Musical Inspiration

A sweet friend of mine sent me a link to this awesome song. It was just what I needed to hear that day. It has been added to my list of favorite! Below I have included the lyrics - even though the video has the lyrics - just in case someone isn't able to get the video to work. I hope you are blessed by this song, I know I sure was!! :O)






[Verse 1]
I keep fighting voices in my mind that say I’m not enough
Every single lie that tells me I will never measure up
Am I more than just the sum of every high and every low?
Remind me once again just who I am, because I need to know

[Chorus]
You say I am loved when I can’t feel a thing
You say I am strong when I think I am weak
You say I am held when I am falling short
When I don’t belong, oh You say I am Yours
And I believe, oh I believe
What You say of me
I believe

[Verse 2]
The only thing that matters now is everything You think of me
In You I find my worth, in You I find my identity, ooo-oh

[Chorus]
You say I am loved when I can’t feel a thing
You say I am strong when I think I am weak
You say I am held when I am falling short
When I don’t belong, oh You say I am Yours
And I believe, oh I believe
What You say of me
Oh, I believe
  
[Verse 3]
Taking all I have and now I'm laying it at Your feet
You have every failure God, and You'll have every victory, ooo-oh

[Chorus]
You say I am loved when I can’t feel a thing
You say I am strong when I think I am weak
You say I am held when I am falling short
When I don’t belong, oh You say I am Yours
And I believe, oh I believe
What You say of me
I believe

[Outro]
Oh I believe, yes I believe
What You say of me
Oh I believe

This and That Monday

Good morning! I hope everyone had a great weekend. I have shared how very dry it has been here in Texas. We have cracks in our yard that are about a half of an inch wide. Some a bit bigger. We are in desperate need of rain. As I sit at my sons house we have a littlee rain shower going on now. I sure hope it keeps up. We need a nice steady rain shower that lasts all day but I don't expect it to hang around that long. Anything is better than nothing so I will just be thankful for what ever we get and praise God for it!!

This week end a dream of mine came true and I can't wait to be able to tell you about it! Look for post later this week. 

This past weekend I was able to get an outfit photo so be watching for a Thrifted Outfit post as well. I had hoped to have it ready for today but our son and granddaughter spent most of the day at our place and so I didn't have any time to work on a blog post. 

I am very slowly picking up doing the basic stitch in Tatting. Only problem is that I will get about 10-12 stitches in and then I'll get distracted or something and do the wrong stitch and when you do that it locks it and that is no good. I need to figure out ge to take that knot apart so I can keep going, so far I have gotten the knot so tight that I have had to start over. 

Well I better close for now.

My Best Deal

 Please excuse the mess in the back ground of the photo - this is the month that I watch my granddaughter a lot so things are a bit more cluttery than usual.

 

A couple of weeks ago I found this awesome deal!! It had just been the week before that I had been at my son's house and had noticed he had a banana hook. It was very pretty. I decided I wanted to start watching out for a banana hook for myself. When I saw this fruit basket with a banana hook - I could not pass it up. The basket part of it is quite large. There are 8 nectarines in the basket in this photo with plenty of room left for more fresh goodies!!

 

Do you notice my green bananas? I love barely ripe bananas. And it's not a big deal if some bananas over ripen because I have a bread recipe that uses bananas in it. It's my favorite bread recipe!!

 

 

I had only decided a few days before finding this awesome deal that I wanted a banana hook. That was a blessing because when you shop at thrift stores sometimes you find yourself looking for a specific item for quite some time. Only days later - was a true blessing from God!!

 

The fact that it was only $3.00 sweetened the pot and earned it my best deal of the week!!!

 

Hopefully I will have a post next week of "My Best Deal" we shall wait and see!!!

 

When a door closes- another one opens

Ten years or more ago, I began going to the local quilt shop because of an invitation by some sweet friends. I had never quilted before but they assured me that I could do it. Besides it is only 1 block a month that you have to make - how hard can it be? Well there were times during those first few months when I was challenged to tears but I kept at it and am so thankful that I did.

Right after Father's Day, I found out that this quilt shop would be closing down at the end of August. I was sad. Going to Block of the Month each month puts me out of my comfort zone just enough to help me grow. Little did I know that God had bigger plans for my growth.

As I have shared, I have begun going to another church in my area(same denomination just different location). This church is an awesome church. It is a large church -that can be good in some ways and bad in others. But I am choosing just to look at the positives. One thing I love is that the pastor and others refer to our church family as a Forever Family. And really when you look at it in the perspective of Heaven - we are a forever family.

This church has different groups they have going on during the summer. Things like Calligraphy, Kayaking, Bible Journaling, Birding, Horseback Riding, and Tatting. I decided that I wanted to go to the Tatting class. I have been to two class so far and although it is a bit overwhelming - I know that it is what I am suppose to be doing right now. It is pushing me out of my comfort zone. It is helping me get past that learned helplessness. Instead of dwelling on the fact that sometimes it is hard for me to learn new things this class is showing me that if I give my best effort I just might learn something new. This is a great hobby because the supplies are very simple and it would be very easy for a person to take a project with them in their purse to work on while they wait at an appointment.

If you are interested -look up Tatting Shuttles and you will see what the tool looks like and how easy it would be to take along to work on any where.

So I went to Hobby Lobby and bought this book - which comes with a DVD as well, a shuttle, and 1 ream of thread - and I used the 40% off coupon that you can get on line - and was able to get all three for just under $17.00. I have not had a chance to look through the book or watch the DVD yet since I have been taking care of my granddaughter, but I look forward to checking it out.

Oh but don't you worry - I am not giving up on quilting at all. In fact, I had a $20.00 off fabric card from my local quilt store so I went and bought all this fabric to finish up a set of BOM blocks into a quilt - and I was able to get all of this - 1 - 1 yard, and 3 1/2 yards of fabric for about $11.00

 

I am so thankful I have several sets of past BOM to work on - plus several sets of BOM that are finished that I need to put together to make quilts. So I have plenty of things to keep me busy in my sewing room!

 

When it seems that God is closing one door - just keep on the look out for the next door that He will open. You will realize that God knows what is best for us and so we may be disappointed in the door closing but in the end we will grow into a more well rounded person if we will allow God to lead us in our lives. One door may close but another door will open. If God is leading- don't be afraid to walk through that door. :O)

 

Walking ... It's good for the soul

Good morning! I did it! I made sure I got to my sons house early enough so I would have time to walk around the block a couple of times. Come to find out the block is only 1/4th  of a mile. So I made it twice around and then just walked up and down the street in front of my sons house till he was ready to leave. Thankfully I was able to get 3/4 of a mile- about 15 minutes of a walk in. I officially have 121 miles in for the year. It felt good to be able to get a walk in even if it was a short walk.

I am finding out I really enjoy walking. Some days more than others.... Lol. But it is really refreshing to the soul. I love that it helps keep my body strong. Part of the 1/4 mile walk around the block here at my sons house is up hill. And I could feel it working my legs and my stomach.

My granddaughter will be going back to her moms the middle of next week. I will be able to get more walking in then- which is a good thing, but I will sure miss her- and getting my walks in will help with my sadness as. So that's a good thing. Walking is very good for helping with stress. I am so thankful for a great walking trail nearby. I sure so wish I had a.few hiking trails nearby as well. It does the soul so much good to hike on trails with trees and nature surrounding you.

Well I better close for now. Hope you all have a great day! :)

I got a workout in!

This week my husbands schedule changed again- putting him going in to work an hour later. Although I have enjoyed having more of an opportunity to get a bit more rest it has taken my ability to get a walk in before getting to my sons house at 6:45am. I have missed my walks- especially this morning when the temps got all the way down to 75 degrees!! With the heatwave we have had it felt heavenly outside.

Sunday morning I got a great workout working on the fence and chicken yard for over two hours, but this week I hadn't been able to get a walk or actual work out in. So I decided to get my iPad charged up and bring with me to my sons house so I could get a weight workout in this am! Tomorrow my goal will be to get ready as quick as I can to arrive at my sons house with enough spare time to get at least one walk around the block- it's probably only 1/2 of a mile but if I can do that and then do a Rise Up Ministries work out wit Jennifer then I can get a good work out in. I have really missed my walks and workouts.

Speaking of our heatwave- last week we actually set some record highs at least 3 days maybe more. Temps were like 108-110 area. Yesterday our high was only 98. I say only because after feeling how oppressive 108-110 is 98 doesn't feel quite at bad as before the heatwave. Thankful for a bit of a reprieve from the heatwave. It looks like between now and Sunday we will be back in the triple digit temps. And at least for now it looks like we will be in the 90's for several days! I sure hope so! And on Monday there is a chance of rain. But of curse things change daily so I'm not holding my breath. I pray it does rain- would be awesome to have a nice rainfall all day long! We desperately need it!

I hope my plan to get a quick walk works tomorrow, if it does I'll try again for Friday! Hope you all are staying cool. :0)

Adding just a thought- those complaining of upper 70's and 80 degrees- thinking you ought to come visit Texas - after a few days here you would return home singing praises of your weather.... Lol

By the way this is the 2nd post today so be sure and check out the previous one.

Healthy Tidbits ~ Where Does Digestion Begin in?

It might surprise you to find out that digestion actually starts in your mouth! Yes, that's right. Your saliva is released and begins it's digestive work. So be sure and chew your food well so that it will help mix that saliva around with all the food and that way it will help the digestion of your food to go much more smoothly.

Musical Inspiration

While watching on of Jennifer Jill Schwirzer's youtube programs she shared this awesome song, which is now on my favorites list of songs. I have included the lyrics below. It is a great song to sing along to - give it a try. You will feel better after you do! :O)






Hey Lovely
The enemy has stolen he is raging like a lion yeah you gotta stand your ground
Hey Tough guy
The enemy has been weaving lies, you gotta see through his disguise there's more than what you're heart desires

Stand up Stand out, Be magnificent Today
Stand up Stand out

Walking around with your head held down and a big frown
She's been put down criticized and lied to
Haven't you been told you're beautiful so wonderful, irreplaceable

There's no one quite like you
She's so endangered, so indigenously pretty
So endangered, yeah

Stand up Stand out, Be magnificent Today
Stand up Stand out

(You're still loved if you fail)

You're accepted you belong the Television's wrong
You're ok just the way you are

Stand up Stand out, Be magnificent Today
Stand up Stand out

(You're still loved if you fail)

Learned Helplessness

I’m learning that sometimes God allows us to become uncomfortable where we are in order to encourage us to move in a different direction. And I’m always so much happier when I finally listen to Him and take that step.

About a month ago I decided to go to a different church - same denomination  just different location. I had felt the uncomfortableness of where I was for quite some time and just had not acted on it. But a month ago it just seemed like the perfect time do take that step.

While I was there God led me to a Sabbath School class that is studying this awesome book called "13 Weeks to Peace" by Jennifer Jill Schwirzer.

 It has turned out to be the best thing for me at this point in my life. Not only has it been great to meet new people, I have learned a lot. In one chapter the author discusses "Learned Helplessness" its a bit more technical that I want to go into here. But this thought of learned helplessness helped me to work through a bit of learned helplessness that I was experiencing. There were some things that I just had not attempted because of fear of failure. After reading this book and having a discussion on the chapter - I decided that I would start doing my best to attempt to do things - I might just get lucky and be successful. And sure enough I have surprised myself in several things I have done so far.

It has helped me step out of my comfort zone and attempt things that otherwise I would not do. One of those things is work on our chicken yard. Because of the drought conditions in our area - our grown has actually shrunk. So the fencing around our chicken yard has some gaps at the bottom between the end of the fence and the ground. This is not a good situation. Especially considering what happened to a majority of our last batch of chickens. Two dogs got into our chicken yard and out of sport killed a majority of our chickens. It was a massacre for sure. So I have gotten some handy tools and first I cut a fence in half so that I have about 2 foot sections. Then I am attaching the sections of fence to our existing fence - by cutting some of the wiring on the fence and wrapping those wires around the existing fence wire. I have surprised myself by being able to do this. I have a ways to go since it has been so hot here in Texas - my only time to work on the fence has been in the early am. Then I also have had our granddaughter so I have not had as much time to get things done as I would like.

Another things I did was to change the cartridge in our printer. And that went pretty smoothly. My small calculator that has the print option ran out of paper this past week. So I got the new roll of paper and I worked and worked and worked and finally got the feeders to pull the new paper through. That was frustrating and at times I was tempted to give up but was so thankful that I did not give up.

 

If we will just step out of our comfort zones and try to do things we might just be surprised at what we are able to do. Speaking of that - be watching for a post about one door closing and another door opening - it will have an explanation of another area of my life that I have attempted something new.

 

Think about if you might have a tendency to have some learned helplessness and maybe there are things that you, too, could do if you just tried.

My Best Deal

It's time for another addition of "My Best Deal" - this deal I actually found a couple of weeks ago but I did not have a chance to write up a post about it till now. So today is the day I get to tell you about it!!!

 

At a tiny thrift store in a small down nearby town - I spotted an Avon box. Oh I was excited! I do love Avon and as I opened the box this is what I found:

The black thing behind it is the cushion that it came with to pin it to for showing it off. I love it. This photo does not do it justice but it was the best photo I could get of it. Being in mint condition in the box is not the only reason why this earned its spot light of my best deal - the price of only 75 cents was a major contributor to the reason.

Next week I will have another addition to my "My Best Deal" series- be watching for it!!

I got Lucky!

This week I had the opportunity to go on a shopping trip. I picked the thrift store that usually has a good assortment of great things to look though - usually I find at least one awesome thing there. This time I got lucky and I found 4 things!!

 

 

First up is the very first thing I found - hiding in with the sleeveless things - was this awesome vest! it has sparkly stones on the snaps and pockets. The fabric has some spandex in the denim and so the fabric feels so comfortable!!  I can't wait till the weather cools off so I can wear my new vest!

$4.94

 

Next up is this Avenue top that is olive green. I hadn't realized how dirty the mirror was or my cameral - not sure which one but the photos sure have a lot of smudges in them.  

$3.93

 

I don't think that the photos do these tops justice. This is a Faded Glory burgundy top that has lace panel at the top - which you can see in photo - what you really can't see if that on each side there is a lace panel in a upside down v area! My sister saw the tops and said that the photo does not do this top justice.

 

$3.93

 

This last one is my very favorite find of the day!!! It is a The G Collection brand top. I had never heard of it before. I absolutely LOVE this top. The paisley print at the bottom is so pretty. It has a tie in the front at the neckline.

 

$5.45

 

I can not wait for fall to arrive so I can begin to wear these fabulous tops!!!

 

 

**Be watching for a post about how I am creating my "Favorite Wardrobe" **

13th Triple Digit Temps This Year So Far and No relief in sight

Today is the 6th day in a row to have triple digit temps. Yesterday we actually had the hottest day of the year so far.... Today is the 13th triple digit day so far this year.... .

And as you can see - we have a lot more coming our way.

What makes Texas summers challenging to deal with is that our lows don't really get that low- well unless you say 80 is that low.... Tuesday morning I went walking and was pleasantly surprised to feel a tiny bit of coolness in the breeze. The going walking at about 6:30am is working pretty good. And I figure I will have to keep this up if I want to catch the "coolness" of the day.

 

Please keep those people who have to work out in this heat. My husband is one of them. It is really hard on them and they are grumpy. I don't blame them at all for being grumpy but it still isn't fun. Hoping that this heat wave will move on through and we can have some cooler weather...

 

*Sorry I got this photo on Sunday and meant to post about this sooner- Just looked at my phone and according to the weather forecast it looks like we will have triple digit weather through next Friday. Please pray we get some relief and some rain would be awesome. We are SO dry here- we have 1/2 - 1 inch cracks in our yard. And the drought conditions have causes some issues with our fence around the chicken yard.

 

 Tomorrows post - "I Got Lucky"

See you then! :O)

 

 

Baby It's Hot Outside....

It's hot here in Texas - with temps reaching triple digits every single day for the next week or so. And we have already had several in the triple digits already. When it is this hot - you have to get out in the morning or the evening and work on our outside chores and that is when I get my walking in. This morning there was actually a tiny hint of coolness in the air - maybe it was because it was 80 at 6:50am and I had expected it to feel much warmer. But it was refreshing to be able to be out walking in it. I also spent some time working on cutting a fence in half- my leather gloves came in handy. I am working at getting the chicken yard more secure. I do NOT want these chickens to endure what our last ones did- so they have had to stay in the small chicken run longer than any of our previous chickens have but it is for their safety. Tomorrow I will be spending a good amount of time out there trying to get it secure. We are hoping that this week end the chickens will get their next level of freedom. I can't wait to see them enjoy their larger space. I will also get their swimming pool ready for them. I will take photos and share here when all this takes place.

Today I was able to go thrift store shopping - and I was surprised to find some awesome things!! During the summer many times things seem so picked over but today was a good day. I am hoping to get share a couple of photos on a post. Sadly I am sure that the photos won't do the pieces justice. But at least you will get the idea. The other sad thing is that it might be a bit of time before I get to wear these gems as they are short sleeved and a vest- but they are pieces that sure have me looking forward to cooler weather!!

I am also going to be writing a post about when God closes one door He opens another one- example in my own personal life. I am very excited about a new opportunity. I can't wait to share it with you all. 

Anyway I have lots of things to do so I better get off of here and get busy. Hope you all are doing well. :O)

I want to find out what happens if I don't...give up... that is

Two years ago when I set my goal to lose 50 pounds by age 50, I included a time period in order to help motivate and encourage myself. But lately I have allowed it to discourage me even to the point of almost giving up.

When setting goals it can be very helpful to set a time period, but when you do be sure it is a reasonable time period. Mine really was a reasonable amount of time - 3 1/2 years or so. But over the last year I have been dealing with some personal issues that have set me back a bit and I have been struggling. In fact, I have been struggling so much so that last week I had come to a place of giving up. I had decided to give myself August and September and if I did not get back to losing weight I was going to throw in the towel. I had really come close to giving up.

Thankfully when I shared these feelings with a friend, she said I don't know why you are being so hard on yourself and setting limits on yourself. She helped me see that having a time period set with a goal can be useful and helpful but I had let it almost bring me to quitting. Her words of wisdom, helped me see that I had allowed myself to get discouraged and I too close to giving up on my goals. I needed to be reminded that weight loss was not my only goal - being a healthier me was also something I desired and was another reason for setting my goal. Just because I am not seeing visible results does not mean that what I am doing is not beneficial. I will continue on and hopefully I can reach my goal by my 50th birthday but if not I will not let myself get too discouraged. I will not give up. My health is worth it.

I know what happens when I give up- this time I want to find out what happens if I don't!

Refer often to the instructions

One of the many benefits of going to Block of the Month (BOM) is that we were able to see the finished block and the owner of the store would tell us different hints and tips to remember in order to be able to put the block together correctly and easily.

Recently I was working on a past BOM. There were a couple of years that my husband also did BOM- he seemed to do the first 2-3 blocks and then would get too busy. So I have those sets of BOM to finish. This is good now that BOM is coming to an end since the store will be closing the end of August. :(

Each month when we get our BOM there is a page of directions. I will be honest sometimes it is a challenge for me to go by these directions so I really tend to listen to D'Andrea as she tells us what to look out for. Well since I am working on a block from  years ago, even though I have made a block exactly like it(in a different color years ago) some can be challenging.

I started putting a BOM together recently and had about 1/2 of the way put together when I discovered that this was a block that could not be put together the way I was doing it. This block was one that you have to work on 4 smaller blocks and then sew them together to create the 12 inch block.

I was reminded that it is a good idea to refer back to the instructions. To read over them in order to see the best way to proceed with putting the block together.

So now I am in the process of unsewing all those pieces ( about 18 pieces) that need to be seam ripped apart.

I was reminded in life that we have directions- the Bible - to help us along our journey of life and we even have a finished block per say- Jesus! The one we are to look at to see how to live. We can sometimes forget about reading the instructions and when we do- we find that life just hasn't gone together properly and many times we find ourselves with a seam ripper trying to undo what we have done.

It's easier to just spend some time every day reading the instructions (the Bible). That will save us the headache of incorrectly putting things together in our lives. Refer often to the instructions - you will be glad you did!

It's a good habit to get into

Have I ever told you the story about when I was about 9 years old and I went on a Pathfinder Camporee with my family? I am thinking I have. Any way, long story short my suit case was accidentally left at home. So I ended up having to wear an old lady's extra clothes she had- apparently she was the smallest person there that had extras for me to be able to wear. Thinking back I'm thinking I should have just worn the clothes I had on the whole time- it probably would have been any more embarrassing than wearing old lady clothes that were too big. Oh well. It's just a part of life. Anyway all of that just to say- since that experience I now write out slits of things that I will want to take with me before I even begin to start packing. Then as I'm packing, I mark things off.

I don't know how it happened but on our recent camping trip I forgot my round brush.
 I had forgotten how helpful my round brush is in styling my hair and giving it lift. When I say round brush I mean one that has a metal barrel. When you use this brush in conjunction with a blow dryer with hot air you are able to give your hair some lift. I had to go two days with out my round brush and the results were flat hair.

It seems that it is very easy for us to take our blessings for granted. sometimes we need to be reminded of how important some things in our lives. Chem and the time I spent bald helped me realize how thankful for my hair I am! Let's try to look around our lives and recognize all the blessings we really have! It's a good habit to get into!

Time to Shine

Probably 5 years or so I bought a cute black eyelet Venezia skirt. I really liked the skirt, but it seemed that none of the outfits that I came up with using this skirt impressed me. As I was culling through my clothes one time I found myself wondering ... Should I get rid of this skirt? I'm really glad that I didn't. It has become a key piece of some of some of my favorite outfits!

I have learned two things recently:

1. Shoe can make or break an outfit. Choose wisely.

2. Just because a top or two don't do well with a skirt doesn't mean it's time to give up on the skirt. You just haven't found the right pieces. Just this year I have found 2 great tops to go with my cute eyelet skirt.

So when you have an item in your wardrobe that you really like but don't seem to be able to create an outfit with it. Don't give up on it yet. Just keep looking sooner or later you will find the perfect pieces to make it work. It just might become a favorite piece in your wardrobe.

Yesterday my  Mother-in-law shared how she had bought a pair of sandals years ago. When she tried them on they were uncomfortable. She put the back in closet. Ever so often she would pull them out again and try them- only to find the same result- uncomfortable. This year came along and she was wanting some sanders and pulled them out and tried them... Lo and behold.... They fit and were comfortable. I have a cute pair of shoes I'm hoping will someday fit.  I'm not ready to give up on them quite yet.

Not everything is worth holding onto. Believe me over the last couple of years I have given away or consigned quite a few items from my wardrobe. Trash bags full of undesirable items have left my home in the last few years. And what I have come up with is a wardrobe that includes more favorite pieces than ever before! And a few items that are patiently waiting for their time to shine.

YOU are worth it!

I have heard several people I know, including my mother-in-law, say, "Oh it's only me, I am not going to cook for just me." Well I am here to say you are worth taking the time to make yourself a healthy meal. And it doesn't have to take a lot of effort every single meal.

Many times people who don't want to go to the trouble to cook for just themselves end up eating junk. My mother-in-law admits to eating things like Ritz peanut butter crackers for a meal. There maybe a bit of nutrition, but compared with lets say a meal of a salad, sweet potato, and a bowl of black beans, it's not even a fair fight for the crackers. The body doesn't get the nutrition it needs in order to keep itself running properly with a package of peanut butter crackers for a meal.

In order to have healthy meals without a whole lot of effort at each meal takes a bit of planning. This can be done by cutting up things for a salad and then you will have salads for several meals - with no prep needed! 

It's hot here in Texas as you all know - so early in the morning I bake up a batch of sweet potatoes for a few days at a time. Then I peel them when they are cooled off and I put them in individual sandwich bags to pullout and heat up for my meal.

Once a week I like to grill up a batch of corn on the cob and then I put them in the fridge to pull out and heat up for my meals.

I soak beans overnight and then cook them in the slow cooker all day. This way I can have beans with my meals. Beans are great to have at all of our meals. They help with stabilizing our blood sugar. One combo I have recently found is while I am cooking up a batch of black beans in my slow cooker- if I will peel and cube some sweet potatoes and add to my beans. I have a delicious combo!

I like to make up a couple of loaves of bread ever other week - then I have a piece of bread to add to my meals. I love to toast them and spray some Parkay Butter on it and enjoy- flavor without the fat of butter.

You really can eat healthy without a whole lot of effort put out at each meal. I have given you just a few example of things you can do to eat healthier. I am sure you can think of even more ways to incorporate healthier foods into your diet without slaving in the kitchen every single meal. You are worth it and you will be glad you did! :O)

Go to the Great Physician, Don't Camouflage

Last week we talked how it would be easier for us to tell if others were hurting if their pains were visible - like the knot on the tree.

 Everyone has hurts in their lives, it matters not if they are small or large, everyone needs compassion.

As I continued to take photos I happen to step to the other side of the tree and noticed something interesting.....

It looks as if the tree or a nearby try was trying to camouflage the  knot on the tree. I began to realize that may of us try to camouflage our pains as well by many different methods.

• Putting on a front like everything is great in our lives
• Eating to sooth our pains
• Shopping
• Drugs
• Alcohol
• Sex

There are many different ways that we try to cover our pain - this is just a small list to what lengths people will go to try to camouflage their pain.

I knew there was a major lesson to be learned from this tree and its seemingly camouflage - and I had to spend some time on my hike the next day praying and asking God to give me insight. He reminded me of something I learned at one of the camp meeting seminars about God being our Great Physician.

God is not just concerned about our physical health- He wants to heal us completely - physically, mentally, spiritually. When we see Jesus healing people in the Bible - we notice something very interesting - He did not heal them just physically - but completely.

We have a great Physician. When we are hurting we need to take those hurts to Him and allow Him to heal us. We don't need to try to camouflage the pain- And push the pain away with the list of things above - we need to take them to Jesus the Great Physician and ask for healing. It might mean asking day by day- thankfully He never leaves us nor forsakes us. We can trust Him with our pains and our hurts.

Digging Deeper into Psalm 23...part 2

Last week as I was sharing the deeper insight into Psalm 23 with my sister, she shared something she had heard on a Christian Radio Station (click on link to check out this Christian radio station - you can even listen live.

"The rod and staff are for beating off the wolves...they comfort the sheep...they do not scare the sheep. So if sheep/us stay close to the Shepherd He beats back the wolves/devil."

"The shepherd does not beat the sheep when they do wrong...that isn't the purpose of the rod/staff."

I looked up in my Andrew's Study Bible to see if there was any insight for us there and this is what I found:

Your rod and Your staff~ The ancient shepherd carried a 2-3 ft. long metal-tipped rod to ward off wild animals and a long crooked staff to rescue straying sheep.

comfort~  In Hebrew the word picture is "give forth signs of contentment." indicating total relaxation.

This insight helps us more deeply understand the phrase :
"Your rod and staff, they comfort me. "

I love digging deeper. If any of you have any digging deeper gems to share about Psalms 23, I would love to hear them. Please leave me a comment with them :O)

This is my goal

Lately I have felt discontented and in need of a change. Had thought and thought a lot about the choices I had. Just didn't know the way to go.

 Sometimes when there are changes that need to be made we are caused to feel uncomfortable. Sometimes we need that extra little push for us to make the changes necessary. I know I can be quite stubborn at times. Not really liking changes and so I just continue on even when it doesn't seem to be the best path at that time.

This past weekend I really felt God's guidance, I didn't fully catch that it was going on until it was over. Let me explain. Sabbath Morning I decided to go to a different church than I usually go to. They have an early service that less people attend so plenty of room in the sanctuary so I could easily find a seat. A great sermon was presented from the book of Mark.

There is a sabbath school in the sanctuary and then other smaller classes in several classrooms around the church. I hadn't even considered joining on the of the smaller classrooms- that was push me further outside of my comfort zone than I felt I was ready to go.

After church I left my purse and Bible on the pew where I had been sitting and decided to trek to a water fountain and bathroom on the other side of the church for a bit of exercise. As I was walking I walked passed a doorway with a little poster by the door that said "13 Weeks to more peace". Well that sounded interesting. The lady fixing to walk back into the room I recognized as the pastors wife, I asked her about the class and found out they were on week 3 or 4 and I was told I was welcome to join them. I told her I needed to go get my stuff.

When I walked into the room- there were tables set up in a square with seats all around- the way I like a class to be set up, because I like to get my Bible out and a note pad so I can take notes if I'd like. Someone from the class gave me a little stack of papers- the chapter they were on printed out so I could have it for reference.

Three questions were written on the board. And we were going around the room answering one of the questions or sharing what ever we would like. Even though I hardly knew anyone in the class I felt confident to answer a question and converse with others in the class. This was to help us warm up to the discussion that would follow in the class.

We talked about the difference between penitence and repentance. And we looked at in Matthew  after Jesus is crucified where it tells briefly about Peter and Judas' response to after they had sinned- Peter by denying Jesus and Judas by betraying Jesus, did you realize that booth felt guilty and both were sorry for what they had done? But it is what they dud next that determined their fate.  One repented and the other tried to take care of his sin on his own- penitence. We talked about the importance of forgiveness. It was really a good class. It pushed me just enough out of my comfort zone to feel some growth.

It wasn't until I was driving home that I truly recognized God's hand guiding me. I just love when I know that God is guiding my decisions. I want to develop a life where more and more of it is guided by God. Surrendering myself to Him and allowing Him to lead- This is my goal.

If Our Hurts Were Visible

As I was walking along the trail one day, I noticed this tree:

I began wondering what had happened to the tree to cause the large knot. Then I thought about all the hurts that you and I carry around and what it would look like if they were visible. Maybe we would be more compassionate one to another if we could see and understand the pain that others have. Maybe we would be quicker to extend mercy and grace.

Maybe we need to come to an understanding that everyone carries around some type of burden, no matter how great or small of a burden it is- everyone needs some compassion.

Come back next week when we will look into another lesson that I gleamed from this tree. It is deeper and will actually take me some time to really fully understand what God is trying to teach me through this tree. See you soon.