To Be Truly Blessed...

I could sit here and dwell in my circumstance, but because I am SO BLESSED, I choose to count the many ways.

I was once a helpless miserable and hurting girl. I wasn't raised in the church, if I went at all. I say I was "raised" Catholic. That was for the 5 years I lived with my dad. I actually lived in a drug infested environment where I was always hurt by some man in some way, most of my young life, from childhood through my teenage years.

(1) I am BLESSED to be FREE from the guilt I felt, the pain and the bitterness. Now I can write about it! I am BLESSED

I found true salvation in Jesus Christ. I didn't find it by any man, religion, philosopher, dictator or any man of God. I found Jesus through Jesus. I found sound doctrine through Him because of my hunger and complete trust in Him. Not many can say that Jesus literally showed them Acts 2:38 and baptism in Jesus' name without a Bible Study or preaching. Not to mention, I first received the Baptism of the Holy Ghost at home by my bed side, before I even knew about speaking in tongues or the baptism of the Holy Ghost.

(2) I am BLESSED to be so in love with my Maker that when I called on His name for true salvation, He Himself answered me. I am blessed with Biblical salvation that I KNOW is right!

I had no complications during any of my pregnancies. My babies were all healthy as babies and they are all healthy now. Often times we take this for granted. There are many parents who suffer with their dieing children who face chemo therapy, many surgeries or on going health issues like down syndrome all of their life.

(3) I am ABSOLUTELY BLESSED with 3 very healthy babies who bring me happiness every single day. I cherish every single moment and individual relationship I have with each one.

Starting out new in church, I found myself with no dresses or skirts. I prayed about it and was convicted on the things I wore. I knew I couldn't go and buy a new wardrobe, but the Lord told me to get rid of all my things and when I did He would supply. he has for 8 years.

(4) 95% of the clothes that I have are given to me. My closet is full of 1000's of dollars worth of beautiful skirts, shirts, suits and dresses. In fact the Lord has blessed me so much, I don't even have room to contain it all :) I am BLESSED

A year ago this day I was living in our Sunday school room. I was recently divorced, wasn't making ends meet. I was doing what I had to do in order to have just bare essentials and to hold onto my vehicle. After 6 years in the same house, we had 4 days to move. I barely had a job, let alone money to move with. I had to reassure my kids that it would get better, as we shared a small room, a futon and air mattresses. It could have been worse, we could have lived on the streets. Instead of going home to live with my daddy, I obeyed the man of God and stayed here.

(5) I am blessed to have favor of God and be used for a purpose. I am blessed to be able to have a passion for the homeless. I never have had it before and didn't have it until I became homeless, myself. I am blessed for my burden for the homeless. Not many share this burden, that is how I know God has GREAT plans for me. We also live in a 3 bedroom apartment and we pay little rent. I am BLESSED. Look where I came from.

All three of my babies have been prophesied over. My boys will carry my pastor's mantle. Do you realize how BLESSED and HIGHLY FAVORED that makes me feel??? Since they were babies many ministers have come along and have said that all three of them will be used in evangelism. Wow, that IS TRUE BLESSING!! All three of them love to evangelize and they do every chance they have!!

(6) I am BLESSED to have 3 anointed children who are already fulfilling their calling at ages 10, 8 and 6. You CANNOT touch that BLESSING!! There are NO words to describe it!

If it weren't for two special ladies in my life, I wouldn't be going to college. I am absolutely blessed to be half way through my Bachelors degree. I am blessed to have a passion for people; to have the desire to help them.

(7)I am blessed to be able to relate to the hurting and to be able to understand them. I am BLESSED to be in college and major in Psychology that will ultimately help me in my ministry.

Jesus trusts me to be right in the midst of hurting people that I can bring to Him. Because of the Love of God, I can see pain in the eyes of my adversity. The Lord has BLESSED me with the ability to see the best in people. You will never understand how BLESSED that makes me!!

(8) I am blessed to be trusted by the Lord. I am also blessed to have enough trust in Him that He won't allow anything bad to happen to us while we are here. Yes, I am BLESSED!

... to name a few....

Prayers Are Always Surrounding Us

One thing that I love about it here and this is probably one of maybe 2 or 3 max lol ;) The main thing that I love about this community is the fact that most here are Christians. We are ABSOLUTELY blessed to have a PRINCIPAL who is APOSTOLIC! Does not get any better than that. It feels great to walk through the halls of where my kids spend most of their time and say "hello, Sis Tolbert, I love you", after a big hug with the principal. Hey it doesn't really get much better than that in a public school.

Another thing that I noticed was that my son's team coaches gather the kids together after every game and before they huddle for a sound-off, they huddle for prayer! This really touched my heart when I saw it last night. How wonderful to have prayers surround us even in public places. This is YOUR town JESUS!

Praise the Lord!

When the Twitter Box Just isn't Big Enough

Sometimes there are things that I like to express really quickly but Twitter doesn't give us enough space to express our self. We have to resort to other means to make a point.

I am so blessed! About 98% of all of my clothes come from my dear Sis Holley. When the Lord was convicting me on shorts and pants, I told Him that there was no way that I could afford to buy a new wardrobe. He told me to get rid of the pants and shorts and He would provide me with clothes. The blessings have rolled in since then. That was about 6 1/2 years ago. When Sis Holley first gave me clothes, she said "I don't know why but something is telling me to give you these clothes". I just smiled and said "I know why".

I don't think that we should splurge on fancy clothes. The Lord even warns us against COSTLY ARRAY. I am not saying not to buy nice clothes. He wants His Bride to look nice, I am sure. However, some of us just go overboard with spending. This money can be sown into the Kingdom. What about buying a new convert a couple inexpensive skirts. Ross has great deals on clothes.

Why is it always Nike, Reebok and all of the other name brands that have a hold on us. These are ways that the enemy keeps us from things of God. Is it necessary to buy expensive things. Danskin is just as nice as Nike brand. I have a few pieces of workout clothes by Danskin and I love them. Spent about $10.

If I were rich, I would feel the same way. I pray that one day I am so that I can help others. The enemy doesn't want me to have money because he knows that I will sow into the Kingdom.

Also did you know that the Lord speaks of being in debt. he says "Owe no man".- Romans 13:8. I believe that if we are in debt that it is wrong in the sight of God. I think that America mistakes being in debt with new homes and cars as being blessed of God. I have to say "no".

Being blessed is like in my testimony above, having nice clothes given to me. I can look nice, Sis Holley is sowing into the Kingdom and she always reaps in nice and inexpensive clothes. She has been since I could remember.

The next time a sinner comes in your church dressed in their Sunday best, think of them when you make your next trip to Dillards or Marshalls.

I LOVE YOU!

What a Happy Weekend

I really believe that this was the best birthday ever. I am so blessed to be surrounded by wonderful people who love me so much.

Friday I went shopping with Nannie Jo and Sis Holley. If you know me, I never shop. In fact it has been many years that I went into Ross. It was really nice and even more shocking is that I bought myself 2 skirts and an under shirt. I spent about $20.

We all enjoyed lunch at Ryan's with Sis Emmons, who joined us there.

I spent the day with my kids. We went to lunch at Wendi's. I had to get me a Mandarin Orange Salad, yum! Then I treated my PT Cruiser to some new oil, an air filter and a nice washing! I am ready to go somewhere! May be going to Ohio next month, dunno yet. Bolivar that is. I want to slip into a service at FAC in Cincy though!!

Gosh, I would love to just go on a month of church hopping. :) Take a nice long road trip all across America and visit churches all over. That would be the best blessing in the world. I would hang out with the homeless, invite some to sleep with me in my huge 6 man tent, invite them to church. Hey now, I am getting inspired ;) That would be the ultimate blessing!

Ok back to my little eventful weekend. I went grocery shopping today! Needed some fruits to make smoothies. I am so blessed! Strawberries for $1.50 a carton!!! Wow, I bought 5 of them. Then the whole fresh pineapple was only $1.99. Man I totally stocked up on fruits. The grapes were $1.99 a lb so I skipped them. Not to mention I got like 7 different juices.

Momma needs to whip up some smoothies ;)

I bought us a TV finally with a built in DVD player. No more movies on Mamma's PC, thank God. However the TV WILL remain in my room, that is for sure.

Mamaw is having us over for some homemade chili, tomorrow after church. It's the bomb. I love that stuff. Plus she is making me a birthday cake :) I love my adopted mamaw. My birthday was so nice! Thank You Jesus for surrounding me with great people!

Resurrection Weekend

How blessed can a girl get? It started with a fun filled weekend. Friday night the Lord did hold back the rain until after we were on our way home from the awesome Easter program we saw at the First Assembly of God church! It was an amazing display of passion and love for Jesus! I am looking forward to more of them!

Jorli got to practice in nice cool weather. He is getting so good and is one out of just a few who can hit the ball without a t :). I praise the Lord that the sponsors are funding his uniforms! Saves me $30!

Kayla's teacher had an Easter egg hunt yesterday and invited us. that was also very nice. We had so much fun! Praise God that we are surrounded by awesome teachers!!

This morning was wonderful! My cousin, his girlfriend and their baby (my little Ky) went to church with us and really enjoyed it. They said they are going to go back! I am so excited! Bro Holley's message was awesome as usual. He preached out of the Book of Revelation and taught on the resurrection power of Jesus Christ.

The kids played outside all afternoon, while I cleaned. (I know but hey I am a single mom - laundry and cleaning never ends) ;)

Dinner was fantastic! I decided to go not so traditional this year. We had bbq steak, mashed potatoes, spinach and egg salad. Although I miss my family back in Arizona, I am still blessed to have my three little ones. We are so very blessed!

Goodbye Card Table and Cold Metal Chairs and HELLO...

Dining Room Table!





The card table served it's purpose and is now sitting on the porch. I am such a blessed person. God is an amazing and on time God. He seems to know what is dear in our hearts and He will bless us accordingly.

He must know that dinner time is very very sacred and important to me. It is a time where I can sit with my kids and share the day's events, laugh and even pray together. It is that 45 minutes of good quality time that I can share with all four of us in a circle, facing one another and being close. I love dinner time!

Jesus knows that I think meal time is important and He showed me by blessing me with this nice table and chairs. A lady that Mamaw volunteers for gave me this set for free. God is so amazing. He sends the sweetest people into my life. God love them all!!

Cleats!

This is my first year of being a baseball mom. I know, my kids should have already started, but that is ok, Momma showed em the basics ;)

I am just blessed to have found Jorli some nice fairly new Nike cleats on eBay for about $15 (shipping and all). Last night I started the dreaded journey of finding Kayla some cleats. If you know me, you know I really am not a big fan of shopping. I like to go in and out, get what I need and that is it.

We looked around and they had boy cleats for $15 (ugly lookin) and men's for $18. No girls. The Walmart rep said "we may have some more from last year". "I know we have like 2 left in the same size".

Strolling on over there I was praying they would work for Kayla!

Why of course ;) I should've known... Size 5 1/2, real pretty blue and they are made for girls! Praise God!

Can't say the same for her ball glove. However, she would use that one every year, so we will get our money's worth.

Love Surrounds Me

This has definitely been a very eventful weekend for us. The kids and I volunteered for the first time. This is to get us ready for great things that He has for us. We now know what it is like to volunteer first hand. It was an amazing day, Saturday.

Sunday we had a man get the baptism of the Holy Ghost. I don't know his story, but I am sure that he is from another belief. That is ok, because the holy Ghost is for the Baptist, Catholic (like me), Methodist and whosoever will. The Word of God says that it is for the Gentile. Just read the Book of Acts 10-11.

We went grocery shopping and I found a $15 shirt for $5. Well it was $5 when I picked it out and took it to the counter. However, it was $1 when it was rung up! It's a really nice shirt, definitely a blessing for me. :)

Less than $20 to feed us at CiCi's. Can't beat that!

My babies all took turns brushing my hair, which ended up in us all goofing off. Needless to say, it was a fun night!

My Sweet Mamaw

This year was a little different for Valentines Day. I am always really big on giving my kiddos something special. I guess I kinda had the Valentines blues, because I didn't even get them candy or anything. I know, I am feeling pretty guilty and Walmart didn't have anything left when I went yesterday. I mean we had a nice brunch after church Sunday.

We had Mamaw and Chelsey over and I made a big breakfast:

eggs
heart shaped pancakes
bacon
hash browns
strawberry/chocolate smoothies

It was nice, but still kids need something special.

My sweet Mamaw blessed them each with a cute little stuffed animal and some candy. How sweet was that? We are so blessed and loved. Now I don't feel so bad.

Can you guess who the frog belongs to? lol

Kayla has the white bear and LZ the brown one. Thanks Mamaw :) we love you!

My Little Ky is Back

I am so happy that Ronnie and Sheryl are back from Michigan. Ky is getting so big! She is beautiful! Well, I am blogging because I got to keep Ky for the night and we had a blast. She is such a good baby. She is so smart and funny.

She let me clean the kitchen and do laundry while she played on the floor. I wished my kids had done that lol. Ky will be a year old on the 25th of this month. Wow, time flys by. Amazing at how smart they are at such a young age.

I observed how she would get her own Cheetoe puff from the bag. I would point to my eye or nose and then she would point to her own. Just fascinating. We really never take the time to observe certain things with our own kids. Maybe it is because we are always so busy with them when they are that little. But when we get blessed enough to spend a couple days with one, we can truly see how amazing they are. Children are really smart. Ky is more than smart, she is a little sweetheart.

Ky is my second cousin but I consider her to be more of a neice. Her grandma (my aunt Coby) and I grew up together and she was adopted by my parents when I was younger. I have always called her Coby and consider her my sister more than my aunt.

Ky looks so much like her. Love you baby girl!

My Precious Blondie Boy

Last night my little man wanted to sleep with momma. I hesitated at first, because he is always squirmy, but I allowed him to. I was so proud of him, because he went to sleep EARLY for a change. He is my little night owl. I am glad that I allowed him to because it gave me a chance to reminisce on his short little life with me, so far.

I was sitting there reading my chapter for my Networking class. I then looked over and noticed that he clenched his blankie and it reminded me of when he was a baby. All three of my kids slept with me as infants. It was easier to nurse them and I loved the closeness of having my baby right next to me.

My mind went back to when he was just a baby. LZ has always been my little snuggler. He is my one child who loves to love on me. His sweet little kisses are slow and always sweet. He smiles when he kisses his mommy and he always kisses me on the lips. My other two do as well, but there is something special with LZ. He is more passionate and emotional, like his momma. :)

Anyway, I was reflecting on when he was a baby. I remember when he was born, I was scared because he was born with a welp on his head. My doctor described it as a broken vessel between his scalp and skull. It scared me because it was really soft and it pertruded from his head. It happened because of how he was delivered. His head was larger than normal babies. He is perfectly fine now. It just worried me until it turned solid.

We went across the country when he was only a month and a half old. Then there was the stress of living with friends and family. I went into the hospital and had to stop nursing him at three months. Sometimes I feel like I failed him. I know it is just my normal momma guilt trip.

That is why I am glad that there are moments like the one I had last night. I just put my book away and started kissing his little cheeks and whispering "momma loves you bub" in his ears. He would smile in his sleep and for just those few moments I was glad that I still had my baby boy. It's memories like these that I will cherish forever.

Momma loves her little blondie blue eyed baby boy, always.

Mile High Laundry and a Nice Guy

How blessed can a girl be? When you have two weeks of dirty clothes staring you in the face, it's time to do something, right?

Well it would be hard to wash all the clothes and then tote them 20 miles to dry. The box would already be about 75-100 pounds, before washing. With wet clothes?... Over double that weight. I would have never made it! I would need a fork lift to lift it up!

It wasn't enough to bless me by taking time to come all the way from Rodessa to Vivian (7 miles), just to deliver something that was given to me. Joy's nice hubby replaced my dryer cord so I can do laundry! I would've never asked him to and didn't have to. He asked me if I needed him to fix it. Wow, how nice was that!

Dear Joy you have a great hubby! Both of you are wonderful people. Thanks for blessing me.

HI, I am Catholic

When I was a little girl I wanted to be a nun.
I wanted to be just like Mary.
I love Jesus.

I remember that I sang solo once in front of the whole church.
I remember getting baptised when Father poured water over my head.
I remember my first Holy Communion, too.

I remember loving Jesus.
I remember loving Mary.
I remember loving the saints of God.

I am glad that I am one of them now.

I have been baptised.
Just like the Mary that I love so much.
Just like Jesus did.

I remember the promise of the Holy Ghost.
What Jesus told the saints of old all about in the Gospel.
I remember reading where the Holy Ghost fell on the Apostles.
And Mary, the mother of Jesus, whom I love.

I remember the Holy Ghost falling on me, just like that.
I remember speaking in another language.
Just like Mary did and Peter (the first Pope), along with all the Apostles and the rest of the 120 that the Holy Ghost fell on that day.
I remember that Jesus said He will send the Comforter.

I remember reading through the Bible and in the Book of Acts, many people received the Holy Ghost and spoke in another language.

I remember my first Holy Communion.
I remember when Father baptised me.
I remember being baptised in the name of Jesus, because there is no other name.
I remember feeling cleaner than ever.
I remember speaking in another language.
I now experince salvation on a day to day basis.

Hi, I am Catholic.

Blessed First Dinner at Our New Place

Words cannot explain how very important meal time is for me and my family. This is a family tradition; where dinner time is cherished. This is a time for the family to gather together, pray, talk about the day's events, eat and share a few laughs.

What makes dinner at Katy's special goes beyond all of what I just mentioned. A dear sweet lady from church blessed us with really nice dinnerware. The plates are in the picture. Funny thing is, I received two kitchen towels that match perfectly with the dish set here, for Christmas, by someone else.

Dinner time for me is sacred and that is a quality that I inherited from my Mom. She taught me everything I know about proper settings, dinner table etiquette, etc. Although we are eating on a card table and are without a real dining table, it is ok because being together to share all the things mentioned in the first paragraph is what is most important. It is the greatest blessing.

The dishes and the heart who gave them made this dinner even more of a blessing.

On the Menu

Fried chicken
Steamed rice and homemade gravy
Steamed broccoli with Lemon pepper and butter
Sweet iced tea

My little princess set the table :)

No More Weekly Washing Adventures

Hallelujah! No more lifting 100 pound boxes of laundry, loading the kids and driving 20+ miles just to do laundry! However, I am grateful to the many interesting, spiritual and nice people I met there. There are good memories for me at the laundry mat. Once this elderly black man was there and he ministered right to my heart and even prayed with me. It doesn't get any better than that!

"Gosh, a washer and a dryer is like having a bed for a single mom", Sister Holley said.

I couldn't agree with her more!

What a blessing I received from Sister Holley (kids call her Meme Holley and Sister Joann (kids call her Nannie Jo), we have a washer and dryer for our apartment! All I had to buy was a new cord and only spent $15.11. Hey, that is how much it costs to do a weeks worth of laundry, not including the gas to get there!

I am so blessed! Thank You Jesus for surrounding me with so many wonderful people!! :)

Ahh Why All the Silence?

The other evening in our new apartment, I was trying to enjoy some jams while doing the dishes. I know the kiddos were excited, etc.. But the noise, uhg!

Anyway, I continued off into space with the music going. The dishes were about done. I had just got onto the rascals making all the racket and told them that they needed to pick up and go to their room a play. This was something that they had to relearn. I mean it had been 9 months since we had our own place.

Just as I was drying my hands, it dawned on me... there was complete silence. "I guess the heathens are outside playing", I thought. It was just too quiet, so I dropped what I was doing to see just what they were up to. The unthinkable came to mind of course. If you knew me a few years back, I had two little artists who painted the entire living room (furniture included) white. I was thinking... toilet paper everywhere, shampoo, anything they can get their little hands on!

To my amazement, they were all nestled and snug right in Kayla's room reading a book. I was one proud Momma. It was such bliss... so I had to steal that Kodak moment.

My Son, a Football and a Lesson

Who all really tunes into their kids? I mean really learn from them? They are so smart and can teach us so much. Here is a little story about my oldest son and what I learned about him yesterday.

Because it was a gorgeous day, I took the kiddos to the park. After a walk, Zed and I decided to throw a football. I have always told him that he wasn't really cut out for either baseball or football. He gets so frustrated and literally throws a fit when he can't throw a ball or catch it right. Poor child is a computer whiz and not really into sports or the outdoors for that matter.

So I thought...

Yeah, I thought. To my surprise I discovered that my son can throw a football! I was amazed and it just kept getting better. Here is what happened...

I would throw the perfect throw to him. I mean it would go right to him and he would attempt to catch it with his fingers. I tried to explain to him that he needs to catch with his hands and arms. This is not baseball and you dont have a mit. His poor little fingers would get hurt trying to catch and I was throwing as soft as possible.

Then it got to where he couldn't catch the ball at all. He was getting furious, so he gave up. Here comes my uppity, sports fanatic little boy, Jorli. This kid can throw anything; just hand it to him. :) He loves baseball, football, any ball lol.

He was throwing the perfect throws and I would high five each and everyone of them. He was rocking the ball and I saw that his oldest brother was getting mad. I explained to him that he throws well, he just needs to lose the attitude a little and calm down. He then took over again and Jorli resumed his bouncy car adventure with his sister.

Zed was doing really well and finally he threw the most perfect throw. I smiled and cheered him on with a high five. Then when he started throwing flemsy throws again, I would say "nice try but try better". He was getting angry but gearing his anger towards perfection. This is what I noticed...

He would say, "I am going to throw this one over your head Mom". When he threw the ball, it did go over my head but I caught it. I smiled and said, "see there, the perfect throw". He would do it again and again and if he messed up, he would fuel his frustration towards perfection.

Kids are wonderful and they can inspire us in so many ways. My little boy taught me something, because I stayed intuned with him and was able to see that he wanted to be the best. He used his frustration to try harder. That is admirable!

A Nice Man at the Laundry Mat

Well we were off on our weekly (well not weekly this week, but two weeks worth) laundry adventure. Hey, it's an adventure, believe me. 3 kids + free room to run around = adventure, to say the least.

Needless to say, my box was slap full and running over with clothes. It was about 7 loads plus all our blankets. That sucker was heavy! I am talking at least 75 pounds of clothes to carry. I scooted that bad boy to the door and left it there so I could open my trunk.

As I turn, there was a nice gentleman picking up my box of clothes.

"Looks like you got your hands full, there", he chuckled.
"Yes, sir, they keep me busy", I laughed.
"I totally understand. I have three boys of my own", he replied.
"Ah, so you know how it is with the boys. Nice to know someone understands that these boys are always bouncing off the walls", I said.
He just laughed...

It's wonderful knowing that there are still people in this world who care enough to help. What a blessing to have someone like that, to pick up that box of clothes.

Now carrying into the house and moving boxes was another story... :)

Angels All Around

About a year ago I met one of the most beautiful people I have ever met both inside and out. She was my oldest son's first grade teacher. I was drawn to her immediately, not only because she had the last name of Reger, but because there was just something about her that I admired. She was different then a lot of teachers. She was special.

I grew to like her very well while I was actively working as a substitute teacher at VEMMS. One day during lunch I left some of my business cards, hoping that I could lift my cleaning business off the ground. I had just started. This was last December. Later I saw her and she told me that I was hired. She had become my first client and still is :)

Around Christmas break last year I was over her place cleaning. She was home as well because she's a teacher and gets those vacations as well. Anyway I had previously asked her if she was related to my highschool math teacher, Ann Reger. She had been one of my most favorite teachers. She happens to be her daughter in law.

Mrs. Reger had recently passed away and we talked about the woman that she was. She was very soft spoken and sweet. She had a gentleness about her. I remember her smile more than anything and how she was always more than willing to help her students. She made my worse subject, math, so much fun and easy to understand. I really miss her but I have a couple things that Joy gave me, I will treasure forever.

I still reflect on Mrs. Reger when I wear her sweaters. I also express to my children how much teachers are worth and what they will mean to them, especially when they are older. They are not as appreciated as they should be (not to mention they are underpaid). Mrs. Reger was special to me and I will never forget her. I am so grateful to Joy for sharing something of hers with me.

Nice to know that I will always have something that belonged to an angel in my life. It makes me feel that much closer to her. This is a picture of me in one of her sweaters. I love you Mrs. Reger(s) :).