January 2012
1 post
November 2011
1 post
: True Love Lasts →
jlgerhardt:
A few weeks ago my husband sent me this link—it’s to the story of Norma and Gordon Yeager, the couple (aged 90 and 94) who died holding hands. He also linked this song from The Civil Wars, C’est la mort. He wrote: “I want to die with you.”
I, of course, cried. I want to die with him,…
If you are married…or you want to be someday…PLEASE read this!!
October 2011
2 posts
: The Tragedy of Being Too Cool →
jlgerhardt:
So, this Friday I skipped down to San Antonio with my new totally delightful friend Karen to check out the Women of Faith conference, a conference just about every woman on earth has attended at some point in the last twenty years.
It’s weird that I go to so many conferences because I am not…
From my friend, Jennifer Gerhardt! She is too cool…but in a totally great...
The Hard Road
I am currently in the middle of what is proving to be one of the hardest times of my life. When I realized God was calling me to law school, I ran away from Him…because I knew it would be too hard. At the time I felt that I would never be able to get in, to get through, to even merely survive. And in many ways, this journey is proving to be as hard as I thought.
I am studying about 80...
September 2011
3 posts
Mad to Love: Forever is For Ever →
corycopeland:
As some of you may know, I am divorced. I was married extremely young and foolish, and though the pain and regret of a failed marriage is something you learn to adapt to, I can look back and see that I was blessed to be given many things despite the demise of my union. Naturally, my daughter…
Forever
Parting
Quote from my almost 2 yr. old:
“Ooooh! Somebody parted!!!!”
(which in Keenan language is “farted”)!!!
Where was God?
In conjunction with the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11th, Frontline is airing a special that asks where God was on the day that a total of over 3,400 people died in America at the hands of terrorists.
Did you know that on a typical work day, there were 50,000 workers combined in both towers of the World Trade Center? Did you know that every hour, approximately 10,000 visitors came to the twin...
August 2011
2 posts
What modesty means to me...
Jennifer Gerhardt, a dear friend of mine, is currently working on a project she calls Radical Modesty. It is really phenomenal…and I highly encourage you to watch this video if you get a chance!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPODYc2PrWk&feature=channel_video_title
Also, I just recently finished two years of being a dorm mom at Faulkner University and I have spent quite a bit of time...
The Presence of God
When I was younger, I viewed God as this stern authority figure…sitting on His throne…waiting to scold me when I failed. I didn’t see His eternal presence in my life as comforting. As I study Him and my mind and eyes are open to His truth, I’ve learned that He isn’t there to police me. He does occasionally allow me to be disciplined…but He isn’t the one...
July 2011
3 posts
Embarrassing!
I’ve debated sharing this…but since it happened more than a month ago, here goes nothing. Mainly because those who know me well will get the biggest kick out of it!
In about the 6th inning of our first World Series game, a man approached me, told me that he was a reporter for the Lewiston Tribune and asked if he could write a story about me. I was confused, but in typical fashion I...
Andre
For those of you who know us, you probably know some of Andre’s story. He was abandoned in Guatemala at 22 months, severly malnourished and close to death. He was only saved, I believe, by the precious love of his foster mother, who cared for him until we brought him home 16 months later. He was two months past his third birthday.
He couldn’t talk. Had just learned to walk. He...
June 2011
4 posts
I'm Ice Cream
Patrick, the boys and I have been slowly moving into a new house from the on-campus apartment where we’ve been since we moved to Faulkner. It’s an understatement to say we are excited about the new house. We can’t believe that we get to live in such a great place.
At Faulkner, all dorm parents have to stay year-round, so I have to be in the dorm until June 30th, my last day....
Spaced Out
Each year, right around the beginning of January, my husband spaces out. You know how when you talk to somebody…and you know they aren’t listening? Like maybe they’re day dreaming? Well, during baseball season he is about 10 times worse than the average husband. I get frustrated with it occasionally, but I’ve also learned to deal with it in most aspects.
One really really...
The World Series & God
This year, the Faulkner Baseball team did something that no other Faulkner Baseball team has ever done. They won the first round of the National Championships and earned an appearance, with only 9 other teams in the nation, in the NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho. My husband is the first ever coach in Faulkner history to lead a team there…and this was only his 7th season as a head...
Too Cool For School
I’m learning that when your kids start doing something that is TOTALLY dorky, it is sometimes best to just sit back and let it be. Sometimes, I wonder if maybe something completely uncool has come back in style. And others, I know it is a horrible fashion faux pas and, yet, I feel the need to go with it.
Recently, when Miller’s hair was getting super longer, he would brush it...
May 2011
3 posts
An Open Letter
To All Former Players of Coach Patrick McCarthy:
As I watched the 2011 Faulkner Baseball Team dogpile on the mound, as I watched them crack open the bottles of sparkling grape juice, as I watched them chant and cheer and hug, I felt you all with us. I had this overwhelming sense that we were standing on the shoulders of giants. We were celebrating not just the accomplishments of this group of...
An Open Letter
To All Former Players of Coach Patrick McCarthy:
As I watched the 2011 Faulkner Baseball Team dogpile on the mound, as I watched them crack open the bottles of sparkling grape juice, as I watched them chant and cheer and hug, I felt you all with us. I had this overwhelming sense that we were standing on the shoulders of giants. We were celebrating not just the accomplishments of this group of...
April 2011
5 posts
Fleeting
These past few months, I have been continually reminded of how fleeting our time is here on Earth. And it has been a reminder to both cherish my time but has also brought up a continual worry of one of my worst fears.
I think that for many of us, our parents are an anchor. I hardly remember a time that my momma wasn’t my very best friend, in addition to being the nurturer that most moms...
The BEST part of Coaching
I love being married to a coach. There are a few hard aspects of it, but I feel pretty honored that, at least for now, God has called us to this life.
There are some pretty cool things about it, but you know what the very very best part of it is? It’s our guys.
It is meeting these young, athletic, rough-around-the-edges, sometimes cocky/sometimes insecure, good looking boys and growing to...
“I think one of the saddest realizations of adulthood is that bullies exist at...”
– Kristi Montague
Birthmothers
Think with me for a moment. Really, really think. If the situation was dire enough, could you ever consider allowing someone else to raise your children? Would you ever think about letting someone adopt your child?
About 90% of the time, when discussing birthmothers with others, I hear the comment, “Oh, I could never do that!”
That comment, no offense to anyone, irritates me.
...
Defensive
I hate when I get defensive. Don’t you?!?! I don’t like feeling like I have to defend my choices or my life or anything. Because sometimes, being defensive means that maybe you’ve made the wrong choices.
I got defensive today.
Katie and I were walking up from the beach past the little wash-off stations. Keenan was in between us…holding one or the other of our hands...
March 2011
2 posts
Just What I Needed
In the middle of the mad rush of morning, getting three kids & myself ready and off for the day, my phone rang. I was so tempted to not even peek…and just call back later. But I looked…and I answered.
It was my Daddy, just calling to chat. He was hearing a case in another county and decided to check in on his way there.
I didn’t have time, but hearing my Daddy’s voice...
January 2011
1 post
Awkward Moment in the ASM
Mom and I took the boys to the Adventure Science Museum in Nashville today. It was totally awesome…I’m sure I had as much fun as my boys did. But things got a little awkward when Miller had his picture taken to see what he will look like as he ages. I saw what he’ll look like at around 30, 50 & 70. If he does look like that, he’ll be beautiful his whole life. But the...
December 2010
4 posts
Grandmother's Quilts
My spunky, mostly sweet Grandmother passed away on October 24th. One of the many things I loved about G’ma was her amazing handmade quilts. She easily made hundreds of them, each & every single stitch done by her hand.
I realized the other day that since she passed away, Keenan has slept with or on one of her quilts every single night. Complete serendipity! It made me so happy to...
FYI
In case you didn’t know, I feel the need to tell you: I didn’t adopt Keenan because he is black. Do I love his skin? Heck yes! Do I think he is beautiful? Without a doubt. The same goes for Miller and Andre. I love that we have a multi-cultural family, but they aren’t mine because of their race or nationality.
I adopted Miller and Andre and Keenan because long ago and far...
The Reason for the Season
My best friend, Sammie Jo, worships at First Baptist in Henderson. She shared a recent sermon that her pastor gave. And it is too good for me to not share. Forgive me if I get some of the specifics wrong…the gist is still the same!
Evidently, he started by talking about how at every Christmas gathering, there is typically some black sheep or dysfunctional family member. I am pretty sure...
14 Months
My sweet baby just turned 14 months old! Just like any other mommy, I could almost squeal at how precious he is! I wanted to share a few words he’s been saying!
Words/Phrases he says clearly: Daddy, Mommy, Uh Oh, Papaw, No, Kee, Hey, Bye, Ball, Yay!, Bible, Where’s Daddy?,
Words he says that I can interpret:
Melmo! = Elmo
Chain-Choo = Thank you
Nah Nah = Night Night
Was Dat...
November 2010
12 posts
A Word on Marriage
I can almost guarantee:
There will be days where you feel like you can’t do this…like maybe you made a mistake. There will be days where you think maybe you shouldn’t have made a lifetime commitment…like maybe it is going to end.
There will be times that you feel rejection more deeply than ever before…because you’ve opened yourself, but your husband doesn’t react the way you expect or want or...
Doing the Thing I Cannot Do
Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.”
If everything in the next 9 months goes as planned, in August of next year, I will start law school. As the mom of three young children, a husband with a very consuming career and a...
I'm just not cut out for it.
I have long heard that being a mom is the most stressful, hardest job in the entire world. I had a hard job once…working with kids who were victims of child abuse…but I admit that being a mommy is harder. And I’ve recently decided that I’m just not cut out for it.
I’m not saying I’m going to get rid of my kids. I’ll always be a full-time mom whose...
A Letter for My 18 year old Nieces
Dear Aireal & Samantha –
During LIfeGroup this week, we were studying about God’s love for us and how we can be free of shame and insecurity because of all He has lavished upon us. I was thinking about how much I want you both to embrace that…how much I desperately want you both to feel God’s love and be free of fear.
I have told you time and again that I don’t think most people understand...
From Jennifer Gerhardt: Happily Married Doesn't... →
jlgerhardt:
I am happily married. I love my husband ridiculously. Given the choice, I cannot imagine a single person with whom I’d rather do anything. We date every week. I doodle his name in hearts on our family calendar. For goodness sake, we have a love book—a journal for writing love letters back and…
ButterFLY
Almost eleven weeks ago, I started on a journey. I was very excited, slightly nervous, super ready. I began my first ever elective, “curriculum” Bible study.
It is called “A Woman’s Heart: God’s Dwelling Place” by Beth Moore. And it required about 45 minutes of personal study five days a week. A group of about 20 women met for two hours every Tuesday night to...
The Case for Christ - Documentary
My hubby and I just finished watching a documentary on Lee Strobel’s book, The Case for Christ. This book is on my “To Read” list…and this documentary has me even more intrigued.
If you haven’t ever heard of Lee Strobel or his book, he was a journalist and an atheist who began investigating the Gospels in an attempt to disprove the existence of God or Christ. His...
The good, The bad, The ugly
Today, I’m going to be getting out and about for the first time since surgery. I was a bit unrealistic about the healing time involved. Fortunately, my husband wasn’t & he was completely prepared to take care of my every need.
The greatest thing about surgery is that it took me about four hours to realize that I am 100% pain free in my neck. After all these years of living with...
For Girls Only
DISCLAIMER: Guys, don’t read this one. Even if you’re curious, you’ll wish you hadn’t, so save yourself the heartache. Thanks.
Well, tomorrow is the big day. After 33 years of carrying them around (actually more like 18, since they showed up around age 15), I will officially belong to the small-chested girls club! Tomorrow at noon, I’m having my breasts reduced to a...
Why Campaign Clutter Irks Me (via jlgerhardt) →
jlgerhardt:
Our church serves the community on election day as an official polling station. Which is great, a natural opportunity to reach out to the people around our building.
Still, it irked me today to drive by and see all those campaign posters like flamingos preening on the lawn.
For months we’ve…
I just miss her...that's all.
I was six when my Grandmother and Pop moved to Henderson. I don’t really remember a time when we didn’t live together. I’m sure that I’ll never be able to measure all the blessings I have because of them. And I never really fully appreciated them until I was older.
Amidst all the grieving of the past week, there is much for which to be grateful. She was sharp until the...
October 2010
8 posts
SCREAMING!!!
My sweet baby boy is so feisty. And he is VERY vocal when he’s unhappy. Combine those qualities with the fact that he hates his car seat & that pretty much equals an explosion!
Right now, we’re on the interstate, both windows rolled down, pop music pumping, with our iPods in and his Baby Einstein turned all the way up. You’d think this would either be enough to distract him...
Infertility
I have a secret to share. Most days (like 29 out of 30), I am not at all bummed out about not having biological children. Most days, I know what it means to be a mommy…and it has nothing to do with genetics. Most days, I’m even grateful to have been chosen for this.
But when I read about Elizabeth in Luke 1:7, I feel slightly stabbed. Her pain from infertility is mine times a...
Devil
A few weeks ago, Patrick and I went to see the new movie Devil. I really really loved it. I’ve discovered lately that I’m pretty much a fan of anything that acknowledges God, especially if it is something thought-provoking and discussion worthy. I will admit, however, that it scared the crap out of me. I came home that night and literally got on my knees next to Keenan’s crib...
“You will never be more successful than your five closest friends.”
– Not sure of where this quote originated, but the speaker in chapel today was talking about how greatly we are influenced by those around us. Yesterday, I spent the day praying about this exactly. And today, when I first heard this quote, I whispered to Patrick that if we will not be more...
Ginger Ale Shower →
Instead of the traditional champagne shower, the Texas Rangers celebrated last night’s win with ginger ale. While I see nothing wrong with responsible drinking if you stay sober, I am all about respect…especially such an awesome display of it! I’ve found the team I’ll be cheering for this month!
Within Me
I can hardly contain my excitement or racing thoughts…so much I wanted to immediately blog about my epiphany just now.
For unknown reasons, I am just recently opening myself to God’s Holy Spirit. Through my study of scripture today, I have seen that the Spirit is most likely a blessing almost equal to Christ.
God wanted to live with me, in me. He wants to be with me forever. He...