pure joys

when you are in the midst of a trial or in a few trials, do you ever stop and consider them a pure joy?

don't feel bad, i'm right there with you! after the "shock" of the reason of the trial has blown over, be it an hour,day,week,month,or even five years later, i do start seeing the good things coming out of it all.

God wants us to see trials as pure joy,believe it or not. it says so in James 1:2-4.

i've gotten back to reading, and as you know i'm slightly obsessed in love with Mrs. Karen Kingsbury. i'm currently re-reading Take One , the first book in the Above the Line Series. i have been being remindedd of the verse in James 1 about trials should be considered a pure joy. i had almost forgotten that it's all in that book. and just a little shout out to the fabulous mrs kk - i'm now hooked on reading and wish i didnt' have to put it down to work!

today, my heart is troubled. most of my family probably don't even know i blog. i don't care for them reading it, they just "don't get" this kind of stuff. you know, "putting all your stuff out there on the world wide web" blah blah blah ..

but, as many of you have said before, this place is a great therapy place!

right off the bat this morning, my first clients were my grandparents. im very close to them, and will admit i haven't talked to them in almost a week. they've been busy and so have i. i kept thinking i was going to go see them yesterday, but instead thought that since i haven't been home on a sunday afternoon in over 6 weeks (no joke either! 6 weeks or more), that i would just stay at home and read some more.mainly because the next 10 weekends hold something, and mainly on sundays ....

well, in some ways i'm glad i didn't go. you see, i found out that my granny has been sick off and on since wednesday. and yesterday she was so sick she didn't go to church at all. that means she must've been pretty bad sick! she had her yearly physical this past week, and they have found she maybe having some heart "issues".

my heart is broken right now. my granny is 72, and is in great health minus asthma. she's active, young looking and acting. she says it's no big deal, and that the doctors will see it was just something to do with her asthma.

my papa on the other side, who is a strong, yet negative kind of man, thinks differently. he's definately worried about her!

they've been together about 56 or 57 years. they will be married for 55 years july 27. they still call each other baby,honey,etc etc. very sweet.

my papa has been the one that we've had to travel the bad health road with over the last 8 - 10 years. not her.

i have a busy afternoon at work, but all i want to do is pray and cry and think.

however, this is all a pure joy,right?

i'm sure it will be soon ....

Waiting on Joy,
Britt

a glimpse of Heaven part 2

as i last posted, over this past weekend i attended phil waldrip's Women of Joy conference. i kinda left you hanging here. so i'll be kind and pick up where i left off - the part that's nearly a miracle because i was speechless.

if you really know me, you know that's amazing! so when i walked into the ballroom of the convention center, no, prince charming was not there to hand me over my glass slipper and dance the night away. this ballroom was for shopping. the way i love and think all ballrooms should be really! well, me and kris walk in and saw another girl from church standing in a long line (only she's half way and jumping literally with joy) and then i looked down to the beginning of the line and there was my most favorite author Karen Kingsbury! i wanted to yell! i've never met anyone famous before! i honestly didn't know what to do. for a moment i almost thought about snapping a picture from where i was, but then i was like,"hello britt! where's your mind?! you can meet her tonight,and that's ok!" so i gave up a concert with michael w. smith, and went and grabbed a book i've been waiting on for a year, got in line with my friend tab, and met some fabulous ladies along with Karen Kingsbury, her mom, daughter, son, and daughter's boyfriend who will be on the cover her book Unlocked coming out this fall. i was on cloud nine!!!!!!!! when i get a copy of my picture (i've posted one on fb and just realized it's terribly fuzzy) i'll share it.

heres a picture of Unlocked

so then i realized while in line waiting, how amazing it is to meet new people and talk to them like they are your church family.

sunday came to soon. we had to all go together and have our stuff loaded up on the bus at 730 a.m. yep! it's an early to late kinda weekend! so we did, and once we got in and found enough seats for everyone, i went to find me some breakfast. on my way, i ran into one of the ladies i had met the night before. and it was like i had known her a million years. then, it hit me ...

one day, and probably not to far off, i will get a million years to get to know her. i looked around, and slowed my walk down and saw ladies of all ages,sizes,and such talking and laughing. smiling at strangers, telling them "there's a faster moving bathroom line over there ...". yes. it hit me, one day i'll be in Heaven with these ladies. we'll be walking on streets of gold then. im not sure about shopping. but then again why would we need to shop when there will be streets of pure gold, gates of pearl and such?

there were over 9,000 ladies there this weekend. women of joy have a "motto" i guess you could say --- 3 days 2 nights 1 purpose. as i was walking down that hallway i thought, "this is a glimpse of eternity isn't it Father?" and i felt Him say,"yes,daughter, look ... here's a glimpse of the only hell you'll ever know and yet a glimpse to your future home with me, the Creator of all things."

i was crying as i reached the counter to order my breakfast. i was crying because i was happy,and yet homesick. i was crying because it hit me how many people i know,yet don't know if they'll be with me there. i was crying because i didn't know what else to do,and was overwhelmed.

on a much lighter note, let me add another glimpse of Heaven that made me laugh.

all, and i mean ALL bathrooms were for women, always clean,and very nice. i thought,"yep,God, there will be no bathroom lines either! Thank you!"

because later, after i enjoy my day that is really a day off with the nephews, i may post about the way home. which may or may not some hilarious stories about a potty break on the way home!

Thinking of Heaven,
Britt

glimpse of Heaven

as i last posted, i attended the Women of Joy in the wonderful Pigeon Forge,TN this past weeekend. i wasn't sure what i was most happy about - being there or being off for 3 days. let's just say both were wonderful, to say the least ....

there's so much i could share from the weekend, but that would be the world's longest post! i promise! let me set the scene some - 43 women (a few who are teenagers so we had from a 13 yr old - two 70+ age ladies), a huge charter bus (which now i know i need to take a little something to help with motion sickness that apparently i have now) with a very sweet and funny bus driver, a very nice,cozy resort with an indoor water park, shopping outlets, and most of all precious time learnig,laughing,praising and worshipping our Lord, the creator of Heaven and Earth!

it hit me sunday morning as i headed to find some breakfast at the convention center, that we were getting a glimpse of Heaven. let me back up and explain ....

on friday, we headed up there. we settled in our rooms and got ready to find something to eat (you may notice that eating apparently wasn't in the schedule exactly) then headed up to the convention center for a wonderful time of praise and worship with the oh.so.talented Charles Billingsly. then we heard from an amazing lady of the Lord, Lori Salierno. her testimony of the night riped at my heart. it hit very close to home! there's only one way she could have stood up there, and she gave God all the credit for her being able to make it through. we got back in our rooms late late late,and we were all pretty sleepy (we had been up about 19 hours straight with a time change thrown in there). we passed on the group share time. my roomies for the weekend were ready to shower and sleep! i was right with them!

saturday, i woke up oh so early to straighten out my curly hair. got up to the convention center, got breakfast,did some shopping, and enjoyed more time with mr charles b, then we heard a hilarious christian comedian, anita renfroe. then it was time for kay arthor. this 76 year old, beautiful woman of God. i will admit i was exhausted and didn't know how i could hold my eyes open other than with my ink pen. so that 's what i did for a few minutes until i finally moved around enough and got woke up. she's very bold and brave. once i got fully awake, i was thankful to be able to be seated with 9,000 plus ladies who were hearing the message God had sent for us.

Saturday after the conference, this really annoying policeman wouldn't let us turn into our resort. so we had to turn on a little 2 lane road and drive, oh 45 minutes to only turn around and go back to the resort. finally we headed out to find lunch and the outlets. well, we got out of the conference an hour late, so everywhere was nice and filled up with long lines and 1 1/2 hours wait to eat. and that wasn't with all of our group. a good many stayed back for the water park. so, after finding out the waits we went to the outlets! woohoo! i remembered a little grill that was stuck inbetween some stores from last year's conference, thankfully. we had 2 hours at the outlets. really?! imagine - 20 something women and 2 hours at the outlets ... yeah, not a good idea! but we made do! my mom and i headed to the grill, and some followed us. mom and i only shopped for the babies : ) we just can't resist some things : )

saturday evening, i was tired! i took a cat nap and then decided i would indeed go to the concert with steven curtis chapman and michael w. smith. i had toyed with the idea i wouldn't go, but man am i glad i did! i stayed in for steven curtis chapman, but headed with one of my friends and rommies, kris, to go shopping. well, i was speechless when i walked in the ballroom! yes, me - speechless.




why was i speechless? i'll let you wonder for a bit ... lunch break is over ......

Because HE is faithful,
Britt

weekend of joy

Hello all! Sorry I've seemed somewhat absent lately. I have been reading,but have had zero time for posting! Sorry!

As you know,I'm self-employeed,and April 15 is less than a week a away (insert panic attack her ...). And this year,Meg is making that day great for me! Well not really just for me. She finally finds out what the baby is! I'm so excited! I have been working very hard on my tax stuff and delivered it to my accountant yesterday. Letmejusttellya,I'm SO thankful God did not want me to have an office job!

Right now,I'm on a huge charter bus,in the parking lot of a lodge where I'll be all weekend! A 3 day weekend at that!A group of ladies,of all ages, are attending Phil Waldrip's Women of Joy Conference.

Last year was my first year to attend,and it was amazing! I can hardly wait for what's to come this year! Plus,anytime I'm with my church family its an awesome,fun time. Then add Pigeon Forge and shopping at the outlets on Saturday - what's better?

Hope your weekend is filled with joy!

See you monday! Or possibly sunday night!
Britt

hoppy easter

"Hoppy" easter everyone! Currently,I'm resting and having my curly hair straightened out (I did it this morning,but not real real good haha).

I hope everyone has remembered the real reason for what today is all about.

The death,burial,and resurrection of our Lord,Savior Jesus Christ!

We had our Easter program this morning,and are waiting to start our next performance at 4. This year,our program is from Mary,the mother of Jesus,'s point of view.

I pray you all are having a blessed day!

Britt