When God Writes Your Story

In November of 1999 the Lord took my four year old cousin, Ben Harden, from our family in a tragic accident. It was during the Thanksgiving holidays so I was able to travel with my mom to Macon to help take care of Ben's two older siblings while he was fighting to make it in the hospital. He died 4 days after his accident. This horrible moment took our family by surprise, but not the Lord. He knew this was Ben's time to go home.

Psalm 139:16
"All the days ordained for me were written
in your book before one of them came to be."

I never would have written that heartbreaking Thanksgiving morning into anyone's life story but the Lord allowed it to happen in our family for many reasons. For one thing, it played a huge part in my coming to salvation in the Lord.

Baseball was Ben's favorite sport. One of my most favorite memories of the two of us was playing baseball out in front of his house. He loved to steals bases and we played until we were pooped, just the two of us and lots of "ghost men". :)

Over the Memorial Day weekend, the Lord gave us our family a sweet moment in Ben's memory. Taylor, Ben's older brother, played for a baseball state championship on his high school field which just happens to be named "Ben Harden Memorial Field". I was there the day the field was dedicated in Ben's memory. Ben would have been a freshman this past year and might have even played on this same varsity baseball team. This championship game just happened to be the last game a Harden child would play on this field, three years too early. I know the Lord could feel the sorrow in Ben's mom's heart as she watched Taylor play his last games of his senior year. But she couldn't be sad for long because Taylor's team ended up winning the GISA state championship right there on Ben Harden Memorial Field. I don't think it was a coincident that Taylor's team won this championship on Memorial Day weekend and I don't think it was by chance that they won during Taylor's senior year. I think the Lord knew what he was doing when He wrote this into my family's story. I know beyond a shadow of doubt. I think this was His way of easing the pain and bringing joy to this moment in time.

Taylor Harden with his family. What a sweet memory.

*To read a sweet article from macon.com, click here.

oh how i love the summer!

have i mentioned yet that i LOVE the summer? i have to say that my mindset completely changes when the days get longer and the weather gets warmer. i'm not sure if its because summertime is so laid back or that chris is home more often or because we get to go on trips to the beach and the lake or maybe even because we get to eat freash veggies and make homemade blackberry jam. maybe its because of all of these reasons combined! who really knows. all i know is i adore summer.

chris makes fun of me when fall rolls around because i get so depressed that winter is almost here. i HATE being cold. hate, hate, hate it.

on friday will be chris's last day of school with students. i can't wait to see him more often. i know, i know, honey, you have summer baseball games, football workouts, and are taking 3 classes, but at least you don't have to go to school at 7 am! (can you tell i've been warned over and over that my hubby isn't going to be able to just hang out all summer?)

welcome summer! you can hang around as long as you like.

one confused kid...

Football season is just around the corner and I have a feeling Eli is going to grow up one confused kid! His dad cheers for Alabama and I, his mom, cheer for Georgia. I do have to admit that Alabama is probably the only other team in the SEC that I respect and care for. I don't know if its because we rarely play them (Chris thanks God for this) or because their colors aren't orange and blue. I think it might be fate that he cheers for Bama since they won the National Championship while he was a baby but we'll see. He might choose Georgia just because they only have one mascot and Uga is just so darn cute. As long as he doesn't cheer for Florida, TN, Auburn, LSU, or SC, I think we'll keep him. :)

Eli watching his first football game with Boo. He was looking for Daddy on the field.

Roll Tide

Go Dawgs! Doesn't he look so cute in red and black? :)

growing up too fast

The past two weeks have been quite monumental in the Akridge house. I feel like Eli has decided that he is ready to grow up. Everyday he has conquered a new trick and many times it has surprised those of us watching. I caught a couple of these moments on camera. It is funny to watch him discover how to do something new. The other day Mom and I were watching him scoot around on his belly and then he flipped up to a sitting position. He immediately looked at us and smiled. He is becoming less and less frustrated, the more mobile he gets. Now I have to keep my eyes open and watch him a whole lot more closely. He loves rolling under beds and climbing onto shelves to pull things down. His favorite "toys" are water bottles, clothes hangers, shoes, and tags...to name a few.

I sat up all by myself.

Crawling to get a shoe. I have to admit that Chris worked extremely hard with Eli to get him to crawl. I think he made Eli practice everyday in order to accomplish this task. I'm just glad Chris will be home starting next week to help me keep up with the little guy.

I laid him down for a nap and he got real quiet. I walked to his door to see if he had conked out and caught him doing this! Needless to say, the crib went down to its lowest level that night.

I always give him a sippy cup to play with while I'm getting his food ready. I usually just chews on it. On this day, he figured out how it works and enjoyed getting the water out. At the same sitting, I gave him some little puffs, which he usually just throws on the floor and spits out if I put them in his mouth, but on this occasion he picked them up one by one and ate them!

six years later!

Congrats Mere! We love you and are so proud of you. We can't wait to see what God's plan is for your future. Come sing to Eli soon.

its official...

Habersham County has a Community Bible Study class!!! This is a huge answer to prayer and I'm so excited to finally be in a bible study under my mom's leadership. We are having a "Taste and See" event on May 24th at 7 pm for ANY lady in the community to come check out what CBS is all about and learn more about the class that starts in the fall. The event will be located at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church. I hope to see you there.

How can a young man keep his way pure?
By living according to your word.

I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.

I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.

psalm 119: 9-11

check out this blog for a testimonial from CBS.

happy mother's day

I want to thank Chris for the great mother's day gift I received today. I got an awesome flower pot with a Lowe's gift card to go buy some flowers or herbs. But the best gift was the letter I received from Eli. It is so sweet that I have to share it with you. I'm not sure, but I think he got a little help from his dad...

Mom,
Seven months ago today, I remember that I was just hanging out, wishing that I had some more fluid to swim in when all the sudden all of these people started getting in my personal space. I remember you stated making these funny sounds and I felt like I was being forced out of the only home I had ever known. Then, all of the sudden, some guy named Francis (Dr. Lake) grabbed my head and held me up for everyone to see. I have to admit that I was pretty nervous about finally being out in the real world, but you have really helped me adjust. I just want you to know that you are a great mom. Thanks for always feeding me when I am hungry, comforting me in the middle of the night, and making sure I have cool things to play with like plastic bottles and cell phones. You and I have had some good times over the last seven months! Remember when I pooped all over you and your bed? That was hilarious! Or what about when I pooped in the bathtub while you were in it? That was pretty funny too! I don't know what the future will hold for us, but I do know that I'm glad you'll be there with me. Don't get me wrong, I like Dad too, but he gets kind of grumpy sometimes and I haven't really figured him out yet. I honestly don't know what you were thinking when you married him, but I'm glad you did. Thanks for being patient with him and forgiving him when he does and says stupid stuff (don't tell him I said that). Anyway, I just want you to know that you're doing a great job of raising me and I could not ask for a better mom. I love you very much and I wish you a Happy Mother's Day!
Love, Eli
p.s. Tell Dad i can't wait to run the bases at the field.

I can't think of a better gift than that! I truly have the best husband.

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms I know, old and young...but to the mom's out there whose children aren't here to celebrate and those waiting patiently for their turn, a special prayer is going out today, and everyday, in your name. I will continue to pray wholeheartedly that one day the Lord will give you the desires of your heart.