Thankful and merry, with a chance of snow

I have not blogged in several months. Shame on me! I am trying to use my blog as a journal and just for fun. I am including Thanksgiving, Christmas, and our January snow fall into one blog.

Since before Christmas I worked on a portriat for my Dad's clown character, Whitle-Do. Whitle-Do has been in my life for the past 16+ years. He is a seven year old "boy clown", and so much fun!

(above)  This is Whitle-Do (as an elf) and me during Christmas. 

...work in progress

final product!

I was so happy to be able to give this to the one man that has taught me everthing. My dad is so special to me, I honestly do not think he has a clue as to how important he is in my life. I am so thankful to have such a special, unique and loving father. He is not just my daddy but my friend.  My Mother, Sister and Husband were all in on the secret. We had him to close his eyes so that the "gift" could be brought in. He had noooo idea...  He kept saying, "No one has ever done this for me before!" haha. Yeah that's why I did it!  :)

This Christmas was so joyful! Family gatherings to keep us busy all through the month of December. Jonathan and I had so much fun, two beautiful nieces and a handsome nephew (all under the age of 3), sisters and brothers, cousins,aunts, uncles and grandparents; who doesn't love family?

And then in January... IT SNOWED in DUNN, NC!

Coming soon is an addition to a family that I love so dearly! London Carter Hinson is due any day now. His mom (Jessica) and I have been friends since we were in 6th grade. We lived right next door to one another, went/go to the same church and were in the same classes in school. She married a wonderful man, Kevin. I am happy to say that now the four of us are best of friends. We can't wait to meet little London!

Give it plenty of room in your lives

I love this verse from the Message Bible.
"Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way."
-Colossians 3:15 (The Message)

growing up with a little less

This week I had a patient who was new to the office, he recently married a current patient of ours and needed to have a regular six month cleaning. I introduced myself, welcomed him to our office and directed him to my operatory. Before he sat down he took out an upper and lower denture. This shocked me because this gentleman is only 41 years old. He has eight remaining teeth, 3 top and 5 bottom. I take them to the ultrasonic bath in hopes the years of tobacco stain would be removed. I hurried back to my room to finish up his x-rays and began his cleaning. (Yes even 8 teeth need cleaning).
This man was so humble and kind, his 6 year old daughter joined him today and waited patiently for him in the corner chair. As I clean his teeth, I find out that he grew up in the Blue Ridge Mountians of NC, his parents were both alcoholics. He lost most of his teeth within the past 10 years due to poor health care, both dental and medical. Oral cancer was removed twice from under his tongue and upper right gum tissue. He began smoking at the age of 10, currently smokes about 1/2 pack per day, has cut back from 1 1/2 packs per day. He was brought up only taking a bath 1 x per week, brushing his teeth 1 x per week, and wearing the same clothes for more than seven or eight days. What ever he wore to sleep in, he wore the following day to school and so forth. He knew that's not what other kids did, but his parents were not able to take care of him nor his siblings. He currently works/lives in the Garner area working a full time job. He moved from the mountains in order to provide a better life for his darling little girl (whose mother left when she was only 2 wks old). All of this tugged on my heart that I could not put in to words how I felt. As I cleaned his teeth I silently prayed for him and his daughter not knowing where or if they went to church then out of the blue, at the end of the appointment he told me how good God has been to him and his daughter, blessing him with a wife and her a mother.
Just another reminder to me how faithful God is.


"May God be gracious to us and bless us
 and make his face to shine upon us."  Psalm 67:1

Check out Campbell Divinity's new Butler Chapel. It is so exciting and beautiful.

raindrops

This is a quote I heard one morning last week while I was driving to work.
"A fruitful life needs the rain just as much as it needs the sun."
I shared this with my facebook friends, but I also want this to be in my journal so that I can reflect back days, weeks, or years to come. We all need to be reminded that there is a time and season for everything. God does not make mistakes. Nor does he assign you someone else's role in life. Be obedient and allow God to use you where you are, He knows where he placed you. We must trust and obey.

1 For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.
2 A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to harvest.
3 A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
4 A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.
5 A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
6 A time to search and a time to quit searching.
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
7 A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
8 A time to love and a time to hate.
A time for war and a time for peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

standing on His promise

On Saturday, August 8th, Jonathan (my husband of one year) became a licensed minister in the International Pentecostal Holliness Church (IPHC)! This was a very exciting day for both of our families and the other 10 couples being licensed. Dr. Doug Beacham prayed over us as well as spoke into our lives. As he asked the new ministers if they were committed to this work he then said, "You now live in a glass house, your windows and shades will always be up, and your doors have been made wide open." I know this is true as I was raised a preacher's kid.
When I was in high school I knew God had a plan for my life, and I felt strongly that I was going to be a minister's wife. As of 8/8/2009 I am a minister's wife. Jonathan is in Divinity School at Campbell University, earning a Master of Divinity. As well as pursing ordination through the IPHC. I could not be happier knowing God has us in the palm of his hand. He is daily walking beside us. Although some days we may not feel Him; I know He is there, guiding and protecting.