And it's a new day! Yesterday was not such a good day, but today has been much better! This week, I am so thankful for:

• my sweet hubby, who threw me a wonderful surprise birthday party last weekend. He knows my birthday is not exactly my favorite time of year, and gave me the best present ever - a fun time with my friends.
• my friend Kim, who apparently was the co-plotter for the birthday party.
• that my friends & family were willing to take time out of their insanely busy Memorial Day weekends to spend time with me. It really did mean a lot to me, even if I threatened revenge...
• our armed forces serving worldwide. We got to meet a sweet couple at the gas station this weekend who were traveling home to Utah. The husband is in the Army while the wife stays home with their two precious babies. You could tell it had been a rough trip with the kiddos. I will never forget that woman's face - you could tell she needed a friend. We hugged and thanked them for their sacrifice - I just wish we could have done more. So, to all our forces - thank you for everything!
• the peace that surpasses all understanding.
• Katrina's sweet love for people, Madison's sense of humor, and Violet's gentleness. While they are all challenges, they are so amazing. The thought that Daddy would trust me with His daughters for a season is both overwhelming and humbling.
• our time with our home group every week. The fact that all these people are willing to take the time to invest in relationships is so huge to me.
• brownies! You know I had to end with some form of sugar or caffeine!

I hope you all have had a wonderful Thursday.

Growing up on a working ranch, I assumed as a child that everyone understood the cowboy life. As I have grown, I've realized that I am in the minority. We live in the West, yet very few understand or have experienced their cultural heritage. So, rather than take you all out to the ranch for a branding lesson (Dad would not be appreciative to have all the "help"), I thought I would bring branding to you!

Branding serves a very practical purpose on a ranch - it proves your livestock are yours! Back when the herds roamed on the open range, rustling (stealing) was a real and common occurrence. If a calf or cow was not branded, you could not prove it was yours. Each brand is unique, and registered to protect the ranchers. So, every spring, when the calves are big enough to handle it, we brand.

When my dad was young, they would throw them in the fire with the irons, wait until they popped (kind of like popcorn) and eat them as a snack while they continued branding. Now, we serve them battered & deep fried. Or hidden in a burger, if you're a newby. Anybody want to volunteer to help next year?

It's been a few weeks since I've been able to do a Thankful Thursday post. Between work & life, I've barely had time to keep the house clean, let alone keep up on the blogging. I will get caught up on the posts though, I promise. I have some fabulous ideas running around in my head that must get out (they're giving me a headache).

I think I relate to Peter the most out of all the disciples, for a few reasons. I've been known to share my opinion without thinking about it first, my family is considered to be rednecks, I get a great idea and try to run with it without thinking it through first. But the way I feel I can most relate to Peter is the issue of faith. I see him as a man who absolutely knew that Jesus was the Son of Man, the Messiah, yet struggled with faith on the day-to-day level. He had spent every day with Jesus, witness to perhaps thousands of miracles. When Jesus told him to get out of the boat and walk to him, he did it. Immediately. As long as he looked at Jesus, he was fine. But, as soon as Peter's line of sight turned towards the waves instead of Jesus, he became overwhelmed and started to sink.

I know that I know that I know that Jesus will never leave me nor forsake me. That He does have my best interests in mind. That He will hold me in the palm of His hand. And, yet, it is easy to take my eyes of my Savior, focus on the waves in my life, and become overwhelmed.

This week, I am so thankful for two answers to prayer that, honestly, I didn't even think about after I prayed them. And, yet, God loved me enough to remember them, and answer them exactly when I needed them most.

Prayer #1:
Saturday morning, the girls & I went garage sale hunting. I had been thinking, in the back of my mind, that I would really like a new pair of casual brown sandals to wear to work. I needed something comfortable yet nice enough for work. But, like most things, that little prayer got forgotten in the everyday. At the Florida Mesa Madness, a huge yard sale at Katrina's school, a woman was selling a TON of shoes. And guess what? A cute pair of brown leather sandals, that fit me perfectly, for $1!

Prayer #2:
Back in January, I was preparing our taxes for the feds. Mind you, we are still paying on our taxes from 2007, so the thought of having to pay even more was daunting, to say the least. I was feeling really discourages as I was preparing everything for our accountant. I prayed as I was gathering, "Lord, it would be really nice to not have to pay anything. I know better than to ask for a refund (cause that never happens when you're self-employed), but if we could just break even, that would be great." I gave our information to the accountant to prepare and forgot about it.

Last week, I realized we hadn't heard from him yet. Jerome called our CPA, and he said that he would have everything ready this week. He also had a surprise. Not only did we not have to pay anything (a specific answer to my specific prayer) but we were also going to get money back, which would be applied to our 2007 debt! God answered above and beyond what I expected.

Monday morning, Jerome received some bad news about the financing for one of his deals. This deal may or may not go through now. I must confess that, like Peter, I allowed my focus to go to the waves rather than my savior. And I felt myself sinking. But God, through my amazing sweet hubby and an awesome friend with wise words, picked me up and lead me back to the boat. God knew we were going to receive this news. I know He answered my two specific prayer ahead of this to remind me that He will see us through this as well.

I am so grateful that my Jesus picks me up!

Our church has been studying 40 Days of Love, an amazing book that totally challenges your views on how you love compared to God's way of loving. I thought it was totally appropriate, and probably God-sent, that this email devotional was in my inbox this morning. It comes from http://www.crosswalk.com/, which send out great devotionals, if anyone is interested. Enjoy!

May 19, 2009
Love That Changes Lives
Mary Southerland

Today's Truth "So encourage each other and give each other strength." 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Friend To Friend

I will never forget the day I learned just how powerful words can be and their capability to teach and train from the hand of possibly the most abrasive person I have ever met as well as one of the kindest young girls to grace my life. The first thirteen years of ministry found my husband, Dan, and I working with teenagers as youth pastors in three different churches. Before our children were born, I was his right hand girl -- attending every youth event, teaching bible studies, directing the youth choir and loving every minute of ministry at his side. Teenagers flowed in and out of our house at all hours of the day and night, some coming for help and others for fun.

The youth to whom we ministered came primarily from homes that seemed to be healthy and whole. I quickly learned that outer trappings often masquerade inner ruin. A young man named Jack (names have been changed to protect the guilty) joined our youth group, having recently moved to the area because, as he put it, "My parents like to move a lot." That should have been my first clue.

In the beginning, Jack worked hard at making friends and seemed content to go with the flow - until the day he decided that the stream of life was flowing in the wrong direction and it was up to him to redirect its course. The mask came off and the façade quickly crumbled. Standing before me was the real deal -- a genuine, authentic sandpaper person of the coarsest degree. It started with little things -- a friendly shove, caustic comments masquerading as sarcasm, words of darkness and destruction a fast growing and constant stream. Other teenagers began coming to Dan or to me, sharing their concern and eventually disgust at Jack's antics. I talked to Jack. Dan talked to Jack. Together we prayed for Jack and urged the other youth to join us. Nothing seemed to change. As a last ditch effort, we drafted two of our most mature youth to take Jack under their wing and mentor him. Jack did not want to be mentored.

During one Monday night bible study, Dan asked one of those mentors to sing a solo. Jami was a redheaded freckled face girl whose sparkling blue eyes and contagious dimpled grin did not convey the constant pain she suffered as a victim of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Jami never complained, always sharing her faith in God and His goodness to her. Everyone loved her and the pure voice with which she sang but as she stood to sing, Jack began laughing, pointing and whispering to the people around him. Their lack of response fueled his fire, upping the ante for Jack to win this battle and capture center stage. With desperate questioning eyes, Jami looked at me, silently begging me to rescue her and the situation. I smiled the most encouraging smile I could muster, hoping it would be enough. It wasn't. I looked back at Jack, delivering my famous and usually feared "shape up or die" glare -- all to no avail. Dan asked, "Jack, are you ready to hear Jamie sing?" Well, that did it! Jack erupted into uproarious laughter, "Sing? Have you heard her sing? She sounds like a frog -- not to mention the fact that she walks funny!" Every ounce of oxygen was sucked out of the room. Everyone froze, except Jami, who fled in tears. From the faces of those youth sitting around Jack, I could tell that well-deserved revenge was close at hand as they began loading their emotional guns and sharpening their retaliation knives. Wanting first shot at this obviously hateful and mean-spirited young man, I jumped to my feet, grabbed Jack by his ear (no, I am not kidding) and pulled him out of the room and sure death.

Reaching the foyer, I released Jack, whirled him around to face me and with clenched teeth ground out my livid question, "Do you have any idea what you just did?" The laughter vanished, pain and harsh realization spread across his face. His response was nothing short of incredible. "Yes. I embarrassed Jami and hurt her feelings." I am not often speechless, but at that moment, words simply evaporated as I stared into the eyes of someone fully aware of the pain he had just inflicted on one of the few kids who truly accepted and was forever defending him. "I cannot believe you! Jami has always been kind to you, coming to your defense when you did not deserve to be defended, inviting you to join the group when the group did not want you anywhere around them. She has probably been the best friend you have ever had or will ever have. What is wrong with you?" Jack stood, silently accepting his rightful and, I thought, well-deserved punishment without a single word of defense.

From the corner of my eye, I saw someone approaching. I was really hoping they were bringing me some kind of rusty weapon. It was Jami, a tremulous smile breaking through the tears cascading down her face. Jack instinctively began backing away until he saw her eyes and the outstretched arms she offered him. In astonishment, I stood paralyzed, a witness to God's supernatural presence and the restoration power of forgiveness at work before my unbelieving eyes and my angry heart. Instantly, I became the student and Jami the teacher. Both Jack and I listened quietly as God spoke through this precious young woman, the words only she could speak. "Jack, I got to thinking about why you did what you just did, and I realized something. I love you and you know that, but you don't think you deserve that love so you tried to kill it by hurting me. It won't work. Do you know why?" Sitting at the feet of this young, wise beyond her years master teacher, I witnessed Jack's sandpaper world being rocked by a love he could not understand, a love that was not altered by anything he did or didn't do, a love that only God can give. In answer to Jami's question, Jack gave a quick headshake and whispered, "No. I don't know why." Jami smiled, wrapped her arms around the very one who, just moments before had viciously wounded her, and with fresh tears streaming down her face, choked out words I will never forget. "I love you with God's love, Jack. Not mine. And His love will never die. People tried to kill it on the cross, but even that didn't work. I just wanted to tell you that I love you -- no matter what you say or do. I am your friend -- period."

Staring into her eyes, I suspect Jack experienced, maybe for the first time, the timeless and stubborn love of God; a love that could be his to give, a love that would redefine his future. With a giggle, Jami playfully grabbed Jack's hand and, pulling him toward the place only love could take him, began happily chattering about how she needed him on the front row to encourage her while she sand. And he did!

That is not the end of the story. From that day forward, Jack was a different person. From time to time, he would fall back into old emotional habits but when he did, Jami or someone under her direction and influence would snatch him back to the new place that words of staggering kindness and God ordained wisdom had brought him. The youth who witnessed Jami's love for this unlovable one were changed and called up higher in their obedience to God, even when it didn't make sense and was completely undeserved. I learned the valuable lesson that hurt people hurt people. Instead of angry words, I need to make my first response one of unexplainable love and unmerited understanding.

Let's Pray

Father, please forgive me when I judge instead of love. Help me to see every person through Your eyes of love, grace and mercy. Please guard my tongue and my heart so that I will build up and not destroy others. I want to please You, Lord, by the way I love the unlovable.
In Jesus, name, Amen.

Now It's Your Turn

Right now, think of the most abrasive people in your life.
Are you ready to accept and love them without demanding that they change?
Find one good point about each person and voice it to others whenever you have the chance.
What can you do to demonstrate the unconditional love of God for these people?
Do you need to ask any of them for forgiveness? Are you willing to do that now?

Oh well, at least the rest of us appreciated it!

Last night, Katrina brought home a notice from the school. It said that her lunch account was negative. I though, "Hmm, that's funny, I sent a check to school with her a few weeks ago." Katrina is supposed to only have hot lunch once or twice a week, when Mom & Dad decide. So, the $15 I sent should have given her plenty of lunch money to last the rest of the school year. I put it on the back burner and decided to investigate today.

I checked our bank account online this morning, and, yes, the check to the school had been cashed on 5/7. I wondered why it hadn't been credited to her account. I called the school cafeteria, and spoke to the sweet woman who manages the cash register during lunch. She said that yes, she was showing that Katrina's account was negative. When I inquired as to the location of the cashed check, she said that it had been credited to her account. Then she said something very interesting. Katrina had had hot lunch EVERY DAY for the last TWO WEEKS!!!! She would bring home her packed lunch, uneaten, and tell us that she wasn't hungry, so she didn't eat her lunch. OF COURSE SHE WASN'T HUNGRY! SHE HAD ALREADY EATEN SCHOOL LUNCH!!! NO WONDER HER ACCOUNT WAS NEGATIVE!

So, not only did she disobey us in having hot lunch when we didn't allow it, she lied to us by not telling us she had gotten hot lunch. What would you do? The obvious consequence, not having hot lunch anymore, is kind of a mute point since the last day of school is Thursday. I have pondered having her pay me back her allowance money until she repays what she charged... not sure if she would really grasp that concept. Jerome & I have been racking our brains, trying to come up with something creative and relevant - not just an arbitrary punishment, but an actual consequence for her actions.

And, to top it all off, tonight is her kindergarten graduation. She is positively giddy about tonight. Her grandparents and Auntie Celine are all going to be there. We've already decided that we aren't going to "discuss" it before the program. But, Katrina may already know she's in trouble because the lunch lady told me she wouldn't let Katrina have hot lunch today if she tried, per mom's orders.

Like I said before, this should be interesting... I'll let you know how it goes.