Need a laugh today?

Last night after dinner I was tired and didn't feel like doing anything productive, so I got on pinterest and looked at the 'humor' section. I was in my house alone and laughing out loud at some of these things.

E-cards have become one of my favorite things. Just when you think you are the only person in the world having an issue with something, you find an e-card about it and realize it must be a world-wide problem. It's almost like modern day comics. Except for the illustrator doesn't have to work as hard because one drawing can be used with many different sayings.

Anyway, I thought I'd just put up some of my favorite funnies that I have seen recently on pinterest and facebook....hope you enjoy :)

This is SO me.

This was SO me the first week of school.

Nope. I didn't read it either.

Yup.

 

Been there, too.

This one is for my Bea.

MmmHmm

Especially when it's so far off that spellcheck doesn't even understand...

If you've ever tried a pinterest project, you'll totally get this.

Almost daily.

Church is the WORST.

And that would just begin my list...

I didn't before I saw this card, but I do now.

Story of my life.

SO very glad we're past the Dora phase.

I'm a grammer person.

This is truth.

I would have chosen different wording for some of these, but still funny and true.

Ok. I'm done now. Hope everyone is having a great week!

A day with the Duck Commander

So yesterday was a good day. A friend of ours (Jimmy) made it possible for us to be part of an event that I otherwise wouldn't been able to attend and to meet some people that otherwise I may have never met. He grew up in West Monroe...home of Phil and Miss Kay Robertson, and just happens to be very good friends with the family.

Phil had a speaking engagement yesterday in Nashville, Arkansas for men and boys only. There were 600 tickets sold, and it was a sold-out event. Jimmy invited us to go with he and his wife Jana, along with our friends David and Kimberly, to be part of Phil's entourage for this event. They needed people to help set up, sell things, and pack up. I do not remember having to think even a second about whether or not we could go. If you read this post, then you know that I'm a huge Duck Dynasty fan. I love the show. I love the family. I love what they stand for. All of it.

Yesterday afternoon we met up with Jimmy and his family, and Phil and Miss Kay, and lead the caravan to the Nashville Elementary School. Phil parked right beside us and we all got out of our vehicles. We really only had a few minutes from the time we got there to the time the doors were unlocked so we all met each other and got a few pictures and got busy.

Phil's truck

Phil and I

We unloaded all of the merchandise and got it organized on the tables. It took 3 hours for 600 men and boys to go through that line (some more than once), but we sold a ton of t-shirts, books, DVD's, posters, hats, and of course, duck calls. Phil and Miss Kay met everyone there, signed something for everyone that wanted it, and got their picture made hundreds of times...smiling and laughing all the way through.

Miss Kay is awesome, and exactly like she is on the show.

I was a little afraid of being disappointed after getting to actually meet them, but y'all, we spent hours with these people, and I feel like I could just walk in their house and have a glass of tea without even being looked at like I was crazy. Austin LOVED them and I'm pretty sure he got more hugs from Phil and Miss Kay than anyone else did.

These are a few of the kids dressed up for the look-alike events.

 

Their son Alan and his wife Lisa were also there yesterday. They haven't been on the show in the past, but will be this coming season. When Robbie first introduced himself to Lisa, she said, "you're the one I talked to on the phone the other day". Robbie had no clue what she was talking about, but he had, in fact, talked to her on the phone a few days before this event. Lisa is lovely, inside and out. And, of course, Austin loved her too. I'm so glad we got to meet them both.

Austin, Lisa, and Robbie

Our family with Alan...

We did get to hear some of Phil's speech, and what I heard of it was FABULOUS. I love a speaker that is not afraid to say how it is. And if he steps on toes, is politically incorrect, or makes people mad, then so be it. He says what he believes. And to me, what he believes makes a whole lot of sense. Phil is not some back woods, uneducated redneck. He has his masters degree in education. He started a business in his house that is now worth millions. He is smart. He loves God and he uses Duck Commander as his ministry.

Phil speaking

I could not have more respect for this man.

When the event was over, we all walked out at together. After Phil got in his truck, Austin climbed up in the truck with him and gave him a hug. Phil said, "alright, one last hug boy". Then Austin went to the back seat and Miss Kay gave him a big hug and kissed him. It was precious. We all left feeling like we had known them forever.

Our little helpers

Jimmy and Jana, I'm so grateful for this opportunity to get to know this family and to help serve with them.

The boys with their new duck calls

I'm not sure we will EVER be able to repay this one.

Momma's boy...

It was 3 weeks ago today that I had my hysterectomy, and in those 3 weeks my kids have gone from Grandma to Memaw and everyone in between so I could have time to recover and rest. Aaron loves being in DeKalb because we have a lot of family there, and he has several friends that he likes to visit, so it's something new and different every day. Austin, on the other hand, does ok being gone for a night or two, but after that he starts missing his momma too much and needs to come home.

I didn't realize how much this time away has been affecting him until this Sunday morning in church. Austin made me keep a hand on him the entire time we were there. At one point I was rubbing his neck while he was writing on paper, and I took my hand off of him and he looked at me and said, "mom, I said don't take your hand off of me." That was really sweet, but made me a little sad because it made me realize he needs more from me than he's been getting the past few weeks, and I knew I was going to be taking him back to my parents house that day because I started work Monday and he couldn't go with me.

Later that day when I told him that he was going to spend a few more days away from me he started crying, but with me starting work on Monday, there was no choice. 

He's such a momma's boy.

And I LOVE IT.

I worked Monday and Tuesday at school, but since I knew I would be off today, I went and picked Austin up so we could spend time together today. I had told him that he needed to think of what he wanted to do, and as long as it was within reason, we would do it.

So here was some of our day...

Chuck E Cheese...would a mother/son day be complete without it?

He beat me in air hockey, but I beat him in skee ball, so I'm calling it even ;)

He wanted to do this massage chair, and he REALLY enjoyed all 3 minutes of it.

Yes. I let him talk me into photo booth pics. I am shameless.

Ice cream and Chick-fil-a...

As we were walking down the mall, we were holding hands and Austin looked and me and said, "it's kinda like we're on a date, huh momma?" I said, "yes, baby, it's a momma/Austin date." Then he said, "that's really special, isn't it mom? I just love you so much."

Oh my heart.

With school starting Monday, I'm so thankful that I didn't have to work today and had the opportunity to have this special day with my little man. And I'm thankful that my job at the school will allow me to see him regularly throughout the day during the school year. I know I don't have much longer before he'll be like Aaron, able to be gone for a week without even feeling the need to call and say 'hi'. We'll get Aaron back tonight so that we can go meet the 6th grade teachers and get his schedule for the year.

6th grade.

I'm not even ALMOST ready for this.

That will get it's own blog post if I can ever bring myself to admit that he's that old.

So you can expect this...NEVER.

Now I must go since Austin is dying for me to play video games with him. I'm horrible at these. This should be interesting...

This is the stuff

I am not a real big sports fan (unless it's football season and the Razorbacks are playing), but the Olympics have been on quiet a bit at my house this year. There are MANY sports I do not know anything about and do not care to watch, but women's gymnastics is by far my favorite, followed by swimming and diving. I mentioned Gabby in my last post, and that was just after she qualified to compete for the gold in the women's gymnastics all-around. Here we are a few days later and she has earned that gold medal and is now a name known all around the world.

Whether you got to see it or not, you have probably heard what she said just after receiving her gold medal. Her words were this: "I give all the glory to God. It's kind of a win-win situation. The glory goes up to Him, and all the blessings fall down on me."

This girl had just won the biggest event of her life and could have said anything she wanted to say and could have went on and on about how great she is (because she IS amazing), but she humbled herself and gave the glory to the One who blessed her with that talent in the beginning. I do not know all of her story, but the bits and pieces I've heard tells me that this has been a long road for her and the way hasn't been exactly paved with roses. She had to work very hard and there were many sacrifices made by many people to get her to where she is today. I'm sure she has had many days where giving up was very tempting and it seemed the odds were stacked against her, but because of her faith in her ability and in her God, she continued on and earned her gold.

We all have trials in our lives, and even though they are not fun and may seem frustrating and pointless when we're in the middle of them, I believe we always come out stronger on the other side of them. I know many people that choose to blame God when things get tough, but these are also the people that choose to not give Him the glory when things work out.

I've read that Michael Phelps coach would make things go wrong for him just before swim meets, simply to teach him to be prepared for anything. For example, one time the coach hid his goggles and Michael was forced to swim in a race without them (and he won that race, btw). He constantly put trials in Michael's life on purpose that were probably very stressful in that moment, but made him better in the long run.

I believe that is how it works with God. If you are going through something right now that seems pointless and is making your life more difficult than you feel you can deal with, hang on and look for God's purpose in this trial. It's very easy to blame Him, but instead, ask Him to show you the purpose and to use this trial to better you as a person.

A personal example I have of this is when I had my second miscarriage in 1999. All I ever wanted to be was a mom. I have never cared about having a career because I felt my calling was to be a mother. But after 2 unsuccessful pregnancies, I was losing hope. I was in a dark hole and didn't want to do anything but lay in my bed. But then my sister-in-law told me about a woman in our church that had gone through miscarriages and she would be happy to talk to me if I was up for it. This is a lady that I admired so very much even before all of this, so I gave her a call.

I couldn't tell you how long that phone conversation lasted, but I can tell you that by the end of it she had given me my hope of having children back and some very good advice (that actually led me to my pregnancy with Aaron only a month later).

If this sweet woman had never gone through miscarriages and loss, then she wouldn't have been able to help me the way that she did. Just to know that someone else had gone through that, and then went on to have 3 successful pregnancies after that, was enough to put a little light in my world that had become very dark. And even though I'm sorry that she had to go through that, I'm so thankful that she chose to use that experience to help me get through it for myself. It meant the world to me, and I hope that I can help others with that throughout my life.

I know that you have gone, or are going through the 'stuff' of life that seems almost unbearable and unfair, because we all have or will deal with that at some point. But just think of God as your coach that's hiding your goggles and watching you proudly as you overcome that obstacle to win that swim meet and walk out of it a better and stronger person.

I love, love, love the song by Francesca Basttistelli called This Is The Stuff...here are the lyrics in case you haven't heard it:

I lost my keys in the great unknown
And call me please 'Cuz I can't find my phone

45 in a 35
Sirens and fines, while I'm running behind

This is the stuff that drives me crazy
This is the stuff that's getting to me lately
In the middle of my little mess
I forget how big I'm blessed
This is the stuff that gets under my skin
But I gotta trust You know exactly what You're doing
Might not be what I would choose
But this is the stuff You use.

So break me of impatience
Conquer my frustrations
I've got a new appreciation
IT'S NOT THE END OF THE WORLD...

It is one of my most played songs on my ipod these days. You should get it if you don't already have it. Oh, and also Stronger by Mandisa. My favorite line from that song is, 'when the waves are taking you under, hold on just a little bit longer, HE knows that this is gonna make you stonger'.

So what is your 'stuff' and how can you use it to become a better person and servant for God?