Birmingham (or Bamaham?).

The beginning of man's rebellion against God was, and is, the lack of a thankful heart. Francis Schaeffer

I've been in Birmingham almost three months, although I haven't been here much. I've been traveling a good bit with my two accounts so that time has flown by. I'd be lying if I said it had been easy, lovely, a time of great joy. It hasn't. In fact, it's been hard. Many tears have been shed, lots of naps, and probably great worry from my family.

I longed to move away from Jackson for awhile, and know this is what I was supposed to do, but had no idea the challenges I would face. Challenges that have forced me to evaluate a lot: who am I, what drives me, and ultimately, how do I bring glory to God in my current circumstances.

I read the quote above about two weeks back and recognized quickly that all of my worry/angst/challenge was caused by me. By my attitude. By my decisions. By my ungrateful heart. The Lord moved mountains in my life and I've been flat out ungrateful. I have NO desire to turn that into rebellion. Been there, done that, got a very ugly t-shirt.

So I've shaped up a bit and am fighting for an attitude of joy, contentment, and gratitude.

It's made me realize a ton:

• The weather here is amazeballs. Seriously. It's not near as muggy, hotttt, etc as Mississippi and I LOVE IT.
• I'm pretty good at what I do. No matter how often I doubt myself, the Lord has made me a smart girl (I doubt myself more than I should.)
• I have a very lovely home, and I don't have to do any maintenance. 
• I feel safe for the first time in a long time. 
• I have a few very good friends here that have really taken care of me. 
• The Lord has blessed me financially, and I've been given the opportunity to bless others because of that (better to give than receive). 
• I'm doing a ton of digital work (which is what I really love).
• It's beautiful. Everywhere I look it is beautiful. And I live in the middle of it all -- 3 miles from everything. Had no idea how much I would love that. 

Cheers, y'all. Come see me.

My cute little apartment.

 I made the transition to Birmingham so quickly that I decided to move into an apartment for the time being and then figure out the purchase situation later. Which has certainly been an adjustment. More for Mabel than anything, as it gets old having to leash her up every time she wants to just go 'smell' around. [Seriously. She just likes to go roll in the grass....which has been minimized.]


So many have asked to see my apartment, and pictures don't do it great justice...but I'm trying. I moved an 1900 sq. foot home into a two bedroom apartment, and I'm quite impressed with how much I purged in the move!

[I'm still missing my cute little chair I've yet to buy for my den, and my bar stools for my kitchen.....it just takes time to find what I want!]

Come see me. I have a great guest area!

My bedroom:

My computer area off of the kitchen:

 

The bumpout in between the guest bathroom and bedroom:

 

My guest room: 

 

The Kitchen: 

 

The den: 

February Article

The past few weeks.

After my surgery in December, I began feeling like the old Amy. I had energy, I wasn't constantly nauseated, my positive polly self was back.

I was truly excited for 2013.

And then boom, I was hit with one of the severest blows I've known in my adult life: I lost my job. I have no clue why I ever felt like I was exempt from this, but I did. The circumstances were awful, and without detailing what happened, just know it all revolved around an acquisition.

I felt strongly that it was coming and had plenty of verses protecting and guarding my weary and scared heart. I knew as I walked into the room that God was with me, and had already gone ahead and was standing behind, orchestrating the next phase of great things for my life. But that doesn't discredit how difficult those five minutes were.

I chose (and am choosing) to walk forward with grace, knowing that my sovereign God has me in the palms of his hands and is doing things beyond my small mind. I'm thankful for the circumstances, for I was able to leave my coworkers with this:

I didn't really get the opportunity to hug most of your necks Friday, and I'm sorry....but I did want to leave you with a word from me (I know some of you have asked others how I am doing)....

And for those of you who have called, texted, emailed, etc., thank you. If I have been delayed in my response, please know that my phone was on silent all weekend, and I spent a large part of it away from it.

If there is anything I would want to say/leave/have left at Ramey, it is a desire for all to know the importance and value of my faith in Jesus. What some would view as a severe blow, I am choosing to view as a sovereign God who is ready to take me to a new place, to meet new people, to succeed in new ways.

I say that to you to let you know not to worry about me. My God "makes perfect and protects all that concerns me." Psalm 138:8, he "goes before and comes behind, and has his hand upon me." Psalm 139:5, and ultimately means all suffering/trials/etc, for his glory and good (James 1). I am choosing to be the woman "who laughs at her future" Proverbs 31, rather than choosing to be filled with extreme fear. For with Christ, his perfect love cast fear aside.

I will miss you, sweet friends. It's been a fun ten years, full of laughter, fun, stress and at times tears. Don't forget about me, for I will most definitely not forget about you.

I've prayed for this for awhile....knowing my purpose while at my job. Seems God gave me my answer in not the way I was expecting. And I was able to speak of his goodness, even in the most trying of times.

Please pray for me as I move forward and seek what I am to do next. My heart is at rest, and I am truly thankful for all of my precious friends who are standing in the gap for me as I wrestle with this.

Love you all.
A

Happily Ever After....

Greatest thing about writing for a local magazine.....accountability. Happy 2013!

I feel like I am dying.

If you know me, you know I love to go. But I equally love to stay -- a nice balance of the two is a perfect Amy world. A little travel followed by some great couch time - YUM.

As much as I have been blessed to do so the past few years, last year I got to do it for a long period of time, to one of my favorite places. And somewhere along the way I started feeling bad. Last May to be exact.

Something hurt. It ached. The only way to make it feel better was to eat. Ice cream and milk were the best. I ignored it until mid-September, prepared to head to Napa Valley, and could barely stand up straight. I found myself in the doctor's office with an "ulcer." Sweet doctor told me to go see my GI doctor in Jackson, and gave me some drugs to take care of it.

I was terrified of what was really going on, so did I go to the doctor? NO. So in September of this past year, my dad took me to lunch and told me that I never felt well, and that if something was really wrong with me he would have a hard time forgiving me for not taking care of it. I told him  that I was certain that I was going to die before him. (Rash, absolutely. But I felt that bad.)

Wanna make me move fast, sick my daddy on me. There's just something about that daddy voice. Even as a a grown woman.

So thus started the process of poking, prodding, scoping, biopsying, etc. Multiple times. With lots of needles. And test. And worry. And then, like that, my doctor had an AH-HA moment. It was my gallbladder.

My eyes had yellowed, my pain had severely intensified, I was miserable. With a week of diagnosis, that puppy was out, and I was on the road to becoming Amy again.

It's amazing to feel like yourself after feeling so bad for so long. Just really thankful it wasn't anything terribly serious. So I'm back. And better than ever....here's to 2013.