Carrie's Corner

This is  a lengthy post and I will be posting this in more than one part.  I have hesitated to share this part of my life--so publicly--after all, criticism is the last thing I want--but this has been laid on my heart.  I'm not where I need to be, but I'm getting there.  It is indeed a journey and I'm continuing to learn not only about what I can and can't do, but what God is teaching me in this process.  My story is not that remarkable, but I hope that one day I'll be able to share with you the remarkable work that God has lead me through.  In the meantime, here goes... Thirty years.  It was a milestone for both of us.  We have weathered great storms and experienced the beauty that often follows after the storm.  And in thirty years of marriage, my husband has never once said to me, "You could really stand to lose some weight."  He could have and he would have been right, but instead, he chose to quietly support my every effort to s...

Summer is over, well, sort of.  The temperature is still warm, but on the calendar, the first day of Fall is two weeks away.  Labor Day has officially signaled the end of summer.  Along with that, school has started, the school buses are rolling through my neighborhood, and the stores are putting out the fall and harvest decorations.  But like many summers, this summer raced away and was over before I realized what happened.  This morning I found myself yearning to get to my neglected garden.  It seems I do this every summer.  I start out strong in April, planting things and getting ready for the upcoming season, but by the end of June, I'm not so enthusiastic about gardening anymore.  The weeds insist on coming back and as the thermometer rises, my motivation decreases.  But today my garden finally had some attention from me. The thing I like about gardening is that it gives me some time to think, ponder and even pray at times.  I marv...

It's been a little over a year since I  have posted on this blog.  For some of you, that's not a big deal.  Some of you, however, have asked me to get back to my keyboard and start typing again... In the next day or so, I'll  start posting again.  As with many of you, this last year has left a mark on my life.  There have been changes--some good and some I wouldn't have asked for--but change is something I think we can always count on.  In light of that, it's not the change I need to fear, but it's what I do with the change.  That gives me pause-- How do you react to change?  Do you welcome change or fear it?  Do you see change as a challenge or something that you dread?  Or do you prefer for things to stay as they always have been?  I suppose your answers and mine might be a combination of those answers.  I'll be addressing some changes in my life and perhaps make you think about changes in your life. And speaking...

In my little corner of the world, we just experienced one of the worst natural disasters in America. My family and I were spared from the catastrophic flooding in our neighborhood, but many of my friends were not.  My church was not spared.  What is left is hard to put into words.  The waters have receded in most areas, but there are still areas of town where the waters are still trying to claim houses, land, and anything else in its path. The devastation is truly unbelievable. And sometimes you feel guilty that you were spared and they were not...but... People need help and because I was spared, I get to help. Though our church building was not spared entirely, our worship center was and our pastor decided that we could help with what we had, and so the mission began. Over the past three days, we have started a laundry unit, taken in over 500 bags of smelly, wet, water-swamped laundry, returned over 300 bags of laundered and folded clothes, taken in donations by ...

I walked outside after dinner and saw the remnants of a few storm clouds off in the distance.  The tops were white, but the outer edges of the clouds were rimmed with pink and coral and golden light while the underneath side was giving way to the blue gray shadows.  The air hit me.  It  looked like it should be a pleasant summer evening to take a stroll in, but the sticky air reminded me that I no longer live in a climate where cooling evening breezes gently lilt across your face.  Instead I was instantly reminded that I live in the South.  The South--where summer is longer, hotter and stickier than I prefer.  Oh how I hate this time of year.  Yes.  Hate.  I'm always counting the days until the first strong cold front comes to our area and we finally get some relief from the sultry days of summer. But this time it dawned on me that I have spent so many years just trying to get through this time of year, that I have forgotten to enjoy...

I have often found myself to be on the outside of situations looking in...wishing to be a part of the "in" group.  I wasn't a cheerleader, not popular, wasn't the one with the big personality and the ability to draw people to me.  Even though I've performed as a musician, taught as a teacher and given speeches throughout my life, my personality still tended to hold me back.  I was the quiet one, hugging the wall or the corner of the couch.  If I had a stage or microphone, I was usually okay, but as soon as I stepped offstage, my nerves and fears would overtake me. It was what I knew and where I was most comfortable--yet I often longed to be the one in the middle of the action. I  have struggled in my life to overcome my natural tendency to blend in with the wallpaper and to learn instead, to step forward, speak up, introduce myself and stand out in the crowd.  I still really stink at that ability, but I'm learning...slowly. But this post isn't about me f...

I tend to avoid political rhetoric on any social media forum, but I am compelled to write a few brief thoughts and I hope you will really listen. As a life-long American, I grew up saluting the American flag, singing the National Anthem with pride and held dear in my heart all things patriotic and noble. I was taught to respect the office of President, regardless of who held the office. I was taught that voting was not only my civic duty, but that giving up my right to vote was paramount to spitting on the graves of the soldiers who had died to preserve my right to vote, my right to speak freely, and my right to worship as I chose. Honestly, not much of that has changed in my heart, but like many of you, my heart is wearied this season. Hopelessness? Yes. Fear? Yes. Anxiety over the future of our country? Yes. Honestly, regardless of which side of the political fence you fall on, these thoughts seem to be a common theme. Fear is the biggest one I see storming most of the ...

Oh My! It's almost Christmas time!?!  Can you believe it?    I chuckled to myself yesterday while I was at the store and I watched the clerks frantically shelving this year's Christmas decor.  Of course, if you walk into the garden section at your local Walmart it already looks like a Winter Wonderland. Truthfully, I kind of enjoyed walking around seeing what this year's offerings would be for Christmas decor.  I'm always tempted to add something to my collection, but the truth is, I already have far more Christmas decor than I need. What is even more amazing to me though, is how fast the holidays come upon me every year.  Last I knew, we were just starting a new school year and now we are in the middle of fall and looking forward to Thanksgiving.  But Christmas?  I just finished getting my pumpkins placed everywhere! Sometimes I long for the days of mystery and intrigue that I experienced as a child when the holidays came around.  Septemb...

I just hit a milestone birthday a couple of weeks ago.  Funny--I don't feel any older, but the calendar is claiming that I am. I find myself scratching my head sometimes and wondering when I became old enough to have married children, old enough to be called "ma'am" in the grocery store, and old enough to realize that I am now the age my parents were when I was stepping out into young adulthood.  The cliche's are true.  Time flew by at warp speed, and yet I still remember holding my newborn babies as if it were just last week.  It would be easy to fall into thinking that my life is half over and therefore I should hit the panic button, create a bucket list, or try to repair the broken pieces I left behind in the past, but I choose to think a bit differently. I'm moving forward and embracing the idea that it's never too late, as long as I'm alive.  And just where did that idea come from?  The obvious answer would be from God's word.  After all, th...

You might be assuming by the title of this blog that I will be talking about 2 and 3 years old kids, but I'm not.  I'm talking about me.  Yep. You got that right.  Me.  I threw a pretty good tantrum a couple of weeks ago.  I was trying to pack up to leave for a weekend away and had gone to the laundry room to throw in a quick load of clothes I needed for the trip.  When I opened the washer, it was full of clothes.  I opened the dryer, which was also full of clothes. I then looked at the laundry basket and someone had taken MY clothes out of the dryer and thrown them in the laundry basket without me knowing it.  The clothes had not only been sitting there wadded up in the basket, but our lovely cat had decided that a basket full of clean clothes was the perfect place to nap.  While this is not the first time for this kind of incident in our home, I decided that day that it was to be the last time it would ever happen.  I started yelling...

Have you ever looked back at something and you were surprised by the amount of time that had passed since you engaged in that activity?  That happened today, when I realized I hadn't written on this blog in over a year.  And what a year it has been.  I've had a death, a wedding, my oldest child moving out, my 2nd oldest moving back in, my mother moving closer to me and her adjusting to a new life.  That is on top of my regular life which consists of homeschooling and various volunteer activities, as well as just being a parent, a wife, a friend and daughter.  I had that persistent nag cross my mind often, which said, "You need to get back to writing on your blog!"  But I would ignore it and so here we are...a year later. It reminded me of other things that I have put off.  Number one is rebooting my exercise program and getting back to my healthy eating.  Another one is cleaning out some closets that are calling my name and another that i...

Yesterday, a friend of mine posted that his mother had passed on.  I was sad for him. I had known his mother as she and his dad had both given me many rides to church during high school.  She was one of the nicest people I had known.  I remembered she worried a lot about him and being in the thralls of being a teenage boy, he often dismissed her concerns. Both of his parents are now with the Lord and while I know he rejoices at that thought, I too, know that kind of loss.   Last week another friend posted that her mother had passed on.  Again, sadness came over me, but I was glad I had known her mother, even if only for a short while. What these two friends had in common is that they were part of a larger circle of friends that I grew up with at church.  Many of the friends in this circle I have known since elementary school. Some I met in Jr. High and some high school. Some of us attended the same schools together, but most of us did not.  Yet, we w...

To the woman who desperately wanted to have children, but God said, “No”...           I cannot comfort you or ease the empty ache of your soul, but my Lord can. To the teachers who have no children of their own, but pour tirelessly into the lives of other children…           Is “thank you” ever enough to say? You touch and influence far more than you know. For the nurses working in the hospitals taking care of the sick and dying children…           What compassion, grace and mercy God has given you to gift these little ones with some peace. To the childless woman who takes on the role of aunt or guardian with fervor, love and endless delight…           Your love is immeasurable and your time is spent in ways that can never be repaid . For the social worker who sees the very worst situations in which our children live…           Your strength to continuing tryi...

It was a typical Sunday morning at church. There were some video announcements, followed by a brief welcome and then the music started. The first song was great. It was an inspiring, motivating type of song that made you want to belt out a stanza or two. Then the second song started, My Heart Is Yours. I started singing the words and was enjoying the traditional hymn thrown in the middle of the song, but suddenly the words pierced through me. “My heart is yours, my heart is yours, take it all, take it all, my life in your hands.” I stopped for a few seconds and tried to regain my composure. The song continued on. “You are my God, whatever the cost, Jesus.” The cost? Do I  really know what that means?  The song continued on.   “All to Jesus, I surrender.” Surrender?  Really? I can’t even give up butter for 40 days! Why in the world would I think I could surrender it all to Jesus? I stopped singing at that point. I couldn’t. It wasn't honest. I continu...

So many of us in this world are broken in some ways.  Some of us are very broken--as  a matter of fact, I would say we are more than just broken--we are shattered.  Life has been hard on us and we have weathered some really tough times.  Some of us are a little broken, with a chip here or there, but not much more than that.  After all, our lives have been pretty good to us.  Some of us are not shattered, but we are more than just chipped.  Life has been hard, but not unbearable.  We have experienced heartache, yet have still come out of it, more damaged, but still intact.  Cracked, chipped, broken and shattered. What is God supposed to do with all of those pieces?  Can he really put us back together again?  If he does, are we ever really the same?  I guess that depends on what you believe God can really do.  Do you really believe he can make all things new or do you think you will just end up looking like the cup in the ...

Both David and I have experienced the death of someone close to us.  David lost his father in a farming accident when he was 13.  It was sudden, unexpected, and shocking.  I lost my father when I was 22, after watching him fight cancer for a little over 6 years.  It was drawn out, expected, but still shocking when his death finally occurred.   The grief that we both experienced was tremendous. These experiences shaped our lives and even our marriage.  It's a conversation we have always had--from the very beginning of our marriage.  We've always had life insurance and we've always talked about what the other spouse should do in the event of our death.  Though it sounds morbid to have such conversations so early on in marriage, it also served us well to keep a sense of reality in our lives.  We never know how long we have on this earth or how long someone else has...and therein lies the lesson of making the most of the days we now have. Eph...

I admit it.  I am NOT a leapfrog.  I'm not exactly a turtle either, but I do move at the pace of  turtle sometimes.  It drives my leapfrog family and friends a bit nutty.  I don't mean to drive them crazy, but I often times move at a different pace.  I'm a thinker.  I'm cautious.  I ponder.  Probably a little too much of all of those things at times... On the other hand, my leapfrog family and friends drive me a bit batty at times.  They get excited over a new idea and want to pounce on it right away, without giving it much thought.  Forget caution and who has time to think? Let's get it done---NOW! I do enjoy having leapfrogs in my life though.  They are the movers and shakers of the world.  They like to get things done, like to implement new ideas and aren't afraid to jump into new situations.  I admire their lack of fear and their carefree attitude about what could happen.  Of course they often look at me ...

Recently, a friend of mine told me that she was frustrated with homeschooling,  I sympathized with her.  I've been down that weary road of frustration many times.  Homeschooling can be hard--no doubt.  There are days when you are really scratching your head and wondering what you were thinking.  You might even be questioning the Lord and wondering what HE was thinking when he asked you to take on this project....but rest assured--if you truly are following the Lord's leading in this area, then he will give you the tools you need to complete the task.  Isn't that true of other areas of our life though?  Truly---whatever God has called you to do, he will provide the tools you need.  Why is that so hard to grasp though? Truthfully, I was filled with doubts regarding homeschooling.  I was pregnant with our fourth child at the time, and couldn't see how I was going to teach a 1st and 3rd grader all while juggling a toddler and a newborn. ...