21 Years!

                                                             We are finally FREE!!!

                                                                    May 24, 1991

A banner our class signed at Prom in 1991. It was not to be opened until our 20th class reunion which occurred last fall.

                                           Good friends at our 20th class reunion. Sept. 2011

                                              Part of the Class of '91 at our 20 year reunion.  

I'm finding it hard to believe that 21 years ago tonight my life would change forever.  21 years ago tonight, I sat in a metal chair on our high school football field with 124 classmates. Waiting in anticipation of getting our high school diplomas. We were finally going to be free of teachers, classes (well some of us), rules, detention...FREE!! We were 18, we knew EVERYTHING, and we were ready to take on the world.  So we thought.   When I was in high school, I could not wait to be free from all the "junk" there.  Oh, I had a good time in high school, but I, like every other Senior, had a bad case of Senioritis and burn out.  It was an exciting time because college was just around the corner, and we were all ready to get out and experience it. It was time to start a new chapter and get away from the small town life. Meet new people, do new things, live the dorm life, and be big stuff because we were going to college.   It's crazy to me that it's been 21 years since I was one of those high schoolers who thought I knew all.  Now I can't even recall what it was that made me dislike school so much. I do know that my class was pretty insane, and we had to pick up our diplomas AFTER the graduation ceremony. I'm not sure why the faculty thought they could hold our diplomas to keep us from graduating if we did something outrageous during the ceremony. I still shake my head and laugh about that to this day.  Let's just say, we were not the ideal class that everyone loved. :-)  Graduation changes lots of things, mostly that you will never be all together as a class ever again.  Oh sure, you can have your class reunions, but even then, not everyone is able to make it.  I have fun reminiscing with my yearbooks and reading all the autographs. I get tickled when I read, "The Class of '91 RULZ!!"  We were big stuff back then. Don't laugh because you know exactly what I'm talking about and your class "RULZ", too. :-)  There are some things I don't miss about high school, but there are lots of things I DO miss.  No responsibility other than getting your homework done ranks high on my list, but I mostly miss seeing my friends every day. Thanks to Facebook, I am able to keep in touch with most of them, but there are a few I've lost touch with, and I do miss those crazy times we used to have. In a small town, you pretty much had to find ways to keep yourselves entertained. The entertainment of choice for my friends and I was "cruising town" to see what boys we could find and chase around in our cars. I wonder how much gas my friends and I used driving around for hours?  Of course, gas wasn't over 3 bucks a gallon back then so it wasn't as big of a deal.  A lot has changed since May 24, 1991. A lot of things I've been through that I never thought I would go through, lots of moving to different places, meeting new people, making new friends, ups and downs of life, loved ones and friends who have passed on. On and on I could go, but you get the picture.   I look back over these years and still can't believe it's been 21 years. Those years have flown by in a flash. Just yesterday I was graduating and turning 18...now I'm about to turn 39.  I blinked my eyes and here I am.  Just as James 4:14 says, "¹⁴ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."  How true is this verse?  So hats off to my Class of '91 peeps.  I know we've learned and experienced so much over the past 21 years, and I'm sure we've all learned that we don't "RULZ" like we thought we did. :-)  I'm just glad no one did anything outlandish in our graduation ceremony or we might STILL be waiting to get our high school diplomas to this day!! ;-)  God Bless!!

Approach The Day With Confidence!

As I scroll through my newsfeed on a regular basis on Facebook, I find some people are just "down in the dumps".  Not that they mean to be, or probably mean to drag others down with them, it's just life. Sometimes it just beats us down, and sometimes...the Facebook status is the outlet to vent. :-) As I read my daily devotional this morning, I was reminded that when life "stinks" we still have an anchor to hold onto no matter what.  If we could only get in our minds this life is temporary, and the trials we go through are nothing compared to eternity.  I want to share with you the devotional today. I hope if you're going through a storm today that this will help give you some hope. Stay strong and have a blessed day!!


Approach each new day with desire to find me. Before you get out of bed, I have already been working to prepare the path that will get you through this day.  There are hidden treasures strategically placed along the way.  Some of the treasures are trials, designed to shake you free from earth-shackles.  Others are blessings that reveal My Presence:  sunshine, flowers, birds, friendships, answered prayer.  I have not abandoned this sin-wracked world; I am still richly present in it.  Search for deep treasure as you go through this day.  You will find Me all along the way.


Colossians 2:2-3


² My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, ³ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 

Isaiah 33:6

 God keeps your days stable and secure—
   salvation, wisdom, and knowledge in surplus,
   and best of all, Zion's treasure, Fear-of-God.

Are You Listening?

I wonder how many times this is Jesus speaking to us? How many times do we close our ears to the Lord because we have something more important to do.  When I read this letter today, I know Jesus has written these words to me on more than one occasion because I've shut Him out.  All He wants is to spend time with me and get my attention. But I've had more important things to do, more important people to see and hang out with. Sorry, Jesus. Maybe tomorrow because I just don't have time for you right now.  Why can't I just be still and listen?  I hear people say things like, "God spoke to me." or "God told me to..."  I've often wondered why I've not heard God speak to me. Could it be because I don't want to to hear Him? Could it be because I'm so busy, I'm not even trying to listen? When you read the below letter, can you relate? Has this been you lately? Are you listening? Slow down today, and spend some quiet time with God. 


I just had to write to tell you how much I love you and care for you. Yesterday, I saw you walking and laughing with your friends. I hoped that soon you’d want me to walk along with you too. So, I painted you a sunset to close your day and whispered a cool breeze to refresh you. I waited…you never called…I just kept loving you.

As I watched you fall asleep last night, I wanted so much to touch you. I spilled moonlight onto your face, trickling down your cheeks as so many tears have. You didn’t even think of me. I wanted so much to comfort you.

The next morning I exploded a brilliant sunrise into your glorious morning, but you woke up late and rushed off to work. You didn’t even notice. My sky became cloudy and my tears were the rain.

I love you. Oh, if you could only listen. I try to say it in the quiet of the green meadow and in the blue sky. The wind whispers my love throughout the tree tops and spills it into the vibrant colors of all the flowers. I shout it to you in the thunder of the great water falls and compose love songs for birds to sing to you.

I warm you with the clothing of my sunshine and perfume the air with nature's sweet scent. My love for you is deeper than the ocean and greater than any need in your heart. If you’d only realize how I care.

My dad sends his love. I want you to meet him… he cares, too. Fathers are just that way. So, please, call on me soon. No matter how long it takes, I’ll wait…because I love you.

Your Friend,
Jesus

God and Kittens!

This week, I've become an aunt...again! :-)  I guess not really since technically, it's not my cat, but I'm still claiming the kittens since the neighbor cat decided to deliver them in my parents flowerbed.  I've been around kittens when I was a kid, but never newborn kittens. I have been absolutely fascinated by them, and I can't seem to get anything done because I cannot tear myself away from watching them.  God's creation constantly blows me away, and that's why these kittens are no different. There are 5 kittens, and everyone of them are perfectly made. Even though they fit in the palm of my hand, everything is in place, right where it's supposed to be...perfect. They even have perfect little feet with the pads on the bottom of their feet and their little bitty claws.  I don't know how God makes something so small to be so perfect, and even though their eyes are not open, how do they know when mama is nearby or far away?  They stop crying as soon as she goes in her crate to be with them, but they're pretty loud and "whiny" when mama's away! :-)  I look at how helpless and defenseless they are against everything, and all I want to do is protect them.  In fact, I'm learning lots about cats I never knew (thanks to Google) before. I never knew Tom Cats want to kill and eat kittens. Now, as gross as that is, it just really makes me mad. I've seen a Tom Cat try to get close to mom and her babies, and that's when Julie's defenses go up, the claws come out, and I'm ready to attack.  I ran it off the other night, and I'm always on the lookout for him. We decided it to be best to keep mama and the babies in the garage every night to protect them.  Mama is so trusting of us, and she knows we are going to help her protect her babies. I'm so glad that she had her kittens this week when all of the outrage is pouring out on tv over gay marriage so it will keep my mind out of it all. I'm so tired of hearing about this stuff, and I'm so tired of people arguing and hating people because you agree or disagree with it. I've even grown tired of reading stuff about it on Facebook that I'm just not looking at it anymore as of today. I'm just tired....I'm tired of this world, I'm tired of people getting angry with each other over worldly matters. I'm so tired of reading hate online, I'm tired of hearing hate on tv. I'm REALLY tired of hearing Obama this, Obama that. Why can't we just shut the tv off? Why can't we shut the computers off? Why can't we log off Facebook and turn our phones off? Why can't we just go outside and praise our God for all He's done for us, for all He's given us to enjoy, and stop pointing fingers on a status update or news article?? Look around at nature and thank God for it! He created this earth for US, and we are too busy pointing fingers and arguing amongst ourselves to even care about what He's done for us. I think God must ask Himself over and over, "What have I created?" Honestly, I don't know why He doesn't destroy us all for our idiocracy. Satan uses any tactic to get our focus off God. I don't care what it is, he is good at totally distracting us from what really matters. Instead of us being fishers of men, we are slanderers of each other. I realize people are passionate about different things, as am I, but what good does it do to constantly dwell on issues and try to change peoples minds just because they do or do not agree with you? Especially on Facebook or in a blog. People are so bold online, have you ever noticed this? I'm including myself on this one, and it's so silly when you think about it. Only God can change someone's mind on something, and why don't we let Him? His ways are so far above ours, but we think we always know best.  So what do you choose this day? Do you choose to sit online and argue about the matters of this world, call someone a hater because they don't agree with you? Or do you choose to turn the computer off, go outside and enjoy the beauty that God has given us?  As for me, I choose to praise Him for all He's done for me; therefore I will be OFF my "gadgets" today, and I will be outside praying for you reading this, loving all of mankind whether they agree 100% with me all the time or not, and thanking my God for another day of life, health, and for ALL He's given me! I pray you do the same!! Have a blessed Saturday!

7 Years!

                        My dad has black hair!! ;-) This picture is from sometime in the 80's.

The year was 2005...7 years ago. I can't believe how fast time flies, 7 years ago I was a mere 31 years old, about to be 32 in a month. Thought I was SO ancient then, now I'm staring down the barrel at 40 and 32 seems like a kid. Where does the time go? How does it move so fast when I seem to not be moving at all? The future seems so far ahead, yet when I look behind me, I see how my past is quickly fading in the distance. And what seems like my future now, tomorrow will be in my past. May 9, 2005 was a very bleak day for me. One that still plays in my mind like yesterday, and one I wish I could forget. Actually the whole year of 2005 is pretty much not a good memory for me. I lost my grandfather on Jan. 26, 2005, my roommate of 7 years had found her "true love", and I was no longer the "best friend" that she wanted to do things with, I fell so far from God this year, nothing made sense. Even though I had it all together on the outside, on the inside I was writhing in pain. But no one knew. Relationships were torn apart, I could not see God...and I did not care. I had grown tired of caring about anything. I was hurting deep inside, but no one knew because Julie always has it together. I grew tired of my work place, I had major burn out, and I didn't care about anything there. Things were getting so bad there I was almost fired...again, I did not care. I just wanted to run away from everything and everyone here. As if things could get any worse, Monday morning, May 9, 2005 proved it could get much worse. I recall being called into the conference room (or Principal's Office as I like to refer to it) by my boss shortly after I got to work. I had come in Monday morning to find that my desk/work area had been completely moved around to where my boss could "monitor" all I was doing on our work computer. Now, don't get me wrong, I was not looking at porn or anything like that, so get your head out of the gutter. :-) But I was doing lots of personal email on company time, as well as texting...LOTS of texting. I had some lovely coworkers who loved spying on me and "telling on me" even though they sat on personal phone calls all day. That was ok, but Julie was always in the dog house for personal emails. Therefore...this was the reason my whole work area was moved around. The smallest thing would set me off back then because I did not have God in my life like He should have been. Well, I flew off the handle. How I kept my job, to this day, I'll never know. So my boss calls me in the conference room and basically let's me have it. I'm rolling my eyes at her, and really just wishing she would fire me so I could pack up my car, move back to Illinois, and I could be free of this horrid city life. Everything was just going wrong, and I could not for the life of me figure out why nothing was making sense. It was not making sense because God was nowhere to be found. My relationship with Him...well, it was just pretty much non-existent. Oh, I was still going to church on Sunday and "playing the game", but my heart wasn't there. I was a million miles away. I think the only reason I kept going at that time was because my roommate had no clue what was going on with me, and I didn't want her asking questions. It was easier to avoid the questions. So, as I come out of the conference room almost in tears from talking to my boss who told me I needed to get it together, or find the door, I get back to my desk and my cell phone starts ringing. My mom is on the other end breaking the news to me that my grandmother had just passed away. Really?? Could this day get ANY worse? Again, I was questioning everything, not understanding anything that was going on. Why was my world falling apart around me? I absolutely lost it in the middle of work when I got that call because my grandmother and I were extremely close, and here I was in Tennessee not even there to tell her goodbye. My grandma and I share the same birthday, it was always so special for us, and I knew from that day forward, my birthday would never be the same...and it hasn't been because we always celebrated together. I went home every year for our special day, but in 2005, there was no need to go home because she was gone. I remember heading up to my boss' supervisor's office as she was filling him in on all about me, and I just burst into the middle of their converstation. I did not care what they were talking about, I did not care if they fired me right there, that job was the last thing on my mind at that moment. I was in tears and told my boss I was leaving for Illinois because my grandmother just passed. Deep inside, I was hoping my boss felt about two inches tall for going off on me just minutes prior to me getting this news. And honestly? I didn't know if I would even have a job when I got back for the way I acted. But...I did. I believe it was only by the grace of God now that I look back. The only blessing that came out of the year 2005 for me was my youngest niece, Lauren, was born in August of that year. Other than that, there are just not many good memories for me. So it's hard to believe it's been 7 years that all of this has happened, and I still miss my grandmother daily, but I can still hear her voice in my head telling me she loves me. I still see her and my grandpa waving goodbye to me on their front porch when I drive past their house when I go back home. Looking back over the past 7 years, I've learned and grown so much. I've learned that you don't have all the answers at 32 years of age, and my life has changed drastically in a GOOD way. My relationship with the Lord is stronger now than it ever has been, I hit rock bottom in 2005, and it's only by the grace of God that he pulled me out of the non-caring life that I was living. I believe He allowed me to fall in such a dark pit so I would finally "get" some things, that I would finally SEE Him, to find that nothing makes sense in life when He is not first. I don't know how people live life without God in it because nothing...absolutely nothing makes sense. I know it makes no sense because I've been there, and I never want to go back to that. Am I sorry for all that happened to me in 2005? Absolutely not! In fact, I am THANKFUL it happened because if not? There is no telling what road I would be on right now. I know it wouldn't be a good one. Praise God for sparing my soul and giving me another chance. Oh why He loves you and me is a thought that I can't comprehend when we smack Him in the face time after time. But I'm so thankful He's a God of endless chances to get right with Him! So to my grandma, I miss you so much, and yes...even 7 years later celebrating our birthday next month is still not the same to me. Birthdays are just another day now, but I know as much as I miss you here, I would not ask you to come back from the great reward that you're enjoying now! Thank you G'ma for all the love you gave me through the years, and I'm thankful I got to share 31 birthdays with you because that is far more than some get to have with their grandparents. Just save me a place up there because I'm gonna be ready to celebrate much greater things than birthdays with you one sweet day!! 2005 is definitely not a good memory for me in so many ways, but I praise God that's it's my past that God has forgotten...and so have I! God Bless!

Hillsong Chapel!

If you know me very well at all, you know I'm OBSESSED with Hillsong! I'm always out of the loop on secular music because most generally, if you're in my car with me, I have Hillsong playing, or some other Christian music. I'm always checking the Hillsong website to see when their latest CD and DVD release are coming out. Even though I may never get to worship with Hillsong in person, I can get the next best thing on DVD. A couple of weeks ago when I was in Atlanta, my preacher and the youth minister from my church were talking about the best Hillsong CD called Yahweh by Hillsong Chapel. I knew exactly what they were talking about because I've seen it numerous times at Family Christian Bookstore. I was reluctant to buy it because I normally purchase Hillsong Live stuff. I wasn't sure what Hillsong Chapel was all about, so I hated to buy it, and end up not liking it. I also noticed that several of the songs on it I already have on a CD or DVD, so I wasn't sure if it was really worth the money. Well these guys kept talking about how great it is, and it is their favorite Hillsong CD. So, when I got back to town, I decided to go purchase it. Let me just say, they are SO right. It has quickly become my favorite Hillsong music just because every song is an acoustic version. Sometimes I don't mind the "banging and clanging" of the louder stuff, but I am OLD :-), and most generally I enjoy the acoustic stuff more. And let me tell you, I have worn it out!! For me, I'm able to worship more with the softer music. I enjoyed hearing "Mighty to Save" and "Inside Out" with a softer, quieter tone than the original versions. I realize this CD/DVD is a couple of years old, but oh so good! I think I bought the last ones off the shelf at Family Christian. I'm SO glad I got them...old or not because it's just what I needed recently. It's what I needed to worship, to help me focus on God, to help me not focus on this world, this life, the junk I read on Facebook...it's what I needed to detox from the "stuff" of this world that keeps my mind off the One. It's time for me to unplug for a bit, it's time for me to spend my free time on the Lord, it's time for me to pray for friends and family who are hurting, or who are just lost in this crazy world. It's time for me to fast from social media, and time for me to meditate on things that truly matter because God is not going to ask me how many times I logged onto Facebook on Judgment Day. I love Hillsong so much because it helps me do all of these things, it helps me put my focus on the things above, where it needs to be. It helps me keep my mind on things it needs to be on, and off of the things it doesn't need to be on. Satan is strong, and He is good at distracting me and you with "stuff". Filling our minds so much with junk that we don't have room for God. So what about you? What are you doing in your life to detox from the "stuff" of the world? If you're looking for some great worship/focus music, I highly recommend Hillsong Chapel. It will bring you completely to the feet of God! God bless!!!

White Noise!

I have a question for everyone. What in the world did we do before Social Media came along? I'm serious, what did we do with our time? How did we ever function without telling the world what is going on with us on a status update or "checking in" to places? I attended a class a couple of weeks ago called Social Media Boundaries. Most of the stuff the lady talked about was common sense issues, but I realize after 38 (almost 39) years on this earth, some people do not have common sense.  Yes, you may laugh, but you know you know those people, too. :-) I realize that I am a Facebook addict, and I share quite a bit about my life online. But...it is not a status update every 2 seconds telling about my latest nose blowing.  I know you all have people on your friends list that update a status every 5 minutes to tell you every single minute of their day, don't pretend you don't. I know someone or more than one person popped in your head as you read that last sentence. ;-)  I credit my addiction and updates due to being single and not having a life. What is your excuse? HA!  And for those that are married and have children, you have a life. Enjoy it with your family...offline. :-) We don't really need to know when your kid "pooped" or threw up, and trust me, when they're older they will appreciate having parents who didn't share these things online. Just sayin'. :-) As I sat in this class the other day, the lady teaching brought out a good point. She asked if any of us had friends on our friends list who post a status often? So much so that your entire newsfeed is by the same person or persons?  She said she has a friend who updates his status 3 times an hour. Uh, what?  How can you even think of that many things to post that often?? haha! Although I think I have a few who top that. It's more like 5 or 6 times an hour. She told us this story to keep us from doing such things because she made a great point about it. People that do this become "white noise".  Isn't that the truth?  I totally get what she was saying because they are the people who post things constantly. You get to the point of not even reading what they say anymore because it just becomes...well...annoying. I end up hiding most people who do this. I hate to do that, but goodness, I honestly don't care what you had to drink with your supper or how many times you blink in an hour.  I guess the stalkers or lurkers (as I like to call them. You know the people who never comment, but you know they lurk at everyone's life and page.) enjoy it. But as for me, I don't want to be "white noise" on someone's newsfeed, rather I'd like to encourage and lift someone up who is having a rotten day, or make someone laugh by something crazy I've done.  I have enough noise in my life as it is, I don't need Facebook "white noise" clogging it up even more.  Another point this lady brought out is to update your status at least once a day to keep people interested.  Now that I get because if you disappear, people think you've fallen off the face of the earth.  I've had this in my life when I've gone one day without posting a status. I received a text asking if I was ok. haha!  I guess that's good and bad because it means someone cares about me, or they just live for my status updates. I don't know. ;-)  I do love me some social media, but I cannot recall for the life of me what on earth I did with my time before the internet, and well, I just think that is pretty sad.  I know one thing that it has distracted me from (and Satan loves it) is my one on one time with God, even my cell phone distracts me with texts, email alerts, Facebook alerts. Why can't I learn to just shut it off? Sometimes my life has too much white noise in it that I have forgotten to even thank God for another day of life, health, and all the blessings He gives me.  I need to turn down the white noise of life, and turn up the voice of God. I need to turn down the status updates every 2 seconds, and turn up the updates from God. I need to get off Facebook and into the Book of God. I need to turn off the phone alerts, and turn up the alerts of God.  So what about you?  What do you need to turn down or up to hear the voice of God?  Hope you're having a blessed weekend!

To Be Or Not To Be...Naked!! That Is The Question!!

                                            Decked out in Preds Gear!! Where's the britches?

                     Here we're wearing kilts!! At least they're fully clothed in this one! Well...some of them.

                                                              Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

                                This one is in honor of the country song "Red Solo Cup" by Toby Keith. 


For those of us who live in Nashville, we are all familiar with the Musica Statue. The main reason we are familiar with it is because the people in the sculpture are naked.  I honestly don't understand the point, but then again, I'm not an artsy person, so I don't understand a lot of art. If it's not Napoleon Dynamite mentality, well...I just don't get it. :-) I know, this is why I am not someone who will not go down in history. :-)  I just remember this statue coming to town several years ago, and it caused quite a stir within the Nashville community. I remember them always talking about it on the news.  There were several people up in arms over the whole thing.  I  remember seeing it "live" one year when I did the Country Music 1/2 Marathon! Let's just say...it's a little distracting when you're doing a 1/2 marathon.  I know people will just tell me I don't have an eye for fine art, and I'm ok with that. Obviously I don't because naked statues are not my idea of "fine art". So a few years ago, someone decided to have a little fun with this "fine art".  I can't remember when this exactly first started, but some people found it amusing to "dress" the statue as a joke. Of course it caused quite stir on the news, and I remember my roommate and I getting the biggest laugh out of it.  Since that time, it now seems to be a game to dress the people as it appears to happen from time to time without warning.  It makes me laugh, and honestly, I don't know how people do it because it's a pretty tall statue.  I guess they just climb up it somehow.  Now if I did something like this, I would be busted, and you would see my mug shot on the news. Oh yes, yes you would! I can see the headlines now, "Local girl busted for dressing naked people." :-)  So, the Nashville Predators (our local hockey team) are in the Stanley Cup playoffs, so somebody or some-bodies decided to dress our beloved naked people in Preds gear and post the picture on Facebook!  You've got to get everyone excited about your team, so why not put some clothes on the statue to fire people up?  Although, I saw someone comment, "Get those people some britches." I mean, afterall, they do need some "britches". ;-)  Ahhh Nashville, there are so many things I love about you, and one of those things is this statue that causes such commotion in our city.  I look forward to seeing what wardrobe will appear next on the naked people. So I propose a new name for our statue..."To be or not to be...naked. THAT is the question!"  Happy Friday!!! 

What Happened To MySpace?

Does anyone remember MySpace? Wasn't that like the BIG thing to be on before Facebook opened up to all of us who weren't college kids? I used to "hang out" on MySpace quite a bit. I never even knew what it was until a friend sent me an "invite". Once I checked it out, I was hooked...well at least until Facebook came along. ;-) Funny, I was messing around online tonight, and decided to check out my account from YEARS ago. I can't get that account deleted because I used an old email address that I no longer have, so it won't let me cancel the account. I'm kinda glad I didn't because I've been reading through many old blogs on there tonight, and it's giving me a good chuckle, and reminding me of things that I'd forgotten in my life. I was all of 33 when I wrote many of these blogs, some go back to when I was 31 and 32. Well, I'm significantly older than that now as the wrinkles and gray in my hair are giving that away. :-) I'm going to share one of my blogs from that time. Apparently I was having guy problems then and needed to blog about it. But it probably was more like someone trying to "fix me up" with someone more than just guy issues from the way I'm talking. And how did I vent my frustration?? Through blogging, of course. So, enjoy this blog from October 18, 2006 off MySpace. And I still live by Proverbs 31:30. I LOVE that verse!! Enjoy taking a peak into the past life of Jewels, blogger extraordinaire!! Hope y'all have had a blessed day!! 

 My life is funny at times, mostly because I'm STILL single. I have many people saying "Why aren't you married, or at least dating?" Oh and the constant "I have the perfect person I want you to meet..." The "fixer uppers", as I like to call them, always make me laugh because once the person starts telling me about this "perfect person" after about 30 seconds I am like "thanks, but no thanks." I have very high standards, and this is one reason I am single. When I tell people this they'll say "Well, maybe your standards are too high." Never! I will not settle for just anyone. I'm not really sure where this concept comes that being single is a bad thing. It's all in what you make of it. Sure, it will be cool to be married, and I'm all for it, but if that "right person" doesn't come along, well life goes on, and I will serve God through singleness. I have dated enough jerks in the past to know that I don't want just anyone for my husband. I can honestly say if I had married some of the guys from my past, we probably wouldn't be married today because spiritually, they are not what I'm looking for. God knows best, and HE is the one in charge of my love life, not the "fixer uppers"! I love the verses in Proverbs about the Virtuous Woman. Check it out: Prov. 31:10-31. If I do get married, I pray that I can live by these verses. Dating is hard these days, and the older I get, the harder it is to find someone. I write this blog today for all the singles out there reading this...don't settle just because you think it might be your "last chance". God will bless you with that right person if you wait, and trust in Him to take care of it. So enjoy your singleness while you have it, and bless all you come in contact with! Have a blessed day!!! 

 Prov. 31:30 "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."

Karen Carpenter, Donny And Marie, Bell Bottoms, Bad Hair, And Me = 1970-Somethin’!!

I am a sentimental person, so looking at old photos brings a flood of memories back to me. I wish I could remember so many more things than just bits and pieces of my childhood. I would love to go back to my very first home on 806 Laurel Street in Fairfield, Illinois because I only lived there until I was 4, and I can’t recall too many things. The house is still there, but unfortunately, it has not been kept up very good through the years, but nonetheless, I would still love to go back in there and see where I had many firsts in my life. First steps, first birthday, first babysitters, first tooth, first Christmas…the list goes on. The above picture was taken in that house, and it was where I grew to LOVE God and music. Karen Carpenter was ALWAYS my favorite. To this day I remember having mom put the 33 1/3 record on for me, as I would rock the day away on my rocking horse listening to The Carpenters. I'll never forget watching Donny and Marie and Captain and Tenille on an old TV that didn't have a remote control...and yes, even Lawrence Welk was on in the Tracy Household. And I'll never forget "surfing" to the theme song on Hawaii 5-0. I still do that today with the new Hawaii 5-0!! haha! Thankfully, I'm too little to remember too many of the hideous styles. haha! But what I would give to go back to those times some days and see people I miss. Old pictures and old home movies make me smile. I’ll never forget my dad having this movie camera back in the day with a BLINDING “head light” on the top. Goodness! My brother, cousins, and I all hated that thing. Every holiday or birthday…here comes the camera. You can see people “squint” and mouth things (yes, mouth things since this was before sound came on home movie cameras) when the big, bright light hits them. haha! As much as that big ole camera drove us crazy, I wouldn’t trade anything for those home movies now. Thanks to a good friend of mine, she put them on a DVD for me, and they’re one of my dearest treasures. Many family members who have gone on to be with Jesus are on those home movies, and they always bring a smile to my face when I see them on there. Looking through those old photographs or watching those home movies always makes me realize just how fortunate I am. I can’t recall one moment in my life that was a bad memory. I had the best childhood ever!! I was so blessed to take many family vacations, and yeah, we might not have been the richest family in town or dress in the latest styles, but we were rich in love. And that’s more important than anything money can buy. I learned about God from my parents, and we had many discussions about Him when I was kid. They were always singing or talking about Him. And we always went to church, always. They are the main reason my love is so strong for God today. They taught me what is really important in life, and it’s Him, not things. I often wonder why I was chosen to be in the family I have. I look around and see so many kids who are not so fortunate or have the love from their parents that I have. They’ve never once heard about God only when His name is taken in vain. I often ask God, why? Why did you choose me to be so blessed?? Why am I not one of those kids who has parents who don’t care or throws me against a wall because I won’t stop crying? It just doesn’t seem fair when so many others are suffering, but I am SO thankful He put me where He did. So yeah, I was born in 1970-somethin’, and we may not have had iPods, iPads, and Facebook back then, but we had love, and we knew how to use our imagination to have fun as kids! We rode bikes without helmets and knee pads, and we lived to tell about it. :-) I wouldn’t ask to have been born at another time because I loved being right where I was 30 years ago, and I love being right where I am today! Right here, right now, with God! I’m so thankful God blesses us with memories, they may not always be good memories, but He gives us the choice to focus on the ones we want. So for me?? I choose the good memories of when all of my family was still alive, those Friday nights staying at Grandma and Grandpa’s, waking up to the smell of Grandma’s pancakes and bacon, and to my Grandpa making me laugh with his funny and crazy sense of humor. My Grandpa left us 7 years ago in January, and it just doesn’t seem possible. Grandma will be gone 7 years on May 9th. Although I miss them so much, I know they are just saving a place for me up there…and knowing my Grandma, she’s already cookin’ the pancakes and bacon! :-) Thanks for strolling down memory lane with me!! It’s been a fun journey so far, and I’m looking forward to seeing where the journey continues to lead me. And in the end, it will lead me HOME to where I belong! Have a blessed day!!