Weekend Happenings

Good Friday morning!

I hope everyone had a nice Thursday. It's the weekend, folks. It came fast, didn't it? Thank goodness!

Weekend Happenings

Our weekend is going to be separate, but fun (I hope). Roxie and I will be going to her volleyball tournament Friday night AND Saturday. It should be/could be an all day event, so I'm packing my cushioned stadium seat and getting ready to sit on some bleachers! While we're at the tournament Friday night, Mikie and Josh will be at the GHS vs. Oak Mountain game which is away this week.

Saturday will revolve around Auburn football for Mike and Josh. Although they can't watch the game (we don't have the channel), I'm hoping the weather will be nice enough for an evening fishing trip and listening to the game on the radio. That sounds like a nice combo, doesn't it?

Sunday will find four out of five of the Faulkners at my Mom's church for a special Grandparents' Day Service, and dinner on the grounds. Sunday night we will begin our classes for the fall. Very busy weekend. Very little time to come together. I'll make the most of it, and enjoy moments, but I really like to have some time where we all spend some time together before the next week begins. Not going to happen this weekend! Time for The Enchanting Belinda to turn into The Flexible Belinda!

Austin Update

Austin will be traveling with the Southerners this weekend to Tallahassee, Florida for JSU's game. He's more than looking forward to the trip... especially since they get to stay overnight. I, on the other hand... not so much. But I think we're planning a Top of the River trip to Gadsden for Tuesday night (at least two of the Faulkners are going) to see The Boy and to take him sustenance (red devil's food cookies) and underwear!

He wrote his first sports' article for the JSU newspaper and it was published yesterday. He did a good job, and he'll be writing the article for this weekend's game as well. It may not stick, but as of this moment, Communications is a good fit in the major department.

He is enjoying the Baptist Campus Ministries, and attended Bible Study Tuesday night. His favorite part of campus life as far as I can tell are all the impromptu sports he gets to participate in. When he called last night at 11:00 p.m., he had just come back from playing racquetball with some of the BCM kids, and on the way back to the dorm, he was invited to play Ultimate Frisbee for a little while. He loves that part of living on campus.

This is the longest I've ever gone in my entire life as his mother without seeing The Boy. I'm not liking it very much. I will say that Roxie and Josh are doing their level best to keep me so entirely wrapped up in their lives and activities, they think I have no time to think about Austin... or my hair... or my second tongue... or my lack of hot flashes... or a 1,000,000 other things I would normally think about in day's time. But they're wrong. I do think about my second tongue... a lot! And I do think about my Austin... constantly.

He's still calling often, sometimes two or three times a day. He's not asking for money or advice. He's usually just telling us something exciting that happened during his day. So far, our favorite has been, "Did you know when you finish a test in college, you can just get up and walk out of class? If you finish in ten minutes, you can just leave? Did you know that?" Ahh. It's the little things in life that truly make us happy.

He's doing well.

I miss him.

RANDOMNESS - This was in the sidebar of my Bible during quiet time today. I liked it, so I assume anyone reading this will like it, too.

"All parents have visions of good things for their children. But few parents dream of the sacrifices that might be asked of their children. Most of us struggle to temper our dreams with the reality of who our children are and what God intends for them. We would choose all the good and none of the difficult. God has other plans."

Of course, I thought of Josh when I read that paragraph. I would NEVER have chosen for him to have an illness of any kind... EVER. My dreams for him never included the pain he's endured the past few years. But God has other plans. And sometimes, just sometimes, I can see a glimpse of the bigger picture. It might be something Josh says, or something I observe in him as he matures. Josh has made our very ordinary little family extraordinary in so many ways.

And who do I think I am to try to change God's perfect plan for my children? There was a time when I would have answered that question with hands on my hips wearing my spandex shirt with the giant "M" on it for "SUPER MOM" and declared, "I have the plans for my kids, and heartache, mental disorders, disappointments and other hardships are NOT in my plans."

I'm learning daily to die to my plans, and see what God has in store for The Faulkner Five. It's been a long journey. I like my plans. My plans are pretty good, if I do say so myself. But my plans are the plans of an earthly mother, not a heavenly, all-knowing Father.

It's hard, and if I was being totally honest, I would have to say I don't like it much right now. But the end result of the plan... Well, I must admit I'm excited to one day see the end result.

Book

The book for this week is a small devotional-type book called My Jesus Is... Everything by Anne Graham Lotz. It is written in such a way you could read two to four pages a day as a devotion, or sit down and read the entire book in about an hour. I'm going to give you a little sample.

"Can you imagine how wonderful it would be to have Someone with these attributes in your life?

"Are you distressed today? Then you need the Comforter.

"Are you facing a major decision? Then you need the Counselor.

"Do you need relief from, or support in, your responsibilities? Then you need the Helper.

"Are you being criticized, falsely accused, misunderstood? Then you need the Advocate.

"Are you constantly defeated by habits of sin? Then you need the Strengthener.

"Are you unprepared for an emergency? Then you need the Standby. The Holy Spirit is everything that Jesus is!"

It's one of those little books that can really make you think if you get somewhere and read it quietly and thoughtfully. (And again, if you're like me, in short spurts!) Enjoy!

Have a glorious weekend. Whether you are with your family as a whole or in pieces (like us), enjoy the one your with! (I think that's a song, isn't it?) Come back next week when we'll be talking about mud wrestling every single day... NOT. But do come back... please!

Take care, and I'll talk to you on Monday. I'll still be posting pictures on Belinda's Project 365 on Saturday and Sunday (NEISA) if you want to check on that little blog.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda