Love is patient...

After recently watching "Fireproof" (the movie), my mom purchased the book "The Love Dare" that was a huge part of the movie. I decided that I wanted to read it. Not because I am in a marriage that is crumbling to the ground, but to maybe give me a better understanding of love...true love. The way the book is laid out is it's a 40 day journey (or dare, if you will) and each day starts with teaching a characteristic about love, then at the end of that chapter it gives you a "dare", something to do for your spouse that relates to that characteristic of love. I haven't finished the book yet, but I wanted to share some things that have really jumped out at the me and have spoken to me already.

The very first day is about patience. I was actually really excited to read this chapter because those of you who know me well, know that I have little-to-NO patience! It's something I have always strived to have more of, but I have never really seemed to grasp it. In this book, it tells us that love will inspire us to become patient people. It says that rather than being restless and demanding, love helps you settle down....it brings an internal calm to an external storm. The book said something though that really hit home for me and you can apply it not only to a marriage, but to any relationship you have. It says,

"Patience gives your spouse permission to be human. It understands that everyone fails. When a mistake is made, it chooses to give them more time than they deserve to correct it. It gives you the ability to hold on during the tough times in your relationship rather than bailing out under pressure."

This, to me not only is a great definition of patience, but of forgiveness and grace as well. We are human, we are going to make mistakes. I have learned that when you truly love someone (the kind of love that ONLY comes from God), you are able to forgive someone that seems unforgivable and are able to extend grace (and mercy) to people that don't deserve it. The reason we are able to do that is because we have Christ in us and that is the ONLY way we are able to do it. Without Him, it's impossible, but with Him, ALL things are possible. Just through reading the first few chapters of this book, I am learning more about how TRUE love only comes from God. There are other types of love (which I will write about later), but those types of love will quickly fade in time, but true, agape love which comes from Jesus in us, NEVER fails.

"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." Ephesians 4:2

Changed...Again!

I have changed the way my blog looks..yet again! Sorry! I guess I just can't find the perfect look for my blog. I know I just need to figure out a look and keep it, but I'm just not satisfied yet. Maybe this is it.....for now at least. Oh and by the way..I am hating this cold, rainy weather...can I get an AMEN? I know I just need to be thankful that we are getting rain, but 4 days of it is about enough for me. I have to go back to work tomorrow and would really like to not have to drive in it. One thing I can celebrate is the fact that I got part of my tax refund in--WHOO HOO!! That's definitely a blessing! Hope everyone is having a great Monday!

Rainy Wedding and a Baby...

I spent the weekend in Birmingham with Josh and his parents. Josh and his mom were doing music in a wedding for a family friend and we also got to stop by and see sweet Dacy Caroline!

First of all, it was a great trip because I got to spend sweet time with Josh's parents. They really are great. It's always intimidating being around someone's parents at first, but I quickly got to know them (they made it so easy) and we had a great time. The wedding was an outdoor wedding....it was cold...raining the ENTIRE time....and did I mention COLD?! I don't think I ever warmed up, but in the end, we laughed a lot and that's what was most important. It's funny because Saturday morning after getting up and checking out of the hotel, we were all doing quite a bit of complaining. We complained about the rain and how the beds were too hard to sleep on (asphalt as Josh said), how we had to be there early and what we were gonna do and then Josh's mom just stopped and said, "We sure are complaining a lot aren't we? We just need to be thankful that we are alive today and we have a warm place to sleep." That made me really think...she's right! We go through life a lot of times complaining about the smallest things when we have SO much to be thankful for! I was thinking about Josh and the accident he had back in December. Some of you may know about it and some may not, but he is a police officer and one day while on the job, he basically got thrown from a moving vehicle. He sustained only minor injuries (fractured arm, bruises, concussion, head laceration from where he hit the curb when thrown from the vehicle), but it could have been A LOT worse. That really makes you think about God's sovereignty and how His plan is SO much bigger than ours and we choose to complain about little things? God has such a great plan for our lives and God knew that He needed to keep Josh Adams around for a little while longer (hopefully A LOT longer) because 2 months later he would meet me and bless me more than ever! (sorry for getting mushy). God is awesome, He knows our hearts, He knows our desires and He is the ultimate provider even in the smallest things.

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Here are some pics from the "Barb and Josh show"




Saturday morning we got up early and went for a quick visit to see my new "niece" Dacy Caroline. She was born March 11, weighing 6 lbs, 5 oz and 18 in long. I was SO excited to see her! She is the most precious thing! I can't believe my Dacy has a little Dacy of her own! Josh even liked her too ;)


"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Psalm 139:13-14

CONGRATS ROB AND DACY!! I LOVE Y'ALL!!

Something Heavenly

For those of you that know me, know that music is such a passion of mine. I just LOVE music! I always look for some sort of meaning in music. Sometimes I feel like the words of others can express how I am feeling or what I am going through better than I can. I really like all types of music from country to golden oldies to rap to reggae to praise & worship to that new electric stuff--just about ANYTHING. Sometimes it JUST the words that really jump out at me and the music is just ok (and vice-versa) and sometimes it's a combination of both (which makes for an awesome song!).

I have actually changed the title of my blog to "Something Heavenly". Not trying to sound conceited or anything thinking that I am God's gift to this earth, but because of a song I heard recently. The song is called "Whatever You're Doing (Something Heavenly)" by Sanctus Real. It just really put into words what I have been feeling lately. So it is now the title of my blog. Here are the words in case you want to get blessed today too.... :)

It's time for healing time to move on
It's time to fix what's been broken too long
Time make right what has been wrong
It's time to find my way to where I belong
There's a wave that's crashing over me
All I can do is surrender

Whatever you're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos somehow there's peace
It's hard to surrender to what I can't see
but I'm giving in to something heavenly

Time for a milestone
Time to begin again
Reevaluate who I really am
Am I doing everything to follow your will
or just climbing aimlessly over these hills
So show me what it is you want from me
I give everything I surrender...
To...

Whatever you're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos somehow there's peace
It's hard to surrender to what I can't see
but I'm giving in to something heavenly

Time to face up
Clean this old house
Time to breathe in and let everything out
That I've wanted to say for so many years
Time to to release all my held back tears

Whatever you're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but I believe
You're up to something bigger than me
Larger than life something heavenly

Whatever you're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but now I can see
This something bigger than me
Larger than life something heavenly
Something heavenly

It's time to face up
Clean this old house
Time breathe in and let everything out

It's just comforting to know that although we may not know what God's up to in us or in our lives, He has a divine plan that is so much more awesome than anything we could EVER think up ourselves. It may seem like "chaos" what's going on in our lives, it may hurt like you know what, but if we can just get through whatever it is that we are going through, God has something SO much better for us on the other side. We can't see the big picture, oh but He CAN! I am living proof of that! I have been through SO much (especially when it comes to dating--those of you who know me, know what I'm talking about :)) and I never thought I would find (or deserved) someone as awesome as I have in my life at this moment. Sometimes it may take some time (years) to see why God did (or didn't) allow something, but once you realize it, it's so awesome! So if you are in that period of "waiting" for something, as hard as it may be, just use that time and spend it with God. Use it to let Him make you all that He wants you to be because He is trying to prepare you for something great......so let Him!

Revelation Moment

Have you ever had one of those moments where in an instant something becomes completely surreal? It's almost as if even though you are living something, it doesn't become completely REAL to you until THAT moment. It's kinda like a "revelation" moment--TADAH!! I love those moments especially when you have them with God. Like I said in my "about me" section...I love it when God shows me something new. It's such a great moment when you realize it...when it hits...and for me, it usually hits me like a TON of bricks. God has really been blessing me a lot here lately and I haven't really felt worthy of it. I have a job in the area that I have been wanting since I was in school (although I do have some stuff to work through with that). I have new people in my life that are just completely and utterly AWESOME (to say the very least). God blows me away on a daily basis and I think what did I do to deserve all of this all of a sudden?? You know sometimes you feel as though you have done so many wrongs in your past that it makes you feel as though you don't deserve anything good in your future? Well, that has been me. I always think, "Man! I really messed up, there is no chance for me to ever have or ever deserve anything good now", so that has left me feeling kinda empty, with a huge hole in my heart and just feeling like I will just have to settle from now on. Now, don't think I'm trying to make you feel sorry for me, because believe me, I have seen the light! I now know that's not what God wants for me. God loves me. God meets us where we are! I once heard Bro. Steve preaching and he said "God isn't the one that moved, we did". So if we come running back to Him, He is there waiting with open arms. Romans 8:1 says, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.." how comforting is that?!?
I heard this song the other day that sort of spoke to me and was just...kinda refreshing (reminded me of how I have been feeling and what God's response would be to me)..It's called "You Belong To Me" by Grey Holiday. Here are the lyrics.

You run, you hide
As tears fall from your eyes
They fall like snow
From a wounded soul
You hold inside
The hurt of great divide
The hole is starting to get old

So come back to the light
To the love, you will find
It's been here all along
So come back to the start
And you'll find in your heart
That you always belonged
To me

Just take the rope
I won't let it go
Give in
We can start again
I'm life, I'm hope
And I'm ready to explode
With how bad I want you back home

You're my daughter, you're my son
You're the one I long to love
And you've heard I chose to die
Do you know you're the reason why?

White as Snow

Can I start off by saying WOW!!! Oh my gosh! The snow! I really didn't believe it would snow! I said to someone on Saturday (when it was so warm) that I would have to see it to believe it, well God sure showed me! I woke up Sunday morning about 7:00 and looked outside and it was steadily coming down. I ran into the living room and said excitedly to my mom "It's snowing!!". I honestly was SO surprised, I was in complete awe because I really couldn't believe my eyes. First of all, we NEVER get snow (and it was at least 60-70 degrees the day before) and second of all it was BEAUTIFUL. I went to church for the first time in a while (yes, I actually braved the snow) and walking from sunday school to the church this is what I saw....

It was actually kinda fun walking through what seemed like a blizzard, but then when I arrived in the sanctuary with my hair soaking wet and cold, that wasn't so fun. In our prayer groups in sunday school, while Janet was praying, she said something that was really cool. It was really neat to see the snow yesterday and to be reminded of how Jesus' blood on the cross washes us white as SNOW. Isn't that SO great! God sent that little reminder yesterday and I felt so refreshed. Then to go out and play in the snow made it that much better! Here are a couple pics from my snow day.






Snow is so much fun, but I can only handle it for so long...it get COLD! I will have to admit, I am SO ready for warm weather to get here and stay. Although there is something about every season that I love, I think I have discovered my favorite season must be summer. I just love being outside especially at the lake or the beach. I love being on a boat just soaking up the rays and floating in the water. It's so relaxing. Summer get here already!

Saturday night Josh and I watched the movie Fireproof. Despite bad acting, it ended up being a great movie. It has some really good points in it, so I advise anyone to see it (especially married couples). There is a song in the movie called "While I'm Waiting" by John Waller that I have fallen in love with! (Here is the video from the movie--you should really take time to listen and watch!)



I heard it then downloaded it later and it really spoke to me. One of my faults is that I don't have a whole lot of patience.....period. When it comes to anything, especially waiting on God's timing. Even in little things like buying something, I just feel like I HAVE to have it RIGHT THEN. I know that sounds awful, but it's the truth. I have always wanted to learn to be more patient, but it's something I have always struggled with and I can admit that being impatient, for me has definitely had its drawbacks. It has caused me alot of heartache too that I could have avoided had I just been patient and trusted in God and realized that he has a perfect will for my life. I heard someone speak once about when you pray and ask God for things and they said that God will always answer you and He will tell you 1 of 3 things. He will say "Yes", "No" or "wait". Of course hearing a "no" is awful, but let me tell you, waiting is hard too because during that time you feel like you just don't know, but that's when this song really spoke to me. It's during this "waiting" that God wants us to be totally consumed in Him, to use this time to rest in Him and worship Him and better our relationship with Him so that we can be better prepared for whatever it is that we have asked Him for. Obviously if God has told us to "wait" then He knows we aren't quite ready for whatever it is that we have requested. Remember...He knows our hearts and He knows our desires...He put them there. He tells us "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." What He is saying is that as long as you are seeking Him, He is going to give you what you desire or either He will change your heart to be more in line with what He wants for your life. Isn't that the coolest thing?! I have definitely witnessed that in my own life. There are SO many things I thought I wanted at one point only to find that once I started seeking God, those desires TOTALLY changed and now they are in line with what He wants for me. It's so awesome when you realize that.

Friday, of course I had to go out and support Auburn Road. As usual, I had a good time. Here are some pictures from that night.