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...

The BIG Rock Wins!

  • November 18, 2019
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Read any good books lately?  There is a stack sitting on my bookshelf just waiting to be read.  I’m in the middle of about four as this is being written.  One of those is “The Domino Effect” by Tim Lewis.  Those of you who regularly keep up with our facebook page have probably noticed a few quotes from this book.  It is one of those practical books that manages to make you think about simple things in a very personal...

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...

In this world you WILL have trouble…

  • November 7, 2019
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Life is messy. Jesus plainly told us we would have trouble in this world BUT HE overcame the world. Conflict equals trouble in our modern world. Conflict-resolution, conflict-management, conflict-avoidance, conflict vs. bullying, and conflict-anxiety symptoms were some of the topics that ended up in my Google search bar when I did a search. There are college-degree programs with conflict resolution as a major. You cannot browse your social media feed without finding conflict within a minute or so. Twitter is...

Planes, Trains & Automobiles…

  • October 28, 2019
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“If you could choose anywhere in the world to go, where would it be?  I need a travel partner.” That’s the question my mom asked me several years ago. Traveling with anyone other than the hubs is not really something I had ever considered.  Mom changed all of that.  A little backstory…My Dad loved traveling…to football games.  They went to a LOT of them.  Mom wanted to “see the world” but Dad had served in the Korean War and had...

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...

#truthaboutskittles

  • October 14, 2019
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If you follow me on social media, you will often see the hashtag, #teachmetonumbermydays. It is one of my go-to verses in scripture. I try to begin each day with the reminder, my days are numbered; let me use them well. Numbering your days is seasonal in our lives. When we are children and teens, we can’t wait to grow up and be adults. Upon reaching adulthood, we all hit a moment where we realize “adulting” is hard. We always...

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...

A Pinterest Christianity Part II

  • September 23, 2019
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Last month, I did a blog titled, A Pinterest Christianity. Many of you messaged me and shared the blog on your pages and with your friends. Some of you shared very personal experiences of inadequacy, frustration, anxiety, and pain of “living our best lives” (using social media terminology). Let me shout it from the rooftops “GET BEHIND US SATAN!”  Our stress and exhaustion are fed by the father of all lies. Once you are covered by the blood of a...

Embracing God in the Storm

  • September 16, 2019
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August 24, 2013. The day that drastically changed my life. Just a normal Saturday that turned into one of the worst days of my existence.  I received the call every wife dreads – the call that says, “your husband has been in a car accident”.  Shock.  Denial.  Hysterical crying. The people around my apartment complex must have thought I was a crazy woman – I cannot begin to imagine the scene they witnessed.  A young woman walking her beagle (actually,...