Sunday's Message

Wow! What an incredible message this past Sunday. Below is a document that was shared with the congregation and I wanted to pass it along to everyone because it was so powerful. Ryan really laid it out for us Sunday. We all need a little reminder that it's not about us and what we're going through. It's all about Jesus an how we can glorify Him in ALL things good or bad. Just remember that ALL things work for good for those who love the Lord and are called according to his purpose. People, we are called! If you are Christian than you are CALLED according to His purpose. I had a wake-up call like never before and my light needs to shine brighter more now than ever. Our job as Christians is to proclaim the gospel and win souls to Christ. Honestly we are not doing a good enough job. We are failing miserably and I am striving to do better. Just remember that NO ONE BUT JESUS can save a soul. He uses us to bring the Word to the lost, that they might be saved.

Forgive me for my preaching, but I felt led to share!

Praying for all of you!

Love!


NO ONE BUT JESUS


Who has the power to deliver us?
No one but Jesus

Who has the power to proclaim freedom to the captives?
No one but Jesus

Who has the power to give sight to the spiritually blind?
No one but Jesus

Who has the power to set free the oppressed?
No one but Jesus

Who has the power to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor?
No one but Jesus

Who has the power to break the invisible chains of slavery to sin?
No one but Jesus

Who has the power to overthrow the devil?
No one but Jesus

Who has the power to make the mute speak?

Who has the power to make the lame walk?

Who has the power to make the sick well?

Who has the power to make the grief-stricken secure?

Who has the power to raise the dead?
No one but Jesus

Who has the power to challenge our unbelief?
No one but Jesus

Who has the power to make us right with God, though we do not deserve it?
No one but Jesus

Who has the power to save us from our sins?
No one but Jesus

Who has the power give us eternal life?
No one but Jesus

Who has the power to declare us righteous before God?
No one but Jesus

Who has the power to adopt us into God’s family?
No one but Jesus

Who has the power to resurrect our old bodies from the dead and make them new?
No one but Jesus

No one but Jesus…no one but Jesus…

No one but Jesus can do all these things

No one but Jesus can do so much more!

Run to Him!

Surrender to Him!

Trust in Him!

Rest in Him!

111 lbs down!! Loving it and feeling GREAT!

My Sweet Sister!

Wow! That is all I can say about what my precious sister is going through right now. After finding out that she has five tumors on her brain, and it has spread to her spine and liver, she is still as strong as I've ever seen her. I envy her strength. I know that her toughness only goes so deep, but she is a fighter and believer in Christ. Praise God that we have Him on our side and we know that He has everything under control! We are leaving today to go and be with her before her surgery tomorrow. She has fought this battle once before with Breast Cancer and won. We will not be defeated this time. I claim that in His precious Holy Name! Amen!!

Update Pic!

Here I am 76 lbs lighter. Feeling great!

Loving IT!!

Wow! It has been six weeks since my surgery and I can't believe it! I have lost 50 lbs so far and am feeling fantastic. Man things have changed so much, but are all for the good:) I am able to wear clothes that I haven't been able to wear in probably three to five years.......unbelievable! I now eat to live, instead of live to eat which I never thought was possible. I love the feeling of not being hungry.

It is truly amazing what this procedure can do for a person (if and only if they follow the doctor's orders!!!). If I had it to do all over again, I would do it over and over. I am so thankful for all of my family and friends that have supported me though all of this. Most of all I thank God for keeping his hand on me from day one, he has brought me though it all!!

Love to all!

12 Days & Counting!

Well, today I had my last pre-op visit with the surgeon and everything is good to go. I am still excited, and haven't really worried about things as of yet, but I'm sure I will as the days get closer. I personally can't believe it's only 12 days away. Wow how time has flown by. I am however going to enjoy food for the next 10 days. Someone told me I should create a "bucket list" so to speak of the things I want to eat the most and make sure I have them before my surgery. I've kind of been doing that just from memory. Some of those include Japanese, Red Lobster, Full Moon, Zaxby's, Mexican, and much more! Surprisingly, according to the scale at the doctor's office today, I haven't gained any weight in the past two months which is good.

Anyway, enough for tonight. Talk to you again soon!

Major Change In My Life!!!

Wow! Has it really been almost a year since I last posted?!?!?! Well, I am bound and determined to continue updates regularly now. This is where I will be placing updates going forward regarding my up coming surgery. The main reason for this is 1. I don't want everyone on Facebook to know the personal details of my life and 2. this is a great way to let everyone know what's going one without having to send out fifty emails. So, here it goes!

At the beginning of 2008 I decided that something had to be done about my continuous weight gain. Being sick all the time for different reasons has not been fun. I had been going back and forth with different options, and honestly didn't want to do anything drastic. However, after several sick spells and doctors visits I knew that something had to be done. I started seeing my primary care physician in Dec 2008 and we began discussing what my options were and what would be best for me. She is not crazy about the Weight Loss Surgeries (WLS), but after working with me for as long as she has, she felt like this would benefit me greatly. Because she knew the basic reqiurements of BC&BS, we started the 6 month supervised diet plan in order for me to qualify for Gastric By-Pass. (Side Note: That technically began last March, but I would get nervous or scared and skip a month, thus having to starting the process all over again.) Finally I made my mind up to follow through with all the visits regardless of whether or not I had the surgery.

In March of this year, I went to the initial consultation with Dr Ronald Clements at UAB. I personally knew someone who had the surgery done by Dr Clements and found out that he is one of the leading physicians in Bariatric Surgery, and is known nation wide. The visit went well and I was more than confident after his presentation and in seeing how thorough he was with each patient. I still continued to pray about all things involved and I prayed that God's will be done. Not mine but HIS! I am a firm believer that what happens, happens for a reason. There is no such thing as coincidence. I prayed that if it wasn't meant for me to have the surgery, that God would prevent it.

Every test, trial and application was passed with NO issues, not one. On June 3, 2009I learned that my insurance had approved the surgery! My surgery date is scheduled for July 29th, and I am ready to face the task at hand. So in less than 50 days my life is going to change dramatically. I ask that all my friends and family pray for me as many times as God lays on your heart. Pray specifically for a successful procedure and most of all for the doctor performing the surgery. I have learned that Dr. Clements is a very good Christian man and firmly believes in prayer. Pray that this change in my life will bring Glory to God, because after all that is what we as Christians should do in ALL things. Pray for Lee and Madi. This is going to be a huge change for the them as well and I'm sure it will cause tension at certain times. Pray that God guides me when dealing with those issues. Pray that I will be understanding and that my thoughts will always remain positive.

So going forward, I will be posting out here IF you want to know what's going on with me and my new adventure. I will respond to your emails & questions at anytime, so please don't stop that just because I've started this posting.

I love you all and thank you for being so supportive of me no matter what. You will never know how much it means to me!

Soli Deo Gloria, Glory to God Alone!

Dizzy Dean World Series Softball 2008

Madi was invited by the 10 year old Hayden All Stars team to play in the world series tournament in Southhaven Mississippi. That is where I am typing this blog from right now. Madi left on Thursday with her coach from the regular season and they had opening ceremonies at an amphitheater that night. The parade and all other outdoor activites for that night were rained out. They had a dinner for the girls and coaches only, and they swapped pins and goodies alike with other teams from all over the southeast. Needless to say, Madi was in awe for the first couple of days.

At 11am on Friday they played their first game, unfortuneatly they lost 7-1. Because they lost they played this afternoon at 12. They lost that one. The had the next game at 4pm. And again.....they lost. Our team's defense was INCREDIBLE, however the bats just were not there today. I don't know what happened to them. I was however extremely proud of my little girl, as she was the only one who got a hit in every game. Go Madi!!!!!!!!!!!

We drove up this morning and were able to catch both games and spend the day in the blistering sun. Wow was it HOT!! Thanks to Bubba and Mandi, we had a tent to setup and man was it wonderful. I don't know what we would have done without it.

Here are some pictures of Madi and her teammates during the Dizzey Dean World Series 2008. Go Wildcats!!!!

Our Trip To Atlanta

Well, what can I say. We absolutely love Atlanta!!!! This trip was sort of a get away for Lee and I and we have really enjoyed ourselves. The main reason for this trip was for Lee to get his new Tattoo, and these are the pictures. The guy doing Lee's Tattoo is Sean. We met him in Birmingham about four or five years ago when he did Madi's portrait. So Lee doesn't want anyone else to do them now. So, since Sean moved to Smyrna, that is where we go! Sean is a awesome artist and he always does a great job! Needless to say Lee is very pleased.

FYI: Just in case anyone doesn't know what it is, it's a Koi fish.

Happy Easter

Easter has to be one of my most favorite holidays. All the different types of candy, hiding the eggs, and most of all our risen Savior and King, Jesus!!! I just get so excited when thinking about what happened at the tomb that day. We have been singing and practicing one of my favorite songs for Sunday, Arise My Love. Just listening to the words of that song pumps me up!!! Man....if that song don't light your fire, then your wood is wet!!!

I absolutely love this little picture and though it has nothing to do with the true meaning of Easter, it is so funny to me. God bless and I love you!!!

Mamaw

What a wonderful grandmother I had!!! I miss her so much and will never forget all that she did for me. I remember all the times I used to stay with her when I didn't want to go somewhere with Mom and Dad. And all the times I used to beg Mom to let me skip school to stay with her during her many trips to the hospital. The one thing she loved to do was play cards. So, anytime I stayed with her we would break out the deck of cards and she would beat me at rummy! I'll never forget all the christmas parties throughout the year, and how no matter what, she always bought all the kids something. I remember one time sneaking in her back bedroom and seeing wall to wall presents, wondering which one was mine! I have so many wonderful memories and will hold on to them forever!!

It broke my heart when I received the call from Mom Friday night, and I wondered if I would make it to the hospital to see her alive one last time. Unfortunatly I was too late. But I will never forget the way she looked as Mom and I walked into the chapel on Monday. It is so wonderful to know that she is in a place more beautiful than we can comprehend, and that she ran down those streets of gold to see Jesus. What a comfort that is to me today.

Thank you to all who helped our family make it through this past weekend. It would have been much more difficult without your love and support. We are truly blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives, and mamaw knew that too!

Are You Truly Saved?

Well, I am trying to get back in the habit of reading a little, considering I am about to start back to school. So, I went into our computer room and was searching my book shelf to see if there was something I hadn't read. The book I found was Left Behind. Excellent book!!! And regardless of your views on the rapture, whether your pre or post tribulation, this book sheds a bright light on more than that feature. The one thing that hit me hard in this book was the amount of people who thought they were saved. If you haven't read this book, after the rapture takes place there is a church with a pastor left behind. This man preached and taught and shared the good news of Christ to people, yet he was never truly saved. This idea caused me tremendous greif, as there are people out there who "think" they are born-again christians, but are not. We all need to go back to the basics on this one and re-evaluate ourselves. Anyone can walk into a church on Sunday and be there, but are they REAL!

Anyway.....it was a great book and I can wait to start the second one, Tribulation Force.

Well it's almost been six years.......

and man has it flown by. Lee and I will be celebrating our sixth wedding anniversary on Saturday and I can't beleive it. It feels like only yesterday that we saw each other while walking down the hallway at SouthTrust.

And just like all the other times before, he once again surprised me with something special. I am right now sitting in bed typing this post on my new laptop. He is the best, and I never saw it coming!!! I am so thankful God saw fit to place him and Madi in my life!!

We're Back!

Wow! Is all that can be said about our restful vacation. We had a blast! The food was great, the service was excellent and the pool was nice and chilly! The good thing is the weather was great. It stayed between 80 and 85 the entire trip and the lows at night were in the 70s. The ship itself was incredible, the room was a little small and for everyone who knows us, you know were not the smallest people in the world. But it wasn't too small for us to complain about it. Most of our time was spent by the pool, being waited on hand and foot. I was able to read, and take naps right there on deck 11 while Madi swam all day. Did I say all day? Yes, the last full day on the trip we stayed by the pool from 10:30 to 6. Thank God she was wearing sun screen! Lee and I got in with her a couple of times, but she made several friends while swimmimg and they stayed busy while we relaxed. We also ate so much that I think I gained 10 lbs. There was food from the time we woke up til the time we went to bed. It was incredible. As far as the islands we visited, we made port in the Bahamas at Nassau and Cococay. We got off the ship in Nassau and looked around a bit and that is where Madi got her hair braided. Nassau was OK. We didn't hang around long there and we then went back to the ship and back to the pool. We were having so much fun doing that we didn't even get off in Cococay! Madi ask if she could just swim all day and Lee wanted to lounge around, so that's what we did. It was the best vacation gettaway I think I have ever taken. So, that means this will become somewhat of an Alfano tradition and I don't see it being to far off from our next set sail!!!

Hope you enjoy what photos I did take. I am just not one for carrying a camera around with me all the time. Enjoy!

Happy Halloween!!

I hope everyone had a good time on Halloween. I know I did. We got to dress up at work and we had a blast, as you can see above. We also had a great time at the fall festival and I can't wait to do it again.

The above picture is myself and Shaundrea, and we wanted to be two of the nuns from Sister Act. Of course she is Sister Mary Clarence and I was Sister Mary Patrick. Hope you enjoy!

FUN, FUN, and More FUN!!

We are having a Fall Festival/Trunk or Treat at the church on Halloween night. We are going to have a Moon Walk, Cotton Candy machine, games, and lots of CANDY!!! We want to invite everyone we know to come out and have a good time. If you would like to stop by, shoot me an email and I will give you the directions (It's not hard to find). You can email me at work or at the church, stacya@fultonsprings.com. This event will be held between 6:30pm & 8:30pm. Any questions, let me know!

One Month & Counting!!!

Ya'll it is getting close and I can't beleive. Exactly one month from today we will be boarding a plane heading to Florida to get aboad the Sovereign of the Seas!!!! Above is a picture of the main pool deck.....Now picture me, book in hand, lounging/releaxing by this pool! Wow, unbeleivable!!!!! Oh....yeah...Madi and Lee are excited too!!

I Love You All!!!!!

Let me first apologize for just now putting this out here. I have had a really hard time trying to figure out how to say what is in my heart, so here it goes......

As most of you already know I resigned from my Sunday School position at Calvary Hill. I personally want all of you to know that this decision was not made lightly or in haste, and it was one that I prayed over for a long while. I also want you to know that this could not have been a decision I made within myself. Not only would I not want to disobey the Lord, but I also love my church family too much just to leave on a whim. It was however extremely hard to pick up the phone and give something back that was given to me so lovingly. I want thank all of you who felt I was somewhat good enough to teach such vulnerable minds. With that said, I know that God has led me to this new destination in my life, and I thank Him for allowing me to spread His good news through song. Everyone that knows me knows that I love to sing, and if I can help bring one more soul to Christ in this ministry, than I know my journey has been well worth it.

Paula, please tell Jacob that I love him so much and please don't be mad at me. Let him know that I miss seeing his little red head running past me while I'm singing, him always asking if he can color with markers instead of crayons, and listening to him say the Lords prayer. Let him know that I will be back to visit. I know he is in such wonderful hands now and I am so thankful for that.

I truly LOVE you all and I will always keep each and everyone of you in my prayers! Please keep me in yours!!!!

Hope to see you all soon!!!!

Stacy

Little Man Has Grown.......

not only in our hearts, but in size too!!!! Take a look at these two pictures. The first one was taken on 7/8/07 and this one was taken last night 9/7/07 (The dates on the pictures are not correct for some reason). WOW is all I could say. It is so amazing how fast they grow. I have also included some additional pictures to look at. Enjoy!!!

New Addition to the Family

Hello! Just wanted everyone to see the new addition to the Alfano family. We have not fully decided on a name, but for now I call him Little Man! Once I saw him I fell in love with him. Enjoy the pictures!