Pickle Juice Is Hard To Swallow!

Hey Y'all!

First let me tell you some exciting news. Mike got his denominational endorsement to become an Army Chaplain! We still have a couple of hoops to go through for the Army but this is a major hurdle. Keep praying for him as he finishes navigating his way through the process. We are still praying for him to be able to come before the Army boards in August.

God has been doing a lot of cleaning and healing in my life personally for the last 5 months. In February Mike and I started seeing a councilor. We initially went because when we were looking at the church planting field, we were advised to seek some counseling because of some past church/hurt experiences.

One of the first tasks we were assigned was to take an attitude test. As I sat with the councilor to hear the results, he solemnly looked at me and said, "Your hostility is off my chart." I was shocked. But down deep I knew it to be true. I had felt angry for a long time. There were many times that I found myself gritting my teeth over nothing. I have never hurt anyone or anything....not even myself. That is not how I display anger. I apparently had chosen some good outlets in which to release my anger...such as prayer, creativity and cooking (which might explain my weight a little more.) Yet there were still some not so good outlets...such as yelling at bad drivers that I had also adopted.. Not enough to be classified as road rage...the other drivers never knew I was yelling at them. But it bothered Zoie...a lot. I had tried controlling it, but without healing of the whole underlying anger, it was not very controlled.

Through the counseling, God revealed a hurt from my past. One I still can't share yet because I haven't been able to tell my sister...and she needs to know before the blogging world does.
God healed this hurt through a prayer that the councilor used, that I will share with you later also. It was one of the most powerful and spiritual experiences I have ever been through.

The best part is with the forgiveness of the person that hurt me and the healing from the spiritual lies that accompanied this hurt....I have stopped feeling angry all the time.

Zoie and I were returning home from her piano lesson this past Monday. A car pulled out in front of me and I had to slam on my brakes...I am amazed that I did not hit him. As we puttered along after him down the road I realized something, I had not yelled. In fact, not a single angry thought had come into my head. Fear of hitting him had, concern for him had, but not anger. I had not felt anger.

Now breaking old habits are hard and don't usually just disappear. This morning I left the house stressed over our finances and yelled at two people. But it hit me that I wasn't angry at them I was stressed about our finances. So I asked Zoie to pray that when I get stressed I will remember to not take that stress out on other drivers. She said, "I will pray and I will remind you. (Big Pause) But you can't get mad at me for reminding you."

We came up with a plan. If she notices that I am starting to take out my stress on other drivers she is going to ask me a question, "Pickle juice is hard to swallow isn't it?" This will be a funny way to remind me...without the words stress or anger being a part of the thought.

Pray for us both as we try this new technique.

Because: Pickle juices is hard to swallow!

Love Y'all dearly!!
Pamela

Zoie Got a Blog Awared!

Hey Y'all,
Edie over at http://richgifts.blogspot.com just gave Zoie a Kreativ Award. Check it out, ain't it pretty!

Zoie has to say seven things about herself or me that y'all might not know....so I'm turning it over to her:

Hey Y'all
Its Zoie and these are my seven things:

1) I was born in Georgia....means I'm a cute little Georgia peach.

2) I accepted Christ as my Savior when I was 4 years old. When my dad baptized me, I was so scared I dunked him with me. I came up out of the water smiling and he was soaked!

3) I had prayed for a dog all my life. In fact, my mom says the very first time I ever laughed was at a dog at my babysitter's house. As you can see I must love dogs! I finally got one for my seventh birthday. Her name is Keekee bear and I love her! She is a miracle dog because she had parvo and survived it! Thanks to my parents giving her medicine every hour on the hour for 48 hours and my Aunt Amy giving us the medicine...her husband is a vet.

4) My best friend's name is Sunni. We have been best friends since 2nd grade. We are two blond chicks who try to do everything together. I will miss her when we move!

5) I was in my school's production of "The Sound Of Music." It is the junior/senior high production but they needed someone small enough to play Gretle. ;) So they chose me! One cool thing, was that the actor who played Rolf in the movie came to see our production and gave me an autograph! Now how cool is that?

6) You guys know I like to sing...This year, my granddad's quartet got invited to sing a concert at a church in NC. When they called him, they also asked for me to come and sing for them too. It was my first concert.

7) Since none of you have ever seen a picture of me on my mom's blog, I have blond hair, brown/green eyes, and I am almost as tall as my mom. In fact, I wear the same size shoe as she does. I got my ears pierced last fall and having pierced ears ...ROCKS!

Thanks again Miss Edie for the award.


I don't know who to give this award to, so I want all my mom's readers to tell us seven things. OK? PLease, I want to see how many responses I can get. Don't let me down...I'm only 10.

Bye Y'all
Zoie

PS. Don't y'all think I need my own blog? Talk my mom into it! She doesn't think its safe for me now.

A Poem For My Dad From Zoie

Hey Y'all!
I hope you all had a wonderful Father's Day Weekend. We did. Mike got to preach yesterday at the church he did interim work at last Fall. It was so comforting going back there and seeing Mike back in a pulpit.
We then went to my Dad's for lunch with the Thrift family. We had hamburgers and homemade banana-nut ice cream. My mother's homemade Ice cream recipe is so fattening...but so good!

Zoie wrote her dad a Father's Day Poem that I, as a proud wife of said father and mother to the author, just had to share it with you.
Here it is (Zoie asked me not to edit it, so here is it just like she wrote it minus the art work)

How do you know if your dad loves you?
I know that he loves me because he cares
and talks to God in his prayers.
My dad is a God follower and worships God
in his own special way.
I'm glad to call you my dad because of who you are.
To me you you shine like a star.
You brighten my day as you smile
and when you go shopping you go down every aisle. (What? You try rhyming the word smile)
So I am happy to say thank you, thank you
for being the best daddy a girl could ever have.
I love you so much.
Thank you for being my daddy
Happy Father's Day
Love Zoie

Do you think she gets her writing skills from her mom?
Thank you for letting me share this with you.
I love each of you dearly
May God bless you today because you blessed me by stopping by and letting me brag on my husband and my daughter.

Love Pamela

A Nanosecond Later.......

Hey Y'all,

This week has been terribly busy. I've started seeing a chiropractor 3 times a week, we've had VBS this week and then there is trying to get ready to move...if we get into the Army.

Do you ever contemplate how quickly life changes? A nanosecond is one billionth of a second...quicker than a blink of my green eyes. An event happens and a nanosecond later...life has changed. I'm not talking subtle changes...more of the life altering kind. Those "I will never forget..." moments that we look back on and know that life before was sure different than life after that nanosecond.

Here are some examples from my own life...both good and bad.

The moment I took my first step....I would never crawl again.
The moment I realized that God was more than I could ever dream and gave my life to Him.
The moment I decided in second grade to never make a hundred on a test again, so the kids would stop calling me a cheater....boy, have I ever regretted that decision!
The moment a boy told me I was the ugliest girl he had ever seen in 7th grade... battle with my looks ever since.
The moment a revival pastor told my story without knowing it and I knew God was calling me to a Christian vocation.
The moment I accepted the call to go to Colorado as a Semester/Innovator missionary and work at a ski area with handicapped skiers.
The moment I decided to go to Seminary.
The moment My Granny died and my best friend Paula became my best friend as she and her, then boyfriend (now husband), drove me 9 hours home because I was shattered.
The moment I forgave my Aunt Dyan...we were both healed that day...her from 20 years of drug abuse, me from 11 years of hate.
The moment the man I believed I would marry betrayed me in the most heinous way ever.
The moment I saw Mike walking across the room at church and asking me if I was visiting....I was actually on staff at the church.
The moment Mike laid a piece of paper in my lap....it was pictures asking me to marry him.
The moment I said "I do."
The moment I screamed "Is it a Zoie or a Zachary" and Zoie let out her first cry.
There have been many more moments but I think I've given you too many to read so far.

We all have these moments. But blessed be the Name of the Lord....No nanosecond can change Him. He was there during each of those moments and will be for every other moment. We are never without His eyes on us...His hand shielding us...His heart loving us.

Thank you Lord for not even letting a nanosecond...no matter how life changing powerful it is, to ever surprise you or even make you blink.

I love you!
Pamela

I'm a Garbage Truck Princess!

Hey Y'all!
I looked at my blog and could not believe it had been so long since my last post! Time has whizzed right by me and I feel like a spinning cartoon character!

A little over a week ago Mike and I were in Atlanta for the Chaplain interviews with our denomination. Now it is wait and see time again. We will know something after the 21st. That is when they will decide for sure. Pray that the trustees will see the call we believe God has for Mike as a Chaplain and give us the endorsement. Mike still has some hoops to go through for the Army too, so pray that they will go smooth and get scheduled quickly.

My school let out last Friday and I am no longer a teacher there. It was my decision. I was only part-time and felt that since there is a high chance we will be moving either in December or March that it would be easier on the school to hire someone for a whole year and I could get us ready to move without worrying about having to work. So come next fall, I will be subbing and doing some testing for the school...but not teaching. It is bitter sweet. I love the school! I love the people I have worked with there! I will miss being a part of the everyday climate there. But it is right....hard but right.

Did you see my title today? No, my dad does not own a garbage trucking business. Neither does my husband. The truth is that I am a princess. Always have been ...always will be! However, (Big sigh......) I am also a garbage truck!

For years I have let the events in my life gather its stinking garbage in my truck bed. I have stuffed down offenses, I have sucked up hurts, I have turned my head to tragedy and heaped more and more of life's garbage on my back to carry it along. Only like a full garbage truck, it has sometimes been caught by the wind of life and has spewed out onto others that are passing by. Many times, I have flipped a little out on a passing driver who did not drive like my policeman daddy taught me to drive. Or better yet, it has spilled over onto my family since they are always around and don't seem to mind too much. I've rationalized this by saying, "Oh! They know me and know I didn't mean to hurt them. They are family and they are safe. They know I love them." But my garbage would spew or fly at them and anyone who got too close everyday until I have officially become a self proclaimed garbage truck princess!

AHHHH! But you see last Tuesday in counseling, I let the Garbage Truck King clean out my truck! He isn't like me. He doesn't keep heaping garbage on his back. His garbage doesn't even belong to him! He collects other's garbage and instead of carrying it around to dump someplace else...do you know what he does? He burns it up right there! There are not even ashes left! No remnants or even the odor of garbage! Truthfully, there is not even a smell of the smoke! Nothing! Well, one thing is left....can you believe this....bright white clean...with the fragrance of forgiveness and love.

Many times I have come and placed part of my garbage with this King. But this past Tuesday he wanted the hidden messiest stuff. He went after a memory...a horrible memory that I wanted no one to know about. A memory I didn't want to believe even happened. A memory I had buried in the darkest corner of my truck bed. I had covered it with years of other garbage. But the Garbage King wanted to clean that corner. And BOY HOWDY did He ever clean it out.

I will share this story with you soon. Because now that it has been cleaned, the King told me I had to share it with others so He can clean out theirs too. But first I want you to pray for me as I share it with my family first. They need to know first. Pray also that I will go everyday to let the Garbage King clean out more so that neither I or my spiritual enemy will try to fill it up again.

One last note....Thank you Jesus for being my Garbage King and cleaning out all the garbage in my life. Thank you for desiring your princess to be a Limo not a Garbage truck! I love You!
Pamela