I phone say what?

Can you hear me now?
I can blog right from my I phone now;)
Yippee!
Soooo... I'm sitting in the school line waiting for my middle son, staring @ a beautiful pond wondering where the ducks are on this breezy February afternoon; thinking & hoping that my best friend, BJ & I are making a good sound decision for family with a move.... Again!!
Ooh if life only had a Easy button!!

Can't keep a southern belle down

“The lions grow weak & hungry,
But
Those who seek the Lord, lack no good thing”
Psalm34:10
Taking this verse into consideration, then if I’m lacking a lot of good things in my life, then I have not been doing a lot of seeking of God. However, ya know that old saying; You can’t keep a good man down? I’m claiming that today..

.....you can’t keep a good woman down. {that's me...Tn Southern Belle}

IN 2012, this woman will do a whole lotta more seeking, more searching.

Open for His wonderment!!
Proclaiming the Battle is the Lord’s not mine!! (2chronicles 20)

I am an overcomer!I am more than a conqueror! (Romans 8:37)
My seeking more of God in 2012, has turned my house upside down
My guys say Mom, what’s with the loud music? (that's how I would wake them up every morning...Godly music)

They didn’t know Santus Real was Christian music for a few days!! (Love it!) They had been hearing the word of God in a way that they enjoyed, sung & quoted it! I decided that

what we feed our mind, we become over time.

And songs that we sing can set us up for misery or miracles!

And in 2012, I am looking for a miracle! A miracle in my relationships {with God, with my marriage, & my 4 kiddos}, my body, my check book, & my paths in life.
Jesus is mine & I am His &
we got this!!!!

from guttermost to Uttermost!

In 2012,
I realized that I had been walking around and around trapped in a revolving door, ya know like that one at the hospital?

Life was a blur

for me and I was simply chasing the wind. I decided to get out of the revolving door and mark my boundaries. I have re-committed my life to my Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ and will no longer precipitate in what the Bible calls “sin is pleasurable for a minute.” I realized God was testing me,

just as He did Joseph & Job.
I had failed!! I had allowed
the devil to walk through my front door.
My family, my kids, my body was paying the price.

My foolishness had caused me to lose focus on what was important in my life. I was selfish and foolish and had hit my gutter. Sitting @ a table and listening to the words coming out of my mouth; well, all I can say is gutter!! Hence, I chose in 2012 to go from the
guttermost to the uttermost!!
I can’t worship & worry @the same time therefore; I realized
What I can’t control -owns me.
I had lost focused.
I have confessed & repented & re-committed. I am re-prioritizing my priorities & dealing with my inner core. I desire to pass my character test just as Joseph did in the well (thrown in there by his brothers),
In the prison (thrown in there by that woman) &
In the kingdom (where he was asked to interpret the dream.)
He passed his preparation so that he reached his destination!!

I may have missed a few question on the test but it ain't too late for this southern belle to pass her test:)

That’s where I’m headed friends….. My destination!!
2012 is going to be too happy to be crappy!!
2012…gonna keep my happy face on :)

Curious Southerner

During my passage through this Composition class @ Kaplan University, I have come to discern several new characteristics about myself. I have realized that I am easily intrigued and readily distracted. (sure qualities of a southern Belle, right) I tend to always consider newfangled things to capture my attention. ( oh shiny objects!!) Moreover, being curious and fascinated by peculiar ideas or experiences, I have found that I can be distracted at the drop of a hat. (Look! A polka dotted squirrel)
Being easily intrigued relates to my writing experience in as much as it induces research and investigation. (why are them squirrels wearing polka dotted clothes?)Exploration of facts and information aids the writing experience with a wealth of knowledge. (polka dotted squirrels are amazin') However, enduring readily distraction is not a simple endeavor. Focusing on the writing or topic of the week proved to be an ambitious task for me some units. Spearheading my thoughts for the discussion board lead me on interesting journeys in research. (polka dotted squirrels do exist in Laurelwood)
You see, being attracted to new inklings, and freely distracted, produced chaos in my brainstorming.
Throughout this course, I have fallen in love with the Thesaurus. Determining that I am easily intrigued, the thesaurus has guided me into a bigger vocabulary, the dictionary has taught me new meanings, being curious has guided my research. Being readily distracted has aided me in being a better organizer of my ideas and research, take notes with clarity, and become a better listener and problem solver.
Rock on polka dotted squirrels!!

Start a Revolution!

“Courage is being scared to death, and saddling up anyway.” At least, that is how actor, John Wayne, defined it. Saddle up and ride through your journey, facing the cowboys and Indians knowing you will get through that valley. Courage is getting up when you have been pushed down. It is facing reality of life with a boldness that pain, trouble, intimidation and fear or a life of ordinary will not win in your journey. “Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities ... because it is the quality that guarantees all others,” as Winston Churchill stated. Once you can get a grasp of courage, you can charge onto your journey with passion, and all other human virtues can accompany courage. It is then, that you can cross your threshold, defecting the fear of the humdrum life, and adventuring into your new world on your hero’s journey.
Although many people around the world, including National League Football Players, have heard the name Susan G Komen, not many know that it is her sister; Nancy G. Brinker that is the voice behind the name. Brinker whispered “I Promise” to her dying sister when she asked her to help find a cure for breast cancer. And although Brinker diligently set out to work to help find the cure, she was faced to battle the disease herself. In addition, she had to battle the media. At the beginning of her journey in 1982, there were only 800 numbers, no internet, and the media was not excited about using the word breast or cancer. However, Brinker was not going to be bullied to give up on her promise. Rahel Musleah did a profile article on Brinker for the Hadassah magazine saying she was “fueled by ramrod determination.” Brinker told Musleah that Susan G Komen Foundation for the Cure was “Established in 1982 with $200 in a shoebox and a list of friends, the foundation has not only raised 1.5 billion for breast cancer awareness, but has all but erased the silence surrounding the illness. In Brinker’s words, it has “turned a charity into a movement.” “ Brinker kept her promise to her dying sister exhibiting courage and strength. Even in a world where it was not acceptable to talk about such private body parts, Brinker was brave.
Facing the bullies in life, no matter where they are how they exhibit themselves to you, you have to keep your promises, and you can be that voice of courage that starts a revolution.

Flash Mob

So...I've lived in Nashville for over a year now & have met next to no one here. After watching the Bacherolette, I really wanted to be part of a flash mob. I dunno why! Call me crazy! Call me peculiar! Maybe being a part of something way bigger than me is overwhelmingly exciting! Anyways, I found a "group" that is practicing a swing dance routine called the Shim Sham {http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_I4GooehUuA} & I am going to meet them tonight.
I can't believe that I'm gonna find enough courage or energy to go meet a group of strangers and try to learn something new at 33 yrs old. I dunno....it just gets harder and harder to meet people when your older. Does anyone else have that problem?
I haven't danced since high school & even then I wasn't that good at it:)

Christmas Parade

Friday night was Nashville's Christmas Parade, ergo, the Rainey's fought the thousands of people wanting to catch a glimpse of the passing blimps & floats. As the crowds flooded the sides of the streets, the police tried to maintain them, however, people seemed to come from everywhere. Tall people, loud people, people with big hats, people that liked to dance, there was people everywhere. At first, we had the perfect spot to sit on the corner of a curb & we loved it! All the paraders were dressed in festive outfits & smiles. We saw Beauty & the Beast! Cinderella! Lyla-Grace & I sat on our blankets & cuddled in our blankets as we enjoyed the festive bands & even the band that played Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance." It was awesome!
However, some tipsy young adults had wondered out of the local drinking spots on Friday night & decided to stand right in front of us. My 1st thought was..HOW RUDE! Could you not see us? Do you not see this three year old little kid? But then my mind begin to wonder....... Is this how the people of Jericho were that beautiful day a certain Man was walking through their streets? Did everyone come out & line the streets waiting to get a glimpse of this man who was causing such a stir? Is this how Zacchaeus the Tax Collector felt?
Lyla-Grace climbed to the highest point she could....her daddy's shoulders. From there she could she the passing of Mary Poppins, she could see Santa! :) From there she could she the people she had come to see in the parade & her eyes lit with wonderment & excitement. Oh! If we were on the streets of Jericho that day waiting to see Jesus instead of a parade, I may have done the same things those tipsy young adults had done because I would think that I would make sure I had seen that Man, Jesus, who was walking through my town!

This holiday season, I choose respect! I choose to let the car out in front of me in traffic, the lady with a hand full of items check out before me, to buy a stranger a cup of coffee. This season I choose to be kind!
My friends & family will you choose kindness this season?

~Happy Holidays