The Cast is Off!

I am happy to announce that yesterday, I ditched my cast! I went to the orthopedist and he removed the cast and said that everything is healing well. I swear that I heard Angels sing when he said that. Not only because I got to have my cast taken off, but because I'm on the downhill side of this whole ordeal. I have a walking boot for the next 4 weeks, then back to the doctor to schedule physical therapy and then I'm done.

The best part about yesterday though, was after I got home. I got to take a shower without a trash bag taped to my leg. This may not seem like something to get excited about but I assure you, I could not have been a happier girl!

I want to thank you so much for you prayers and encouragement throughout all of this. I know that I have not always been the best at hiding my true cast-feelings and I appreciate you letting me vent when need be. I promise that if you ever need to whine about something I will listen whole heartedly. Furthermore, if you ever have to have a cast in July, I will pray profusely that it's the coldest, driest July Georgia has ever seen:)

Love to all,

Stephanie

Hump Day Humor-Signs

Hump Day Humor
Hosted by Mercedes Rocks
I got this as an e-mail from a friend. The signs are hilarious and sure to make you giggle at least once!

How Many Pairs of Shoes Do You Own?

**Update**I found 7 more pair in our guest closet bringing my total to 42 pairs of shoes. Which just makes the whole thing more terrible. I have shoes that I FORGOT ABOUT and there are children who have no shoes.**

A little random for a Monday morning I know, but humor me. One of the blogs I follow, Brad Ruggles, asked this question on Friday. So, I counted and I own 35 pairs of shoes. He followed up yesterday with a post for the 40 Day Fast.

Reading about the number of children that are running around with no shoes, cutting their feet on rocks, while I have a multitude to choose from, is heartbreaking. In fact, with my cast on one foot, I only have a few pair to pick from and I've been complaining about being confined to those.

That makes me a little nauseous.

Go check out his post for the exact number of children who have no shoes. I can't read it and not be moved to do something about it.

I Am Not Wonder Woman

Good Morning! I want to ask you to pray for me this morning as I have come to a startling revelation.

I am not wonder woman.

I know that you all find this just as shocking as I did! That being said, I've been on my foot a lot more the last few days and it is killing me. Last night, I not only canceled plans with my Hailey (which I NEVER do), but I also used my crutches instead of putting weight on it. Since, I would rather crawl for the rest of my life than use the crutches, I took that as a sign that I needed to sit down and put it up.

I am at work today and going to stay chained to my desk with it propped up. If you wouldn't mind saying an extra prayer that it would stop throbbing, I would appreciate it more than you know.

And if you're thinking of telling me that I need to listen to my body and be patient, Allison beat you to it:) She just sent me this:

Be still & know that I am God. ~ Psalm 46:10

Thanks for being here.

Love,

Stephanie

God needs a megaphone

Do you ever feel like God needs a megaphone? Instead of sending you reminders through people he could just yell down the message that He is trying to give you. Not that I don't appreciate the way He uses random strangers in my life, I'm just dense a lot of the time. I can imagine Him sitting up there as He tries for the third time to show me something (that I inevitably miss) saying, "Seriously??? How many times do I have to tell you this before you get it?" Enter the megaphone.

The theme of my devotional yesterday was that God has a purpose for you exactly where you are. You may not always understand them, but God's choices for your life are never haphazard or random. A couple hours later I was driving to work listening to Christian Working Woman. Mary Welchel was talking about feeling content with God's purpose for your life. Are you noticing a theme? I wasn't. Yet.

In the afternoon a lady walked into my office and we started chatting (I really will talk to anyone if you stand still long enough!). We got on the subject of churches and I told her that I think I'm not satisfied with any of the churches I've visited because I really want to be in my Father-in-law's church. And then she said to me, "I can so understand that but you have to remember that where you are isn't a random. God has a very specific plan for each season of your life."

My jaw hit the floor.

I must have been staring funny because she asked if I was okay. I told her about my morning, and that she was the third "messenger" to deliver that information to me. She laughed and asked if I got the message yet. I said yes and we both went on about our days.

So, if like me, you have been feeling like you're not sure what God is doing with your life right now, it's okay because He has you exactly where He wants you to be. And for today that is going to be enough for me. I thank you for sticking with me and I will leave you with my favorite verse for this seaon,

Jeremiah 29:11-"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Love you all,

Stephanie

Judge Not

I just started a new Bible study by Beth Moore called David and am really enjoying it. Well, I'll say growing a lot as God changes my heart. It's not always a fun process but conviction rarely is.

This mornings' scripture was 1 Samuel 16:1-7 and it spoke about judging people. The last verse in particular jumped out at me: But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." How often do I sum up my feelings about someone within a few minutes of meeting them? Or in less than a few seconds as I pass them in a store? More often than I realize. It makes it even worse when I think about how much I HATE when people do that to me.

As I was reflecting on this, I thought about how worried I get about how people view me. On average I spend about 45 minutes getting physically ready for the day. How often do I spend 45+ minutes in the morning praying and putting on my spiritual armor for the day? While I usually spend quiet time with God in the morning, it doesn't even come close to 45 minutes. Am I really that much more concerned with what people think than what God thinks? While I hate to admit it, the answer seems painfully clear.

Am I the only one who thinks that this is completely backwards of how it should be?

4th of July

Every year we go to Elberton to celebrate 4th of July. Hailey's family (my adopted family) lives there and dad's birthday is on the 5th so it's just a weekend full of excitement. He is one of the most hard-working, honorable men I know...which also makes him the hardest to buy gifts for! He is content with what he has and doesn't want gifts unless they're practical. We all went in together and got him an ipod this year since he does love music. And he's excited because he can download sermons to it and listen while he works on the tractor. That's the kind of man he is.

The majority of the time we're here we're in the living room. And when I say we, I mean all nine of us (and more on occasion) just spending time together. Right now Mom, Dad & Hannah are playing on the floor, Michael & I are on laptops, and the rest are playing Rock Band on XBOX. It's not that we're doing anything spectacular, really, we're all just happy to be together. I swear we just love to be goofy together. Last night we were playing Halo and the computer named me Hippo. No, I'm not kidding. I was, of course, annoyed, and everyone laughed for a good 20 minutes or so just because of that. We're silly people and I wouldn't change that for anything in the world.

When Nanny and Papa come over to eat with us there's 4 generations around the table. I look around at everyone and thank God that I am part of this wonderful family. They mean more to me than I can even begin to tell you and I can honestly say that I don't know where I would be without their influence in my life. I know that I talk a lot about them but I can't help it. I am constantly overwhelmed by their love and generosity.

If you got through all the rambling and made it this far I am amazed but thank you for sticking with me. I hope that all of you had weekends that were equally as wonderful!