Pet Peeves

When people put the toilet paper on the roller so it rolls under instead of over.

The sound of popping gum. Not just like the one big bubble that pops, but the people that make multiple air pockets in their gum and then pop them all in succession. 

Watching hearing someone clip their toenails/fingernails. Not joking, totally makes me gag for some reason.

When men leave the toilet seat up. This just leaves me with an unnecessary amount of toilet touching.

When I go to a restaurant and my drink is empty during the eating portion. Sure, you can make your way over here when I'm just sipping and talking, but when I'm DYING OF THIRST (slightly dramatic) you can't fill up my drink for 15 minutes? Sheesh.

When I an't change the channel on our TV because Garland is recording 13 football games at once.

Work peeve: People who are late for appointments/don't show up for appointments when you called to confirm two hours earlier.

When Garland piles his dirty laundry on the closet floor (they call it a LAUNDRY basket for a reason, honey, and it's because it holds LAUNDRY).

When people come over and put their giant, dripping Slim's/Sonic/Chic-Fil-A cup on my table (that part's not a peeve) and then leave for the night and I have to dump out/throw away the soggy cup.


I know that some of these are pretty strange, but I can't be the only one with weird pet peeves. Anyone else have something that just really drives them crazy?

A Fall Wreath

Okay, I am addicted to making fun wreaths for my front door. It all started with this easy (but time consuming) flower book wreath that you can see here. I have recently been obsessed with yarn wreaths like the ones below: (Down and Out Chic)

So I found some colors of yarn that I liked and here is what I came up with:

I meant to take pictures of the step by step, but I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do at first so I didn't have all my supplies ready at the beginning.
Step 1: Take yarn (in my case cream with sparkles in it) and wrap it around the entire wreath (can be Styrofoam, raffia, etc.) leaving NO SPACE in between. (My wreath is about a foot around in circumference, but you can do a smaller one to save time if needed.)
--If you do leave spaces, you can go back and rewrap just those areas. I did that in about 15 places.
Step 2:  I traced a diamond shape cutout from cardboard onto felt paper (I chose a brown felt with an embossed pattern).
Step 3: Glue diamonds in an argyle pattern on wreath.
Step 4: Take yarn and wrap it around wreath so it makes a criss-cross pattern across the argyle (it was easiest to cross each diamond in one direction and then once they were all crossed go back the other direction to make the criss-cross).
Step 5: I went to Joann's and purchased wooden numbers and an assortment of small fall decor. I tied the decor pieces together with a ribbon and then tied them to the wreath. Then I painted the letters to match the decor pieces and used craft glue to attach them to the wreath.
Step 6: Hang and enjoy!!


The entire project probably took about 2 hours (wrapping the wreath was about 1:15 of that, a smaller wreath would take much less time). Plus it was pretty much idiot proof because any mistakes you made with the yarn you just cover with more yarn!

A Quick Rant

It is almost 2012, right? 


1) How can anyone still be smoking when you know how bad it is for you? (I understand that it's addictive, but there are also tons of ways to stop if you actually want to do it).
        1A) Who smokes outside of a pregnancy center? Isn't that pretty much a standard no? Smoking+pregnant women=possible fetal deformity, this is not new information.
        1B) When people smoke outside my door and then come inside to sit in the waiting room it makes me grumpy. I'm not telling you that you can't smoke, I'm just saying that I don't want to be involved in it, ESPECIALLY the smelling part. I didn't even smoke the cigarette, so WHY WOULD I WANT TO SMELL LIKE I DID? (Luckily I have my favorite Mulled Apple Cider candle on hand to help combat the smell a little)


2) Why would you ever sit in a medical office while waiting to be seen and have a burping contest? Disgusting. Do you really think you're the only person who's here or just the only one that matters?


3) STOP YELLING. You are inside. You are about to see a doctor. You are not having an emergency you are just being annoying.


Sigh. I (lovingly) serve some really oblivious people.

30 Day Encouragement Challenge

I recently read a post about a 30-Day Challenge for wives to encourage their husbands. It didn't really sound like there was much to it so I hadn't thought much about it. However, once I dug in a little deeper I realized that a) this is something I would like to do more and b) this is definitely something I can improve on. I am a words of affirmation kind of girl, so encouraging people through words is something I like. Since Garland doesn't really excel at words of affirmation (he tries, he really does, it just never crosses his mind that he should say sweet things), I think this could also help him to grow in this love language just by seeing how I do it.


So here's how it works: For 30 days:
-You can't say anything negative about your husband...to your husband... or to anyone else about your husband.
-Say something that you admire or appreciate about your husband...to your husband...and to someone else, about your husband.


I hate to admit this but my first thought was, "Do I have 30 days worth of original compliments to give Garland?" Sad maybe, but true. However, if you go to this link (Revive Our Hearts), you can find a PDF document which gives you scripture and ideas for encouragement for each day. There were things I had thought of (thanking him for being a handy man, leading our marriage, etc.) and things I hadn't thought of (thanking him for being wise fiscally, turning from the temptation of lust, his specific spiritual strengths). 


Garland and I are also a very sarcastic and silly couple. We love to tease each other, it's one of the main ways we flirt with each other (hehe). However, I can totally see how sometimes to the outside world this could be taken as us not building each other up, so for 30 days I'm going to try and not make fun of my sweet husband at all! This may be very (VERY) difficult as he provides some great material (just sayin).


Last but not least, I love that they include in the challenge that you may fail a day or two! It makes my heart happy that grace is prevalent even in something like this. So if I slip up, it's okay! I can start again the next day and hope to do better.

My Five Loaves

Luke 9:10-17

New International Version (NIV)

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

 ¹⁰ When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida, ¹¹ but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.

 ¹² Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.”

 ¹³ He replied, “You give them something to eat.”

   They answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.” ¹⁴ (About five thousand men were there.)

   But he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” ¹⁵ The disciples did so, and everyone sat down. ¹⁶ Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people. ¹⁷ They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

This story was part of my quiet time this morning and what really stood out to me was that the disciples had little to nothing to offer. For 10,000+ people they only had five loaves and two fish, yet God turned their small offering into something huge.

This really made me pause and think about all the times I haven't felt adequate to teach or share the gospel or even to serve others because I don't have exactly the right thing to offer. But what I realized through this story was that God doesn't ask me to be perfect at everything, he just asks me to give him what little I have and allow him to turn it into something beautiful.

Remember When...

Garland and I have been together for about 4 1/2 years now and earlier today I saw this picture come up on my Facebook and couldn't believe how young we looked! These pictures were taken the summer we started dating (2007) when we were 20 and 22 years old respectively. I look at these two kids and can’t believe how much has happened since then. Not that I view myself as a wise adult now, but looking back I know that I was so naïve about almost everything.

P.S. Check out how lovey dovey Garland Autry used to be! Ahhh to go back to the days when he was trying to win my affection… J

(To answer your question, yes, I am embarrassed that we were in this prom pose. I don’t know what happened)

Now here we are, almost five years later, and I feel more at home in his arms every day. We have been through our share of trials and I know there are more to come, but with these also comes the joy of knowing you will always have at least one person by your side.

-Sarah

The Number One Pregnancy Question...

Probably the number one question I get when people find out we've been trying to get pregnant is:
 "How do you handle your job when you can't have a baby?" 


 I have watched hundreds of girls walk through the door at my Crisis Pregnancy center who want to abort their babies, talk about how much they hate their babies, wishing their babies didn't exist. When people make the connection that my whole job is basically me counseling and catering to women who did not want to get pregnant I can tell that what they are wanting to say is, "You have a stable home and would be a great mom, yet these girls who weren't even trying and aren't responsible get a baby? How is that fair?" When I first heard someone approach this topic in a round-about way, I was totally taken off guard because I had never felt like that in the counseling room. I am so engulfed in their own story that I forget about mine.


Most people assume that I look at my clients and resent them for wasting such a precious gift. While I definitely think about all they are taking for granted, I don't feel resentment, I feel sorrow. My heart breaks for these girls who are overwhelmed by the mess of their lives and the hurt caused by the people that "love" them. They are so close to drowning they can't even fathom how they could save someone else, and the truth is I don't even blame them for being self-preservationists, because I'm sure I would go into panic mode, too.


As a matter of fact, I feel sorry for them. I know, I know, this seems so ironic. They are getting the one thing I want more than almost anything in life, the one gift I have been praying to receive for so many months now. But the truth is, it's hard to want to receive the gift of a baby in their circumstances. It doesn't feel like a blessing when you know that you are pregnant because you were raped, or that it will get you beaten up by your mother, or that it will make your boyfriend, who is the only male support in your life, leave you for another woman. It doesn't feel like a blessing when you get kicked out of your house at 15 for the baby growing in your stomach, or when no one in your school talks to you but only talks about you, or when you have been on so many substances you are sure that you have messed up that child forever from your choices. And it definitely doesn't feel like a blessing when every self-righteous religious person in the world looks down on you just because you have to wear your sin on the outside while their hidden sin is eating away at their souls. 


So this is my job, to show these women...
-That no matter their decision, they are loved. 
-That God has a plan for good and not for harm. 
-That it may not seem true this very instance, but that little heart beat is the rhythm of hope and a future; the rhythm of a fresh start and a reason to succeed.
-And finally, that if they decide to stop that heart from beating, that they can seek healing through Jesus Christ.