Approximately a year ago a friend of mine started a blog. It was for her business. She sent me the link, and I began checking in often and enjoyed reading it and viewing the pictures. One day it occurred to me that since I enjoy writing, actually it is my preferred emotional outlet, that maybe I should start a blog. I did, and have thoroughly enjoyed every post. At first I thought maybe I’d tell all my friends and family about the blog. Maybe they would get a chuckle or enjoy the glimpse into the craziness, and dementia that makes me. But after a few posts I still hadn’t got up the nerve to tell anyone except the friend that introduced me to this blogosphere, and one other person. So, I decided to keep it that way. It’s much more enjoyable for me to post my thoughts and feelings anonymously. Maybe one day when I’m gone my kids will find out I had a blog; they’ll rush to the computer, log on, and read about my day to day life. Perhaps they’ll gain a new understanding of the person their mother was. Until then I enjoy simply writing my thoughts and feelings.
My blog is nothing fancy. When I started I did nothing more than choose a template, some colors, and a font, and start typing away. It is not meant to inspire or communicate; it is just an outlet for me. A few months in I started checking out other blogs. WOW. There are A LOT of people blogging. I found blogs like mine, blogs for businesses, blogs to keep families connected, blogs for everything! Some are so creative! Some people really put their heart and souls into not just the content, but the design and overall feel of the pages.
I have said ALL that to lead into this…..I have a confession. My name is Charmaine, and I am totally, completely, addicted to blogging. There I said it. I admitted it, and admitting it is the first step. I have found 3 blogs, no 4 blogs, well maybe 5 or 6 blogs that I follow faithfully. I can’t wait to check on them everyday because unlike me, they are updated almost daily. It’s a strange relationship I have with these fellow bloggers. We don’t know each other, and since I’ve never even commented on one of them, they don’t even know I exist! Regardless of that fact I feel a connection. We are all 30 something women. We are all mothers. The blogs are like little windows into our lives. We post about things like burnt pancakes, laundry detergent, horseback riding, field trips, church, husbands, friends, kids, sickness, weather, world news, recipes, and favorite fingernail polish. The blogs are about everything and absolutely nothing and I am totally addicted to them.
One blog in particular I am borderline obsessed with. It is written by a woman that lives in Oklahoma on a ranch and her husband is a real live cowboy. She has kids, she cooks, she takes pictures….and I want to move there and become her new BFF. Ha! The funniest thing about that sentence is that I’m only half joking. :)
So…there you have it. My name is Charmaine and I am a blog addict. I have confessed, and I feel cleansed. There is freedom in admission!
Now I have to run, there are blogs to be checked, and obsessions to feed!!!!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Approved!
It looks like things are clear for take off! We got the call back from the bank saying we were approved for our construction loan. The dream may actually become a reality!
I’m so excited! Seriously, there is almost no way to describe what my heart is feeling. Joy, blessedness, and hope….all of it mixed with a healthly dose of caution.
I have waited years and years for this. Correction...WE have waited.
When the kids were babies & toddlers we started hoping and planning. The plan was to sell the house, move into Scott’s uncle’s rental house –a 1900’s farm house- and live there for a year or two tops while we used the sale profits to purchase land and build our dream home. So with that plan, in October 2004 we sold the house we had lived in for 10 years almost to the day. By December we moved into the house we now live in. We had $15,000 in the bank and high hopes. Two months later, on February 10, 2005 an ordinary Thursday, we found out Alivia’s diagnosis. Our lives changed, plans were put on hold and we quickly found new priorities. Our dream was put on a back shelf. Needless to say by the end of 2005 our bank account was empty.
We were able to purchase our land 3 years ago, and have been saving and planning and saving and planning and praying and praying and praying and then praying some more ever since. 2009 seems to be our year! Things have literally fallen into place. God has made a path for us, and what a path it is! We are learning about tax breaks, and all kinds of things that will help us out. God has kept us for all these years, and now he is helping us build a house that is more than Scott and I imagined or hoped for.
I have said it before and I’ll say it again – God truly does hold ALL of us in the palm of His hand.
-----------------------------------------------
On a totally different note:
Yesterday I read a book called The Glass Castle. It is a memoir of a MSNBC reporter named Jeannette Walls. If you like to read, go get this book. It was so interesting. It’s not big, it’s one of those I call a 1 nighter. Meaning you can read it in one night or so. And I did. I read a few pages Saturday night, then finished it Sunday. It was very interesting. I said oh my goodness! No way! More than a few times out loud.
I’m so excited! Seriously, there is almost no way to describe what my heart is feeling. Joy, blessedness, and hope….all of it mixed with a healthly dose of caution.
I have waited years and years for this. Correction...WE have waited.
When the kids were babies & toddlers we started hoping and planning. The plan was to sell the house, move into Scott’s uncle’s rental house –a 1900’s farm house- and live there for a year or two tops while we used the sale profits to purchase land and build our dream home. So with that plan, in October 2004 we sold the house we had lived in for 10 years almost to the day. By December we moved into the house we now live in. We had $15,000 in the bank and high hopes. Two months later, on February 10, 2005 an ordinary Thursday, we found out Alivia’s diagnosis. Our lives changed, plans were put on hold and we quickly found new priorities. Our dream was put on a back shelf. Needless to say by the end of 2005 our bank account was empty.
We were able to purchase our land 3 years ago, and have been saving and planning and saving and planning and praying and praying and praying and then praying some more ever since. 2009 seems to be our year! Things have literally fallen into place. God has made a path for us, and what a path it is! We are learning about tax breaks, and all kinds of things that will help us out. God has kept us for all these years, and now he is helping us build a house that is more than Scott and I imagined or hoped for.
I have said it before and I’ll say it again – God truly does hold ALL of us in the palm of His hand.
-----------------------------------------------
On a totally different note:
Yesterday I read a book called The Glass Castle. It is a memoir of a MSNBC reporter named Jeannette Walls. If you like to read, go get this book. It was so interesting. It’s not big, it’s one of those I call a 1 nighter. Meaning you can read it in one night or so. And I did. I read a few pages Saturday night, then finished it Sunday. It was very interesting. I said oh my goodness! No way! More than a few times out loud.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Foothold
Eph. 4:27 ...and do not give the devil a foothold.
Guard yourself. This is my message today. The devil is the great deceiver, the MASTER. Even those of us that think we are living our lives according to God's word can find ourselves moving in a direction we never dreamed. We must put on the full armor of God each and every day so that we are guarded against Satan's ways.
I got some unexpected and shocking news this weekend. I've been trying to understand or make some sort of sense out of it, and then at church last night I got my answer. Our Bible study was in Ephesians 4. As soon as the teacher talked about verse 27 where it says not to give Satan a foothold it hit me. God was giving me the answer to my question of how.
All it takes is a foothold. Just a foot in the door so to speak. So we have to be emersed in God's word in order to disern Satan's attack approaching. He's sneeky. Straight from the mouth of my friend that shocked me...."I would never have spent this much time alone with a man other than my husband." Exactly. Satan knew what wouldn't work and went in from another direction. Now he's in there and all that's important is happiness. "i'm more happy than ever, and i'm sick of hiding. I just want to be open and be me."
We can't say " I know what the Bible says about this, but it also says this, and this. And I'm happier than ever. So how can that be wrong?"
Sin is sin. We can't pick and choose from the Bible. I am definately far far from a perfect christian. I don't mean to sound self righteous. I know that we have all fallen and come short of the glory of God. The difference is this..... sinning is a human vice. As christians we strive not to sin. When we choose to purposely and knowingly sin by walking in a path that we know is directly against what God says, then we are taking ourselves away from Him.
There is no gray area there. God says something and if we choose to turn away from it we can no longer call ourselves Christian. Period. Because Christian literaly means Christ like.
I love my friend. So much. I want happiness for everyone I love. I think that is why I am so affected by this.
My prayer is that God helps me to show my love and most importantly His love in my actions. And that through that I can be a witness to His way.
Thank you God for your grace. Thank you for holding me in your hand. Thank you for loving me no matter what my sin. Thank you changing my life. Thank you for word to guide me. Thank you for blessing me. Thank you for peace. Thank you for security.
Help me to remember your word, and your way in every aspect of my life every day.
Guard yourself. This is my message today. The devil is the great deceiver, the MASTER. Even those of us that think we are living our lives according to God's word can find ourselves moving in a direction we never dreamed. We must put on the full armor of God each and every day so that we are guarded against Satan's ways.
I got some unexpected and shocking news this weekend. I've been trying to understand or make some sort of sense out of it, and then at church last night I got my answer. Our Bible study was in Ephesians 4. As soon as the teacher talked about verse 27 where it says not to give Satan a foothold it hit me. God was giving me the answer to my question of how.
All it takes is a foothold. Just a foot in the door so to speak. So we have to be emersed in God's word in order to disern Satan's attack approaching. He's sneeky. Straight from the mouth of my friend that shocked me...."I would never have spent this much time alone with a man other than my husband." Exactly. Satan knew what wouldn't work and went in from another direction. Now he's in there and all that's important is happiness. "i'm more happy than ever, and i'm sick of hiding. I just want to be open and be me."
We can't say " I know what the Bible says about this, but it also says this, and this. And I'm happier than ever. So how can that be wrong?"
Sin is sin. We can't pick and choose from the Bible. I am definately far far from a perfect christian. I don't mean to sound self righteous. I know that we have all fallen and come short of the glory of God. The difference is this..... sinning is a human vice. As christians we strive not to sin. When we choose to purposely and knowingly sin by walking in a path that we know is directly against what God says, then we are taking ourselves away from Him.
There is no gray area there. God says something and if we choose to turn away from it we can no longer call ourselves Christian. Period. Because Christian literaly means Christ like.
I love my friend. So much. I want happiness for everyone I love. I think that is why I am so affected by this.
My prayer is that God helps me to show my love and most importantly His love in my actions. And that through that I can be a witness to His way.
Thank you God for your grace. Thank you for holding me in your hand. Thank you for loving me no matter what my sin. Thank you changing my life. Thank you for word to guide me. Thank you for blessing me. Thank you for peace. Thank you for security.
Help me to remember your word, and your way in every aspect of my life every day.
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