Built FORD Tough

I am so proud of Jeff. He was ordained as a deacon last night at our church. It would not have been such an honor if it would have been asked of him at any other church, but because we love the people of our church so much it is really a blessing for him to be nominated. It is also special because our church (Oak Hill Baptist) regards deacons in the most biblical sense of the term. The deacons at our church do not vote on church policy or make decisions for the body, but rather serve the families! We are now assigned the W, X, Y and Z families and it is our charge to care for their prayer concerns and be there for them when things happen in their lives (ie: births, deaths, sickness…). We love the people of our church and count it an honor that they would trust us to care for them!

This post is pretty personal to me in that I am about to reveal something very private about me to the whole world via the internet…ok, to the 4 of you who read this anyways.

I have recently found a most delicious snack. It is the "Fiber One" granola bars. Let me tell you a bit about this new favorite snack of mine. They are super healthy! One bar contains about 120 calories with only 4 fat grams and a WHOPPING 9 grams of fiber per bar!!! For all my weight watcher friends out there (yes, i need it…i eat everything, remember? refer to my post about swell friends…) you know that this combination adds up to only 2 points! Not bad for a filling snack. Not to mention the fact that they keep you quite regular, if you know what I mean. This is an added attribute that I am becoming increasingly fond of in my older years. There are two flavor options: choclate (my personal fave) and peanut butter (also filling). They even look pretty with the choclate drizzle on top!

So how did I come across this great find, you ask? Well, a couple of weeks ago Jeff, myself, Jason (jeffs brother) and Ronni and Andy (in-laws) loaded up ALL 5 of us into the car and headed to Jena, L.A. for Jeffs grandmothers funeral. You may have heard of Jena recently in the news…most known as of late for the racial protesting and riots breaking out in the town of 2,500 people. It was a long trip there, people! Add to the fact that i am cursed with having the "smallest butt in the Ford family" (which i swear is not true…) and was made to sit on the hump in the back because of it. Its not that bad until your going on 10 hours in the car sitting with a hump between your cheeks. OUCH!

Ok, so like i said, its a long trip. And i’m a hungry girl! Well, lucky for me my Mother-in-law is a very healthy eater and she offered me a snack. Little did I know that my mother-in-law is indeed the devil who was setting me up for the most awkward trip of my life (just kidding, ronni!). Here is one little known fact about my delicious snack that I was not aware of. These little goodies taste so good and sweet yet are healthy because they have artificial sweetners in them. LOTS of artificial sweetners. And guess what artificial sweetners do to an intestinal system…they give you GAS!!!

Oh yeah, it was a long ride indeed. The pressure didnt start building until about 4 hours into the ride which unfortunately left me with SIX more to go!!! And dont forget…i’m on the hump so there is no way to be sneaky about shifting to one side or the other or trying to be super quiet about it. The worst thing is this: the seats were leather! NO absorption! Now the good news is, there was no smell. Although, i’ve always heard that everyone likes their own "flavor" so maybe i just didnt recognize it? Nah, we all know that Jeff would never let something like that pass (pun intended) w/o trying to completly embarass me. TRUE! But the bubbles in my tummy were so loud that my family probably thought I was having real stomach trouble. I have never heard such loud noises come from a tummy!

The thing is, i really didnt realize that was what had caused my problem. I really only figured it out recently when i put it all together. See, i bought a couple of boxes of them because i liked them so much and decided they would make a perfect mid morning snack. May i just say to my patients that I am SO sorry.

No one posted a warning lable on them before i ate them and became as it stands now, addicted. So my recommendation/warning is this: EAT AT YOUR OWN RISK!!! Or as in my case, save them for the weekend and the affects for your own home! haha! Sorry Jeff!

Ok, so its obvious that i dont have kids yet since i think that a dog is almost as cute as a newborn. Well, not really, but they are both sweet! I went to Katie and Chris’s (and now Bella’s) home yesterday to take dinner. Now dont worry…i didnt cook for them so there should not be any weeping or gnashing of teeth to follow the meal…good ol hometown bbq in Larryville provided the meal. Mmmmm…a taste of home. I get so off track when i talk about food! Anyways, their home is so cute, their dog is even cuter and their baby takes the cake.

Little Bella has so much personality! She is barely a week old and smiles already!!! I love it! She stretches often and then lets her arms fall whereever they may and goes back to sleep. Sometimes this means her hand is on her face or down your shirt (go bella!…she knows where the goods are..well, not on me, but on mommy) or even over her head. She is just so comfortable and peaceful and doesnt have a worry in the world!

It was also really cool to see Katie and Chris in mommy and daddy mode. They have always been so loving towards each other (puke…jk katie!) and now they have this little one to dote on and adore as much as they adore each other! They are fantastic already. Oh, and while i was there, i got to experience litte Bella toot on me which then (after dad got home and was holding her) became a little more productive than a toot…go Bella for knowing who to save it for! Thats my kind of girl!

And Bandit is precious. He really misses his Mom and Dad’s attention which makes me think i should bring him home for a while and let him play w/ spud..they would love each other. Yep, i have a soft spot for doggies.

Congrats Katie and Chris…we love yall and are so excited for you!

So it occurs to me that a follow up blog is probably necessary to clear up any confusion about my last blog. I’m a girl…i get mad sometimes and occasionally i use this blog to vent. So take what I write with a grain of salt, people! My first gut instinct is ususally pretty emotional to some situations. But what a difference a day makes in how you view things! Now what makes me mad (more furious than anything!) is that boys (namely my hubby…) views my overreaction as me being crazy. I would like to clarify this… TEARS DO NOT MAKE MY ARGUMENT INVALID!!! Why do men see it that way? My hormones do not make me crazy! They make me passionate which i like to see as something that God saw fit to entrust to women because he would also provide the ability to control [the hormones] as well. And sometimes we "control" ourselves by letting a few tears fall as opposed to slamming our fist through a wall. Whats the problem with that?

Anyways, back to the follow up blog. God is at work in every area of my life…always. I trust that! What my blog made me realize is that when we say "Here am I, send me" Gods answer may not be to send us to some distant country to minister to an unkown culture (which would be pretty cool, scary, but cool). Sometimes He says, "good, then go minister to this person" and that person could be someone you dont really want to spend time with. I have found in my life that this seems to be the case on a regular basis. So i can choose to be used by God in the small ways, not knowing what kind of impact it may have on someones life, or i can choose to sit on my thumbs because i’m too uncomfortable. OH ME! I’m convicted of this more and more each day…God wants me to be faithful NO MATTER THE COST!!!

I’ve thought so many times before that I really would be willing to give my life for God if it would bring glory to His name. BUt why is it that we see death as the only way of giving our life for Him? I think He is pleased with using us while we are alive instead of our death being the only thing that brings Him glory!The big things are pretty easy for me. Ask me to move, ok. Ask me to go teach orphans, ok. Ask me to work with someone who is difficult…now back up God…do you know what your asking for! haha! I think he knows EXACTLY what he’s asking for. He’s asking me and all of us to get outside our comfort zone and to put HIM above our own desires, likes and dislikes. So yes, i am convicted and unbelievably blessed to know that God would give me the opprotunity to do anything for Him. See, he could say "Geez, Kelly never takes any of the opprotunities i give her, so i’m just gonna focus on other people and let her be content being stagnant". But PRAISE GOD! HE doesnt do that! He pushes me in the areas that he knows i need the most work. Thank you, Lord, for wanting to use me. For taking the time to work with me when i am really the difficult one here. It should be YOU who dreads working with me, yet you do it because you love me and i am SO humbled by that.

Why? Why do people say that they trust you with a certian task and then go behind you and check up on you? Why do they blatently disregard your wishes just because you didnt scream the request at them? Why do people say one thing to your face and another to someone else? Are they that caught up with pleasing everyone that they cant just be honest? WHEN DO PEOPLE GROW UP????? Seriously?

So i’m obviously frustrated right now. I love the Lord with all my heart and want to do whatever it is that He asks of me, but sometimes i need a little time to get used to the idea. I dont mind being submissive to my husband, my pastor or my Lord…i just need to get things all worked out in my head before i can play along sometimes. Am i the only one? For example (my current situation as it may be): I have had certain unpleasant experiences with some people in the past that make it difficult for me to want to serve in the same ministry with them again. We tend to clash personality wise a bit. So why would my pastor who i have served under faithfully for NINE years put me in that position again w/o so much as a warning or heads up? As i write this i hear myself and think "wow, what a cry-baby". And maybe thats so. But i need time to work through my first response and know that the Lord is at work here. As for now, i’m content with being discontent and angry. Men dont understand that, i’m hoping a few of my girlfriends will. I’m mad. So there.

Katie and Chris are about to welcome Bella Reese into the world! HOW EXCITING!!! Check out the progress at http://www.greenfamily.blogsome.com

I personally am so excited for them. Bella is their first child and it has been fun for Jeff and I to be able to follow the progress of their story. Maybe its convincing us a little that we, too may one day want to be parents…now that is a scary thought! Cant wait to meet the new princess green!!!

One year ago today I lost my Daddy. Thats how the world views it, anyways. But I choose to see things a little differently. One year ago today my Daddy got to meet his Creator face to face. I’m gonna try and celebrate that. I may celebrate it with tears, but do not mistake them for tears of sadness. Sadness is temporary just as is this life. His joy was made complete one year ago today.

Most of you know that my grandparents raised me. I was blessed with not just 2 parents but 3! Who gets that in life? So i am truly blessed. I was going down memory lane today and thinking of how much joy my Daddy brought to my life and i would like to share a couple of pics with you. Yes, they are pics of pics…they’re from the 80’s people! There werent digital cameras then and i have not made friends w/ the scanner yet.

How Handsome!

My Daddy and Me in 1983

So i’ll admit that i’m a bit wierd about feet. The thing is, i really LOVE babies feet but i am always amazed at how something that starts off so cute ends up so icky sometimes. Now dont get me wrong, feet that are well taken care of are nice, but when people let them get scaly and covered in dead skin with long toenails…well, that just make me wanna puke a little.

So imagine my HORROR  when i went with a couple of friends to get a pedicure a while back and found that my left big toenail was almost black!!!! GROSS! Immediatley my mind went to wondering how i got it and was it a fungus and if so what nasty pedicure place did i contract this disgusting fungus from? I am super picky about what shops i will and will not visit. I want to know that the instruments are sterilized (not just baked under the burger warming lamp for 10 minutes at the end of the day) but actually sterilized between EACH use, so the idea that I could have a fungus seemed perposterous but also seemed to be reality for the moment.

Then i remembered something. Well, 2 somethings really. 1st of all, Jeff and I had chaperoned the youth to 6 flags about a month earlier where i found myself to be in great pain by the end of the day because apparently my feet are growing or my shoes are shrinking because my left big toe was squished all day! And for the whole next week or so I could not put on closed toed shoes. And let me say that I do not let my toenails grow long so that was NOT the problem. On top of that, about a week after the 6 flags trip my friend Randy dropped a heavy peice of metal on the very same toe. OUCH! So apparently, my toe bruised under the nail and now my nail looks disgusting. And of course I had to discover this while with 2 girlfriends…i NEVER go get pedicures w/ anyone!

I had picked out this really pretty, light pink, sparkly polish that would look so cute just to have to pick a really dark red to cover my monstrosity! On a good note, Jeff says its happened to him before and that it will heal…right after i LOSE my nail! OH MY GOSH! Look away, i’m hideous.

Moral of the story…put your feet on a diet or invest in some good shoes to avoid pain and humiliation. I hope we’ve all learned something from my sad story. And i would post pics, but i’m afraid that i would lose friends by the masses. And dont even think of making fun of me for this…or he will get you!