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Thankfuls

Crazy, chaotic, and awesome…

I haven’t been writing much lately… actually for a few months; and I know I’ve lost some readers in that time. It’s okay, and I understand. Life has been hectic (and somewhat insane) as it so often can be, and I’ve struggled to find the time to really focus on putting thoughts to paper (or keyboard in this case). I’ve missed it, I must admit. I’ve missed giving my thoughts a voice; I’ve missed sharing that voice with you; and I’ve missed, most of all, the interaction between us.

It is so heart-warming to know that there is someone else out there who feels the way I do about something; someone who is or has had the same struggles as me; someone who understands what it means to be a wife, mother, daughter, sister, and child of God… and how stressful this life can be. Logically, I know, we all know, that we aren’t alone in this world. But sometimes it’s hard to see another person’s chaos when we look beyond our front door steps. Sometimes it seems as if everyone around us is so well put together that we are the odd duck in a sea of swans. The reality is, however, that we are all swans. We’re all the same, even when the water is murky.

Yesterday started the third week of the new school year… I, once again, have eight glorious hours of alone time. Do you know what one can do with eight hours of alone time? I had forgotten until recently. Though I do miss the kids (have to get used to the “back to school” routine all over again), it is wonderful to have this time to myself. I’ve finally set my office hours since, unlike last school year, I’m a work-from-home-mom.  I have wonderful quiet time to spend in prayer; time to catch up with online friends and reading; and time to really pace myself. There is more value to school that just the kids’ educations! We are planning a move soon (same school district, different location)– mid September we’re hoping– and having this time is going to be really beneficial to getting things planned and ready.

Speaking of the upcoming move… I have prayed over this (our house on the market; finding a new home, etc) for months. Literally, months. I was convinced a few months ago that we’d be moving by the beginning of the summer. That has, of course, come and gone. I did feel a little let down, but realized that I must be patient and wait on God’s timing. After all, He is the one who knows our (my family’s) future. I started praying that He would send the right person to us… the one He wanted to see in our house. The funny thing about prayer is… when you ask, you receive.

Three weeks ago, hubs and I began talking about the possibility of renting the house while it is up for sale. It has been sitting there empty all this time (do you know what happens to an un-lived-in house?) and wasn’t doing us any good. We weren’t making anything off it, and were in fact losing money that we can’t afford to lose. We talked about renting it for all of about an hour on a Friday night, and decided we’d talk about it more later. The following Monday, I received a call from an incredibly wonderful woman who was interested in buying, but wanted to know if we’d consider renting for a year with an option to buy. We hadn’t even finished discussing the possibilities of renting… hadn’t made definite plans, hadn’t done anything. And this woman just fell right into our laps. Remember what I asked for in prayer? That God would send us the right person? Well, she and I talked several times and each time just confirmed in my mind that this was orchestrated by God Himself. Our house is officially leased now!

I also prayed that God would show us where He wanted us to make our home. The Thursday following Monday’s call regarding our house, I received a call regarding a house for us. We looked at it that evening and both of us knew right then that it was the one for us. Both our minds were made up before even discussing it… without any doubts whatsoever. In four days time, God not only brought us the person who belongs in our house, but He also showed us the house in which we belong.  God’s perfect timing!

Life has been crazy and chaotic; stressful and unorganized; and feeling completely out of control at times… but the greatest part is knowing that even when it feels out of control, God is always in control! I don’t have to worry or stress or fear… God is always there and He is awesome! (Now if He would just take care of this toothache for me! Ha.. only kidding, sort of.)

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It’s not within my ability…

Sometimes it is so hard to love someone who has wronged you. Sometimes it’s more than hard…it’s literally humanly impossible. That is the point I am at right now. The humanly impossible point.

Several months ago, I felt drawn to a new member of our church– someone I had known from my school days (junior high and high school). She was going though a very hard time as her husband had just been sentenced to serve ten years in prison for a crime he was wrongly accused of. I reached out to this person in love and friendship, as did our entire church. I wanted to help, didn’t know how to help, but wanted to in any way I could. Our church got together with a couple other local churches and put a new roof on her house– it was in dire need and leaking with every drop of rain. This was in December, just before Christmas. We saw her in church the Sunday after and haven’t seen her since.

This person was friended by myself, the Hubs, and several others on Facebook. Several of us contacted her periodically inviting her back to church, checking in on her and her children, etc. The Hubs contacted her to ask how things were going, etc, trying to reach out in a friendly way. That, as it turns out, was a mistake. She took  his gesture as an opening for her. She began talking with him, asking him questions about our marriage, and even told him that I wanted to visit my sister in Florida because there was “another man.” She called him at work and asked him to meet her for “lunch.”  He declined and ceased communication. He also defriended her on Facebook.

This person… who called herself a Christian; who took full advantage of the generosity of our church; came after my husband as if it were perfectly acceptable. The icing on the cake? After Hubs stopped communications with her, she moved on to one of my best friends and fellow church members. She began calling her husband at all hours of the day and night, asking him to “come over” because she “needed a friend.”  I honestly don’t know what to think of someone like this.

I honestly had vengeance in my heart. I am ashamed to tell you the things that were going through my head, and won’t. Thanks to my good friend and another wonderful church friend, I ended up spending a good amount of time in quiet, praying, and listening. Now I feel absolute pity for this person. That her life is so miserable; that she is so lost… she feels this kind of behavior is okay? That is really beyond sad.

God has spoken to me in more than one way. Our sermon immediately after this was about loving others as Christ loved us. That, my friends, is a hard pill to swallow when it comes to a woman who was trying to insinuate herself into your marriage. However, I know it can be done, but not of my strength. I am not quite there yet, but I am getting there. I have prayed for God to fill me with His love and forgiveness. I can’t do it on my own, not even close.

I thank God that the Hubs is the kind of man he is; the kind of man who is faithful and true not only to me and our marriage, but to the God who created our world. I thank God that he is strong enough in faith to recognize a devil’s trap when it surfaces.

I thank God for giving me the strength to forgive and love… even someone like her.

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A letter to my favorite internet friend…

Southern Expressions
Day 8 — Your favorite internet friend

Oh wow, this is a dangerous one! haha I actually have three favorite internet friends, so will address this one to all of them!  (and if you just insist on having names, they are:  Kirsten, Steve, and DQ… three people I very much consider my real-life friends)

Hiya friend!

Wow, what to say?  First off… I’m so glad to call you friend.  I really do think of you as my real-life friend, even though we’ve never actually met face to face.  That is definitely something on my to-do list!  One day, one day.  I think it’s so cool that people from all over the country, or the world for that matter, can virtually meet and become such good friends.  Just one of the good things the internet has done for the world, because without it I wouldn’t know you!

I have made other friendships over the years via this world wide web, but none of those have lasted.  I’m so happy that ours has, even through all my long hiatuses from the net!  (Thank goodness for cell phones!!)

Even though we only communicate through the net or by phone, I think we have a good friendship.  We’ve shared things that real friends share, some of those things very personal and private.  That is what has made our friendship so good I think.  We have a mutual trust that is so important to a friendship.  I treasure that as much as I treasure our friendship.

I also treasure all the times you’ve patiently listened (or read) as I’ve ranted about the latest “drama” going on around me (that I positively despise!) or my insane “kid stuff” that is never ending.  It takes a really good person to listen to endless ranting and raving about such silly stuff.  And it takes a great friend to patiently calm one down after such endless ranting and raving.  Thank you for that.

And thank you for being my friend.  I love you big huge gigantic muches!!

Later gater!

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As it’s all melting away…

I have to be a little sad because, silly me, I took for granted that the fluffy four inches of white stuff we got yesterday and last night would stick around a little longer… and I didn’t get any pictures this time. None.

And this was a beautiful snow too. Not that the other snow days we’ve had weren’t beautiful, but there was something extra special about this one. Maybe it was that the snow was so light and powdery, I don’t know. It just looked different. And now it’s nearly completely gone.

But, I do have the vision of that beauty in my mind. (Would have been nice if I’d gotten off my rear with the camera though!)

Even though I didn’t capture the wonderful white stuff on film, I can bask in its beauty and be thankful for what I’ve been given. I have never, in my nearly 37 years, seen snow this many times, this close together, in this part of the country. I think, though I’m losing count, this is our third or maybe fourth snow since Christmas. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not a winter-loving type of girl. I’m a sand and sun kinda girl, as I’m sure you can tell by my blog theme. But, who doesn’t love snow? It’s like being a kid again! God has blessed us so tremendously, and giving us all this snow and all it’s beauty is just another amazing blessing!

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In other news… I am so very proud to announce that I have joined Thirty-One Gifts as a Consultant! This company is such a God-send, and so is my sponsor/director. Though I’ve never actually met her personally, she has been so completely amazing and supportive. She even paid for my registration while trusting me, a complete stranger to her, to pay her back when the funds are available! (Yes, I cried, and prayed and praised God, and cried some more!) It’s amazing to me that I can feel the love of Jesus just in her voice!

Thirty-One, if you’ve never heard of the company, is a faith-based company that makes the most amazing gifts for girls and women! I’ve never seen so many awesome bags and purses, and let me tell you my own wish list is a mile long! I’m very excited to get started and very very anxiously awaiting the delivery of my big pink box! Most impressive to me, personally, is that I received a phone call from the corporate office welcoming me into the company and offering any assistance I might need. What direct selling company does that?! NONE that I’ve ever heard of. Thirty-One got its name from the Old Testament passage in Proverbs 31. Just one more thing I love about this company!

I firmly believe that this is in God’s plan for me, and I pray that He allows me to be successful while glorifying His Name!

I’d be so very thrilled if you’d visit my new Thirty-One web site, http://www.mythirtyone.com/nickiesmith and even more thrilled if you decide to go shopping with me! I’ve prayed for so long that God would lead me to the job He has for me so I can help out with the household expenses (for those of you who don’t know, the past 15 months have been very trying and difficult for us; which is why I was offline for almost a year). This opportunity could very well mean my contribution in the form of a small income while still being able to be home with the kids before and after school, and doing all the things I already do! Praise God!

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Random thoughts…

I’m so happy that my internet is back in the working world… thought it’s not back to normal. I’ll take what I have over nothing. The CableOne guys have been working their fingers to the bone, I gotta say. Yesterday’s weather certainly hindered their progress, but they have been really good about keeping in touch and explaining what’s going on the past couple days. Can’t ask for more than that! (Well, other than having properly working internet, but one thing at a time… heh)

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We prepared for storms to roll through the area yesterday… those storms never happened. According to all the weather forecasts, and I do mean all of them, we were to get strong damaging winds, isolated tornadoes, and torrential rain. We got the rain. I prayed like crazy Monday night and Tuesday morning, while waiting for the mess to hit. I asked God to calm the clouds and wind, bring the rain we need, and keep the storms away. He answered my prayers! God is so good!

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We’re in the process of getting ready to put the house on the market. Hopefully it won’t be much longer until it’s sold and we have cash in hand (I’m hoping we’ll be moving by summer *fingerscrossed*). That will make such a huge difference in our financial situation. It’s all in God’s hands, and I’m not worried.

We do have to start searching out a location for the new house though. That could take a while. I’m sure the right place will come along at the right time though. It’s all in His hands.

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Since JoJo now has a job, and Nay has school four days a week… plus Lil Man and Priss are both in school until 3:00 everyday… I have a few hours of quite time now. It’s much needed and much welcomed. It’s amazing how much I’ve been able to catch up on in the few hours of quite I get to myself. Minus the several times I have to take the pups out, let them in, play with them, feed them, love them, and pet them. But hey, I’m not complaining.

As much as I love the kiddos, it is nice to have some “me” time… quite time, restful time, peaceful time, and time alone just me and my Father. That is the best part of it. The absolute best! There is nothing like the feeling of overwhelming peace when it’s just you and God… and you just “be still.” Soul peace. Mind peace. The kind of peace people spend lots of time and money searching for– and the hundreds, thousands, of gurus out there will tell you they can help you find, but can’t– and never find because they are looking in all the wrong places. That kind of peace doesn’t lie within ourselves.

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Yesterday was like Christmas all over again in my house. I received a delivery from DaySpring/(in)courageAnn Voskamp’s book, One Thousand Gifts. I am so very grateful to DaySpring and Zondervan for this book. And I am so thankful for Bloom Blook Club. I’m really looking forward to diving into this book.

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Do you keep a prayer list? I heard a story the other day of a little lady who kept a prayer list in her Bible. Her list was a list of people she prayed for everyday. Neighbors, friends, acquaintances, family. People who she loved, even if she didn’t really know them. What an amazing thing to do. And the best part about it is… even just writing those names down and thinking of their needs, whispering those things in her heart and mind… those needs went directly to the One who could fulfill them. Prayer within prayer. Amazing.

I am starting a list of my own. I’ve had a mental list for a long time, but sometimes my ‘mental’ isn’t so good at remembering every name on that list. Putting those names in writing is a great way to make sure no one is forgotten.

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Have I told you lately how much I love and appreciate you? Yes, you.  I haven’t, and I should have. You, taking the time to read the words I’ve typed on a white screen… you mean more to me than I can express. Even if there is only one of you, just one person reading these words that flow from my fingertips… you are so important to me. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for taking time out of your day to read my simple words– especially since I’m a terrible writer! You are loved. ♥

(And forgive me for typos and bad grammar.  I’m not proofing this post.  It’s late and I’m tired.  Good night blog world.)

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