Sometimes you just do the right thing

What is the right thing to do? The right thing may not be what WE would have thought of if we were making a list. It may even cost us something that we, in our own flesh, may not want to give up.

Sometimes the right thing hurts and it hurts a lot. But sometimes the right thing feels really really good. At times it seems pretty clear and other times it seems a little murky.

Often the right thing stands out boldly in the crowd, but there are times when the right thing just stays quietly among friends.

Sometimes we get to decide the right thing on our own and at other times we need the support of a loved one. And, what is really cool is when you and your loved one have the EXACT same "right thing to do" laid on your heart at the EXACT same time.

The still small voice

Today I had a disagreement with a dear friend. A friend I hold in the highest of regards. And honestly, I don't think that friend even knew we had a disagreement and I am pretty sure he didn't know that he had kinda hurt my feelings.

So, I did what any "girl" would do......I pouted a bit and decided that I was just going to be mad, hurt and sulk a bit more. I replayed the conversation over and over in my head trying to figure out why my friend would say something like he said. I think I even went on to draw conclusions about other areas that had nothing to do with our conversation and then I got even madder. =(

Luckily I sat down long enough this evening to take a minute and reflect on the conversation that I had had with my friend. And I heard the whisper of a voice telling me to call that friend and set it right.

You see I value this friendship. A lot. And for many different reasons. And, luckily I was able to hear the voice tell me that correcting the disagreement was a lot more important than my stinkin pride.

So, even though I don't like confrontation, I called my friend and told him my feelings on the conversation. And, I was right, he didn't even know there was a disagreement. We actually talked it through and I figured out that one little piece of communication had gotten left out of our conversation and that this little link of information made the conversation take a whole new direction.

Boy, am I ever glad I listened to that voice. You see, Satan would have loved to have taken my "half truth" and used it against this friendship. He would have loved to have wreaked havoc all over the place with this. I shudder to think of the damage a crack like that could have caused over the course of time. I can see how out of control it could have all gotten, just because I (yes I) had missed ONE sentence in a conversation.

I am so thankful that God told me to lay down my pride, call my friend, become vulnerable to him by telling him he had hurt my feelings and then lovingly confront him with what I thought (emphasis on THOUGHT) he had done wrong. We worked through it and fixed it. Instead of a crack in our friendship, we have a stronger respect for each other. I think that is just amazing!

I am grateful for my friend. I am grateful for his heart. I am grateful that we can even agree to disagree on some things. But, I am most thankful that he was able to forgive my stupidity and allow me the gift of continued friendship.

And when I think about how easy it was to fix this misunderstanding, I start to wonder why we don't do this more often? But, yet that is another blog...it's late and I don't think I better try to tackle another issue tonight! =)

The Truth Project

Jay and I have been doing the Truth Project with a great group of men and women. I am enjoying this (what do we call it?????) "study" more than anything I have ever done before.

Part of the reason I think I am enjoying it is because it is all about TRUTH! My heart had been yearning for truth to prevail for a while. I have prayed for it and coveted it for close to 6 months now. And God has given me the desires of my heart by placing me in this group.

Here is what I have learned so far. God is God. The Bible is His Word. You believe it or you don't. There is NO IN BETWEEN.

So, even though I am guilty of sin (aren't we all), I am truly praying that in situations all around me God would just keep revealing truth to me. And that He would use me to show truth to other people.

Because, here is another truth, Jesus is coming back to take his reign one day. And I can't help but to think that Christians all over this world are praying for him to come sooner rather than later because this world is so screwed up that it isn't a place many of us are going to want to be in if things get much worse. And people are going to be so blinded by the lies and half truths that they are going to miss out on the chance to go to Heaven.

Preachy today? I guess so, but when I hear people complaining how bad their world is and I see the choices they make, I wonder what they think their consequences should be? If we continue, as a nation, to deny Christ, we ARE going to suffer consequences (bad economy, loss of jobs, stinky stock market, etc etc etc). It is yet, another TRUTH.

Teachers

After subbing for 2 days I am really tired. I come out of a substitute job and I often wonder how teachers (especially teachers who are moms) do it. I am sooooo tired! I am good for nothing. What is it with me that working job wipes me out? It's not like I sit around all day when I am at home and do nothing. I run errands, grocery shop, clean, do laundry....etc etc etc. But, throw me in the classroom for a day and I am zonked.

Is it the early mornings? Is it the non stop work of keeping up with kiddos? Is it that one tough kid that requires a bit of extra attention?

I have no idea really, it could be a combination of all of the above, but I know that I come out with a renewed sense of thankfulness and respect for teachers. They work really hard and they deserve kudos for the jobs they do.

Teachers ROCK!

Are you ready for some football?

And I am not talking the Superbowl.....I am talking about the Grace Fusion Bowl. Man oh man, it's getting tense around here. Actually, for me it gets funnier by the day. My dear husband is so psyched about this tournament that I can't help but to giggle out loud. Yesterday it was the talk of practice that got me giggling. Today it was the "borrowed" cleats.

He's been working with Dan on this for about a month now and the banter is heating up. "You are going down on Saturday!" "My team is getting that first round bye" "My team is going to WIN this!" And it's funny, every guy I hear says "my team is going to win!" Gotta give that self confidence some kuddos! What would my kids call this banter? Oh yeah, SMACK TALK!

So tomorrow's the big day, I can't wait to see all the action. Of course, I will be there cheering my man on, but I will be praying too, praying he doesn't get his silly self hurt in any way.

And after the game, the chili cook off! And here's a bit of a bunny trail, but I need to mention that I haven't heard the women smack talking the chili contest. Is it that I just haven't heard it or are women just "more polite"? Me, I'd go with more polite, but I am not a smack talker. I am more of the encourager "Oh, I am sure your chili is going to win because you are such a great cook!" LOL

When all is said and done, Coach Joe Mcbride will be a guest speaker to wrap up the evening. He will be talking about God and Football...imagine that they can go together! This house holds Coach Mcbride in very high regards. It is rare that a Coach not only talks the talk, but walks the walk. So, if you are a parent reading this and your child is going to be or is currently under Coach Mcbride's direction next year, you ought to come and hear this man speak. It will give you comfort to know your child is being mentored to by this man.

And speaking of child....did I mention my son is on this team too? My lightweight son is playing on a team with some pretty big guys. His daddy better not let him get hurt or Mama WILL be doing some smack talk around this house!

When all is said and done and the smack talk is put aside (I am assuming one day it WILL be put aside), this is going to be a great day of Christian fellowship and I do believe it will be a day that brings glory to God. And I am proud of Jay, Dan and the rest of the team for pulling it all together. Good job guys!

Lessons Learned

I am NOT one of those parents who thinks that her children are perfect. Don't get me wrong, I, like every other parent in this world, think I have the most terrific, awesome, wonderful kids ever. But, I do not delude myself into thinking they are perfect.

Well, imagine my surprise when I find that my terrific wonderful son has made a very poor error in judgement and has forgotten every Christian value ever taught to him and done something just plain STUPID. First of all, where in the world did that fabulous brain of his go? Second of all, where in the world did his heart go?

Well, lucky for him when I found the error in judgement he was at school. That gave his daddy and I time to recover from the shock and calm down enough to pray (and I mean pray) over how to handle the situation. Of course I gathered counseling from those I consider wise in the art of raising teenagers and by the time my kiddo came home, there was hope that he would live to see another day.

Over the course of the day, God revealed to me a few instances over the past week where Jayson had made really good choices and that I had actually noticed the choices (even though they were small ones) and even had praised Jayson on his choices because I was so proud of him. I was also reminded that no matter what Jayson had done, he has an amazing heart and that we all (me included) make poor choices every now and again. I even really started chuckling over the act of stupidity as I still couldn't figure out what had happened to his BRAIN. (A friend of mine told me that when they hit 13 they take their brain out and set it on a shelf and return to get it somewhere in their 20's! LOL, I believe it!)

Today my son had to rectify his mistake in a big way. It was painful for Jay and I as parents to have to watch him do it. But you know what, I believe that because of the humility he had to face today, he will be a better man for it one day. And most importantly, I think Jayson gets that too. He wasn't simply throwing out an "I'm sorry". We all could see his brokeness and his humility as he was getting ready to face the consequences of his actions. And I have to stop and think about how grateful I am for this learning opportunity for my son. Because if he were a perfect kid, where would he learn life lessons that would make him into a more GODLY man?

God teaches us lessons so that we can grow closer to him. And I think that through this mistake, 3 people in this house have had to draw close to Jesus and really REALLY pray for HIS guidance. And you know what...the person who was wronged....well, he saw Jesus in my son today too. He saw a child confess to a sin that this person may not even have found out about and then he heard him apologize for it. And I can't help but to think that this would be another time that God would take a difficult situation and turn it to His glory.

Am I thankful that my son was a butt head???? Well, yeah, I guess I kinda am.

Daddy's gifts

Over the summer I blogged about my friends giving me a beautiful gift for my birthday.
I am finally showing a picture of it.

This gift meant the world to me and it is one of my favorite all time gifts. It has a spot in my family room where everyone can see it and where I can continually be reminded of the belief these women have in me. A lot of you know that I had a pretty traumatic childhood, and words of encouragement were pretty hard to come by, so this beautiful hand crafted piece of art is very valuable to me.

I was inspired by this work of art around Christmas time. My friend (Janene Gaynor) has since started a business making these pieces of art and I asked her if she could do 2 pieces for me. I set to work on my project. We had to be sneaky, but the kids and I wanted to let Jay how much we loved Grammy and Papaw and how much we missed them at Christmas. So, we came up with words that reminded us of them. We all put them together and Janene made them into works of art for us. The words may not make sense to a lot of people, but the heart behind those words is astounding. My kids had very clear emotions surrounding their memories and their words and Janene was very accomodating in putting the piece together.

Here is the piece that we came up with for Papaw:




And here is the piece for Grammy:




As you can imagine, it was an emotional moment in opening these gifts. But Jay loved them. We have finally found the perfect spot for them, right in on our entryway/family room wall.



And, if you have memories you would like Scripted in Art...contact Janene Gaynor. She does a fabulous job!