Tuesday, February 23, 2010

March for Babies



Today was the March of Dimes March for Babies kick-off lunch! It went great. Not many people showed up but that didn't bring anyone down. We had a great little lunch, Tom spoke a little about this years walk and then introduced Chad, Sam and myself as the ambassador family for Graves County. I wasn't really sure what I was going to say and I was super nervous.But I just prayed about it and let God tell me what to say. I think I did okay but I'm sure I could have done better. Sam totally stole the show by showing off his mad people skills! The kid never meets a stranger. Here is a copy of the letter that I wrote that got put in all the folders for walkers/volunteers!

Dear March of Dimes Friends,


Meet Sam! The smallest member of our family, born October 30th 2008 at just 32 weeks gestation. He may be small but he sure is a fighter, strong-willed and full of determination. We joke that Sam is such a fighter because he is the baby brother to an equally strong-willed big brother-but we know the real reason. He had to be a fighter.



After being thrust into this world a bit too soon due to a partial abruption Sam was struggling to survive. just hours after he was born he left for his first car ride, in an ambulance. He spent his fir

st three weeks of life in the NICU at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. Ten of those days he survived with the help of oxygen and surfactant therapy to help his immature lungs grow big and strong.


We know that without two very important things, our faith and trust

in God and the many medical advancements made possible with the help of March of Dimes, Sam may very well not be here with us today. Each and every new day we have is a blessing and to look at our little Sam now you would never know that he had to fight so hard for his place here on Earth.


This year we have the privilege to be the 2010 March for Babies Ambassador Family for Graves County. We are very honored to be a big part of such a wonderful and meaningful organization that helps babies just like Sam defy the odds that are stacked against them.


Without the help and support from friends and family like you, the March of Dimes would not be able to do what they do best. We hope you will join us and rally together in our mission to raise money so the March of Dimes can continue vital research in the hopes that one day all babies will be born healthy. We look forward to seeing you the day of the walk, April 17th 2010!


Sincerely,

Chad, Tyra, Riley and of course Sam

Team S.A.M-Small And Mighty!


Friday, February 5, 2010

simple pleasures

Simple Pleasures-simply put!
(in no particular order)

*Indulging in a Kit-Kat after the kids have gone to bed so I don't have to share

*A cup of ice from Sonic

*Warm socks right out of the dyer

*Buying a new pair of jeans

*The feel of new Chapstick on my lips

*My favorite song on the radio

*A good hair day

*A call from my husband just to say hi

*Wet kisses from my two favorite boys

*Hearing my AWANA Cubbies say their Bible verses

*Listening to Riley sing 'Jesus Loves Me' while he looks at himself in the mirror

*Grandma's homemade banana bread

*Watching Sam and Riley play trains together-nicely. Even if it only lasts five minutes

*My dogs wet nose

*A hot meal cooked my Chad

*Phone calls from my Dad

*A cold can of Coca-Cola. With a straw of course

*Dinner out with great friends

*Monthly crop nights at church

*Dill pickles-and the juice

*The connivence of my new DVR

*Watching Sam learn to walk

*Buying office supplies

*Getting packages in the mail

*Warm brownies, hot fudge and vanilla ice cream. Enough said

*Penny ponies

*Writing notes in the margins if my Bible

*Getting a good deal

*Hearing Riley sing the apalhabet-his version anyway

*A new toothbrush

*Wrapping up in Lela's fleece blanket-made by Uncle Topher

*Receiving an unexpected gift

*Getting a haircut

*Holding hands with my husband

*Listening to 'I Wil Rise' by Chris Tomlin

*Getting phone calls from Ryan

*Putting activities on the calendar

*A fresh can of dill pickle Pringles

*Girls night out

*Playing brick breaker on my Blackberry


Tuesday, February 2, 2010

kindness

Kindness

I think I may be the one who needs this devotion the most! I really felt that God put it on my heart to do this months devotion but at the time I had NO idea what I was going to do. I kept looking through the Bible for something that caught my eye. Searching the net for ideas, looking through some books I had but I kept coming up with nothing. Finally I decided to just let it go and pray about it. Duh, right?! I put down in my prayer journal and kept praying that God would open my eyes to whatever it is He felt I should share.

A few days later I was walking into Wal Mart and ran into an old friend. This kind of running into was not a happy one. This friend and I had parted ways in a pretty ugly way. We made eye contact for a few seconds and went on about our business like we didn't even know each other. What I REALLY wanted to do was run over and give her a big hug and tell her how much I missed her and wish her a Merry Christmas. I didn't because I knew that while deep down I really do miss her and wish nothing but the best for her...I was wanting to do it just to make her mad. One of those kindness kills type of things.

The lord reminded me that I should just smile and walk on.So I did. I did some shopping and then began to aimlessly wander the store. I found myself in the book section. Not sure of what I wanted to look at I just kind of stood there. I'm sure some people thought I was lost or something. A few minutes later this elderly man tapped me on the shoulder. I slowly turned around, a little worried about what was going to happen next. He asked about my shirt. I was wearing the shirt from The Promise. He was asking all kinds of questions. If I went to church there, how much I liked it, if I grew up there and so on. Of course I told him I loved our church and went on to invite him to join us one Sunday. He said he would love to. Then we went on to talk about life. About my boys, about work, school, the economy and whatever else popped into the gentleman's mind.

We probably stood there for a good thirty minutes. When the conversation was over we gently shook hands and then he threw his arms around me and gave me the biggest bear hug ever. It was the sweetest thing. When he finally let go I could see that he had a tear or two in his eyes. He said he enjoyed our conversation and hoped that maybe we could meet up again. As he walked away he had the most amazing grin ever. It was kind of a thank you grin, a grin that said I touched him. One that expressed how happy he was to have had that conversation. I will ALWAYS remember that man and his grin.

After he walked away I just kind of stood there. Amazed, humbled and happy. It took me a minute to regain myself and wipe the tears from my eyes. Again with the stares from strangers thinking I'm some crazy goon just standing in the book section of the local Wal Mart! I finally reached for a book that caught my eye. It was a light brown leather Bible with a pink stripe on it. I picked it up and immediately began to cry. It was then that I knew exactly why that man and I met just moments ago. I flipped through the pages and the first verse that I stopped at was Col 3:12- So, as those who have been chosen of God, holey and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

I came home, wrote that down and prayed over this devotion. Then the Lord led me to Acts 9:36 which says, Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha: this woman was abounding with deeds of kindness and charity which she continually did.

When I read those two verses I knew exactly what I needed. I needed more kindness in my life. I needed to SHOW more kindness. After all, that's what the Lord wants from us. We can't be great Christians and now show kindness to others. When we do kind things it's a great testimony to who we are and what we believe. Through our kindness it shows others that people do care and more importantly, that God loves them. It seems that Tabitha was ALWAYS showing kindness to others. No matter what kind of mood she was in. I can't help but think that she never thought twice about doing them. It was part of her daily routine to fulfill God's command. We can bet that she would have never hung up on the sweet lady from Mothers Against Drunk Driving who called to share important facts just doing her job trying to earn money to feed her family. And I'm pretty sure we can assume she would have never yelled at the poor gal about time and children screaming and annoying phone calls, either. We all know that I did NOT show kindness to that woman and she probably thought I needed God in my life.

As Christians we have to be especially careful how we go about our daily lives. We have non-believers out there who are judging our every move. Show them one ugly side of you and they will think the worst. They will wonder what kind of Christian acts like that. Think back to the WWJD fad...he would be kind, to everyone, all the time.

Kindness isn't just about saying nice things or guarding your words. Matthew 10:42 says just that, And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward. The Lord WANTS us to do these random acts of kindness. He wants us to meet the needs of others. Grabbing that jar off the top shelf for the guy in the wheelchair, opening the door for a mom and her child, giving the waitress an nice tip, volunteering to sever soup at the shelter...anything! What we may think of as simple can mean the world to someone else.

Maya Angelou put it nicely when she said,I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

I challenge YOU to do one kind thing today and every day. It will soon become a great habit that just might rub off on others.