Texas town allows teachers to carry concealed guns

Texas town allows teachers to carry concealed guns

WHAT HAVE WE DONE!!??

     I have had such an uneasy feeling since the CT school shooting. Maybe it 's mother's intuition; maybe it's b/c I see things first hand, working @ a store where we sell guns... But what I do know is that God is stirring something inside me to not stop praying for those families. Losing your child is awful, no matter how they have let this world. I am appalled that ALL I am hearing on the news is GUN CONTROL, GUN CONTROL, GUN CONTROL!!!! WHAT ABOUT THESE FAMILIES??? Where is the time for a nation to help those who mourn???? I cannot believe that the government would push aside deaths of these young children and start pushing the Gun Control issue!! Pray for them and pray for your nation, people. Have we become a cold-hearted society??? I just can't believe it!!! I would rather be able to protect my family when needed, than to stand by and watch them die! I will fight to the end! This has stirred me up...

http://shortlittlerebel.wordpress.com/

Prov 18:10 MSG  God's name is a place of protection— good people can run there and be safe.
Prov 29:25 MSG The fear of human opinion disables; trusting in God protects you from that.

Get it together!

I keep reading some online friends blogs... I am so behind! I would rather Facebook it, ya know! Seems easier... But I am trying to get my new year's resolution on a roll before 2013 actually gets here, HA! This blogging thing is fun, and I so enjoy reading others pages, makes me feel like my -get up, go to work, come home, kiss hubby and the kid, go to bed and get up to do it all over again-life is boring. Well, I guess that';s my own fault, ya know? I am still trying to figure out what to do with me I guess.

I started selling Avon a year ago, and I spend more than sell! So if you'd like to order, I do all online, www.youravon.com/athenacollins !!! But it seems everybody else's blog is about something they do... hmmm...

I can sing... I could teach you how... I am a CSR @ Fin Feather Fur Outfitters, I guess I could teach you how to be better @ customer-service, or about guns, ammo, hunting, shooting, archery and just about everything outdoorsy. I dunno, I'm @ a loss. I don't cook much, I bake. LOVEPampered Chef products. I like to scrapbook. That could be the ticket! I might actually get my daughter's graduation book done! I could share about that!!!
Just gotta figure out how to post these pics and how to really use this website...
We shall see what this blog turns into then!
TTFN ~ Athena

The Way of Love

The Way of Love ~ 1 Corinthians 13 MSG

1 If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.

2 If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing.

3-7 If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, no matter what I believe, and no matter what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.

Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn't want what it doesn't have. Love doesn't strut, Doesn't have a swelled head, Doesn't force itself on others, Isn't always "me first," Doesn't fly off the handle, Doesn't keep score of the sins of others, Doesn't revel when others grovel, Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best, Never looks back, But keeps going to the end.

8-10 Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.

11 When I was an infant at my mother's breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good.

12 We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!

13 But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.

*** This song makes me cry EVERY time I hear it... What I am I without Love? What am I without God's Love? Questions I am constantly asking myself... Do I live like that everyday? HOW do I live like that everyday??? There is always something or someone that will frustrate my day. Then I think I have failed because I didn't respond the way God wants me too. Sometimes my human emotions get in the way of that... irritating things... But that's my test, is it not? Is God waiting to see how I respond? Have I chosen to love unconditionally, or get so irritated and angry that I say or do something I'm not proud of? I say 9 times out of 10, I take the latter. How do you LOVE unconditionally? How? Is it possible? Not with out God. Something I am learning and relearning EVERY day. There will always be something standing in our way to "test" our ability to love, and there will always be someone watching us to see how we react. My new friend Linda pointed that out to me the other day. When Pastor Page passed away it seemed like a devastating blow to our church. But now everyone will be watching to see how we respond to God's choice in answering our prayers. He took Brent to heaven to no longer suffer, now it is up to us to show that we believe God did the right thing. We don't always get the answer in the way we were searching or praying for. If that was they case, we would all win the lottery and never be alone. Haven't you seen "Bruce Almighty"? It's not possible or smart {for the lack of a better term} to answer everyone's prayers the way they want... more to come... stay tuned...
TTFN ~ Athena

MercyMe - Bring The Rain

This song came out the year Alex was born and went to be with Jesus. You all know how music speaks to my heart... I played this song over and over and over... Fall used to be my favorite time of year, then October 2006 came and went, and it was no longer my favorite. As time has passed, it is slowing becoming my favorite again. But now again someone who I hold dear to my heart is gone.
My Pastor, Brent Page has went to be with Jesus. He and his family opened their arms to me and my family when we were searching for another church home. Pastor Page married us. Pastor and his wife were there for us when our son Alex passed away. I can't imagine what I would do without my loving husband, Tim. I am so broken-hearted for Lisa and the rest of their family.
I don't know what else to say... God, You are in control, always.

Bring the Rain - MercyMe

I can count a million times
People asking me how I
Can praise You with all that I've gone through
The question just amazes me
Can circumstances possibly
Change who I forever am in You
Maybe since my life was changed
Long before these rainy days
It's never really ever crossed my mind
To turn my back on you, oh Lord
My only shelter from the storm
But instead I draw closer through these times
So I pray

Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain

I am Yours regardless of
The dark clouds that may loom above
Because You are much greater than my pain
You who made a way for me
By suffering Your destiny
So tell me what's a little rain
So I pray

Holy, holy, holy
Is the Lord God Almighty

Rain, Rain Go Away...

What to say, what to say... Everybody has 'something' they do with their blogs. I started out with my other blog on xanga.com to let my family/friends know how my pregnancy with our son, Alex, was progressing. Then we has issues, and I wrote them all down. Then the grieving and I wrote that down. I'm still grieving but I am [sort of] at the acceptance stage. I just finished reading the book 'Rain Dance'. I cried all the way through it. I could relate with the characters somewhat, and it was very soul-cleansing for me. It's been a while since I have let any feelings out and really just cried. This time of year brings back many painful memories, as I am reminded of our first ultrasound we were to have to determine if we were having a boy or a girl. And 6 years ago, we were told that little baby would have an omphalocele. Then later we found out more.

I'm still wanting, WE still are wanting, all in God's time. I don't know if I can accept that we may not have another living child. My daughter is almost 17, driving and going to be a Senior in HS. But there is still that want. I try hard to focus and the little girl who is growing up to fast in front of me. And I pray everyday, for God to keep her steps in His. But then I look at my nephew, who is exactly two months younger than Alex, and wonder what could've been. Did the doctors just give up? Could they have done more? I see so many handicapped children living and wonder "Why isn't mine?" Sure he would have been special. Special to us. I saw a little boy a few weeks ago while I was working [at the store]. He looked the way I think Alex would've looked. I even think he was about the same age. I stood and watched him for a bit. Then he turned and smiled, and waved. I just about busted into tears, and had to excused myself. I still yell about it. I still get angry. I can't even bring myself to plant flowers at the cemetery, even though I've said every year I want to.

Enough sadness... Lord Jesus, Please help restore the joy You once put in my life. I find myself thinking and tearing-up way more than I want to. Sometimes the slightest things set me off. Please help me. You are our Only Hope. You are more powerful than any anti-depressant and can heal me on the spot. Lord, if there is something You need to show me/us please lead us where You need us to go. Let Your Glory be seen, not just me. I know this is a 'process', a healing process. Please help restore my joy and fade my scars. I need some refreshing... Always believing in Your Awesome, Holy, Mighty, Loving Name, AMEN.

HELLO!

First post on my new blog! I blog here (www.xanga.com/praizeleeder222) You can go there to read my past ramblings... ;-) I just wanted to try this one. It connects with all my electronics!!!