Remember, I'm all about gratitude this month

I hope you won't be sick of hearing all the things I'm thankful for! And I have a feeling as fun and easy as this is now, it might be a little tough as we get to the end of November. I sure hope this doesn't get old or too hard, but it sure is possible. HA! And, it may not stay in the real meaningful stuff either. I could be writing posts about how much I love and am thankful for McDonalds french fries and Starbucks (not together)....and that's not what I want to do! Meaningful, Fran, meaningful!

Ok, I feel like since I started the month by writing about my PRECIOUS CHILDREN (see below) then I should follow up with my even more PRECIOUS-ER HUSBAND! He would love that I used the word "precious" as an adjective to describe him. But, he is deeply precious to me. Let me say that he is most handsome and full of such wisdom and grace. Yes, a manly man can be filled with grace. And also a great, big, kind heart. Oh, how I love who he is and how he ticks. For keeping this somewhat interesting and not bore you to tears by reading about someone you may not even know.....LET'S DO THE LIST!!!

5 Reasons in random order why I love my man and am forever grateful for him:

1. He knows that we shouldn't talk too much in the morning...we just kinda say "have a good day, see ya later, bye" and get to the coffee which is way more important at the moment! I fill up, he leaves. Have a good day, honey. I love you.
I can then call him an hour later and we will just talk, talk, talk. Caffeine is good for our marriage.

2. He doesn't think I'm crazy over the fact that I am SOOOOO cold natured and my body completely aches when it gets below 50 degrees and I'm whiny and wishing that Summer was back. He just listens and then probably calls me things like "Grandma or crazy" when I'm not looking. And, maybe rolls his eyes too. So high maintenance, I can be, when it gets cold. He's already had to put the heating blanket on our bed. Ya know, the one that only heats one side. Sad, I know.

3. He is completely generous with his gifts to me and our children. He gets this from his dad. He watched his father be so kind to his mother when it came time for holidays and birthdays. He will go "all-out" for me and I think he really enjoys being able to do that and see me ooooh and aaaaah over the gift. He really does have the concept down of "It is better to give than receive." You don't ever have to wonder if he'll remember or if he'll come through with a good birthday or anniversary present. I love that. But, even better, he will give anything to anyone to help them out. "It is better to give than to receive." Again...he's got it.

4. He is the BEST, BEST, BEST daddy to these 3 boys we have. He will go all out for them too. And I'm not talking "stuff." He will coach, work on, encourage, help, teach, show them anything they are doing and working on or learning. He is completely patient with them and will spend HOURS with them. I'm done after 5 minutes. He's much better at this than I am. I have him beat on helping with school though, but everything else, he rocks! Go, dad, go!

5. He is the head of our household and sets such a beautiful example of someone who pursues the Lord, loves his family, works with integrity and excellence in all things. He is a magnificent man to have at the head of our family. God put him in my path at the most perfect, beautiful time. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was the one. He is gentle, kind, fun, funny, and so easy to be around. He can hang with anyone. I just love him so.

"Thank you, Jesus, for bringing Chip into my life. He is most dear to me and my heart and my life. I pray that I can show him and tell him how grateful I am for him. The gifts he brings to this family are immeasurable. He is everything and more. I thank you for him. Bless him, bless our family. We give you all the glory for the work you do in our family. It is You whom we serve. Thank you, Jesus, for this man in my life. In Jesus' Name, Amen!"

And here's a picture of my darling guy with one of the boys.....



Thank you for reading about the most amazing man I know. He's pretty cool. Give thanks today for that someone you love!
Blessings~
Fran

November = _________________

GRATITUDE!!

I first have to admit that November came in and I think I missed the first few days of it. I stayed on October 31st, AKA "Halloween candy hangover and over indulgence," way too long. It seems as if I have come out of this fog and looking at the calendar and screaming...

IT's NOVEMBER PEOPLE!!!!!!

Do you realize, and I'm sure it has entered your mind as many times as it has mine, but Thanksgiving is THIS MONTH and Christmas is exactly 50 days away. Excuse me a second. Gulp. Sigh. Gulp again. Catch my breath. I think I also felt a little stress sit on my chest for a second. You know, that very heavy feeling and then it settles into your stomach and you can't think straight for a second or two, or three or four or even hours.

I read something very cool over at someone's else's blog and I can't remember who. I'll look back through my usual reads and see if I can't give that sweet soul the proper credit! ANYWAY, this person is doing a "what I'm thankful for" on their sidebar and adding to it daily. Well...yes. That is exactly what we should be doing in our life. Thinking long and hard DAILY about what and who we are thankful for. I bet it gets a bit more challenging as the month goes on. NO REPEATS ALLOWED!!

Well, as I begin to think about what I am grateful for...and I'm not going to write about Jesus...He and I already had this conversation and we agreed to keep that between us for the purpose of this post. He knows how crazy I am for Him and there is not enough blog space or adjectives to desribe what He has done for me and does for me on a daily basis. So....my first post on "What am I thankful for?" will be my PRECIOUS children. Here they are sleeping last night. I just love them as they sleep so peacefully and quiet. Their growing minds and bodies are resting, recovering and being renewed for the next day. I sometimes just look at them and think, "where did you come from?" Life and the creation of life is truly amazing and these children are a gift from the Lord.

Psalm 127:3 says, "Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him."

My first born, Clay. He is strong. He is sensitive. He wants world peace, local peace, family peace. He often asks, "Why can't everyone just get along?" He wants unity and togetherness for everyone. He deeply cares about people. He already has a heart for the Lord. He desperately studies His Word at school and wants to know more and more about the Creator of the Universe and the One who created Him. He works so hard at everything he does. He doesn't just get by. He's a 110% kind of kid. He is compassionate and giving. That's pretty cool for a boy at 11 to care so much about others. He is a gem. I love him deeply. I am thankful for you, Clay, and the gifts you bring to this family.



My 2nd son, Tyler. You make me laugh. You make me smile. You still let me love on you and I do! You are excellent at what you do. You love to play baseball and I love watching you play. You are laid back just like your daddy and I see so much of him in you. You are filled with humility. You are faithful. You persevere. I love you deeply, Tyler. I am blessed beyond measure with you as my child. I should have known that the child who walked at 7 1/2 months would be always after something and working hard. I am thankful for the gifts you bring to this family.



My 3rd son, Dylan. Yes. The baby, but not the baby anymore. Does he have a chance to grow up because his momma won't let him?! He is truly hysterical and very dramatic and demonstrative in what he does and says. He likes to be the center of attention when he's in funny mode. He loves to come crawl up on my lap and just say, "Momma, I love you." He is tender-hearted and sensitive too. He loves to be friends with everyone. He wants to do the right thing. He loves to tattle when one of his older brothers has not chosen the right thing! :) I love you deeply, Dylan.
I thank God for the joy you bring to this family. You too have a HUGE piece of my heart.



I am most grateful for these boys in my life. I won't forget about their amazing daddy either. He comes first and foremost after my Jesus. I will put a post up about my man on another day.

Psalm 95: 1-2 says, "Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD, let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song."

I encourage you to sing a song of praise and thanksgiving to our Lord who has given us all so much to be grateful for. Spend some time each day being grateful for who and what you have been given.

Thank you for taking the time to read about my precious boys. "Thank you, Jesus, for the gift you have given me with these children. Help me to remember that they are yours and I am the vessel you have trusted to their growth and care. I humbly thank you. I praise you always. I love you and I am filled with gratitude for the many blessings you give me each day. In your most sweet name, Amen."

Blessings to all of you sweet friends.
Fran

My head is totally spinning

This is just one kids candy....it's times 3 and its killing me.



Happy Halloween Hangover!
I just can't refrain from ALL the yummy, delicious, sinful, miniature, perfect little sized, very chocolate candy bars now residing in my house. It's just too much temptation. I'm not strong at all when it comes to this stuff one bit. Every time I walk by the dern candy bowl, my hand is like a magnet drawn right to it. Before I know it, the heath bar/butterfinger/baby ruth/snickers is down the pipe and resting comfortably in my stomach. Can you say weight gain????

What do we do with all this?? EAT IT!!

Ok, and another thing spinning in my head other than sugar.....

Our house sold this past Sunday....can I get an AMEN, HALLELUJAH, WE LOVE YOU JESUS, GLORY TO GOD???!!!! This is great news for us, but you know what that means?

We must find a new home. Sigh.

"Oh, dear Jesus, would you please just light up, with something magical and very bright, the house you want for us?? My sugar high brain is having a hard time discerning your voice right now! Thank you and Amen."

And, I also have 3 birthdays within my precious family of 5 and Thanksgiving and Christmas and then the move. And then you just throw in normal, every day living with jobs, kids, school, church, social schedule (not really so much us, mainly kids), and everything else we do and......I'm on the verge of going a little cuckoo, kookoo, coocoo, however you spell that word!

I just want ya'll to pray a couple of things for me: for some peace...the Prince of Peace to cover me completely for the next 2 months and then of course thereafter would be good. And also pray for some patience because that is where I can completely lose it with my family when I'm feeling a little stressed and overwhelmed. All those things mentioned above are already creeping into my mind and causing some stress. I can feel it.

So, really all is well with the world and my family and life. I do have MUCH to be thankful for. But, this will be a season of "ya'll got a lot going on" and I want Jesus to just knock me down with His presence as we get through daily living together and managing life through all this. He can do it. I know He can. He's so faithful isn't He? :)

Isaiah 41:10 says "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

I love ya'll because you are my earthly girls that hold me up and I love that God holds us up in His most magnificent way.

I hope your little trick or treaters had a ball. Its time to think Christmas girls. I just love it! Have a great day! And, thank you for the prayers. Ya'll do have HUGE pieces of my heart.

Blessings~
Fran

Nothin like some laughter

Hey friends,
Nothing too huge and profound to say other than, if you have had a hard week or been in a difficult season, find some time, some way, some how to get out there and get you some laughter!!

Last Thursday, I was working at church and there was a birthday party for a little boy that was turning 8. CLB was out of school for conferences and his very smart momma decided to have his party on Thursday in our church gym with TWO of the biggest, bestest, funnest jumpy, slidy things I have seen. So, whats a grown woman of nearly 38 years of age to do with all that juvenile fun staring at you in the face??? Well, I tell you what you do....

You take off those shoes and get ready to have a ball! I climbed, I slid, I jumped, I punched, I slid again, and again, and again, and again. So much so that I got a little jumpy slide burn on my left elbow!! It makes me smile every time I look at it.

I'm telling you what, it was some serious therapy and I absolutely loved it!! I loved it so much that I got two of my fellow church staffers to come in and join the fun. Couldn't find me a pastor, but I would have MADE them if they were anywhere around. They probably left the building when they heard Fran was finding church staffers to go down sliding things!! It did this soul some good though.

The other thing I did this weekend was go to a very publicized and supposedly very scary "haunted farm" here in West TN. Well, we sent the kids to grandma's house and found some friends and went out to the haunted farm. We stood in line for what seemed like 3 days and watched all these jr. high/high school girls just scream and jump into their boyfriends arms.....not gonna go down that road of telling you how I felt imagining your own children in a few years in that place.....we watched the "scary" people try to sneak around everyone in line and try to scare them with chainsaws, baseball bats hitting metal, airhorns, creepy 8 ft tall very large men with crowbars, etc. etc. etc. You get the idea. One time they turned the outside spotlights off and then you just heard the chainsaw and had no idea who they "were after." That kinda freaked me out a little. It's always better when you can see a little bit of who's coming!

But, after standing in line, going through the house, the woods outside (guess that was the farm) and back through another house.....I was scared, I screamed, I laughed, I laughed some more, my heart was racing, I screamed some more, nearly pulled my hubs pants down bc I was pulling so hard on his belt loops, and I screamed some more.

Laughter is the best medicine. Psalm 126:2 "Our mouths were filled with laughter..."

We had a great weekend and had a ball being kids. I hope you laugh alot today and do something even a little out of the ordinary to bring out the kid in you. They really do have the most fun.

Joy and laughter to all of you this week. And, Happy Halloween. That candy you'll discover Wednesday night is sure to bring some sugar highs so feel free to join in on their fun, regardless of what you do for Halloween.
Hugs to all!

A meaningful challenge

It's not hard, it's not revolutionary, it's just something Jesus shared with me.

I want to challenge you to do something you probably already do, but I want you to take it to another level and go above and beyond the "norm." I want to live outside the norm in really all that I do. I have had some experiences this past week that have been far from thrilling.....they have actually been down right horrible.

Let me explain some...not much because I might get totally depressed and find myself just sobbing all over my keyboard and that is not the point of this post. So....

I have had a very hard week. Just a week of great spiritual attack. This is something I've never been through before. Its been a place of just sadness and feeling every negative emotion under the sun about what I'm doing on planet Earth.

In my work, I wonder "what am I doing on planet Earth?" I've taken on the lives of others. Whew!! That can be scary sometimes. Am I making a difference in any of this? I'm exhuasted. I don't want to do this anymore kind of thing. It has just been a sad, sad week. I thought I was out of it, but BAM! it has hit me again and I can't get out of this pit. And by the way, I will read so many parts of "Get out of that Pit" again...again....and again. Isn't it funny how I just finished the book and then BAM! it all came crashing down and I have found myself in a pit. Never saw it coming.

Ok, enough of me falling into this pit. I have had two HUGE things revealed to me today and it's not brain surgery or rocket science info, but its HUGE to me and its caused me to be more intentional in one specific area of my life towards others. And, therefore, I will share the one hugemongo lesson from Jesus just for me for today.

Its all about gratitude girls. Its all about the gratitude.

Really??? That is the HUGE thing you have to tell us??!! Yes, it is. My challenge is this for you...I want us to really thank people who do something for us on a consistent basis...a very regular basis. I want you to go out of your way to thank the people who teach your children...write them notes and often....let them know you pray for them and their families...they have lives outside of the school! I want you to thank your Sunday school teachers who teach you and your children. And, again, thank them often. I want you to thank your pastors and your church staff who take their jobs so seriously that they love you beyond words...and thank them often. I want you to thank the people who invest in you and your families and I want you to thank them often. I want you to go beyond the norm and begin to show thanks and gratitude just because. Don't wait for special days or moments. Make it a habit and let it become the norm that you thank the people in your life who do such great things for your own personal growth and for the growth of your kids.

There are many people out there who give so much to us and we never really take the time to show our gratitude and appreciation for them. So....do some old fashion things and write some notes, give them words of encouragement face to face, and let them know how much you truly appreciate what they do to build up your kids and your family. They need to know.

I will spend some time tomorrow doing just that. Forget the emails and pull out some favorite stationary and write some notes of appreciation and love. I'm so grateful to the people who love me, teach me, hold me up, and are there for me. I want others to know how I feel about them. I will also do these things on my childrens behalf for those adults who teach them and then let them do the same at a later date. That is an important thing to teach our children. Teach them how to show gratitude to others. We lead, they follow.

One of my favorite scriptures is this: Hebrews 3:13

"But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today......"

Encourage someone today, tomorrow, the next day, the next day and the next and the next. I'm sure gonna try to go above beyond what I've been doing. Are you up for the challenge?

I love ya'll. You encourage me tons by what you write on your blogs. You are my many devotions that have kept me going.
Blessings~

Mom! I'm scared!

Hello bloggy friends! I sure hope you had a wonderful weekend with your families. Fall arrived a couple of weeks ago around here and then Summer came back for a few days and then Fall came for a few hours and then Summer came back for a short time and then I think I've heard Fall will be back this week. Whew....its exhausting on many levels when things change by the hour around here! But, we are all good in the scheme of life I suppose.

Thank you to all you precious friends out there who prayed for me and gave such comforting words as I told you in my previous entry about being just dead. Well, with time and prayer and some time at the feet of Jesus and in His Word, I feel 100% better. Bless you all. You have such deep, tender spots in my heart.

Well, the end of this past week...in the midst of all the "crud" going on in my own little spiritual walk, we had some nasty thunderstorms come through West Tennessee 2 nights in a row!!! YES....2 nights in a row!! Now, for a momma, one school night is bad enough, but 2 school nights!! Come on sweet maker of Heavens and Earth.....can we spare the kiddos who are completely freaked out by thunderstorms 2 nights of this chaos??!!! It was just too much. My 9 yr old is the official weather watcher, eye in the sky, storm tracker, radar watching, internet scoping, official meteorologist in all of the 9 yr old land!!! He can watch it without moving a muscle and he can also be completely freaked out when the weather is looking a little scary. If there is any red on the radar....ya'll better watch out!

So....with much comforting, minimizing the horrible winds outside, telling him the colors on the radar aren't really that bad, it will be over in just 3 more minutes, its moving north of us, and all that other official weather talk.....he finally could see the light at the end of that very dark and scary tunnel. Me?? I was so thankful the dern storms were moving on. I was worn out!!

Have you realized how much effort goes into be afraid??? We get all worked up. I mean all worked up in going through every scenario under the sun and just a complete mess and worn out when its all said and done!!

Between my week of being "under attack" and the storms attacking my sons peaceful, nightly routine....I was just plain ole mentally pooped out by Saturday morning. BUT....

As I read through all your encouraging words and spent time with Jesus....again and again. Read and re-read your words and read different scriptures again and again....I was restored. I was restored!!! HALLELUJAH!

When the storms come, we've got to go hard and heavy with Jesus and His word. We have also got to find those people who will listen and encourage us and speak love and Truth to us. We need our Aaron and Hur just like Moses had. They held him up when he was tired. I held my 9 yr old up when he was tired. Our friends can hold us up when we are scared. Our God has got our back every time we are afraid or tired.

Run to Jesus if you are in need of some TLC. He's got the best medicine for all sorts of ailments. I got a great dose from Him this week. And it was free!!! No Dr's office required.

I pray you have a week of presence and love with Him! Isn't He just the coolest?!
Blessings to all of you~

I feel dead...

Not really, but pretty close I think. I have just had one of those weeks of nothing but complete discouragement, self-doubt, under attack by nasty ole Satan, feeling unsure, inadequate, frustrated, "what am I doing" kind of week. That's encouraging isn't it for a blog post?! I have just felt worn out and mentally and physically tired. However, my spiritual tank has been really full. So...why has Satan had such a presence in my mind?? Maybe my tank wasn't as full as I thought.

I am in the Word and praying myself through it. I have even ventured into sharing a little bit of it with my "Peter, James, and John." Its hard to let too much out because of working in the church and are we allowed to vent or share our deepest concerns and pain?! That is tough.

Here is a picture from my own yard that so needs to be thrown out!



I'm glad that I can't be thrown out when I feel dead, tired or weary.

Lord, renew my strength, my focus, my passions and my desires to pursue you with all I have. Lord, help me to know, love, and serve you today. Guide me as I lead. Use me to encourage others. Make me a blessing to all that I meet today. And in everything, help me to honor you. In Jesus' Name, Amen!

May your day and weekend be filled with life and renewal if you too feel a little on the weary side.
Blessings friends~