Leigh Ann Nichols's

Posts

What Matters….

  • January 13, 2020
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What matters.  As I dig more into my ONE WORD for 2020 which is CONTEND, what matters tends to be the basis in every area of my life.   In my relationship with God…what matters? In my marriage, what matters?   In my home, what matters?  Within my church family, what matters?  In my work as a teacher, what matters?  I think that the “preacher” sums it up in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:   Fear God...

Focus…with ONE word

  • January 1, 2020
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The “Resolutions of New Year” are quickly approaching.  It is a time for a fresh start or a “clean” slate. When the clock changes from 2019 to 2020, you want to do “things” better in the New Year. We want and desire change.   Resolutions though do NOT have a high rate of success.  As a matter of fact, research has shown that only around 10% of adults keep them after a few months.  I know for me personally, I fall...

The Game Plan…

  • December 2, 2019
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The time to hit the hardwood has come to Middle Tennessee.  It is the “best” time of the year (coming from a basketball coach 🙂 ), and throughout the season we will endure growth, setbacks, and many opponents on the road to a state championship.   Our Christian walk is very similar in the fact that we will also ensure growth and setbacks as we press on to the goal, but one thing we need to remember is the only opponent...

A Legacy

  • November 11, 2019
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On January 14, 1907, Joe D Nichols was born in a rural area near West, TX.  He grew up in a “farming” family where they operated several gins. When the depression hit, his family was terribly affected. It is understood that he moved to Haskell, TX around 1933, and then in the mid to late 1930’s, joined the Conservation Corps.   At the age of 35 he chose a different path—the Army.  He registered for the draft on October 16, 1940...

Fear and The Roller Coaster…

  • October 21, 2019
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His hands were shaking.  His heart was racing. Big puppy dog tears started streaming down his face.   He didn’t want to get on the ride.   Was the ride going to go fast?  Was it going to go slow? Would there be sharp turns?  Would it go backwards? Would it go upside down? The unknown had completely encompassed his 8 year old body and FEAR had now taken over.   This was what we experienced our first time at Disney over Fall...

Gentleness…

  • September 30, 2019
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Several years ago, one of my students kept falling asleep in class.  It was frustrating.  He was a kid who had a reputation of being “tough”; not one of the other students would cross him.  Because of the “stigma” that came with him, I took his sleep habits as being disrespectful. UNTIL… We had a parent conference.  Little did I know he was babysitting his younger sister late at night so his mom could work (single family).  He wasn’t getting...

Loved. Anchored. Purpose.

  • September 9, 2019
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When to steal.  How to hold a runner on base.   Run on dropped third strike.   1st baseman needs to be ready.  You are covering 2nd.   Passed balls at home plate.   Don’t worry about the baserunner.   Step off the base when you are pitching.  Whew. This past weekend was the 1st kid pitch tournament experience for our 8 (9 year old in February).  It is a lot to think about for the boys—and for the coaches. Going from coach pitch situation...

Lost

  • August 19, 2019
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The tears were streaming.  You could tell she was scared. Getting “lost” on the second day of kindergarten at dismissal was not what Karis had in mind that day.   It also wasn’t what she had in mind the fourth full day of kindergarten either.   She knows the surroundings–I work there and she spends quite a bit of time up in the hallways, but somehow she was sidetracked and she was “lost”.   So what about us?   A question in Genesis 3:9...

Dead to Alive, Deer, and Weeds–A lesson from Rockin’ N Farms

  • July 22, 2019
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We moved out to a little acreage in Tennessee four years ago this October and call our little haven Rockin’ N Farms.  We have added animals (cows, goats, donkeys, chickens)–and have many stories to tell……….. One of our first summers out here, my husband Jody decided to plow up some land for me to have a garden.  It was massive (which may have been in the eyes of the beholder)…and I lost total control of it.  Household duties, summer activities,...

The Storm

  • June 27, 2019
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We had made it to Lubbock.  A long anticipated trip of spending time with family, meeting a new addition, loving on cousins, grandparents, aunts, and uncles, and starting to relax after a busy few months of activities we had chosen to participate in for the kids. A family outing—going to the drive in with everyone to see Toy Story 4–a movie I know my kids were excited about. The skies were blue, the wind wasn’t really blowing, and we arrived...