Princess of THE King

So it's been a while since I posted anything. Sorry about that. I don't have many blog followers, but this is more for me to put my thoughts into words than anything. If my posts bless or help anyone in someway, then praise be!

This past weekend, I was privileged to attend the women's for my mother's church. My sister-in-law also got to come. It was an AMAZING weekend of tears, cheers, and for me, growth. See, my God is a loving, patient, all knowing God. He has His PERFECT plan for my life, and as I listen to Him, it's all playing out. Bit by bit, brush stroke by brush stroke, God is molding me.

In April 2009, I was able to attend the women's retreat for my church. I was engaged at the time and we had a fantastic speaker. I fully remember the theme being "when life throws you curve balls".   Later that year, it was June, the wedding was called off. Whoa! Huge curve ball! Looking back now, my loving Father was helping me learn how to better deal with those curve balls, little did I know about that one I'd get.

Fast forward to this weekend. I had no idea who the speaker was and very little about the theme. We arrived to the retreat center after the first session was already closing. My mother asked about what we had missed and we were told a little about the speaker. After hearing about little about her background, my mind began recalling bits, and then I saw her name. It was the same speaker I had heard 3 years previous. WOW! *Okay God, you've got some plan here!*


The weekend's theme was "My Prince has come...and His name is Jesus". Jenny Broughton, once again, did a fabulous job speaking. She is an amazingly strong woman who has had many curveballs thrown at her. I needed this weekend more than I knew. I cried. I laughed. But most of all, I finally emptied a cup that desperately needed emptying. I know I won't get all the answers and closure my heart longs for. Yes, rejection hurts on so many levels and it can take a very long time for those wounds of rejection to heal. I chose to be better, not bitter. I'm choosing to keep on keeping on, to pursue Him. He is the ONLY person that NEVER lets you down. I will lean on Him through the heartache, sorrow and joy. I may not have an earthly mate to live life with right now, but I can, and should, share all my joys and sorrows with my King. I will continue to let Him mold me into the precious princess He created me to be.

I want those "princess perks." What are the princess perks? Well here you go! Protection, provider, planning, palace (my house, not a real princess castle palace!) peace, prayer, His presence, power He provides all these for His princesses and princes. So you see, this weekend was very eye opening to me. What finished emptying that cup was a poem titled "Single Woman's Prayer". The woman who wrote it was in attendance this weekend.

 I will leave you with her poem.

 Single Woman’s Prayer
By Christina Sparks
LORD AS I SIT AND WAIT FOR HIM TO SAY

THAT HE’S COME TO TAKE MY HAND TODAY

DRAW ME CLOSE TO YOU AND RENEW MY HEART

PREPARE ME FOR MARRIAGE SO I CAN DO MY PART

BIT BY BIT PLEASE MAKE ME NEW

MOLD ME AND TEACH ME ALL ABOUT YOU

WHEN I’M A WIFE AND MOTHER OF TWO

I WILL TELL MY CHILDREN OF ALL YOU DO

AS I CRY AND SCREAM THAT IT’S GETTING LATE 

REMIND ME HEAVEN DESIGNED MY MATE 

ONE THAT WILL PRAY WITH ME EVERYDAY

EVEN WHEN BUSINESS HAS CALLED HIM AWAY 

LORD AS I SIT AND WAIT FOR HIM TO SAY

THAT HE’S COME TO TAKE MY HAND TODAY

I WILL KEEP A SMILE UPON MY FACE

YOUR LOVE FOR ME I WILL EMBRACE

READING YOUR WORD, SINGING YOUR PRAISE

THAT WILL CONTINUE ALL MY DAYS

LONGING IN MY HEART FOR MY HUSBAND TRUE

ALL MY FAITH REST IN YOU

I WON’T GIVE UP, I’LL CONTINUE TO BELIEVE

THAT YOUR PROMISE OF MARRIAGE I WILL RECEIVE

GLORY TO MY FATHER HIGH ABOVE

I’M SENDING YOU ALL MY LOVE

AMEN

Single Woman's Prayer

"Buck" the fim

I just got back from seeing this amazing documentary on Buck Brannaman. He's kind of, well not just kind of, he IS the horse whisperer. He shows horsemen and horsewomen a kinder, gentler way of handling these huge creatures who are more sensitive than humans. (Horses very easily pick up on human fear and insecurities.) He says that your horse is a reflection of your soul. If that is true about horses, how true is that for other creatures and humans we are around?

As an educator, I saw so much wisdom in how he trains and starts colts. As a First Grade teacher, I teach children how to read as well as the basics of math and science. I have to build confidence and at times push these young, impressionable souls to do something they sometimes don't think they can do. Just like Buck shows clinic goers how to build trust in their horses in a kind, gentle way, I too, must build trust and confidence in my students so they KNOW they can do what I'm asking and expecting of them. In the documentary, Buck says that parents must be parents first before they can be their child's friend. This builds a TRUE self confidence that will take any child to the moon and beyond. Show your child, students, horse, that you first believe in them, even when failure happens, and soon that failure will become success. Allowing a horse (or child) to stop after failure and not push on creates insecurities and self doubt. When pushing on and continuing to try to and succeed, how much more proud are we of ourselves after? This film has renewed my passion for teaching and showing the young students that come to my classroom that I care about them and will do everything I can to help them succeed and that I'll be there and support them when they fail, but will help pick them back up and support them to try again.

One of these days, I'd love to just go be an observer at a Buck clinic to see what other tidbits of wisdom I can pick up and apply to teaching my students.

Thank you Mr. Brannaman. Thank you!

My New Home

I was an apartment dweller for nearly 7 years. In October, I was able to purchase my first house! What a great feeling that was. I have worked hard to make it home, and as always there is more to be done. It was a rental before I bought it. The inside SCREAMED paint me, please! Moving from my apartment came during the loss of my wonderful, precious, 93 year old grandmother. I was in Kansas for the funeral, then had to fly back for moving the next day. I already had help lined up. I lived with my parents for three miserable...ummmm I mean three weeks. In the process, my cats got more acquainted with mom and dad. And while I had an empty house, it got painted! There is still much to be done, but it's home to me! Enjoy the pictures!

Re-covered

Hello blogging world! I realize it has been so long since I wrote. Much has happened in the last several months, but that shall be covered soon enough. Tonight, I took on a domestic project. I have this nice Lane Cedar chest I got for Christmas many years ago. This girl still likes blue, but as I've become a homeowner and started doing more decorating, I've started using more earth tones, so this lovely blue chest has to get recovered. This involved fabric and a stable gun, and of course my wonderful felines trying to help. Here's how it all went.

More posts to come!

I feel like an adult now!

Here I sit, a couple days after my wedding should have been, feeling like an official adult, at 30. Why? Well, I am purchasing a house! I have lived in an apartment for 6 years, the housing market is just right for first time home buyers and there is money from the government for first time home buyers. I found the right house and I'm SUPER excited!


I am on vacation right now. I spent a wonderful 4 days with my aunt in Independence, MO and am currently at my sister's, while dealing with the purchase of my first home! As I type this, I am waiting for a phone call back from my realtor as the paperwork is being completed. Technology is such a good thing!

So how am I doing in other ways? Well, I'm still hurt, but it gets better every day. I know that things do happen for a reason and through all the fire I can come out one of two ways. I can come out worse than I was or I can chose to go on with my life and not become miserable because of my circumstances. I have chosen not to become miserable with with lemons thrown at me. I chose to hopefully glorify Christ in how I react and have dealt will all that has been given to me. So right now, life is good. I'm taking it one day at a time. And right now, I have house paperwork to print and sign!

Help for the hurting heart

Life. Is it ever fair? Does it go the way WE would like for it to go? Does it stick to OUR plans? Unfortunately the answer to that is no. Here's why. As much as we love to believe it, we are not ultimately in control. God, the creator of the universe, who can make the mountains bow to Him, who can stop a hurricane is in complete and total control of this whole universe. He is THE creator. He uses us, His people for His glory.

I was six weeks away from being married. I was excited and looking forward to beginning life together. Then I hear the words, "I need to talk to you". I didn't have a good feeling about it. Let's just say the wedding went from postponed on Saturday to off completely on Friday. Now, I'm not going to say I'm not a basket case. I'm not going to say I'm not angry or bitter, but I'm not going to hang on to those feelings and live in misery. Yes, it hurts and I cry. I'm very sad. I don't understand why things are the way they are. I know that I am in control of my actions and how I handle this from here out. I will not dwell on the hurt as easy as that could be. I am surrounding myself with people who love me as I am, who care about me. Who want to see the healing begin.

I want to be able to glorify Christ in how I handle myself. I know that if I didn't have Christ, I would be a horrible emotional wreck. My strength is not my own.

I know the healing process will take time. This morning I woke up feeling sad and I'm not even completely sure why. Maybe it's that I feel I deserve answers from him, that to this point I still have not gotten. Maybe it's I had spent so long preparing for another stage in my life and here I am back to square one and I don't know where to even begin. Maybe it's just being a woman and those stupid hormones are getting the best of me. I don't know what it is. I just know I'm sad. But I also know in my sadness, I can't lose site that I'm a daughter of the King. God is bigger than any of my earthly problems.

I know the events of the last week are still very fresh on my mind. I know time heals all wounds. In the mean time it just stinks.

Why....

....is a question we often ask ourselves only after something happens and doesn't go the way we intended. Why is a question a 3, 4, or 5 year old asks his or her mom or dad because of curiosity. In my humble opinion, we don't, as adults, ask ourselves why often enough. Why did he react that way? Why did she say that? Why is that? Why is this? Sometimes asking why before reacting, being hurt, getting upset is the better way to figure out why something happened or was said, rather than throwing a tantrum. Asking why is something I haven't used enough, but rather, have done the get upset, be frustrated thing, rather than taking a moment to take a breath, and ask why. Why is something I'm learning and asking, wondering and praying. And in due time I hope I know why. I'm growing. I'm learning. I'm trusting. I'm praying. I'm wondering why. So the next time something happens to you, before you react, take a moment to pause, take a breath (or two, or three) and ask yourself, why did that just happen? You might be surprised how you react or the answer you receive.

Cats

The feline creature is a mystery. I have two. They always keep me laughing. I never know which of them will do something goofy. Both of mine have quite the personality. Sassy my female will put her toys in the water bowl. Oliver, he's more of the kind that puts his toys in the food dish. I can remove them, but it doesn't take long for him to put them back in with the food. Sassy is so girlie! She prefers to play with twisty ties and her favorite, ribbon. Oliver would rather have a ball with a bell or the ring from the milk carton. Sassy would rather play with me. Oliver would rather torture Sassy. They are such siblings without being siblings.

So I have the day off today. I was just chilling, drinking my coffee about to go take a shower when I walk past the food dish and see half of Oliver's toys in the food! He's such a dork! So I'm sitting there cracking up then decide to get my camera and take a picture...it is after all a Kodak moment!

From cats

From cats

'Tis the season....

...of traffic jams
...of long lines at the checkout counter
...of tree farms being closed by 6:30
...of no more school for a couple weeks
...of warm family get togethers
...of fires crackling in the fireplace
...of reflecting on the past year and looking forward to the things the next year will bring
...of new beginnings


I'm going to look at Christmas lights tonight to try to take photographs....yes those will be posted later. I'm looking forward to a relaxing two weeks! I'll try to blog more frequently, but no promises...lots of family coming in for Christmas.

Lions and tigers and babies

Today I went back to the Fort Worth Zoo for another photo adventure...this time in the 50 degree weather. While I was looking at the website for the zoo this week, I saw that they had the baby tigers and lions!!! I was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO pumped to get to go see them!! So this morning we trekked off to the zoo, cameras in tow. Since it was cooler we weren't sure what which animals would be out. At the primate house the only thing out was what was inside, and hard to see through the glass at that. After several stops, we made it to the big cats! The white tiger was not out...my guess is that it would have made momma Malaysian tiger very upset since she has 3 adorable, and VERY playful cubs. The lion cubs were cuddling looking, but not as photogenic. Daddy lion was VERY upset that he could not get over to where the other lions were and he very vocal in his discontent. What struck me in watching the two different cat mothers was how the interacted with their cubs. The tiger momma was playing with her cubs, chasing them, showing them the innate survival that a tiger in the wild would need. I noticed that these cubs were very similar to house cats in how they play and interact with each other.

The lioness on the other hand was very paws off! (HAHAHA) She didn't want to be bothered, separated herself from the cubs, and let the cubs play with each other. If a cub came over to her and was being playful she just ignored the cub.

I can't help but think how similar human mothers are to these two cats. There are mothers who have no problem interacting with her offspring and she takes great pleasure in doing so. Her children are her pride and joy and she will do anything for them. There are also mothers who, in a sense, let her children raise themselves because she is too busy taking care of her needs and she doesn't want to be bothered or won't take a few minutes to interact with her children. Just my thoughts....

Anyway, below is a slide show of some of my latest photos. Enjoy!

Politics and Religion

Politics. A tricky subject not brought up in many Christian circles for fear of what feet we my step on or whom we may get into a heated discussion with. Why is it that so many people, so many Christians more specifically, turn away from discussions of this depth? I, for one, believe it is because they feel their voice won't be heard. That they are a minority so their opinion doesn't matter. That ultimately God is in control, therefore what I think doesn't really matter. It is true that God is in control and is sovereign. Just because God is ultimately in control does not mean we should sit around and let the world around us crumble.

As Christians we are called to stand up for what is right. For what is holy. For what is going to further the kingdom. So why can we NOT say the negative about politicians when that is the truth? We should be a very vocal group when it comes to politics however we go about our daily business in our meek and mild manner, some only rely on faith to see them through each day. We shouldn't be so heavenly focused we are no earthly good. We should be able to firmly defend our positions, to see that the government runs as our forefathers of faith intended. I believe that if our founding fathers were alive today they would be up in arms about today's politics. There is greed, corruption and worse amongst today's politicians. Where is the public outcry? We pay tax dollars to help OUR government and since we pay we have a voice. Our voice hasn't been silenced yet. Let your voice be heard.

Memory Lane...

I attended my ten year high school reunion this weekend. WOW! What a walk down memory lane. There were those people you recognize right away and then there were those whom you were struggling to remember. There were those who had grown up and were working to be successful adults, and those who were acting like they were still in college. It was wonderful to catch up with everyone and find out who was doing what and living where. Sadly, we didn't have even half the class there. As standard, here is a slide show. Enjoy!

Pictures, pictures, pictures

This week began, and ended with photographic adventures. On Monday, a friend and I ventured out to the Fort Worth Botanic Garden. The day started nice (as nice as it can for a late July day in Texas) and by the end of the day, I was simply dragging, ready to get some food and some air conditioning. Minus the heat, it was a beautiful day full of new photo experience.

This morning, EARLY, this same friend and I ventured out to Lake Grapevine to try to catch the sunrise and hike around for a couple hours. The breeze from the lake was about the best part of the day other than the conversation as we walked. We parked my car at one end of the trail, the end, and took his car to the start of the trail to catch the sunrise and begin our adventure. It was a blessing to have shade most of the morning. My feet hurt, but I got some very wonderful photographs and had excellent companionship this morning, and Monday as well. Here are some of my favorite photographs from this week. Enjoy!

Zoo

I spent my entire Saturday at the zoo this past weekend. What a way to practice photography! Over 500 images were captured of creatures of various shapes and sizes. While looking through my lens, I couldn't help but find beauty in God's creation, and realized that even if the animal wasn't perfect in appearance to us, it was still perfect in God's eyes. How much like that is God's love and passion for us? It was a day well spent. Enjoy the pictures!

Grapevine

....what a wonderful town! It is a hidden treasure of beauty. I spent the morning with a friend taking pictures at the botanical garden, Nash Farm, and the train depot. What fun it was! I think I'm beginning to see things differently through the lens of the camera. I created a slide show of my favorite pictures. Enjoy!

Experimenting with photographs

Since I got my new camera, I find myself LOOKING for places and things to take pictures of. I often drive past a place in Flower Mound called Square. They have a nice fountain close to the road. Tonight I decided I wanted to go take pictures of it. One of the techniques we were told about in my photo class was how to get that "silky water" look so I thought I'd give it a shot.....and I did it! After I was finished there I went to mom and dad's to water plants then dashed home to grab my dog and take her to play before it got too dark. I got distracted by one of the prettiest sunsets I have seen here in a long time. Fortunately, I had my camera with me! HAHA Imagine that!

The cats seem to be adjusting to having the dog around, what they don't know is she goes back to mom and dad's Monday. Both of them have spent more time than normal on the opposite end of the livingroom. Enjoy the photos!

The visitor

I was awaken at my parents house this morning at 5 so that I could "take" them to the airport more like drive back and go back to sleep. I decided while I was up and the sun was coming up, like any photographer, I'd see what I could do to capture the sunrise. So I was looking and walking around outside and was in the back looking at the rose bushes when I spotted a praying mantis. As mean as those bugs can be I decided to take pictures of him because, well I had camera in hand.

My parents kindly house my dog. I actually think they enjoy having her around. So since they're gone and no one else is around to take care of the dog, that's what I get to do. It's not hard work. She's easy. But since I didn't have horses to take care of or anything else, I decided she could some stay with me while they're gone. I knew my cats probably wouldn't be happy with me, but they will get over it. They always do. So we walked in the door this afternoon and Sassy was laying on one of my side tables and couldn't decide if she wanted to stay or run away to the bedroom. I knew Oliver was most likely in the bedroom, so I ran and shut the door to deal with him later. Sassy was absolutly fine with Haley being here. I think she's still curious as to what exactly that thing I brought through the door is. Oliver, as always was hiding at first but I made him come out with us. I let him go do his hiding thing like he always does when he's scared, then when I was ready, I got him out and made him go see Haley. There were no growels or hisses more of a curiosity than anything. So all is peaceful, for now. Oliver has gotten brave and as I sit here and type this Oliver thought my leg would make a good play toy and has since gone to his perch on the back of the chair.

pictures, pictures, pictures

So I have this thing for taking pictures. I've been told by a lot of people I could make money off them but I don't feel I could sell them only having a compact digital....until today. I bit the bullett and bought a digital SLR. It's amazing! I'm taking a photography class at my church and I don't think I would have been as anxious to get one if I hadn't been in this class. I have already figured out a lot of the features because it is the same brand as the point and shoot I had before (which I still have.) So enjoy the slide show and comment away!

Independence Day

Happy Independence Day America! What a wonderful country we live in. May we never forget the greatness of our country and the blessing of our freedom! I got to play with the Flower Mound Symphony tonight before the firework show (which was cut short due to wind blowing debris of the fireworks onto us in the stands...nothing like wearing the fireworks!) Before we started the show, I looked back over my shoulder and there was a rainbow. I texted dad sitting in the stands and he took the picture.

fresh paint

Ok so my living room got painted today...well just one wall but it looks fantastic! Nothing like the smell of paint inside.