Is there such a thing as "good stress?"

Many people these days have alot of stress in their lives, including myself.  Now a days the mothers are having to work more to help support their families and less time at home with their kids.   If you are a family that has kids then you understand the meaning of stress.  I believe as a mother of two boys and a job things get a little crazy at times and you feel like you are so stressed out that you can not go on. In my house it seems I stress about alot but of course I am a worrier but what Mom isn't , right?  I work some mornings and way too many evenings so at night when I am working I am missing alot with my boys.   When working mornings, since my boys go to a private school (one of the main reasons I work) I have to figure out a way to get the boys to school and myself to work on time, then its time to make sure I get there in time to pick them up, which is always stressful because speeding is NOT a good thing, ha. 

 Since my boys are involved in several things which I am always encouraging, this adds to more stress. Both my boys are in the band at school playing the trumpet and have private lessons, so its always, "Don't forget your Trumpet". 

They have PE 2 or 3 times a week so it's always "Don't forget your PE clothes".  My oldest son is involved in sports at school so it is always "Don't forget your practice clothes".  Then it's the worry about how will I get him picked up from practice or games. Will I be able to go to the games or will I have to work?  It stresses me out having to miss so many of their activities because of work but I guess that's just part of life right now that I am praying really hard to be able to change.  

Then, of course, there is the everyday stress of making sure the homework is done, or they study for upcoming tests or quizzes and all their school projects get completed on time.

Their school has a Fine Arts competition every year where they can participate and perform in different categories such as speeches, band, choirs, trumpet performances and there are always so many deadlines.  This also includes the stress of making sure all the deadlines are met and the fees are paid.  We have to find the speeches they are going to do and memorize them, which means alot of practice and alot of time needed.  We have to find music pieces for them to preform and find the time to practice.  With me working at night it makes it very difficult and stressful for us to get it all done.


There is always the stress of making sure you are raising them up according to God's word.  Always making sure we are in church when we are suppose to be , that we are praying like we should be and standing up for what we believe in.  It is always very stressful wondering if once your kids leave the house and go out into the world if they are doing as you have taught them and as God would have them do.  The Bible says in Proverbs 22:6 , Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. It is very stressful thinking about their future and if you raised them to grow up and be successful, happy and just good Godly men!! 

Then you have to celebrate their Birthdays, so there are birthday parties to plan.  With this includes, invitations, birthday cakes , decorations, games, junk food and just a whole lot of preparation and STRESS. 

Oh and then of course there is Christmas!!  What a stressful time of year.  We go out and buy things that our kids have asked for and spend money we don't have. We worry about whether or not they will like it ,  should we spend the money.  If we don't buy it for them will they be upset? Will it make their Christmas horrible?  Of course meanwhile during this stressful time of year, the Dads are on the couch doing what they do best and not worry one little bit that Christmas will soon be here and not one gift has been bought.  Now let me say this, not all Dad's are like that so forgive me if some of you Dad's actually help out. 

All of you Mom's out there know how stressful it is to have kids and a job and get everything done and still have time to enjoy them and life.  Your life gets put to the side and if you are married so does your marriage, which marriage itself is stressful but that's a whole other story.

Now to answer the question , Is there such a thing as "good stress?" I say yes!!  All of the things above that I just spoke about is everything that I live for everyday.  Yes it is stressful, but it is a good kind of stress because all of those things in my life bring me so much joy and happiness!  All of those things are what being a Mom is all about and I would not give up any of it.  The stress is good, because the end result is always so amazing. When you hear your kids say , "thanks Mom and Dad for working so hard so we can go to a private school", the stress is so worth it.  They will say,"thanks Mom for coming to my games or helping me with my school projects" , then the stress is so worth it.  My boys will thank me for taking the time to plan their Birthday parties and make Christmas so special and perfect, and that makes the stress so worth it.  Most importantly they will thank us for raising them in a Godly home and teaching them the right things to do to succeed in life.  All of these, thank you's make all of the stress really worth it and really GOOD.  So yes there is such a thing as good stress and I am so glad I have it in my life!!  Happy Stressing my friends. 

Refusing to Retaliate

I started reading a book titled Dealing with Injustice.  All of us have been through something in our lives that we do not understand, some more than others.  Most of us , when bad things happen or people hurt us we chose to try and get back at that person and try to hurt them too.  It's human nature, it's normal.  If you hurt me , I will hurt you.  It takes alot for me to retaliate, I mean you have to really do something very very hurtful to me before I will want to get back at you and trust me I have gotten to this point a couple times in my life.  The point when you ask God, "WHY GOD, WHY"??   God has his reasons for everything, he knows whats going to happen long before it actually does. It's hard to understand how God is going to turn something so hurtful into something good.  Sometimes you have to wait a long time to figure it out, I am still waiting however I know that God will show me in his time why certain things have happened and he is going to turn all that hurt and pain into something amazing.  


Injustice is something everyone has to deal with.  It's not the injustice but our response to it that determines the effect it has on us.  I have not handle any of mine the way God would have me to, and actually I am still very bitter and angry over many injustices in my life.  I do believe I refused to retaliate however the bitterness and anger is eating me up inside.  Bitterness is like a weed, if you allow it to stay it will keep growing and spreading.  If you only destroy some of the weed and you do not take out the entire root then it will eventually grow back.  I haven't destroyed the root!  I have only dealt with the things on the surface.  I need to let God take out the roots, but once you have this anger and bitterness for so long it becomes a part of you.  God tells us we should forgive and once we do we should not dwell on it any longer.  In the book I am reading they give a definition of forgiveness , "Forgiveness is releasing your right of retaliation".  When you forgive you are not saying what happened was right or that you don't deserve the retaliation you are simpling saying that you have given up your claim to get even and that you are trusting God to handle it.  It is so hard to do this and I am still working on pulling out that root.  I do think alot about it though and all the energy it takes to be angry and bitter all the time.  God says in Romans 12:19 "Vengeance is mine, I will repay."  In other words, whatever the sin is , it will not go unpunished.  He will make sure of that.  I think about this verse alot and I tell myself, I can refuse to retaliate because God is going to do that for me and somehow this verse always makes me smile.


This is a great book I am reading.  God says "offences will come", and this book helps you understand how to handle them.  We all have been offended one way or the other.  Big or small there are basically only two ways we can handle it, face them head on with the Bible close to you and Gods word in your heart  and refuse to retaliate or throw up your hands and hurt back.  Both of these chooses are very hard, but remember God says ,yes I know they hurt you and I am sorry, refuse to retaliate , forgive and let me take care of the rest.  


This book made me do alot of thinking.  Good Luck my friends, let's try and refuse to retaliate!!  Love to all :)

"The place where love grows"

Finally some good news came yesterday for my brother, although frustrating in some aspects , very good news. He has heart problems and was in the hospital over the summer with 10% heart function.  Six months later he had his heart tested again and got it up to 30%.  In November it was time to test it again and he had the test taken at our small hospital in Russell County KY,probably not the best decision but better than driving 2 1/2 hours to Louisville.  For some reason he didn't hear anything back from those test until January and the doctor told him his heart was back down to 20% and they would need to schedule to have a defibrillator put in right away because he could drop dead any minute with no warning signs.  We were all very worried and concerned.  Bruce insisted that he was feeling better and just couldn't believe this to be the case.  He went and spoke with his family doctor and his doctor advised him to drive to Louisville and have it retested.  He told him that their equipment at the hospital is outdated and the test could be wrong.  So this is what he decided to do.  He went to Louisville and had the test done and got a call the next week with the results. I kept telling him not to get his hopes up because his heart very well could be at 20% and even the nurse in Louisville told him even though you feel better doesn't mean your heart is stronger.  I just didn't want him to get his hopes up although I was praying constantly that he got better results.  The doctor called with the results and told him that his heart was actually at 35-40% and would not need to have the defibrillator put in at this time.  Praise God what a relief!!  It just makes me mad to think about it though.  Can you imagine how Bruce was feeling , walking around thinking his heart had gotten worse and he could drop dead anytime?  I don't understand why hospitals would even consider using such equipment if they know it is outdated and there is a chance the test could come back wrong.  Now Bruce did chose to have them done in Russell County close to home instead of driving all the way to Louisville but what if he didn't go and have the test redone and get a second opinion?  He was so discouraged and very worried with the first results.  If he had not been retested they would have went ahead and put a defibrillator in that he really doesn't need right now and would be walking around today worried that he could drop dead.  Now all of this could still happen and maybe it was all due to prayer that the new tests came back so much better.  Maybe it was really at 20% and through prayer God worked his magic , we will never know.  All we do know is now he must focus on getting his heart stronger by eating right and exercising.  I keep telling him the heart is a muscle and if he exercises and eats better it can still improve even more.  We can also hope that the Russell County Hospital can use this to try and talk the board into getting new equipment so this will not happen to someone else.  When you are talking about an organ as important as your heart or as my 10 year old calls it , "the place where love grows"  you need to be 100% sure so you know and can make the right decisions on helping to improve.  I have two boys that are BIG fans of their Uncle Bruce and prays and prays for him everyday.  We have to make sure we encourage him to do the best he can for himself so he can get stronger and stronger everyday. I just hope he listens and understands the importance, oh and by the way , I am a pretty BIG fan of him myself and I pray  many times a day for him because my "place where love grows" would never be the same without him.   So I am begging all of you to pray for him, encourage him, give him advice, check on him when you can even yell at him if he needs it, he'll get over it.    He is so blessed to have so many amazing friends and we saw that when he was in the hospital and are just so thankful.   

Bryce had a game last night and I got to go watch his game.  It was very exciting and he got to play quite a bit.  He actually took a couple shots and both came so close to going in!! After the game, he was bummed that his shots didn't go in because I know he wanted it so bad and of course as a Mom I told him that he did an amazing job and they won as a team and that was the important part.   I then began to tell him that I had some really good news that may cheer him up, so of course he was anxious to hear.  His first guess was , "you are going to take me out to dinner", of course I did that anyway to celebrate the win, but no that was not it.  My 10 year old , Brandt said no it's 20 times better than food and that's saying alot for him because he loves to eat, lol.  Brandt began to tell him about their Uncle Bruce and what the test results said, Bryce was quiet.  I then saw a tear run down his cheek and he looked at me and said "Mom, prayers do work and this news is awesome".  At his very moment, my "place where love grows" was beating very fast and I felt it grow just a little bit more.  Yes, he still wishes he made those shots but he is very thankful to God that their Uncle is a little bit healthier than they thought.

Happy Birthday Mom

I am missing my Mom today more than usual.  Today would have been her 64th Birthday.  My Mom was an amazing person and I am so very thankful that God gave me such an awesome Mother.  My Mom passed away on April 5, 2001 at the age of 53.  I will never really understand why God took her from me so soon and I still have alot of anger because of it.  My Mom was having a fairly common procedure done to help her improve her life and because of a doctors mistake my Mom fought for her life yet did not survive.  I understand God has reasons for things like this happening but it certainly makes it very hard to understand.  I had just had my first child and she was so very excited about being a Grandma.  She loved him so much and wanted to improve her life so she could be healthier and be able to enjoy him more.  Bryce was her joy!!  

As a child growing up, she made everything perfect and wonderful.  She was a stay at home Mom and always made us feel special.  She always put us first yet made sure we were always doing whats right.  I never really remember my Mom ever yelling or raising her voice but somehow she managed to make sure we obeyed, punished us when we did wrong and always taught us right from wrong.  I do remember several times she would say "you just wait till your Dad gets home", because she knew we did not want our Dad to give the punishment.  However, looking back now, I think that was just her way of scaring us into doing what we should be doing because I do not think that she really had the heart to discipline us although if we needed it she would certainly give us what we deserved.   She was so kind, sweet and gentle that I don't really think she had the heart to punish us, of course back then I didn't know that and was afraid but looking back now I understand because I do the very same thing.

  My Mom and Dad didn't always have alot and my Dad worked very hard for what we did have but they always seem to make sure we had what we needed.  She always got us up for school and out the door on time, was always home waiting eagerly when we walked in the door from school and was anxious to hear about our day.  She supported us in anything we wanted to try and would always encourage us and when we failed she was there to pick us back up.  I can remember always having dinner on the table when my Dad walked in the door from work.  That is something that alot of families now a days never do , is sit down as a family and have dinner.  At our house, Mom always had dinner ready and we always sat down together to eat.  She never thought that she was much of a cook but my brothers and I always enjoyed everything she made and loved that time of day when we all sat down and ate and talked about our day together.  This is something that I  try very hard to do at my house too.   My Mom taught me how important it is to stay connected to your family.  She had no enemies and she loved everyone.  She had a heart of Gold and she wore it on her sleeve.  

My Mom always made Christmas so special and exciting also!! I know that she worked very hard to make sure that we had the best Christmas ever. I also know she spent alot more than she ever should have and I am certain that Dad gave her a hard time about that.  I find myself realizing as I am older with children of my own just  how very hard my Mom worked to prepare for Christmas and even on Christmas day.  Every year that goes by I always say to myself how I wish my Mom was here so I could thank her for all the hard work she did to make everything so special and memorable.  On Christmas day when the kids wake you up very very early until late into the night I do not sit down and every year I realize everything my Mom sacrificed for us so that Christmas would be perfect.  I wish I would have helped her alot more, but sadly you don't realize it until you are older and have kids of your own how very hard work it is.  

I am so thankful for the times I had with my Mom.  I truly had the best Mom a girl could have.  The older I got the more I realized it and I am still amazed by all the memories I have of her.  I miss my Mom everyday more and more.  She was truly my best friend and there wasn't a day that went by that I didn't talk to her.  Although Bryce was too young to really remember her and I was pregnant with Brandt when my Mom died, they know her very well.  We always talk about their Grandma and how wonderful she was.  I am saddened alot because I know how much my boys are missing growing up without their Grandma.  She would be so very proud of them both and I just hope that I am making her proud and doing everything that she taught me to do.  I will never be the Mom that she was but I try very hard everyday!!  My last words to my Mom were , "Mom ,I love you and I will see you tomorrow"!!  Tomorrow never came but I will see her again someday in Heaven and so will my boys and oh what a wonderful day that will be.


Just a small piece of advise for all of you, love everyone that is in your life , spend time with them, if you argue make up, if you hurt each other say your sorry, talk to them everyday.  I can promise you my friends, one day tomorrow will never come because God does not promise us tomorrow and  you will never be able to do any of that again.  So please love them today, share your life them because when they are gone you will be sorry you didn't.  

I love you Mom and I am so thankful everyday that God chose you as my mother.  I miss you more and more everyday and I can't wait for that wonderful day when God brings us back together again!!

Doctors, got to love em

You just got to love Doctors.  No wonder they have so much money.


I had went to the doctor last week for just a regular check up and of course paid my 35.00 co-pay, waited about 45 minutes for someone to actually acknowledge that I was there and once they finally did he gave me about 2 minutes of his time and then shipped me off to get blood drawn.  So he got my 35.00 plus whatever the insurance company pays them for a 2 minute job, really???   Oh and it doesn't stop there, they then proceeded to call me yesterday to tell me my lab work is back and the doctor would like for me to come in to discuss my results.  So when you hear that, you think oh great something is wrong.  Ok so off I go, I drop the boys off at school and rush to the doctors office.  I get there and of course I have to pay my 35.00 co-pay AGAIN.  I sit and sit and finally get called back.  The nurse weighs me and takes my blood pressure, however I really don't think in a week that would have changed to much so I don't get the point  and then I go and sit and wait some more.  The doctor finally comes in and has my blood work.  He proceeds to tell me that all my blood work looks pretty good, that there are only a few areas that are a little low but nothing to worry about and he sends me on my way.  REALLY, I paid 35.00 for that and that's not counting what the insurance will give them.  Seriously, doctors, us "normal people" do not have the time or money to spend a couple minutes in your office to find out that we are totally healthy. I just spent 70.00 in two weeks for that!!  That money could have been used in a much more efficient way!!  What a waste of my time and money , when that is something they could have told me on the phone. 


Now I am certain that I am not the only one who has experienced this and don't get me wrong I'm happy to know I'm not falling apart just yet, but most of us work really hard for our money and we certainly don't want to give it up that easily. So if any of you are doctors out there please consider giving us "normal" people a break and spare us all a little time and money.


Thanks for listening to me vent about doctors today , I have several horrible stories concerning Doctors however I will spare you all of that for today.  However , one last tip before I go that is totally off the subject and to all of you "smarter" people out there just don't read this.  When you run out of dishwasher tablets for your dishwasher, never try and substitute it with dish washing liquid, trust me this is NOT a smart move.  Oh yes and darling, honey, sweetie if you are reading this, yes I did flood the kitchen, but look on the bright side, I have been saying for a couple weeks I need to mop the floor :).  See God always has a plan.  lol