Chose Wisdom & Victory

I am currently doing a bible study entitled, "When Wallflowers Dance". I am grateful that my neighbor invited me over for a Mary Kay makeover, which led to her mentioning this study that she was doing in church. Come to find out, she was also sharing this study with her MK team on Monday nights and said she wouldn't mind at all if I joined them! So here I am beginning week 5 of the study and I am loving it. I must say that it feels great to be involved in a bible study again, as I have really missed it! In McKinney I did some Priscilla Shrier and Beth Moore studies that were wonderful! Most of them under the leadership of my my favorite aunt, Elaine. I miss the fellowship of the women, but mostly the time of connecting with God and really diving into His word. With teaching, 2 kids, piano lessons, etc. sometimes life can get crazy, but I know without a shadow of a doubt that God is always with me and ready for conversation.

To kinda sum it up, this bible study by Angela Thomas teaches that we must allow God to lead our dance through life. In this blog I wanted to share some highlights that I found powerful on our study of choosing wisdom and victory. All are quoted from the study book.

Choosing Wisdom:
"Wisdom means removing foolishness from your life-choose wisdom and you will receive blessing, choose foolishness and suffer the consequences. As you begin to resist bitterness and choose wisdom, God promises His blessing and protection. Choosing wisdom often means making an everyday exchange in life. It means that you decide to choose differently, respond differently, or pursue different ideas or relationships. Consider areas in your life and consider whether or not wisdom would ask you to choose differently...pray for wisdom.

Choosing Victory:
As children of the Most High God, we have much to celebrate. One day every tear will be wiped away. You will understand the purpose for every trial you have faced and the suffering you have known. If we believed God and kept heaven in view, much that invites us to bitterness would fall away:
* You would not have to vie for position. You place with God is certain.
* You could lay aside your judgment. God is the final judge.
* You could look forward to new adventure instead of back at every failure.
* Getting even would mean nothing. Getting right with God would mean everything.
In view of eternity & the victory that is sure, we can choose to become grown-up Jesus women. We can hear the Holy Spirit call and choose to get up and face our battles with courage instead of a bitter heart."

How easy it is to let bitterness creep into our hearts due to trials involving co-workers, family members, and even our country's leaders. Bitterness can consume you....you can pack it in tight and harbor it for years or you can choose to be free with the love of Christ. Everything we do should glorify God. Our deeds are not experiences, yet examples of our faith. Let God's light shine through you!

"I lift my eyes unto the hills. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth" Psalm 121

MJ and More

While strolling the aisles of Wal-mart alone, a luxury I rarely ever get, I found myself just roaming around not necessarily having a plan as to what section I was headed for. (Something that can get you in trouble if you are on the Dave Ramsey plan!) Anyway, I ended up in the CD section and found that wal-mart had their "This Is It" Michael Jackson CD on sale for the low, low price of $10, so of course I had to purchase it. On the way home I popped it in my player and the minute I heard the first song, I instantly thought of my dad. Growing up my dad was always playing music in our den, loud enough for the whole house to enjoy or not enjoy in some cases. :) Aaron and Kim could relate to that one....although I must admit I usually enjoyed it because I got my love of classical music from my dad. He played every type of music you could think of. Irene Carey's "What a Feeling", Queen, Beethoven, you name it he played it...but Michael Jackson frequented the tape deck the most. I would make up crazy "Beat it" and "Thiller" dances. Dad even took the family (mom was pregnant with Kimberly) to the MJ Thiller concert and I remember it being wonderful! How many parents do you know that would take their 8 & 4 year old to a concert? He knew that we would love it and we did! I love it when music triggers a special memory, especially of him...

Speaking of Dad, my Madeline, or should I say Alan Jr., did some funny things this week. After my Wild Things program, the principal gave me some flowers, (along with my mom, Maddie and Landon) and the minute we got home Madeline had to be the florist. She found a vase, & I helped her trim the stems and she arranged them to her liking. She cleared off the table, put out the placemats, set the table with paper plates and a fork wrapped in a napkin and put the "center-piece" on the table. She said it looked wonderful, and it did! Then on Friday when I came home from school, she called me to her room to see what she had found on TV. She got bored watching a rerun of Phineus and Ferb, so she found Paula Deen on the food network. She was making chicken pot pie and she thought it looked so yummy, so she started writing down the recipe! It did look very tasty...I hope we can make it together soon! Pretty soon she is going to start watching "Design on a Dime" and then she really will be Alan Jr!!

Landon had a great week at school....all smiley faces!! We are going to celebrate at Chuck E cheese over spring break so that should be fun. (I think we will skip the pizza and just play the games) I caught Landon singing part of DMB song this week, and that made me smile!

I am ready for a week of Kim's wedding portrait shoot, shopping for shower dresses, going to a MUSE concert, staying at the Gaylord Texan, catching up on things around the house and spending time with family!!

The simple things in life are the best...have a blessed spring break!

Oh how I love birthdays!!

Let me start by saying I am the queen of stretching out a birthday...I think I get that from my Aunt Elaine! My birthday fun started with a surprise party at Papacitas with my wonderful family and friends. I walked in a didn't know what to think when mom was leading me to a table with a balloon! There I found that Aaron had driven in from Dallas, my grandparents were there, Kim and Philipp and of course my gang knew about it all along with my good friend Wendy and her daughter Emily. What a fun lunch we had...I got some really neat presents and some birthday money to go and treat myself to some new spring clothes or I may just save it for some fun on my summer cruise! Mrs. Diana made her scrumptious cookies using purple icing, my favorite color of all time. This all happened on a Saturday, and here my birthday is on a Thursday, so I have drawn this out for almost a week now! :)

So today was somewhat a stressful day with the first stage rehearsal of my 3rd grade program, but it ended up being a great day. My kids did great and I have a wonderful student teacher that is doing an incredible job of helping me out. She is awesome and I know I am going to hate to see her leave!! Anyway, Maddie and I went to the DQ for dinner and then went to the 1st grade program, so it was almost 7 when we got home. I was worn out and knew I would have to do some housecleaning, as we are having family come in tomorrow night. When I arrived home I found my house totally clean!!! To top it off, Justin had gotten me some more presents, including some new "Fancy Love" perfume and the box set of "Big Whiskey and the Groo Grux King". As an extra bonus, he used my cricket to cut out the letters that spelled "Happy B-Day". I didn't even know he knew how to use that machine!! What a GREAT husband I have. Thank you Justin for being so amazing...I love you!!!

I cannot tell you how many text and facebook messages I received from friends and family today. Thank you so much friends!! I feel so incredibly loved. You are all a blessing!

I am going to end a wonderful birthday by doing my bible study, "When Wallflowers Dance" by Angela Thomas (a wonderful study...if you haven't done it, you should!) and getting some rest.

Lots of Love,
Alanna

I think I'll be an airplane pilot!

Madeline: So Daddy, does it cost alot of money to ride in a plane?
Justin: Yes, most of the time, it just depends on where you are flying..
Madeline: Okay, well in that case I am going to be an airplane pilot when I grow up so I can make alot of money!
Justin: Well that's exciting...your family would miss you while you are traveling around the world! Are you planning on being a mom, too?
Madeline: Yes...that is why I am going to be a pilot so I can make alot of money to buy a baby from the hospital!!

Sounds like a plan to me.... ;)

So inspiring....

I saved this posting from this past summer and recently found it on my computer. Although I do not know them personally, they attended our church in Allen & I read their blog and pray for them. This post touched me just as much now as it did then....maybe it will speak to your heart as well!

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Change That Matters The Most
I grew up in church. I memorized scripture. I heard Biblical stories over and over. I was a part of Bible studies. I went to church camp. I felt certain that I was a Christian and would spend eternity in heaven.


I did not pray as regularly as I felt I should. I usually started each prayer apologizing to God for not talking to him frequently enough, though I wasn't sure how often I "should" be praying.


I did not read my Bible regularly. I found it to be difficult to understand without explanation from someone that knew the "code" behind it all. Someone that could translate the meaning for me. I could spout off all the books of the Bible and many verses that I had learned, but it wasn't internalized and truly guiding my daily life.


Things have changed. And I'm here to tell you that it has changed me.


Let me start with prayer.


Shortly after Gavin was diagnosed with cancer, I spent most of my prayer time pleading. Begging God to save my Gavin. Begging him to stop the pain, nausea, and general suffering. I know that God heard those prayers because there were many times I felt his presence during them. I saw signs. I heard His voice. He comforted me and let me know that he too knew what it was like to watch a son suffer. This helped me. And it also allowed me to get past the pleading and move on into a deeper relationship.


Prayer for me now is more like a fluid conversation with a trusted friend. I don't have to schedule a time to meet up with him. I can just start talking to him whenever I want to. I don't necessarily have a start or stop to each prayer. I try to keep my thoughts open to dialogue with Him throughout the day. It seems natural to me. We all have a mental dialogue going all day long. Mine now just has shifted to talking to Him instead of to me.


And I am getting better at listening to Him as well. I am a Speech-Language Pathologist. I help people communicate for a living (not as much as I used to since I can't work much now, but it's still who I am). My second grade teacher wrote that I was a "social butterfly" on my report card. I talk...a lot.


But, there's a video called "Coffee with Jesus" that had a great impact on the way that I prayed. I had a link to it on this blog and just clicked it to learn that not only is it no longer available on youtube.com. Now, it is only available if you pay for it. What a shame! I think so many people will miss out on the amazing message because they don't wish to spend the $22 on a 2 minute, 11 second video. (But, enough with my soap box!) The gist of it is this: A man meets up with Jesus at Starbucks. He hurries in and quickly pulls out his legal pad that has pages and pages and pages full of his prayer requests. He goes on and on and never lets Jesus get a word in edgewise. Just about the time Jesus has time to say something, the man says he's got to go and rushes out of the coffee shop. It really makes so much sense. We shouldn't treat our earthly friends that way. Why should we talk to Jesus that way?


I try to think of that video frequently so that I don't fall into a pattern of simply listing off my "to do list" that I'd love God to help me or other people with. I'm learning to be still and learn a thing or two (or two million) from Him as well.


And as for the Bible, well let's just say that I've come a long way.


I began spending much, much more time reading the Bible after Gavin was diagnosed. Sad that it took such a major life event to bring me back to the basics, but it's true. I relied on a New International Version (NIV) Bible that I had owned for years. It was much simpler to understand than the King James Version (KJV) that had always seemed like Greek to me. Yet I still felt like I just wasn't reading between the lines so to speak. Like there was still so much I just wasn't walking away with after I had read it.


Our pastor (Hi Chad!) frequently encourages people to read the Bible. He's a big fan of reading the Bible through each year. And he does it year after year after year. He inspired me to do the same. Truthfully, he's inspired me to start to do this a couple of other times as well, but I never made it past January or so.


I decided this year was going to be different. I asked him what his favorite version of the Bible was for reading through the Bible in a year's time. He said that while he reads a different version each year, his favorite was the New Living Translation (NLT). I decided I would take his word on this one and try that version this year. I had told Jeff that I wanted a new Bible and he had actually planned to get me one for our anniversary. I technically picked out my present myself, but only because he wanted me to get the Bible that best met my needs. (Thanks, sweetie!)


Our church also has a variety of printed Bible reading plans that are available for you to choose from. Some plans have you read the Bible in chronological order. Others go straight through from cover to cover. And on and on. I couldn't decide which to go with. I deferred to Chad again. He said he preferred the Discipleship Journal because it had you read a little bit from four different books each day. It also allowed for 5 days off each month, because let's face it, we aren't perfect and there are going to be days where you won't read it. This made sense to me, so I went with his suggestion again.


Both have changed my life. I find that I now look forward to reading the Bible. I actually read a few chapters more than I am "required" according to the printed guide. I have skipped around to some books that aren't supposed to come around until later in the year, but love it. I am actually ahead of schedule!


Most importantly, I learn wisdom that I can apply to my life right now. I can understand it. It reads "like a book." And I frequently recommend the version to others.


Prayer and Bible reading have become a greater priority to me. And I truly feel it is what has given me the peace that I wrote about recently. Sure, there's so much that I could improve upon.


Just ask Jeff. He has to live with me.


But I have a greater sense of purpose. I believe life would feel like a giant vacuum if it weren't for the guidance I receive from communicating with God and reading from His Word regularly. I think I would still be pleading with Him and living in absolute fear of tumor cells and treatment side effects.


And simply put, that's not living.


While I have shared a number of scriptures here on the blog, I felt a great urge to share how prayer and Bible reading have changed who I am. It's a change that I am proud of. A change that will keep changing as I continue to grow and become the woman God intended me to be.


And I believe it's the change that matters the most. Try it. I think you'd agree.


Much love,
Posted by Stacie

TMEA/Valentine's Day 2010

Every Valentine's weekend is the same for a music educator...it is usually spent in San Antonio for a wonderful convention called TMEA. I look forward to it each and every year. It is such a pick-me-up during the school year & I come back inspired and rejuvinated, ready to teach my wonderful kiddos. Not only are the sessions a great place to learn new content & fun ideas for the classroom, but I find that I learn just as much visiting with my music friends about lessons/music they love. My big discovery this TMEA was a book called "Fun With Composers" and I can't wait to get it for my classroom. I was just going to buy it and add it to my personal collection, but it was $99.00, so I think I will wait to use my budget money for that next year. Super fun listening maps and ways to add movement and instruments to classical music. I love when kids enjoy classical music, and this book is sure to be a success! Justin enjoyed being a part of the college scene for the first time at TMEA...college region meetings, college night recruiting, & the ETBU reunion were all great. He enjoyed conversing with some old and new friends!

One of my favorite parts of TMEA though, is spending time with my best friend Holly. Every time we are together we pick up right where we left off...it is like we are in college again! We have so much fun together!!! I love that I can talk to her about anything going on in my life and not have to worry about judgement. Everyone needs a friend like that...someone that you know will love you no matter what. Holly is that friend for me & I hope that I am that friend for someone too! Like I said, I L-O-V-E, love TMEA and all of the fun and friends that go along with it. How appropriate that it always falls on Valentine's weekend!

The kids had a fun time staying with grandparents while we were away for the convention. Landon went to see Grannie Jeanne & Pa and Maddie stayed in Gilmer with Grammy, Grandmother and Granddaddy. Landon enjoyed going to the livestock show and seeing the pigs and chickens. Maddie enjoyed playing in the 7 in. of snow that East TX got while we were gone. They even called off school on Friday, not because of the icy roads, but because of power outages. She made a snow angel & snowman and her and Granddad had a mean snowball fight! They tried to sled down the hill, but she just sank down into the snow, so no luck there. Of course it always snows when we are away!! It did that a couple of years ago during TMEA...

Valentine's day came and went quickly as we spent it driving back home to East TX. We did, however, start our day off right with some super yummy breakfast with Derek and Leah at Sol De Jalisco's. They have the best Mexican food ever and their guacamole is to die for!! I always over-indulge myself when I go there. If we lived in Belton I would be 300 pounds for sure...maybe it is a good thing that we only get that luxury when we visit Justin's family! :) We sure do love their food, but love the company more! Hope your Valentine's Day was wonderful!

What a way to start the weekend...

We are not having fun in the Hodges house this weekend. Landon & Alanna woke up early Friday with a stomach bug and stayed home from school. Seems as though they are on the mend, but now Justin is sick! When this sickness hits, you feel as though you have been run over by an 18-wheeler. I hope that we are better so that we can go to church tomorrow! It is a big Sunday called "Prove the Tithe" & I am looking forward to being a part of it. If you can trust the Lord with your eternity, surely you can trust him with your now!

Lots of things have to be done this weekend....packing the kids for their stay at their grandparents, packing for our music convention in San Antonio, finalizing school plans for next week....lots to do! Justin and I look forward to TMEA every year. It is so much fun seeing all of our music friends and going to the concerts & sessions.

Onto some laundry and packing.....crossing my fingers that we can all keep our food down today!