I haven't written anything about myself since August. I always havae plans to sit down and write. On my way home from work or the store, I'm always coming up with blogs in my head. They just rarely make it to my computer screen anymore. I want to do better but then life happens.
Life has continued to be busy since August. I stayed somewhat busy with my little photography business/hobby. I haven't taken nearly as many pictures as I would have liked but that's ok. I've been trying my best to stay involved in things in church. I love my church family. I love my Lord! And I know that I don't always make Him a priority or the things He wants me to do. And so I've been trying really hard to stay on track and continue to do the things He has for me inside and outside of the church without letting my own wants get in the way of that.
September has always been a great month for me. It's my birthday month!!! I mean, really, it doesn't get much better than that! I'm one of those people that believes no matter how old you get, you should still do something fun for your birthday! Have lots of cake! Go out with friends! Buy yourself a little something. It may seem silly to you but it's the celebration of the day you were born. There's only one you. And God placed you on this earth for a reason! Celebrate that!!! OK...I just took off on a tangent about birthdays...that is not where this post was going! :-) Anyway...so I love September. Football season. GO BUCKEYES!!! Cooler temperatures. I usually get to bring out a hoodie for the evenings outside. It's just my favorite time of year!
And this year, I decided to add something to my life during the best month of the year! I signed up as an independant consultant for Thirty-One!!! Have you ever heard of Thirty-One??? If not, check out the catalog. http://www.mythirtyone.com/233889 That's how I fell in love with it!!! I probably started buying things from Thirty-One about two years ago. I remember my friend Christi was having a Thirty-One party down in Florida and obviously I couldn't go. But she had posted something on her facebook saying if anyone wanted to order. So I checked out the site. LOVED what I saw and placed an order. I've been addicted since. I'm not a big purse person. But I love bags and totes. And these are so cute and stylish! And I even bought a few purses! I consistently ordered and held book parties from this consultant down in Florida for almost two years. Every once in awhile she would share with me the perks of selling the products but she was never pushy. I'd ask questions about it and just move on. But this fall was different. I really do love the quality of Thirty-One products. I was always telling my friends and family about it. I just wanted to be able to share Thirty-One with more people! So I took some serious time to pray about it and I felt like God was moving me in that direction, so here I am! My thought has never been to make this a full time career. I believe in Thirty-One and the mission behind it but at the same time, I do love with I do. I love being able to work full time with children. But I didn't get into child care because of the money. And there are things I would like to be able to do with my photography and things like that that I am unable to do financially. So I felt like this was a perfect opportunity to earn some extra money while promoting a company rooted in God. How many people can say that they have two jobs working for places where God comes first? I can!! And that is such a blessing to me. No, I haven't met any of the girls on my team because they're all farther away from me. But I have no doubt that all I need to do is ask and they will be praying for me no matter what the situation. That's an amazing feeling!!! And it's confirmation that this is where God wants me right now!
And as I said, this wasn't something where I was saying to myself, "I'm going to make a living off of this." I just wanted to people to add to my life, if that makes sense. And I'm pretty busy. Between working full time, being involved in my church and doing a few photo sessions here and there, I don't have a lot of free time. So my expectations of how well this was all going to go wasn't very high. Let me be completely honest with you (my Director my just die when she reads this) but as I set my goals for this fall, I kept things realistic for myself. As busy as I am, having home shows was going to be tough. So I sat down, did some thinking and figuring and came up with where I wanted to be at the end of 2012. I had decided that I'd really get busy on things come Oct. and my goal was to sell $1000 by the end of Dec. I believed that was something I could accomplish realistically. Without giving you the exact figure, let me just say that I did better than that in October alone! I really am overwhelmed by what God has done. And I'm excited to see what else He has in store for me.
I was really nervous going into this. I don't do well talking in front of groups. I don't socialize a whole lot around people I don't know. And those were both things that I was going to have to tackle taking on a business in Thirty-One. I can't say that my anxiety has gotten in better in those situations but I do know that as I get started, I start to calm down and I think I do ok! I'm proud to be a part of Thirty-One. I'm proud to be a part of a company that believes in God and believes in it's employees. I've been overwhelmed by how Thirty-One appreciates the people that work for them. It's a very good feeling.
Who loves football season???? I DO!!! I DO!!! I DO!!! I will be the first to admit that I was looking forward to this college football season but I didn't have great expectations. I'm an Ohio State fan and when you're team isn't eligible for post season play, the season isn't quite as exciting. Or so I thought. Who's the #5 team in the country??? THE BUCKEYES!!! Hey, I'll say it. I plan my schedule around my Buckeyes. My Saturdays are devoted to them! I'm honest, aren't I???
Oh! I'm excited about this upcoming weekend. I hope to be over this cold by then. Well, if you even want to call it a cold. I don't know what this is but I spent a few days feeling quite awful. I do feel a little better today and I'm so lethargic. But I'll be glad when this has moved out of my system. Anyway!! This weekend!! I am excited!!! I'm chaperoning our church's youth group trip to the Ohio State Church of God Youth Convention! I haven't been in years. The last time I went, I helped chaperone a group of kids that are all in their mid 20's (at least) by now! So I'm excited about this opportunity. I remember getting to go when I was in youth group and I was so excited! I'll be the first to admit that my excitement prior to going wasn't always all about God. But I can tell you that I formed some of the best friendships while there and learned so much about my own relationship with God. I'm hoping that this group of kids feels the same way. And I'm excited to be a part of this and to be a part of helping this kids find who they are in their walk with God!! I find it a great honor to be able to go along with these kids this coming weekend. I know God has some great things planned!!!
OK...so here's the subject I've been avoiding for quite awhile. And the simple reason I try to avoid is because people have been so worked up about it. And I do believe that people have said things to others in anger and frustration that they don't really mean but at the same time, those words are lasting. I can't say that I've avoiding the subject completely. There have been things said on Facebook that got me a little fired up and I found myself responding a few times before I even thought it through. Right or wrong, I apologized. My intention was never to hurt anyone's feelings or to make anyone feel bad. We may disagree on beliefs. That is ok. I do not have the right to hurt you though.
It's amazes me how both sides got so worked up. I believe you should stand up for your convictions. I believe as a Christian there are things that we need to stand for. But the Presidential race has never been about who is the right choice for everyone. At the end of the day, both candidates had some issues. Neither is perfect and neither is going to be able to give us all what we want. Think about it for a minute. I'm the assistant director of a daycare. I have a heard enough time deciding what is best for 20 some employees and over 100 children. I can not manage trying to decide what is best for an entire country!!! And lots of the decisions a President makes affects the entire world. Who could possibly do that job without some major criticism?????????????? SERIOUSLY!! And I think we all have these "ideas." Most people think that Christians are Republic. Most people think blacks are Democrats. But in the end, is that true?? Or should it even be true??? I'm against abortion. I have no problem saying that!! But do I think the government should make decisions for me or any other woman for that matter? No. If God gave us free will, I most certainly don't have the right to take that away. My goal as a Christian is to speak to the women around me so that they know what I believe in, so that they know there are other options and to pray for them. What they do with that should b their business. I'm adopted. I know how important giving birth to a child is. I know how important it is for a woman to chose to have her baby rather than to have an abortion. And I believe that a baby is a baby from the moment it is conceived. But I do not believe God has called me to tell someone else what to do. And I can hear the comments now. I know that a good portion of the people in my life think that my opinion is wrong. You are entitled to feel that way. But please do not talk about my relationship with God. That was one of the things that probably annoyed me the most throughout this campaign and it had nothing to do with the candidates. I think it's wrong for people to get on Facebook or Twitter or whatever else and decide that someone isn't a Christian or decide that someone doesn't have a good relationship with God simply because they want to give women the right to choose. That, without a doubt, is being judgemental. You don't know what my relationship with God is because it's MY relationship WITH GOD!!! Again, abortion is wrong for me as a Christian. The Bible tells me that. But don't assume that I didn't pray about it. Don't assume that just because God is telling you one thing, that He's telling me the same thing. HE IS GOD!! At one point are we going to stop putting God in a box???? At one point do we realize that GOD IS GOD AND HE IS CONTROL!!!??? He has a plan for all of our lives. And that includes this election and what will happen the next four years!!!!
Do I believe in same sex marriage? No. But does that make me better than those that do? ABSOLUTELY NOT!! Sin is sin. God isn't up in Heaven saying, "Oh well, that sin of Deidra's is better than theirs. I'll let that one go because that woman over there is living with her girlfriend." That's not how God works. My sins are just as big as yours. I am not in any way more important than anyone else. And just because you're a homosexual doesn't make you a bad person! Your beliefs don't align with mine but it's not my place to judge you. And that doesn't mean I don't love you!!!! God calls me to be like Him. And what would He do??? No, what does He do??? HE LOVES THEM JUST THE SAME AS HE LOVES ME!! Isn't that what I'm supposed to do??? Yes, I agree that it's extremely important that where I stand is known. But I do not believe that it's ok to treat someone else badly just because I believe differently. We are called to love them. We are called to pray for them. We are not called to condemn them to hell. Last time I checked, that was not my job. We are all children of God. Let me say that again. WE ARE ALL CHILDREN OF GOD! Maybe we should start acting like it.
Both of those issues are big issues. I understand that. And I spent lots of time praying about both of those issues when I was praying about the candidates. I'm not about to suggest that those topics aren't important. But I think it's unfair of any one of us to decide that a Christian take those into consideration when picking their choice for President. Just because I chose to vote for Obama doesn't mean I agree with everything he's done or everything he plans to do. And just because I chose to not vote for Romney doesn't mean that I disagreed with everything he was standing up for. I had to choose the issues that I felt were most important to my family and what God was putting on my heart. I may not be married or have kids but I still have a family. I have older parents. My parents are both 70 and retired. And my mom has major health issues. So healthcare is a huge issue for our family. Healthcare and the cost of medication. Plus, as I said, they are retired. My dad lost the majority of his saved retirement back BEFORE Obama took office. He lost his money in the stock market. That sucks. But we have survived. It doesn't make retirement easy though. And it's hard to watch your mom and dad struggle and know that you're not financially in a place to be of major help. So while the birth of babies is extremely important to me, so is the well-being of my parents. For me, they're equally important. And I have no doubt that they are equally important to God.
And the welfare system. Ugh. This subject is just as difficult. Why? Because there are plenty of people using the help that NEED the help. But I do know there are people that use the system that are just lazy. So I get the frustration. I hate paying for them to be lazy too. But I also can't see it being completely taken away from the ones who need it. Again, I work in a job that doesn't pay a lot. And so I see the different families struggling to make ends meet who need a little help. And it's because they have the newest car, the newest iPad or a data plan on their smart phone. It's because raising 3 kids is tough. And you can argue that maybe they shouldn't have had those 3 kids. I get that argument too but they did. Assuming they are lazy just because they are receiving assistant is unfair. And quite frankly, it's disrespectful.
I'm not saying all of this to start an argument. I'm not trying to get people to agree with me. I'm just trying to state where I'm coming from and that I would appreciate it if people would quit clumping people together. You may know someone who didn't pray about their decision. You may know someone who voted for Obama simply because he's black. But I am not one of those people. And I imagine there are quite a few people out there that are the same way.
And at the end of the day, I don't care who the President is. The President deserves respect. The majority of us could not do his job. I wouldn't want to do his job. And we know that a lot of times, it doesn't matter what he says. There's always going to be someone unhappy with him. But he is our President. You don't have to like him. It's kind of like people don't have to like you. I'm ok if not everybody likes me. I don't like everybody! But I try to treat them with respect. I think maybe we should try to respect the President a little bit more.
My main thought is this...if we spent as much time praying for the President as we do complaining about him, can you imagine what this world would be like? We know prayer works. So why aren't we doing it like we should be????????
Life has continued to be busy since August. I stayed somewhat busy with my little photography business/hobby. I haven't taken nearly as many pictures as I would have liked but that's ok. I've been trying my best to stay involved in things in church. I love my church family. I love my Lord! And I know that I don't always make Him a priority or the things He wants me to do. And so I've been trying really hard to stay on track and continue to do the things He has for me inside and outside of the church without letting my own wants get in the way of that.
September has always been a great month for me. It's my birthday month!!! I mean, really, it doesn't get much better than that! I'm one of those people that believes no matter how old you get, you should still do something fun for your birthday! Have lots of cake! Go out with friends! Buy yourself a little something. It may seem silly to you but it's the celebration of the day you were born. There's only one you. And God placed you on this earth for a reason! Celebrate that!!! OK...I just took off on a tangent about birthdays...that is not where this post was going! :-) Anyway...so I love September. Football season. GO BUCKEYES!!! Cooler temperatures. I usually get to bring out a hoodie for the evenings outside. It's just my favorite time of year!
And this year, I decided to add something to my life during the best month of the year! I signed up as an independant consultant for Thirty-One!!! Have you ever heard of Thirty-One??? If not, check out the catalog. http://www.mythirtyone.com/233889 That's how I fell in love with it!!! I probably started buying things from Thirty-One about two years ago. I remember my friend Christi was having a Thirty-One party down in Florida and obviously I couldn't go. But she had posted something on her facebook saying if anyone wanted to order. So I checked out the site. LOVED what I saw and placed an order. I've been addicted since. I'm not a big purse person. But I love bags and totes. And these are so cute and stylish! And I even bought a few purses! I consistently ordered and held book parties from this consultant down in Florida for almost two years. Every once in awhile she would share with me the perks of selling the products but she was never pushy. I'd ask questions about it and just move on. But this fall was different. I really do love the quality of Thirty-One products. I was always telling my friends and family about it. I just wanted to be able to share Thirty-One with more people! So I took some serious time to pray about it and I felt like God was moving me in that direction, so here I am! My thought has never been to make this a full time career. I believe in Thirty-One and the mission behind it but at the same time, I do love with I do. I love being able to work full time with children. But I didn't get into child care because of the money. And there are things I would like to be able to do with my photography and things like that that I am unable to do financially. So I felt like this was a perfect opportunity to earn some extra money while promoting a company rooted in God. How many people can say that they have two jobs working for places where God comes first? I can!! And that is such a blessing to me. No, I haven't met any of the girls on my team because they're all farther away from me. But I have no doubt that all I need to do is ask and they will be praying for me no matter what the situation. That's an amazing feeling!!! And it's confirmation that this is where God wants me right now!
And as I said, this wasn't something where I was saying to myself, "I'm going to make a living off of this." I just wanted to people to add to my life, if that makes sense. And I'm pretty busy. Between working full time, being involved in my church and doing a few photo sessions here and there, I don't have a lot of free time. So my expectations of how well this was all going to go wasn't very high. Let me be completely honest with you (my Director my just die when she reads this) but as I set my goals for this fall, I kept things realistic for myself. As busy as I am, having home shows was going to be tough. So I sat down, did some thinking and figuring and came up with where I wanted to be at the end of 2012. I had decided that I'd really get busy on things come Oct. and my goal was to sell $1000 by the end of Dec. I believed that was something I could accomplish realistically. Without giving you the exact figure, let me just say that I did better than that in October alone! I really am overwhelmed by what God has done. And I'm excited to see what else He has in store for me.
I was really nervous going into this. I don't do well talking in front of groups. I don't socialize a whole lot around people I don't know. And those were both things that I was going to have to tackle taking on a business in Thirty-One. I can't say that my anxiety has gotten in better in those situations but I do know that as I get started, I start to calm down and I think I do ok! I'm proud to be a part of Thirty-One. I'm proud to be a part of a company that believes in God and believes in it's employees. I've been overwhelmed by how Thirty-One appreciates the people that work for them. It's a very good feeling.
Who loves football season???? I DO!!! I DO!!! I DO!!! I will be the first to admit that I was looking forward to this college football season but I didn't have great expectations. I'm an Ohio State fan and when you're team isn't eligible for post season play, the season isn't quite as exciting. Or so I thought. Who's the #5 team in the country??? THE BUCKEYES!!! Hey, I'll say it. I plan my schedule around my Buckeyes. My Saturdays are devoted to them! I'm honest, aren't I???
Oh! I'm excited about this upcoming weekend. I hope to be over this cold by then. Well, if you even want to call it a cold. I don't know what this is but I spent a few days feeling quite awful. I do feel a little better today and I'm so lethargic. But I'll be glad when this has moved out of my system. Anyway!! This weekend!! I am excited!!! I'm chaperoning our church's youth group trip to the Ohio State Church of God Youth Convention! I haven't been in years. The last time I went, I helped chaperone a group of kids that are all in their mid 20's (at least) by now! So I'm excited about this opportunity. I remember getting to go when I was in youth group and I was so excited! I'll be the first to admit that my excitement prior to going wasn't always all about God. But I can tell you that I formed some of the best friendships while there and learned so much about my own relationship with God. I'm hoping that this group of kids feels the same way. And I'm excited to be a part of this and to be a part of helping this kids find who they are in their walk with God!! I find it a great honor to be able to go along with these kids this coming weekend. I know God has some great things planned!!!
OK...so here's the subject I've been avoiding for quite awhile. And the simple reason I try to avoid is because people have been so worked up about it. And I do believe that people have said things to others in anger and frustration that they don't really mean but at the same time, those words are lasting. I can't say that I've avoiding the subject completely. There have been things said on Facebook that got me a little fired up and I found myself responding a few times before I even thought it through. Right or wrong, I apologized. My intention was never to hurt anyone's feelings or to make anyone feel bad. We may disagree on beliefs. That is ok. I do not have the right to hurt you though.
It's amazes me how both sides got so worked up. I believe you should stand up for your convictions. I believe as a Christian there are things that we need to stand for. But the Presidential race has never been about who is the right choice for everyone. At the end of the day, both candidates had some issues. Neither is perfect and neither is going to be able to give us all what we want. Think about it for a minute. I'm the assistant director of a daycare. I have a heard enough time deciding what is best for 20 some employees and over 100 children. I can not manage trying to decide what is best for an entire country!!! And lots of the decisions a President makes affects the entire world. Who could possibly do that job without some major criticism?????????????? SERIOUSLY!! And I think we all have these "ideas." Most people think that Christians are Republic. Most people think blacks are Democrats. But in the end, is that true?? Or should it even be true??? I'm against abortion. I have no problem saying that!! But do I think the government should make decisions for me or any other woman for that matter? No. If God gave us free will, I most certainly don't have the right to take that away. My goal as a Christian is to speak to the women around me so that they know what I believe in, so that they know there are other options and to pray for them. What they do with that should b their business. I'm adopted. I know how important giving birth to a child is. I know how important it is for a woman to chose to have her baby rather than to have an abortion. And I believe that a baby is a baby from the moment it is conceived. But I do not believe God has called me to tell someone else what to do. And I can hear the comments now. I know that a good portion of the people in my life think that my opinion is wrong. You are entitled to feel that way. But please do not talk about my relationship with God. That was one of the things that probably annoyed me the most throughout this campaign and it had nothing to do with the candidates. I think it's wrong for people to get on Facebook or Twitter or whatever else and decide that someone isn't a Christian or decide that someone doesn't have a good relationship with God simply because they want to give women the right to choose. That, without a doubt, is being judgemental. You don't know what my relationship with God is because it's MY relationship WITH GOD!!! Again, abortion is wrong for me as a Christian. The Bible tells me that. But don't assume that I didn't pray about it. Don't assume that just because God is telling you one thing, that He's telling me the same thing. HE IS GOD!! At one point are we going to stop putting God in a box???? At one point do we realize that GOD IS GOD AND HE IS CONTROL!!!??? He has a plan for all of our lives. And that includes this election and what will happen the next four years!!!!
Do I believe in same sex marriage? No. But does that make me better than those that do? ABSOLUTELY NOT!! Sin is sin. God isn't up in Heaven saying, "Oh well, that sin of Deidra's is better than theirs. I'll let that one go because that woman over there is living with her girlfriend." That's not how God works. My sins are just as big as yours. I am not in any way more important than anyone else. And just because you're a homosexual doesn't make you a bad person! Your beliefs don't align with mine but it's not my place to judge you. And that doesn't mean I don't love you!!!! God calls me to be like Him. And what would He do??? No, what does He do??? HE LOVES THEM JUST THE SAME AS HE LOVES ME!! Isn't that what I'm supposed to do??? Yes, I agree that it's extremely important that where I stand is known. But I do not believe that it's ok to treat someone else badly just because I believe differently. We are called to love them. We are called to pray for them. We are not called to condemn them to hell. Last time I checked, that was not my job. We are all children of God. Let me say that again. WE ARE ALL CHILDREN OF GOD! Maybe we should start acting like it.
Both of those issues are big issues. I understand that. And I spent lots of time praying about both of those issues when I was praying about the candidates. I'm not about to suggest that those topics aren't important. But I think it's unfair of any one of us to decide that a Christian take those into consideration when picking their choice for President. Just because I chose to vote for Obama doesn't mean I agree with everything he's done or everything he plans to do. And just because I chose to not vote for Romney doesn't mean that I disagreed with everything he was standing up for. I had to choose the issues that I felt were most important to my family and what God was putting on my heart. I may not be married or have kids but I still have a family. I have older parents. My parents are both 70 and retired. And my mom has major health issues. So healthcare is a huge issue for our family. Healthcare and the cost of medication. Plus, as I said, they are retired. My dad lost the majority of his saved retirement back BEFORE Obama took office. He lost his money in the stock market. That sucks. But we have survived. It doesn't make retirement easy though. And it's hard to watch your mom and dad struggle and know that you're not financially in a place to be of major help. So while the birth of babies is extremely important to me, so is the well-being of my parents. For me, they're equally important. And I have no doubt that they are equally important to God.
And the welfare system. Ugh. This subject is just as difficult. Why? Because there are plenty of people using the help that NEED the help. But I do know there are people that use the system that are just lazy. So I get the frustration. I hate paying for them to be lazy too. But I also can't see it being completely taken away from the ones who need it. Again, I work in a job that doesn't pay a lot. And so I see the different families struggling to make ends meet who need a little help. And it's because they have the newest car, the newest iPad or a data plan on their smart phone. It's because raising 3 kids is tough. And you can argue that maybe they shouldn't have had those 3 kids. I get that argument too but they did. Assuming they are lazy just because they are receiving assistant is unfair. And quite frankly, it's disrespectful.
I'm not saying all of this to start an argument. I'm not trying to get people to agree with me. I'm just trying to state where I'm coming from and that I would appreciate it if people would quit clumping people together. You may know someone who didn't pray about their decision. You may know someone who voted for Obama simply because he's black. But I am not one of those people. And I imagine there are quite a few people out there that are the same way.
And at the end of the day, I don't care who the President is. The President deserves respect. The majority of us could not do his job. I wouldn't want to do his job. And we know that a lot of times, it doesn't matter what he says. There's always going to be someone unhappy with him. But he is our President. You don't have to like him. It's kind of like people don't have to like you. I'm ok if not everybody likes me. I don't like everybody! But I try to treat them with respect. I think maybe we should try to respect the President a little bit more.
My main thought is this...if we spent as much time praying for the President as we do complaining about him, can you imagine what this world would be like? We know prayer works. So why aren't we doing it like we should be????????
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