Growing Together A November to Remember

Anastacia_Greyhound_2015November 5, 2015, I stepped out of my comfort zone and traveled by Greyhound bus to Nashville, Tennessee for a meeting with the Ask God Today Ministries team. I’ve been writing with Ask God Today for about a year now and I’m amazed at how God has grown me through being a part of this team. 

I wrote more about that meeting over on today’s Warm Hearted Wednesday Link up which I hope you will check out and join if you have something you would like to share. Link up parties are a great opportunity to meet other like minded bloggers and to share your posts with others. The link up will be open for a week so if you see this a couple of days after it started you can still join in. 

You're Beautiful, Mom!The rest of November just flew by quickly. I am about to launch a new book. If you like the stories I tell about my children and the things they say and do then you’ll really like this book. It’s entitled “You’re Beautiful, Mom! Lessons I’ve Learned from My Children.”

If you would like to help me by being an early reader let me know either by email or in the comments. I will email you an early copy of my book. Some of the things I ask is that you help me catch mistakes if you happen to see any and if you like my book share it with your friends and family once it is available for purchase. 

In return you will receive a free digital copy of my book along with an update to it once it is in it’s final corrected form. You will also be kept in the loop as to the progress of my book and the latest news from my Rock Solid Family.

That has been my work in progress for November. Another thing that happened in November was my agreeing to help coach one of my children’s team in Upward Basketball. I never really imagined myself as Coach Mom before this year. If you remember I also coached in Upward Soccer. Thankfully it’s been the youngest age group so far.

LandofLightsThen I took a break from it all during the week of Thanksgiving. I seriously enjoyed my vacation time. We started our Thanksgiving by visiting my grandmother for Thanksgiving dinner on Wednesday morning. Then we went to my parents’ home by way of the Land of Lights in Athens. We enjoyed some special time with my family. 

My husband and I celebrated our 19th anniversary together on Saturday. We were married Thanksgiving day, November 28, 1996. It was interesting to think about the fact that I was 19 when I married Scott and we’re now celebrating our 19th anniversary. Of course my birthday is in December so I was just about to turn 20 so I guess I can’t quite say I’ve been married longer than I was single. That time will come soon enough. And now you know my age. 🙂

wedding2Scott turned 21 the August before we married. (Now you know how young he is too.) I had a fun time teasing him after his birthday that he robbed the cradle because a 21 year old married a 19 year old. Of course I didn’t acknowledge the point that we were only that far apart by a few months. If we hadn’t moved our wedding date up a month I would have been 20 but that would have ruined the fun. 🙂

I really like our Thanksgiving anniversary. We usually celebrate our anniversary on Thanksgiving Weekend. This year Scott reserved us a hotel room. Before we stopped at the hotel he bought me a new coat and I got him a new electric razor. We bought ourselves some food and reminisced over those early years and how young we were. 

It was funny how many memories we have that we keep shaking our heads and exclaiming, “We were just kids!” It’s nice that we can look back at many of those past mistakes and laugh. Everything in life is a growing experience. I wonder how many things we’ll laugh about 19 years from now when we look back at our time right now.

If we have grown this much in our first 19 years together I can only imagine how much more we will grow in the next 19. We never plan to stop growing and learning. In fact we are still looking to go to Argentina in the near future. I know we will have some major growth going on when that day comes. 

Do you have some special Thanksgiving memories you would like to share? 

Feel free to share them in the comments and if you want to share with even more people you can share your post in our Warm Hearted Wednesday link up, where our Ask God Today MinistriesContributing Writers and followers can read your post as well.

I’ll be sharing more about my book in an upcoming post.

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16 Happy Years

I’m not going to say they were all easy years. Some were very difficult. However there is a feeling of accomplishment with each obstacle we overcome.

My father, found Scott in Seminary. He would come home from work and tell me all about the questions Scott asked in school that day. My dad held Scott in high regards and was constantly singing his praises.

As the eldest of 3 siblings, I was beginning to get anxious to move out of the house. I was attending a local junior college but wanted more independence. I was willing to consider marriage but thought surely I would find a guy that met my high expectations in college. That didn’t happen. I was sorely disappointed.

Then the day came that I finally gave my dad permission to introduce me to the potential son-in-law of his dreams. Yes, I was slightly skeptical at first. I even told my dad that I would only guarantee one date. Then Dad would have to help me break up with him if I didn’t like him after that date.

My dad went to the seminary the next day handed Scott a business card with my name printed on the back and said, “Scott, my daughter really wants to meet you!”

I was rather embarrassed that my dad worded it that way. “Dad! You, made me sound desperate!”

Scott didn’t seem to mind that though. He might not have called if it weren’t for my dad making it sound like I really wanted him to.

Thankfully my dad answered the phone the day Scott called. He was coming to our church that Wednesday night. I was nervous!

My dad was preaching when Scott came in. We were a part of a small church. Scott claims he sat behind the prettiest girl in the auditorium. I’ll go ahead and believe him even though I was probably the only obviously eligible girl in the room.

After the service we all talked. No it wasn’t love at first sight for either of us. How does someone fall in love with a complete stranger just by looking at them? He seemed nice and was kind of cute but I wouldn’t describe it as love until I was sure.

My dad took us all out for ice cream after the service. I called our first date, “Date with Dad.” My dad did most of the talking and Scott knew how to talk to him. So I sat at an opposite table and just listened mostly.

I guess after that first date with my dad, Scott knew my dad would be a good father-in-law.

The next time I saw him I invited him to my band concert in college.

Easter Sunday, my Mema had invited him to eat with our family at her house. I picked Scott up that day. He was playing his guitar on his porch steps. We talked all the way to my grandmother’s house and all the way back. He wasn’t too shy to talk and yet didn’t mind listening either. I think that was the day that I decided he was a keeper. I didn’t know how he felt but I decided I wouldn’t be the one to leave.

Then one day he took me to the zoo. He asked me if he could hold my hand. Ah ha! He didn’t realize that he might as well have proposed to me. I agreed. He picked me a flower off the side of the road.

That summer he visited a Missionary in Honduras for 2 months. I spent all my money on phone bills that summer. We still have the numerous letters we wrote back and forth to each other.

Early one morning, he called my Dad and asked if he could marry me. My dad told him, “That’s why I gave you that card.” Scott asked my dad if he could get my ring size without my knowing.

The next day my dad asked me and my sister if we had any idea as to how he could find out my mother’s ring size without her knowing. He said that he was thinking about getting her a ring.

We asked which finger and he said he wasn’t sure. So we decided the best way was to get everyone in the family to measure all their fingers. Well, our idea didn’t work because mom never did measure her finger. I think my dad was smarter than I was.

Then Scott arrived back from Honduras. He imagined the perfect setting to ask me to marry him. However we went to a wedding that night and the rumor had gotten out that we were engaged already. Poor Scott didn’t know how to tell people that he hadn’t asked me yet. He decided that night that he better go ahead and ask.

We almost set our wedding day to be on my birthday in December. However that was an awfully busy time of year for his mother to come. We decided to move the date up to Thanksgiving. He thought he’d be able to remember it better that way.

Thanksgiving day, November 28, 1996, I married my knight in shining armour. Life might not have always been easy for us down the rocky roads of life but 16 years and 6 children later we have really been blessed.

How long have you been married? Where did the two of you meet? If you’re not married yet, do you know what you are looking for?

Never settle for less than God’s best.
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