I simply love this philosophy or as I would call it words to live by….live, love and laugh often!  Look at these girls they are full of life…living, loving and laughing as they make their famous funny faces!  What a beautiful picture of how great life is!!!!!!  Great words to live by and be generous doing all of it.  They remind me also of Faith, Hope and Love!  I am reminded daily that life is short, so make the most of every moment of every day. 

This post today is dedicated to Tiffany Shanel Weeks, a resident of Luverne, Alabama, a beautiful young lady that left this earth last Wednesday, June 30, 2010 unexpectantly  around 2:00 p.m. at the very young age of 17 as she was returning home from her first day of  Class in College.   Tiffany was a very close, dear friend of my daughter, Jenna and has lived at my house many days in last 10 years.  You could say she was like one of our children.  Last Wednesday, beautiful, little Tiffany was called to leave us…. but she has left a lasting imprint on our hearts forever.  In life, many of our questions go unanswered or we simply don’t understand.  But through it all, God himself will never change.  God loves us so much….unconditionally!  This is why our faith must rest on GOD’S IDENTITY (WHO HE IS) and not necessarily the activites or situations that happen in our lives.  We cannot be distracted by the enemy, the devil.  Although he comes to steal, kill and destroy, God sent HIS son Jesus, that we might have life and have it to the fullest and over-flowing in God’s best.  John 10:10 Paraphrased.  I have faith and a blessed hope in God that I will see beautiful little Tiffany again someday in Heaven.  Her family call her their little angel.  May the world as she knew it….never be the same again.  May everyone that has ever known Tiffany be saved and transformed by a God of love, mercy and grace is my prayer today. 

So continue to put your trust in God…LIVE, LOVE and LAUGH OFTEN!  And know that in the end three things that last:  Faith, Hope and Love, and the greatest of these is love.  I Corinthians 13:13  Though our hearts hold deep sadness right now, may it hold the blessings of the love that will always be a part of us who had the priviledge of loving and knowing Tiffany. 

Have you told your family and friends how much you love them today?  If not, why not?  Let these words be a reminder that none of us are guaranteed the next moment, next hour or next day.  Only God knows and most of the time HE does not tell us.  So speak those words, make those phone calls, make plans to Live, love and laugh often …you will be glad you did!

Please Pray for the Tiffany Weeks family and friends…

God Bless You, Bobby

WE LOVE YOU AND WILL MISS YOU TIFFANY!

Much is emphasized today on outward appearance or you may say beauty or good looks.   Just watch T.V.  There is a show called “What Not To Wear” or “Extreme Makeover” Is beauty that important to us?  Now be truthful…YES it is! It was to Esther.  Queen Esther in the Bible was in a Beauty Pageant; the prize?  She would become the next Queen of Persia.  Even if we are not the Queen of Persia like Esther, you are considered beautiful or handsome by someone, especially God.  Queen Esther was considered to be one of the most beautiful women of the world during her time.  She used beauty treatments, took all the lessons on beauty, manners of queen, how to act so she was prepared to go to her own beauty pageant before the King of Persia.  She spent a year preparing for her beauty pageant. 

Today, people do the same.  People spend lots of money and time making themselves beautiful.  I know my wife and daughter along with many other women spend lots of money on beauty products such as makeup, eye shadow, eye liners, lipstick, blush and much more.  Then there is hair products, clothes and all the accessories needed to match and look good like jewelry, purses and shoes and the list goes on.  You get my point.  I was never so glad when my teenage daughter got her first job and was able to buy some of those expensive beauty products.  But I say all this to say, it is okay to want to look our best.  It is okay to train to be the best we can be.

There’s just something about princesses and beautiful weddings that fascinate little girls. Kings and Queens symbolize people in authority, rulers, leaders, special people.  In our early years we learn about these beautiful princesses from stories like Cinderella and Snow White.  And in our hearts, I think there is often a yearning in little boys to be  a prince and someday a King and in little girls to be a princess and one day a Queen… to be someone very special.

As the years go by those dreams of being a princess fade, but God has a way of reminding us that we were all created to be princesses (Queens) or princes (Kings) in His royal court. 

This year as my daughter winds down a very special chapter in her life and ours as parents, high school, she has been blessed and honored with achievements that have made her feel special.  Recently she was voted by her senior class and selected as LHS 2010 Prom Queen and crowned at her Senior Prom.  She was surprised but honored.  She felt special.  That’s the way God feels about us.  We are the apple of HIS eye and He loves us unconditionally.  Beauty Secret #2 Remember You are special.  Don’t let your dreams fade away.  Remember who you are.  You were created for something great and God has a plan for you to be a blessing.

Jenna Ann Stone Miss LHS 2010

This past Friday, March 12th my daughter Jenna was in the Luverne High School Pageant.  Better known as the” Miss LHS Pageant.”  Wow, we thought she was beautiful!  Jenna loves her school but has never wanted to be in any pageants.  She is outgoing but is very shy if she does not know you or she is out of her environment of friends.  Surprisingly, Jenna decided that since she was a “Senior”  she would branch out of her comfort zone and participate in the Miss LHS Pageant this year.    And guess what?  Jenna was voted “Miss Congeniality” by her fellow contestants.  We were all excited since that was the first award of the evening.  I felt it spoke volumes of Jenna’s inner beauty.  How we treat others is the most important beauty secret of all.  Jenna has always had such a loving, kind and sweet personality.  She has always been such an easy going, compliant and obedient child.  As parents, it is our duty to recognize and cultivate the God given talents and gifts given to our children.  So from the time our children are born until forever more we should be cultivating, encouraging and urging them forward for God. 

But much to our delight and surprise, there was more to come for Jenna as she was also awarded as the winner of “poise and appearance” followed by being selected and crowned as “Miss LHS!”  She was the “Queen of Luverne High School!” You may be like me and not know as much as some in the area of beauty secrets and how you pick a winner of a beauty pageant.  But this one thing I know, my baby girl wore a crown for the first time this past Friday night and her inner beauty was shown as well as her outward beauty, all given by God.  Boy, I am proud to be the father of the Queen!  She even wore the crown out to eat in town with her casual clothes.  She said “how many times are you crowned queen?”   Some say it is not about winning but how you play the game.  Have you ever heard that one before?  Is it right or wrong?  I think if we play the game of life God’s way and let our inner beauty shine and not just in beauty pageants,  but everyday in everyway then everyone will see how beautiful we really are.  The favor of God will make you a winner no matter what and boy it sure feels good!  Beauty secret #1:  Be kind to others, Be Yourself ….let your inner beauty shine through and  you will be a winner!  Congratulations go out to Jenna!  We are proud of you and we love you very much!

Me and Jenna

Friday, February 12th was a special day.  It was a day of snow, home, family, relaxing and fun!  That’s right, snow and lots of it!  That is something we don’t see much in South Alabama.  We said, “Let it snow, let is snow, let it snow!”  In  Luverne, we received between 5-6 inches of snow and it was simply beautiful.  You can recognize the beauty of God’s creation in everything.  And in everything we should give God praise.  I am thankful for my family and a day we could spend having fun and making memories.  My two grown children, Jarrod (22) and Jenna (17) were like children again.  They were excited!  They played in the snow, had snowball fights, built snowmen and sledded into the night.  Jenna said that she could not wait for Saturday so she could go play in the snow again!  So today we recognize once again, that God is so good to us all the time!  Today is a new day, and it is up to us how we use our day.  Get  ready to seize the day with joy!  Make the most of every moment of every day!

Now that’s what I call “Love in Action”. Love in action leaves “heart prints.”  People are forever changed by love and acts of kindness.  Don’t we need more of that in the world we live today?  We leave our “fingerprints” on everything that we touch.  What about “Heart Prints?”  Look for the opportunity to extend a loving or kind word or deed to someone in need today.  Everybody needs one!

My prayer today is: ”God help me to see what needs to be changed in my life and do it!”

At this moment… I am thinking about how good God is and what a great God we are blessed to serve. I guess all of us can say that we wish for some things to be better in our lives.  But there is one thing I know and that is … God has been good to me and my family.   We are very blessed!  Patty and I have the two most wonderful children in the whole wide world. 

 My son Jarrod and his girlfriend Jennifer, along with my daughter, Jenna and her boyfriend Seyth, were able to attend church with us this past Sunday. Our whole family was able to worship the Lord together.  It was great!  We had a wonderful move of God’s Sweet, Holy Spirit and Pastor Chad followed up with  a powerful message from God’s word.  I could think long and hard about all the good things happening in my life and never beat that!  Loving and serving God and worshipping as a family…that’s what it is all about!

“For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.”

To believe is to overcome. I am heir to all of the promises because I believe. I overcome because I believe the truth, and the truth makes me free. Christ is the root and source of our faith. This is the principle: He who believes is definite. A definite faith brings a definite experience and a definite utterance.

Prayer for today; Lord Jesus, grant me overcoming faith to claim the impossible.

Later, Bobby

As I was thinking about Joe, I decided I wanted you to know that Joe was a man of faith who knew how to fight a good fight and put his trust in his God.  He was a friend to all …especially God.   Joe served time in prison in his younger days.  Joe was a  man who fought against cancer several times later in life, each time it was a different type and he won.   During his final battle with cancer, another patient asked Joe,  “What do you  think Heaven will be like and what will you do when you get there?”  At that moment in time, they were overlooking a beautiful lake on a sunny day.  Joe replied, ‘I hope it will be something like this… sunny and beautiful.  And  I hope that God will allow me to sit my rocking chair by the  crystal river and  help Jesus rock  all those babies that have gone to heaven and take care of them until their mothers get there.  Wow! What a thought!

Joe was a worker for the Kingdom of God here on this earth.  But it did not stop there.   Joe was anticipating his new work in heaven with excitement and joy.  No sadness but joy!   Joe expected to have a job waiting for him in heaven.  God called Joe, his friend home to Heaven. I firmly believe Joe is in Heaven rocking those babies right now!