Tuesday, December 18, 2012

transforming....

In our almost 15 years of marriage I have only sent out Christmas cards...maybe, three times. I always want too, but then when it is like the week before (like today), I just freak out and give the, "maybe next year", pep talk in my head.


We even had a jam up party we attended, at one of the most awesome places in Dothan, where I took pictures of the ones throughout this post.












an age you literally don't have to take 500 pictures of your children to get ONE to turn out where they are all looking at the camera, and still, I can't get it together to get a card out!







I love, love, love receiving all those happy cards from friends and family. Please know you are loved, but this chick just really can't pull the Christmas Card thing off, and that is the ONLY reason you don't have an envelope with "Pilchers" on the return label.





This past Sunday's sermon, was wonderful. Not to mention the opener (which is like a prelude), was so completely awesome, I felt like I wanted to dance my way to heaven. I literally could see one of my Grandmother pulling fresh bread out of the oven, dancing in her kitchen, like nobody cared. It was so not the traditional "Oh Holy Night", which is one of Tim and my favorite Christmas Carols, but it brought us into the same state of worship that that old carol would.






When leaving church, I pondered the last two days of where I've come from. Have you ever done that? Looking back at my life and seeing where I was, to where I am today. I think I just might be old enough to do that. Just this morning my cousin tagged me on facebook in her wedding photo. I looked at it, and before reading any info on it, thought to myself that this must have been around 20 years ago. Sure enough it was their 20th Anniversary. I now say things like "gosh, that must have been 10-15years ago", all the time.




We all have a story, and it's a good thing we do. It testifies of Christ's work in our lives.The good times, the bad times, the pretty times, and the not so pretty times. All Christ's redeeming grace.

Have you ever thought that you didn't need "that" much more transformation?




Let me tell you, right before we started attending Wiregrass Church 18mos ago, at that time in my life I could recognize legalism from a mile away and I knew that Katie Pilcher, was not legalistic and I wanted no part of it. Yes, you can laugh at this statement, I deserve it. Sunday after Sunday, my heart battled with my flesh. My heart cried out that everything they were doing was so God honoring, and just so good. I could feel the presence of the Lord in that building, I could feel His smiling face staring into the hearts of His people, and more so as time went on in, my everyday, yet my stubborn flesh fought out differences. Petty, that at one point felt like mountain differences, that my heart and flesh fought daily at my whole life....



Do you know that battle? It's exhausting........ Eighteen months ago, I started seeing a judgmental and unloving heart. I so thought that I had it "under control". It was ugly. I am not saying it is gone, by all means, but boy, did the Lord reveal the "not so pretty" in my life. I thought I loved people well. I thought I accepted them for who they are well. I thought I served them well.  I thought I saw my sin for what it truly was 12 years ago when THE transformation occurred.

I thought, I thought, I thought........




This isn't a blog post on Wiregrass Church. My life is a story, and every walk, place, person, and location has played a part in shaping it. The last 18mos, is a testimony of just how much further the Lord has shown me His abounding grace. His unshakable love. His generosity of His sacrifice. His endless ability to bestow mercy on my life.

Last night, Tim and I watched this video together. Tears filled my eyes; and nothing had to be said, we both knew that the Lord has us exactly were He wants us....and that my friends, is one of the very best things you could ever want.


Eighteen months of tears, sorrow, joy, change, revealing, challenges, heartache, more tears, trials, and pain; all for His Glory. All for the transforming grace. All for my story. All because of love. All because of the abundance of generosity from our Heavenly Father. This is why, we will have a Merry Christmas.


May you have the Merriest of Christmases yet, because the transforming power of Jesus is not over with in your life.



Be Merry and Share your story!



Friday, December 14, 2012

I am alive....

whew! I thought I might have once had the flu......





I am pretty sure I hadn't. Because it was nothing like what I had this week. Yes, Tuesday never got any better and I found myself throwing on whatever clothes I could find on the floor in my room, and heading to the closest Urgent Care shortly after they opened. I knew it was bad. I just knew I had the flu. I kept praying on the way that I wouldn't have to wait forever in the waiting room. I missed every green light from my house to there. I shouldn't have even been driving honestly, but Tim had left for work, and I wasn't thinking clearly. Literally, maybe I didn't miss every green light?? hmmmmm...


When I got there, there was only one other person in the waiting room, ahhhhh :) I was in and out with a confirmed case of the flu in 20 mins. I had know idea they were going to have to stick q-tips up to my brain to swab for it, but she did. And when she went for the other nostril, I literally wanted to punch her in the face. I mean, why torture a person when they're already down??




She made it up to me when she came back in for that beautiful, glorious, happy shot in the butt. Yes, she kept saying "relax the muscle, relax the muscle, go ahead relax the muscle...", I looked at her and said, " I am relaxed, Crossfit must be working :) " Flu or no Flu, around the holidays, any woman would like to know they're a little tighter there.


I did find out, that if I died, my kiddos would be fine. Jillian walked around the house, with an apron on, a Lysol can and kept the washing machine running. They brought me food, hot tea, and sacrificed their Kindle for me to watch endless episodes of Law and Order and goofy chick flicks, I wouldn't dare make Tim sit through.



Today, I will try to venture outdoors for the first time in days. We had already decided in November to take three weeks for Christmas Holidays and finish school later in the school year. I have spent the first week, not like I want to spend the next two. We don't want to rush our favorite time of the year, so, today will hopefully consist of crafts, home manicures, movie time and hopefully a little exercise since I had to teach my muscles how to hold myself up a few times this week.

Pictures are a few of my "happy places"... I assure you that my grandmother's tea set is only that shiny because my mother takes it home with her to polish it every time she comes to my home and sees it tarnished. I don't think I have ever polished it....maybe once....maybe. I took, my Nana's Nativity Scene out of my china cabinet yesterday. I keep forgetting to put out my Christmas decor. Our tree made it back to our kitchen this year, it is small, but it had to be, because this is the room we love it in. Our neighbors miss it in our front window, but we spend 90% of our waking hours in this room and we want to enjoy it. I'm off to enjoy another late morning cup of coffee!

Hope you guys are enjoying Christmas time and hoping this Flu bug stays far, far away from your family!

Happy Friday. y'all!!

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

good morning :)

Good late morning peeps! Let's see if I can get this post out before it's afternoon???


I hate to be so absent, but have realized that my computer time is far fetched this season in my life. I am a bit under the weather, so I feel it necessary to catch up with you guys to give me a little time to rest and reflect on the weekend or so... sound good? And to the sweet lady at the Target check out line, that is from Andalusia and reads this blog; my apologies for my lack of conversation yesterday. I had an excuse, not a very good one to not open up and be more polite, so I truly apologize, and hope you have a very blessed Christmas. Thank you for encouraging me the way you did :)



I felt like I was coming down with something Saturday night. It was one of those......






but I am MOM. I can not get sick and my schedule is full! Saturday we cheered on this chick....









she's the baby of the family.....






can ya tell????
























she passed,kicked that board in half, and now struts a purple belt :)


I had to run an errand, so I realize I am now past morning and into afternoon. (thought that might happen) Lunch is in the oven and Tim is off to his second location to hunt me down some Theraflu. I think I might be feeling worse as the day goes on.

Thankful I made it through yesterday. You won't see the products of this until next year during the holiday issue of Wiregrass Living, and I know my pics don't even attempted to compare to Brian's brilliant photography, but all and all it was a fun experience , and I am honored that they asked me. God gave me just enough strength to get through it and Lizzy's Belt ceremony last night. Yesterday, I kept praying..... please, Lord, just let me get through, please! My girls and Tim were a great help, as well as some sweet friends.

Here are a few pics, minus a few last minute details added to them. These are all I managed to squeeze in to capture, before my time and sanity ran out.....
















more dishes and recipes will be in the Nov/Dec 2013 issue. If you don't subscribe to this magazine, you should. You would love it. It makes a perfect gift. I would know, because that gift keeps coming to me every other month and it's fun to receive.

You know what would make another fun gift......


or this.....


since my nails look like this......



whatcha' say honey??? I have a coupon!! Wouldn't that make a nice surprise and make me feel better ;)

Here's hoping this Theraflu and a nap helps!

Happy Tuesday, Y'all!

Monday, November 26, 2012

homemade.......

I need to visit here more often; been missing you guys!

So I left you with my last post on Gypsy's. What a fun, fun shop! If you don't leave there with an arm full of goodies, you will with a mind full of inspiration. It's just such a beautiful, quaint little place, that makes me smile. And after viewing things like this....

it only confirms, that I need a cotton field.....well, at least around the holidays for decorating.

The girls decided this year, our tree should be vintage. Not "vintage", meaning we bought them years ago, but "vintage" meaning, they would like it to look old.

We pulled some ideas from all four of our little brains and came up with some fun, and easy decorations.

Oops! Looks like this post will have to be continued. Nothing like, keeping you in suspense, huh?? I'm having difficulty uploading my pics and it appears that my "free" blog has reached it's quota of pictures over the last 4 years and will now require $$ for an upgrade. I've got to investigate my options before jumping on that plan. Hopefully, I'll be back really soon.

 
well......













 as you can see, I was able to upload some to Jillian's blog and transfer from there. It has taken me 3x's as long to blog this... What a pain! I'll have to figure the upgrade out before you'll see me here again! All the ornaments and garland we handmade. I can assure you that some of us have burn marks from the glue gun and pricks from the sewing needles, but it was all worth it. It was a fun project and I am glad we took the time and challenge to do it. I wish I had time to blog about how to make them, but that would have to be for another post. I will say...... that for the garland and the  ornaments, we made it all for under $20.00. 


Over the weekend, we got some sweet niece/cousin time. I will have to share more when I can get my pics to upload. I was able to give this one, her first "do"........








We couldn't get enough of her before, but now we could just eat her up!


I have a fun project scheduled for next week and it has required a lot of experimenting in the kitchen.........



be back next week with the details. Happy Monday y'all!

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

keeping it local....a new shop in town!

Good evening, peeps! Just hopping on here tonight to say hello and tell you all about a fun little  surprise Dothan is revealing tomorrow.......

 
 
This beautiful and whimsical little shop is opening up, and is FULL of happies.
 
 



My sweet friend Paula ,(who greeted me at the door, as I toted my three children everyday into preschool for several years), and her sister Jana, are greeting you as they open Dothan's newest Gift Shop....... Gypsy's.

It's absolutely a place you will enjoy shopping. The cozy shop, displayed with fine prizes for you to enjoy is located on Montgomery Hwy. Down from Old Navy, just across from Crepe Myrtle Shopping Center and the Army Aviation Federal Credit Union.

I'll leave you with a couple more sneak peeks, and the rest you will just have to come in and see for yourself!

Open tomorrow 10am-6pm........go see them and tell 'em I sent ya!






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