for guidance. See I'm emotional and I tend to sometimes make decisions off emotions. I just saw her hurting and told her to run. But he is still working on me! :-) Greg and I've prayed over our church for a couple of years, Lord if it is time to move, Move me otherwise give me peace and help us to be in your will and not part of the problem... He hasn't moved us but has given us peace, and keeps reaffirming that as of right now we are right where we are supposed to be. Isn't God awesome, he not only answered but answered and then some.
One of my devotions today is attached.. I loved it and it reminds me, it's worth staying when the Lord commands me to stay, it doesn't matter that it's still not perfect, or that there are things that might never be. With him, he can heal and make all things beautiful in his time.

March 23, 2011
Stay
Amy Carroll
“May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in you.”Psalm 33:22 (NIV)
Devotion:I failed my friend. Although I’d love to tell you how I stuck by her as an encouraging presence and practical helper through her darkest days, it simply wouldn’t be true.
I didn’t understand her choices. I couldn’t endorse her actions. I struggled with the consequences of what she wanted to do, and so I left. I didn’t actually go anywhere physically, but I withdrew my availability and my openness. I tucked my heart into a safe, little box and walked away from her situation.
That was years ago, but I still look back on that time with regret and sorrow. Although I’ve made attempts since to reach out and reconcile, my friend is understandably cautious as she guards her still-hurting heart. I hope one day that our friendship will be fully restored, but until then I’ve tried to use the consequences of my choice to learn some things. I desperately want to learn to stay.
Stay through conflict.
Stay through struggles.
Stay through suffering.
Stay through discomfort.
Stay through misunderstanding.
Mary Magdalene is a beautiful example of a constant heart. Because of her great love for Jesus, she stayed.
She stayed after He set her free.
She stayed as He traveled.
She stayed through His torture.
She stayed at the cross.
She stayed at His burial.
She stayed to pass on the news of His resurrection.
Mary Magdalene is a picture of steadfast faithfulness. But sometimes I have trouble staying.
When a church doesn't quite fit my desires, I long for a “happier” place. When a friend is going through a bad time because of choices I can't endorse, I tend to withdraw. When God does things I can't understand, I yearn to flee to a more comfortable setting. It seems easier and less painful.
Come Thou Fountis my favorite hymn, and I think it's because this verse resounds so loudly with me:
O to grace how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here's my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for thy courts above.
I want to leave sometimes, but I long to stay. I long to learn an abiding love for God, my family and my friends that extends a grace beyond my own strength —a strength from One who never leaves. The One who is teaching me to stay.
Dear Lord, sometimes it’s not easy to stay when conflict, disagreements or differences get in the way. Would You give me the power to love people unconditionally and the wisdom to know how to love them well? In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

~~

Thank you Lord for the sweet reminder.....