Living in Freedom as a Woman

Ollie Babbs Thomas October 10, 1934 - August 3, 2016 Today we lost an amazing woman. A woman I was lucky enough to call “Mammaw”. She was also known as Babbs, Mother, Sister, Daughter, Friend. She was born and raised in Alba, Texas. At the young age of 16, she married my grandfather, William Ira Thomas. They were married for over 50 years until he went to be with the Lord in 2004. She had four beautiful children and a fifth child that she miscarried early on in the pregnancy. “She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future. When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness.” Proverbs 31:25, 26 If there was ever a living example of the Proverbs 31 woman on this earth living amongst us, it was my grandmother. She was a living and breathing example of one who was walking with the Spirit. She shared so many traits of Jesus. She exhibited every single fruit of the spirit spoken of in the bible… ...

You call me out upon the waters...  This week has been our annual vacation in Florida. My Jesus place.   I have been reflecting over the last year. This trip looks so much different than last years. I have been reading over a passage in the book of Joshua this week. Imagining being in the shoes of the Israelites thousands of years ago. They had so many unknowns ahead of them. For them, the journey set before them meant life or death. But, they longed for freedom. So they went. I want freedom. Don't we all? Yet, as humans, it is so difficult to go. The road ahead is not always easy. In fact, for most it is very difficult and seems impossible. It is easier to stay where we are. Stagnant. Paralyzed by fear and doubt. Just where the enemy wants us.  In this passage, Joshua was leading the Israelites to the Promised Land. They came to the point in their journey where they couldn't go any further. They had no idea how they would cross the Jordan river. Joshua, their leader, tol...

Dear Holly of July 2015, July 9 th  will be a day that you will never forget. Literally all of your worst fears will come true. You have always so carefully planned your life and laid out your dreams and expectations. You think you are going back to work  tomorrow  to tie up loose ends before you leave for vacation. You think you will go in to see Dr. Smith and get the all clear to leave for vacation the next day. You’re feeling almost back to normal. You still have to finish packing for the yearly dream week at the beach. The kids are excited, you and Cory are excited. Your good friends and family will all be there. What an amazing week this will be. But then it came… out of nowhere. But was it really? The morning of the 9 th , something in you said “I don’t think you should go to work until after you see Dr. Smith. I think you should just work from home”. That something was the voice of the Holy Spirit. That would be the first of many times you will clearly hear Hi...

One year ago today, I went to the operating room to have the mass in my abdomen removed. I woke up from anesthesia to find out that my tumor was a benign ovarian cyst. A very unusual one, but the initial pathology showed no cancer. Needless to say, there was much celebration going on that day. I went home from the hospital thankful that was a short lived journey. It could have looked so much different if it would have been cancer. But as much of you know, the story took a turn a week and a half later. It was cancer. I have been reflecting a lot over the last few weeks. Honestly, I’ve been somewhat dreading these few weeks. There are times that the weight of all that has happened is still unbearable. Those moments do not come as often, but there are still waves of emotion that come and go. I think that will likely never go away. There are certain places that remind me of cancer, there are certain smells or restaurants that remind me of cancer. Thankfully, we have been very busy in...

Team Holly family and friends.... My sincere apologies for the lack of posts over the last month. So much has happened .. where to even start? Moving .. Over the last few years, the hot topic between Cory and I has been where we want our kids to go to school. We absolutely love living in the Allen area and the friends we have here. Emma's elementary school has been amazing. But we have been living in somewhat of a false reality. Although it feels like a tight knit community at her elementary school, you easily forget there are almost 20 other elementary schools. Then all of these schools lead to one high school... in fact the largest high school in Texas. Just to give some perspective.. Cory graduated with about 40 in his class and I graduated with around 300. Emma would likely graduate with around 1800. We have struggled because Allen is a highly ranked school and has so much to offer. After a lot of prayer and discussions, we decided to start looking at Lovejoy ISD. It is m...

Trials are something none of us would sign up for. None of us want to suffer, to experience pain, to have our lives drastically change unexpectedly, to get that dreaded phone call… In the midst of a trial, it feels like you're out in the middle of the ocean, kicking your legs as fast as possible to stay afloat. Doing everything you can to not go under. Then finally something happens and the water starts to recede... You come out a new person, a survivor!     What I have learned about trials... God is real. He is alive. God is chiseling away the ugly to make something beautiful. Trials force you to run to God or away from him.     In the midst of my greatest trial... In my weakest moments, I had no choice but to surrender everything in my life to the Lord. It was in those moments that I found freedom and a closeness to God I have never felt in my life. I would never wish to be back in those moments again, but because of those moments I have gained so much...

April 6, 2016. Today I turned 35 years old. Honestly, turn the clock back to July 9, 2015 at 10am. I was scared I would never see today. What a year this has been. So many ups and downs.. physically, emotionally, spiritually. Each of you have been with me every single step of the way. My village. It absolutely takes a village. This year I have learned more about myself and the true nature of my Jesus than I ever imagined. Last night, I looked back to my blog and on my 34 th birthday I wrote about me . The good, the bad, the really bad and the ugly. I was completely transparent in my journey to that date. As I came across the last paragraph, I could barely read the words I wrote…. “But, this year, I want to just be me and embrace what God has in store for me. Lord in my weakness, you are strong. Please use me and my broken past all for your glory. For you, it will all be worth it. ” Lord in my weakness, you are strong. I had no idea what weakness truly meant. I just th ...