The Winds of Change

Coming Summer of 2012: New Blog name! Little Miss Magic was a perfect name for my blog as a young woman trying to figure out who I was and what I wanted to do. And to be honest, I will always be growing and changing. Everyone does, that's part of life. But I feel God is pulling me in a new direction with this blog and I want the name to reflect that. I don't know for sure what it will be yet, so stay tuned. God has been teaching me so much the last year about contentment, joy, trust and patience. He is sovereign and He is calling out the best in me. That can be a painful process, but it's worth it. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Spring Break!

I told you I loved March! I was so busy doing awesome things and enjoying the awesome weather that I didn't even have time to blog about it. I don't feel too bad. :-) I am currently on Day 3 of my Spring Break, and loving every minute of it. I've slept in (does 8am count?), done laundry, read a book, basked in God's goodness and beautiful creation, exercised, hung out with friends and watched UK win an 8th National Championship. Best. Spring. Break. Ever.

After several months of recovery, transition, praying and searching, Seth now has a job! (In case you didn't know, he had another back surgery in November). He is working at a local hardware store and is liking it a lot. He will return to school in the fall to major in accounting and finance. A happy husband is worth more than gold and that's just the truth. It is hard to watch such a hard-working man have to stay home. Seriously, ladies, I have been blessed. Seth is one of the greatest men I know and I'm so proud to be married to him. God is so good.

I just want to take a minute to say how overjoyed I am that God has me right here, right now. Beaver Dam, KY may not be on everyone's Top Ten Coolest Places to Live list, but it's #1 on mine. Why, may you ask? Beaver Dam Baptist Church. That's why. After 2 years of not having a pastor and lots of drama, we have a man of God leading our church. Now, Pastor Joel is fantastic and certainly an incredible man of God, but he is not the reason for my excitement. God is. God is moving in our church and community like it's nobody's business and I am so stinking excited I may as well be Tim Tebow at a press conference. I believe Pastor Joel is calling God's best out of us and he and his family are a huge blessing to Ohio County. He has a vision, not only for our church but for the community and is challenging us (the church) to get our hands dirty serving the people in Ohio County. Yes! Since August I have been learning so much about serving the community through my job and I want to learn more. I ache for some of the people in this area and I want so badly for them to know how much God loves them and that He has plans for them! Plans to prosper and not to harm!!! Praise God! May we never stop serving and seeking. God gave us hands to receive his mercy and goodness, and hands to serve and bless others.

"May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer."

I Heart March

Guess what, folks?! It's that time of year again. My favorite time of year. It's almost March, the best month ever! Oh sure, December is full of holiday cheer, and who doesn't love a sunny day in June? But, March. March is special. Let me count the ways:

1. March 2- My birthday! (I really love birthdays, especially mine)

2. March 8-11- SEC Tourney

3. March 11- Daylight Savings begins

4. March 17- St Patrick's Day

5. March 21- First day of Spring, the "life after death" season

6. March 22- My parents will be here to visit

7. March 23- THE HUNGER GAMES!!!

8. Two of my best friends' birthdays are in March, the 8 and 28

9. It usually gets warmer in March

10. I will be planting some flowers and maybe an herb garden this Spring.

All in all, it's a pretty decent month. I just love the feel of it. It makes me feel refreshed after a long winter. Even though this winter has been mild and weird, everything is still dead and it gets dark too early for me. I love the longer days and the warm sunshine and bike rides and walks in the park when the daffodils are blooming. It's just good for the soul. God always gives us a spring, no matter how long the winter may be. He is so good. I hope this week finds you hopeful for the coming of Spring. :-)

Ghosts of Valentine's Day Past

Yesterday, as I was reflecting on my history of V-Days in a moment of nostalgia, I realized I had a few interesting stories about the day devoted to love and romance. For someone who was single until the age of 23, I figured that this was pretty cool. I could've spent all those years crying or depressed (especially as I got older), but that never happened. God loves me too much to not show me. That goes for you too.

As I began collecting my thoughts and writing down my stories I realized that this was going to be longer than I thought. So for your viewing pleasure, here is the first story in my collection. Enjoy!

Now everyone my age can remember Valentine’s Day in elementary school. I always came home with Valentine’s! It was a win-win situation. The cute boy in my class always got me one and I always got him one. Too bad every other girl in my class got one from him as well, maybe they were preparing my generation for their fate of finding romance on the next season of The Bachelor where your boyfriend dates 8-10 other girls at the same time. Oh, well. I specifically remember one year, I believe it was third grade, when I got a particularly memorable card from a classmate at Northwood Elementary. It was from a boy whose name was Shaun. I did not have a crush on this boy and I’m sure he himself had nothing to do with making the card, but it was so beautiful that I kept it… for several years. It was heart-shaped and had pink, purple and red glitter around the edges. I have no idea what it said but it had his picture inside. Shaun moved away that year as his dad was in the air force just like so many of my classmates’ parents. One day a few years later, probably sometime in middle school, my best friend Elin was at my house. Elin’s dad was also in the air force during elementary school and she lived in Germany from the time she was 5 until the 4^th grade when her family settled in Crestview.  As we were rummaging through my “junk drawer” she came upon Shaun’s Valentine. When she opened it and saw his picture she said that he looked familiar. I thought that couldn’t be possible considering Shaun moved away in the third grade and Elin arrived in the fourth and went to a different elementary school than me. But, she just knew that she has seen him before. We soon discovered after doing some research (aka asking her mom) that Shaun had been in Elin’s kindergarten class… in Bitburg, Germany! We found Elin’s class picture from that year and sure enough, there he was! Funny how you are connected to people in different ways. Elin and I are still best friends to this day, over 15 years later. There are many things that bind us together and Shaun is just one of those things. I have no idea where Shaun is, what he is doing, if he’s happily married, maybe even with kids. I hope his life is fulfilling. More than that, I hope he knows that however small it may seem, he made a plain, freckled faced third grade girl smile for several years on Valentine’s Day and strengthened her bond with her best friend years later. Thank you, Shaun. 

Elin and me at the beach in high school

Elin and me in January 2012

Two posts in one day?!

Just wanted to post some pics from our annual trip to Green Bay, WI. This year we took the in-laws and got to stay a bit longer. We took a tour of Lambeau and ate lunch at Curly's Pub with Tim and Amanda Masthay! It was so much fun cheering on the Pack and we loved every freezing cold minute of it!

Trading contentment for JOY

Today was the first day for our new pastor at Beaver Dam Baptist. The house was packed and you could feel the excitement in the sanctuary. We have been without a pastor for over 2 years now and it was well worth the wait. The Church is so much more than a pastor, but leadership is so important. I am truly excited for the Wayne family to begin their ministry here and challenge our church to be a light in our community. We spent a lot of time in prayer during the service today. We also read from the Word and worshiped God through music. Simple.

Some churches spend hours in planning meetings about how to make church cool or relevant to today's culture. I'm glad that is not our first concern. If you want to know how to do church right, go read the book of Acts, specifically chapter 2 verses 42-47. In verse 45 it talks about how the believers sold their possessions and goods and gave to anyone as they had need. Yikes. Talk about contentment. These people had nothing but the Holy Spirit and each other and they weren't just content. They were filled with JOY! What a difference. They didn't just put up with each other, but loved each other and cared for others' needs.

I have been longing for contentment, but what I really need is joy. Joy in the Lord and all He has done for me. When I seek Him I will find Him, as He promises in His Word. That in itself gives me joy. Regardless of any other detail of my life. That is my prayer for you today.

Joy and Peace,
Emily

Happy New Year!

December was a very busy month for the Herrons, so I apologize for not updating. Christmas is my busiest time of year for work, plus basketball games at school (loving watching my 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th graders play!), Seth recovering from back surgery at home, Christmas shopping/decorating/cooking, having the interior of our home painted, Christmas, getting a cold, going to Green Bay... Whew! There was a lot going on! It was a great month though, and I am thankful for every minute. Time now to get back in the swing of things. January always brings a sense of hope. I love the New Year. When I look back on 2011 and see where God brought us from just a year ago, I have great hope that 2012 will be just as exciting! You can plan for where you think you will be in a year, but trusting in God to provide His best always surpasses our plans. It did this past year. Seth and I both have new jobs/career paths, a new home, a new community (at least for me), new friends, new goals. We shall see what 2012 will bring!

For lots of friends in my life, it seems 2012 will be bringing new life. Many of my close friends are expecting, so 2012 will definitely bring me babies to play with, love and hold. Everyone all got married at once so I guess they are all having babies at once, too! One of my best friends, Lauren is due any day now. I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my "niece" Emma Clare! I am so thankful that she and her husband now live in KY a short 2 hours from me so that I can go visit when Emma is born. How exciting!

God has been so good to me this new year even in the first 7 days. He is faithful and cares about us deeply. I don't know how many days I have left on this earth but I am so thankful that He guides me through everything. He is my Rock and my Redeemer. May He bless you and yours in 2012!