StaceyRising.com

Okay, so the time has finally come for me to check myself into dieters NON-anonymous!  I have been on a bit of an eating craze for the last year and yesterday it finally came to a screeching halt!  I figured that the more people I tell, the more accountability I have to stay at this thing we call a diet.  Yesterday sent a text to my friend and said, "One day down and a lifetime to go."  You see, I know that it is a lifestyle choice.  We choose to be healthy or not.  Sometimes our unhealthiness shows on the outside and for some they look fine on the outside, but their insides are VERY unhealthy. I know that God's word says that my body is a temple, so why is it that Christians rarely fight over this issue.  We know how drinking and drugs are bad, but people rarely bring up over eating.  I know, I know....might step on someones toes.  Of course some people are too big to get close enough to their toes (oops, did I just write that down?).  It's true and the Lord knows it!  When ...
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So yesterday was my fortieth birthday.  I have been racking my brain on a fun, inspirational and encouraging blog on the big day.  So far none of my thoughts seem particularly funny, but here goes. First of all my husband and my friends planned an exceptional party for me with lots of friends and family.  My Mother-in-law (who I love dearly) flew in from California and I had friends drive in from Altanta and Mississippi.  I feel very blessed to have had my friends show up and shower me with some really nice gifts as well as some "over-the-hill" gifts that made me laugh so hard, my jaw was sore.  Kuddos to my sweet husband and his party planning crew for a great party. I think when you hit milestone ages it gives us time to think about our life and what direction it is going.  For me, as God has clearly called me to minister to women and encourage them through humor and God's word, it is a chance to be thankful for the responsibility and trust He has placed on me.  As I am going ...
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The last year and a half have been extreme transition for our family.  We closed a business, my husband lost his job and I went back to teaching full time.  At the end of last year after teaching in a Title I middle School and loving it, my principal said that they had to cut back five teaching positions so I would not have one this year.  I was extremely bummed out, but decided that I would just use the summer to find a job somewhere else.  I applied and applied and did not even get to the interview process.  Finally about ten days before school started two positions opened up at my sons middle school.  I had a teacher friend pulling for me at the school and I KNEW that this was what I was waiting for.  It was on Wednesday, just before teachers would report back that I received the email that said thanks, but no thanks.  I was not getting to the interview process. Up until this point, when I would receive those emails, I just chalked it up to...God has another plan and His plan ...
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How is it that with all the technology of the twenty first century that is supposed to make our lives easier and save time, only make us busier than ever?   It was just last night that my husband called my cell phone fourteen times (which was on silent AND in the other room) only to be completed frustrated because he couldn't get a hold of me.  Our new found conveniences have only made us busier because of the need for instant gratification.  I here it all the time, "I'm SO busy!" I think that the over scheduling of our lives has caused the devil to be pretty darn happy.  You see, I will never turn my back on the Lord.  No matter what life brings, I will serve Him.  So if the devil won't have my heart, what else can he do to me?  It is called being busy.  If the devil can't have my heart, he'll make us busy!  Think of all the things we can't do for the kingdom of God because we are too busy.  We may go through busy phases in our lives, but to continuously be on the hamster ...
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It’s time to move!” It seems that since I have been married, we have moved every three to four years.  Maybe you have heard these words before and you knew that meant it was time to get busy. Yes, it is exhausting, but it’s part of the process of moving.  I don’t know about you, but when my husband says it’s time to move that is when all the unfinished projects start to get completed.  In one house it was the baseboards, after we had laid hardwood floors and tile. Another house it was painting, striping wallpaper, even major landscaping.  When everything is complete and the house is spic and span, THEN it is time to put a FOR SALE sign in the front yard. Usually by this point I am in love with my house all over again and don’t want to move. Our church LIFE groups are doing a series called “One Month To Live.” It explores what we would do if we knew that we only had one month left to live.  It has been very interesting to  hear different people in our group explain ...
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