Well, I'm Off.....

It's 7:40 a.m. and we are about to head out to Florida. I'm not sure what accommodations the hotel will have as far as the Internet goes so I may not be back on until Monday. I will, however, have TONS of pictures to share with you from our trip and yes, I will be thinking of you all as I stuff my face with the best seafood and take long strolls along the white sandy beach lol. See you all when I get back...hey, maybe I'll have a tan HAHA!

If Moses Attented an Inner City School....

I'm an Equal Opportunity to Laugh kinda gal

TEN COMMANDMENTS

1. I'm God. Don't play me.

(I am the Lord thy God, thou shalt not have any other gods before me.)

2. Don't be makin no hood ornaments and charms outta me, or like me.

(Thou shalt not! have any graven images)

3. Don't be callin' me for no reason

(Thou shalt not use the name of the Lord thy God in vain)

4. Y'all betta be in church on Sunday,and not just the Sundays when it's Mother's day, Easter and Christmas

(Remember to keep the Sabbath day holy)

5. Don't dis or cuss out yo momma...and if you know who ya daddy is, don't be dissin' him neither.(Honor thy father and thy mother)

6. Don't be goin' on no drive bys.

(Thou shalt not kill)

7. Stick to ya own Boo.

(Thou shalt not commit adultery)

8. Don't be borrow'n stuff and don't give it back.

(Thou shalt not steal)

9. Don't be snitchin' on the otha'man to save your behind.

(Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy brother)

10. Don't be eyein' (skeeming) yo homie's crib, ride, woman, or nuffin.

(Thou shalt not covet anything that belongs to thy brother).

The Best Beaches in the World....ok, the USA.

Sandestin Flordia, also known as The Emerald Coast, is right on the Gulf of Mexico. Water that shimmers like emeralds and pristine white beaches are only two of the many attractions this paradise has to offer.

Nestled amongst the breath taking scenery lies a plethora of both fine and casual dinning establishments. Favorites include Marlin Grill, Finz, Bistro Bijoux, The Marina, Sunset Charlies, and Another Broken Egg (For Breakfast).

Casual dining favorites include Bayou Bills Crab Shack, Elmos, Don Pablos, The Donut Hole, Busters, Hammerheads, ACME Oyster Bar (The best Crawfish PoBoy you'll ever put in your mouth), located in the quaint Villages of Baytowne Wharf (Pictured bellow), plus a dozen others.

Sandestin is also home of Four championship golf courses making it one of Florida's top golf resorts and a golfers Paradise. These courses have won many awards including:

Top 75 Golf Resorts ~ Silver Medalist, Golf Magazine 2004,2006, 2008
Top 75 Golf Resorts ~ Golf Digest, 2006
Four 1/2 Stars ~ Golf Digest "Places To Play" 2006
Gold Tee Award, Meetings & Conventions, 2002, 2003, 2004 - Meeting planners' choice for top golf and meeting hotels and resorts
Top 100 Women’s Courses in the Country, Golf for Women
Best Golf in Northwest Florida, Birmingham magazine

Sandestin also caters to shopaholics boasting over 100 designer and name brand factory outlet stores located at Silver Sands Factory Stores. With over 450,000 sq. ft of shopping (and plans to expand to 700,000.) This is truly the perfect haven for attaining your fashion needs......and wants! Be sure and visit BCBG Max Azria, Michael Kors , Movado, Nautica, Nine West, Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th, and Greg Norman among dozens of other stores. In between shopping you can dine at Carrabba's Italian Grill or cool down with an authentic gelato at San Gelato Cafe. Also, don't forget to stop by Harry and Davids for their world famous baked goods, candies, fruits and nuts.

Make your plans now to enjoy this Heaven on earth. I've already made mine. I'll be sure and post more pictures when I get back.

Here are some pictures of our past vacations to Sandestin.

A sunset kiss like this could only happen in Sandestin.

Soaking It Up!!

Yes, it's 1:30 a.m. and I can not go to sleep. Why? Because God has really put something on my heart and the more I think about it, the deeper it gets. It started last night at church during alter call. Bro. Wilbanks was praying and this burning thought branded my mind and my heart; and it has continued to do so all day today and tonight.
Have you ever been so deep in prayer that it seems that you can actually hear the thoughts of God and feel His heartbeat? Most of the time, when this happens, I am consumed with a huge weight..like the weight of the world is on my heart. I can almost feel the pain, grief and hurt that this world is consumed by and I feel such an urgency to reach them. It's like you are staring at a burning building and you can hear the screams and you are engulfed by the great need these people have to be rescued.
Last night I felt this but it went deeper. It was more geared toward the Church body and our relationship with God. It felt that God was just wanted to saturate every fiber of our being with Him but we were already soaked with so many things of this world that He couldn't fill us completely. I'm not really talking about sin but I'm referring to "stuff". Just plain old carnality in the literal sense of the word: cares of life, entertainment, Wal-Mart, McDonald's, Coke, Pepsi, Jobs, Houses...just all these little things that are woven into our daily life. It's these little things that can steal our focus without us really knowing it.
When I was a little girl we had an above ground pool in our backyard and the chlorine would just kill our hair to the point that it would look like straw. I remember reading that in order to keep the water with the harmful chemicals out, you should wet your hair with pure water before getting into the pool. This would saturate your hair fibers so that there would not be room for your hair to soak up the water with the chemicals. This came to my mind last night and it felt like God was telling me the same thing. I need to be so saturated with Him that the things in the world that could be harmful to my soul or could distract me would not be able to penetrate me. It's when I get to this point that God can truly use me to reach those hurting souls.

While all these thoughts were pouring through my heart I thought of the song "Lord, I'm Available To You". Here are the words in case you don't know it.

"Lord, I'm Available To You"

V1

You gave me my hands

To reach out to man

To show him Your love

And Your perfect plan

You gave me my ears

I can hear Your voice so clear

I can hear the cry of sinners

But can I wipe away their tears?

Ch.

Lord, I'm available to You

My will I give to You

I'll do what you say

Do use me Lord

To show someone the way

And enable me to say

My storage in empty
And I am available to You

V2.

You gave me my voice

To speak Your word

To sing of Your Praises

To those who've never heard

But with my eye I see a need

For more availability

I see hearts that have been broken

So many people to be freed

v3.

Now I'm giving back to You

All the tools You gave to me

My hands, my ears,

My voice , my eyes

So You can use them as You please

I have emptied out my cup

So that You can fill it up

Now I'm free and I just want to be

More available to You.

Ch/End.

Lord, I'm available to You

My will I give to You

I'll do what You say

Do use me Lord

To show someone the way

And enable me to say

My storage is empty

And I am available...

My storage is empty

And I am available...

My storage is empty

And I am available to You

When I read the first definition of the word "Saturate" my mind was completely blown.

Saturate:

1 : to satisfy fully : 2 : to treat, furnish, or charge with something to the point where no more can be absorbed, dissolved, or retained 3 a : to fill completely with something that permeates or pervades b : to load to capacity 4 : to cause to combine till there is no further tendency to combine .

I want to be so Saturated, Satisfied, Permeated, Pervaded, Combined with God that there is room for nothing else!

Happy Easter Everyone!! (Ok, I'm a little late...)

Lorin had a GREAT time this Easter. Though it was her second Easter, she really didn't know what was going on during the first one so this one was sooo much fun. My mom and I made her Easter Basket and it turned out pretty awesome (if I do say so myself). She was in her Easter dress at first, just for pictures, but she was about to get into a seriously "sticky situation" so she got striped her down to her diaper. Oh, my child now wants to eat Jelly Beans 24/7.... Kiddy Crack anyone? After Church, we came home at ate a wonderful Easter Lunch that my mom made. Ham, Mac&Cheese, Green Beans, Squash, Slaw, Rolls...it was awesome.








The Easter Basket

















Dancing With Nana





















At The Botanical Gardens
















Paw Paw showing Lorin her Easter Basket















Jelly Beans and Paw Paw...it doesn't get any better than this!

So Sorry!

Okay, I am probably the worst blogger out there. I'm so sorry that I haven't posted a blog in a while. I'm just now getting over bronchitis and frankly, I haven't felt like doing much of anything for the past week and a half. PLEASE FORGIVE ME! lol. I do have a TON of pictures of Lorin to post from Easter and from the New Church building so those will be coming along shorty. I would put them on now but I'm not at home, therefor I do not have access to all the photos. I promise it won't be long! Until then, keep checking back.