On May 10, 2010 over 22 tornadoes hit the state of Oklahoma in a single day.  Did I mention that I live in Oklahoma?  Yes, we were hit.  I don’t think I have ever been quite so scared in my life.  I have never lived through a tornado before and it is certainly something I don’t wish to experience again.  I was home alone with my 2 kids.  My online friends kept me calm and collected through the storm.  I got my kids and I in a safe place in the house, got the kids occupied with books and such, and then talked with my friends on Skype.  Can you believe we never once lost electricity through the whole thing?

God protects.  God provides.

By God’s grace, we only suffered damage to our house and van.  Physically we were all ok, just a little shaken up.  Our house had extensive damage, but God provided a friend who come over that evening and patched up all the holes in our roof and board up all of the broken windows for free.  My van (my new van that I had only had for 9 days, I might add) also had extensive damage.  I really thought the insurance company was going to total it but they didn’t.  However, 3 weeks later and it’s still in the body shop being worked on.  However God provided a car for us to use for free.

Repairs on our house are now beginning to get done and I expect to have my van back any day now.

Then I lost one of my online jobs.  Not because I wasn’t doing a good job, but because they could no longer afford to pay me.  This was a big blow.  And it came right before I left for a week long vacation.  Then on my vacation I got sick.

So now it’s May 30th, I’m getting over my sickness (really just a bad sinus infection) and planning ways to make up the money lost from losing that online job. But I’m not discouraged.  I know God is in control and he has a reason for everything.  I have been praying and asking for guidance. I know prayer works so be on the look out for new stuff from me.

I don’t want to make excuses, but time sure is flying by.  I go to bed at night wondering where the day went.  I’m afraid my kids are going to be grown before I know it.

I have good news though!  I have started a resource for moms who use or want to know more WordPress called WP Geek Girl.  This is where I will be sharing tips and tutorials on how to use WordPress.  I think by now everyone knows that I love WordPress.  I am also working on a project with another Christian blogger on a project that will walk you through transferring your blog from Blogger to WordPress.

Today’s post is really just to let you know that I haven’t forgotten about this blog.  While I don’t except to be able to post 6 days a week like I had been, I’m going to aim for 4 days.  I’m looking forward to getting back in the swing of things over here!

photo credit: evelynishere

Philippians 1:3 has been a long time favorite verse of mine. It reminds that God, and only God, is the one responsible for everything I have and hold dear to my heart.  He is the one responsible for the daily blessings I receive.  He is the one that I go to when I worry and stress over things.  He is the one that carries me and gives me strength. I am so very thankful for My Lord and Savior this holiday season.

I am very blessed to have many things to be thankful for this year.  My children are healthy, my mother successfully overcame beast cancer, my online business is flourishing, and a friend and I were able to start the Faithful Bloggers community.

I have found a great accountability partner and have a ton of online support that is just incredible!  I don’t think I could ever list everything I am thankful for but my blog readers, clients, and customers are at the top of the list!

What are you thankful for this year?

• AMomReviews.com – $15
• Contests4Moms.com – $15
• GamerWithAttitude.com – $15
• HowToWinMom.com – $15
• MomLovesFreebies.com – $15

Some of these domains already have page rank!  This is just for the domain itself and it does not include any content whatsoever.  If you are interested email me at courtney@courtneyspeaks.com.

photo credit: ItzaFineDay

Last week I placed a post over at Mom Masterminds looking for an accountability partner.  Someone that would help keep me inline and I would do the same for them.  I think I have found the perfect match for me!  She is a fellow Christian and we seem to click pretty well together.

We are going to meet every morning at 7am on Skype and discuss the things we want to get done that day and what we are having problems with.  We will also meet once a week to brainstorms ideas and come up with solutions to problems together.

I am so excited to start this accountability partnership on Monday!  I can just feel good things coming! Do you have an accountability partner?  If so, how do you like it?  Does it help keep you focused and on track?

Last night I randomly choose a verse out of the Bible to meditate on.  The chosen verse was Psalms 1:1 but after reading that one verse I had to continue and ended up meditating on entire first chapter of the books of Psalms.

Blessed [is] the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight [is] in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly [are] not so: but [are] like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

It made me realize, just as many of you commented on the last post, that as long as I meditate on God’s word that He will show me the way.  He will show me the fruit that I will eventually bear for Him, whether it be on this blog, on my Christian PLR, or somewhere else.  He knows the way of the righteous and will also show it to me when He determines I am ready.

photo credit: garghe

I have never really doubted my faith.  At times I have backslidden and gotten away from God to some degree, but I always knew He was there, He loved me, and He was just waiting on me to come back to him.

What I am struggling with is discovering God’s will for my life.  What is it that God wants me to do?  I know what I want to do and I struggle recognizing the difference between what I want and what God wants for me.  I want to successfully make enough money per month online to cover a car payment.  I know this is possible, I was doing it before when I owned Mom Giveaways.  But is this what God wants for me?  I just don’t know.  God’s will is something I have always struggled with my entire life.

Do you have any suggestions on how to determine God’s will?  How do you find your passion and is that passion God’s will?

LaTara can be found at LaTaraHamYing.com where she blogs about merging your business and faith.  She is also an awesome virtual assistant!  Her VA site is Social Savvy VA, if you are in the need of any business help.  She also blogs at MomUnplugged.  If you sign up for her mailing list you can also get an awesome report, Christian While Blogging.  There is such great information in this report!

She is someone I am proud to call a friend.  Follow her on twitter and call her friend too!

I become a follower because you engage me.  You encourage and inspire me.  You put the social in social media and call me a friend.

I don’t really have any regrets in regard to my children.  My children are still pretty young, 4 and 2.  But there is one thing I wish I could have done differently.  I would not have had my children so far away from family and friends.  After I got married my husband and I  moved to Maryland while all our family and friends were in the Texas and Oklahoma area.  Two years later we had our first son and then two years after that we had our daughter.  Because we lived so far away we only got to visit once a year due to the expense of airline tickets.  Our family missed so much of our children’s lives in those newborn, baby, and toddler years.

Last year we moved back to Oklahoma and it has been wonderful being near family again.  The children are creating such a strong bond with all the grandparents because they now see them regularly.  Of course the grandparents just love having the kids close by.  I just wish the bond could have started when the kids were newborns instead of a couple years later.