25 Random Facts About Me! Part 1

25 Random Facts About Me!!

Part 1

1. I gave up drinking sodas years ago and haven't had one since. I literally woke up one day and told my man that I wasn't going to drink one again (nothing had been planned - it was totally spur the moment). Now, I do LOVE my tea (hot or cold) and I tend to have my daily intake of water drank by lunch.

2. I'm seriously in LOVE LOVE LOVE with the color PINK. It just flat out makes me happy.

3. My family calls me, Shelly. When my younger cousin was born, she couldn't say my name and my new name was born: Shelly. When my man first met my family he was so confused on who they were talking to when they said Shelly.

4. I LOVE to research and study God's Word. I like getting into the deep roots of the words. It will not surprise my husband to see me at the kitchen table reading and researching for something before he leaves for work and still be in the same spot working on the same thing when he returns.

5. I'm so thankful for my family heritage. The deep roots of my family came to life after my great grandmother and grandparents conducted research for years. I come from such a great legacy of ministry and military. And if you know me - that fits me well.

6. I'm an only child. My mom wasn't suppose to have any children and the doctor told her it would take surgery for her to have a child. My mom said no to the surgery and gave it all to God - years later, she found out she was pregnant. The doctor took many tests because they couldn't believe it. To answer the next thing - No, I wasn't spoiled. The scripture says, "Spare the rod, spoil the child" - and my parents never spared the rod. Praise God!

7. I'm a bargain shopper to the fullest. I don't like to buy anything full price. Basically everything in our home I got at a discounted rate.

8. The Dogs!! I love our dogs. We have 4. Yes, I said 4. Let's break this down...

1. Lizzie - our rescue dog. We were at a friends house in the country and this puppy ran up to us (and of course my man was like - don't touch it, you don't know where it's been) and of course I was instantly in love. I personally didn't plan on keeping the dog; the plan was to find the dog a home and get her off the streets. After exhausting everyone we knew about getting a new dog, Lizzie joined our family. She is now 8 years old and is very set in her ways. She will bark if a leaf hits the ground in the backyard.

2. Sammie - Boston #1. I wanted a Boston Terrier for years....literally. My man would say I would change my tone of voice and light up when I saw one. If we were in the car, I would want to slow down and look at them(even talk to the people if he would let me...which never really happened). THANKFULLY MY MOM HEARS FROM THE LORD! For my birthday one year, after much research Mom found Sammie. There was a catch: she was in Georgia. So guess what we did? That's right... we jumped on a plane and headed to Georgia to pick up my new "baby". She will be celebrating her birthday in April and will be 5.

3 & 4. Sadie and Sophie - Boston's 2 & 3. That's kinda confusing...but you got it. I just recently did a post on them so I won't ramble on too much about them... they are the newest additions to our family. They were both Christmas gifts from my parents and my man this past year. I have always wanted 3 Bostons. No particular reason; just always wanted 3 Boston Terriers.

Needless to say, we will not be getting more dogs ANYTIME soon!! :)

9. There is just something about worship to me. I LOVE so very much to Worship God. I always want to get to church early so we never miss one beat of the worship time. When I worship God, I don't care who is around - it's just me and my Jesus. Don't be surprised if you see me in my car with one hand on the wheel and one hand in the air.... I'm having church in my car. You can say 99% of my music on my iPod is Worship...I really don't care to listen to anything else. Very thankful God has allowed us to experience such an awesome time of entering into His presence here on earth through music. But mostly, I'm so glad I get to spend eternity worshipping my Savior.

10. Since being married, I've become an avid reader. I love books... I read before I was married but just things that I had to read. Now, I will go through a book a week (sometimes sooner - depends) and be reading several books at a time. My man has an insane passion for books and reading....one of the many things I love about him and I'm sure glad he has rubbed some of that off on me.

11. I'm a gamer. I mean this to the fullest extent of the word. In my family, we are all very competitive when it comes to playing games. We start "trash talking" all the way to the game table... in good fun, of course. My Granny was an avid Bridge player and was known to take anyone down who she competed against...therefore, I blame it on the blood. We love cards, dice, board games, and even some video games. My Momma is a Super Mario freak. She is not a night owl until you turn the video game on with Mario, then something comes over her to get to the next level. I have fully embraced the game syndrome in my family and I can easily get addicted.

epictrek

Don't you just love how God brings such special people into our lives?

My man and I were blessed to have a one-of-a-kind youth pastor growing up. Besides my parents, The Hardaways played a pivotal role in developing us as leaders for God.

They have an insane passion for God that can't be missed or mistaken. My man and I were among a handful of students who were selected to be a part of a teen-leadership group that JimEd and Tonya created called The Josiah Project. They pushed us to do community hours, servant hours by helping in the church (you wouldn't believe some of the stories we have from cleaning our youth building), mission trips, start small groups, lead worship, quiz us in the Word, and continuously memorize a "plethora" of scriptures. They poured God's Word and love into us constantly, and the part that really is the kicker - they lived it (and still do). They full-out lived what they taught which set a high bar for our lives; showing and teaching us what being a true leader is all about.

JimEd and Tonya with their 3 boys.

After being in student ministry for several years, JimEd and Tonya felt God calling them to launch this awesome ministry, epictrek, in 2004.

I don't want to spoil anything because I want you to go check out their website yourself...www.epictrek.com

The website has a ton of great resources and I love reading the articles.

"The mark of a good leader is loyal followers; leadership is nothing without a following."Proverbs 14:28 MSG

I'm so thankful for great leaders like JimEd and Tonya!!

Studying...

Don't you just love God's Word? I am in constant awe of His greatness and how His Word continues to speak. I spend a lot of time studying and researching the Word (by far the greatest part of my job). I just love this passage and wanted to share it with ya.

Matthew 7:14 "Don't look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don't fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life - to God! - is vigorous and requires total attention." MSG

I love this - I think it clearly speaks to this generation. We are constantly wanting a "shortcut" to get whatever we need. Seriously, if you want God, it's not gonna take some of your time but all of your time. It's going to require your TOTAL attention. We make the mistake of only wanting to give ourselves to Him during the convenient times, but when it comes to giving ourselves to Him and sacrificing something that hurts, we back off.

Living for God isn't a part time job...which so many think they are signing up for. It's a full time 24/7 job. It's not an option for life - He is your life.

I love how the scripture even warns you about people falling for the "shortcuts" but don't follow it! It's not always the popular choice, but it's the daily choice to follow Him.

"But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:33 NIV

"Blessed are those who observe His testimonies, who seek Him with all their heart." Psalms 119:2 NASB

I don't know about you, but I want to seek Him and His Kingdom with everything I've got. Let's raise the bar and not take any "shortcuts" to God; let's give Him the best of ourselves everyday.

The Irby's

I'm so thankful for true Godly friends that God just flat out ordains and no one could have even placed together.

One of my precious friends I've known since we were 5/6 years old. We grew up on the same street and logged countless hours together playing house, riding bikes, swimming, and everything and anything young girls do (and then some).

She felt God calling her into the mission field after High School and followed God wholeheartedly to the other side of the world, and she lived there for a couple of years until her prince charming (her high school sweetheart) proposed to her and she returned to the states. PRAISE THE LORD!!

Not long after they were married, they were both feeling God call them back into the mission field. They waited to follow God and His perfect timing - with that said... just this past month they packed up their home (with an adorable toddler) and headed to Cyprus where God was calling them.

With all that said - I would love for you to join me in praying for The Irby's; that God would use them to spread His love and His Word to the people in Cyprus. I know God is going to do some amazing things through this family and I just love them so very much!

Here are a few pics of B'linda and I:

She was one of the bridesmaids in my wedding...

She and I dancing at my wedding.

Happy Love Day

I'm so thankful to be celebrating "Love Day" with the man of my dream. God truly knew what He was doing when He set us up together...and I love doing life with him.

I wanted to share with you a poem my man wrote me years ago that I just recently came across...

An Angel

A light emerges from the moonlit sky

The darkness is pierced by the silvery presence

It is an Angel

I panic at first as to what to do

Never have my eyes seen anything so breath taking and beautiful

It is an Angel

She takes my trembling hand in hers

She calms my fears with her words that fall so softly

Like rose petals

She is my Angel

To: Rachelle. My Angel

I married Mr. Romantic, right?

Happy Valentine's Day!!! Know you are loved.

Valentine's Day

Ok. So I know I am suppose to be finished showing you my seasonal centerpieces, but I changed up my Valentine one and wanted to share it with you...

Valentine's is one of my favs. I know people say it's just a holiday Hallmark made up to make more money, but if that's the case, then I want to say thanks to Hallmark. I love random fun holidays to break up the everyday stuff. I love that we set aside a day to share and tell the people we care how much they are loved. We should do that all the time though...you don't need a holiday to do so, but it sure is fun to go all out when there is a day set aside for that purpose. I still need to figure out all the details for what I am going to do for my man this year....

I'm going to leave you with this scripture:

"But the man who loves God is known by God." 1 Corinthians 8:3 NIV

I don't know about you, but I sure do love God! What an honor we get to be known by God when we love Him.

Romantically Challenged

I have posted a couple of videos in the past from these guys, and I'm sure I'll post more in the future. I love the Skit Guys. They deliver an awesome message with great humor. With Valentine's Day approaching, I thought this would be perfect...

Siesta Scripture...

I'm so excited to be joining thousands of women memorizing scriptures with Beth Moore. I have been memorizing Scriptures for years on my notecards (thankful for youth leaders and parents who instilled the importance of this at a young age), but this year I joined these ladies. You had the option of getting these cute notecards (which I did) or you of course could just use your own cards at home.

There is such an importance in storing God's Word in your heart.

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God." Colossians 3:16 NIV

"I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You." Psalms 119:11 NIV

"I delight in Your decrees; I will not neglect Your word." Psalms 119:16 NIV

I love the richness those scriptures bring talking about storing God's Word in your heart. One of the best examples of showing the importance of storing God's Word in our hearts is shown so clearly in Matthew 4. Jesus himself was tempted by the devil and He defeated the devil by using the Word of God.

If we don't put God's Word in our hearts, when the devil comes to tempt and test us (and he will), we won't have the Word inside of us and it's not going to come out to help us fight.

If you haven't been taking the time to memorize and make sure God's promises are ingrained in your heart - START. Start now. Post them on your mirror, the dash in your car, on your computer screen... wherever you want so you can see them on a daily basis and have in front of your eyes to remind you of the promises.

Let me end with this - what goes in will come out. When we start putting God's Word in our hearts on a daily basis, then His Word will start coming out of our lives. Trust me - people will notice and it will be obvious you are living for something more.

"But if anyone obeys His Word, God's love is truly made complete in Him. This is how we know we are in Him: Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did." 1 John 2:5-6 NIV

We can't walk like Jesus if we haven't opened the Bible to see how Jesus walked. Let's all get in the Word and start living Him out in EVERYTHING we do!