The Southern word for 'go potty, pee pee, or bathroom' is 'tee tee.' Yes I typed it correctly. All my northern friends and family are having the same reaction I did, "What?" with a confused, furrowed brow. So. I have been wondering where the weird word came from and thanks to Stephanie Cherry and the urban dictionary for this:
Here's what Steph found in the Urban Dictionary:
tee tee
(verb) A very genteel southern term for urination. Used for both sexes in childhood, used by women throughout their lives. Tee tee comes from the tee-hiny. A person who would use this term would never let the coarsely vulgar "pee" ever cross their lips.
tee-hiny
(noun) The tee-hiny is the nether region of the body, particularly for women and girls. I have never heard this term in reference to males, but that's not to say it doesn't exist. It isn't just the vagina, it's the "bottom" plus any other places "down there." This term is used almost exclusively in the south by the very genteel but anatomically disinterested. Its origins are unknown, but it's common in South Louisiana, where "Tee" is a French/Cajun term meaning "little." So it could be translated as "little hiny/hinie/hiney."The main product of the tee-hiny is tee-tee. No nice lady in the south would ever say "pee." It is considered extremely vulgar, probably worse than the "F" word. Again, it's not just the vagina because everybody knows you don't tee-tee from your vagina. You tee-tee from your tee-hiny.

SO I guess if you hear 'pee pee' come flying out of my mouth it may be to make someone upset:) FYI I have asked everyone I have heard used this term over the past 2 years and not one person had any idea where it came from. I have potty on the brain as Steven should be but he isn't, he told me today, "I yike diapers, I pee, you change it." I think it's time to take some serious action with the potty training. He was doing so good for so long. We have been using disposables now since we went on our trip, I think when we go back to cloth that will help.

Okay now for a bit deeper thought. I continued reading in Matthew today and read through his crucifixion. I wept thinking about how terrible Peter must have felt after betraying Jesus. I too have betrayed him a in different ways and how easy to say if I had been in his Peter's shoes I would not have faltered but I can think of times where I have. I have been in similar shoes, and how my heart breaks at the realization of it. My first thoughts of this day were focused on Matthew 40-41.
40Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep
watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. 41"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into
temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."
Oh how I can relate especially right now as I struggle with my weight and overall health. All the more reason to pray without seizing!

My thoughts today are centered around this thought as a whole. Christ came here for ME(and YOU!), a broken person, with a messy life. Christmas is a time to remember the gift God gave us. A perfect God giving his perfect LOVE to this imperfect world! Which makes me want to conclude this with prayer because I am moved again just typing this thought.

Thank you God for sending your son, our savior to heal our broken hearts and help us clean up our messy lives. Help us to learn from Christ's life and example and help us to open our hearts and have faith that you will heal our broken places. Thank you for this life, thank you for my many blessings and thank you for Jesus. In Jesus Christ name, Amen!

What's wrong with talking about God and sex in the same conversation?

God created sex and orgasims..so PRAISE HIM! Recently we had a girls night out here and I enjoyed it so much. I hope Mel and Lisa did too! Lisa stops the conversation and says, "I don't think I have ever talked about God, sex and drank wine all at the same time." We laughed and continued in our conversations, which I am sorry you are not privvy too!

It's important to talk about the gospel messages and Jesus Christ and why he was sent here. I love that Fellowship at Plum Creek talks about how to be saved everyweek, perhaps we should be more like that. Every conversation leaving each person with 'something God promised' to think about for the day. Having your nonbelieving friends say all you ever talk about is Jesus (that by the way is a compliment). It wasn't that way when I was a kid but fortunately for my kids it will be that way for as long as they can remember.

I am not trying to be boastful here, I am just trying to show you the thoughts and actions that have been happening here lately to give my title some supporting documentation! At Negley Christmas fair, I chose to be outside. It was a lovely day, a little rain but I made it through without melting(whew! not a witch) There was a windchime lady outside as well. That morning I had read in Daniel about how King Neb had made a statue and wanted everyone to bow down when thay heard all these instruments playing. So all day long I was thinking about that and identifing idols that I was bowing to, had bowed to and vowed never to bow to again. Nearly EVERY person that stopped that day said something about it, including my husband. I joyfully shared why that noise was there, that God wanted me to think about this scripture as he needs me to understand what I am doing in my life right now! I shared that story in Daniel at least 20 times and more and more of the idols I was bowing to and one lady stopped writing her check and said, "Wow, thanks for sharing that. Praise God! Now do I need to add tax on here?"

I remember when I worked in the cannery in Alaska. Amy van Dyke and I talking about God again. We did this daily, our conversations entailed from what we read in scripture to how/what we were moved to pray about. Well we lived in a tent, in a tent city and everyone could hear our conversations. One particular evening, a man went walking by and in an annoyed sounding voice saying, "bible, bible, bible, bible, God, bible, God" I remembering laughing and yelling, "We will pray for you!" Amy where ever you are thanks for helping make it through there and always remembering God!

Tricia Goyers New Fiction Series..Book 2

I didn't pay attention to history class, I paid attention to my neighbor who paid attention to history class. How sad that truth is now, not only was it deceitful, I really did only cheat myself. I watch movies or read historical fiction and I am fascinated but sad because I'm not building on any prior knowledge, thank goodness I am capable of learning now and I know how to research and find more information:)

Which brings me to series I am reading written by Tricia Goyer. It is called Chronicles of the Spanish War. Book one was a great love story, packed with war adventures, and the faithfulness of God and his promises. I was so happy that book 2 arrived last week but was afraid to start because I have been known to start and finish a book all in one setting..and then I am wiped out and my kids are wondering what happend.

Here is an excerpt from book 2, I will let you know what I think when I complete it.
Sophie discovers that nothing is as she first imagined. When Walt, the reporter who helped her over the border, shows up again after Guernica is bombed, Sophie is given an impossible mission. She must leave behind the man she's fallen in love with and return to the person who betrayed her.
Another layer of the war in Spain is revealed as Sophie is drawn into the international espionage schemes that could turn the tide of the war and help protect the soldiers from the International Brigade ... but can she find a way to get the information she's discovered to Walt before it's too late?

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Give thanks that you don't have to read this if you choose not to. If it were an email you might feel obliged.

I have decided my thoughts are worth more than a penny, probably more like a nickel hence the title of this blog.

I have some free time today and I have been wanting to set up my account on here for a while so here it is. I am going to be transfering my blogs from my space over here so for a bit it is going to look like I am printing press. Most of you who know me know I am never usually short on words anyway.

It's turned out to be a pleasant day here in South Dakota, it is colder than Texas but it is a very nice day today. The tryptophan is working nicely everyone is napping with the excption of me. We were supposed to have my grandparents here but my grandfather fell twice this morning and is resting. We are waiting to hear how he is feeling. Please pray that he will heal and strengthen.

My sister, Katie made some outstanding pie crust and she says she can't cook. Can't means Won't! Silly sister!

I love seeing my boys and hers play and love one another, it brings me back to my own childhood. I spent 90% of my time as a kid playing with cousins and it was always great!

Holidays are filled with a vast array of emotions for me as I am sure many of you can relate. Today God spoke to me through the story of Martha and Mary (Luke 10:38-41). Here is a version with a bit of a holiday twist.

Jesus is at my house several hours before the ‘festivities’ begin and of course, I am a procrastinator by nature so I have a LONG list of things that normally takes 3 days to complete but now I will complete them in 4 hours! My family has also gathered and are visiting and listening to Jesus teach. I am frantically mixing up the pie fillings, checking the bread to see if it’s doubled in size, walking out to the garage to check the turkey cooking in the roaster and I trip with the cream pie I was carrying out to the extra garage fridge. I am now cleaning up the mess, wondering why no one has checked on me, no one is offering to help, don’t they know I have to finish the lacing the ribbon through the eyelets on all 22 of the name cards? My heart grows bitter and all I see is how everyone isn’t seeing me and all I am doing to make this a success for them! Or was it for me? I seem to loose track. Then when I have finally broke and my bitterness takes over, I go and say, “Lord, can’t you see no one is helping me! Tell them to help me!”
Jesus takes my hand and says, “Nicole, you are worried about many things but only one thing is needed. Your family has chosen what is better and it can’t be taken away from them.”

My dear family, it is easy to get distracted with all the holiday preparations, from the gift buying, Christmas card sending, decorating, meal planning and all the other scurring around that we do. How challenging to be Mary in the Martha world we live in. It is easy to have an excuse not to seek time with the Lord each day, even a short 5-10 minute devotional but I encourage you to try especially during this season. If you are looking for a place to start there are many FREE online resources that can send you daily scripture and questions to help you think more deeply and apply it to your life. Plugging yourself into a Bible based church for encouragement and accountability would also be a step in the right direction.

I find it is easy to be Martha but focusing on God and what Jesus taught, I can be Mary instead. I am going to try and post a picture of the boys..

More on finding the strength to go the distance...AKA the Dora saga

So Mari read the blog and knew who Dora was! She is a good Aunt staying in the know. Anyways, I forgot a character that ties in with this whole thing...Swiper! Swiper is symbolic of the devil and if you let him, he can take your life.
Here is something that Beth Moore said that made me want to jump up and scream AMEN!, Captivity is friendly but it doesn't stay friendly. How many times have we told the little white lie that turns into the never ending story, or the if you have this bottle of lotion it will make you age less, this one makes you smell great, ooh this one even smells better, next thing you know half the house is filled with crap you aren't using and it's overwhelming? This is my current senerio..so much stuff you don't even know where to start or how and when you muster up the courage there is Swiper saying oh, you paid for that, you might use it some day, making these material possesions seem as though they are everything but inreality they are chains. How true the old adage about Be careful of what you own as all the stuff you own will end up owning you is. This seems like a Proverb but I don't know and right now I don't have time to research, Mari take care of that one for me;)
Sometimes I try to be the Holy Spirit, I am NOT the Holy Spirit, I pray for him to move in and out of me like the wind and I feel his presence s and it brings tears, joy and even rest, just knowing that there is help with all the battles I am fighting. Sorry to Sharene and anyone else who has fallen victim to me masked as the Holy Spirit, please forgive me.
So Isaiah 47:8-10 are resounding through my heart right now.
"Now then, listen, you wanton creature, lounging in your security and saying to yourself, 'I am, and there is none besides me. I will never be a widow or suffer the loss of children.'
9 Both of these will overtake you in a moment, on a single day: loss of children and widowhood. They will come upon you in full measure, in spite of your many sorceries and all your potent spells.
10 You have trusted in your wickedness and have said, 'No one sees me.' Your wisdom and knowledge mislead you when you say to yourself, 'I am, and there is none besides me.
Never think you are above the law of land. Once that happens, God disciplines as a reminder he is king. I recently have fallen victim, thanks to Sharene and Traci for the heads up. I had a friend come up to me and heed warning on me about someone at work, and when I was retelling the story to my friend the same message came back to me. Then I read this scripture, I thought I was above that because I know what it has done, I am watching this same scenerio unfold with a friend so I thought I had it "all figured out" Well, that's dangerous ground. Praise God for the people he has put into my life to hold me accountable and help me before mistakes were made...becasue we never know!
I am struggling right now. We are building a new home in here in Texas, this time someone else is building..praise God! I am having a difficult time with the materialism of it all, it is no where near the caliber of home we built in the hills and there my friends is where my problem lies. Pray for me as I focus on scripture to help me break the chains of materialism and focus on what matters most.
Kim and Jonathon are coming for Austin City Limits this weekend so I have got to do some cleaning!

Family relations..WATCH your words!

Relating to our family is at it's best TOUGH! Especially if you are trying to behave as Jesus would. Familiy knows all of your flaws, what gets you roused faster than anyone so with all that said wow, how hard it is to be loving with the ones we love but as I have found in my own marriage you get more with honey than vinegar. I find many times and situations when I just want to call it how I see it, but that is the problem. How 'I' see it isn't really how it is. I need God's help because he sees the whole person, he would never say, "that selfish sister who can't see anything else but her own needs," not that I have any idea what God actually knows but I imagine he would say, "poor girl, she loves her sister so much and is already sad that she has to go, oh how she loves her and loves spending time with her sister, show her how much you love her too." I know he knows our hearts better than we know our own, but just providing me with more insight to my situation helps so much with me trying to do as Christ might. One of the problems is it's not always immediately there, Christ hasn't shot some new info that helps with that situation at that second, so I have had to learn to bite my tounge and pray. I pray that I can be loving in the situation and that God will help me through and help me have the strength not to answer my way. My way by nature is not nice, not good at all. Our words that hurt can be everlasting. Always remembered are those hurtful things that damage even though their intent might ot have been to damage. When we got back to Texas from our last trip to SD in July, Justin(my husband) had this horrible bite looking thing on his leg, and it was terribly painful and then itchy. When we looked online at different types of spider bites we thought it may be brown recluse, so I called mom and told her we thought Justin had been bite by a spider at her house. It ended up being poisen ivy and all over his body, still not sure how or where he got it. So I had totally forgotten about all of this until we came back home for Thanksgiving. My mom on 3 counts on my first days visit has said the room we were staying in was immaculate no spiders, very clean. I didn't catch on because as I said I had totally forgotten it. I apparently hurt my moms feelings when I told her justin may have been biten by a spider, so much so that she was frantically hermedically sealing our room before our visit. I never meant to hurt her feelings and I am not even sure of all that I said but case in point some times we stay stuff that isn't going to do good, so that's my other new idea. I am going to try to examine what I am about to say and if their is no purpose, no good in it, why waste the time and energy on it.
I was reading in the book of Luke today and here it is as reference to my thoughts.
Luke 10:38-42 (New International Version)
At the Home of Martha and Mary 38As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. 40But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"
41"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, 42but only one thing is needed.[a] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."
Can you imagine Martha scurring around making all the food for Thanksgiving, decorating the table, making name tags, trying to keep the house clean though there is tons of company and then seeing her lazy sister there just listening! She gets so frustrated she shouts out, "hey dad, tell her to help me she is just lazing around and I am stuck here working!" Poor Martha wasn't doing what she was doing with a glad heart so the bitterness and resentment grew. Then God helps her realize that name tags don't matter, nor do the decorations and keeping the house clean is a loosing battle but what she is missing out on is so much better, so much more important. I pray that we and our families will all FOCUS on what really matter this holiday season and we will respond as Jesus would to more of our situations. Love you all and Happy Turkey Day!!!

Finding the courage to go the distance

Begin here...Go there..Finding the courage to go the distance.

I am helping out with our new MOPS ministry that has recently came here in Kyle, TX. Our theme this year is John 14:17, which I feel like was my first sign from God to say yes to this ministry. Actually vesuses 15-17 are where I feel God is speaking to me, for those of you not cracking open the Bible...here is the excerpt: .
Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
15"If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

What a beautiful promise God has made to each one of us. Do you ever get that over whelming urge you just need to talk to someone? I sure do, I think those are the times Jesus is saying hey, slow down, spend some time with me. I delight in your company, lets talk about things, want to know how to make your life better, seek my counsel. Often I mistake that for, should I call my mom, or Aunt Sure or someone. As I try to seek his truth and spend the time, I feel the presence of the Holy Spirit within me more and more.

I have been reflecting back on where I have come from, as many of you know, I have recently moved from South Dakota, where I was born and raised. I guess it all began there. Where I am I going? I guess we have all moved from some point A and are heading out but do you know where point B is? I can tell you for most of my life I was doing the driving and wasn't sure where point B was. Is there something wrong with just staying at point A? No, I don't think so as long as you are tuned into what God is telling you, you may very well be just where you should be. So is my life is very similar to a Dora-The Explorer episode ? Where are we going?…clap, clap, clap! Are there three destinations I need to travel to, and then it's over? Does my friend, Holy Spirit (AKA-Boots), get to come along? More importantly, is God crying out "I'm the MAP, I'm the MAP!" I do believe with all my heart that God is crying out "I'm the MAP!" He came so that we might have life, and have it to the fullest, John 10:10. For me that doesn't mean remaining at point A. God doesn't just want me to become complacent, but to press forward in my walk with Him. The thing that we are learning (Justin and I) is the closer we seem to get to him or a place like we feel his presence and love pouring in, happens to coinside with when we feel the most pressure from Satan. I need courage to go the distance. Praise be to God for John 3:16, For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. I know my point B is Heaven, but how I travel until I reach my destination is my definatley why I need the MAP!
One of the ways, God speaks to me most profoundly is through Christian music. While driving the other day, I heard Casting Crowns' newest single, East To West. Here are just some of the words that inspired me, "I don't want to end up where you found me…I know you cast my sin as far as the east is to the west and I stand before you now, as if I've never sinned, but today I feel like I'm just one mistake away from you leaving me this way…"Oh, how often I have made one mistake, and then another. I lose patience with my kids. I get angery with Justin. I speak hurtful words to a dear friend. What a complete mess I make of things, and then I hear the chorus, "…and Jesus can you show me, just how far the East is from the West cause I can't bear to see the man (or woman) I've been rising up in me again in the arms of your mercy I find rest 'cause you know just how far the East is from the West from one scarred hand to the other."

Who is putting out your fires?

So I have been studying the book of Daniel, and I think it would make an extremely excellent movie! I am just totally into the story and it has been really useful for me and some self evaluation.So here is a quick, very vague synopsis of Chapters 1-3, it doesn't even give the story the life and intrigue that the story actually has..so READ Daniel, it's short and a great story and if you want to converse about it I am ready anytime:)So far it is about Faith testing; at least that is how I am reading into it right now. Their faith is tested by God in each chapter and in each chapter you can see how God stays faithful. In chapter 1 they are given choice meat and wine to drink but they eat veggies and H20 because God has told them how they should eat. And they end up being the healthiest, best of the best and the King favors them.Next in Chapter 2 God tells them the dream King Neb has had and interprets it to them, so they can be saved from being cut into pieces.Now here is what today's blog is about,They (not Daniel but the 3 others) will not bow down to a statue King Neb has made and they say God will save them and even if they are not saved they say they choose God. They are bound and cast into the fire(the fire is so hot it kills the guys that toss them into the furnace) and yet they come out unscathed, not smelling of smoke not singed NOTHING! The only thing that has burned is there bindings. God delivered them from the fire.SO, Fiery trials (this is from the Beth Moore Study Daniel BTW) 3 things can happen from them:
You can be delivered from it and faith is built(everyone onlooker that day must have been awestruck and saw the power of God and I am sure many of them had faith in God at that moment, just reading I got goose bumps)
You can be delivered through it and Faith is refined.
You can be delivered into Gods arms and Faith is perfectedI liked her cancer example..so you can find a lump and pray and when you go into get it checked out, it could be gone or nothing at all(1st case scenerio), you could be diagnosed with cancer and survive and be cancer free..GLORY to GOD for his healing(2nd senerio) OR you could died from the cancer and be in heaven.So God has really opened my eyes to something...they are all winning scenarios.
But it's letting go and letting God. Giving him control that we can see these things. I have been reflecting on fiery trials since yesterday, I have a difficult time because I think I have had an easy life compared to most but I have had some and I am going to share because maybe someone can relate...1st fiery trial, I can think of is my mom having cancer, everything happened to quickly and she was having surgery the next day and then 2 weeks later she is recovering and my father is killed in a freak accident. In this case our faith was built, in fact my mom clung to the Lord and by example so did I. I had always believed in God but never relied on him until that moment, it was later that year that I can remember surrendering to Christ and asking him into my heart more sincerely then I ever had previously.
2nd one I am going to share is the house in SD. We built this big beautiful house in the BH and it became our God. We quit attending church so we could work on the house, we didn't have time to read his word because we had to get the house finished, we got wrapped up in materialism and the ways of the world and forgot all we know to be good and true and FAITHFUL! In the end we began to pray for deliverance and he began to deliver us through it within 3 months of when we began to pray and allow him to be in control again. It took 14 months of us being more faithful then we had been before we were finally delivered completely through it. This is how we ended up in Texas.
3rd one is happening now. I am struggling with depression and just getting through with life, but this time I know that God will deliver me in someway and I am staying faithful this time. I do not need anything but him to speak and me to surrender which is still a daily struggle. As I am listening I hear him clearly and sometimes I chose not to obey and it results badly but when I listen and obey only goodness.
So what are your fiery trials and most importantly who is putting out your fire? Since I have lived in Texas and been more faithful I feel like God has perfected my vision I see things more clearly, though Satan loves to lie and try to tell me other things, I chose to ignore and not play into his lies.
Just today he tried to get me to call a friend and tell her I was sick of putting up with her and her not being my friend, but that isn't the case at all. She is doing all she can do to survive right now and she needs me more than I need her. God tells me call her, make the effort let her know you care and are praying for her.Glory to God for Andrew is healing and I wasn't going to take him into the Doctor after I spoke to the nurse on Friday but I could feelGod pushing me to take him on Saturday, so I did and it wasn't at all what they had thought over the phone and he was given some medicine that helped him so much and he is doing better each day.

Please pray for my cousin Sarah as she is having some serious complications with her pregnancy. I am praying for her deliverance through this, please join me. God hears you! Please do email me your trials, I really do want to hear....