Wowerful :)

i like words!
real words.
made-up words.
hard words.
simple but meaningful words.
God's Word!
quotes.
phrases.
puns.
funny words.
complex words.
words.words.words!!

the other day while washing my hands i was reading the back of the liquid soap bottle. (true story!) i saw the term used to describe the soap -- it was "wowerful" & i thought this soap is good but it's not "wow-erful" but my mind took off racing about how "wowerful" God is!!

WOWERFUL!!! Wow + powerful = wowerful!!

i started thinking about some specific "Wowerful!" times when God "wow-ed" me with His wonderful power! 

• He gave me an incredible family  - wowerful!
• He gave us His Son, our Savior, our Sacrifice, our Salvation. - wowerful!
• He gave me - my son, Colby. The  gift of being a parent - wowerful!
• He allowed storms - He gave me His peace & joy during dark & tough times in life. His faithfulness. His presence, grace, mercy! His love - wowerful!
• He gave me a wonderful life. family. children. husband. job. a lot of changes & newness! He gave me a life that i never expected to have & it's more than i even dreamed  - wowerful! 

i've only recorded 5 wowerful events...actually God wows me all the time!! He is indeed WOWERFUL!!!


A few more thoughts on this...

Wowerful conversations: Do you ever think about the conversation with the Lord when HE is about to wow us???  i think "wowerful" conversations might have gone something like this...



About my Family

(Maybe) He said: my child, I'm allowing you to be born in a wonderful family. I'm giving you a big sister, and a little brother that will come along in a few years. I'm allowing you ample opportunity to see what following Me looks like. I'm entrusting you to some praying, godly people. Your parents already walk faithfully with Me, and your siblings will walk faithfully with Me too. Ok, it's time to enter the family I've given you..."

me:  WOW Lord, this family for me? Thank You - You are Wowerful!

 

About asking Jesus into my life

(Maybe) He said: carol, you are a sinner. Your sin separates you from me. My Son Jesus is the sacrifice for your sins. He died for you. Salvation is for you. You are forgiven. You will need to follow Me with your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength.You will know me personally and eternally.

me: WOW Lord - sacrifice, salvation, forgiveness and eternal life- for me? Thank You - You are Wowerful!

About being a mom
(Maybe) He said: carol, my daughter, the time is right and I am giving you a son. A precious child. Teach him about Me. Love him. Take good care of him. Pray for him every day.  Lead Him to follow Me. Trust My plan for him.

me: WOW Lord, a son,  for me -- are You sure? thank You. You are Wowerful!" 

 

About the storms

(Maybe) He said: carol, a storm is coming. It's going to be difficult. It's going to be pain filled. There will be loss. There will be hurt and sadness. It won't be easy. It will be challenging. It will be tough. You will grow in your dependence on Me. You will survive. I will show up in small ways and big ways. You will find Me to be Faithful. You will be broken but you will find My joy and My peace. You will never be alone, I will be there. Every minute. Every day.

me: Ewww Lord, a storm for me -- are You sure? help me to be thankful. You'll be with me? well, ok -- because You are Wowerful!"

About new beginnings
(Maybe) He said: carol, I have another "wow" for you, I'm giving you a fresh start. I'm giving you a godly husband and his daughter. Cherish and respect him. Invest your life in the many children around you. Love your children - both of them.They are growing up fast. Open your heart and love deeply. Be an example of following Me. I have been with you and I will always be with You. Trust me and trust others.  There will be a lot of changes for you. Let go of the past. I have started something new.
me: WOW Lord,  wow!! all that for me -- are You sure? I cannot thank You enough. You are Wowerful!

Wowerful Verses

~ Wowerful Verses about our Birth, His plan, His timing ~

"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed." Psalm 139:13-16

~Wowerful Verses about Salvation~

For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16; If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. Romans 10:9-10; ...they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people...Acts 26:18; ...you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all

your mind, and all your strength. Mark 12:30

~ Wowerful verses about parenting and children ~

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Psalm 127:3; Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6; You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. Deuteronomy 6:7;

When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. John 16:21; Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1:17

~Wowerful verses about storms, trials, tough times ~

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. John 16:33; “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine.When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. Isaiah 43:1-3; May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. Romans 15:13; The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. John 10:10.

~Wowerful verses about new beginnings ~
The Lord says, “Forget what happened before, and do not think about the past. Look at the new thing I am going to do. It is already happening. Don’t you see it? Isaiah 43:18-19; I say this because I know what I am planning for you,” says the LORD. “I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future. Jeremiah 29:10-12; And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Matthew 28:20.


This post was really long! But God is so WOWERFUL i just couldn't "land this plane" heehee.

Merry CHRISTmas to all!!! He is WOWERFUL!!! and worthy of our praise :)

 

Can you see me with a bustle & an umbrella??

The God who made the world and everything in it—He is Lord of heaven and earth...He has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live. He did this so they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. For in Him we live and move and exist.

im thankful that God appointed the timeframes in which we live in and our place to live. He put us here for this specific time in this specific place!! wow - that is astounding! He didn't assign me to live in the 1800's or even back in the day of the poodle skirt & bobby socks. He didn't assign my address to some tiny dot somewhere else in the world -- He specifically assigned me to live in 2012, in the USA, in Alabama.

i have a heart for other nations & for people of other nationalities. i have friends and family that HE has appointed to live in other places, and im thankful for their obedience to His assignment.

But for now, my appointment is here - in the USA. i want to serve the Lord well -- here. In this place within the boundary God has set for me. Please don't misunderstand me, i want soooo badly to go on a mission trip - to serve Him on some different soil - to play soccer with a smiling African child, or sing songs in Rio, Ireland, Spain, or wherever!   i want to pray diligently for those who are taking the gospel to far away places ~ even this very week!! (Like the teams from our church who are sharing Jesus in places like Austria, Romania,Uganda, Guatemala etc.!) i want to continually pray for my niece & nephew who teach in Indonesia, and so many other missionaries that are serving Jesus all over this globe. i want to take part in that!! missions all over the world!! Praying, giving, going!

but ... for now my physical assignment is here...USA. Alabama. Morgan County. Decatur. CBC.Priceville. PES.Our community. Our neighborhood. Our street. Our home!

my heart gets proud when i see the American Flag flying & i hear patriotic songs & see fireworks. I love our nation!! but our nation needs JESUS!! our neighbors need to know that He is NOT far from each one of us. I hope as i celebrate our nation's birthday, that i will re-up my commitment to the assignment He has given me -- for such a time as this!!

they did whaaa?

today i went to sonic in a nearby town. i ordered a large sweet tea & small tots. ($3.75)

i was happy when a nice employee brought out my food. i gave her my debit. i was in a bit of a hurry because i was attending a workshop for school. (btw workshop is great!!!) i will withhold the exact place in order to not incriminate anyone in particular...

after waiting & waiting for the nice employee to bring my card back -- i walked up to the door for employee's only. Here's what happened next... 


nice sonic employee: sorry - our machine isn't working right.  So i continue to stand there while the manager (i guess) runs the card through the machine. over & over.
manager: sorry for your wait. it's not your card it's our machine.
me: im in a little bit of a hurry.
manager: do you have any cash??
me: nope. i didn't bring any today.
manager: can you go to the bank?
me: i dunno. is there a pnc bank nearby? (i bank in decatur)
manager: i don't know.
me: well i need to get back to a meeting...
manager: then you'll have to give the food back.

me: excuse me?

manager: you have to give us the food back.
me: give it back?
manager: yes! so the nice employee & i walk back to my hot car where the food has been. i open the door to return the food....
nice employee: i'm really sorry about this. i don't think this is quite riiight.
me: yeah, me neither. the story ends with me running into a gas station to grab a bag of chips & mtn dew before the workshop resumes...

     seriously, she took back my fooooood!!!  i know they threw it away. it was used foood. gross!! $3.75!!! my card worked, her machine didn't.

     food service people...is this policy????? take served food backkkk? hmmm. i tried to pay. i had plastic money. oh well. i love a new good story!!! :)  

"they say california is the place ya oughta be, so we packed up our bags"....

it's so funny to me how such random thoughts come to me at strange times...(a.d.d. i guess you'd say) but this memory came to mind today right smack in the middle of church. but i got a little tickled to myself  (LQTM as i say = laughin quietly to meself)....here's the thought.....

once upon a time in the land of for real, a nice decent family (think "the cleaver's" or more like the "clampetts" or maybe the "griswolds") went on a family vacay...these nice decent people went to LA -- yep indeed, this fine upstanding family took a little trip to CALIFORNIA.

Five fabulous people packed into a 5-speed chevy citation traveling the streets of los angeles!!! weeeeeeeeeeo. all is well. As this family trekked around that BIG city, taking in all the sights and sounds they turned down the street of a particularly friendly block. Standing on some benches were some very very friendly high school type people. The students were waving as the tourists drove by.

Well this upstanding family was soooo impressed by this friendly group of kids that they
s-l-o-w-e-d down that lil chevy and tooted the horn in the friendliest of ways and all 5 members of the family were waving and smiling and staring at this warm group of students. just bask in the sweet moment.... youth  from cali being so friendly to these out of towners. Ahhhhhhhhhh. get a good picture.

Well as life would have it, the passengers in the car continued to wave wildly and enthusastically to the "yutes" as the car makes it's way slowly down the street. However, there was a surprise at the end of this long line of california kiddos ..... right there before their very eyes .... the boys at the end of the row....  turned their backsides to the enthralled tourists dropped their pants and bared their bottoms.  

now that was a SUPER-MOON!!!

bahahahahahaa!!!  they got us all right! true.story!!

Thinkfulness vs. Thankfulness

I've been learning how thankfulness allows God's peace to be more prevelant in our lives. in the last few days, i've been tooo "thinkful" instead of being "thankful". when i get this way -- it's not good.
  

 

[btdub - Thinkful is a carolism ~ you can figure out what it means for youself ~ but for me "thinkfulness" is letting my mind get bogged down on things that i should not dwell on, or worry about, or over-analyze. it's those thoughts that make chew my nails, or stress out, or shut down. it's those things that if pondered on tooo long can steal my joy, make me mad or sad for no real reason, cause me to waste time, and can hinder my relationships (w/God & others), etc.]





so i decided to come up with a very short thankful list - just for today. it's def not extensive. it's not all inclusive. it doesn't even touch the tip of the huge iceberg of thankfulness that i need to crash into every day, but it did help me turn my "stinking thinking" into snipets of thanksgiving to our Father.

5. Thank You Lord for reminding me of the ways YOU HAVE and ARE answering prayers from my past! today reminded me to be very grateful that i don't usually sit alone in church anymore. You've blessed me with a godly husband, precious kiddos (that still like to sit with us) and good friends. (There was a time when i sat hurting & alone every Sunday & prayed for someone to sit with -- Lord, Thank You that You were listening & teaching me to wait & trust YOU!)

4. Thank You Lord for Christian fiction for these days when i juss wanna sit & enjoy a good book! (when i was getting my master's degree, i remember longing for days when i could read a non-txtbook or non-counseling related articles -- now that i can read free choice books -- i want to completely appreciate the moment. )

3. Thank You Lord for forgiving me of my pettiness. i drive myself crazy with foolish things that weigh me down. Thank You for helping me let go of some of it. im sorry that i get so tangled up in unimportant matters.

2. Thank you Lord for sunshine!! i love it -- i really do. i need to remind myself to be thankful for the sunshine because at first, i wanted to be kinda gripy about the cool temps and gusty wind during "my" Spring Break, but then i noted -- it could be pouring rain, or severe weathering, so thankfulness for the beautiful sunshine is the route i'll go! i remind myself - every day of life is a beautiful day. "Thank You Lord for the beautiful day! It's perfect just the way You made it!!"

1. The number one thing i'm thankful for today is wellness!!! Thank You Lord for good health!! Please forgive me for taking this incredible blessing for granted. So many are sick and hurting. They need Your healing -- please be with family and friends that need the Great Physician. And help the rest of us to sincerely thank You for the gift of wellness.

so there it is...5 things that im thankful for at this moment. wow!!  NOW i want to continue thanking the Father for the zillion other things that have come to mind....

open wiiiide!

'fess up! who remembers toastettes?

Occasionally my mama would buy toastettes instead of poptarts. and we pro'lly would complain. I hope we weren't too rough on her. But honestly i remember liking them. Especially the strawberry ones ~ hot from the toaster with butter spread on them. here's the carol-ish reason that i liked them. toastettes had little markings all along the edges. they looked like lil teeth to me. i would wiggle & pull them!! one by one until the edges were gone. it was a blast!! any other toastette teeth pullers in blog land??

so i'm thinking that in Heaven i may be a school nurse. Here's my logic on that. In Heaven, there will be no boo boos so why else would kids visit the nurse....well to have his or her tooth pulled of course! ;)  so sign me up!! i volunteer to be the official tooth puller in Heaven & we know there is no pain there so that makes the pulling of teeth even more funnnn!!! i do not like to inflict pain but i do enjoy a good tooth pulling!! & if  we don't have the need i'll just pop in a toastette & pull the edges off. bahahahahaaa.

yep. quirky ~ but God knows me & He's okay with my quirkster ways ;)

Psalm 139:1-6

O Lord, you have examined my heart

and know everything about me.

2 You know when I sit down or stand up.

You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.

3 You see me when I travel

and when I rest at home.

You know everything I do.

4 You know what I am going to say

even before I say it, Lord.

5 You go before me and follow me.

You place your hand of blessing on my head.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

too great for me to understand!

Now i lay me down to sleep...

occasionally i have nightmares. these bad dreams cause me to scream out loud, not just in the dream but in real life. And now that im a married chickadee, when i have nightmares & scream out, this waay cool thing that happens. my hubby comforts & calms me. he groggily says, "you okay?" & then he holds me tight till our racing hearts (mine's racing from the dream, his is racing from being rudely awakened from his sleep) calm down to normal and we both fall back into peaceful slumber. zzzzzzzzzz. 

nightmares happen. 
life causes them. the mind works while the body tries to rest.
maybe the past causes them. maybe worries about the days ahead. maybe stress from a hectic day. or maybe supper isn't settling quite right, but whatever it is -- it happens. not often for me (thankfully) but it does!

this morning, after having a bad dream last night...i read this ~

"So they got into a boat...Jesus settled down for a nap...a fierce storm came...the disciples woke Him up...He rubuked the storm and all was calm." (Luke 8 NLT)

This has always been one of my favorite miracles that Jesus did!! i've always loved the part when Jesus calms the storm! today i focused on another part of this story to love. Jesus was sleeping through the storm. I guess we could say it like this, "Jesus slept." (winky face)

The disciples were in a panic while Jesus was snoozing DURING the storm. He did not prevent the storm from coming, but He had perfect peace to sleep while it was raging.

Sometimes He chooses to rebuke the storm so that all is calm. sometimes we just need to go to Him & let Him hold us till we calm down so we can rest during the storm. 

That's my prayer for the upcoming days. That no matter what, i will wholeheartedly trust Jesus & that we will have peace before, during, and after the storm passes.

"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you." Isaiah 26:3

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

Now i lay me down to sleep
I love you Jesus, with a love so deep


Now i lay me down to rest.
I ask for Your peace - cause it's the best!


Good night erryone. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

Cheering you on!

last night at midnight i went to our school's midnight 5K run. i've never been to a 5K run. (well let's be honest, im not a runner. so i went to the "run" knowing that i'd be walking ;) that has nothing to do with the point. heehee)


So at 12 midnight the professionals runners, the running for the fun of it runners, & the walking crowd all stood -  waiting for the air horn to sound. WAAAAAAAAAH & off we go!!

i found some others who were gonna walk & i walked with them. it was fun & we were moving right along and we got to the first mile marker. when we passed the marker there were people standing there to cheer us on -- AND cheer us on they did.

it was the same at other places throughout the 5K event...People were there (at midnight) just say, "keep up the good work. you can do it. keep going. woo hoo. whistling. clapping. etc!! " 

Near the end of the race one of the "encouragers" said to us as we passed (at blazing speed, hee!) "i guess i sound corny, but yall can do it! keep going!" as soon as i heard her, i thought....that'll blog!!

i looked forward to hearing the encouragers at each corner along the way. i thought, "LORD help me be an encourager even when i feel like it's corny" -- because even though she felt like her encouraging words were corny .... i liked it! we needed it. it was beneficial. the whistles & claps & encouraging words pushed me along & added pep to my step. :) :)

Encourage one another and build each other up.

1 Thessalonians 5:11

out of the mouths of...

as a counselor, i talk to many children. some are serious. some are deep thinkers. some are insightful. & you just never know what they will say.

one student i talk to sort of frequently is one of these deep thinking, kinda somber type kiddos. she's a little "dark."  i was trying to cheer her up a bit & instead SHE ended up making ME laugh.

i was talking about words and how they can be like poison -- they can hurt the people they "spray" on. On and on went my analogy.

Finally after agreeing with me & acting like she understood what i was trying to say our conversation went something like this...

student:  ok, i get it...but how do you know about poison words?

me: what do you mean?

student: well you live in the "world of rainbows and ponies"

me: whaat? hahahahaa

student: hahahahaha

us:hahahahahahahahaa :D

That'll Tweet :)

This weekend Colby & i were standing in front of a redbox. The lady standing there seemed a wee bit frustrated at the box. After switching through several screens, scratching her head, muttering non-repeatables, she started  to walk away - empty handed - and as she did, she looked at me and said,
"I'm miss the video store"


Colby responded, "that sounds like tweet!"


bahahahahaa. i don't tweet so i share on a blog. 


it was a very funny moment until it was our turn at the box ~ ~  doggett it all  ~~ the screen was entirely in spanish!!!

Life.is.funny!!

Average? Yes. Common? I sure hope not!

average ~ as defined by an on line dictionary "being about midway between extremes"

That's me~~ i find myself "about midway between extremes" -- physically, academically, financially, politically, etc. By average I mean kinda typical. It's not a bad thing, and i'm not complaining about it. i'm not the tallest, not shortest, not most brillant, not most ignorant, not rich, not poor, not very athletic, and definitely not mathletic.  hee! hee! i could probably rob a bank and get away with it because the bank teller would say, "ummm, well she looked...uhhh, you know, average" heehee.

recently, i read a book called "The Collectibles" and i liked it. A LOT! it was a great challenge to the "average Joe" in all of us...The following conversation is between Joe and his Uncle Howard, a rugged, wise older man that has raised Joe.

(discouraged Joe to his uncle) "Well, to tell you the truth, Uncle Howard, I've been doing a lot of thinking and, no matter how much I think about it, I really can't change."

"Can't change what?" Howard asked in a gentle tone.

"Can't change the fact that I'm average, and I'm always going to be average...I hate being average."

"Son, you're right. You can't help bein' average. But that don't mean you can't be uncommon."

"Uncommon?"

"Yep, uncommon..." Joe crawled into his sleeping bag. He finally fell asleep, but not before making himself a promise. I may have to go through this world being average -- but I swear, I'll be uncommmon along the way.

And he stays true to his promise thoughout the rest of the book. He is uncommon in the way he chooses to invest his life in the lives of six "average" people. 

I too, want to be uncommon!! As a Christ follower with Jesus as my foundation and source of strength - I want to invest my life in others, i want my perspectives to reflect Him, i want to have an uncommon JOY that fills every area of my life because of Him.  

Average - yep!  but stiving to be uncommon ;)  

crammed full

In our SS class we are going through the book of John. This week we were studying John 17. The whole chapter ia Jesus praying - praying for Himself, for His current followers, and for us! I love that -- Jesus praying for us! wow!!

In verse 13 Jesus prays "that they may have the full measure of my joy within them." Our teacher described that as a fishing term where their nets were "crammed full" of fish, so full that the nets would be weighed down and overflowing with fish. And that is the term Jesus used when He prayed for JOY for us ~ that we would be crammed full of His joy!! I like that. I desire that. i have some spaces in my life that are crammed full & it's not so great for those areas.  BUT to be crammed full of joy -- now that's a different story!! weeeeeeo.

Please Lord Jesus-- let me be crammed full of Your JOY so that others may see it & want to know YOU!!

Jump in - Let's Go!!!

Follow Me. For the past few days I've been reading in Mark where Jesus invites a variety of guys to follow Him. Yesterday's reading He said that to some fishemen, who immediately dropped what they were doing and followed. That may have been difficult for me if I was out enjoying a day on the water, but I hope I would have followed. Then in today's reading, He invited Matthew to follow him. Matthew was tax collector. If I was a tax collector - I would have gladly followed the first person who invited me to leave my  job! so that would have been easy. ;)  Soooo that kinda got me to thinking. Follow ME...they stopped what they were doing and they followed Him on foot. Walking. following. Walking together.


Thinking about that got me to thinking about how today it would look a little differently. "Follow Me" He'd say, and I'd run to my lil Honda jump in the driver's seat and pull up right behind Jesus in His car. (You can decide WJWD -what Jesus would drive - ha!) Then off we go. He knows the destination and the best route to get there. He even knows about the fun stops and crazy detours we will encounter. I just have to follow. Keep up with the Leader. Keep Him in focus. Stay in communication with Him.


Following. Sometimes it's like this for me. Jesus, the Leader and me, the follower ~ just us ~  traveling on a two-lane road. Sunny day. No traffic. Newly paved, few bumps. Taking in the beauty. Enjoying the scenery. Music playing. Sun-roof open. Crusing behind the Lead car. Few distractions. The fun days of following. Not exactly knowing where we're going, but following closely. Enjoying the ride. Enjoying the journey. I've experienced that. Jesus leading, I'm following and the days are filled with the ease of complete trust in the Leader.  Even stopping along the route at all the best places. Ahhhh the good times of following!


Following. Sometimes it more like traveling through a frenetic big city, traffic jams, malfunction junctions, horns blowing, aggressive drivers, hectic, wild, over-crowded highways during a hard rain. With all those distractions, I lose sight of the Lead car. Is that Him? Where I'm supposed to go? Did I miss a turn? Where is my Leader? What have I done? Rain. Storm. Traffic. More distractions! A.D.D. Mixed in with fears and tears. Leader, where are YOU and where are WE going?? Have You forgotten about me back here, somewhere, trying to follow You? Exit now! Collect thoughts. Communicate - aka Pray for wisdom! Focus. Deep breaths. There HE is. Whew. He was waiting for me. "Sorry, Lord." I have to say. "I got so distracted. I lost sight of YOU."


"Follow Me."
"Lord I tried."
"Maybe we should just walk?"
"yes, Lord, walking together is good."
;)