This blog is going away. . .

I have to say that I have loved this blog. It is a story of our path. It has held alot of sacred information and been a great way for me to process different areas of my life. It has been a journal of sorts. Often time, venting, and other times just documenting what is going on with us.

I have enjoyed following other blogs and will continue to do so. I have made some good friendships with this blog and have been encouraged by many people and their stories.

I am shutting down this blog in a week or so. There will be no more posts here and you will no longer be able to get to this blog.

This blog started out about our TTC process. Since we are long past that, it is no longer serving its purpose.

I am going to continue to blog however in a whole different light.

I have started another blog already, documenting my life as a nurse. There will be many stories about my nursing career. I have found that I have had many funny, many sad and many heartwrenching stories since I became a nurse. Many of those experiences have helped shape me in to the nurse I am today. I like to think of myself as a good nurse. One that holds alot of compassion and truly cares about the people I care for.

If you have followed this blog, I invite you to continue to follow my new blog.
If you do come on this new adventure with me I also ask that you leave me a comment on the new blog. Let me know you are there. I love to know that people are reading what I write. I like to see the comments. I want to stay connected to all of you. . .
So, come on over to Heartbeats Of Faith and let me know what you think of my new blog.

Sharon has also started blogging. She is blogging short stoies of her live growing up in the south. Her stories are amazing! I often find myself reading her blog while laughing out loud. Check out her blog an leave her comment as well. She is new to blogging and would love to hear from you. She needs some encouragement as she continues to tell her story. Let her know you are there, reading what she is writing. Take a stoll over to to Dances With God, and show her some love and welcome her to blogland.

See you all over there!!!

Book Your Travel Here!!!

INTRODUCING. . . .

LIVE FREE TRAVEL DESTINATIONS

We are very pleased to announce that we are the proud owners of a new home based travel business. You, our friends and family, are the first to hear about this new business.
You can now book all your travel needs online through our very own online travel site. Simply go to www.livefreetraveldestinations.com to book your flights, hotels, car rental, cruise, vacation packages, tours, anything you would need for that perfect vacation.

You also can purchase tickets for sporting events and concerts, as well as online shopping for flowers, electronics, clothing items, books etc. from all your favorite retailers through the Aisle 19 link on the travel site.

Go ahead, check us out. Compare our prices to those of the other online travel businesses. We have the same security as the others, with comparable pricing. Book with someone you know. Book with us!

If you are someone who would like to have your own home based business, earn some extra cash, travel and get paid for it. Check out our business opportunity site www.livefreetraveldestinations.info. You too can own your own business!

If you have questions, please feel free to contact us. Don't forget to put our address in your favorites, and check us out when planning that next family vacation, weekend getaway, business trip, or group travel event.


Contact us:
Sharon & Amy
email: livefreetraveldestinations@yahoo.com

Book Your Travel With Us!
www.livefreetraveldestinations.com

Interested in owning your own travel business?
Ask me how. . .
www.livefreetraveldestinations.biz

Your Travel Biz information
www.ytb.com

Now that I have introduced the new business, I want to invite each of you to check out this in home business we have started. It is a great deal. Work at home, not alot of time required, and good kick back.
I was not even willing to LOOK at it, let alone talk about it a year ago, when two friends of mine did this. I thought they were crazy. Both couples are now, a year into it and have been able to quit their jobs and do just this!!! Ok . .. I'm in!!! That was a no brainer for me. Also, it really doesn't cost what one would think. You will get THREE times that much back in deductions at the end of the year for having a home based business!!!! OK . . I'm IN!!!!

So, if you are looking for some extra cash ask me how you too can own your own travel business.

If you are not into the home business thing . . . .great. All I ask is that you check out my site when you are booking your next vacation, business trip, family reunion, weekend getaway, cruise, etc.

Hope you all had a GREAT weekend!!!!

No longer Password Protected

Ok, so I am no longer password protected. I really wish there was a way to password protect a single post in blogger, but if there is I haven't found it yet.

I am really going to try to be a better blogger. I guess more for my own sake than anyone elses. I really need to do this as a way to keep a journal for myself. This is a great place to document what is going on in my life as well as a place to vent frustrations that can't be put anywhere else.

I miss blogging. I wish I had more time to do it. I wish I had more interesting things to talk about really. But my life is not all that exciting. Work, sleep, work sleep and then on the weekends. Play, sleep, church, sleep. Actually I don't sleep that much but either way, I don't seem to have much time.

I so enjoy reading everyone else's blogs. I love to see how all the kiddos are growing. It has been over a year since Sharon and I were TTC. And looking back there are many people that I follow that were trying at the same time we were and now have their babies. Those are so fun to read. I love the pictures, I love watching the mommies grow into mommyhood. I also love to read the blogs of those still TTC. As I remember how hard that journey was for us.
I know I don't comment much. I guess I could work on that. We will see how that goes. Anyway, I am back in blog world. So if you are reading this, please drop me a comment. Even if just to say "Hi, I was here." It is always nice to know that someone is reading what you are putting down.

I will find something interesting to write about soon.

Long overdue update!

Ok, so this is the long overdue update. There has been alot going on around here in the last month. I will try to keep it short. But I really feel like I need to get back to blogging. It is great therapy and a great way to keep up with what is going on in my life. Sometimes I feel it moves so fast that even I am missing parts of it.

In October, the pastor of our church resigned. Sharon was the assistant pastor at that time so she took over as interm for a while. In February she was officially voted in as full time pastor. That brought on new responsiblities for BOTH of us and we are both loving it. She is so good at it too. She is a great pastor and truly cares about the people in our small churh. She is also very knowlegable and is a great teacher. We have each Sunday recorded so I have CD's of all her sermons. I love to listen to them over and over. I seem to learn something new each time I hear them.
She has also been trying to get into school. Our plan was for her to enroll for this coming fall. We had a financial plan to follow this. However, she got a call from the Christian Theological Seminary (CTS) here in Indianapolis. She had been sending them emails and voicemail message for several months. She wanted to begin taking classes there. Well when they didn't call her back, she signed up to take a placement test at the local communtiy college. She currently does not have a degree so she knew she would be needing some basic courses and since she has been out of school since 1987 she knew she would probably need ALOT of basic courses. I tried to tell her that CTS was a graduate school that is why they weren't calling her back. She needed to have a degree already to get in there.
She has talked for a long time about wanting to quit her job. She was not satisfied with it anymore. She was bored with it, been in it for a LONG LONG time. And just wanted a change. She said she was feeling stagnent and wanted more time to spend on church. She has talked about it for so long, that the day she told me she wanted to put her notice in I guess I didn't really believe her. So we talked about it and I told her to do whatever was going to make her happy. When I changed positions at the hospital back in September it was all part of the plan to be financially ready for her to start school in the fall, so she would just get something else until fall came, right? Well that conversation happened on a Thursday. On Friday after I went to the bank and got really excited because I was able to put her whole check into savings and we were just about to test this fiancial plan, I get a call from her.
She begins with telling me that CTS (the school) called her and said they would like for her to enroll. She explained to me that they let in only a certain number of non-degreed people each year and she had been chosen. So she went to talk to them. She had to be approved by the dean, write an essay about why she wanted to go there. They all approved!!! The catch . . . she had to start classes on MONDAY!!! This was Friday when she found this all out. So she called me after all this was settled and told me she was enrolled, signed up for 2 classes this semester, and just bought 14 books for those two classes. OH . . and by the way. . . we have to have the tuition paid by Monday 5pm!!! HOLY COW!!! There goes my financial plan!!!
I was excited for her and worried about how we were going to do this. Then she says. . "by the way, babe. . .I put my 30 day notice in today." WHAT????? My head was spinning. I just couldn't get my mind around this.
Now let me tell you. I am SO ok with what she did. I understand that this is an opportunity that won't come around again. I also know that it is what we had planned for just not this quick! So here we are a month and a half into this and I am loving it!!! She is home everyday!! I see her EVERY day!!! She is so much happier!!!! It is working so far. She is a great student and working very hard at it. She is loving to learn and soaking up all she can. It has made her a better pastor, a better teacher and a better parnter! We took a HUGE step of faith with this an God is showing us that He CAN and WILL make all things possible.
The school told her that she could get a "certificate" from them. This will take approximately 18 months. Once she finishes that, they will assess her grades and if they are good, they will allow her into a Master's program!!! How awesome is that?

I am so proud of my girl!!!

So other than that we dealt with Zach's death, which I have already posted about and won't go into much more. It was an amazing funeral. An amazing honor to Zach's life. The military took VERY good care of the family and I was most impressed by their presence through the whole thing!!!

After looking at where our life is right now and where it seems to be going. I am so much more at peace with us not being able to get pregnant. God knew better! In fact I am learning that He ALWAYS knows better. I can't imagine where we would be or how we would be doing all that we are doing with a baby.

Jody is just what we need. He will be 21 in April and has been an amazing kid!! I wouldn't trade him for anything. So we are very satisfied with where our lives are right at this moment and where they are heading.

We are trusting in God and just taking it all in stride. This has been an amazing test of faith and I feel like we are passing. He shows us daily that He is in control and that all we have to do is depend on Him and listen. He is guiding our every move!

SO. . . there ya have it. That is the latest update!!

I also just set up a blog for Sharon. She has so much information she wants to share she is about to bust! It is amazing to watch this. This blog will be her way of taking what she is learning in theology and putting it into words. Kinda a teaching blog. I think she will share God's Love by way of this blog. She has not yet done her first post, but I am hoping she will in the next day or two. I am hoping it will be an inspirational blog. No judgment, no shame, no blame. . . just that true and perfect love only God can bring.
So, once it is up I will post a link. She will need help getting the word out. If you like it please let her know. She is new to blogging and may need a little help getting started. But once she starts I think she will like it as long as there is some feedback from other people.

Also, I will remove the password protect from my blog within the next couple of weeks. I will probably delete the posts about Zach before I do that. I just don't want some people finding my blog and reading all my "stuff". If you can understand that. . .

So . .. stay tuned for what's coming next.

A Saturday Date Night!!!

Just wanted to share a few pictures from what we did this weekend. Sharon and I and some friends went to Dance Kaleidoscope on Saturday night. They are doing the Beetles, Magical Mystery Tour. It was so fun. The costumes were amazing and the songs were all Beetles. It was a wonderful date and much needed fun. I believe that Dance Kaleidoscope is something we will be doing more often.
I wish I could download the promo video from their website but I couldn't figure out how to do it. So all I have to give you is the photos. If you get a chance to see this, it was worth it!!!

I am with Cindy. . . I can't believe this!!!

I pretty much stole this from Cindy's Blog. This really hit a raw spot for me and made me very angry. I can't believe that churches are still doing this. I don't know why I can't believe it, I don't know why I think it would be any other way. But seriously. . .IT IS JUST PLAIN WRONG!

I found a website that explains exactly how I feel about this. It is an issue of context and the time it was written as well as the interpretation of the Hebrew, which might I add is not always translated correctly due to context.
I am going to copy and paste some of what this website has to say about this. If you want more, just take a look for yourself.

Matthew 18:15-17 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.My argument is that Jesus was describing how we should handle civil disagreements, not how we should handle sin within the church body. Presently, some churches use Jesus' teachings in Matthew 18:15-17 as a protocol for church discipline for sinning members. That is a misapplication of what Jesus was teaching, and it runs counter to other scriptural instructions for dealing with sinning church members.Civil law deals with civil or private rights, as opposed to criminal law that deals with offenses against the community at large. The object pursued in civil law is redress; the object pursued in criminal law is punishment. Since Jesus' statements must be viewed in the context of the legal framework of his time and culture, I will use examples of civil and criminal law taken from the Mosaic code.

Jesus could not have meant for his instructions in Matthew 18:15-17 to be applied to criminal acts like adultery because such instructions would have been contrary to the Mosaic code that had strict protocols for dealing with capital crimes and offenses against the community at large. Since civil trespass dealt with matters that could benefit from a flexible discovery process, and such a process would not be contrary to the Mosaic code, it is evident that Jesus could only have been giving his instructions in relation to civil trespass. The word ekklesia, translated to “church” in Matthew 18:17 adds some difficulty to our interpretation of Jesus' instructions. Does he mean “a gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place?” That would be an accurate interpretation of ekklesia consistent with civil procedure in Jesus' time; but church would not be an accurate interpretation of ekklesia, especially in light of what the word church means to us. Had Jesus meant a church as many of us understand that word, he would have used the equivalent word for a church in his culture—synagogue.

I THINK THIS MIGHT BE THE PART I LIKE BEST. MAYBE BECAUSE I REALLY LIKE THE APOSTLE PAUL.
In the church, the body of Christ, the protocol for dealing with willful sin can be ascertained from Paul's epistles, and his instructions do not resemble Matthew 18:15-17 at all. Paul writes “[t]hem that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear” ( 1Timothy 5:20). There is no mention of the steps outlined in Matthew 18:15-17. For those who are guilty of criminal acts, Paul writes “put away from among yourselves that wicked person” (1 Corinthians 5:13). Paul does not even want us to keep company with those who claim to be brethren while committing willful sin (1 Corinthians 5:9-13). There is no possibility that what Jesus meant in Matthew 18:15-17 can be applied to the willful sins described by Paul in 1 Corinthians 5:11, and no possibility it can, or should, be applied to church discipline matters today .

Ok, so that was a bunch of theology. But basically what I am trying to say is that sin is sin is sin. God does not want us to live in fear. When we hear the words, "fear the Lord", that does not mean to be afraid. Fear in that context is about respect. If Jesus, as he walked on this earth, turned away the "sinners", or those who were "having relations" while unmarried, there would be no Christians today. Everyone would be turned away for their "sins". God is not in the business of humiliation. He is love, and he gave us free will. It is our choice to make how we live. I am not saying that living with a man and having sex without being married is or isn't a sin. What I am saying is that this woman was given free will. That is between her and God. Not really between her, God and the entire congregation of her church. Now, if she were having sex on the front steps of the church that would be a whole other issue. But that is not what is happening here.
Why is it that churches seem to focus on the "sex" issues and bring them to the front. What about the people in the church who lie, gossip, gamble, steal, are addicts, go to the bars on Saturday night before church on Sunday morning. What about those in the church that are child molesters (I know they are there!), those who don't file their taxes, or live on welfare or disablility when they don't need to, or beat their children, or any other multitude of "hidden" sins. I have not seen them brought before the church. So, I guess I don't understand why this would be any different.
If a church wants to teach a certain way, fine! But does that mean that everyone has to buy into it completely?? Some things are just distorted! Is this lady causing harm to anyone? It sounds like she is just living her life and has found love. Is that so wrong? I really feel that if the church is going to bring one "sin" before the church, they should just be all inclusive. God is the ultimate judge anyway. I bet there would be no one left in the church if the became "all-inclusive" with this "church disicpline".

Ok, so maybe I feel more strongly about this than I thought. Here is my story. . . .
I was 17, a senior in high school. I became pregnant with a guy I had been dating for 4 years. We both went to this church. I grew up in this church, he starting coming regularly when we started dating. He talked to a couple of "leadership" people in the church when I became pregnant because we were both scared. He wanted sound spiritual advise. Neither of us wanted to jump right into marriage just because I was pregnant. I only knew I was pregnant for 2 weeks before I had a miscarriage. And at that time we ended up breaking up. The stress was too much. (I am sure now, it was divine order!) He left the church, and I was told I had to "confess". When the pastor told me this I thought he meant say a prayer, repent and it will all be ok. OH NO!! He meant, come before the church and tell them what I had done and ask them all to forgive me. I didn't know any better. I thought if I didn't do this I would surly go to Hell. I was told if I didn't do this, I was not allowed back at this church, I would be ex-communicated. I was 17 for heaven's sake. So, I did it. I went before a very large Sunday morning congregation, told them I had been pregnant and had a miscarriage and I was a "sinner". I asked them to forgive me. Well, it should have been all good after that right? Oh No!!! I was the church slut after that. Now everyone knew my business and gossip was everywhere. I was the hot topic. It was horrible and humiliating. I do not believe to this day that God intended for me to be put in that place. He knew my heart. Those people didn't even know what had happened. I had already miscarried anyway. It was over. That should have been left between me and God and my own convictions.

So, why do I think this lady is right for leaving the church. Because that church is not a loving accepting healing enviornment. What that church is doing is pushing people away. You love them where they are. You pray for them. You counsel with them. You help them learn scripture. Teach them to hear God's voice. But you don't belittle them, you don't air their dirty laundry, you don't judge them. If you give them the tools, God will do the rest.

'Nuff Said!