My Love Story part 4

The weeks between the time when the Lord told me Barry was the one and when we actually met were very interesting! My Pastor's wife encouraged me to join the choir and to sing with other ladies when given the oppurtunity (which I did). My Mom and I also went on ladie's visitation on Thursday mornings (sometimes the conversation afterwards would turn to 'setting' me up with someone...ugh!!)
  The funny thing is, Barry sat in front of our family at church. One Sunday morning after church my Momma turned to me and said, 'He (referring to Barry) has a nice, firm handshake and he always looks you in the eye.' I just playfully rolled my eyes and chuckled :) I told her there was more to a man than that but I did tuck that bit of information away :)
  There was a small BBQ restaurant that also served frozen icecream (I think the name is Smithfield's) that many of us would patronize after church. Sometimes Barry would be there with my friend and her husband.  He always seemed polite and respectful.
  One Thursday, while on visitation, my friend asked me what I thought of Barry. My first reaction was one of exasperation...not outwardly but inwardly. So many people had asked me what I thought of this man or that man...and just recently my Pastor's wife had asked me what I thought of Barry, as well. How are you supposed to answer a question like that? Then I recalled something he had said in his testimony...that after accepting Jesus Christ as his Saviour he got rid of over $3000.00 worth of Country music cds. That really piqued my interest. Throughout highschool my best friend and I tried that so many times...but the only alternative was contemporary Christian music and it wasn't very appealing. I had NEVER heard of a  man doing that. SO I told her about that and that it would be interestig to talk to him about it. I still was not interested in him.
  That following Saturday night was a meeting for the radio staff and anyone that wanted to be involved in the Fall Sharathon. Barry was there....afterwards I was in the kitchen, helping clean up. My friend rushed in there and pulled me to the side, quite excited about something!! She was my closest friend so I would share with her different things that the Lord was showing me in my spiritual walk as well as my list of what I did and didn't want in a husband. She proceeded to tell me that the Lord had been dealing with Barry concerning some of the exact things! I just looked at her ever so patiently and smiled. But on the inside I couldn't believe it!!! I didn't want anyone to know what God had revealed to me!!! But it seemed like we were being drawn closer together all the time.
  The next Sunday I recieved a call from her and she was so excited I could hardly understand her....Barry wanted to meet me!! Ack!!!! I talked to my Mom and we got a hold of my Dad (he was finishing up the last few months of his Service in DC) We had their permission to meet! I had been telling my Dad about everything (except that Barry was the one for me :) And my Mom had been telling him things as well...what...I will never know!
  We were to meet at Smithfield's that night after church. My family arrived there before he did...and the only table left was a long one in the center of the restaurant...oh, great! We are going to be on display in front of all these people from church..so not how I had envisioned our meeting!! Well, my friend Becky came and sat beside me while Barry and her husband sat at the other end by my brothers. Talk about nerve racking! Becky leaned over and whispered that maybe we should try a different time so it wouldn't be so public. I very readily agreed!
  The Fall Sharathon began the next day and went through the whole week. It was a very busy time! Some of the preachers that we featured on our station were there as well as others. People were there answering phones and taking pledges. I worked in the studio as well as at the phones. It was a wonderful experience!! That Thursday morning I was in the studio, minding my own business, and for some reason I happened to look up and there was Barry with his friend Dwayne (my friend's husband) standing outside the studio door. I could feel the color rise in my face and I started shaking...this is going to be interesting I thought! My turn was up in the studio so I went out in the lobby to answer phones...and Barry was there. I was very thankful for the room being full of other people!!! There was a young boy there that he was talking to so it was neat to watch him interact with a child. We even conversed a little..about what?...I have no idea! I was SO nervous!!! Becky told me that if it was ok with my parents that I could just spend the day and that evening we would all go to their house and officially be introduced.

  to be continued

My Love Story part 3

I find it fascinatng how God moves and works. My brother that is closest to me in age and myself are quite shy. We are very routine oriented. We do not like change. So moving to North Carolina wasn't the easiest for us, especially when it came to looking for a new church. My parents found one in Morehead City and we visited. Like I said, it was much smaller than the one we had been attending...and there were not many people my age. The next service our parents were discussing visiting another one...and for some 'weird' reason the both of us convinced them to go back to Grace Baptist. I suppose maybe our parents felt sorry for us, or something... I believe it is the 'something' or should I say Someone that was leading my parents and our family to this church!
  My Dad was still in Washington DC finishing up the last few months of his service. It was summertime and there wasn't alot to do. My brother and I would take bike rides through the tobacco field at the end of our housing development. In the back of my mind was the nagging thought that I was going to grow old and live with my parents for the rest of my life...ugh!!!
  Then one afternoon God brought a little saying to mind that one of my teachers at CEF (Child Evangelism Fellowship) camp had mentioned in a class...'When in a fix, read Phillipians 4:6'. So I got out my Bible and looked up that verse, and  verse 7  and they changed everything for me! The Bible says 'Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.' I had been very full of care! I had always wanted to get married at the age of 18 like my Mom. It was time for me to let go of what I wanted and just rest and wait on God!!
  So I decided that everytime I would worry or even think of marrying I would quote these 2 verses and leave it in God's hands! I also started praying for my future mate and that God would prepare us both for our life together. Meanwhile, I became involved in the radio ministry at our church (FBN). I took the next days broadcasts and recorded them into the system...It was a great time of spriritual growth! I also worked on a bus route and helped one of my friends in her Sunday School class.
  Then one Sunday evening several people joined the church. They were standing in front and giving their testimonies. When a certain young man gave his, the Holy Spirit told me that he was 'The One'....like Sarah, Abraham's wife, I laughed and thought 'Ya, right!!!'  And God proved He knew best!!!!
  When I was praying for my husband I had someone pictured like my Dad, 6 ft!!! I wrestled with this! He didn't look like my Dad at all!!!!
  I had been corresponding with a friend from school who was also praying for a godly mate. A few days after this 'revelation' I recieved a letter from her. She told me she had met someone and went on to describe his character and how he loved the Lord and was involved in his church. Then she said something that just astounded me...she said she couldn't get passed his looks! I couldn't believe what I had just read!! He sounded wonderful!! Then the Lord smote my heart and said I was being the same way! I was telling God no because Barry didn't look just like my Dad. I repented and told God...'Alright...if he is the one, then You orchestrate it all! I'm not having anything to do with this...It's ALL You, Lord!'

   to be continued....

My Love Story part 2

  My Senior year started out like any other person's, I suppose. We were all excited...making plans... My step dad was getting ready to retire from the Navy so there were alot of changes coming my way.
  I started a notebook, a list of sorts of what I wanted in a husband and what I didn't want. I also would cut and paste pictures of wedding dresses and bride's maid dresses along with engagement rings and great places to honeymoon. I never showed the book to anyone....well I am sure my little sister probably saw me working on it a time or two :)
 Most of the guys I knew were not what I would have considered husband/father material. So as I made my list I went by alot of the character qualities I saw in my step dad...I wanted a man of integrity, a gentleman, one who honored his parents, was a dedicated Christian, honest, trustworthy....and I also put some physical traits as well...he had to be older, have dark hair, blue eyes and I wanted someone that was taller than I was. What I didn't want....the thing that stands out most in my mind is rebellious, disrespectful and dishonorable. I wish I still had that list...Ashlynn found it when she was 1 and had a hay day tearing up the pages :)
  I didn't date anyone that year...I think we were all just too busy planning our lives...but I remember 2 VERY specific times when coming home from school...as I walked in my bedroom with my backpack slung over my shoulder God greatly burdened my heart to pray for my husband's purity. I remember standing in the middle of my room and thinking...'But, I'm not even seeing anyone and you want me to pray for this  person?!?! And I remember God telling me, "If this is that important to you then you need to get on your knees and pray RIGHT NOW!!!!' And I did. I knelt beside my bed and prayed...I said, 'Lord, I don't know who he is or where he is, but You do. I pray that you would put a hedge of protection about him and keep him pure for me.' This happened on 2 different occasions during my senior year. I didn't tell anyone..just kept it to myself and then as my Daddy neared his retirement and we made plans to move and I forgot all about it.
  We were living on Andrew's AFB in Washington DC during my high school years. I loved the city and all the wonderful sights and sounds. I loved shopping and boy were there places to shop! DC, Maryland and Virginia were just full of malls!!!! I loved being active in the Ensemble' in my youth group, I also helped out alot at my school. My life was so full....then we moved to the coast North Carolina...and boy was that a shock!!!!
  We went from  attending a church of 2,000 to a church of 200...we lived in a rural community. I remember how hard it was to fall asleep at night due to the lack of noise!! Imagine that!!! But I was used to hearing jets and sirens and traffic...they had been replaced by crickets and tree fogs.... There were not very many girls my age at church..and shopping...HA!!!! The 'mall' was an hour away and pretty pitiful to what I had known before. Life was definitely different! There were only a few single men in church....and I thought, I honestly thought I was going to wither up into an old maid!

 To be continued

My Love Story part 1

I am a romantic.... I really enjoy asking couples how they met. Personally, I think that my love story is rather special.
 My parents were not Christians when they met and married. Thankfully the Lord saved my Mom when I was 2. My parents divorced when I was in the 4th grade. I can remember that day like it happened yesterday. When I was at the wonderful age of 13 my Mom married what I thought was a knight in shining armour! My step-dad and I didn't quite see eye to eye at the beginning but he won my heart and has been my daddy ever since.
  Ever since I was a little girl I remember always dreaming of getting married and having children...being a wife and mother were something that seemed like the greatest thing on earth to be.
  I don't want to get too personal but you need to know a little bit of our family's background. My mom was a second generation divorcee....most of the men and women in our family were sexually active by their early to late teens. Due to what happened to my mother's marriage she stressed SO often to do things God's way. Save yourself for marriage, make sure you marry a Christian...and she would always quote a verse from the Bible about the 'bed being undefiled'.
 I dated quite a bit through Junior High and High School. As you can imagine I received alot of pressure to give myself away. In High School, only 16, I got pretty serious with someone...he was 18. My mother was not crazy about it but my 'Daddy' (aka step father) said that it was all a part of growing up. He set some pretty high standards that he even got ribbed about from some of his closest frineds at church. Things didn't work out but through all the circumstances God used it to open my eyes and heart.
 Once it got around school that I was saving myself for my husband I didn't get asked out on too many dates. Which wasn't so bad...but I spent alot of 'lonely' nights at home. On one of these said lonely nights I was siting in our dining room after everyone had gone to bed. With the house quiet and just pondering some things a family member, younger than I, had been involved in my heart was heavy. I guess you could say that God opened my eyes that night to a pattern in our family. I would call it a family curse. There were not too many girls(or guys) that had graduated from high school still a virgin. God brought me to a crossroads that night. I only had one more year of high school left....I could be the first one in three generations of great-aunts, aunts and uncles, first and second cousins to graduate a virgin!
  But this wasn't good enough for me!! I wasn't going to go through all the 'hassle' and not get anything in return! Before I knew the verse in the Bible that tells us we can 'come boldly before the throne of grace', I did. And VERY bold I felt....which is very out of character for me! That night I told God that I would keep myself pure and in return I wanted to marry a man that had done the same!!! When sharing this with my best friend at the time, she had no problem letting me know that I was unrealistic to expect such a thing in our day and time! But I did not let that deter me! I knew what God wanted me to do and I knew what I wanted in return!!!!!
  To be cont........

What Is Your Bible?

My Bible is always on my nightstand. It is there every morning when I wake up and every night when I go to sleep. I like it within reach so that if I have a sleepless night I can turn my lamp on and grab it and find comfort from it.
  This morning when I was making my bed I noticed there were 2 books on top of my Bible. Oh, no!!! Beause I NEVER set anything on top of my Bible, God's Holy Word. The 2 offending books were a recently bought cookbook and a tea party book. I have been 'devouring' the cookbook since I bought it over a month ago! I have been telling all my friends and aquaintences about it. It is just awesome!!! The tea party book I just received in the mail a few days ago. The girls have been begging me to have a tea party with them for years. So I looked around on Amazon and bought 2 books to give us some ideas. The illistrations look like they are right out of a little girl's dreams...English gardens, wicker furniture, china, small furry kittens, etc. The information is great and lends itself to be slightly on the sentimental side...right up my alley :) The recipes look so dainty and delightful...perfect for little girls..and big ones.
  Then I realized that they have taken the place of my Bible-they're right there- within reach-and I have been so excited as I look through them and plan exciting meals and fun times for our family.
  Wow!! I should be this excited about my Bible! When did these take the place of the most precious book in the world?!?
  I love cookbooks! I love cooking and baking, especially for my family...it is relaxing, comforting and can be healing. But just as food is important to the health and happiness of my family-so my Bible is to me...it is sustenance for the soul, for my spiritual health and happiness!
  And the tea party book!! I have found a new passion :) It shows how you can set a fine table for friends and family-sharing special time and conversation-bonding with my daughters. Isn't that what God wants with each and every one of us? A special place to meet with us and bond. He wants a close relationship with his children. If only we...if only I could share with others the special things that Christ has shown me through His Word  like I do when I come across a great recipe!!!

(this was taken from one of my journal entries ; written in January of 2011)

Would I Get A Raise?

My husband just started a new job.(for those of you who do not know us it was because we just moved to Missouri) He came up for his 90 day review and was told by their Human Resources Director that he was one of the best workers that they have hired in a long time and after his coworkers were questioned about his work ethic they all said he has a very upbeat attitude, works hard and never complains about the jobs he is given. He was given a substantial raise! We had been praying for this and we were so very thankful that God blessed.
  Barry called me with this news and I was overjoyed, as you can imagine. But I couldn't help thinking what would my Human Resources Director say about me? If my 'coworkers' which would be my 6 children and husband were questioned about my work ethic? I was cut to the quick! Our home stays tidy, every once in a while the laundry piles up....but what about my attitude? OUCH!! I can recall being put out with something Barry has asked me to do on more than one occasion. And I do not always fill our home with laughter or singing. My husband on the other hand ALWAYS has a song on his lips or is whistling! Do I get along with my coworkers? Yes, I know they are my children but still....it truly gave me pause. It made me stop and evaluate myself through God's eyes, through His Word of what I am supposed to be, how I am to run our home, what my attitude should be!
  I am SO thankful that God loves me enough to bring things to mind like this. And that His grace and His Word are sufficient to help me make our home a better 'work place'.