For 89 Cents, You too, Can Have a Hopes, Dreams and Goals Journal

LOL!

Sorry but I have a funny sense of humor. For some reason when I looked at my journal and noticed the $.89 price tag on it, I could not pass up using that as the title to this post!

 

Anyway I thought I had already told about my hope's, dream's and goal's journal but I can not find it, I really did not look very closely though so I may have mentioned it before.

I found this awesome journal at a local Goodwill store. And about the same time that I found it I came up with the idea of writing my hopes, dreams and notes of these things in my journal. That was the beginning of August. And as I opened this and read the first post and reviewed the contents- I realized that it was very important to have something like this. I think it is a good idea to write hopes and dreams - even the little ones. Here are just a couple of mine as examples:

 

*Have a nice concrete driveway put in

 

* I would like to learn more about English gardens and create a beautiful space in our yard with plants that will do well here.

 

As you can see that these hopes and dreams vary to all sorts of aspects of your life.

 

We have a few bills that I look forward to us having paid off. And in a section in my journal _ I have written - the bill and when it should be paid off. And it is very encouraging ever so often to look at that and be reminded that slowly we are getting the things paid off.

 

One reason for this section is because one of my dreams is to learn how to quilt. And I would like to get a building for our back yard to put the quilting machine in. And that will not happen until some of these bills are paid off. So that is one reason I am keeping on eye on these bill pay off dates. They represent the steps to being closer to having that dream accomplished. I am also hoping that maybe I can be good enough at quilting to maybe have a small quilting business here. But that is only if it is God's will- so first I need to see if I can even do a good job at quilting - then see if God opens the door in that direction.

 

So some important things to remember about having a Hopes and Dreams Journal:

 

Be sure to record those hopes and dreams.

 

Review them ever so often.

Be sure and write down events that lead you closer to achieving your dreams.

 

You can even draw things in your journal. I saw the cutest "Welcome" sign and so I drew a photo of it and hoping that some day I will be able to create it.

 

As you allow yourself to have hopes and dreams you will realize that you will have more creativity towards these goals.

 

It is neat to review these events ever so often. They will remind you that yes you are headed in the right direction. It shows you how God is working in your life. And the journey may be slow - but your journal will show that you are still headed in the right direction.

 

If you are anything like me - you have some dreams but because you don't write them down - you don't always realize they are hopes that you have and you are not able to work towards them. They become forgotten dreams. This is the main reason that I started this journal and will continue to review it.

 

Here is my Hopes and Dreams Journal.

I hope that you can find a pretty journal in order to begin the journey towards your hopes and dreams.

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This morning I went to check out a local weather report and I was thrilled to see(FINALLY) see the highs only in the low 80's. We have been having upper 80's to lower 90's for quite some time now. I am ready for FALL - NOW!! So this is a great sign that it is one step closer!

 

Power of Prayer

Privilege of Prayer

Entering upon the privilege_

"Rest yourself wholly in the hands of Jesus. Contemplate His great love, and while you meditate upon His self-denial, His infinite sacrifice made in our behalf in order that we should believe in Him, your heart will be filled with holy joy, calm peace, and indescribable love. As we talk of Jesus, as we call upon Him in prayer, our confidence that He is our personal, loving Saviour will strengthen, and His character will appear more and more lovely....We may enjoy rich feasts of love, and as we fully believe that we are His by adoption, we may have a foretaste of heaven. Wait upon the Lord in faith. The Lord draws out the soul in prayer, and gives us to feel His precious love. We have a nearness to Him, and can hold sweet communion with Him. We obtain distinct views of His tenderness and compassion, and our hearts are broken and melt with contemplation of the love that is given to us. We feel indeed an abiding Christ in the soul...Our peace is like a river, wave after wave of glory rolls into the heart, and indeed we sup with Jesus and He with us. We have a realizing sense of the love of God, and we rest in His love. No language can describe it, it is beyond knowledge. We are one with Christ, our life is hid with Christ in God. We have the assurance that when He who is our life shall appear, then shall we also appear with Him in glory. With strong confidence, we can call God our Father. Whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. His Spirit makes us like Jesus Christ in temper, and disposition, we represent Christ to others. When Christ is abiding in the soul the fact cannot be hid; for He is like a wen of water springing up into everlasting life. We can but represent the likeness of Christ in our character, and our words, our deportment, produces in others a deep, abiding, increasing love for Jesus, and we make manifest... that we are conformed into the image of Jesus Christ." _ quote from "Sons and Daughters of God" pg. 311

The Weed-eating of Me

I spent some time weed eating this week. And every time that I weed eat I have a wonderful feeling of accomplishment. I guess it is because with weed eating you can see the difference you are making. It is not always like that with other household jobs, you know - you wash dishes and in just a few hours there are dirty dishes again. You wash clothes and everything is clean - but is it? No- you have clothes on that will soon be in that clothes hamper. But with weed eating you are able to see the difference that your effort is making.

When you mow your yard and it looks nice - but weed eating takes it to another level. It cleans away all the tall stuff around your flower beds, along fences and such. As I was weed eating I wondered if God feels the same way when He is working with us in order to remove this and that unsightly characteristic.

I enjoy weed eating my yard. The weed eating of me? Not so much. It is painful but if it shapes me and makes me into a beautiful masterpiece that God wants me to be then I am thankful that God takes the time to clean away all the dross in my life.  :O)

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Be sure to stop by tomorrow because I am starting a new series - every Sabbath I will post some great quotes on prayer. Have a great day! :O)

A Look at What "Thy Kingdom Come" Looks Like

 

Ok So this is one of the books that I am reading right now. It has been a very good book. It is the type of book that you have to read a bit and take some time to let it sink in and then you continue on. So I am taking it slow. A section of what I read today was awesome and encouraging and so I wanted to share it with you all.

Borrowed this from Bible Printables.

 

Right now I am at the section that is talking about the phrase: "Thy kingdom come"

Here is what it has to say:

 

When we pray, "Thy kingdom come," we're praying for the establishment of Christ's kingdom. Just what will happen then?

 

1. The coming of the kingdom starts with the return of Christ and the resurrection of he dead(John 5:25-29; Acts 24:14,15; 1 Corinthians 15:12-58).

 

2. It spells an end to all injustice and evil, sin and revolt against God. Love will dominate our actions and thinking, our relationship with God and with each other (1 John 4:7-21).

 

3. Our relationship with God will be direct and without a veil between us. We shall see God face-to-face and live always in His presence (1 John 3:2; Revelation 22:4).

 

4. There will be no more sickness and suffering, no more pain or anxiety, no more disappointments or despair (Revelation 7:17; 21:4).

 

5. Christ will be the center of this new universe with its new humanity. Our minds, nature and characters will be like His; we will be restored to His image, reflecting Him in all we do and think. There'll be no racism there, ageism, or even sexism (Romans 8:29; 1 Corinthians 15:49; 2 Corinthians 5:14- 18; Galatians 3:26-29; Philippians 2:1-5; Colossians 3:10,11)

 

6. This new world; this new life will last forever! God's kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. He will reign forever. All mortal beings and all things that are changeable here will have put on immortality and become unchangeable in the same way as God is immortal and unchangeable! (Psalm 145:13; Luke 1:33; 1 Corinthians 15:51-58; 1 Timothy 6:16; 2 Peter 1:11).

 

7. Not only will we humans share in these blessings that God  has prepared for His children, but nature, too- the whole created universe- will be affected by it. For that reason, "The creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God; for the creation was subjected to futility...the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God" (Romans 8:19-22).

 

 

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,

and the leopard shall lie down with the kid,

and the calf and the lion and the fatling together,

and a little child shall lead them...

The sucking child shall play over the hold of the asp,

 and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den

Isaiah 11:6-8

 



A Battered Sheep, but His Sheep just the same

So I couldn't remember if I shared with you all my last BOM- the last one for this year. Next month I will begin a new year with new colors~ black, grey, yellow and white is the choice that I picked. The other choice was country colors. I am sure that the country colors one will be really pretty but I could only choose one so I went with the one that was different.

 

Here are the fabrics before I cut them out:

Here is the finished block: 

Yesterday I had a dental appointment. I decided that once the dental appointment was over to treat myself to a trip to the Quilt Store. I had been gifted a gift certificate and then I also had a $20.00 of free fabric once you get all the amounts on the punch card stamped. So with that money - plus less than $20.00 out of pocket I got the fabric to put my Butterfly fabric quilt together:

This set of fabrics will be what I use to put the current fabrics together with. I think that the current colors could be described as country colors. 

 I also have a set of Fall blocks that I have had finished for at least 4+ years. Well I found some fabulous fabric to put the blocks together with. I not really thought that I liked the blocks until I found this great fabric!

This Morning my Mother and I went to an Estate Sale. Believe it or not I had never been to one before. I was a bit disappointed in how pricy things were. But I did find a couple of great deals.
I have wanted a quick and easy mop for a long time. I really wanted one that I could make up my own cleaning solution so that it would be safer for my pets. Anyway I found one at this estate sale. It is a Rubbermaid Reveal spray mop. It had a removeable/washable pad on it so I can wash it. I could also order more if I would like. I found several books and a couple of boxes of cards. I had found a great lace table cloth - but they wanted too much money for it as especially when I was not sure that it would fit my table. Here is a photo of the mop that I found.:

I am a bit discouraged today. This morning I did my devotionals and actually had a really good devotional time. I got dressed in my clothes from yesterday and I went to take care of my outside animals. As I glanced out the backdoor window - I noticed a pile of white feathers on the back porch- that was odd. And I looked around and noticed I only had 3 chickens that had come to eat. My heart started racing, "had we lost 3 more chickens?" I went around the back yard looking for the chickens- did not find any. Then I went out front and around to our neighbors yard and I was so happy to find Donna(black) and Fancy(Easter chicken) over there. I went and got my drill and removed 2 of the fence slats and after quite some time I finally got the two chickens back into our yard. I still have not found the white chicken that is missing. Another one of our white chickens has quite a bit of it's tail feathers missing. I have no clue as to what got it and I have no idea what happened to it. I feel a little like that battered chicken though. We have had chickens for so long and we never, up until the last month, had this much trouble keeping them alive and well. I feel battered. I am trying not to allow myself to be discouraged and I am trying to trust that God is in control but I just feel a heaviness.

 

I have been singing this song a lot today.  You can click over and actually hear the tune so you can sing along with it as well. I hope it blesses you.

 

His Sheep am I

In God's green pastures feeding, by His cool waters lie;
Soft in the evening walk my Lord and I.
All the sheep of His pastures fare so wondrously fine,
His sheep am I.

Waters cool, (In the valley)
Pastures green, (On the mountain)
In the evening walk my Lord and I;
             (In the evening walk my Lord and I)
Dark the night, (In the valley)
Rough the way, (On the mountain)
Step by step my Lord and I.
              (Step by step my Lord and I)

 

A Look at the 23 Psalm

It's a busy day - but just wanted to share this! I thought it was awesome! Hope it blesses you too! :O)

 

This and That Thursday

Attempt number two.... So yesterday evening my husband and I went and got gas in the gas can so that I could fill up the lawn mower. Well by the time we got home after Bible Study Class at church - it was dark so we did not even try the lawn mower. But this morning - I filled it up and tried to start it. I tried several times. Then I felt myself get frustrated because I could not start it. I decided to pray and ask God to help me. I said if I am suppose to mow help me get the mower going. If I am not suppose to then help me to be ok with that. Well I tried 7 times and I could not get it started. So I went and got my weed eater and hit a few of the taller areas of grass in the back yard. I am charging my battery and will hit a few more areas later today.

I spent some time filling up my birdbaths and cleaning my chickens pool and got them fresh water. I felt good to at least get a few things done outside. Maybe not what I wanted to do but I was able to get a few things done out there.
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So yesterday I asked about what kind of shoes you ladies wear with your dresses. And I got two ladies that said that they loved Clark shoes. Well I wanted to share a bit of a blessing with you all. You know the kind of story that God knew what you needed before you realized what you needed. Well on Labor Day my sister and I went thrift store shopping. We hit 3 different stores. I found 3 things a nice(brand new tags on) black skirt, a nice pair of jeans and a pair of brown mary jane style Clark shoes for $7.99. I had thought it was a bit high but I had really wanted shoes in that style for quite some time so I got them. Now that I have researched Clark shoes- I realize that I got a great deal. Then today - after being told that I could find Clark shoes on Amazon and since we have Amazon Prime for at least a couple more months- I looked and found a pair of black Clark shoes- should get them next week! I am excited! I have wide feet and hoping that the shoes that I ordered will be the right size for me and will fit even on the width part. The ones I found at the thrift store - I can not tell what width they are but they fit pretty good. They could have been a bit wider though. Anyway I love when God takes care of a problem before I realized it was a problem. Another shoe that I would really like to check out is Keds- I would like to get a pair of the white canvas shoes - I am not quite sure if they have good arch support and good support over all- I am thinking at the prices that they run that they should be thought. I am hoping to have the chance to try some on and see how I like them. Maybe God will bring me a pair of them. I will keep my eyes open and maybe just maybe I will find some. If I do - I will be sure and get back on here and tell you all about it!
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So apparently summer is still here - it is suppose to be up in the upper 90's today with heat index in the triple digits. I think for today and tomorrow. I am SO over this summer weather. I am SO ready for cooler weather. I was thrilled this morning after I worked in the back yard - when I went and sat on the back porch for a while- that I felt some cool breezes sweep past me. That was wonderful. I am really looking forward to cooler weather.
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So gas prices around here have dropped below $2.00 a gallon. That is wonderful. I am so thankful. In the last day or so some of the stations have increased the prices again so I am thinking they are fixing to go back up. I sure hope not. It seems like things are so much nicer with gas prices lower. When you are not spending so much money on gas you can afford some other important things - like food.... lol
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Well  better close. I am not sure I will be able to be on here very much this week end. I have lots of errands to run tomorrow. We have a family get together for our youngest sons 23rd birthday! We will also be seeing our granddaughter. And so we will be quite busy. So if I don't see you guys till next week - I hope you all have a great week end. See you next week.

Oh one more thing - On Monday morning will be the Ladies Bible Study Groups 1 real meeting to discuss the first chapter of Steps to Christ. Please pray that it will go smoothly and that the Holy Spirit will lead out and guide our conversations. Thank you so very much! :0)

Project Blocks...

Ok - I have a bit of a problem and I wanted to share with you all. I would like to see if anyone else has this problem? Or am I the only one? Sometimes I tend to get an idea of what I really want to get done and then if something happens that causes me not to be able to do what ever it was - I get a little stopped up in being able to more on and do other things. I will give an example to make it easier to understand what I am trying to explain. So yesterday I decided that the most important things that I wanted to get done today was to get my back yard mowed and then work in the chicken coop and pen- scooping out the excess dirt/dried poop/whatever. So after my devotions and quiet time I got ready and went out to get the yard mowed, but I could not get the mower going. And it just made it so hard to move on and do other things because that was something I REALLY wanted to get done today. Thankfully after working on scooping stuff up out of the chicken coop and pen I was able to spend some time sitting on my back porch and that helped me to be able to realize - ok - this is not the end of the world. I can get other things done - and when my husband gets home - he can help me with the mower and I get my mowing done tomorrow. Anyway this is not the first time that this kind of thing has happened. It seems that when I am inspired to do something that I just really like to follow through and do it and then move on to the next project. Thankfully I am able to get other things done. And I was able to get some weed eating done in the back yard so that was really nice.

 

Another example is that a couple of weeks ago a friend on Facebook shared how she had gotten a fingernail polish holder and had hung it on her wall and used it to hold her essential oils. Well ever since then I have really wanted to do that. It would really help clear up the area that I store my oils and help that area look nicer. So I have been watching for one of the holders- no luck yet but I haven't given up. But just having that hang over me make me feel like I can not be as creative because I have not been able to complete that project yet. I did find a cute 2 shelved wooden little cabinet at a nearby thrift store and I am going to measure my bottles to see if I could use it for my oils and then have my husband go with me to see if it would be a good idea to use for my oils or not- if it is still there the next time we go.

 

Well I am still being able to get things done- just not exactly the main things that I wanted to get done this week. This week I was able to take these fabrics:

And make them into this: 

 

I have really felt the desire to wear more skirts and blouses my biggest problem is that I have problems with my feet and really need good supportive shoes. So it makes it hard. So I am on the look out for some great, comfortable, and great support shoes to wear with dresses and skirts. If any of you have any ideas of some great shoes - please leave me comments with info. All the help in this area that I can get the better. I have recently found two great skirts - a black and a jean skirt - so I have a couple of great outfits that I could wear if I could find some great comfortable shoes.

Well I hope you all are doing well. I better close for now and get on with my list of things that I want to accomplish today. :O)

 

Would You Like To Check This Out?

Today is the day that I begin a Ladies Bible Study Group at my home. Please pray that those that chose to participate will be blessed. We will be studying the book "Steps To Christ" and we will be using the Study Guide I thought I would share just in case some of you are interested in studying this awesome little book. It is a small but powerful book. God bless each of you. Lisa :O)

Chickens and People

This morning as I was looking out my bedroom window at my little flock of chickens, my mind wandered again to how majestic my flock used to be and how sad I was to have lost so many. Then I thought of how much I loved the little flock of chickens that I have left. I felt thankful.

Then all of a sudden, I realized that God must feel the same way I do. He created us to be with Him. Sin changed the plan but His desire to have us with Him is still there. In fact, that is the reason He sent His Son to this earth- so that by His sinless life and His death on the cross for our sins we could be saved. God would love for us ALL to be saved- but salvation is a gift - a gift we must accept in order to have salvation.

I am sure that as God looks out of the windows of heaven, He too, must feel sad about those that are lost and I am sure that He feels so much more love in His heart for those that are saved than what I feel for my little flock of chickens. But I am sure that His heart aches for those that are lost. Jesus even told a parable about the shepherd who had 100 sheep and one of them was lost - and the shepherd went out to find the lost one.

What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he finds it?" Luke 15:4

Just as my chickens had adversaries, the dogs, so do we.

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

But Praise the Lord we have a Savior who is more than happy to accept us into His family. As long as we have breath - we have the option of accepting Him as our Lord and Savior. But please don't wait until the last minute because we are not guaranteed even tomorrow. Accept Him today. And think of how happy you would make His heart. He is sad to lose any of His dear children. Don't let it be you that is lost, accept that gift of salvation today.

My flock of chickens might be small but they still have lessons for me to learn from them. And I am so very happy that I have them! :O)

I Am Still Here

Just checking in a bit to let you know I have not fallen off the side of the world...lol. We have been having some internet and phone issues the last couple of days. And then I had an appointment to get my teeth cleaned. Had thought I had 3 cavities - long story. The good news is I only had one - will have it taken care of in two weeks. I have run quite a bit of errands and then just taking care of my home and yard.

This morning we woke up to rain - wonderful rain. We have had 15 official days of triple digit temps for our area- and actually at our house - there is a chance that we have had more than 15. It has been SO humid the last couple of days that my hair has fallen almost flat....don't like that at all. Usually my hairspray holds up to the weather but not the last couple of days. The high today is like mid to upper 80's instead of the upper 90's like it has been. We needed the rain - we need a whole lot more. But I am so happy and thankful for the rain we got.

Oh - I wanted to share something with you all- I found the funniest show- "Keeping Up Appearances." We signed up for Netflix because a show we liked to watch is going to continue but only through Netflix. Anyway so I was going through the list of movies and shows that they recommended to me and saw this show and just the short little info about it caught my attention. And so I watched one and I was hooked. I love it. "That's Bouquet- spelled B-U-C-K-E-T." lol  Anyway I wanted to share just in case some of you have not ever seen it - I believe you can look the show up and see some of them or at least smidgens of them on Youtube.

Well I am going to go ahead and post this. I hope you all are doing well.

Sabbath Blessing

Co-workers with Him

"God never leads His children otherwise than they would choose to be led, if they could see the end from the beginning, and discern the glory of the purpose which they are fulfilling as co-workers with Him.......And of all the gifts that Heaven can bestow upon men, fellowship with Christ in His sufferings is the most weighty trust and the highest honor. - {DA224.5}
A wonderful quote that I found while reading my chapter in preparation for Prayer Meeting this week. It was such a blessing. If you would like to read the whole chapter click here.

Giving Some Direction to Your Day

I just had to check in and share something that I was reminded of this week. I was reminded the importance of writing a "to do" list. I started out the week with my normal paper in which I write the days of the week down and then I list things next to the day that I need to do - like Dr appointments, prayer meeting, hair cuts, etc. And sometimes I write a few more chores down for each day - things like take out the trash on Tuesdays because Wednesday is trash pick up day. Anyway yesterday I actually sat down and took a few minutes to write out a more detailed to do list for today and tomorrow. There were certain bills that had to be paid on certain days - that is what motivated me to sit down and write up my list in the first place. But once I was done - I had a good list for each day.
And today when I started marking things off of my list (still have half of it to go) then I remembered how much more I can get done when I make a list.

Do you ever find yourself at a loss of what to do next? Well that is another reason why a list is a good idea. It is a great idea to have a list so that when you are not sure just what you should accomplish next - you will have a list to refer to.

Oh there is another good reason for making lists of things to do. When you start the week with something that you really need to take care of - like set up a dental appointment and you find yourself at Thursday and you still have not done it. That is where I find myself today. And as soon as I finish this post - I plan to make my self make the phone call to set up the appointment with my dental office.

And a really neat thing that I have also discovered about making lists is that there will be times when I have a list written out and once I finish a project - I am reminded of something else I would like to do. It may not be on the list but if I feel prompted to do it - I go ahead and do it and am amazed at the ability to get just what needs to be done that day...done.

Anyway I just wanted to share to maybe remind you that making a "To Do" list really is a good idea.

Love and Purity

For Prayer Meeting at my church we are reading through the book - The Desire of Ages. It is an awesome book. Anyway today I thought I would share a great quote that I read today:

"In the estimation of Heaven, what is it that constitutes greatness? Not that which the world accounts greatness; not wealth, or rank, or noble descent, or intellectual gifts, in themselves considered. If intellectual greatness, apart from any higher consideration, is worthy of honor, then our homage is due to Satan, whose intellectual power no man has ever equaled. But when perverted to self-serving, the greater the gift, the greater curse it becomes. It is moral worth that God values. Love and purity are the attributes He prizes most." DA 219.3

 

If you are interested in reading the entire chapter where this quote was found ~ Click Here.

Encouragement

Today I would like to share a few of the great quotes that have encouraged me this week. I hope they are encouraging to you as well. :O)
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"We tried to call up our greatest trials, but they looked so small compared with the far exceeding and eternal weight of glory that surrounded us that we could not speak them out, and we all cried out, "Alleluia, heaven is cheap enough!" And we touched our glorious harps and made heaven's arches ring." EW 17

"Success does not depend upon numbers. God can deliver by few as well as by many. He is honored not so much by the great numbers as by the character of those who serve Him." PP 550
(If you would like to read the entire chapter where this quote was found click HERE. )

 

"Many of us need no other argument than our own experiences to prove that suffering is indeed God's testing room of faith." J.H. McC. A quote from my Streams in the Desert Devotional book. It went right along with this: