A Year in the Life

I know this is my third post this week.  And yes, I'm just as amazed as you are.  But something happened to me today & yes, it relates back to my Honduras trip. Each morning, someone would give a devotion/message/challenge.  One morning, one of the men challenged us to, just walk across the room.  He is reading a book by the same title & told us that for each person it would look different, but as believers we're called to share Christ.  If you are shy, walking across the room (WATR) may be you talking to someone you don't know.  It might be sharing your testimony or praying for someone you just met. WATR is recognizing the moments God has placed you in & using your life moment for His glory.  Well, today I had one.  Through a series of unimportant events, I ended up at the FedEx distribution center in Birmingham.  A box my company was shipping was going to a nonexistent address & I had to get it so it wouldn't end up bein...

My view every morning at Grace Farm. 1 week ago Saturday I left to go on a mission trip to Honduras.  The months before I left and the entire way down I kept asking myself what in the world I was doing.  I'm about as white and as southern as you can get.  As I've looked back on my 44 years, I can't remember a time when I was hungry because I didn't have enough to eat.  I've never been without heat when it's cold or cool air when it's hot.  I was never abused by my parents.  I have always had plenty of clothes in my closet to wear.  So again, I asked myself, what am I doing here. Plane window view As we flew into the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa, I couldn't help but notice how urban it was.  It looked like a normal American city.  And it is.  They have malls and movie theaters.  (they actually have the movies inside the mall, brilliant!)  They have McDonald's, Popeye's chicken, and many other restaurants.  Th...

I've had some really heartwarming mommy moments this last week.  One in particular I have to share. Now, I will admit that there are some songs we sing in church that I like better than others.  I like them all, but some just move my spirit.  I was in church with Elizabeth on my left & Henry on my right, and this song started to play.  It's one of my favorites!  My heart was so full, and then I looked out of my peripheral vision. My most fervent prayer is that my children would have encounters with the Living God.  I pray that He would touch them and they would know without a shadow of a doubt that He loves them and wants a relationship with them.  I pray that they will choose to follow Him all the days of their lives.  I know He is faithful, and has already given me answers to more prayers than I can count.   I look and my children are singing and worshiping and smiling.  How could my heart not be full?  How could my h...

Somebody write it down, I'm blogging two days in a row.  So much is going through my melon & this is my therapy.  Well, this and getting my hair done, but this is free.  Hopson likes free, but my hair does look much better.  Anyway... Last year some of E's friends had a lyrical dance to the song "When a Heart Breaks" by Ben Rector .  (here's a cool remake that's acca-awesome .)  This song is one of my faves, although I would change one of the lyrics.  When you hear it you'll know which one I mean. Have you ever had events in your life where you have literally felt your heart break?  The, I just need to lay down and wish the earth would swallow me whole, kind of breaks?  I have, and this song just speaks to my soul.  I have felt almost every emotion he talks about.  If you haven't been through something that shatters your heart, prepare yourself because it's coming.  None of us escape it, because we live in a fallen crea...

As all moms know, December is CrAzY!  Not only is there the regular schedule to keep up with, but you have added in the seasonal schedule: decorating, cooking, Christmas cards, gift buying & wrapping ~ to just name a few.  Christmas is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year, but instead it turns into the most dreaded & miserable time of the year. Ask me how many people I've heard complain about their extended families & having to spend time with them.  Ask me how I felt last night at the Galleria.  You know what, I felt sad.  I saw unhappy people trying to find gifts for people they don't really like with money they probably don't have.  The whole season gets kicked off with Black Friday which has turned into something ugly & selfish.  I don't want to be that way at Christmas.  I want to feel the love of my family.  I want to laugh and make happy memories.  I want to lavish in the simplicity of the king wh...

Holy Schomly...my daughter is an internet published photographer!  And not just by me on this blog or on her webpage ...see, I know what you're thinking.  :)  Now, don't get me wrong, I love to use her photography, but as her biggest fan & biggest critic, she really does have an eye. There are wonderfully talented people in my community.  Artists, artisans, home decorators, fashion consultants, writers, and the list keeps going.  It really is amazing as I stop and think about it.  There are many of them who use their talent, not only to make something more beautiful, but a chance to share about the One who gave them the talent.  It's pretty cool. One of those people is Buffy York.  Buffy started a very popular blog called The Style Gathering , and features a talented Godly friend, Laura DiFatta, as one of her guest writers.  How Elizabeth came to meet Buffy, and now be a photographer for her is, to me, a pretty cool story. This past...

That should be the new motto of my state & city.  I stand in utter amazement this morning as I read about all the acts of kindness.  Is there anything more humbling than being served by someone? There have been pleas on FaceBook to rescue elderly grandparents, children, stranded motorists.  Churches opened their doors; neighbors opened their doors; businesses packed people in.  There were friends who abandoned their cars to start walking home last night, and stopped to rest at restaurants that were slammed with customers.  You know what they did?  They became servers!  How great is that?  (Kim & Jason)  Have hands, will serve. This morning an alert went out that there was a good Samaritan that didn't make it home last night & he was not responding to calls or texts.  He is also diabetic.  Oh yeah, and it dropped down to 17 degrees last night.  SCARY!  You know what a group of people did?  They formed a...

The snow had just started. Snow, it is the four letter word here in Alabama.  It sends fear into the heart of every mother.  Last night they predicted that we would get just a dusting.  Um, they messed up our forecast by just a bit.  Our favorite weatherman in town has called it a "horrible forcasting error".  We received around 2 inches, and it hit fast. My totally precious Zumba instructor, Kaitlin. Now, if you are reading this in a state that gets a lot of snow, I know you're laughing.  You know what, I would be too.  What you need to realize is that we don't get a lot of snow.  We are in the deep south.  We do summer really well, not snow.  As a matter of fact, after Christmas, I would be so totally ok if spring would come.  I am done with winter. Here's the Terrible, Horrible... The snow hit so fast that within 30 minutes you couldn't drive on the roads.  At this point in time (around 10:30 this morning)...

Merry    Happy    Blessed These are all things we wish each other during the Christmas/New Year season.  But sometimes the season is not merry, happy or blessed.  Sometimes it feels quite the opposite.  How well I have felt the opposite. This year I have said goodbye to two men very close to me.  We were not related, but for all intents and purposes we should be.  I have friends who have parents and spouses in the hospital right now hanging on for dear life.  Where is their merry, happy and blessed? From thefeministintellect.com I know where it is.  I know exactly where to look.  I know that despite any circumstances this world throws at us; the merry, happy and blessed happen.  Emmanuel.  God with us.  God with me.  God with Ashley.  God with you too.  He didn't leave us alone to suffer through our hardships.  He came to be with us, always.  The King of Glory shed his ma...

If you haven't heard about the hullabaloo concerning Miley Cyrus, I'm going to assume that you live under a rock. Many have said that it's just sad that we are focused on her than on the other major problems going on in our society right now.  I have spent many hours thinking about the whole sordid affair & this is what I realized. What Miley did was to show us the underlying problem with Hollywood, the music industry & progressives.  (Yes, I'm bringing politics into it.)  You know what the problem is?  Moral relativism.  What MC did was nothing new.  The same thing happened in the ancient societies of Greece & Rome.  Although I doubt the ancient Greeks or Romans had flashing lights, pink plush dancing bears and foam fingers, but they did  have problems with: drugs, abortion, political corruption and many other social problems. Miley showed us the hedonistic, anything goes, just do what feels good to you philosophy propagated by th...

A few nights ago Elizabeth was working on some history homework.  She is in 8th grade & studying ancient history.  She was working very hard on her project & wanted to show it to me.  Yes, wonderful, I love to see your homework and how excited your nerdy self gets.  (that is a compliment by the way, we love nerds in our house.)  As I looked over it & made her correct her spelling errors, I realized that God is in the details. It was a really cool moment for me.  You know the ones where He kinda takes your breath away as He reveals Himself to you.  If you've never had a God moment like that, you need one.  Talk about awesomesauce, well that is it. What God revealed was one particular time on her sheet...the fall of the Babylonian Empire to the Persians in 539 BC.  Yes, that is a pretty innocuous date to us, but do you remember who was living through it & what was going on?  I heard God whisper to me...Daniel.  O.M...

You know when you hear a worship song & you just want to start dancing?  Kinda like David did when the Israelites were bringing back the ark into Jerusalem.  It's in 2 Samuel 6 and in 1 Chronicles.  It just pure joy of the Lord coming over you.  If you've never felt it, worship Him with all that you are & it will, I promise.  It just bubbles up inside you & you can't help yourself.  It's a physical manifestation of the spiritual. I had one of those moments yesterday in  my car of all places.  It's a little hard to dance while you're driving, but I was dancing in my heart & worshiping with everything I was.  It was really cool.  While I was listening to the words I saw the many different ways God has fulfilled the words of this song.  He is always faithful and you just have to look to the Word becoming flesh to realize He is the great I Am.  We serve an amazing Lord...W...

Raising Godly men in this day and age can be difficult.  The prevalent environment of today is for men to be feminized.  I think I'm just gonna say, um, no.  My boys are going to be  Godly chivalrous men .  They are going to treat women for the princesses they are.  Because you know what?  You need to know who your messing with.  Each girl is a princess to the King of Kings, and I don't think you want Him mad at how you treated one of His prized possessions. I was talking with Hop about it the other day.  Our pastor said something in a sermon last year that really hit me hard.  It was a message to the young people about dating.  He told the boys to treat their girlfriend how they want their future wife to be treated by whomever is dating her.  I know that sounds so weird, but when you wrap your mind around it, it makes total sense.  That also means that whomever you are datin...

No, not the kind you eat.  Yuck!  Although, my MeMaw used to gig, cook & eat frog legs.  That's like eating Kermit, and I just can't do that.  Well, maybe now I could.  Kermie I think has become a socialist.  How about you just love the pig and do your little show?  But, I digress. I love Intellectual Froglegs .  I know I've talked about him before, but hey guess what?  I'm going to talk about him again.  Joe Dan Gorman is hilarious & hits the nail right on the head. His allegiance is to God, truth and freedom.  Yes JDG, I'm right there with you!  And, I'll have a double of what ever you're having!  It's good stuff. Go check him out, he loves Jesus, he loves America, he's southern & he's awesome.  FTL, in his latest video he uses a song Eddie Murphy sings in Coming to America!  It's great & makes me want to watch the movie!  Click HERE for his latest video. ...

I wrote a posting for my sorority alumnae blog and I would love for y'all to read it.  It's about the beauty of grace and mercy.  When they gave us the choice of topics, mine was so easy to choose. I hope you enjoy it & remember that Christ offers you grace and mercy every day!  Click HERE to head over to Live Sigma Kappa. Celebrating Life! ~ashley

This is for some friends from high school, but it applies to so many of us.  If you've ever, in your adult life, had someone say ugly things about you behind your back, this posting is for you.  If you've ever had to remind your child that what someone said about them is untrue, this posting is for you.  If you are fighting your past, your present isn't the best, and your future looks dismal, this posting is for you. KNOW WHO YOU ARE!!!  I wish I could say that I wrote this document , but I didn't.  (click the link & it will take you to a google doc.  I tried to post it on the blog, but it didn't show up in two columns like it's supposed to.)  It was given to me, and now I'm giving it to you.  It's one of those papers I keep tucked in my bible so I can remember that I already  know who I am.  I hope it blesses you.  God's words are truth!  Choose to accept these words and choose to reject any negative w...

I thought I would go with another Epiphany theme for today's posting.  I love the song We Three Kings.  It's so cool to think about these guys.  Don't think of them as showing up Christmas night to see the baby Jesus, because that is not how it happened. These guys were astrologers in the Orient.  Someone told me they were known as 'king makers'.  While studying the skies they noticed a new star that had settled over Jerusalem.  They knew it was a special star & set off, on their camels, to find out what king was living under that star.  This was a several thousand mile journey, not just a jaunt over the next hill. It is often speculated that there were three wise men, but there could have been more.  What is important is that when they saw Jesus, who is between 1 and 2 when the Magi arrive, they knew he was the messiah.  They didn't hesitate in giving their obedience ...

I love Christmas.  I love everything about it.  The decorations, the music, the time with family, and most of all celebrating the birth of the one person who came to change the world, and break the bonds of sin. I love Christmas carols, especially the ones that have Christian meanings.  Did you know that the 12 days of Christmas have Christian symbols throughout it?  I read them a few years ago but decided to dig them out since right now we are in the 12 days of Christmas making our way to Epiphany January 6th. The 12 days of Christmas were written to help people remember 12 tenants of the Christian faith.  They're fun to know, so I've put them below.  See how many you know; we had fun talking about these Christmas Eve after church.  I hope your family enjoys them also! May your days be merry & bright! Celebrating Life! ~ashley The meaning behind the 12 days of Christmas   Gift Interpretation A partrid...