An Award and Our Trip to Gatlinburg!

Let me begin today by saying that I'm probably the worst person I know about posting awards that I have been blessed with!!! It's not that I don't appreciate them....as a matter of fact, I'm very humbled by them..but my mind is always going in thirty different directions and I always think about them when I'm not at the computer posting.

My sweet, sweet, patient, encouraging friend Kristen over at Hands, House, and Heart Full gave me this award last Thursday!! It's the "Honest Scrap" award.

I am suppose to list 10 secrets about myself and then pass it on.

Well, now that's something I need to focus on and so......I'll do this post on Thursday and pass it on as well.


Now to tell some more about our trip to Gatlinburg......

We actually stayed in Pigeon Forge. There is a hotel there that has unbelievable rates, is clean (this is HUGE to me!!!) and the staff is always friendly and eager to help! The two night stay only cost $78!! Our room had a balcony over the river which just delighted my sweet Momma.

Momma is a smoker--which I lovingly gripe about regularly--and I have a daughter with a heart condition, so the balcony (which I forgot to ask for when I registered---thank You God for taking care of things!!) was a total blessing. The blessing for me, was hearing Momma squeal when she was able to stand out there and watch ducks and Canadian geese coming and going!

Understand, this is only the second trip that Momma has ever taken other than trips back and forth to West Virginia when her parents were alive. This is the first girl's trip she's ever had and she fully enjoyed it!!

That first night we just did some shopping in Pigeon Forge. Now, bear in mind we had a 19 year old female with us, so the outlet mall was a must! Momma was so cute!! Even in stores like Old Navy and Pac Sun, where she had no interest at all, she could be found looking at and touching the clothes.....then shaking her head at the prices. We went into a kitchen gadget store and, like me, she couldn't help but look at everything!!

A drive through town looking at the lights that were still up from Christmas and a meal at KFC found us heading back to the room for some rest.

I couldn't help but get tickled as Momma got out of the shower, put her pj's on and stretched out on the bed like a teenager. She didn't care what was on tv, she just enjoyed that it was 'girl' stuff.

The next day found us in Gatlinburg on the tram. Now, DD doesn't do heights and gets motion sick, Momma doesn't do heights. But the only other option to Ober Gatlinburg was driving up and DD would never have made it, even with her Ginger Root!!! So up, up we went. Momma actually did quite well, although DD was hanging on for dear life...white knuckles and all!!

At the top we watched those that were snow tubing and the skiers as well as the ice skaters.




We also went to the wildlife habitat and watched the otters being fed and was blessed to actually see a bear! They are suppose to be hibernating right now, and we were warned that we probably wouldn't see one, but I think that seeing that bear was God's way of giving Momma a blessing.



Back down in Gatlinburg, we settled in for a day of shopping. Momma just couldn't seem to take in all the different shops and what they had to offer. We went in store after store and she seemed to pick up some kind of trinket in every store she went in. She even got tickled at her own self, but said that she didn't know when she'd get this kind of chance again and so she was going to make the most of it.

We decided to eat at Cracker Barrel that night. Now, that may not seem like a big deal to you, but to my Momma, it was huge. You see, I didn't learn until just a few days before our trip that she had never been inside a Cracker Barrel!!! Well, being a dumb daughter, the first thing out of my mouth was, "You're kidding!!" But she was serious.

So, into Cracker Barrel we went. We hadn't ate since breakfast and DD and I were pretty hungry. Momma just couldn't quit looking and shopping and DD and I just let her enjoy. It was such a blessing to watch her eyes and see her smile. An hour or so later she was ready to eat and we enjoyed some of the best home cooking!! I love eating at Cracker Barrel, especially when you're traveling. There is only so much fast food you can stomach before your tummy wants the real deal!

All too soon Wednesday came and time to head home. We made one last drive through Pigeon Forge stopping at a few shops we hadn't had a chance to before and then began our trip home.

God blessed us with health and safety and more wonderful memories than I could have ever imagined. I told DH later that night as we lay in bed that he couldn't have given me anything more precious for Christmas.....watching my Momma relax, smile, laugh and have fun...

TRYING to Leave for Gatlinburg..

It really amazes me how long it takes you to catch up even after a small trip away!! To be honest, I'm still not caught up, but I did want to begin to share just a couple of blessings that I was able to enjoy on our trip to Gatlinburg last week.

I must begin with what happened the night before.

Packed and ready to go, we all settled into bed for a good night's sleep....well, DH and I settled into bed. DD was still doing a bit of packing and DS was on the phone with his girlfriend. Since they're older, we don't enforce a strict bedtime, but we do insist they get up on time with a smile on their face each morning. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 1:15 AM, I hear a noise from the kids end of the house. It was one of those noises that any Mom can recognize and causes her feet to hit the floor running and she finds herself in action before she finds herself awake.

I found DS on the toilet hugging a trash can, violently giving back everything he'd eaten a few hours earlier. He wasn't sick at all when we laid down, so I just figured he'd had a few too many spicy Cheetos.

Twenty minutes later, he was lying back down and I was praying that this was the only event for the night.

Not to be.

A little over an hour later, I found myself doing the Sleepy Mom Run again through the house. I found DS in the same position, only this time he wasn't as able to refund as much as before.

Wipe his face. Hand him some tissue. Give him a sip of water---"NO! Don't guzzle, just a sip!!"--and go with him back to bed.

By now, I'm thinking we've invited a stomach bug to visit.

It's now about 2:30 in the morning and all I can do is fight with the fact that in 3½ hours I'm suppose to be leaving on a girl's trip and the fact that my baby is throwing up his toenails. I tell DH that I don't think I can leave and he informs me that he will shove me in the car in my pj's.

He tells me he'll call into work (which is TERRIBLY difficult for him to do since he's in a supervisory position) and stay home with DS. Now I feel guilty that he's got to call in and that I'm leaving a sick child......

6 AM, time to leave and Mom still hasn't arrived. DS hasn't thrown up anymore, but right at that moment, I'm feeling pretty nauseous myself. Oh no.......

Mom gets to my house but there is no way we can leave. DS has just thrown up again and the fog is so heavy that you literally can't see the hood of the car from the windshield.

Ohhhhh satan.....I AM NOT IMPRESSED!!!!

7 AM and we are finally on the road...and yes, DH did practically have to shove me out the door.

The fog was still terrible and the first hour of driving didn't involve much laughter and conversation as I was still feeling nauseous and trying to keep the car in the road!!

Finally we decide to stop and get some breakfast. I'm thinking that maybe I just need to get some food in my tummy. I manage to keep a biscuit down and we're off again.

We are blessed with a beautiful drive after the fog lifted. DH kept me updated that DS only threw up one more time and was feeling better as the day went on.

By the time we got into Gatlinburg, I was feeling better and was glad that I hadn't allowed satan to ruin this wonderful gift my DH had given me.

Since this is pretty long already and I don't want to keep you tied to your computer, I'll share more tomorrow.......

Worship Him

"May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you His favor and give you His peace."
Numbers 6: 24-26, NLT

Studying...Created to be His Help Meet

We are studying the book by Debi Pearl, Created to be His Help Meet. Through our study of this book, we are going to learn what it means to be a help meet and actually living the role that God created us as women to fill. I've read this book once before and applied many of the things that Mrs. Pearl spoke of, and it has transformed an already good marriage into nothing short of awesome!! I encourage you to purchase this book and follow along or at the very least, check out the Pearl's website at http://www.nogreaterjoy.org/
Any text taken directly from Mrs. Pearl's book will be highlighted in blue.

I realize that in studying Created to be His Help Meet at the rate of one chapter per week, we will be doing this study for approximately 24 weeks. We could go at this at a much faster rate, but I believe that if we truly want to change and fill our God given rolls as help meet to our husbands, then we need to take things slower and put into practice what we are learning. I hope you agree and stay the course with me as we become better help meets together.

Part 2: Titus 2

Chapter 16: To Love Their Husbands

Today's topic covers a subject that may be uncomfortable to many women. I tried very hard to address this in a polite manner. It is not my intent to offend, only share.

I found myself asking what does loving my husband mean to me?

For me, it means making sure his needs are met. This covers everything from meals on time, clean uniforms, a clean, organized house, well behaved kids when he gets home from work and intimate time frequently.

In this chapter, Mrs. Pearl addresses this very issue..intimate time with our husbands.

She shares with us from Ephesians 5:31,

"As the Scriptures say, 'A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.' " NLT

United into one. This is only going to come from being intimate with your husband.

I'm sure you've noticed in your own marriages that when your husband is satisfied sexually, things just seem to be....better.

For men, sex is a great stress reliever and it is also one of the ways that they show their wives they love them. Maybe it's the most important way because a husband who has been refused by his wife time and time again, begins to believe that he's not man enough to keep her satisfied.

Satan will begin to feed him lies that if she's not making love to him, she's got to be "giving in" to someone else--even if this isn't true.

As a woman and wife, it sometimes seems that sex is the cure-all for everything where a man is concerned. What I've learned through Mrs. Pearl's book, is that I'm not too far off course.

A man who truly loves his wife knows that after a terribly stressful day at work, the intimacy with his wife will not only relieve his stress, but it will also remind him that everything he is dealing with is so worth it for this woman who only desires to please him.

Husbands also know when their wives aren't "there" 100%. They know when they are getting a half-hearted effort from their wives. This may be okay for a short time, but there will come a moment when half their wife isn't enough.

Most godly husbands are loving and considerate enough to know when their wife is exhausted because she's had one child running a fever, one child throwing up and two more running wild because Mom hasn't been able to give them her full attention. He loves her enough to lay down with her at night and just hold her while she falls asleep. But he is also wise enough to know when she is just making an excuse every night of the week.

Mrs. Pearl encourages wives to view sex as a ministry to their husbands. I had never thought of sex as a ministry. She asks us to think of the times that we've ministered to others--by making meals, watching children or whatever. We come away so totally blessed because we tried to bless someone.

Then she asks us to look at blessing our husbands intimately the same way. By taking the initiative to minister--to set the mood, do something out of the ordinary--we will find that we, as wives, will come away from that private time just as satisfied as our man--maybe more so.
Our challenge for this week is to make personal plans on how we are going to love our husbands. She suggests doing something that we don't normally do or have never done before. She also encourages us to read the Song of Solomon this week.

*** There is an exception to this rule of being intimate with our husbands---sexual perversion. On page 174, Mrs. Pearl tells us that there are certain acts that are wrong and not natural for our bodies. She quotes Romans 1:26-28 as our guideline for this. If you would like to discuss this area a little further, please e-mail me and I would be glad to share what she's written with you.

Next week: To Love Their Children

Safely Home & At The Well

Well my friends...we've made it back safe and sound from Gatlinburg and we had a fantastic time!!

I will never be able to fully express to my DH what this trip meant to not only me and DD, but to my Mom as well...watching her and getting to share this with her was probably the best part of the trip.

I'll get a post up soon with a pic or two to share, but for now...I'm trying to get back into the routine here at home.

Meanwhile, I'm guesting over At The Well today. Drop by and say Hi!!!

I Choose.....

I received this in an e-mail some time back. I loved it so much and truly desire to live this way. May it speak to your heart as well......

It’s quiet. It’s early. My coffee is hot. The sky is still black. The world is still asleep. The day is coming. In a few moments the day will arrive. It will roar down the track with the rising of the sun. The stillness of the dawn will be exchanged for the noise of the day. The calm of solitude will be invaded by decisions to be made and deadlines to be met. For the next twelve hours I will be exposed to the day’s demands. It is now that I must make a choice. Because of Calvary, I’m free to choose. And so I choose......

I CHOOSE LOVE...No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love. Today I will love God and what God loves.

I CHOOSE JOY...I will invite my God to be the God of circumstances. I will refuse the temptation to be cynical...the tool of the lazy thinker. I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God.

I CHOOSE PEACE...I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may live.

I CHOOSE PATIENCE .....I will overlook the inconveniences of the world. Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I’ll invite him to do so. Rather than complain that the wait is too long, I will thank God for a moment to pray. Instead of clenching my fist at new assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.

I CHOOSE KINDNESS...I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. Kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.

I CHOOSE GOODNESS...I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one. I will be overlooked before I will boast. I will confess before I will accuse.

I CHOOSE FAITHFULNESS...Today I will keep my promises. My debtors will not regret their trust. My associates will not question my word. My wife will not question my love. And my children will never fear that their father will not come home.

I CHOOSE GENTLENESS...Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice may it be only in praise. If I clench my fist, may it be only in prayer. If I make a demand, may it be only of myself.

I CHOOSE SELF-CONTROL...I am a spiritual being. After this body is dead, my spirit will soar. I refuse to let what will not, rule the eternal. I will be drunk only by joy. I will be impassioned only by my faith. I will be influenced only by God. I will be taught only by Christ.

LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS AND SELF CONTROL Gal.5:22,23

To these I commit my day. If I succeed, I will give thanks. If I fail, I will seek His grace. And then, when this day is done, I will place my head on my pillow and rest with the peace that passes all understanding.

-- Author Unknown