When Doodle is the voice of reason, we’re all in trouble.

By Lisa B on Tuesday, January 6th, 2009

For Christmas, Doodle got a Build-A-Bear that wasn’t stuffed yet and a gift card from my sister-in-law. She was all excited to go and stuff it that I mistakenly told her I would take her the day after Christmas.

What.a.huge.mistake.

The nearest Build-A-Bear is at a huge mall just across town. I never thought I would ever see that parking lot packed. It’s huge. But every space was filled. Cars were everywhere. People driving around, cutting each other off to get spaces. Following people down aisles as they left the mall to get their spaces.

On the verge of tears, I told Doodle I couldn’t handle this. That we might just have to come back next week.

She’d been playing music on my phone and we happened to be listening to Nicole C. Mullen’s Call on Jesus. She exclaims, “Mom! This song just gave me an idea!”

She proceeded to pause the music and pray for a parking space. As I debated giving the lecture of praying for something so small as a parking space, I decided to not give the lecture. After all, the parking space was important to her, she should pray about it.

A couple of minutes later we found someone backing out and got a space. We were utterly exhausted by the time we made it into the mall, to the store and back.

On the way home I thought about how Doodle had reacted to everything with a calm demeanor and prayer. Whereas I was ready for tears and cussing. I’m glad she prayed when she did, but I was really about to lose it. I have a pretty special little girl!

Posted in Family, Holidays | Comments (1)

Who needs Facebook?

By Lisa B on Monday, January 5th, 2009

Have you ever had your hair styled perfectly? with gel, hairspray and such? Gone to dinner then slept on it, threw it in a ponytail, and went to run errands?

That was me. No makeup. No shower (yet). Hair in scrunchy. Old sweats. It was my second trip to Lowe’s because I bought the wrong size screws on the first trip. I walked up to the checkout line and I just had a feeling the guy in front of me was going to let me go first. He had a ton of stuff, and I just had a box of screws.

When he turned around, he called me by name. Uh-oh. I searched his face for a name and couldn’t come up with anything. He looked familiar. He saw me struggling and told me his name — Andre from high school. I asked him how in the world he could remember me from high school — he said he was good with faces. Me, not at all. Seventeen years have passed since we’ve seen each other. Guess it’s nice to know I haven’t changed that much from high school. Especially when I’m looking cruddy!

Who needs Facebook? I’ve got Lowe’s :) The second day of my vacation from the computer and I run into Andre. Before you get your hopes up, he is not an ex-boyfriend or anything like that. Just a guy I went to school with for several years and shared some classes.

I’ve been holding out on the Facebook thing for quite awhile. Probably when I get back on track with other stuff, I may sign up and give it a try. Not that I’m really looking for anyone I went to school with, but it might be interesting to catch up with some people or see what they’re doing now.

If you do Facebook, tell me what you think of it. If you don’t, tell me why you’re not.

Posted in Personal | Comments (3)

We interrupt this bloggy break …

By Lisa B on Wednesday, December 31st, 2008

to say Happy New Year!

I’ve seen a lot of talk on Twitter lately asking about goals for 2009 and all that stuff. Frankly, I hate setting goals just because it’s the new year. Resolutions just don’t ever set well with me because I rarely follow through with them.

I’m in great physical shape, and for that I’m very thankful. I’ve been working out at the gym on a regular basis for a little over a year now and I’m so glad I’ve done it. Was it a resolution? Not so much. It was starting out slow (not trying to “run” on the treadmill for 30 minutes) but more like walking for 10 minutes. The biggest thing was doing a little at a time, but staying consistent.

While I was consistent with my workout, I have not been consistent at all with some of the other things that should be more important. Like reading my Bible. Praying. Following God’s lead.

Many Christians are sharing verses for the year. I’m going to share the one I’m going to focus on this year:

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?

“Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

“Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

“Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

— Matthew 6:25 - 34 (NKJV)

Ok, so I threw in a few extra verses. They are all so relative to the one I’m going to focus on. Because seeking first (not last, not after Twitter, not after blogging) God is what I need to do every single day of 2009.

I pray that you and your family are safe this New Year’s and that God blesses you in ways you never thought possible in 2009. Happy New Year!

Posted in Holidays | Comments (1)

How do you take a vacation when you work from home?

By Lisa B on Friday, December 19th, 2008

This is a question that has plagued me for a few years now. When I worked in an office, the work I did had to be there. I couldn’t carry any of it home with me. I left it behind. Sure, I worked a lot of overtime, but when I wasn’t at the office, I wasn’t at the office.

I haven’t been blogging all that much lately because honestly, I’ve been on information overload just following people on Twitter. It’s been said Twitter is like a water cooler. Well, I’ve been on break too much. Lots of people have been asking if everyone is going to shut down their blogs for Christmas. I haven’t seen many responses other than people will be checking in and writing when they can spare a few minutes.

I’ll admit, I’m addicted to my laptop. Twitter…WordPress…these little projects I’ve said I’d do for others. It’s been poorly affecting my home life. Even Duck was getting jealous the other night because I wasn’t in there for tv time. And he should be. I should be able to put the laptop down and step away for awhile.

A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body; jealousy is like cancer in the bones.

~ Proverbs 14:30, NLT

A side-effect of getting information overloaded has been the green-eyed monster surfacing in my life. Instead of being happy for others, I’ve been coveting what they have or jealous of what they’ve been asked to do. I have been looking at how my online buddies have grown in the past year whether it’s their blogs, their businesses or what-have-you, and instead of being happy for them — that God’s blessed them, I’m wondering why I can’t be like that or why so-and-so didn’t ask me to do that.

I’ve even been jealous of ladies going out with their best friends for special days — massages, lunch, etc. I miss that. I don’t really have any good friends to get together with offline, and that’s sad to me. But I guess I haven’t really been working on those friendships either. Not going to a church has been hurting too.

So, I need a break. A break from blogging, from Twittering, from just being on my computer in general. I want a peaceful heart along with a healthy body. I want to focus on the blessings God’s given to me. I need to get back into the Word of God and remember the most important thing starts with my relationship with Him.

I’m going to take a little bloggy break. I’ll be back January 5, 2009 when Doodle goes back to school. My hope and prayer is that God will cleanse my heart and soul and give me a right mind again.

Try not to get caught up in all the gifts or material things that you either get or don’t get. I truly wish all of you a very Merry CHRISTmas, and hope that you remember the reason for the season.

Posted in Blessings, Bloggin', Holidays, Personal | Comments (5)

Christian Women Tweet Up Giveaway

By Lisa B on Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008

I’ve only participated in one CWTU last week, but it was amazing the ladies I found to follow — one in a city near me too! The next Tweet Up is Monday, December 8th. To participate Noelle @ Take Root and Write has down a great job of organizing these and providing video tutorials on how you can join in.

In the spirit of cleaning my house of stuff I’ll probably never use or read, I’m giving away a book and spiritual journal that goes with it. I got these books about 5 years ago and they have sat on my shelf unread. I hope that they will bless one of you.

Sheila Walsh’s “Stories from the River of Mercy” and “Stones from the River of Mercy.” Click on each link to see a description and picture of the books.

To enter, just leave me a comment below to say hi and let me know if you’ve ever been to a Women of Faith Conference. Comments will be closed when the CWTU ends so I can pick a winner! Anyone can win — you don’t have to participate in the Tweet Up. Hope to see you there Monday though!

Posted in Giveaways | Comments (1)

You’re all winners in my book

By Lisa B on Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008

But unfortunately, I only have so much junk to give away :D I’d give all of you the Women’s Ministry kit if I could. Makes me wonder if y’all need a website or community to share ideas? Not that I really need yet-another-community to worry about checking in on!

On with the winners …

The winner of the Focus on the Family Group Start Kit: Women’s Series is a dear, sweet blogger — Especially Heather. If you don’t know her story, go visit her blog and find out about it. Congratulations Heather! I know you’ll put the information to good use in your neck of the woods :)

The winner of the Design Books is Mary from Hours by Design. I don’t know anything about Mary yet other than she’s a virtual assistant. Good luck Mary! I hope these books will provide some inspiration for you :) Congratulations!

Posted in Contests, Giveaways | Comments (0)

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad

By Lisa B on Monday, December 1st, 2008

I’m not the best with dates and such. I knew Mom & Dad’s anniversary is today, but I didn’t realize it’s their 40th wedding anniversary. Why aren’t we partying? I hate that we’ve gotten out of celebrating special events like birthdays and anniversaries. We did have most of the family at my niece’s wedding Nov 8th, but that was a celebration of another kind.

Mom, Dad, I hope you both have a wonderful day and do something special together to celebrate! I’m thankful that God brought you both together and that I was an “accident” to y’all, but not to God :D I love you both very much!

Posted in Blessings, Family, Marriage | Comments (2)

Giveaway: Focus on the Family Group Starter Kit Women’s Series

By Lisa B on Wednesday, November 26th, 2008

Several years ago, God placed hurting women in the church on my heart. I thought then that I might become a Women’s Ministry Leader in the church we were going to, but several closed doors later, I realize my ministry is going to be online. I have had this kit sitting on my shelf for several years. I don’t recall ever once opening it and using it, and frankly, I feel guilty every time I look at it. I’m sure it has some great resources for someone out there.

In the spirit of being thankful, I am thankful that I have too much stuff because it’s going to allow me to bless one of you. Leave a comment below (1 per person please) with a valid email (only I will see). I’ll enter you into a drawing for this Starter Kit. If you are not in a leadership position at your church, perhaps you can gift it to someone who is — or perhaps this is a gentle nudge to you from God that you are the one He’s calling up in your church. Regardless, it needs to leave my house and go to a good home where it will be read and used as intended.

Comments close Monday, December 1 at 10 am EST.

You can go to the Focus on the Family’s website and see what this kit contains.

Posted in Books, Church, Giveaways | Comments (16)

Design Books Giveaway

By Lisa B on Tuesday, November 25th, 2008

I am officially tired of the clutter around here. I have entirely too much stuff. Duck and I have been going through clothes and donating stuff as we can. I’ve even gotten Doodle to give away 1 box of stuffed animals to SAFE (Stuffed Animals For Emergencies — they clean them up and give them to fire departments and police for kids that might be in a bad situation).

On to today’s giveaway. I have 3 design books that I’ve briefly flipped through. I’m giving all 3 away in a bundle, so there’s 1 winner and you have to take all 3 books :)

Leave a comment below — 1 per person please — to be entered. I’ll close comments down Monday, December 1st and draw then. You must leave a valid email address that only I will see. I need a way to contact you if you are the winner!

Before and After: Graphics for Business {click on link to read a description of the book}

Before & After Page Design {click on link to read description of the book}

Looking Good On The Web {click on link to read description of the book}

Posted in Books, Giveaways | Comments (5)

Women of Faith Wrap-up

By Lisa B on Friday, November 14th, 2008

One of the things I don’t like is that let-down feeling you get after being lifted-up. I was so lifted at the Women of Faith conference a few weeks ago, but getting back to everyday life makes it seem like it was eons ago.

First, I’ll share pictures of my friends and I who were there.

This is my friend Melissa. Yep, she’s that much taller than I am :) We were attending the same church eons ago, and attended our first Women of Faith conference together in 2003 in Charlotte. She could only come to the conference Saturday, but she got to sit on the front row with me!

This is my buddy Lisa 1 — only because she came first :) She used to be one of my instructors in college. I wanted to be like her when I grow up. I still want to be like her when I grow up. She went to Women of Faith a couple of years ago with Melissa and me — and then she and Melissa went another year without me. This year she volunteered to help at the conference, and ended up being the Head Wrangler of about 10 volunteers. She looked quite at home walking around with that headset all weekend. I wish we could have visited longer, but we’ll get together for lunch soon. Oh yeah, ignore that Corona picture in the background. There wasn’t any liquor at the coliseum — just some agitated security dudes who informed me that Natalie Grant wasn’t doing photos right now, when I was waiting for Mary Graham — thankyouverymuch.

Anyway, it was absolutely surreal sitting down front with those bright lights shining straight on me. At least that’s how I felt. It was amazing to see all these women up close, but what was even more amazing is what Patsy did when we came back from the lunch break.

First she brought over Natalie Grant to meet me and Melissa. Ya’ll, I got to hug Natalie Grant’s neck. I seriously thought she was like a teenie-booper because she does those Revolve Tours. Ok, so I figured she was in her early twenties — she did, afterall, just have twin girls who were absolutely adorable! I looked her up online and found out she’s like closer to my age. She was just as sweet as she could be, and I told her I follow her on Twitter — knowing she’d been Twittering from the porch (the area to the side of the stage where the speakers/performers sit).

Then, Patsy went back to the porch. A little while later, she came back with Nicole C. Mullen! I got to hug Nicole’s neck too :) I loved her music before I ever saw her, but to see her perform it truly awesome! The movements, the dance, the heart she puts into her performances is amazing! She’s got great muscles too :) Of course I noticed because I’m trying to stay in shape for the off-season. Other people started to come up to Nicole but Patsy got her back on the porch.

Lisa Whelchel made the comment from the stage, “I think God looks a lot like Patsy.” I’d have to agree. Patsy was so sweet and blessed me much more than anyone will ever know. Louise DuArt is a great impressionist who also has a great message. She said that there’s no such thing as coincidences — those things are usually God-winks. When God winks at you to let you know he sees you. Patsy did that. She winked at me — a couple of times through the weekend, but the best one was at the end. She was leaving the coliseum and couldn’t come over to say good-bye. She stopped, got my attention, winked, then waved good-bye.

The whole weekend I was struggling with “why me?” “What makes me so special?” What I realized is that God’s given me a story (actually a few of them) and I need to be telling these stories. Whether it’s written or spoken, I need to share what God’s done for me in my life. That’s what makes me special. God makes me special — and He used a very special lady to love on me and share a few winks.

Posted in Blessings, Conferences | Comments (3)