Happy New Year!

New year, new beginnings.

Isn’t that great? We get to start over. We get to do things this year that we didn’t have time for last year.

I am resolving this year to be a better parent.

I tend to get into a funk right after Chris leaves to go back on the road. I cry and whine and act like a baby. I want to lay in bed and just forget that I won’t see the father of my children for at least 5 weeks.

It’s depressing, and not just for me. For my kids too.

I don’t want to do that this year.

On another note… what is up with Twitter lately.

There have been such harsh words written towards people recently. Have people become so out of touch with reality that they forget that there really is another human being on the other side of the monitor?

I’m not pointing fingers because I am not perfect. But I do know that what you put online for the world to see, will in fact be seen. Good or bad. And I also know that what a person types in 140 characters or less can have a profound effect on the way they are perceived by others.

The last few days have made me reconsider even having a twitter account that has anything to do with trucking. Not only have I been offended by some of the things said, my heart hurts for those people making the ugly comments.

We as Christians are blessed by the Fruit of the Holy Spirit.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

– Galatians 5:22-23, KJV

What we as Christians say does leave a lasting impression on others, whether they are Christian or not. Shouldn’t we, at all times, be trying to show others what it’s like to be a Christian?

So thankful

If you haven’t noticed by now, I’ll let you in on a little secret.

I COMPLAIN A LOT!

I complain on here because I have no one else to discuss things with. Being a trucker’s wife is a very lonely thing. And when that trucker drives teams and is on the night shift, it tends to be even more lonely.

This my complaint box.

But it is also my praise box. The place I like to write down what I am truly thankful for, so that I never forget.

This is one of those times where I will praise rather than complain.

Right now, I love the company my husband works for.

A lot of people don’t.

BUT that’s OK because it works for us. (at the moment)

I know there is no such thing as the perfect trucking company. I knew that going in. We both did. What sets this company apart, I think, is the fact that they actually try to be as accurate as possible.

He has had one error on his pay sheet in the time he has been there. It was corrected the following week.

His paycheck from his previous carrier had an error on nearly every check. 2-3 weeks to get corrected as well.

Not cool.

The place he works at now pay detention pay.

Previous carrier. Nada.

Now? Prepass.

Previous? Had to request toll money, got charged. Withdraw money from ATM, got charged. Lucky if he ever saw his toll money reimbursed.

What I am getting at is that when he lost his job back in July, I freaked. I cried. I was so upset.

I should have been on my knees praying to God thanking Him for His blessing.

Have some compassion

When did being a Christian become so… hurtful. Insulting. Hateful.

I use Twitter for networking. I have met some amazing new friends on there and I really enjoy learning about the trucking industry from the pros out there.

What I don’t like are the “Christian” truckers out there spreading their hate of certain types of people through their updates.

I am a born again, God fearing Christian and have been for most of my life. I was raised in a loving Christian home with 2 of the best parents in the world. They taught me what it was like to be a Christian. And I have tried to live my life they way I was taught.

Am I perfect?

Um. Not even close.

Do I care?

Not in the least.

Perfection is something that can never EVER be achieved. All I can do is try to be a more perfect me. A better person. A better Christian.

I don’t understand it when people talk the talk but then don’t walk the walk. I can sit here all day and tell you I am a Christian, but if my actions or words tell you something different, what good does that do.

Have some compassion people!! Put yourself in someone else’s shoes that is less fortunate than yourself. Even if it’s only for a minute. You will quickly realize how blessed you are and how tiny and insignificant your problems truly are.

Psalm 145:8 (King James Version)

⁸The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.

We are so blessed

I don’t consider myself an overly compassionate person.

At least I didn’t think I was. Until now.

I’m not sure if the mother in me, or the fact that I had such a great childhood but was such a freakin BRAT to everyone and now I feel lame about it. But my compassion meter is going through the roof lately.

First off, we are NOT well of by any means. We can hardly keep up with our own bills much less contribute to a good cause to help someone else. We have 3 kids. My husband is a truck driver with only 4 months of driving experience. I stay at home with the kids so we seriously have ZERO extra income. Heck we hardly have an income at all.

But I realized something this weekend. We are freakin RICH!

We have our health. We have our loving marriage. We have 3 absolutely gorgeous children. We have a very supportive extended family that would give the clothes off their backs to help us. We have a roof over our head and food on our table. Every. Single. Day.

We actually have excess stuff. Too much stuff.

My husband got a new co-driver this weekend. He didn’t want to team with this person. He’s a smoker and Chris really isn’t a fan of smoke. He hates it actually. It gives him headaches and makes him sneeze all the time. But this guy was the only available guy to team up with him at this time.

There is no doubt in my mind that God brought this person into our lives.

This man has it bad. Really bad. He lives in a tiny apartment with his wife and 2 kids. His wife can’t work because she is legally blind. I’m not sure what is wrong with his son but I am pretty sure he is mentally handicapped. He is 12 and about the size of my soon to be 4 year old with the speech to match. He is broke. He just finished his month long training with the company and is already nearly $700 in debt to them because of advances. Chris told me he brought 1 bag of food and a case of ramen noodles to the truck.

Of course I immediately went into freak out, overly concerned mode and loaded him up with so many groceries I don’t think they will have to shop for 5 weeks.

I mean really. REALLY. And I sit here and complain sometimes that my kids are too loud or we can’t afford to go out and eat.

We are so blessed. So, so blessed.