Anniversary dinner and Christmas pix

Update

Good news! I've figured the background thing out, but I have not figured out the pictures. When I try to browse for pictures, it just gives me some numbers. If I try to open one, it automatically posts it. So I have written about 5 posts in the last few days, but I would end up with a random picture attached, so I would delete it. So until I have time to figure out how to attach the pictures I want, there will be no more pictures. I also realize that there are quite a few people with MS who are following my blog. I know that they want to hear how I'm handling daily life living with MS. I'm sure they love to hear about the sweet puppy that I got for Christmas (a shih tzu named Dexter with one blue eye and one brown eye), but they had rather hear a little more about how I'm coping. Whereas, my friends and family, don't want to hear me "complain" all the time about my MS. So I'm going to try and balance my posts some. I'll share about my family because they fill my heart. I'll share about what God is doing in my life because I love Him, but I'll also share how MS is effecting me and how I'm either doing well battling it or not so well.

Having said that, I am struggling right now. I'm working about 25 hours a week. I love the job - that's a really good thing, because if I didn't it would be even more stressful - but I am so tired. I hope that the fact that I started the beginning of November, the busiest time of the year, has something to do with that. I'm hoping that once things get into a normal routine, I will get better. My house is beyond dirty. Doug cleaned a little yesterday - I think he could tell that I'm a little wigged out. That helped that he did that. But I'm also feeling bad because he is having to do so much. Since I started work, he has taken over grocery shopping and other things. My main job is to take care of my family and I'm not doing that very well. We really need the money and Doug is thankful for that. We're trying to find a new medicine that will help with the fatigue. The one I was on worked really well, but I'd always had samples to take (I didn't need it every day). When I had to get the prescription filled, I was blown away at the cost. So the doctor is trying something new and it isn't working so far. I will keep you posted on how I do. Those of you who have heard me speak, know that I refuse to let MS run my life. It is trying hard to right now, but it will not win. I'm making adjustments and I will get it figured out. I also got a Wii Fit for Christmas. A doctor recommended it to me to help with my balance. My balance has already improved and my walking - I'm not tripping as much. So that is a plus. Hang in there! God can use everything we go through in our life to glorify Himself if we let Him.

A Gift for Jesus

This has been a great weekend. We went to Corinth yesterday and celebrated Christmas with Doug's family. Everything was great - the food, the fellowship, - everything. My mother-in-law is Mary and Martha all rolled into one. She makes me sick - JUST KIDDING!!!! We got to see the Johnsons, Doug's cousins, which we haven't seen in a long time. That was good too, but by the time we got home, I was pooped.

Then today, we had a really full and amazing day at church. Our choir musical was this morning. We've been working on it for a really long time. We've put alot of blood, sweat, and prayer into it and God really showed up. It was an awesome time of worship. During the invitation, a man came down to talk with Doug, and he gave his life to Jesus. When they were in the altar praying, you could hear him crying out to God. God truly inhabits the praise of His people.

I also wanted to take a few minutes to give you the same challenge that I gave my Sunday School class. Christmas seems to be all about the gifts. As moms, we love to plan what we will buy our children and can't wait to see their faces when they open them. So it is a real challenge every year to keep the focus where it should be. We have always made a birthday cake for Jesus, and had a little birthday party before opening presents. Some of the ladies in my class are new Christians and they are going to start that tradition with their families this year. I challenged them to go a step further. Ask Jesus what gift He would like from you this year, then listen closely because He will tell you. He might want you to add something to your life that is not there right now or He might want you to subtract something that does not bring Him glory. He might just want you to do some things differently. Or He might give you a specific person's name that He wants you to minister to. I gave each of my ladies a square piece of Christmas wrapping paper that they could write their "gift" on as a reminder. So I encourage you - get alone with Jesus in the next few days. Tell him "Happy Birthday!" and then ask Him what He wants for Christmas from you.

20th Wedding Anniversary

Doug and I have been married 20 years! It is really hard to believe. He would agree with me when I say that some days it seems like it's only been a few years and some days it seems like we've known each other our entire lives. We have actually been together over half our lives. We started dating in February 1986 and got married in December 1988. I'm still amazed that God chose to put us together. We are probably the most unlikely pair on the face of the earth. When we met, he was so good, and I was so . . . not. I've said before that when God told the angel "I'm going to put him (pointing at Doug) with her (pointing at me), they must have dissolved into fits of laughter - "You've got to be kidding, God", but He wasn't and I'm so glad. I am very, very blessed. Doug takes such good care of me. He has alot to deal with (my having MS). He is a great spiritual leader. I know that whatever decisions he makes, I can trust him, because he has talked to God about it. And the most amazing thing is that Doug really, really loves me. Of all the smarter, more beautiful, more godly, and much more "pastor's wife" qualified women in the world, he wants only me. That blows my mind when I think about it. I try to be a good wife to him, but I feel like I fall short much of the time. We are very best friends. We'd rather spend time with each other than with anyone else. We make each other laugh. Today my post is kind of an "ode to Doug". Happy Anniversary to us!

This picture is the hotel in LA. I tried to post a picture of Doug and I. Now I can't get this one off. I'll figure this out at some point. LOL!

Keeping My Focus

I have to share with you what God has been saying to me the last few days. First I have to tell you what shape I'd gotten into. Pretty much a stressed out wreck. I've been so busy since starting my new job at the bank and still traveling and speaking alot. Because I was so tired, I justified not getting up at 6 am for my QT. I was just having one here and there when I could catch a few minutes. That may work for some people, but not for me. My times with God had pretty much turned into pity parties and whining sessions. Here's just a part of my list - I'm so tired, my house is a mess, I'm not cooking for my family, I've gained a few pounds, I can't do this, etc. Yesterday, I got up at 6am and Jesus was there. It felt like He had been waiting there on me for the past several weeks. I started to whine and He told me to go to a certain verse. I said - God, I don't know where that is because I'm so tired I can't think straight, blah, blah, blah. He told me where it is. I said - If I go there and it's the wrong verse, I'll know that I'm just talking to myself and not really hearing from you. You can imagine the awe and tears when I turned to Matthew 6:33 and it was the verse He told me to go to. He said SEEK ME FIRST, AND I'LL TAKE CARE OF ALL THE OTHER STUFF. I wept, asked for forgiveness for having camped out in the "ME BOX" as I call it. Then this morning at 6 - He was there again! It felt just like old times but even sweeter. I was thanking Him for yesterday and He led me to another verse. Psalm 16:8 - I have set the Lord continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. This is a verse I've always loved. God showed me that through a spiral of events starting with my best girlfriend and my oldest son David (another close friend of mine) leaving in the same week, I had stopped setting Him before me. He said IF I set Him continually before me (sounds a little like Mt. 6:33), THEN He will be at my right hand, THEN I will not be shaken. I have been shaken for the past few months, but PRAISE GOD, He's not been shaken. He has picked me up and set me back on the right path. I feel like alot of you have been praying me through this difficult time and I love you for it. M

Finally home

Wow! What a week. I'm still not rested from the 16-hour day. It will take awhile for me to got over that. I would normally go to bed for several days, but I go back to work at the bank tomorrow. We stayed an extra day in LA because of bad weather in the South. It actually snowed in Alabama and I missed it. Our day in LA was great. The hotel was unbelievable. We flew to Fort Walton Beach on Friday and stayed on the beach there also. I spoke on Saturday. It went really well. We went to a mall to kill a little time before our flight. I got out of the car and hit my head with the door (I know - that's hard to do). It almost knocked me out. I have a big bump and a gash on my temple. Doug didn't know I had hurt myself. He had dropped me off to go park the car. I stood there bleeding and holding my head. The Salvation Army "bucket" lady was trying to help me. Everytime someone would put money in, she would turn from me and shout "Thank You! Merry Christmas!", then turn back to helping me. It was hilarious! Of course, not at the time, but later, Doug and I laughed about it. It was a trip that brought alot of laughter. Actually, most of my days bring alot of laughter - usually at my expense.

I could only get a few of the pix that I wanted on here. When I have more time to try and figure it out, I will post more. These are just a couple at my photo shoot and one of the sunset from Santa Monica Beach.

Los Angeles!

I just wanted to give you a quick update. Thanks for praying. The flights went well - no delays. My day started at 3 am yesterday. I worked 16 hours. It was unbelievably exhausting, but fun. I did a photo shoot at a ranch where alot of movies and shows have been shot - like Little House on the Prairie. Kristie and I were treated great. We had our own personal wardrobe, hair, and make-up people (or peeps as I like to call them). There were guys who carried "director" chairs and heaters from site to site, so that we would be as comfortable as possible. It was really cold because were in a canyon. I got to keep one outfit. I will post pix when I get home. Because there is severe weather in the SE today. We are staying here until tomorrow, and then flying to Ft. Walton. Doug and I are about to go walk down the beach to the boardwalk and get some lunch. Please be praying for Alex Denton. He is 2 and at St. Jude's battling leukemia. They got some bad news yesterday and it is heavy on my heart. 

Prayer Request

Just a quick note. Doug and I will be flying to LA tomorrow. It looks like it is going to be a pretty stormy day. Please pray that we get there safely and with no delays. I really can't afford any delays. We will get into LA at 7:30 pm. We leave the hotel for my first photo shoot at 3am Wednesday morning. We shoot as the sun rises. Then hang around (hopefully sleep some in the trailor) and shoot a second scene at sunset. Wow! What a day. Please pray for supernatural strength and energy for me. I hope they have a really good make-up artist. I will have some massive black circles for that second shoot. Thanks for your prayer support.

Getting ready for our trip!

I have about 4.5 seconds to sit down and tell you what is going on today. Doug and I are flying to LA tomorrow. I have a photo shoot for the pharma company that I speak for. We will be staying on the beach in Santa Monica for 2 nights (I'll be working the entire time) then we fly to Ft,. Walton Beach Thurs. where we will stay in a hotel on the beach for 2 nights. I will speak Sat. at noon then fly home Sat. night. Our 20th wedding anniversary is next week, so this is going to be some "us" time. I am very excited about the trip - I have so much to do today though. Plus I've got to be at work at 9:30. Pray for me - for strength to get it all done without exhausting myself before we even leave. If I don't have time to post while we're on the trip, I'll have some pictures when we get back.
Oh yeah, Renai, I asked God again this morning to send me a friend to fill the huge hole that you left when you gallavanted (cool word) off to Colorado. He told me that He wants to fill that hole. He wants me to draw closer to Him. Yea! What an awesome invitation. I've also managed to get Doug to share more with me. I told him that you and I shared about out QT and what God was doing in our life. So he's trying (in his own cute little "man" way to share more with me). On our trip, he's going to take me through some awesome teaching that he will be doing at the church starting in January. It has been life-changing for him, and I get an insider's preview. I'm very excited about that. Love you girl and miss you so, so much!

Birthday Party!

Help! Today is my son's birthday sleep-over. He will be 10 on Sunday. 5 boys came home from school with him. I came home from work to chaos. They are at the Christmas parade right now, so I get a few minutes to breathe. Ti is absolutely having a blast so hopefully a sleepless night will be well worth it. He is a huge blessing. I can't believe he will be 10! Happy Birthday, Ti. I love you so much!

Insomnia

Well, it's about 11:30 on Wednesday night. I'm trying to type very quietly so I won't bother my snoring house. After the day I've had I should be exhausted and sound asleep, but my body never seems to work the normal way. I've just been thinking about what God has been saying to me. I have recently done exactly what I tell my kids and my Sunday School class not to do. I have stepped in to the "me box" and I've been hanging out there for awhile. Because I have been so exhausted from my jobs and can't get everything done that needs to be done. - my house is not clean, my Christmas shopping is not bought or wrapped, and I'm behind on my Bible studies - I've been feeling sorry for myself and spending alot of time thinking about myself. God says that I need to trust Him with all the things that need to get done and start thinking about other people. I've been making some phone calls when I have 5 minutes here or there and I've been praying for everyone that God brings to mind. Sure enough, when I stepped out of the "me box", just like I've told my kids and Sunday School class, things are getting better. My house is still not clean. I'm still not any closer to being through with my shopping, but my peace is back. You'd think I would have learned by now that it's all good when you keep your focus where it should be. Good night to all. I think I can sleep now.

Trying to get to South Carolina

Hello! I'm having an unusual day. I'm supposed to speak to a group of people in Greenville, South Carolina tonight. They will be people who have MS and their caregivers. I got up at 4 am and went to the airport - checked-in, went through security and then was told that the plane would not leave until 8am, if then. I could not make my early connection, so it would be better for me to wait and fly out at noon. So I came home and went back to bed for a little while. Now I'm getting ready again, this time I'm dressing for my speaking engagement. If there are no more delays today (very unlikely), I will get into Greenville at 5 pm, grab a taxi, make my way to the venue and speak at 6. Whew! It was snowing at 4 this morning, so I don't know what the weather is like in Memphis and Greenville. It should be a very interesting day. A blessing God sent my way last night - a sweet lady that I had the honor of leading to the Lord last week left 2 large boxes of books on my front porch. Christian fiction! So I have several Christmas books in my bag to read on this trip. That will make it so much easier. God always takes care of me. Pray for me today.