God Enters

I got this in an email this morning...... I think God must be reminding me of my New Year's Resolution!! :-)

"We can't love what we won't experience.... God enters the world through those of us who are willing to let God participate fully in our lives, in our suffering as well as our celebrations."

Yes, God... I hear you.

New Year's Resolutions

I used to make New Year’s Resolutions, but I don’t anymore. I’ve never done a good job at keeping them, and that makes me feel like a failure when I break them….SO…..I realized that if I don’t make one, then I don’t have to watch myself fail again. I know that we are supposed to set goals for ourselves in life. At least that’s what all the “self-help” books tell you. I’m starting to think that maybe in our obsession for being better at everything, we set ourselves up for failure. Have you noticed that the more you see people buying up books on how to have a bigger/better life, the more you see anti-depressants being consumed? Seriously. I think there is a connection. I think that we push ourselves WAY too much sometimes. I know that I have been guilty of that. What we used to consider “over-achieving” is now our culture’s view of just “achieving”. AND with the internet and all the social networks available to us, we can easily compare our lives to others. I just started “twittering”. There are definitely some “pros” to it, but a lot of “cons” as well. As you read the little snippets of your friends lives, it’s easy to feel inadequate. Someone is exercising more than you. Someone is eating better than you. Someone is having more fun than you. Someone is buying more things than you. Someone is happier today than you…. The list goes on and on and on. Is it healthy? Seriously. And does it make us too self-absorbed? AND is it taking the place of one-on-one physical connections? All this is stuff I’m pondering as I sit here in my pj’s watching football. Do I set big goals for next year? … or do I just relax and see what comes naturally for me. Maybe my goal should be to just get up each day and do the best I can with what that day brings, then let God handle the rest. Some days it may just be laundry. Some days it might be writing a song. Some days it may be spending time with friends or family. Some days it may be performing. Or some days it may be laying around in my pj’s. Our preacher said one time, “If you try to control the outcome of everything, then you are doing God’s job.”

Okay, so maybe I will make a New Year’s Resolution. To just do my best and then get out of God’s way and let Him do His job. That's a SCARY one for a control freak like me! LOL Wish me luck!!... and good luck to all of you with your New Year's Resolutions.

Waking up to a Winter Wonderland!!

Now THAT'S better!!

Just passing the Bengals stadium.

On our way!!

Well, our goal was to leave at 7am.. We were driving out the driveway
at 7:30. Not too bad for our family!! LOL

It's Django's first road trip. Well, at least as far as we know!
Can't wait to see him in the snow!!

Only in Donelson.....

I love my little neighborhood... but geez...... Santa in a bass boat?!?!? In the front yard?!??! Have I lost my Christmas spirit??? LOL

Birthdays

Birthdays. They come every year. They remind you that you were born that day __ years ago. (fill in the blank). Everyone congratulates you as if you DID something amazing that day. All YOU did was come out screaming. LOL

We really should be congratulating the MOM of the person who is having the birthday that day, because SHE did all the work that day years ago. She's the one who has the memories of that day seared into her mind. She went through all the pain and effort to bring a human into the world. It ain't easy. I know. I've done it a couple of times myself.

My Mom did all that, but she did something extraordinary. After all that pain and all the effort, she did the unthinkable. She walked away. How could she do that? She did it because she had unbelievable love for me. She was a young girl. She was not prepared to be a parent. Neither was my father. They just weren't ready. So, they did the unselfish thing and gave me away. They gave me to a wonderful couple who dreamed of having a family of their own, but couldn't. It was a gift. A gift to us all. I got to be raised by two loving parents in a stable home and they got a daughter to love. Perfect.

Then, a few years ago, I got another gift by getting to have my birth parents back in my lives again. Along with six wonderful brothers and sisters, their spouses, and LOTS of nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins. I'm very blessed to have a BIG wonderful family now!! I'm thankful today, on my birthday to have a lot of love in my life. I'm grateful for the love of my family and friends. Thank you to all who have extended their birthday wishes. I had a wonderful day....

... and special thanks to Valorie, my birth mom.. for the choice you made!

Utility companies must hate me.

Most of you know about my horrible experience with Comcast a couple of months ago. Now i've been dealing with AT&T for the last two weeks, just trying to get a change made to my service. It's been a nightmare. Now they have disconnected one of our phone lines and say they can't fix it for 5 - 7 days!! Are you SERIOUS!?!?!?

Does anyone out there have Vonage? ..... and do you like it? I am SO thinking of switching.

Hanging out with the choir in the church green room.

6am came EARLY!!! Lots and lots of coffee was needed!

What I couldn't eat of my cedar planked salmon ... Yum!

two gigs this weekend!

Hey everyone!

Please come out to Mt. Juliet High School TONIGHT in Mt. Juliet, TN for a benefit help out little Karli Costley and her family. I will be performing along with Matraca Berg, Deanna Bryant and Kim Richardson ITR... other performers include:

Jamey Johnson
Erika Jo
Eric Heatherly

and others as well....

Here is a website for more info:

http://www.mjhsbnn.com/karli/index2.htm

WHERE: Mt. Juliet High School Auditorium

WHEN: Sat. Dec. 13th: 7:00pm



My other "gig" is I'll be singing in the church choir at Cross Point Community Church tomorrow morning. If anyone is looking to hear some beautiful Christmas Music, and find a wonderful community for Christian fellowship, ya'll come visit Cross Point. For more info:

crosspoint.tv

I hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Marcia

Really?!?!?

I tried to take a picture of my "fortune" when we went out for Chinese last night. In case you can't make it out, it says, "You will be unusually successful in an entertainment career." I showed it to Mike and said, "Look honey!!" to which he replied, "Great! When you do think that's going to happen?" Very funny.

Django and Sam right before Sam yanked the bow out of Django's hair

Why do groomers insist on putting bows in boy dogs hair? Don't they realize they are supposed to get a bandana or something that will make them look tough???

Kari playing in the big snow!!!

Control

This was a Daily Bible Devotion that was sent to me by my friend Lisa.... I needed this one today. I am horrible at trying to control too much.... how 'bout you guys? Anyone else have "control issues"? :-) I love the very last line "He is clearly more qualified"... NO KIDDING!! ha!


You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet. Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control.
Hebrews 2:7,8a

Jesus is the only one who can claim having had human form and having complete control. So, if you're trying to control situations, people, or your future - take a break. Not your job. Do what God shows you to do and let that be all. Don't try to do His job. He is clearly more qualified.

My 2nd favorite Christmas movie of all time!! (nothing beats "it's a wonderful life")

My favorite way to start the day!!

What makes you happy??

http://tinyurl.com/5vxn8k

I got the link to this from Derek Sivers on twitter. I thought it was very interesting. Do happy strangers make you happier? If you are feeling down and you walk outside to pick up your newspaper and your neighbor smiles and waves and says, "Hello! Good morning! What a beautiful day!" Does it make you stop and smile too? Do you walk back in your house feeling a little bit better? .... OR do you feel like you want to walk over there and smack him so he'll feel as lousy as you do? And would THAT make you feel better? LOL

I think this time of year just amplifies whatever emotion you may be feeling. If you are down, then the holiday's make you feel worse. If you are happy, then you feel more joyful. Sometimes when I'm down, the last thing I want to see is a bunch of happy people....LOL

However, the other day I was checking out at the grocery store and the girl that was bagging my groceries was just staring down as if she was sad or depressed. I started talking with her, smiling and joking about my intense love for Pumpkin Spice coffee creamer. Pretty soon she was laughing about how she DID notice I bought six containers and that it MUST be good. She then told me that they also make it in the dry creamer too, just in case I ran out of the liquid. I thanked her for the tip, then we chatted about a couple of other things and when I left she was smiling and waving good-bye. Her whole demeanor had changed over a conversation about nothing. Sometimes I think people are just waiting to be noticed. Doesn't it make you happy to be noticed?

In the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, I think it helps to remember that what makes us all happy in the long run is relationships. I think we are all happier when our relationships are good. Whether it is with our spouses, children, parents or friends. Or maybe sometimes, even with strangers. Notice the people around you. Smile at them. Even if you're feeling rotten.... start spreading the love, and just watch what happens. I'll bet you'll start feeling better too.

Dad and Sam after his band concert. It was great!!

Indy-ucky....?? I hope I'm spelling that right.

Called TiVo today to cancel my service. You know how they make it REALLY hard to cancel anything these days? I’m not just talking about TiVo, but any company that you have service from. They just hate losing you as a customer, and I understand that, but when you don’t need their service anymore, they shouldn’t keep you on the phone giving you all kinds of “incentives” to try and change your mind.

My TiVo customer service rep. today was Tim. Tim was very talkative and tried his best to keep me on as a customer. He struck up conversation about my Thanksgiving, and when he found out I lived in Nashville he mentioned he had family that lived in the area. He told me where they all lived and then asked about where the country music stars live. He then told me an interesting statistic about Nashville.
He said that in a recent study about what town in America was the “friendliest city” Nashville came in as #1. He said that they placed an elderly woman on the streets of several different cities and someone timed how long it took for someone to come to her aid. Nashville won. However, I decided to look it up on the internet and there are several different lists of “Friendliest Cities”. Nashville was usually in the top five of most of them, but only Dateline NBC had us winning the competition. However, I DO think Nashville is a very friendly city and I love living here.

Anyway, back to Tim. After he tried his best to give me reason after reason to stay with TiVo (which I DO love, but I don’t have a hi-def Tivo and now we have a hi-def tv, so against my better judgement I’m giving Comcast a go), he even complimented me about my laugh and then finally gave up. I wasn’t budging. No way. Tim WAS entertaining though… I mean, if they are going to keep you on the line for 20 minutes, at least you should get some interesting facts about your city during the conversation, right? So if you need to call TiVo for any reason… ask for Tim. He’s nice and funny and educational too.

Oh… one more thing… Tim mentioned that he lived on the Indiana/Kentucky border, which in the area they call “Indy-ucky”.. then he said he wrote a song about it, and would I like to hear it? OF COURSE, I said….. so Tim sang, “I’m so lucky, to live in Indy-ucky”…..

Indy-ucky must be a nice place. They sure have friendly customer service folks!!

Girl time... and writing songs.

This morning was my regular Tuesday morning women's group. I always enjoy going to that. Lisa had her house decorated like a Christmas wonderland. It was beautiful. As much as I love my husband, sometimes it's just fun to hang out with my girlfriends... we eat, we talk, we eat some more, we talk.... you get the picture. :-)

This afternoon I had a writing appt. with my friend Wayne and we wrote a cool song, which always makes me feel excited. There is nothing that makes me feel more alive than when I've written a song that I like. It's like giving birth. Well not exactly like giving birth. But it's the closest thing to it that I've ever experienced. After carrying around my kids in my belly for nine months, when they finally came out and I saw their little faces, I was like, "Well, there you are little one! I've been wondering what you looked like!"..... It's kind of like that with a song. When it finally comes out you go, "Well, there you are little song! I've been wondering what you were going to sound like!" Corny, I know.

Tonight was more "girl time".... (see picture above)... we had our monthly Girls Night. Me, Cassandra, Kathy, Stephanie, Candice and Allison all hit US Border Cantina for mexican and margarita's!! Fun!! Love those girls!! We ate, we talked, we ate some more, we talked... you get the picture. :-)

December 1st.. it's not my birthday...

.....however, I did start my day with not one, but TWO birthday e-cards from two dear friends. They are two weeks and three days early. My birthday isn't until the 19th. Why, you ask did that happen? Especially since those two friends don't even know each other. How could they BOTH have my birthday on Dec. 1st instead of Dec. 19th. Kinda weird, huh? There is something really interesting about getting birthday greetings when it's not your birthday. Even though it wasn't actually my birthday, it still made me feel special. And then I thought, wow..... maybe I should go about my day, pretending like it IS my birthday...?? You know how you feel kind of special all day when it IS your birthday??? So why not feel that way today, right? I mean, two people think it IS your birthday anyway..... so why not go with it. All day. So I did. I took the day off and spent it with my husband. We did a little shopping, ate lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant, came home and took a nap...... then watched some Christmas shows on the new Hi-Def TV (which is still ultra amazing to me) and finished putting up Christmas decorations. I made some dinner and now I'm relaxing watching MNF. So, thanks Randy and Kathy. Because of you I got to extend my vacation an extra day!! I wasn't ready to get back to the daily grind anyway and you guys gave me permission to relax one more day!! I mean, it WAS my birthday, right????

Me, Django,Ellie & our tree