This & That

I am finding that I grow closer to God by helping others. Doing something for someone, even if it is just praying for them, makes me feel really good, and I learn and grow in Christ at the same time.

I am feeling really good about some things that have been going on. Some friends of mine are having a hard time, and I have prayed for them for a long time, and during this long time I have seen God working, but now HE is really working, and I am praising HIM for it!

I have decided that there should be a law that says that if you are responsible for a diabetic child in any way, form, or fashion, that you should have to go through training. I am really getting tired of people around my son keeping sugary foods around him, or have them included in every "group" event, but expect him not to eat it, and stay on his case about it. Looks to me if they were truly concerned about him eating it, they wouldn't make it available to him, or have events that are centered around sugar. But what do I know?

If I pull him out of the "group" every time there is sugary foods available, he would not get to be with this "group" much at all. He has already been banned from overnight trips with the group because his blood sugar tends to go really high while with this "group" (probably because of all the sugar they keep around him), but I guess it's easier to expect him not to eat it then it is for them not to have it around him. Yeah, that's being responsible ... But they expect him to be responsible. I just don't get it, please God help me get it!

I love my blog, it is a place I can vent and get things off my chest without hurting others feelings. I have found that talking to people does not always work, so this and praying is how I deal with it

I'm Tired

Tired because I've been sleeping over at the lady's house I take care of for the past three days, and I don't sleep well when I'm not with Stanley and in my own bed.

Tired just thinking about school starting back up. I need three more months of relaxation!

Tired of my boys eating all of the food in the house ... I will be glad when my grocery bill goes back down!

Tired of the same ole' daily BS!

Tired of people freaking out when we are not at church. We are more faithful about going to church than many of the SS teachers and Deacons!

Tired of not seeing my husband much this week, but I am off today and tomorrow so we will catch up!

I am tired, but I could have it a lot worse, so I'm gonna be thankful for the few complaints I have :)

I hope that you have a great, glorious, and blessed day!

To My Friends

I'll Stand By You (Carrie Underwood)

[Originally performed by The Pretenders]

Oh why you look so sad
The tears are in your eyes
Come on and come to me now
Don’t be ashamed to cry
Let me see you through
Cause I’ve seen the dark side too

When the night falls on you
You don't know what to do
Nothing you confess
Could make me love you less

I’ll stand by you
I’ll stand by you
Won’t let nobody hurt you
I’ll stand by you

So if you're mad get mad
Don’t hold it all inside
Come on and talk to me now
Hey, what you got to hide
I get angry too
Well I’m a lot like you

When you're standing at the crossroads
And don't know which path to choose
Let me come along
Cause even if you're wrong

I’ll stand by you
I’ll stand by you
Won’t let nobody hurt you
I’ll stand by you
Take me in into you darkest hour
And I’ll never desert you
I’ll stand by you

And when, when the night falls on you, baby
You feeling all alone
You won't be on your own

I’ll stand by you
I’ll stand by you
Won’t let nobody hurt you
I’ll stand by you
Take me in into you darkest hour
And I’ll never desert you
I’ll stand by you

Oh I’ll stand by you
I’ll stand by you

I love my friends, I will fight for them, and I will tell them when they are wrong, but I will always love my friends, and be there for them!

Feeling Helpless

I have friends that are in serious need of prayer. I am the type of friend that truly cares for my friends, and I truly care what happens to them. I am praying for God to intervene because I don't know what to do to help them, but be there for them, pray for them, and encourage them. They are really going through some things and in need of God's direction.

Satan has really been working overtime lately to pull God's people away from Church. I am trusting God to take back control and work in these people's lives so that they can get back on the right path. Please join me in praying for them. You don't have to know their names, God knows who they are. Thank you, and have a great, glorious, and blessed day!

God Has Been Talking To Me

I have slowly but surely drifted out of a close relationship with God the past few months. I don't know how it happened, but it did. I think I got caught up in life and dealing with issues that I forgot to let God have the wheel of my life, and because of that, I went the wrong way.

My friends are very important to me, but some of my friends are not as close to God as I WAS, and so I think I just let myself slide, telling myself it was ok. I want to be closer to God, I want to be there for my friends, and I want to pray for my friends, and even my enemies. It is NOT ok to put God anywhere but FIRST in your life. I pray that I start doing that again!

Gunner Gillespie Fundraiser - Please Help!

I received this in email, if you follow Gunner's story, please consider sending your pennies to help pay for his treatment! Thank you and may God bless you for your kindness!

Hello Faithful Gunner’s Magic Train Riders,

Gunner has completed 20 treatments and he has begun a second round of another 20
treatments. We have had many curves and cracks in G’s Magic Train Ride. However,
we have seen some wonderful improvements in the last few days. We still have a
long way to go and since they would like to do another round of treatments at
Envita it is costing WAY more then we had anticipating paying.

Please, remember since this alternative, insurance will not pay for any of the
treatments or supplements. We have had many helping us in the fundraising area.
We thank each and every one of you. WE could not have gotten this far without
your help, suggestions, ideas, and hard work. One family at Envita is doing
something similar to this as to try and raise more money and they are having
quite the success. So I thought we would give it a new twist and try it as well.
We NEED your help. I am asking that you send this email out to everyone you
know, asking everyone to forward this to everyone they know etc... Asking
EVERYONE to do this little thing to help Gunner Gillespie (Brain tumor patient –
Diffused Intrinsic Pontine Glioma).

"See a Penny pick it up
Send it
to Gunner
With a prayer
For Good luck!"

If EVERYONE sends a
penny and a prayer to the bank account that the friends of Gunner Gillespie has
set up to help pay for medical expenses, we think it could help put a dent in
the medical bills.

Donations can be made payable to
The Gillespie
Family and sent to the special account set up for them at Community Financial
Services Bank (CFSB) PO Box 467 Benton, KY 42025 You may send more if you like
but most people throw pennies away, let them collect in a pile on the dresser,
and etc. A penny will not break anyone, but can help tremendously more then you
could ever know. One of Gunner’s favorite things to do is look for money on the
ground. I think he was given this passion genetically. If I remember correctly,
that is how my dad got his nickname, Hawk Eye, which was later shortened to Hawk
because he could spot coins on the ground anywhere. So this is what has given me
the idea of sending a penny. Besides the fact that Gunner’s favorite president
is Abraham Lincoln. I thought if each and every one of you would say a prayer
before sending that penny then he not only gains a penny to help pay for
treatment but he gains a prayer too. We cannot have enough pennies or enough
prayers.

A penny saved is a penny earned and a prayer allows us to be
united together as brothers and sisters. "Prayer of the righteous is powerful
and effective." James 5:16 NRSV
Just think about it....if every person from
all the cities that are listed on Gunner’s buddy map was to send only one penny
and a prayer....how much money do you think that could be? How many lines of
communication would be opened to our Lord?

We need ALL your help and all
your prayers! We truly believe in the treatment that Gunner is receiving. We
believe that what we are doing is helping to save Gunner’s life as well as give
him quality of life. Gunner’s little life is depending on all of these little
things we are doing and what YOU are doing with us. As of right now there is no
cure just options that help buy time if they are effective. We want to find a
cure so badly but it takes time, energy, resources, HOPE and FAITH.

Please, EVERYONE get involved in saving this child's life. Remember the
old saying it takes a village to raise a child. Well, we need the village to
help. We need the village to pray and to toss your pennies Gunner’s way instead
of on the ground or on your dresser.

"Bear one another’s burdens, and in
this way you will fulfill the Law of
Christ." Galatians 6:2 NRSV

What if this was your child or grand child? How far would you go and how
many people would you want to help?

If we all do this one little thing,
by sending Gunner one of your pennies you could be giving him enough money to
pay for his 20 treatments and helping to pay for supplements that he is to take
for the for the next 2 years that INSURANCE does not pay a thing for. We realize
that a penny is not a lot of money but I did not want to put a financial burden
on any one person. We don’t want anyone to feel obligated or worry that they
cannot help. Just look around on the ground, in your couch cushions, at the
bottom of your purse. I guarantee you will find a penny that you did not know
you had so it won’t hurt to send it on to Gunner. The one thing that I ask
though is that you say a prayer before sending it on to Gunner. If you want
write your prayer down on paper. We would love to hear them and read them. I
know that a penny may not be enough for all the treatments. However, it is a
start and when you are trying to come up with this much money, every penny
counts.

We had planned for the first round of treatment but the second
round came as a complete surprise. No matter what happens, we will find a way to
pay for treatment it just would be nice to have one less thing to worry about.
Living the life of a terminally ill child brings many ups and downs, many curves
and cracks in Gunner’s tracks of his Magic Train Ride. I am asking you to join
us on his journey in moving his mountain. I know that this may seem bold and
extreme. However, I have learned in life that if you don’t ask then people don’t
know how to help. This is something everyone can do.

I even actually
thought that you could make a game or contest out of it. If you challenge your
friends, family members, and co-workers to a contest, you could see who could
collect the most pennies. You could have penny wars with pictures of your
co-workers. The one with the most pennies could have a pie in the face or have
to treat everyone to a treat or something. It could be an opportunity for
churches, businesses, organizations to come together have some fun and make a
difference in a special little boy’s life. You could get the news involved to
spot light your place of business or organization to help spread the word of
humanity and the awareness of this awful disease that is effecting 200 children
a year (and what seems to be a low figure).

The planning and raising of
funds is time consuming, overwhelming, and exhausting for people. We don’t want
to have to ask people to give up their time and energy and so we thought a penny
and a prayer would be something that would not wear anyone out and it would be
so easy to do. We feel guilty even having to ask people to help. WE want to be
able to do this on our own but I have realized that this is what God wants. God
wants us to be good people and he wants to see people doing good things. He
wants us to be humble and he wants us to have humanity. He wants us to make a
difference in this world and sometimes all it takes is one small step. I know
with weddings, graduations, and the price of gas that money is a big issue for a
person right now which is why we chose the penny. I know you can find one
somewhere and you won’t miss it by sending it to Gunner and please don’t forget
the prayer. It is what is the most important and if you can’t send a penny then
please just say a prayer for Gunner.

So PLEASE..... all join together
and help us help the G-Man.

He has taught me so much in life and I have
to do what I can to save him. He has so much to offer our world.

If you
will participate with us and help save a life, this is what I need you to do.
1. YOU and Everyone YOU know.....Send a penny and a prayer, {more if you
wish – many families have asked for a dollar – we are only asking for a penny}
to The Gillespie Family’s special account set up for them at Community Financial
Services Bank (CFSB)PO Box 467 Benton, KY 42025 As soon as you can get it out...
the sooner we will know where we stand but we realize if you have made it a
contest you will need to have time to make a challenge.
2. EVERYONE forward
this to EVERYONE you know, with a little note from you saying something like,
how you know Gunner, how he has touched your life and/or the person who sent it
to you, and ask that they also help with this cause to save his life.

If
anyone wants to Check out the Story on Gunner and make sure it is not a scam I
have some places you can call, or go to, to see for your self this is real, and
if this child needs ALL OUR HELP!
You can call, or go to these sites....
..................
Donations can be made payable to
The Gillespie
Family and sent to the special account set up for them at Community Financial
Services Bank (CFSB)PO Box 467 Benton, KY 42025 Call us at 270-527-4600 or
888-226-5669 or contact us by location or at contactus@cfsvcs.com

Just call the bank and ask them if they are collecting money for Gunner Gillespie and if they know this little boy.................... He needs your help!

When Life Throws You Lemons

You make lemonade right?

Lately things have not gone the way I'd like for them to go. We've had issues with our teenage boys, which, by the way, seems to have gotten better. We've had issues with co-workers, and now I am having issues with my mother. But I am praising God because I know that somewhere there is a lesson for me to learn.

Please continue to pray for us! Have a great, glorious, and blessed day!

Pondering

As I was driving my kids to summer school this morning, I started thinking about everything that is going on in our home. Satan has definitely figured out how to get to us, and I know it's him because my oldest son hasn't been sitting through a church service in a long time, he ends up leaving a service for high blood sugar, or stomach hurting, or something. We seem to NEVER have any time to get in our Bible's everyday. That is Satan! Satan DOES NOT want us to hear the word of God. He does not want us to get closer to God. Satan will try his best to break up a family, and believe me when I say he is well on his way in my family.

I have handed it over to God. I have asked for help from our church like I always hear we should, and now I just have to trust that God does not want Satan to be doing this to us, and if we turn to God, and put HIM back in first position in our lives, HE will handle this for us.

I pray for healing for my family, I pray that my boys will seek God and put HIM first so that they can have a close relationship with HIM. I pray that God will show us all the error of our ways and help us to change the things that are ungodly in our lives. I pray that Stanley and I will recognize that this is Satan, and we WILL NOT let him steal our joy and our peace. I pray that we lead by example, and stop being busy for God and start being close to God. Please pray for these things as well. We need all the prayer we can get!

Have a great, glorious, and blessed day!

Facing Crisis

We are facing a crisis in the Stevenson home. Satan has found a way to steal our peace and I was thinking about how I need to turn to God more for guidance, I was led to a website that was sent to me in email by a friend. God's YellowPages is a great place to find scriptures relating to your problems.

Please pray for God to guide all of our actions during this time, and to bind Satan from further attacks.

Thankful Thursday - God's Word

I pledge allegiance to the Bible, God's Holy Word, I will make it a lamp
unto my feet and a light unto my path and will hide its words in my heart that I
might not sin against God.

As I was at VBS last night saying this pledge, I realized how thankful I am for God's word. Without God's word we would not know how to handle everyday life situations. We would not know how to act, and we would not know the sacrifice Jesus made for us.

I am so very thankful to God for HIS word and I am going to remind myself of this pledge so that I will get in HIS word more and hide HIS word in my heart so that I can have a better walk with HIM.

What Do You Think?

I had a disagreement with someone over how to take care of a child who is diabetic/not responsible. I told the person we would just have to agree to disagree because I will not ever believe the way they do, and it's doubtful they will believe the way I do.

It was about my son who is diabetic, and does not think he has to keep his blood sugar under control. He does not show responsibility in taking care of his blood sugar, and therefore eats sugary foods without getting shots for them.

The disagreement came from the fact that this person keeps sweets, junk food, regular sodas, and that kind of stuff around my son when he is in his care, but then expects him not to eat it. He also says he is not responsible for my son while I am in the same building. To me that is backing out of his responsibility, and so how does he expect my son to be responsible if he can't even take the responsibility of taking care of my son while in his care?

His feeling is that since my son can go to the gas station nearby and buy junk food while away from me, that I should not worry about keeping it in his face, and around the house, that I should expect him to be responsible not to eat it. I feel like then maybe I need to buy alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, and while I am at it. a loaded gun, and I will keep that in the house and expect all of my children not to get in any of it, drink it, smoke it, or use it. Come on, we are talking about a teenager, not an adult. Everyone knows that teenagers lose their brains and can't make good decisions over 60% of the time.

Adults are called adults, and kids are called kids for a reason. If I keep a loaded gun around my house and my child accidentally shoots someone, guess what? I go to jail ...WHY? Because I am supposed to be the responsible one. So the same can be said about keeping concentrated sweets, drugs, alcohol, and other dangerous things in the house. If I keep it, and my son goes into a coma, who do you think the doctor is going to blame?

Would you leave an unresponsible child home alone over and over to make them more responsible? You really can't do that. So you don't keep the concentrated sweets in front of an unresponsible diabetic and expect he will eventually become responsible. The adult has to step up and be responsible in this situation. And to me, the responsible thing to do would be to keep concentrated sweets away from a child who does not need it. It is the same with children with allergies. No responsible adult keeps foods their children are allergic to in their face. It is too dangerous.

That's my opinion, what's yours?

Today's Thought

A CLEAR CONSCIOUS makes a SOFT PILLOW.

Today's Thought

It is IMPOSSIBLE to have NOTHING TO DO with JESUS CHRIST!

Thankful Thursday

• I'm thankful to God above for equipping me with the ability to be a mom, a wife, and a student. Going to nursing school is not easy by any stretch of the imagination, and I'm thankful that God has led me, guided me, and stayed with me through this journey.
• I'm thankful that I am a member of a great church that loves the Lord and each other.
• I'm thankful for my health, and the health of the ones I love.
• I'm thankful that JL and BL are our friends, and have tried so very hard to make their marriage work!
• I'm thankful that another couple have decided to work things out and not let Satan split them up.
• I'm thankful for a loving husband whom I absolutely adore.
• And finally, I'm thankful for for every single day that God gives me on this earth with the people I love.

GREAT NEWS

For those of you who want to take GOD out of EVERYTHING, He won't be in HELL either!

Great Times

This past weekend we had a big get-together with some of our closest friends. There were two couples plus my sister and her husband and kids, and then my best friend for over 20 years came with her girls. We invited JL & BL but BL was sick so they were not able to come :( We had a big time! We cooked lots of food, and had a bon-fire in the backyard. It was a great day! Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, and Stanley and I enjoyed everyone being here!

It was originally supposed to be my best friend and her girls staying the night with us, but then Stanley started inviting everyone over to celebrate me being out of school, and my birthday is the 14th, so I think he was wanting to do something he knew I would enjoy. I love having friends over!

I am hoping soon to be able to host a Sunday School get-together. I would love that as well because I really like all of the people in our Sunday School class. they are good friends too. I would have invited all of them last weekend, but my house is half painted inside and half not painted, so I would rather wait until we finish things up. My closest friends know how I am so I don't worry if my house isn't clean when they come over, but I wouldn't want my Sunday School class to see that.

Oh and my favorite things with the weekend? My sister brought her baby, and my best friend brought me a birthday gift that she said she only paid a dollar for, but it is priceless to me!

I pray that you are as blessed as I am with good friends!

Praise The Lord

I am finished with school for this semester, and I passed all of my classes! I am totally amazed at how God gets you through when HE puts you in places you never thought you'd be! I feel so blessed to be where he has put me, but it is very hard, so I know I can't do it without HIM!

I hope your feeling blessed today and are praising the Lord with me!

Did We Fail Them?

I have two great friends whom I adore. They have been going through a rough time the past couple of months. Satan has tried very hard to drive them apart. Stanley and I have prayed for them and supported them 100%, trying to help them in any way we know how.

They told me yesterday that are switching churches, and this really broke my heart. I can't help but wonder if maybe as a church we failed them. Maybe we didn't show enough love and support to them. Maybe too many people were whispering and taking sides, and they felt like they needed to be somewhere where people wouldn't judge them??? I don't know, but I know that as Christians, we should NEVER advocate for, encourage, or push for anyone to get a divorce. God created marriage, Satan created divorce.

I just pray that they both do whatever it takes to keep their marriage together. They must put their marriage under God, and before anyone else in their family. And I pray that God heals everything, and that their marriage will be stronger for all that they are enduring now. Please pray for this couple. You don't have to know their names because God knows who they are. pray that God will bind Satan and keep him from tearing them apart, and that they won't worry about what other people think, that they will fight for their marriage with everything they've got! Thank you, and God bless you!

Looking Around

Since this is technically the last week of school for me (a test and meeting next week), I thought I would relieve some stress and look at nursing shirts. I found some that I absolutely love and will buy before nursing school is over.

I definately want this one ... http://www.cafepress.com/buy/nursing/-/pv_design_details/pg_10/id_17279531/opt_/fpt_/c_666/
Then I really like this one too ... http://www.cafepress.com/buy/nursing/-/pv_design_details/pg_2/id_17980817/opt_/fpt_/c_666/
And this one ... http://www.cafepress.com/buy/nursing/-/pv_design_details/pg_2/id_21361861/opt_/fpt_/c_666/
And this one ... http://www.cafepress.com/buy/nursing/-/pv_design_details/pg_1/id_18543601/opt_/fpt_/c_666/
And this one ... http://www.cafepress.com/buy/nursing/-/pv_design_details/pg_3/id_13801099/opt_/fpt_/c_666/
And this one ... http://www.cafepress.com/buy/nursing/-/pv_design_details/pg_4/id_18860484/opt_/fpt_/c_666/
And this one ... http://www.cafepress.com/buy/nursing/-/pv_design_details/pg_7/id_3528341/opt_/fpt_/c_666/
And my husband needs this one ... http://www.cafepress.com/buy/nursing/-/pv_design_details/pg_7/id_16517175/opt_/fpt_/c_666/

I Can See The Light ...

... At the end of the tunnel, for this semester anyway! My last day of actual classes is May 2nd. That is also when my nursing 101 final is. My A & P 2 final is May 5th, and May 6th I have to go back to nursing class for a mandatory meeting, I am assuming it is to get us ready for nursing 202.

These next two and a half weeks are going to be hectic. Tomorrow I have an Acid/Base Balance quiz, Monday is a nursing test, Tuesday is my last lab exam for A & P 2, then we have the last bit of content for this semester in nursing. The 24th is a physical assessment competency, then the 25th is catheterization check-off, then the 29th is the catheterization competency, then the 30th is our last exam in nursing before the final. YES I'M STRESSED!

I am vowing to do nothing on the weekends from now until this semester is over, (except work-out). I am looking forward to summer vacation, do you blame me?

By the way, I've lost 8 pounds working out at the gym for the past three weeks. I am feeling better and stronger!