Controversy-Yes Please!

This day and seems like a whole lot more now-a-days the subject of murdering innocent unborn lives AKA abortion seems to never leave my mind. While I know that this subject that seems to divide so many has been an issue all along it seems in this day and time it is becoming such a topic that it can't be ignored, not even if you don't care.

I first became aware of God calling me to "do something about" abortion when I moved to College Station to attend A&M. I somehow was made aware of an event by the Coalition for Life called 40 Days for Life. During this event they have side walk counselors as well as peaceful prayers in front of  Planned Parenthood.  The whole point of this is to pray for the people (men and women) coming and going into the clinic including all workers of the clinic. The sidewalk counselors will say things such as "Choose life for your baby" "Seek other alternatives to abortion" "We're praying for you" "We care about you and the baby" " We have free info and help for you and the baby"....etc.

The prayers and things that are said in front of Planned Parenthood are all PEACEFUL words and show nothing but LOVE. We are not allowed to shout mean things or hurtful things to the people or workers of Planned Parenthood. The people that volunteer, simply show up and pray, smile, hand out information to those willing, and love from a distance. I personally have prayed before the Planned Parenthood in Bryan/College Station, crying, and sobbing to God asking Him to save the unborn babies and bring peace into the lives that are entering the hell hole of a place, so called Planned Parenthood.

I have seen women come out crying and hardly able to walk because they just killed their baby. I have heard and read of MANY MANY MANY stories of how some women and men will come and leave and stop and talk to those that are praying outside the clinic and tell them they are happy that we were there because they chose life for their child. They have stopped and said "because yall were praying I was embarrassed to go in and seek abortion for my child, therefore your prayers saved me and my child..." People will stop by in their car with their little one and say "Because of you praying and showing me love, I have my son/daughter here with me today. I could not imagine life without them....Thank you for doing what you do".

You can't tell me that God isn't working and hearing our prayers. You can't tell me that by us standing outside the clinic that we aren't doing any good because the exact opposite has been proven...right before my eyes.

The thing is we have heard and you may even be one that believes that abortion is about the woman's right to choose and that it shouldn't be outlawed. But can you tell me why if you were to murder a woman (no matter how far along she is) that was pregnant, why you could be charged with DOUBLE MURDER? Does that make any sense? IF (in your eyes) that a pregnant mother didn't have LIFE inside of her why would the law be as such? That's because the baby is alive at the moment of conception. Life begins the MOMENT the mother conceives. That very moment a baby is created. It is NOT in anyway about the mother's right to choose. She didn't create the baby herself. God gives us life and HE takes it away. Only He gets to decide that. The child that is inside of that mom has right's too. Just as any age of a child has rights and can be taken away if not taken care of. It is not about the mother's rights. This is not a feminist movement...it's a Sanctity of Life movement...You matter. We matter now and we mattered in the womb.

Jeremiah 1:5
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations."
God has planned the life and death of every person to exist, inside the womb and out. He loves you. He made you for a purpose....

Psalms 139:13-16
For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.  My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them.

God has placed this delicate yet so VERY important issue on my heart over two years ago. It started with praying in my home about abortion, to praying in front of Planned Parenthood in Brayn/College Station to being sick to my stomach at the thought of killing those babies, to now sobbing at the sight of the largest PP going up in Houston, and finally ending with talking about abortion today at church which happened to be the celebration of the sanctity of life Sunday. I can now not control my tears when I speak of this matter. It hurts that much. I know beyond a shadow of any doubt I ever had that I am to start now and do what I can in Sherman to give to my community. I will serve the women of this area and help educate them on how abortion can hurt them, how it causes complications physically and emotionally for the rest of their life, and most important how that baby is a life...a real human being inside of them, that deserves a chance to live. To help them figure out the options besides murder.

I will do just that. I live to worship my Father in heaven and I long to minister to the women that surround me. Whether you have had an abortion or not. There is forgiveness to all who ask in Jesus name. You do not have to carry that guilt around...Jesus can and will set you free.

More to come on this subject about who Margaret Sanger is, How PP started, the complications of abortion, the options to the mother and child, how you can help if you wish, and real life stories of survival and choices of Planned Parenthood workers to leave the abortion mega industry and support LIFE.

Choosing love & Choosing life,
ac

4 years old and haven't attended one birthday yet

Today my wonderful, lovely, beautiful, amazing, naughty, cute, sweet talker of a niece is 4 years old. Her name is Hailey Grace and she is so dear to my heart.

I have not been able to celebrate one birthday with her because she moved away when she was about 5 months old back to North Carolina with her mom and dad (my brother). Every year my heart aches when her birthday comes and I can't be there to help her celebrate and watch her open her presents and do a happy dance.

This year I am thankful because next month her mom and her little brother will be making the move back to Texas, hopefully for the last time! They have moved around because of my brother being in the military. They have decided to settle in Texas when he returns in April from Afghanistan. I am so excited about this. I hope I will get the chance to watch her and Connor grow and I want her to have a special place in her heart for her Uncle Todd and Aunt Amy. This is most exciting.

I will try and call her tonight after I get off work and listen to her talk about mamaw and papa and ask if they still have all those puppies. I really love how she says her birthday is in jan-ju-ary. I get so tickled at this. I appreciate all that her mom does for them while my brother is gone overseas. I pray that he returns home safely and they get settled into a normal life!

I await your return Justin, Ashley, Hailey, and Connor!

Love,

Aunt Amy

V. is the letter of the alphabet i love the most. It happens to be coupled with a husband named Greg....whom I also love most..second.

V-victorious

I-incredible

R-real

G-gracious

I-intelligent

N-nifty

I-in love with Christ

A-adament

G-grand

R-reliable

E-extreme

G-grrrrreat!

That's right....our amazing first couple that Todd and I ever dated was/is the Tamplens. Who is this you might ask?! Well according to my last comment on my last blog...they are the couple the I forgot to add to my list of major life moments/events over 2009.

V- is short for Virginia Leigh Tamplen. This young gal is a God sent best friend. She came into our life and many other women's life at the perfect time.....well you know, God's time is ALWAYS perfect. She and Greg took a job as Student Ministers at Aldersgate in College Station early 2009. Our first friend date was at Pita Pit off of Texas. As I recall that day and it makes me smile so big. She was/is a delight and I welcome the opportunity to hang with my new found bestie at any moment possible.

Greg and V tied the knot in May and thus that began the dating relationship of them with Todd and I. She not so single-handedly had a HUGE part in our wedding August. She along with the most amazing house party ever tied together all of the loose ends that were a little overwhelming for me to handle. Thus the magic of Todd and I's reception and gloroius ceremony was born with V and my vrew in tow.

Our couple dates are things such as laughing really hard, listening to the boys talk about intelligent stuff, them thinking we are utterly so ridiculous that were cute...followed by thoughts of how HOT their wives are! Us girls dancing it out to great music, attending really cold concerts, and football games. And last but not least being the most honored guests at each others wedding...granted they didn't know that at theirs at that time. ;)

Since our move to Sherman we were accused of cheating on them with another couple. ha ha! However they have moved on too, they just don't know that it's only temporary. Sooner or later life will put us back together in the same town, or at least closer than 4 hours away.

But..... Greg and V just know that you hold the dearest place in our heart as our fav couple that we will date forever. Just get ready we will take lots of vacations together and have kids that are considered sisters and brothers. I can't wait till that those memories come alive! Until then we will carry on....


This blog is devoted to yall. Because seriously, dating yall has been our first-best and greatest relationship Todd and I have ever had or will have ;)

A quick review of the last year! 2009

Can you believe I haven't blogged in almost a year?!?!? Ha! I can TOTALLY believe it because I am one lazy person. Or busy...lazy would be my first pick though. Although I have been really busy this last year I think things have settled down enough to cause me to think my life is now boring. lol


I started thinking that I didn't want to forget all the little fun things that happen in our marriage and that I need to write things down. Well that's certainly what I started the blog for in the beginning-just to write.

Let's recap the past year...and get all caught up. I won't be able to recall little things but there have certainly been HUGE things happen in our life this past year. 2009 has been the busiest year of both of our lives and it was amazing and nothing less than wonderful. God has been so good and faithful.

Since last year on Jan 29, 2009:

I visited Cali in March

I got my Aggie Ring in April!!!!

My nephew was born April 13

My sister graduated in May from ORU

Todd moved from Waco and purchased a practice in July in Sherman

I graduated A&M with my HR Development degree

We got married August 29, 2009

We went to Belize on our honeymoon

Went to Hawaii in Septemeber with his new staff

I got a new job in Sherman

My sister got engaged to Daniel and they married 3 months later in December!

Let's get to it!

I went to California for Spring break in March. I went to see one of my wonderful best friends, Heather Hooks, and we drove to San Francisco to visit and shop! We also celebrated my favorite holiday...St. Patricks day. It was a wonderful vacation!

I LOVED being in the city and walking everywhere. We went to see Wicked while in San Fran (Thanks to my wonderful husband, (fiancee at the time) )and it was absolutly amazing! It was a ton of fun. The weather of course wasn't all that great but we all know that about San Fran!

One other thing that was hilarious- if I opened my mouth to talk to anyone their first question was "Where are you from?"- Me and Heather proudly represented Texas and made all of us look very intelligent!

Pretty Church with amazing sky!

Golden Gate Bridge behind me (through the fog)

I finally got my Aggie Ring in April! It was a great day, except for the horrendus rain storm. It was messy and really hard to coordinate with everyone and the weather. We finally made it to the Association and got it all done!

In Aggieland it's tradition to dunk your ring in a pitcher of beer. Dunking is defined as dropping your Aggie ring in the bottom and you can't have it back till you drink the whole pitcher by yourself. It has turned into a race and normally friends try and get their rings together so they can "dunk" together. The person that drinks theirs the fastest is the "winner"!
Note: I dunked my ring in a mug full of welch's sparkling grape juice. I felt a little bloated! It was a blast and a memory I will cherish forever!

Todd putting my ring on me

Next on the list is Connor Wayne Maiville's entry into the world. He was born on April 13, 2009. A couple of days later his daddy left for Afghanistan. We are anxioulsy awaiting his return and the move back of his family in February: Ashley (wife), Hailey and Connor (kids). We love yall and miss you so much!

Congrats to Allison for graduating with her bachelor's in Histroy from ORU. She worked hard and we are all so proud of her!!! She is an amazing sister and best friend!

As soon as we knew that God was leading Todd out of Waco, we started looking into the option of buying a practice. We didn't know what God had in store and we were pretty open to moving anywhere. We were excited but knew it would be a long transition process for us. This has been one of the biggest challenges in trusting God and waiting on Him to tell us where He wants us. We prayed for a couple of months and in His timing we were told where to go. He moved us to Sherman and we are liking it so far!

Todd in front of his new office sign

I FINALLY GRADUATED WITH MY BACHELOR'S FROM MY DREAM SCHOOL! Yes, after 7 years of school-I graduated. I spent the last 7 years in school and working my way through with two jobs, most of the time. It was tough, I was tired, but I did it! Human Resource Development was my major with a Business minor.

Pics with friends in my class! WHOOP!

Two weeks after graduation I said "I Do" to the love of my life. He is my second strength after God and without him I feel like my life would be incomplete. He made the "best day of my life" to date the most amazing and a dream come true. I love you Todd Michael Collins!

You can see more pics by Snaptacular Photos are on their blog listed below:

http://www.snaptacularphotos.com/blog/?p=291

Here are snap shots from others:

So now that were married (almost 5 months already) our life is moving right along! We enjoy our time with each other and hate when the other has to leave for any reason. We have laughed more than cried and for that I am thankful.

I can say that God has blessed me with an amazing husband who does more than he is ever asked to do and loves me as Christ loves us. What more could a girl ask for?

We are in the process of joining a church here in Sherman named Legacy Bible. The pastor and congregation are wonderful even though we are still getting to know everyone. Most of our time is tied up with Todd's office. We are making changes that we feel are for the better and the long standing future of the practice. We get the chance to build a team that we pray will stick with us as we pull together Todd's vision of his practice. It's will always be a work in progress but we have a great team with great ideas! We give all of the glory to God for all good and bad in our life. Without His guidance we would be so lost!

More to come about the honeymoon, hawaii, and my sister's wedding!

One Year

As I sit at work (yes, I know) and think about a year ago today and what I was doing I get so excited. Around this time, I was getting ready to leave for Dallas and go meet a guy that I had been talking to over the internet and phone. Yes, I know...crazy. The peace over me was incredible and I was not in the least bit nervous. Well, of course that guy turned out to be my fiance about a month and a week or so later, and I will mary him on August 29, 2009. Let me tell you about him......

Love. He does this without question, or it seems this way. I have never been so loved in my life. I have never felt so beautiful and captivating. I am completly honest when I say this.

Patient. Wow, does he have these. I am sure he would have liked to kill me at points, probably at some point every day, But he kindly, lovingly, and happily, lets me be me and helps me through it the way God shows him. He tells me when I am wrong, lets me be mad, but not for long. Makes me talk about things, that I don't want to in order for us to get past our arguments. How amazing.

Incredible. Everything about him is incredible. Everything. Even things I don't like....still incredible. I have come to love the things I used to not like. Those very things, make him who he his. His personality, grace, love, mercy, smile, gentleness...all incredible.

Does this sound like I am describing how God is? Yes, it does to me. That is what a marriage relationship is suppose to be like (engagement too). Marriage is the closest symbol that God created for us to be able to even feel about .01% of the way God loves us. Marriage is set up by God, between a man and woman to be a picture of how God cares for us. We as a couple should strive for this perfect love, everyday. Just as God does without even thinking about it. You think, wow. I feel loved but God's love runs deeper than any earthly love you can feel. That is amazing, incredible, and exctiting.

I am so proud and so blessed to say that I have a Godly, Christian, amazing, man to spend the rest of my life with. To laugh with, cry with, to honor, love, respect, and show that he has what it takes to be my lover and father of my children. I get this. I have this. I am so thankful. I could not imagine my life without him and I get sick at the thought of losing him. I smile at the thought of him alone or him being goofy, him being mad at me (bc its so cute), him being a boy and doing boy things, him being a dentist and getting to do what he loves. It all makes me smile. It makes me thankful to my heavenly Father for allowing me to experience this and teaching me how to be just as great as he is. I never understood what people meant when they said "he/she makes me a better person" but I get it. I feel it. He does this for me.

Todd Michael, you are my everything.

Nothing clever to say...

I don't think I really ever have anything clever to say. But, I have some things on my heart nontheless. <------is that one word?

So school is about over for me, for this semester. I have a 2 chapter test, a presentation, and some spanish to translate. Basically, I am home free! Whoop! What a semester. 18 hours. 2 jobs. Church and organizational meetings every night of the week. Wow. I am so TIRED! Next semester will be better for sure. I will be taking Scuba 1 and 2, a water aerobics class, a research class, and 2 classes on the internet from a different college. I am looking forward to it being somewhat of a breeze....yay!

So Christmas is around the corner.......how many of us are really celebrating Christmas though? How many people are rushing around just buying this or that and planning to eat at one persons house just to go to another? How many of us stop and truly tell Jesus happy birthday and tell Him thank you for what He did for us?

I pose the question: What is Christmas to you?

Christmas is here because we celebrate Christ and Him being born. Our Saviour was born on this day....or a day around December 25. I don't want Christmas to be about what presents I want or what holiday parties I have to attend. I want people to realize that it's about Christ. We don't deserve presents because Christ was born. I know that our society has fallen into the rush around madness, and Christmas season becomes just making it through the Holidays alive. I challenge you to stop that way of thinking and lifestyle for a month, or forever. Really teach yourself about why we celebrate Christmas. Teach others too. Think about the Lord and His goodness (we should do this everyday) and thank Him for His love and never ending grace. Christmas is the season for giving, for sharing, and we should do this with a greatful heart. I can't wait until I get to teach my kids about what Christmas is really about. Me and Todd have talked and our kids won't get to expect gifts just because its Christmas. They are going to get to learn about giving of themselves to others. I am not saying they won't recieve anything but there is a big difference between expectant kids and appreciative kids. I pray that we teach ours right and show them the love of Christ and how to spread that around without a bad attitude!

-Amy

the simple things in life or not so simple

So, I love simple things. Yes, cookies, COLD water, smiles, hugs, naps, rainbows, butteflies, shoes, a clear face, and people opening the door for me. Included in the small things are amazing people placed in my life. If you are reading this then that means you! But most of all today I am so excited about one of my Christmas presents. Todd happens to have an amazing office manager, Traci, who found me an orange peeler. Yep, you read it correctly. I have been looking for one of these for forever, literally. They are hard to find. According to a phone call I received yesterday or the day before she has located me one and I am getting it for Christmas! ha ha! I am SO excited about this little addition to my fruit fetish! Along with this amazing invention, we recieved a few engagement pictures through our photogs blog. They are turning out amazing and of course my sweetheart is so cute!

Look at them here: http://www.snaptacularphotos.com/blog/?p=231

On another note.....

I have a question for you. I want to know if what you are living for is worth dying for? Read that s l o w l y. So I guess you have to answer the question, what are you living for? Better yet, WHO are you living for? If you are living for yourself and have bought into the notion of "its all about you" or "just make yourself happy".....then your answer is you are living for yourself. So are you willing to die for the things that you find SO important? Jesus dies for you. Could you die for what you are living for? I can tell you right now, I would say no. I would not choose to die for the things I spend most of my time on. School, internet, facebook, myspace, work....etc. SO that should tell me that I need to spend A LOT more time with my Father, my Savior, my comfort, my friend. He is my beloved and I am His. I would die for Him, to know Him more, to show his love more, to stand for what I believe. I want to be able to say...yes I will die for what I am living for because what I am living for is for Christ, not me, not you, not anything other than Christ. There is another part to this thought process. How do you get to the point where you are able to say you will die for what you are living for? First, you must die to yourself. Die to society's dumb crap that you are believing when you think all that matters is your happiness. That's not true. You weren't created for your own pleasure. We are created in the image of Christ. WE ARE ROYALTY. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. God looks at you as a piece of Him and that is majestic. Surrender your plans to Christ and let Him guide you and lead you in the direction that He has set before you. Put your wants and plans aside. Die to your ways of thinking and let God change them. Die to your sinful ways and let God replace those thoughts and actions with love. His love. Through that love you can serve others. You are most like Christ when you serve others.

I am learning to die to myself, my selfish ways, my wants. This is a great journey. I have peace, I am gaining more joy. This is all God's work. I am His workmanship and so are you!