Blessings from Fathers

As we come out of Father's Day weekend, I am reminded of just how thankful and appreciative I am of the fathers in my life. I am so blessed to have a wonderful relationship with both my own father as well as my father-in-law. From my father, I
have learned such valuable lessons and to him I owe the credit of raising me in a
Christian home, teaching me right from wrong and setting for me the first example of a Christian marriage. My father-in-law of course is credited with raising my husband to be the kind of man who puts God first and me as his wife second. Pops as we call him taught my husband the value of working hard from an early age as well as to honor his marriage. In fact, both mine and Taylor's parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary recently.
Today as I take time to reflect, I am so thankful for the father of my children. It is evident in my daily life how important fathers really are in a home. Biblically speaking, God truly knows how much smoother a home will run with a father figure being ever present. I feel so blessed as I stated earlier to have the kind of husband that always puts me and my needs ahead of his own and of our children. Early in our marriage, Taylor drew a line in the sand that our relationship as husband and wife had to come first and that then his role as father would naturally be more healthy. As a mother, there were times that I had a hard time swallowing that. How could I put anyone before my children?? Of course, he has proven to be correct. It is evident that when we are "in tune" in our marriage, the children are more obedient, more respectful and most of all are seeing a model of a healthy, Christ-following marriage. So fathers, as we think about your role as father, the most important gift you can give your children is to love your wife above all things, second only to God.

Blessings Abound

Today I was reminded of looking for blessings from God in the little things! I had the honor of spending the day with my 94 year old great aunt today in Lewisburg, TN to celebrate her birthday. Her name is Annie Pearl...and the cute name fits her cute and sassy personality. I am convinced that her longevity is due to a positive outlook on life and a desire to "never be too old to do anything". Today as we sat and talked, the ever present topic of the economy came up. Annie Pearl was quick to jump into the conversation and remind us that she had already lived through one Depression and that we would survive this one too. It is so easy to get caught up in politics and the federal government and all the things that we don't agree with or don't like, but today I was reminded that we are held NOT in our OWN hands, but in HIS. This is a time, more than ever, to remind those in our circles of influence who may not be believers, that there is a greater purpose in life. In other words, to encourage those around us to have an Eternal perspective. Whatever the trial may be that each of us are undoubtedly going through, that trial is just a patch in the masterpiece of a quilt that God is weaving in our lives. God truly delights in us as His creation and wants us to prosper and succeed. It took my great aunt Annie Pearl, in her 94 years of wisdom to remind me without coming right out and saying it, that I indeed have so many things to count as blessings. No matter if our 401K has decreased by a whole lot, it doesn't matter, because through Him and His providence, we will get through this. Thank you Annie Pearl for this day! It was truly wonderful!

Blessed Soul

Yesterday was the day that our new design was officially unveiled...."Blessed Soul" is finally here. This is a design that is great for anyone as it reaches a different group outside of the "Blessed Mom" clientele. Even my two daughters are excited about wearing it and can get away with wearing a small in the burnout style. Let me get to what it looks like and look for a picture of this new design on the website soon! The design, created by Lori Bailey, is a heart with a wing-like design coming out from each side. Above the heart in really cool, "biker-like" font it reads "Blessed Soul". Underneath the heart and wings it has the verse from Deuteronomy which reads "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength". Right now it is availalbe in a washed cherry burnout or in a heather blue destroyed tee. Taylor visited a few of our stores yesterday and they all put in orders for the new design so look for this shirt soon in: Simplicity in Mt. Laurel, Monograms Plus in Vestavia and Houston, TX(!!) and Prissy's in Chelsea. Our sales rep will visit our other stores next week so that they will also have a chance to order.

I am truly amazed and how God is blessing our company with success. We have had the honor to meet some of the kindest and most encouraging store owners here in Birmingham. We really appreciate their business. Check out our tab on the website for the most up to date list of stores that we are in.

I also stand in awe of how God has ordained every step of this business. He sent our precious friends Brad and Lori to be our business partners. I am so thankful for the design ideas that Lori has offered as well as her ability to sell and think outside the box. Brad has emerged as our CEO as he handles all the inventory and money! ~ plus much, much more. And of course, I can't forget my precious husband who supported me in the idea of this endeavor to begin with. How many husbands would get out there and go store to store selling my original "Blessed Mom" t-shirt design? To him, I am forever grateful. He believed in me and my idea when I didn't.

A huge thanks to all of my friends and to even the people I don't know who have bought a shirt. I can't describe the feeling I get when I am out and about in Birmingham and I see someone wearing my shirt. It gives me great joy and I hope that our shirts are creating a spiritual buzz at least here in Birmigham. Now on to other cities.....we covet your prayers as we strive to get our shirts across the country!


Bless your soul!
Cindy

Mom of a 10 year old

Wow! I can't believe that I have a 10 year old. Just a few minutes ago marked the actual time that my oldest daughter was born ten years ago today. It doesn't seem like I should be old enough myself to have a child this old. We are the parents who wanted to get started "early" so that we would still be "young" when our children were grown. Consequently, our oldest daughter has seen her parents evolve in their parenting skills from the young, clueless first time parents to parents who don't know everything but have read enough books (with The Bible being the first and foremost guide in our aresenal) to have some of the right answers.
Parents all around the world will agree that Taylor and I are about to enter those very precarious years when our daughter is tinkering between being a little girl and becoming a young lady. What a task this is to try to raise up a godly young ladly in today's culture. Sidney Claire has brought us so much joy in her unique personality. We often describe her as being an adult trapped in a little girl's body. She is smart beyond her years, witty and ever so caring. She picks up on little things like facial expressions and body language to guage how a person is feeling. Not many children her age even care how the checkout girl at Walmart is feeling, and yet she is constantly aware of these sublties of life. Through her ten year life, she has taught us patience, love without conditions, and to accept people for who they are. God has used Sidney Claire to help me in my career as a school counselor time and time again. I can't even count the times that I have used her as a frame of reference in a parent conference as I try to connect with parents who are struggling.
As the verse on our onesie states "Every good and perfect gift is from above". This is so true. Our children really aren't ours at all, but are gifts from God on loan. It is our hope and desire that God will be pleased with our efforts as parents. Taylor and I feel so blessed to be able to call Sidney Claire our daughter. Happy Birthday SC!