Madison Sanders Writes

Life gets chaotic at times and has some twists and turns. A friend is blogging about a part of her life that was very difficult. The first part is entitled, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn." Click the link to read about this very raw time. Life isn't always roses. Real life is hard. Sometimes you're happy and other times your sad. I just felt like sharing it because it takes guts to write honestly. She shared it in the hopes that what she went through will help someone else.

I will try to get a Memories Rewind post up this weekend. I haven't forgotten, but I've just been extremely tired when I come home from school. On the way to school, I had this image in my mind of someone running but they have no idea where they are going. They pass trees and hills, getting more confused by the second. Have you ever felt this way? I know I have. A few years ago, I had an idea of what I wanted to do with my life. The problem was I didn't know how I was going to get there...or even when. Countless "detours" came into my path. Surgeries, illness, and injuries were my life for a few years. Suddenly, the plan for my life shifted a bit. It was no longer about how much I could do in a day, it was just about getting through the day with my attitude intact. To be honest, I didn't always accomplish that goal. I got frustrated, lonely, and depressed. I put detours in quotation marks on purpose. Those things were meant to veer me off the pat

Things are moving along on my end. There's not much to report really. I'm just going through a little fatigue as I'm adjusting to this new schedule. If I could insert a pair of rechargeable batteries in my body at the beginning of each day, I'd be dangerous. :) There's no telling what I could get done in a day. But the reality is, I only have 24 hours, so I'm just trying to get my body on the same schedule. On another note, my brother is getting married in just a few weeks. Yes, that's right. Not months, weeks. We had a shower for them this past weekend and they got some really great stuff. I'm writing this during a break in school work, so it's short and sweet. Hope everyone is having a great week despite the somewhat dreary weather!

The Celebration is the weekly publication that my church puts out. I've mentioned it here before, but I'm now a permanent part of the the team, so I will be posting excerpts of my articles here as I complete them. What does it mean to be wanted? As babies, we all need love and support in order to grow, right? Well, in today’s society that’s a rare occurrence. I say that because most of us don’t know what real love is. We’ve all experienced someone telling us they ‘loved’ us only to disappear when things get hard. Real love is constant through the good times and bad. Love is a bridge over all of the hurt and pain in your life. Kids often struggle with feeling wanted... Visit The Celebration blog to read the rest of my article!

Someone asked me awhile back if I worried about dying. The answer to that question is no. I said, "Why waste your life away worrying about dying when you should spend that time living?" I refuse to worry about twenty years from now. I can only be focused on today. "Am I doing what God wants me to do today?" I ask myself. We think time passes by so slowly, but in reality, it's just the opposite. I'm reminded of this scripture in Matthew 6:34, " Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes" ( The Message ). God has seen me through many trials, so I trust Him to take care of me now. Is that always easy? Absolutely not . Each day that I wake up I have to make the choice to trust Him. When circumstances change in the blink of an eye, will I trust Him? When my body is tired, will I trust Him

It's that time of the month again. This month, I've written an article over at at Adori Graphics about the some of the options you have as a blogger to advertise your blog. As you know, there are many ways to advertise on blogs these days. I want to give a brief overview of the options available. You might want to get comfortable. :) Many times, people use technical terms to talk about advertising, but I’m going to keep it simple. The first option (and probably the most well known) is AdSense. It doesn’t cost anything to sign up, which is always a good thing. As I was researching, I found out you can customize the look of the ads so they fit in with your blog. This link provides a great summary of what to expect if you choose AdSense. To read more about the various advertising options available, visit Adori Graphics for my complete article!

Today we have The Blonde Duck from A Duck In Her Pond with us. I remember barreling down the highway, squeezing Ben's arm. The night was crisp and cool, but I couldn't feel it. My heart was racing, a scream of joy waiting to burst from my throat. I knew you would be there, even if I didn't know you yet. And when we stepped inside, I dropped to my knees. Bounding across the floor, puppies streamed toward me. Cooing in delight, I opened my arms. How could I choose? You were all so cute, so cuddly, so full of fur and warmth... But you chose me. With one decisive paw, you climbed into my lap, curling up on my jeans. You pulled on my socks, pawing at my shirt, nuzzling your face to my breast. You nibbled my fingers, licking my arm. Two different methods, for two different puppies. But you stole my heart. Cuddling you against me, I looked up at Ben with shining eyes. He turned to the man and pulled out his wallet, a grin on his face. The entire way home, I held you against me, yo

We have gotten an unusual amount of snow where I live. As I was looking out at the white powder slowly falling outside of my window today, I had a thought. Everything almost takes on a new appearance when covered in white. The shrubs look different, the trees look more elegant, things just look different. As I thought about it, I realized we are like the night before the snowfall when we are sinners. All of the dirt and branches are exposed. Think of it this way, all of the raw and sensitive spots in our life are like open wounds. We go around hurting and merely existing . Then, in the midst of our depression and negative outlook on life, God comes in with His blood and heals all of those places. Some days we might feel a lot better. Other days, memories of our past make us feel lonely. All the while, God's blood is slowly covering the cracks in our heart, just like the snow slowly covers the ground. If you know anything about snow, you know that yards aren't covered in a da

School has started back, so will take me awhile to adjust. I came home yesterday and slept for a few hours because I was so tired. I'm excited about this semester because I'm going to be learning some really cool things. For example, I'm going to learn how to create digital stories. So, maybe I will post one on the blog when I get the hang of it. My blog posts may be somewhat limited as I get back in the swing of things.

Whew. This morning has been pretty rough. I'm just a little worn down today, b ut if I just keep putting one foot in front of the other, I'll be fine. I know that I can't jump over a mountain. I have to face each day as it comes. I woke up this morning with a goal to write something today and read some in a book I have. I also want to sit up for a few minutes later in the afternoon, so I've tried to stay on top of my pain this morning so that I can do that. Sometimes I get overwhelmed looking at all of the things I want to do and can't do. I'm quickly reminded to celebrate the little things. I know I'm right where I'm supposed to be...I'm just not where I want to be. That's the good thing about a journey, though. You get an intense feeling of accomplishment and gratitude for how far you've come. I'll leave you with something someone dear to me once said, "Anywhere worth going takes time."