Prayer Monday - July 18, 2011

So, this morning I got up early. I exercised (SHOCK!). I fixed myself breakfast (scrambled eggs with sauteed peppers and onions and blueberries). I took a shower and got ready (sweating the whole time because my body doesn't seem to want to come back to a normal temperature EVER but especially after I exercise and sweat half to death - then add to that the fact that it's supposed to be 12,000 degree with 520% humidity this week...just sayin'). So, back to my story - The Knot told me yesterday that I have 90 days until our wedding (today it says 88 - someone doesn't know how to count). Regardless, I have decided that I have no control over practically anything in my life and I don't have a job (other than teaching at the studio - grateful, but it alone will not pay the bills), so my job is now to take care of me. My body doesn't respond like I want it to when I exercise or eat healthy, however, I know it's better for me. So, I'm choosing to focus on my 'temple'. Pray for me people. I'm not good at this whole being healthy thing. I HATE exercising - mostly because I don't like to sweat and I sweat profusely when I do. I don't mind the whole eating healthy, but it requires a lot of time and preparation and I run a lot (not like run exercise run - yeah, right - fat chance of that EVER happening, but run as in I'm never home).

My mom and dad (and other Neely family members), are heading home this week from a motorcycle trip. It's supposed to be HOT. Please remember them as they travel. My prayer: God bless the crazies that decided it was a good idea to ride on motorcycles in the middle of flippin' July. They're obviously suffering from some mental malfunctions. :-)

I have had a rather trying week with people in general. Truth be told, I don't like most people right now. Pray for me as I work on this. I'm thinking Jesus needs me to like people in order to love people, in order to be his light...I'm not even at the like people part today and I'm finding myself especially not fond of 'church people'. Sad, I know.

Thought Provoking Thursday - July 14, 2011

Welcome to Thought Provoking Thursdays where you are forced to engage your brain. Happy Thursday - can't wait to read your responses, so don't forget to link up.

1. Who is the strongest person you know?

Most definitely my mom - especially right now. She's been diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer, yet where is she? On a 2 week motorcycle trip with my dad's brothers and sisters. She's either strong or crazy (and perhaps a little of both). She has been such an inspiration to so many during the last few months. People can't believe how well she is doing. Doctors shake their heads. But my mom is strong because her faith is strong. She knows where her strength comes from and that makes all the difference in the world. I'm kinda excited that so many people get to see her strength and determination during this time. I've grown up with it, but others are just now finding out what I have known all of my life: my momma may be little but she a force to be reckoned with!

2. What are you uncertain about?

I'm uncertain about so many things right now, but it mostly boils down to this: I'm uncertain what God's will is for my future. I feel like I'm in a 'be still and know that I am God' stage of my life which leaves me constantly feeling uncertain. However, I'm certain that God is in control and that He has mine and Precious' best interest in mind and that His ways are much better than mine.

3. What has life taught you in the last week?

Life has taught me that mean people steal stuff from yard sales and that God often has much more different plans than we do. Yes, someone stole my Sony Cybershot from the yard sale (at the church - SHAME ON THEM!). Also, Precious had a job interview this week that would require him to move before the wedding and me to move once we're married....not at all my plan. God may be doing something different. Life is still teaching me to trust God. Do we ever fully learn that lesson?

Link Up!

Wednesday Hodgepodge - July 13, 2011

Joyce over at From This Side of the Pond hosts this great link party every week. Click on the logo above to hop over and link up!


1. How has your hometown changed since you were a kid? What has changed most about the neighborhood you grew up in?

It seems like a lot has changed, but I also have to wonder if it's just me that has changed. My hometown is really small. We have a small library (it has moved to a new building since I was a kid), a post office, a bank, a volunteer fire department, a barber shop and a park with a ball diamond. It's all still there, so I guess things really having changed all that much. I guess it IS just me!

2. What song makes you laugh?
Are we talking about silly songs? Songs that are so ridiculous they make me laugh?
If we're talking silly songs, I'm a huge fan of Veggie Tales and Silly Songs with Larry - a personal favorite is "I Love My Lips".  Songs that are so ridiculous they make me laugh: The Thong Song by Sisquo (remember that one?) and the first year I was at Cairo teaching,my kids like a song called Chicken Noodle Soup - also mad me laugh because it was so ridiculous.

3. Are you a fan of Harry Potter? Read the books? Seen any/all of the movies? Will you be standing in line somewhere close to midnight later this week? For those of you playing along today who live outside the US or UK is Harry Potter a phenomenon in your part of the world?
No. No. No. No. I don't have anything against Harry Potter - just not my thing.

4. If the truth hurts, will you tell a lie? Are we better off as a society in a world that allows no form of deception whatsoever?
Woah - that's pretty deep. I HAVE lied to keep people from being hurt (a little white lie is still a lie) and thinking back, I'm not so sure that I really helped the situation or protected anyone by lying. I really do believe that the truth will set you free and that deception generally leads to disappointment. I can't tell you how disappointed I was to find out that there was no Santa (OHHHH - you didn't know....ooops!).

5. What is your favorite 'sauteed in garlic and butter' food? Or garlic and olive oil if that makes you feel better.
Chicken that's going to go in alfredo. I can't wait to see what everyone else likes to cook. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.

6. Attending any reunions this summer/year? High school? family? Other? Do these events stir up excitement or dread?
I HATE reunions! BLUH! I don't know why I loathe them, but its a rarity for me to attend these glorious events.

7. Lilac, hydrangea, peony...pick one.
Hydrangea.

8. Insert your own random thought here.
Planning a wedding is a pain in the butt! Why would anyone want to spend this much time planning an event that is only going to last a few hours (reception and all)? Bride-zillas, chill the freak out. It's not that serious. I just can't help but think that a lot of marriages may last longer if the time spent planning the marriage equaled the time spent planning the wedding. Thoughts?

Tomorrow is Thursday - time for Thought Provoking Thursday. Answer the questions, post them on your blog and come back Thursday to link up!

Questions for Thought Provoking Thursday:

1. Who is the strongest person you know?

2. What are you uncertain about?

3. What has life taught you in the last week?

Things I'm Considering

Today I found this:

Now mind you, Precious and I don't have a house yet, but I needed something to do that didn't involve balancing my checkbook or working on the wedding guest list (both equally depressing). So, I'm looking for house stuff for our non-existent house.

Prayer Monday - July 11, 2011

So, I get these daily devotionals through my email called Girlfriends in God. This was today’s and I SO needed to hear it. As you read through this, please just pray that God’s will would be accomplished in my life and in My Precious’ life. He has a job interview tomorrow and it would require a pretty big move and we really just want to be in the center of God’s will.

Also please pray for my mom and dad – they are on a 2 week long motorcycle trip.

The Purpose of Prayer by Sharon Jaynes

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:9-10 NIV).

Friend To Friend

Prayer is not meant to change God's mind, but to change ours.  Prayer aligns our thinking with God's will.  When we begin our prayer with praise, we take the focus off of ourselves and put it on God.  When we pray for God's will to be done, we take the focus off of our desires and put it on God's desires for our lives.

Jesus taught His disciples to pray, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." For those who recite what we've come to know as the Lord's Prayer on a regular basis, it is very important that we never take those words for granted or say them flippantly.  It is the cornerstone, the focus, and the ultimate purpose of prayer. Jesus himself prayed for God's will to be done. In the Garden of Gethsemane, just before his arrest, Jesus prayed, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me."   His prayer was so intense, capillaries burst and droplets of blood trickled down his forehead. And yet, as much as He would have welcomed redemption in any other way than the cross, Jesus prayed, "yet, not my will, but yours be done," (Luke 22:42).

I am so thankful that God has not answered each of my requests with a "yes."  My life would be much different than it is today - and I don't mean for the better. How thankful I am for my Heavenly Father Who knows what's best for me!  He has plans that are "above and beyond all that we ask or think" (Ephesians 3:20) and in order to hear God speak through prayer, we must allow ourselves to think beyond our limited knowledge, to see beyond our limited vision, and to believe beyond our limited understanding.

Prayer turns our focus toward God and allows Him to rearrange our priorities and set our agenda. It is more than unloading our burdens and enumerating our desires. Prayer is more than telling God what we want. It is asking God what He wants.

Let's Pray

Dear Lord, I don't know what is best for me, but I know You do. Thank You that You don't give me everything I want, but You do give me everything I need.  Lord, help me to recognize when my desires do not line up with Your plans. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Thought Provoking Thursday - July 7, 2011

Welcome to the 2nd week of Thought Provoking Thursday. If this is your first week, welcome. If you visited the first week and are back for week 2, bless your heart. Glad to have you. Thanks for stopping by. Post your answers on your blog and link up.

1. Do you think crying is a sign of weakness of strength?
Yes. No. Maybe. Who cares?!!?!! I cry all the freakin' time and I am usually a sympathetic cry-er (which is amazing considering most people think I don't have a sympathetic bone in my body. I cry when I'm happy. I cry when I'm sad. I cry when I'm mad. Do you see a pattern? I really don't think crying is a sign of weakness, though.

2. What sustains you on a daily basis?
Chocolate?
Ok, besides chocolate prayer. I seriously don't think I would make it through one single day. I have NO idea how people walk through this life without God. He is what sustains me.

3 .What do you do to relieve stress?
Exercise. HA! Right! For those of you who know me....stop laughing! I eat. No kidding. I'm pretty sure I need to join Stress Eaters Anonymous (and if that isn't an organization, it most certainly should be - am I the only one who does this?). I have a big exercise ball that I roll around on sometimes. It can be a de-stressor. I don't exercise with this ball, I just roll around on it. Sad. I know.

 Your turn. Link up.

Wednesday Hodgepodge - July 6, 2011

1. What is the most useful book in your house?
My Nook has proven pretty useful - it has a lot of books. Does that count as 1 book? I also have 3 household books that I really like:
Martha Stewart's Homekeeping Handbook
Real Simple: The Organized Home
Real Simple: 869 Uses for Old Things

2. What's worse-being too hot or too cold?
Too hot. I can keep putting on layers if I'm cold but if I'm hot I can shed everything, be indecent and STILL be hot! Just sayin'!

3. Share something that made you smile this past weekend.
Future SIL's bday was on the 4th. We got her a gift certificate but I also made her a casserole carrying dish from a tutorial she had sent me about a month ago and she was really excited about it. (Note: I am NOT a sew-er, but I'm trying to get better). It made me smile to know that she enjoyed it that much! Plus we had a fabulous day! I haven't laughed that much in a LONG time!

4. How do you like your hamburgers? Or don't you?
I don't like mustard! I would rather have it with cheese and perhaps mayo and pickles.

5. What's your summer beach read? If its not summer in your part of the world then tell us what book you're reading while curled yo in front of the fire sipping cocoa.
Right now I'm reading The Fitting Room by Kelly Minter.

6. How was your birthday celebrated when you were a kid?
We almost always had a party (always cake - usually made by my mom to my specifications) and after we got a pool I sometimes got a pool party if it was warm enough (My birthday is May 15.).

7. What is something that is totally uncool that you love anyway?
I *heart* Bon Jovi! Sick, I know, but I still love him!


8. So, I have a lot of family coming to stay at my house tonight. They are all going on a 2 week motorcycle trip out west...yes, the word crazy has come up quite a few times. My mom and dad did it a couple of years ago, but now half of my dad's family are attempting this together. Pray, people, pray!


Thought-Provoking Thursday Questions
Come back tomorrow and link up.

1. Do you think crying is a sign of weakness of strength?

2. What sustains you on a daily basis?

3. What do you do to relieve stress?