Coconut Telegraph

If you've ever been to the islands (any of them), then you've heard of the coconut telegraph (also known as the "grapevine" if you're from a small town). It's the way information, usually gossip, gets passed around to the occupants of a particular place. 20 years ago it only took about 2 days time for info to travel around a small town. Now? It takes less than 20 minutes. Ah, Facebook, the world's most reliable source of information and everyone's favorite place to complain, vent, soapbox, judge, politic or basically just say every thought that comes to mind....ever. The place where young girls can post pictures of themselves in their bikinis at the beach or the pool for all the world to see and for young boys to comment on how sexy those girls are in their 14-year-old bodies. The place to spread the gospel. The place to spread gossip. The place to show countless pictures if your kids, your husband, your dog or your "duck face" to 5 people who might care and 50,000 who couldn't care less but read your status and look at your pictures anyways, then talk about how obsessive you are to their friends. I have wrestled many times about whether or not to delete my facebook account. I am a people person and love being connected to my friends and family who live far away from me. However, lately I have found myself in conversations with people about things we saw or heard about on facebook. And these are usually not uplifting conversations.

It is sooo much easier to type something than it is to say it to someone. As part of my job at an elementary school I research bullying quite a bit and the cyber bullying phenomenon is really something. Kids (and adults) are super brave online, which in my opinion is not a good thing. We say things on facebook or through a text message that we would never have the guts to say in person, but the problem is it hurts people just as bad as if it were in person. God's Word says that the tongue is a double edged sword, used to both bless and curse. It's so true and technology is making it easy for us to bless and curse in the same status update.

There's been a growing number of "controversies" online lately, today's in particular being the Chick-Fil-A ordeal. Unfortunately, most people have decided which "side" they are on before they know any truth about a situation. And everyone keeps telling everyone else that they're being judgmental, and everyone's a bigot (that word is used out of context so much it makes me want to vomit). I am an American citizen. I love the 4th of July and the Olympics when I get to celebrate my country and my freedom. What's going on today is sad in my opinion. I'm not talking about the millions of people who ate or are eating at Chick-Fil-A, I'm talking about all of the talking... allll of the talking. Just because we have the freedom of speech doesn't mean we should use it so much! Yes, I realize I am saying this on a blog...

 I have my beliefs. Most people who know me personally know my beliefs. Lots of people (including some of my best friends) don't agree with some of my beliefs. Does this mean that one of us is a bigot because we disagree on a topic? No. I am a big girl. If there was a Chick-Fil-A in Ohio County, KY, I could decide whether or not I wanted to eat there. Today, I decided to eat lunch at Subway. I have no clue what the CEO of Subway's views are on marriage, abortion, Jesus or anything else for that matter. The only thing I do know is that they make buffalo chicken sandwiches which I 100% agree with. If the owner of Subway came out and said he (or she) supported same sex marriage I would still eat Subway. That's his right and his choice to believe what he wants. He did no harm to me by his belief. I may disagree with him but who cares? I disagree with a lot of people. But just because I agree or disagree with you does NOT mean that I hate you. I disagree with abortion in most cases, but that does NOT mean that I hate any woman who has ever had one. People are complex creatures. Everyone is unique in our DNA, our family, our environment and our personality. God designed us that way. How can I claim to know something so intimate about someone I've never met (aka Dan Cathy) such as who he hates based on a belief of his? Barrack Obama also made a statement not too long ago that he believed marriage was between a man and a woman (obviously he changed his mind). Guess what happened to him? He was voted president. Now the CEO of one of America's favorite fast food chains says the exact same thing and political leaders of Boston, Chicago and Washington, D.C. are threatening to boycott his restaurant. All because they disagree with him. Is that what America is about? If I lived in any of those cities I would be very disappointed in my local government for telling me I can no longer eat at a restaurant because they don't personally agree with the CEO's beliefs on marriage. Just like my Subway example, it wouldn't be right either way.

Let me decide where to spend my money. Quit trying to look like a hero by letting us all know that you think so and so is a bigot because they disagree with you. Think before you act. Think before you speak. I'd love it if facebook went back to being a place where we could post one picture of ourselves, a little blurb about our lives, maybe a quote or two and be done with it. If we wanted to talk to someone we could call them, go see them, or even send them a personal message. But that's not going to happen. People will continue to use social media however they want to. It's your right to use it however you want to, and it's my right to delete my account, which will be happening soon. I can't wait to see what kind of presents God has for me when I'm spending my time actually investing in his children instead of reading about where they ate lunch today and getting frustrated at their silly status updates. I hope to honor God and love people in everything I do. That's it. Facebook is not inherently evil, but it has become bad for me. It may not be for you. I know several people who use their facebook to love those around them, near and far. Keep doing that! God surely has presents to send you no matter how you use social media, as long as it's for His glory.

Trying to Reason With Hurricane Season

Who doesn't love a vacation to the Sunshine State? Considering I grew up there and my parents still live there, I am always up for a vacation without having to pay for a week's stay in a condo. This year the husband and I decided to take our bicycles with us so we could ride down on 30A, a beach road east of Destin in South Walton County. It runs through some of the cutest beach towns and has a great view! But before I get to the fun part, the week started out in typical Florida fashion... with a tropical storm. Sunday was cloudy and a little rainy, and Monday was cloudy and pretty windy with very rough surf (you gotta love the tourists who refuse to stay out of the water when there's a double red flag flying, even if it is illegal and extremely dangerous). Good ole' TS Debby decided to park herself in the gulf and not move for a day or so. We were beginning to worry that our whole week would be yucky weather-wise. My brother and sister-in-law who live in St. Petersburg were getting slammed with rain and wind, which was a present for my brother considering he LOVES tropical weather. Since my sister-in-law grew up in eastern KY, this was her first experience with tropical weather, and with my brother during tropical weather. I'm not sure which was more traumatizing. Luckily for the husband and I, by Monday evening the skies were clearing and Debby was headed east and away from our much-needed beach vacation. A present for us!

My Dad was in Washington, DC at a business conference for 4 days while we were there which was a bummer, but we did get some quality time in with my Mom. My Mom and I have become closer than ever since I moved to KY almost 10 years ago and especially in the last couple of years. I think moving away was the best thing that ever happened to us! I love my Mom and it was good to spend some time with her. We also got to meet our friends the Wilson's new baby, Jude. They have been prayerfully waiting for over 2 years to adopt a baby from Ethiopia and he is finally here! He is beautiful and talkative and perfect and I'm so thankful they were on vacation in Destin while we were there and we got to meet him just a few days after they brought him back from Africa. God's timing truly is perfect. What a wonderful present.

When Dad finally got back from DC we had about 24 hours left before the husband and I had to leave, so we wanted to get as much flying time in as possible. I soloed our family's airplane, a Piper J-3 Cub just over 10 years ago, but it is taking me a while to move from student pilot, which means I can fly by myself or with a licensed pilot, to private pilot where I can take passengers. My airplane, teacher (Dad) and flight instructor are all in FL, a good 500 miles away from me here in Beaver Dam. Now that I am settled and not in college anymore it's time to get serious about getting my PPL. I'm so thankful for the husband, who encourages me with flying and wants to learn to fly himself! After he finishes school in a few years he can focus on that. For now, we are figuring out how I am going to finish up my PPL considering I don't have an airplane or instructor here. Both of those things are expensive, so we will see what God provides. There's not a lot of opportunity in Ohio County to learn to fly, and not many people around here do fly. I think the expense is a big part of that, so maybe God has plans to change that in the future. I loved growing up around flying and want others, including my own children to be able to have that experience. Flying is one of the greatest presents I have been given, and I hope to share it with others like my Dad has been doing his while life. He has story upon story of getting to share the gift of flight with people for the first time. What's the point of God giving us presents if we don't share them with others? Exactly.

All in all, we had a good week. We got some family time, some friend time, some beach time, some flying time and some biking time. Here are a few pics to recap the trip.

These are from the bike path on Hwy 30A in South Walton County. They have gorgeous dune lakes along the path and an awesome covered bridge! We rode for a while in the morning, stopped and ate lunch along the way, then ended at Grayton Beach State Park for a lovely quiet afternoon at the beach.

When we got back to KY and the 100 degree weather, we went to the wedding of a former co-worker and current friend of mine in Louisville. It was a beautiful wedding even though the bride's sister lost her 8-month old daughter suddenly 2 weeks ago. It was obviously a sad time for the family but it was such a testimony to see the bride singing "How Great Thou Art" at the top of her lungs during the hymn at the end of the ceremony. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, may the name of the Lord be praised! Feel free to check out her blog here.

God has presents to send you even in the hard times. You just have to open them!

Why the Things We Do

Peanut butter, sauerkraut, and taco sauce. What do these things have in common you might ask? Let's recap what happened during supper at the Herron/Spencer home a few nights ago. As usual, I cooked dinner for me, husband, and Papaw, and this particular night we were having tacos. Although we have had tacos several times since the husband and I moved in over a year ago, Papaw never knows what to do with the tortilla and all of the ingredients. We usually show him what to put in it, then show him how to roll up the tortilla and eat it, but this night it went a little differently. As I was putting my taco together, he just started putting everything that I was using into his taco. I put beans in mine, he put beans in his. I put sour cream on mine, he put sour cream on his. Then I put taco sauce on mine. Well, even though Papaw always claims that "he'll eat anything", he doesn't really like spicy stuff. So I warned him that the taco sauce was spicy and he may not want it. Then he decided that his taco needed something else. Here's how the dialog went:

Papaw: "I think I'll put a little ketchup on it and see how I like it"

Me: "Um, I've never heard of anyone putting ketchup on a taco before, it might not be very good."

Papaw: "Well I'll see." (reaches for the sauerkraut) "I'll put a little of this on there too, see how I like that."

Me: "That sounds gross! I'm sure no one puts sauerkraut and ketchup on a taco!"

Papaw: (laughing and very proud of himself) "Well there's a first time for everything!"

Husband (as he's walking in the room): "Papaw that looks bad. You may as well put peanut butter on it."

Papaw (after getting this mischievous look in his eye and a sly grin, he gets up and walks toward the cabinet): "Well maybe I'll try that, too!"

So Papaw ate his folded over taco (he forgot how to roll it up) with taco meat, refried beans, cheese, sour cream, ketchup, sauerkraut and peanut butter. He was so proud of himself for grossing me and the husband out, but he wouldn't take big bites. He kept saying "boy, this is good", and I kept saying "you're lying!!!" I guess no will ever know except Papaw how bad that taco tasted. But that's just a day in the life for us. You never know what he's gonna put together when it comes to food, or to get attention. It was pretty funny, definitely the most memorable dinner I've had since we've been living here. It was one of those times where I thanked God for the time that we have living here. We won't be here forever and we won't have forever with Papaw (or each other for that matter, the husband and I aren't promised tomorrow, either). Romans 8:28 says that God works for the good of those who love Him. Yes, yes He does. 

If you're feeling adventurous tonight, have a sauerkraut and peanut butter taco. It could be the best present you've ever had! 

Math Suks

Why am I awake at 7:30 on Saturday morning when most people are sleeping in? I ask myself that question just about every Saturday. Seth works on most Saturdays and guess who makes his lunch in the mornings? Nope, not Papaw. I make his sandwiches every morning before he leaves for work... well, except the two times in the past week that I told him I would "bring" them to him because I was tired and didn't want to get out of bed at 7 am... and I forgot to. Whoops. Looks like I won't be getting the "wife of the year" award any time soon! But anywho, by the time I get up, make his sandwiches, fill up his water bottle and get back to the bedroom, I am officially too awake to go back to sleep. So here I sit, blogging.

Let's talk about presents. I don't mind making these sandwiches every morning because I am making them for one of the hardest-working men I have ever known. My husband. He works hard at everything he does, which is a rare quality to find in a man these days. I have a Dad like that, but more on him later. Seth is dedicated to his job, but will be going back to school after taking a year off to figure out what he wanted to do. He will be majoring in accounting, which sounds terribly boring to me. I took College Algebra 3 times before I passed it, not because I'm bad at math (the third time I finished with a 95 A), but because I just don't like it. When you don't go to class or do your homework, you don't know what's going on. When you don't know what's going on, you don't pass the tests. When you don't pass the tests, you fail College Algebra twice. Don't fail College Algebra twice. Luckily, the third time I was engaged and highly motivated to do well, pass the class and get my degree so that I could find a job and support me and my soon-to-be husband. I did it! Seth will do better. He likes math and apparently plans on making somewhat of a career out of it. I'm proud to be his wife and realize how blessed I am. God has been good to me.

As I stated earlier, I also have a hard-working father. When I was younger, I don't think I grasped this trait (remember, I had to take a simple math class three times because I was lazy). My Dad is always working on something, but knows how to relax and have fun, too. He worked hard to provide for our family and making sure our home was in good shape. He still does. He is the best high school principal I know, not just because he works hard, but because he cares about what he does. He cares about every student, every teacher/staff member, every parent. He believes that students can succeed if the right environment is provided for them. For those of you not from Crestview, trust me when I say the environment around CHS has not been so good the past few years. Dad just finished his first year as principal there, and the environment has totally changed. Have you checked out the Lip Dubs? You should. Here is the original one, and here is the teacher lip dub, featuring the greatest faculty meeting speech I've ever heard by my Dad. Check out the videos, they were both done and produced by students. It's great to be a Crestview Bulldog! Happy Father's Day to the best dad and the best principal!

Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes

I should probably tell you how I got here. I grew up on the beautiful Emerald Coast of Florida, just north of Destin. Both of my parents are from KY originally, my Mom from a small town in western KY and my Dad from Lexington. My Dad played college football at the University of Kentucky (go Cats) and then became a football coach. After he and my Mom got married, they moved to sunny Florida where the weather was warm and the football was a big deal (unlike in KY). They had my brother, then a few years later I came along, and we settled in Crestview when I was 2. I LOVE where I'm from. I appreciate it very much, but I have always wanted to move to Kentucky. As a child, Ryan (my brother) and I spent a couple of weeks each summer in Kentucky with my Mom's mom, Gram in Todd County, and my Dad's parents, Nanny and Da in Lexington. Something about the air, the fell of the grass and the lightning bugs made me fall in love with the state. I dreamed of going to college at UK and meeting an incredibly good looking Kentucky boy to marry. Yay me! I did it!

High school was a blast. I had great friends and we had good, clean fun. We made embarrassing home videos (praise God YouTube had not been invented) of ourselves dancing to the Spice Girls and N'Sync and ate our weight in cookie dough. They all had boyfriends come and go, I never had any boyfriends. We went on band trips all over the country and my senior year our girl's basketball team won the District Championship! After a year and a half of knee injury, I was proud to play in that game and be on that team. My family flies airplanes (I'll post more on this later) and at 17, I soloed my family's Piper J-3 Cub for the first time. It's in my blood and I'm grateful for the opportunity to see the world from a different perspective.  Still, I knew I was called to go. I loved my friends, my church, my parents, my airplane and my home. But I had to go. So, at 18 years old I packed my bags and went off to college 650 miles away from home.

It took me a while to figure out who I was. I suppose I'm still figuring that out. I changed my major twice and had many different friends. By my junior year I was loving life. I was a manager for the women's basketball team and got to travel all over with them all while getting my education paid for, and I was very involved with FCA and bible study. I made some life-long friends that year. Two of them were from a little town called Beaver Dam. On Easter weekend, I went home to Beaver Dam for the weekend with Bailey. That Saturday afternoon we went to her church to play basketball with her younger brother (who was in high school) and some of his friends. One of those friends was really cute! His name was Seth, he was nice and had good hair and muscles, and even came back to Bailey's after we played to have some BBQ with us. He was more than 3 years my younger, so thinking he was cute was the extent of my interest, but luckily God's plans are bigger than mine. It would only be 2 1/2 years before we began dating, got engaged and got married. We've been married 2 1/2 years now and he is still way cute! He is one of the best presents I have ever received!

After we got engaged we decided to move from Lexington back to western KY so that he could finish up college at WKU and I would look for a job. We lived in Bowling Green our 1st year of marriage in a cute 1-bedroom apartment that we loved. I was a teacher's assistant at an elementary school and we were dirt poor. But we made it! Soon Seth got a part time job at a pharmacy and was going to school full time (pre-med) and working 4 days a week. We had plans. But God did too. As we were celebrating out first year anniversary, we moved into an apartment out of desperation. I was desperate for more space and change. Seth was unhappy in school and his job, so we moved. It was awful. We stayed there a month and a half before we finally decided to move back to Beaver Dam and live with Seth's Papaw. His Granny had just been put in the nursing home (she had severe alzheimer's) and Papaw was very lonely. It was a good move for everyone. We were warm and safe and Papaw had company. He gave us the master bedroom/bathroom so we could have our privacy. It was a great present for all of us!

We've been here about 16 months now, and I'll be honest, there are times when I just want my own house. But this last year was so critical. Seth's Granny went to be with Jesus and it was great that we were here for Papaw and Seth's mom, Becky. I got a new job that was very unplanned but that I love very much (a huge present!) and Seth had to have back surgery... for the 2nd time in as many years. There was and is a reason we are here. God has not called us to move yet and He is stretching my faith by asking us to stay for a while. I have no idea how long, and I pray every day for discernment to hear His voice. When He calls us, we will go, even if we're not ready. Seth has a job he loves now at the local hardware store and will be going back to WKU in the fall majoring in Accounting. I can't wait to see what presents will come from that and what kind of presents we will be able to give to others! That's what it's all about anyways. God gives us presents so that we can give others presents, too.

So there you have it. If you are still reading this post, thank you for taking the time to hear about my life and hopefully you will understand some of the things I reference in future posts. Until then, look around... God has presents to send you. :-)

The Stories We Could Tell

Have you ever found yourself somewhere and you had to stop for a minute to think, "how on earth did I get here?!" Guess what? You're not the only one. I'm sure everyone has thought this at one point or another in their lives. Some of us think it on a daily basis. Frank Bama once said, "the best navigators are not quite sure where they're going until they get there, and then they're still not sure," (Jimmy Buffett, Don't Chu Know). And I believe him! When I was a child I had a very specific picture in my head of what my life would be like as an adult. Oh sure, the person I was going to marry and my profession changed almost daily, but the dream remained the same. And you know what? I never in a million years would've guessed I'd be living in Beaver Dam, KY (I'm from Florida) with my husband and his Papaw, right next door to my in-laws. We've been here over a year now, and I've had many "wait, what?" moments. But the best part is, I am NOT in control. God is. It's easy to focus on the things I don't have instead of the gifts and blessings I am given every single day by the lover of my soul, Jesus.

My purpose in starting this blog is to tell stories. I like to tell stories (so does Papaw, he has about 20 that are kept on rotation so you hear them about 4 times a month). Some of my stories will be funny, some sad, some exciting, and some... interesting. But the point of my story-telling is not to vent my frustrations about my situation, which by the world's standards would not be considered ideal, it is to focus on the blessings, or presents that God sends me every day.

The title of the blog is "Presents to Send You", which is also the title of a Jimmy Buffett song. Now, you may be confused that I've referenced both Jesus and Jimmy Buffett in the same post because they do not normally go together. While I don't agree with the majority of JB's morals, some of his lyrics are fantastic. My brother, Ryan and I grew up listening to him and we turned out just fine! So because of that, each post will be titled a JB song title or song line or a personalized version of one (i.e., I can already sense a post being titled "Everybody's Got a Cousin in Beaver Dam" instead of "Everybody's Got a Cousin in Miami"). Also, I love presents. Christmas presents, birthday presents, just because presents and any other kind! I will here on out use that word a lot, and when I do, I'm probably talking about blessings. Blessings are presents from God, and He has lots to send you.

With all of that being said, I hope you enjoy this blog. It is intended to encourage those of you who think your life didn't turn out how you had planned. It rarely does and I'm living proof of it! Please feel free to comment and share your own stories. The bible verse under the title of this blog is so important and it is my encouragement everyday. Life will always have affliction (caused by sin), but through prayer and faith, we can have hope (found only in Jesus)!!! Enjoy the stories from my gulf coastal mouth.