~So Sleepy~

I have just passed the halfway point of my 72 hour straight shift... I know, I'm nuts for doing it and it's my fault that I'm running out of energy but hey! I'm doing well otherwise!

I read my daily reading and the scripture that stood out for me was from Acts 3:12-15

12 Peter saw his opportunity and addressed the crowd. “People of Israel,” he said, “what is so surprising about this? And why stare at us as though we had made this man walk by our own power or godliness? 13 For it is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the God of all our ancestors—who has brought glory to his servant Jesus by doing this. This is the same Jesus whom you handed over and rejected before Pilate, despite Pilate’s decision to release him. 14 You rejected this holy, righteous one and instead demanded the release of a murderer. 15 You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. And we are witnesses of this fact!

I couldn't imagine what life was like then. To be an unbeliever of Christ, rejecting Him and watching Him die, to be resurrected before my very eyes and continuing the same miracles He did as before, how heavy my heart would feel. On the same hand, to be a witness of Him would be... well, I don't even know how to finish that sentence... just plain awesome. Even though He had gone to be with his Father by this time, it still would have been an amazing thing to witness!

Just like this crippled man, I see myself like him when it comes to my sins. We carry our burdens around daily. I know I do... and I know he is there just watching over me waiting for me to take His hand and 'get up and walk'. Psalm 55:22 tells us, 'cast your burden upon the Lord and he will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.' Jesus frees me from all my burdens. The rest that He promises is love, healing and peace with God, not the end of all labor. My relationship with God changes meaningless, wearisome toil into spiritual productivity and purpose.

I pray that I continue to look to Him when my burdens are heavy. So that I may walk and leap and dance and PRAISE God for what He's done for me... Amen

"You can do anything you wanna do. As long as you make up your mind, you can do it." ~Dick Hoyt

I posted this prematurely; hang in there for my thoughts! ;-)

~Jacob Brent and Sarah Michelle~

Aah... These two jewels! This is my Cousin/ShouldaBeenMySister's kids who are a joy! Jacob just graduated from Kindergarten. His classmates ALL love him. The Boys wanna play with him and the girls wanna hug him. He is so darn cute! He is very shy and he also doesn't understand why everyone always calls his name. ;-) So innocent!

He tries so hard with his homework and he is very smart! He is definitely close to his Mama but not too far from his Daddy. He loves his animals and plays baseball in the back yard almost every day. He is also quite the little camper/hunter! He's a PRO!

Sarah is Daddy's Girl but also not far from Mama! She is adorable and also loves to hug so tight! Her smiles are HUGE and her eyes light up when she's elated. She has one more year to go with her Nana Lil and Papa Boyd before she gets to go to school. I think it's gonna be hard for her to choose which to do when the time comes! I know she looks forward to being like her brother but she is Nana's Girl too. What a lucky girl!

She is playful, mysterious but completely open and isn't afraid of much... just her own shadow at times! :-)

These two are my Favorite 'added' Niece and Nephew!

~Skye Lynn~

This... is Bo-bo. She just recently finished 1st grade and is totally ready for 2nd! She also finished on the Principals List for her good grades. I truly hope to keep her focused so she can do very well in school. She is AWESOME!

She is very loving, spontaneous and very LOUD! She loves to be the center of attention. I believe she may be a teacher or something like that. She is always making rules and loves to play 'class' with her brother and anyone else who will listen.

She is quite the ham too. Very, VERY boy crazy. She believes that ANYWHERE we go, the boys all want to know her name... enough that she didn't want to pull her name tag off her shirt from Sunday School for fear they would be too afraid to ask. ;-) She loves Macaroni Grill like her Auntie and just had to go there for lunch. Her motivation... BOYS! Which boy you ask? Our waiter from the last time we visited. Did she find this waiter? I believe so... I could barely remember what he looked like but she was almost standing on her chair pointing at him AND remembered his name! .....She is so smart!

She is genuine, funny and loves being silly. She is quite the internet surfer too. Always wanting to love on you... My Skye!

I love her bunches!

~Devin Christopher~

This is Devin. He is my adorable nephew. He is 5 years old and is headed to Kindergarten this August. He is SO ready to do what his sister does and enter the "Big Boy" life!

He has the biggest smile and warmest heart. The littlest things make him the happiest. He usually, non provoked just begins to dance and kick and laugh at himself. One night, before guitar hero became his passion, he, in his underwear and coke bottom glasses, began to play the air guitar. He wasn't just playing it, he was WORKIN' it over! He had a wide leg stance with his arm spinning in the biggest circle he could make. He truly did it for himself until he saw the audience he had and that everyone in the room squealed in delight at what they just saw. My sister sent me a pic and I laughed myself to tears. He gives the GREATEST hugs. Squeezes the life out of ya! Just AWESOME!

This past Saturday was his first time in 'KidZone' at Church. He used to be in 'Play House' which is for preschoolers. The cool thing about KidZone is that it's K-5th grade. That means that his sister is there with him. My Niece came to church with me again on Sunday and told me about his first day in KidZone, I guess he is used to getting snacks in Play House... Apparently he went to one of the teachers and asked him for a dollar so he could get a Pop Tart out of the vending machine at the high school... I can see that giving him his offering money may be an interesting challenge! ;-)

~My time with God~

I just read a scripture that caught my eye and tugged my heart...

Proverbs 16:19-20
"Better to live humbly with the poor than to share plunder with the proud. Those who listen to instruction will prosper; those who trust the Lord will be joyful."

I need to remind myself to be humble. I have to remain focused on my priorities and live as He did. I have to follow thru with my daily readings to be a stronger christian and that I will listen to His instructions to bring others to Christ. Just as it is written in Matthew 6:21 "because where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." My treasure is Christ.... Amen

~Great Video~

I have the best time watching my nephew play Guitar Hero.

He gets SOOOO into it!

I was napping yesterday on the couch when my sister got in from work with the kids in tow. They were running amuck which woke me and as soon as he saw that I was awake, he come RUNNING to me with his eyes opened as wide as they would go and said, "Auntie! Auntie! I beat it on medium! I'm the best Guitar Hero EVER!" He gave me the biggest hug...

I love him to pieces!