Breaking up the Monotony
Now that the on-season is picking up here at the beach, my cow mascots are also out in force at various events. I hope to have some pics of the cows at the Myrtle Beach Pelicans’ games up shortly, but I figured I would start with the Relay For Life. The Myrtle Beach Relay’s theme for this year was “Come For the Party, Stay for the Cure”. The Relay For Life, sponsored by the American Cancer Society, holds a special place in my heart. Both of my grandmothers were diagnosed with cancer. One had lung cancer and eventually succombed to it along with the complications from it. The other was a breast cancer survivor, she passed away a couple years ago from an extended illness unrelated to the cancer. I’ve walked to honor them at many a Relay, so I was excited to take the Chick-fil-A cows out to this year’s Relay.
Getting ready!!
Visiting with some of our smallest fans.
Hanging out with the band pre-relay
Mingling with the survivors…one person had been a cancer for over 19 years, another for less than 2 weeks. There were also several children that were cancer survivors as well. Made me both sad and full of joy.
Dancing to the song being sung by the ladies. People found it exremely funny.
This is my wonderful husband making stupid faces with the cow.
Sorry for the poor quality of this picture but I couldn’t not share it. Because of the theme, each sponsoring team had a guy dress in drag to earn money for their team. All the “ladies” you see in this picture are guys. They were dancing to a Lady Gaga song and the cow decided to jump in and dance with them. It was truly hysterical.
Anyway, I love being able to take the Chick-fil-A cows out to fun events like these….it helps that I have some fantastic cow mascots that really enjoy doing it too. Hope you’ve enjoyed my break from work today. Now I must get back at it…
Voluntary Evacuation
Our neighborhood, THE FARM, has officially been asked to participate in a VOLUNTARY evacuation. The winds have changed and the wildfire in Myrtle Beach is headed toward our area. Not sure if we’ll be leaving or not, we’ll be making some runs to N. Myrtle Beach to pick up the CFA coolers from the command centers and return them to the stores to be refilled in the morning. So, we may be told while we’re out that things have moved bad enough to cause a mandatory evacuation.
Please keep praying….pray that the Lord would supernaturally send some major rain to stop this fire or that the wind would stop blowing so the fire could be contained. Continue praying for those that have lost their homes or are in danger of losing their homes. And if I can be selfish…pray the fire stays away from our home.
Horry County Wildfires
Many of you have likely caught the news about the wildfire that has been sweeping through Myrtle Beach since yesterday afternoon. I was driving home yesterday afternoon after a meeting and all I could see was this huge plume of smoke that looked like it was right over my house…needless to say I drove a little faster than necessary to check it out. Fortunately, the wildfire was just north of our house. Thus far it has torn through Conway and is now wreaking havoc in North Myrtle Beach….yes, this thing has traveled almost the entire length of Horry County.
Between 120-150 homes have been destroyed or damaged, 15,000 acres have burned. And it’s still burning…
Pray, pray, pray for the families who have lost their homes, their belongings, their security. Pray for those who are fearful that they may lose their home. Pray for the firefighters from all over this great state as they battle this blaze and hopefully that it would come to an end quickly before more damage occurs. Pray for the Red Cross and volunteers as they assist those people who are fighting this blaze. Pray for me as I head that way to drop off another load of Chick-fil-A sandwiches for the firefighters and workers. And if you live in the Myrtle Beach area, please thank the operators of the Chick-fil-A’s across the county for providing food since yesterday and for their man hours in mobilizing a community effort and taking responsibility for assisting our community during this time.
Pray for this family RIGHT NOW!
I have been followed Adam and Aimee Freeman’s blog for some time now. Their daughter, Kayleigh, is 10 ish months old and has been in and out of the NICU since her birth. Their daughter just took a major turn for the worst.
Please go visit their blog and let them know that you are praying for them.
The Enemy Has Been Defeated
Man, what a fantastic day as I’ve remembered and celebrated the resurrection of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! What joy and peace and hope that knowledge brings to my heart and mind. Rather than leaving you with my traditional musings, I am leaving you with a song that encompasses everything I wish to say…
I can’t make the video embed so click the link below.
Cause the enemy has been defeated
Death couldn’t hold you down
We’re gonna lift our voice in victory
We’re gonna make your praises loud
Shout unto God with a voice of triumph
Shout out to God with a voice of praise
Shout unto God with a voice of triumph
We lift your name up, we lift your name up
Good Friday
Good Friday is always a day full of mixed emotions for me. On one hand I feel great sorrow and the other is such joy and thankfulness. Today is the day that followers of Christ remember the day that Christ CHOSE to sacrifice himself out of love for every single one of us, and those to come. It was a day that Christ CHOSE to take upon himself the punishment that is rightfully mine (and yours) for our sins, so that he could restore his relationship with us. So that we might have life. I think about my own pain and pleadings with the Lord and cannot imagine the pain he felt in those moments when he pleaded with God to find another way. In essence, God had to turn his back on his son so that all those that belief would be redeemed back to him. I cannot imagine the tremendous sacrifice it was for God to allow his son to endure the sins of the world, the pain of the cross, and the rejection of man….and yet, He chose it, knowing that the sacrifice would be worth the price paid. So, on one hand, my heart hurts just thinking about that.
And on the other hand my heart rejoices! My heart rejoices as one of those who has been redeemed by the blood of the cross, that was purchased by Christ’s death on the cross. Because by Christ’s bearing of the guilt, shame, and sins of the world, I now can journey with the Lord in grace, mercy, love, and for eternity. I owe him my life. And since that day that I understood and accepted the sacrifice, and likewise, offered myself back to God I have found no greater joy, no greater foundation, no greater Redeemer, than my friend, my father, and my Lord.
So while I feel heavy today, I know the story….that in a few short days, we will celebrate the day when Christ was resurrected back to heaven to be reunited with his father, and thus, reuniting us with him. What a sacrifice, what a blessing! Thankful today.
Broken Spirit
The pastor of our church here in Myrtle Beach said the following quote a couple weeks ago, “You are either broken by an orphan spirit, or you are broken by (God’s) love.” I have to say that this quote completely rocked my world. I sat in my chair and just started crying because I believe those words were spoken into my spirit by the very mouth of God. Words that I was in desperate need of hearing. I left church that morning with much to think about, to pray over, and work through.
I have been living like an orphan. Living as though I were alone, unloved, uncared for, abandoned. And although my head knew this was false, my spirit had been broken by this orphan mentality. I know where this orphan-hood began…my first miscarriage, then my second, third, fourth, and now my apparent infertility. Prior to that I was pretty secure in knowing that my Father in Heaven deeply and wholly loved me, cared for me, accepted me. I had a secure home in Him and in His love for me. However, from the first miscarriage onward, I struggled with being confident of my place in God’s family, confident in His love of me. I guess you could sum it up in the common issue of, “If God loved me so much, why did ____________ happen?”, or “If God loves everyone, why do bad things happen to good people and good things seem to happen to bad people”. I felt like God didn’t care that I was hurting and that He didn’t care about my desire for a child. He allowed us to love these children He gave us only to take them away. So, after each painful experience I would fall back into that orphan spirit. There would come a point where I’d snap out of it because the truth is that I know I am not abandoned, I know that I am loved and care for, and I know that I can trust the Lord. That when He allows us to journey on a painful path, that He doesn’t leave us to our own devices…He provides for our every need throughout it BECAUSE He loves us.
Over the last couple years, I have had to continually choose to walk out the journey the Lord has for me…and while I may not understand the why’s, I remember that I am loved by a Father who would stop at nothing to prove just how much. To live broken by love doesn’t seem to come naturally to me any more. Living by love requires constant choices on my part to live that way, to trust that way, to understand that I am not and will never be abandoned. But my humanness reverts easily to living like an orphan especially when the circumstances around me hurt.
An orphan spirit is always at war with the spirit of Sonship/love. Being broken by love, while it hurts, still provides a sense of security, comfort, value, acceptance and peace. Being broken by an orphaned spirit provides me with a sense of pain, lonliness, lack of understanding and compassion. So, I am daily having to choose to live like who I am….a daughter of a Father that loves me absolutely, unconditionally and completely, a Father that has never and will never abandon me. I have this quote written in several places in my house to remind me of my choices. I am either broken by an orphan spirit or I am broken by God’s love. I’m choosing to be broken by love. Are you?
