i'm not ready...

 

 

 

i couldn't help but snap this pic real quick the other day as me and the kiddos (yes, all four of them) invaded Bass Pro for the afternoon. these are some of the things we do on spring break, it's a good time :)

 

curious why i would love a picture of the back of my children's heads? as i stood behind them--they were too busy talking to the alligators to notice what mama was doing--it occurred to me that i won't get too many more of these moments.  these everyday, normal moments where all four of my babes are willing to go spend a valuable spring break afternoon with boring ol' mom. these moments where they are all getting along, not taunting each other, bossing one another, there was no crying or whining...this moment, brief as it was, is so precious.

 

i realized as i stood looking at these absolutely adorable creations, that in just a short year and a half one of my precious loves will be an adult, an eighteen year old man, headed off to college--whether near or far matters very little, just fyi--and my heart sank right there in Bass Pro. i'm not ready.

 

i'm not the least bit ready for P to live somewhere else. i'm not ready for him to be fully in-charge of his schedule. i'm not ready for him to be outside of my protective realm. i'm not ready.

 

what if he lives far away and gets sick? what if he hungry but is out of money? what if he doesn't wake up when his alarm goes off and misses classes or work or ball practice?!! what if, what if, what it???!!!!

 

how will Girlie or K or Lil'K2 react to not having Buba around everyday? he is all that K wants to be and without P here, will that just break his heart?

 

i began in this moment to question our parenting and if we'd done a good enough job to prepare this man-child for the real world? is God's Grace deep enough to cover all my failings & short-comings?

 

and while my broken heart began to well-up in the corners of my eyes, the fantastic four started walking on towards the fishes & boats, i blinked away the worries, determined to enjoy the now, the present.

 

but i know that his childhood is coming to a close, can't get away from it. i miss his lil' boy voice telling me he loves me to the moon & back and how he would crawl into my lap for snuggles after school and gnome-kisses at bedtime. it does make me sad in so many ways that all too soon he won't plop down on the couch and watch Duke basketball with me or be the first to tell me how good dinner was or make me laugh out loud with his jokes and antics in the afternoon.

 

but God's Grace is deep enough and His Love is relentless and He will give this mama the peace & wisdom to maneuver the next year and a half of my P's life. God is more than able to fill in all the crack and holes of our parenting and give His Favor where i assuredly lacked.

 

for the very best days with my son--with all my babes--is yet to be!!! Lord, please go before me, grant me strength, wisdom, kindness to love BIG <3 font="">

to my sister-bestie :)

 

to my bestest friend & sister:

 

 

happy birthday My Sarah!! you would have been 37 today, I've always enjoyed rubbing it in that you're older than me, even if it's only by a few weeks :) if you were here we would most likely be meeting at The Greasy Spoon in Monett for breakfast, a few hours of talking face-to-face and a piece of pie before we part ways (because by that time it's lunch!!), we'd hug long, get in our vehicles to drive our separate ways but not get very far before one of us would call the other to chat more on the hour drive home....

 

 

i'd be lying if i said i wasn't a bit sad this morning. i don't miss you less with each passing day or birthday but if it's possible i miss you more...so many things i long to tell you, talk about how our kids are growing, endlessly quote Friends to each other in text throughout the day, tell you about my disappointments & struggles and hear your encouraging words and some tough love too :)

 

i miss picking up the phone to hear your voice & you asking me to be your "moral compass" and tell you what to do, telling me a funny Mason story or talking about our dreams & hopes for the future...

 

 

 

but i do NOT lose heart and dwell in my sadness of your physical presence because i carry you Sunshine in my soul, endless notes & letters & cards written from the well-spring of your heart to mine, i see you when i look at Mason's school pictures (which are all over my house, because he will forever belong to me and is just like my own child, just as my kiddos were to you!), when i talk to your Mama and hug sister Becky....you are in those places and God uses those to comfort me.

 

 

 

 

so happiest of birthdays my forever sister-bestie....and i know this truth: that the very best is YET to come!!

 

love, me :)

who is flooded by grace marketing?

flooded by grace marketing: the who/what/how/why of my biz ;)

If I haven't said "thanks a bunch" to you before then hear me now, that I'm so blessed that you are a fan of our FB page!!! And that you would swing the blog...seriously, i think you rock!

flooded by grace marketing was the Lord's idea not mine, but so glad He planned for it! I, Heather or aka BlessedChic, am CEO/owner and have worked in marketing & advertising for almost 15 years--Wowza!!--in the SW Missouri market. And through it all my heart has been to be the very best (yes, I'm a Type A through & through) at serving my clients. I love partnering my marketing expertise with an owner's insight & goals, their expertise in their industry and make dreams come true!! It's hard but also a new adventure every single day!!

We--me & a few exceptional colleagues that partner with me--design THE most effective strategies and inspiring creative with innovative content & launch it on multiple media platforms! I want my clients to be the best of the best, so we develop ways to help them reach the most customers & achieve their dreams and goals within their budget, that's essential!! It's what we do and as a bonus, it's fun ;)

Why? Business owners and/or their marketing managers have handfuls of reps from media outlets calling, emailing, stopping by every day. If we can take the burden of meeting with multiple media reps (up to 70+ per month contact them) and gather all the market information, perform market analysis & industry research for their specific company, assist them in creating a budget so they never have to guess how much to spend or what they've spent and write persuasive & engaging content and place everything for them--take a breath!--then the business owner gets to do what they LOVE, run their company, not worry about their advertising but about serving the customers that need them!! It is such a win-win-win and so blessed to do this for our clients every day :)  Was that more info than you were looking for?! Lol!

How did I ever come up with the title 'flooded by grace'? I love Jesus and wouldn't be anything if it weren't for His amazing Grace & love!! My life--personal & business--is flooded by His Graces and having my business name reflect my praise and devotion to the Lord just makes me smile and opens the door to show & tell the others the love of Christ :)

So there you have it, a nut-shell description of flooded by grace marketing!! 

blessings...
Heather

i love you most...

Eighteen years ago, two best friends--a young man and woman--went to their favorite park. They sat by the small lake on the foot bridge with their legs dangling over the side talking. They jokingly brought up the topic of marriage, and that handsome young man suggested that when they were 30, if they're not married then they should marry each other. Perfect plan, right?!  

I'll leave out the part where the young woman took offense to this insane idea and asked "Why wouldn't I be married by the time I'm 30?!!" :)

However ignorant the initial idea was, those two weren't quite ready to admit they were more than just close friends, but completely head over heels for one another....and within just a few months began these two began dating, they stumbled and tripped along the way (it wasn't perfect), a bit later had a beautiful baby boy, still stumbled a bit more on their way but within a couple years were engaged, then married....and well, this story is still one in the making....

...because this is my love story, imperfect and flawed, but magnificently wonderful! 

Today we celebrate the day we became one, that I married that super handsome young man! I could never have imagined something this amazing but God is overflowing with grace and wisdom and has given me the most incredible husband...he's not perfect, but My Man is so perfect for me! 

He overwhelms me with his patience and friendship...how totally unconditionally he leads me and our kids...he's strong in the Lord and I am fully aware that many days I'm completely sustained by the prayers he takes before the Lord on my behalf...he's made me a mama five times and I'm beyond words thankful and humbled to have this title of "mom"...he pushes me to reach for dreams I didn't even know I had...

I know that while the past has been AWESOME--of course, not without heartbreaks and disappointments and loss because well, this Earth is NOT our home--I know that the best is absolutely yet to come!!! 

I've spent exactly half my life with you, my LOVE and I will continue to spend every day we have together being over-the-top in love with until my very last breath....

I love you most....

proclaim it!!

it's been a year and a half since i wrote anything publicly...i could list a hundred excuses why, mostly busyness.....no, that's not entirely true, for a period of time i didn't feel like i had any "good" news to share, it was a survival mode of getting through each day, wash, rinse,repeat, repeat.

however, that is can be no longer, God keeps giving me a Word to build me, encourage me, wisdom beyond my understanding and He has told me "Proclaim It! Proclaim It!" and i have not. maybe i have in conversations with those close to me but there is something bigger. i'm not looking to reach the masses but i am going to come back here (where there was once masses) and begin again. if nothing else this is just another journal (because the stack of 100's of paper journals isn't enough!) i have to document of my walk with Christ and my walk through this earthly life with my family and friends....you with me? :)

so let me jump right in and give you (and me) something to think about on this cold, icy Friday when we are just a couple handfuls away from celebrating Jesus' birthday....

are you a big gifter? you love piling up the gifts under the tree? i'm not judging, you don't have to answer out loud :) i love shopping and i brave the black thanksgiving/friday crowds for great, limited edition deals. we give our four kiddos each three..yes, just three....Christmas boxes to unwrap that special morning. now are there sometimes more than one item in each, maybe two or three, but we are striving for something bigger here. Jesus got three gifts on the day of His awesome birth and we want to emulate that, but we also don't want the kids obsessed with getting 20 gifts under the tree...i clean their rooms, believe me, they have enough stuff!! i want their sense of getting to be shadowed by their inner desire to give...give of themselves, their time, their resource, their talents and especially their money. we have been so blessed by the provision from the Lord to give much to others in need this season, but it should just start here, in December, with all of us and spread to each month, looking for ways to be the hands and feet of Jesus...there is certainly a depraved indifference in our souls unless we're praying to see with Jesus' eyes and have our hearts broken over the things that break the heart of God.

i posted this video about three years ago on my blog and it still moves my heart as i watch it today, stirring my soul to give even more!! put feet to my words and write another check, write another letter of encouragement, give more of my time...

ALL TO MAKE JESUS' NAME FAMOUS AND BRING OTHERS TO A KNOWLEDGE THAT GOD LOVES YOU!! HE'S CRAZY ABOUT YOU! HE WANTS TO WORK IN YOU AND THROUGH YOU, TRANSFORM YOUR HEART AND SOUL, BRING JOY UNSPEAKABLE!!! 

can you feel my urgency?!!!? we sponsor some children in haiti and i think of them when i watch this and pray that their hearts will be surrendered to Jesus because of our sacrifice....but we can do more...we WILL do more to reach more!

so what will you give? what will you do? will you pray with me that God will move us beyond ourselves for His children, for His Glory?

much love and blessings to you today....i WILL be back tomorrow to write what God gives me, Lord willing :)