Thought For The Day.....

The other day, I had a conversation with a family member that is most of the time, less than friendly to me. This time wasn't any different. It wasn't a conversation of fighting or screaming or anything, but it was short and cold. Like almost every other time I speak with this person, the conversation ended with me feeling guilty and a little bit upset. I kept playing every word we spoke to each other over and over again in my mind. I spent a lot of the night wondering why I allow these feelings to occupy so much of my time. I prayed for God's peace, which He offered way before I asked Him for it. It was up to me to take it.

Today, it came to me. I can't control what people think of me or how they feel towards me. Of course we all want to feel accepted, but sometimes we just aren't. I've spent so much time searching for ways to make this person happy with me. It may not even be me, maybe this person has other issues. Maybe some people channel their resentment in different ways than I do. Whatever the case, all I can offer is my forgiveness. The point of forgiveness isn't to say here's a free pass to treat me bad. It's saying, you may treat me badly, but I won't allow it to consume me. God has blessed me with so many things, people, relationships, and His forgiveness for my sins. If all I can do to make a relationship work with someone else is offer grace, then that's what I need to do. God will do the rest.

Mother's Day Weekend

Mother's Day weekend was the best. This was my 3rd Mother's Day as a mom, but the 1st one I've actually been able to celebrate. Last year we were in MS for my sister's graduation, and even though we were among family, we really didn't celebrate Mother's Day. The year before, which was my first Mother's Day, was a disaster. It involved a major family dispute and I spent the entire day crying and upset. But, I won't use my blog to, as my husband says, "air out my dirty laundry."

My weekend started off very early Sat. morning to participate in The Race for the Cure. I did this with my friend, Kathy. This was my first 5K and I am not much of a runner. Kathy, on the the other hand is a pro at the races. She has encouraged me to do the Peachtree Road Race on July 4, so I signed Greg up for Peachtree as well. I love the atmosphere at these events. It was so fun running through the streets of Midtown Atlanta and Atlantic Station. Like I said, I am not much of a runner, but I was pleased with my time. I finished in 41.41 according to the race timer, but Kathy said their clock was off a little bit according to the timer on her watch. She thinks I finished it in a little over 40 min. I'll go with that one.

After the race, I went home and Greg and Kirsten greeted me with roses. Kirsten picked them out and she gave me a card. I am starting a box, like the one on the Hallmark commercial, and I'll put all my cards from her in there. I keep an art portfolio for her that's dated with all of her colorings, drawings and crafts she does while she's in childcare anywhere. I want to save everything so one day, she can see her progress, and we can reminisce and maybe even make our own Hallmark commercial.

For lunch Greg and Kirsten took me to McAlister's in Roswell. I've been wanting McAlister's for quite a while, and they don't have one close to Douglasville. The food and tea were consistent with what I remembered and the weather was beautiful and pleasant enough to eat outside. Give me some easy food, beautiful weather, a table on the patio and wonderful company like Greg and Kirsten, and I think I'm in heaven.

The day continued with a visit to Fleet Feet for new running shoes for both of us, then to Dick's Sporting Goods to check out exercise equipment. I love Fleet Feet. They put lots of different shoes on us and let us run around outside until we found those perfect shoes. They also had inserts that help with my plantar fasciitis. Dick's had lots of equipment to choose from, but we can't decide if we want an elliptical machine, a treadmill or an arc trainer. Across from Dick's was a Marble Slab. I've soooo been missing Marble Slab's chocolate frozen yogurt. There's nothing like taking Kirsten to get ice cream. She loves it, and for a few hours, I'm the coolest person in the world to her.


Sunday morning we went to church. The service was awesome. I love it when our pastor and his wife present the message together. They're so cute. The message was about Mary and Martha. It was a great topic for Mom's.

Greg and Kirsten took me to Jason's Deli in Midtown for lunch. I love my deli's, can't you tell? I especially love Jason's Deli. They have lots of organic choices and the menu is excellent for those with food allergies. Again, the weather was beautiful, so we sat outside and watched the city life around us. I love Atlanta city life.

After lunch Greg took me to The Dump. I've been wanting to go there for some time. This is a furniture store that sells high-end furniture at affordable prices. It's actually a very nice showroom. They had lots of beautiful furniture. It's a lot more pleasurable to shop around for furniture when you're really in the market for some. We stayed at The Dump for a couple of hours.

For dinner, Greg made his "better than any Italian restaurant" chicken parmesan. It was so delicious. This is my favorite, and Greg hasn't been able to make it in at least a year and a half. It's always a privilege to eat his chicken parmesan. I wish I took a picture of this but I didn't think about it.

For dessert I made a red velvet cheesecake. I wanted this from Cheesecake Factory, but I am not going to wait in line for 2 hours to eat just because it's Mother's Day. I would much rather spend that time doing something fun with my family. Restaurants are open every day of the year, not just Mother's Day. My cheesecake was trial and error, but I am very pleased with the results. I haven't made a cheesecake in a while and my recipe is stored in the computer that isn't set up yet. I made it from memory, and just attempted to add the red velvet.

All in all, Mother's Day was like Christmas and my birthday. Greg gave me my bracelet for Deeper Still, the new Francine Rivers book, Her Mother's Hope, Paula Deen's Savannah Style and he vacuumed out my car. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband and daughter who love me and make me feel so special. I could not have asked for a better weekend. I don't know how I can equal or top this for Father's Day. Any suggestions?????