Fridays Bless Me Every Week

Today is the day I post my blessings, and how I look forward to this. Some weeks are harder than others, since it’s a choice to have the peace of God’s love and thankfulness in His blessings, and some weeks just blow me away.

Those that read me know I’ve just come back from a huge blessing in my vacation. I hadn’t been home in 12 long years to Oahu, and hadn’t visited Maui since I was 5. The fact that my son is now five and I took him and my husband to my home was HUGE for me. The obvious blessing was being in a tropical low key, laid back, beautiful environment. Who couldn’t see the blessing in that and thank God for His creation? The not so obvious blessing and the main one for me was to experience it all again as a 5 year old through my son, which really took me home ten-fold. The fact that my auntis, uncles, and cousins got to meet my family is a huge blessing.

Today as I look toward this past week my heart is somewhat heavy as I know I’ve not treated my husband as well as I should have this week. The phrase, submit to your husband keeps going through my mind. This is often a inflammatory biblical instruction for a lot of female liberals. What does it mean…submit? To me, it’s not letting a man walk all over me, as some people like to twist it. To me, it’s having compassion for the man God has chosen for me…letting go of some of my own control and giving my husband his way more than I choose my own.

I’ve been very controlling this week and I don’t feel good about it. What is the blessing in this? That I have a wonderful husband!! He puts up with me and loves me…frustrated or not. I know I need to make it up to him and I’m blessed that he sticks around so I can.

I’ve had no job this whole month…I’m unemployed! HA! How cool is it that this is NOT stressing me out. <—-(blessings right there) This whole month is the only month, before my son starts Kindergarten that I’ll have had all this time with him. I had no one calling me for work…well not for most of the month….so my time was truly “MY” time with my family with no interruptions. I’ve never experienced that freedom before, so this has been a huge blessing.

Now that it’s back to reality and the bills need two incomes…what am I going to do?? I’ve been wondering how I’m going to supplement our household income since I quit my sales career. I have my photography business that I started last October, but that’s not going to take off overnight.

This week my son’s school hired me as a substitute teacher. I turned my new hire packet in this week. I was told that it my be pretty infrequent for the first couple of months, but after that get ready for it to get crazy. I’m not sure how it’s going to pay, but I know God will provide. I’ve also run across a couple of jobs to pay the bills for the next couple of months until teaching kicks in. I’m not sure if they’d be something I’d be interested in, but it’s what they provide that counts. This is the first time in my life that I didn’t have to have something ‘professional’ working that went along with my degree. I finally realize….MY JOB DOESN’T DEFINE ME! I do…being a Christian mom, wife, daughter, sister, niece, grand-daughter, and friend defines me. This has been a blessing to get this.

Today would have been my Grandfather’s 100th birthday. If you’ve not read about him, you should…because he was and is still, to me, an amazing human being. He died in my arms, and I saw him see the Lord first hand. Seeing his pupils dialate, his breathe quicken, and his head pop up after being in a coma scared me at first. Hearing the monitors scream at me that his heart rate was bottoming out freaked me out. BUT seeing the look on his face when he saw angels come for him…there’s no way I could doubt that he saw the face of Jesus. And even though terrifying for me at the age of 19 or 20, I know this is a blessing now. For one because they say, those that have come back from the dead, that they see their surroundings when they leave their bodies…so this means my papa knew I was with him too.

You see I got there too late to see him before he went into his coma. He went into his comatose state asking for Kimmy and wanted me. I was selfishly on Spring Break in Texas…but took the first flight out as soon as I heard he went into the hospital. I was just too late in saying my goodbye. I have the peace and blessing of today, his 100th birthday, of that lovely man and his love for me. He was my role model growing up, in what to look for in a man. He was truly one of a kind. Please honor his memory today and go read this post about him and my wonderful grandmother, as she too, was truly one amazing lady. For those that don’t know, he was a photographer and the reason the love of photography is in my blood and heart. I hope he’d be proud that I’m trying to make a living at it.

Lastly the fact that we all came home from a long strenuous trip unharmed and well is a huge blessing. Other than my husband’s small fall, which we think he cracked something…we’re all fared well. My son is an amazing traveler! And no one got sick. Praise God for that!

Thank you for tuning in to my little corner of the web world. Next week is the last week of this contest. You can view the video at the post below to see who’s almost winning. If it stays this close in the running, I may have to extend this by another week to get a clear defined winner. I pray you’ll consider counting your blessings…it truly IS life changing. Just ask Terri…you can read why it’s changed her outlook, here.

I think I’ll leave you with a pic I took of my husband and son, on Maui. Have a great weekend all!

In a few days…

I will be home…in a few days.
I will feel the island breeze…in a few days.
I will taste my favorite foods…in a few days.
I will see my favorite people from my past…in a few days.

My Aunti and Uncle, although not by blood, by heart are letting my stay with them for the weekend in Kaneohe. They’re throwing me a potluck dinner party for all of my family to come celebrate.

When first moving to Oahu, we were in awe of it’s beauty. We were in awe of it’s weather. We were in awe that we really lived there! I was 5 and life at that age is wonderous any where you live, let alone on a tropical island with mountains at every corner and beaches at every turn.

Living near the ocean is home to me, on so many different levels. Every fiber in my being is pulled to the lull of the waves. To walk the beach, looking for sea shells and chasing hermit crabs, was my ideal day as a child. To find Japanese glass balls floating to the shore, and learn of their origin, was a blessed gift. Digging my toes in the sand, feeling it’s damp heaviness surround my foot right before the sea would rush in and drain the sand away is a sweet memory. Doing cartwheels and leaving hand and footprints down the shore was my signature, leaving my stamp of love for the island I lived on.

I dream of those days most nights. To know I’ve chosen a life away from them is not ideal, but I know I always have a home to come home to in my family away from family, on the island of Oahu. We were the first Hoale family to don the door of the Nazarene Church in Kaneohe, and our O’hana opened their eyes wide and soon their hearts to us.

We learned their dialect, and their culture as if it were our own. I spoke pidgin before I learned proper English. In fact when I moved back stateside, the education board made me take a test before starting school, because they thought I wasn’t smart enough to be in the 4th grade. They assumed my broken dialect was a sign of my intelligence.

I still have that test. It showed my intellectual age being 23, when I was only 10. I blew their tests out of the water. Then they wanted to put me in accelerated classes….I said no thanks. I would do fine in the normal classes with normal kids.

Back on point…I grew to love, breathe, and sleep my island life. Knowing that I will be home in a few days means more to me than anyone could ever know. It will be a short 3 day trip to Oahu, before leaving for Maui for a family wedding. But those short 3 days will be amazing! I will visit the place I went to school, and some of my other favorite spots like here, here, and here.

Sunday, we’ll attend church where I did as a kid. I hope my son and husband can appreciate how unique and special this place is. Not only because of the love for Christ they have in their heart, but also because of where it sits. It’s at the base of a mountain with slat windows, which allow the island breeze to stream through from side to side. You get to see God’s great creation in all it’s beauty, smell the wonderful flowers on the breeze, and worship in His goodness.

Afterwards we’ll go to Pearl Harbor so that my family can visit the Arizona, where I can point out my other house we lived in at the east lock of Pearl Harbor. We lived 20 feet from the Naval Intelligence Building, and it was a house that was pre-WWII, with vegetation that should be in a jungle. I had a closet that overlooked the harbor, with an amazing view.

Needless to say it’s going to be hard to tear myself away from my family and home, but I’ll be going to other family (in-laws) waiting for us on Maui. We’re staying at a beach house a block from the ocean, with the rest of the family to see my brother in law and future sister in law get married. This will be near and dear to my heart as well, knowing we’re making new memories to last a life time not only for me–but my five year old, who will taking it all in with wonder…just as I did 30 years ago.

I wish I could scan some of the old pics of me at 5 to post here, but my scanner is broken. I’ll post some new ones I get from this weeks adventures. Stay tuned!!!

PS….here’s the house in Maui we’ll all stay at:

Just another Manic Day

Saturday was one of the busiest days I think I’ve had since I was in college, when I was rushing from a full day of classes to my part time job. Saturday’s schedule wasn’t just busy, but quite active. Lots of running with no sitting—practically all day.

Starting bright and early I drove out with my son and sister to a race track about an hour away to shoot a couple of kids at their motor cross races.
This was taken while it was raining, so it was a little overcast. For 5 hours I ran from place to place getting the right angles to shoot, for three different kids. Who needs the gym right? It was a mix of showers, with hot sun and humidity that felt about 110 degrees. By the time I was finished, I was muddy, sweaty and in desperate need of a shower.

My son was in awe of all these kids, and their bikes. It was so cute to watch him take it all in.

Afterwards we drove the hour back home, stopped briefly to get a present, and kept on moving 45 minutes in another direction for a birthday party. It was a full day of driving to say the least. The party was held at one of those outdoor race tracks, with indoor arcade games. I think we had our share of racing for the day too!

Since we got to the party a little late…like an hours worth, we missed the cake and presents, but still had time to jump in a race car on their little track.

My anxious five year old strapped in tight next to me, because he knew I’d take the turns tight. I drove like a bat out of ‘you know where’ for the second time that day. I love racing and it was fun to go as fast as I could, while still maintaining a safe drive. After all my son was with me. He was screaming, “Whoo Hoooo Mommy!” the whole time. I think I actually beat my husband’s record.

We spent an hour there… mostly indoors, playing the arcade games, to beat the heat. My son is an amazingly lucky little dude who always gets tickets streaming out of every game he plays. In one hour he racked up 170 tickets, which was enough to bring home 5 toys.

Then we drove home so that I could get ready for my future sister in law’s bachelorette party, which I was already behind the curve ball on. I’d been planning it for weeks and was not going to let myself stop even for a minute to rest. All I had time for was a quick shower, and makeup and hair. Was I ready to sit, eat, and have a relaxing evening or what?

We started out at The Mantle, on the patio, for appetizers. The only down side was the very very loud speakers, which was blaring folk music. From there we went to two other places for a night full of fun and dancing.

I invited my token platonic guy, Walter, who’s been a friend for close to 15 years, to keep an eye on all us ladies. I always have a standby guy at bachelorette parties, just incase it’s needed.

Plus that way we all have a platonic, never gonna think of anything more than friends, dance partner for the night. Walter was like a bouncer, baby-sitter, dancing dude all rolled into one. Who wouldn’t love that?

PLUS he’s about 7 foot tall, so no one would mess with him. Did I mention he’s usually the life of any party too? It was a great bonus. Not too long into the evening, my Cousin, Ross, also stopped by. So we had two male body guards…it was great!

I think Mindy, my future sis, had a great time and I am so happy to be welcoming her into the family! It was a huge blessing to have my own sister, my future sister in law, my mother in law, and some of our friends and extended family join us out. We had the best time. Some of us had too much fun! 🙂

My sister and I designed T-shirts for the night, which were a hit. I will post a picture of them later. They were very cute and we all got comments on them all night. Now that’s it’s Monday, I’m ready for the weekend. I leave for their wedding, in Maui, in 4 days!

Ahhhh! Now I have to get crazy busy packing and preparing for a fun filled trip! I’ll keep you updated while I’m there!

Woke up

After these all night and morning,

we woke up to a few surprises.
Surprise # 1:

but I chose to focus on Surprise # 2:

Then I called the cops…
This is what I get for living near Hud housing with kids that are out for the summer, roaming neighborhoods looking for trouble.

Our neighborhood gets vandalized weekly and the police are so understaffed that they can’t do anything. So my husband and I have decided to get a infrared camera to post under the eaves of our home, to catch the little buggars who feel they can egg our cars, write bad words or obscene gestures on our driveways, race down our streets/through our yards, and bash and uproot our mailboxes. Maybe then the police can do something.

Feed the Children

So my son’s 5th birthday party focused on Feed the Children as it’s annual charity. I only asked that each child bring $1.00 with each gift, if they felt the need.

It resulted in about 10 dollars worth of revenue toward donations for Feed the Children. Not very much, but every little bit counts. I only listed the information in the birthday invitations, but didn’t ask anyone at his party for any donations they might have brought. I didn’t want to push, b/c I figured those that wanted to give would. The last thing I’d ever want to do is guilt anyone into giving. Otherwise it wouldn’t have been a true gift. A few other parents, that I know would have donated, ended up canceling at the last minute.

I don’t care how much or little we’re giving to our charity of choice this year. All that matters is how my son feels when he can personally delivers the cash to them, knowing how it will help other people in need. Their main lobby has large photos of kids from around the world. I know as he looks around, it will hit home how even just 10 dollars could help.

So tell me what do you all do to teach your children about the world and it’s needs?

Fridays are full of Blessings…Faithful Friday 2-29-08

This week has been a crazy one, and not all good either but blessings have been abundant none the less. I needed (let me repeat…needed) certain clients to come through for me this month in order to make my numbers. If I don’t sell, I don’t get a paycheck. If I don’t sell a certain number, I get penalized at my office in many ways. Needless to say my month didn’t come together. It seemed every client who was a sure thing this month had extra ordinary things come through in their lives which left them unable to commit to me.

One client only had two documents/reports to get to me so I could process her account. She ended up at court at the last minute without a break for over a week. So what we started at the first of the month, will be continued to next month. The list of random acts of interruptus-workus keeps on piling on.

I was in a car accident yesterday, which leaves me without my car and a stiff back. I am tired and still have a lot to get done today.

Many of you reading this would say…Yikes–what a horrible week. Quite the opposite in fact…it’s been a life filled week as life happens every day, but it’s been such a blessed week for me.

In result of my car accident, many wonderful things took place. I’ll list a few here, but you can read all about it at my wornoutwoman blog. The few good things I walked away from yesterday’s accident were these:

**First and foremost, I was in the car solo so my son didn’t even enter into the equation. Praise God!

**That young ‘could care less’ kid, who hit me, drove away with a huge fat ticket! Cha-ching! (My husband says I sound like the woman in Fried Green Tomatoes with this statement.)

**My dealership gave me a loaner for a couple of days till I get my rental. That’s two days of free transportation. Another Praise God. In my financial situation, I don’t need anything extra to add on.

**My back is hurt…but nothing is broken.

**I got some quality one on one time with my hubbie. We ate Mexican food until the tow truck picked up my poor Passat, and I drank a margarita that tasted like Lysol.

(Yes it was a little hole in the wall, but it was a date with my husband and I enjoyed every minute of it….even if I drank Lysol sip by sip.)

As far as work goes, I just have to trust God that He is working for me with those clients that are a little slower than I’d like. I know they’ll come in next month, so I pray it’ll offset the deficit from this month.

The blessings this week in my work world:

**God opened a door for me that I won’t divulge any info on right now, as I can’t, but it will lead to the end of my financial issues in the near future. Hallelujah on that one.

**A huge huge client, that I thought would never had a chance of coming through, called me back this week. I proposed a pretty expensive process to them last month, and they’re ready to move forward. If this deal gets signed…again I can pay off part of my debt with that one.

**I gained another client for my photography business for a spring family shoot. The referrals are starting to kick in from the previous clients, so that’s a small blessing but an amazing one none the less. Every little bit helps.

**The last 1/2 chapter I had to finish my manuscript is done … in my head. Now I just have to put it on paper. I had an a-ha moment and 2 a.m. where God gave me insight to what would work best. Yeah, now I can tie it all together this weekend.

I always find that God closes the right doors and opens the most unexpected ones. I’m always amazed at his patience with me in my need to know everything NOW. He gently guides me through ‘the process’ and evolves me to be exactly where I need to be before revealing bits and parts of His plan for me. I’m so humbled when I see how perfect his way was, and how horrible it could have been if I hadn’t waited.

We’ve truly got an amazing God people. One that loves us no matter what short comings we have, and we’ve got plenty. One that shelters us if we look to Him, even in the worst of times. One that holds us and our future smack dab in the center of His hand. He sent his spirit to guide us daily…and I’m so thankful that God loves me enough to let me return to Him over and over and over.

I was talking to a blogging buddy, Tam, this week. She is a great praying friend and a sister in Christ. She said something amazing that stuck with me. She said I’ve been in the season [of winter — financially] for a reason and she mentioned how exciting it was to see God working to bring me out of it. She’s right. I’ve been stuck for over a year, in a very difficult place, but I’ve known the whole time that God was teaching me and using it for His good. It is exciting to see how He’s working in my life and my season.

Please start looking to your blessings through the midst of whatever season you’re in. I promise you it can change your life. If you’d agree to post your blessings on Friday, I’ll send you the code to this pretty little button at the top of my page. It will link back to my page, and I’ll know to go read up on your blessings.

Here’s the code for the button above: <a href=”https://blessed1.wordpress.com/“> <img src=”http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c10/wornoutwoman/blessingsbutton.jpg” border=”0″ /> </a>

Christmas Thoughts

For any family that read my posts, this is for you:

If you have no idea what to give the girl that has everything, I have a few suggestions for ya!

1) Starbucks Gift Certificate

2) Lowe’s Gift Certificate

3) Target Gift Certificate

4) Old Navy Gift Certificate

If all else fails: STARBUCKS always works for me! I miss my frappacino’s in the morning!

On a more sober note–

I pray that all those traveling this Christmas holiday will have safe traveling mercies.

I pray that all those who have a deep sadness during this time of year, feel the peace of Christ’s love in their hearts…and that this love somehow replaces a piece of your sorrow.

I pray that those that are alone this Christmas, feel a part of something bigger than themselves. I pray they’re blessed unexpectedly on Christmas, so that they know it’s none other than God telling them that He loves them.

I pray for all our troops and their families, that they are able to celebrate via internet or phone. I pray they still feel connected though a world apart.

I pray for the safety of our troops in battle.

Most importantly, I pray that God and His Son’s love overcome the commercialism of December 25th. I pray that those out there reading this think about God’s beautiful gift to us, through Christ’s birth.

This is the real reason we give gifts to one another…to celebrate the gift of Christ and His love for us. Because….if all of us at least for 2 minutes gives thanks where thanks are due this day will have a lot more meaning.

5 more days till December 25th…but you’ve got every day to share the love of Christ.

Every day should be Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all of you!

Shuttle launch

There are few moments in time that stand still for me. I remember where I was and what I was doing when former President Reagan was shot. I remember watching Joe Theisman’s leg snap, and watching the replay run over and over and over. And of course I remember watching the Challegner’s hopeful mission turn to disaster.

I was downstairs in our Virginia home with my entire family, watching in awe, as our country was about to send an amazing school teacher and it’s esteemed team of astronauts up in space. The blast came as a surprise, and it wasn’t really believable at first. No one expected it or knew how to face it. All I felt was a surreal sense of dread. I was a fourth grader, who felt the full impact of these stranger’s deaths. Seeing the Challenger’s last launch is a moment I will never forget.

Today, August 8th, the Endeavor is scheduled for lift off at 6:36:39 p.m. EDT. Please take a second to pray for their safety and guidance as they travel through space. Thank you!

Faithful Fridays

You always hear, ‘always in God’s timing’….

Last few F.F. blogs have mentioned how strapped I’d been due to personal situations interrupting my work schedule.  I put forth my faith that God would take care of me.  Boy did He ever!!!

If I had my way, in my timing, it would have been last month, but I worked hard and waited patiently for God to bless the fruits of my labor.  He blessed me in triple fold this month!  I just want to say a big THANKS to God for blessing my faith and providing more than I ever expected this week.

I am leaving for yet another work trip, that would interrupt my work schedule.  It will be 4 days at an annual meeting, which leaves me no time to work my territory.  Thankfully I get to go have fun with no worries on how I’m going to pay my bills.

Faithful Fridays

This is a little late…but I always say better late than never! The last two days have been crazy! I just got back from Savannah, GA, which was extraordinary! So I haven’t had any time to blog in about a week or so.

So what is my Faithful Friday issue today?

Easy….Thank you GOD for safe traveling mercies through the flooding rain and storms. When we all left for the airport on Wednesday, we were concerned how we were going to get home. We knew most of us would have delayed flights. My flight connected in Cincinnati, OH where it was scheduled to leave at 8PM. Cincinnati had some local storms as well which left my co-worker and me sitting in the airport until after mid night due . At one point every person, already on planes, was instructed to evacuate their planes and  stay inside due to lightning. I fully expected rains in OKC, but never expected to have to wait out storms where I was connecting.

Most people in the terminal were obviously frustrated and audibly grumbling. I’m not saying I was immune to it! I was tired, from lack of sleep and travels…so the delays weren’t welcome ones, but at some point I had to give it over to God. I knew how much I had prayed for safe travels, as my family had been doing for me. So I turned to my new friends, as those all waiting on my flight had bonded quickly, and said, “There is obviously some reason to stay and wait it all out. I prayed to God for traveling mercies, so this is what must be!” A few nodded they’re heads. Some ignored it. But their grumbles became few and far between and the conversation started to be extremely pleasant. We all cracked out the air plane blankets and shared pictures of where we’d all traveled to that week, exchanged numbers, and relaxed for the duration of our wait.

We left a little after midnight and flew safely and smoothly home. With all the storms, we had zero turbulence! God has a wonderful way of delivering you some wonderful experiences, even through what could be very trying times.

I already received an email from one of those people on my flight inviting me to lunch this week. Sometimes God answers prayers…and gives you a few surprise gifts along the way. So as tired as I am…I’m so thankful for God’s faithfulness!

If you read last week’s blog, you’ll know some of my concerns. I needed to produce a certain amount to make my month. Although I didn’t hit the magic number, I did land a few last minute accounts that helped bulk up my measly numbers for the month. Sales are always cyclical, as anyone who’s been in sales knows.  You have a few good months and than a bad one. This was my bad one…but I’ll quickly ramp back up to better revenue soon. With my back troubles and my 4 day trip, it left little time left over to get work done.  Thanks be to God for giving me what little I had, as I wasn’t able to get much done this month.

On a side note:

Oklahoma has had 16 days of flooding rains. Today it rained so hard that it accumulated 3 inches of rain in one minute! Lakes are closed. Roads are over run with 6 inches of water or higher. Cars are getting stranded. It’s a little crazy here! AND mosquitoes are rampant!

Please keep our little state in your prayers. We need a little relief…especially when there are so many states out there that are in desperate need of water. Usually we’re the state that prays for rain….now I pray it moves on to other areas in need!