Word Of God Speak

I feel like the song on my blog...Word of God Speak. This is my last post for the day. I just want to share one more thing. I came home this afternoon and typed the blog "Soup For The Soul". Afterwards, it was time to go back to church. When I got there my blog was on my mind, since I had been searching through the Bible most of the afternoon looking at different verses to use in my blog. You will never believe it but Bro. Frankie used several of the SAME verses in his message tonite. The Holy Spirit was so strong, I began to weep. God you are so Awesome! The first words to the song say, "I'm finding myself at a loss for words..." and that's the way I feel. The word of God has spoke and poured down like rain in my life tonite, washing my eyes to see his majesty. I just wanted to praise Him for that and say let me stay and rest in His holiness. There truly is no better place to be. A place of serenity, peace, and immesurable love. Thank you Lord for being so real in my life and letting me know that you are faithful to your children. I praise you tonite and forevermore.
-Amen.

Soup For The Soul

Fall is definitely here. We are experencing that lighter much cooler air. The love bugs have been and gone. Thank the Lord they are gone! Allergies, colds, flu and viruses are here...YUCK! I have my fill of those every year. Yet it is still nice to see and experience a change in the weather.



I never realized until someone told me that everything in the physical can be compared to everything in the spiritual. It took me awhile to relate things and catch onto that statement but now I understand. For example, when you think about the seasons changing. Things have to die in order to live. We have winter so we can have spring. We have to die in order to live. Paul tells us we must die to our flesh daily. (Luke 9:23; And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross DAILY, and follow me). We also die an eternal death and if we are born again have a new life in Christ. You may relate the seasons changing in a different way for your spiritual walk and life but it is true that everything can be related. All the beautiful colors of fall, the oranges, reds, yellows and browns and when I see pictures of states further north who have beautiful white snow, I think about how only God could create such beautiful seasons and things for us to enjoy. Each season has something beautiful and special to offer from God that he spoke into exsistence.



All we have to do is turn on the news and it is so easy to get down and distracted from what all the Lord has blessed us with. God doesn't want us to allow satan to steal our joy. What God intended was for his children to enjoy His creation and all the beautiful blessings He has given us. Take a look around and enjoy your creation and blessings the Lord has given you. Today if nothing else take time to stop and thank the Lord for what all he has done. God is in control. Everything that this world has to offer will let us down but he will never leave nor forsake us. He will never change. (Hebrews 13:5b...I WILL NEVER LEAVE THEE, NOR FORSAKE THEE).


I'm conviced with everything that is happening with our economy, we as Christians should not be afraid. (Hebrews 13:6; So that we may boldly say, THE LORD IS MY HELPER, AND I WILL NOT FEAR WHAT MAN SHALL DO UNTO ME). Fear is from satan and God doesn't want us to live in fear and defeat. (Matthew 6:31-34; Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek: for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof). The Lord clothes the liles of the field and knows when a sparrow falls how much more does he know and care for the needs of His children? (Matthew 6:30; Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?)He said He would meet our NEEDS, not our WANTS. (Philippians 4:19; But my God shall supply all your NEED according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus). Learning to be content with those is often a struggle for us as sinners who "want" what we want, not just what we need. (Philippians 4:11; Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content). Today be mindful that God has brought us this far, He is going to see us through to the other side. Enjoy each day and seasons and the different beauties they bring that God has so richly blessed us with!


Along with cooler weather comes time for warmer meals. This is one of Brian's favorite and mine as well. The easiest Camp Stew recipe I know of. Give it a try, we love it, especially during these cooler months!



In a large pot,


1 chopped onion and 1/2 stick of butter melted and cooked a bit (if you don't like onion or don't have one, I've left it out before and you can't even tell

2 cans of BBQ pork (Castleberry)
1 can of BBQ beef (Castleberry), they do not carry these at Wal-Mart
2 cans of corn (drained)
3cans of potatoes (they come round and I quarter them)
2 cans of stewed tomatoes (make sure they are just tomatoes, nothing else like added bell pepper)
1/2 - 1 cup of Ketchup (this is probably wrong but I never measure, just pour till it looks good)
2 tsp worcestershire sauce (on this either)
3 tsp lemon juice (this either, well actually on a lot! But it's still delicious)
1 tsp. tabasco sauce
1 1/2 cups of water


Bring to a boil and let simmer for 30 minutes. Take it from a robust, plump woman (don't you love those politically correct descriptions for FAT???) this is delicious!!! In fact, it's so good I was going to post some pictures of my pot but WE ATE IT ALL!!
=-) So you will just have to settle for my "colors of fall" pictures!

Wedding Bells Are Ringing!!!

The month of October is a very busy month for me. We have been getting ready for revival with choir at church which will be October 12-15. Pastor, Brent Cook will be the speaker Mon-Wed nite. We are also celebrating Pastor Appreciation this month, along with an awesome group called "New Beginnings" coming to sing for the evening service on October 26th. I want to invite everyone to revival and New Beginnings. If you can come I would love to see you there. I will sit with you if you are scared to be alone. I know how that can be, visiting churches all by yourself.



On top of all the church things we have going on, I start a new part-time job this Tuesday at Oasis Day Spa. My sweet sister-in-law Amy will be coming in for a massage that day as well...what a supportive sister-in-law she is, my first day on the job and she comes to visit...okay, so maybe she isn't coming in JUST for me!! I think Amy deserves a little pampering, she has been working very hard in college this semester (Love You Amy!). Who wouldn't want to visit that place...it's absolutely wonderful!



In addition to the rest of this stuff I have 3, that's right one, two, THREE weddings this month. The first one was today in Esto, Florida. Not sure where Esto is? Well neither was I until today. A close high school friend of Brian's, Terry Stewart and Brandi Gammons were wed today and they ask me to shoot a few photos (I do not shoot wedding photos, this was just a favor for friends). Today was my first ever digital camera wedding, which went pretty well. They had the sweetest ceremony with a "hands ceremony" and "salt ceremony." It was very neat and something I had never seen or heard of before. (You can probably google these two things if you want to know more) Anyway, a very big Congratulations to Brandi and Terry. The two make a very lovely couple and we wish them a very long, happy, healthy and God centered marriage. Terry finished up his degree at Graceville Baptist College of Florida and Brandi is a singer and you can listen live to some of her music at http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=153655085&MyToken=19c724fe-f34b-45f1-b727-ad9a24da9ba6


They are both great Christian people who have a heart for the Lord and He is going to bless their marriage and life! We love you Brandi and Terry! October 4, 2008. This blog is dedicated to you.
This last photo I took on my way home of the beautiful sunset on the evening of your wedding. Sure the sun sets the same way everyday but it will never again set on October 4, 2008. I saw this beautiful site and couldn't resist. I hope you enjoy it as well.



I will end this blog with one my most prized possessions. My favorite description of Love, besides I Cor. 13. I have this in my journal and have never shared it with anyone, so consider yourselves lucky Brandy and Terry! ;-)

-LOVE-

"It meant the world turned over,

the difference between living or merely existing,

the difference between light and dark, cold and heat.

It meant a full heart, a wild, strange and ever-changing feeling,

it meant all the colors and all the sounds,

it meant a thousand unexpressed thoughts;

it meant taking and giving,

it meant feelings that ran all the way

from rich goodness to cruelty,

all things full and nothing empty;

it was something proud and abject,

something like a slashing winter wind

and something as hot as a bed of fire.

If it was anything at all, it was all this."

Love always to the both of you.

-Dawn

What's Forever For?

I have to say this about the first song on my playlist. Here a couple of years ago this sweet man, who in this picture is enjoying his favorite piece of choclate (Reese Cups) got me tickets to a concert as a surprise. When we finally arrived at the Opera House in Dothan he told me we were going to see Michael Martin Murphy...now remember I am an avid musician, who listens to all kinds of music all the time. I said WHO???? Who in the world is that??? Needless to say I wasn't too enthused about my "surprise concert!" From the looks of the parking lot, neither were too many other people...there were no cars. No problem getting a front row seat at this concert, I thought. I'm all about music and my sweet darling of a husband knows this, so we continue into the building where we sat in a concert with about 25-30 other people. What seemed like a disappointment and bad turn out to a concert, turned out to be one of the best concerts I've ever been to. For one, I felt kinda special, like he was giving just us few people a private concert. For two, he has to be one of the most simplest men on earth. A 3 man band came out and played for about 2 hours for us. We had the most fun. He told stories about his ranch and cowboy life...it was great. Then he really touched my heart and jogged my memory when he sang the song "What's forever for?" We wound up buying a c.d. and getting it autographed and I've been looking for this song a long time on my playlist and I finally found it. Stay here a minute and listen to the words. I love this song...it reminds me so much of our world today and how so many relationships are broken and hearts and lives of families are torn apart by divorce. I learned a valuable lesson that night. Just because you don't know all about something doesn't mean you won't enjoy it. Don't judge something by how many people are apart of it. Sometimes the majority misses out on the greatest gifts. A sweet simple concert made my night and special memories that will last a lifetime.

Just For My Sweetheart!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

September 23, 2008 marked 8 years that Brian and I have been married. Brian and I started dating in 1997 and I knew that he was the one for me when we met. We shared so many of the same thoughts, ideas and values. He has been a constant, steadfast and true husband to me. He has supported me in everything that I have done and he has always provided a good living for our family. Brian is a special man and I'm so grateful to the Lord for bringing our lives together. He makes each day a happy day and strives to better himself and our family. Thank you sweet man of my life who loves me and makes me happy. I look forward to many more years together and continually supporting you in all your goals and dreams for our family and future family. I Love You!

Our Girls!

I mentioned our "children" in the blog to our Mom's so I wanted to share some pic's of them. This is Lizzy Tizzy. She fell from Heaven on April 13, 2007 while I was shooting pic's down at my Mom's. She followed me home and stayed here for days without food or water. It was like she was just meant to be ours. A month later we took her to the vet and found out she had heart worms. The good thing was that she is young about 1 1/2 - 2 and they only wanted around $4-500.00 to treat her. Wow! That cheap uh? Luckily, Paw Paw Kenny with all his animal knowledge has been treating Lizzy with Ivomec and she is a different dog!! Thank you Paw Paw Kenny for loving and taking care of our baby! If you could have seen her when she came here, you wouldn't know it was the same dog. She was underweight, wormy and not near as cute as in this picture. Lizzy now has the best life as an inside dog. She loves to squirel hunt, which she and Brian do together and she loves to just hang out around the house with us. She is our baby and our love.

Now for Baby Bella! Well, Baby Bella is a lot like Brian. She is very hyper-active, so it's kind of like having 2 Brian's around! She never slows down. You can't tell from this picture but this dog is the most hyper active dog I know. She literally sails off the back of the couch and almost reaches the counter! Bella came to us as "Mickey" which we didn't like, so we changed her name to Isabella Boo Jacobs. She came from an elderly lady who could not handle her. She had caused the lady to fall twice and she felt she just couldn't give "Mickey" the life she needed. So on July 12, 2008 we got Isabella. She was only 4 1/2 months old when we got her, so she has been quite the puppy to train. Brian and I were just saying how much Isabella has made us appreciate what a good dog Lizzy is! She has already calmed down a lot since we got her and she will start obedience training classes in November. We are looking forward to doing that together as a family and passing what we learn onto Lizzy. We are blessed with Lizzy and Bella and glad God sent them to us!

Here are a few more pic's of Brian and the Girls!

A Celebration Of Mothers

May is Mother's day but I don't think that we show our love and appreciation to our Mother's enough! Our Mother's help to shape us into the people we are today. My Mother always shows me a better way of doing things. I've learned in my adult years that yes, she has been around a lot longer than I and her way of doing things are usually best. She is also such a helpful Mom. She helps me clean, cook, decorate, paint, and anything else that I may need her for. That means a lot. I TiVo Jon and Kate plus 8 and their parents are not involved in their lives at all and that has made me realize what a help my Mom is and how I am glad that she is involved in my life. Most importantly she is a Christian and has passed her values and morals down to me. I think that is what life is truly all about don't you? Having a family and passing on what has been passed on to you. God hasn't seen fit to bless Brian and I with any children yet. After 4 years of trying to concieve we are still in prayer that God will see fit to bless us with a child. Recently God has shown me that "In His Time" things will come to pass. Not my time or my wants but HIS will for our lives and maybe right now isn't HIS timing for us. We have been blessed however, with 2 precious pups who bring such joy and love to our lives and hearts. Lizzy May Jacobs, mostly called Lizzy Tizzy, a Rat Terrier and Isabella Boo Jacobs, mostly called Baby Bella or Bella Boo, a Jack Russell Terrier. They have certainly shed some light on what parenthood would be like and brought a lot of love and fun to our lives. I am proud to be their Mommy and Brian loves them just as much as I do! I am thankful for my Mom for showing me what love is and how to be a good Mommy and take care of things like Mommies always do. No matter how old I get, no one will ever be able to take the place of her and no one will ever be able to "fix" everything like Mama!! I Love You Mama...on Mother's Day, today and always.

I ask Brian to share a little about his Mom on here but he says he's not a blogger and I should continue blogging that I am doing a good job. Mrs. Cathy has passed a lot of things onto Brian that I have come to truly appreciate as his wife. Brian is such a helpful husband. He helps me in the grocery store, the kitchen, around the house and with just about anything I ask him to do, except blogging. He doesn't take after his sister Kimberly, Miss Journalism. Brian reminds me all the time that he used to help his Mama do all the things that he helps me do. I am sure she was GLAD to have his help...God Bless the woman! She has 4 children, which is to be commended in today's society. Not only do people not have large families anymore, they don't usually stay married when they do. His Mom is a Christian and I have seen her prayers evident in our lives. She keeps a prayer journal and puts us in it. It means so much to have Christian parents who pray for their children. For the most part, Brian just isn't your normal "man." I credit his Mom for this. He is a wonderful listener. He is a great researcher. He is so observant and intelligent. He always gives credit for his skills and abilites to his Mama. He always tells me that his Mom taught him to help in the kitchen. He will say, "Mama used to do this" or " Mama used to do that." I remember when we first started dating, Brian told me about his Mom using cranberry pills, which has helped with a lot of my bladder problems. He knows things and helps in ways that most men don't. He tells me things that his Mom used to do that may be helpful to me. Mrs. Cathy is also a 2 time cancer survivor. She is a a strong woman who would do anything for her children. Thank you for the things that you gave Brian and for making him the wonderful, sweet and loving man that I so proudly call my husband.