Look at Me!

My family has been on one wild ride. I don't always cover all the details of life on here, but wow, we've been on a wild ride.  And this coaster has barely pulled away from the dock - we got a ways to go.

But, as I crawled in bed last night with my heart heavy and sad, I opened up this Bible verse journal that my penpal friend in Louisiana sent to me ages ago.  It is a smallish 4 x 6 journal, burgundy and black, with Rejoice on the front.  For a long time, I added Bible verses and quotes that touched me and I carried it in my purse.  As my purse become more and more heavy, I cleaned out, including taking my little journal out.

Just this week I ran across it and thought - I really need to keep that handy.  But of course, I kept going on and didn't actually pick it up and put it somewhere more accessible.

Last night, as my heart hurt and I just needed some encouragement, I thought about my little journal with all those Bible verses inside.  I got it and crawled back in bed.  I opened it up and this is what I found:

But the Lord stood with me 

and gave me strength. 

                          2 Timothy 4:17

So always trust the Lord

because He is forever 

our mighty rock. 

                      Isaiah 26: 4

It was like he smacked me in the head and said - BETH.  Listen to Me.  Look at Me.  I'm patiently waiting for you to simply ask Me for what you need. I am your ROCK and I'll give you the strength to get through this, you just need to ask. 

It reminded me of last Sunday when I went to pick up Macy from Children's Church.  She was out of the classroom (why, I don't know, but that's another issue) and was walking in the crowded hallway.  Being so short, all she could see were legs, legs, and legs.  I see her clearly and am just about to touch her when she stops in the hall and starts crying because she can't find her MawMaw.  I touched her and called her name, but she was too lost in her own fears at that moment and couldn't look up to see her Aunt Beth.  I called her and talked to her, and finally put my hands on both sides of her cheeks and crouched down to her level saying, "LOOK AT ME!"  And it was then that she finally saw me.  I still wasn't MawMaw, but that's another story, too (haha). 

That little book shows up so many times when I need it.  It's God's way of crouching down and grabbing me by the face and saying, "Look at Me!!"  :)

Meep.

It's FRIDAY! I want to spin around in an amazingly green field like Julie Andrews in The Sound Of Music! But I want a better dress.

Ya'll I can't tell you how happppy I am that today is FRIDAY.  I'm not sure why, but yes, I'm so very happy about it.  My weekend is looking a little corn-y as the corn at Mom and Dad's house has come in.  We are doing an assembly line of shucking, silking, blanching, cutting and stuffing into bags.  Dad worked hard in this drought to keep the water on this crop, so I'm glad he's seeing a reward.

We celebrated my brother's 44th birthday last week.  All the family on our hill pitched in and got him a charcoal grill, which he was very excited about.  I give him mucho credit - he is an awesome chef. Seriously.  

Katie and I took Macy to Lunar Golf - basically putt putt under black lights - because when it's 99 degrees outside, you just can't do much in the way of playing outdoors and this kid has ENERGY.  Our concerns of her being afraid of the dark room proved to be needless as she ran allllll over the place, enjoying all the glowing things.  And enjoying running in general. So glad there weren't many people there.  

There's our two space aliens.  Macy did NOT want to be the green alien at all.  That crazy yellow hair kinda looks like her bedhead in the morning. HAHAHA

When I was invited to come play - and enjoy homemade tacos - I couldn't possible resist the drive to Gaffney! :)  Especially since Donna had just gotten home from her vacation in Washington State and Canada.  Looked so beautiful!  I'm envious. Ellie is a sweetheart and Daisy had to smile for us, too!

 And now, enjoy some random photos I haven't posted for ya'll yet.  Macy after church - just thought these bright colors were so cute on her. :)

 The new puppy at my sister's house.  Macy named it Sparkles but somehow it was changed to Daisy.  So yes, another Daisy pup in my life.

 The sweet nieces enjoying Dunkin' Donuts I surprised everyone with this week. I had a doctor's appointment and knew everyone had be working on corn.  I figured they needed a break and a happy snack.  It worked - they were very happy.

Yes, I have become the Crazy Cat Lady in the neighborhood.  In addition to the stray mama cat that I took in and she immediately became pregnant (and may be again?) - three of her four kittens are still with me.  Now this dude just shows up like he owns the place.  Add another huge orange cat that I see slinking around from time to time.  Like I said, the Crazy Cat Lady.

So someone asked how the doctor's appointment went.  Welll..... Not that you want THIS much detail, but I have been diagnosed with IBS. This isn't new, but I hadn't had a flare up since this time last year.  Over the fourth of July I had a rough go of it, didn't eat for two days, felt so nauseous, was just sick with pains moving all over my abdomen.  It wasn't a lot of fun.  I called my gastro doc to see if I could see him but he was on call at the hospital. And no, they wouldn't let me see another doctor.  If I wanted to see him, I would have to go to the ER.  I did that and still didn't get to see him. But I did have a CT scan and blood work that showed nothing was wrong. That's the deal with IBS.  You hurt for no reason, really. So, I had prayed they would find out what is wrong with me and I suppose they did! There is no "cure" just endurance when you get a flare up. SUCKS.

What else is happening in my world? I do need some prayers for my family.  My brother-in-law had a huge back surgery fusion in Dec 2014.  They told him last week is has to be completely undone and redone - major pain.  MAJOR pain. It was such a long surgery before and so incredibly painful. I hate feeling helpless and we all felt so helpless to make a difference for him.  We are all so upset it has to be repeated, so please pray for the doctors, for him and that he will heal properly this time.

My Dad will be having a stress test next week leading up to his knee surgery.  Once he passes the stress test, we'll be on go for the knee surgery, which he really needs.  He is also in a good bit of pain and it's been tough on him to not be able to go go go.  So please pray his stress test goes well, too!

I know, it seems like all this bad news! But we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. I try to remember this - ya'll help me remember. Keep telling me, ok?

Ok, thanks for joining in my read-a-long here. :) It's a joy to have ya'll visit. Hope you have a great weekend! *hugs* friends!

Good Morning, Sunshines!

I've written several posts - never posted them.  I'm not sure why I'm losing interest in blogging because I do really enjoy it.  Whatever the reason, I'll try to do better but know better than to make any promises. :)

I did start a blog post about Charleston. Being a Sandlapper (native SC gal) and loving this city so very much... my heart was broken and hurting so bad over the shooting in the church.  So many levels it just ripped me up.  So thankful for the love these families showed to the world.  So much to learn from their forgiveness.  Like I said, I wanted to write but honestly didn't have the words to say. Just please pray for these families and for our country in general.

So I shared the beach pics and Macy's Hello Kitty pics in my last post.  She did have an actual party that we had to move last minute due to the incredible heat wave that hit the South.  It just wasn't possible to have these kids sweltering outside in the heat, so we called a local church and moved it indoors.  So thankful, it would have been miserable otherwise.

Rainbow theme!  So glad we had streamers to make it more festive. 

We found Pin the Tail on the Donkey! The kids did surprisingly well!

She didn't know what to do with all the attention on her while we sang Happy Birthday to her! 

Macy and her cousin, Chloe, playing with party blowers. 

Presents! We are so proud of how she shared and let others play with her gifts.
She's grown so much from last year where no one could touch her stuff. Thank goodness!

Anything else interesting I can share with you? Hm... let's see. Let's go to my photos and see what else we've been up to lately... Fourth of July! I don't have a lot of pics but a few.

Cousins Meghan, Rylan, Emmett and Wade with Macy

Macy was so happy to have a playmate!

Cousin Hugs!

Watermelon.  This child loves watermelon!

Fireworks. The only halfway decent pic I got. Macy fell in love with fireworks and sparklers. 

Ok, so there are the pics I can share with you.  Otherwise, I have a favor to ask.  I'm getting back into the same boat I was in this time last year with abdominal pains for no apparent reason.  It's pretty much a constant ache with more intense aches at night.  Lots of fun, let me tell you.  I've tried to get in to see my doctor earlier, but no dice.  So can you say a prayer that God would direct the doctors to the problem and provide them with a solution? I do appreciate it.

This is a verse that hit me yesterday:

Be cheerful no matter what; thank God no matter what happens.  This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.  1 Thes 16-18

So... that is what I'm trying to do.  Be thankful even in the discomfort because for some reason, this is God's plan for me.  I don't know what the reason is right now, but I'm trying my best to put it in His hands and have faith.

So there is my life in a nutshell.   :)  And maybe I'll do better at this blog thing. :)