Weekend Escape

I've seriously typed this post like 5 times and every time something happens and it gets deleted. Computer has died- TWICE! (you'd think I would plug it in huh)... I accidently hit the refresh button. Computer froze. Internet stopped working and had to be shut down. It is really frustrating. This time I am only going to post pictures instead of a huge long story.

We went to Land Between the Lakes.

 

We also went to Fort Donelson National Battlefield. 

 

Overall, it was a good weekend.

Bedtime Prayers

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
If I shall die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.

Tonight's post is mostly for my mom, but for all the others out there who are struggling with worries and fears. God is the only one who can take these worries away. God is the only one who can "fix" our problems. Therefore, we must give them to the Lord. There is no better way than to pray for comfort and courage and strength. 

I find peace in the Bible, and in the Lord. Here are some verses that will give you the peace of mind to make it through the night. I pray that you will be able to lay your head down tonight and let the Lord keep your worries so you can sleep peacefully. 

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 

Psalm 46:1

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

John 14:1

Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. 

Isaiah 12:2

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 

I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

Psalm 23:4

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6

We don't always understand why things happen in our lives, and the lives of others. There usually isn't an answer written down on paper, there probably never will be. We can ask why, we can ask how, but this is something that only the Lord will know the answer to. I always refer back to one of my favorite poems. If you read my blog, or you have read it for very long, then I am sure you have seen it before. I always refer back to it in the hard times. You must look for the sunshine in the rain. In all things there is a blessing. 

" Lord I've often wondered,
Why people have to know pain,
Why when they need sunshine,
Do You give them rain?
I've tried hard to perceive it,
... Why things happen the way they do,
That I've often felt so hopeless,
frustrated and furious, too.
But somehow I've come to realize,
At last I can finally see,
That You have given me my life,
And how I live it is up to me.
So You can't be blamed for my sorrow,
You can't be blamed for my pain,
And I need to stop hoping for sunshine,
And instead, see the beauty in the rain.
For someday I might be there,
Standing happily by Your side,
And I want to be worthy of heaven,
and leave only good things behind."
-Cheryl Castello-Forshey

God bless, sleep well. I love you! 

Borrowed Time

I'm living on borrowed time. 

Today is a gift, 

but not one that came free. 

I'm living on borrowed time. 

Tomorrow isn't guaranteed. 

The Lord blessed me with one more day.

For today I shall pray. 

Thank you, Lord, 

for dying for me. 

For hanging on that cross,

for making me free. 

Today I'm living on borrowed time.

"Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth."  Proverbs 27:1

The Bible tells us again and again in different ways that tomorrow is guaranteed to no man. You should not worry about what is going to happen, because the Lord is in control. Yes, I know that it is much easier said than done, but really, we must give our worries to the Lord. In Matthew, chapter 6, the bible reads, 

"Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." Matthew 6:34 

So you see, God will take care of us. He will give us one day at a time, and that is the day that we are to be thankful for. Life is way too short to say, "I will do it tomorrow." You don't know if tomorrow is going to come for you. The Lord calls us up in His own time. They say the good die young, but in the end, we all die. Back to the Garden of Eden, when they disobeyed the Lord, the Bible tells us that we will all die an Earthly death. It may not say it in those exact words, but I promise you, we are not getting younger, and we are not going to live forever. This is when I am ok with that though. I am okay with knowing that I am going to die here on Earth. God died for me on the cross, and He took away my sins. I am saved by the Grace of God. I will go to Heaven, because I have accepted the Lord into my life as my Savior. 

If you died today, where would you go? Take a moment and think about it, if you have not accepted the Lord into your life, then you will go to hell. There is no buying your way to heaven. Going to church isn't going to get you there. Doing good deeds and being a "good person" won't get you there either. There is only one way. You must ask the Lord into your life to be your savior. You must admit that you are a sinner, and see that God has died for your sins and mine. 

TOMORROW ISN'T GUARANTEED. 

I'M LIVING ON BORROWED TIME, AND SO ARE YOU!

Power of Prayer

Today I was given some news that sure hits the heart close. As soon as I got off the phone, I said  a prayer. There is so much that God can do when we ask Him. There really is power in prayer! The Bible says that we should turn to God with all things. 


Matthew 7:7-11 states, "⁷Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: ⁸For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. ⁹Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? ¹⁰Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? ¹¹If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him."


Sometimes we just have to have faith. I believe that faith is believing even when we can not see it. There are so many people who do not believe in God because they say that there is no proof. Are you serious? Just take a moment and look around. Look at the beautiful mountains, the rolling hills. The trees, that are now changing colors. There are the waters that spread across the earth. There is nothing more beautiful than what God has created here on Earth! I really just do not understand how so many people can believe that this amazing place that we live in was created from some dirt and rocks in a big boom. How can people believe that we came from monkeys. There is no way that is even possible. God created the heavens and the earth. He created us. He created woman from man. Read the book of Genesis, then tell me that it is a lie. It all makes since. God has given us the Bible to tell us about the ways of life. There are things that we should and shouldn't do, and the Bible outlines it all for us!
⁶Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.


One of the most important things is to pray to God. Pray in hard times, and thank God when things are going well. Always see the blessings in the rain. See the power of prayer. Take your requests to the Lord. 


Philippians 4:19
 ¹⁹But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.


1 John 5:14-15

¹⁴And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:

 ¹⁵And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

And so I pray. I pray that the Lord does His will in the lives of others. I pray for courage, and faith in the Lord. I pray for comfort, and for good health. The Lord will take care of us. He always does! 

Address in the Stars: Dear Chance

I wrote you a letter today, but I have no where to send it. There is no address in the stars. Reality is I could send it to God, but it would get no where. It really breaks my heart because in high school I saw you every day if not more. We would hang out at your house in the evenings. 4-H meetings were so much fun. I will always remember being president of Go For Broke and you being Vice President. The one meeting when I told you that you were going to have to run next months meeting and you looked at me like I was crazy. You told me I better cancel whatever plans I had because I had to be the one to run the meeting. But I didn't, and you ran the next meeting just fine. County fair really is unforgettable. Some of the best memories were made at county fair. Watching you show you steers, lambs, and pigs. The water fights, and you putting people in the water trough. Every one loved you. Every one wanted to be your friend. You really were amazing at everything you did, and I am thankful that I had the opportunity to have you in my life.

Chance, you were the most congenial person I know. Our rides to church together, and our long talks. You really helped me to realize what a real Christian is like. We are all sinners and you helped me realize that no one is perfect but that striving to be the best that we can be is what we should do. You were always joking around with every one in Sunday School. In church service, you sang along with the songs just low enough that only the people directly around you could hear. Sometimes you would even just kind of mumble along, but you always at least made it look like you were singing. Every Sunday after church you would pull your roping dummy and rope out of the back of the truck and work on your roping. You would rope the girls. Your laugh is so catching, that is a sound that I will never forget. I wish I could set it as my ring tone, because I know that I would always have a smile on my face.

Before I had my license I would ride with you and Calvin every where. Calvin had his little red car, and you sure loved the emergency brake in that thing. Actually, you loved the emergency brake in every car that you could get your hands on. Going around the corners to your house I would brace myself in the back seat because I knew exactly what was going to happen. We would all laugh as the car screeched around that corner. When I got my license I was so scared that you would do the same thing to my car. And you did. But it was ok, I already knew what to do.

In high school, Florence was known for it's football team. It was team that you played a very large part in. You were the center. My brother played on the team with you too, so did Mike, and so many others. I will never forget your number, 74. Only ten more than Calvin's, 64. Our families had a pregame ritual, ESPECIALLY on Saturday morning games. Your dad and Joe were always the first in line, and I was right behind them. They would have their stereo playing music, sitting in camp chairs with their duct tape and blankets close by. Usually there was a small table too. Your mom would come a little later bearing gifts. Oh, she makes the most delicious biscuits and gravy ever! She would bring breakfast and we would all enjoy it before the game. As soon as the gates opened up we would rush to "our spot" aka "the rowdy section" and tape down our blankets to save enough room for our crowd. Everyone knew they better not sit there "or else" but we taped down blankets to ensure it. The playoffs were the most exciting games of the season, and when you all won the state championship was the best.

After high school, you went to college, and I didn't see you as often. You would come home for the holidays and county fair of course. I regret not going and watching you rodeo, something that you loved so much. I graduated and went to college too. Switched schools a few times. I was working in Fort Collins when I received a text message from my best friend, Jenna, saying "Melissa, people are saying that Chance Threet is dead..." I couldn't even think straight. I couldn't believe it. Instantly I began to cry. I called Calvin, the phone call went like this... "Calvin...." a long pause.... He returned saying, "I know, Melissa, I know." It was then that I fell apart. I told work I had to go and I called my mom. I couldn't think straight, I couldn't believe it. Chance, you were the most amazing person I know, you can't be dead! I will see you at church soon. I will see you at your parents soon. There is no way. It isn't possible. You have a rodeo this weekend, you will be there. You will ride like nothing is wrong. You have so many things going for you, you are almost done with college. All these thoughts ran through my mind. I couldn't believe that after only 20 short years, God called you to join Him in Heaven. They say that only the good die young. You must have accomplished the tasks he had for you.

The next weeks were really kind of a blur. Of course I remember them. I remember being sort of in denial, but wanting to go see your family right away the next day. Amber sat on the couch by your parents. She hardly spoke. It was so devastating to see them hurting. Your mom had a peace about her. Chance, your mom is one of the strongest women that I know. She has built her life around God, and she knew that you were in a better place. Her and I talked a lot and she helped me to know that you were right where you needed to be. We will never know why, except that God had bigger plans for you in Heaven.

So many things have changed since you left. I am now married to Weston, you met him back in high school. He is the one from Pueblo West, he came to church with me a few times, and homecoming. We live in Kentucky by Fort Campbell, and have a beautiful house. We are expecting our first child. I wish you could still be here to share in the joys of our lives. Every once in a while I see a truck that looks just like yours and it brings a tear to my eye because I know deep down that it isn't you. I have dreams about you a lot. Last night in my dream, we were at the Lamar Rodeo sitting next to your mom and you told us both not to worry because you were right there. You told us that you are doing fine and to smile because we will all be reunited one day. I know that you are riding with the best of them up there, Chance. I can just picture you gathered around with Chris Ledoux listening to him sing instead of a CD. You are roping, riding, and having the time of your life. It is not like anything that you experienced on earth, it is something that not even words can explain.

I miss you. I miss hearing your voice, hearing you laugh, hearing you teasing every one. I will forever cherish the memories that I have close to my heart. You will never be forgotten. I really wish that I could send this letter to you and know that you got it and opened the envelope. You would be saying, "Damn, did you have to write a book?!" But again, I know that you are probably reading this as I am typing it and tell me that it is going to be ok. I know I never told you how much you meant to me as a friend and brother, and I pray that you knew, and that you know now. I have learned to never let words go unspoken. I learned to always tell people how much of an impact they have on your life and how much you care about them. You never know when God is going to call your number.

Chance, it has been hard for us here on Earth. I can't say that is gets easier, but I can say that I am learning to cope with you being gone. I pray for your family and friends. I pray for Amber. God gives us challenges in life, but how we handle them makes us who we are. Keep watching over us, Chance. Keep watching over your baby brother. Peyton misses you so much, and he is turning into quite the little man. He looks just like you, he has your personality too. You sure taught him well. I pray that God gives him the courage and strength to live life and be the best that he can be, knowing that his big brother loved him so much. He knows you are in a better place. PJ is so strong.

Keep on riding Cowboy! We miss you CWT! 

 ADDRESS IN THE STARS

I stumbled across your picture today
I could barely breath
The moment stopped me cold,
Grabbed me like a thief.
I dialed your number, but you wouldn't be there
I knew the whole time, but it's still not fair
I just wanted to hear your voice,
I just needed to hear your voice.

What do I do with all I need to say
So much I wanna tell you everyday
Oh it breaks my heart,
I cry these tears in the dark
I write these letters to you,
But they get lost in the blue,
'Cause there's no address in the stars.

Now I'm drivin'
Through the pitch black dark
I'm screaming at the sky
Oh cause it hurts so bad
Everybody tells me
Oh all I need is time
Then the mornin' rolls in
And it hits me again
And that ain't nothin' but a lie.

What do I do with all I need to say
So much I wanna tell you everday
Oh it breaks my heart,
I cry these tears in the dark
I write these letters to you,
But they get lost in the blue,
'Cause there's no address in the stars.

Without you here with me,
I don't know what to do.
I'd give anything
Just to talk to you
Oh it breaks my heart,
Oh it breaks my heart,
All I can do
Is write these letters to you,
But there's no address in the stars.

Liebman Photo Session

Today Ashley came over so I could take some more pictures for my fall photo portfolio. I decided to set up two spots to take pictures in my back yard. One was against our barn with the fall set up, but the other had a little more American Pride involved. I strategically placed a flag in the front corner of the yard with a stood and a chair. I am going to offer the flag background to the Headstart tomorrow when I meet with their principal and PTO committee. I'm guessing they will stick with the Fall theme, but you never know!

Here are some pictures from the photo shoot.

 Also, I have at least 4 more shoots waiting to be booked. Plus, another preschool wants me to do their Fall pictures. God is good!

Autumn Fun

I received a surprise call the other day. It was Ms. Charlotte from the daycare asking me if I still wanted to do their fall pictures. WELL YEAH! I am so excited! I have a meeting with their PTO to do a presentation on Friday after work. I began putting together my portfolio. Today I had Ms. Angie come over and I took some fall pictures of her son, Riley, who is a great model! Here are some of the pictures that we took. More can be viewed at WELLS PHOTOGRAPHY ON FACEBOOK.

I have a bunch of pictures at the printing press that I will be picking up tonight. I am so excited to have something to show off at the meeting. Wish me luck, although Ms. Charlotte sounded very happy with what I presented her with already!