Girls trip to the beach!!

What in the sam heck have I been doing for nearly 2 months since I've posted???? OHMYWORD.....it's been a season for sure!!!

But, I'm not going to share the difficult, hard stuff I've learned these last few months because there isn't any fun in that whatsoever right now. ;) However....I will share with you a few pix from my recent beach pictures with THE GIRLS!!!!!!!!

Let me say....y'all know this is a new church, new people, new everything for us so it's fun to be included in a trip right outta the shoot. Love these people. They don't know just how much, but man have they been sweet to this ole heart.

Ok...here we go....Gulf Shores, Alabama!

This is me and Christy! She is my roomie on the trip and made me laugh harder than anyone! Mercy...this girl is a RIOT!!!



Hello....do we have something in our teeth?? I just knew I had some shrimp in my grill.



Let's get serious...



Sweet sweet Robyn and Christy...they have been so precious to me during this transition.



This was the crew in our car on the way down. Best peeps ever. I miss 'em. Let's go back! ;)



You can't help but smile when you see this. :)

I'm so thankful for these girls...for the new friendships....for the fact that they wanted me to be their friend. It's hard being the new girl, but these girls make it so easy and so much fun!

Y'all know my heart is tendered toward anyone going through a "new thing." I'm always mindful of those of you out there and praying God bring you to that place of peace and "home" again.

Baptism Day!

Mercy.

What a journey we have been on as a family! We left our church after 10 years in August of 2009 and began months and months of trying to find us a new home. We all know or can imagine the emotions that are experienced when you go through something like this. It was especially hard for me because I was our Children's Ministry Director as well. I was experiencing a death almost when we left. However, God called us to leave and we left.

In January of 2010, we began visiting Englewood Baptist Church and visited for 9 months until we joined. However, when you go from Methodist to Baptist there is a small bump in the road that you must be willing to step over for you to be a full blown member into the church. This is NOT where we need to get into "but you were baptized as a baby or went through confirmation and why are you being baptized again" kind of thing. Ok? Thanks.

This is what I do know about the Baptist church and this whole "becoming a member thing." (And I stole this right from the EBC bulletin so I wouldn't say something wrong)

HOW DO I BECOME A MEMBER?

1. Present yourself for membership during any worship service when
the invitation is given.

2. Express your desire for membership through one of the following means:

Profession of faith: If you have never received Jesus as Savior
and Lord and/or never publicly confessed Him, you will be given
the opportunity to do so.

Transfer of membership from another Southern Baptist Church

By statement of faith: If you have previously made a public decision,
acknowledging that you have received Christ as your Savior and
Lord, we will be happy to receive you. It will be necessary for you to
be baptized at Englewood if you have never been baptized
Scripturally (as a believer, by immersion, in the name of the Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit, and as a symbol of your salvation).

3. Attend the Discover Englewood Class See inside for more info.

Soooooo....long story short, we were never baptized by immersion and so that was the small bump we had to overcome. Four of us have received Christ and baptized as babies, one of us, had not received Christ but was baptized as a baby.

Gosh...are you confused yet???

We discussed all this a lot and realized that we were simply saying before EBC that we publically confess Christ as our Savior and we will be baptized as Jesus was and we have the privilege of experiencing this as a family.....minus little man at 10 years old.

Well, as God would see fit, little guy started asking me questions and talking about how you become a Christian. He is in every church service at EBC and has heard the "Baptist language" which is different than the Methodist language that we had been exposed to for 10 years and he is also in a Christian school. He has been hearing about salvation for quite some time on a very regular basis. So, we get to this week and he is ready to take the plunge!!!! Being a momma who has never had this privilege before (because the older two had been in the Methodist church) of leading her youngest to Christ was the highlight of my life. :) Dad, momma, and little guy prayed and talked and talked and he asked the Lord into his heart on March 11, 2011!

Celebrate good times come on!!!! (KC and the Sunshine Band insert)

So...not wanting to go outside the logistics of what to do when a child is saved and the family is being baptized on Sunday....you hunt down your precious pastor on a Saturday at the zoo FOR CRYING OUT LOUD PEOPLE!!!! (felt so horrible about this, but what a wired woman to do?)

We talked on the phone and Pastor Ben was so kind and saw the unique situation and just asked us to send Dylan to their "Stepping Stones" class after he was baptized and allow the knowledge and further instruction about becoming a christian after the fact instead of on the front end.

"I PROMISE I PROMISE I PROMISE BEN!!!!" And, then I screamed a bunch of "thank you's" into the phone.

Bless.

So.....we had the opportunity for us ALL to be baptized on Sunday morning, March 13, 2011.

Praise Jesus what a day.

However, momma was a nervous wreck and running off of some kind of holy adrenaline that day. I was a mess. I felt sure I would be the first to die of a heart attack in the baptistry.

Mercy.

So, here we go....the precious little guy went first. I totally teared up. I watched the entire family be baptized as I was "in line" to go last. It was sight for this momma to take it all in. WOW!!! I saw all of their sweet faces go under the water and I saw the "new" come up with big ole fat grins attached. The Spirit was at work yesterday. Oh, yes He was.



























So, there ya have it!!! It was indeed a special day for us. I cannot wait to see the video that the church will provide because I have NO MEMORY WHATSOEVER of what sweet Ben said over each of us. ;)

I'm going out on a limb here, but not really, and I shall say this.....

Regardless of denomination I pray you are in a bible teaching church and hearing the truth Sunday after Sunday and people are coming to know Christ. The end. Hell is real. Jesus is real. I choose Him.

Love y'all to pieces!
Fran and family

Shingles are stupid and I really wanna run away to the beach!

This picture makes me soooooo very happy in so many ways. First...hubs is off looking at someone that I know for a fact was being silly in front of us. Clearly...his attention has been caught. I'm looking straight ahead with the other 3 and we are just smiling and happy. Aaaaahhhhhh....precious. It was also my birthday that day! And we are at church. Happiness.

Get this...I turned 41. For real. Embracing the birthday where I had the shingles. Did you catch that last sentence?? One more time..."embracing the birthday where I had the shingles." I mean really....that doesn't sound old does it? Nah...not one bit. I am sure none if you associate "the shingles" with old age. ;)

So I entered into this 41st year with shingles and intense stress and anxiety over a situation that is completely outside of my family and I'm sure it is all going to be nothing but butterflies and rainbows and ice cream from this point on right? Right. (Play along with me please)

What I do know about that thing that keeps me up at night and causes serious anxiety in my heart is this....

* God reveals steps in teeny tiny baby steps sometimes...He is patient like that and sometimes I want to scream because He is so patient and timely ;)

* God will stretch you into places and positions that you would never ever ever ever do on your own. Stretching hurts and causes you to be IN COMPLETE DEPENDENCE ON HIM! (mumbling under my breath over this one)

* When you believe in something and it starts getting hard you can do one of two things... 1) run away to the beach like I keep saying I am going to do or 2) dig your heels in and don't look back

This 41st year will go down in the record books as a very interesting year for me. Shingles are stupid and painful and stress related and I'm digging my heels in when everything in me says "I'm going to the beach and I'll be back later!"

Dang...life is hard.

Deep down inside I'm thankful for whats taking place here..... growing, stretching, increase of faith blah blah blah. ;)

Love y'all! *MWAH*

So some things happened

I published the post on my parenting revelation, that is found below, and was ready to share some other cool things happening within our home and then BAM Joanne had her stroke. The morning was 1-11-11. If you are friends with me on facebook or follow me on twitter then you know that Joanne has consumed my every thought and request for prayer. I still can't believe what that sweet woman has endured, what her husband has endured, what her precious girls have endured. It just tears our hearts to pieces doesn't it?

Our friend, Holly, put up a post on her blog and I cannot get it out of my mind. These were Holly's words on what kind of friend Joanne is. If you are like me, I tried to find myself in these sentences. I was unsuccessful for the most part. Joanne is teaching me SO MUCH about life. See what you think. Are you in there?

This is the kind of friend who sends flowers, when she's praying for me.

This is the kind of friend, who invites me over for lunch and then gives ME a gift basket.

This is the kind of friend, who shares deep truths she is learning from God's Word.

This is the kind of friend, who tarries with me in conversation, never making me feel like I am TOO MUCH or NOT ENOUGH. She accepts me, as I am.

This is the kind of friend, who thinks I am special and lets me know in 100 ways.

This is the kind of friend, who loves to read as much as I do! She also loves Jesus, her family, home and Bible study--and makes me want to be fully committed and growing better in all of that.

This is the kind of friend, who prays with me.

This is the kind of friend, who rooms with me---even though I sometimes snore.

This is the kind of friend, who teaches me new thing, like knitting.

This is the kind of friend, who will take time away from her very busy schedule homeschooling, being a student in seminary, wife, mother and a host of other things and spend it with me--without a hurry or care. Just unrushed time, as friends.

This is the kind of friend, who will spend the day with me at a French flea market.

This is the kind of friend, who will take her mother's knitted project that didn't quite turn out, take it apart and restitch it--giving it as a gift to her mom this past Christmas. I told her, she is just like Jesus-making all things new. How beautiful.

Isn't this just beautiful?? I read these with no conviction whatsoever because I know Joanne's heart. I read this with more of a challenge. I read this wanting to be more like Joanne.

Take some time and swallow these and see where Joanne is in your life.

There is so much to say about what Jo is teaching me, but for now.....I just know I want to be more like her!

And we all shout HALLELUJAH! for what He is doing in her life right now. In all of our lives!
Mercy.

I totally neglected my kids.....but it is changing.

I was one of those 2010 people who was actually ok saying goodbye to her. She was alright and all, but it was a year of "moving on and new beginnings" and we all know those seasons are somewhat difficult and you find yourself in places that you have never walked before. Soooooo.....see ya 2010! I will even throw in the "See ya wouldn't wanna be ya" to 2010.

I'm so happy to welcome 2011. (Deep breath)

Ok, one thing that was so cool over this past weekend was this.......I am hoping to live 2011 with GREAT intention when it comes to God and my family. And by great intention....I mean stretching myself past the normal laundry, shuffling kids around, grocery shopping, meal planning that I already do. I mean pushing myself to another place. I want to push myself into removing distractions and laziness when it comes to Jesus and my family.

This might be shocking to some of you, but here's the deal......I don't spend really good quality time with my kids. (shakingmyheadinshame)

I don't. I have lots of "nice" conversations with them, but no depth. Depth takes time. Depth takes being intentional with your words and questions and the direction of your conversation.

So....this is how I started tending to this matter. I humbled myself before my oldest and told him that I wanted more time with him and that I was sorry for neglecting him. He laughed. So did I. But...boy...hang on kiddo because we are about to have a blast and love each other as momma to son like never before. :)

We went to Starbucks and sat for an hour and a half. I don't take my kids to Starbucks because that is clearly an adult treat and gosh it's expensive times two. HA! However, this is all about to change. I introduced him to their hot chocolate while I thoroughly enjoyed my grande non-fat caramel brulee latte with light whip. Aaaahhh. And who cares if the fabulous drink kept me up until midnight.

We talked and talked and talked. This is what my notebook says for my oldest...and yes...I took notes.

14 year old....Here he is. I love this kid so much.


This is what we talked about in an hour and a half:

* I told him that I'm memorizing two scriptures a month. He said "that's cool." (insert grin)

* He told me he finished reading the book of Mark. HUH? How did I miss that? Wow!

* He said he wants to continue with his daily devotional book he has. Couldn't tell you what it is other than a sports theme for teenage boys. WAY TO GO SON!

* We looked through bible verses and he picked Hebrews 6:12 to carry him through school. It says this..."We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised." (I'm going to hang this in his room)

*We made specific goals in regards to grades for the next nine weeks. Each class has a goal.

*We talked about fear and what holds him back from embarking on a possibility at church.

* We then laughed and said that we will do this on a very regular basis so we can know EXACTLY whats going on in each others world.

Y'all, do you even know how fabulous of a time this was for both of us?

I'm going to do the same thing with the other two boys and I'm praying that you will adopt something similar with your kids. It really is the best investment we can give them.

Happy 2011!

Hugs and blessings~

Where did the babies go?

How quickly our Christmas' change. The oldest is now 14. The next wild one is 13. The baby is 10. (Husband rolls eyes when I call him the baby.) Needless to say....this was our last year to "believe." KILLS ME!!!!!!!! I guess if we adopt the Polar Express theme....we will always believe.

Anyway....the hooligans got lots of neat clothes. They are apparently spoiled rotten and I am currently taking mental momma inventory of that. And yes....I'm going to read Radical starting this week. I need help. ;) These boys have everything under the sun. It's so sad that come Christmas you end up with a bunch of clothes because you have every gadget ever produced.
Shoot me.

Anyway....here they are. They really do love one another. They are as different as night and day.
Thankfully they don't know who David Platt is or ever heard of the book Radical and have no idea just how much their lives are about to change. ;)


Take a note of the "baby's" sweatshirt on the far left. I laugh every time I read it...."My game is money!" Don't you love it?

It's time to start thinking forward to 2011. This can be happy or it can be painful. I'm choosing the happy side of it all.

What in the world do we drastically attempt to do different this next year?? Just one. I'm thinking. And I don't like to think I'm going to do more than one drastic thing because I won't. It's kind of like reading the bible in a year thing. I'll fail.

Hmmmm.....what is my "one?"

Love y'all. Hope all is well in your wintry neck of the woods!

Greatest lesson learned at Deeper Still that DID NOT come from Beth, Kay, or Priscilla

Oh, goodness. I hope you can hear my heart and feel what I'm about to describe when I have to leave out all sorts of names and manner of detail.

Sounds exciting, huh? Hang on....let's ride this out and keep our fingers crossed.

We all know what happens when you put a group of women together. There can be intense giddiness, excitement, fun, and a whole lotta anticipation. There can also be a great deal of fear, insecurity, and question of "Am I really as cute or funny as Suzy across the room?" Isn't it interesting how our minds are all over the place? Maybe it's just me. I'm highly doubting it though.

And, then the dynamics of your little group change. Maybe a new girl that noone knows walks in the room with a friend. Maybe someone starts telling a story about someone you know that rubs you the wrong way. Maybe someone tells something that you think "did she really just tell that?" Maybe, maybe, maybe....

It just happens. It just happens with a group of girls. No matter the age or demographic or status. It can happen just.like.that. Before you can even think or process or understand what is happening.....something has changed. And maybe the change involves yourself. Maybe you were the one who said or did something in that instant you are wondering, "Did I really just say that or do that?" Oh, I think I did.

It happens. And the minute it does....you just want to throw up and cry and run out screaming something completely inappropriate. It happens. And it's ugly.

But after some suffering and hurt and flat out conviction, God shows Himself through someone COMPLETELY UNEXPECTED. And her name is grace and forgiveness.

Her name is grace and forgiveness and she came clothed in the form of a person that you never saw coming. She showed me what it's like to truly understand someone and something without any kind of judgment. She showed me love when she could have easily ran the other way and made all kinds of assumptions.

I saw grace and forgiveness up close and personal this weekend and I will never ever forget it as long as I live.

I won't forget how it felt.

I won't forget how unexpected it came.

I won't forget what she looked like.

I will never forget how humbling and beautiful she was all at the same time.

I love those two words....grace and forgiveness.

I hope you extend it when someone is least expecting it because it just might be one of the greatest life lessons that person can learn.

Hugs and blessings y'all!