Blessings

Every February my mother, sister, and I attend a Women's Conference called Feminar in a town nearby. Each year there are 2-3 women speakers (well-known) and an awesome worship leader who come to lead the event.

Last year Laura Story was the worship leader and it was there that we first heard her song Blessings. She has her own testimony as to where the song derived from, but today i'm going to share our families testimony. Never did we know that weekend how much it would mean to our family.

After Feminar was over, every single time mom got in the car that song would come on the radio. It became a joke between Mom, Casie, and I because we heard it so often. Mom made this comment one time, "I'm not sure why I need this song, but apparently i'm suppose to hear it and will need the message in the future."

Fast-Forward eight months...

My brother's wife filed for divorce, packed up her things, and left. He was completely blindsided and wasn't sure what to do. Depression set in and he felt there was no reason to live anymore.

As he was driving to work one morning, his mind started drifting off to taking his own life. I could pull out infront of this desiel. It would be over real quick and I would never feel it. I could go to heaven and never feel this pain anymore.

Many people could hear the same song on the radio at the exact same time each day and see it as coincidence or even annoying. My mother chose to believe it was more than that. The song that my mother heard every single day would be the very song that the Lord chose to lift the depression and heal her son.

As my brothers thoughts drifted over, the song Blessings by Laura Story came on the radio. My brother shared that he cried "good tears"with a smile on his face and thanked Jesus when the song was over. The next morning when he woke up he claimed that he had a completely different attitude. He knew the Lord was with him and would take care of him.

What's awesome - the story doesn't end there!!!

I didn't realize that I was one of few people who knew this story. At the time I first heard it I didn't feel it was the right time to tell my mom; She would worry herself, so I chose not to tell her.

On Thursday of the present week, Mom, Dad, and Brandon drove down to Crockett to attend his final court hearing. It was official, he was now a divorced man; Something we never thought would happen to our family.

As they were driving, the song Blessings came on the radio. Mom turned around to Brandon to get his attention when the song came on (not knowing what the song meant to him). He hadn't heard it in months, but as he sat and listened he fought back tears for the first half of the song. When he got his composure he told mom and dad that he had a story to tell them about that song.

He then began to tell them about his depression and how the Lord had used this song to bless his life. As you can imagine, they were all crying at this point.

With tears in her eyes mom said, "What a blessing! God is reminding you that He was there in your depression and he is still here with you today as the divorce is final."

It's been an emotional season for us as a family, but it's been such a blessing as well. The prayers, the friends who have payed bills and bought groceries, and the many other people who have stepped up in other ways mean the world to us!

But most of all, we thank God! He is good! How neat that He placed this song in mom's life, and used it in Brandon's. We truly did not know months ago how much it would mean to our family.

We are so blessed - even in the rain and tears!

Praise the Lord!

Back To School - Winter

Well, it was back-to-school today for me.

Definitely wasn't singing joy to the world like I was when I was leaving for the break two weeks ago.

Students don't come back until tomorrow so we got a full work-day in our classrooms.... which is always very much appreciated by this chick! For some reason, I still felt very scattered even after such an awesome break. As soon as I stepped foot into my classroom all of the stress immediately came back.

I cannot express how much that bothers me.

Throughout my day I stopped and prayed at different times... Lord, lead me. guide me. comfort me. be my passion again in this place.

I truly believe if it were always happy and dandy then my pursuit of the Lord wouldn't be as intense... so I press on.

If you want to add a something to your prayer list, you can be praying for direction next year. I'm just not real sure if i'm supposed to stay put. It's been on my mind for months, but I need guidance and discernment to know if i'm suppose to move and where. If you wouldn't mind, i'd appreciate your prayers! :)

On another note, I started training for a half-marathon in March. Hope to keep you updated on that process here as well. Two of my friends, Mary and Erin, are going to join me! Any of my hometown friends, feel free to join us as well!!

Alright, i'm exhausted! Short and Sweet - Have a fabulous day!!