Easter

I love Easter. Love it. It fills me with a sense of belonging I wish I had all the time. I seriously want to shout from the rooftops that My Savior Lives! I only have this beautiful picture for you today.

Also, check out Beth Moore's post. It's exceptional (no surprise there!!) and so awesome.

I hope you and your family have a blessed Easter!

Thursday’s Thoughts

* I heard on the news this morning that Facebook has a bigger population than Japan now! Over 200 million users are now on Facebook. Isn’t that crazy? I think so, but I do love me some Facebook!

* These two families really need our prayers. I am just heartbroken over the plight both families are experiencing. I simply cannot imagine hearing doctors tell me my 2 month old will not live without the ventilator, having to say my goodbyes to my precious baby, and then watch him / her live for days following the ventilator being taken away. Nor can I imagine being the parent of the baby who’s to receive that infant’s heart; it’ll save my baby’s life. Only the donor lives well past the hours the doctors anticipate. What agony. What heartbreak. Yes, they need our prayers.

* Easter is this coming Sunday, and on one of my favorite blogs, she’s listing something Jesus is to her each day and one of her favorite songs. I’ve loved reading Kelly’s blog, and this week has been no exception! I think I’ve mentioned before how much I love to sing. And that I cannot carry a tune in a bucket. I recently told Tim I want this song to be sung at my funeral (Lord willing, many many moons from now). Because I promise you when I get to Heaven, I’m going to be singing at the top of my lungs!

"How Can I Keep From Singing"

Chris Tomlin

There is an endless song

Echoes in my soul

I hear the music ring

And though the storms may come

I am holding on

To the rock I cling

How can I keep from singing Your praise

How can I ever say enough

How amazing is Your love

How can I keep from shouting Your name

I know I am loved by the King

And it makes my heart want to sing

I will lift my eyes

In the darkest night

For I know my Savior lives

And I will walk with You

Knowing You'll see me through

And sing the songs You give

I can sing in the troubled times

Sing when I win

I can sing when I lose my step

And fall down again

I can sing 'cause You pick me up

Sing 'cause You're there

I can sing 'cause You hear me, Lord

When I call to You in prayer

I can sing with my last breath

Sing for I know

That I'll sing with the angels

And the saints around the throne

What is Jesus to you?

I hope you’ll celebrate that He is Risen this weekend!

For today’s Wednesday’s Walk, I wanted to reminisce about my time spent with Lawson on Saturday. Lawson is Jodi’s son, he’s almost four years old, and he’s 110% B-O-Y! Jodi’s husband and my husband are on the same church softball team, and they had practice Saturday. Jodi and Bella, their 10 month old, were out of town or a family shower. So, I volunteered to play with Lawson during the boys’ softball practice. Here are some precious tidbits from my time with Law-bug.

Here's a picture of Lawson and his best friend, Dad (Brad).

Before they got to the field, I received a text from Brad: “don’t laugh at me. I’m in my full softball uniform so Lawson and I can be twins.” Brad the Great Dad put on his baseball uniform just so he and Lawson could be dressed alike. Lawson had a game that morning and was still sporting his Braves uniform. He told me more than once, “I’m on the blue team. Dad’s on the red team.”

I was sitting on the bench waiting for them to arrive, and I turned to see Lawson sprinting full force towards me. He gave me a big ole’ bear hug that very likely would’ve knocked me down had I not been sitting already!

And we were off. . . .

To the playground we went, where we immediately tested the speed of the slide, the poles you can slide down from the top of the monkey bars, the tunnels, and the “ship”. The “ship” was the sandy area under the top of the slide.

The first excitement was when Lawson was up at the top of the slide and I realized he was steady pulling at his pants.
Me: “Whatcha doin, buddy?”
Lawson: “I gotta tee tee.”
Me: “Whoa, now, why don’t you come down the slide and we’ll go to the restroom.”
Lawson: “Nah, Aunt B, I can tee tee outside. See?”
And you know what happened from there. . . . from the top of the slide, Lawson tee teed on the sand.

He quickly slid down the slide once that was over, and he decided he wanted to go UP the slide. I tried to tell him that’s not the way you’re supposed to do it, but he was determined. And I could help him. I tried to tell him I’m not tall enough, and I couldn’t reach up that high. We tried a few times, but to no avail. So, Lawson stood up at the bottom of the slide, put his hands on his hips, and said, “Aunt B, me, you and God, we can do this. I know we can. You just push me up.” You better believe I tried with all my heart, and we did get him to the top of the slide! I was more excited than he was, I think! He just said, “See, Aunt B, I told you. Me, you and God, we could do it.” Oh to have that childlike faith!

The conversation while swinging was worth gold to me. He could see his Dad on the field playing softball, and Lawson said, “See my Dad, Aunt B?” I told him I could. Now, keep in mind, I’m pushing this little booger while he’s talking, so I couldn’t hear much of what he was saying. He said, “Dad’s my best friend.” And he promptly listed all the things he and Dad do together. “We play together. We watch T.V. together. We go outside together. I go to school and Dad goes to work.” Don’t fret, though, everyone is Lawson’s best friend. “Mom is my best friend. Bella Grace is my best friend. GaGa is my best friend. Pop is my best friend. Aunt Meg is my best friend. You my best friend, too, Aunt B! Hey, where’s Tim?”

I tried to show Lawson Tim on the field. “I can only see my Dad.”

To the woods we went. Now I’m not an outdoorsy type of girl. And sense of direction is not one of my strong points. But I knew we were walking close to the 5 lane road. I tried and tried to keep Lawson out of those woods. But he was determined we were hiking. And we did. No trails, just rough woods. And that precious little boy couldn’t have been happier about it!

Other excitement included 2 little girls showing up and playing with us. Lawson showed all of us how to build a fire. “See, you put the wood here and here. And then, you get a match, and you light it. It’s not hard.”

We had a grand ole’ time together, and when practice was over, it was time to hit the road. I don’t think it had been 15 minutes before I got a text from Brad thanking me and saying Lawson was already falling asleep in the truck!

And Jodi called me Sunday to tell me I’m now a princess. I’ll be Lawson’s princess any day of the week!

If you'd like to participate iin Wednesday's Walk, check out Lynnette's blog for details!

Titus 2 Tuesday

Today’s Titus 2 Tuesday, and I’m going to participate for the first time! Titus 2:1 says “You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine.” Titus 2:11 – 15 says, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.”

So, I get to feature a woman who’s taught me something Godly. How blessed I am to have so many women I want to feature! I’ve told you all about my momma, my sister, and my Gma before. And I’m sure I’ll feature each of them again in coming weeks. But today, I feature my dearest friend, Jodi.

We’ve known each other all our lives. Literally. I have a little golden book that was to Baby Miller from Baby Outler. Our parents went to church together when our moms were pregnant with us. So, when I say I’ve known Jodi all my life, I’m being real. Growing up in the small town we grew up in, our friends were our church friends. We did everything together. All of us. Jodi and her cousin, Ashley, were always at my house, and my neighbor, John, was our age and in our youth group, and his house was where all the guys hung out. My poor parents. . . . I’m sure my mom felt like our doorway to our home was a revolving door that never stopped!

It was that revolving door that I distinctly remember flying WIDE open just as news was spreading of my Daddy’s death. I will never forget watching Jodi fly through that door as fast as any 15-year-old facing tragedy could ever go. She was immediately there to cry with me, comfort me, and just be my friend. Jodi was also one of a handful of friends who slept all around my room that night. I remember laying in my bed between my little sister and Jodi that night, being the only one still awake and sitting up thanking God for my friends who were there for me.
My mother, sister and I moved to Macon following my Daddy’s death. Then we went to college – clear across the state from each other. Still, I have many memories of times we spent together during those years.

We’ve laughed through teary eyes many times lately and said that we could make Lifetime movies out of our experiences. I’ll just leave it at that. But, at the ripe ole’ ago of 29, Jodi’s taught me so much about life. I’ve watched her faith be challenged and tested. And I’ve watched her faith bloom more beautifully than I ever would’ve imagined. She’s an amazing friend, incredible career woman, a loving wife, and a darn good mother.

I love you, my precious friend, and I admire you more than I could ever put into words. Thank you for being the epitome of a true blue friend.

*I am not able to upload the Titus 2 button to this post at work. How dare they put such blocks on my blogging life!?!?!?!?!

House Hubby?

This past week, Tim took a few days off work for a much - much - needed time of relaxing and decompressing. Lucky for me, his idea of chilling out is painting and doing house chores!

Wednesday was his first day off, and I came home at noon for lunch to see our television set up all kinds of undone.

And our office / guest room was also destroyed. He was prepping the room for its upcoming paint job.

Tim had first gone to get us DVR. All our friends who have it love it, so we decided we'd check it out ourselves. Just minutes after I got home, Tim returned. He'd also been to his favorite store, Home Depot.

And Kroger. He also ran by Kroger for sandwich meat for our lunch! While unpacking the groceries, Tim was steady giving me his best "I could totally be a house hubby" pitch. He unpacked the fruit and set it in our fruit bowl. As he's setting the fruit, he says, "see, I can even put our fruit out pretty like you do!" No, I don't set it out in such a straight-line, military fashion. Oh but he does. Not surprised, and I loved it!

Friday was also a day off for Tim. He finished painting, and I'm happy to report I'm perched in a freshly painted, totally put back together office. All special thanks to my House Hubby!

He even had the dogs giving me pitiful we-like-dad-being-home-during-the-day looks, too. They loved being inside during the day, which is usually a weekend thing!

Thankfully Tim returns to the grind today. I'm thankful he was able to rewind, relax, and recharge!

My First Blog Award

Yippeee! A little sunshine on a rainy Thursday! Lora awarded me this blog award today! How cool!

Here's how it works:

1. Post the award on your blog, and link to the person who gave you the award.

2. List seven things you love.

3. List seven blogs you love.

4. E-mail or comment on those blogs to let the people know you've given them the award.

So, here goes!!

My 7 Loves (in no particular order):

1. My Savior!!!

2. My hubby

3. My Family

4. Amazing friends God’s given me who continually teach me to be a better woman, better wife, better Christian, and better friend, all while loving me for me!

5. Blogging

6. Taking pictures and scrapbooking

7. Our dogs and Sophie, the cat

7 of my favorite blogs would include these below. Now, I’m trying not to copy ones I’ve listed before, like in the Getting to Know You Game. And I would encourage you to check out Lora’s blog, of course!

1. Kelly’s Korner ~ She is such an amazing girl! Not to mention that her precious baby Harper is something to be seen!
2. Carpe Diem ~ ; This is a friend I met through Tim. And I love her dearly!
3. Lynnette Kraft ~ ; Lynnette’s been through such heartache in her life, but she continues to praise God through it all. She has an incredible ministry through her blog, and I enjoy reading her!
4. Living Proof Ministries ~ Beth Moore. . . need I say more?
5. Baby Bangs ~ Beth’s daughter. . . again, need I say more?
6. Somi ~ Nilsa lives in Chicago. I enjoy reading her musings of running, exercising, being a newlywed, and a dog lover. We’re different in lots of ways, but similar in many as well. She’s a cool girl!
7. Simply Jennsational ~ She’s expecting her first baby and sheds honest light on the pregnancy. She was also my inspiration for last week’s Walk.

Wednesday's Walk: The Gayest Couple Ever

Today is Wednesday, and that means it’s time for a walk down memory lane. If you'd like to participate, jump on over to Lynnette's blog for more info. Since last week’s walk was pretty emotional and tough, I decided to have a light-hearted, fun walk today.

A couple of summers ago, my family packed Patti to the max with suitcases, groceries, and ourselves. Tim, Brian, Momma, Jenn, Dooley (Jenn’s little Maltese) and I headed up to Lake Lanier to spend a weekend with our dear friends, the Kononens. The weekend was wonderful, and time on the lake was well spent!

Our drive home was not so fun. It was raining. Cats and dogs raining. If you’re a Miller girl, any trip to or through Atlanta means a stop at Ikea and Garden Ridge. Remember that packed car I told you about? It got even more crowded after our stops! I can’t remember all the odds and ends we purchased, but I do remember mom bought an outside rug for her patio. It was big. We had to shimmy that bad boy up in Patti between Mom and I, and considering we were already stuffed with Jenn in the back seat, it was quite an ordeal! I also remember something in my lap. A big box of no-telling-what. And don’t forget the pouring down rain!

Tim was driving, and as we sped – it was probably not really speedy, considering the weather – down I-75, he was having to keep with traffic, windshield wipers going full blast, while we were all uncomfortably crammed in the car. Everyone was very quiet as we all knew driving in this rain was not a picnic. As we got through Atlanta and the rain let up a little, I leaned up to Tim and said something like, “Good driving, baby. You did great.”

Jenn groaned and looked at me and said, “Y’all are the gayest couple ever.” Everyone laughed!

While I admit I was a little hurt at first, I quickly came to appreciate the way I can encourage my hubby with words – no matter how gay they might be.

And many times since that summer day, we’ve found ourselves laughing and admitting that yes, we are the gayest couple ever!