In Like A Lion...

March has officially arrived sneaking in on February's coattails! And I still haven't disciplined myself enough to write consistently. But onward we go...

The 90th birthday party for grandmother was a huge success! My mom worked her li'l booty off and I think she'd agree that it was worth it. Here's a picture of all the family together on party day:



And here's grandmother with her cake:



And another of the food table:



Everything was delicious and most of it was homemade. And since I did a lot of the decorating, I told mom we should definitely start our own event planning business and offer catering. I think we'd make a good team but neither of us has the cash flow to start it. Needless to say, a good time was had by all and it was great to see all the family.

February seemed to fly by but that was prob'ly because I was sidelined by a hideous head cold for about 2 weeks. Now all of a sudden, it's March. We celebrated the groundbreaking of the school I work for on the 19th of last month and I am super excited that it will be 1 of 2 iSchools in the country. We will be turning people away for sure now and I'm glad to be a part of such an innovative organization (and a place where I will ALWAYS meet my daily quota of hugs-love 'em!).

This past weekend was quite busy for Z & I. After a bit of an itinerary mishap with my mom flying back to NC (dad and brothers drove back last Monday), she stayed with us from Saturday afternoon until this morning. So after a laundry-filled Friday night, we had a low-key youth fundraiser Saturday morning and then headed to get mom from grandma's. After rescheduling flights at the airport, we headed to AT&T to fix Z's phone bill and then on to Sonic for a Low-cal Cherry Limeade (more on that later) and Target where we discovered some great finds! We all laughed a lot and enjoyed just being together.

Yesterday was 2 church services (I sang a solo in the AM & the youth did the PM w/Z preaching), a meet & greet w/the church staff, & a parent meeting for youth members. All went fine but after doing all that plus cleaning up the house in the afternoon, I didn't even make it all the way through Julie & Julia that we rented (such a great movie-very inspiring for a cook). So we hit the sheets around 11.

It's the last week of school before spring break and I CANNOT WAIT! Z & I have some special plans and I am planning to catch up on rest and do some projects around the house. It will be an entire glorious week of getting to do what I want to do. :)

Ok, that's all for now. A new update is coming very soon...and hopefully even more after that but I make no promises.

Blessings,
Bethany

That Good Old Baylor Line

"We'll march forever down the years,
As long as stars shall shine.
We'll fling our green and gold afar
To light the ways of time,
And guide us as we onward go;
That good old Baylor line!"

This is what I hear every time my mother answers her cell phone when I call her. 'Why' you ask? Because a couple of weeks ago, I helped her download downloaded her alma mater from Baylor University (in Wacko, Texas-as she says) as a ringtone to her phone. Oh how my mama loves her school. Can I tell you how many times she did their whole 'Sic 'em Bears' football bear claw during my childhood? So now, whenever she receives a call-from me anyway, she sings along with the ringtone and continues to sing even after she answers the call. It really is quite amusing. The extent of her joy at hearing that song every day really cannot be expressed in my feeble words on this blog. In fact, the day she got it, she called me and left the voicemail:

Hey, it's your mother. Just checking on you. Call me back when you get this-I want to hear my ringtone. I left my phone on all day just so I could hear it and nobody's called me all day long. So call me back. (Said in her best 'woe is me' voice.)

My little mama's a funny woman. We get at least one good chuckle during every chat and usually have pretty good conversations. She is so excited about the holidays I don't think she can contain herself. Minus having to work this week and panicking at having 8 of us in their 3 bedroom house, she LOVES this time of year. Take this conversation we had Saturday for example:

Me: What are you doing?
Mom: I'm at the Wal-Mart buying Thanksgiving decorations.
Me: You never decorate for Thanksgiving! What's up with that?
Mom: I've never had so many people coming for Thanksgiving!

And this conversation earlier in the day is a prime example of her secretly trying to contain her glee while going into "freak out" mode:

Me: When is JP (my little bro) coming?
Mom: He and Sydnee (his gf) are coming in either Tuesday night or Wednesday morning and leaving Thursday night. And your father and I are going to a hotel.
Me: What!?!?! Why?
Mom: Well, there's you & Zeb, Jonathan & Sydnee, Brian & Ali, me & your father. Where are we all going to sleep???

She's so funny sometimes. I love it! I can't wait to see that little woman and give her a big hug. And Dad too. He's looking for good leaf rakers this week. I told him I was bringing a good helper-Z. :) But truth be told, I'll find any excuse to hang out with the fam and just be around them. I'm so looking forward to it myself! I don't know who is more excited, me or my mama.

FYI: I LOVE PUMPKINS!

What am I not looking forward to? The 15 hour car ride. Granted, being with Z is always fun and he keeps me laughing but 15 hours in any car does not bode pleasant thoughts for me. It will be nice since we don't usually get to spend so much time together. And we have snacks and drinks and books and quizzes and music and blankets and magazines packed to keep us occupied so hopefully we'll be ok. Thank goodness he's so laid back and peaceful. He really is my balance. So even though it's a forever long drive, I am sure we'll have a good time together.

The thing I'm anticipating most about this holiday? No, it's not the actual Thanksgiving dinner food (although it probably should be as my mama is the best cook known to humankind). It's the time during and just after we eat where we all sit and talk and LAUGH. Those are my favorite memories of my family-our laughter. We are blessed enough that both of my brothers possess this insane ability to make anything funny. Whether it's front or cover, I'm not sure. But it is SO FUN! We typically laugh until Mom has to go 'check on the baby' (as they used to say) and my sides and cheeks hurt from laughing so much. It's by far the best part of ANY time that my whole family gets together. And this year will be fun with all 8 of us being there.

Can you tell I'm excited???

I have some other posts started that will have to wait. Z & I are leaving as soon as I get off work today and will be on the road through the night and into the morrow. (Sheesh, who ever thought I would use the word 'morrow' in my writing???) Say a prayer for us if you don't mind. And I'll be back with lots of great Turkey Day updates. My prayers are that each of us has a blessed holiday filled with thankfulness and gratitude to our great God who is the Giver of all that is good.

Happy Thanksgiving Y'all!

Blessings,
B
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17

I Live For Weekends!

My older brother had a shirt with a cartoon duck saying that on it when he was in junior high. Oh yes, here's a picture to prove it:


That, ladies and gentleman, is the face of a champion. :) The caption he has under this pic on his Facebook account? And I quote, "That look on my face is "Mom's gonna kill me when she realizes I wore my 'I live for weekends' t-shirt on picture day"".

Is it sad that for me, that statement is true? I really do live for weekends. Friday nights spent traveling to see loved ones or being lazy or hanging out with friends; Saturdays spent with those loved ones or being lazy or cleaning or writing or reading; Sundays spent at church with afternoon naps and random meals. That is what I live for.

Don't get me wrong, I don't hate my weekdays. They just aren't my favorites. Especially Mondays. But it's funny to me how some very significant things can take place on weekdays and really, our weekdays determine our weekends, they set the tone. If we get a lot done during the week, we may get the occasional lazy weekend. If we are lazy during the week, we work on our days off. And sometimes, it's both-a busy week AND a busy weekend. Unfortunately, my life consists of mostly the last option.

But here's the question I ask myself at least once, every day:

Is what I'm doing making a difference???

Now I realize we all have obligations. I'm single so I am solely responsible for the upkeep of my home and taking care of tasks every day. Me having a lazy day means that I'll be the only one making up for it later. But I'm starting to learn the ebb and flow of that. However, the times when this question is really prominent are when I'm running around, acting like a mad woman trying to get anything accomplished. It's in those moments when my inner voice, the Holy Spirit, seems to flash that question across my mind.

And it's in those moments that I completely understand what is meant in Ecclesiastes 1:2-3: "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless." What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun?

Those words really hit home when you feel that's what your whole life's work is sometimes. They stir up feelings of anger, sadness, regret, contempt, even jealousy (towards others who seem more fulfilled). Yes, I know I make a difference for a lot of people in my church and in my life. But I think you, my faithful Blab readers, understand what I mean. I want to 'know in my knower' and 'feel in my feeler' that I'm making a difference. I want to see the fruits of my labor. It's my desire to leave my mark on the world. A mark that only I, Bethany Ann Pearce, can leave.

I believe that one day, at the end of all of our journeys, we'll stand before our Creator, the Author & Finisher of our faith, and He'll ask us what marks we made on the world. I don't think He'll ask us the number of marks but about the quality of the marks we were able to make. Did we truly give Him glory through the marks we were able to make in the places we were able to make them? He won't compare our marks to anyone else's but He will compare the marks we made to our potential. And I want to be able to stand and confidently say, "Lord, I made the best marks I could."

So let me ask you this: Are you leaving your you-shaped mark???

A Tribute

Hold On To Jesus - Originally recorded by Erin O'Donnell

You're a little piece of heaven.
You're a golden ray of light
and I wish I could protect you
from the worries of this life.
But if there's one thing I could tell you,
it's no matter what you do,
hold on to Jesus, He's holding onto you.

The world will try to tell you
that might is more than right,
and beauty's on the outside,
and being good's a losing fight.
But remember what I've told you
'cause the world will make you choose-
hold on to Jesus, He's holding onto you.

Hold on to Jesus and cling to His love.
Rest deep in his mercy whenever things get rough.
And don't recite of his goodness
and don't ever doubt this truth,
that when you hold onto Jesus He's holdin onto you.

Hear me dear Jesus,
rock this little one to sleep.
Keep her close when she's scared
and give her grace when she is weak.
I know she'll stumble but i know she'll make it through
if you hold on to her just like you said you'd do.
Hold her Jesus so she'll hold on tight to you.
------------------------------------------------------------------

This song just played on my AOL Radio at work and I wanted to include the lyrics because of what they mean to me. When I left home in August 2001 to start college at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC (about an hour from my home at the time), I remember my mom and I riding in my loaded-down little '97 Saturn (which I still drive) with my dad following behind us in a loaded-down mini-van and her breaking out this cd. She played this song and bawled while I got teary-eyed but refused to break down and just cry.

Looking back on this memory, it was a life-changing event for me. Never again would I return "home" as it was those first 18 years. Never again would I see my mother in the same light I did as a child. Never again would life be as simple as it was. But as that memory flooded back to me while the song played here in my office, I realize that my mother is perhaps the best woman on the face of the earth. She knew that when it all came down to it, her relationship with me could only go so far but the relationship I have with Jesus would carry me so much further. Don't get me wrong, my mother has ALWAYS been there for me. Through broken relationships, financial crises, physical ailments, my mom has been the only constant in my life. My dad has been there too of course and his support means more than he'll ever know but there's an emotional bond that mothers and daughters share as women that is unique.

To me, my mother stands as a strong testimony to the faithfulness of God. In her life, she hasn't always been dealt the best hand and even now she struggles with what she is called to do for the Lord but she doesn't quit. She keeps persevering the best she can, sacrificing whatever it takes to do what she feels is right at the moment. For the past 4 years at least, she has been working 12-18 hours 5 days a week just to support my younger brother and I as we attended college. She and my father continue to pay my car insurance, cell phone bill and student loan payments every month and even send extra money (or at least extend the offer) whenever we need it. While my older brother was not afforded these "luxuries", I'm sure they would have done the same if he needed them to. Some might call me "spoiled" and I would agree to an extent but my parents have always been supportive and encouraging even if they were puzzled by our actions. I've never heard either of my parents tell me I can't do something I feel called to do. I've never questioned their love and I've always felt their prayers. When no one else would stand in the gap for me, I knew both of them already were. They are the epitome of God's love to me and I know that my relationship with them is just an extension of that same relationship with Him.

The relationship between me and my parents hasn't always been this way. I possess my mother's opinionated, stubborn streak and my father's perfectionism. These qualities caused great strife in my household during those early teen years. As every teenager does, I went through a "rebellious" stage from 14-16 or so dating boys they didn't like and hanging out with people that weren't the best influences. But during that time I never made life-altering bad decisions because of the principles and morals my parents had taught me. Even when I wanted to do something extremely rebellious, I knew that in my heart of hearts, I couldn't. I was more responsible than that and would have to reap the consequences of whatever choices I made. And I did-both good and bad consequences.

But as I grew and began to see that my parents really did know what they were talking about and truly did have my best interests in mind, I developed a greater respect for them. I began to see them in a different light and saw how the life experiences they had endured had made them into responsible people who love and serve the Lord in the best way they know how. And now they are my best friends. They hear all about the crazy events of my life, the deep desires and passions I have, the things God is doing in my life. We laugh together, cry together, and vent together. They are my heritage, my examples of Jesus' unconditional love. And I can't think of better people to turn into as I grow older. So to you, Mom & Dad, thank you will never be enough.