Sweet Emails Make My Heart Happy :-D

I just thought I would share a few emails that I recieved from people in the City of Dallas after they learned that I would be leaving...

"Courtney: You will be missed!!! You have been excellent to work with and I wish you the very best in your new endeavors! What a great opportunity to work from home. I have done that before and it really helps to bring some balance to your life. I just signed my daughter up for voice lessons through Mesquite ISD and she loves it! Best of luck! Keep in touch."

"It will be sad to see you go. You will truly be missed. I hope they realize that. Unfortunately, we never appreciate people until they are gone. I want to say thank you for all your hard work and I appreciate you! I wish you happiness and success. May God’s blessing be on with you."

"I hate to see you go, but I wish you well with your new opportunity. Thanks for all your hard work."

It almost makes all the stress, rude emails, & immaturity worth it.... ALMOST! :)

"Everything Rides on Faith Now"

It is becoming more and more real that I am going to be leaving a job with a steady paycheck and I am constantly finding myself doubting God's plan. I am human and willing to admit that I go through plenty of valleys. Satan has a way of beating me down and sadly I tend to let him (and then take over in beating myself up). This morning I was imagining how it will be when I am teaching voice lessons and my joy was being slowly extinguished by thoughts of failure.

So I prayed.

"Lord, please take control of these doubts and fears and turn them into excitment and joy. I am not in control and I thank you for the wisdom to recognize this. You gave me gifts that I can use for your glory and I desperately need you now."

God has his hands on me and my sweet family. I am finding peace is knowing that this is part of his plan for us. If you will, please pray that I can overcome this 'sickness' (as I call it) of letting Satan convince me that I am not good enough.

Love you all!

Christmas Cards....

I am looking for some help in this area...
First, does anyone know of any low price (free would be even better!) ways to send out Christmas Cards this year? Phil and I have never done it and I would just love to start this year :)
Second, I need addresses, if you would like to recieve a Christmas Card from the Collins' please send me your address! Email me @ Courtneyscollins@yahoo.com or Facebook me :)
THANKS A BUNCH!

Love you guys.

Tacky Sweater Party!

Philip and I will be hosting our first Christmas party at our house on December 18th! :) Of course to make it interesting we are making it a "Tacky Sweater" party, it should be a blast. We are excited to have our friends over and share in some wonderful fellowship. We have the greatest friends and we are so thankful for all of them and what they bring to our lives. Can't wait to see what everyone will wear, with our group of friends I expect nothing but the tackiest!!

Bring on the Mistletoe! :-D

Christmas time is here! My favorite holiday! Our Christmas tree is up and the house decorations are almost complete (we just need to put lights on the house). I LOVE having a house to decorate for Christmas, so fun! Once I start a project I don't stop until it is completed (to a fault) and this can drive my husband crazy ;) He just sat on the couch and watched me run around the house like a crazy person with garland in one hand and ornaments in the other. I had so much fun. He just laughs at me.

We are excited to be hosting our first Christmas in our house this year! I can hardly wait!
(Have you noticed how many exclamation points have occured so far in this post?!)

We love you all and hope that you are having as much fun as we are decorating for Jesus' birthday!

Taking Steps Forward

Happy Philip's Birthday Month to Everyone! :-)

My precious husband turns 24 this month (on the 23rd), I always enjoy being the young one.



In other news...

Phil and I have made some big decisions lately that are going to change our lives quite a bit (no Mom, no babies yet!)

I have given my job notice that my last day with the company will be December 31st. I have been hired by a company called Take Lessons (TakeLessons.com) that connects me with voice students in my area. I will begin teaching voice lessons after I complete my orientation in December! I am super pumped about this exciting new adventure albeit a little nervous. I am so looking forward to working with students (young and old) that are looking to grow in their abilities. It is a little scary giving up a constant salary and moving into a field that isn't quite as steady but we know that the Lord will provide. He has truly given me the desires of my heart and I know that as I am serving him in this new career he will continue to bless Philip and me. We have been blessed beyond anything we could have ever imagined.



Thank you for your prayers and encouragement during this time and in the days to come! We love you all and are so thankful to have such a wonderful support system.

Finding Strength in Lord

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord."

2 Corinthians 4:16-15:8

This past weekend I got a very distressing call to let me know that my beloved choral director, Ron Shirey, had passed away due to a heart attack. I want to take a second to remember and honor this wonderful man.
Shirey (we always left off the Mr.) found me during my high school years and tracked me down during a Texas Music Educators Association conference in San Antonio, TX. My voice teacher at the time, Mary Drayer, had studied under him during her years at TCU and was more than happy to introduce the two of us. I remember him taking me by the arm (as he did quite often in my years at TCU :) and told me that I would be auditioning for him and some of the music staff at TCU. There was no question in his statement :) I adored him immediately!! He was the reason I went to study music at Texas Christian University and the reason I recieved scholarships. He believed in me during the most uncertain time in my life. He was a confidant and a wonderful director. I learned more musically from him than I have ever learned with anyone else.
I can remember the wrath of Shirey during rehearsals when our group of friends would see just how much we could get away with and I can remember after each class hanging out with him at his podium and laughing about exactly that! He was a precious man and I will never, never forget him. The Lord has his angel with him now... and I KNOW he is singing and conducting that heavenly choir, hope they can handle it!! :-)

All My Love,

Courtney