2010 - the year of additional family members

In 2010 we added some seats to the dinner table on BOTH sides of the family!

Michael and Shannon were married on January 29

Ellie Grace was born May 6

Matt and Rachel were married August 28

That's a whole lot to celebrate in one year!

Recently God showed me some areas in my life that needed some attention, particularly for me to practice forgiveness. I read this today from Proverbs 31 ministries and it spoke to me. Here's hoping it will speak to someone else that needs it, too.

“So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you,

leave your sacrifice there at the altar.

Go and be reconciled to that person.

Then come offer your sacrifice to God.”

– Matthew 5:23-24 (NLT)

Yesterday I swept the mahogany wood floors in my house.I worked with so much energy it might have looked like I was a clean freak or, at the very least, industrious.I am neither of those things.In fact, I really didn’t even notice the dust bunnies flying through the air. I was hurt, trying to sweep away harsh words spoken the day before by a friend.

I had spent most of the morning mulling over the words from the day before, wondering why I didn’t say something.Wondering why she did. I finally put on some music, took out the broom, and asked God for His grace because mine didn’t seem to be big enough at the moment.

I’ve heard people throw out advice on forgiveness as if dispensing aspirin.They casually say things like, “Jesus forgave, why don’t you?” The reality is it’s often an uneven journey for us as we accept His grace, learn from, and strive to live out His example.

The practice of living a forgiving lifestyle can be an ominous task. There is incredible freedom in living a life of mercy, but it’s not something that we just stumble into. It takes a purposeful choice to move beyond the restrictive burdens of bitterness, anger, and other unresolved emotions tied to a person or event.

Forgiveness is a bridge I thought I had crossed already, and yet here I was again. I had forgiven an abusive, dysfunctional childhood.I understood the joy and freedom that come through forgiving others.So why was the small stuff with my friend tripping me up?Perhaps it is because I am still growing, a process that will never stop.

Jesus met a man who was paralyzed.His friends brought him to Jesus on a mat. The need was obvious, but instead of healing his legs Jesus said, “Your sins are forgiven.” (Matthew 9:2, NLT) Isn’t it interesting that He addressed the issue of the man’s heart before attending to his physical body?

Jesus hasn’t changed. He still sees to the heart. He sees my heart. I have forgiven – but I will continue to become a forgiver as I meet life’s challenges. To do that, I have to give myself a little grace, and invite Him into the process.

Maybe you too are dealing with hurts of the past and forgiveness seems impossible.Forgiving doesn’t mean that abuse can continue, or that what happened is okay.What it does mean is that you are ready to follow Jesus’ example, and to live life free of entanglements to the past.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us.” As I talked, broom-in-hand, with my Savior, He settled in and made Himself at home in the situation. My perspective on the incident with my friend changed.

Yesterday my house got cleaned, and so did my heart.

Dear Lord, help me to forgive one person today.I lift up my heart.I won’t pretend that it doesn’t hurt, but I am willing to forgive. I’m not always big enough, but You are and I am grateful.I won’t forgive based on a person’s response, or even what is fair, but instead I will trust that You desire my heart to be free so that You can love in and through me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

1 Corinthians 13:5

“Love does not demand its own way.

It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.”

You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, "I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along." You must do the thing you think you cannot do.

Eleanor Roosevelt

Identity Crisis

The other day a conversation started about having kids when you are young or older and the pros and cons of each. Financial stability versus younger bodies that can take the lack of sleep, maturity vs the ability to play basketball with your kids, etc. Then yesterday in church our Pastor spoke about the importance of teaching your kids about God. They may have a wonderful Sunday School teacher - but who is teaching them Monday - Saturday about God? This really hit home to me, even though I do not have children. In order for me to able to do that then I will need to be confident in my faith to show my child(ren) about their God, their Savior. Not mom and dad's faith that they can cling to - but their own relationship with God. Their God.

The more I think about it, one of the other really important things to me is that I am confident in who I am when I have kids. Who I am not only in Christ, but as a woman and child of God. {Let me interject by saying I know that I don’t really have room to talk since I don’t have kids, but this is just my thoughts about when that time comes}. Hopefully I will evolve into an even better version of myself when I have children, but I am so thankful that I have had the time to learn who I was as Emily Millar and who I am as Emily Day. Hopefully I will always be growing and evolving but the core will always remain. I know what I like, what makes me mad, what my passions are, etc. Who knows - maybe one day these things may change. But for now, I am confident in me. Who I am. And I feel that one day when I become a mom it will be even better for my children that I know who I was before them and can continue to work on ME, to be a better wife, mom, sister, friend, aunt, daughter of God, etc. After all, there will be a day again when the kids are gone and you are back to husband and wife. That’s why I think it’s so important for couples to have date nights without the kids, women to have girl’s night {we need those relationships!} to be a better person.

One of my favorite ways to look at this is the verse that I got from Proverbs31 ministry not long ago. They encourage you to take 1 Peter 2:9 and make it personal and remind yourself of who you really are as a child of God: “I am a chosen woman, a royal priest, a holy daughter, a woman belonging to God, that I may declare the praises of him who called me out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

Other quotes that I like are:

“When you find peace within yourself, you become the kind of person who can live at peace with others.”

“The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself.” - Anna Quindlen

“Find out who you are and do it on purpose.” - Dolly Parton

"Later that day I got to thinking about relationships. There are those that open you up to something new and exotic, those that are old and familiar, those that bring up lots of questions, those that bring you somewhere unexpected, those that bring you far from where you started, and those that bring you back. But the most exciting, challenging and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself. And if you can find someone to love the you you love, well, that's just fabulous." - Carrie Bradshaw

Merry Christmas from the Day's!

Digital ecard made with Smilebox

How cute is this Curly Girl print?!

Tender Tennessee Christmas, Alabama style

Highlights of Christmas 2010 with the Millar/Webb/Day/Hagler crew. Fun as always!

SNOW!

It SNOWED!

It is kinda early to already get a little dusting on the ground(and some ice) but we sure did enjoy it. Now, when I say "we" I am talking about Ellie, Mip, and myself. We were inside all warm and cozy, hanging out and watching the snow fall and start to stick, while Chris was out working. I was very thankful for the Lord's provision in our lives for work, but that made for a somewhat anxious wife knowing that Chris can drive in the snow & ice - but what about everyone else?!

I love having the Christmas decor up and seeing that beautiful blanket of snow outside!

Sweet Ellie watching it snow in the office chair. She stayed there for quite a long time, then moved to the front door.

Our house with the snow - so pretty!

Of course, everything ended just fine with Chris home that evening so we could snuggle up to watch a movie. We were so excited about watching a Christmas movie since we hadn't really done that yet this year(still haven't watched Christmas Vacation since our friends were supposed to come over the night of the snow but we didn't want to risk it..) so we watched the new cartoon Disney "Christmas Carol". It was not even good. At. All. And there is no way I would ever let a child watch it. It ranks up there with "Date Night" - one of those movies that you want to yank out of the dvd player as soon as you get about 30 minutes into it hoping it gets better, but somehow manages to get worse. Yup, that about sums it up :)

New Office!

Here she is! Complete with a beautiful orchid to "humanize" it a bit and pictures of family. I still have some organizing to do, but I think it's pretty good for the first week!

501

Today is the last day at the Chamber offices before we MOVE to our new location! We are so excited about our new building and how wonderful it will be not only for the staff, but our community. I am especially excited about the GIFT SHOP!!! YAY! Now when I realize I don't have a birthday card or even a gift I can just run downstairs and grab one before I leave. Sounds like a plan doesn't it?! I can't wait to see my friend Dusty's jewelry in the shop as well as some other wonderful vendors from Rutherford County. We will have some great items at very reasonable prices. It will be a great place to shop on the West side of town - right across from The Avenue - or just 2 floors down if you are me :)

I have been taking pictures of everyone as we pack up{surprising, right?!} so that we can have those in our archives. It seems like this day was so far away when we did the groundbreaking last October(the day before Stephanie's wedding, I will never forget it!) and to imagine us moving tomorrow is just unreal. I will have to take pictures of my new office so you all can see it. I have a window!

Thanksgiving 22-30

Time to catch up! Since we were at the beach house and didn't get on the computer(what a nice break!) and have been going, going, going since we returned to the real world I haven't had a chance to finish my Thanksgiving in November. So, here goes it:

#22 - Thankful for time to rest with Chris {totally taking advantage of not having children yet} by taking it easy on vacation.

#23 - Grateful for my in-laws acceptance, tolerance, and love.

#24 - I am thankful for things that are out of my control & in God's hands{He is way more capable than I am!}

#25 {Thanksgiving Day}-Today I am thankful for my salvation and a merciful God, who I give thanks to today for all He does. From the challenges to the blessings - may I always remember where they come from & who they{HE} are molding me into.

#26 - Oh so thankful for a wonderful place{the beach house} where we can all get together and relax & spend some much needed time as one big family.

#27 - Today I am thankful for the times when God opens your eyes to certain situations so you can learn more about yourself. Thank you Lord that you forgave us so that we may forgive others!

#28 - Grateful for safe travels to Alabama, FL, and back to TN and for taking our time to do some shopping, take breaks for work(Chris), and enjoy each other's company.

#29 - Today I am thankful the Chamber is moving and that I get to be a part of such a milestone in our history!

#30 - Thankful for my sweet, sweet family - Chris, Ellie, and Mip. Unconditional love is what it's all about :)

I have had such a good time doing this each day that I will continue the tradition through December and then we will open all of our "thanks" January 1 to start off the new year~

That's One for the Christmas Cards...

Our new "family" picture

Thank you Stephanie Erskine for coming over to take pics of us today!

And also for taking this sweet picture of our sweet Ellie a while back - now, that's a framer!