A Prayer of Faith

I had an interesting childhood, to say the least. One of these days I will write a blog series about it, and then you will all say, "Ah! Now I get it!" I won't go into a lot of details now, but I will tell you this. I grew up in a very charismatic household. When my dad got a hold of the Holy Ghost when I was nine, there was no stopping him. It was all so exciting, but it definitely led us down some paths that we would have been better off not taking. One of the things it did for me was really mess with my beliefs on prayer. We went from a somewhat boring Methodist church to the brimstone and hell fire Assemblies of God. That was fine until we decided to jump on the Word of Faith bandwagon. Name it, Claim it. We had pictures on our refrigerator of things my dad wanted. Not needed, but wanted. It was our right as the sons of God to live like the princes we are. Even now, I get a little squeamish thinking about it. Once I moved to Tallahassee, I was so happy to find a church that believed in the gifts of the Spirit without turning it into a "it's all about me" party. But I had a very hard time, and still do, with how to pray and what to pray. So I decided it was better to be safe than sorry. "Lord, your will be done." There. Safe. Covers all the bases. Because sometimes we don't agree with what God's will actually is. Sometimes bad things happen. And it's hard to believe that it might be God's will that it did happen. I do believe in the sovereignty of God. I do believe that everything happens for a reason. I do believe that God does what He will all for His Glory. It just doesn't seem to make sense sometimes. So, it's easier to be safe. But when I got a call this week that a precious friend of mine's daughter was literally fighting for her life, I found myself praying a new prayer. I prayed that she would live and not die. I prayed that His life and power would flow down to the very fingertips and toes of her body. I prayed that she and her family would not only have peace and comfort as they went through this, but also joy and laughter. I couldn't be safe any longer. My prayers had to mean more. And I don't know why this is happening. I don't know why a faithful and loving husband goes out for a run one evening and has a massive heart attack that ends his life. I don't know why a wonderful, giving family received a phone call that their house and everything in it burned to the ground. I don't know why a vivacious, beautiful 19 year old girl is lying in a hospital bed going thru the biggest battle of her life. I. just. don't. know. But I will tell you what I do know. I know that without these trials and hardships, the Body of Christ would have nothing to do. I know that we are to be His hands, His feet, His voice, working together to get through these times. Together. Functioning as One Body. And in that, I know He is glorified. 

For the love of theater

This is one of the hard weeks. In theater speak, it's called Tech Week. For weeks the kids have been practicing their lines, learning their blocking (that is the term for placement on the stage), and putting together their costumes. This is the week where everything comes together. They add in the all the props, settings, lights, and music (if any). Rehearsals are longer and more tiring and every night. But it all leads up to *dum, da, da, dum* Opening Night! "The Miracle Worker" is up first. Yes, I said FIRST. That's because in an insane moment of, well, insanity, I agreed to let my kids be in 3 productions at once! The performances for "The Miracle Worker" are Thursday and Friday night, and Sat afternoon. Followed by breakdown and the long awaited Cast Party. The lead, Annie Sullivan, is played my 14 year old daughter. My 16 year old and 12 year old daughters are minor characters. (At some point I will come up with creative names for all 6 of my kids, but not tonight!) Two weeks later we will hit Tech Week for "Babes in Toyland". At least Miracle Worker is in Tallahassee. Babes is in Quincy. I am thankful every day for the women who carpool with me. Quincy is a good 35 minute drive from our house. Again, my 16 and 12 year olds are in the chorus, while my 10 year old son has a bigger part but has no lines. Apparently he plays a mute named Mini Gonz who is very dramatic and likes to be in charge. Since neither of these productions rehearse on Sundays, we decided to also join the cast of "Lucky Dollar, Private Eye". Kind of a corny, cheesy musical that will be done as dinner theater. I already love it! We will continue just Sunday rehearsals until MW and Babes are done. This is at the Monticello Opera House where we do most of our theater. Again, a good 35 minute drive. The money I spend on gas during shows is RIDICULOUS!! But in the end it's always worth it. My kids LOVE being on stage, and I love seeing them there. I also enjoy it for myself. I have been in "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Oklahoma!". But now I have another little one, so my time will have to wait. My 3 older girls are in Lucky Dollar. My 16 year old has the role of Chartreuse the Chanteuse, a night club singer kind of character at a comedy club. Chartreuse is completely out of character for my daughter. But I know she will rock this role. This production won't run until the end of January, but then we will go straight into "Little Shop of Horrors". What can I say? We love theater!! Pics from our shows will be following each production.

Introducing....ME!

 Hi! Welcome to my new blog, Mind Over Batter! My husband, George, has been bugging me for years to start writing, so I thought this would be a great way to start. He figures someone who reads as much as I do (to a fault) has to be a good writer. I guess we are going to find out! Our family of 8 is crazy busy, which makes for some interesting and usually funny stories. My 14 year old daughter, Damaris, loves to bake and create. Together we run a Cottage Food Industry business, Something for Dessert. So you'll be sure to find our successes (and failures) here on these pages. I also tend to have an opinion on just about any subject, but I will try to keep this blog to the ones that I feel others might appreciate. What's a little controversy between friends, right? I will throw in a few reviews of books, restaurants, and movies for a more lighthearted side of my perspective.

I hope you will enjoy your visits! I look forward to hearing from you, so please leave comments. :D
























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