sophie

this post is dedicated to my sweet little pup sophie....



This is her face when she doesn't want me to take her picture. As I type this she is in the bed. She's a very smart little dog. She has trained me how to get up and put her in the bed at night. She's also trained me how to get up and get her a treat.



this is her "safe spot" she loves this pink bag. She gets in there when she's scared or if she thinks we're going somewhere.



this is what she does during the day (IF i leave the drapes pulled back, which during the summer is rare b/c it warms up the whole house) she loves to sit and watch the neighbors though. It's also a prime spot to watch for Granny or her Auntie Cassie to pull up.



this is one of my favorite pictures of her. she looks so sweet and warm.

sophie is scared of thunderstorms so i got her a thundershirt to try and help with this....so far it's working...since i bought it we haven't had a storm to try it out with...lol



She is also dramatic. What should have just been a little blood drawn during her yearly check up turned into lots of bleeding and this bandage...



but she's the best!! She's always happy to see me!



LOVE HER! :)

new post

So my time in public accounting is coming to an end. After this week, I will no longer be working in public. Now to non-accountants that isn't anything special. But to those of us who are, this is a big change. I am really excited about this new opportunity, but I have to be honest; I'm a little bit nervous. I guess I just don't know what to expect. But that's how life goes! Things always change.

I have to share a picture of my Sunday school kids with you!

This is Jack and Dante. These two little guys are regulars in my second grade Sunday school class. Today I showed up and found them wearing matching outfits. lol. These boys are a handful! They are very hyper every Sunday. I ask them if they eat sugar for breakfast or hyper beans every week. But they're fun. These pictures are blurry because they wouldn't be still long enough for me to snap a good picture!

Today's lesson was about a lot of things I guess. We talked about treating people how you would like to be treated; showing compassion, kindness, humility; being thankful for our blessings and showing forgiveness to others.

Then during class Jack hit Dante. Dante said he might forgive Jack for that in about 3 months but not anytime soon. It made me laugh. :) At least he's honest.

But I totally feel like that sometimes. I  know we're supposed to forgive others but geez that's hard sometimes! Also, why is it so hard to always be nice and kind to others. One of my favorite Avett Brother songs asks "what makes it easy to treat people bad?" I think that's a good question. The answer to that question in the song is that "Love gets lost." I think that's true. The scripture today was Colossians 3:12-14:

¹² Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³ Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

I asked the boys about love. What was love?

They said making out with girls. I said that romantic love is one kind, but that wasn't the one we were talking about today. Loving others is what we were talking about (to which Dante said that he didn't love Jack. Jack said he loved his sisters which I thought was sweet! And both agreed that the love their parents and grandparents) Then Dante said we're supposed to love others like we love ourselves. Smart kid! (maybe he HAS been listening during class). So, as I sat down to post a blog (and sorry y'all that sometimes they're long) this conversation came back to me and it has lead me here. I think that maybe that's the problem. Maybe it's hard to follow God's instructions to love our neighbor like ourselves when we aren't sure what that should look like. I always say I "love" this or that. I love naps! I love those shoes! I love bacon! Oh I love diet mountain dew! Maybe overuse of the word confuses it's meaning. But, God tells us in 1 Corinthians 13 what love should look like.

Patient, kind, does not envy, does not boast, is not proud, keeps no record of wrongs just to name a few. I need a constant reminder of these things I think.

I think the Avetts are right. Love does get lost. I'm gonna do my best this week to keep that in mind.

Philippians 4:8

So, the theme of my week has been blue. I have been feeling quite down lately. I was trying to figure out why and I've determined that the past few months have been loaded down with unhappy moments. So here's a rundown of what I mean. As an accountant, Jan through April 15th is "busy season." This is the time of year that most CPA's hate and pray to God that they survive without having a nervous breakdown. Well, just as this stressful time in my year was starting to wind down, April 27th happened. And I think we can all safely say that none of us will be the same after that day of destruction. I know that we all know what happened that day and I was in Cullman and went through two tornadoes up close and personal that day and will never be the same since. Then when things seemed to be getting closer to normal doomsday (May 21st) was upon us. Now, I'm definitely a believer in our Lord and know that He said no one shall know the hour of His return, so that wasn't the cause for concern but it broke my heart for the misguided (and i say that loosely because i am in know way placing judgment on them) folks that believed in the rapture occurring on May 21st. It also made me examine my life and think have I really even begun to do what God put me here to do? Have I been a good and faithful servant sharing the Gospel? Seems like I get too preoccupied with life to do what I'm meant to do. So this has been weighing on my mind.

Then I started preparing to go to Rwanda. Watching Hotel Rwanda. Reading up on the genocide. Really disturbing stuff. The fact that human beings can be so cruel and vicious to other human beings really baffles the mind.

Then seeing the poverty first hand...well...I can't do it justice with my words.

So all in all I've been feeling a bit blue under the weight of these things. However, I have been forgetting one important thing, and that is to turn to my Father God and listen to what He has to say about it. Earlier in the week I got hit with this verse.

"8. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ⁹ Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."

So this is IT! This is how to shake off the sad. God knows that things in life will be hard for us to process. He knows that sometimes we will get weighed down by trying to carry our burdens and the burdens of others. But I heard Him tell me that I need to focus on the good in my life. My MANY blessings. So many. So I thought about the things i can "think on." Here are a few below:

1. a box full of puppies (b/c well puppies are sweet and i think lovely)


ok this is ONE puppy but a cute one! my sophie

2. the children of Rwanda (b/c even though I'm a nerdy CPA here in the US, to some kids in Africa I'm a rockstar!) I like to remember their sweet faces.



3. the kids in my Sunday school class..Miss Mary Claire makes me smile with her sweet disposition. She makes me laugh every Sunday
4. Something that is true - God's Word...it will NEVER fail me! neither will my Father in heaven
5. Noble? Well I automatically think of lions when i see the word noble. Like Aslan in the Chronicles of Narnia.



6. What's more pure that a sweet little baby?? Babies are the BEST! Well, my baby Thomas isn't quite a baby anymore but he will ALWAYS be his auntie Kaci's baby...



So do you get the idea?? I mean, God is so right. How could I ever be blue when I have all these wonderful PRAISEWORTHY things to be focusing on??

Lord, please forgive me for my ungratefulness. Thank you for your grace.

KBT