It's OK Thursday!

It's OK...

...to count the nuggets in your Chick-Fil-A meal to make sure you weren't shorted one.

...to be happy when you realize you got two more nuggets than you paid for.

...to be 33 years old and going to see Breaking Dawn tomorrow night.

...to be singing this song at your desk:

...to have been shocked at the end of this week's episode of NCIS: Los Angeles

 ...to spend entirely too much time on Pinterest.

...to put up your Christmas decorations this weekend because you are out of town next weekend and won't have time after that.

...to REALLY want to attend George Strait's concert in Tulsa, OK on Feb. 16.

 ... to have drawn this during a department meeting:

...if you haven't entered Judy's soap giveaway! You have one more day! :)

What's OK with you today?? 

XOXO!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I'm loving...

All the comments, tweets and emails I've received regarding my post yesterday. It honestly took me about an hour to work up the courage to post it. After hearing some of your responses, I know that I'm not the only one feeling that way (or who has ever felt that way). I was also told I wasn't the only one who needed to read it. God is amazing, isn't he?

I'm loving...

This sweet card that my friend's daughter M made for me. As I mentioned before in my post Monday, my company picnic was at 6 Flags last weekend. A while back I told M (who is 5 years old) that I would ride the Judge Roy Scream roller coaster with her at the company picnic (she LOVES roller coasters and is just tall enough to ride most of them). Since I was unable to ride any rides (by order of my chiropractor), my friend B rode it with her. She made cards for both me and B. Here is mine! :)

I'm loving...

That I just have one more week until I go to my folks for Thanksgiving. We usually get out of work about 3pm the day before Thanksgiving. I plan to have my truck packed and ready to go so I can leave straight from work. I can't wait for family time!

I'm loving...

These pictures of my great-nephews C and E. They had Christmas family pictures taken last week. Pictures were stolen taken graciously borrowed from my niece's Facebook page!

I'm loving...

My friends. That includes friends that I know personally, blogging friends and Twitter friends. I've been blessed to have met some of my blogging and Twitter friends in person this past year. They are amazing and I'm thankful for all of them! :)

I'm loving...

This video. It's about 6 minutes long, but it's SO FUNNY!!! :)

 
I'm loving...
My new toe socks (it's the little things in life that make me happy!)

What are YOU loving today??

Oh yeah. Don't forget to enter Judy's soap giveaway!! Deadline is THIS Friday!! :)

XOXO!

Are You There God? It's Me, Rachel!

I know my blog is silly a lot of times, because, well, I'm a silly (but delightful and charming) person. But I'm gonna go all serious on y'all for just a minute (I promise to return you to my normal silliness soon, just give me a second here). I've been struggling with some issues lately (no, I'm not going to go into them, I have to keep SOME things private), but it's gotten to the point where they are almost wearing me down. I try to be a happy-go-lucky person and not show that anything is wrong (I sometimes succeed at this, and I sometimes fail miserable at this). Lately I've just felt so...lost. Honestly, I can't even really put it into words, but I've almost hit a breaking point. I posted last week on Facebook that I wanted to write a book and call it, Are You There God, It's Me, Rachel! Although I have a feeling if I did, I'd get a lovely letter from Judy Blume (well, her lawyer at least) letting me know I couldn't do that.

I never try to make people think I'm this perfect Christian (because you know what, there aren't any. If anyone claims to be a perfect Christian, tell them to read the Bible. And if they are on TV and say it, don't send them your credit card information). You know y'all, I make mistakes. I screw up on a daily basis (yes, daily). I AM NOT PERFECT. There, I admitted it. I really hope I don't lose followers for admitting I'm not perfect! ;)

This morning I was catching on my daily Bible reading (I may or may not have been a few days behind on it). BTW, I love my Bible app on my iPhone because it has the audio version, so I can listen to it while I work. As I was listening to the scriptures for today, I realized that it's been a long time since I just sat and talked to God. Don't get me wrong, I mean, I've prayed and all, but I realized I haven't just spilled my guts to Him about what's on my mind (which is funny because He already knows it, it's not like I'm hiding anything from Him). I have no problem when it comes to praying for my friends' problems, issues and heartaches, but I tend to skip over mine when praying. No, I don't know why, I just put my heartaches and issues to the side.

Confused? Well, the best way I can describe it is like this: you know how you can comment on a friend's Facebook status (or "like" the status), so you've been "in touch" with them, but the two of you haven't really sat down and had a heart to heart talk? That was how I was feeling about God. I've "liked" His status and commented on His page, but we haven't really spent time together. (Yes, God is up there shaking His head that I just compared my relationship with Him to Facebook). I find it funny that I'm asking God where He's been when he's like, "um, helloooo, I'm right here, where are you?" Okay, I really don't think God ever uses the phrase "um, helloooo", but you know what I mean. I realized that God hasn't put the distance between us, it's me. Now, how do I go to Him with my problems/issues/heartaches when I haven't really been talking to Him in the first place?

Still with me? I promise this train of thought has a caboose, thank you for bearing with me. So, I was actually trying to get motivated to write a Tuesday Tunes post today and starting thinking about an artist to feature and I thought of Jeremy Camp (I love him). In my YouTube search to find videos of his songs, this one came up. 

For those who don't feel like listening to the lyrics, here they are (but I really think you should listen to the song, it's good):

The reason why I stand

The answer lies in you

You hung to make me strong

Tho my praise was few

When I fall I bring your name down

But I have found in you

A heart that bleeds 

Forgiveness replacing all these thoughts of painful memories

And I know your response will always be

(Chorus)

I'll take you back, always

Even when your fight is over now

I'll take you back, always

Even when the pain is coming through

I'll take you back

You satisfy this cry of what I'm

looking for And I'll take all I can

and lay it down before

The throne of endless grace now

that radiates what's true

I'm in the only place that erases

all these faults that have overtaken me and 

I know your response will always be

(Chorus)

I can only speak with a grateful heart 

As I'm pierced by this gift of your love

So, why did I feel the need to post this particular song? Honestly, I don't know. To me it's a reminder that God is always there, ready to "take me back", no matter how "distant" I've been. Maybe there is someone else out there who needed to hear/read the lyrics today (I can't be the ONLY person out there feeling like this, can I?) I don't know who all reads my blog. Maybe you have been a follower for a while. Maybe you found my blog through someone else. Maybe you saw the link on Twitter and thought you would check it out. Maybe you are a lawyer for Judy Blume. Whoever you are, I would like to think I wrote this post today to help at least one other person out who might be struggling.

Wow, that was a long post today, sorry about that. Wait, you know what, I'm not sorry. I truly believe I was meant to write this today. Thanks for reading my friends!! Love you all!

Oh, before I forget, you MUST go check out my friend Judy's AWESOME homemade soap giveaway!! (No, NOT Judy Blume). :) Click here (or on the picture below) to be directed to the link. If you want more information on her soaps, click here. Giveaway ends THIS Friday at 10pm. While you are checking out her giveaway, take a look around her blog and tell her howdy! She's one of the sweetest people I know. She has posts of the best recipes (warning: she usually includes pictures of what the dishes looks like, so beware, you will get hungry just looking at them!) :) I also love her pictures of her vacations to London. I told her next time she goes, I'm sneaking in her carry-on luggage! :)

Photo courtesy of Cranberry Morning

XOXO!! Have a blessed day y'all!

A Tuesday Helping of Ramblings

Did you ever have a lemonade stand when you were a kid? I remember one time some friends and I set up a lemonade stand (convinced we were going to make thousands of dollars- we were like 11 years old at the time). I think we only made about $5 (which was split four ways). But still, you don't see a lot of lemonade stands anymore. Kinda sad. 

For those wondering, yes, my train of thought does have a caboose with this topic (I'll get into my rant of how mad I am that cabooses were taken off trains another day). My beautiful and creative friend Vic over at Freckles and Fudge has started making lemonade stands for blogs. What is a lemonade stand? Go check out her page here for all the info. She is sweet enough to let me proudly display the lemonade stand she made for me here on my page! You rock girl!

Created by Vic at The Lemonade Blogs

My sweet, lovely friend Katie over at Words by Katie is having a "Favorites Giveaway" in honor of her blog reaching 100 followers! Go check out her post here for details on how to enter and win. Tell her that I sent ya! :)

Katie's blog giveaway! Picture courtesy of Words by Katie

For those who haven't noticed the countdown at the top of my blog, it's almost Rangers Opening Day!! Can you believe it? I know I can't. Today the Rangers showed off some of the new "improvements" around the Ballpark, including the new scoreboard. It's beautiful!

I don't drink beer, but they have a new way of filling beer cups now. That means the lines won't be as long! I wonder if they will fill Dr Pepper the same way? I also heard a rumor of a three pound giant pretzel (my personal favorite Ballpark snack!)

For those wanting to know the new Rangers slogan for this year, here it is...

And last, but certainly NOT least, a few weeks ago I went to visit my BFF Mandy and her new baby. I am finally getting around to posting pictures (I know, I'm a slacker, so sorry!!) Here is Aunt Rachel and baby Effie. She is so tiny!! I think my purse weighed more than her. She is so beautiful too. I can't wait to see them all again. I am so happy for Mandy and her husband Andrew (who will not admit it, but is slowly getting wrapped around Effie's little finger!!) ;)

Yes, my first picture with baby Effie, and I'm wearing a Rangers shirt. Are you surprised? :)

Not to brag, but I was able to get her to stop crying when she was handed to me. Being the aunt to 16 nieces and nephews (and 4 great-nephews), I'm a professional when it comes to taking care of babies! :)

Hope that everyone has a great day!! We are finally seeing some rain here in Dallas, we are in desperate need of it so we welcome it with open arms (as long as it stops by Friday for Opening Day!!) Right now the forecast is calling for partly sunny skies, and a high of 77 for the start of baseball season here in Texas. Wahoo!!

XOXO!!