This was one of the best weeks I’ve had in a while! Everything about it, even though it was long, busy, hectic, and crazy…it was all worth it. Let me tell you why:

• I got to go to Shelby for a couple of days for a little family time before Easter. It was good to see everyone and have time to relax.
• My wonderful mother and I went to the Michael Buble concert! It was so much fun, we had great seats, and it was an awesome show. If you like his music, I would recommend checking it out, and you can take me with you!
• I FINALLY had the chance to see my newest cousin, Carlee Dawn. She is five weeks old and the cutest thing. Here is a picture:

My Lifegroup has only met twice and it is already becoming something amazing! We have had some pretty cool discussions, but something stood out to me on Monday. We have been watching the Nooma videos by Rob Bell, and we recently saw one entitled Luggage. It deals with forgiveness, which is one of the hardest and most difficult thing for some people to deal with and talk about, but it turned into more of a conversation about storms in our lives.

After the video, we were talking about some of the things that have happened in our lives that we have had trouble dealing with and forgiving. Some people may ask, “Why is God putting me through this? Is He punishing me? What did I do wrong?” But a guy in the group said he didn’t look at it that way. He said, “I don’t think God is punishing me in any way, I think I had to go through some things because it is the only way He could get it into my hard head.”

So true. We have to go through certain things in our life so that we can truly see what perhaps God has been trying to get us to see for a while. Or for us to see truly understand and appreciate something to come in the future. But this trial or rough stretch is the only way He could get through to us or show us.

This is definitely not easy to grasp when you are smack in the middle of one of the hardest times of life, but just knowing that God is there with you every step is something in itself. He is there.

There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his own son, all the way until you reached this place.     Deuteronomy 1:31

Without the rain there would be no rainbow, right?

Okay, okay… I get it, I need to update you on the whole puppy situation and I will.  Here is the story of our dear beloved Sully.  I don’t have him anymore.  He was mine for a week, however it was not the right time, place, etc.  Puppies are hard work, so I had to sell him to a nice lady in Fayetteville.  But, she changed his name to Tyler.  Yes he is a dog, and his name is Tyler.

I have been getting a lot of slack from certain people that will not be named, but I think it was the right thing to do.  It was sad and hard to give him away.  Maybe an older dog that was already trained would have been better, but there’s nothing we can do about it now.  I hope you all don’t think less of me now, but that’s what happened.

He arrives on Thursday!  I am so excited.  It is the cutest thing you have ever seen in your life, well maybe not, but it’s pretty darn cute.  He is a nine week old Cock-a-Poo, which is a cocker spaniel and poodle mix.  He will be around 12-15 pounds.  When I walked into the breeder’s house today, I wasn’t for sure that I was going to get one.  I was going to wait and see how I felt about the breed.  But when I saw him, I just knew that he was the one that I was supposed to get. There were 3 other dogs to choose from, and all were adorable, but it was no question. His name is Sullivan Rufus Poston, and will go by Sulley.

I am going to pick him up Thursday night in Maysville, NC, which is about an hour outside of Wilmington, but it is going to be so worth it.  I know that a puppy is a big responsibility, so I chose to not get him today and wait until Thursday.  I want to be prepared for the big arrival!  I have a trip to PetsMart to pick out a collar, leash, dog bowls, toys, treat, food, etc.  I need to find a place to train him too.  I am so excited! Thanks Amanda Vestal for helping me out with this puppy emergency and picking out the best dog. I will definitely be putting up pictures when he arrives and keep you updated on the training process.

Oh yeah, if anyone has any tips on crate training or dealing with a new puppy, let me know!

I ran across a blog a couple of weeks ago that caught my attention. It was entitled, “You know you’re not leading when…” As the director of children’s ministry, I am constantly trying to stay on top of my game when it comes to leading the team, the kids, and others. I couldn’t find that blog again, and I unfortunately couldn’t tell you who wrote it. But I saved the statements on how you know you are not leading. They really challenged me to look at myself and my actions. Here are a few of the really tough ones: You know you (or they) are not leading when…

• You wait for someone to tell you what to do rather than taking the initiative yourself.
• You spend too much time talking about how things should be different, instead of fixing it.
• You blame the context, surroundings, or other people for your current situation.
• You are more concerned about being cool or accepted than doing the right thing.
• You aren’t taking any significant risks.
• You accept status quo as the way it’s always been and always will be.
• You procrastinate to avoid making a tough call.
• You talk to others about the problem rather than taking it to the person responsible.
• You ask for way too many opinions before taking action.

They can be used to look at yourself and see if you are really taking the leadership responsibility, and also can be flipped. I have been looking for people on the team that have been stepping out as a leader. I found myself asking if they are doing these things, if they are, then I know they are not ready for leadership responsibility. If they aren’t, maybe it’s time I invest in them.