My Nephew...

My nephew, Tristan, is a High School Senior this year.  This is his senior photo:

He looks so much like my dad when he was his age although my dad didn't have as long of hair as he has.  Tristan is an amazing young man who can make such a great future for himself.  All he has to do is work hard to make it happen for himself.  He's so smart.  I would even go as far as to say brilliant.  He hasn't applied himself as he should in recent years to his studies to have the grades that I know he would be having if he put in the hard work.  When he really applies himself it amazes me the grades he's made and in advanced courses too.  He was in advanced classes in most all of his subjects leading into high school.  Even though he's let things go in his high school years I still believe so much in all that he can accomplish in this life by just applying himself and putting in the hard work.  

It was never my heart that he be raised as cheerless as me and my siblings were raised but it happened.  I so wanted to raise him when my sister couldn't but she wouldn't give up parental rights to him so my husband and I could.  His life right now would be in a whole other place if we had been given the chance to raise him like we have raised our son.  He would have had all the same opportunities afforded him that our son has had and his life would be in such a great place as he graduates and starts thinking about his future and what that will be.  

Tristan is so handsome.  He can be and accomplish anything that he wants in life.  It's my prayer that he finds his footing and figures out what it is that he really wants to do and that when he figures it out that we will be able to help him accomplish his goals to make a better life himself than the one that has been dealt to him.   

We don't have to be the product of a negative upbringing.  We can make better decisions that lead to a more promising future.  We can press forward to better days than what we've had.  We can determine within ourselves to have better lives and if we bring a baby into the world that we do better by that child than was done to us.  We can have a hope and a future that is way better than where we came from.  I'm living proof that having a better life can happen.  My son is living proof that I broke chains off my life that had me bound that he's never had to experience.  He has total support from his dad and I.  Tristan can have that too but he will have to do as I had to do and break chains that are binding him and make a future for himself that's better than what he's coming out of as his graduates and goes out into this world.  

I'm praying and hoping for the best for this young man. I'm praying and hoping that his uncle and I will be able to help him make a more positive future for himself when he's ready to put in the work and make positive changes in his life for a brighter future.  

Friends...

 

I have to say that God has blessed me with several friends that fit this bill.  They have been constants in my life.  I know that I can turn to them anytime for help no mater the time and they will be there for me.  Some of them I don't talk to a lot but I know they will be there for me as I will be there for them.  Some of them I talk to daily or a least one to two times a week.  

True friends are hard to find but when you have them hold them close.  Our truest friends aren't just friends to us but they are family.  True friends really know us worts and all and remain our friends.  True friends aren't just our friends when times are good but when the worst of times happen as well.  They stand by us through thick and then.  True friends don't use us for what they can get out of us but they give of themselves to us.  They pour into our lives and we pour into theirs.  True friends aren't fickle.  They have the wherewithal to hang in there with us no matter the circumstances that life throws our way.  I have a handful of friends that are my true friends.  I'm so grateful to God for them.  God has really blessed my life and I will forever be thankful to Him for the blessing of my friends in my life.  I love you my true friends and you all know who you are.  

(I know more often than not this blog is more pointed toward our son and all that he's been accomplishing in his young life.  We didn't do that just to center on him but to give our family and friends a place to see updates on him/us.  More recently I've made more posts to share my thoughts.  So no longer will it be just a place to see updates on us as a family but to share thoughts as well that our son can look back on in years to come that will hopefully be here for him to look upon for a long time to come.  Thoughts that will be uplifting for him that he can learn from as well as others who might read it too.)  

Birthday Thoughts...

 

I'm 55 today.  Some days life seems to be flying by and others is seems to be going at a snails pace.  It's a beautiful sunny day today as I sit in front of my computer looking out the window from my desk.  We are full on in fall now.  The leaves are yellowing/browning on the trees and soon the trees will bare until springtime rolls around.  

My birthday always falls around Thanksgiving.  It reminds me of how much I have to be thankful for.  Everyday I'm so thankful for the basic things in life that I have to enjoy and don't have to suffer from not having.  Like running water, a roof over my head, a bed to sleep in, a kitchen to cook in, electricity to keep me warm/cool, furniture to sit on, clothes to wear, shoes for my feet, soap/shampoo to bathe with and I could go on and on with my list but you get my point by now.  Being thankful everyday to God for his blessings to me is such an easy thing to do.  A lot of days we get busy with our daily schedule and forget to be thankful.  Just being thankful that you woke to see another day is something to be thankful for.  We only have to start by being thankful for one thing in our lives and it doesn't take long before you are growing quite a list of things to be thankful for.  As I grow older and watch those I love pass on I'm thankful for the time that I've had with them.  We are not promised tomorrow so we need to be thankful for today and everyday that we have on this earth cherishing every moment of it.  

I have two amazing men that I get to do life with, my husband, Scot, and my son, Tim.  Outside of God they are my world.  We enjoy every ounce of time that we get to spend together.  We know how important we are to one another.  And we know the gifts that God has given us in this life and we cherish them.  

Having a relationship with God is the single most important thing in my life.  He has saved me from so many bad decisions that could have gone way wrong and snuffed my life out at a young age.  He's protected me through the years.  He's taken care of me and been there in times when I didn't have anyone but Him to turn to.  He's shown me what a life with Him should/can be.  He's blessed me in more ways than I could have ever even thought or imagined.  Life with God is the best part of doing life.  Making a decision to ask him in my heart and be my savior at the age of 12 was the best decision I ever made.  I've failed Him lots but He's still been here with me every step of the way.  I love how all encompassing His love is for me.  His love for me and for you is so incredibly great that it's no wander that I'm so in AWE of Him.  I just want to share this song with you today because it's my heart:

https://youtu.be/zyGfcujmePo

Lyrics:

I am amazed, at Your love

I am amazed, at Your mercy

That the God of forever, 

Would share it together, 

With me

I am amazed

That You chose me

I am amazed

That You show me

All the love of the Father

Taking me farther 

Than anything I've ever seen

I am amazed

I am amazed, at Your love

I am amazed, at Your Mercy

That the God of forever,

Would share it together, 

With me

I am amazed 

That You chose me

I am amazed 

That You show me

All the love of the Father

Taking me farther 

Than anything I've ever seen

I am amazed

I am amazed

I am amazed

All the love of the Father

Taking me farther

Than anything I've even seen

I am amazed

I am always so completely and deeply amazed at His love for me.  There is no explaining the depth of that kind of love but once you have felt it there is no forgetting it ever!!!  It stays with you.  It goes with you everywhere you go and in all that you do.  No earthly love that we have for one another can even compare to it.  God's love is just Amazing!  I'm in Awe of it.  I'm thankful for it.  It's something that I will never let go of.  I carry it with me always because I know what it's like not to have that love in my life and I never wanna go back to that ever again.  

There's no one that can ever touch your heart and life like God can.  And we have this promise that He will never leave us or forsake us.  He will always be with us.  His love endures forever.  He is such an Awesome God!!!  I will always and forever be amazed at His love for me, His mercy towards me and that He shows me His love and takes me farther than anything I've ever seen in my faith walk with Him - I AM AMAZED!!!

Our New Family Member...

In two weeks this adorable little girl will be ours. We found her in a parking lot by the inside back tire of a car. No other cats or kittens were around. It was obvious she was dumped. Tim has begged us for years for a cat and fell in love with her. A cat rescue helped us get her nursed to health and now she’s almost ready to come home😊. We are so excited and can’t wait to get her to her forever home. I’m not normally a cat person at all but it was as if she was God sent to us. We just couldn’t in good conscience not take her in to be a part of our family. She will be so loved and blessed.

L👀k How Big He's Getting...

😳😳😳

Tim has gained so much muscle in the past year and 3 months.  Today he got to work out with one of the guys that he really enjoys working out with.  They talk junk to one another and encourage one another and spur one another on in their weightlifting.  His friend is a Senior lifter and just a great guy.  He has a great attitude when it comes to working out and we couldn't be more glad that he has someone to look up to who will train with him to help him get to where he wants to go.  Tim loves his coach but his coach has to be there for the entire team.  Teammates that spur you on though are a great commodity to have in any sport.  They can push you to help you make the gains that you want to make.  Tim has that in his buddy Ewen (who is in his late teens/early 20's).  Tim's closest buds have been usually older than him.  Tim is very mature to be as young as he is.  He can hold his own in a more mature conversation with older men.  Most teens can't do that because their big focus is impressing their friends/girls.  Tim could care less about all of that.  He has goals and he's about accomplishing those goals.  So proud of the man that he is growing into.     

The Teencave...

Tim's teencave had an overhauling so that we could reorganize and get rid of some things in preparation for hopefully adopting the kitten that we found in a parking lot a couple months ago that was too small for us to care for on our own and had to be put with a rescue who had the know how to save it's little life.  It's healthy enough to be adopted now so we are going through and organizing our home and getting it ready to take in the kitten.  Here's a pic of when we found her and pics of Tim's teencave.

Pro-Life For Life...

 

All life is so very precious and made by God.  He knows every hair on our heads and all of our days from beginning to end.  He knew us before we were formed in our mothers womb even.  Why should any of us be given the right to thwart any life.  What we see as a mistake that we don't want God sees as a possibility and has a plan and a future already set forth for them.  When we just go and get rid of said mistake we are making godlike decisions that He never intended for us to make.  It's never been a part of His plan for any of us.  While I believe that all these children who never were born are with Him right now it still gives me pause thinking about who would they have been and what might they have accomplished if they had lived.  We just don't know the purpose and plan that we throw away when we go get rid of what we consider to be a problem.  Being pro-life is just being pro-God.  God's love is so deep and wide for all of us.  I'm so thankful for His love that has made such a huge difference in my life.  My love for Him grows more everyday.  I'm so incredibly thankful, grateful and blessed!  Thank you, Jesus!

In the gym...In life...

 

This is such a great quote.  We are always sharing stuff of this nature with Tim.   

Our son loves weightlifting.  He'd rather be doing it than anything else.  He looks forward to training everyday.  He thinks about it and talks about it all the time.  

Life events though, are just like with weightlifting, it doesn't get easier, you just get stronger and better equipped to handle them.  

Tim is growing so much these past couple of years (mentally & physically).  His maturity from all he's gone through in his young life is like that of a young adult instead of a normal 16 year old teenage kid.  He doesn't spend a lot of time around kids his own age because he tells his dad and I all the time that they are just too immature and that he doesn't have time for all that.  We love seeing where his mind is at right now.  We love hearing the words coming out of his mouth because we know that all that we have taught him all these years has stuck.  As a parent there's no greater feeling than knowing that your kid really gets it and all the life lessons you've taught have stuck.  

Tim knows, I mean really knows, that God has a plan for his life.  God has saved him from death twice.  Two times satan tried to snuff his young life out and two times God told satan no, it's not his time.  What satan has meant for harm in our sons life God is going to turn for Tim's good and His glory.  We love watching the hand of God move in our family.  We are so appreciative of His protection over us.  For His keeping us healthy.  We take our jobs as parents seriously because we know in two more years when Tim is 18 we hand his young life fully into God's hands knowing we've done our part to the best of our ability trusting God completely to complete in Tim what we didn't/couldn't do.  

God's hand in/on our lives matters.  Everyday it matters.  From the time we wake up til we go to sleep til we rise again from our slumber it matters.  I'm so thankful everyday that God has blessed my life the way that he has.  He gave me Scot at a time when I had finally said, "Lord if it's only you and me for the rest of my life that's fine."  But God!!!   Then he gave Scot and I Tim at a time in our lives when we weren't sure if we'd be able to successfully have a child because we were in our upper 30's when we married which made any pregnancy I would have be a high risk pregnancy because of my age.  But God!!!  My pregnancy was easy but the labor was hard and the delivery ended up having to be a c-section.  Complications forced that to happen.  I just couldn't physically have him.  We never got pregnant again after that.  We wanted one more but that door was shut so we've just been incredibly thankful for the gift we were given in Tim.  He made our family complete and we are cherishing every moment with our son.  

Thank you Lord that you give us the wherewithal in this life to grow stronger everyday so that we are better equipped to handle life's problems with Your guidance!  Thank You for our health and for Your protection over us each and every day as we do life together as a family.  Thank You that You protect Scot every day as he works to provide for us.  We thank You that the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous and that You are glorified in our lives as we seek Your face each and every day of our lives.  May You be at the center of it all no matter what happens or may come.  May You always be glorified now and forevermore.  I love You, Lord!  I can't say those words without thinking of that old song.  It rings in my ears every time I think or say them:  https://youtu.be/8hyBJwTKmQ8?si=xSQl9WBrMEPhHnFq.  May the words to song ring in your ears every time you say, "I Love You" to the Lord too.  

Keep growing my friends.  Keep growing.

No Other Way To...

There's no other way to slice or dice it folks: 

The Bible calls it murder and so should we who are followers of Christ.  We should also be careful of anyone that we endorse (not just politically) that have views separate of what the Bible says.  It's not hard to imagine a babies body being ripped and torn from the womb crushing every portion of a babies body.  It's the truth of what happens with abortion though.  What's worse is so many use it as a means of birth control which is so incredibly wrong to do.  

It's so sad that our society has a seared conscious.  Most are not being taught right from wrong anymore because they've made right v. wrong a fluid thing that is to each person to decide what is and isn't wrong/right.  God's Word shows us what is right and wrong and that should be the standard by which we live all of life.  It should be what we teach our children and what we should aspire to live our lives by.  God's Word should be final authority over every part of our lives.  What a different society we would have if we lived God's Word all the time.  

I'm writing this as much to myself as I am to those who will read this post.  I'm guilty of not living out God's Word in my life as I should all the time.  Those of us who are true followers of Christ are all guilty of having done that.  We don't profess to be perfect.  We just profess knowing a perfect God who can/will help us in our imperfections and all we have to do is call on Him and seek Him.  There's no one like God in all the earth who will always be there for us to help us.  

My hearts desire is to see no more murdering of babies.  There are so many options out there today and abortion doesn't have to be one of them.  Christians are not heartless as so many think.  We don't wish women to die because of complications in pregnancy.  That's not at all what we are after.  In my heart I don't believe that is what God wants either.  In those cases doctors need to continue to do their jobs and save lives and no one is taking that ability away from them either.  Saving lives is the bottom line on this issue.  The numbers of killed babies will go way down if the only reason babies die is because doctors had to save the moms life.  

But that's just my two cents worth of thoughts on this issue.   And this coming from a mom who could only have one child.  It wasn't in God's plan for us to have more than one child.  We accepted that and we committed to raising our child to be a positive addition to society and not a problem to it.  Oh if that were the heart of all parents we'd have such a better society and this abortion issue would be a non-issue because of the improvement made on society by parents really and truly parenting their kids in the way they should go - as the Bible teaches us - and it would have them making decisions that wouldn't result in such harsh consequences of way wrong decisions.  We can all bring our part of the world back to God just by doing as God would have us do as parents.  Teaching them and guiding them towards right choices.  This world can be changed in a positive direction - and back to God - where our kids are not a problem on society but we as parents have to take our job as parents seriously.  

That is all.  

Final Results...

It took them long enough but here are the final results.  

Presidential results:

Senate results:

House results:

The people have spoken in a very mighty way what they want and do not want.  This was huge in that DJT also got the popular vote as well so the other side didn't have a leg to stand on in their argument that we should do away with the electoral college.  I love that we took all 3.  Now things that need to get done can and will get done in our country for the better.  

Everyone is like how can you call yourself a Christian and vote for that man?   I vote for the one holding closest to being true to the Bible and that for sure wasn't the other side.  Yes DJT has issues but all God's people got issues.  Let those without issues/sin please be my guest and throw the first stone because it will show just how clueless you really are.  God's working on DJT as He is all Christ followers.  Give the man a chance to show you what God can do with him now that there's nothing standing in his way of doing his job.  

I will always give credit where credit is due and we were much better under him the first time with all he had to battle then we were these past four with B & H.  They've done nothing but destroy our country and heap on us tons of more debt because they really don't care about this country or the American people.  Can you only imagine how much better DJT will be now that he's not having to battle congress to do his job?!  A clean sweep gives him the opening he needed to do his job and do it well and show the American people what a prosperous country looks like.  People will thrive under his administration make no mistake about that.  I know we did and we are considered lower middle class which if you remember is who B & H said they were for but we were hurting big time with them in office.  Now how does that make any sense seeing as they are "supposedly" for us???  Plain and simple it just doesn't!!!

God Bless America! And God Bless DJT!  And God Bless all whom DJT chooses to work in his administration to help improve America and Make America A Great Nation Again!