It's a Miracle to me...

I hope my cousin doesn't mind my blogging about her, because I'm going to do it anyway.

When Marshall and I started dating 13+ years ago, my cousin, Heather, was a single mom with a young toddler running around.
Marshall and I prayed for God to work in Heather's life. That she would find a life mate that would accept her daughter with open arms, that she would find happiness, and that she would accept Christ as her savior.

We prayed this for many years. In all that time, Heather bought a house - on her own, held a wonderful job, raised her daughter, and began to go to church.

And a few years ago, Heather married a wonderful man who loved not only her, but her 12-year-old as well. She and her daughter were baptized into the Holy Family of God.

And just last week, while talking on the phone, I was getting choked up because she was telling me she knew that God was at work, that God could do miracles and that people just needed to have faith. I was trying so hard not to cry and alarm her, but I was so proud of her.

It may not seem like much to you. But for me - someone who has prayed for the salvation of her entire family, but especially her wonderful, dear cousin - this is a miracle. One day, when I get to heaven, I know that Heather will also be going, too.

I can't say it was our prayers that did this - certainly not. But I know that through our prayers, the prayers of others and her willingness to accept God's calling in her life, a miracle of faith did happen.

And it can happen for you and your loved ones, too. Never give up.

Heather - if you read this - I love you. You are truly an inspiration to me and many others. And we know that God will prevail!

The Photo Shoot

This weekend, SB had the chance to be in a fashion photo shoot for a local children's boutique. She won a contest through the store and that put her into this photo shoot to be put into a magazine!

So of course, now I think my child is is a supermodel. Not the skinny, half-starved kind, mind you. But maybe a kind of Mia Tyler or Crystal Renn.

Anyway. She is gorgeous, as always. And I think this is just the start of a long career in the public eye for SB. Or maybe I'm just like one of those moms from Toddlers and Tiaras who is living vicariously through my child.

I just hope she had fun and will always remember when she was a fashion model. Even if it was just in a local magazine...

So, I guess I should write a Whitney post...

Unless you've been hiding under a rock, you've heard that Whitney Houston died the other day.

Do you know how I found out? Within about 3 seconds, my facebook newsfeed exploded with "OMG! Whitney is dead! I can't believe it!" And people who seemed to be truly mourning over the death of the former pop star.

Except for me.

My thought was, "Wow, I had no idea Whitney was still alive. Bummer about that."

And I seemed to be the only person in the world who felt that way. I have friends who were acting like she was a member of their family. I really think they were crying over this death.

I mean, yes, Whitney Houston was a fabulous singer. Twenty years ago. But I seriously had no idea she was still alive. And really, did she ever do anything that wonderfully fantastic?

This picture kind of sums up my thoughts on the matter:

So - Whitney's death? Yeah, sad for her family. But worth all the hype when people much more worthy of our awe and reverence are dying every day? No. No, sorry.

500 Miles

I generally wake up each morning with a song in my head. And more often than not, it's a praise and worship song.

So the other morning I woke up with "500 miles" in my head. You know the one - The Proclaimers song from Benny & Joon.

I thought it was an odd song to have in my head. Not a song I had thought of in a while. But then I thought about Jesus singing it. Stay with me here, I know that's strange concept.

Jesus says he will always be with us. He will go the distance for us. He would walk 500 miles, then 500 more, just to be the man who'd walk a thousand miles to fall down at our door. He will give us everything we need.

Sometimes it's easy to forget that Jesus goes the distance. He takes the journey with us. He paid the price for us. He would walk to the ends of the earth for us. Each one of us. Isn't that amazing?

http://youtu.be/O3tNylJr7Z4

This is what being a mother is all about...

Last night...or shall I say early this morning...a little visitor entered my room.

"Momma. I just want to cuddle for a minute."

It was 4:45am and my son crawled into bed with me. Normally, kids are not allowed in our bed. But I thought I would let him cuddle for a minute then take him back to his room.

"Momma, I love you, and Daddy, and SB, and Mac, and the dogs, and the whole house," he said as he nestled his head against my chest and rubbed my arm.

I sighed. Mac stayed cuddled up with me until my alarm went off. This is what motherhood is all about. It makes all the frustration and exasperation worth-while.