Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

Today is a special day for me and my family.  I am launching a new business.  Paparazzi Accessories by Annie B! Jewelry and hair accessories that are $5 each.

 I first found out about this company when I was invited to a Facebook Paparazzi Party by an friend.  I couldn't believe all the items were only $5! I wish I had a boat load of money so I could buy everything I saw...but my hubby's job was threatening layoffs and money was tight (here).  I ordered a few pieces, and agreed to host a party so I got a free piece! 3 pieces for $10 bucks! Not bad!

 After I had my show/party, I was still interested in looking at all the items that Paparazzi had to offer.  Then one day I saw a posting from the Consultant who ran the FB party, and she was offering incentives for folks to join her team.  I discussed it with the Hubby, and now, here I am! I'm ready to start my new business and hopefully get others to join my team! I am looking forward to this opportunity of being able to help the family income after hubby's layoff, and also looking ahead to plan some fun, family adventures...oh, yeah, then there's a graduation party in '17, college.....braces.....the porch needs fixing.....etc., etc,!!!!

If you'd like to check out what Paparazzi is all about, check out my Facebook business page link here.....

~Blessings, Annie B!

The Door is Shut, Now What?

In early March, after 3 years of blood, sweat and tears, the company my husband worked for gave him a permanent lay off.  This is a job that was given to him by God, which ultimately led us to move from Michigan to Kentucky.  Now, three years later, no more job.  What's a family to do?

This was sort of reminiscent of the story of Noah.  God told Noah to build an ark, and when it was built, and everyone (and everything) was in it, God shut the door.  No human hand could open it. What faith Noah had to not only listen to God and do a most unusual thing as to build a boat when they were no where near water, but also to put himself inside a vessel, and be shut in with nothing but his immediate family, stinky animals and provisions.(Our situation was similar, My husband, my mother, my son and our dog all traveling the over 300 miles from our old home to our new home) Noah had no idea what he was in for.  And we didn't either, but we trusted....We trusted God was moving us to a place where he wanted us, just like Noah. However, when the door closed on the job that was supporting our family, and allowing me to be a stay at home mom, fear and uncertainty easily crept in.  Now, the door is shut.  No one can open it but God.

After 40 days, Noah let a bird out of the window which was way up high on the ark.  The first few times, the bird came back to the ark, unable to find a place to nest.  Then on another day, the bird was let loose again, and never came back.  It was at that point that God opened the door and the family and animals were able to walk out of the ark and start their new life.

During our time in the ark, my hubby was able to file for unemployment, but that didn't kick in for a couple of weeks.  He tried to apply for other jobs, but for some reason nothing worked out.  We had an emergency fund set up (Thank you, Dave Ramsey) so we were still able to pay bills, have groceries, etc.  Being the awesomely smart guy that my hubby is, he had paid most of our bills ahead, so we did not have to go into arrears.

Still in the ark, he was able to garner some work with a friend of his, but it wasn't enough to support a family.  Then the unthinkable happened.  The door opened back up again. God brought his hand down and swung that door open! The company that laid him off offered his job back again.  Same pay, same seniority, everything.

The door of the ark opened....the sun was shining down to light our way on the path.  Do we follow it? Or do we stay inside the ark and wait some more, or maybe even make our home in this place that we have lived in for these past few weeks.  We prayed, we talked, and we decided it was best for our family for him to accept the offer and go back to working 3rd shift, 5-6 days a week....so out of the ark we went.

God is good, and has been good during this boat ride in the storm. In Psalm 37:25, the bible says I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.  

Thank You, Lord for keeping your hand on our journey, and for directing the way in which we should go.

Where did January go?

So, does this happen to you?
You get all geared up for something exciting....you make plans, you get things in order, and then, BAM~ real life steps in and it all goes kablooey (that is an actual word, thanks to Saturday morning cartoons from the 1970's).

I don't know why I am surprised when that happens.  I mean, some folks say, "When we plan, God laughs."  I don't know if he actually laughs, but I do know, that if our plans aren't synced with His, all of the planning and energy that went into whatever event that was on the horizon, is wasted.  I was sort of hoping that wouldn't happen this year.  I hoped that if I claimed my 'word' DISCIPLINE, that everything would fall into place.  But, I wouldn't be human if that were the case.

Discipline, takes, well, discipline to make new habits, lose old ones, and stay focused on the goals.
I am trying to be disciplined in being disciplined.  But, I've actually been spinning in the mud.

Probably because I haven't given it all to the One who wants to show me His plans for my life.

So, what have I learned?
I can't do anything on my own. But, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me! (Philippians 4:13)
God is on my side and wants the best for me. (Romans 8:31)

Simple....

Here's to a more successful February!

Blessings
~Annie

2015

It's January.

 The month where everyone, well, mostly everyone, starts afresh, anew, with goals, ambitions...It has somehow become the time of year that we seek to change what we failed at, or start something that we have putting off for whatever reason: Losing weight, exercising more, etc., etc., etc.....

Admittedly, I was one of those with the intentions of using January
1 as a kick off place.  Then comes January 2, and all my well intentions are thrown out the window.
Why does that happen? Why do we start something that we think we should do, and then quit when obstacles come our way, or we choose wrong?
Maybe it's because it's OUR goals.  It's what WE want to do.
As Christians, our whole purpose on this earth is to bring glory to Him, the One who created us.  If we don't consider what His will is for us, or at least take the time to ask Him, all our planning and organizing is for naught.

A few moons ago, I heard of a different way to invite the new year in.  Instead of writing out goals, or resolutions, the idea is to chose a word that you can focus on to change an unwanted behavior, or what not.

Do you need help in the area of Faithfulness, or Forgiveness, or something else?  Choose a word that describes what area in your life you are needing to work on.

Last year was a totally different year than I have ever experienced before.  I was unemployed.  It started out as a necessity to help my ailing mother.  As she started to receive the care she needed from a nursing facility, the need for my constant help diminished.  I tried...really I did...to get a job, but I either didn't receive a call back from a submitted application, or I was turned down when they reviewed my resume.  I even 'failed' at a test given by a temp agency.  How in the world does one do that??

As a result, I lived the life of leisure.  I slept in, became a couch potato, watched a lot of TV and Netflix, and inadvertently, wasted a lot of precious time.

I had no discipline.  Sure, I tried to plan things out, to make my 'off' time more accountable, but I was selfish.  For my entire 22 year marriage, I had worked.  Full time.  Now, I was free as a bird, and I liked it.

But I was undisciplined. That word kept popping up.  Discipline. I wasted time, energy, resources, people....Such a disappointment I was to His Kingdom.

So, as I thought about it, the word Discipline became My One Word.

So, I have my word..now what.

The most logical place to find a way to practice this word, is to dig deeper in the Word.  I've purposed to complete some bible studies this year.  I need to be more disciplined in being in the Word, and there are a lot of new bible studies out there now that will help me in doing that...

Becoming: The Unfolding of You.  This bible study is created by Artist and self proclaimed 'Jesus Lover' Jeanne Oliver.  She and some of her friends are sharing stories and scripture to help others find who they are in Christ.  The first week was AWESOME SAUCE!!!
Fresh Start My friend in Michigan started this bible study to give scripture to help us live intentionally for the Lord. This is a good platform to start the year off with being intentional and disciplined in our relationship with the Lord.
Life Journal Reading Plan One thing I did purpose was to read the bible in a year.  This bible reading program in the YouVersion bible app is designed to read through the Old and New Testament at the same time...I like it.  Of course, I haven't gotten to Leviticus or Deuteronomy yet, ha ha.

We must remember that we are put here on this earth for His Glory.  Once we do that, everything else will fall into place.

Happy New Year!
~Blessings, Ann

NaNo Nano

Nope, it's not a greeting from Mork.  It's a state of mind.  At least for November.  NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month.  November happens to be that month.  It's the time of year when crazy people such as myself take precious time away from their lives to write 50,000 words of a novel, story, etc., etc.
I've accepted this challenge, and am proud to say that I am 1/5 of the way there.  Some folks have the audacity to try and get 50k in one day! I don't know how they can do that.  They must have bionic fingers to be able to type that fast.
I've felt the Lord tug at my heart for some time now to write a novel.  I'm leaning on him as I not only write one, but finish one.  That is the challenge---FINISHING a novel. I have, at last count 6 works in progress on my computer.  That's not including the handwritten novel I've been working on since August, nor does it include the novel I am working on right now. So, I suppose, that makes for 8 works in progress.
My goal is to get my 50k in during this month, and then take the month of December to either finish (if the 50k didn't get to the finish line for me) or edit my manuscript.  I'm excited and AFRAID all at the same time.
I've inherited my father's gift of not finishing things.  When we lived in Michigan, my mom had always commented on how much our house lacked in storage space.  Well, my dad decided he would fix that for her, bless his heart.  He cut holes in the walls, nailed boards to resemble a cabinet like structure, and VOILA! There it sat.  For years. Three large holes in my bedroom.  Holes, not cabinets.  That's the largest project I can remember him not finishing, who knows how many little ones there were.
So, here I sit, with not three, but eight holes in my wall.  I must break the procrastination cycle and finish one of the holes.  And not just finish it, but put on a pretty door, stain it a wonderful color, and make sure the inside is nice and neat and ready for whatever I put inside it.

Marriage Rocks!

Earlier this month, my hubby and I celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary! He had to work on our special night, but we were able to celebrate it the following week.

I am Facebook friends with a couple guys known as "The Skit Guys".  If you've never heard/seen of them, you can take a peek here: Adam and Eve .  They are 2 guys, naturally, who perform skits with a Godly message.  They were invited to appear at a church's 'Marriage Rocks' event.  My husband and I had never been to this church.  It was about an hour away.  When we pulled up, we couldn't believe our eyes.  It was the Mega-ist Mega Church we have ever seen.  

We found some seats close, but not too close.  We were ready for a night of laughs, and we were not disappointed! They performed their skits Adam and Eve, Lazarus and The Booger Monster.  They even invited a couple of volunteers from the audience to help them with a skit they like to call, 'Sound Effects'.  Each volunteer partnered with either Skit Guy, and provided the sound effect to whatever was needed.  It was incredibly funny!

Since the night was centered around marriage, they started off with Adam and Eve-the first married couple in history.  Or "The Royal Couple" as Tommy Woodward called them.  There were some nice one-liners that was said: When describing the Royal Couple, it was stated that, "They were told to NOT do 1 thing, they did it, and now we can't do anything!" (Referring to them eating fruit from the Tree of Knowledge).  At one point in the skit, Eve was telling Adam that she was helping him with naming the animals.  Adam was a bit put off, it being his job and all to name the animals.  Eve's response, "The man doesn't get it done, so the lady will have to step up."

The part that made me think, was when they ate of the fruit, or as they put it, "The unidentified fruit of the Old Testament." and God's reaction to their sin.

God found them, naked, ashamed, and asked them what was going on.  They made excuses, of course.  They are human after all.  But what really hit home for me was God's punishment.  Did he kill them?  Did he blast them both with a bolt of lightning? No.  He loved them.  He was disappointed that they disobeyed, but He is a God of Mercy and Grace.  He had them move from the lush, beautiful bountiful garden where all their needs were met, into the dry desert.  Adam had to work for everything he wanted and Eve had to endure painful childbirth.  

I am thankful that God continues to be merciful and loving to His children today.  Because He loves us so much, He gave His one and only Son as a sacrifice for our sins.  All we have to do is believe this, and we will live forever in Heaven with God and all His people! 

How about you? What has God done in your life that makes you thankful? I would love to hear all about it!
Blessings~Annie

Ugh...

I know God has called me to write, I guess that's what he wants me to do as my job.  I have been unemployed for about a year now.  Thankfully, God has blessed my husband with a good paying job, so we have been able to be supported through that.  However, with Christmas coming, we are getting a little anxious.  Will there be enough to provide a good Christmas for our loved ones? 

I have not been lax when it comes to getting a job.   I have revised, edited and sent my resume out more times than I can count.  I have not had one interview! I even went ahead and contacted an employment agency.  I was really nervous for some reason.  I prayed, before making the phone call, "Lord, if you don't want me to work with them, close the door."  I'm not good at reading between the lines.  I need things shoved in my face for me to understand.  Well, apparently my prayer was answered.  I scored too low on a test they provided.  What? I scored too low? How is that even possible? Since my score is low, I am unemployable for 4 months with them.  

So I was rejected, again.  My human side tried not to take it personally (although the test was personally directed).  I forced myself NOT to cry and feel sorry for myself.  I reminded myself of the prayer that I prayed, then said, "Well, Lord.  You closed that door.  I guess you really want me to write."

As a writer, I better toughen up my skin, because I am going to be rejected A LOT.  That's part of the game.  But, if it's what God wants me to do, he will equip me with what I need to handle the situation.  He never calls the equipped, He equips the called.

As for Christmas...maybe we need to take a second look at how we celebrate it.  Maybe we need to refocus our attention on the gift that was given us, and not so much on the gifts we give to others.

That seems to be a whole other blog topic for another time.  

Today's phone call with the employment agency brought to mind this verse: 

Psalm 37:25 (KJV)

25 I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

He will provide.  We will have faith.

How about you?  What circumstances have you faced where you had to totally depend on God? I'd love to hear your stories.

Blessings ~Annie