What a Princess looks like.

Look at that little face!
That is what a princess looks like.
Miss Britain Charann Coble turned 4 years old on February 10, 2009! And - she celebrated with a princess party!
I am so glad that Princess Britain invited her Nene to join in the fun.
Britain's awesome mommy and daddy made the event really special and dressed up as Prince Charming and a beautiful Princess. Britain will remember that always!
Britain - you need to understand that your daddy dressing up as prince charming may not seem like a big deal - but trust me - he did it ONLY because he loves you so much and wanted to make you happy! Sean doesn't dress up - he doesn't pretend - he never has! Even as a child, he refused to play pretend or dress-up - he always just declared that "he was Sean Michael Coble and no one else." He has always been a what you see is what you get kind of a guy. I love that about you Sean.
Anyway - back to the party. Abby made a beautiful cake - it was a castle! I did not get a picture of it but as soon as Abby sends me a picture of it - I will add it to my post.
Britain is a girl though and through. She loves to dress up, wear bows, paint her nails, both fingers and toes, she is just a little sassy and has a smile that could melt the toughest heart! She is a little love-bug; taking every opportunity to hug and smooch on the ones she loves. Fortuntely, that includes me!
Britain's favorite color is pink pink pink! She loves shoes and jewelry! She gets that from her Nene....
Brit Brit - very soon Poppy and I will take you on your birthday "spoil me rotten weekend!" It will be fun! We are still planning what to do. Poppy and I want to be sure it is something that you will LOVE and remember always.
I am thankful that God chose me to be your Nene!
I love you my little princess......
You make my heart happy.
xoxoxo
Nene

Good News!

I am way behind on blogging and have much to catch up on.
Since I have been away, Britain had her 4th birthday! YIKES! I have pictures to share and stories to tell about this little princess and will do that soon. Poppy and I also owe Miss Brit a "spoil me rotten weekend!" We are trying to decide what we want to do on our weekend - Poppy and I want to be sure it is something that Brit will enjoy and remember fondly forever.
I won another sales contest!!!! Yipppeee..... God is so good to me! I liked this sales contest because there was more than one winner! Everyone that hit the "goal" was a winner! My good friend and co-worker, Tammy, also hit the goal and as a result, she and her husband will join John and I on a cruise or some kind of all-inclusive resort vacation. I will let you know when the company decides for sure.
I have also been working on Lila's baby bedding. What fun that is! Audrey has chosen some adorable fabric - Lila should love it!
I have a hodge-podge of stuff to share - if you want to really know me - and understand what makes me tick - then continue to read. IF NOT - WARNING - STOP NOW!!!
I know that my blog is often times very personal - I share what is in my heart. To some, that is wrong - if that is you - DON'T READ ANYMORE!!!
My life is an open book - LAST WARNING - STOP NOW IF YOU DON'T WANT TO LOOK AT MY OPEN BOOK!
OK - that should be enough warning - here I go.
If you know me - then you know that I love the Lord! Jesus is my savior and I give Him the glory for all things in my life that are good and right. If you know me - you are also very aware that I don't do everything right everytime. If you know me - you understand that I am a work in progress - I am still learning and growing in Him - and my Father is faithful and will complete the good work He started in me. He promised in His Word. Thank goodness - that is His job!
Sometimes God gives me opportunities to teach His Word, to share my testimony and to minister to those around me that are hurting. I LOVE to do that - I am always humbled when God chooses to use me. I mean - gosh - there are always people around that are WAY more spiritually grown up and much wiser than me. But - I also keep it in perspective - after all - God used a donkey to speak through in the Bible. If God can use an Ass - literally - a donkey - He can surely use me. ;-0
God is always on the "move" in our life and it amazes me to watch Him bring everything together. He is always teaching us and often what seem to be unrelated things come together to teach us and give us more insight into ourselves and into the Heart of God.
God has blessed me with many precious friends - one of my very precious friends who shall remain nameless in this blog has had a huge growth spurt recently. A growth spurt in her walk with the Father and in becoming who God created her to be. My friend loves the Lord and is born-again - she belongs to Jesus. But guess what? Perfection is not yet manifested in every area of her life! Sound familar? She has one area where she fails time and time again. Does she want to fail? NO! Does she fail anyway? Yes! Does she beat herself up about it? ABSOLUTELY! Well - she has finally worked thru the MUCK and God has shown her the root of the problem. Now she knows and understands and can get help to deal with the root cause.
In all of this - she was beating herself up and grieving over the mistakes she had made. She was questioning whether and why God would continue to pick her up - forgive her - and love her. Well my friend, God will always continue to pick us up, forgive us and love us! He is our Father - our parent - parents unconditinally love their children. We are His children.
God has taught me about His heart and love through my children - through the experience of being a parent and experiencing the love that a parent has for a child. I know what the Word says about how much He loves us - I love reading the bible and studying it. But sometimes, those Words come alive and make sense to me through experiences.
When Ryan was about 3 years old - Sean was a year and 1/2 - a long time ago - God taught me that no matter what - He would always forgive me, always pick me up, always love me, always help me - no matter what.
It was a beautfiul spring afternoon - we had been cooped up in the house all winter - and Ryan was eager to get outside to play. Sean was sleeping - I left the front door open so that I could hear him if he cried and Ryan and I went in the front yard to run and play for awhile. We lived on a little cul-d-sac that didn't get much traffic - the front yard was a safe place to play. I put my head inside the door to listen for Sean and in that instant, Ryan's ball went into the street - he chased it - and a car came screeching around the corner onto our cul-d-sac. I looked up and absolute terror and fear comsumed me. I knew I couldn't get to Ryan fast enough - and it looked like the idiot driving the car would hit him! The driver slammed on the brakes and missed hitting Ryan! Ryan had no idea that he was in danger - as I ran to him, he had the biggest smile on his face - he thought I was chasing him! I scooped him up and held him tight and cried big tears! I was so thankful that he was ok -
Ryan knew better than to run into the street - we had discussed it many many times. He ran into the street anyway - totally disobedient.
When I told Roy about the incident - he asked me if I spanked Ryan. I said NO - the thought never even occurred to me! I was so thankful and just wanted to hold Ryan and love him. I wanted to comfort him - although he had no idea he had even been in danger until it was over. I picked him up - I loved on him - I cried over him - I discussed with him again "why we don't go in the street" and then I dusted him off and set him down to go again.
And that my friends is how God loves us. His love for us is greater than our love for our earthly children. I know that is a tough concept because we love our children soooo much - but it's true God's love for us is bigger and purer.
Even if Ryan disobeyed that rule again (to my knowledge he did not) and had gotten hit by a car - do you think I would have left him bleeding in the street and said "well - too bad for you - he knows the rules - he was being disobedient - he is on his own?" NO! Like any parent - I would have immediately run to him - gotten him the best help available - loved him - cried over him - made sure he was taken care of - and then lovingly set him down again - believing the best in him - believing that he surely wouldn't make that same mistake again.
If that is an earthly parent's reaction of love and mercy - OMG - how much greater is the Love and Mercy that comes from our heavently Father???
So - be of good cheer - God will never leave you or forsake you. He will always love you and help you - even when you are disobedient. He will always forgive us and come to our rescue. He will always believe the best and see the best in us. We are His children - He will never give up on us - He will continue to teach us the same lesson over and over until we learn it. We may have to sit in "time-out" - but it won't change the way He loves and cares for us.
Isn't that good news???
In Him -
Char

Lucky Dogs!

While in New Orleans, I discovered Lucky Dogs! MMMMMM...... they are really yummy hot dogs sold by street vendors in the Bourbon Street area in New Orleans.
I know... I know.... a hot dog! These are not just any hot dog - they are Lucky Dogs and worth every calorie and fat gram!
Lucky Dogs are about $5.00 - a fairly expensive hot dog! Again - worth every cent!

John introduced me to Lucky Dogs very early on in the week - he knows how much I love a good hot dog! I enjoyed every bite of my Lucky Dog - but felt very guilty after I had finished it. At the time, I had no idea that a Lucky Dog would change my life and affect my heart. Not the heart that beats in my chest - but my heart that belongs to Jesus.

WARNING - I am about to bare my soul - stop reading now if you're not interested.

John and I were together while in New Orleans almost constantly. However, on one afternoon - we walked across the street to Harrah's because John likes to play BlackJack. I don't like to gamble because I don't like to lose my money. I found a penny slot machine and gave it $10.00. That is a LOT of pennies! It didn't take me long to lose my pennies and I decided that I wasn't going to give Harrah's any more of my money! John stayed and played BlackJack and I walked across the street to play at Saks Fifth Avenue Department store.

On my way across the street, I thought about how yummy a Lucky Dog would taste. I knew that I probably didn't need to venture into the area where they are sold without John - but decided to risk it for the pleasure of eating a very special hot dog!

As I walked about 5 blocks to get to a vendor, I walked past some seemingly very scary looking people. By the time I got to the vendor, I must say that my heart (the one in my chest) was beating very fast and I was feeling fearful. I know... I don't have a spirit of fear - but at that moment I did. I bought my Lucky Dog with mustard only and started back to Sak's and safety - eating my dog as I walked.

I had only made it about 1/2 block when I passed a very scary looking man - he was obviously a "street person", his clothes tattered and dirty, missing many teeth, African American, and he was sitting on the curb holding his plastic trash bag of possesions. Our eyes met - and I am sure my face was full of terror becasue at that moment - I was scared to death! I quickly looked away.

This man spoke up and said "please don't look at me like that - please don't be afraid of me." I walked faster. Then he said even louder, "I won't hurt you - I'm just hungry!" He said "I want a Lucky dog too." I kept walking - stepped up my pace to almost running.

Now you say - how did that change your life and how did that affect my heart (the one that belongs to Jesus?)

In the midst of my panic - I heard that still quiet voice on the inside of me say, "buy him a hot dog." I tried to ignore it and walk/run faster.

I could not get that man out of my mind - I kept seeing his face and hearing his voice. That still quiet voice that speaks on the inside of me - kept asking me why I didn't buy that man a Lucky Dog - he was hungry?

I realized that this was an opportunity for me to have shown God's love to someone in need. What if this man had been praying and asking God to provide food for him? I could have been the person that God put there at that moment to answer his prayer. For goodness sakes - he was hungry and I should have fed him! What if this man didn't know Jesus - I could have shown him grace and mercy and let him see God's love in action. If I had only stopped and taken time - maybe I could have told him how to meet Jesus - how to find life abundant - how to find forgiveness and grace.
How could I have been so self-absorbed that I turned my back on a hungry person just because he didn't dress like me - look like me - live like me? In the instant that our eyes met, it was like I could see into his soul - his eyes were so sad and were almost pleading with me to have mercy.

This man was some mother's son - he had been loved and adored by someone at some point in his life! God created this man and loves him and adores him now! God loves him as much as HE loves me. God is NOT a respecter of persons. All of God's creations are equal in His sight. I don't know what circumstances brought that man to be homeless and hungry and dirty. I am sure he had a story - if I had allowed God to use me - perhaps his life story could have a better ending.

I REALLY BLEW IT!

I don't want to be just a Sunday Christian. I want to be a light in the dark world. I want to be available for Jesus to use me. I want to be the hands and mouth and heart of Jesus in this world. I want to be different from the world. I want to show the love of Christ to those who don't know Him.

God used this Lucky Dog incident to let me know that I still have a long way to go and grow before I arrive. God loves all mankind - and I should too. I'm not any better than the next human being.

I wish I could apologize to the Lucky Dog man - I wish I could buy him a dozen Lucky Dogs - but I can't. I missed that opportunity.

But - I can pray for him - and I vow to listen to that still quiet voice in my heart and act on it next time instead of walking away.

I know that I disappointed the heart of God - the good news is that I know He is faithful to forgive us when we ask. I also know that God is bigger than my mess-up. I pray and trust that our Father sent someone else to feed that hungry man.

Just as I explained to Taylor the other day - "even when we are bad (in my case, disobedient), we find forgiveness from God and that is how we learn."

I love you Jesus - thank you for loving me when I do "it" right and when I do "it" wrong.
Char

PS - I never made it to Sak's. It just didn't feel right - me going into a department store to shop for "stuff" that I really didn't need when there were hungry homeless people only 5 blocks away.