Some Catching Up To Do...

First of all, I hope everyone had an awesome Thanksgiving.

I realized around 9:00 last night that it was back to reality.

It was great while it lasted.

I loved spending time with some of my

family that I hardly ever see.

It was even better when they all decided to play 

a volleyball game in the backyard. 

Except I'm a little too competitive. 

But Georgia beat Georgia Tech so I thought the day was pretty good. 

That is until Clemson lost to Carolina. 

Oh well, still stings a little but there's always next year. 

So after all the celebrating with family, I was so excited to go 

to church and hear this supposedly awesome sermon. 

Well, I wasn't disappointed. 

Not that a sermon could disappoint me, but this

one definitely lived up to the hype or whatever you wanna call it.

It was the final sermon in the I.T. (intentional transformation) series.

The main point was, "What is IT that is holding you back in your walk with Christ?"

At the end of the service someone walked in dressed as Jesus carrying the cross.

He placed it down, and we all wrote what IT was that was holding is back

and pinned it to the cross.

Powerful.

I realized that my selfishness was keeping me from

spending time with God everyday.

So, on my first day back to my devotional time I read this...

http://www.sheseeks.org/2011/no-ordinary-life/

It made me realize that just because I am young,

I don't have an excuse for not living a life on a higher level.

Today, She Seeks is giving away a new book, Whole.

I watched the trailer on wholethebook.org, and I really want it. 

 

...

On a different note, in between classes and carline today

I decorated the house for Christmas.

Now all we need is our tree.

I can't believe it's almost here.

Can this please be under my tree?

Give Thanks to the Lord...

Happy Thanksgiving y'all!

I'm so thankful for the things

the Lord has given me, and I hope you are too.

Take the time today to thank Him.

...

Here's a few things I love about Thanksgiving...

 I love the traditions that come with this great day.

My mama and I used to watch these Peanuts movies every holiday.

 I love that I can thank God for the blessings in my life.

Can we all please have Thanksgiving everyday?

 I love the new treats and ideas I find.

Maybe next year I will attempt to make these.

 I love spending time with family,

and of course I love the food.

I mean, come on.

Finally, I love Thanksgiving decorations.

The colors are so pretty, and it means

that Christmas decorations are coming soon!

...

Count your blessings.

Name them one by one.

Count your blessings.

See what God has done.

Thanksgiving Break Craft Time...

Well me and Mama took a trip to Hobby Lobby

after my doctor's appointment...

I take that back. It was a nurse's appointment.

But that's not my point.

We went to La Dee Da (which is this really cute shop),

and when normal people buy stuff we got ideas.

So I came home and made two wreaths.

One for my Aunt Boo.

One for my Mama.

I like 'em.

I can't wait to make some more and

get really good at it.

We shall see.

What do y'all think?

By the way, sorry the pictures aren't that great. 

My Little Hunk of Bacon...

My computer is fixed!

This should not make me so excited, but it does.

Not to mention I am officially on Thanksgiving Break.

I've still got some work to do though.

I say that, and then I know I won't do it. 

Anyways, I was going to post this on Saturday, but

I was so annoyed with trying to use my mom's dinosaur computer.

...

The have a baby boy in my life.

He had his first birthday Saturday.

His name is Bacon.

I call him "my little hunk".

He's not actually mine, but I love him like he is.

It took a lot of convincing to get this hat on him.

Oh yeah, the treats helped too.

Abbie celebrated Bacon's birthday too.

She didn't like the hat at first, but she kinda got used to it.

She wanted me to put it on her again later that night.

Then again, this is my little girl who posed in the blonde wig for Halloween.

Anyways, happy birthday Bacon!

The Last Days of My "Fruitful Challenge"

Day 8: Gentleness

Sorry that this post is so late.

Without my own computer it's kinda difficult.

Yesterday was my "gentleness day".

I challenged myself to try to practice gentleness with my words.

That's where I struggle.

However, I jokingly called my friend an idiot.

I caught myself after I said it and apologized.

Thankfully she didn't really care.

But then  I beat myself up about it.

And then it hit me...

Sometimes, I need to be more gentle with myself.

A lot of times I worry about something I did or said

that may have made someone upset way after it has been said or done.

Yesterday made me realize that beating myself up won't change what

happened, it only makes it worse.

Didn't know I would learn that with my "gentleness day".

...

Day 9: Self-Control

Today was my "self-control day", and I surely was tested.

I had an awesome day with my friends Megan and Ashley.

I practiced self-control by actually stopping when I was full.

I could have eaten part of a really good-looking chocolate pastry.

But I didn't.

Then, we took a trip over to Old Navy.

Those of you who know me know that Old Navy is my secret addiction.

However, I managed to stay in the clearance section and get lots of stuff

for a pretty good price. I probably could've practiced more self-control, but

let's just say baby steps :)

I'm gonna keep practicing self-control by not eating anymore

of the incredible brownies me and my brother just made.

I'll try not to get too full tonight too.

Food is my weakness in self-control.

...

Well, my "Fruitful Challenge" is over.

I've finally memorized the fruits of the spirit.

I've learned so much about myself.

I know the things I need to continue to work on.

I've had a blast doing this.

I am very thankful that I decided to take on this challenge.

It seriously has encouraged me to be a better person each and every day.

Even though my challenge is officially over, I will continue to practice these things.

Thanks for walking through each step with me.

I hope in some way that I encouraged someone to at least try something new

in their life. You never know what good things may come.



Day 7: Faithfulness

 Yesterday was my "faithfulness day".

The only way I can describe how I tried to

succeed yesterday in my challenge is that

I tried to keep my promises that

I made to God.

Through prayer and practice we can be faithful.

However, I fall at times.

I'm human.

But God is always faithful and I'm so thankful for that.

Today is my "gentleness day".

I am not the most gentle, but I am trying.

Hopefully I will be able to update y'all tonight.

Remember, God is always faithful.



Day 6: Goodness

 So, yesterday was my "goodness day". 

First of all, let me say "OH MY GOODNESS"...

my computer has a virus! 

That's why I am a little late posting this. 

Anyways, I must admit that I wasn't exactly sure 

how to practice goodness so I did some research. 

Turns out goodness is just practicing basic morality. 

So, here's how my day went...

I went to school and tried to practice goodness and Godliness

in the best way possible by making sure my actions 

represented what a Christian should really be...the living Bible. 

God showed his goodness by giving me some time after to class

to go get in my bed for an hour before I had to go sit in car line :) 

Then, I tried to pass the goodness by teaching some children the 

appropriate way to treat each other. 

It went a little something like this...

"That's not very nice. 

Would you like someone to call you that? 

We don't use the word hate in my car. 

I don't care if she said it before. 

If you have to tattle-tale you need to do it to your hand when it's over your mouth." 

...

Gotta love kids. 

After I dropped the kids off, the boyfriend and I went to the gym
despite the crazy storms that came through here last night. 
I practiced goodness by not slapping him in the face at his smart remarks. 
Just kidding. 
But seriously, I am sometimes a "gym watcher". 
Some people make me feel better about myself and others 
inspire me to work my butt off even more. 
So I decided that goodness was not being a "gym watcher". 
After the gym I watched an incredible movie that made me cry the 
whole time. If you want to see a movie that exemplifies the 
goodness of God go rent The Fifth Quarter.
Let's just say I went home and made my brother hug me. 
Just don't go to the website for the foundation. 
That's what gave my computer the virus. 
Today is my "faithfulness day". 
Hopefully I will be able to update y'all tonight on my progress.

Day 5: Kindness

Today was my "kindness day" in my Fruitful Challenge.

I love the impact that kindness makes on others.

Nothing makes me feel better than making another person happy.

However, kindness can be extremely difficult to give to people who

aren't so kind to you. This is my downfall with kindness.

So, as I am pulling into school I heard on the radio that people often

say it is dangerous to pray for patience because most of the time

you should expect God to send you a situation so that you can practice patience.

Well, I prayed for kindness.

I knew this meant God would more than likely give me an opportunity

to show kindness, and He did. I tried my hardest to be kind to someone

who wasn't necessarily too kind to me recently.

I think I used a little patience, too.

Well, then I got home.

Most of the time I take out my frustrations on my Mama anyways,

but her forgetfulness set me off and I said some very unkind things.

(Sorry Mama)

Thankfully, she said "Heather, isn't this your day for kindness?"

Ugghhh... did she have to go there?

I'm glad she did though.

So, after my pouting I decided to cook supper for everybody.

We had tacos, Mexican rice, corn, and a great Mexican banana dessert.

After supper, I gave my brother a haircut, and we actually talked through the process.

I'm wondering if this Fruitful Challenge is paying off in our relationship...

Anyways, as I look back on my day I think I could've done more.

I was looking up pictures on Pinterest for this post and

remembered the phrase "random act of kindness".

I got an awesome idea from one of these, and tomorrow I am going

to put a chocolate bar with a note in the mailbox for our mail man.

I thought this was neat.

Overall, today was an eye-opener for how many times

during the day I can miss opportunities of kindness if I'm not focused

on the fruits of the spirit.

Pass it on.



Day 4: Patience

Today was my "patience day" in my Fruitful Challenge.

Patience is one of my biggest struggles.

Usually, I have none.

I am the first to say that I am a planner.

I love to think about what my life will be like when

I have my own house with ,

my husband,

my children,

my puppies and pigs that I want so badly,

and just my future in general.

Why does practicing patience have to be so hard?

This morning I was late to class.

I had to find the patience when dealing with some

of the "slow pokes" on the road that were making me even more late.

I have to practice patience in carline every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

(That's my little job...hey it works.)

The biggest lesson I had in patience today was something that made

me so happy. It literally made my day.

I taught one of the little girls I pick up from school to tie her shoes today.

I had to teach her patience and perserverance.

She finally got it. Her face lit up.

A true example that patience pays off.

I took her to the nearest dollar store for a celebration treat.

Now, the hard part...

One of the biggest things that I struggle with is that I have to be

patient because I can no longer take a short drive or call my

Grandma on the phone to tell her how my day went.

I don't get to laugh with her, cook with her, or see her smile.

Thankfully, God has given me many of her characteristics.

I am an occasional loud mouth redneck that says the first thing that comes to mind.

I can cook you just about any kind of southern cuisine you could ever crave...

and I make a mess doing it.

When I love, I love with my whole heart.

My Grandma was and still is my hero.

I have to practice patience because I know that one day I will see her again.

I don't mind waiting. It will be so worth it.



The Fruitful Challenge...

Internet is back up.

Now I get to update you on how my challenge has been going so far.

Forgive me for the lateness.

...

Day 1: LOVE

Friday was my "love day".

I started the morning off by reminding myself thinking about

or talking about others in a negative way is not an expression of love.

Later that day, I got home and realized that my brother would be getting

a new mattress for his room. I decided that it might be a good idea to go

ahead and get rid of the awful navy blue paint that had been darkening

his room for the past several years. So, I went to Lowe's and picked up two gallons

of a nice khaki-colored paint. Now, this might not sound like a huge expression of

love, but when your brother is fourteen and most of the time acts like he can't

stand you, it can be very hard to do him any favors. However, I realized that true

love is loving somebody even when they don't necessarily show you the same thing.

Therefore, we painted together. I actually got to spend a little time with my brother,

and he didn't bite my head off for once. Love is an amazing thing.

...

Day 2: JOY

 Saturday was my "joy day".

Now, I must say this... there is a lot to be joyful about when

both Georgia and Clemson win and are pretty much gonna be in the

SEC and ACC championship games. However, Saturday I experienced

another kind of joy. My mom, brother, Benji, and I all went to see

Brandon Heath and Britt Nicole in concert. It was great. Not to mention

I got to see some old friends who have definitely helped me grow in my faith

through the years. Later, we all went to eat together. I had a great time, and

it was so good to be with some of the people I love the most.

A truly joyful occasion.

...

Day 3: PEACE

Today was my "peace day".

Today can be summed up like this...

I find peace in knowing that with God, everything will be okay.

Church service was awesome, and He continued to remind me all day

that He is in control. This gives me peace.

I have not forgotten...

Yes, I am still doing my nine day challenge.

Today is day three...

The internet is down at my house.

Tomorrow I will fully update you on how my

Fruitful Challenge is going.



The Nine Day Challenge...

After a long day, I realized something...

I was aggravated most of the day.

People annoyed me.

School was a burden.

I complained too much.

Said some things I shouldn't have.

Thankfully, God forgives.

Tomorrow, I am starting a nine-day challenge.

I'm going to call it the Fruitful Challenge.

Each day I am going to focus on one of the fruits of the Spirit:

LOVE

JOY

PEACE

PATIENCE

KINDNESS

GOODNESS

FAITHFULNESS

GENTLENESS

SELF-CONTROL

(Galations 5:22-23)

Tomorrow is day one so I will be focusing on love.

Each day I will be posting my experiences on this journey.

Feel free to join me in this challenge.

Here's some more words of wisdom from the only book I love...

These Boots Are Made For Walking...

One of my most favorite things about fall is wearing dresses and boots.

There is no cuter outfit to me than this.

Take note ladies.

Reese Witherspoon (my favorite actress) does it best...

Ahh... she so perfectly represents us southern girls.

Here's a few dresses that I found and love.

They would go great with my cowboy boots.

 Did I mention I also love the jeans and boots look?

I do, and I wear it often. Here are a few inspiring looks...

Just another reason to love fall.

A true country girl looks for any excuse to wear some boots.

...I'm getting ideas for my outfit tomorrow.

Did I mention the CMA's come on tonight?

I am very, very upset that Miranda is not nominated for more, but

I'm sure she will make herself known anyways.

I'm super excited! It's like a sporting event for me! 

HAPPY FALL Y'ALL

A Walk Down Memory Lane...

Tonight is the AHS vs. SAHS football game. It was also Austin's first rivalry game as an actual high school student. I felt this was an appropriate time to take a look back at some high school memories. Enjoy...

It was actually camo day today at AHS...ironic.

Many, many memories with my softball girls...

 I can't believe he is a freshman now...



Love these two pictures...

Anyways, hope you enjoyed my walk down memory lane.

Hope I didn't bore you to tears.

GO AHS!