A Good, Long Day that I have rejoiced & been glad in

I woke up with a song in my heart and on my mind yesterday. I started to post about it last night, but was just too tired, so here I go,late again.(It is a work in progress, this trying to replace being late with punctuality)But anywho, back to yesterday: I woke up with the words of "Because HE lives" running through my mind and refreshing my spirit. So, with the deed of speaking at a Ladies AA meeting SO early in the morning (yes, to me, having to actually be dressed and presentable and in a particular place by 10a.m. is EARlY-especially on a Saturday)anyway, I digress, back to yesterday AGAIN: Waking up with that song in my heart and enjoying it, despite the aggravated brother that woke me to make sure I made it to my meeting, really made me actually look forward to speaking is a miracle. Mostly because I had been dreading the speech thinking that: #1 I might be late and #2 What business do I have speaking when I have just started recovering from a dry drunk? I mean the dryness got so bad I lost the BEST sponsor a lady could ask for and now I have another one that I don't dislike as a sponsor, but I sure wish that she was more on the same spiritual plane that my old sponsor and I share. Anyway, back to yesterday and the speech. I got there EARlY and can you believe it, the meeting still started late! LOL! I shared and it was one of the most cleansing experiences I've had in my whole life. Then the other ladies shared. That was when my epiphany came to me. The verse in the BIBLE that says 'They that fear THEE shall be glad when they see me; because I have hoped in THY word.' Psalm 119:74 had finally came to me. I actually did help someone by sharing my experience, strength, and hope! And you know what? It's 'Because HE Lives'!!Praise GOD, HIS Spirit lives in me! That's the answer to my 'song' that I woke up with! Here's a link to a beautiful video to watch while you listen to it. By the way, before waking up yesterday; it's been close to 2 years since I last remember hearing this song I grew up singing. Now you tell me: doesn't that go to show you just how important it is that we monitor what we allow into our minds through our ears and eyes?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4HxHnJkR2c
The video I originally wanted to share of this song didn't paste into my blog right but this one seemed sufficient. I hope and pray that it lifted y'all's spirits the way it did mine when I woke up with it in my heart.
Now, about the rest of my day after my sharing at the women's meeting. I tried to call my old sponsor to share my speaking experience with her and to invite her, her son, and grandchildren to Matthew's Birthday Party. Couldn't get an answer on either of her phones. Then I tried my new sponsor, again to no avail. So, I called Carrie,(my BFF) and we got together and went to pick up the last minute items for the party from $ Tree and the cupcake cake I'd ordered from Wally World. We were in & out of both places and back home in less than an hour! Praise GOD for that blessing! She gave Matthew a Blue Angels navy pilots poster and a card that had $15 in it and was gone :( I was really hoping that she would stay. Not too long after she left, I went with A.J.(my strong-willed youngest boy) to Food Lion to get Charcoal and a couple other items. When we got back I got busy making up the hamburgers with the eggs,crackers,garlic,onion,etc.. Afterwards my husband fired up the grill and we were under way to the longest Birthday Party we've ever had. It was also the least planned IE:without games and crafts etc.. After letting the food settle for a bit, Matthew and Shelly (his little friend of whom I'm praying will be my daughter in law one day):) helped me put the goody bags together. Right after Matthew opened his gifts and opened & read his cards; Shelly & another little girl handed out the goody bags to the other children. Each one brandishing a small water gun. So, I pranced myself outside and asked Anthony about the water balloons. When he said no, I told him they were going to do it. He asked me why I'd even asked him and I replied,"To let you know ahead of time, so if you didn't want to get wet, you'd have heads up to move." So, the kids had a ball and Anthony, Laura & Curtis (another set of parents)had a ball too with the water guns & balloons. Little Curtis Paul got Mr.Anthony with a bucket of water and Mr.Curtis with a water balloon. They both looked just like they'd peed in their pants. Everyone had a good time. After the water play was over we had cake & ice cream. It was delicious! That whipped topping was awesome! Then they started slowly leaving but as soon as one set of parents left, another came over & sat in the yard with Anthony. This time it was Shawn & Carol. They are a very young couple with 3 children, (1 boy & 2 girls). Their oldest girl can put my boys, even James, to shame with her schemes and tall tales. She kind of reminds me of myself when I was really young,(under 10). I was one little red headed spit fire! I got and deserved a spanking or switching on a daily basis. Sometimes I wish I could take a switch to that girl of theirs. Oh, but anyway, by 9:30 or 10:00, the party was finally over. Then I get a phone call from the other neighbor wanting to know if I'd seen any of my boys or James with a key. She had left hers in the door to the laundry room of the apartments. I told her no but we had 9 kids eating with us and that wasn't counting any that weren't eating. She says no, that the other ones were leaving when she left the key in the door. I was hard pressed not to tell her off. I felt like she was saying there was no possibility that it could've been anyone other than our kids. Come to find out today; Anthony Sr. had seen it in the door, and since one of the tenants had told him there was a crack head living in that laundry room; he had taken it out so nothing would happen. I was so tickled to send him over there to give that key back with the little lecture I was sure he'd give with it! hee!hee!hee!
Well, THE LORD gave me a new verse today as I studied the word.
 Psalm 15:27 - He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live.
I needed to hear this word and GOD knew it when HE gave it to me this morning. I have been a pack rat for over 11 years now and the 'stuff' in my home is definately troubling my house and everyone in it! But the last time Carrie Mae brought me some stuff I thought to myself;"Where am I going to put that?" Then while I was pondering about the verse and looking around me this morning I noticed the beautiful vase of artificial flowers Kimberly, Carrie's daughter gave me, the day I found out I was going to need to hold A.J. back in first grade. It's a crystal cylander with sand in the bottom, glass pebbles on top of the sand and a white flower bouquet in it that has just a hint of green in their white color and hanging down from one of the thin green foliage leaves lis a gorgeous lady bug. It is beautiful and couldn't have come at a better time, but my first thought after getting inside was again,"What am I gonna' do with it?" Its sitting on my entertainment center that has become a 'catch all' as it does within a few days of my dusting it every time. It goes unnoticed because I just have too much stuff. This reminds me of another verse in Eccesiastes. Chapter 3 verse 1 states:To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: then the verse that reminds me of the lesson THE LORD has been giving me is verse 6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
   Hey, you know what? That verse is the date March 6th which is all three of these things in my life -
#1: My Late Momma's Birthday
#2: My Anniversary
#3: The date of my youngest son's conception
I think that's a trip myself!
Well, it's been another long day full of children in and out of my house which always makes me feel like my Grandmaw as I'm yelling,"Shut that door!","Did you shut the outside door too?","In or out! You need to make up your mind and stay one or the other!" I have atleast stopped asking them if they thought they were born in a barn. That happened after Christopher asked me as a little thing, "I don't know Mommy. Was I?" He really wanted to know. Oh, what things come out of the mouths of babes! So, anyway I'm gonna' leave you tonight with this. ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD FOR THOSE WHO LOVE GOD, WHO ARE THE CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE!HALLELUIAH PEOPLE! To know that everything, good,bad,or indifferent will all work for our good! If we know this, how can we be anything outside of grateful? We have a lot, as GOD's children, to be grateful for! I don't know about you, but to me this is on the top 5 of my gratitude list.

Could all really be well in spite of what's Happened to me as a Mommy?

I found out today that it is in A.J.'s, my youngest son's, best interest to repeat the first grade next year. I didn't want to hear it, but as with all things in life that I can not change; I must accept it and ask GOD for the grace to find the good in it. That part's really the easy part this time. (Finding the good.) This way, A.J. has a chance to be in the top of his class next year, as was the case last year in Kindergarten.
The hard part is the acceptance of my responsibility in this happening. I have failed him as a parent to make him stay on top of things. I took advantage of the Al Anon slogans 'Live & Let Live' and 'Let Go and Let GOD',  as well as being selfish in using the concept of 'Allowing others to have the dignity of making their own decisions and either reaping the benefits or suffering the consequences' to his detriment.
 I told him that if he chose not to use his time wisely at school, paying attention and following directions and made the choice not to do his 20 minutes of reading every night, (in order to keep up) then it was going to be his decision to stay in 1st grade.
 His teacher and I were sharing with each other today how much he hated being so small.  He told her several times, "I sure hope I hit a growth spurt soon!" So, perhaps being in  class with children his own age next year will help make him feel a bit less out of size? Maybe he might even not be the smallest one in class next year?  That, I'm sure, would be of some help to his self image, and perhaps make up for some of the self esteem issues that come so often with being held back a grade in school.
The teacher advised me not to tell him yet. I'm more than eager to agree and comply with that advice. He's already been beating himself up about the fact that there was a chance he was going to be held back.
Another positive thing that has come from this is the opportunity that I've been given to learn from my mistake and being able to make up for it over the summer by working with him in order to better prepare him to be ahead at the beginning of next year, the way I always did with Christopher and Matthew, (my older sons). I don't know what made me become such a lazy or lax Mommy. This year has been the exact opposite of what I've always done in the past with my boys. Perhaps I expected too much of A.J. due to the fact that his brothers are older now and no longer require all that extra guidance and pushing to get their work done. Then again, it could also be that I assumed since he was so far advanced in Kindergarten that he wouldn't require the extra care I'd always given Christopher and Matthew at A.J.'s age. Then again, could I have just taken this past year to fall into the sin of slothfulness?
Of course, everything our family has been through this year has to factor into it as well. Our lives have been full of change after change and chaos after chaos and that's not even including the fact that our family is infected with the disease of alcoholism or that we have 2 entire different family units (ours having 5 members, another having 2 members) all under the roof of a home barely big enough for  ours of 5.
Good news also comes today. Christopher and Matthew passed all their E.O.G.s with 3s and 4s. And as icing on the top; James,(my nephew, who has always suffered to even barely pass his grades if he did and other times just allowed to move up because of his age, and has always had to retake his E.O.G.s)  scored 3s on both of his E.O.G.s on his first try!! He went from last year's final score of 27% to a 42% this year! Praise THE LORD!!! GOD is SO good to us!
We (Jim, myself, and all 4 of the boys) went to the Air Show Sunday and we had a FANTASTIC time! GOD even laid it on the heart of the lady taking pictures of people on one of the Blue Angels planes to give us a ticket to get our picture done when I told her I didn't have any money (The pictures cost $10.00 plus $2 per each additional person)! Then she gave Christopher 4 pictures of the team with signatures they were selling - just because he hugged her and said 'Thank you' to her.
 Then we got a ride on a golf cart sort of deal to the buses where one of the buses gave us a ride to our car in the regular parking lot, so we didn't have to do all that walking in the heat and drizzling rain!
Well, I must get ready for my meeting tonight. LORD knows I need it tonight!
May GOD bless and keep you in HIS peaceful serenity in the midst of life's storms.- much love,Wendy

What's this all about anyway?

A recent post by a fellow blogger sent me back into my early childhood. I remember listening to this LP over and over along with many others. (although the others were not so much like this one,) but at the same time in my life, I was all wrapped up in the core of my mind all the while helping my Momma make candle holders out of candle wax and coke bottles. It was WONDERFUL!!!! Thanks for the reminder of a time long forgotten and well needed to be remembered.