Happy Birthday, Joshua!

Twenty eight years ago today, I received the precious gift of a son,

Joshua Reid Davis. 

Since the very beginning of your life, you have always been a "night owl"... making your debut into this world at 4:36 a.m.!  You've remained on that same "time schedule" to this day!  LOL

You checked in to the world at 7 lbs. 3 oz. ... a mere 51 minutes after we arrived at the hospital!  Most everyone that saw you thought that you resembled your dad when he was a baby.

*******

My favorite President of all time, Ronald Reagan, was President of the United States. Leg warmers, scrunch socks and designer jeans were popular fads and "It's Raining Men" was one of the most requested songs. Feathered hair and side ponytails were popular.

******

We have surely been through a lot together since that morning 28 years ago....

You have taught me so much about life.  Your zeal for life is contagious and your love for the Lord and for others is refreshing. You have "never met a stranger" and everyone who meets you thinks that you are such an interesting guy.  You are well-read and knowledgeable about so many topics.

I thank God for the blessing of a son.  It has been an awesome experience to watch God work in your life, especially over the past year, and to see you mature into such an awesome young man. 

Just as I have prayed for you (and your sisters) for many years, my prayer for your life today remains the same:

That God would fill you with all the fullness of His will; with all spiritual wisdom and understanding. 

That He would teach you to walk in a manner worthy of the Christ which you profess.

That He would create within your heart a desire to please Him in everything.

That He would so work in your life that you would bear fruit in every good work.

That He would so create a desire in your heart for the things of God that you would continually be increasing in your knowledge and understanding of His ways.

That God would strengthen you with all power and might according to His glorious supernatural power, so that steadfastly and with patience that you would be able to endure all kinds of trials.

And that the Lord would let you so live a life of thanksgiving for His work of grace --that you are part of His inheritance -- translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light.

It is so exciting for me, as your mother, to see God answering many of the prayers that I have prayed over your life.  God IS faithful!

God has begun a mighty work in your life and I  am confident that He will complete it!

Happy Birthday, Joshua...I love you!

Mom

"And this is the confidence that we have before Him that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked of Him."     

I John 5:14-15

End of a LONG, LONG Week......

This week has been an EXTREMELY long one!

My office is usually open 4 days each week, but because we were closed for 2 days due to snow a couple of weeks ago, we were open 5 days this week to try to accommodate all the patients that had to be rescheduled. It is amazing how much more demanding working one additional day can be!  AND...we are scheduled to work 5 days NEXT week, too!  I think my boss is already rethinking his decision to add these two additional days! We are ALL "pooped"!

In addition to my "regular" job, I also work several nights a week as a hostess in a local restaurant.  I started working here about a year ago,  knowing that there would probably be an upcoming wedding in our family in the near future. Sure enough, on May 4th of 2010, I came home from working that evening to this romantic sight on my patio:

My daughter's fiance', Josh, had built a fire in the outdoor fireplace and he had spelled out "Will You Marry Me" on my patio - in tea lights! How sweet and romantic is that!

Now, their special day is FAST approaching!  On April 2, 2011, my daughter, Grace, and Josh, plan to be married and our family could not be more excited!

As for my second job...what started out as a means to earn extra money that would be designated for their upcoming wedding, has actually turned into something I really enjoy! I call it my "No-Brainer" job....meaning that after my more stressful "day job", my working in this fine dining restaurant is really enjoyable. I love people and since my love language is clearly Acts of Service, it is "right up my alley".

Since I have been working in this local area for the past 11 years, I know many of the guests that frequent our restaurant.  I sometimes say it is like a "Cheers" setting because we have so many "regulars" that come in every week...some of which have their "set" table that they sit at each time they come in.  Some even come several times a week!  Our atmosphere is a very "family" atmosphere which has definitely led to the great success that our restaurant has experienced over the past 7 years.

Last night was the first night of  Queens Feast  - a semi-annual event here in the Queen City.  It is an opportunity for the people of Charlotte to "dine like royalty" for thirty dollars a person over a 10-day period. Many of the upscale restaurants in our metropolitan area participate, giving guests an opportunity to choose an appetizer, entree and dessert -- all for the $30 fare. It also brings a great boost to our local economy in the process--with the July 2009 event serving over 80,000 dinners for an estimated local impact of $3.76 million.

The first night of Restaurant Week was a great success...with our restaurant being on an at least an hour wait most of the night. Unfortunately, we also had to turn away many disappointed guests who waited to the last minute to make their reservations.   ) :

Now that this LONG work week has finally come to a close...I am so excited to have today off!
I have lots of projects that NEED to be done around the house...i.e. mail to sort, bills to pay, 2010 tax "stuff" to be filed away...you know, "fun stuff" like that!

Now... whether or NOT I will DO anything of those things....remains to be seen!

How about you?  

Do you have any exciting plans for the weekend?

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

Interruptions...or Divine Appointments?

This past Thursday morning, as I was having my Quiet Time with the Lord before leaving for work, the Holy Spirit impressed upon me during my prayer time to pray that I would be an encouragement to someone that day that needed encouraging. The last thing that I wrote in my journal that morning was asking God to bring someone across my path that day that I could be an encouragement to.

Shortly after arriving at work, I placed a call to a business colleague and God CLEARLY answered that prayer.  He had me call a person I had not spoken with in at least 3 months and this person, on this very day, was dealing with extreme loss, grief and pain and just needed a "shoulder to cry on" and a listening ear.   God had scheduled a "Divine Appointment" for me!

I had an opportunity to share the love of Jesus and the comfort of the Holy Spirit to this person experiencing so much hurt and pain in her life right now.  I was filled with compassion and my heart broke as she shared with me the circumstances that she was currently facing in her life.

Have you ever had a coincidence that was so special that you felt like God was in it?

I believe many times those "coincidences" are divine appointments -  "meetings" which are God led or inspired.

God is Sovereign. He is all-knowing and all-powerful. He knew that on this very day that this person would need a call from me...to listen to her, cry with her and most importantly, covenant to pray for her. He knew that I ALSO needed this appointment! The more that I shared with her about my faith...the more MY faith increased!

I couldn't help but wonder about how many appointments that God may have orchestrated for me in the past that I was "too busy" to see.  


Those divine appointments that I may have viewed as "interruptions" to my already busy schedule. 


Those situations that came across my path that I ignored because I didn't have time to "get involved".

As I thought about this encounter throughout the rest of the day, the Holy Spirit convicted me of the times that I have not allowed my daily life to be led by the Spirit.  I was challenged to slow down long enough to see, REALLY SEE, the people He has placed in my path; people that need to experience the love and compassion of Christ.  To take a second look at the "interruptions" in my schedule and see possible divine appointments orchestrated by my Heavenly Father.

I was reminded of the lyrics to a popular Christian song by Brandon Heath:

Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me Your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me Your love for humanity.


Give me Your arms for the broken hearted
The ones who are far beyond my reach
Give me Your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me Your eyes so I can see.


I pray that, as I go about my daily life, that I would be sensitive to the divine appointments that God, in His Sovereignty, has arranged for me. I know that if I am willing to be led by the Holy Spirit, GREAT things are possible!

Make me willing, Lord....


Give me YOUR eyes....
                                       YOUR heart....
                                                                 YOUR arms....    
                                                                                            Give me YOUR love, Lord! 

Siesta Scripture Memory Team - Verse #2

In 2009, I joined the Siesta Scripture Memory Team (SSMT) for a one year plan of scripture memorization with Beth Moore. God used His Word to speak to my heart in amazing ways that year!

I have been looking forward to the beginning of 2011 so that I could make another commitment to memorize 24 passages of God's Word over the next 12 months. I found in the year 2009 that the accountability of memorizing scripture with other ladies was such an encouragement.

So.....On January 1rst, I decided to join the Siesta Scripture Memory Team again this year. I've got my spiral bound index cards and and I am already on my second entry for 2011. 

The verse that I have chosen for my memory verse for January 15th is:

Ah, Sovereign Lord, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm, 

NOTHING is too hard for YOU.

Jeremiah 32:17 NIV

I listened to this interview yesterday on the LPM Blog and I could hardly believe that in just 1 short month (from Dec. 13 - Jan. 13) LPM has mailed out 8009 Spirals for their 2011 Scripture Memory plan! Isn't that incredible to think that over 8000 people have committed to memorize at least 2 verses of scripture per month over the next 12 months! LPM also has developed an "App" for those of you that are IPhone or IPad users! How awesome is that! So check it out here if you're interested.

And...don't feel like you can't participate because you don't have your cute little Siesta Scripture Memory Spiral. I don't have one of those, either...I am still just using my plain index cards I got from Walgreens. If I end up ordering a "Siesta Spiral", I will just transfer them over to the new "cute" one later.

So...come on, Siestas....won't you join in with me and over 8000 others and commit to hide God's Word in your heart this year? He promises that His Word will NEVER return void, but will accomplish what He sends it forth to do!

Happy Birthday, Walt!

Today is my sweet husband's birthday!

I can hardly believe that this is his 34th birthday that we have celebrated together!

Walt, I hope that your special day is as special as YOU are to me! 
May God grant you the deepest desires of your heart this year.

I love you very much and look forward to celebrating the next 34 birthdays with you!

Praying God's richest blessings on you today and throughout this year!  

May this be your BEST year YET!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HONEY!

Snow Day Thoughts...

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, 

and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish,

so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

so is My word that goes out from My mouth:

It will not return to Me empty,

but will accomplish what I desire

and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Isaiah 55: 10-11

Thank you, Lord, that You are the one who tells the snow when to fall...

You appoint when it should come,  and to what degree and how long it shall remain. 

Job 37:6

52 Weeks, 52 Letters - A 2011 Project

I have always had a love for handwritten notes, cards, and letters, but with the fast pace of our current society and the advent of email, cell phones, text messages, Skype and Google Talk, I feel like handwritten letters are a dying art.  I just recently was talking with a friend about this and began feeling impressed in my heart that I wanted to do better in 2011 about writing more handwritten notes, cards and letters.  There is just something very special about letters that are actually handwritten and mailed ... and not delivered to the desktop of a computer!

I think that someone taking the time to write you a handwritten note means so much.  It shows that they put a lot of thought into the perfect card or note, they had to plan ahead to have postage stamps on hand and they carefully thought out exactly what they wanted to say... from their heart to yours!

Who doesn't enjoy getting mail from a precious friend or loved one?  I don't know about you, but when I go to the mailbox and find a handwritten envelope in the midst of the plethora of bills, I immediately grab that card out and rip it open - FIRST!

I am also one of those people who save EVERY card, note or letter that I receive from my loved ones and friends.  I have a card box on my dresser that is OVERFLOWING with precious memories that I have received just over the last couple of years!  I have at least TWO other such boxes in the floor of my closet right now!

I also have another VERY special box that contains every "love letter" that my husband and I exchanged when we were dating - while he was away at college in NC and I lived and worked in GA.  As you can see....I am a little sentimental when it comes to handwritten cards, notes and letters.

When I started back blogging recently, one of the first blogs I revisited was my sweet friend, Anita's, at A Woman, A Wife, A Mom.  I saw this post on her blog and I felt that it was another confirmation that I was supposed to write more cards and letters this year...and what better way to do that than to commit to writing a handwritten note to someone for EVERY week during the year 2011!  52 Weeks, 52 Letters!


The details from the blog that Anita linked to in her post were,

“One piece of “real” mail sent out each week. It can be a letter, a postcard, a care package, a thank you note, handmade art, etc. I’m searching for all of the cards and stationary I have collected over the years and gathering them into one place with pens, envelopes (regular & padded), lots of stamps (.28 & .44), a glue stick, unlined index cards (great for making postcards), and a few USPS Small Flat Rate boxes. Oh, and I’m updating my address book.”

So...Thank you for giving me the extra "nudge" I needed, Anita.  I think this is going to be such a rewarding goal for 2011!

Now.....how about you, my friends?  

Would you like to be the recipient of a nice surprise letter in 2011? Share your mailing address with me, if I don't already have it, and who knows what might happen!

Or, maybe this sounds like something you would like to commit to with me this year? 

I would love to have you join me in bringing some much-needed love and encouragement to others this year ...

52 Weeks, 52 Letters in 2011!

MiMi Gets A Makeover

MiMi's Making Meals got a makeover yesterday from my very-talented daughter, Faith at A Design of Faith Blog Designs! I have known since I recently started back blogging that I wanted to update AT LEAST my photographs, since they were several years old, but  after someone that was new to my blog last week said, ..."Now..the pictures at the top of your blog are not YOU, are they?"... I KNEW it was time!

My blog designer, Faith, is just so busy... designing other blogs, working full-time outside the home and working with the youth of our church...I hated to ask her to change it. I was originally hoping that all she would have to do was to update my photos, but since my old blog design was on an old computer of hers that she did not have access to anymore, she had to completely redesign it.

She asked me several times what kind of design, colors, etc. that I wanted and I told her that I totally trusted whatever she picked out for me because she is SO talented in this area --- she has such an eye for design! She said that it needed to be wider anyway and after seeing her new design I TOTALLY agree!   I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!

Thank you so much, Faith, for not only giving MiMi's Making Meals a complete makeover, but also for the recent redesign of MiMi's Making Memories! You've helped to motivate me to jump back into blogging...that I have missed SO much!

If you have a minute....hop over to MiMi's Making Meals and let me know what you think!

"Girls DAY Out!

Several days ago I sent both of my daughters a text and asked them if they would like to join me Friday after work for a quick lunch and then on to the nail salon for a manicure and pedicure.  I had been blessed with 2 Gift Certificates to the same salon and I decided to share them with my 2 sweet girls!

We all got off from work around 1:00 p.m., so we decided to meet up at M@es for some Naked Burritos and  Taco Salads before our 1:45 p.m. appointments. After lunch, we walked a few doors down to the nail salon where I had previously made our appointments.

Since Grace was scheduled for a manicure AND a pedicure, she was the first one to be taken back for her appointment.

Faith was still busy trying to make her final decision on the perfect nail color before it was her turn to be seen. She only wanted a manicure since she had just gotten a pedicure last week and the nail tech had CUT her toe and it still had not healed! OUCH!!

Finally, I got to join Grace for an awesome hot foot bath, scrub and pedicure. I had forgotten just how good a pedicure feels! I could get used to THIS!

As an added bonus, the massage chairs were awesome in this salon.  It was massaging up and down my entire body.  I felt like I had to be  college graduate to operate the remote control, though!  Every time I thought I had the power off...it would start back up with all sorts of gyrations! LOL

Faith got a hand and arm massage prior to her nails getting polished.  I must say that I LOVE this part of a manicure service, but for some strange reason...I have an allergic response to something they use and it causes my skin on my hands to peel off and be very painful for a few days following my massage, so I decided to just stick with the pedicure only this time.

By this time Grace had moved on to the drying cycle....

And very soon she was joined by her sister, Faith...

I had SO much fun spending time with my two sweet girls...we laughed so much and it was just fun to get a little pampering to start the weekend off right!

After the "Mani and Pedi" appointment, Grace and I headed to our next appointment....

Grace had her first fitting for her wedding gown.  We looked at shoes, jewelry, etc., but still have not made any final decisions.  Hopefully, she will make a decision about which shoes within the next month so that she can have her dress hemmed at the next fitting appointment.  April is going to be here BEFORE WE KNOW IT!  Her dress is so beautiful and just "looks like her"!  I know that she is going to be such a beautiful bride!

There are so many details yet to be decided....I'm starting to "panic" just a little as it's been a LONG time since I planned a wedding, but I know that very soon everything will start falling into place.

After we were done there, we headed to Jos. A. Banks to look at suits for the men in the wedding and finally home after a LONG, but fun day!

I spent the rest of the evening in my "jammies" with my hubby and this handsome fella"! ( :

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

Prayers for My Fur Baby...

. 

One of my sweet "fur babies", Champ, had to have surgery today and is feeling a little under the weather this evening.
If you know anything about Boxers, you know that they are prone to all kinds of "bumps" and growths.  This was my sweet boy's 3rd or 4th surgery to have a tumor removed and the second one on the same leg.

When we picked him up from the vet this afternoon he was still very disoriented from the anesthetic and he was wearing an Elizabethan collar to keep him from licking the wound and possibly pulling out the sutures. Bless his heart...he looked like he had a lampshade on his head! ) :

In addition to having surgery on his hind left leg, he had his teeth cleaned and he also had to have 2 teeth extracted that were abscessed! He keeps licking his front left leg where his IV was inserted so it must be a little sore, too. It's so hard to watch my buddy feel like this...he looks so pitiful.

He was able to have a light meal before bedtime and has been tucked in his bed ever since.  Tomorrow he starts on his prescription medicines...praying he feels much better tomorrow after a good night's rest.

I love you, "Champer Doodle"!

Bringin' in the New Year...Southern Style, YAWL !

As you may have figured out by now, ANY special occasion revolves around food here in the South.  New Year's Day is NO exception!

Yesterday morning, I had the sweetest treat from my husband!  I came out of the shower and, as he does MOST mornings, he delivered my fresh cup of coffee to me to drink while I dried my hair. That in itself would have been enough, but after I finished getting ready, he told me breakfast was ready and I came into the kitchen to this DELICIOUS goodness....

He had brought the new year in the night before preparing this traditional Breakfast Casserole with sausage, eggs, bread and cheese that we typically have every CHRISTmas morning, and boy was it yummy!  He was so proud of his culinary skills....the first thing he said to me was, "Take a picture!"... I said, "Really?" and he said, "Why not?...You take a picture of everything else!" HA!

So, be on the lookout...in addition to having  MiMi's Making Meals, we may soon be having Poppa's Making Meals, too! 

After we finished with our breakfast I began preparing our traditional New Year's Day meal.  For those of you who don't know....us Southerners have a tradition of eating black-eyed peas, cornbread, "greens" (collards, kale, turnips, spinach, etc.) and some type of pork on New Year's Day. This variety of foods are said to bring good luck and increase the odds that the new year will be a great one. 

The black-eyed peas are thought to look like coins so people consume them with financial rewards in mind. The hog, and therefore the meat from the hog, is thought to symbolize wealth and prosperity. The "greens" are also considered to bring good luck because their leaves look like folded paper currency.  It's widely believed that the more "greens" one consumes, the larger one's fortune for the next year.

My family joined us at lunch to partake of all this Southern goodness.... Marinated and Baked Pork Chops, Turnip Greens, Southern Buttermilk Cornbread, Black-eyed Peas with chopped onions and Chow-Chow.  Chow Chow is a relish that is a staple on  many Southern dining tables and is typically served with pinto beans and cornbread, or anything else you want to put it on. It's a mixture of sweet and spicy that really "perks up" the taste of about anything you add it to. It is something my soon-to-be son-in-law has discovered that he absolutely LOVES!

We also came to the realization in this new year, that not only does little Miss E no longer need a booster seat to reach the table, but she no longer needs a small little plate!  Girlfriend has really started eating so well!  

So....from now on she gets a BIG dinner plate just like the rest of us Southerners!  Oh..and a big ole' glass of Sweet Iced Tea....YAWL!

Wishing you much health wealth and prosperity in 2011 -

Happy New Year from my family to yours!