Whew!

Life has been a whirlwind the last couple of weeks with everything we've been through with Eli.  One of these days I'll put all my thoughts onto paper (or Microsoft Word!).  But for now, this is all I have time for. 
Carrie

www.caringbridge.org/visit/eliphillips

The Power of Prayer

Whew! This won't be a long post because it is midnight and I really NEED to sleep.  But I wanted to say that over the last week we have really seen the power of prayer. Little Eli ended up with a kidney tumor, most likely malignant.  He had surgery last Thursday to remove his kidney along with the tumor and will start chemo soon.  However during all of this it was amazing to see how many people offered to pray for our little boy.  My sister's teacher friends at her school, my dad's psychology class, my youngest sister's friends and my cousin's friends from college, friends and family in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, Uruguay, the Middle East and many more places offered to lift him up in prayer.  It was amazing how fast the news spread of a little 18 month old with cancer.  My dad received a letter from a church in Alabama that he had never heard of saying they were praying.  My sister's para pro was at her son's baseball game and some mothers from the other team heard her talking about Eli and said they would add him to their prayer list.  It was mind-blowing at how fast and how far news spread and how all of these strangers were praying for him. 

Well....it worked! He came through surgery fine and is recovering astonishingly fast!!  Now we need to continue praying that his little body will do well with chemotherapy in the next few months.

I smell Fall!

    
I can smell football, pumpkins, leaves, hikes, and everything else that goes along with Fall, or Autumn if you like.  It is slowly creeping up to the #1 spot on my list of favorite seasons.  Winter has been first for a while now.  Mostly because of Christmas but also because of our anniversary (Dec 30), sweaters, hot cocoa, snow, and other such winter things.  Now that I live in Georgia, Fall is moving up that list though.  It used to be #2 followed closely by Summer with Spring at the very very bottom.  I don't know what it is about Spring, probably allergies and those weird "wear a jacket in the morning, but shorts by noon" kind of days! I don't like fickle people, so I guess I don't like fickle seasons either. 
      My college roommate absolutely loved Spring and I think my husband has some fond feelings for it as well.  But I'm a jeans and sweater kind of gal.  I'm excited about the leaves changing, too!  Growing up in Florida we didn't see that much change in Fall.  It kind of stayed muggy and hot until mid December and BAM! ...Winter! haha  Plus all those pine trees in Northwest Florida look the same year round.  I have already told Sam that we will venture north to ride the Smoky Mountain Railway this year.  Hopefully we can get tickets to ride it when they transform it into the 'Polar Express', Sam's favorite movie!  I also plan on visiting some of those hiking trails from last year (see pic above) and maybe even some of those cute little mountain towns that look so pretty in Fall. 
     If you are one of 'those' people, like my Dad, that mourn the end of summer, please don't be offended by the rest of us roaming through Hobby Lobby excited about the Fall Decorations, or wandering through Target or Garden Ridge stocking up on cinnamon sticks and those cute little pumpkins!  Winter will come soon and the department stores will have those swimsuits up in no time....just be patient! ;)

First Day of School (not really)

    Well, this morning I dropped my precious little boys off at the Mom's Day out program at Eagles Landing First Baptist Church.  Technically this is their "First Day of School" even though it doesn't even count as a full day.  They will only go once a week on Wednesday from 9-12.   But I still had to take pics of them before we left the house (which I'm sure I'll post later!).  This leaves me with three hours of uninterrupted free time every week.  What on earth will I do with that time?  Because the church is roughly 25 minutes from my house, it doesn't make sense to go home and clean ;)  So, that means I can bring my laptop and sit at one of the fine establishments that offers free Wi-Fi.  This morning I chose to have a diet coke at McDonalds and although I am "supposed" to be doing  schoolwork, I've only managed to check my email, facebook and write a post for my blog.  Oh well, I have plenty of other Wednesdays to be productive.  
     This morning I played the same song over and over on the way to "school".  I'm not sure why it stuck with me but I'll share it with you as a thought for the day.  Just remember that God was there before your problem/trial/temptation/mistake and he'll be there to see you through it til the end.  Don't just lean on friends that can only help you in the moment...lean on HIM who can see it all and knows the outcome.

You are the first
You go before
You are the last
Lord, You're the encore
Your name's in lights for all to see
The starry host declare Your glory

Glory in the highest
Glory in the highest
Glory in the highest

Apart from You there is no god
Light of the world
The Bright and Morning Star
Your name will shine for all to see


You are the one
You are my glory
And no one else could ever compare
To You, Lord
All the earth together declares ...

Glory in the highest ... to You, Lord
All the earth will sing Your praise
The moon and stars, the sun and rain
Every nation will proclaim
That You are God and You will reign


Glory, glory hallelujah
Glory, glory to You, Lord
Glory, glory hallelujah
Hallelujah

Father Guido Sarducci's Five Minute University

I'm not entirely sure why I think this is so funny.  It could be one of those things that I think is funny and when you watch it you blankly stare at the screen and then think to yourself, "Wow, that was a waste of my time."  I know I do that on some of these videos that people post.  I guess you'll just have to see for yourself :)

Questioning

     Do you ever find yourself questioning a decision you've made? Or do you ever question something before you make the decision? I definitely do...Oddly enough, I question the insignificant decisions even more than the important ones, especially when it comes to buying something. 
     For example, I am looking into buying a used play kitchen for the boys for Christmas.  They are at the perfect age because they love to play with kitchen stuff and they don't know that it's girly yet! So for the past two months I've been looking on eBay, Amazon and Craig's list trying to find the best deal.   My plan is to buy a used one because, face it, I have boys and they are going to tear up whatever I buy them. So why not find something for really cheap and that way you don't have to have a hissy fit when they stuff playdough down into the cracks and color on the top of it with a marker! My backup plan is this little one that I found at Walmart that is within my budget so I'm good if I don't find any online.
     However, I tend to question if buying a Christmas present in August is such a good idea.  What if I find an even better deal in October or December?  What if I settle for a decent one when a perfect one pops up right before Christmas?  Doubts, doubts, doubts.  I told Joseph that if I did decide on one then I would not allow myself to look on any of those websites again just so I wouldn't feel guilty if there was something else better out there.  Well, I went ahead and emailed a few of the sellers that I found a good deal with and now I'm waiting to see if they are still available.  Gulp! What if they are? Then I'll really have to make a decision! 
   All of these thoughts brought me to think a little more philosophical and made me wonder what big decisions that I doubt and worry about.  I've known people to play the dangerous "what if?" game and say that they're not sure if they want to get married because "what if" they walk into a bar and see the "man/woman of their dreams" yet they are tied down in a marriage! WOW! That is a pretty unpredictable way to live.  Not that I'm promoting just settling for what you can find, but if you are constantly looking for greener grass you will NEVER be fulfilled.  I think that God has a plan for each of us.  If we listen to Him, then we can live with that peace that He is watching over us and we don't have to doubt or regret our decisions.
   Pray about the big or little decisions that you are about to make and listen for that peace that God gives. Living with doubt, regret and fear means that you are focusing more on yourself and cannot do the things that God has for you to do to serve Him and those around you.
    

Erma Bombeck

When my kids become wild and unruly, I use a nice, safe playpen. When they're finished, I climb out.

Relationships

Out of respect for Christ, be courteously reverent to one another.


Wives, understand and support your husbands in ways that show your support for Christ. The husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does to His church, not by domineering but by cherishing. So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewise submit to their husbands.


Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church -- a love marked by giving, not getting. Christ's love makes the church whole. His word evokes her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness. And that is how husbands ought to love their wives. They're really doing themselves a favor -- since they're already "one" in marriage.


...This is a huge mystery, and I don't pretend to understand it all. What is clearest to me is the way Christ treats the church. And this provides a good picture of how each husband is to treat his wife, loving himself in loving her, and how each wife is to honor her husband.


Ephesians 5:21-33

Sanctus Real

I tried perfecting myself

Would You love me more without my mistakes
I tried not to ask for Your help
I didn’t want to scare You away

Till I got to know You
I was at a place when You found a way
To break through, It’s true
I was just a skeptic
Till I got to know You.

And it’s hard accepting Your grace
In a world where nothing’s free
For so long I was afraid
That You’d only see the worst in me

Yeah, I was always worried
You were gonna figure out
That I wasn’t what You wanted
Wasn’t worth being around

And you have always been on my side
I finally see it; It took so long to believe in it
I was always worried
I was gonna let you down
Till I got to know You


Sanctus Real


     I heard a Sanctus Real song on the radio today while driving the two little ones to the library. I have a surprising lack of brain cells after having kids so I have virtually no short term memory. 104.7 The FISH was even nice enough to say the name of the song and the artist right afterwards and all I could remember by the time I got home was that I liked a song by Sanctus Real! I mean, come on!! I sure wish I could even remember why I liked it…it had something to do with us not trying to prove ourselves to the world. I have searched the internet trying to find the song that I heard but I found this one instead.


     In my search I noticed that Sanctus Real has some pretty heavy lyrics in their songs. The one that I found (above) was perfect in the way that it describes most of our deepest thoughts about ourselves. If you truly looked past the façade of “perfectness” that we like to put on, you would see a weak pitiful soul questioning why would the God of the entire universe care about us. How many of us have been skeptical and worried that it was all a farce at one time or another? Have you ever thought one day God was going to really figure out who you are and drop you like people sometimes do? Those doubts will only disappear when we truly become a Child of the King and trust in His grace and mercy to pull us out of our self-loathing and into the abundant life He promised us. Put on your “big girl panties” and realize that He already proved His love for us…quit doubting and asking “why?” and just realize that He does love you.

Get to know Him and you’ll know what I mean…

Hello World!

Well, I finally decided to join the blogging world and throw my absolutely useless comments and thoughts out there into the void of the Internet.  I've found since having a second child that I need an outlet to express thoughts that a one or two year old might not quite understand.  Not that my husband isn't the perfect one to lend an ear.  It's just that sometimes I have things I want to say that I think no one really wants to hear. 

I'm in the process of creating some titles/sections that will help me organize my thoughts and may even help with the parts of my spiritual life that are lacking at this particular point in time.  I'll log in tomorrow to tell you how it's going with my creativity.  Who knows, I may even have a new design for the page.  One thing I do know is that I've gotten bolder and much more creative as I've aged! HA! I'll be one sassy but super creative senior citizen one day!
Do you know what I mean?
Carrie