A Blessed Weekend Indeed...

What an amazing, spirit filled weekend I had this past weekend. Thursday afternoon, seven of my sisters in Christ (Deb, Diane, Denise, Sue, Wanda, Roberta, & Christie) and I headed to Atlanta for the Women of Faith convention. We absolutely were blessed beyond our expectations. Here's a picture of our group....not a great picture, but a picture....

Friday was the pre-conference where there was free seating (not reserved seats). There were probably a couple thousand women or more there by this time. During one of the breaks, as the lights came on, I looked down 2 rows in front of me and saw a friend of mine from Crossbridge Church of Christ in Birmingham, Wendy Hall. I couldn't believe in that crowd of women from all over the Southeast, there, two rows away was a friend. We visited for a few minutes before the next session started. It was great to see her, but I never saw her again the rest of the weekend.


The Women of Faith speakers were wonderful. Some of them included, Patsy Clairmont, Anita Renfroe, Sheila Walsh, Sandi Patty, Nicole C. Mullen, Jan Silvious, Luci Swindoll, and several more. They all had a message about God's Infinite Grace, either through comedy, music, everyday life experiences, from the standpoint of a psychologist, etc. Each were unique in their presentation.


The main message I got was that at some point in our lives, sometimes it's a one time thing, for others it's continuous, but, our lives will be scorched, burned, destroyed....BUT Spring will come and make that life beautiful again, possibly growing something even more beautiful than before... God's grace is a gift, a gift we can't do anything to earn.....it's God's gift to us, no matter who you are, where you are, or where you've been.....you've just got to accept it. Let God bless you.


Another message that stuck with me was Emotions....There are, of course, positive emotions and negative emotions. It's not the positive or negative that's important, it's how we react to the emotion--good or bad. What determines the quality of your life? Your emotions OR your relationship with Christ? The same way that our negative emotions can control our lives, our positive emotions have that same power. Emotions can do two things: they can bring glory to God or they can make people wonder if I really know God. Romans 12:2 tells us to "not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--His good, pleasing and perfect will." It really comes down to the question, is God really in control of my life? Or, am I trying to control everything? Wow, did I need that. I pray daily that I will have the wisdom, to give it all to Him, to allow Him to have control in my life. It's a daily struggle, but God's grace will see me through. He will do the same for each and everyone of us, we just have to accept His grace and seek His will. He is, after all, in control of everything. We were never promised that life would be easy, just that it would be worth it if we follow His plan.


Ok, that's it for the lesson today. Sorry, I got carried away. But the messages from this past weekend and how they were presented absolutely blew me away. The message has been there all along, I realize that. It just really hit home and touched me in a way it never has. Thanks for allowing me to use my blog to put into words what has been swimming around in my head since I got home Saturday night.


Sunday night, my wonderful husband took me to see the movie Nights in Roadanthe. It was nice to have a date with my guy!! The date was great, the movie, no so much. Let's just say I liked the book much more. I do recommend the movie, but if you haven't read the book, I recommend that more so.


And yes, I DID get out bright and early Tuesday morning, to purchase Nicholas Sparks' brand new book "The Lucky One". I haven't been the lucky one and had the time to get started on it, but I plan to in the next few days. Actually, I'm reading "The Shack", (which I highly recommend), for the second time. There is a group of ladies from Greenbrier (WINGS) who meet on Thursday night to discuss "The Shack", so I'm back into that right now.


I don't know about you, but I am so looking forward to this October weekend. I am just loving this weather. We are so blessed....God handy work is so awesome!!


I almost forgot, my little guy, Coleman and his family made it back to New York for his next cancer treatment. Please keep "team Larson" in your prayers as Coleman goes through this new experimental treatment.


"Life is hard, but God is Faithful"

I LOVE FALL!!!

I know, it's been a while. This is such a busy time of the year. But then again what time of the year isn't busy? This year is just flying by. Anyway, this post is going to be all over the place, so bear with me.

First of all, don't forget September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. SO, please remember, if you are near a Chili's restaurant on Monday, September 29, PLEASE eat there. ALL of their proceeds that day are donated to Childhood Cancer Research. I know there isn't a Chili's around Oxford, AL. But there is one in Gadsden, which is only about a 30-45 min. drive. Our family will be making Sept. 29 a family night out and take a trip to Chili's. I hope others will also. Please spread the word.

Another little guy I follow on Caring Bridge--Cole--earned his angel wings this past Friday. The little guy was just diagnosed July 26, 2008, one month after his 3rd birthday. His family had less than 2 months from the time he was diagnosed, and more than half that time he was sedated. His Caring Bridge site is http://www.caringbridge.org/cb/viewJournal.do?method=executeInit. Please pray for Cole's family...no parent should have to bury their child!


And please remember Coleman, as they will return to New York next week to begin his new treatment. They were pretty concerned about the date, Sept. 21, this past Sunday. You see that was the date 2 years ago that he was diagnosed, then on that same date 1 year ago, they were told he had relapsed. He is in his second relapse and remember he won't be 5 years old until this December. That little guy has been through more in his short 4 years than most adults will go through in their entire lifetime.


Here is a portion of Peggy's (his mom) post from yesterday.....

One more week before we leave for NYC. We have a LOT we want to fit in, lots to get ready and much to do before we go. It will be a busy week around here! Sept. 21, 2008 It was MUCH better than the two previous years! It started out with us deciding to ‘chance it’ and take Coleman to church with us. We’ve been keeping him home, trying our best to keep him away from germs with his low counts. He was SO happy- and was the first one ready to go in the morning. The boys and I headed out to the van and were waiting for Scott. Coleman said, “ohhhhh, I for-dot bunny!” (I had told him to make sure it was by the door before we got ready, so he wouldn’t forget it) I went into…. “remember when I told you to put it by the door?.....” Caden stopped me and said, “I’LL go get it Coe-man” and took off for the house. He came back and tossed it on Coleman’s lap. Coleman said, “FANK YOU TAYD! You are the bessess bwuver I ev-va had, ann I doan know WHAT I would do wifout you.” Caden answered, “I would do ANYFING for you Coe-man!”
Cman’s prayer when he went to bed last night…“ann Dod, Fank you for wettin us haf the BESSESS day in the woe-ld (world) today. You maked it a DWATE (great) day for me. Fank you Dod. Ann pweeze Dod wet Day-weck (Derek) det outta the hos-pi-ta ann have fun too.” THAT one was already answered! Our little friend Derek got to go home today- YAY Derek! (cp: derekellerbeck2007)
Oh how I love to hear Coleman pray. His prayers are so heartfelt, and he never ends without thinking of someone who needs to be prayed for…often many…)
We appreciate your continued prayers for Coleman’s complete healing. We not letting up…we’re letting God KNOW our desires, and we know He’s listening….we’re praising him for the blessings He’s given us yesterday, today and tomorrow.
This is the link to Coleman's link, if you want to read more of his deep thoughts and prayers....http://www.carepages.com/carepages/ColemanScott. You'll have to create a password, if you haven't visited CarePages before.


Okay, everyone......Are you ready for this Friday, Sept. 26, 2008...it's the opening of the movie.....Nights in Rodanthe, based on Nicholas Sparks' book. Here's a link to view the trailer.....http://nightsinrodanthe.warnerbros.com/ I'll have to wait until Saturday or Sunday night to make my first viewing of the movie (notice I said first), because I will be leaving Thursday afternoon headed here.....
About 8 ladies from church are attending the Women of Faith Conference in Atlanta. The theme is Infinite Grace. We'll be back Saturday evening. So, Nights in Rodanthe will have to wait a day or two. I'm pretty pumped about the women's conference and spending time with my sisters in Christ and meeting other sisters I didn't even know about!! I'll let you know more about that next week.

On to the next news....Tuesday, September 30, 2008 I will be headed to the local Books A Million first thing to purchase this beauty.... The newest Nicholas Sparks book....The Lucky One. Can you tell that I'm an avid Nicholas Sparks fan? Well, on October 9, 2008 I'll even make the trip to Birmingham, along with a few friends, to his book signing. I'm just a little excited! And yes, for those of you who know me well, know that date rings a bell with you. It's my oldest daughter, Abbey's 20th birthday. So I don't get the "worst mom" award, the book signing is at noon that day, so I'll be back in plenty of time to "celebrate" with my (sigh) 20 year old. Talk about time flying....

Well, except for the nip in the air and sleeping with the windows open, I guess that's all the excitement I have for this post. I pray that everyone is feeling as blessed as I do. God is Good....ALL the time!! I'll leave you with this quote....


"Every 60 seconds you spend angry, upset, worrying or mad, is a full minute of happiness you'll never get back"