The Secret of Thankfulness

 I prayed for this boy, and since the Lord gave me what I asked Him for, I now give the boy to the Lord. For as long as he lives, he is given to the Lord.” Then he bowed in worship to the Lord there.

1 Samuel 1:27-28 HCSB

How many times have you prayed for something? Often times, once you have received what you prayed for, you may (or may not) thank God. And then what do you do? Do just take it and use it selfishly, never to give it back to God?

Here is the secret to thankfulness. Give what you receive back to God. Hannah prayed for Samuel and she gave Samuel back to God. And you know what? I bet she never stopped praying for Samuel. She gave him back to God. God gave him to her and she gave him back to God. She had a reason to be thankful. She was childless and the God of the universe gave her a son. How easy it would've been for her to keep him. Of course, she had pledged to God that if He would give her a son, she would give him back to God. But, it's easy to break promises, even to the God of the universe. I mean, we've all done it at some point. But Hannah wasn't that type. She made good on her desperation plea. And because of that, God raised up a mighty prophet who would anoint a man after God's own heart. Samuel was blessed because of Hannah's obedience. Because of her obedience, he grew up to be an amazing prophet and leader.

Hannah must've been one proud mama.

She gave him back to God.

It's easy to be thankful when you view everything as yours.

But when you view it as a gift from God above because of His grace and love and compassion?

It's hard not to be thankful.

Hannah’s Triumphant Prayer

Hannah prayed:

My heart rejoices in the Lord; 
my horn is lifted up by the Lord.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
because I rejoice in Your salvation. 
There is no one holy like the Lord. 
There is no one besides You! 
And there is no rock like our God. 
Do not boast so proudly,
or let arrogant words come out of your mouth,
for the Lord is a God of knowledge,
and actions are weighed by Him. 
The bows of the warriors are broken, 
but the feeble are clothed with strength. 
Those who are full hire themselves out for food,
but those who are starving hunger no more.
The woman who is childless gives birth to seven, 
but the woman with many sons pines away. 
The Lord brings death and gives life; 
He sends some to Sheol, and He raises others up. 
The Lord brings poverty and gives wealth; 
He humbles and He exalts. 
He raises the poor from the dust 
and lifts the needy from the garbage pile. 
He seats them with noblemen 
and gives them a throne of honor.
For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s; 
He has set the world on them. 
He guards the steps of His faithful ones, 
but the wicked perish in darkness, 
for a man does not prevail by his own strength. 
Those who oppose the Lord will be shattered; 
He will thunder in the heavens against them. 
The Lord will judge the ends of the earth. 
He will give power to His king;
He will lift up the horn of His anointed.

1 Samuel 2:1-10 HCSB

Some time after giving Samuel to the Lord, Hannah prayed this prayer. It's called "Hannah's Triumphant Prayer." Why is it triumphant? Because she had given Samuel, the son she requested from God, back to God. How is that triumphant? The true triumph isn't in getting what you request from God, or being humble enough to ask for it. The true triumph is in being thankful enough to give it back. Hannah experienced that true triumph and her soul probably welled up with emotion so strong she had to let it out. And what better way to let it out than to tell God how amazing you feel? So she gave an incredible, heartfelt prayer.

An then, Eli blessed her (verse 29) and God saw fit to give her three more sons and two daughters! I think that's evidence she delighted God (it says He payed attention to her need, to be exact). I mean, He didn't have to give her Samuel in the first place. There was probably another barren woman in Israel crying out for a child.

But He did.

And Hannah was grateful.

She was thankful.

Tribute To My Amazing Mama

So, I saw Tori's tribute to her mom and noticed that she had linked up to Ann Voskamp's blog, which is one of my mom's favorite authors. I've never really linked up before, but I figured I kinda had a story to tell about my mama.

She's one of the most important people in my life. I don't know what I'd do without her. One of those, "If she died, I'd die" kind of deals. You never think anything's going to happen. At all. I mean, you grow up, go to college, get married, have kids, she's there through it all. That's what's  s'posed to happen. Or so we think.

Three years ago, she had a ministroke. On October 28, 2011, she had symptoms of another. Through the tests, they found out something. Something we had known partially.

She had a brain tumor.

In 2008 it was the size of pea.

In 2011 it was the size of a golf ball. And it needed to go.

Whirlwind of emotions, right? I remember telling Mama at one point that it was the first time in I couldn't tell you when that I didn't cry before I fell asleep. There were days when I cried. A lot.

People asked me if I was okay. I lied. I mean, how do you tell someone that on the inside you're falling apart because you're not sure that one of the most important people in your life is going to be okay?

Mama's surgery was on December 22. It was Kayden's birthday. By sheer miracle of God and His blessing, my mom got out of the hospital on December 23. It has grown us in more ways than one.

Life's pretty much back to normal.

She does everything she ever has done.

She works two days a week. She schools four of the five of us. She cooks supper most every night and, on Wednesdays, usually cooks for her High School class, which averages 16-18 on a given Wednesday night.

She's a woman after God's own heart. She personifies Proverbs 31. She puts up with me and my four siblings and all our junk. She's amazing.

She loves with everything she's got and then some. She is the most selfless person I've ever met. She's not afraid to serve. She has so much wisdom. If I'm ever 1/1000 of the person she is, I'll be happy.

She is the best mom I could ever ask for. I am so thankful she is mine.

Mama, thank you so much for all you do! You are such an inspiration for me and I want to be like you!

Love you, Mama!

-Callie

Her sons rise up and call her blessed.
Her husband also praises her:
“Many women are capable,
but you surpass them all!”

Proverbs 31:28

Chivalry Part 1

 I'm doing a project in Literature on Chivalry.  Chivalry, according to the World English Dictionary on dictionary.com, is "the combination of qualities expected of an ideal knight, esp courage, honour, justice, and  a  readiness to help the weak." 

 You don't find that much now a days, do you? 

Where on earth is Chivalry, if it's even on earth? 

Is Chivalry dead?


I thought ya'll might could help me answer those questions. If you're interested, email me with your answers to the questionnaire and answer my poll (which should be to your right) and then, once ya'll have replied, I'll post my answers. Honestly, I'd love it if you give your knee-jerk answers, but I know how hard it can be to do that, so you don't have to unless you want to. You don't have to be deep, you just have to be honest. I'm super excited to see what ya'll think! 

For the guys

What is chivalry?


What’s the most chivalrous thing you’ve ever done?


When’s the last time you demonstrated chivalry? What did you do?


Do you think chivalry is more than just the actions, i.e. opening doors, carrying boxes, offering the girl a seat, etc.? 


How many times out of ten do you show chivalry?


Do you think most guys practice chivalry if it is for a girl who most would deem attractive?


Do you think that girls are afraid of guys being chivalrous?


What do you think a girl’s role is in chivalry?


Do you think it is possible to do chivalrous actions and not be a chivalrous person?


Do you think chivalry is dead? If not, where is it? Should it be dead?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For the girls

What is chivalry?


What’s the most chivalrous thing a guy ever did for you?


When’s the last time a guy demonstrated chivalry to you?


Do you think chivalry is more than just the actions, i.e. opening doors, carrying boxes, offering the girl a seat, etc.? 


How many times out of ten does a guy show chivalry?


Do you think most guys practice chivalry if it is for a girl who most would deem attractive?


Do you think that girls are afraid of guys being chivalrous?


What do you think is a girl’s role in chivalry?


Do you think it is possible to do chivalrous actions and not be a chivalrous person?


Do you think chivalry is dead? If not, where is it? Should it be dead?

Thanks for helping me!!!!!! 


-Callie

National Day of Prayer

“I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time- waking and sleeping. It doesn't change God- it changes me.”  

-C.S. Lewis

What If?

 Honestly, I'm scared.

I'm worried for what the future holds.

What if it doesn't end okay?

What if they do the surgery and it's worse than they thought?

What if?

If. That tiny little word that changes everything. If and is.What could be and what will be. What may happen and what will happen. The difference between comfort and pain. Between heartache and joy.

Why am I wondering these things?

My Mama has been having some trouble. It happened first three years ago. It was diagnosed as a ministroke. They told Mama she had a brain tumor but it was nothing to worry about. She had another a few weeks ago.

Sometime in the near future, that benign brain tumor, which was the size of a pea and is the size of a golf ball, will be removed.

What if they go in and it's worse?


What will happen to my Mama? 


Why is God letting this happen?


There's a more important question.


Why wouldn't He? 


The question "Why?" can be dwarfed by the question of  "Why not?" 


Because there's a greater purpose.


I'm reminded of a C.S. Lewis quote. 


"Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted in spite of your changing mood."


Why am I reminded of this?


Because I'm having trouble trusting what I have written. 


Because sometimes all we see are the ifs. 


Sometimes all we see are the possibilities.


Sometimes all we can see are what can go wrong.


Sometimes all we can see is what could go right.


But I serve a God who knows both.


He knows what will happen.


He knows what I will do.


He cares about what we're going through.


He knows and cares and does.


"God is our refuge and strength,
    a helper who is always found
    in times of trouble."


Psalm 46:1 HCSB


Please pray for my family as we go through this hard time.

Beach Weekend!

 So, this past Thursday was my 12th birthday and to celebrate, we left on Saturday for Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Daddy, Katie, Cody, and I went to beachblast to see Anthem Lights, Disciple, Lecrae (!), tobyMac, and Skillet.

  Highlights:

  I met Lecrae!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I got his autograph and told him he had a nice hat (It was pretty cool).

  Lecrae did some of my favorite songs including God is Enough, Background, and Chase That.

  I could almost touch Disciple (which I didn't know at the time). On the way to their table, they walked really close to us.

  Skillet's performance ROCKED!!!!!! They did some of my favorite songs including Those Nights, Lucy, Hero, and Monster.


   Long story short, best concert (as far as show goes and some of my favorite artists) that I HAVE EVER BEEN TO!!!!!!!

  Other highlights include:

   Spending an amazing weekend with my family.

   Being able to go to the beach and pool.

   Shopping (I discovered this awesome accessory boutique call Bijuju).

   Going out to eat once (when you have a big family, going out to eat is a rare treat).

 

Prayer Request

 I have a prayer request for ya'll. My older siblings Katie (16) and Cody (14-he'll be 15 in August) are competing in the Finalists Drills at High Point tomorrow. They have a chance to go to Nationals and compete for a $2500 scholarship to the college of their choice (the top 3 winners will be rewarded one). My older sister Katie really wants to win, as does Cody. And honestly, I really want it for them. Katie is in High School Bible Drill and has memorized a TON of passages in the Bible, including the Love Chapter (1 Corinthians 13). She is one of the fastest people I've ever seen. If ya'll could just pray for them to have a TON of speed and quick recall, that would be appreciated. As Tori said,if you miss one, you're out. It'd really help if they could rack up on bonus points (you get bonus points when you are the first person up). They are some of the most mature Christians I've ever seen and I hold them in high regard. Yet again, I'd really appreciate it if you could pray for them to have quick recall.

Love,
Callie