Goodbyes

Sometimes your life is blessed by the people who are placed in it without you even expecting it.

This statement holds true to me, personally. 

How unbelievably privileged am I to have people in my life who make it so hard to say goodbye to? I'm no stranger to saying goodbye to people who mean the world to me. 


Yes, it's sad. Yes, it's hard. No, it never gets any easier. 

(Ignore me as I ramble for a paragraph) Now...I'm no stranger to shedding tears either. Do I like crying?-No. I d e s p i s e it. God specifically created us with emotions. Therefore, I must suck it up & realize that sometimes it's okay to show some of those. Crying will probably take place, but why do I look at that as a sign of weakness? I'm dumb.


I'm on this whole learning walk of "I'm not in charge & I must put faith in Christ and know that He is doing what is right." I trust Him. I know He's doing what is perfect, that doesn't stop me from wondering why certain people have been placed in my life. It doesn't stop me from wondering why certain people live so far away. 


In my selfish human ways I really want these people to live next door to me; but that's not reality.


No matter how long, how short, or how brief these people's visits are...it never ever makes those goodbyes any easier. I think part of the reason they're difficult is because you never know when you'll see that person again. 


I'm going to look at sad goodbyes as a blessing. They are, in disguise. 

Let's be honest, it sucks. But...they will be back before you know it. 

Bittersweet feelings...Not too fun, but life isn't always chocolate & lollipops. :) 


-Hayley

Ramblings

Hello I'm Misti and I am a perfectionist.

Yes, I feel the urge to announce this to all of you.  I'm not a perfectionist as many would immediately think when they hear the word.  I am far from "all put together".  And if you were to take a peak inside my windows you would not see the "picture perfect home" with nothing out of place.

In fact, you would see just the complete opposite.  As I sit here typing this I am taking a look around.  You can only see bits and pieces of the wood on my desk.  It is covered in a plethora of items most of which have very little value to me at the present moment.  The dog is napping beside me and a folding chair that has not been put away from school.  The ottoman is covered with a buckeye, shrink wrap from a magazine that came in the mail, misc. junk mail, a hockey jersey, two sets of playing cards, and a remote (with no back on it.)  The couch has 1/2 of the pillows on it a blanket and one of the pieces of junk mail that someone discarded on it.  And then there is the floor where I can see a hockey stick oh wait make that 2 hockey sticks (one was hiding under the half opened door), a dog toy that has lost all of its stuffing, a sweatshirt, ball and some trampled pillows.

I am half tempted to take a photo.  However, the problem is....I have no idea where the camera has been stashed.  And I am not sure that I am willing to allow all of you to actually "see" what I am trying to describe.

What does the messiness of my house and perfection have in common?  I'm not real sure.  I write all of this to say this:  It has been way too long since I have typed up a blog post.  And I am here to tell you that the only reason I haven't is because I sit to write something and then my "perfectionism" gets in the way and I realize that I feel like I can't write  _______ for whatever reason.  And this can (and many time does) go on in many areas of my life.  Nothing ever seems to be right.

Am I proud of this? NO WAY!  And while I have been sharing with you my vulnerability with all of you I was reminded that NO MATTER how I view myself.  Or how others view myself......I have a loving Father that looks down upon me with LOVE!  And he wraps his arms around me and says, "You are forgiven and you are loved."

So there you have it....a blog post that I have needed to get out of the way.  I am hoping now that we are (hopefully) settling into a more routined lifestyle you will begin to see our Family Times Six Blog updated more regularly and back with the vision we all had when it originally started.

I'm now off to clean up the disaster that is around me and try to figure out what to feed my family for supper....until next time.

~Misti~

 This will be my 4th full day at Topsail Island, NC. This vacation has been amazing, and I'm enjoying every moment I spend with my family. I've made so many memories and I don't want this week to end. 

I feel as though God has really been speaking to me while I've been here. I've had time to reflect on a lot of different things in my life. I've been able to just take a walk on the beach and pray without any interruptions, and it's been absolutely lovely! Of course, God hasn't revealed all the answers to my questions and He won't until the time is right, but being here has made me realize a few things. 

1.) I need to learn some more patience. I'm constantly wanting answers and conclusions. I struggle with getting upset because I'm not sure what to do, and I need to realize that God is in control & I am not. I not only need patience in that aspect, but just patience in general. When Nathan asks me a question (what seems like 5,000 times) I need to stop & take a deep breath before yelling at him to stop asking me stupid questions. :) 

2.) I need to stop getting so stressed out! Yes, high school is unbelievably overwhelming, but I'm glad that I am doing this hard work now...that way college will be a breeze. This stress thing, goes back to patience. Whenever I get stressed, I lose all sense of patience. I get irritated, and anything somebody says will set me off...even if they didn't say anything wrong. My mom and I have been struggling with trying not to get upset at one another while I've been adjusting to this year's school.

3.) I'm a role model. Even in some of the smallest decisions (such as what type of cereal I'm going to eat this morning, or what color I'm going to paint my toes) in my life, I influence my siblings &  younger cousins. I've realized this week that they look up to me now more than ever! I want and need to teach them about Christ. More than that, I need to be a Godly and Christ-like figure in their precious lives.

4.) God has ALWAYS been there for me. Always. He has provided me with everything that I've needed, all the people I have needed, and blessed me beyond imagination. It baffles me to think that the God who created the universe sent His only beautiful & perfect son to die for a disgusting person like me. 

I had a late night conversation last night with one of my favorite people in the entire world. I couldn't sleep. It was about 11 o' clock, so I texted her. She told me to call her & we talked for 3 & a half hours. 

In this conversation she just gave me a little reminder that I needed. She said, 

"Do you realize that before God even created the universe He had a specific plan for your life. He knows exactly what is going to happen & has every single little detail planned out." 

Even before He created this big ole' world He had ME in mind! I need to remind myself of this whenever I start to feel like I'm unimportant, like I don't have a purpose. When I get frustrated at life that I just don't feel like trying anymore. Christ came and died for me. Someone loved ME enough to go have nails crushed into his wrists and feet...to suffer on a cross for a sinner like ME.

That's more than enough. 

It's Wednesday & I'm far away from my youth group back home. I miss everyone so much. 

It's time to go make more memories. Laugh. Smile. Sing. And fall more in love with my family than I already am.

^{Romans 8:28-} And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.