hear the cry

today i am...


a mother, wife, sister, daughter and friend who hit a young woman that decided to take her life by running out in front of me while driving down a very dark road. my family and i were not hurt but i will forever have the image in my mind. the woman didn't have any ID on her but did have a journal with suicide notes written it it. the tragic incident redefined my dependence on my lord jesus christ for all understanding and peace. a peace that the young woman had very little of. i am sad she chose my truck and family to control her hopes to end her suffering but glad i can see what god needs me to do through this. don't waste today not knowing who you were created to be. i pray that you know christ and make him known as he changes your life and your world view. what is his purpose for us? to be obedient and to bring glory to his name through our service. as sad as this suicide is, i pray that someone may be lead to christ and bring hope and light back into the world.

prayer

today is a little different.

please take a moment and say a prayer for a sweet young man who is fighting for his life. he was hit by a drunk driver on saturday and is still with a breathing tube and has a long way to go in his recovery. i know the lord will be giving him strength every moment but pray for a miracle that he will let his recovery be easier then expected. also pray for his family as they spend so many sleepless hours with their dear son.

thank you!

so excited!!!

today i am.....


a woman who will wake up in the morning, go to court and leave the courthouse a mother of an amazing son!!!
2 years ago when i started fostering this young man i would never believe that today i could say he is my son. this road has been so hard, good and bad but man am i blessed to have this blessing and to hear my son calling for his dad, my husband every day of my life.
b4 this all happened my husband and i tried for many years to have our own child and we never could, so then we went the adoption route for a baby. after years of tears and heartache we had a come to jesus meeting with ourselves and made some good changes in our lives and boom!!! the lord said, i know you have wanted that but i want this for you.
thank god for this day!


it's me amy now:) i just have to say that i have watched this beautiful family through a lot of this and i can't tell you how blessed i feel to know them and that i inspire to be more selfless as they have been.
remember people...
we got one life, make the best of it and share it with all you love!!!

xoxo

wow!

today i am....

a mother who died but saved her little baby. my husband was driving, the family dog was in the back seat and i was in the passenger seat nursing my new baby on I-10. i know, i know that sounds bad that the baby was not in the car seat but you'll thank me later:) so... we had a wreck, a bad wreck! ems found my husband alive and me and the dog dead. the back seat of the car was where there was the worst damage and i'm sure the first responders were very worried about where the baby could possibly be considering the dog was underneath the caved in metal by the car seat. they got my husband out and headed to the hospital and then worked on getting my lifeless body out of the car. so they grabbed my hunched over body up to find my precious baby still nursing and alive! thank you god for using me to protect my sweet baby and to give my husband a companion through life.

love and obey

today i am............

a daughter who loves and shares the love of jesus to my gay mother. when i found out the reason my parents divorced i was angry and bitter towards her and then to top it off my father was very controlling. as i was getting older i started drinking and doing other things i should not be doing and then at 19 i prayed that special prayer for jesus to come in my heart. i started praying for my mom and my dad but still holding onto resentments and even though i had the lord in my heart i still messed up and ended up pregnant without a husband and really no support. Through the lord's grace and me receiving hope through my precious baby i was now ready to obey the lord and love my mom and father as the lord has loved me.

now i am me....
i love when i get the chance to hear stories like this because it reminds me that not only do we as christians still mess up but that the lord still loves us through it.

divorced

today i am...........


a newly divorced mother of 2 amazing, talented, beautiful, respectful girls. life is hard and it down right sucks at the moment because of all the crazy side line stuff that happens when you become a single mom but i am finding that i have a smile on my face more now than i have in a long time, my house is cleaner:), i am living and happy which people see that about me now instead of doing and going all the time for others (well living for my husband). i am proving to myself and family without even knowing that i am, i am a strong, loving, helpful, beautiful, talented and amazing woman!

i am amy now:) what i see out of this friend is such great things! i have been that single mom before and when i was there i felt like i was just floating around and thinking i really wanted someone, anyone to tell me i was doing great!!! so here's to all the single parents out there.... your great! and important and you will survive this!!!! :)

meaningful relationships

today i am.........

me:) i broke my foot on sunday and i am miserable! just say'n!! it's hard being a human being, let alone a mom and career woman but to then throw in an immobile leg is down right stupid and i have no time for this!!
ok, now that that is out i feel a little better but what makes me feel even better is that god sends friends your way at perfect moments! i am truly blessed and thankful to have so many amazing friends to count on when i am down and out.
my prayer for you tonight is that you have the most amazing support group of friends to lift you up in your times of need and that we can recognize them and in return lift them up when needed:)

i love you friends!!! and thank you for all you do!!!

family doesn't have a size

today i am..........

a mother of two, wife and preschool teacher who has finally made it to this great part of my life after having to go throw very hard times thinking i would never have this life.
my husband and i decided we would have a big family so when we had our first child we began planning for more but every time we got pregnant after him i would have a miscarriage, i went through testing and so on and so on and then come to find out i had precancerous cells and we then had to take care of that. after we were finally able to start trying again i ended up in the hospital again with more complications! come to find out this time i was 6 weeks pregnant with twins but one of them was in one of my tubes. i had to go in for emergency surgery and get that baby out before it caused more damage. they removed some of my tube and ovary but my sweet little angle made it through and we look at her everyday and realize what a special gift we have with our "not so big" family:)

a miracle

today i am......


the 21 year old that got hit by a truck on i-10. i am out of icu after about 2 weeks and in my own room! i am still very beat up and broken but i have the up most faith that i'm gonna be ok. i am smiling, burping, laughing, and telling stories, pick'n on my brothers, finally eating (not good, but eating:) i am doing therapy and getting stronger. it's pretty amazing how i can use other parts of my body to do things they are not intended to do to help myself. i am so determined to get out of the hospital and back to my life with my family.i'm gonna be here for awhile but i know god is taking good care of me. i really shouldn't be here, the 10 fhp officers thought for sure i was a goner, but god proved them wrong and i am so thankful! thanks to the best parents too, oh and brothers:)

fyi, a good snack is a kiwi slush from the hospital cafeteria?:) hehe!

today i am

a 2nd grader thinking ahead about third grade:)

when ms.amy said third grade is tough i said, " well, i need to get some duct tape to wrap third grade around my head!"

this is ms.amy and i think this little guy is right! all we need is duct tape to get things through our heads!!

sweet sweet kiddo's, got to love the things they come up with!!!

love today

today i am..............

a 69 year old husband, father and grandfather who has survived cancer and a blood clot but today I was reminded how precious moment by moment really is. driving into town on i-10 i saw a wreck happen, it was bad! a family of 5, the kids were 15,16 and 21. the father lost control of their truck which was pulling a trailer and it seemed like they were living in it. well they were all standing around when all of a sudden a truck hit the 21 year old girl. i parked my truck and ran to help. she was not doing good;( she has broken so many major bones it looks very bad and the family may lose her. life flight took her to the hospital and i helped the family get their trucked towed and trailer set up at the hospital. you could tell they didn't have much so i gave them all i had in cash and wished them the best. so i sit and tell my wife, kids and grand kids about this and remind them how we must love every moment and always hold tight of the love we have for each other!!!!! and show that love everyday because in that same moment we could lose it all.

xoxo go hug and kiss your babies now!! (don't forget your husband or wife!)

always with you

today i am....

a twenty seven year old who has over come so much. 5 years ago my father died and it rocked my world. i know the lord has made me to be a doctor but satan has been busy standing in my way but thankfully the faith that my parents instilled in me has persevered and has made me stronger. it's like my dad is saying i am always with you just like the lord says to us.

when you go through deep waters and great trouble, i will be with you. when you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown!
isaiah 43:2

no more tears

so in 4 weeks my dear friend lost her mother, my best friend lost her aunt and grandfather and last night we said good-bye to our sweet cat. they all were old and ready for heaven where there will be no more suffering but us still here on earth, we are in tears.
last night we knew it was time to give our sweet cat one last kiss and we did this as a family. it was such a special time we were able to have together. my oldest made her a card that we buried with the cat and the youngest insisted on a prayer:)
as i tucked the kids in bed tonight, my youngest started crying again for the cat. i then opened our bible story for the night and it was so perfect! the title... no more tears
it reads...
the lord god will wipe away the tears from all faces. Isaiah 25:8
god knows we all feel sad sometimes. but he also promises that one day he'll take all our tears away. someday,when we get to heaven, we won't feel like crying, we won't get angry, and won't hurt. until then, god says he's with us to comfort us and to take the hurt away. tell him when you feel sad. he's always with you, right by your side.

it's gonna be a good day

today i am....


me:) i have been MIA for about a week because of strep throat:( but i am alive and back to life. i am super tired and while thinking about how i don't want to do anything i can't get a cute story out of my head and at work today i asked my sweet client how things were going and she honestly replied,not real good but oh well, it will be ok:) love her!! so as i reflect about my day and life that cute story needs to be shared:)

a lady wakes up goes to get ready and notices she only has 3 hairs on her head. she says ok! i think I'm gonna braid my hair today! she did and had a great day!
the next day came and she looked in the mirror and said, oh! i have 2 hairs on my head today! i think I'm gonna wear pigtails! she did and had a great day!
and then the next day same thing but she only had 1 hair. she decided to wear a ponytail. she did and had a great day!
so the next day comes and when she got to the mirror she yelled!!! YES!!! i have not one hair on my head!!!! this is great! i don't have to do my hair today!!!

this little story makes me remember to always look at my new day with a smile and tell myself it's gonna be a great day! and as my youngest would say, "no matter what!" :)

Laura Story Blessings (lyrics)

this is what we should remember every day!

the birthday of my new life

today i am............ me! 10 years ago today i found out i was pregnant with my 1st child!!!! this was the 1st day of my new life:) i was an addict! i had been using almost everyday for 7 years:( but the lord blessing me with the gift of a second chance has been the best wake up call ever. the thoughts of not having her come into my life at that perfect moment make me scared. if she never happened i would most likely be dead and would have never been able to experience so many amazing things! thank you god for giving me this amazing gift of life!!!!! and thank you family and friends who have never stopped believing in me. i love you all dearly:)

live your life!

today i am.................... a child taking it alllllllllllllllllllll in:) my day: woke up and ate cereal, got dressed, went to church, ate lunch, planted seeds in the garden, watched some t.v., played with my toys, went through a car wash and ate a snack and drank an icee, went back to church, ate dinner, took a shower, listened to mommy read my bible story, said my prayers and went to bed, not asleep yet i have to sing some because today was a great day. i smiled a lot today, i was around so many people who love me and they know i love them, i love my life and can't wait for a new day everyday cuz i know it's gonna be so great! we must look at everyday like a child to see the real meaning and beauty!!!!! take it alllllllllllllll in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

god isn't holding up a perfect picture; he's writing a bigger story

today i am........... me reading a book called, parenting beyond your capacity. i was asked to read this book and talk about the chapter that spoke to me and i had to share! doesn't it drive you crazy to open up a magazine to see a family photo of a clean cut dad in his designer jeans with his tall, thin and tan wife sitting beside him, whom are both looking at their two perfectly well-behaved children while on a picnic under the sun?! i don't know about y'all but yeah right! like that is ever the real picture! and even knowing that we still feel pressure to make it seem like that perfect family is us. for instance i use to be ashamed to let people know the real story behind the fake smiles of our family picture. i thought if people knew i had once made really bad choices and thankfully my 1st child saved me from death but then was left a divorced single mom but finally re-married the man of my dreams, had 1 more child and then our life was completely turned upside down with medical complications and are now living pay check to pay check, if any1 knew that,who would want to be around me? so i would keep it all inside. but then once i did start to stare the ugly in it's face, god showed up and reminded me that we were just like most families out there. even in the bible god tells us of his own chosen people having baggage, they didn't make good choices and they even went through the worst of times. i sometimes wonder if god included hard times and mistakes in the bible to give us hope. a quote from the book is, "it seems like god is more interested in using broken people then he is in creating a better picture." so instead of focusing on that perfect picture, friends, lets focus on that story god is using us for. i also think about what a great demonstration that story can be for the next generations to come. start writing!

recovery

today i am.........


a wife and mother of two boys who is now 18 months sober/clean! my rock bottom was sitting on the floor in the bathroom @ my really really GOOD job shooting drugs into my feet. i received the help i needed and now know that i was saved only by the grace of god! it feels so good to be free from the disease that almost killed me and when i wake up everyday and realize my husband is still there and loves me and that my boys have there mom around to actually be there mom and they love me, well lets just say that's when i receive a "GOD WINK" ;)


even though some days can be so hard, open up those eyes and look for your god wink!

serve others

lately there has been a lot of giving in our life and i have realized that i am not a good receiver and need to work on asking for help and receive the blessings that have been given:)
i ran across this quote while cleaning our family desk today, it is by Rick Warren in his book about Mother Teresa...

"the more you care about the powerless,the more power you have.the more you serve those with no influence, the more influence GOD gives you.the more you humble yourself,the more you're honored by others."

leggo's

today i am...............

i child who was mad mad mad that he couldn't find a piece to his leggo set!!!! i ran to my mom to let her know how upset i was about it and she said that sometimes life is messy and things don't work in our favor so we must turn to God for guidance and trust him.so i prayed and guess what?! the leggo i was look'n for was right there in front of me the whole time!!!!! god does answer prayers and helps us through hard times, even the little things:)

so sweet to hear the little ones understand blessings.

a fresh start

today i am.................

a 9 year old who understood for the 1st time that it's ok to have a bad day. tonite my mom read me a short story about having bad days and it made me think that i can have days when i just can't stay out of trouble. but i realized that no matter how bad the day is there is always a new day to come and it's full of fun things to do, a time to be nicer and maybe to meet new people.




make the most of your day:)

receiver

today i am...............

a receiver. giving is so easy. it's right there in front of you and you become overwhelmed with the feeling of giving so you just do it. but what happens when it's the other way around? you are hurting in some way and it's time for someone to bless you. what do you do? what do you say? are you embarrassed? confused? why is it so hard to except? aaahhhhhhh!
think a moment:) when you give, how do you feel? you feel blessed! so in that moment of need in your life, take whatever it is that is being given and bless that person who is blessing you! it's so hard but when put in the words of blessing them it's so much easier to do.

this is something i must remind myself!


you are a blessing!

when you live the life you've been chosen

today i am......


someone who believes in God's favor. i have noticed that when you walk the walk and all that jazz, God comes to you in really hard times and makes it all better.
financially things are not good at all but in these dark hours he shines through. out of no where money comes sailing in and our worries about how to feed the kids and how to pay bills are gone! these gifts of love were sent with no name, no one to thank, but God!

PRAISE HIM!

purpose

strive for your best, somewhere, tucked into what seems routine, is the beautiful unfolding of the purpose of you!

(saw this on someones fb status and had to share:)

remember this realy happends! kiss your babies and love them for all of them!

Walk on the water by Britt Nicole (With lyrics)

so listening to this song tonight made me think of my girls and how i want them to always know these important words and then it made me think about us parents and how do we actually help our kids know these words. having the chance to speak to 2 wise clients of mine today they helped me get a better understanding on how to do that. one said, to know that somethings are just bigger then you and to have faith. love it! and then the other said, to vow to your kids that you Love them NO MATTER WHAT! i think those are some great words of wisdom and know that they have sure helped me! thanks sweet friends!!

beauty within

today i am..............

me:) i noticed something truly amazing today! I had one of my lovely clients in and we were discussing beauty. she has been on a really healthy road lately and has inspired and motivated me to get in shape and be healthier, but what is radiating out of her more now then ever is her happiness! she is so happy with her life and has made such a huge commitment in making good choices that the happiness literally radiates out of her. it is true beauty.
search deep friends! its there!!!
happy, fun hunting!

becoming fulfilled

today i am.............

a person in recovery. through recovery i found that not only was i addicted to alcohol but addicted to self. i have been on this amazing journey of recovery realizing that the problem has always been me. even though i have a ton of resentments towards family and other people whom I've crossed paths with it was never all their fault it was also mine. i want to be apart of the solution now and see the good in myself and see the good of my disease. through this horrible disease of addiction i have found peace in my life. sounds crazy but i am so thankful for all the ugly i have touched and thankful my heart has broken because knowing now how to look at life like it's my last day i am living is his glory in every step i take. and now i am finally able to be the woman i was made to be. i AM an amazing wife, mother, friend, daughter, sister and i am now noticing that my gift of massage therapy is a ministry and can help open doors for others in emotional pain. i have vowed to do good through all i was born to be! love this life!

never give up

today i am........

a mother who lost her 18 month old child while he was sleeping. after that morning of finding my precious boy my life changed forever. i tried to hold on to my oldest son and husband for dear life but the knot broke and all i was left with was my faith and 1 son. i thought after my divorce i would never be able to find love again or even have a life full of love but through my sweet baby's death i was able to find true love and even have 2 more children. its also amazing because now my oldest son is blessed to have his mother, father and then step parents as well. so on this roller coaster i discovered that we must persevere through life and when hard times make us fall we must get up with new strength and appreciate trails, enjoy the people that are put there to help us up and never forget to watch for miracles!

toxic

today i am....

one who has a toxic father on so many levels. growing up it was the all american dream and then my father decided that his family didn't need him and turned to addiction in many ways. we lost him, but now he is trying to get clean and i now am married with 2 beautiful kids:) i don't really care to hang out with him but know for him and my kids sake they need to have some sort of a relationship. i try to put his toxicity aside and remember there is a sweet, kind heart deep inside and that even if we can't mend the past i can at least open my heart up for the future. we must put the drama aside and find peace!

without peace we are not truly happy:)

Everythings Amazing & Nobodys Happy

4get about it!

i 4got about how crazy the world was when my oldest daughter said, "look mom! it's heaven!"

i 4got about trying to have it all 2gether when my dog laid in the mud after his grooming appt!

i 4got about the loudness of life when i took a 6 mile hike in god's beautiful forest!

i 4got about being mad when as we were waiting for a cop to show up after i rear ended someone my youngest started doing somersaults!

i 4got about everything mean and ugly in life when i sat and looked in my husbands eyes while my kids laughed with joy!

today i am......

wanting everyone to remember the big picture in life! happiness, yes! but what changed it all for me was when a special friend told me in order for me to move on in my recovery i must 4give and 4get! how?! think about god in his big chair talk'n to himself, say'n that amy 10 years ago did this and 2 days ago she did that, ohhh i am so mad @ her!!!! wow! he would be a horrible god so he said in Isaiah that he must 4give and 4get because it's not good 4 him to remember and he would be miserable. so we must not hang on to those things that have happened in our life that are negitive and we must yell, "4get about it!" so we can move on and do something positive and make a differance:)

live well!

sadness

today i am...............



a mother and wife who @ 5months pregnant started the new year off losing her son.


yet i am still able to give my 2year old all the love i have for her and still be so in love with my strong/understanding husband who has let me lean on him in this time of need. thank god for my faith to be strong enough to know that we will see our beautiful son in heaven one day. i want people to know that even though this happened and it is soooooo hard, i still know my father loves me and i feel as though my husband and i can share our story with someone else that is hurting with the lose of their child. i am so thankful for this moment of my husband and i's string getting shorter and shorter with these knots called life because in return we become closer to each other. i will survive!

fear

today i am...



a woman who will find out on monday if she has cancer.



i still show amazing encouragement and hope by some how smiling through it and still giving great hugs and love. i know that no matter what it will be ok and i think i need a hawaiian vacation!


this one is very very very dear to my heart and all i can even think to say to this totally brave woman is I LOVE YOU! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

how it all begins

my name is amy and i am a 30 something year old mother of 2 beautiful girls and wife to my best friend. i am so truly blessed to be here in this moment full of encouragement and hope! i am so blessed that i feel lead to share:)

my life: (short and sweet version)

born to parents that wanted to break vicious cycles but needed to work on themselves 1st, thankfully they are both in really amazing places now. my wonderful/precious mother is remarried to a great man and he is a good father to me. my father also has remarried and she is one of the most amazing people i know! both sides of my families have dealt with abuse in all cases. mostly in drugs and alcohol. my father thankfully is 14 years sober and we have a great relationship.
but as a child i felt abandoned so with the vicious cycles not broken i started walking down paths that lead to dead ends. I started smoking cigarettes @ 12 and was smoking pot by 14 on a daily bases. when i was 17 i stared abusing prescription pain pills which lead to acid and ecstasy. by the time i was 20 it was no big deal to be doing lines of cocaine here or a bump there, even meth on occasion as well as drinking on top of all the drugs.and of course i was very promiscuous because all i wanted was love. and as i was abusing myself i was also abusing my beloved friends and family members.
@ 20 i meet the most beautiful man i had ever seen and wow! was he a sweet talker! i was obviously young and dumb so i feel madly in love with him:) we started dating and i wondered why we could never do anything so i asked if i could have his # and he was like well i'm in work release and can't do anything but see you here @ work. i being young was like oh yeah sure, no prob:) what is that? he said it's kinda like jail but he really didn't do anything wrong he was just @ the wrong place @ the wrong time kinda thing. i still being young understood and still loved him enough that i let him move in with me after he got out of work release(JAIL) so we partied aaaaalot and he was abusive but the numbed state that i was in from the drug/alcohol abuse i never even realized that there was a problem. by now i am 21 and @ my rock bottom. thank god i find out i'm pregnant! but the only thing is is that i was 9 weeks. so the flash backs of those 1st 9 weeks of this child in me were so horrifying i didn't know how this child was going to be ok. so as i'm realizing all the drugs and drinking i had done it hit me i must get clean because this is my second chance @ life! i did it and got clean! but he didn't:( i did end up marrying the sperm donor but only stayed married for a year because the only reason he needed me in the 1st place was to steal my identity, you read right! he put me in thousands of dollars in debt and a lot worse things as well which lead him to prison!!!!
after my precious baby and i left the crazy man i had to start a new life. i went home and changed career's. i am an artist and needed to make a living 4 me and my little one so with my mothers influence i became a hair stylist. things became very normal in our life we even meet the man of my dreams! the man and i became man and wife, he adopted my sweet rose and we then became a family of 4.
and then...
a year after the birth of our child is when we were hit with some major challenges. the baby had to have surgery on her neck in ATL. i then @ 28 had to have a hysterectomy and then 2 other surgeries which didn't go so well and then a 4th to fix somethings. this all happened in 18 months! i lost my job but thankfully the lord knew what he was doing! i have never been one to really listen to the lord so this was a great opportunity for him to get some time with me. all i could do for most of these 18 months was sit. i don't do that well, but man did i get slapped in the face and man did i start listening!!!!

jan. 19 2010 i turned 30 and vowed to make it the year of finding me and finally listening to what i was supposed to do with all this CRAZY i had been through:)
I LISTENED AND.....................

here i am ........
april 2010 i opened a very small salon in my back yard not really with a lot of clients because i had been out for so long but then all of a sudden people were come'n from everywhere to sit in my chair. i was so thankful i just jumped into my faith so then as people came to this HAPPY place they got more and more comfy and then started sharing there struggles and challenges in life. i started learning from them and found myself more encouraged and hopeful so in return i wanted to make a difference and shout to the roof tops that there is hope and so much love out there! but it is up to us to reach down deep and touch the ugly and hear the honesty even though it hurts because we can rise above and be healthy beautiful people inside and out!
and really when i dig deep within it's because all we need is love! we need love for ourselves, spouses, partners, children, friends, co-workers, family and whatever else that should be important:) out of all of these besides ourselves i think of our children and 4 me i was one of those hurting kids that took the hard road so i VOW to stop the vicious crazy train of a cycle and try my best 4 my kids.

so today a lady came into felicity(the salon's name, which means happiness and is my oldest child's middle name, fyi) who was my very 1st client in the chair of hope(april 8th 2010)! her coming today was my conformation of stating this blog finally! thx client!

what this blog will be like.....

the post will be me telling a story of a client who has shared encouragement and hope. such as,

today i am a married stay at home/home schooling mother of 3 with a loving husband who has just lost his job:(

i show encouragement by loving my husband no matter what! waking up everyday with a smile on my face because i know there are others in the world that have it worse. we are all healthy and alive to show how great god is!

thanks 4 reading and hope you continue to read my post and pray you find hope between the lines:)

much peace for you
amy