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Rise up to the Opportunity

Yesterday at church, a message was shared about Rising Up… and it got me thinking about all the opportunities in our lives that God has called us to stretch ourselves so that His mission can be completed.

In my video, I talk about our personal seasons where God has called us from being comfortable to uncomfortable. I’ve learned that God calls us to go, move, rise… He doesn’t want us to settle.

I feel like all of us are called to do something that can make an impact. He gives us opportunities where we can have more influence over the people around us for good! read more

Why I support Home Based Businesses

Can I be honest…

 

Okay, thanks.

 

I used to avoid buying from home based businesses (many of which were MLM’s as I would call them). I didn’t understand them… and what I was exposed to was lots and lots of really bad marketing that did more to turn me off than to get me interested.

 

This is so bad… but I remember there was a product I was interested in… and I searched for a way to order it so I wouldn’t have to order it through an MLM company. I also have to add that I’m a huge introvert and honestly try to avoid going to any party lol read more

How to Think like a Success

The more I am in business with entrepreneurs and successful people, the more I realize that success is more about what you think.

It’s not who you are that holds you back, It’s who you think you are not.

If you want to be successful in anything, you have to start believing that YOU CAN be successful!! You have to think like a successful person. That doesn’t mean that you won’t fail… quite frankly it means you will fail more than others. I have learned that every failure brings us closer to our next success. 

You have to take the lid off yourself and dream bigger than ever before.

With our team, we encourage everyone to create dream boards. This simple activity allows you to focus on what you want to work for… if you had no limits (time, money, vacation days) what would you want your day to look like?

 

When I first started my home based business, there were things on my dream board that

got me excited to work towards each day. read more

Why it should rain on your Wedding Day

Adam and I were married young O.o 

I didn’t realllllly realize how young we were at the time lol but I was 19 and he was 21. We had been together for one year when we got engaged and then were married a year later.

and we were in love.

wedding day

I’m sure that there were plenty of people who didn’t think that getting married young was a good idea… but I’m happy to report that we are going to be celebrating our 12 year anniversary in May!!!

I have no regrets for getting married young. I feel like we have been able to grow up together and that has strengthen our relationship too. As I think back to that day… May 28, 2004, I really believe that I learned something crucial.

 

Life isn’t Perfect.

So many of us go into marriage with unrealistic expectations. 

We plan this “perfect” day to start the “perfect” life together… but then we wake up one day and realize that…

Life isn’t Perfect. 

You can make plans… You can make lists…. but at the end of the day – we have to be okay with adapting to whatever is thrown our way.

 

It rained.

On our wedding day… I remember waking up at 4 am (not on purpose!) and it was pouring!!!! In Louisiana humidity… with my frizzy curly hair… this was *perfect* (not).

It poured all. day. long. 

I remember meeting my bridesmaids at our luncheon before the wedding and it was pouring. 

I remember looking out the window while my hairstylist was fixing my hair and it. was. pouring. 

 

At that moment… I had to decide to focus on who I was marrying… and the weather was not going to make that less important or special.

It poured.

Even with the rain, Our wedding was beautiful. The church was decorated with gorgeous flowers. My dress was the dress of my dreams. The food was AMAZING!

But the best part was that it was Day One of our new adventure of husband and wife. 

wedding day

Life never stopped raining… and sometimes it poured. 

We didn’t get the job we wanted.

We didn’t get a house we wanted.

Our car broke down in the street.

I had health issues.

Then the other car’s axle broke.

I lost a job.

Relatives passed away.

Life just happened. 

 

View More: http://emilywilliamsonphotography.pass.us/parker-family

 

but the sun shined. 

We became part of a great church family.

We were blessed with two beautiful girls.

We were able to get great jobs.

We moved to a great neighborhood.

We bought a house we loved.

We started our own thriving business.

 

The Sun Shined through the clouds.

Is life perfect? No where close!

Could we focus on the rain or Could we choose to focus on the sun breaking through the clouds?

 

Everyday may not be Good, but there is Good in Every Day.  read more

Thoughts of Thanksgiving

Happy November!!! read more

How to keep Growing in Life

How to keep growing in life

How to keep growing and to have life among the growing.

Life Among the Growing…. What does that actually mean to me?

This phrase really speaks to me deeply in several ways.

First, I think about how I want to be continually growing into a better person with each day and opportunity I get. If you aren’t moving forward, you are moving backwards. If you aren’t growing, you are dying. 

This is in my personal life as a wife and mom. In my spiritual life, I want to continually study and grow in God’s words.

Secondly, I think about my little girls. I love life with them as I get to watch them grow. Time flies by so quickly and I’m blessed that I am able to stay home with them in this fleeting stage.

Thirdly, I like to think about life. What is happening in my life and around me. What am I learning these days?

What are some ways that we can continue to grow and not become stagnant? 

1) Try something new.

Visit a new town, a new restaurant, a new museum.

2) Read a book.

How many books have you read recently? I prefer nonfiction for sure, but last summer I got into some mystery novels that were fun to read as well.

3) Learn a new skill.

Always wanted to know how to fix something by yourself or understand how something works? Find out!

4) Be around others who are growing.

Proverbs 13:20 Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm. read more

Confessions of a Church Hunter

 

We just moved to Richmond, Va. Along with hunting for a house we had to also “hunt” for a new church. I know that some of you are our friends and know how involved we were at Water’s Edge, our church in Lake Charles.

Water’s Edge was one of the reasons it was very hard to leave Lake Charles. We had been on the launch team and seen it grow from about 25 people to over 1,200 people in under 5 years. It was such a special journey and we met some awesome people along the way.

So as our journey with God moved us out of Lake Charles, we knew that God had another special church family for us in Richmond.

How did we find a church?

Well, being a child of the information age – we started with the internet.

Image representing Google as depicted in Crunc...

Google it!

You can tell a lot about a church from their website. What types of people are they trying to reach? What is the music like? What do people wear? What messages have they preached on recently? What ministries do they focus on? Are they doing any service or outreach? Are they updating their website???

We saw a few churches who looked a little more traditional than we are comfortable with. We saw some churches who hadn’t updated their website in over a year. We saw churches who had a different view of church vision or focus than us.

But then we found a church… Their vision and mission was just like what we knew at Water’s Edge. They played some of the same songs that we were used to as well. They were a strategic partner with North Point (Andy Stanley‘s Church in Atlanta). We were pretty impressed.

Adam was able to talk to some of the church leaders before we came to our first service. It was neat to hear the same mission and vision of reaching others and serving.

Bible Study (18) (1280x1189)

We have been to 4 services now, and feel pretty at home at Journey. Adam was able to play bass for the first time this Sunday, which is always a treat for him. I was able to meet some ladies from the church for lunch this past week. We are excited about Group Link coming up this fall.

I know that God has a plan for us here in Richmond. It is such a relief to find a church where we can serve, grow relationships and also be challenged in our walk with God. Sometimes it is fun to get out of our comfort zone and see what trusting in God is like – which is always a struggle for a control freak like myself. He has surprised me how he has taken care of us and all our worries thus far. We serve an awesome God.

Live Oak

And one of the things I hate dislike (and this is purely personal and not from anything in the bible at all!) the most about church hunting and being a visitor is the “everyone stand up and greet someone next to you” or “shake a hand near you and let them know you are happy they are there” dance… No one is genuinely wanting to shake my hand or greeting me – they are just doing it because the person on stage told them too. If the greeters are doing a good job, I’ve already been greeted several times before I sit down (and as a visitor I am ready to be
“anonymous” once I find a seat).

It was such a personal relief that Journey doesn’t do that… and I still feel completely welcomed and comfortable to be there.

Journey does a great job of greeting starting at the parking lot. I think I saw 3 -4 smiling, waving people before I even got out of my car. This was way more welcoming then a 2 second hand shake after the pastor (or whoever is on stage) tells people to “be nice right before the service starts, but don’t get too friendly because we are about to start singing”.

And I am still totally impressed by the nursery – I think Aidalyn likes it too! We had no tears today when we dropped her off and she was all smiles when we picked her up.

I just want to say, “Good Job!” to Journey, because I think they are doing a great job from a visitor’s perspective.