Queenies Little Kingdom

I’ve spent the day shopping with my two teenage daughters.  We had a blast!  It’s always fun when we get to escape to one of our favorite cities (Louisville) and today was no exception.  We were on a little quest–PROM DRESS!! 

The prom is exactly one month away and there haven’t been any dress prospects.  None, at all!  Which is pretty unusual.  Each year we’ve been  blessed to find something extra special with plenty of time to spare.  This year, I was starting to get nervous.

I’ve scoured the internet.  Every favorite store.  I’ve shopped until my eyes and fingers dropped.  No luck.  But more than that……nothing that even sparked an interest in the girl WHO NEEDED THE DRESS.  😉

Last week,  we were shopping “online” and found a dream dress.  A gorgeous but  expensive dress.  Something unique (because that’s the top requirement) and completely classy (because that’s the other requirement)!!  This dress made us both…..swoon!

I immediately started googling it to find it for less than $___zillion dollars.  The lowest price I could find was $458.  Talk about bummed?  Oh yea, we just walked away from the whole idea.  But God…..He knew.

After stomping all over St. Matthews mall today…..a prom dress was beginning to feel like a lost cause.  {Have I mentioned how many hours I’ve spent on ebay too?  Uhh, shamefully..too many}  Except, Gates found a cute prom dress and even purchased it.  The problem there?  She’s not been asked to the prom and isn’t old enough to go alone.  But, she has a dress.

I thought I’d give ebay another shot tonight.  Let me tell you how loud I squealed when I saw THE DRESS (the dress we fell in love with last week that was way out of our budget)!  I couldn’t help but flip!  Whoever was selling it had purchased it to wear to a wedding and it just happens to be white (Uhh, sorry girl…everybody knows only the bride wears white on HER wedding day!).  Yay, us!    Yay, Jesus and His blessings!

Oh and the way He blesses……it’s JUST HER SIZE too!  Size 4!   You can’t slap the smile off my face right now.  It’s permanent!

I love my girls and when I heard this on the CMA awards tonight…..I knew I had to share it.

“http://www.youtube.com/embed/THWlDUHgOIc”   [sorry about the goofy link]

 And about the dress?   It’s white, with feathers and has the letters BCBG in the tagline!

That’s me…talking to my stress level! I’m feeling super crunched. I don’t want to be wacked out over trivial things (like finding a GOOD RELIABLE AFFORDABLE car) to replace the one that was totaled exactly one week ago this very moment! You see, we aren’t known for our good fortune. Crazy things happen to us. Sometimes I just stand in awe (like, is there a hidden camera on us kind of thing) when strange things happen. It’s starting to become “normal” to our whole family.

{Insert Yeehaw song…”If It Weren’t For Bad Luck, We’d Have No Luck At All”}

And we’re believers! Who know that God can do amazing things for us at any given moment. A few weeks ago, my husband asked me…..”What has happened to us recently that has been good?”. It was a deep conversation about our family and the ups and downs we’ve had since we left the ministry. I tried to argue my case that in fact, Yes God had been blessing us all along! {Honestly, He has blessed us!} But I can’t help but own up to the truth…..so many rotten things have happened to us too.

Stuff that would make another turn away from God. Now don’t get me wrong. We both recognize that we don’t deserve anything. We are scum! Trash! It’s a blessing just to be called HIS children. I’m more than amazed that He loves me and cares for me…knowing He knows the depths of my heart. Blown away! So, for me to complain that He isn’t blessing me…..just seems like trash talking!

I keep coming to the same conclusion. I REALLY DON’T KNOW TRUE SUFFERING!! I’ve gone through crummy stuff. I’ve missed out on opportunities. Lost important things. Felt humiliated by my situations. Hurt for my self and loved ones. Experienced outrageous stress. Worried over jobs/kids/school/needs. These things are all fleeting. I don’t have a clue about true suffering!

See why I wrestle with me? I’m impossible to deal with!

I’m fretting right now over the whole car and insurance thing. Will we find a decent vehicle to replace my husband’s car? I think we will. Will we lose our current insurance or will it skyrocket in cost…thanks to 2 claims from the same teenager? Gosh, I hope not! This stuff is trivial!

I have my family! My son is alive and away at college. My two teen girls are down the hall in their rooms doing their homework or watching tv. My husband is in our room…reading through a journal of our daughter’s trying to find a piece of writing to submit for a college scholarship. They are all here, safe…..alive and available to me. I can’t curse God about the things going wrong in my life when such precious and important things are my reality! I do feel blessed.

Tonight, my heart aches for a friend from high school who lost his teenage daughter yesterday. She was fatally injured Sunday night in an ATV accident. Just a sweet fun girl out enjoying the outdoors in south Florida. In an instant….their lives changed forever. Perspective. It haunts me at every turn.

Jesus
You’re more than a conquerer. You are the GREAT I AM! I’m eternally honored to be your daughter and to know that even when things seem annoyingly uncomfortable….You have a plan for me. I admit it, I am weak….and thank you…YOU ARE STRONG! Please surround my dear friend Chip with your love and peace. Fill this hurting family with your Holy presence.
Amen

I’ve always had this thing about barns. I want one. I imagine having a really awesome barn everytime I drive by a farm or country home. My hubby has always just indulged my dreaming. He goes along with me (like he wants one too). Smart guy! 😉

I’ve been in hundreds of barns. Fancy ones, smelly ones, old ones, brand new ones and even abandoned ones. Each of them special and unique in some way or another. Maybe that’s why I have such a crazy fascination with them…..they are limitless in their useage.

You might be wondering what I’d choose to do with MY barn….

That’s a good question. I’d like to park cool stuff in it, for sure. Like, who doesn’t dream of having fun toys? Duh! Four-wheelers, jet-skis, a boat….and of course a tractor!! Then, it would have to have a loft. I would fill that up with storage stuff! Believe me…..I could pack it to the roof. Of course we’d have parties in it too.

See all the blessings of having a barn? Maybe one of these days…..I’ll get one of my own. And when I do, you’re invited over to hang out and enjoy it!

Check out this party barn…..WOW!

Follow this link to see it’s renovation! Oh my-lanta! I’m in love!

I believe in prayer. I always have. It’s serious business to me. I don’t know where I’d be (mentally) if it weren’t for the comfort of knowing Jesus was only a whisper away.

Right now, there are a few issues going on that only God can handle. I know without a shadow of a doubt…..I have to give them to Him and GET OUTTA THE WAY!!

James 4:14 says, “You are just a vapor that appears for awhile and then vanishes away”.

Instead of wringing my hands over insurance decisions, college choices/acceptances, roommate problems, far-off family struggles, car replacements and job/school stress…..I can rest assure HE HAS A PLAN for me and for my family. Afterall, this life really is just a vapor!

Lord,
It seems to come easy for me to stress out over stuff. But, my heart is filled with peace because I know YOU ARE BIGGER than all the troubles that come my way. Thank you for caring about the things that I’m facing. Work in a way that I’ll have no choice but to point to you.
Amen.

I had big hopes for my break! BIG HOPES! But, as things go…..stuff doesn’t always play out like you “hope”. I had plans of going to IKEA in Cincy. Nope, didn’t happen! I had dreams of maybe catching a movie. Not, that would require way too much planning! I envisioned a nice dinner out (at least once), oh wait…I did go to Zwanzig’s with my WHOLE FAMILY on Sunday! That was nice! I would’ve liked a shopping trip one day (I’ve said it here before how I love going to the CITY to shop!). The week is gone! No going anywhere at this point! It’s time to regroup and jump back into school mode. 🙁

Why does spring break have to end so soon? It just got started, right?

I’m trying not to be a total whiner (even though it comes so naturally for me). But, I’m feeling blue and to top off my sadness that break is ending….I can see SNOWFLAKES falling outside right now! Can you believe the nerve of mother nature? Me either!

Come on, summer! I’m needing to see your hot sunny days!

Uhh, remind me that I said that when I’m fussing about the heat. Ok?