Animal Rescue

Sunday before we left the beach, I took a good long walk on the beach by myself. I was just walking, enjoying the scenery. Even watching that bird above. After the thunderstorm on Saturday morning, there was some trash that had washed up on the beach. This piece of trash caught my eye.

Other than being a milk jug that someone should have thrown away, something else was odd about this.

Notice anything about the picture?

How about now? Yep!! There was a tiny little fish that had gotten stuck in the jug, then washed up on the shore. So of course, I had to rescue the poor little guy, who I affectionately named Nemo. I picked up the jug and just poured the water out on the beach.

See poor Nemo on the sand? Bless his heart. Then the waves knocked him a little farther up the beach.

Finally, I got Nemo where he needed to be and watched him swim away.

Bye, Nemo! Glad I could help the little thing  and get him back to his fish family. :-)

Some Beach, Some Where

I think I will let the pictures speak for themselves on this post. We spent a lot of time fishing, scalloping, and just chilling at the beach.

B-Rad showing us how its done...that is before 3 sharks ate his fish.

Good start scalloping. We ended up with a full bucket after getting on a good spot.

The smallest starfish I have ever seen. It was so cute!

The thunderstorm that thwarted a morning fishing trip

Can't beat the beauty of God's creation. The view alone was worth having to sleep in a pop-up!

Saddle Up, Partner

This past weekend, I went on quite the adventure. I took a little "pony" ride to the state park on Cape San Blas. There are two things you should know about me: 1)I don't like camping 2) I don't do community bathrooms. And I did both last weekend.

Umm...yeah. Negative, ghostrider.

Me, Stacey, and Brad ended up staying in the Pony pop-up camper while everyone else stayed in the bigger camper. It was an adventure to say the least. Here are our accommodations:

Looks cozy, right? Ha ha. I do believe I packed enough for 3 weeks, not 3 days. But that's how I roll...literally. Here is Brad diligently setting up the camper at about 10 pm. We got a slight late start Friday night.

He got it up quick. All in about 20 minutes or so. I did a fabulous job of supervising. The other camper was a bit larger.

I may have been a bit unhappy about being drug off to go camping. I was a real unhappy camper for a bit. But I got over it. I honestly can say I did have a good time, even if I was "roughing it" and we all had a good time. Although I had to listen to Brad sing "Pony" by Genuine all weekend (the camper's name was pony, btw). I even learned to ride a bike. I do believe that I'm ready for the training wheels to come off.

Yeah, it might be a bit small. And my three-year-old nephew might have been slightly upset that I was riding his bike. But he got over it.

The beach was gorgeous and I am so lucky to have grown up in the great state of Florida and be spoiled by the beautiful unforgotten coast. Only here can you find natural beaches with grapes growing right off the beach!

Stay tuned for our other adventures...

Happy 4th!

Just a little something funny to get us into the weekend. If only our forefathers could imagine how the people that hold office today behave, they would flip out. But at the same time, I love this country and wouldn't want to live anywhere else! I am off of work for four days. I will post about my weekend on Monday. Happy 4th of July everyone!!

Be Kinder than Necessary

I recently posted this quote on my Facebook page: "Be kinder than necessary, everyone you know is fighting some kind of battle." I like this saying because it is so very true. You never know what someone is dealing with. It just got me thinking about how if I truly lived by this motto, how different I would interact with people. Instead of getting aggravated at a rude drive thru window cashier, I should always remember that I never know what she is going through at home and the circumstances she has to deal with on a daily basis. Instead of getting mad, I should pray for these people who make me mad or get on my nerves. More importantly, I should ask these people who seem to be having a bad day, if they are ok and if I can pray for them. Sometimes people just need to feel like someone cares to help give them the strength to carry on and lift their spirits.

A friend of mine revealed to me yesterday after me telling her what was going on with me and Joseph about how she was having to deal with the infidelity of her husband. I was shocked and heartbroken for her. On the outside, everything seems just perfect. It seemed like they were living the American dream: three kids, nice house, etc. but things aren't as perfect as they appear. I would have never guess that she was going through all that, in the same way, many people I see on a daily basis don't know what I am going through. But through the two of us sharing our heartaches and pains, I realized that there are people out there who genuinely care. People who are empathetic and truly want to help and be there for you. People who will pray with you and for you. People who will just listen. People who understand. If we take the time to actually see people and look beyond the mask they wear, we are all fighting something. Our problems may be different, but they are troubles just the same. And it is amazing what just a few words of encouragement can do for people who are struggling. Pray without ceasing. Always be an encouragement. Just simply love one another.

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. ~ James 5:16

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Called Out

I love reading the Called Out series of guest bloggers on the Preacher's Wife blog. I saw this particular post and thought I would just pass it along. I think it is a beautiful message about God and how He works.


Called Out: Behind the Scenes of Silence

via The Preacher's Wife by RachelH on 5/26/11

Behind the Scenes of Silence

By Jennifer Walker

Wherever we are…
Here we are, at this very moment…
On this specific day, in this exact place…
During this particular season of life, we must rest in this truth:

God knows, God remembers, God ordains and God orchestrates the milliseconds of our moments.
I was thinking about Zachariah and Elizabeth (Luke 1) today: the YEARS they served the Lord and walked righteously before Him, the YEARS they had prayed for a child, the 400 YEARS of silence from the Lord to His chosen people who for centuries were awaiting the promised Messiah, and that very moment on that specific day in that exact place during that particular season of life when humanly speaking, hope was gone.
God had woven every detail of their lives to bring them to that very day when the 400 years of silence was broken and Zachariah (whose name means “God remembers”) was told that God had heard his prayers. They would have a son and their son would prepare the way for the Savior of the World!

God’s timing was perfect.

Who but God knows what would have been different had Zachariah and Elizabeth had a child earlier. Who but God knows what would have changed had Zachariah been chosen years earlier to serve in the temple. The outcome would have been the same, but the story would have been different.
Aside from their trust in God, Zachariah and Elizabeth had no idea that the “years of silence” were not dormant. God was working behind the scenes, building, preparing, and making the way for His answer to their immediate prayers for a son, and their lifelong prayers for a Savior.
In that period of silence, God was setting the stage for Jesus, who would save us all from our sins and give to each of us real life. Our lives are changed and blessed because of the work God was doing in the “years of silence.”
This is a beautiful truth to me today. Right where we are at this very moment, on this specific day, in this exact place, during this particular season of life, God is not dormant. He is working, building, preparing, and making the way for His answer to our immediate prayers and to our lifelong ones.
In this period of “silence” God is working behind the scenes, setting the stage for Jesus, who will make Himself known and glorified as He changes and blesses our lives and the lives of others, through the work He is doing this very moment – that might seem silent to us.
The same is true for you today. Wherever you are, here you are, at this very moment, on this specific day, in this exact place, during this particular season of your life… God knows, God remembers, God ordains and God orchestrates the milliseconds of your moments.
And God is working, building, preparing, and making the way for His answer to your immediate prayers and to your lifelong ones. He is stetting the stage for Jesus, who will Glorify Himself and bless you and those around you through the work He is doing this very moment, even if it seems like a lot of silence to you.
May the Lord bless you and strengthen you in your times of “silence” my friends. Because one of these days, the curtain will rise, the silence will be broken and you and I will have some awesome stories to tell of all of God’s works. He will be honored by us and honored through our testimonies.

Hang in and hang on… God is working behind the scenes of silence!

“But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord God and made Him my refuge, that I may tell of all Your works.” Psalm 73:28

Jennifer is a Full-time Christ Follower, Minister’s Wife, Mom, Daughter, Sister, Homemaker, Bible student/teacher, Speaker, Writer, Blogger, Math tutor, Coffee drinker, and Truster of the Lord who has recently relocated from Nashville to the MS Delta. You can visit with Jennifer on her blog Smelling Coffee, where she shares “Faith, Family, Food, Fun, Life, Love and Living it all through Jesus Christ” and connect with her at SmellingCoffee on Twitter.

I'm turning off of real-life drive...

...I'm hittin' easy street on mud tires. I just got back from another whirlwind weekend over to the Hill. That four hour drive gets old, but its well worth it to see my family and friends. I wasn't planning on going over there, but somehow between ten phone calls and a gazillion text messages, I was convinced to come. What I will do for my friends! Plus, Stacey was there for her 10 year class reunion, so I had extra reason to drive over there. Although, Stacey was being shady per usual. (kidding, Stace!) This weekend was pretty low-key though. I have to say, I love me some Heath. He is super sweet to let me crash at his house every weekend and follow him around all day. But I love hanging out with old Heathie. Made me feel like I was about 17 again. Probably because of this: 

It had been a while since I have sat on a truck tailgate out at a cotton field just hanging out. Well, Preston and I hung out while Heath worked. Guess Heath had to do something productive on Saturday and since he was a slacker that morning, he had to work that evening. So we had to wait for him to get finished so we could meet some folks for dinner. I had forgotten how much fun it is just to sit on a farm watching the tractor make its rounds. Good times. And something else to bring me back to my younger days...riding dirt roads surrounded by peanut and cotton fields listening to some good music. Too bad I forgot my cowboy boots. :) Never a bad thing to get back to your roots and just enjoy being around good, down to earth people. It doesn't matter how long its been since you've seen them, you pick right up where you left off. Those are good friends. I'm thinking I've been a city girl for too long. You can take the girl off the farm, but you can't take the farm out of the girl.

Not with a view like that, anyways!