My Dad

Friends,

Thanks for sharing your "sharing stories". I'm blessed by your generous spirit!
The word of God is always a blessing to those who read and apply it and we have all experienced the truth
"It is better to give than receive".

For those of you who have inquired about my dad.
He was admitted to the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit at Duke University Hospital last Wednesday morning.
He was released to the step down unit on Friday and was to be discharged to a nursing home today .
He is furious about the release and is making a "Greek spectacle" of himself (much to my mom's embarrassment).
I haven't been able to speak to my mom since this morning so I don't know if he was actually discharged today.

I am asking you to "share" your prayer time on behalf of my parents.
My dad needs a lot of hands on care being paralyzed, in diapers and feeding tubes.
My mom needs affordable assistance in caring for him.
She has cared for him in their home for 3 years, she and their finances are exhausted.

I'm praying for the Lord to intervene and to bring my dad home or provide the care he needs at a price they can afford.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your intercessory prayers.
I know the sacrifice it takes to add one more person to your prayer list and I am grateful for your intercession.

.

Shoe Princess

Good Morning friends,

Rachel Olsen (http://www.rachelolsen.blogspot.com/ ) is sending people over to read about the shoe story from last year's She Speaks Conference. You can read all about "Hot Pink Pumps" in the January 2008 issue of The Proverbs 31 magazine or in a January post on this blog.

Here is a picture of Rachel and me with Pamela from last year's conference.
This year there are two more stories to add to my shoe collection.

Here are Lisa's Whittle's words from her post earlier this week. http://www.lisawhittle.blogspot.com/

And I cannot end this post without telling you one last thing that I loved about this weekend. I made a new friend in Zoe Elmore of P31. Yes, I already knew who she was. But man, did God use her to bless my heart in a very unexpected way. Sitting in Marybeth and Shari’s room on Friday afternoon, I began lamenting to the girls and Zoe about how bad my feet hurt. (Yes, wearing cute, yet painful shoes is a vice of mine.) After a few minutes, Zoe excused herself and left for her room. She came back just minutes later with the cutest pair of heels and insisted that I put them on. Though I was hesitant at first to do so, I soon came to realize that Zoe was not presenting me with another option. So, I relented. I tried them on and loved them immediately! Ok, they were still heels (and how comfortable can heels REALLY be?), but they were actually really comfortable, considering! I was so touched that Zoe had gone to find me some shoes to wear for the rest of the evening, but I saw it as just a really kind gesture. But when I tried to give them back to her, she wouldn’t take them. She flat out told me she wouldn’t be taking them back home with her. They were mine, she informed me. And that is how I got the really cute cork shoes.

The last shoe story from this year's She Speaks Conference has to do with the brown shoes the P31 team needed to wear on Friday with our
snappy "team uniform". Believe it or not, as the "Shoe Princess"I don't really own any brown shoes (because it's not my best color) so three days before the conference I found myself at the mall in search of a cute and comfortable pair of brown shoes. After four hours of searching I found the cutest brown shoes I've ever seen and they were on sale!
I was thrilled to say the least and packed them in my bag.

I did wear my cute and comfy shoes on Friday and they were the cutest brown "princess" shoes I've ever seen. Long story short I gave them to my sweet friend and teammate Sharon Glasgow. She looks great in brown and the shoes were made for her!!!!

Here they are before I kicked them off and gave them to Sharon. I think you'll have to agree, they are the cutest brown shoes ever!!

I'm often asked why I give my shoes, purses or jewelry away. There's a simple answer really....

The first reason is this:Shoes and purses and jewelry are just things; stuff really.

The joy I receive in giving things away far exceeds the joy anyone ever gets when they receive these things.

The second reason I give things away is the reason why I wear a tiara when I clean house.

In order to be a true princess, I must be willing to remember my "Princess Motto"

A True princess comes to serve, not to be served

So my bloggy friends, how are you serving others?

Please share your story...

Easily Distracted

Hey sweet Bloggy friends,

For those of you who know me you'll so get this t-shirt.

I think it describes my sparkly ADD personality to a "T"

If you can't read it, this is what it says:

I was ready to take on the world

Until I was distracted by

Something Sparkly

Happy day friends.

I hope the Lord will allow you to bring a little sparkle into someone life today.

Please share your story........

YouTube - Birthday Card

Okay my bloggy friends,

I was first introduced to this hilarious card on Wednesday last week when the Proverbs 31 staff and team gathered for our training. One of the speakers (who will reamin nameless) brought this out at lunch and I laughed so hard I almost chocked on my salad.
I know I'm tired from the wonderful She Speaks weekend and working long days at Carolina's Counseling but this is the funniest card I have ever seen.

If you're under 50 you may not remember Rose anna Danna or appreciate the humor in this; but I warn you little younglings...
You will understand all too soon as you approach the fabulous 50's

Enjoy the giggles
I'm running to the store to buy one for all my fabulous friends!!!!
YouTube - Birthday Card

More Pictures

Good Morning Bloggy Friends,
I don't know about you, but I'm really dragging this morning! I was rather sluggish at the office yesterday and I could hardly roll out of bed today. Oh well.... the Lord will just have infuse me with another jolt of energy and caffeine.
Here are a few more pictures from the weekend.

Ain't that a purdy team?














The dynamic trio posing for the camera.
(Laurie, Melanie and Micca)



Here's the last one for today. The next time you see Holly, ask her if she still eats ketsup on her eggs.

She Speaks 2008

Good Morning Sweet Bloggy Friends,

I'm a bit blurry eyed this morning, and I so wanted to sleep in today,but work beckons and real life begins again. Before I head out the door, here are a few pictures from our extraordinary
She Speaks 2008 week-end.


Praise the Lord for His empowering strength and for the strongholds that were destroyed!!!
I'll post more later.
As my friend Wendy Pope says TTFN (Tah Tah For Now)

It's Finally Arrived

Good Morning Sweet Bloggy Friends,

Well... it's finally arrived, the day we've been waiting for, holding our breath for.

The phone rang at 5:50 this morning and I heard Josh (our oldest son) on the other end of the receiver. "Mom, I'm sorry to wake you, but as I was driving out of my neighborhood for work this morning I discovered I have no forward gears,the transmission in my car is completely shot and there are metal fragments in the oil pan." "I can only drive in reverse."
Friends, I don't know a lot about cars, but I do know It's never a good idea to drive you car in reverse after you've backed out of the driveway.
Josh and Tom spoke a few minutes and they decided on the details of having the car towed. Josh will get a ride to the hotel where I'll be for the next 5 days at the She Speaks Conference and use my car until he decides what to do.

Josh's car was Tom's car, is 12 years old and has 178,000 miles and band new tires.
As I mentioned earlier, we've been holding our breath knowing this day would arrive.

I could ask "Why now Lord, why did his car finally break down now?"
I could ask "Why did this happen three months after we spent a lot of money on new tires?"
I could ask those questions and others but I won't.
Instead, I'm Praising our sweet Jesus!!!
I'm praising His Holy Name for:
1. Protecting our son by not allowing this to happen when he was actually driving on the highway.
2. Providing AAA to tow his car.
3. Proving His faithfulness as my car will be available to Josh for the next 5 days.
4. the Privilege of walking through this life knowing that His sovereign hand is guiding our every step. That nothing takes our God by surprize and the assurance that we can rest in His percfect will for our lives.

Friends, as I leave for the conference I pray for each of you to experience His presence in your life in a powerful way.
I don't know what the Lord will allow in your lives these next few days; but I do know that He is faithful to provide whatever you need to get through them.

So...until we "talk" again; know that I'm praying for you and look forward to the stories we will share when I return next week.

Let's Gather at the Beach

This is a picture of the last working pontoon bridge on the East coast and it is located at Sunset Beach, NC. Our family has vacationed on this small, quiet, and quaint Island every summer for 24 years. At the top of every hour the bridge tender starts the diesel engine and this little, old, rickety bridge begins to swing around in order to open the way for commercial and pleasure boats to pass through on their way to places near and far.

Crossing this bridge is the only way on or off the Island and the bridge routinely breaks down at least once a month causing the workman to close the bridge to any traffic, causing many people to fuss and fume at the delay.

I'm feeling a bit like that rickety, old bridge myself today, overwhelmed at the work waiting for me at the office and the weekend ahead,so I'm listening to a CD of ocean waves gently breaking on the shore as I look at these pictures and write this post. I've always found the steady rhythm of the waves calming.
Oh friends, I wish we could all cross the little, old, rickety, bridge to gather on Sunset Beach for a few days of rest, relaxation, laughter and sweet fellowship today.

We could walk along the beach to Bird Island and read the journals kept in the "Kindred Spirit" mailbox.

We could walk along the beach and find beautiful shells to collect.

We could stay up late laughing til our sides split sharing funny stories.

We could cook together and eat together.

We could sit on the front porch and rock away the late afternoon hours.

Oh, I wish we could all gather at the beach.

But alas, that is not the plan for today....

In the mean time sweet friends, know that I'm thinking of you and praying for you to receive everything you need to be rested, restored and ready for the next chapter the Lord is perfecting for you..



Where would you invite all of your bloggy friends to gather?

She Speaks

Good Morning Sweet Bloggy Friends,

Thank you for all of your prayers and comments regarding time with my parents. I think it's so interesting to see how many of us share a similar parent/child relationship.
Hmm... maybe we could explore that in the future.
I do appreciate your prayers and don't take that precious gift lightly.

It's Monday morning and the She Speaks conference is just five days away.
For those of you unfamiliar with the conference let me just say it is the most exciting, exhilarating and exhausting three days of your life. You will walk through the doors on Friday in love with Jesus and you will walk out of those same doors a changed woman!!!

When you arrive, everything will be in it's place and the year of planning and details will be evident for all to see. LeAnn Rice and the office staff literally give their ALL to put a conference together that exceeds expectations.

Many people have the idea that the Proverbs staff and office space are large but they are just the opposite. Only three full-time employees, four part-timers and a few volunteers keep this ministry running like a well oiled machine in less than 2,200 square feet. The Lord multiplies the work of their hands on a daily basis and we all benefit greatly from their commitment and calling.

As the speaker team gathers from around the country on Wednesday for training and preparation may I ask you to cover this conference in prayer? The enemy is trying to discourage and derail the plans our heavenly Father has in place for each of us. We are confident in the Lord that His plan will be accomplished and would treasure your participation through prayer.

Thank you for loving our Lord and this ministry

Answered Prayer

Sweetest Boggly friends,

When I came home last night I read your posts over and over and I cannot possibly thank you enough for all of your prayers.

Here is a brief run down of my time away.
Arrive early in morning to get mom to the hospital (she is a nurse and this was her very first surgery of any kind; she was very anxious as you might imagine).
The surgery went as expected and mom woke up quickly from the light anesthesia.
One hour later the nurse put mom in my car and we headed for my parents home.
Five minutes later my mom threw up all over my car.
Note to self.... Next time ask recovery room nurse for a disposable barf bag for the ride home.
Get my mom home, change her clothes, tuck her into bed and check on daddy.
Wash my mom's clothes and clean out my car.

Go to the grocery store to get ginger ale, make my dad's dinner and feed him.
Help my mom who is still throwing up.
Call the Dr for a prescription to stop the throwing up
Go to the Drugstore to get the medicine; wait one hour while they fill the prescription.

Help the nurses aide get my dad changed and settled in for the night.

Okay I'll stop with gory details... You can use your imagination.

Everyone settles down and the Lord provided my parents and the aide with a good night's sleep and no more throwing up.

Again, I am so grateful for your prayers. My relationship with my parents can be strained and difficult.
Out of respect for them I will just say that my sister (my only sibling) and I are the children who "never do enough, never visit often enough or never quite get things done well enough".
Anxiety can set in quickly when I know I'm going to be spending time with them; but the Lord prompted you to pray and He answered in a BIG way.

I'll post again later, but I did want to thank you for your precious gift of prayer on our behalf.

Taking Care of Business

Hey sweet bloggy friends,

I'm going to be out of town for a few days caring for my parents and I won't have access to a computer.
For those of you who don't know my parents live about three hours away from Tom and me.
My dad suffered a massive stroke 3 1/2 years ago and has been left paralyzed, in diapers and feeding tubes.
He is quite lucid, can speak and has most of his memory.
My mom is a retired nurse and cares for him in their home because nursing homes costs are close to $7,000.00 a month and who has that?
My mom does have a little help 3-4 days a week but that cost is fast becoming difficult as well (one reason why I have 3 part-time jobs).

My mom is having a cataract removed Wednesday and I will be driving up to care for them.
I'll miss our "conversations" and hope you will continue to "talk" to one another while I'm away.

I would appreciate your prayers as this will be a long and tiring visit.

I should be back on-line late Thursday evening or early Friday morning.

Joyful Blessings Sweet Friends,
Zoe

Q and A Cont'd

Hey bloggy friends,

Let me begin by thanking each of you for you kind and thoughtful posts and e-mails regarding my last devotional. I'm excited to know the Lord is using me for His glory.

Someone asked the question:
How many people are in a She Speaks small group?
Answer: There are 12 people in the speaker small groups.
How many talks will I be expected to give and will all of them be evaluated?
Answer: You will be expected to give two different talks and the only one we will be evaluating is the Saturday evening talk. Please refer to the information you received from the Proverbs office for other details on your talks.

That's it for today sweet friends. I'm off to work, then an afternoon meeting and then to work out with "Bobby the Beast", or "Mike the machine", or "Aaron the quadriceps killer" or "The Greganotor" or "Lindsay the tricep Queen".

If you're experiencing this heat wave with us here in the south; stay as cool as possible friends.

Hey, please pray for LeAnn Rice; the P31 Executive Director. The air conditioner in her home is broken and the temperature will be near 100 degrees once again today.

Oops!!!

Thanks to all of you who pointed out the misspelled and non-existent words in the devotional today.
I do apologize for any confusion it may have caused.
I always use grammar and spell check as well as the devotional editors (one is an English professor at UNCW) before sending them out.

Thanks for your graceful understanding and for letting me know there was a problem.
Each of us will take extra measures to ensure you continue to receive devotions of excellence.

Happy Weekend Blessings my bloggy friends,
Zoe

Tiaras and Toilets

If you're stopping by from today Proverbs 31 "Encouragement for Today" devotion, Greetings!

I'm interested to read your story and hope you will post your comments below.

Did you know I wear a tiara when I clean my castle?

I wish I could see the expression on your faces right now and I bet you're thinking one of two things...

1. This is one crazy chick

2. Who does this chick think she is, a pretty, pretty princess?

Well.. you're right on both accounts; I am the crazy, pretty,pretty princess of our home.

My husband and sons would say Amen to that!

I haven't always lived like a princess; in fact for many years I never even knew I was a princess.

Now, I'm not referring to the castle I live in or the chariot I drive; I'm referring to the "Princess Attitude" in which I live my life.

For years my attitude was that of a beggar instead of a believer; a pauper instead of a princess.
When I read Isaiah 62:3 "You will be a crown of splendor in the Lord's hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God." (NIV) I discovered a "New Attitude" There it was, right there on the page in black and white. The king of the universe, my heavenly Father considers me His royal daughter; a crown of splendor. Hey, if that's not a good reason to wear a tiara I don't know what is.

Okay, I know you're wondering why I'm telling you all of this and you're probably asking yourself "Why anyone would wear a tiara to clean their castle?"

Here's the point:

I wear a tiara when cleaning to remind myself of the true meaning of a princess...

A true princess comes to serve, not to be served and that's easy to remember when you're scrubbing toilets.
So get yourselves a tiara friends, sing Patti LaBelle's song "A New Attitude" as you clean your castle and ...

Live like a Princess

"She Speaks" Q and A cont'd

Good morning Bloggy friends,

Shhhhhh... Can you hear that?
It's called silence. No whining, no crying or screaming for the first time in weeks.

After training with "Bobby the Beast" and burning enough butter to make a pound cake after work yesterday my ham strings, quads and triceps are not screaming or yelling this morning.
For those of you who are new to my blog; this is a huge thing
(no pun intended).

I've been whining and crying for 3 weeks about how painful it is to return to a healthy lifestyle.I still have a huge (still no pun intended) way to go but Praise the Lord I can finally walk after a work out without my thighs talking to each other.
"Pardon me for yelling, please excuse my whining!" HA!

Okay, back to the Q and A regarding She Speaks. Questions 1-3 are posted on yesterday's blog.
4. What do I need to bring to the conference?
Answer: Your bible, your favorite sparkly, gel pen
(if you're into that),
Your favorite late night junk food snacks for you, your roommate
and the new friends you're going to make.
Some spending money to purchase a lot of Proverbs 31 can't live without resources (thanks Joy) and
Concord Mills Mall is less than 2 miles from the hotel and you might have time for a little
Pre or Post conference shopping.
Your favorite pillow
(if you're into that)
Well rested body - You're going to laugh a lot, walk a lot, talk a lot and learn a lot.
Your best attitude. The Lord is going to move in your heart and life is a powerful way and you are going to be loved on by all your new sisters in Christ.

Friends... this weekend will be the most exciting, exhilarating and exhausting "girl friends" weekend you could ever imagine.

What have I forgotten to mention?
Help me out here....

Welcome to She Speaks

Hey She Speaks friends,

I thought I'd post the most frequently asked questions and answers from past participants in my small group.
Please join in on the conversation and post your own questions.
I'm hoping this will be a way for us to get to know one another before we meet in a few days.

1. What should I wear to the conference and should I wear something different when I give my talks?
Answer: Business casual attire is best for the conference. The hotel will be cold to most of you so plan to bring a jacket or sweater.
You want to be comfortable and professional at the same time.Comfortable shoes (not your ratty bedroom slippers).
When you give your presentations- Dress as if you had been hired to speak for our group.
2. What should my teaching talk be about?
Answer:What is your spiritual passion and what would we love to hear you share?
3. I'm so intimidated and scared.
Answer: I understand that; I threw up all night the night before I gave my talk: Lysa was my small group leader.
Remember, we are all at the conference to learn from one another; not to be judgemental or harsh.
Think of this as a "polishing" experience.

I'll leave it with these for now....
Please add your comments /questions.

Worth Waiting For

I've been counting the days and hours to the release of Wii Fit and today I was able to purchase it!
The friend I job share with at Carolinas Counseling Group called the office this morning to say that she was on the way to Sams Club to purchase a system for her 3 children and 1 system for me.





Kim dropped off the system about 11:00 today and it was all I could do not to "come down with a headache" and "need" to leave work early just to play the new Wii Fit.

Okay, I did finish out the day, but I do think I did speed a bit on the way home.

This thing is better than I ever expected and will go a long way in helping me stay on track with my new healthy lifestyle (physically that is).
I've NEVER broken a sweat from hoola-hooping; but I just did.

Gotta go; it's my turn to try out the Yoga.

What ae you waiting for?

Zoe Wii

Watching and Waiting

I don't think I know one person who likes to wait; especailly in a quick, hurry up, instant society.
When I read Peterson's chapter on "Watching and Waiting" I gained a new perspective.
He tells the story of taking a job as a night watchman in New York City.Peterson describes his year "I stayed awake, I studied, learned, I visited and gossiped. And I waited for the dawn."

"A watchman is an important person, but he doesn't do very much."
"He does nothing to influence or control such things: he is a watchman."
"I never did anything, I never constructed anything, never made anything happen. I waited and watched, I hope."
Psalm 130
1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord;
2 O Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy.
3 If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared.
5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.
6 My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.
7 O Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.
8 He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.

"The psalmist's and the Christian's waiting and watching-that is, hoping-is based on the conviction that God is actively involved in his creation and vigorously at work in redemption."

For those of us waiting for things in our lives (and who isn't) this brings me a renewed hope, a burst of fresh energy to continue on as I watch and wait.

"It means going about our assigned tasks, confident that God will provide the meaning and the conclusions."
"It means a confident, alert expectation that God will do what he said he will do."
"It is a willingness to let God do it his way in his time."

So... here are the questions I'd like us to discuss:
1. What are you waiting for as we pursue a healthy lifestyle (physically and spiritually)?
2. What are the assigned tasks God has assigned you as you wait?
3. What is your perspective on waiting and watching?

"One of those Days"

Hey friends,

Someone sent me this picture and I thought it something we could ALL relate to.

Have you ever had "One of those days?"

I think this is the perfect picture to describe my dyslexia! HA!

As the Proverbs 31 She Speaks conference gets closer, I'm sure we're all going to experience a few days like this one.

I hope you'll share your "day" with us.

Zoe