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My mindless and mindful thoughts, rants, opinions, and more. |
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** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Sometimes, I just feel the need to escape and vent my frustrations. Here I can express whatever I want without fear of my husband or my children seeing it. I guess this will be a hideaway journal so to say, but it will also be a place for my random randomness. My random randomness is when I see something that inspires me to comment on it or simply state an opinion about something going on in the world around us. Punctuation and grammar may leave a lot to be desired here, from time to time, because when I get in those moods a lot of times my fingers get way ahead of my brain. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only **
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I have a special gift many people consider to be evil, in my mind, or coincidence; however, this gift is biblical and very real. I have been blessed with the gift of prophetic dreams. I have had them most my life, but I did not realize what they were until I was twenty-three. I was sleeping one night and an angel came to me in my dream; She was so beautiful in her long flowing white dress and the glow that radiated from her. The angel told me, "You have been planted with the seed of life, you will bare a baby girl, and she is to be raised in the word of God." I woke up from the dream knowing I was pregnant, and less than two weeks later this was confirmed by a doctor. My ex-husband had made me feel like a crazy person for believing the revelation of pregnancy would be told to me in a dream, but it was so much more than that it. It was a command for the girl I was carrying to be raised in the word of God. I have had prophetic dreams about trivial things, and I have had them in regard to major crisis's in my life. I feel they are God's way of preparing my emotional mind for what is to come. I have gotten such negative feedback that I had stopped sharing my dreams for a very long time. I have shared them openly with my current husband for many years, and although he doesn't understand the gift he sees it for the realness it is. There have been times I have woke up and told him about a dream and then we go to church and the sermon be about exactly what i had told him or someone would share they had the same prophetic dream. John may not understand it, but he is very supportive and encouraging to embrace this gift and to share what The Lord reveals to me more openly.  About two months before my dad passed away I was spent a week with him at his house in Rutherfordton, North Carolina. I slept on the couch so if he needed me I could hear him calling. The third night I was there I had a dream that I was at a celebration, it seemed like a birthday party. There were so many people there who I was close to, and we were having a really great time. My brother's girlfriend was expecting a baby when I had this dream, but in the dream the baby was two weeks old. I was going from person to person socializing and having a great time and then the time came at the party to acknowledge the guest of honor. My dad was the guest of honor, he was so handsome, and so very happy that we were celebrating his life. When I woke up I literally ran into the television in my dad's living room trying to run out of the house. I proceeded to go outside to call my husband. It was around three in the morning when I called and told him about the dream. He listened carefully, comforted me, and encouraged me to spend as much time as I could with my dad. We both knew, just as I saw in the dream, we would be celebrating my dad's life through his death by the time my brother's baby was two weeks old. My bother's little girl was born on August 16, 2012 - A day that should have been so very joyous was a day of sorrow for me, because I knew my dad would pass away within two weeks. I tried to reach out to those who loved my dad and let them know what I knew, but no-one would listen. I knew better than to tell them it was revealed to me in a dream, because everyone had made it clear they thought it was witchcraft to believe in such. My dad passed away on August 26, 2012. Bailey, my brother's daughter, was ten days old. My dad's service was not held until four days later, which meant we were celebrating his life when the baby was exactly two weeks old.  I have told you all of this to allow you to get to know me a little better, but I have also told you this because I had a dream I know to be prophetic that I have no idea what it means. I will be seeking God's revelation in the coming days, but I wanted to document it so when it comes to be I will have documentation from beforehand to reference back to. Early this morning I found out a dear friend of mine passed away early Saturday. After a good cry I decided to take some me time and take a nap to better cope with my emotions. I had the following dream: My husband told me he wanted to go on a cruise, but we could not afford it. Instead of trying to save to go on a cruise we agreed to take a trip to Florida. In my dream John's father lived in Florida and we were staying with him. It was a free vacation. One day John disappeared from the house, I couldn't find him so I decided to ride a bike up the road. While riding the bike I saw John standing in a yard four houses up talking to a lady. I rode over without them seeing me, and I could tell by the conversation that everything had been a horrible conspiracy. John had been having an online affair with this woman, his dad had moved to Florida to be close to her for his son's sake, and John played the vacation card to get to meet her in person. I went ballistic - I jumped on the lady and was brutally beating her, in a way I never would fathom in real life. The scene changed to the police being there and I was telling one of the officers I never dreamed John would do that to me. He was the last person in the world I could imagine doing such a thing. The scene changed again to me asking the woman how could she do this to me. I love John so much, how in the world could she do this to me. She just kept saying she didn't know over and over again. The scene flashed from there to me being back at John's dad's house explaining to him what was going on, his dad took off because he was very concerned, and I jumped back on my bike to go back to the house after him. As I was riding down the road I ran into a dark brown door that was exceptionally bright. The door had a gold door knob, but I was in a trance for a second so I didn't enter. Finally, a voice told me it was the right path, but I was confused because when I went to the house the first time there was no door or path. The voice told me to enter the door. I opened the door and walked in, but I walked into what is our local mall. I was very familiar with the mall. About the time I had been inside long enough to take a look at where I was at my phone rang, it was John's dad asking where I was at. I told him I was on my way, but I had gotten lost. He asked me how in the world could I get lost when it was just right down the road. I told him I didn't know, but I was trying to find my way out of the mall and I would be there soon. I ran through the mall, which was lit up exceptionally bright - I had no trouble finding my way to an exit and as I stepped out of the mall the scene changed again. This time I was running up to the house saying I am here, I am here. Everyone looked up at me with a shocked look on their faces. John spoke up and was telling me everything was okay, nobody blamed me, and they knew how sick I was. I got very irritated because I thought he was referring to my depression issues I had struggled with in the past, and I started telling everyone I was fine. John's dad, who was a doctor in this scene, spoke up and told me he had to agree with John, I was in fact very sick. I continued to try to defend myself, but then the man with his back turned to me and it was my ex-husband. He looked at me very compassionately. I did a double take, because I had no idea why he was there. I asked him to please tell them I was okay, he knew me, tell them I was all better now. He spoke up and said, "Angie, I am so sorry but I have known for quite some time about your heart disease. You really need some help." As I stood there in complete and utter confusion I woke up. |
| We have all heard the old saying that was a Kodak moment, right? Well quite honestly, I think I have quite a few Paramount Studio moments in my life. The story I would like to share with you today is quite comical; however, it truly was one of those "You had to be there" occurrences. I laugh every time I think about this. Picture it: Twelve years ago when my husband and I were dating he called me from work and told me he would like for us to get away for the weekend. I asked him where he would like to go, and he told me he really didn't care, for me to put some thought into and see if I could surprise him. I sat down with my laptop with no clue where to begin. I wanted something that would be pleasing to both of us; I wanted something romantic, but I knew he liked historical stuff. I can remember thinking this might be a bit of a challenge. After about three hours of searching I found what I believed to be the perfect place. We jump in my brand new champagne colored mustang and headed off into the mountains. I refused to tell him where we were going, only gave him directions. For several hours, we laughed, reminisced, and talked about future plans. Finally, we started getting close to our destination so I started asking him who his favorite historical figure was and why. This sparked a great interest in him and he excitedly started talking about Robert E Lee. I let him ramble on and on, while I was almost bored to tears. I gave him the final directions, and we pulled into the driveway of a beautiful bed and breakfast named "Mockingbird." We went inside, met the owners, and went up to our beautiful Victorian bedroom. The place was a lover's paradise. The views were magnificent, there were flowers and treats in the room, and soft music was already on in the background. We enjoyed the room for a few minutes, freshened up, and went back downstairs to ask if there was anywhere close to eat. We had barely missed dinner at the bed and breakfast, but everything was so wonderful and relaxing we truly didn't mind. The owner's told us of a place they considered to be pretty nice so we decided to give it a try. We got to the restaurant, which was just around the corner, and it looked like a mom and pop country cookin' restaurant. We were pleased with that as an option so we parked, got out of the car, and went in. Now, I am here to tell you, this was like a true twilight zone moment. As we took a moment to look about the restaurant to see what we thought, we realized literally every single person eating in there was covered in camouflage from head to toe. Not only did they look at us, but it seemed that every person in there stopped eating and was staring us down wanting to know "How dare you come in here in your dressy casual civillian attire?" I looked at John, and softly said, "Maybe we should go somewhere else." I no sooner got the words out of my mouth, when a sweet older lady spoke up and invited us over to the bar. We were reluctant, but decided to give it a shot. "Ya'll ain't from 'round here are ya?" She said. Man, I thought being born and raised in North Carolina I had a country twang, but hers made mine seem nonexistent. "No ma'am, we are from North Carolina," John answered. It wasn't until after the lady gave us our menus and took our order that the other diners decided they could resume their meals and conversations. Many of which, I am sure were about the two strangers in strange clothing. I wonder if they realized our conversation was much the same, just all these strangers, all in camouflage, and only one friendly person in the building. It was very intimidating and awkward. John and I could not scarf down our meal, say our thank-you's, and get out of there fast enough. The rest of the trip was absolutely normal. It was very romantic, adventurous, and informative. I had surprised him with a getaway to Goshen, Virginia. The historical site of Robert E Lee's life, burial site, and museums. We created a lot of great memories that weekend, but the time spent at that restaurant is often referred to as stepping into the Twilight Zone. I wonder if there is a Twilight Zone story to those people and that town.  On a lighter note, I came to love history that weekend. All his boring rambling about Robert E. Lee turned into something wonderful for me. Experiencing learning about history through a great adventure with someone I loved ignited something in me that has not subsided. I have learned more about history through my husband and his thought provoking conversations than I ever did in high school or college. My husband should consider being a history teacher.... Nah, I need to be his only student! |
| In a world full of such negative news, it was so wonderful to read something this past week that was encouraging and inspiring. Oftentimes we find movies we watch to be uplifting and encouraging to do good in the world, or our hearts feel blessed by watching true stories that have a happy ending or people are blessed with miracles. One actor was inspired by his character in a movie he stared in in 1994, and still to this day he pours out the lessons he learned. Gary Sinise Remains Inspired By His 'Forrest Gump' Character has built and continues to build up those who need it the most. Sinise said playing Lieutenant Dan made him realize all the wounded warriors deal with, it touched his heart in such a way he founded The Gary Sinise Foundation to honor veterans, first responders, and their families. Recently, Simise worked with American Airlines and Disneyland to present an all expense paid trip to 50 wounded veterans. Several of the veterans expressed their gratitude and surprise of the kindness and generosity Simise poured out. They were emotion stricken to hear Simise was so inspired to show his appreciation to them for what they have sacrificed, all because of a role he played so many years ago. On their trip the veterans met Tom Hanks, visited Disneyland, and Paramount Pictures Studios. Simise became very emotional when expressing his appreciation to those who have served. How he felt his calling is to give back to those who have sacrificed so much. All I can say is, "Run, Lietenant Dan, Run!" You are blessing so many lives and the testimony behind your foundation is so heartwarming. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/28/gary-sinise-wounded-veterans_n_4875163.... |
I used to think I would never achieve success in my life or be truly happy. I felt I was justified in believing that at the time, because my mother's favorite statement to me was "you will never amount to anything." I do, however, thank The Lord above that I was wrong and so was my mother. My mother didn't like me too much when I was a child; I spent many years not understanding why. Learning the reasons other people believed to be the only rational explanation didn't prove very beneficial, instead it created more confusion and chaos in my mind. When I was in third grade, I won my class spelling bee. Afterwards, I studied for hours on end for the school spelling bee; I so desperately wanted to make it to the county round. The day of the school spelling bee, I thought my mother would show up for support and encouragement, but she didn't. I vividly remember crying like a two-year old; however, my teacher comforted me and encouraged me to do my best. I did very well. I didn't win, but I did come in second place. I could not wait to tell my parents. Unfortunately, telling my parents turned out to be a nightmare. My mother went into a rant about how she knew I couldn't do it, I never try hard enough to ever succeed. I was truly devastated and spent the rest of the night in my room crying. The next day my dad gave me a five-hundred piece Smurf puzzle and told me he was very proud of me. I was so happy until my dad's kindness to me resulted in one of the largest fights I ever saw between my parents. My mother just screamed repeatedly at my dad telling him he should not reward me for being a failure. Yet again, I spent the remainder of the night in my room crying hysterically.  The summer before I started middle school my dad decided to take the family to Disney World. We were all ecstatic! My brother and I counted days, talked about all we were going to do together, and drew pictures of various characters to give to them when we got there. Dad had told us about the vacation about a month in advance, so there was plenty of time to grow anticipation. My brother and I had developed a bad habit of saying "I bet" and my mother could not stand that. "I bet I can run faster than you" or "I bet I can hold my breath longer than you" were common comments between us. Three days before we were supposed to leave my mother announced to us I could not go. I was very distraught, and I so clearly remember when my dad asked why, my mother told him I had bet my trip away. My dad attempted to defuse the issue, but mother would have no part of it. I thought it was a horrible way of trying to break the bad habit of saying I bet. However, when it was time to go I was dropped off at my aunt's house. I spent the entire week crying inconsolably.  The Christmas following that summer wasn't a great one. I had wanted a canopy bed for many years, and I was promised I would get one that year. Christmas morning came and there was a lot of fun and laughter. I excitedly waited to be shown my bed, but I didn't get it. Being a kid, I asked my dad did he and my mother get me the bed. My mother spoke up and said I had not been good enough to get the bed. It cost way too much and I did not deserve it. If I would be a better kid I might would get the things I wanted. I gathered the things I did get, went to my room, and my brother went outside to ride his new dirt bike.  My mother spent years beating me down with her words, for years I thought I would never achieve anything, and for years I thought I would never find happiness. I reached a point I started asking a lot of questions about why my mother treated me the way she did. She wasn't a drug addict or an alcoholic, making it even more difficult for me to understand. My grandmother (her mother) was the first to give me a logical explanation. At thirteen years old my grandmother sat with me and explained my mother had always had to be the center of attention, everything had to be about her or she wasn't happy, and when anyone especially my dad treated me special it made my mother feel I was taking what should be hers. She explained to me, in essence, that my mother was jealous of me. I could not understand this, because I had a brother whom she treated very well. My grandmother continued to explain, I was everything my mother was not. I was smart, I often got compliments on my eyes or hair, and I was spoiled by other family members. My mother felt I was a threat to the attention she wanted. It is sick and twisted, it was very painful, and it caused a tremendous amount of issues in our family.  I dropped out of school the beginning of my senior year. I was sick of school and believed it was a worthless waste of my time, because I would never make anything of myself. I gave birth to my son five days after my eighteenth birthday, and I was truly headed down the wrong path. I wasn't into drugs or drinking, but I wasn't into trying to build a good life for myself either. When I was twenty-two my dad started spending a lot of time with me, we talked about all the things he wished he could change. Over time my dad talked me into getting my GED, and then he convinced me to give community college a try. He told me over and over the things my mother had said were not true, and pleaded with me to not allow my childhood to ruin my life. I started community college with a very positive attitude; My dad was very proud. I ended up graduating from there with high honors, numerous awards, and went on to finish my degree at Appalachian State University. ( My dad went there too!  ) Today, I am thirty-eight years old. I am very happily married, have two beautiful and wonderful children, and own my own graphic design company. I am a Christian, I do volunteer work, I spend time with my family, and I am very active with Children's Ministry and serving the homeless. I used to think I would never be successful or genuinely happy; however, the cycle was broken and those words could not be further from the truth! |
| I used to think I would never achieve success in my life or be truly happy. I felt I was justified in believing that at the time, because my mother's favorite statement to me was "you will never amount to anything." I do, however, thank The Lord above that I was wrong and so was my mother. My mother didn't like me too much when I was a child; I spent many years not understanding why. Learning the reasons other people believed to be the only rational explanation didn't prove very beneficial, instead it created more confusion and chaos in my mind. When I was in third grade, I won my class spelling bee. Afterwards, I studied for hours on end for the school spelling bee; I so desperately wanted to make it to the county round. The day of the school spelling bee, I thought my mother would show up for support and encouragement, but she didn't. I vividly remember crying like a two-year old; however, my teacher comforted me and encouraged me to do my best. I did very well. I didn't win, but I did come in second place. I could not wait to tell my parents. Unfortunately, telling my parents turned out to be a nightmare. My mother went into a rant about how she knew I couldn't do it, I never try hard enough to ever succeed. I was truly devastated and spent the rest of the night in my room crying. The next day my dad my dad gave me a five-hundred piece Smurf puzzle and told me he was very proud of me. I was so happy until my dad's kindness to me resulted in one of the largest fights I ever saw between my parents. My mother just screamed repeatedly at my dad telling him he should not reward me for being a failure. Yet again, I spent the remainder of the night in my room crying hysterically. The summer before I started middle school my dad decided to take the family to Disney World. We were all ecstatic! My brother and I counted days, talked about all we were going to do together, and drew pictures of various characters to give to them when we got there. Dad had told us about the vacation about a month in advance, so there was plenty of time to grow anticipation. My brother and I had developed a bad habit of saying "I bet" and my mother could not stand that. "I bet I can run faster than you" or "I bet I can hold my breath longer than you" were common comments between us. Three days before we were supposed to leave my mother announced to us I could not go. I was very distraught, and I so clearly remember when my dad asked why, my mother told him I had bet my trip away. My dad attempted to defuse the issue, but mother would have no part of it. I thought it was a horrible way of trying to break the bad habit of saying I bet. However, when it was time to go I was dropped off at my aunt's house. I spent the entire week crying inconsolably. The Christmas following that summer wasn't a great one. I had wanted a canopy bed for many years, and I was promised I would get one that year. Christmas morning came and there was a lot of fun and laughter. I excitedly waited to be shown my bed, but I didn't get it. Being a kid, I asked my dad did he and my mother get me the bed. My mother spoke up and said I had not been good enough to get the bed. It cost way too much and I did not deserve it. If I would be a better kid I might would get the things I wanted. I gathered the things I did get, went to my room, and my brother went outside to ride his new dirt bike. My mother spent years beating me down with her words, for years I thought I would never achieve anything, and for years I thought I would never find happiness. I reached a point I started asking a lot of questions about why my mother treated me the way she did. She wasn't a drug addict or an alcoholic, making it even more difficult for me to understand. My grandmother (her mother) was the first to give me a logical explanation. At thirteen years old my grandmother sat with me and explained my mother had always had to be the center of attention, everything had to be about her or she wasn't happy, and when anyone especially my dad treated me special it made my mother feel I was taking what should be hers. She explained to me, in essence, that my mother was jealous of me. I could not understand this, because I had a brother whom she treated very well. My grandmother continued to explain, I was everything my mother was not. I was smart, I often got compliments on my eyes or hair, and I was spoiled by other family members. My mother felt I was a threat to the attention she wanted. It is sick and twisted, it was very painful, and it caused a tremendous amount of issues in our family. I dropped out of school the beginning of my senior year. I was sick of school and believed it was a worthless waste of my time, because I would never make anything of myself. I gave birth to my son five days after my eighteenth birthday, and I was truly headed down the wrong path. I wasn't into drugs or drinking, but I wasn't into trying to build a good life for myself either. When I was twenty-two my dad started spending a lot of time with me, we talked about all the things he wished he could change. Over time my dad talked me into getting my GED, and then he convinced me to give community college a try. He told me over and over the things my mother had said were not true, and pleaded with me to not allow my childhood to ruin my life. I started community college with a very positive attitude; My dad was very proud. I ended up graduating from there with high honors, numerous awards, and went on to finish my degree at Appalachian State University. ( My dad went there too! ) Today, I am thirty-eight years old. I am very happily married, have two beautiful and wonderful children, and own my own graphic design company. I am a Christian, I do volunteer work, I spend time with my family, and I am very active with Children's Ministry and serving the homeless. I used to think I would never be successful or genuinely happy; however, the cycle was broken and those words could not be further from the truth! |
I would like you to take a moment to think about an apple. Now take a moment to think about the seeds inside that apple. Which has the most power? The seed is much more powerful than the apple. How? Well, the apple brings fulfillment at the moment. You eat it, it curves your hunger, it provides you with nourishment, and then it is gone. However, the seeds contain countless apples within, possibly orchards of apples. So, you take the seeds out of the apple, plant them, nurture them, and watch them reproduce. Beautiful, right?  Do you realize within us there are seeds much more powerful and beautiful than the apple seeds? From our hearts and minds we speak words every day. You may sometimes think your words are meaningless, but there is no such thing. Words are one of two things: words of life or words of death. Everything that comes out of your mouth in the form of words is good or bad. By our words we are justified and by our words we are condemned. God - positive words, encouraging, edifying, love Flesh - unsurrendered speaking from the soul words from the enemy Devil - negative words, slander, insults Words from God: Come unto The Lord. Wait for The Lord. You are loved. Words from the devil: You are not important. You are not good enough. Who do you think you are? Just like the apple seeds are planted and reproduce so do our words. Our words can build people up or break people down, but that decision is ours to make. Our words have the power to create a curse or a blessing. Negative expressions such as "you can't sing" or "you are so stupid" plants seeds of destruction. Whereas, comments such as "I love your hair" or "you are so smart" plant seeds of hope. The seeds we plant not only effect us personally, they effect everyone they are spoken to. This is especially true when dealing with children; We need to be especially mindful of the seeds we plant within them. There are three R's to planting seeds of life. Receiving Retaining Reproducing First, a person must receive the words. It is up to us whether we choose to accept or deny the words spoken to us. If we choose to accept them we need to retain them. After receiving and retaining the words we then have the ability to reproduce them. It is also our choice whether we will plant positive seeds and germinate that which is good, or plants seeds of negativity and germinate that which is of bad. What seeds are you wanting to plant, germinate, and reproduce? |
| We got a letter in the mail last week informing us Brittany had been nominated by multiple teachers to spend ten days in Costa Rica next summer. I am very proud of her; Brittany is fifteen, a freshman in high school, very active in our church, runs track and does long jump, and does a variety of volunteer activities. She has given me many reasons to be proud of her, but all of this makes me think of a converation I had with my dad about two months before he passed away. My dad told me he really wished I would back off on being so strict on Brittany. Let her be a kid. It bothered me when he said it then, and it bothers me now. Brittany's birthday is in October, which meant here in North Carolina she would either have be tested for early matriculation into school or start a year later. I had her tested, enrolled her in the private Christian school we liked, and at the last minute my husband and I decided for me to stop working and home school her for a year. When Brittany started public school the following year she was tested in kindergarten to find out which "group" of learners she should be placed with. Brittany tested on a second grade level in all areas except reading, in which she tested on a third grade level. I encouraged Brittany to continue with this, and I was always very strict about doing homework, studying, and being an over-achiever, rather than just be content with "average." She is blessed with a true gift for learning, and I did not want her to fall between the cracks due to teachers who didn't really care about success and definitely not from lack of support from me. Brittany was a straight A student every year until she reached middle school and every year she received countless awards and recognition for efforts and hard work. The first B Brittany received was in Algebra when she was in eighth grade. She cried her eyes out and was truly concerned she was going to get in trouble for making a B. I explained to her I was very proud of the B and she should be as well. She told me she felt like she had let me down. This conversation put a lot of things into a different perspective, I needed her to understand I pushed and encouraged her because it was her future she was working for. I shared with Brittany the things her pawpaw had said before he passed away and asked her how she felt about them. I asked her if she agreed with him, was I, in fact, pushing her too hard. She told me she did not think I pushed her too hard, and that she realized it was to prepare her for more challenging years to come. This brought me a lot of comfort. I knew I had been strict, but I did not think I ever set unrealistic expectations. I never rewarded A's with money, instead she was allowed to do the things she enjoyed. If there were struggles in schoolwork and homework, resolving those issues always came before extra-curricular activities. In other words, with the good grades she was allowed to do anything within reason she wanted to do. This was a lifestyle not a reward. However, if she was needing extra study time, the fun stuff was postponed until she was back to where she needed to be academically. This year Brittany is attending a very prestigious high school well known for academic excellence, getting fabulous scholarships for their students, and truly guiding students to bright college futures. They require a B average to stay in the school, forty volunteer hours the first year, and extra-curricular activities of the student's choice. Half-way through the year I am proud to say she has a 4.7 GPA, has already completed over eighty hours of volunteer work, runs track, is active in writing club and Spanish club. She has had a very successful year, so far. Her over-achiever attitude is her own now, because I stopped pushing her when my dad had that conversation with me. I encourage her to do her best, I encourage her to follow through with things she expresses interest in, and I encourage her to take time to enjoy being a teenager. I have come to realize I planted a seed in her many years ago, and now I can sit back and watch her thrive and grow a little on her own. We found out tonight the cost of the trip and agreed as a family we would allow her to go. She is torn as to whether she wants me to go with her or if she wants to go with the group without mom. Either way is fine with me, I know I have raised a wonderful young lady with a good head on her shoulders. It is kind of exciting and scary at the same time. My little girl is growing up so fast, but one thing is for sure - she has made me very proud. The trip is going to cost $3000 if she goes alone and $5500 if I go with her. We are already coming up with fundraising ideas. The best part of all of this for me was not finding out she will go on the trip. The best part was when she came to me and thanked me for always pushing her, encouraging her, and showing her she could accomplish anything she set her mind to. Baby-girl made mommy cry tonight. I loved my dad, but I have to say - I think I learned from some of his mistakes and did right by my daughter in regard to all of this. |
| Webster's Dictionary defines the word maybe as follows: may·be adverb 1. perhaps; possibly. "maybe I won't go back" synonyms: perhaps, possibly, conceivably, it could be (that), it is possible (that), for all one knows; More noun noun: maybe; plural noun: maybes 1. a mere possibility or probability. "no ifs, buts, or maybes" My daughter has recently brought it to my attention that she is aware anytime her dad says "maybe" it is an automatic no. However, when I say maybe she has no idea of what the outcome may be. This got me to thinking about how misused this word is. As a parent, I feel we need to be clear with our children. If you know your answer is going to be no, then say no. Parents are supposed to say no at times. I truly do not like the fact that my daughter is expressing her dislike of how her dad communicates with her. My daughter is getting to the point where expressions such as "We will see" comes across as a definite no. This is somewhat confusing between the two separate households. I have caught myself explaining why "we will see" because she thinks it is a blow off answer. I am wondering if maybe I should speak with her dad about the confusion something so simple creates. When I say "maybe" or "we will see" I want my daughter to understand there is a possibility I will do it and there is a possibility I won't. I hate the fact she automatically assumes I am blowing her off or just sugar coating a no. Daddy beware.... Mommy wants to talk to you. |
| Many of us spend hours in front of our computers and communicate more by e-mail or instant-messaging than in person. Some people believe that this is good because it helps shy people communicate more openly with others. Others believe that computer communication prevents us from developing interpersonal skills and limits our ability to have meaningful relationships with others. Although messaging techniques can often be easier and less evasive I, personally, believe advanced technology and communication through these means are more detrimental than progressive. There are many reasons I believe a person should pick up the phone rather than shoot a text or an email to the person whom they are attempting to reach. A few of these reasons are: Emails, texts, and any form of typed information can misconstrued, these methods of communication are very impersonal and often lead to more confusion than resolution, and time is wasted in corresponding back and forth in messaging. Many times I have gotten drawn into arguments or disagreements because something in messaging was misconstrued by one party or the other. Situations like these quite often could have been avoided by making a one minute phone call. The negative consequences of trying to deal with an issue, big or small, oftentimes can lead to mass confusion, anger, resentment, hurt feelings, and so much more. I have witnessed people have some of their biggest blow-ups over things that were interpreted completely different than the way the sender intended. These confusions are not only annoying, but also very damaging to the relationship involved. There is no way to read a person's demeanor, tone, attitude, or state of mind in a text. One can only guess the mannerism in which the text was intended, quite frequently guessing incorrectly. I have found over the years that texting, emailing, and other methods of messaging technology leaves me with a feeling of not connecting with the person I am communicating with. There have been way too many times I have worked on business deals via email or instant messaging and the end result was more detrimental to the deal than beneficial. I have met with clients feeling I had a good sense of who they were and what they were looking for, and yet again due to the lack of expression heard in a person's tone, I would be way off track. This has been damaging to projects, because the majority of what I work on is very time sensitive. My time is precious and I find it absurdly ridiculous to spend hours on end sending messages back and forth to answer questions that could be resolved in a few short minutes. When projects have deadlines, it is critical to get pertinent information as quickly and accurately as possible. This also holds true in our personal relationships. Why spend thirty minutes texting your spouse in regard to dinner for the night when the questions could be answered with clarity and understanding in a one to two minute phone call. I wholeheartedly agree there are times when messaging is a very effective means of communication; however, I feel many of us use this as our primary source of communication and are damaging the correspondence and the relationship much more than we help it. As I have said, messages are often misconstrued, they are definitely very impersonal, and it is a waste of time. Too often we end up going in meaningless circles, chasing our tails for thirty minutes, an hour, or even longer in an effort to find out something we easily could find out in a brief moment. I believe many misunderstandings could be prevented if we were to go back to the good ole fashioned phone call. LIVE, laugh, WRITE!! Just wanted to share this with you - Maybe, you would like to share it with others.
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| I am not sure if this week has just been an off week for me or what but my emotions are truly roaring. I am, by nature, a very compassionate and giving person. I enjoy doing for others, especially the less fortunate, but there are times I feel like I am being taken advantage of and there are times I know I am taken for granted. What is on my mind tonight is, I am here to serve The Lord and to do things to glorify Him; however, does doing things with a pure heart and being a person who often volunteers to go above and beyond for others open me up to be taken advantage of and taken for granted? I have become friends with a lady from church, her son is in my Sunday school class. When we first became friends we hung out a lot, had a lot of great conversations, and we lifted one another's spirits when one was feeling down. I have babysat her children so her and her husband could go out for date nights, I have worked on her computer, and multiple other things that I have not minded doing. Over the last several weeks I have noticed when I try to talk to her I get blown off if it is just a normal everyday conversation. However, I have also noticed the only time she initiates a conversation is when she wants to ask a favor. When I first started noticing this it hurt my feelings and then I thought maybe I was being overly sensitive and things were not as they appeared to be. I know Satan attacks my emotions as a way to bring me down. I have continued to initiate conversations and I continue to get blown off. Earlier today I got very happy and excited because she initiated a conversation with me, I truly was ecstatic - The feeling didn't last very long, after just a few texts she sent a text asking me to babysit all day tomorrow. Now, keep in mind tomorrow is Valentine's Day. I have a husband and two children I want to enjoy the day with. I told her we had plans and instantly she had to "run." I feel guilty when I say no but I feel as if she expects me to drop everything I am doing and cater to her needs or wants. Anyway, I told her no. I was fine with telling her no because I didn't want to babysit all day on Valentine's Day. I was excited about enjoying it with my husband and my kids. Then about an hour ago something happened that completely ruined the day for good. There is no saving it, not a chance. I wonder if this is karma or just one of those things that happens. Either way, my heart is broken and a day for lovers to enjoy and relish in one another has turned into a nightmare. LIVE, laugh, WRITE!! Just wanted to share this with you - Maybe, you would like to share it with others.
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