Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Missing In Action ...


This is me lately!


Yep, this is me lately ... it feels like I am hanging on by a thread. There has been SO much worry in my life lately, and I admit it ... when I start feeling completely overwhelmed and can't seem to get control on things I do what comes naturally to me. I act like an ostrich and stick my head in the sand. Or maybe I act more like a turtle and pull way into my shell.... or maybe both if that is possible! Either way, those are not the right way to handle stress and anxiety. Thank you Summer for the wake-up call!!
Where to even start??


Without going into a lot of detail on the blog, let's just say that we have having some extremely difficult times with one of our daughters. She is 20 years old and in my (and everyone else's) opinion, has been making some "not-so great" choices in her life. I may not be her biological mother, but I am her mom in every other way imaginable. I love her more than she even realizes. How do you stop someone who is, at the moment, hell bent on going down the wrong road? As hard as it is for me to admit ... I CAN'T. It's so heartbreaking to know that what she is doing isn't right for her and not be able to stop her. All I can do it be open and honest with her, make sure she knows how much we love her, and that we will ALWAYS be here for her. And of course, to remind her too that God is always there for her too ... all she has to do is reach out to Him. It's times like these when I really have to rely on my faith in God and I hate to admit it, but somedays I do a better job with it than others. This is all happening according to His plan and while I may not understand the "why" behind it ... I have to trust Him. I will continue to pray for her every day that she is safe and that she is doing ok... then I HAVE to turn it over to God, and let it go - REALLY let it go. This is way more than Lesley the imperfect human can fix. The bottom line is even though I don't agree with her choices, I love her so very much and will always ALWAYS be here when and/or if she needs me.


Lane is playing baseball at church and is loving every minute of it. He is a really good little ball player and I am so proud of him. Hopefully I'll be able to post some pictures of him in action soon. His coaches, Coach Paul and Coach Darryl, are awesome! Up until this year, Lane played baseball in the Gonzales league and the coaches there are just there to win. At HPC, we have been blessed with coaches that genuinely care about each child and only want them to do their best and to feel good about themselves. Thank you HPC and Upward Sports!!!!!! Unfortunately, Lane has been struggling in math at school lately. And, I'm afraid he inherited my "love" of the subject. He has convinced himself that he can't do it ... that mindset is one that is hard to undo. But, we are working on it and with the grace of God, he will overcome it! Oh, and if anyone out there knows of someone who would be interested in tutoring Lane in math over the summer, please let me know!! He is in the 3rd grade now, and will be in the 4th grade next year.


Our garage sales went pretty well. Yes, I said garage sales. Plural, as in - more than one. LOL! We got rained out on the original Saturday ... so we covered the stuff under our carport with visquine and were gonna do it again the next week, but there was a mix-up with the ad for the paper. So it was actually 2 weeks later that we had the 2nd one. Craziness!!!!!!!!! All together we made a fairly decent amount of money. Not bad for stuff that I would have just thrown away. At this point, every little bit helps.


Let's see what else has been going on.... OHHH yeah.... Mike went to the Men's Conference at church and absolutely loved it. He has also started going to Pastor Dino's prayer breakfast at Frank's on Wednesday mornings. He is also volunteering at the car fix-up this coming weekend too! He has really plugged in with God and church lately and I am so excited about it, I don't think I can put it into words. He is an awesome man, and I love him more than words can say!! I am so blessed.


Well, time to make the dreaded WalMart run ... I'll be back soon!
Oh, and give your kids an extra hug today and make sure they know how much you love them :-)


Be Blessed,
Lesley

Friday, April 11, 2008

Kuddos to American Idol !!!


OK...I admit it ... we love watching American Idol!


Last night, we turned the TV to Fox Channel 6 at 7:00pm to watch the results show. Ryan Seacrest comes on and shows a recap of "Idol Gives Back," then announces that the remaining 8 singers on the show will now sing "SHOUT TO THE LORD" to open the show!!!!!!!!!!!! Given the state of television these days, I said outloud to my husband, "They can't be getting ready to sing THAT 'Shout To The Lord'!" And to my utter amazement and shock, the American Idol contestants provided their viewers and fans with an incredible version of the Christian Worship song "Shout To The Lord!!!"

I was over the moon with excitement!! In a world where it seems that our God is slowing being "phased out" of anything our children will come into contact with, Fox hit it out of the ballpark by airing this on it's most popular show!!

How many people who may never have had the opportunity to be exposed to Christian music were actually given that chance last night?? How many people now know that there is something else out there to listen to besides some of the garbage that is now called music? I don't have a problem with ALL or even most secular music, but there is just some music out there that I refuse to listen to, or to allow my children to listen to.

So, last week we had the awesome opportunity to hear Dolly Parton sing about "JESUS" and this week we were given the chance to hear an awesome worship song on one of the biggest programs on primetime TV!!!!

These days most television shows just don't mention God... it's a "taboo" subject, or they may risk losing a viewer if they offend them by mentioning God and/or Jesus. Thank you FOX for having the courage to stand up and do the right thing!!! I was already a fan of the show, but now I have brand new respect for the show and the network.

THANK YOU AMERICAN IDOL AND THANK YOU FOX TELEVISION!!!!!!!!! YOU ROCKED IT LAST NIGHT!!!