"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19
Friday, January 27, 2012
Monday, January 16, 2012
Good things...
Instead of blogging about all the problems we've been having, today I'm blogging about good things!
Last night my daughter (who is 8) accepted Christ. She has been wanting to do it for a while but we wanted to make sure she was ready. She is so smart and she knows in her head that this is what she is supposed to do. But, we wanted to make sure she was under conviction by the Holy Spirit. We thought that maybe we were too close to her to really see, so we decided to let her talk with our Pastor, Bro. Jerry. After talking with her for a few minutes, he led her to Christ. Now our whole family is saved and on our way to Heaven! I am so proud of my little girl. She is so grown up in so many ways.
"But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 19:14
The service last night was different. We had a singer/songwriter Mark Lanier. It was a very moving service and both of my kids (and most of the church) were in tears. Both of our kids were touched by a lot of the songs. Mark writes a lot of his own songs and he is very "ministry minded". He thinks about how his songs are going to get the gospel message across to people. http://www.marklanierministries.com
Matthew has started school with GCA (Georgia Cyber Academy). He hasn't had to do a lot of work yet, it is still in the orientation phase. Hopefully this week he will get his assignments and get started. I think he will like it once he sees it's nothing like public school. He still has good days and bad days, we are working on trying to have more good days than bad. ;-)
"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19
Last night my daughter (who is 8) accepted Christ. She has been wanting to do it for a while but we wanted to make sure she was ready. She is so smart and she knows in her head that this is what she is supposed to do. But, we wanted to make sure she was under conviction by the Holy Spirit. We thought that maybe we were too close to her to really see, so we decided to let her talk with our Pastor, Bro. Jerry. After talking with her for a few minutes, he led her to Christ. Now our whole family is saved and on our way to Heaven! I am so proud of my little girl. She is so grown up in so many ways.
"But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 19:14
The service last night was different. We had a singer/songwriter Mark Lanier. It was a very moving service and both of my kids (and most of the church) were in tears. Both of our kids were touched by a lot of the songs. Mark writes a lot of his own songs and he is very "ministry minded". He thinks about how his songs are going to get the gospel message across to people. http://www.marklanierministries.com
Matthew has started school with GCA (Georgia Cyber Academy). He hasn't had to do a lot of work yet, it is still in the orientation phase. Hopefully this week he will get his assignments and get started. I think he will like it once he sees it's nothing like public school. He still has good days and bad days, we are working on trying to have more good days than bad. ;-)
"Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." Romans 12:21
Oh, and one more good thing to add. I started Weight Watchers January 1st and so far I have lost 5 lbs. It is a slow start. Usually when I start a diet or change my eating habits I drop the weight alot quicker, but I do realize that as I get older it may not be as easy. I am not discouraged but encouraged by this, because I am 5 lbs lighter than I was 2 weeks ago!
"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Philippians 4:13
Oh, and one more good thing to add. I started Weight Watchers January 1st and so far I have lost 5 lbs. It is a slow start. Usually when I start a diet or change my eating habits I drop the weight alot quicker, but I do realize that as I get older it may not be as easy. I am not discouraged but encouraged by this, because I am 5 lbs lighter than I was 2 weeks ago!
"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Philippians 4:13
"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Good Changes
I have updates! Good ones too!
Bryan has accepted a part time position at our home church assisting the Pastor. He is going to continue to work for the funeral home as well. The church position may turn into something full time down the road. We'll keep praying and asking God to direct here. It is amazing how the Lord works.
Matthew's troublesome school days are over. Unfortunately he had a teacher call him a name and say some embarrassing remarks to him in front of the whole class. This was unacceptable and I let her know that. The next morning we went and talked with the principal and let her know what happened and we went ahead and withdrew him. He only had three days left anyways, and I was not going to put him through any more of the problems he has been having! I already had him enrolled with the GA Cyber Academy to start in January. My mother in law is going to have him during the day and alot of the work he can do himself on the computer. We will work with him in the evenings on any projects and things that need to be done. I think he will do much better and bring his grades up without all of the stress!
Keep praying for us. It is finally starting to feel like it's going to be a Merry Christmas! I hope and pray that all of you have a Merry Christmas as well!
"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19
Bryan has accepted a part time position at our home church assisting the Pastor. He is going to continue to work for the funeral home as well. The church position may turn into something full time down the road. We'll keep praying and asking God to direct here. It is amazing how the Lord works.
Matthew's troublesome school days are over. Unfortunately he had a teacher call him a name and say some embarrassing remarks to him in front of the whole class. This was unacceptable and I let her know that. The next morning we went and talked with the principal and let her know what happened and we went ahead and withdrew him. He only had three days left anyways, and I was not going to put him through any more of the problems he has been having! I already had him enrolled with the GA Cyber Academy to start in January. My mother in law is going to have him during the day and alot of the work he can do himself on the computer. We will work with him in the evenings on any projects and things that need to be done. I think he will do much better and bring his grades up without all of the stress!
Keep praying for us. It is finally starting to feel like it's going to be a Merry Christmas! I hope and pray that all of you have a Merry Christmas as well!
"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Asperger's
Just before Thanksgiving Matthew's doctor changed his diagnosis. A couple of weeks before Thanksgiving we met with the principal's at his school. He had been getting into trouble for retaliating against bullies and we wanted to share his side and see what needed to be done. After speaking with them for about an hour they had us talk to the school counselor. She picked up on a few things that made her think he had more than just ADD/OCD. I have thought so for a long time but hadn't pushed the issue. She thought that he was showing signs of Asperger's Syndrome. I knew exactly what she was talking about because I had studied up on it years ago when Matthew was younger. We already had a regularly scheduled doctor appointment a few days later so I talked with the doctor about it and he changed his diagnosis. We haven't had all of the testing done but the doctor said that he fit the criteria. I have done a lot of research on my own and I believe he fits the criteria. It's hard to get a diagnosis for Asperger's because it is so hard to understand.
Asperger's falls under the spectrum of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Which yes, that means that Matthew is a little bit autistic. This would come as a surprise to those that know him unless they have spent a lot of time with him and understand Asperger's. Now that I am talking about this more and talking to some other parents that are familiar with Asperger's they are telling me that they can see it in Matthew. I have a dear friend who I trust. She has an 8 year old son with Asperger's. She also has an older son, who is Matthew's age. Matthew has spent the night with them a couple of times. When I talked to her about this, she told me that she had seen it but hadn't wanted to say anything to me because she didn't want to upset me. I assured her that I wasn't offended, I trust her opinion since she has been dealing with this for several years. She gave me some books to read on it and they have been very helpful. I am learning all I can so that I can help Matthew as much as I can. One thing that we have decided is that we will home school him after the first of the year. I have already started working on getting him enrolled into the GA Cyber Academy. If he can get into that, it will be great because it's free and it's considered public school. Just taught at home.
Now some of you may be wondering, what is Asperger's Syndrome? As I mentioned it is a form of Autism. Autism is a whole spectrum of disorders from very moderate to very severe. Matthew is what I like to call slightly autistic. There are some with Asperger's that cannot function as well as Matthew. Asperger's is on the high-functioning end of Autism (which means he functions at a higher level than those with low-functioning Autism). Symptoms of Asperger's include:
Sorry this was such a long post. I'll try not to make it so long next time! Keep us in your prayers and especially Matthew with all that he is dealing with.
"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19
Asperger's falls under the spectrum of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Which yes, that means that Matthew is a little bit autistic. This would come as a surprise to those that know him unless they have spent a lot of time with him and understand Asperger's. Now that I am talking about this more and talking to some other parents that are familiar with Asperger's they are telling me that they can see it in Matthew. I have a dear friend who I trust. She has an 8 year old son with Asperger's. She also has an older son, who is Matthew's age. Matthew has spent the night with them a couple of times. When I talked to her about this, she told me that she had seen it but hadn't wanted to say anything to me because she didn't want to upset me. I assured her that I wasn't offended, I trust her opinion since she has been dealing with this for several years. She gave me some books to read on it and they have been very helpful. I am learning all I can so that I can help Matthew as much as I can. One thing that we have decided is that we will home school him after the first of the year. I have already started working on getting him enrolled into the GA Cyber Academy. If he can get into that, it will be great because it's free and it's considered public school. Just taught at home.
Now some of you may be wondering, what is Asperger's Syndrome? As I mentioned it is a form of Autism. Autism is a whole spectrum of disorders from very moderate to very severe. Matthew is what I like to call slightly autistic. There are some with Asperger's that cannot function as well as Matthew. Asperger's is on the high-functioning end of Autism (which means he functions at a higher level than those with low-functioning Autism). Symptoms of Asperger's include:
- Engaging in one-sided, long-winded conversations, without noticing if the listener is listening or trying to change the subject
- Displaying unusual nonverbal communication, such as lack of eye contact, few facial expressions, or awkward body postures and gestures
- Showing an intense obsession with one or two specific, narrow subjects, such as baseball statistics, train schedules, weather or snakes
- Appearing not to understand, empathize with or be sensitive to others' feelings
- Having a hard time "reading" other people or understanding humor
- Speaking in a voice that is monotonous, rigid or unusually fast
- Moving clumsily, with poor coordination
Sorry this was such a long post. I'll try not to make it so long next time! Keep us in your prayers and especially Matthew with all that he is dealing with.
"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Dealing with Alot!
I have had so much going on. Bryan is still only working part time so we are getting more and more behind with our bills. We are hoping that our old mobile home will sell soon and that will help us alot. Financial struggles are the least of my worry right now though.
Our son has been having a lot of problems since he started the 6th grade. He has been bullied over the years, that is a given. He has his own issues that we've dealt with over the years and we are used to dealing with the bullying. The problem we are running into this year (at a new school) is that he has started retaliating and getting into trouble for retaliating. We have taught him not to start fights, but that if anyone puts their hands on him, he has the right to defend himself. Unfortunately he has paid the price for retaliating. I think the problem is that the kids know how to push his buttons. They know what to do and say to get him riled up. Then he becomes aggressive and retaliates to the point that he is punished. I have been up to the principal's office and talked with them, I've talked with the counselor and we are scheduled to have a meeting the week after thanksgiving to put him in a program that will hopefully help him. It's called 504 but I think it is very similar to IEP. It may be the same thing, I'm not sure. Either way I am hoping and praying that it helps. The counselor will be meeting with Matthew and will be working with the teachers to get this plan started. It is just so hard to see him go through all of this. Every time he is bullied and retaliates, he gets in trouble and is made out to be the bully! It's just alot to deal with and I am very worried about him. Even though I know worrying is not going to help! I know that I've got to let go and let God handle it but at the same time I feel like there is more that I can do.
We have decided that we will give this program a little time but if it doesn't work we will probably home school. My in laws have offered to help us with this. I am just praying that this gets better soon!
"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19
Our son has been having a lot of problems since he started the 6th grade. He has been bullied over the years, that is a given. He has his own issues that we've dealt with over the years and we are used to dealing with the bullying. The problem we are running into this year (at a new school) is that he has started retaliating and getting into trouble for retaliating. We have taught him not to start fights, but that if anyone puts their hands on him, he has the right to defend himself. Unfortunately he has paid the price for retaliating. I think the problem is that the kids know how to push his buttons. They know what to do and say to get him riled up. Then he becomes aggressive and retaliates to the point that he is punished. I have been up to the principal's office and talked with them, I've talked with the counselor and we are scheduled to have a meeting the week after thanksgiving to put him in a program that will hopefully help him. It's called 504 but I think it is very similar to IEP. It may be the same thing, I'm not sure. Either way I am hoping and praying that it helps. The counselor will be meeting with Matthew and will be working with the teachers to get this plan started. It is just so hard to see him go through all of this. Every time he is bullied and retaliates, he gets in trouble and is made out to be the bully! It's just alot to deal with and I am very worried about him. Even though I know worrying is not going to help! I know that I've got to let go and let God handle it but at the same time I feel like there is more that I can do.
We have decided that we will give this program a little time but if it doesn't work we will probably home school. My in laws have offered to help us with this. I am just praying that this gets better soon!
"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Just a little update...
Update on us:
Right now we are still waiting on the Lord for answers. We see the Lord working and He is taking care of us. My husband is working 3 days a week at the local funeral home so that is helpinga little a lot. Also, we are getting blessed in other ways. You start appreciating the little things more when you are in need. I received another blessing this past Saturday and I didn't know whether to be ashamed or just enjoy the blessing from the Lord. I decided to the the latter!
I have doing a lot of couponing and trying to catch all the deals that I can find. I haven't been able to get $1,000 worth of groceries for $2 yet but I am doing pretty good. I went into the grocery store excited with coupons in hand. There were alot of good deals to be gotten this week! I got $165 worth of groceries for only $82! I was joking with the cashier, her husband and son were there for some reason that day helping her bag groceries(still wondering about that but I don't question the Lord). Pretty good, but there was a problem when I went to pay. My debit card wouldn't work, my credit card wouldn't work. I couldn't figure out what the problem was. I know we are short of funds and I wouldn't share this with everybody. (That's the nice thing about this blog, it's kind of private from my friends and family and I can be more free to share on here.) I reached for my checkbook and low and behold - no checks! What in the world!? LOL It's kind of funny now because I can look back and see how the Lord was working. Anyways, I pulled my buggy over to the side and started calling my angel of mercy (my mama) to bring me some money so that I could pay for these groceries and get out of there. While I was doing that, the cashier's husband told me that my groceries had been paid for! HUH!? "What do you mean?" (Whatch you talkin' 'bout Willis?!) He wanted to bless me by taking care of my grocery bill. He had no idea who I was. Had no idea that my husband is a Pastor without a church and that we are struggling from week to week to make ends meet. But, he was obviously a Christian wanting to help someone out. I wasn't sure how to feel about this. I stood over to the side and prayed about what to do. I had already called my Mom and she was on her way. She lives just a couple of blocks from the grocery store. So, I prayed and told the Lord, "Lord, I can't let this stranger pay for my groceries. It's too much." I sat there and felt the Lord tell me "Look, I'm trying to help you. This is my way of helping you, don't turn it down."
I did go back and offer the man the money that my Mama brought me but he refused. So, I just hugged him and left. When I got to the truck all I could do was cry. I was embarrassed, aggravated, touched and blessed all at the same time. I wasn't sure how to feel. But, I do know that the Lord was in it and He is still taking care of us!
My husband is working 3 days a week for the funeral home and there is another opportunity that we will know more about hopefully next week. It is a possible part time ministry position. Keep praying, we appreciate all of the prayers that have been lifted up for us!
"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19
Right now we are still waiting on the Lord for answers. We see the Lord working and He is taking care of us. My husband is working 3 days a week at the local funeral home so that is helping
I have doing a lot of couponing and trying to catch all the deals that I can find. I haven't been able to get $1,000 worth of groceries for $2 yet but I am doing pretty good. I went into the grocery store excited with coupons in hand. There were alot of good deals to be gotten this week! I got $165 worth of groceries for only $82! I was joking with the cashier, her husband and son were there for some reason that day helping her bag groceries(still wondering about that but I don't question the Lord). Pretty good, but there was a problem when I went to pay. My debit card wouldn't work, my credit card wouldn't work. I couldn't figure out what the problem was. I know we are short of funds and I wouldn't share this with everybody. (That's the nice thing about this blog, it's kind of private from my friends and family and I can be more free to share on here.) I reached for my checkbook and low and behold - no checks! What in the world!? LOL It's kind of funny now because I can look back and see how the Lord was working. Anyways, I pulled my buggy over to the side and started calling my angel of mercy (my mama) to bring me some money so that I could pay for these groceries and get out of there. While I was doing that, the cashier's husband told me that my groceries had been paid for! HUH!? "What do you mean?" (Whatch you talkin' 'bout Willis?!) He wanted to bless me by taking care of my grocery bill. He had no idea who I was. Had no idea that my husband is a Pastor without a church and that we are struggling from week to week to make ends meet. But, he was obviously a Christian wanting to help someone out. I wasn't sure how to feel about this. I stood over to the side and prayed about what to do. I had already called my Mom and she was on her way. She lives just a couple of blocks from the grocery store. So, I prayed and told the Lord, "Lord, I can't let this stranger pay for my groceries. It's too much." I sat there and felt the Lord tell me "Look, I'm trying to help you. This is my way of helping you, don't turn it down."
I did go back and offer the man the money that my Mama brought me but he refused. So, I just hugged him and left. When I got to the truck all I could do was cry. I was embarrassed, aggravated, touched and blessed all at the same time. I wasn't sure how to feel. But, I do know that the Lord was in it and He is still taking care of us!
My husband is working 3 days a week for the funeral home and there is another opportunity that we will know more about hopefully next week. It is a possible part time ministry position. Keep praying, we appreciate all of the prayers that have been lifted up for us!
"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19
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