Tag Archive | Celebration

In Just a Moment

We have all heard the saying…”It is not the breaths we take but the moments that take our breath away” but have you ever really stopped to reflect on the moments? All too often we take the “awe” moments for granted. In-fact they pass us by and all we don’t even realized they’ve occurred…

If you think about it some truly AMAZING events have occurred in a moment!!!

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God
descending like a dove and lighting on him. (Matthew 3:16)
Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has
healed you.” And the woman was healed from that moment. (Matthew 9:22)
Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that
moment (Matthew 17:18)
At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. (Matthew 27:51)

Wow…moments with eternal impact captured and recorded in God’s word!!!

I have experienced some AMAZING moments; life events worth recording:

The moment I asked Jesus to be my personal Lord and Saviour
The moment I said I do to Richard Dallas Smith
The moment my first-born, Tori Rene Smith arrived
The moment the doctor said “It’s a Girl
The moment Cheyenne Mary Darrell, our granddaughter came into our lives

But, I have also had some pretty incredible moments which occur in every day life that take my breath away:

The moment I walk in the door after a long day at work and am greeted by the sounds, sights, and smells of home
The moment Richard walks up behind me while I am cooking dinner. wraps his arms around me and says “I love you”
The moment I pick up the phone to hear, “Hi Meme, whatcha doing?”
The moment when all my family is here and I realize I am surrounded by laughter

Wow…what can you do to impact a life

In Just A Moment

Love Lee ♥

Let There Be Light

Jun5

For all who have visited our home in Jones Creek know all too well the importance of light in my life. In-fact, anyone who passed our home could see the lights from the street as the electric candles burned in every window to illuminate our home.

These electric candles burn 24/7 as a symbol of life to all who pass by. Life, love, and hope that filles our home served as a beacon for all to join us in our celebration. In-fact, prior to moving, I received a card from a neighbor thanking me for keeping the candles burning throughout the night. She suffered from a chronic illness and spent many sleepless nights gazing out her window across the street at our lights stating they served as a symbol of hope for her. One of the saddest moments I experienced when we moved was unplugging my lights and packing them away.

As I unpacked boxes in our new home, I came across the lights. I debated about putting them in the windows but got side tracked and put the box aside and totally forgot about them. After dinner last night, Richard said, “Hey Babe, can you come here for a minute?”. I followed him outside to the front of the house and Oh My Gosh…The entire front of the house was glowing! He had unpacked my lights…

Let There Be Light…We are Home Now!

Love Lee ♥

You are my lamp, O LORD; the LORD turns my darkness into light. 2 Samuel 22:29

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE RANCH…2011

Dec24

Greetings Our Precious Family and Friends!!!

Wow, this year has flown by and while so much has changed in our lives since 2010, we remain very much the same. This year Richard and I spent time celebrating life events with our family which included birthdays, weddings, graduations, Tae Kwon Do, and basketball. In May family and friends joined us for the 5^th Annual Smith Family Reunion which was filled with lots of food, fun, laughter, and lots of MEMORIES!!! Our lives are so enriched by the moments we have with those we love.

Then in October, heaven gained an Angel and we lost our Nana (Richard’s mother). This Christmas will be especially hard for us as Christmas was Nana’s favorite holiday and Christmas Eve will not be the same without her.

It was also in October we moved to the “Ranch”. We sold our home and moved into our 38 foot motorhome…Talk about a huge task!!! All our belongings which were in our 3,100 SF home are now housed in 3 different storage buildings and have no clue where to find anything!!!

I am sure about now you are probably thinking we have lost our minds…I assure you we have not!!! We will be building a home on our daughter and son-in-law’s ranch right across from our precious granddaughter!!! Wooohooo…talk about making some incredible memories…In-fact we have already started!!! A huge thanks to our son-in-law, Robi for getting a place for the RV set-up while we were busy moving…We would not have made it without his help!!!

Since moving into the RV, we’ve added a deck, put up a fence, made time for play breaks, and even taken a trip to New Mexico for Thanksgiving where we spent quality time with Brandi and Robi in Taos before driving to Albuquerque for time with Uncle Russell, Aunt Karen, and Richard’s cousins…Making Those Memories!!!

Richard continues to work for BASF as a process technician and for Alston Group LLC as a technical writer. Lee Ann celebrated her 10th Anniversary at Angleton Danbury Medical Center and continues to focus on the Revenue Cycle and Case Management. We both are keenly aware of how blessed we are to have such wonderful employers and incredible co-workers.

While life is very simple now…It is a great life!!!

We pray during this Holiday Season God will surround you with His peace and you will take time to bask in His presence throughout the entire year…

Merry Christmas and Lots of Love

Beneath His Sheltering Wing…

Love,

Richard and Lee Ann ♥

A Trip To The Pig Pen

Sep23

I love the story of the prodigal son. Here is a young man who has it all…a home, wealth, food, and his father’s love. He becomes discontent and restless so he goes to his father and asks for his inheritance early. The father grants his son’s wishes and the son takes the money and runs.

The little party animal goes out and squanders away all the money his father gave him. With no money he is forced to go to work for a pig farmer. While working for the pig farmer he doesn’t even make enough money to buy food. He is forced to eat the same food the pigs eat.

After living in this state for a while he decides to go back home. He felt certain being a servant for his father would be better than working for the pig farmer. So he heads home…

As he approaches his father’s place, his dad sees him and runs out to greet him. His dad embraces him and welcomes him home. Not as a servant but as a son.

This young man like many of us, we don’t recognize what we have and are never satisfied so we go out and experiment to find those things and people who bring us “happiness”. Sometimes it just takes a…

A Trip To The Pig Pen

For us to change our mindset and recognize how truly blessed we are!!!

PS: For you parents who have kids in the “Pig Pen” you hold on to the promises of God…They will return home!!!

Love Lee ♥

Enough Said…

Aug15

I Love This Saying!!!

Preach the Gospel, and if necessary use words. ~ Unknown

I have never been one to shove God down anyone’s throat. To do so would imply the Holy Spirit does not exist. I would rather allow the Holy Spirit to draw people to Christ.

If He chooses me to be His instrument may I…

To listen to His voice
To see Him in all His Glory
To taste His Goodness
To feel His Presence
To smell His sweet aroma

My Daily Prayer: “Here I am Lord, use me”

Enough Said

Love Lee ♥

I Won!!!

Aug3

I remember as a little girl playing a game with my classmates and friends called “Duck…Duck…Goose”. We would all sit in a circle and one person would go around the tapping each person on the head and labeling us as a duck or a goose. There was only one goose and everyone wanted to be the goose…

She would walk around the circle ” Duck…Duck…Duck…Duck…GOOSE”. Yeah…It was me!!! I am the GOOSE…I would jump up and chase her around the circle trying to catch her before she was able to get back to the slot where I had been sitting.

You know, looking back, I didn’t want to get up and run around the circle…I just wanted to CHOSEN.

Life is much like a game of Duck…Duck…Goose. Jesus walks around our lives and He chooses us wanting us to chase after Him…

The coolest part of it all is He didn’t choose me because I am

Perfect
Popular
Beautiful
Thin
Tall
Rich
Famous

He chose me because He loves me!!! He says…

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. John 15:16

Wow!!! He chose me, trusted me with an assignment and THEN…He promised to give me the desires of my heart!!!

Now that is better than any game of Duck…Duck…Goose I have ever played and already

I WON!!!

Love Lee ♥

Explore…Dream…Discover

Aug1

Nothing in life is certain. Things change, people change, and circumstances change…So, when thinking about making a change how do you know if you are making a wise decision?

YOU DON’T!

BUT…

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
-Mark Twain

Today, I choose to explore my options, dream BIG, and discover what lies ahead. In doing so I am confident God’s got my back because God’s word says…

In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. Proverbs 16:9

Soooo Get Started!

Explore…Dream…Discover!

Love Lee ♥

Just Keep Dancing

May11

David danced before the LORD with all his might; II Samuel 6:14

One of my favorite television shows to watch is “Dancing With the Stars”. I love seeing the contestants start of with minimal skill then as the weeks go by they transform into skilled dancers with precision, poise, gracefulness, and moves that I could not even dream of being able to perform…

This show reminds me much of life. We start out clumsy and easily frustrated but as we face greater challenges we begin to handle them with more poise and tolerance.

Does it happen over night? No!
Will we miss steps? Yes!
Will those we must dance with irritate us? Absolutely!

But…it is so important we remember…whether we are tired, sore, frustrated, challenged, or even tempted to quit we must …

JUST KEEP DANCING

Love Lee ♥

Go The Extra Mile

May10

Living a life of service is not easy. Even in our jobs we tend to lose focus of the fact we are ministering spirits…Ministering God’s Grace in various forms. In a recent encounter, I was reminded of the difference one can make for another human being just by going the extra mile…

Do you find people have become a bother to you?
Are you tired of the interruptions people cause?
Are you irritated by others?
Do you find it an inconvenience to assist someone in need?
Do you find yourself saying “That’s not my job”

Trust me…If you feel people are an inconvenience or a burden they know how you feel!!!

Perhaps…it is time to get back to the basics of Christianity…

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 4:9-11

It is often refered to as customer service but I like to think of it as Christianity…Treating others as you would like to be treated. We must treat people with love and respect…You have the power to make a difference in someone’s life by going the extra mile.

Go The Extra Mile in His Love…

Love Lee ♥

Rock Solid

Apr28

It is human nature to want to be loved. In-fact some will go to great lengths to be loved and accepted by others. Often they compromise who they are, what they believe, and what they stand for all for the sake of this acceptance. They will accept love in any form to fill this need.

On the other hand there are those who are firm in their convictions, know what they believe, know they are loved and will not compromise even to gain the acceptance of others. They will not be moved.

If I were to choose a theme song for my life this would be it…