Just in case your are interested....

A few days ago I added a new post to the other blog~ if you would like to check it out click here!

Reminders in Odd Places

Recently I ran across a great little article that has inspired me to make sure the A Charlie Brown Christmas program will be a part of my yearly traditions for Christmas. And once you read this article and the second part of it too - Link found HERE. I think that you may want to as well. Especially if it will remind you to give your fears to Him. 

A Happy Thanksgiving Day to You!

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day. I really like the concept of Thanksgiving Day. You know taking time out of your busy schedule to really focus on what you are thankful for. I know it is hard somethings - especially with all the food prep that is required, but please take a little time to focus on what you are grateful for- it helps us be more content with our lives when we focus on the things we have to be thankful for.

Another Area of Growth...and....

I have just a few minutes to check in here and say Hello and that I have not forgotten about my blog - just have way too much to do to post much. Some of it may to do with that I just recently had a big birthday and I have been spending some time introspection. As another year came and went I have been pondering things I have learned this year and what I want out of the next year of my life. This has been quite a difficult year for me- probably one of the hardest ones since 2012-2014 another incredibly hard time period in my life. But thankfully God has been with me every step of the way sanding off some of the rough edges - many more of those to go - wish I could learn how to have them sanded off without so much pain involved.

I had already been working on the next goals I wanted to set up for myself. It had been very obvious that I needed to expand my goals to involve many other areas of my life. When we focus too much on the outward man - the inward one many times is neglected. And it is much more important for the inward me to be worked on so my goals will be much different from goals of the past. I need to find where I wrote them down - pray about them and ask God if there are any others that I need to add. I am sure that He has plans for me that I know nothing about - and if I ask Him what I need to work on - then He will give me the wisdom to know what is important. Then as I continue through the year - I need to surrender my life to Him on a daily basis and allow Him to guide and direct. Only by doing this will I follow His plan for my life- and not just my plans.

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I am SO proud of myself - this is another area of growth for me for sure. Today I got online and ordered a set of tires for my car! I am so excited about getting them. My car has needed tires for probably a year. Anyway I am so proud of myself because in years past - I would leave all of this to my husband. But he has been working ALOT lately and if I were to wait for him to be able to do it - it would be at least a couple of weeks. And I am hoping to get my new tires by next week. I am waiting on a confirmation letter and then I will set up an appointment. And I plan on going and having it done myself as well. It will be awesome to get my new tires. I even picked them out!! I know what brand my husband like us to get and I looked through what all choices I had and found the ones I thought would be great- ran it past my husband, because that is still a smart thing to do. Anyway just another area of growth and it feels good.
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I hope you all are doing well. I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving and don't forget to take some time to think about all the things you are thankful for.
We take TOO much for granted.
Do you have electricity? Be thankful!
Do you have running water? Many don't.
Do you have options of places to get your groceries? Some don't.
You get the idea. Be Thankful- it's good for the soul! :O)

Sabbath Praises

Just the first section of the song that I thought was beautiful: 

Head full of questions, how can you measure up?

To deserve affection, to ever be enough

For this existence

When did it get so hard?

Your heart is beating, alive and breathing

And there's a reason why

You are essential, not accidental

And you should realize

You are beloved

I wanted you to know

You are beloved

Let it soak into your soul

Oh, forget the lies you heard

Rise above the hurt

And listen to these words

You are beloved

I want you to know

You are beloved

You-ou-ou, you-ou-ou, you, you are beloved

Dropping by

I had really thought I would have more time to get some blog posts put up on here but it has been a very busy sweet! In fact right now I am eating my breakfast as I get this typed up and will have to leave my house at about 8am to get my MIL to an appt. anyway I wanted to drop in and say I haven forgotten about the posts I planned to do this week I just haven't had a chance to get them typed up. Next week I'll have my granddaughter so I really don't know when I'll be able to post. I am having some ideas for blog posts rolling around my head- and maybe in this time that I am busy I'll be able to fully  formulate them.
Hope you all are doing well. :0)

Six Years!

Six years ago today I had the surgery that saved my life. I continue to be grateful to God for guiding me through so many decisions and choices that had to be made that entire year after the cancer was found. Each anniversary is a chance to ponder all that God has done and continues to do. In everyone's lives there are special dates that they will never forget. The days that profoundly changed our lives. And truly the year of 2013 that also continued into 2014 truly changed my life in many ways.  Because it is the anniversary of this life changing event  I will be pondering some of the ways that this time period changed my life. Be watching for the posts. See you soon. :0)

Sabbath Praises

Just a few of my favorite lines from the song:

You can't add a single day by worrying

You'll worry your life away

Oh don't worry your life away

You can't change a single thing by freaking out

It's just gonna close you in

Oh don't let the trouble win

Victorious Life

Devotion from the Streams in the Desert Book -  copied from Crosswalk.com website 

You can always go there every day and read the devotional for the day. :O) 

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For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, regarding the affliction that happened to us in the province of Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of living. (2 Corinthians 1:8)

But he said to me, “My grace is enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” So then, I will boast most gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may reside in me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

God allowed the crisis to close around Jacob on the night when he bowed at Peniel in supplication, to bring him to the place where he could take hold of God as he never would have done; and from that narrow pass of peril, Jacob became enlarged in his faith and knowledge of God, and in the power of a new and victorious life.

God had to compel David, by a long and painful discipline of years, to learn the almighty power and faithfulness of his God, and grow up into the established principles of faith and godliness, which were indispensable for his glorious career as the king of Israel.

Nothing but the extremities in which Paul was constantly placed could ever have taught him, and taught the Church through him, the full meaning of the great promise he so learned to claim, “My grace is sufficient for thee.”

Why, Oh Why?

Why, Oh Why did it take me so long to discover what this handy thing can do!?! 

I had tried a curling iron like this years ago - but for what I was using it for - it did not work. I keep the hair on the front half of my head too short for this to work like I would like it to. I find a regular curling iron works best for that. 

Last time I had my hair cut by beautician used a regular curling iron to do some great curls in the back and I really like how it turned out. And had SO hoped I could duplicate it. But with a regular curling iron it is difficult cause if you get your hair in it weird you run the risk of ending up with like 180* curls- like really just folded back with an ugly crease in your hair. Then I was looking at another much more expensive hair tool- watched a video on it and loved some of what it did. But it was like 3 times the amount of money as this. When I was at the store I picked this up and brought it home. it was just under $11.00 and let me tell you - worth EVERY penny!! It is so easy to use and I end up with some beautiful curls for my longer hair!! Such a great discovery. Sure wish I had discovered what this would do years ago!!!! 

We always need to be open to learning new things - we never know when we will find then next great way to add more spice and enjoyment to our lives!!! 

What have you learned lately that has brought joy to your life? 

Somebody/Nobody

I came across this quote in my devotions yesterday morning and just thought that all of these things that I wanted to share with you all went together. 

"Jesus cares for each one as though there were no another individual on the face of the earth- T5p346 

God brings His people near Him by close, testing trials, by showing them their own weakness and inability, and by teaching them to lean upon Him as their only help and safeguard. Then His object is accomplished. they are prepared to be used in every emergency, to fill important positions of trust, and to accomplish the grand purposes for which their powers were given them. T5p86" 

Here is a great song I would like to share with you today. The lyrics are below. It's important to really pay attention to the lyrics because then we get to full message of the song. 

Lyrics

Why You ever chose me
Has always been a mystery
All my life, I've been told I belong
At the end of a line
With all the other Not-Quites
With all the Never-Get-It-Rights
But it turns out they are the ones You were looking for
All this time

'Cause I'm just a nobody trying to tell everybody
All about Somebody who saved my soul
Ever since You rescued me, You gave my heart a song to sing
I'm living for the world to see nobody but Jesus
I'm living for the world to see nobody but Jesus

Moses had stage fright
And David brought a rock to a sword fight
You picked twelve outsiders nobody would've chosen
And You changed the world
Well, the moral of the story is
Everybody's got a purpose
So when I hear that devil start talking to me, saying
"Who do you think you are?" I say

I'm just a nobody trying to tell everybody
All about Somebody who saved my soul
Ever since You rescued me, You gave my heart a song to sing
I'm living for the world to see nobody but Jesus
I'm living for the world to see nobody but Jesus

So let me go down, down, down in history
As another blood-bought faithful member of the family
And if they all forget my name, well, that's fine with me
I'm living for the world to see nobody but Jesus
So let me go down, down, down in history (Go down in history)
As another blood-bought faithful member of the family
(It's all I ever wanna be) And if they all forget my name, well, that's fine with me
I'm living for the world to see nobody but Jesus, yeah

I'm just a nobody (Nobody)
Trying to tell everybody
All about Somebody
Who saved my soul (Oh, saved my, saved my soul)
Ever since You rescued me
You gave my heart a song to sing (You gave me a song to sing)
I'm living for the world to see
Nobody but Jesus (Nobody but You, Lord)
I'm living for the world to see nobody but Jesus

I'm living for the world to see nobody but Jesus

I want to know, but don't want a phone call

I've gotten a call from a Dr twice in my lifetime and to be honest- they weren't good phone calls. When it is serious business is when you hear from the Dr. These are the phone calls you never forget.
And although I really want the results back like now- I do NOT want a phone call, unless it is just a "I know you were concerned about the results of this test and it's all good." Otherwise I will just do my best to be patient and wait for the results.  I'll get on here and give results as soon as I get a chance once I receive them. This week I have 3 appts to take my MIL to and a couple of things I really need to take care of. Anyway hope you all are doing well. Be back as soon as I get a chance.

Happy 50th Anniversary!!

Remember I told you that I was almost as old as Sesame Street? Well we looked it up and found out that November 10th was the first episode of Sesame Street. And I looked on Youtube and actually found it. I thought I would share it today - since today is the 50th anniversary of the show!! Enjoy! :O)

Sabbath Praises

Just a few of the lyrics that really spoke to me!

I'm wishing I could see the finish line
Where it ends, where it lands
Guess I lost my vision when the pain set in
Can I believe when I don't see?
Can I really let it be out of my hands?
When it's out of my hands
This isn't what I'd choose
But it's where I'm finding You

Flooding Emotions

I pulled into the parking lot, that I have been in quite a few times since that time six years ago. But the emotions overwhelmed me this day- almost as if it were that fateful day back December 3rd 2013. The other times I had been in this hospitals parking lot I had not been scheduled to see Dr D, the Dr who had diagnosed the cancer 6 years before. This day; however, I was. And the emotions flooded over me. I was so thankful I had left my house early and arrived early. I sat in my car and cried. Wishing that I had realized how emotional this visit could be. Later I talked to Dr D about this and she said many times patients don't go back to the Dr who diagnosed them because of this very reason. But this Dr is well worth facing this fear. When she first came in she gave me a hug and told me how glad she was to see me. We had a good visit and ended the visit with another hug.

Even though I really like this Dr, I am still SO glad to have this appt behind me. Can't wait to get the results back from the test she did. It was an emotionally draining day and I had to cancel another thing I had planned that afternoon because I needed more time to recoup. Anyway- I had ask y'all to pray for me about this appointment so I thought it only right to take some time to write up a bit of an update about it.

Hope you all have a great weekend. :)

We May End Up Being Neighbors

Taking my MIL to so many appointments lately has found me in the car a lot. I am lucky to have not only 1 but 4 Christian radio stations in this area! and I listen to one of those four stations most of the time. On my way home one day last week the thought hit me that we better learn to love our fellow man because one day we may just end up as neighbors in heaven. And there will be no hate there. God wants us to work towards being more like Him and He loves everyone!

We don't have the power in and of ourselves to reflect His character but as we surrender our lives to Him - He will have the freedom to mold us and shape us into His character. And since God is Love then we ought to learn to love everyone because they just may end up being our neighbor in heaven.

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By the way - I have a VERY important appointment today and I would appreciate your prayers. Thank you so very much!! :O)

Forever Friend

At my new church - the pastor and others refer to us as Forever Family and I just love that. It is so great to know that the relationships that we are building here will someday last forever!! Which brings me to my forever Friend. I am so thankful that I have a forever Friend who will never turn His back on me. He gives me the freedom to take His wisdom or not. And He loves me no matter what. He will never give up on me. When I make mistakes here and there He is always there with His arms wide open - inviting me back!! Our forever friendship means so much to Him taht He willingly spread His arms on the cross for me! His love is endless and nothing can separate me from it!! I am so thankful!!!

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:35-39

Hazards of a Recovering People Pleaser

I have mentioned several times that I am a recovering people pleaser. But before I move into the hazards of a recovering people pleaser, i feel I need to maybe expand a bit on what being a people pleaser means to me. And this will only be a brief explanation.

For much of my life to this point I have worked to keep peace. And there is nothing wrong with being a peace maker- there is even a blessing connected to being a peace maker in the Bible.

"Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God." 

Matthew 5:9

The problem begins when the pendulum swings too far to one side causing a person to try to please everyone around them in order to be accepted and loved. Being a people pleaser can cause you to keep quiet even when situations are going on that might need to be addressed. And this is where the hazards come in- because when you are recovering from being a people pleaser you feel the need to ever so often to deal with situations that may have been going on for a while. the problem is that sometimes you deal with them in inopportune times - like not when the boundary is crossed but another time- causing more problems. Sometimes recovering can cause you to feel the need to set a boundary when maybe it was just your reactions to the offense needed to be addressed. In other words, when you are one direction from the healthy mark and work towards being healthy - sometimes you miss the mark and swing to the other side- into another unhealthy area.    In which case may cause some damage to relationships - especially when you have mostly just kept quiet about the offensives in the past. It is quiet surprising to those around you. 

The hope is that the loved ones around you will give you grace and understanding as you work towards healthier ways to communicate and deal with life. Sadly this does not always happen. This experience is helping me see the value of grace. Where maybe before I just didn't understand it. And I feel grace is important for us to understand. Especially when we are looking at the grace God gives. It is something we don't deserve and yet He is "full of grace." John 1:14 

The pendulum was defiantly to one direction as i behaved as a people pleaser. And I have been working on recovering from this - the pendulum has swung to the other direction a time or two or..... God is still working on me. Others may give up on me but thankfully God never will. He has promised to complete the work He has begun in me. I just hope that my friends and family can continue to love and accept me through this journey even if I make mistakes. That's all I can do. I am not perfect- far, far from it. But God is still working on me. And I am thankful even when it is painful. 

For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man?

 If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. 

Galatians 1:10

Two Main Reasons...And a New Rule

There were two main reasons why I made public my 50 by 50 challenge that I made with myself. But had I known of the unexpected results I would have totally kept it to myself. Which has led me to a new rule in my life- that I wish i had have made years ago. Stick around and I will cover them all.

The main reason why I made my 50 by 50 challenge goal public was to have some accountability. And to be honest setting this goal has helped me stick with watching my weight through the ups and downs. There were many times I wanted to give up but that goal kept me from what I have done several times in the past~ giving up and ending up gaining all the weight back - sometimes even more than what I had lost.

The second  reason that I shared my goal was to encourage others and to be encouraged by others as we traveled this journey together.

But one of the results of making my weight loss journey public has not been positive. And really it's several things. When you talk about losing weight or the need to lose weight - it causes those around you to feel pressure - like they need to lose weight even if in reality they don't need to lose any weight. I have shared with those around me - sometimes in order to get some encouragement but instead of encouragement- many tend to respond with their own desire to lose weight and to be honest it has made me uncomfortable. Which is, I guess how I made others feel like when sharing my goals with them. I wanted encouragement but that is not what I got. But this is not the worse thing I got. We are working towards that....

It seems to me that among ladies that when someone loses weight it stirs up jealousy- what is really sad is when the jealousy comes from those around you who are at their ideal weight or very close~ meaning sometimes those around you much smaller than you- then to act a bit jealous - by comments they make. I don't understand this at all. I mean looking at me - it is obvious that I need to lose some weight. But why would ladies much smaller than me act as if they are jealous of the weight I lose?

The worst thing that has happened because of my 50 by 50 goal is the lose of a relationship I had. There is so much to this story and truthfully I do not totally understand  why the relationship dissolved to the point it has but I know that this goal had a lot to do with it. And honestly part of it is my own fault- some of my own behavior - which I will go into a bit in another post called "Hazards of a Recovering People Pleaser"

Anyway I was sharing with my Sabbath School leader about some of this situation and she said, "that is one reason why I don't share any thing about my weight lose goals." And it makes perfect sense to me. And it is one reason why I have made the decision not to share any more of my weight lose goal publically. This will be my own private things that I will discuss with my husband only. I really never got enough encouragement to make it worth all of the negative results of sharing anyway.

Learning these negatives to sharing about your weight loss goals have really worked against me. It has caused a lot of pain and a lot of hurt. And I wish I could have learned this lesson a much easier way. I wanted encouragement but really all I got was stumbling blocks of hurt.

So I would like to take this opportunity to say that if me sharing this goal with you in any way caused you discomfort or pain - I am very sorry. That was never my intention. Losing weight for me is very challenging and so I just shared so I could get some encouragement. So yes - sharing the goal did help hold me accountable, but the negatives to sharing it have outweighed the good. So my new rule is weight loss goals will not be shared. Never too old to set new rules for yourself.

Oh and another thing - if anyone shares with me about their weight loss journey - my goal will to be as encouraging and supportive as I can - because really that is all we want is cheer leaders to cheer us onto victory!!!

Sabbath Praises

A new favorite song of mine. Hope it blesses you as well.


Just a few of the lyrics that spoke to me:

"Step into a new day

We can rise up from the dust and walk away

We can dance upon our heartache, yeah

So light a match, leave the past, burn the ships

And don't you look back"

A Vintage Treasure ~ Best Deal

Wednesday I took a batch of clothes I no longer wanted to my consignment shop. I had some clothes that did not sell from a previous batch that I was suppose to pick up but I forgot to pick them up on Wednesday. At first I was mad at myself because I forgot to pick the clothes up. But actually it ended up being a blessing!

Thursday I took my MIL to a physical therapy appointment and after I dropped her off I ran a couple of errands. It really is amazing what you can do in less than an hour when you are right in town. I forget that sometimes since it takes me at least 15-20 minutes to get to town in the first place. Anyway so first errand was to pick up the unsold clothes. 6 of the 24 items I had taken that time did not sell. As I walked into the door - and a pendant on a necklace caught my eye. Normally I am not that into that kind of stuff but there was something about it that drew my attention. I picked it up and looked at the robin and as I turned it over I realized it was a pendant that could also be a brooch! I loved it. I am not that into necklaces - especially the shortness of this necklace but I do love a beautiful vintage brooch.

I knew I had 2 more stops to get done before heading back to the PT place so I bought the brooch with my credit and was on my way. After I arrived back at the PT place and as I was sitting in the waiting room I pulled my new brooch out and began to really look at it. I had noticed some writing on the back but had not taken the time to read it. I did not - It was an AVON piece. I love vintage Avon. They have had some awesome things. This is called "Welcoming of Spring~ The Robin" and I love it. I would love to know what year it was sold. I will be doing some research and see what I can come up with.

Anyway as I was looking it up I found that they have a hummingbird one as well and now I want it! I will be watching for it for sure!! 

And I paid $5.00 for it - but like I said I had credit so really no money out of pocket for me!! :O)