Love my Heritage and Family

Right now I’m listening to some OLD singing!!! It’s several old records that were burned onto a cd.  The first part is Grandma Layne, Grandpa Layne and Aunt Bobbi ( Sis. Shoemake).  Then Grandma and Grandpa alone. Then Grandma, Aunt Linda, and Uncle Keith. The last part is Uncle Keith and Aunt Ginger.  I guess I listen to these when I miss my grandparents and uncle… It helps me feel closer to them. And I love listening to them sing about Heaven. Almost every song is about Heaven. I think thats something we’ve lost over the years. We sing a lot of feel good songs. We praise and worship God a lot, we lift Him up. Lol. I”m not too sure how much higher He can go.   I really do love listening to this cd.  Aunt Ginger has a neat voice, I think. She sings this one song,  Lord I”m yours. Use me I pray. I love it!!!  I think my favorite one Uncle Keith sings in Jesus takes good care of me..  IF I ever make a album of my own I would like to blend it.I also like the one about prayer. I know prayer changes things… cus I’ve been way out on the stormy raging sea!!  Whew!!! Talk about an AMAZING VOICE !!!!!  I love it!

I think thats one reason I also like listening to this. I can hear how I would make it sound newer AND you know that NOONE knows these!!!!! They would ALL think it was new.

I love hearing my grandparents sing. Grandpa had such a rich voice!  I love hearing him sing inside those pearly gates! I know that one day I will see them again. That helps. And I know I probaly shouldn’t listen to these old songs if it’s gonna make me cry. But sometimes I like to cry.  I like listening to Aunt Bobbi, grandma and grandpa sing Theres a Longing in my Heart for Heaven….  I think Aunt Bobbi still sounds the same. Of course she’s better now. But her voice is so noticeable.

I don’t remember my grandparents singing that much in my memories except at Christmases and Thanksgiving. It seemed like the whole family always gathered around the piano and sang. Those are memories I cherish. I always have wanted to play that old time style. BECAUSE it’s a lost art. Noone plays that way these days. And I probably would never play that way in church but I would LOVE to be able to in my home, singing these old songs!!   Sometimes I think I bug my family to sing around the piano like that, but I don’t ever want to lose that. I want to make a book of all the old songs my family used to sing. All the ones my mom has written, and the ones on this cd. I think it would be cool to have it. Anyways, I ‘m going to bed. Goodnight

 

Has this ever happened to you???

The coolest thing JUST happened!!! I know that it’s happened to many people because I’ve heard story after story..  I’ve been working on typing some stuff and I looked at the paper and THOUGHT it said Psalms 13:7. I looked and I was like, hmmm this CAN NOT be right!!!  It didn’t fit at all!  So I read the passage before and the passage after… Still nothing!!  But something caught my eye, because I know people that are REALLY going through hard times right now and they have been on my mind and in my prayers a LOT lately. Things that have NOT been brought on by their own doings, but by people they love and some even family members!!!

So I’m reading along.. Not really thinking that God would show me anything, it late and Gods probably asleep. hehe.  THEN all the sudden my brain realizes what I’m reading !!!

The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.

¹⁶The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

¹⁷The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.

¹⁸The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

¹⁹Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.

²⁰He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.

²¹Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate.

²²The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.

WOW!!! This really touched me!! Sometimes it seems like God has given up, and He is not there and no matter how much we pray it’s NEVER going to end!!! But this passage of scripture says otherwise.  NOT that I want anyone to be desolate. I’m sure that my idea of desolate and Gods idea of desolate are 2 COMPLETELY different things!! But isn’t that what you get when you mess with the people of God????  At times I’ve wanted this particular person to suffer GREATLY!!! But I have to pray it through and leave it to Gods hands.  I HOPE that he makes it right with God and his family.  You can’t accuse, demean, talk about, hurt, take great measures so people have nothing and have to struggle for every thing and expect to get away with it!!! Not when it’s a child of God. SO this passage of scripture really kind of put things into a greater perspective for me.  It’s found in Psalms 34:15-22.  I’m not entirely sure what the bones part meant??? lol. But I put it in there anyway.

THEN after I was so thrilled that I read that passage I looked back at my paper and I was supposed to be in PROVERBS!!! But HONESTLY I looked like 8 times and I thought it said PSALMS!!! So maybe God just really wanted me to read that passage. I believe that can happen.

So to all of you that are going through hard times, don’t give up!!  The righteous are not desolate! Isn’t it amazing even in our horrible economy.. if you pay your tithes and offering and give God all the firsts and what is His that your money just seems to last longer??  That you find the really good deals when you go grocery shopping?? That people that owe you money all the sudden start repaying you??  No matter how much I WANT, I may not get ALL I want. But EVERY need is met! I have food, a roof over my head, clothes, family…  I think we all have more than we really think we do. And sometimes, just sometimes God gives us what we want!!!  I think it’s a added blessing of being faithful.  Ok, I’m all out of steam now.

 

On A Reading Kick!!!!

Last night I finished reading The Long Road Home by Lori Wick. She is one of my favorite christian authors!!  Some of her books are more simple but the stories are so good you feel like your a part of the story!!  I started another favorite by Francine Rivers (another favorite author) Redeeming Love!!! I cry everytime I read this book!!!  I think it’s amazing how she portrays the characters. How we are like Angel and Hosea is like God.  How many times have we left God for other pleasures???  And He is always still there for us!  I just bawled my way through the whole book.   Francine Rivers wrote an AMAZING trilogy called The Mark of the Lion trilogy. DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND READ THESE BOOKS. I think I’ve read them like 3 times. But it never ceases to amaze me how incredibly written they are. I always find myself in awe of how GOOD we have it now, compared to back then!!!  We don’t know the meaning of persecution! NOT like them.  Being thrown in a ring with lions…. ugh. Makes me shudder.  This trilogy is an amazing read.   History, church history, facts, fiction, the hard lives that people led, the way God provided. It will make you bawl!   SO. Next on my list is to go back and read Sophies Heart by Lori Wick. An amazing story.  I think I have almost all of her collections. I also like Karen Kingbury….  All these ladies are incredible writers.  If your looking for a good book to read try any of theres.  Make sure you get a novel though, or you will be lost.  I can’t wait till it’s bed time so I can keep on reading!!   When we were evangilizing up in Cananda one of the ladies in the church had this great idea!! She had a TON of books and she provided them to the younger girls in the church. Books that are romantic, and fulfilling, full of mystery, yet safe for a young teenager.  It was like a library. I think that is a wonderful idea and I would like to incorporate that here. I just don’t know of anyone who would like the books.  I think some of the older ladies would like it more.  I have a lot already if any of you want to borrow one.

P.S. I made beef enchiladas today and they were SO SO SO GOOD!!

 

Pictures of things I like!

I Do like the purple cabinets. Its different and warm. But I would like a darker shade with more blue tint.

HOW can you not like this chair??  A MUSIC note!!!  No one may EVER sit in it. But it’s cute. This chair is awesome. I wonder if it really would hold up though???  What if the string broke? You will see a LOT more red in this post I am having a love affair with red. I hope it never ends. I like this room. The layout. The space. All of it. It would look awesome with a splash of color! Like the green chest of drawers a few pictures down.  Very sleek. I do like this bookcase. it’s odd, but functional. I think this rocks!!! I”m not sure if I would do a WHOLE room in it. But one wall  OR AROUND a center piece OR like a checker board!!!  You could paint the squares a different color. I think that would look AWESOME.

This is one of my favorites! It’s classy and funky!!  I love the design, the old world feel and the modernized color and gloss. Ok. Our bedroom wall is slanted and I”m either going to paint it or hang a sheet like this… I can’t decide. I could do both… Like paint the wall a deep color and hang a sheer flimsy cloth.  I think it adds a touch of whimsical romance. What do you think ??THIS is incredibly romantic and if I could figure out HOW to do this at my house I would do it!  I kinda would like to because our room is large and I think it would block off the bed from the rest of the room. I can’t decide. Help!! Talk about a downpour!!!! I don’t know if I like it YET!  Definitly NOT that ugly chair or the sparsly decorated bathroom. What a waste!!  But the tub and shower part is kinda neat. .. But wouldn’t water get  EVERYWHERE????  I don’t think it’s functional … hrm. Welcom back to the 80’s!!!!!  I am in love with this invention!!!!   It twists, It goes straight. It glows. It doubles as a coffee table.  How COOL. I very much like this wall. We have a black and white picture that quite large.  Its above my bookshelf. I think that wall would be very intriguing if it was red.  BUT I also like the writing !! Although I have NO idea what it says….  I love red.I”m totally into this room EXCEPT it needs more color and little bit of plushiness. I”m not sure where. But the basic idea is good.OMG OMG OMG OMG OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMMGOMGOMGOMMGOMG nuff said. I REALLY LIKE THIS ONE TOO!!! OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG … You get the picture?? this is ok. but only ok. I”m not sold. NOT when you have divine works of art like above!This is a very romantic room. I could do the bottom walls, but maybe not the ceiling. .. hrm. ? This is nice. This is too modern for me. But I could work with it. It’s very clean. I like the clean lines, I like the hangy ball thing. And as much as I lOVE red. this room needs MORE color. green or purple or blue???   DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW MUCH I LIKE TO TAKE BATHS?????? ?  THIS IS BEAUTIFUL!!!!

SO !!! These are a few pictures of things that I like. Not that I can currently afford any of it. BUT I can dream. And look for cheaper versions of things.  I know I have very weird taste. But I LOVE COLOR!!!  Basic colors of course are black and red. Then just accent with odd pieces.  I can’t ever make up my mind of what I like!! Colonial, Old World, Modern, shabby chic, Glamour, chinese looking stuff.  I like it all!! So I’m not going to pick any ONE style!!  lol. I hope it looks good.  Anyways enjoy.  I will add more over time. If you want to see some incredible stuff go to www.freshome.com.  AWESOME.   Some stuff is totally useless and stupid. But some is incredibly innovative.  And LEAVE a comment if you look!!

 

Grandma and Guns

Well ! Today has been extremely eventful!! NOT IN A GOOD WAY.  I got woken up by my husband, ” Danelle wake up your grandmother just had a heart attack” !!!! Which just about gave me one.  After bugging my mother every other minute…. She assured me I did not need to come until Grandma was out of surgery. So I kept my previous plans, which was to go shoot guns with my father in law and hubby!!!  At first I was VERY SCARED!!!! When I was a kid, dad used to take Than and me down to the Red River to shoot 22’s.  I liked that but I had NEVER shot a rifle before!!!  I thought that the kickback would hit me in the face! The first time we got to shoot I didn’t hit the target ONCE!?!?!??!?! Can you imagine??? WELL my fellow shooters FORGOT to tell me that I was supposed to put the target on top of the little stick thingy… I had been getting the black thingy right in the exact middle of that hole thing… But NOONE told me it was supposed to look like a lolly pop!!! Well, once I found out that part, I HIT THE TARGET!!!!! YAY!!!!   I didn’t get to the black part, almost though!!  I got to the 8 circle like a half inch from the black nine circle!!! yay!!  So now I’m hooked! I want to go back next week.  But I would rather shoot a pistol.  OK!

So AFTER that I met my family for lunch. It was so nice that Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Bobbi were there. Or as I sometimes say .. Aunt Jimmi and Uncle Bobbi. lol. oops.  We had a good lunch. It was good to see Grandpa laughing.   And of course the rest of us were laughing, how can you not when Gary and Randy are there. And Nathaniel. lol.  Then Matt, Than, and I went to see grandma. WOW!!! I was NOT expecting to be so upset at seeing her like that. It brought back WAY too many memories of my other grandparents. I miss them terribly and can’t imagine losing what I have left.  But she was in REALLY good spirits and she was being quite hilarious, as usual.  I already told her that I am cooking every single one of her meals for the next however long it takes for her to get back on her feet!!! I am a good cook too!  So after Grams started worrying about how she looked I started feeling better. She’s so cute.  Some people say we act a lot alike. I could only be so lucky.

Really weird post I know.  But these are the things that happened today.  I know that hitting the target isn’t important compared to Grandma having a heart attack and surgery. But I had to fit it in there somewhere!  I hope all ya’ll are well, and NO MORE HEART ATTACKS ALLOWED!!

 

All better and ready to get OUT of the house

Well I guess my header says it all!!!! I’ve been cooped up in my house for a week!!!!  The first 3 days I could’nt move that well. lol.  I of course didn’t listen to my husband and tried to clean around the house and that only aggravated it…. but for the last 2 days I’ve done basically nothing!!!  And I feel really good!! yay!!!! Inj a hour or so my father in law is going to come over and hang me some shelves!!! I’m very excited about this, because 2 are going to go in my laundry room. And the other two prob in the restroom. I really need them in the laundry room to fold clothes on and stuff. I HATE bringing them upstais and folding them up here. I know I’m weird. But sometimes I get busy doing other things and they just stay there. SO, I’m excited. Also <<<<<< BIG BREATH>>>>>>  My landlords said I could PAINT!!!! Yay!! Yippee!!! Woo Hoo!!!!  NOOONE and I mean NOONE should have to live with pale stark dull walls !!! Unless thats your choice… But I like color!!! I’m very excited about this. Mom and I are supposed to go look at colors soon. AND I went online to home depot and found this amazing spigot…  For my kitchen. Because the spigot is so low it hurts my back to wash dishes.  And the water gets on the cabinets, I don’t like it.   It’s only like sixty dollars.  hmmm….

I really want to keep the house victorian… So I’ve been looking at magazines online and printing off the colors and rooms that I like.  Vintage colors, rooms… And the handles on the cabinets… stuff like that.  I really like the modern look too, but I can’t really do that here. I don’t think.  I might try and combine the 2 looks.  If any of you guys have good websites that you like, let me know.   I’m really loving pier one and cost plus world market.   You know those round chairs with the cushion on top????  And there never really big enough to curl up in unless your a kid…  Well NOW at pier one they have one of those chairs thats DOUBLE size !!! I can not tell you how long I’ve just stood there and drooled at those chairs and they have theses AWESOME trunks and candles and scented oil…  And this AWESOME armoir… whew.. I also like Anthropologi and Urban Outfitters.. They have some very cool stuff.  One day I’ll have it all. Right now I’m very content to look.  And if any of you want to buy me a house warming gift….. lol. jk.  Unless you want to. So as you can tell, I’m very excited about this. I’ll try to post pictures of things I like.  If I can figure out how to do it.

Byyyyyeeeeee

 

I don’t like being helpless!!!

So the other night, friday night we had REFUGE. It was incredible.  And I was fine. But on the way out the door, all the  sudden my right shoulder and neck started to hurt. THEN by the time we got to the house, I could barely get out of the car!!!!  I asked Sis. Tena if I could have injured myself at church. Because I kinda was out of it.  She said I was laying at a odd angle for a long time. BUT still, I’ve never gotten hurt during church. This would be a first.  I must have twisted a certain way or something. My dads theory is I’ve been super tense moving into the new house. Moving boxes etc… then now that I’m moved I relaxed.  Which is true. BUT still!!!  I’m in pain and I don’t like it. AT ALL!!!!!

I did go to church yesterday though. And for a while I felt better.  Thank God.  And I thought when I woke up today I would be miraculously healed.  I was’nt.    The worst thing is, I am NOT GOOD AT DOING NOTHING!!! OR ASKING FOR HELP!!!! HELLO!!!  If any of you know me, you know I HATE asking for help!!!!  So you can imagine how much I hate asking Matt to help me get dressed. Or someone to fix my hair. This is insane and if you can’t tell, I”M VERY UPSET BY THIS!   Matt has told me that when he pulled this muscle, he was down for a week. Well, I’ve been telling myself that THAT is not a option. However my body is NOT listening.   I can move my neck sideways today though!! yay!!! I still can’t move it up or down very well.  From my hairline down to my right shoulder, down to the middle of my back… oh agonizing pain.  AND I have a BIG pain tolerance.  So Vday wasn’t as romantic as I had wanted it to be, on account that I could barely move. So Matthew cooked a wonderful dinner of fajitas. Yum!  We still had a good day.

Ok. So this is a very selfish post, I know. But I feel better.  Oh and  I upped my dosage of inflammazymes so maybe this will go away really fast.  I’m hopeful.  Cheers!

 

What a PERFECT Morning !!!!

Today I woke up at 5:30…. thought “Oh this is too early” went back to sleep till 6. Yay!  I was happy when I got up, opened up some windows to let the cool morning air filter it’s way through the house.  Omar brought Matt and I some gluten free pancake mix ….  I wasn’t too sure about it.   But I wanted to try it. So I mixed it up and did a trial pancake to make sure I had the correct temp. And I have to say. They were good. So we had a good little breakfast of pancakes and fresh brewed coffee!!! At 6:30 in the morning!!!!!! OK !!! This is becoming  the NORM!!! At first I was like, WOW whats happening to me??? I never thought I was a morning person ~~~ But lately I”m loving getting up early in the morning.. watching the sun come up, making breakfast.  lol. Who would have thought. The only thing is today I accidentally made the WHOLE box of pancakes !! lol. So I just made them and am freezing them. I hope that works out.  Then after Matt left for work I thoroughly cleaned and scrubbed the kitchen! Swept, swifted, did all the dishes. It looks to good. I don’t want to mess it up.  Now I’m washing clothes. I think I’m gonna make Wednesday my “clean” day.

I also figured out that I really like to pray in the morning.  Not gut wrenching intercessory praying.. Just starting out the day prayer. Hey God how are you today?? I”m good. What another beautiful day. … that kind of stuff. Plus, I’m leading worship tonight and I’ve already prayed about that too. I’ll pray some more later too. lol!  So I feel good. My spirit feels good. My home is looking good. I feel like I”m getting a lot done. Even though we have a lot of clothes to wash. Ugh. It’s not my favorite thing to do, but dedicating one day to do the bulk of it really helps. Then I just throw a load in here and there. I am LOVING having my own washer and dryer!!!!

I am in DESPERATE NEED of curtains!!!!! Right now I have blankets NAILED to the wall so people can’t see in my house!!!! LOL  it probaly looks SO ghetto from the outside!! I’ve been looking online and I know what I really like, so I’m trying to find something on sale. I’ll see if I can find some pictures for ya’ll to see.

Right now I’m in heaven. Blogging, listening to Bill Gaither Radio, drinking a cup of coffee. lol.  Hope all ya’ll have a great day too.

 

Feeling Better

Well, It’s been two days that I’ve barely set foot out of the house. It’s like 5 in the morning and my fever finally broke. Thank God!!! No more sweats or chills or just miserableness.  So since I’ve been sleeping almost around the clock for 2 days I can’t make myself sleep. I am making some sleepy time tea, hopefully that will help. Matthew said when he came home he prayed for me with a annointed prayer cloth. I’m believing that thats why I feel better.  So hopefully I can get my house finished since I’m feeling better.  All the boxes are emptied. Most of the pictures are hung up. I need a frame for our wedding picture… I found all my missing decorations!!! I have all the things sorted out. Books, clothes, miscellanious stuff. I’m planning on having a garage sale, hopefully this saturday.  I have done so much laundry !!!! But I’m not complaining. I love having it right here in my house.  Well my tea is boiling.  Ya’ll don’t get sick! I know the flu is going around.. or something… bleck.  I’m going back to bed.

 

Weight/Workout Update ..

Ok so obviously I am NOT going to tell ANY of you how much I started out at!!!!! But from the starting point to today I’ve lost 28 pounds!!! YAY!!!! I didn’t even ever EVER think I would get this far!! I originally planned that I would like to lose about 80 pounds… we’ll see how that goes.  So far, so good. I can’t really tell by just looking at myself.. but other people are able to tell.  So I guess thats good. I keep pictures of myself EVERYWHERE. Of how I want to be again.. In my truck, in my purse, on the refridgorator, on my nightstand. And I make doable goals for myself. It’s not reasonable to lose FIVE pounds in one week. But ONE or TWO pounds a week is!!! So my goal this week is to lose at the most 2 pounds.. I think I’m off to a good start.   When I first began to work out I was BARELY able to do 75 crunches. I’ve kept working on that, day in, day out. Yesterday I did 200 crunches!!!!!!!!  WOO HOO!!!!! And I did it again today!!! So now my goal is to work up to 500!!! I know I won’t lose it all overnight but being able to do 200 crunches and not pass out is a HUGE improvement for me!!! Of course I’m a huge weakling… I can only do about 40 -50 pounds on my legs but I started at like 25. So progress is progress. LOL.. And I”m totally excited because I bench pressed 20 pounds!! hahahahahhaha!!  You should see the looks I get though. When I walk in people like stop what there doing and look at me with this INCREDULOUS look on there faces!!!!  I have gotten asked SO many times, ” why are you wearing a skirt???? How can you work out in a skirt????  LOL!!! I probably do look pretty funny!! But I think it’s worth it. Besides the weight that I’ve lost I feel SO GOOD. My energy level is up, my stamina is growing!!!  I remember the first time I tried to do the elleptical I lasted like all of 5 minutes!! ROFL!!! I was embarrassed of myself. And now I can do 30 minutes ALMOST easily. =) Progress is wonderful. To all of you that are encouraging me …… THANK YOU!!!!  Of course eating right does have a lot to do with all this.  It’s not always easy and I probably don’t always eat perfectly but I have learned that if I’m absolutely craving something for several days then I better have just a little bitty bit of it (whatever it is) to satisfy the craving!!!! That way I don’t totally pig out when I feel like I can’t take it anymore.  Also I think EVERYONE knows how much I love LOVE chocolate!!!! But I can’t have it because it gives me bad headaches and I haven’t really had any since I started this low carb thing.  But I found this ONE bar that actually doesn’t give me a headache!!! It’s a chocolate bar by CarbSmart!!!! It doesn’t tasted exactly like a hersheys bar but it satisfys any cravings I might have.  It only have d4 carbs in the WHOLE BAR!!!!!!! Can you BELIEVE THAT?????  I was so happy when I found it!!!  So for the most part I’m doing good. This is why I wrote on my last blog that I need new recipes !!!  So I can keep doing good.  One thing is .. I do get tired of eating cheese, nuts, and meat. SO I try to keep it interesting. Right now I am absolutely IN LOVE with spinich! Frozen and fresh.  So again, if any of you have a good spinich salad recipe or anything involving spinich… let me know..  ooooh espescially chicken stuffed with spinich… anything along those lines sounds awesome. OK  I could go on but I would just be repeating myself! I’m moving into my new place this week so YAY!!!!