Happy Birthday Sweetheart

Saturday, my baby turned 9 years old. That's so hard for me to get ahold of. One more year, and she will be sprinting towards becoming a teenager - that's a thought I just can't handle at this point.

Julia is such a special girl, and I don't say that only because she's mine. If everyone was really able to get to know her the way I do...her laughter, her sense of humor, her quick witt....to watch her play, and imagine, and dream, you would think she is special, too.

It is suprising to me to see doubts about herself in her at such a young age. Being self-conscious about her freckles, wanting to please, wearing her heart on her sleeve and being upset if you don't take it and accept the love she's offering, I worry about her.

However, I have been noticing lately that she has learned to do something really special at such a young age. She has learned how to pray....to really talk to God. Not like He's some big, bad King sitting on his throne ready to give out punishment, or like He's some genie in a bottle there to fulfill her every wish, but to really talk to Him like He's sitting next to her in the chair beside her and they're having a conversation. Her prayers never cease to amaze me, especially the depth of them sometime.

This year when I wrote her birthday letter, I reminded her of her ability to pray, and how important it will be to her later in life as she has to deal with things that require us to run to the Savior for help. She will already know how to touch Him by simply saying His name and knowing He's right there.

I also reminded her of how happy I was when she was born, because she made our family complete, and she still makes it complete today.

I am so thankful for this special little girl that God gave us, and I cherish her everyday. How blessed I am to be her Mom!

Blessings!
Joy

Late but still Thankful

It's been a while since I've posted. There are no words to say how crazy life has been the past few weeks, but I will try.

Let's start back at Thanksgiving. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with my Mom and Dad. Just being together, sharing a meal, getting up at 4:30 to go shopping (thanks Mom!). There's just something about getting out into the crowds that really gets the spirit of the season going. One of the highlights of the weekend for me was getting to see my Grandma Hagee. This was her 96th Thanksgiving! And though she looked small and frail laying there in her bed, there was still her bright smile on her face. I'm not sure if she really realizes how much her life has changed, however it really doesn't seem to matter much to her. She just smiles and enjoys the sunshine. Seeing her and my children with her made me so thankful to still have her in my life.

I had planned to put up my Christmas tree Thanksgiving weekend, but we bought a new couch which we weren't going to pick up until the next week, so I really didn't see the need to get all of the Christmas stuff out when we were getting ready to change everything around. This did NOT sit so well with Julia. I think she had been dreaming about putting the Christmas tree up! I promised her when the new couch was in, we would put it up. But then our Christmas play happened, and life got really crazy. This past Friday night we were at church for dress rehersal so we decided to put it up on Saturday afternoon. I had errands to run and school work to do before being at the Church for our first performance on Saturday night so we decided to put it up when we got home Saturday evening because Greg and Joel would be there to help but when we got home, Joel was already in the bed asleep and Greg was asleep on the couch. So no tree. I went downstairs to work on my classes and here comes my wonderful daughter with a contract for me to sign - a mother-daughter contract - that said that we would put up the tree the next day. What was I supposed to do? I knew that with two preformances on Sunday, and with my parents and Eric's kids coming I would be pressed for time, but I HAD to sign it! So Mom was signed on my line, therefore committing me to putting up the tree the next day.

God is so good, though. Joel was looking for something to do Sunday afternoon, and I let him put the tree together. He likes doing stuff like that, and the Lord knew I really didn't have the strength to do it. It was late Sunday night when we got home, and Julia wanted to decorate the tree, but I just didn't have it in me, so we decided that we would all work on in Monday evening. And we did! And thus I fullfilled my contractual duties! :-) Now if I could just snap my fingers and all of my gifts be bought, wrapped, and sitting under the tree, I would be doing great!

The Christmas production we did at Church is an entirely different story. I was in the play part, playing the part of Abigail, the wife to Jonas, the Innkeeper. The story told is such a special one, and I can honestly say that there have been times during the past weeks that I was at my wits end because of everything that was going on in my life, but when we practiced, there was always something to laugh about. So much so that I'm sure the director wondered if we could get through it without laughing! God knew everything going on in my life, and He also knew it would be a tight fit for me to fit this in there, too. However, He knew that He was going to use it to bless me, and refresh me, and to bring me joy when I wasn't really in the mood to be joyous. The Lord has blessed our church with such talented people, and it was a priviledge to be apart of something so awesome!

I hope that you, too, had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I will try to get up pictures next time -- until then...

Bunches of Blessings!
Joy

Run, Baby, Run!

This past weekend was full and wonderful for several reasons. Let me share --


The first was that I went with some of the girlfriends from church to see the new movie "One Night with the King". AWESOME! Yes, I just yelled that at you! It was so good -- my favorite kind of movie. You know, the ones with good looking guys with swords and shields, beautiful women, action, passion, suspense with lots of history in there too. So anyway - I loved it! I also loved being with the girls. A great movie, great company at dinner, and a cup of Mocha on the way home is just what the Savior wanted for me.

Greg and Joel also had a little adventure Saturday night when they were invited to the VA Tech football game against Southern Miss. Joel had never been to a college game before, and he had such a great time. They tailgated (which neither of them had ever done) and had just great seats at the game. It helped that Tech won - and that they were in company of a good friend. It sounded just like what the Savior wanted for them, too.

However, something extra special happened to my Julia! She ran in her very first 5K. When Greg first started talking to her about it, you could tell she was really hesitant, but wanted to do it to simply please her Father. Joel was 8 when he ran in this same race with Greg, so it was going to be special time for just Greg and Julia. Now, my Julia is Athletic -- she's just not quite as competitive as Joel. She loves to run, play, and climb trees. But while Joel does it to see how fast, how quick, and how much better he can do it than you, she does it for the mere joy of doing it.

So on a chilly October morning, we all go up to go and support Julia and Greg in their run. Greg had set a goal for them to finish the 5k in 30 minutes, which would be about 10 minute miles. Julia, having never run a distance race before set her pace way too fast for the first mile, causing her to have to stop and break stride. Because she did this, Greg said she was never able to get back into a good pace of running - too much starting and stopping. (We could talk a lot on that, couldn't we?)

Julia finished her race with two police cars giving her an escort - cheering her on -- in just over 32 minutes. Pretty awesome, huh? I am so proud of her for so many reasons. Not that she finished the race so well, but that she attempted to do something so huge for her young life. I am so glad that she had a moment at this age to just shine.

Her Dad is hoping that this will be the birth of a track star - so just get used to hearing the phrase Run, Baby, Run!

Blessings!
Joy

P.S. I coudn't go without posting some pictures of Joel. Here are some of him from his last Carlisle game. Enjoy!

A moment of joy

Have you ever been in a moment and known that it was a perfect moment - while you were in it? I had that happen to me a couple of weeks ago.

It happened a couple of Saturdays ago when we had planned a family outing with Joel's travel soccer team to go to watch the UNCG men's soccer team play at their homecoming game against Elon. My friend Laura and her husband David were unable to go, so I offered to let their son Corey go with us so he wouldn't have to miss out. Then while I was at a wedding on Saturday afternoon, Joel asked his girlfriend of the moment Peyton and their friend that lived down the street from us, Kacie, to go as well since we had two extra tickets.

So here the seven of us pack up and go (it's a good thing we just upgraded to a bigger vehicle!) to dinner, a fast ride to Greensboro, a great soccer game (UNCG won!) and ice cream at McDonald's afterward with me wondering just what I had gotten myself into. However, I couldn't have asked for more than the night we had. The kids behaved perfectly (yes, even mine) and had such a great time.

My moment of joy happened on the way home. We had turned the radio to Saturday night at the Disco (the only station we could all agree on) and as soon as we did, "Carwash" filled the vehicle and before you know it there were 5 kids in the back singing and laughing, dancing as much as they could in their seats. Greg looked over at me and smiled and grabbed my hand, and all of a sudden I knew I was in a perfect moment. A moment when all of the rest of the world faded away and there was nothing else but what was immediately around me. A moment of joy.

I am so thankful for that moment. But more than that, I am thankful that I recognized the moment while I was in it and was able to give thanks to the Lord for allowing me such a special gift. When it seems like my life is topsy-turvy and that I've given out until there's nothing left to give, I am given a most special gift that no amount of money could buy.

Lord, may I be so blessed as to have many, many more such moments and never forget to thank You for each one.

Blessings!
Joy

My New Space!

So, I've taken another crazy pill and thought I would start a blog. Why? Well, for many reasons, but mainly for a soon-to-be teenage boy and a beautiful young lady who live in my home who I want to record some memories for. I've tried to scrapbook, but really, I'm already 12 years behind -- I'll never catch up if I keep on adding to that stack! So this is a way to just jump in and get some sort of journal going. It's also a way the family that we have scattered all across the world can see what's going on in our household each and every week.

You may have been wondering why I titled it "A Spacious Place". That comes straight from one of my favorite Bible verses (who can have just one?) that has been with me for the past few years.

He brought me into a spacious place; He rescued me because He delighted in me. Psalm 18:19.

That He brought me to where I am today is truly mind altering, but that He did it because He delighted in me is more than I can comprehend. When I look at myself and what I see, I am not able to understand why - I don't even delight in myself most of the time. I always see all of the hundreds and thousands of things that I have going on and that I am working on in my life that I need to improve before I ever get to the state of being delightful - but none of that stuff matters to Him! He looks past all of the "stuff" in my life and sees through to the me at the core and He is delighted! That's just one of the billion reasons I love Him so much.

So I am in a spacious place - a place of growing. A place of learning. Not a place of being shut in or closed all around me, but a place of being free from the shadows. A place where I can experience all that God has for me. It's also a place of exposure, but it's O.K. because He is my guard and protection.

I'll leave you today with this same passage (v. 16-18) from the Message Bible which just really lays it out there for me.

But me he caught—reached all the way

from sky to sea; he pulled me out

Of that ocean of hate, that enemy chaos,

the void in which I was drowning.

They hit me when I was down,

but God stuck by me.

He stood me up on a wide-open field;

I stood there saved—surprised to be loved!

Psalm 18:16-19 - The Message

Today, I hope you, too, realize that He delights in you. He reached all the way from the sky to the sea to pull you out -- just because He loves you.

I hope you come visit with me often.....

Until then - Bunches of Blessings!
Joy