We Are Blessed

After many months of prayer, planning and preparation, the time finally came for our daughter's much anticipated wedding.  The week leading up to the wedding had proved to be typical weather-wise for May.  It rained off and on nearly every day with afternoon thunderstorms.  Saturday morning it looked like more of the same.  The day dawned overcast with dark clouds.  I had prayed for no rain because although the wedding would take place under a covered pavilion, it was quite a hike to get there and even being shuttled on golf carts the guests were bound to get wet.  I prayed for God's favor, but we knew that it was in His hands come rain or shine!  By mid-morning the sun was out and it was a beautiful day.  And we experienced the unmerited favor of the Lord.

Caitlin was one of the calmest brides I have ever seen. She woke up that morning beaming, with the biggest smile on her face.   We had a couple of minor emergencies; one of the groomsman's tux pants didn't fit and he had to make the two hour drive back to Men's Wearhouse to exchange them. They wouldn't meet him halfway.  The zipper on one of the bridesmaid's dress malfunctioned. Through all of this Caitlin was cool as a cucumber.  She commented that it didn't really matter what happened because at the end of the day I will be Mrs. Jody Jenkins.  I think a nuclear blast could have occurred and it wouldn't have fazed her.  Here she is getting ready with her bridesmaids.

The weather was still beautiful when it came time for the ceremony.  My heart was so full of emotion.  My little girl, now a grown woman beginning a family of her own.  Walking down the aisle on the arm of her daddy. 

The ceremony was so sweet.  They were married by the Youth Minister at our church.  He and his wife were such an important part of Caitlin's spiritual life and she couldn't imagine anyone else marrying them.  Instead of lighting a unity candle, they chose to enter into a Salt Covenant.  It indicates a binding contract, uniting their grains of salt for eternity.  Then they took communion as their first act of worship together as a married couple.

One of the most touching things in the ceremony were the unashamed tears of one of Jody's brothers and of Caitlin's brother.  I hadn't seen my 19 year old son cry for a very long time.  But his tears flowed freely.  He said, "I'm just so happy".  Here's Jody and his brother Toby.

We are so blessed to have gained another son.  He loves my daughter with all of his heart and we love him.  We also love his family and had such a good time with them as our families were joined together. 

  Here are a few photos from the reception:

  

I didn't have the presence of mind to take any pictures, so thank you to all of you that sent me pictures.  And thank you for indulging me and letting me share our special day with you.



Life Is Good,

Cindy

Waiting

But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior;
             my God will hear me.
            

This is my grandpuppy A.J.  Recently I got to puppysit while his mommy and daddy went to their premarital counseling.

He sits at the door eagerly waiting on his people to come back.  I try to get him to play and he will for a little while, but he knows that they will return for him and he anxiously waits by the door so he won't miss them.

He made me think about waiting on the Lord.  Am I eagerly waiting to hear from Him, eager to see what He has for me each day?  Am I watching in hope, knowing that He will hear me?

Life is Good,

Cindy

Happy Mother's Day

On this Mother's Day, I am so thankful for my precious Mother.  She was a beautiful example of what a godly Mother should be.  She is a prayer warrior and I remember her studying her Bible daily.  Thank you Mom, for taking care of me, and loving me always, especially those times that I am hard to love.  Thank you for being a wonderful role model and giving me the tools I needed to become a mother myself.

                                           My mother,  my daughter and me

And thank you to the loves of my life.   Life with you has never been dull,  motherhood was a wonderful adventure.  You've made life interesting and have kept me on my toes.  You are fun and funny and I am blessed to be your mother.  I love you both so much.

Life is Good,

Cindy

So Long, Insecurity

On April 24th, my friends Leah, Kristen and I joined about 10,000 other ladies at First Baptist Church in Woodstock, GA and 300,000 worldwide to hear Beth Moore speak on her book So Long, Insecurity. Yes, I am slow but it has taken me this long to process everything. It was wonderful day of worship and fellowship with old friends and new. I am ready to say goodbye forever to my insecurities. They have taken up too much space in my life

Here are some of the points of the day: A Secure Woman is:

1. Saved from herself (Insecurity is a twisted from of self-interest)
2. Entitled to truth (The more we live withdrawn, the darker our thinking becomes)
3. Clothed with intention (We can't be weak willed women)
4. Upended by grace (Grace is the only thing that we can give away that we can also keep)
5. Rebounded by love (We are loved by God regardless of our pasts)
6. Exceptional in life
   

We traveled to Atlanta the day before the event for some girl time. I hadn't seen Kristen for several months and there was a lot of catching up to do. Kristen had never been to Phipps Plaza and so we decided that it would be a good place to get a bite to eat and do a little shopping.

We then met a group of Siestas at Pappasito's for dinner. I knew a few of these women through their blogs but hadn't met them in person. It was a great time with about 30 ladies. And the Mariachi Band!



Our friend Kristen

Karen, Leah and Abby

Tammy


Lora and me. I was so excited to meet her. I feel like I have known her forever. I also met Yolanda and Georgia Jan, but failed to get a picture of them. I was so excited it's a wonder I got any pictures at all!

And no Mexican dinner is complete without a Mariachi Band!

He Knows Our Name

For the past month, I have battled the flu, a sinus infection and an allergic reaction to two different types of medication. I don't remember ever feeling quite that sick in all of my nearly 50 years. I was sick enough that I couldn't do much of anything but I didn't even feel like doing my Bible study for several days because I was in the bed for the better part of two weeks.
Because I felt so bad, and because I was not immersed in the Word I allowed the enemy to just come on in and have a field day in my mind. And doesn't the enemy just love to kick us when we are down? He brought up my past, my fears, my failures and it was a dark and scary place. He wants to keep us in captivity, confined in a small place. But Psalm 18:19 and Psalm 31:8 tells us that God wants us to inhabit a spacious place.

Our Bible study group just completed a study on Ruth; Loss, Love and Legacy by Kelly Minter. As I felt better and was able to finish this wonderful study the following points stood out and I felt that God wanted me to share them with you. When Satan, the accuser tries to condemn you for your past history, remind yourself and the enemy of these points:

1. Our history doesn't have to read like prophecy. God can redeem anything from our past. We are redeemed through Christ. Jesus was the ransom used to buy us back from the clutches of sin. He bought back the rights to our past and all its failures. He can turn all our failures into something useful for His Kingdom. With Him there is full redemption (Psalm 130:7). Praise God, our heritage is not a deal breaker for Christ.
2. He has summoned us by name (Isaiah 43:1). He knows us in a personal loving way. While others may label, judge or condemn us because of our names or lineage, our names hold no negative associations for Jesus. Kelly Minter says, "Because I know as women we are plagued with insecurities and pasts that haunt us, I can't pass over this striking symbol of what Christ has done for each one of us and how He knows our full names." It doesn't matter what name the world calls us. God has a new name for us! (Rev. 2:17)
   
3. God can use us regardless of our history or our circumstances. Look at Ruth, a Moabitess, a foreigner, who God used in a mighty way. Consider Rahab, a prostitute. She's listed in Hebrews 11 in the roll call of faith. And in Matthew 1 both women are listed in the genealogy of Jesus! Kelly says, "This should give us tremendous hope that God can delight in using us, no matter our culture or histories."

Life is Good,


Cindy

Mother-Daughter's Day Out

On Friday, my daughter took me to downtown Atlanta for a fun day at a cute little spa where we got a pedicure and a manicure. She had purchased this treat for me as a Christmas gift when she found an online special for a 75% discount on their services. So not only did we have a delightful time, she didn't have to spend a lot of money on it! That made it even better. The spa had only been open for a few months and overlooked a water fall spilling into a small pool, which made it all the more relaxing. It was a gorgeous day, with lots of sunshine. Spring came out to play that day!

We are smack-dab in the middle of preparations for her May wedding, so it was a nice diversion from wedding details! I have enjoyed all the planning for the wedding, but it was nice to relax for a little while without having to make any decisions except for what color to polish our toenails!

This was probably one of the last days that we would spend together just hanging out before she becomes a married woman. I couldn't help but remember her sweet childhood and look in awe at the wonderful young woman that she has become. It was a bittersweet day. When I left her I thought of all the marital wisdom that I wanted to impart before her big day.

As I reflected, I hoped that she looked at her Dad and I as good role models for marriage. We aren't perfect and our marriage is far from perfect, but we made a choice 26 years ago that we would give it everything we had.

Here are the things I want to share with her regarding marriage:

• God has to be invited into the marriage in order for it to work.
• Your husband is the head of the family.
• Marriage will be one of the hardest things you will ever do, it takes work.
• You have to love your husband above yourself.
• Never go to bed angry with each other.
• You will have arguments, this is inevitable.
• Be forgiving, don't hang on to little hurts.
• Your husband is only human.
• You must show him respect. It is one of the most important things to a man.
• You have to choose to love him every day, even when he leaves the toilet seat up.
• Marriage is wonderful.

Domestic Diva

I have a confession to make: I am not a domestic diva. More like a domestic disaster. And I am not like the Proverbs 31 woman. I so want to be. I am so scattered that I will begin to clean in one room, go to another room for something I needed and then find something there to distract me, so that I just sort of wander around aimlessly from room to room, wondering why I am there and wondering why every room in my house is messed up.

And don't even get me started on cooking. I have never enjoyed cooking. My mother and sister have always been fabulous cooks and they enjoy it immensely. When we were little girls, I would always beg not to have to cook, but would promise to wash dishes instead. It isn't that I can't, I just don't like it. Somehow, I think the love of cooking skipped my genes or something. My husband used to say that when I called my children for dinner, they immediately went and got in the car. I take a lot of good-natured kidding from my family about my lack domestic skills.

When I do cook it's usually good, but more often than not, something goes wrong. One night after it had snowed most of the day I decided that we needed something warm and comforting for dinner on this cold winter's night. My husband loves my homemade chicken noodle soup so I decided that it would be the perfect meal for the night. Soup and a yummy cake of cornbread. I got out my ingredients and was already anticipating how delicious it was going to be. Then I realized that I had everything I needed, except the chicken. Chicken noodle soup with no chicken would simply be noodle water and my man is a meat and potatoes kind of guy and I knew he wouldn't go for vegetarian noodle soup. So I reverted to Plan B; sandwiches. But the night just called for something warm so I opened a can of Campbell's™ Cream of Mushroom soup to go with the sandwiches. It's good soup, but I decided that I could tweak it a little to make it taste more homemade. I added some cheese and a shot of worcestershire sauce and a few other things and was delighted with my creation. Until Robert and I actually sat down to eat it. I added too much worcestershire sauce and it was very strong. And it wasn't very good. But Robert ate it anyway, he's good like that. He did have one comment: "That's why Campbell's™ makes their soup the way they do, because it's edible". It didn't even hurt my feelings. I know it was bad.

One time not too long after Robert and I were married I attempted to cook chicken livers in the oven. It was a fiasco. It was a disaster. But Robert ate them anyway. The dog took one sniff, turned up his nose and walked away. He was having no part of this meal.

Then there was the time when Robert asked me to make him a strawberry cake. And being a good wife I was more than happy too. I baked the cake, (it came out beautifully by the way) and was letting it cool before I iced it. He wanted a piece right then so he pleaded with me to go ahead and ice it. I tried to explain to him that it really needed to cool before icing but he just couldn't wait. So I made the icing and iced it. Of course the icing wouldn't stay on the hot cake very well, but it didn't matter to him. He finished his cake and closed the cake up in it's container. By the next morning the cake had grown hair. Apparently because it hadn't cooled properly and then was completely covered it caused some sort of mold to grow. Imagine our surprise. Robert couldn't wait to tell his family. That happened over 25 years ago, and they still like to remind me of it.

Or the time that I caught the oven on fire while I was cooking cornbread. I could go on, but I just don't know how much more you could bear to read. By now I am sure that you are so mortified and embarrassed for me that I'll just quit there.

Aren't you glad that we don't have to be perfect or even good to come to God? If that were the case none of us would stand a chance. Look at Psalm 130:3: If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? (NIV)

Jesus took our sins and nailed them to the cross. If we confess our sins God doesn't keep a record of our mistakes and blunders. He won't remind us of something we did 25 years ago. Micah 7:18 and 19 says :

¹⁸ Who is a God like you,
who pardons sin and forgives the transgression
of the remnant of his inheritance?
You do not stay angry forever
but delight to show mercy.

¹⁹ You will again have compassion on us;
you will tread our sins underfoot
and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.

Oh, and by the way, Proverbs 31:15 says: "she provides food for her family". It doesn't say she always cooks for her family. Could she have possibly gotten take-out sometimes like I do? Maybe there is hope for me yet.

Care to share some of your kitchen disasters with me?