Let Freedom Ring...

I am so thankful to live in the United States. It's so hard for me to imagine living in a place where I do not have the freedom to attend school, go to work, attend church, wear the clothes I desire, etc.

So on this Independence Day, I am thankful for...

• the veterans that served and sacrificed their lives for our country
• the men and women that currently serve in our military
• the president of our country and the decisions he will make for our future
• my freedom

I am also thankful for a group of very special women....the Blue Star Moms. This group of oustanding women, do SO many things for our troops...they create care packages, make quilts and blankets for veterans, as well as support families during deployment and homecomings of their soldiers. Please join me in helping this organization by visiting this post and donating at least $1, if you can, to this worthy group of soldier moms. I'd love to show them how much all the bloggers appreciate what they do :)

And remember...."Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."~ 2 Corinthians 3:17

Bags a Plenty GIVEAWAY!!!

There is absolutely NO special occasion, no milestone achieved, no records broken...I just felt like hosting a GIVEAWAY!!!

You ladies are SO very special to me...I love seeing your comments, hearing your advice, reading your words of encouragment and more importantly, receiving your prayers. So this one is for YOU!!

One lucky winner will be given these...

Aren't they the cutest little bags??? I picked up a few for myself too. I liked these two the best...

I used one of mine this past weekend...Two rolled up beach towels fit PERFECTLY inside (along with my cell phone, sunscreen, and camera)!!

All you have to do is leave me a comment and let me know how you would use these adorable bags! A randomly drawn winner will be announced next Wednesday!

Look What Came in the Mail Today...

I am SO pumped!!!

My mom saw my post about Calling All Experts and my question about which ovulation monitor would be the best to purchase and had this sent to me. The Clearblue Easy Ovulation Monitor. I couldn't wait to tear open the package and read the instructions. I was a little sad to discover that I am unable to start using the monitor right now because I am already on day 8 of my cycle. But you can rest assured that I will be ALL OVER it next cycle...that is, IF there is a next cycle :)

Wait...

A VERY dear friend of mine, one that I am SO lucky to work with, gave me this book on Thursday.

Let me give you a little history about our relationship and why it is so important to me...

Judy became my secretary two years ago. Originally, she did NOT want to make the move from the guidance department to admin and was very resistant in making the change. But nonetheless, she took a leap of faith and became my secretary. We work SO well together, we finish eachother's sentences, we know what the other is thinking (and this can be QUITE scary sometimes), we are sister's in Christ, and we both truly believe that God put us together for a reason. You see, Judy struggled with infertility and was unable to give birth so she chose to adopt her two sons. We talk, almost daily, about my struggles with infertility, my plans of becoming a mommy, and we pray daily together that God's plan will be revealed soon. Sometimes I feel as if Judy is living through her troubles of becoming a parent all over again...and in a way, she is. She has cried with me and for me. She gives me advice, as well as listens to me vent about my frustrations. She always prays for me and with me. But the one constant that always surfaces again and again...is her determination to help me realize that I must WAIT. That although I have this plan of how and when we will become parents, only God knows the real plan.

On Thursday night, we had dinner and tickets to see a play at the local theatre. During our dinner, Judy presented me with the book Wait: God's Encouragement for Uncertain Times. She wrote the sweetest message in the front of the book and even marked a page for me to read that she felt was very important to her.

If you haven't read this book, you MUST go and get it. It is VERY short and basically tells of how the poem Wait was created. The authors also included several Bible verses that will really speak to you about the journey of uncertainty and how allowing Him to take the lead will ease our minds.

After reading this book I have a NEW favorite verse...one that I hope and pray that I will be able to follow:

"But those that wait on the Lord will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint." ~ Isaiah 40:31

Thank you Judy for this sweet sweet gift. It really meant the world to me!

Continuing to pray that I will WAIT, knowing He will answer...

6/19/09...

A year ago TODAY, I posted this note in my medicine cabinet...

...so I could look at it each and every day, read it to myself, and know that ONE day, my prayers would be answered.

So you can imagine my heartache, when I got up this morning and read my sticky note.

The only thing I kept saying over and over this morning was...ONE DAY!

ONE DAY, I will be posting a note that says..."Thank you Lord for this baby."

And I know that on June 19, 2010 I'll reflect on how I felt in 2008 and 2009 and thank Him for all the blessings that He has given me.

Calling all Experts...

So the DH and I have this magazine that a friend gave to us called Fertility Today. She was a guest writer for this magazine and thought we would benefit from reading it. I browsed through some of the articles and I agree...it is AMAZING. I plan on reading it in depth this weekend to try and soak up every single detail that I can.

Little did I know that the DH has been reading this magazine over and over and over again himself. He actually shared an article with me about ovulation and how to detect it more accurately.

The product (or gizmo) that this magazine recommends is called the OV Watch. It is basically a watch that you wear at night and it detects the chemical surge of chloride ions on the skin, which is an earlier predictor of a woman's fertility. It requires no urine sampling or temperature taking.
I have read SEVERAL of the articles on the OV Watch and even watched a few of the video clips. I picked up a lot of new information that I really didn't know about ovulating.

So I'm CALLING ALL EXPERTS...have you heard of the OV Watch, does it really work, what do you know about it????

Giving Me Rest...

I am having a rough day today...it really is starting to seem that my bad days are trying to out number my good days lately.

I read all the Words of Encouragement that Kelly posted a few days ago and saved every single one of them in my "prayer" folder on my computer. I knew that one day, I'd need to pull on those Words to lift me up and to help me find rest.

And today is one of those days...

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." ~Matthew 11:28-30


This verse really touched me. I read it over and over again, I looked it up in my Bible, and even spent time this morning researching the verse on the internet.

I found quite a few interesting facts about this verse...

• I am weary and burdened when I try to live under my own will and guidance. Jesus wants to help me out from under this burden.
• I am ALWAYS in a hurry but I don't seem to know where I am going. I experience failure, disappointment and neglect staring me in the face all the time. But I cannot seem to admit there is rest ONLY in Christ. He is what I need and when I come to Him there isn't any doubt that He will give me rest.
• A yoke is a heavy wooden harness that fits over the shoulders of an ox or oxen and is attached to a piece of equipment the oxen are to pull. Similarly, I too am carrying a heavy burden on my heart.
• Another version reads "For My yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light." This doesn't mean - no effort is required. This doesn't mean that everything about being a Christian is smooth and painless. But He will pull my weight and lighten my burdens.

So today I'm choosing to lean on Him...to put my worries aside and let Him give me rest.

The Race and the PRIZE...

I must admit that I have been SO wrapped up in all the hooplah with the April Rose situation and I am truly embarrassed. I have let this story, the rumors, and the discoveries consume me for the past 72 hours!!! I am one of those girls that LOVES her beauty rest...literally crawling into bed at 8:30 p.m. each night...but I stayed up until midnight last night reading blogs about the findings of "B" and April Rose.

I'm ashamed :(

So I thought I better start directing my focus on something else...something concrete...something real...my RACE!

Not a physical race, but the race that God has set before me. The race that holds my PRIZE at the end.

There are many challenges that come our way in life that are simply distractions. Distractions that lure us away from our destiny....from our PRIZE. I believe that I was allowing my infatuation with April Rose to lure me away from the race that I should be running. And luring me away from receiving my PRIZE.

Today I'm deciding to keep my focus and attention on finishing the race so I can fulfill the destiny He has prepared for me!


"Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run your race that you may lay hold of the prize and make it yours."~I Corinthians 9:24

Light is Bursting In...

I am really working hard this weekend on NOT being overwhelmed with impatience and sadness that our blessing of a baby has not yet come to be. I think a lot of the reason I have been down this weekend is because of the weather. It has been raining all weekend and for some reason it always puts me in a depressing mood.

I have cried over the littlest things this weekend...

• My soap opera had a very sad "baby" storyline that finally came to an end this past week, and I seriously cried and cried and cried.
• Although I have enjoyed working in our church's nursery, I sat down and cried yesterday because I just did NOT want to work in the nursery this weekend. So I traded my duty with a friend.
• A family member received a letter that just upset her SO much. I seriously cried my eyes out when I read it.

These are just a few of the things that really put me in one of those moods this weekend. You know what moods I am talking about...A "why me?" mood, a "when will it be my turn" mood, or an "it's never going to happen" mood. And through all of these feelings and moods, it's still raining outside. The dark clouds seem to be dwelling over my house this weekend.

I know better though...I know that "according to my faith, it will be done unto me."~Matthew 9:29. I know that God wants to release His favor like a flood over me. Maybe all of this rain is His way of washing away these sad thoughts that are trying to overcome my thoughts this weekend.

I have been praying this verse over and over this weekend..."When the enemy comes, in like a flood the Spirit of God will lift up a barrier."~ Isaiah 59:19

I know that our time is coming...I just KNOW it. I am expecting a tidal wave of God's goodness.

And, as He would have it, as I wrap up this post, the sun has started to show it's face today. Which reminds me that "when the darkness overtakes the Godly, light will come bursting in."~ Psalm 112:4.

The Finisher...

"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…"Hebrews 12:1-2

I have had this feeling in my heart for a while now that our time of becoming parents is coming soon.

When God put the dream in my heart to become a parent, He already had a completion date in mind. I may not see how it can happen, how long it will take, or when it will happen. But He can already see it done. I know that God has every intention of bringing His promises to pass. He is going to finish what He started in my heart!

After all...He is the FINISHER of my faith.