DAY 12 --30 DAYS OF JOY

TRUE JOY CAME IN THE FORM OF ANSWERED PRAYERS TODAY. THIS WAS ONE OF THE FUNNEST, FUNNIEST, AND MOST COMPLETE DAYS I CAN REMEMBER FOR A LONG TIME.
ITSN'T IT FUNNY HOW GOD KNOWS SO MUCH BETTER THAN US WHAT WE NEED AND WHEN WE NEED IT, AND HE SENDS IT , JUST AT THE RIGHT MOMENT , JUST AT THE RIGHT TIME IN YOUR LIFE WHEN YOU ARE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE AND EXCEPT IT.
IF WE ARE FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO KNOW THAT THIS IS THE ANSWER WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR , THEN WE GRAB IT AND MAKE THE VERY BEST OF IT CAUSE IT'S NOT EVERY DAY THAT THESE BLESSNG COME OUR WAY. SO MY JOY TODAY CAME STRAIGHT FROM GOD IN MORE WAYS THAN I CAN COUNT. I WILL ACCEPT IT AND CHERISH THIS DAY FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE.......THANK YOU GOD FOR ONCE AGAIN SHOWING ME YOUR LIGHT AND THE PATH THAT YOU WOULD HAVE ME WALK.
TERRI

30 DAYS OF JOY---UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

WHAT A JOY IT IS TO HAVE SOMEONE WHO LOVES YOU UNCONDITIONALLY. LIFE IS SO FULL OF UNEXPECTED TRADGEDY AND LOSS IT IS SUCH A WONDERFUL FEELING TO KNOW YOU HAVE SOMEONE WHO EXCEPTS YOU JUST THE WAY YOU ARE , AND IS WILLING TO LOVE YOU AND BE A PART OF YOUR LIFE. IF YOU KNOW THOSE WHO LOVE YOU UNCONDITIONALLY GIVE THEM AN EXTRA HUG TODAY AND LET THEM KNOW WHAT HAVING THEM AROUND REALLY MEANS TO YOU. WE ARE NOT PROMISED TOMORROW AND YOU MAY NEVER GET THE CHANCE TO SAY I LOVE YOU.

Fall Fun for All---Joy on the 10th day

Oh Boy it's that time of year, so many things to do and so little time. We have managed to squeeze in a few very fun filled days and love this weather. The pumpkin patch was a great day and all the friends had fun. The fair was wonderful with baby cousin Emma Grace and Niece Bonnie and family. We are planning a trip to the mountains to see fall colors and we know we will have a wonderful time there. The treat street at CMRC was a blast and everyones costumes were great. We plan to go downtown Newton on Saturday and enter Sugar Baby in the costume contest so that should be really fun. So what does all of this have to do with JOY....well can't you see it gives me tremendous joy just to see everyone around me HAPPY! Happy Halloween Everyone!!!

30 Days of JOY, Day 9..Old Vacation Photos

"If you want to bring Yourself true Joy never miss the chance to make a child Happy."

I found true Joy today by looking back on old vacation photos. These are the times in our lives that we will remember , either because it was so much fun or because we were miserable. Hopefully it won't be the latter. One of the biggest Joys I have had is seeing Abbie being transformed into Cinderella. When we watched the video for our soon to be Disney World Vacation, she saw the Bippity Boppity Boutigue ,this was her only request to have a good time at Disney. So that we did, spent the entire afternoon getting madeover then it's off to the Princess and Pirates Party that night at the Magic Kingdom. And Magic it was, the whole park was closed except for those of us who had bought the special package and I will never regret that purchase. We had a wonderful time and the joy it gave me to see my daughter enjoy being a Princess for a day was priceless...So get out your photos and enjoy looking back at the times that gave you joy and made you smile .....

30 Days of Joy-----day 8

Ok so we all tend to gripe and complain due to the rain. After all it interferes with so many outdoor plans and we as Southerners are definetly outdoor folks. But I really enjoy a great rainy day, the one like today when everything is overcast and it screams, slow down, curl up, get comfy and read a really good romantic book. I can catch up on a Movie I have been meaning to watch for the last six months and actually enjoy it.
And then you have to look at the bright side of rain.....I won't have to fill the bird bath, I won't have to water the flowers, it maybe will wash a little of the rag weed out of the air, so that we can breathe again, and wash at least one layer of dirt of my van so that i don't have to go to the car wash...Yea! RAIN.
And then theres the best thing of all, this rain is supposed to bringing a little fall weather, you know that brisk, put on a sweater and go to the FAIR weather. Which i will have to do some time in the next week. But I do believe if you look on the right side of everything then you will learn to enjoy anything. P.S. You have to have rain to get rainbows, and the sunsets are always prettier afternoon a late afternoon shower. Hope everyone enjoys what's left of this beautiful rainy Saturday. I know I will.

30 days of JOY------Day 7

Today a Joy that comes to mind is the Joy of meditation...of Prayer, and being quiet so that i can hear myself think. ( and in Janet's case, so that she can play with all those other little people in her head) LOL. I used to have a lot of time to think , organize my life and plan in my head. I had plenty of time while i drove between patients to think on many things and it kept me grounded and in the moment. But for the last four years or so I have had constant outside stimulation from other people. Constant questions, listening to others delimmas and problems, me solving problems and of course as soon as i left the office there is Abbie. Ya'll are all of aware of how much conversation, and just idol chatter a 9 year old can accomplish in a very short length of time. OMG!

So today I plan to be silent and listen, listen to what God had to say to me and listen to what I have been trying to say to myself for quite sometime now. That is after i accomplish my goal of cleaning up the back yard and getting out the Halloween Decor.

But the importance of meditation or quiet time is priceless. If you are a busy mom , grandmother etc. You know that even on your best day that others can take away all your down time and you will be giving out much more than you are getting, from those that you love. So I learned a long time ago that it's ok to say no, and that every now and then it is very important to be by yourself and regroup. You have to get back to YOU so to speak.

There are people in our lives who are continously "dipping from our bucket", and then there are those who are continously filling our bucket. For the most of us we would much rather be around those who fill than those who dip. I found that the best thing i ever did was sit down and make a list of those who were dipping and start to ease those out of my life. These are the people who look at life very negatively, they worry all the time instead of just living life. They are drama queens and if something dramatic is not happening around them then they will make some new drama. They are users and losers in my book. They manipulate the people around them to get what they want when they want it. They are actresses to say the least, because they will take on any personality they need to get their goal accomplished. They usually prey on people who are very grounded, nice and ( yes I have to say it, GULLIBLE enough to fall for their Drama). Once you've cleared your life of these people and sent them on to their next victim, you will see just how greatly your life will improve. Do you remember how your parents would not let you associate with certain people,(because they're not our kind), while i do not believe in this on a social status level, I do believe that we should not be around people who continously bring us down and don't lift us up.

So today I will meditate and rewrite my list of folks that i need to rid my self of in order that i can have brighter happier days. So just remember that if you are the one who is dipping from others buckets, they may have you on their list to EASE YOU ON OUT!!!!LOL. Hope everyone has a wonderful day and finds a little time to be Quiet and listen to what YOUR SELF needs.

Day 6------30 days of Joy

Today my joy is having a clean house, wow, does that ever feel good. I am one of those who can not relax until all the work is done. If i sit down I see a million things that need doing. So if i can reach the point that everything is clean at the sane time then i am in heaven. I have been off work for some time now and I go back on Monday. I have all these goals i want to achieve before i get back into the rat race. You know the ones, clean closets, junk drawers, purge so that i won't wind up on that Hoarder Show on TLC. I also want to get my yard prepared for fall and then, Christmas is just around the corner.

I have always wanted my house to look like a magazine cover, and i have to say it pretty much did, until hurricane Abbie came along. Ok ,what is it about children that they just have to mess up in order to enjoy themselves. She is like the little "PIG PEN" guy on Charlie Brown. Every room she enters she leaves a trail of stuff behind her. She has never been much of a toy child, it's always been paper, pencils, dress up clothes, colors and beads( you know those that you step on in the middle of the night, and wake everybody up with your scream). She is absolutely a walking disaster area. I have been trying to teach her how to organize and pick up after herself , but boy is this a slow never ending process. Any suggestions?????

At any rate my home is clean for the day and hopefully it will stay this way for at least a day. If anyone wants to see it clean you better come over asap cause it won't stay this way long. So today I am full of Joy , cause the maid finally showed up. But I have to tell you she can hardly walk, every muscle is sore and still she feels blessed to be able to sit back and enjoy what she has done, cause no one can do it like I can!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DAY 5...30 DAYS OF JOY..MY BIGGEST JOY OF ALL

Of course all of you who know us, know that Abbie is my greatest joy of all. She came to us as a miracle and every day with her reminds me of how powerful prayer is and how GOD can just take over and change your life. Her name means a fathers JOY....and that she was. As i see her changing daily before my eyes, i see a mixture of her daddy and me. She is so full of life and energy and she tends to rub of on you. She is a great mood pill, she can lift your spirits in a flash just by her comments. She is very mature for her age. My best friend swears she is an reincarnation of someone in our family cause she has always had a grown up vocabulary and attitude. Abbie is very talented and demands attention when she performs for you. She is full of herself and yet treats others with kindness and respect. She is a great cheerleader with a lot of athleticism and with her drive and determination she continues to excel at whatever she does. She is and has always been , the perfect picture of health and i am so grateful for that as we know other children who are sick almost all the time. She definitely has her own set of drums and walks to a very different beat and i think that will always be a plus in her favor. But the day she wants a tattoo, spiked hair and wants to wear all black with chains I assure you we will not be able to compromise. Mother will win on that one. She does procrastinate way too much, especially when it comes to doing her homework. I am currently trying to teach her what her responsibilities to her self are and her responsibility in life is. She seems to be getting it and things are improving...just not fast enough for mom.....She is a typical 9 year old....and PTL....she is finally over the Hannah Montana phase....It's Taylor Swift now...I love being with her , but unfortunately she would much rather be with her friends. Abbie you are your mother's Joy, and if your Daddy could be here he would tell you the same...We could not have dreamed for a more perfect daughter.....Thank you Abbie for bringing me JOY into our lives.

day 4 ...30 days of joy

Today I found that one of my biggest Joys, is Color. Ever since i can remember I have always loved color. My Home is colorful My wardrobe probably looks like Walt Disney threw up, and the more of it I have around me the better I feel. Color seems to scare some people. I have had them come into my house and say "Oh, I would never have the nerve to do this. Most of them are standing there with their mouths wide open. I am an artist so I guess that will explain some of it, but I don't think that's,, all of it. If you put me in surroundings with all beige and neutral colors then I quickly become very bored and depressed, so i really feel like I need color in my life to survive. The brighter and bolder the better.
As i look out at nature God's color choices are the best of all. As you gaze at a tree , just try and count the many different greens that are there. Look at the blues, greens, yellows, and pinks that a sunset can produce. I think God likes color as much as i do, and he certainly was not afraid to use it. I call October the Orange month, for all the obvious reasons, but as fall begins to show herself in Mississippi, I love watching all the colors change. Have you ever noticed that even the shadows change. I just wish us working folks had more time to enjoy. Now that the days are getting shorter and shorter we will have to cram in as much of God's beauty as we can.
Before the gas prices skyrocketed and put us all on hold, I used to love to take Sunday afternoon rides to see the different color in the country side. The full moon this past weekend was a glorious site and the gold that lit up my yard , was breathtaking.
As we approach our busiest time of year , please stop long enough to see what God has given us to gaze upon. It is one of the most beautiful paintings ever and it's free. No Museum charges, no hyped up artist Name to pay for, all you have to do is look out a window or step outside., and behold the greatest Artist of all has given you the best gift of all and all you have to do is enjoy.

30 days of Joy ---Day 3

I would have to say that joy has to be found within yourself, but i have so many things that bring me joy, and when i sit and think about them the list just seems to grow bigger and bigger. I think by stopping long enough to actually acknowledge these will put us into a different frame of thought and give a glorious day.
Today i am thinking about the Joy that reminiscing brings to our lives. Whether it be with an old friend a co-worker or a family member, just the words Do you remember when??? seem to get us going. I recently reunited with an old friend, we giggled like school girls and had the best time.
It made me think of when i was growing up in Sylvarena, Ms. My grandmother had a huge pecan tree in her yard. A big swing hung from the strongest branch, and many other chairs were arranged in a circle around the swing. In the afternoons, when it was the hottest, people from the community would stop by an sit under the tree and reminisce about the good ole days. Now i remember them as the "good ole days". It seemed as if everyone always had the time to stop and chat, drink some iced tea and talk about everything from the Bible to what the basketball team was doing at the school.
Today we are in such a hurry to get home and get on the computer , no one ever has time to just stop and chat with an old friend. Facebook has been a great way to reconnect with our friends , but just think how much fun it would be if you and all your high school buds could get together and stay up all night talking .
So reminiscing gives me great Joy. Hope it has made you stop and think just a little about the good ole days, and i hope there is a smile on your face.

30 DAYS OF JOY DAY 2

Today my joy is the freedom to worship as i like. You see I hear a lot of folks complain about the people in their church. But i'm fortunate enough to have found Antioch Christian Church, where I am always met with a smiling face and a welcome. You know the Love of the Lord is in their hearts and they are there for the same reason I am, simply to worship the Lord. If you don't feel this in your church perhaps you are just paired up with the wrong set of folks. Don't stop going to church , visit others and find your fit.

30 days of Joy

• Things that bring me joy, I challenge you to spend the next 30 days writing about one thing a day that brings you Joy. At the end of the 30 days, assess how much better your attitude and personality will be. Day one-------------Bubbles blown in the Back yard
• Does it get any better than Bubbles? They are fun , light, free , colorful and delicate , they are floaters, just come and go with the wind. I love to try and photograph them and it is not as easy as it seems, but every now and then I get a really good one.
• Today i will blow bubbles and watch my stress just float away........................................
  

WHAT'S THIS ALL ABOUT?

Ok, how many of you have rushed home from working all day , dead tired and in one hour managed to get the whole family clean and dressed, fed and watered. Loaded everyone in the car and took off to the ballgame. Now we know this is one of America's favorite pastimes, right? Maybe , maybe not.

You see i am more or less an observer, someone who enjoys observing peoples ways, behaviors and actions. And as I was observing at the local school ballgame tonite, I noticed that out of the huge number of avid supporters of the team, only a mere handful were actually watching the game.

I saw the children running under the bleachers, the parents all talking among themselves, the teenagers huddled in groups talking about the other teenagers huddled in groups and almost everyone was eating something.So this is the way I see it. Most of us could care less about the actual ballgame. We are there for a whole lot of other reasons, not that they're bad mind you. We as Southerners seem to have a natural tendancy to miagrate towards large groups of people, large amounts of over priced food, and any venue in which we can run our mouths. In other words, we LOVE to socialize. We love belonging to a group, and having the feeling that we belong. You know we don't just do this for friday night ballgames, we also do it at church, festivals and the all time favorite.....the FAIR!!!! Why in the world would a normally frugal person go to all the trouble to get dressed, get the whole family dressed and use a tank of gas, and use up all their patience trying to park the vehicle just to get a stupid wiener with a stick stuck through it and dipped in cornbread and fried golden brown. Have we lost our minds??

No , you see we do it to bring back memories, we do for the sake of tradition, it's the one thing we can allow our children to experience that we also experienced at their age. The smells are all the same, a cross between onions, cotton candy, corn dogs, and farm animal manure and hay. And guess what we all love it, we love every bit of it. It's the atmosphere, the memories that make that corndog taste like it came from a five star resturant, and hey is their lemonade any different than anyone elses , i think not, it just plain taste better when you are at the FAIR!

Can we talk funnel cakes for just a moment please. Who thought this one up? OMG!!! Is there anything messier , or more uncomfortable to eat while standing? You come away with white powder all over your face, hands and clothes and yet- you've gotta have one everytime. Again tradition and atmosphere. You know we could make them in the Fry Daddy at home, but would they taste the same??? Instead we wait an entire year and go through almost shear H---, just so we can pay 20 times what it actually cost and have the experience of eating it standing up!! YUM, YUM....No matter what your Fair food obsession is, and I'm sure you have one, I think you will all agree , It all just reminds us of a time when things were simpler in our lives and we will all gladly go through all the hassels just to have the pleasures, brought to our senses , for one week every year.

When Friendship Fails