THANKFUL THURSDAY!!!

Well here I am, trying to grasp the fact that it's really December 10th and that in a few short weeks we will begin a NEW DECADE!!! Whoa! That's a little crazy for me to think about. I feel like I am just getting older by the second...well DUH I am, and it's just crazy! I am certainly looking forward to what the future has in store for Rob and I though and what path God is continuing to lead us down. I am thankful this week mainly for our church. I have said it before and I will say it again it's the BEST (at least to me) church!!! I am thankful for all the wonderful opportunities that our church gives us to serve God and to be a tiny part of growing His kingdom. I am thankful for Rob's job there. I am thankful that he gets to have a second job, other than the fire department, that he once and for all loves and enjoys and is passionate about. I am thankful for the ways it has made the joy in his life seem to come back. I am thankful for the happiness I see in his voice and in his eyes when he comes home from working at the church. I am thankful for the ways that God continues to provide for us in ways that we only dreamed of. I am thankful to be able to trust God with all things in a way that five years ago I was unable to. I am thankful for a church that cares about each person and each ministry within the church. I am thankful for the ways that no matter what it is, our church goes over and above to help lead others to Christ. I am forever thankful for all the wonderful people and friends that I have met there. I know that big churches may not be for everyone. I also know that, to me, our church doesn't seem so big at all because of the fact that I don't just show up and sit in rows week after week. The church has become a place where I walk in and know so many other people that it's one of the highlights of my week. To gather in the Lord's house with the people I know and love so much and catch up on the week's events is the best. I am thankful for the ways it has brought me closer to my Heavenly Father. I am thankful for the environments that are in place for all the children, and teens, the future of our world to grow, and learn in such a way that they are set up for success. I am thankful for my church in more ways than one this week. I am thankful I get to be apart of a place that has the same passion for Christ as I do.

 

 

Dear Lord-

I love you first and foremost. I just want to say thank you for allowing me to meet the people I have that brought me to North Point Ministries. And thank you for the ways that I have been changed through the church and it's leaders. I want to thank you for allowing me to be a tiny part of something huge in your name. I thank you for the opportunities to help lead young girls to Christ through our middle school ministry, Xtreme. I thank you for the opportunity this year to co-lead a ladies bible study with a sweet friend of mine that continues to show me what a true friend is. I am grateful and thankful for my church. Thank you for opening doors that lead to more service for you and for your glory Lord. Thank you for the chance to be apart of my church and not just sit in rows each week doing nothing. I thank you for the ways you are leading me in my life and in Rob's life. I thank you for the path that you have us on and am excited to see what else you have in store for us in the future. There aren't enough words or time to show you just how grateful and thankful I am. I pray that through this Christmas season, with all the guests that will be in our church, that at least one more person is moved to follow your great son Jesus Christ, Emanuel, All Mighty Counselor. This is my prayer that through all the efforts of everyone involved at all three of our church campuses, that at least one more person will be standing with me at the pearly gates some day. If we can accomplish that this season, then my Christmas wish will have been granted. I want everyone to have the joy, the peace, the passion, the awe that I have in my soul for you Lord.

-Amen

Rob Turned 30!!!!!

Well this past weekend was a weekend of celebrating Rob's 30th birthday which was on Friday, December 4th. I took the day off and surprised him with a visit to the GA Aquarium. Later that evening we celebrated with his family and mine with dinner and cake at his parents house. Then on Saturday he enjoyed golf with his friends. Then I had surprise party planned for him afterwards. It was all so much fun! These are just a few pictures from our fun weekend. I would do it all over again for my sweet Robbie! It was an honor to be able to plan his special birthday.

 

 

 

 

THANKFUL THURSDAY!!!

This Thursday I am thankful for Robert N. Shawver, Jr.!!!! Tomorrow will be his birthday and I couldn't be MORE thankful for one person in my life than I am for him! He is truly amazing! God has blessed my life with him in more ways than I could EVER imagine! I am thankful for his mother and father for falling in love, getting married and starting their family with Robbie! I am thankful for the job at Physiotherapy Associates which led me to meet Rob's mom when she came into our clinic for therapy. I am thankful for the relationship and bond that we made. I am thankful for her unconditional show of grace and mercy and love for someone that she, at the time, barely knew except from coming in for therapy. I am thankful for her gentle push to get me to move and make changes in my life. I am thankful for her helpfulness in getting me out of a horrible situation that I was in during that time of my life when no one else seemed to be able to reach me. I am thankful for her intervening and pushing Robbie and I to meet each other. I was completely against the idea of meeting or dating anyone after what I had just dealt with regarding guys. BUT I knew that if he were anything like her, he must be AWESOME! I am thankful for taking a HUGE leap of faith in going to meet Rob for the first time at his house. I am thankful for the instant spark that there was between us and for all the days that followed. I am thankful for the way we became inseparable! I am thankful for his unconditional love and grace and mercy he showed me. I am thankful that he accepted me as I was with all my baggage and past problems. I am thankful for his patience and understanding with me. I am thankful for him taking me to church and being open-minded to coming to North Point, which I discovered with a co-worker! I am thankful for his willingness to do things to help me grow my faith in ways that I never could have imagined. I am thankful for the days we dated, the days we were engaged and the three years of marriage we already have under our belt. I am thankful for each and everyday that I get to share with him. I am thankful for the ways he makes me laugh! I am thankful for all the ways he takes care of me that amaze me more and more each day. I am thankful for his thoughtfulness and romantic heart! I am thankful for the way he loves me. I am simply just thankful for him beyond words. Hero. Saving grace. Handsome. Sweet. Honest. Thoughtful. Smart. Loving. Caring. Dedicated. Strong. Kind. Devoted. Romantic. Silly. Fun. Exciting. Patient. Forgiving. Amazing. Enthusiastic. Faithful. Giving. Intelligent. Jokester. These are just a few of the ways I would describe him.

 

 

Dear Lord- I thank you for creating Robert N. Shawver, Jr. and allowing our paths to cross so divinely in a way that only you could dream up. I am thankful for his life that was born into this world 30 years ago tomorrow. I am thankful for his parents for raising him to be the best man and best husband any wife could imagine, dream of, hope for, or want. Thank you for choosing ME to be so blessed with such a man in my life. I thank you for allowing his heart to be ready to take on all my past issues and for giving him the grace and mercy and forgiveness that you have and show that to me in ways I had never been shown by someone. I thank you for allowing us to be happily married for three years and now working on the fourth. I look forward to all that you have in store for us in the future. I am grateful for all the ways you bless my life with Rob. I am thankful for his life more than my own. I am thankful that you continue to protect and watch over him while he's working at the fire department and you continue to bring him home to me, safe and sound, after each shift. I am thankful for all the ways you have made him strong and kind and loving towards me. I am thankful for such a gift as he is to me and my life. Thank you Lord for blessing me with him. I love you!

-Amen

WEDNESDAY WEBSITE!!!

In the spirit of Christmas and Santa Clause this week's website is perfect for all the kiddos out there! If you have a child or know someone who does you may want to check out this website and set up a special call to them from Santa, Sammy the Snowman or yes, EVEN NASCAR Driver Tony Stewart!!!

 
Hope you enjoy it as much as the kiddos do! How fun?! Merry Christmas!
 
http://www.holidayphonecalls.com 

Christmas Cards, Letters or Pictures!!!

 So each year at the Shawver house we enjoy getting all the wonderful Christmas cards, letters and pictures from all our friends and family. We hang them up during Christmas and then save them in a special Christmas box. Over the years I have noticed a trend in getting away from sending traditional cards. The way I remember Christmas cards were the days when ALL cards were strictly that, just cards, and were often elaborate and always had a personal hand written note on the inside to the person the card is being sent to. These I have to say are my favorite kind to this day. It's something that is rare, sweet, a treasure even!

 

 Then I noticed people started sending these "Christmas Letters". Now please if you send these do not be offended by my next statement, because I enjoy some of these as well. This letters seem to be a way that people use in efforts to "catch up" on all the greatness that happened for them and their families throughout the year. Which is great for long distance relatives who rarely see or speak to one another. But it seems to be a little odd to me in a way. Those that are close to me know exactly what happened in my life over the year and anyone else that doesn't should perhaps consider the fact that they should have known without a letter by simply being around.

 

 Now for the most recent trend...the Christmas picture card. Which really isn't a card at all. It's simply a photo with a short "Merry Christmas" message typed in on the crafty framed picture. Now I LOVE these don't get me wrong, in fact we will most likely be sending one this year. But there is just something that is taken away from these in a way. No personal hand-written message, no elabrote Christmas scene on the front, no long detailed recap of the year, just a picture. Which I have to say these pictures often end up on my fridge long after Christmas has come and gone, so I really enjoy these!

 

 Traditional Christmas cards, the way they used to be sent, are the classic and my all time favorite. There's just something about it. With all that being said getting any kind of Christmas card, letter or picture is the BEST this time of year. Let's face it, more times than not the mail is either stuffed with bills or junk. So getting any Christmas card is a joy!

 

So which kind do you prefer or send each year? Is there a reason, is it a tradition that was passed down?

 

Christmas Cards Interesting Facts:

 

*The first known Christmas card is printed on the front cover with a date of 1843.  *The original was in muted colours, hand painted, printed and sold for 1/- each (5p) - a lot of money in those days.  *Christmas cards were first sold in 1846! *By the 1860s the idea of sending cards had caught on as they were able to be produced much more cheaply with the invention of less expensive colour printing.  *The first Christmas cards had lace and flowery borders, but then they changed to more familiar designs.  *The robin became very popular as were Victorian snow scenes, religious pictures, holly, Christmas trees etc.  Many similar scenes are reproduced in our cards today.

 

The card reproduced above was printed as a postcard and sent in 1905 with a ½d stamp.

THANKFUL THURSDAY!!!

 

So I know I missed posting last week for Thankful Thursday and I have to say the past two weeks have been crazy busy for good reasons! It's the holiday season and it's a time for giving back and helping others, which also something that should be on going through the whole year. At our church we have been working on Operation Christmas Child and Rob and I hosted an XTREME OCC Wrap Party for our middle school students from church so we could get as many gifts wrapped! It was so much fun serving with our students and giving back! Teaching them how to wrap presents for the first time for some of them was fun! Watching them pack boxes with so much pure love is something you certainly can't put a price on. Those kids gave up their Friday night to come hang out with us and pack boxes for needy children...I think that is pretty much AWESOME! I am thankful for those times we get to share God's love not only with our students but to those children all over the world that will see the love of Christ in those boxes! I seriously could careless if I even got a gift for Christmas this year as long as someone else that is in need has a great Christmas! I am thankful for the small things about this time of year that make me smile. A hug from an old friend or a chat from a dear friend on my way home, this makes me smile! Or the site of some simple Christmas lights up on a house as you drive home in the dark after a long day. The site of people in the grocery stores hustling around buying items to prepare lots of yummy goodies for the holidays! Just the thought of all the Christmas parties and events at this time of year makes me excited and thankful! Christmas music and singing! The smell of the season is even something I am thankful for. You know, the smell of freshly baked apple pies in the kitchen and the turkey cooking, the cinnamon sticks and Christmas candles burning. The smell of Christmas trees in the air. It's these simple things that I love and take in each day and appreciate because some day when I am old and grey I may not be able to take them in any longer. I am thankful for this time in my life when I take it all in, not get caught up in all the hustle and bustle so much and slow down the pace and experience every precious moment and take it all in.

 

 

Dear Lord- Thank you for this beautiful time of year and for all the sweet things that go along with it. Thank you for allowing me to discover new ways to glorify you in these times and thank you for allowing me to not get caught up in the hub bub of it all sometimes. Thank you for the friends that call and are able to share this time of year with me. Thank you for the extra time and money you have blessed us with to be able to serve and give back this year through Operation Christmas Child and Samartians Purse Lord. This organization is truly wonderful and we are honored to be a small part of something so huge. Thank you for the sweet moments that I cherish so much during this time of year from the smallest ones to the greatest ones alike. Thank you for all that you have blessed my life with, it is truly rich in so many ways. Lord I pray for the hurt, the broken, desperate, the ones that need you more than ever Lord. Lord I pray so hard that those people get to experience what I have been blessed with, for I am certainly undeserving of any of it. I pray that those that need to be healed be healed if it is your will and I pray that if it is not that your will that you can shed some more light on those situations Lord so that those hurting can see the light at the end of what may seem like a very dark tunnel. I pray that your light will shine down on those today and everyday. I thank you for all that you continue to bless me with more than words can express. I am thankful for you! -Amen

Wednesday Website!!!

So have you ever contracted someone to do work at your house and they didn't meet up to your standards...or worse it was a total disaster? Have you ever wanted a good referral for something but just couldn't get one? Have you ever been new in a town and needed a referral for a dentist or doctor and didn't know anyone yet to ask but didn't want to just try out any random doc in the box? Well this website is designed for you to go on there and look at honest reviews from other people who have had first-hand experience with the contractors, dentists, doctors, etc that are listed on the site and see how they measure up. And there are thousands!

 

http://www.angieslist.com

 

the following information is taken directly from the website!

 

"Certified data
Before they're posted, all reviews are checked in order to guard against providers and companies that try to report on themselves or their competitors. This process was reviewed and approved during a 2009 audit by BPA Worldwide.

 Angie's List is better than free review sites:

No anonymous reviews.

Certified data collection process prevents companies and providers from reporting on themselves or their competitors.

Our Complaint Resolution Team will intercede if a home repair or health experience goes bad.

Companies and providers respond to reports, so you get the whole story. What you get:

• Access to great local reviews on AngiesList.com.
  
• Live support through our call center.
  
• Award-winning Angie’s List magazine.
  
• Access to our Complaint Resolution Team.
  
• Discounts from highly rated service companies."

 

So check it out and see how much this valuable site could benefit you! It could save you many headaches in the future!