This morning I was doing some reading and here is what it said...
He Will Reward You
So repent; turn around and return, that your sins may be erased, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the the Lord. - Acts 3:19
Success principles alone will not work in your life if you don't spend time with God, allowing His Holy Spirit to be your Counselor and to give you revelation and understanding of what to do each day. (Niki's Input: WOW!!! That makes PERFECT SENSE!!) But if you flow in God's plan, you will learn to stop trying to figure out how everything will work together for your good. (Niki's Take: LESS STRESS!!) Learn to seek God's face and not His hand all the time. (Niki: WOW) Then keep your hands open and be ready to receive from Him. God is good; you can trust what He speaks to your heart to do.
Thank you, God, for speaking words of life to me today through Joyce.
Niki
Monday, January 24, 2011
REWARDS!!!
True Fashion & More
Leah, Age 10.6, as she heads out the door for her last school picture day in elementary school...
Now have you ever had fashion questions that you were too afraid to ask...
YES, the off-the-shoulder look is TOTALLY IN for ALL AGES!!!
The fountain is timeless and a true classic...
For more on love, life, and fashion, tune in tomorrow for our next installment entitled...What does LOVE look like?
Brought to you by the proud mommy of the Gerber Girls
Monday, January 10, 2011
The Club (for Gen Chamblee)
The Club: The Magical Bond - as written in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Like Mother, Like Daughter
My mom is the never ending song in my heart of comfort, happiness, and being. I may sometimes forget the words but I always remember the tune.
- Graycie Harmon
The doctor cut the umbilical cord at birth, but I believe it remains an invisible connection throught the lives of both mother and child. In utero, the cord that joined my mother and me flowwed wtih blood, rich in food and oxygen. After birth, my mother provided me with emotional and spiritual sustenance. When my mother died and our connection was severed by her removal from the physical world, I floundered. I felt displaced and disoriented. There are still times, years later, when I feel deprived and bewildered without that invisible cord in place to nurture and nourish me.
I recall the day my mother joined the club. I was eleven and had come home from school for lunch. That day, as with many days that preceded it, I had been followed home by two girls who teased and taunted me every step of the way. I was crying by the time I reached my door and I needed my mother. I rushed blindly into the kitchen and fell into her arms, sobbing and trying desperately to tell her how hurt I was. I saw my father and wondered why he was home in the middle of the day. I then looked up into my mother's face and saw it streaked with tears and contorted with her own misery. I thought, Wow, she is really upset about the teasing, too!
My father broke the silence and announced, "Your grandmother died this morning." Only after I joined the club years later did I begin to comprehend the wrench she was feeling that day at lunch. The cord to her mother had been cut, and she was struggling to breathe on her own for the first time.
I have heard that time heals all wounds. I do not believe this. The person who has lost a limb never stops missing the arm or leg that is gone, but somehow time permits that person to cope eventually with the loss. The cloud of grief that isolates, suffocates, and blinds us will lift.
I was a mother of two when my mother died. There have been three babies born since, and sometimes the pain of not being able to share the smallest and most insignificant moments that I know she would understand paralyzes me briefly, and I feel angry and cheated.
My mother is physically gone, but she still sustains me. A glance at an old photograph, the sight of her handwriting on a recipe card, or the remembrance of a moment long ago can evoke a memory so powerful and vivid, I swear sometimes I can hear her calling my name. Her obvious persence in my five children continues to inspire and motivate me even when I am tired, lonely, and scared. One's meticulous attention to detail, another's smile and another's unflagging optimism resurrect her when I need her the most.
My mother has not left me, even though the cord has finally been cut, and I have joined the club I never knew existed.
- Susan B. Townsend
Gen...I sometimes wonder why your Sierra has impacted my heart so greatly or why my mental tie to your story is so overpowering and profound. I suppose because whenever I look at pictures of Sierra, I see my Alex. Although we don't really know anything about each other, I think of your daughter and your family everyday. I know time will not heal this wound but it will allow you to cope.
Niki
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Busy, Busy Bee
I don't know about the rest of the world but my own life is a lot to keep up with sometimes!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Happy New Year!
I am going to REALLY make a effort to blog once a week this year...too much time passes and distance gets in the way of many of my friendships that are truly dear to me. So here's to my efforts in 2011 being successful!
Below are posts with some shots from our Christmas vacation in Pagosa Springs, Colorado...Enjoy!
God Bless!
Niki
