Not being a good listener dadgumit!

This is short and sweet because I haven't had nearly enough coffee to go much deeper. I was driving down the road yesterday and God totally slapped me in the face. Ok, maybe He just slapped me in the heart with something like this.....

"Fran, you have done a lot of talking and a lot of requesting, but you aren't listening to me."

So, there ya have it.

I think it's time to put my listening ears on and quit doing all the talking.

If you find yourself in the same boat, I encourage you to stop and listen to the sweet One.

"Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare." Isaiah 55:2

Love you all dearly. Have a wonderful weekend!
Hugs and blessings~

My friends

This past weekend, my family headed to Birmingham to see some of the SEC baseball tourney AND I was able to hang with some awesome friends on Friday night. *sigh*

To my surprise, RobYn had orchestrated a very fabulous dinner full of some pretty fabulous girls. We are all real life friends now, as a opposed to a year ago when we were imaginary. Ha!

We met through blogging and have now become super duper have your back friends. It is crazy how the whole friendship thing began....ya know....internet and all. Now we are really good friends. DId you catch that?? Internet friends to really good friends!

Here is a favorite photo...Jenny, Morgan, me, and RobYn (don't ask as to why I capitalize her "y")!!!!! I'm so happy to have met that precious Morgan. What a precious girl. She was able to hang with us til late!

Here is the entire gang. I can't tell you how much I love this picture!!! From the left we have Jenny, Morgan, Fran, RobYn, Tammy, Gayle, Kim, and Mary. Each one of these girls just makes me smile. I truly know that God orchestrated this whole friendship. Thank you Beth Moore and the Siesta blog.

Kim is taking a picture of her dessert. I would to. Look how beautiful this piece of chocolaty heaven is.

Ok, Mary made me order this. Just kidding, Mary. This is one of those salads where you have to put it all together. WAYTOOMUCHWORK for me. I just like to grab the fork and eat. I don't like putting food together when the restaurant should do it for me. Anyhoo....it was good. However, my boys saw this picture and claimed that this was the WORST food they'd ever seen.

Look at these two pranksters. Gayle and Kim will have you laughing before you even start talking. They are always up to something. They are always crying laughing. They are a hilarious hoot and I love 'em.

So, whatever your friendships look like, however they started, however long you've known some people, please take the time to let them know just how much you treasure them. I wish I had the sense on Friday night to let these girls know just how special they are to me.

So...to these girls...."I love each and every one of you and I thank God that He placed you in my life. You have no idea what a gift and a blessing you are to me. You are the real deal. I love you."

Thank you RobYn for a dinner and night out that I'll never forget. You have no idea how much I appreciate you. (((hugs)))

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13

So much love,

Fran

Headin' to the Ham

I am heading to Birmingham for some fun and some friends!!!!!! YES!

We are heading South to catch some SEC baseball action. We are fanatics. And, for me...my bonus is some friend time with Robyn and Mary. My favorite pic of Robyn was taken last January when we were in Atlanta for Travis Cottrell's live CD and DVD recording. Some cool chick named Beth Moore crashed our lunch!!!



Do you think we are a bit much?? Too much black and white?? Nah. LOVE THIS PICTURE!!


This was the moment our friendship became real life and no longer imaginary!!! We love us some Nikki too!!!!

I'll see you back on Monday with a fun recap and hopefully lots and lots of pix of our weekend!

Love each and every one of you.

"Thank you Jesus for all sorts of friendships."

Blessings~

Elementary my dear

Today is Monday. There are 2 more days of school. My brain is mush. I have a serious "I don't care" attitude. I can't put one single thought together. I'm tired of being the robot I've been for the past 9 months.

It's time.

Time for Summer!!!

So...since my brain is mush and I can't think clearly and all I hear in my head is blah blah blah, then lets keep it simple today.

Let's hear it for the list!!!! Yeah baby.

1. Feels like Fall outside today. Put a sweatshirt on. LOVE IT!!! It'll be 120 before too long.

2. I am ready to move to the next level...I think God is telling me to seriously do something outside of the church. BE THE CHURCH OUTSIDE OF THE CHURCH!

3. I'm getting a tattoo this Summer. I am. Don't cringe. It's a beautiful long story. It's a Godly tattoo and it's hidden and it's the rebel in me. God is smiling and I know He'll love it. *wink*

4. I'm tired of "Shredding." But, I'll keep on. Dern.

5. Going to Birmingham later in the week. Going to meet Robyn and Mary! Beyond happy. These two were invisible friends to me once upon a time. But now we are real life friends who met on the Internet! :)

6. What are you doing for the kingdom of God?? Jesus tells us to "go." Are you going???

7. Anyone wanna loan me a ton of money for a pool?? Didn't think so.

8. Ok..now...if you want to watch something beyond amazing and beautiful...go here and see what my favorite Nashville pastor is up to. LOVE THIS!!! Who are you close to giving up on?

That's all. I'm going to continue thinking short term, easy, elementary thoughts.

Love y'all. Have a beautiful day!
Hugs~

Do I really want them to grow up?

Oh can I get a PRAISE GOD that we are at the end of the school year??!!!! But, for a second as I cleaned up my kitchen this morning, I could have cried. Not tears of joy, but tears of sadness.

This is it. No more recess for my 5th grader. My last child is the only one in elementary. I'll have two kids in middle school next year. WHAT??? EXCUSE ME??? HUH???!!!!

They are growing up right before my eyes and I just don't know how much more I can take.

I love my babies. They are always my babies. They make me so unbelievably happy. I hope I'm doing a good job at this mothering thing. They will be gone in the blink of an eye. *tears*

Ok, carry on. I'll get back to my happy thoughts of an "almost completed school year."

WOO HOO!!!!!!

(But it's ok kids if you choose to slow down the pace of this maturity thing)

Hugs~

your #1 fan

So blessed!

So they put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them. Numbers 6:27

Some of life's little joys would be: Geraniums in bloom, puppy breath, a toddler's laugh, a hot shower, rain, a friend's voice, chicken soup when you are sick, or a sunrise. We are blessed to enjoy these little things.

Some of life's bigger joys would be: the birth of a child, challenges of a new job, friendship of other believers at church, comforts of the Bible, peace knowing my sins are forgiven, or knowing that I have eternity in heaven. We are also blessed to enjoy these bigger blessings.

Blessed by our Lord, named by him, and marked as his own, we bless others in little ways: Giving a drink of cold water to a thirsty child, smiling at a less-than-cheerful sales clerk, going the extra mile to help a co-worker, or overlooking an insult.

Blessed by our Lord, named by him, and marked as his own, we bless others in big ways: Praying for those who use us or even insult us because of our faith, caring consistently and in tangible ways for someone with cancer, teaching a preschool Sunday school class, volunteering at a food pantry for dozens of hours throughout the year, or investing in the life of a troubled teen.

We let the light of Christ shine in may ways as we go about living our faith in our family, church, school, and neighborhoods. And in the midst of it all, we also speak up about our Savior--the Savior whose love pours out of us and onto others.

"Lord, you've blessed me so much!! Help me see and seize ways to bless others in my words and actions. Amen"

Who am I?

I've been sitting in some dysfunction for quite awhile now and it's so very hard. It has hurt me. It has changed me. It has taken it's toll on me. It drives me CRAZY. It is far from pretty. But, who am I to settle for it? Should I be ok with it? Should I try to make a change? Or, should I realize that I can't fix or change people? Who am I??

I'm not God. Nope. None of us can do what we think someone should be doing or how someone should be acting. We cannot make people be who they aren't. Who am I to think that I can change someone? Only God can make those big changes. All I'm doing is just talking about it.

I can care for people. I can pray for people. I can be a strong leader. I can set examples. I can walk in the confidence of Christ.

Who am I to judge? Seriously?? Who am I to think I'm any better than the next Joe. Who am I to put myself above anyone???

If you could hear my story, then you'd know that I have NO BUSINESS WHATSOEVER to think I'm any better than anyone.

I'm just as messed up as you. I'm just as messed up as your pastor. I'm just as messed up as your brother or sister. I'm just as messed up as your neighbor.

We are all just messed up. Our degrees may vary, but we are all messed up.

I'm getting over myself and remembering exactly how far God took me out of a pit and remembering that I'm no different than anyone else.

So, whatever dysfunctional situation you find yourself in.....let's get over ourselves and simply be filled with the humility that we need to. We all know dysfunction, don't we? Or, is it just me?

Who am I to judge, criticize, or talk about anyone or anything.

I want to understand and remember that we live in a fallen and broken world.

Who am I to put myself above any other sinful person?

Philippians 2:3 "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves."

I do know that I am a daughter of the most high King and I choose to walk in the power of His Spirit and be filled with humility, love, and mercy and hopefully be enough out of the way so He can do His beautiful thing.

Hugs and blessings~

Weekend randomness

Hallelujah it's Friday!!!! This means we are that much closer to the end of the school year. We are down to single digits. PRAISE GOD!!!!

Here's some stupid mess in my head that I'll entertain or bore you with:

1. The weather people are getting on my nerves with their acting like they actually control all this rain we are getting. I'm sorry, but they aren't in charge of the rain. They need to settle down. It's Spring Flood 2009....... Ick.

2. I really do love the 30 day Shred. I really do. Jillian isn't all that. She's a big ole teddy bear. ;)

3. I really do love my BFF's in the social networking world. Who woulda thunk? Y'all are fabulous!!

4. Never loved Bible study more.

5. My house still smells like cinnamon rolls and it's a yummy thing that I cannot partake in thanks to #2 above.

6. I am going to spend the weekend with my family in Alabama watching 2 of my boys play baseball. I wouldn't want to spend Mother's day any other way.

7. I'm dreaming of the beach.

8. I want to be a better servant to the hurting and poor.

9. Does Jennifer Aniston ever look "not cute?"

10."Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves." Philippians 2:3

One more thing...I'm still a wreck after reading all the posts from the Compassion bloggers trip to India last week. They wrecked me and my heart and I'm changed because of them. So grateful for that.

Love on the women in your life that have made a difference in your life.

Hugs and blessings~
Fran

It's time to pray

Tomorrow is the National Day of Prayer. There is a huge urgency in my heart for us to be in prayer tomorrow. Ever just have that feeling where you just know "I gotta be praying."

What is your prayer this year??

Please check out their website and you can watch some pretty awesome things tomorrow online.

Please join me in praying for our country.

I'll be praying alongside you.

Praying for our country, her leaders, the church, our homes, our families, the hurt, the dying, the sick, the lost, and everything else that comes to mind.

“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”- James 5:16

So much love,

Fran

Are we helping them or hurting them?

Hey friends...

I'm writing this just a few hours after my husband and middle son got home from East TN where his baseball team played in a tournament. This is a tournament that would have qualified them to play in a super big tournament in Disney World in early August. If you have followed the weather at all....then you know it has rained for 739 days straight here in Tennessee. Seriously.

Boats and snorkels are a hot commodity right now. Needless to say, their tournament was rained out. HUGE SURPRISE!!!

Rain....move along please. Sun....you may come out now.

Ok, back to my most frustrated thoughts that I truly just need to spit out when it comes to parenting and the decisions we are making for our kids.

What about these dads and coaches that are stacking teams with studded out players and play 12 months a year and work them 12 months a year and they can't play another sport and it's breathe breathe breath, eat eat eat, sleep sleep sleep that specific sport.

Let me clarify...that is NOT us. NOPE. NADA.

But, apparently some coaches and dads think it is perfectly fine to pick and choose their team so they can be all studded out. And, they pick and choose their team throughout the season. A team could change from tournament to tournament. Is that even fair?? Yes and no, but I can't explain rules.

Did you catch something I said above??? PICK AND CHOOSE YOUR TEAM TO STUD YOURSELF OUT!!!!

Did I tell you they are 11 years old??? Ok, let me tell you.....they are 11 years old.

Do we think we are going to make them into driven adults who can go after whatever they want??

Or....are we going to burn them out and cause them to possibly give up on something earlier in life than they should want to?

I'm just a little confused. Driven or burned out...driven or burned out???!!! Hmmmm....

What are we trying to teach our kids?? At the age of 11??? Can you remind me again??

When did this become ok??

Again, I'm confused and tad bit concerned for some kiddos.

What kind of coach do your kids have?? What are you hoping to get out of their sporting experience??? Would you let your kid move from team to team to be a stud?? Are you living out dreams through your kids???

Blah blah blah...I'm kind of sick of the new "elite" thing I've been exposed to at the age of 11.

Yuck. Sick. Gross.

I am definitely competitive, but I know where to do draw the line. I love sports. There is a world out there of million dollar backers and private jets and all expenses paid for 11 year old teams. Yes there are. GROSS.

Ok, I feel better now. Carry on.