Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Watch & See (A Small Boy's Faith in a Great Big God)

Watch And See. A small boy's faith in a great big God. OneBlessedChicky.com

        “Mom, please don’t make me ride the bus today!” Matthew pleaded as we rushed around getting ready for the day. My twelve year old son had become frustrated with the new seating arrangements on the school bus. He now sits near the back of the bus where there is an abundant supply of bad language and perverted talk. I had begun picking him up after school so he wouldn't be subjected to the language, but I insisted he ride the bus in the mornings so he could stand at the bus stop with the three grade school children that I had been babysitting.
            “Matthew, just ride the bus THIS week so the kids won’t have to stand out by the highway alone. I’ll start driving you to school next week.”
            “You don’t understand, mom!” he whined with his head tilted and eyebrows wrinkled, “I can’t handle all the perverted talk. Please, take me to school today, please… I’ll do anything!”
            Those pleading words, I’ll do anything, usually get me, and they almost did this time, but an idea came to me. As hectic as the morning had already been, I had to slow down long enough to build up Matthew’s faith and trust in God. Our family had experienced God’s power first-hand on many occasions, but this particular instance, I wanted my son to experience it for himself. I stopped what I was doing and grabbed both of Matthew’s hands and looked into his tear-filled eyes.
            “Matt, I have an idea. Let’s pray and ask God to shut the mouths of those kids that talk perversion. We’ll pray that there will be peace on the bus today.”
            “It won’t work Mom, you don’t know these kids,” he said, then quickly blurted, “I didn’t mean God can’t do it, but you just don’t know what these kids are like.”
            “Let’s pray,” I whispered. With his hands held tightly to mine, we both bowed our heads. “Father, I pray that you show Matthew what kind of a God you are. I ask that you quiet the mouths of the kids on the bus today and I pray that the perverted language be silenced. Let a peace come over the bus today so Matt can have a nice ride to school. I ask you to give him a good day today, in Jesus’ name, amen.”
            We dropped our hands and I noticed a look of disbelief in my son’s eyes as he slowly turned and walked away. My thoughts quickly went to the scripture that if we ask anything in His name, he will do it.
            “Matt!” I called after him, “Watch and see what God can do!
            He turned around and looked at me as I slowly repeated the words, “Watch and see what God can do!”
            He nodded his head half-heartedly as he walked into his room to get his backpack.
            “Lord,” I silently prayed, “Show Matthew your power!”
            That afternoon, I picked my teen-age daughters up from the high school first, then we drove to the middle school to get Matt. I had forgotten about our little prayer earlier that morning until Matthew opened the door of our Suburban and hopped in next to his sister.
            “Hey, Matt,” I smiled with anticipation as I turned around to look at him, “How was the bus ride this morning?”
            His eyes lit up with delight. “You’re not gonna’ believe this!” he exclaimed, “I think all of the kids on the bus had gotten in trouble right before I got on today.”
            “Why’s that?” I asked, knowingly.
            “Because, the bus was TOTALLY quiet today. Not one person said a word the whole ride to school! Can you believe that, Mom?” he said with enthusiasm.
            “Oh, I can believe it!” I smiled, then added, “You don’t suppose that little prayer we prayed this morning had anything to do with it, do ya’?” I asked while driving away from the school.
            “Yeah,” he grinned, “I guess it did.”

            “Thank you, Lord,” I prayed silently as my three children began talking about the day’s events.

As always, go with God and God will go with you!

Until next time,
Debbie Davis
One Blessed Chicky



Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Because Of Grace - My Miscarriage Story

Because of Grace - My Miscarriage Story and God's grace - OneBlessedChicky.com


How could someone, who knew all I’d done, and knew the scars that I wore?
How could that One, God’s only Son, love me even more?

The other day my cousin posted a link on Facebook to a blog post from Rachel Lewis titled “Why Miscarriage Matters When You’re Pro-Life”. When I read the title I immediately knew that I had to click the link. Rachel’s beautiful blog post about miscarriage (you can read it here) was one from the viewpoint of grieving parents and the different reactions people show towards those who have had abortions and those who lose their baby through miscarriage, and the grieving process of both. My story is a little different and I want to thank Rachel for sharing her story because it prompted me to share my story… a story that only a handful of people know.

This is hard for me. My family knows “my story” and I shared a piece of it one time (last year) with my church family. But I have never shared it with the world. Why now? I can’t answer that. Daddy God and I have had this discussion…. Well, it was actually one sided… me questioning His timing. “Are you sure you want me to do this? What if I’m judged? What if people look at me differently? What if, what if?”

Yes, it’s time. It’s time for me to get it down on paper. It’s time….. even if it’s just for me.

I was raised in a wonderful Christian home and my parents taught me right from wrong at an early age. I was the type of person that needed to be a “perfect” Christian. I felt like if I wasn’t “perfect” that I would disappoint everyone in my family and my church. But, feeling the need to be perfect and being perfect are two different things. And the guilt that came with NOT being perfect ate away at me for years.

When I was 18, my boyfriend Larry and I decided that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. And if we’re going to get married anyway, why not go ahead and have sex? I knew it was wrong. I knew what the Bible said about sex before marriage. Yet it happened. And so began my journey of years of shame and guilt. Not because of the pre-marital sex (I felt God's forgiveness for that), but because of the outcome of it.

At the end of December 1984 I came down with a terrible case of the flu. I was in bed for 3 days with chills, vomiting, fever, and all over body aches and pains. I took thera-flu, Tylenol, alka-seltzer… anything I could get my hands on to try and combat the nasty bug that I caught. Little did I know there was a tiny baby inside of me, fighting for his/her life… fighting against the toxins I was putting into my body. Slowly my body started getting back to normal, or so I thought. About a week later I began having severe abdominal pains and started bleeding. I had no idea that I was pregnant, so I brushed it off as a heavy period. A week into it, it didn’t let up and the pain got worse. I woke up in the middle of night with such severe pain that I practically crawled into the living room crying and screaming in pain. My mom came in and sat beside me on the couch. With her arm around me she asked, “Debbie, I need to ask you…. could you be pregnant?”

Please, God, no! My mind started spinning…. I shook my head no. She asked me again, “Debbie, could you be pregnant? I think you’re having a miscarriage!” Slowly and shamefully I shook my head yes.

That morning my parents took me to the doctor. The nurse came into the room after my ultrasound and said you are about 6 weeks along but you’re definitely having a miscarriage. That day is mostly a blur. They sent me over to the hospital and performed a DNC on me. I spent a couple of hours in recovery then went home.

That evening, my family went to church and I curled up on the couch, alone… very alone. I was so ashamed. I messed up my perfect Christian life. I’ve disappointed my parents (I couldn’t even look them in the eyes for weeks). I’ve disappointed God. I’m such a disgrace.

“No one can know about this! I’ve been sick with the flu; I’ll just say that it came back.”

I called into work the next day and told my boss at McDonald’s that the nasty flu bug hit me again. I had already told my parents not to tell anyone at church or the family. In a way, I was relieved that I had a miscarriage. This way, no one will ever know that I became pregnant as an unmarried 18 year old. And life went on. We never spoke of it again.

Larry and I got married in the summer of 1985 and had our firstborn baby girl, Tifanee, in the spring of 1986. Two more babies followed, Jessica in 1988, and Matthew in 1989. When I held Tifanee for the first time, the feeling of love overwhelmed me to the point of tears. And the same thing happened with Jessica, and then Matt. And each time, I would think about the miscarriage (I still couldn’t say, even in my mind, the word “baby” when I thought about the miscarriage).

Then one day, and I can’t tell you the date (our kids were little and were at school and Larry was at work), I forced myself to say that I had lost a baby. Yes, he or she was a BABY, not just a miscarried piece of tissue. And in my mind, I was the one who had killed him or her (because of the meds). And to top it off, I was so intent on having the image of a perfect Christian girl, I was GLAD that I didn’t have to disgrace anyone by being pregnant. This was no better than abortion. What have I done??!?

I began to grieve……

The grieving lasted for years. The pain of what I had done was so overwhelming at times. My husband didn’t even know the “scars that I wore”. I would have to put on my “happy face” on the days I became so overwhelmed with grief for my baby. On one of those painful days, I even wrote a song called “The Babies”. The song appears to be about abortion, but it is really about my own personal experience and the baby that my husband and I lost.

On another one of those painful days, I wrote a song called, “Because of Grace”. This song has played the biggest impact in my healing process than anything in my life. I sat at the piano and poured out my soul… just me and God.

I began to sing… and cry… and sing… and pray… and sing… and cry:

How could someone who knew all I’d done, And knew the scars that I wore?
How could that One, God’s only Son, love me even more?
And, how could He pay the price for me? So unworthy was I.
And, how could He go to Calvary on a cross that should’ve been mine?

“How could you love me God? I’m so undeserving. I’m not even worthy to be called your daughter because of what I’ve done. I didn’t take any regard for the life you placed inside of me. Please, forgive me, please forgive me, Daddy God… I’m so sorry!”

I’m still amazed by all of the ways, He proves His love for me
When I come to Him broken within, His love is all I need
And even the pain I hold inside is taken all away
Why would He care enough for me? It’s simply because of grace.

I can’t tell you the relief that I felt that day. I can’t even BEGIN to describe the overwhelming love that my heavenly Father poured down on me. It was if He was right there beside me, wrapping His arms around me, telling me that it’s going to be okay. His mercy and grace covered me with a blanket…. His blanket of love.

Because of mercy, because of grace
Because of the love He showed when at Calvary, He took my place
Because of mercy, Because of grace
The sins that I had, they were many, but now they’ve been erased
Because of grace.

The weight that I had carried for 15 or so years was finally lifted. The grieving that had lasted so many years was finally over. I was able to talk about it with my husband. I told him it was time to tell our girls (they were teens by this time). I remember the day I sat them on the bed and told them. Tifanee cried and Jessica looked like she was in shock. I started to feel the shame all over again but God lovingly whispered to my spirit and reminded me that all is forgiven. 

Are there still days when I think about what I had done? Yes. But, I always have Someone there “hushing” that guilt and gently reminding me that my sins have been cast into the sea never to be remembered again.


In early 2013, me and my Southern Gospel group Full Life Trio were getting songs ready to head into the studio. I told them that “Because of Grace” needed to be on this CD. Even though I wrote it years before, the time had come to share it with others. Below is a video I put together of Full Life Trio and our studio version of “Because of Grace”. I hope it encourages someone. It sure has encouraged me. I would love to hear your comments!


P.S. Please do me a favor and share this post. Someone you know may need it right now. Share on Facebook, tweet it, pin it on Pinterest, or email it to a friend. Thank you!

P.S.S.  Larry and I really did mean it when we said we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. We started dating in 1984 and we will be married 29 years in July 2014!

As always, go with God and God will go with you!



Until next time,
Debbie Davis
One Blessed Chicky





Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Keep Calm and Carry Lip Gloss - And get it for FREE

Keep calm and carry lip gloss. oneblessedchicky.com. www.marykay.com/lyndeb100

There are a LOT of "Keep Calm" quotes going around social media these days. But I stumbled on this one over at Pinterest today and thought this was too cute to pass up! 
Of course I ALWAYS carry a lip gloss in my purse (and a full sized lipstick). Sometimes you just need that extra shine. 

Have you tried any of the Mary Kay lip glosses yet? Well, let me give you a deal just for reading. Go to my web site, www.marykay.com/lyndeb100, add any 2 lip glosses to your cart, and I'll give you a 3rd one for FREE (equal or lower priced). Just mention this blog post when you check out. Whoo hoo.... keep calm, and ALWAYS carry lip gloss ♥

As always, go with God and God will go with you. Be blessed!


Until next time,
Debbie Davis
One Blessed Chicky



Wednesday, February 19, 2014

A One Blessed Chicky Surprise

A One Blessed Chicky Surprise. OneBlessedChicky.com


I've been sick the last couple of days... some sort of "body aches" flu bug. You know the kind... chills, can't warm up, every muscle and joint in your body hurts, stiff neck, headache.... not fun at all. Anyway, I went back to work today, not feeling 100%, but enough to go work for a few hours at the church (thankfully I set my own hours there).

On the way home, I knew my February Mary Kay order would be waiting for me. I received the UPS notification on my phone after they delivered (love that). There's always a little bit of excitement when I know Mary Kay products are coming. Okay, I lied, there's a LOT of excitement. 

So, today, still not feeling up to par, I'm getting closer to the house, and I see the Mary Kay box on the front porch.... yay!! I stopped to get the mail, shoved it into my bag and drove on up the driveway. I walked into the house, set the Mary Kay package on the floor, then decided to open the mail before tearing into the products. 

The usual, junk mail... Oh wait, there's a small envelope with my name on it, and the return address, my in-laws. What can this be? I'm not expecting anything from them. I open it up and down inside the tiny manila envelope was a dog tag/keychain engraved with "one blessed chicky" and a little chick beside it. 

A One Blessed Chicky Surprise. OneBlessedChicky.com

Now, this probably means nothing to all of you, but it means the world to me! My step-mom in-law stamps these little things out by hand. She made me and my girls one for Christmas with our favorite quotes. Mine was "As for me and my house we will serve the Lord". There were a lot of words to fit on the little key chain, but she did it. 

Now this! What a surprise. I was so excited, I took a picture of it and immediately 
posted it to Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Haha.... yes, I do that.  
And now I'm blogging about it (hee hee). Oh, and don't forget Pinterest!

Wait a second! I completely forgot about the Mary Kay products. Well, I guess you know what I'll be doing here in a little bit. I'll be excited to go through the box, as the new spring products have arrived. And my customers will be happy to get their orders soon. But, I had to take a moment to tell you about my "One Blessed Chicky" surprise. Sometimes, the littlest things mean the most!

OneBlessedChicky.com


As always, go with God and God will go with you!


Until next time,
Debbie Davis
One Blessed Chicky



Friday, February 7, 2014

Mary Kay Gift Certificate Giveaway

Twenty Five Dollar Mary Kay Gift Certificate Giveaway ends Feb 10

I'm having so much fun with my "One Blessed Chicky" Facebook page. I promised my fans that when I reach 100 likes that I would post a giveaway for a $25 Mary Kay Gift certificate. Well, I finally reached 100 (thanks to everyone who shared my page and those who clicked "like"). So, to honor my word, below is the entry form for the giveaway.

This isn't just for the ladies.... c'mon guys, you can enter, too. 
What better way to surprise your sweetie than with a $25 girlie gift certificate. 
Or, use it on yourself. Mary Kay has some fabulous products for men, too. 
Check it out here! But first, enter the giveaway below ;)


a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you get the chance, please "pin" this giveaway on Pinterest. 
Just click the "Pin it" button beside the photo. I really appreciate it!

Twenty Five Dollar Mary Kay Gift Certificate Giveaway ends Feb 10

Thank you again to all of you who shared my Facebook page and to all who 
have "liked" my page. Please, comment below and let me know that you 
have entered the giveaway. I'd love to hear from you!

As always, go with God and God will go with you!


Until next time,
Debbie Davis
One Blessed Chicky




Turn The Doorknob

Turn the doorknob and open the door of opportunity. OneBlessedChicky.com

I learned from an early age that if I wanted to get something that was on the other side of a closed door, I had to reach out and grab the door knob, turn it and open the door. There were also those times when I had my hands full and I couldn't open the door by myself so someone had to HELP me open the door.

The same principle applies to our life and the way that we witness. I've prayed for many years that "God would open the doors of opportunity for me" to be able to witness to unsaved family members and friends. Even the Apostle Paul asked the church at Colossia to pray the same thing for them:

Colossians 4:2-3 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison-- (ESV)

But, how many times in our lives have we had those doors of opportunity open for us and we never took the time to walk through them. Or we sit there and try to reason with ourselves, "Is that God telling me to do that or is it just me? Is the devil telling me to witness so I'll look stupid when I'm rejected?" For one thing, the devil is NEVER going to tell you to witness to someone! And if we have the opportunity, then it's definitely the Holy Spirit prompting us to share God's love, so we must walk through that open door!

But on the other hand, why wait for the door to open? Yes, the person on the other side of that door has to make a choice whether or not to open the door to you, but the good news is, the door has a handle on BOTH sides! In Acts 14:27, Paul and Barnabas were traveling back to Antioch after a successful missionary journey. When they returned home and got together with the other believers in the church, they shared with them about their journey and how God had used them to open doors of faith to the lost.

Turn the doorknob and open the door of opportunity. OneBlessedChicky.com

Thoughts to ponder:
  1. God is using us today to open up doors of faith and encouragement to those in need. 
  2. We are God's hands and His feet to the lost and dying world. 
  3. It’s time we stop using the excuse that "the door just didn't open" or "I didn't have the opportunity". 
  4. If you feel like your hands are just too full to open the door, then get someone to help you! 
  5. We have opportunities every day to evangelize to the lost and we sit and stare at the door knobs, waiting for them to turn on their own, or waiting for the person on the other side of the door to open it!
  6. The person on the other side of that door could be getting ready to take their last breathe, die, and go to Hell.
  7. Reach out and grab that door knob, turn the handle and walk on through. God is giving us the opportunity, what are we waiting for?


Turn the doorknob and open the door of opportunity. OneBlessedChicky.com

Remember, not all doors (or doorknobs) are the same. Some are older and require gentle hands to open them. Some are newer and open right up with no problem. Either way, it's exciting to see what waits on the other side of the open door. 

Turn the doorknob and open the door of opportunity. OneBlessedChicky.com

A prayer for us today: 

"Father God, I pray today that you will fill us with your Spirit afresh and give us the boldness that we need as sons and daughters of God to turn the knob and open the door of opportunity. Let us be the light and salt that you've called us to be. Whether it's at home with our kids & spouse, at the grocery store, on our jobs, or wherever the road of life takes us, let us be bold enough to open the doors and walk on through. In Jesus' name, amen!"

As always, go with God and God will go with you!


Until next time,
Debbie Davis
One Blessed Chicky





Thursday, February 6, 2014

Are You Ready For Spring?

NEW! Spring 2014 Products by Mary Kay
MaryKay.com
Spring is in the air...... well, actually, we just had a major winter snow storm, but I love it (pics to come). So, while we are waiting for the real spring to get here, I thought I would share our newest flier with the new spring products coming from Mary Kay. The colors look fabulous and I can't wait to get my hands on them. If you'd like to pre-order, you can email me and I'll take care of you. 

As always, go with God and God will go with you!


Until next time,
Debbie Davis
One Blessed Chicky



Tuesday, February 4, 2014

DIY Hummingbird Nectar



Save money with DIY Hummingbird Nectar made with 1 part sugar and 4 parts water. OneBlessedChicky.com

We're smack dab in the middle of a good ole' Midwestern winter snow storm! So, you're probably wondering why I'm blogging about hummingbirds? Well, since I'm closed up in the warm house, with no where to go (who would want to get out in this weather?), I decided to look through some old Instagram photos. I came across a couple of pics from 2 summers ago, before our house was built, and I started making my own hummingbird nectar. I found quite a few pins on Pinterest on how to make your own nectar, and they all basically said the same thing.... 1 part sugar to 4 parts water. 

So, here is my DIY Hummingbird Nectar. (And it worked, they loved it!)

HUMMINGBIRD NECTAR

Supplies:
4 C Water
1 C Granulated Sugar

Directions:
Bring four cups of water to a boil.
Remove from heat and add one cup of granulated sugar and stir.
Once sugar is dissolved, completely cool (can put in refrigerator overnight)
Pour into hummingbird feeder 

Save money with DIY Hummingbird Nectar made with 1 part sugar and 4 parts water. OneBlessedChicky.com

There you have it. If your hummingbirds are like mine, you will need to make a batch a couple of times a week. I normally put out 2 or 3 feeders. Now that we have officially moved out to the farm, I'm excited to see my little fluttering friends even more.

As always, go with God, and God will go with you!



Until next time,
Debbie Davis
One Blessed Chicky




Sunday, January 26, 2014

DIY Camo Headboard


DIY Camo Headboard. OneBlessedChicky.com


A few weeks ago my husband decided that he wanted to make a headboard for the queen sized bed in our guest bedroom. He asked me if I had any ideas for it. Neither one of us had done anything like this before, so of course, I pointed him towards Pinterest. If you've ever read my blog before, you know I'm a Pinterest junkie (Yes, I admit it). 

In his search for a DIY headboard, hubby came across some really great ideas. He's been fascinated with the old barn wood theme lately, so that's where he began his search. That search led him to some really neat DIY headboard pins. 

In the end, he took several of the pins he found and put them together to create this fabulous camouflage headboard. I don't have a complete tutorial as of this right now, but I did take a few photos along the way. (And I even helped cut the RealTree camo material). So, here you go, in picture form... the DIY Camo Headboard for queen sized bed.

DIY Camo Headboard. OneBlessedChicky.com

DIY Camo Headboard. OneBlessedChicky.com

DIY Camo Headboard. OneBlessedChicky.com

DIY Camo Headboard. OneBlessedChicky.com

DIY Camo Headboard. OneBlessedChicky.com

DIY Camo Headboard. OneBlessedChicky.com

DIY Camo Headboard. OneBlessedChicky.com

DIY Camo Headboard. OneBlessedChicky.com


DIY Camo Headboard. OneBlessedChicky.com

DIY Camo Headboard. OneBlessedChicky.com


I'm sure if anyone is interested enough, I can probably get my hubby to give more details about how he made this headboard. I think it turned out really nice. Now, the only left in the guest room is to put out some deer and wildlife decor. 

As always, go with God, and God will go with you!



Until next time,
Debbie Davis
One Blessed Chicky
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~