Important Lessons to Remember as We Get Ready for a New Year

The following was sent in an e-mail to a friend of mine and it has so much wisdom that I had to share:

Remember, the pencil maker taught pencil 5 important lessons, of which I pray that it will be your lesson too in the Year 2012;

1. Everything you do will always leave a mark behind,
2. You can always correct the mistake you make,
3. What is most important is what is inside of you,
4. In life you will undergo very painful sharpening lessons which will make you a better pencil,
5. To be the best pencil you must allow yourself to be held and guided by the hand that holds you.

My dear friend, let the hand of God hold and guide you through-out the year 2012 and you will fulfill your dreams. Remember, when people saw a barren woman in Sarah, God saw a mother of great nations, when people saw a poor Shepherd in David, God saw a mighty King of Israel, when people saw a poor prisoner in Joseph, God saw a powerful prime minister of Egypt, when people saw a poor coward man in Gideon, God saw a mighty warrior!

My friend, people see in you, different things, but, you are a great person in the eyes of the Lord.

YOU - Are Very Unique and Special

Did you know that you are unique and very special? Well you are and if you need some reminding - read the devotion below. I am hoping that it will be big enough to read - if any of you have a problem reading it - just let me know and I will type it out.
And this is the book that the above devotional came from:

Small Words - Big Meanings

I love how small words can have such a big meaning in a Bible verse. I have written a post in the past talking about The Lords Prayer and how it as the word As - when referring to forgiving us AS we have forgiven others. Well here is another verse that have different small word but it has a lot of meaning.

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Matthew 5:16

I love how this verse has the word "let" your light so shine... we only have to allow God to work through us to allow that light to shine. :o)

...A Never-Failing Fountain of Grace and Strength...

"He in whom Christ is abiding has within him a never-failing fountain of grace and strength. Jesus cheers the life and brightens the path of all who truly seek Him. His love, received into the heart, will spring up in good works unto eternal life. And not only does it bless the soul in which it springs, but the living stream will flow out in words and deeds of righteousness, to refresh the thirsting around him." PP 412

Just a wonderful promise from the book that I am reading that I wanted to share. Yay- I am a little more than half way through this -the first of the 5 books that I plan to read. I have really enjoying this book. I hope you all are well and having a good week! :O)

Which Plan Will You Choose?

A lot of think about... And oh SO true. See we are even warned about this:

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." 1 Peter 5:8

Whose plan will you choose? I choose Jesus! :O)

Merry Christmas!

Sabbath Praise

The Reason....

Christian Lingo

A couple of years ago, I started going to some 12 step type meetings at my church. I have shared with you all - that there is a couple that used to have a very worldly lifestyle with drugs and alcohol being at the center of their lives. When they got cleaned up and then later came to know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior - they decided to do their part to help other people.


I remember sitting in those meetings for the longest time - thinking that they really know this program. And I thought there is no way that I am ever going to know this program as good as they do.

Well I have finally gotten to the point of accepting that everyone is different. And knowing the program in order to be able to quote different quotes and such - is not what is important to me. What is much more important to me is to develop a better relationship with Jesus Christ.

In real life, I think we sometimes fall into the trap of thinking because we know all the Christian lingo that we have it altogether. And in the meantime we are neglecting the most important thing and that is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. :o)

Just Checking In

Well this week, I have been reminded that it is a good idea to hold loosely to your plans. Yesterday morning, my oldest son woke up sick. He thought it was a migraine, but as the day went by and he continued to be sick and got to feeling achy and kept throwing up, we then realized that he had the flu. We are all hoping that he did not give it to us before he got sick. Right now is not a good time for anyone to get sick - at the store we do not have a lot of extra workers. Anyway because of this - I have ended up having to work the grill. And I will have to do it today too.
I am thankful that our bakery orders have been spread out over the month. We had like 34 pies ordered for last Friday. And then 2 and 3 pies here and there. And then this Friday we have quite a bit - but not too much to do. God has been good to help it all be doable.
Well I just wanted to check in to say Hi and to say I hope you all are doing good and staying well. :o)

Proving it Every Day..In Many Ways

What I would like to talk about today is something I have written about before; and that is that we need to act the way that Jesus would act, in everything that we do and say. We do not know when people are watching us and when we can be an influence for good or for bad. How we drive, how we treat the bagger at the grocery store, or how we treat our spouse are all ways that can show people our true colors. Are we behaving in a way that would cause others to want to know Jesus more? Or are our actions such that would cause others to not want to have anything to do with God or Christianity? What we do and say are very important and we must continuously turn our lives over to Jesus in order to allow Him to shine through us. May we be willing to submit our wills to God and allow Him to use us instead of us living in the flesh and in the process - turning people away from God. :o)

Praying Honestly

I heard a pastor speaking about praying honestly and it brought back some of the times in my life that I prayed honestly - even though - what I had to say to God was not very nice. Life is hard and sometimes the pain seems to be just too much to handle. The disappointments really upset us. During these times - God already knows what is going on with us. So what good does it do to try pass off everything like it is OK? We can let God know of our disappointments. We can tell Him exactly how we feel. He loves us with an unconditional love and no matter what we say we can not make Him love us any less. Isn't that comforting to know? I thought so!

Securely Keeping Treasures

When someone shares their heart with us - we should realize that this is a treasure that should be treated as such. What I am speaking of here is that when someone shares things with us - we should keep it as a treasure - not sharing it with other people. This is a lesson that I learned this week. I shared some information with someone and I had asked that this certain information not be shared. Well I don't know if the specific information was told to someone else but I do know that they shared some other thing that I had told them in the same conversation with a 3rd party. It really disappointed me and I felt violated(you would have to know the whole story to understand that.) Anyway that is when I realized how important it is to be a person that is trustworthy. When people share their heart with you - realize that it is information that you need to securely keep as a special treasure - that has been entrusted to your care. What a treasure you will be to your friends then?!

Between a Rock and a Hard Spot

I feel like I am between a rock and a hard spot. I really don't want to go into a lot of detail but I can say that over the last couple of years I have been doing a lot of changing. I think I have shared with you about learning of my character defects. I had to come to terms with the fact that I had allowed life circumstance to cause me to work really hard at self preservation instead of depending on God to meet my needs. I thought I had to do what ever I could to meet those needs. This caused some problems in my extended family. What is sad, is that I had no idea that my need to feel like I was of value and loved - had caused another family member guilt and resentment towards me.
When I began to work through the negative responses that I had to certain situations in my family - the change in me- changed the dynamics in the family. And when something unrelated to this problem came up - all of a sudden all the resentment came out of this family member- her true feelings that she had held inside for so long -all came to the surface. I realized that I had(even though it was was unintentional) caused her grief by my behavior~my behaviors rooted in the need to be loved and valued. The little helpless girl inside had been screaming- "love me, please love me." And when I did not feel this love that I so desperately needed - I would point it out. Anyway, I realized that I owed this family member an apology. So I let her know how sorry I was for any harm I had caused her.

Things seem as if they are ok -we e-mail but that is it. Things are not ok and there is nothing I can do. The family member had resented me and felt like she had to walk on egg shells around me and now- I really don't know why there seems to be a problems. It is hard for me to understand the fact that if this person did not like me then- now that I have changed - why is it so hard to like me now.

At this point all I can do is realize that God is in control. And He knows what is best.

God lead the children of Israel to the Red Sea - and there they were between a rock and a hard place.

"And they said unto Moses, Because [there were] no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt?

12 (Is] not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For [it had been] better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness."

13 And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.

14 The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace." Exodus 14:11-14


This story recorded in the Bible(like all the rest) are there to help encourage us along our journey through life. And this story also helps me to realize that God is in control and I can trust Him.

"The path where God leads the way may be through the desert or the sea, but it is a safe path." PP290

Of Time Lost

Sorry I have not been around much this week, and truthfully I don't have but a few minutes right now to post. I did want to check in and at least touch base with you all.

Since returning home from my quick trip to Colorado- I have been doing a lot of thinking. My Grandma and Grandpa basically lived in Colorado their whole married life. And even though as a child - my family moved around a whole lot - we never lived in Colorado. This made it very difficult to get to see my grandparents very often. Now that I am a grandparent - I am realizing how very hard this must have been for my grandparents. I have also been thinking about what all I missed out on. What all stories and wisdom my grandparents could have shared with me. All the cool stories about our family in the past and the answers to questions that will never be answered now~ Like why did she and ALL of her 6 brothers and sisters go by their middle names instead of their first names. Last week, I found out for the first time that my Grandma's first name was actually Emma - not Eloise.

Anyway so that is just part of what has been going on with me. I hope you all are having a good week. :o)

We Made It Home

Just a quick post to let you all know that we made it home safely. I am so very glad that I went. There were some people I had not seen in 30 years or so. I had not seen my Dad in about 11 years so it was very important for me to go. And I was able to see my Grandpa - he is not doing very well.
I hope everyone is doing well. Now I need to get off of here and get some things done that have been neglected for a few days. :o)

Just a Little Break - Taking a Trip

Earlier this week my Grandmother passed away. I knew she was not in very good shape but it still came as a surprise.
We are comforted in the fact that the next time my Grandma opens her eyes she shall see Jesus coming in the clouds!

"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words." 1 Thessalonians 4:16

My son and I will be driving to Colorado for the funeral - leaving this morning. My husband does not have any time so he can not take off, with him having so many health problems this year. Anyway - I am not really looking forward to this trip - not the driving part anyway. I will be very happy to see family that I have not seen in years. And when I say years - I mean YEARS. It has been over 10 years since I have seen my Dad. And it will be great to get to see him. Neither of us have had the time or money to make the trip to see each other. He lives a bit closer to me than my grandparents do. But he has a longer trip to my Grandparents house than I do. It will be about an all day drive for us.
If you would - I would really appreciate your prayers. :O)

The Importance of Being Still

We live in a day and age in which we have every technological advantage, but I think that could be more of a negative if we do not use it properly.

We also live in a time period when so many people are busy; always having way more to do than we have time for. I think that Satan loves to keep us busy. When we are always busy, we do not have time to hear from God. That is why I think it is important to make time every day to be quiet and still. When we are quiet and still - we are more able to hear God speak to us.

There have been many times in my life when I have been quiet and as I watch my chickens, the birds, or squirrels that God whispers lessons into my ear. But if I was always busy, always noisy - I would have missed those lessons. There are many important lessons for us to learn- if we will just be still.

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" Psalms 46:10

And if you are going through a hard time right now, you can know that you can count of God to quiet your soul:

"The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17

Be sure and take some time every day - to be quiet and still. Study God's Word and be still - and listen for the things that He wants to share with you. :o)

Being Prepared ~ a Different Angle

This past Sunday our power went out all of a sudden. I was so thankful that we had flashlights handy - and a lighter - so I lite candles throughout the house. Last week my husband and son had gotten a truck load of wood for our fire place. We had not have a chance to get it into the house, but my son went out to the truck and got a couple of loads for us. He started a fire and we spent the next hour and a half in the living room - where it was warm and cozy.

I was so thankful that we had the things we needed. I was also thankful for the sconces that I have on the wall in the main bathroom and in our bedroom. I lite those candles and we had just enough light in those rooms. The candles in those were burnt down and I was happy that they at least lasted through out power outage. I let the rest of them burn down and then I will be cleaning the scones out and putting a brand new candle in there. That way we are ready for the next time that they are needed.

Having flashlights with fresh batteries, candles and lighters are very important to have- especially this time of year. It makes situations that could be unpleasant - much more pleasant and enjoyable.

Of course, the power went out during the Cowboy game so my husband was not at all pleased, but he endured it.

I had made up a big pot of soup. The only problem was - I had not made up a pan of corn bread yet. It would have been fine to eat the soup without cornbread. But praise the Lord! the power came back on and I was able to get pan of cornbread going.

When you go without electricity for a period of time - you begin to be more thankful for things that you normally take for granted. Like your light bulb in the fridge. My son was wanting to make something - and I found him in the kitchen with a candle - looking around in the refrigerator.

This week I am going to try to make sure we have a good amount of fire wood in the house. And I also want to clean out the fire place so that it will be ready for the next usage. I will also be seeing what else needs to be done so that the next time something like this happens. We will have everything we need.

I hope you all are keeping warm and cozy. It is quite chilly here. There was a very good layer of ice on windshields this morning- I had bought one can of deIcer for my husband - but had not thought my son would have to leave for work so early - but he ended up having to go in at 5:50am. So a couple more cans of DeIcer are on my new list of things needed.
Have a wonderful day:o)

Blessings

"Every ray of light that we shed upon others is reflected upon ourselves. Every kind and sympathizing word spoken to the sorrowful, every act to relieve the oppressed, and every gift to the needy, if prompted by a right motive, will result in blessings to the giver. PP 218

An interesting story to go along with this quote. The very day that I read this quote - I had a visitor stop by with these lovely flowers for me.

(yes - my Dewie was as excited about the flowers as was I!)

I had helped a friend out with something that they could not do - and these flowers were a "Thank you" gift. I thought it was so neat that the very day that I had been reading in my "Patriarchs and Prophets" book and found the above quote, and how the quote had stood out to me - that I would see it in action.

Truth be told - there are many times that I have done kind things and it seem as if there is no recognition but there are blessings all around us, if we will only take the time to recognize them.

Be kind to those around you. Allow God to bless those around you, through you. And maybe by your kindness you can draw people to Jesus Christ, the one who put the love in your heart to do for other. May we be a light shining in a dark and dreary world. :O)

My Reading Challenge

Last year I read through the "Little House" books. It was fun, but not very edifying. It was entertaining and I was glad that I had done it. But I began to think that I wanted to be spending my extra reading time - reading things that were uplifting. That was about the time that I found the "special red box" with the "Steps to Christ" book. I began to read through it and was totally blessed. This will be a book that will be reread in the future. Well worth the time and very uplifting.

When I was reading "Steps to Christ" I was inspired to read through the "Conflict of the Ages" series. But before I began it - I had another book - "Thoughts From The Mount Of Blessings" and I thought since it was a little book - that I would read through it and so I did. It was another great book. Well worth the read!
Then it was time to start through the "Conflict of the Ages" books. This series basically starts in Genesis and works its way through the entire Bible - ending in Revelations -with the book "The Great Controversy."
I am so glad that I started with the smaller books, because these books have 600-700 pages in them. These books were written many years ago - from 1898 - 1917. It is a bit of a challenge to read them but as you read them - it becomes easier and easier.

I love to read books that draw me closer and closer into a relationship with Jesus Christ and that is exactly what these books do.

So this is my Reading Challenge - I will be reading through these books. I will be checking in ever so often to share gems that I have found or lessons learned. I will also share the progress that I am making as I move through these books. :O)

Why???...for your Testimony

(a repost,worth sharing again)

Why???...for your Testimony
I love my morning walks. It is so quiet and there is not much going on. I feel so much closer to God when I am out in nature. It isn't any wonder though - He created nature. As I was walking I was thinking about how there are many times in our lives that things happen and we ask Why? Sometimes that "Why?" comes from an angry heart or it comes from a hurt heart. I am sure that God has heard that question a gazillion times. And all of a sudden I thought ~ it is for our testimony.

If our lives were easy and nothing bad ever happened then we would never have the chance to experience God's loving care for us in a real way. God wants to reveal Himself to us, but many times we are too busy to even notice.

This morning in my quiet time, I read about something that just blew me away. We all have probably heard about the time when the children of Israel were trapped with mountains on either side and the Red Sea was in front of them and the Egyptians were coming after them. And how God parted the waters for them to walk through on DRY land. Wow!
But did you realize that He did it again? After the 40 years of wandering around in the wilderness and the generation that had not have faith in God had passed away - it was time to go into the promise land. God led them to the Jordan River and He did it again. He parted the waters for them to get across. I thought this was amazing because God was revealing himself to His children. He was letting them know that He would guide and direct them and He would also take care of their needs. How awesome is that? So the next time you come to a place in your life when you are asking why? Remember that God has a plan for your life and if you will hold onto your faith in Him - You will have a story to tell of His goodness and mercy. :O)

If you would like to read about the children of Israel going across the Jordan River - you can read it below:

"9 And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the LORD your God.
10 And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites.
11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan.
12 Now therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe a man.
13 And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.
14 And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people;
15 And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,)
16 That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.
17 And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan."
Joshua 3:9-17

One More Verse...

Thanks so much to Hilary for the comment and for sharing this important verse that goes so well with yesterdays post. I knew there were a couple more verses that I really wanted to add.

"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." James 1:2-4

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! :O)

It's NOT all Smooth Sailing

I think there is a lot of danger in the belief that once we become Christians, that it will be smooth sailing from then on. I also think that it is sad that there are some preachers out there preaching these lies. I mean - when Jesus came to the earth, was His life smooth sailing? Was everything hunky dory all the time? No... So why would we think that things would be for us?

"And there came a scribe, and said unto him, Teacher, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. 20 And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven [have] nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head." Matthew 8:19-20

Does that sound like everything was roses and sunshine?
Several times in the Bible it warns of the suffering that we, as followers of Jesus Christ, will have:
"If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." John 15:18-19

"but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy." 1 Peter 4:13

But there is good news!

"For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory," 2 Corinthians 4:17

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." Romans 8:18

And one of my favorites:

"But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you." 1 Peter 5:10

Isn't that awesome? We may have to suffer but God is using that suffering to mold us into what He wants us to be.

So please do not fall for the lies. Do not expect everything to be wonderful and certainly do not get discouraged when trouble and trials come your way. Because you can count on those things. If you are not in the middle of a trial, or have not just gotten out of a trial - you can about be certain the one will be in you future. But do not be dismayed. For when we love and follow Jesus Christ -He will use these things to perfect us and make us more and more like Himself.

Busy Here and Busy There

Yesterday was a full day at home. I love days like that. I was finally able to get the fish tank cleaned. I was also able to get my carpets cleaned - and when you have a light blue carpet(here when we moved in) you have to clean them 0r they get in pretty bad shape. I was able to get a few other odds and ends done - things that I had wanted to get done for a while - but with the holiday and working-I had ended up having to put those things off. I also ended up mowing 3/4th of our yard. I got the front yard all mowed - yay! And then started on the back yard and ran out of gas. And I would run out of sunlight before we got get to the gas station to buy more. So I will have to finish that up today. It was weird to me to be mowing - the end of November - in about 53 degree weather.
Today I have a lot of errands so will be gone at least part of the day. But it will feel good to get all those things done as well.
I hope you all are having a good week. :o)

Obeying God...All of the Time

It never ceases to amaze me the way in which God chooses to teach me lessons. Today, it was through my black cat - Stewie: Doesn't he look innocent? Well after this story - you may not think so any more...

So I am making supper and Stewie keeps trying to drink my tea and I tell him NO. "No, you may not have any of my tea." This happened several times. A little later - I am sitting at my computer with my drink and I get up to go tell my son something. Well guess what happened? Yep - you guessed it - not only did Stewie get into my tea but he dumped it over... all over my desk.

I start cleaning up the mess. While I am cleaning the mess up, I am telling Stewie that when I tell him something I mean it and I want him to obey me ALL the time. The thought instantly came to my mind- like the Holy Spirit impressing it upon my mind, "I want you to obey me ALL of the time too" Wow- how many times have I read verses like - if you love me you will keep my commandments? I have realized that God wanted us to obey His laws, not out of meanness or anything but because God set up the Commandments - for our good.

"If you love Me, keep My commandments." John 14:15

"He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him." John 14:21

"Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments." 1 John 2:3

I am going to post the Ten Commandments just for review.

The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:2-17 NKJV)

1 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My Commandments.
3 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
4 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
5 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
6 “You shall not murder.
7 “You shall not commit adultery.
8 “You shall not steal.
9 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10 “You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.”

I think from now on - this little lesson will help me to remember how very important it is to God that I obey Him. I love Him and I want to show it; therefore, I will obey His commandments.

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13

Catching Up A Bit

Well we were finally able to have our Thanksgiving Dinner. Since my MIL had hers on Thanksgiving and like at 3pm - kind of made it hard to have another dinner that day - and then I had to wait till everyone was off work and available. But it all turned out great. I was proud of how good the dressing turned out. My MIL gave me her recipe- but it is more like a base point - like it gives what to put in not really how much. Anyway I did alot of what she does but I also changed it up a bit to make it mine and we were very pleased with how it turned out.

I also made a pumpkin Roll for the first time. Man- I wish I had not let the recipe intimidate me for SO long. It called for a Jelly Roll pan - well I have looked and looked but could not find one. Well you DON'T have to have a special pan. I just found a pan that was the right dimensions - I think 10X15. Anyway - I was very pleased with how it turned out and think I will be making more in the future. Now I am thinking that I have seen a cool cake roll that had a strawberry filling or something like that. I will have to see what else I can find now that I know the basics to making a cake roll. My husband does not like pumpkin - so would not even try it. Disappointed me but oh well. I will keep looking for something that I think he would be more willing to eat.

Well look at this:

Looks like we actually have some fall type weather here. I love this kind of weather. It has been wonderful. The only weird thing is that my yard needs to be mowed. And it will just be weird to get out there the last week of November - or first week of December and mow -with chilly weather. But it really needs to be done.

Well I just wanted to touch base with you all. I hope that everyone had a wonderful week-end. :o)

Sabbath Praise

Thanksgiving is not just a Holiday, but a Choice

Every year when Thanksgiving rolls around many people put more of a focus on what they are thankful for. What is sad is that to some people - this may be the only time that they think of those things that they are thankful for. We all have many things to be thankful for- many of the things that we take for granted of are things to thankful for. Examples of these things could be - running water, indoor toilet, electricity(heat and air), refrigerator, washer, and dryer. Many more things would make the list but these are things that many people take for granted. And so many times we find ourselves feeling sorry for ourselves - when in fact we have much to be grateful for.

I have really enjoyed the friends of mine who have chosen to write about what they are thankful for whether it be by blog or by facebook, I have really been blessed. And feel it is a good thing to get in the habit of doing. Not just for Thanksgiving either. I think that when we are discouraged and depressed - would be an excellent time to take a few moments and think about the things in our lives that we are thankful for.

It might even be a good idea to get a notebook and start a list of what you are thankful for - that way when you are down and having a hard time thinking of what you are thankful for - you can refer back to your notebook.

Another idea - which is something that I do- is have a prayer book. I have a book in which I record prayers - not the whole prayer but when I want to especially remember to pray for certain people and situations. In this book - the left side of the book -is my prayer list - and on the right side of the book - is where I put my praise items. I put a date next to my entries. Later I can come in and next to my prayer list items - when there has been an answer to prayer - I will write a TY - Thank You. And I usually add this as a praise on the other side of the book. It is a way that I can better keep track of prayers that have been answered.

Keeping track of these prayers and answers to prayers are great reminders for us when we are having a hard time. We can go back and see how God has taken care of us in the past and how he will continue to work on our behalf - when we have taken the time to pray about those things that weigh heavy on our hearts.

So even though Thanksgiving is but a memory, please continue to take time to focus on those things in your life that you can be thankful for.

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." James 1:17

The Will of God

The Will of God will never take you
Where the Grace of God cannot keep you
Where the Arms of God cannot support you
Where the Riches of God cannot support your needs
Where the Power of God cannot endow you.

The Will of God will never take you
Where the Spirit of God cannot work through you
Where the Wisdom of God cannot teach you
Where the Army of God cannot protect you
Where the Hands of God cannot mold you.

The Will of God will never take you
Where the Love of God cannot enfold you
Where the Mercies of God cannot sustain you
Where the Peace of God cannot calm your fears
Where the Authority of God cannot overrule you.

The Will of God will never take you
Where the Comfort of God cannot dry your tears
Where the Word of God cannot feed you
Where the Miracles of God cannot be done for you
Where the omnipresence of God cannot find you.

~ author unknown ~


Everything happens for a purpose,
We may not see the wisdom of it all now
but trust and believe in the Lord
that everything is for the best!

Happy Thanksgiving! :O)

I am writing this on Thanksgiving Eve. Tonight I am thinking back to years past when the couple of days before Thanksgiving I would end up having to work 12 hours each day at the Bakery that I work at. Oh those were rough days. Those were days when you might find me crying because I knew how much we had to do and knew that it would be hard for the size of our bakery to keep up with all of those orders -without working almost nonstop. Tonight, I am so very thankful that this year was different. This year we actually finished up all of our orders by noon today. Yesterday we worked a longer day and got half of the stuff done, and today we only had to work till noon. It was great to leave work that early. I still had groceries to get, a stop at the bank and laundry and stuff here at home to do.

When I left work, the sun was out shining so brightly. Our temperatures got up to about 68 degrees or so. It was a gorgeous day!! The warmth from the sun was good for my soul as I traveled to the grocery store.

The grocery store was not as bad as I had thought it might be. I went in with a good attitude and just patiently gathered everything on my long list.

And now at the end of the day, I am thinking of all I have to be thankful for. There are many things. And I am so thankful that my thankful list - is way longer than my list of rough, tough things in my life to deal with. God is good. We might have rough things to deal with, but if we will hold our faith in God and keep our focus on Him - He will supply our needs and bless us with peace - not like the world gives - but true, perfect peace - even in the storms of life.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!
What are you Thankful for? :o)

"Because of Love"

An awesome story that my MIL sent in an e-mail today. Some of you may have already read this story, but I have not ever seen it before. It is an excellent story and well worth the time to read it.

Because of Love (Please read all the way to the end)


A brother and sister had made their usual hurried, obligatory pre- Christmas visit to the little farm where dwelt their elderly parents with their small herd of horses. The farm was where they had grown up and had been named Lone Pine Farm because of the huge pine, which topped the hill behind the farm. Through the years the tree had become a talisman to the old man and his wife, and a landmark in the countryside. The young siblings had fond memories of their childhood here, but the city hustle and bustle added more excitement to their lives, and called them away to a different life.

The old folks no longer showed their horses, for the years had taken their toll, and getting out to the barn on those frosty mornings was getting harder, but it gave them a reason to get up in the mornings and a reason to live. They sold a few foals each year, and the horses were their reason for joy in the morning and contentment at day's end.

Angry, as they prepared to leave, the young couple confronted the old folks "Why do you not at least dispose of The Old One." She is no longer of use to you. It's been years since you've had foals from her. You should cut corners and save so you can have more for yourselves. How can this old worn out horse bring you anything but expense and work? Why do you keep her anyway?"

The old man looked down at his worn boots, holes in the toes, scuffed at the barn floor and replied, " Yes, I could use a pair of new boots.

His arm slid defensively about the Old One's neck as he drew her near with gentle caressing he rubbed her softly behind her ears. He replied softly, "We keep her because of love. Nothing else, just love."

Baffled and irritated, the young folks wished the old man and his wife a Merry Christmas and headed back toward the city as darkness stole through the valley.

The old couple shook their heads in sorrow that it had not been a happy visit. A tear fell upon their cheeks. How is it that these young folks do not understand the peace of the love that filled their hearts?

So it was, that because of the unhappy leave-taking, no one noticed the insulation smoldering on the frayed wires in the old barn. None saw the first spark fall. None but the "Old One".

In a matter of minutes, the whole barn was ablaze and the hungry flames were licking at the loft full of hay. With a cry of horror and despair, the old man shouted to his wife to call for help as he raced to the barn to save their beloved horses. But the flames were roaring now, and the blazing heat drove him back. He sank sobbing to the ground, helpless before the fire's fury. His wife back from calling for help cradled him in her arms, clinging to each other, they wept at their loss.

By the time the fire department arrived, only smoking, glowing ruins were left, and the old man and his wife, exhausted from their grief, huddled together before the barn. They were speechless as they rose from the cold snow covered ground. They nodded thanks to the firemen as there was nothing anyone could do now. The old man turned to his wife, resting her white head upon his shoulders as his shaking old hands clumsily dried her tears with a frayed red bandana. Brokenly he whispered, "We have lost much, but God has spared our home on this eve of Christmas. Let us gather strength and climb the hill to the old pine where we have sought comfort in times of despair. We will look down upon our home and give thanks to God that it has been spared and pray for our beloved most precious gifts that have been taken from us.

And so, he took her by the hand and slowly helped her up the snowy hill as he brushed aside his own tears with the back of his old and withered hand.

The journey up the hill was hard for their old bodies in the steep snow. As they stepped over the little knoll at the crest of the hill, they paused to rest, looking up to the top of the hill the old couple gasped and fell to their knees in amazement at the incredible beauty before them.

Seemingly, every glorious, brilliant star in the heavens was caught up in the glittering, snow-frosted branches of their beloved pine, and it was aglow with heavenly candles. And poised on its top most bough, a crystal crescent moon glistened like spun glass. Never had a mere mortal created a Christmas tree such as this. They were breathless as the old man held his wife tighter in his arms.

Suddenly, the old man gave a cry of wonder and incredible joy. Amazed and mystified, he took his wife by the hand and pulled her forward. There, beneath the tree, in resplendent glory, a mist hovering over and glowing in the darkness was their Christmas gift. Shadows glistening in the night light.

Bedded down about the "Old One" close to the trunk of the tree, was the entire herd, safe.

At the first hint of smoke, she had pushed the door ajar with her muzzle and had led the horses through it. Slowly and with great dignity, never looking back, she had led them up the hill, stepping cautiously through the snow. The foals were frightened and dashed about. The skittish yearlings looked back at the crackling, hungry flames, and tucked their tails under them as they licked their lips and hopped like rabbits. The mares that were in foal with a new year’s crop of babies, pressed uneasily against the "Old One" as she moved calmly up the hill and to safety beneath the pine. And now she lay among them and gazed at the faces of the old man and his wife.

Those she loved she had not disappointed. Her body was brittle with years, tired from the climb, but the golden eyes were filled with devotion as she offered her gift---

Because of love. Only Because of love.

Tears flowed as the old couple shouted their praise and joy... And again the peace of love filled their hearts.

This is a true story.



-----the greatest gift of all is Love!

Week-end Wrap-Up

This morning when I woke up it was pretty warm. I was surprised at how warm it was. I had thought that it would get down to about 61 degrees. But it was no where near 61 degrees. When I got dressed - I put on a pair of capri's and a sleeveless shirt. I had looked at the forecast and it looked like it would be getting up to 80 degrees - so I thought I had picked weather appropriate clothes. I had a coupon for TSC for 10% off- I was so excited when I got the large postcard from TSC in the mail and especially when I saw the 10% off coupon. The problem was this morning when I had a chance to cut it out and look at it, I noticed that today was the last day I could use it. So I had to go get birdseed. I love to put birdseed out and my chickens love birdseed too - so it is something that I keep in a plastic bucket on my back porch. Well I had to get gas and when I checked my "Gasbuddy" app on my phone - well wouldn't you know it - I would need to drive to another town- to get gas - it was a big enough difference to drive to that town. Plus I had been really wanting pizza(my husband does not really like pizza so we rarely get it) and where I was getting gas was not too far from where we like to order our pizza from. Well from one town to the next the temperature gauge in my car went from 72(it has been closer to 77 when I got to TSC) and by the time I got to the gas station - it was down to 64 degrees. Well it was quite chilly standing outside getting gas.
So now it is about 52 degrees outside and I have made a pot of Tin Can soup (It had been called 8 Can Soup but We just changed what we call it. And have cornbread cooking right now. It is the perfect weather for a nice warm soup.
Today I also made up a healthy Chicken(fri-chik) Salad and I also made up a big bowl of "Bean Salad" . It looks like I have not posted the Chicken Salad yet. I will try to do that some time this week. I also baked up some sweet potatoes that I had bought on Friday. So I have plenty of healthy choices.

I wanted to have some healthy things cooked up so that I can have some healthy meals this week and that will make things go more smoothly. Last Friday - I had not eaten very much and I just can not handle going long periods of time with out eating. So I have some healthy, quick foods to get together for lunches and even for supper if I don't have time.

Well I hope you all are doing well and staying warm and dry. I have some ideas floating around in my head - just have not been able to take the time to sit down and get them on paper. See ya'll soon. :o)

A Long, Hard Week

Hello everyone. Well this has been a long hard week for me. My husband has had to go in at 1:30am - two days in a row. And when he has to leave that early - it breaks up my night and I am even more tired in the morning. My son ended up getting sick which meant that I had extra responsibility at work- when my load was already very heavy. I really don't want to bore you with all my complaining- trust me there is so much more I could share, but I won't. What I will do is say that I am still a work in progress. Just when I think that I have improved in different areas of my life- then another test comes along and bam - I fall on my face- again. I am so very thankful for God's mercy and grace.

So this evening - as I think back over the week and especially this hard day- I will first ask God to forgive my short comings. Then I will ask God to guide me and direct me in the way He wants me to go. Today may have been a failure, but maybe just maybe I will pass the next test. Until then - I will go back to the owner's manual - my Bible and spend some much needed time with my Heavenly Father.

I hope you all have a great week-end. I am so very thankful that Sabbath is here- I am so very tired and worn out. :o)

"As" small Word BIG Meaning

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
AS we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory. for ever and ever. Amen

Sometimes it is not enough...

This week is a very busy week for me, so I have been looking through some of my old post and some of them I have been re posting. Well this is one of them. I have changed up a bit of it. I hope everyone is doing well.
**********************
"Sometimes it is not enough to do our best; we must do what is required." Sir Winston Churchill

Several weeks ago I had went on the Internet looking for great quotes and I had copied a page worth down. And when I read this quote I was drawn to it but did not quite understand it. Because I often just take things at face value. If someone said they did their best then that should be enough.

Today I read some one's post on Facebook and then I totally understood this quote. I think that sometimes we are in denial. We think that we have done our best and we often times try to convince those around us that we have done everything we could, but in actuality's we are only fooling ourselves because we did not do what was required. Well maybe I need to rephrase that and say that maybe we are going by the wrong standards. Are we going by the worlds standards or God's standards? I think we get into the most trouble when we lower our standards from God's standards to the worlds standards. God knows what is best and that is why He inspired the Bible to be written so we would know the very best way to live. So my desire is to continue to turn my life and my will over to the care of God because He will not steer me wrong.

***********************

."..This is the way, walk in it," Whenever you turn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left." Isaiah 30:21b

Quote of the Day

"Weave your beliefs into the very fabric of your day. When you do, God will honor your good works, & your good works will honor God." A.R. Bernard

A Dangerous Place to Be....

Lately I have been thinking a lot about how when we are young - we think we have it all figured out. And then after we age some - we figure out that we really did not know everything.

Well it seems to me that sometimes even after we have grown up, we sometimes get to that same point again - thinking that we have everything figured out and that is when we find ourselves in a dangerous situation.

It is when we think we have everything figured out, that we no longer feel that we need God. And I don't know about you, but I would much rather not have everything figured out and have God. So no matter if you are young or old - we will all struggle with the idea of thinking we know everything - but d0 we? Usually not.

The Bible is packed full of so many different things to learn. We could spend our whole lives reading the Bible and studying it and still be learning new things.

Why not spend some time reading your Bible. Be sure and ask the Holy Spirit to guide and direct you as you study the Bible and see what treasure you will find. :O)

Gray Dots or Golden Stars

I have shared this before, but it is well worth the repost. I hope you are all blessed by reading it:

You Are Special
by Max Lucado

The Wemmicks were small wooden people. Each of the wooden people was carved by a woodworker named Eli. His workshop sat on a hill overlooking their village. Every Wemmick was different. Some had big noses, others had large eyes. Some were tall and others were short. Some wore hats, others wore coats. But all were made by the same carver and all lived in the village. And all day, every day, the Wemmicks did the same thing: They gave each other stickers. Each Wemmick had a box of golden star stickers and a box of gray dot stickers. Up and down the streets all over the city, people could be seen sticking stars or dots on one another.



The pretty ones, those with smooth wood and fine paint, always got stars. But if the wood was rough or the paint chipped, the Wemmicks gave dots. The talented ones got stars, too. Some could lift big sticks high above their heads or jump over tall boxes. Still others knew big words or could sing very pretty songs. Everyone gave them stars.

Some Wemmicks had stars all over them! Every time they got a star it made them feel so good that they did something else and got another star. Others, though, could do little. They got dots.

Punchinello was one of these. He tried to jump high like the others, but he always fell. And when he fell, the others would gather around and give him dots.

Sometimes when he fell, it would scar his wood, so the people would give him more dots. He would try to explain why he fell and say something silly, and the Wemmicks would give him more dots. After a while he had so many dots that he didn't want to go outside. He was afraid he would do something dumb such as forget his hat or step in the water, and then people would give him another dot. In fact, he had so many gray dots that some people would come up and give him one without reason. "He deserves lots of dots," the wooden people would agree with one another. "He's not a good wooden person."

After a while Punchinello believed them. "I'm not a good Wemmick," he would say. The few times he went outside, he hung around other Wemmicks who had a lot of dots. He felt better around them.

One day he met a Wemmick who was unlike any he'd ever met. She had no dots or stars. She was just wooden. Her name was Lucia. It wasn't that people didn't try to give her stickers; it's just that the stickers didn't stick. Some admired Lucia for having no dots, so they would run up and give her a star. But it would fall off. Some would look down on her for having no stars, so they would give her a dot. But it wouldn't stay either. 'That's the way I want to be,'thought Punchinello. 'I don't want anyone's marks.' So he asked the stickerless Wemmick how she did it. "It's easy," Lucia replied. "every day I go see Eli."

"Eli?" "Yes, Eli. The woodcarver. I sit in the workshop with him." "Why?" "Why don't you find out for yourself? Go up the hill. He's there."

And with that the Wemmick with no marks turned and skipped away. "But he won't want to see me!" Punchinello cried out. Lucia didn't hear. So Punchinello went home. He sat near a window and watched the wooden people as they scurried around giving each other stars and dots. "It's not right," he muttered to himself. And he resolved to go see Eli. He walked up the narrow path to the top of the hill and stepped into the big shop. His wooden eyes widened at the size of everything. The stool was as tall as he was. He had to stretch on his tiptoes to see the top of the workbench. A hammer was as long as his arm. Punchinello swallowed hard. "I'm not staying here!" and he turned to leave. Then he heard his name.

"Punchinello?" The voice was deep and strong. Punchinello stopped. "Punchinello! How good to see you. Come and let me have a look at you." Punchinello turned slowly and looked at the large bearded craftsman. "You know my name?" the little Wemmick asked.

"Of course I do. I made you." Eli stooped down and picked him up and set him on the bench. "Hmm," the maker spoke thoughtfully as he inspected the gray circles. "Looks like you've been given some bad marks." "I didn't mean to, Eli. I really tried hard." "Oh, you don't have to defend yourself to me, child. I don't care what the other Wemmicks think." "You don't?"

No, and you shouldn't either. Who are they to give stars or dots?

They're Wemmicks just like you. What they think doesn't matter, Punchinello. All that matters is what I think. And I think you are pretty special."

Punchinello laughed. "Me, special? Why? I can't walk fast. I can't jump. My paint is peeling. Why do I matter to you?"

Eli looked at Punchinello, put his hands on those small wooden shoulders, and spoke very slowly. "Because you're mine. That's why you matter to me."

Punchinello had never had anyone look at him like this--much less his maker. He didn't know what to say.

"Every day I've been hoping you'd come," Eli explained.

"I came because I met someone who had no marks."

"I know. She told me about you."

"Why don't the stickers stay on her?"

"Because she has decided that what I think is more important than what they think. The stickers only stick if you let them."

"What?"

"The stickers only stick if they matter to you. The more you trust my love, the less you care about the stickers."

"I'm not sure I understand."

"You will, but it will take time. You've got a lot of marks. For now, just come to see me every day and let me remind you how much I care." Eli lifted Punchinello off the bench and set him on the ground. "Remember," Eli said as the Wemmick walked out the door. "You are special because I made you. And I don't make mistakes."

Punchinello didn't stop, but in his heart he thought, "I think he really means it."

And when he did, a dot fell to the ground.

May all your dots fall silently to the ground, for if given by man, they matter only to other men, if given by the Gods, no one questions, the scars that make up our lives. (when given the choice, pass out stars, drop the dots in the trash.)



- Max Lucado

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Your Influence

"You cannot exert an influence that will transform others until your own heart has been humbled and refined and made tender by the grace of Christ. When this change has been wrought in you, it will be as natural for you to live to bless others as it is for a rosebush to yield its fragrant bloom or the vine its purple clusters." MB 128


Another excellent quote from the book that I am reading. There have been many underlined and stars in this book and so many blessings reading it and understanding God's Word more and more.

Hope everyone is having a great week end!

Unnecessary, but Lovingly Given - part 2

I had meant to share this on the last post - the quotes that I shared were talking about this passage below. I included a little more of the passage because I felt like it was needed to get the whole idea. There is lots more good stuff before this passage and after so you may want to get your Bibles out and read the whole chapter of Matthew 6.

"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? 28 So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." Matthew 6:25-33

Red - because these were words of Christ himself!

"And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19

Adding this last verse just because I love it and want to share it again. Don't think we can ever hear it too much. Have a blessed day! :O)

Sabbath Praise

Not sure if this one is going to work or not - giving me bit of a problem just trying to set this up. Sorry if it does not work. Have a great day! :O)

Unnecessary, but Lovingly Given

Happy 11-11-11 - what a cool date that is! And can you believe we are just two weeks away from Thanksgiving.
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I find myself being drawn to books that uplift Jesus Christ, and that draw me into a closer relationship with Him. I had shared with you all that I had been reading the book "Steps to Christ" well now I am reading another great book " Thoughts From The Mount Of Blessings." This book has not let me down. Such an uplifting book it has been.
Well I came across some passages that I really wanted to share with you all. It all has to do with how much God loves us and wants our characters to reflect His character. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have:

"All that was needed for existence would have been yours without the flowers and the birds, but God was not content to provide what would be suffice for mere existence. He has filled earth and air and sky with glimpses of beauty to tell you of His loving thought for you. The beauty of all created things is but a gleam from the shining of His glory. If He has lavished such infinite skill upon the things of nature, for your happiness and joy, can you doubt that He will give you every needed blessing?"

"Through the flowers, God would call our attention to the loveliness of Christlike character. He who has given such beauty to the blossoms desires far more that the soul should be clothed with the beauty of the character of Christ."

"But when the life of God, hidden therein, unfolds at His call in the rain and the sunshine, men marvel at the vision of grace and loveliness. Even so will the life of God unfold in every human soul that will yield itself to the ministry of His grace, which, free as the rain and sunshine, comes with its benediction to all. It is the word of God that creates the flowers, and the same word will produce in you the grace of His Spirit."
MB 96-97

If you would like to check out this book and read more you may click HERE . Have a wonderful day and may you remember just how much God loves you!! :O)

Accepting Where I Am

I have been doing a lot of reading lately. Reading things that are opening my eyes to our true mission in life ..winning souls for the Kingdom of God. And while I say that, I would like to add a bit of an explanations here, I do not believe that someone has to be a missionary or even out giving Bible studies to be winning souls. I think that as we allow our Heavenly Father to live His life through us - that by our kindness and our love we will have an impact on those around us. When we surrender our lives to God - and we allow His love to penetrate our very souls - then that love will over flow to those around us.


So as I have been learning this and then as I read through the "Abiding Woman" list, I got to number 8 - "She teaches her kids to be Godly" - I was convicted. I was a young mother who thought that she was doing such a good job and I taught my children to be good. But now - that I am older and my children are grown - I realize that I fell short in this area (and to be honest in many areas) And as I was talking to God I asked- why could I have not figured all this stuff out a long time ago - and all of a sudden I heard the truth. The truth is that IF I had figured it all out back then, before I learned the importance of surrendering my heart to God - The glory would not have gone to God. I would have thought that it was all because of me. See back then I was one of those people that thought that I could be good enough and that is totally wrong thinking - because without Jesus Christ there is no good in us. Only when we allow Jesus Christ to live in us -is there any good in us - and that is only through Jesus.

So even though I wish I were further along in my knowledge of Jesus Christ and even though I am disappointed in falling short -in the past and sometimes even now- I will just trust God that I am exactly where He wants me to be. And as long as I continue to surrender my life to Him - I will be exactly where He wants me to be. :o)

Pyramid Schemes are a Counterfeit To....

Lately several people I know have gotten involved in pyramid schemes. And something that I noticed is that when they did - their entire attention was focused on making money. I have a very good friend who got involved in one- I don't think she realized that it was one when she signed up. Pyramid schemes sell themselves by telling you -that you will have your own business.

Well my friend had been very involved with ministry before she became involved with this company. Then she joined this company and paid her money to get started. Then she had to get t 10 people to buy into this product -all the while the proceeds of these 10 people went to the person who brought her into this company. Well she soon learned the reality of it all - once you get these 10 people on board, you have about exhausted your resources of people so it actually ends up costing you money rather than earning you money. Well my friend was very wise and she got out. Her focus is back on her ministry and what she can do for God.

Since several people I know have gotten involved in these pyramid schemes, I have given a lot of thought to the idea of making money at other people's expense. And how this just has to be wrong. Well this morning during my devotional time, I came across a paragraph that was talking about this Bible verse:

19 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21

"And at the final day, when the wealth of earth shall perish, he who has laid up treasure in heaven will behold that which his life has gained. If we have given heed to the words of Christ, then, as we gather around the great white throne, we shall see souls who have been saved through our agency, and shall know that one has saved others, and these still others - a large company brought into the haven of rest as the result of our labors, there to lay their crowns at Jesus' feet, and praise Him through the ceaseless ages of eternity." MB 90

And it dawned on me- pyramid scheme's are the counterfeit to what God really wants our focus to be -winning souls for the Kingdom of God.

I don't know about you, but the only pyramid that I want to be a part of is the one that is involved in bring people to Jesus.


"If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God." Colossians 3:1

Godly Woman vs. the Counterfeit

This morning a friend shared the below "wall photo" and as I read it, I thought wow - this is me. This is who I used to be and who God is creating me to be. Read through it and see which title you fall under. Up until just several years ago - maybe even a couple of years ago - I fell mostly - if not totally- yep - totally under being a Super Woman. Even now sometimes I find myself falling back into some of that old way of thinking and it is no fun. God has an excellent plan for our lives and if we will only allow Him - He will guide us every step of the way. :o)

(Photo above is from the "Teach Them Diligently Convention" Facebook page)

Thankful For Blessings

This morning when I let my chickens out - I tossed out scraps like I always do. The chickens checked out what I threw out and then came running to me to see what else they could get. All of a sudden it hit me- isn't that the way we are as children of God. He throws out blessings on us and instead of being thankful for what he has bestowed on us - it's like we go running to Him to see what other blessings we can get.


So I am going to try to be more thankful for the blessings that He gives. And be satisfied with the things that He chooses to bless me with.
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So I will go ahead and share a few more things that I am thankful for:

I am really thankful for my pets - my cats and my chickens.
These chickens have taught me so many lessons - and I am thankful for that as well. That God uses these chickens to teach me lessons that I need to learn. I love to watch them - it is relaxing to watch them too.


I am thankful for my job.
It is not what I really thought I would be doing with my life at this point but it is a way for me to be able to make extra money and I am able to help my MIL. For those of you who do not know- I work at my MIL's bakery a couple of days a week. And we are entering into the time of year that I have ALOT more work. We put our order forms out today and we already had an order for 2 pies before I left work. Oh and here is something that I am praying about - my MIL has an infection and might have to have a surgery. I am praying that if she has to have the surgery that God will give me the strength and ability to get all the stuff done. Usually with the two us of we have a lot of work-sometimes more than we can really handle- but if she has to have the surgery - then I may be left to do it on my own. I know that God will not give me more than I can handle.


I am thankful for my Bibles.
There are people around the world who do not have a Bible and would give anything to be able to have on. How often we take for granted the fact that not only can we have a Bible we have the freedom to read it.

Just a few of the the things that I am thankful for. What are you Thankful for? :O)

Sabbath Praise

Be sure and watch video - it will tell the story behind this song. It will give even deeper meeting to how God can provide all of our needs - even peace in the storms of life. :o)

Taking Time to be Thankful

On Facebook and now on blogs I have noticed people posting each day of what they are thankful for. I have been a bit hesitant to get on board with this - why? You ask. Well there are a couple of reasons. Don't get me wrong, I think that it is very important for us to be thankful and to praise God for all of our blessings.

First of all, I do not want to take time just this month because it is Thanksgiving month to be thankful and then to just let that go altogether. And the other reason why I have been a little hesitant takes a bit longer to explain.

I know a lady that is in her upper 50's and she is all the time bragging about how she has not been to the Dr in years and years. No - she never had children. So she got pneumonia about 5 years ago and when she went to the hospital and had even bragged to the Dr about how it had been years and years since she had been to the Dr's. Well I know that this should not bother me - but I think because of the health problems that my husband has had and this year with him having problems and having to keep going and having things done -it just seems to rub me the wrong way when she is bragging. And to be honest - she may feel like she is just stating what she is thankful for. But to me - it comes across as bragging. So basically I don't mind sharing things that I am thankful for but do not want to come across to others as just bragging.

So now you understand the reason why I have not jumped on board before now. Well I do know of some ladies that take a day of the week and they list what they are thankful for and I may end up doing something like that. I don't know for sure yet.

Speaking of things I am thankful for - I think I would have to start out with what is the most important thing to me - my Jesus! I am so thankful for our creator and Father God. I am thankful for God's love for me - that He sent his only son -Jesus to die on the cross for my sins. And I am thankful for the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has many rolls but I think that one of my favorites is that He helps me understand things as I read the Bible. The Bible tells us that he teaches us, comforts us, and it even says in Luke 12:12 that "the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."

I am thankful for my family and friends. I am most thankful for my family and friends who pray. That have held me and my family up in prayers many, many times. Things are not always perfect with the family and friends but I am learning that God uses these people in my life to work out character defects that I have. And I am thankful for them all.

I am thankful for the Ten Commandments.

"And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God." Exodus 31:18

Did you notice that the Ten Commandments were written by the finger of God on tablets of stone?

Today I am most thankful for the Sabbath Day! It has been a long day and I am tired and I am ready for a day of rest. God knew what he was doing when he created the world and made sure that he put day of rest in there.

"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it." Exodus 20:8-11

Ok - I think that is full enough list for today.

This and That

Wednesday the temperatures got up to about 80 degrees. Then by late afternoon a cold front started to blow into the area. And it seemed as if it went from 80 down to about 60 in about an hour or so. I really enjoyed the nice cool breeze as I worked on weed eating a pretty good sized area in my back yard. And I was glad to have that job done and be able to enjoy looking at how nice the back yard looks now.

Look at what our temperatures for the next week look like:
This is the kind of weather that I really enjoy. I love to be able to regulate the temps in the house by opening or closing windows. And not have to use very much energy for AC or Heat. This morning I had to run the Heat for a bit cause it was a bit chilly in our house. And we will probably have to run it a bit tonight as well. But it is so nice to have fresh air blowing through the house when it is cool. Summers here are long and the house gets stuffy- so once this weather gets here - we really enjoy it.

I am making Chicken and Dumplings for my family for supper. Then I need to make up a menu and a grocery list. Things just work so much better when I have a list of things that I would like to make and make sure I have all the ingredients for said list. Tomorrow I have to work because my son that has been working at the store since he lost his job - will have a meeting with HR tomorrow. Please keep this in your prayers - please pray that God will open the doors needed for my son to be able to get his job back. :o)

A Finished Project!

I am so sorry that it has taken me so long to get this post together to share with you all. About a week or so ago, I shared this photo and said that I was finishing up quilt that I had bought this fabric for. As you can tell it took me a LONG time from when I bought this fabric -December 2009 - to when I finally got the quilt put together. I sewed the last border on the quilt on Sunday October 30th, 2011.
Well probably not too long after I bought this fabric - I spent a long time cutting out over 357 pieces of fabric in order to put this quilt together. I know that count to be true because earlier this morning - I got my directions out for this quilt and added the numbers all together. I say more than because in the count pieces like the border pieces and such are not included - well not the outer two borders.

I need to mention here the biggest reason why there was such a delay in actually working on this quilt. I ended up with 11 blocks - one block some how disappeared. And then one of the blocks did not seem to even fit into the quilt(if you want to see the block- in the photo below look at the block laying on top of that little cabinet- see if just does not fit?!) So that meant that I only had 10 blocks. Well in order to make this quilt you need 12 blocks. So I just waited thinking that the other block would show up and then when I figured out that the other block did not work - I knew I would have to some how come up with 2 more blocks for this quilt. Well thanks to my Mother's help - we were able to pull together some fabric from my stash in order to make those last 2 blocks. Can you tell in the photo below - which blocks I made from my stash fabrics?

So once I had my 12 blocks - I put them up on my design board the way I wanted them to be in my quilt.
Next I began to sew the framing fabrics onto the blocks. This is the main reason why I really wanted a design board before I started this quilt - you have to do every other block - a different color and by having them up on the wall, I pulled down the ones I was working on at that time and then put them back up. To make it easier, I worked on one half of the quilt at a time.

So once I sewed my top half of the quilt to the bottom half - I was ready to sew the outer borders on.
Here it is finished. Sorry I had a hard time getting my camera's flash to work to get a good photo. Do you see my cat Stewie at the top right side of photo? Every time I am working with a quilt at least one of my cats has to check things out.

Just in case you were wondering which blocks I made, here they are. I just used the directions of the block that was lost and made them the same. I think they turned out pretty well considering I did not have to buy any fabric to make them.

Well I hope that you take a little time every now and then to be creative - it does the mind and soul good. :o)

Added:

I am planningon using the green fabric for the binding. And after this project - we did find out that when I have more room - I will want a larger design board. Until then I am quite content with using the one I have. :o)

Just a Bit of My Testimony

Yes - I remember that I just posted this quotes just 2 days ago. But I wanted to have them here again because I wanted to share personally why these quotes really speak to me.

"The trials of life are God's workmen, to remove the impurities and roughness from our character. Their hewing, squaring, and chiseling, their burnishing and polishing, is a painful process; it is hard to be pressed down to the grinding wheel. But the stone is brought forth prepared to fill its place in the heavenly temple. Upon no useless material does the Master bestow such careful, thorough work. Only His precious stones are polished after the similitude of a palace."

"If received in faith, the trial that seems so bitter and hard to bear will prove a blessing."

both quotes are from Thoughts From The Mount Of Blessings pg 10

As some of you know several years ago at the age of 39 my husband was diagnosed with early on-set Parkinson's. This was devastating news. I really don't think that people fully understand the implications when people get this disease at such a young age. Most people are much older, yesterday we found out of a 59 year old man who was diagnosed.

After my husband was diagnosed we went to a symposium about Parkinson's. And as we sat in this auditorium - we were by far the youngest people there, talk about sticking out like a sore thumb.

I went through a time period of overwhelming emotions as I first dealt with this diagnoses. It was a very hard time. It seemed as if the sun was gone and it was just gloomy around me. But something really wonderful came of all of this. I clung to Jesus. There was nothing in my power that I could do to change any of this- I was powerless and in my powerless - I let go. And when I let go - I was able to hold more tightly to Jesus Christ. I spent more time in the Word of God and on my knees. As I spent more time seeking Him - the Son began to shine in my life again. The sad times came less and less and I began to learn to trust my Heavenly Father. And I learned that "He would supply all my needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19)

So when I read the above quotes yesterday morning- they really spoke to me. And I wanted to share them because I know a lot of people who are going through some really hard times right now- some of which read my blog- so I wanted to share these quotes, hoping that these quotes would be a blessing to others as well.

"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28

Many years ago, when I believed this verse to mean - that everything will turn out good. Well it does not work that way exactly. I have come to realize that it means that thing will work out for our eternal good. And that is what truly matters in the end.

So if you are going through rough times - remember that Jesus is there to carry you through - He will supply your needs - just ask. :o)