The Love Of My Life

Although, now that I'm posting this I'm realizing that it's a little strange that he posed like this for Sarah to take his picture. Actually, that's just more than a tiny bit wierd. Still, though, so cute!

Cling to the Vine

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

That verse was sent to me today as part of a weekly devotional I subscribed to, and it had a prayer with it that I'll put below. It was exactly what I needed to hear today. God isn't impressed with our willpower when exercised apart from him. True victory in life comes when we cling to him, thereby using the power that he gives us to go forward. Abiding steadfastly in him we can live a life that is no longer a string of defeats, but rather one triumph after another.

Prayer

“Jesus, You are the Vine that gives me life. I don’t want to live independently. I want to remain and partake of You. Prune me for greater fruitfulness so Your joy will come forth in my life."

Fizz Pics

Everything I love...


Where's Tyvola???

Life's a Bench

This is my bench. Lake Norman Park and Recreation may not be aware that it's mine, but it belongs to me. A few hours out of every Thursday is "Mommy Time", and this is where it starts. Well, actually it starts at Starbucks, then straight to this bench. I used to have a place in Baton Rouge at the Arboretum, and although filled with the possibility of peace, it inevitably became a place of futile escape void of any real reflection with lasting value. But not my lake bench. Every moment is enveloped in prayer, thoughts of my family, my purpose, my goals, and yes, moments of complete nothingness, but it's on purpose now. One of my prayers is that I'll have a place like this attached to my home one day. Nothing elaborate, just cozy and mine. I believe I'll have that. But for now, I have a bench.

He May Turn Out Just Fine...and that isn't a skirt, fools!

Do not be deceived. This is an animal fresh from the wild. Or so I thought... William was pleasant, perfectly appropriate and surprisingly cooperative while particiapting in the Keller Girls Fashion Show this past Mothers' Day. Nearly everytime I'm having even the slightest anxiety over his behavior at an event or gathering, this cuddly little porcupine senses my fear, and with it, every bit of control he can gain. Almost without fail, he can be expected to challenge my authority at the precise moment I'm begging the sweet Lord that he won't. My life is too often reduced to a string of struggles to maintain fragments of dignity. In four short years, this little beasts' keen senses have picked up on this and he knows when he's got me. I won't freak out on him in public, and I guess he just knows it by now. I've seen too many sane women become certifiable in public over the tantrum that their child began, and they finish. But not me. Nope. My social blunders take even those that love me most by total surprise. I mean it so sincerely when I say, God help me if the day ever comes that I'm asked to do a eulogy. Just for the sake of explanation, and entertainment, here are a FEW: just the other day I thought I heard people making out in a car in a parking lot of my doctors office (at noon on a weekday), so I laughed, then looked, but it was an overweight woman simply trying to get out of her car. Poor thing was kinda in pain, and it looks like I'm laughing at her! Somehow I managed not to say "Oh! No, not laughing at you. It's just I thought you were making out with someone." She had no idea how much maturing it had taken to accept that I'd looked mean, make a sorrowful face, and just keep walking. And then there was the time I RUINED my graduation with only a stick of Juicy Fruit. This is already too long for all the details. So, in short, I blame Kristin for her foolish act of offering me gum before my walk of shame. I will say this: I challenge any graduate to make more of a dissapointment out of themselves in the eyes of their professors than to graduate in Theatre, with a concentration in Performance, and spend the following two days after graduation recovering from a sore jaw. I'm a big dumb animal. That's actually really funny, because Bill said it looked like I was chewing a rather large, tough piece of meat. This has become about me, hasn't it? Well, my mom always taught me that everyones' favorite subject is themself, just in case your in a conversation thats going nowhere. Point is this: It seems as though Will may have some control over his behavior. Although a big source of frustration, this is very good news. Is it possible that when his dignity is on the line, he'll step up in maturity, and not publicly humiliate his family on a regular basis? Nah...can't be, cuz I got it comin'. But let it be known that William James Fisicaro did not ruin the 2008 Mother/Daughter Fashion Show. Now, if we could just find out who's stupid idea it was to let four year olds go barefoot! Poor, sweet Charlotte. Mmmkay, that's enough. I have an appointment with myself for a little reflection and self-loathing. I think I'll make myself walk on glass.

Secret To Life...

"I'm already great enough for both of us. Just follow Me. For whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. (Mark 10: 43-45)

"Pour yourself out lavishly, sacrificially for the glory of God and the good of man. Those with presence of mind and semblance of health are called to pour out the drink offering of their lives until the cup is turned completely over and every last drop of energy slips - perhaps unnoticed, uncelebrated – into the vast ocean of earthly need. The last imperceptible drop of your well-lived life will sound like a tidal wave hitting the floor of the Grand Canyon to the hosts of Heaven."(Beth Moore)

Just Normal Sisterly Bonding...

So I Said...

To Which Liz Responds...