New Blog & Giveaway!!!

It's cold and snowy!!!! What better way to warm-up your day than with a new BLOG to follow and a GIVEAWAY!!!! YAY!!!! I launched a blog for my business, High Maintenance Day Spa and Salon... The exciting part is that I am doing a givingaway!!! YOU could win $50 Gift Certificate to be used towards any spa service, salon service, or Bare Escentuals product!!! Visit us at HighMaintenanceConway.blogspot.com and leave a comment letting us know what your favorite spa treatment or Bare Escentuals prodcut is!!! Leave another comment letting me know you posted our Giveaway on your blog and get entered a SECOND time!!!! Hope everyone is well and staying warm!! One more thing, leave me a comment with instructions on how to create a link to incorporate into my posts and you can be entered a THIRD time!!!

Much LOVE - Katie

God is AWESOME!!!

One of my favorite things in the world is to be reminded just how AWESOME God is!!! How about You? The thing is though, sometimes I find myself forgetting the magnitude of His "Awesomeness"... That's the crazy thing!! After ALL He has done for me, how can I EVER forget??? Isn't knowing that God loves us the best thing EVER... I mean, He cares, forgives, forgets, redeems... He wants us to succeed, He wants us to be fulfilled, He wants us to be happy!!!!!!! THANK YOU GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU GOD!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU ARE AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Do ya, Do ya??

Do ya ever go through a drought with God?? It's not that He is not providing or there, rather your lack of willingness to accept and converse with HIM????? I HATEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE times like this!!! Over the past three years I have come to realize I'm not alone!!!! PRAISE GOD!!!!!!! I've learned that I'm pretty much just like most other Christian mothers... I'm not the only one who stays in pj's allday sometimes and I am certainly not the only one who suffers from a "spiritual drought" here and there... I'm bringing this up because I am there or here or WELL, ya know, in a drought... I need to prayed for and encouraged!!!! I LOVE my GOD and there is no reason why I should not want to spend ALLday EVERYday in HIS presence, praying, worshiping, admiring HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Would you pray that God changes my attitude, and if you EVER find yourself in this same state of unwillingnes, please let me know... I'd LOVE to pray for you!!

MUCH love - Katie

Some serious STUFF....

Ha!!!! Well, you haven't seen stuff until you have seen our garage!!!!! We have 99.9% completed the renovation and downsizing of our Spa/Salon.... That coupled with downsizing homes 8 months ago has added up to some serious STUFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF! There is now an itty, bitty path through the garage. No kidding, it's about the craziest thing I have ever seen ;) With that said, we ARE having a garage sale this weekend!!!! Though I'm not even sure how to begin setting up for a garage sale when there is no room for tables... I told Duncan we should just open the door and let people dive in... You know they would!! :) Well, I hope everyone is enjoying the cooler weather and staying WELL!!!!!!!!!!!!! Stop on by Saturday morning; I'm sure you can find SOMETHING you need!!

Prayers!!!!

Dear God,

I want to follow your plan for me... Make your desires mine!! Breathe life into me and make me whole.. over and over and over agian!!! Forgive me!! Take away my greed and selfishness, take away the sin... "create in me a new heart" a heart that is pure, that is selfless that is whole!! God!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am crying for you!! I am needing, wanting, needing, wanting, needing, wanting you!!!! Wrap me in your love and mercy... take me from this pit and show me your benefits!!! "Restore to me the JOY of my salvation"!!!!!! The unrelenting joy... the newness of it all... the fire that was once there!!!!! I am SEEKING you oh GOD!!!!! I am yearning for your guidance!!!!!!!!!!! Show me the way... show me the way... show me the way!!!!! Let judgement not be in me... let it flee from me... shape my heart!!! Forgive me for lacking compasion!! Forgive me for my laziness... motivate me... drive me... fuel me with your love and mercy!!! God I NEED YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 Wisper, yell, shake me, focus my attention on YOU!!I want to be close to you... I want to feel your presence all day everyday!!!! I am undeserving, I am weak without you!! I am nothing but a shell... there is no heart unless you are there to fill it, there is nothing, just air!! Fill me... oh God!!
I desperately want to do the right thing, make the right choices, lead my children in the right way..................... make it CLEAR!!!!!!! Work out the details for me, oh GOD!!! I cry to YOU...I cry to YOU...I cry to YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!! Oh GOD!!!!!! Hear me and answer... answer my prayers!!! Thank you for sparing me... for loving me... for securing me in eternity!! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!! Provide for us what we need...forgive ME for not managing money wisely!!! Thank you for your new mercies everyday!!! Thank you for your blessings and benefits!!!!!!! Thank you ............. THANK YOU who are HOLY, Almighty, all knowing, LOVE, Passion, strength, Perfect, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The ONE!!! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thankful for Desperation!!!

If you've read my blog from earlier this week then you know it's been a challenging week!!! Lastnight, as I was trying to go to sleep, which can be difficult to do this late in pregnancy, I ran across Beth Moore on TV... She said something that made me think!! She has a way of doing that ya know :) My interpretation of what she said goes something like this... We should be thankful for the times that we are desperate... it is at these times when we seek GOD and grow in GOD! She went on to say that people ask her HOW she loves GOD so much... she said, it was at one of those times when she was desperate... she was either gonna LIVE or DIE and it was gonna be all or nothing either way!!! She is living wholeheartedly... Thankfully she and God have become best friends ;)

One of these day's I'm sure I will wake up and realize that I need God even when things are going good... not just in those desperate times!!! Ever feel this way? It's sad when that is the only way God can get my attention, seriously!!!

On another note... pretaining to my previous post, I held a meeting with all of my employees today!!! I knew it was gonna be akward, but I also knew it was essential!!! Well, for the most part, the meeting was good... there were those moments that were quite tense though... YIKES!! I had to difuse a couple of bombs... but we made it through. At this point I am on the fence about letting a few girls go... Please pray that God will guide me in that decision!!! Also, pray that I will have the "backbone" to make the "new law" stick!!!!

Thanks for lifing me up in prayer!!!

Lots of love- Katie

Rough Day!!!!!!

You know it's gonna be a hard day when one of your staff tells you she thinks you "care more about making money then the people who work for you." Seriously!!!! OUCH!!!!!!! So what do you say to that???? I was at a loss for words... Then, she went on to say she wasn't the only one who feels this way... Double OUCH!!!!!

My goodness... tell me how you really feel!!!!! Well, lets just say I wanted to cry. If you only knew how hard I try to make the lives of my staff easier... Plus, if we don't make any money these girls won't have a job... how's that for caring??

So, what did I do?? Well I waited awhile and let her finish the appointment I booked her that she didn't want to do (the reason "I don't care"... I was giving her work) and we talked... We worked it out... It was a bit painful, listening to her criticize me and my methods. Clearly I'm not the best boss out there, but I'm learning :) Guess it's just part of it...

So, once again let's play the game "Where I WAS and where I am NOW" 1 yr ago, this would have destroyed me!! I WOULD have started crying, sobing, and completely let this ruin my day... NOW, I take it and learn from it!! What do I need to do to change the situation and turn it around for the better??? After our discussion, it is clear she doesn't really feel this way... she was just MAD!!!! I can understand that... I've said mean things out of spite and anger :) What I realized is that I have to change the way I do some things... basically, I have to get a "backbone" and be a BOSS!!! This will probably not be easy, but it's gotta be done :) JOY JOY... Tough love people!!!! TOUGH LOVE!!!! Of course, the one thing that has been holding me back from being this "BOSS" has been satan... FEAR... which we know is not of GOD... only of satan...

I'm needing prayer people!!! Lot's of prayer!!!!!!!! Pass on the word, PLEASE!!!!

Lots of LOVE...even if it's TOUGH...

Katie