Victorian Christmas

Now that Thanksgiving is officially over, it's time to think about Christmas! Every year, Thomasville has it's annual Victorian Christmas. People dress up in Victorian era outfits and stroll the downtown streets of Thomasville singing Christmas carols, there is a live nativity scene that my church puts on, snow for the kids, roasting marshmallows, hot chocolate, and of course shopping. The ballet usually puts on a cute little show as well. I was disappointed to see that my church wasn't doing a musical special like they have done in the past. We have an awesome organ player and she can tear that thing up. Plus, the organ at our church is connected to real organ pipes, so it is kinda awesome to hear the organ played. So major fail in that regard, but I do have something to look forward to that I am excited about.

Picture from TCHS

The Historical Society is hosting a Tablescape party over at the Lapham-Patterson House. I love me some china and a good table setting. The LP house will have several tables set up and decorated by local florists and interior design firms. I am PUMPED. I *think* I can actually get Stacey to go to this with me, since she has a weakness for china as well. I doubt she will let me give her a tour of the house, but I can try. I will have to get more details on what all they are planning on Sunday when I go to the Museum for the opening of a traveling exhibit that will be on display there. The exhibit from the Maymont Foundation is called From Morning to Night: Domestic Service in the Gilded Age. It focuses on the predominantly African-American labor corps of servants during the Victorian period. I can't wait to see it in person. If you are in the Thomasville area on Sunday, you should stop by at 2:00 for a lecture and the opening of the exhibit. It is free and open to the public. If not, the exhibit will be at the Museum until January 27th.

I should really get paid by the Thomasville Visitor's Center. I may complain about Thomasville, but it is really a lovely town and it is worth visiting at least once. A few Saturday's ago, I had a nice time downtown. I dropped my car off to get washed and walked the couple of blocks downtown to kill time.

It was a very nice morning as you can see. It was nice and cool and the sun was out. The picture above is of Broad Street. So I spent my morning with a nice Gingerbread Latte from Grassroots Coffee.

Yum. And spent most of my time at the bookstore, The Bookshelf.

My weakness is book stores. I love them. I know this probably makes me a little weird, but I could spend hours in a book store. I would buy this store from the owners and run it myself if I could. I would be in heaven. (nerd alert...) I have decided that all of my Christmas presents are going to come from downtown Thomasville. Got to support the local economy! Plus, there are so many neat things in all these little shops that you just can't find at the mall.

Okay, that was my Thomasville overload for the week. I'm still going to do a few more historical posts, just because I know Stacey loves them. ;-)

There's No Place Like Home

Dorothy was correct when she uttered those famous words that there is no place like home and she hit the nail on the head. Over Thanksgiving, I got to spend time with some of my most favorite people in the world. I don't have my camera on me today to post pictures from Thanksgiving (but now that I think about it, I don't think I really took that many!) I got to see old friends and it felt like old times. It's funny how your true friends are the ones that you can go months or even years without seeing or really talking to and you can pick back up and its like no time has passed at all. Those are my lifelong friends that I am so blessed to have.

My friends Catrina and Sabrina and my sister-in-law, Nicole got together to go watch Breaking Dawn earlier in the week. We haven't gotten together to go watch a movie in forever and it was fun to spend time with my ladies.

Yeah, that's how we roll. Taking pictures with the Chipmunks like we are 11 or something. I won't even show you the pictures we took with the Twilight characters. I have to draw the line somewhere!

One special person I got to hang out with this weekend was my friend, David. He currently lives in Savannah, and I haven't seen him since our 10 year high school reunion that was over a year ago. When we were in high school, David and I were almost inseparable. We did basically everything together. When we were in elementary school, he would chase after us saying he had rabies (and for good reason, he was bitten by a raccoon....). He was also my first kiss- in kindergarten that is. We still joke about that. He received a kiss from me as a reward after winning a serious game of Colors on the old school Apple computer that ran DOS. So needless to say, I've known this fellow for ages.

David had to show us all his sweet ugly Christmas sweater that he made himself. Can you tell? He informed us that last year, he filled the stockings on his sweater with candy canes and handed them out all night. Smart guy. Guess they teach you how to think outside the box at the Citadel! Our friend Courtney was also able to join us on Thursday night. She was one of my best friends growing up and now lives in Orlando, so we had a nice little class reunion.
I also got to get in some quality play time with my main man, Barrett. We had a nice game of Nerf darts, until he decided to hit me in the face with one from about 3 inches away. Yeah, that hurt.

He's a mess. He informed me that I could go to his room, play with all his toys, and then I could go home. And of course the numerous times he asked me if I was going to spend the night with him. Which I did, which resulted in no sleep, which resulted in me leaving at the crack of dawn to go home to try and get a little bit of rest. He's not a very good bed fellow, at all!
I finally came back to Georgia yesterday afternoon. I brought back a little company since Stacey is gone until the 5th.

I brought JJ and Brutus back home with me to give my parents a little bit of a break from these bad boys. Plus, I don't need much of an excuse to spend some time with them. I think being separated from my boys has been harder on me than anything. So I am glad that I get to spend the next week with them. I think they are happy to spend some quality time with their mommy as well. :-)

This was just a little bit of what was going on this past holiday. Guess I will be back home in a few weeks celebrating Christmas. I still can't believe that its the holiday season again. Time has flown by!

In All Things, Give Thanks

"Give thanks in everything; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Another holiday season is upon us. It's hard to believe that its that time of year again. I have to say that Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Mainly for this reason: you gather together with your family and friends; laugh, talk and have fun; eat lots of yummy food; and don't have to worry about all the stress of gift-giving that comes with Christmas. It is a simple time to just come before the Lord and truly thank him for all the blessings in our lives. I have to admit, this year I have a new perspective on giving thanks- to give thanks not just for the good things in our lives but for all things. I am truly blessed. So today, I just wanted to list out a few things that I am thankful for. Of course, the biggest thing I am most thankful for is my Lord and Savior Jesus and the fact that by His sacrifice I am now sanctified, justified, and considered righteous before God. By His stripes I have been redeemed. So a HUGE thank you to the man upstairs. :-)

1. My family - I have to say that I have the best family in the whole wide world. My family is probably the biggest blessing that God has given me. Namely, my parents. My parents have been there for me to encourage me, teach me, guide me, and to love me in a way that is so complete that words cannot express my gratitude to them. So thank you mom and dad for loving me and for well, everything. I know I may not show my thankfulness to you every day, but I am truly thankful for you. I love you both so very much!

2. Stacey - Yes Stace, you get your own shout out! When I count my blessings, I count you twice (a little inside joke between us, I promise, I'm not that corny! Although I do feel that way). Stacey, it is in my heart of hearts that God knew that I needed you. There is no other explanation why you now live in Thomasville other than God knew I would need not only somewhere to go and live, but also someone to take care of me during this time in my life. I know you have had to put up with a lot from me and I am truly grateful that you love me enough to just let me be me - the good, bad, and ugly.

3. My job - I have been so blessed with every job I have ever had. Every place I have ever worked, I have had the blessing of working with people that I truly love and care about and who truly love and care about me. My new job is no exception. I hated to leave the Museum, but if I had to leave, I am thankful that God placed me here. I was sweating it out that last month at the Museum when my alimony was about to run out and I had no other job lined up. But in those final weeks, the Lord blessed me with a job basically out of no where. God does provide, I can attest to that! I was able to stay at the Museum the absolute maximum time and I know that was a blessing because that was exactly where I needed to be when I needed to be there. They blessed me and loved me through some pretty dark days, so I am thankful for the time I had there. And now I am thankful for where I am now. My boss is awesome. My co-workers are awesome. It is always nice to work someplace where everyone feels like family.

4. My church -  I grew up in the same church for 25 years before I left, so it is a little hard to go someplace else. Because the church I grew up in will always be home for me. But I am thankful for the church I go to now. It has begun to feel more and more like my church the more I have gone and made connections with my church family. I have a wonderful Sunday School group that I enjoy seeing each Sunday. I love everyone there and they are so dear to my heart. I have an awesome pastor who has loved and guided me. And on that note - I am sad because Bro. Dan, our pastor, is leaving to go to a church in Tennessee. It just won't be the same without him there. I am thankful for being under his wing and learning from him for the past 4 years. It will be hard to see him and his wife go! And I will also include New City under my church. I am thankful for that core group of people who teach me so very much and I am thankful to be apart of what I know will be a huge blessing for the city and people of Albany.

5. My dogs - Yes, I am thankful for those three bundles of joy (or terror, depending on the day). They are my babies and I just adore them. They make me smile. They remind me what unconditional love looks like. They love me no matter what. No matter what I do, what I look like, how I feel - no matter what, they love me.

6. My friends - I love my friends. It doesn't matter if we see or talk to each other every day or every 6 months. I have friends whom I have known practically since birth that are still in my life and new friends I have only known for a few years or months. I am truly blessed by all of them. They are all special and hold a special place in my heart. I love them all.

7. Everything else - Yes, this is a cop out, but I really need to get some work done and can't be blogging all day! I am thankful for hardships that have brought about blessings. I am thankful for Karen and the work that Compassion International does for Christ. I am thankful for this great country I call home. I am thankful for just everything. The good and the bad. It may not be a perfect life, but it's my life just the same and God has blessed me in abundance. I am thankful for compassion and mercy and grace. I am thankful to be - me.

Typing out this blog today reminded me of the hymn Count Your Blessings. Sometimes we focus so fully on what is wrong with our life and our circumstances, that we forget to focus on what is right. So take time to count your blessings. Name them one by one. The more you do that, you will probably realize that the blessings are in abundance and helps to endure everything else.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Wisdom Wednesday

Short and sweet this week! I think we all can stand to say the serenity prayer from time to time! Sorry I didn't have time today for a more elaborate post. I will try to get it together for next week.

You've Got Mail

What is it about receiving stuff in the mail that is so exciting? Or is it just me that gets excited over stupid stuff like that? When I got to work this morning, my BirchBox was waiting on me to see what was inside! Oh, happy day!

I was anxious to see what they had sent me. So with bated breath, I opened it.

This is what they sent me....I have to say, I was a little disappointed. Cue the trombone sound here. Wah, wah, wah...Lotion and nail polish? Guess I need to go tweak my beauty profile for them to send me some make up and hair products. So let's see what we got:

• Kate Spade Twirl perfume (smells nice)
• Thymes Eucalyptus body lotion
• Thymes Kimono Rose body lotion
• Joues lip enhancer/conditioning lip treatment (I do need this! My lips are chapped city right now)
• Zoya nail lacquer in Noel

I am pretty pumped about the nail polish. Stacey always rags me on my nail polish color. My OPI color "You Don't Know Jacques" she likens to grey brain matter! However, she did paint her nails with that color and even she admitted that she was coming around :-) Glad I could help, Stace! This Zoya color is a deep blue. It could be interesting. I'm sure Stacey will hate that color, too! I do like some funky nail colors, so I will probably like it. So that is my November box from BirchBox. I will do it again for December, just to give it another shot to wow my socks off with their selections for me.

On Friday, I FINALLY made it to the Post Office to pick up my mail. My poor box was loaded down with magazines and other mail. But what I was most excited to see in there was my sponsorship packet from Compassion International with more information on my child I am sponsoring. Now that is something to get excited about!

They send a little book with information about your child, her family, her country, her town and other things about sponsorship. Isn't she adorable?

I have to say, I can only imagine how these children live. Kelly over at Kelly's Korner just got back from a Compassion Tour and the stories she had to share where something to truly think about. So I am thankful that I am in a position where I can help out myself. I encourage you to do the same! We are so very blessed here and we should make it a point to help out others. We are told that the greatest thing we can do for God is first love him and then love one another. Love. Plain and simple. So if you get a chance, think about sponsoring a child yourself.

So these are just two things that I have received via the good old Post Office. Come rain, snow, sleet, or hail they always deliver!

Thomasville...A Place Apart

On Tuesday, I got to volunteer at the Thomas County Museum of History where I worked previously, to help with their annual Pilau Dinner fundraiser. It was so wonderful to get to spend time with some of the best folks in Thomasville, GA. I miss my little museum family a lot. However, when I showed up at 4:30, there was no time to catch up with everyone. We had to get to work! People started coming really early Tuesday, so it kinda messed us up as far as having plenty of plates already served up and ready to go. So we never had the chance to build up some stock. We served around 1,100 dinners. Whew. It was tiring! I took my camera to take pictures, but there was just no time for that. I was on the serving line from 4:30 until 7:00. Thankfully, my gal Mindy took a picture, so you can get an idea of what we were doing. You can see I was taking my job of scooping pickles very seriously! I then got moved over to the coleslaw. Guess that's one good thing about just being a member of the Historical Society and not an employee. I got the easy job. No running dinners back and forth to the street for me this year! Plus at the end of the evening, I didn't have to stay to the bitter end cleaning up (although I did stay for most of it). I looked at Ephraim, our curator of collections, and said peace out! I don't work here! Somehow, I don't believe he appreciated that.

The guy in the Guiness apron, John is the man. I heart him. He is HI-larious! He helps out at the museum a lot, especially during History Camp time. Between John and Mindy (our Treasurer) I laughed all night long. That big blue thing is where all the pilau is stored after it is cooked. It's some kind of serving thing that we borrow from the hospital every year. It looks gross though. Ha! We have a whole team of men that volunteer every year to cook the pilau under the shed. They cook it over fires in big, black kettles. I think it's just an excuse for them to skip out on work and shoot the breeze with other men while drinking beer!

Without a doubt, working at the museum was probably the best job I have ever had. Probably because I just enjoyed it so very much and got to do a lot of neat things, meet some really nice tourists, and learn a lot about history. So today, I thought that I would share my love of the Thomas County Historical Society and the museum that they run. So get ready for a slight history lesson  :-) 

Thomas County Museum of History
725 N. Dawson Street

The museum is housed in the 1923 J.H. Flowers home. Mr. Flowers was the grandfather of the gentlemen that started Flowers Baking Company in 1910. You may know Flowers Baking Company by the things they make like Sunbeam bread, Cobblestone Mill, and Nature's Own. They recently acquired Tasty Cakes, which Ephraim (who is from Jersey) was very pumped up about. Guess that's big in the Northeast... This 20th Century Jeffersonian Revival house was constructed after the previous house that was on the property burned in 1923. The house that sat on the site originally was a gorgeous Victorian home that was built in 1893 by O.C. Ewart. As sad as it was that such a beautiful Victorian house burned, there are a few things that remain from the original home. There is a gorgeous fountain that survived and still works, as well as the wrought iron fence that encompasses the property. The really neat thing that survived from the original house is the 1893 bowling alley. The bowling alley is one (if not the) oldest private bowling alleys in the country. It predates the one at the Biltmore by two years. Take that, Vanderbilts!!

The bowling alley is constructed of heart pine with beautiful woodwork throughout. The lane itself is made of maple. If you visit the museum, they may even let you bowl. (I would, if I was still there) Kids think its great to bowl in there until they realize that they have to reset the pins themselves. Ha! You will also see in the picture above the 1890 Metcalfe Courthouse. The courthouse was brought to the museum grounds in 2005 or so after the Historical Society won it in an auction. To this day, there are still some Metcalfe residents that believe that we stole their courthouse. It's pretty funny.

Next up on the grounds is the 1860 Rufus T. Smith log house. This log home was donated to the museum in the 1970s by a descendant of the original owner. The Smith's did very well for themselves, considering they were middle class farmers and not large plantation owners like some of their other Thomas County counterparts. They farmed around 500 acres, but owned no slaves. However, they did have 13 children to help out on the farm.

The 1910 Flowers playhouse is just a little novelty that is on the grounds. It actually has a twin that is still being used by the Flowers family today. Two were built by the same owners of the 1923 Flowers house because they had two granddaughters. So each granddaughter got their very own playhouse. 

Finally, we come to the 1877 Emily Joyner house. The home is original to the museum grounds. This house represents what the local city residents of Thomasville would have lived in during the Victorian period. Thomasville is known for it's grand Victorian "cottages" aka mansions, but those homes were built by wealthy Northerners who came to Thomasville in the winter to vacation (Thomasville was the Miami of it's day). A house like this is what "normal" people lived in. Emily Joyner is unique because she paid for the land and built this home all by herself. Her husband died in 1863 during the Civil War in battle and she had to raise and support their daughter alone. So she became a seamstress and eventually saved up $125. She paid $25 for the lot and another $100 to have her home built. She lived in this home until 1895. She did eventually move, because in 1893 she got some new neighbors. That is when the Ewart family bought all the adjoining property and built their "cottage" on the grounds. The Ewarts owned half of the block, with the exception of Ms. Joyner's home. So Mr. Ewart basically harassed her for a couple of years until Ms. Joyner finally agreed to sell. That's because Mr. Ewart offered her $3,000 for her property and her home!! She made quite the profit. She took her money and built a much nicer and bigger home right a few blocks up on Dawson Street. So she got a nicer house, and Mr. Ewart got to move his nanny to the Joyner House.

So that is a little overview of the buildings that comprise the Thomas County Museum of History. Maybe you are still reading and haven't fallen asleep with my little history lesson. Maybe, just to make Stacey really happy, I will start posting every week about a historical home or event in the history of Thomas County. That would be fun! ;-)

For more information on the Museum or the Historical Society go to http://www.thomascountyhistory.org/ or check out their Facebook page. Oh and you can go to the Museum and actually purchase a pictorial of the history of Thomas County and it is named... Thomasville, A Place Apart along with other books that were written about Thomas County.

Wisdom Wednesday

Good morning everyone! It's Wednesday again. Another week has come and gone. Time for this week's installment of Wisdom Wednesday. I was looking in Proverbs at what passage to talk about. However, I came across this little devotional that is scattered throughout my Bible. So I will post that, since I'm sure ya'll would rather hear from someone who actually knows what they are talking about! :-) Plus, I pick things out that speak to me, so I'm sure there is someone out there that reads this that needs to hear the same thing. I picked this devotional because it centers around one of my favorite Bible verses.

A Community of Hope

Those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. ~Isaiah 40:31

One thing I know for sure: We were never created to go it alone, ladies. If we attempt to face life's complexities alone, our heart and hope will shrivel. God has created us for community-for belonging...Consider this suggestion: When you share your pain and others acknowledge their care for you, then hope begins to grow. A hope that is eternal and not based on day-to-day circumstances. A hope that aids a restless heart. The truth is, all of us will have restless hearts as long as we sojourn on this earth. It's part of the human story...

So in this life we are pilgrims, wanderers who cannot stay on earth permanently even if we wanted to. (And who would really want to? I ask, especially in my most exhausted moments. Take me away, Lord! I cry.)

Yes, our hearts will be restless until they rest eternally in God. Until we see Jesus Christ as both the highway and the goal of our journey. And until we see, with our own eyes, our glorious destination of heaven...

If you find yourself in...the place of despair and emotional trauma...be encouraged. You are not alone, and God is not far off from you. In fact, stop and give thanks for the restlessness of your soul. (Uh, yes, I am serious.) Really, without such restlessness, we would not even seek God or find the hope that can carry us through the difficult times.

~ Julie Ann Barnhill  from Exquisite Hope

Short, sweet, and to the point today!

Compassion International Update
On another note, I want to update you on my decision to sponsor a child through Compassion International. I finally found out which child I will be sponsoring! I hope and pray that I can be a blessing to this child in the same way that she has already been a blessing to me. I couldn't chose which child to pick, so I decided to let Compassion pick the child for me and prayed that God would give me just the right child. I got a little 5 year-old girl named Karen from Bolivia. I am excited to learn about her and to be there to be an encouragement to her and her family. I sent off my first letter to her on Monday. I am anxious to hear back from her, even though I'm sure at 5, she can't really read or write. And thank goodness that they translate your letters for you! I will keep you all updated on this journey with this special little girl. I can't wait to see what good things God can do!

Epic Fail

This weekend I took a little trip over to Birmingham, AL for the weekend. I titled this post Epic Fail because I took no pictures. None. Nada. It was so pretty up there this weekend with all the different colored fall leaves on the trees and I could kick myself for not taking any pictures! We went to a couple of really cool shopping districts that were awesome. No pictures. On my way out of town yesterday, I did think that I should take at least one picture. So I whipped out my phone and took this beauty of a photo of downtown Birmingham.

Super exciting, right? The only other photo that I took was again with my phone.

Stacey sent me on the hunt for the nearest Edgar's Bakery to get her a piece of Strawberry Cake to take home. Of course I took a picture of my piece that I was eating to torture her. It was pretty delish I have to say! Edgar's had some of the cutest baked goods I have seen in a while. And of course, I can't share them because I took no photos. Dumb. Because this was the big Alabama vs LSU weekend and Tuscaloosa is only a few miles south of Birmingham, Edgar's had the tailgate themed baked goodies out in full force. There were Alabama cookies, cakes, cupcakes. You name it, they had it. They even did a few thumbprint cookies iced in purple and yellow for those few LSU fans that were in town. It was a very neat little bakery and I was glad that Stacey sent me that way. I did go online and pull a picture off of their website for the cute little game day cookies that they do. Aren't they cute?  

Saturday night we of course watched the Alabama/LSU game. We had some very delicious boston butt pulled pork sandwiches with a spicy coleslaw. Very, very yummy! There's just something about good food and football. They just go together.

Everyone that came over to watch the game was a Bama fan of course. I just could not pull for Alabama. Couldn't do it. So I was on Team LSU all the way! Plus, how could I not pull for a team that has a hometown connection? Blountstown's very own Ryan Baker #22 is a linebacker for LSU. He has done really well playing for them.

Image from here

And this picture is actually from last year's game, but still a nice one of Ryan sacking Bama's quarterback.

Image from here

So that's the main reason why I chose to go with LSU for the evening. I really should have put some money down on this game or something. I predicted that this would be a no touchdown game and I was right. I couldn't believe it! I'm just good like that. Oh- and I also predicted that LSU would win :-)

Guess that's about all I can say about my trip to Birmingham. No interesting photos. Sorry guys! Maybe my next trip somewhere I will actually break the camera out!

Play With Me, Sissy!

I am very fortunate to be able to be an aunt to a very special little boy. He can try your patience at times, but he is just so sweet and loving that you forget he was torturing your dogs just moments prior with a plastic golf club...I swear sometimes this could really be my own child and not my brother's. I went into his room this past Saturday while he was napping and took this picture.

Notice that mouth wide open while he sleeps. Yep. That's me as well. Right down to the drool. HA! This kid totally wore me out Saturday after Brad and I got back in from the swamp. We went over to my brother's house to watch the Georgia/Florida game. Why we bothered, I have no idea. Four games lost in a row...geez! Oh well. They are still fabulous :-) We sat outside at the barn to watch the game while Brad grilled some delicious ribs for us. I was quite impressed that my brother had decided to put a TV outside. Guess that's his "man cave."

He caught me taking the next picture:

Yes. That would be his antenea sitting on a stump. How redneck can you be? He asked me not to make fun of this, but I couldn't resist. Most of the time, I had a shadow. Barrett loves him some Sissy. Sometimes, Sissy gets tired of that motor mouth.

This next picture cracks me up. I always make fun of Stacey and her "really" face. Turns out, I do it too!

So there you go Stacey! That's just for you. After watching the game for a bit, I just couldn't sit there any longer and watch that goat ropin. So, Barrett and I had a little fun playing in the yard. He has a little "horse" swing that we decided to play on.

I totally love his hair {and mine!} in this picture. We had to get pumped up to do our 8 second ride on the broncing buck. So, commence the fist pump.

Then for added effect, let's get a knuckles in there.

And then, we are off!

I would spin him around and around and then let him get off and watch him fall down. It might have been a little mean, but it was so funny I couldn't resist. Finally, we decided to play a little bit of soccer. Barrett is on a soccer team this year. I think all they do on the team is run around for 10 minutes and then its snack time. But, I've got some serious Mia Hamm skillz is all I can say.

That's me bending it like Beckham. After going in for a save, I got a little carried away and fell down. Barrett saw his opportunity to pounce on me like a freaking puma.

I think this child is ready for a cage match. He is relentless.

All in all we had a good time playing and I was glad that I got to spend some time with my little man. Nieces and nephews are great. You can play with them, get them really tired and ill, and then just leave! I love it!

Wisdom Wednesday

I think for this week's installment of Wisdom Wednesday, I am going to deviate from Proverbs. The purpose of Wisdom Wednesday is more for me than anything else, so I am going to talk about what I have been focusing on the last few days. The one good thing that has come out of this brokenness from our divorce, is the blessing that I have received in my relationship with Christ. I have been stripped of everything that made me secure: my husband, my home, my peace of mind, my self-worth, everything. It's pretty rough when your world comes crashing down around you in an instant, when you never even saw it coming. When someone you loved so very much no longer finds you worthy of their covenant to love, honor, and cherish you. But through all of that, I have been reminded of the One who is faithful. That God's love for me is enough. I find that I constantly have to remind myself of 2 Corinthians 12:9 - But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. This verse has been a great source of strength. I had to do some serious repenting because I realized that Joseph was an idol in my life. Yes, marriage is a blessing and so is a husband, but when you find yourself depending on that person for your happiness, self-worth, and security then that person is an idol. When that person is the most important thing in your life and you put that person ahead of your relationship with Christ. Joseph was that for me. He was the most important thing in my life. Now that he is gone, I have fully realized that he is not the end-all, be-all in this life. This world is but temporary. Reading through Romans for Tuesday's Bible Study, where the gospel is just in your face, I was really struck with that I could have nothing in this lifetime and it wouldn't matter. The free gift of salvation offered through Christ is worth anything I could ever gain on this earth. Paul had it right in his letter to the Philippians: Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ - Philippians 3:7-9. Every day I just fall more in more in love with God. I learn new things every single day about just how awesome God really is. James wrote: Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. - James 1:2-4 Granted, if it was up to me, I would never face any trials in this life. Who wouldn't avoid heartache and pain if they could? All I know to do is have faith in the One who is faithful. Rejoice in the hope that we can be heirs to the Kingdom of God.

Right now I feel like David. My problems go from bad to worse. I miss my quiet, simple life. I came across Psalm 25 the other night and it completely spoke to my heart. I can't escape my problems. I can't escape from what is happening in my life. The wheels have been set into motion and unfortunately, I have been thrust in the middle of what just feels like a nightmare. I just keep praying that God will work everything out for the good. That this is all part of His plan. So I will leave you with this psalm written by David that is titled Teach Me Your Paths in my Bible. It has been my plea this week.

1To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul.
2O my God, in you I trust;
let me not be put to shame;
let not my enemies exult over me.
3Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame;
they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.

4 Make me to know your ways, O LORD;
teach me your paths.
5Lead me in your truth and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all the day long.

6Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.
7Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
according to your steadfast love remember me,
for the sake of your goodness, O LORD!

8 Good and upright is the LORD;
therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
9He leads the humble in what is right,
and teaches the humble his way.
10All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness,
for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

11For your name’s sake, O LORD,
pardon my guilt, for it is great.
12Who is the man who fears the LORD?
Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose.
13His soul shall abide in well-being,
and his offspring shall inherit the land.
14 The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him,
and he makes known to them his covenant.
15My eyes are ever toward the LORD,
for he will pluck my feet out of the net.

16 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.
17The troubles of my heart are enlarged;
bring me out of my distresses.
18 Consider my affliction and my trouble,
and forgive all my sins.

19Consider how many are my foes,
and with what violent hatred they hate me.
20Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me!
Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.
21May integrity and uprightness preserve me,
for I wait for you.

22 Redeem Israel, O God,
out of all his troubles.

Swamp People

We might not have been hunting gators, but there was probably a "choot 'em" yelled out at some point this weekend. Saturday, my brother Brad and I took a little trip down to the swamp to ride around and enjoy the outdoors. Bless his heart. He was at my picture taking mercy, kinda like Heath was a few weeks ago. Yeah, don't invite me to come with you if there is a camera in my hand. You WILL be my subject!

After we got all our (umm..I mean my) stuff loaded up we hit the road and went to go see what trouble we could get into.

First stop we made was to the big river (the Apalachicola River to non-Calhoun County natives) for Brad to show me where all the Purvis men had camped out the weekend before. Yes, my father has found a new place to hang out, and that is the sandbar. Wow. Never thought I would see the day!

Yes ladies and gentlemen, that is "the spot." They tried to get me to go with them camping, but the last time I camped out on the sandbar with a group of friends, we all pretty much wanted to leave our crap and never go back again. Ha! I did have to take a picture of my father's redneck live well. Evidently, he and my two cousins like to catfish at night and they put the poor fish in this "live well" until they have a mess of fish to cook.

How do you like them apples? Pretty high-tech if you ask me. When I saw it I had a flashback to a Friends episode where they are at the beach and Joey digs a big hole. "I was in my hole..." Yeah, I'm a Friends nerd. Don't hate. After our journey to the sandbar, we got back in the woods and tried to find some hogs to stalk. At first all I thought we would see was this poor guy. I stopped to take a few pictures of a slough and saw a really cool looking cypress stump. See if you can see the picture crasher.

See him?

Didn't know when you read my blog that you would get to see random dead animals hanging out, did you? We ran a few hogs out of the woods with the four wheeler and decided to get off and follow them. I think Brad just really wanted to shoot something. So we got to walking. Brad made fun of my shoes.

Pretty, huh? I couldn't find my hunting boots in the mountain of boxes at mom's, but I did find a pair of old Uggs, so I put those on. Plus it was a little chilly, so I wanted my feet nice and warm. Brad said I looked like Pocahontas and that I should be running around the forest in deer skin with my hair in braids. Pure hateful. Back to our search for innocent animals to harass...

Here is Brad in his super stealth hunting mode:

Such concentration. And you're digging his denim on denim outfit, right? After our mad forest walking skills paid off, we finally found our hogs. I just prayed that the big boar wouldn't chase me up a tree :-)

You can't really see them that good in the pictures. I really needed my zoom lens to get a good shot of them. Oh, well. We did get to watch a cute little piglet scratch his booty on a log. It was quite comical. After I scared them away trying to get closer to take a picture, we decided to head back to the four-wheeler. It was getting close to game time for the Florida/Georgia game (yeah, we should have stayed in the woods for that goat ropin). We saw a few deer on the way back.

The deer is in the middle of the trees if you can see... sorry! I had a better sighting of a deer out the back door of my parents' house!

Really, the only critter I came into close contact was this little guy.

That's Waldo. Can you find him? He scared the crap out of me while I was crouched down watching the deer. I HATE spiders and he about gave me a heart attack crawling across my boot.

After our 10 mile hike back to the four-wheeler we headed out. I got to do my best realtor impression when we went by my friend, John David's house boat.

The poor house boat is sad. Sad, I tell you. I posted this picture on Facebook to mess with John David and his wife, Stacy. I posted it for sale, and I actually had a girl ask me about it!! Ha! Maybe I should take advantage of all those real estate classes I took in college and get my license :-) Highly doubtful...

That's about it for our sibling bonding time. We had a nice morning just riding around. Good times. It reminded me of all the Sunday afternoons when a big group of us would get together and ride four wheelers in the swamp back when we were all in college. Made me miss those days and seeing all my buddies on a regular basis. Maybe at Thanksgiving when everyone is home we can make that get together a reality. Home really is where the heart is. I grew up in those woods, doing just what Brad and I did this weekend. It really refreshes the soul, just being out in God's creation with one of your best friends, who happens to be your brother.