From My Heart...

Today marks the seven year anniversary of the day my grandmother went to meet Jesus. She was known as Mom to all of us, and she and my grandfather, Pa, left behind a beautiful legacy. On February 13, 2005 I got a call from my grandfather. He had taken my grandmother to the hospital and said that we all needed to come quickly. I called my parents and we all went. When we got there the doctors told us that her cancer was back and she might live 3 days but they really didn't expect her to make it through the night. For the next nine days I spent every day getting up early and taking my mom to the hospital and coming home late at night. During these nine days I learned some things that are very precious to me now. At some point during those nine days my grandfather told me that they would have been married for 55 years in just a few more months. I watched him love on my grandmother's almost lifeless body and realized that even after 55 years of life together and being in their

I must say that I do not like to live in this region when the dirt blows!!!  I have said many times if I was on the beach or in a beach house the wind could blow all day long every day while I sit and watch the waves crashing into the shore but then I have to wonder if I did live in that environment would I wish to live somewhere else?!  Most likely I would still complain about the wind or something or someone else.  That's just how we are, right? I have been wondering the last few days if there is more to life than I wish and I want.  God did not intend for us to be unsatisfied with the blessings He gives us.  Umm, I think I just called the wind a blessing!?  But maybe in some God-given way it is.  Maybe He is preparing the parched ground for something that we do not know about and the only way to do that is to make the wind blow at 60+ mph so that it can receive what He gives.  I believe we go through circumstances so that we will come out on the other side stronger and better

On Friday, February 12, 1999 my life was changed forever. I was a senior in High School. That night, like most Friday nights, I was with Cody. It was almost time for my curfew so I started home. We lived about 10 miles out in the country. I was almost out of town when I came upon a one car wreck. It had just happened, maybe a couple minutes before I got there. There was someone on a phone outside of the pickup, I assumed they were calling 911. There was a pickup that was sideways in an old building. Most of the pickup was covered with ruble from the building collapsing on top of it. I couldn't tell very much about the pickup because it was damaged and, like I said, covered up, but there was one very distinguishing part of the paint job on the pickup that I immediately noticed. The pickup belonged to a very close friend of mine and my brother, I'm talking brother close!! His name was Jeremy, we called him JC, he was 19. Panic set in almost immediately! I knew that my real

I am a planner. I like to know when, what and where. I want to know what is going to happen and at what time so that I can be prepared. I am so much of a planner that when I am going to a meeting or having a confrontation with someone I plan out our conversation in my head. I know, call me crazy, but this is a fact about my personality! I went to a meeting this week with a group of women to plan something. I was not the leader, just an attendee. I had spoke with the leader of the pack prior to the meeting and she had asked me to do something, so being the planner that I am, I had my game plan ready in time for the meeting. At the meeting we are discussing and planning and throwing ideas around the table. The task I was asked to do finally came up (and I was excited because like I said I already had the WHOLE conversation planned out!) but then the conversation veered off of my path quickly. This was my reaction...WHAT??!! NO!! THAT IS NOT WHAT I PLANNED!!! The rest of the meeting I