Sister- in- waiting....part two.

(Please read part one if you have not)

I want you to know that I wrote the last post because it is a story that has been growing in my heart and life unknown. A story that has been developing since I began blogging.

The timid step into the lives of others. Stepping forward to find some doors open and a gentle heart waiting. And at other times finding a door not yet ready to be opened and polite goodbyes were given.

The thing that has always remained on my mind was the hurt that often bound the closed door.
Having felt the huge hurt that was caused by others in the body of Christ.....my heart, now healed..........hurt for those who because of games of satan had left the church body.
There are many who have been hurt.....and still remained.....I was one.
Until the time that my body and spirit were weary and the hurt came once again.
I left the church and had no real feeling that I wanted to return.
And although we visited.....that church was no longer our home.
I knew according to scripture that I should not neglect the gathering of believers......but, I was tired. And I had had enough!
And so we spent a few months out of church....reading the Bible and praying at home.
Encouraging the believers when we could and all the while allowing Him to heal our hurts.
During this time I thought of all the women I had met here and how so many were doing the same thing. It was not such a bad life was it?
It had its ups and downs.....but we were doing alright.
Weren't we?
Most everyone would say, yes.
But I knew me and I would say that the answer was..........NO. Why?
Because besides God and my husband (and he did not know my heart) no one was holding me-the real me- accountable. There was no one who looked into my face and knew me well enough to know if I was just playing the game of righteous living.
And I know you know we can all do this.
So what is a person to do?
How do we take a step past the past hurts and become real with another?
And does it really have to be done?

For those of you that I blog with
that no longer attend church because of past hurts......I will step out on a limb and tell you that it is imperative that you rejoin the body. You know what I mean.
I have been without an eye to eye person now for 5 months. It has played havoc with my relationship with God. It allowed me to ignore and hide what God will not have. It allowed me at times to step away from my reading and fellowship. Hey, I was doing"o.k".......that is what I thought. Had there been an eye to eye person.....they would have called me on it.....just as the Spirit tried to do. But you and I both know how easy it becomes to ignore His voice when you give it a little practice.

Even when you rejoin the body you are going to have to make a choice to be real.
And you know what......He may not even use someone from that body to be your eye to eye person. It is really about be willing to be one with the body again. You can not say you love God whom you have not seen and not love the one that you can see. We will be known by our love for the brother. Yes, even the ones who hurt us.
Hey you have joined with me and you do not KNOW me. I don't know you and yet I love you.
I pray from many of you......and we have seen answered prayers. If you can believe it when I tell you...I love you.....you can reach out and believe another sister.
I have been there.....you can!
Why write all of this?
Because I would pray this year that some of you will take the step to rejoin the body.
There is a sister waiting for you.
One who sits on her couch -hands folded-waiting for the sister she has longed for.

I have spent a long time sitting on that couch wounded and weary. I have wondered if there would ever be another that I would want to trust.......you know...why bother?
God knows our hearts and its hurts.
And He will not ask us to do what we are too wounded to accomplish. Like Beth Moore says, wounded people do attract wounded people.
But could it be that your wounds healed long ago
and yet in stubbornness you are just unwilling to be obedient?
I have heard women here tell me how lonely they are. And my heart understands and hurts for them. I have spent many years there on the couch lonely.
And I am reminded that-
1 lonely woman +1 lonely woman= two women joined arm n arm
working together for God. :)
There are other women out there who will love you face to face.....just like He does.
Maybe you are in church and you still don't have a face to face person. Again I would remind you
that maybe she belongs to another body of believers. Maybe you will find her at a Bible study.....or at an in home church. Maybe you will find her doing volunteer work.
But you have to step out in faith.
We all have to have someone who knows us and who will lovingly give us a kick in our patoot when we are acting in rebellion or just being lazy.

How about you?
Do you have an eye to eye person other than your husband?
Or is there a sister in waiting out there.....one who is waiting for you?

A sister in waiting

Her heart was so timid.
She stood just outside the open doorway with her hands resting lightly on either doorpost.
Peering in she felt almost like she was eavesdropping on another's secret conversation.
Her heart beat forcefully in her chest......it was too loud to hide its nervous burst.
Finally she eased one foot over the thresh hold.
Much to her relief no one came rushing at her to push her out.
There on the couch sat the owner of the house.
She sat there quietly.....hands tightly folded in her lap.
With a weak, but hopefully heart felt smile she ventured over to join her new friend.
Sitting at a safe distance she too placed folded hands in her lap.

How do you start a conversation that will open one heart to another?
How do you begin from the beginning without stepping away from the present?
Folded hands represented wounded protected hearts.
What both so desperately needed and wanted would not come with a few polite spoken words.

This is how the sisters met.
Both from the same family......both bruised by members that refused to follow the guidelines.
For so long they had refused to reach out for fear that their wounded hearts would betray them.
Knowing what was right did not always make it's way into proper words.
It did not always allow one to open the door of privacy that would allow for true intimacy.
The choice was given freely by the Father.
Through the twists and turns of life He had been bringing them together.
Together they would learn once again to love and trust......only if their hearts believed.

Only if their hearts believed that they could safely open the door.
A door that would give entry into who they really were.
Could they trust again?
Could they believe that it would be impossible to go further without a sister?
A sister who knew them inside and out.
A sister who would be willing to love.
A sister who would be willing to put her finger on the pain and wrap her arms around the agony.
A sister who would be willing to tell her that she sees the dirt.....and it must go.
One who loves unconditionally.
Would they this new year.......... BELIEVE?



I'll finish this tomorrow.

I don't understand

I'm confused.
Now..... I know how to link to another persons blog or post within a post I write. And we do this to give someone else credit or just to share another cool site.
But.......could someone please tell me
what the "LINKS TO THIS POST" is for at the bottom of a post under the comment area?
You click on CREATE A LINK and a box pops up with the name of the post in it. If I click on that box from my own site it just creates a new post. But what happens if I click on that while on another persons site. I have been a little afraid to do it. Is it just so that blog owner will see the link and come and read your post?
Just call me confused!
I don't know what this is.
Why create a link if you are not blogging about it from your site? I have noticed links to my posts and then went over to the site and they had not written anything about my post.?!?
I just don't know.....
I'm confused....please help!

Blessings for the new year

We will open the book.
Its pages are blank.
We are going to put words on them ourselves.
The book is called Opportunity
and its first chapter is New Year's Day.
~Edith Lovejoy Pierce

My prayer for you this coming year.......
That with the power of God ruling your spirit, incredible things will be written in your "book" this year.
May all the things written bring incredible glory to our Father.

14.For this reason I kneel before the Father,
15.from whom his whole family^[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name.
16.I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
17.so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.
And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,
18.may have power, together with all the saints,
to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,
19.and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled
to the measure of all the fullness of God.

20.Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,according to his power that is at work within us,

21.to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Ephesians chapter 3.....from Biblegateway.com

Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight

Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred,
and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit,
become a child again at Christmas-time.
~Laura Ingalls Wilder


This year my prayer for you on Christmas is that you would be able to come to Him as a child.
That the eyes of your heart would be opened again to the
amazingly miraculous events that took place so long ago.
And that your hearts would be wrapped tight in His love against the cold of this world.

Have a great time with family and friends and
leave tomorrows concerns
for tomorrow.

My you find that the greatest gift of all has already been
safely tucked away in your heart.

This blog will be back after an extended break

Grove Park Inn

I thought I would share some pictures of our Tueday night trip
with my brother and his family to the Grove Park Inn Gingerbread Competition.
I went several years ago with my brother and loved it-so I thought I would take Julia so she could enjoy it. And enjoy it she did!
This is my brother and his family. Can't you just tell that some of the guys would have rather been anywhere else but posing for a picture? Here are a few that I liked. This place was great with its wreaths on the different levels of the house. I don't know if you see the little red bird sitting in the tree....the trees were amazing. And of course I loved the dusting of snow on everything. Can you imagine the time that went into this? Hours and hours and so many got no recognition except from those walking by. They were all amazing artistic creations.
They must be all edible. And some of the structures were so huge that it was amazing they were able to stay together without concrete or glue.
I loved this next one. It was on a platform that was rotating so I am glad the picture came out. The colors are amazing....and edible. Don't know how they do it.

Wouldn't you just love to have a real one like this next one- tucked away in the mountains?
They look small here but almost all of them would have taken a few people to carry in. The only unedible thing they could use was the base....and there were no flimsy cardboard bottoms here.It was nice to see that at least one person chose to recreate the celebration of
Christs birth. The scripture of the birth was done here on the Bible and you could really read it.
Talk about eating the word!

I could not figure out if it was yellow bananas on top of this fence or strange looking lights.
Notice that the inside is decorated too.

None of these were the grand prize winner.....it was a carousel.....but these are some of the ones I thought were cool. I could have taken a picture of so many more. There must have been 150 of them....starting with the ones done by children all the way up to the adult entries.
I just thouth this last one was cute. The chimmeny was made of peanut brittle, the roof of chex mix, the grey looking wall has sunflower seeds in it.
The little rocks by the creek even looked real.

As you can see it was enjoyed by all!

I know everyone is going to start getting really busy. So after my next post I will be taking a little break. I'll post just once more before Christmas.
Love ya'll.

Same post...new name......Project completed

Earlier I talked about how the girls (Julia and one of her friends here in the campground) came up with a list of people they wanted to help or do something nice for this Christmas.
They picked people here in our campground and decided they would bake them some pumpkin bread and include one of the cinnamon ornaments that Julia and I had made.
Bright and early our helper arrived and I pulled out all they would need to bake the bread.
Then from the couch I gave instructions. They measured all the ingredients and prepared the buttered sugared pans and then set the timer as they put them in the oven.

They used small disposable pans and were able to get three loaves in our small oven at one time.
Here they are as they check to see if the loaves are done when the timer went off.
Almost!
Finally the bread was done and cooled.
They placed the bread in little bags and signed Christmas cards
and tied the ornaments to the package.
For a few others we made fudge and wrapped them the same way.

The girls had a fun time delievering their packages.
And we heard good things back from those who got the packages.
I think the girls had a good time together and it was fun to help them with their
giving project!
~~~~~~~~
If you were with me last year at this time you will remember that Mary, of Mary's Writing Nook and I were encouraging everyone to reach out in His name.
One of the things I found out about that was easy for every one to do was a project to help
children in an orphanage in Thailand.
I found out about it through Bev at The King Is Enthralled.
And they have decide to do it again this year!
Bev's daughter is actually a volunteer at the orphanage and Bev's son decided to reach out and help children who could not afford to go to school this coming year. Education for them is not free. And since many of the students have lost parents to aids or other events....they have no one to pay for them.
If you can afford 10, 20 or even 30 dollars you can help these children go to school.
Go on over and check out this post and pick out the picture of a child you would like to
touch in His name.
In His name we thank you
for your giving heart!

Something to think about

This has been on my mind since the first signs of the holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas)
began to hit the air waves and store shelves.
It is something that I have talk about in short with a friend and I think God is encouraging me to go ahead and share it. We will see where He takes it.

There have been many changes in our lives in the past year.
Some of us have lost loved ones. Maybe some have experienced the loss of a job.
While others just have been struggling with life and relationships.
Maybe you have gone to the healer and allowed Him to put His gentle hand on
the situations and the pain and discomfort began to heal and mend.
And then all of a sudden the season hit and a heaviness began to descend.
You may have once again began to think of things gone by....just let me say that it is normal to miss loved ones who have passed during this time of family gatherings.
But, maybe you can't explain where this feeling has come from.
You search your mind and heart and begin to think that something is wrong with you.
Maybe you think that it is just because you can not get into the "reason for the season".
Your heart does a downward spiral each time you think about it.
You look around at the parties and festivities and you just feel disassociated.
Blah! or even.........Humbug. :)

I want you to stop and think about how we know this time brings so many people down.
Saved and unsaved are not able to escape it.
Why?
Why the crash now?
I know society tells us it is because people are lonely and some have expectations that are too high....and that is true.
But I want you to just think about this.
Do you think that our enemy enjoys what we are bring to everyone's mind at this time of year?
Do you think that he rejoices in the joy that is spread when people celebrate our Saviors birth?
Do you think he feels the discomfort when someone gives a gift out of love?

Remember the verse that talks about how we often entertain angels unaware?
Have you ever just all of a sudden had an emotion (anger, guilt, sadness, depression)
hit you and you did not know what sparked it?
I don't think that we have to see the angels to be entertaining them.
I think sometimes when they want to get to us they will allow us to feel their presence.
Now I am not saying that every time we get sad that it is satan.
I just think that this season drives him crazy....look at how he has tried to destroy it.

So.... when heaviness comes this season.....take time to openly praise God for who He is and what He is doing in all of our lives. Thank Him for the loved ones that are with Him in glory.
And you know I haven't been able to find this in scripture so if anyone knows something, please let me know. But there have been times when my heart was hurting for the one who had gone on to be with the Lord. I do know without a shadow of a doubt that we are not to try and communicate with them or even to talk to them......they can not hear us.
(I do know that is in scripture.)
But there have been times when I have shared my hurt with God an asked Him to let the person know that I was thinking about them and that I loved them. I will also say here that I don't think that it would be a good idea to get wrapped up in this. We are here to live for Him and not to get lost in what is waiting for us. Understand?
Did God tell them what was in my heart.....I don't know.
But by talking to Him about it it made me feel a tad better. He hurts when we hurt. He is not untouched by our trials and pain.

So thank Him for His goodness that He has lavished on us.
Open your mouth and say it out loud!
Praise opens the heavens and brings the glory of God down......and satan and his forces can not stand to be in that presence.
Do it a little while before you stop and just give up.
And see if your spirit does not begin to lift as Jesus comes to inhabit the praise of His children.
And yes, that can be found in scripture! \o/

And just a friendly reminder.....this is not doctrine...just something to think about.
Love ya!

All on a saturday

She had thought it over for a long time. Why did she want to do it? And what would she get?
These had been questions in her mind for a few years now.
At first she thought....how could I? And, what in the world would people think?
And to be strictly honest she had felt a little glee at giving those who had put her in a box.....just. a. little. shock. Who said that she couldn't?
And didn't Jesus say that he looked at the motives of our heart?
And so the day came when she pulled up to the front of the shop. She could feel her heart hammering in her chest. What type of people would they be?
Would they tell her that she had evidently come into the wrong shop?
Unashamed she turned off the engine and got out......she would just look.
Throwing her purse over her shoulder she looked around and marched on in...... hearing the bell jingle on the door as it closed behind her.
From across the counter she saw a worker
who she could tell thought that she had stumbled into the wrong shop.
"Can I help you?", he asked over his shoulder as he continued to play his computer game.
"Yes, I would like to look through what you have available." she said quietly.
He pointed to the wall, but when she said what she was looking for he told her she would have to find one on the Internet because he didn't have any.
She sat down in the wobbly chair and quickly found what she was looking for.
She had looked for them before.....she knew just what she wanted.
He thought it was cool and asked her if she wanted to wait or come back later.
Taking a deep breath she said that she would wait since she didn't have anything else to do.

Sitting there looking around she felt more than a tad out of place. There was art everywhere.....very bizarre "art". She was totally out of her element. Before the guy sat down at his desk to work he went in to turn on the music....she just had to smile
as it was not quite her style.
She hoped that they would sense her light even in this obviously dark area.
Trying to keep her mind off anything but right now, she crossed her legs and wrapped her arms around herself. It would be o.k. and it wouldn't last forever.
Looking up from his desk and over his shoulder Mario,
asked why she had chosen what she had chosen. Taking a deep breath she wondered if she should just say, because I liked it. Or if she should just bite the bullet and give the full story.
Afraid not to tell the truth she said, "Well, the explanation is a little long but I would love to tell you". And so she began to tell the story she had read several years before.

Well, you see there was this woman who had cancer. Finally her cancer got so bad that she was bedridden. She became depressed and lonely as she spent each day wracked with pain. Finally she decided to ask God if He had forgotten about her. Did He know how bad she hurt and was he even there with her during this time. She dozed off dreading the next day that was sure to come. The next morning when she woke she realized that there was a beautiful red bird sitting in her window.....she was not alone. She loved watching it walk back and forth. It took her mind off the pain and she did not feel as lonely. After the second day spent watching the bird she realized something was going on. She remembered her prayer and realized God had sent her a sign that He was near and watching.
The bird became a sign of God's love that she shared with all who visited.
Soon she went home to be with the Lord and her only daughter was heart broken. Not only had her mother died but she felt as if she had been abandoned. All alone one day she decided to go for a ride out in the country. Riding along she thought about her Mom and how happy she must be in the presence of the Lord. And yet she felt the tears streaming down her face and she wondered if God had forgotten about her. She was so lonely and she wondered how she would make it through this time all on her own. Crying so hard she could not drive she pulled off the road onto the side of a field. Reaching up to wipe the tears away she took a deep breath and looked over to the field. As her eyes cleared she saw the most beautiful sight. Rising from the field were a dozen of the most beautiful red birds she had ever seen.
And she knew that God was reminding her that he was there and that He loved her.

She had gotten so into the heart of the story that she was almost embarrassed at the silence that followed. She couldn't believe that she had shared that with a perfect stranger. And from the surroundings she was pretty sure that a relationship with God was not his top priority.

"So, that is why I want a red bird", she said.
"That is a pretty cool story", he replied. "Now I understand why you like the red bird. I have just never had a person ask for one before".
They now sat in comfortable silence while he finished his work. He hopefully thinking......and she praying for him while he was thinking.
They later talked of this and that. He of his family and children and how he had moved to this area after Katrina had hit the Gulf Coast of Mississippi.
She should have known the next question was coming....it was such a set up by God.
"So, why did ya'll decide to move to our area?"
She just smiled and began once again to tell him about the miraculous hand of God as He had guided them to these mountains from an area not far from the state he had left. And then she of course talked about how God had taken care of them since they had arrived.
They then chatted about food and the seafood and poboys they missed.
She promised that she would be back with some coffee with Chicory and a mix of Beignet mix.

And so went her day......full of time spent sharing her God while getting a tattoo.
Was she afraid to post this because of what some will think?
You had better believe it.
But He knows her heart......and I think you know it too.
When she was getting ready to leave another guy who worked there came in.
Do you know what he asked her?
He asked, "So why did you pick a red bird"?
She turned and looked at Mario and just smiled.
Then she turned to the this big ole stranger and said, Well, it's a long story........
And from behind her her friend Mario said, "Yes, but it is really worth hearing".

And so she left with a shoulder that hurt but with a heart that was praising her God.
Who knew a red bird could be such a witnessing tool? Not many will be seeing it since it is usually hidden under her shirt on her shoulder....but if it ever comes up in conversation ........She will be as bold as a lion
and as gentle as a......red bird. ;)
A bonus?
Her husband really liked it.

Do I have any brains left?

Do you know how sometimes God just blows your mind over and over again?
Thus the title....Do I have any brains left? ;)

So here is the set up.
God lead me to the Guardian ad Litem program by way of the Internet. I was looking for
some way to help my community, help people and get out of the camper.
So I got on the web and found two things in our area that I could try.
I sent an email to both and only one replied. (1st set up by God)
The very next day I heard from the head of the GAL program wondering if she could set up a meeting for the next day in order to "catch me up" since there would not be another training class till the spring. And since there was another woman starting late too....she could get us both at the same time. (2nd set up by God)
Come to find out the other lady was as nervous as I. And so we planned to sit with each other at the next class we would attend with everyone else. I left thinking how nice she was and how thankful I was that I had someone else to go through this with.
At the next class I found out a little more about her.
She is 55 (she looks younger than me) and has three children that are grown and have children of their own. She used to own the Curves in our area but sold it and in the recent years had opened a gym in the bottom of her house where she is a personal trainer. (3rd set up by God)
So we finished our class and planned to get together again to help each other when we got a case.

As we all know I got my first case this week......she did too. (4th set up by God)
She emailed me yesterday to see if we could get together and have lunch and plan out where to go next with our cases.

Can I just stop here to let ya'll know how much God has used you all to prepare me for this moment in time. Because you allowed me to talk to you here....I got my voice.
I got over feeling uncomfortable opening up to new people. I got over that feeling of having to
blend in and do what everyone else was doing. I became comfortable with me.
I actually went to a Christmas party the other night with people I don't really know and held conversations and felt comfortable in my own skin.
That is a huge thing for me. In the past I would have dreaded not having anything to say and I would have come up with an excuse not to go.
So thank you!
Back to the rest of the story. ;)

So we met for lunch today and had great conversation.....really sharing from the heart.
How strange is that?
She is a Christian who has been hurt by those in the church.....she has my heart already. :)
We ran our errands and went by the main office where I got a chance to tell her along the way the story of my red bird. (5th set up by God)
If you don't know about that..... it's a whole other story.
Anyway, we were pretty much finished our time together and got in her truck to leave and as we pulled out of the parking place I looked over and what do you think I saw sitting in a bush?A beautiful bright red cardinal.....we both had a laugh.
I haven't even seen one since we moved here.(6th set up by God)
God was with us. ;)
As we were heading back to my truck she asked if I would like to see her gym.
DUH!....."Yes!", says me who needs so bad to loose some weight.
When she said she had a full gym she was not kidding. Free weights, two huge weight machines, elliptical machine, tread mill, and many other things that I do not even have a clue what they are used for. There was even a T.V set up to watch while working out......all very professional.
And then set up number 7 by God.
Perfection and more than I could have ever asked for.
She asked if I would like to come and work out with her! She said we could start on cardio so that I could see the scale move and then we would move on to weights.
I am still pinching myself. Above and beyond all I could hope, think or even imagine!
Not only did God provide a way for me to help my community, and help people but
He gave me an incredible reason to get out of my camper.
Thank you God for blowing my mind!
How could I ever had hoped to have someone
professionally trained to help people get in shape....help me?
How could I have ever hoped that she would be sweet and nice and that I would actually like her,want to get to know her and have something in common with her?
An really guys.....she is such a cool person. I just love her heart.

Secuse me while I pick my brains up off the floor......might just need 'em later on!

He loves me.......He really loves me!
Thank you for your prayers! They're working!
Pssst!
Don't stop!

Do you wander?

Yesterday as I was on my way to that marvelous place called Wally World
I heard the most incredible story on the radio.
It was about a man named Robert Robinson.
He was a man who as a young child had a rough life. His father died when he was a young boy and so in 18th century England it meant he had to go to work to survive.
He fell in with bad company and it was not until a he was into his late teens that he finally started
to realize that God was after him.
By the time he turned 20 he had submitted his life to God and decided to become a Methodist preacher. And although he found great joy in his salvation... he spent many years wandering in and out of the joy of his salvation.
One day while riding on a stagecoach he was confronted by a young lady bubbling over with the joy of her salvation. She could hardly contain her joy....which was a real affront to a man in the outs with God. Try as he would to avoid her enthusiasm it was a bit hard since he was sitting almost knee to knee with her.
Oblivious of his discomfort she sat there reading a book and quietly humming under her breath.
Finally, unable to get past the dreary look on the mans face...she leaned over
and asked him a question.
"Sir, would you please read what I have been reading?
I do believe that it would make you feel so much better. It is obvious you are not happy."
Leaning over he took the hymnal out of sheer gentlemanly politeness.
Sitting back....... he looked down and to read the words on the page.
His heart broke and tears began to run down his cheeks.
This is what he read.....

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love..

The woman thinking that the song had touched his heart as it had hers, smiled and said.......
"Don't you just love what this writer wrote?
It has touched my heart so over the years."
This was his response,

"Madam, I am the poor unhappy man who wrote that hymn many years ago, and I would give a thousand worlds, if I had them, to enjoy the feelings I had then.".*
~~~~~~~~
Like Robert Robinson, we all struggle in our relationship with God.
The refrain of this hymn says,

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love
Take my heart, O take and seal it
Seal it for thy courts above..

We are all prone to wander.
We look at times in our life and know that we have missed the mark.
But during this season....the time we celebrate the birth of our Emmanuel.....let us never forget
that our God pursues us out of His deep love for us.
He knows we are human and how easily we are distracted from the goal.
Even so.....He is passionately in love with you. There is never a moment when you are not on His heart and mind. Not one second!
He will never stop pursuing (your name here) because
He loves (your name here) more than life itself.
Does that blow your mind?
It does mine.
He loves you girl!
PERIOD
The video below is from a movie that I highly recommend. It is, Love Comes Softly.
This is a clip from the movie where the the song Come Thou Fount is being sung.
The song is at the beginning and I couldn't just post it......so watch it all if you like
or stop it after the song.
Love you!

*Glimpses of Christian History

Full to overflowing

Ephesians 1:15-19 (The Message)

15-19That's why, when I heard of the solid trust you have in the Master Jesus and your outpouring of love to all the followers of Jesus, I couldn't stop thanking God for you—every time I prayed, I'd think of you and give thanks. But I do more than thank. I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!

I wonder if Paul knew when he prayed these things,the great family of God that would follow? Did he know that he was praying for me?

And, how cool is it to know that your brother Paul, prayed for you?

In the last few weeks there has been so much filling my heart that I have really had a hard time putting in down here. There has been an overflowing love for my girls here and the ones who are praying for me and loving me that don't visit here. I have been truly blessed. I have also been amazed at the unveiling of the purpose that God has for us here.... the secret picture that He is showing us is tantalizing. The IMMENSITY of it just fills my heart.

He is creating a life for us here. He has a glorious plan for our time here.I find a love growing in my heart for this place and its people.

I have found such encouragement attending the Sunday School class at our church. The woman who teaches is a lot like me I think. I love her zeal for the Lord and how she does not restrain the passion of her words. I think she is someone that I would love to sit and talk with.

Our music group that gets together on Monday nights has filled a creative hole in my life. I probably enjoy listening to the music more than playing...but I am learning. It gives me time to spend with my brother and I think that time has meant as much to him as it has to me. Most of the individuals who have joined this group are retirees. They have lived a life and their characters have such depth. Even here I see an opportunity to be fed spiritually and to feed. There is a couple in our group who sparks something in me. They are so well put together and talented and yet they are missing the ONE who gave them the abilities they have. I look at them and I pray, Is this part of the plan? I would love to share with them the reason I am the way I am. I pray that God opens a door for relationship. They have already been presented with the truth......I would love to walk with them through the door.

So I sit this morning and I thank God for the plans He has for us. My heart is full. In a little while I will go to the post office and pick up my paper work for my first GAL case. I am a little nervous but so excited for this new opportunity to reach out to someone in need.

Can you even imagine the scope of the lives that can be touched by His love? A love that crushes my heart at times. Isn't it amazing how when our hearts are squeezed it can bring tears to our eyes? It truly touches our whole being.

Allow His love to squeeze your heart today.

Allow "the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers" to guide your footprints today.

I love you guys....but then I think you already know that. ;)

passage today provided by....Biblegateway.com
The Message (MSG)

Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

.

Bloggy Love

It seems it is time to do a little giving and blogdom has been busy passing on the love.

The sweet award above was given to me by Denise of Shortybears Place. Denise has a huge heart and is such an encouragement to all of us here in blogdom. I place high value on her friendship.....so this award is extra sweet. Love Ya Girl!
Here are the rules: These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find, and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who much choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award." .
This award will go to----
Dee of D's Health and Weight Loss Journey,
Denise of Samaritan Woman,
Jessie of Overflow of a Forgiven Soul,
Denise of Edge Of Design,
Melanie of MelanieJoy,
Mary of Mary's Writing Nook,
Sandi of Did You Ever Think About,
Kate of From The Vicarage Kitchen.
And just to let you know....I consider all my girls FRIENDS.
And I thank God for all of you.\o/
And as far as I am concerned you should all consider you name listed here.

This next sassy lady was given to me by Amanda of Scraps Of Our Life.
Thank You Amanda!
The rules or guideline of this award are as follows:
1. You must pass this on to 5 Fabulous people.
2. You must list 5 of your fabulous addictions.
3. Make sure you list the person who gave you the award and link back to them.

The fab 5 are------Janera of My Garden Hat, Leslie of Do You Weary Like I Do, and Denise of Shortybears Place.

My fab 5 addictions----1. My relationship with God.
2. My Man
3. My computer
4. Coffee -- Like you even had to guess this would show up here. :)
5. Life in His service.

Here is another sweet gift passed to me by Denise of Shortybears Place.
The rules are to tag someone that I know loves Christmas, and has Christmas spirit. They must link back to my blog to indicate where they were tagged, and they need to add 1 to 45 reasons why they love Christmas. Why I love Christmas:.
1. I love Christmas because it brings the hearts of people together.
2. I love that the birth of our King that happened so long ago still can move our hearts when we hear about it. 3. I love sending out Christmas cards.
4. I love giving and this time of year is a great chance to give gifts and love.
5. I love Christmas songs....especially the old ones-they bring back great memories.
6. I love traditions. And it seems that this time of year is a great time to start and maintain traditions that make us feel special.
7. I love baking! Christmas is a great time to send a little something from your home to anothers.
And who does not like getting home baked goods?

If you would enjoy doing this tag let me know and I would love to come read.

For those of you who like THE BEANS

Yesterday morning while bringing Julia to school
I was blessed to hear a pretty inspiring story.........
the story had its beginning years before this idea was even conceived.
Take a moment PLEASE to watch the video.

This ministry was started by a pastor in 2004, who wanted to find a way to help
those in the poorest nation in our world.
Because of the steps he took many farmers and business owners (women included) are being taught that they can step out of the life of poverty they have always known. And like the video says, it is also bringing a nation torn apart by racism back together in healing
as the Tutsi and Hutu farmers work side by side.
They are using the land God created to bring healing to their country.
Not only does buying this coffee help the farmers get better than fair wages...but the company- "Land of a Thousand Hills- also invests one dollar per 12 oz. bag sold to fund micro-finance programs that help Rwandans start small businesses. Approximately $3 total per 12 oz. bag is invested in the Rwandan economy".

How awesome that as the body we can reach out to others in such a simple way.
Their slogan is- Drink Coffee. Do Good.............very appropriate!
If you would like to read more about this company you can go to the site-
Land of thousand hills.
And if you have not gotten all of your Christmas shopping done.....buy some coffee.
What a great way to give to one and help another.
Mom asked what I wanted for Christmas and I told her that a bag of their Nicaraguan - Full City Roast, which by their description has "a rich, full bodied coffee with deep notes of chocolate and hints of berry". And my second choice was for those who can not decided between medium roast and dark roast. It is the Rwandan blend- their description....."a medium bodies coffee with an initial spicy flavor and surprisingly clean and light after taste".
How great does that sound?
I know, I know.......... you tea drinkers are now rolling your eyes but you will
just have to excuse me my moment of pleasure. :)
Go check them out and......... Drink Coffee and Do Good. ;)

On off, On off

It is that time of year.....the time when you pull out decorations that have been tenderly tucked away for a whole year. This was last year.....we had plenty of room for a big tree. It really was beautiful. This year those decorations will have to hang out in storage as they would look a tad out of place on the little tree that fits our space. If you are like me there are special memories associated with many of the things that you pull out. There are stockings that have been around for years- they remind me of the
"stockings"(really my Grand-dads socks) that were put out each Christmas morning by my Mom and Grandmother.
Hmmm, maybe we should do a post on favorite Christmas memories....that would be one of mine. And Mom, if you are reading this....just because I have moved away does not mean that you should not do stockings this year. :)
As far as I am concerned....they are one of my favorite things.
Move over Oprah I have my own favorite list.
Boy was that a rabbit trail.....sorry, getting back on tract here.
So Julia and I were putting up a few decorations in our camper and she brought up something good that touched my heart. She has some of her Father in her.
We had finished putting all the ornaments on our pre-lit tree when I picked up that extra little bag of lights they give you and decided to ask Julia if she wanted the lights to blink on and off.
I knew she would since it seems to give a more festive feeling to the room. Being the good mom that I am..... I told her to replace the top bulb with the little bulb with the red tip--------after she unplugged the tree.
She did a great job...but still the tree would not blink. (Just for you I hung a little blanket up so you wouldn't have to see Keiths storage area behind the tree :)
Back to the story.
Thinking that something was broken I went over to check out what was going on. And to my relief there was nothing wrong besides a hidden bulb at the end of the string....and it did not have a red tip. I pointed out that she had missed a bulb and told her that unless she got the last one changed out the others would not be able to follow the blinking.
Right away, in her face, I saw the light bulb come on.
Oh, she said, that is just like in my class.
When one kid starts acting out the rest start doing the same thing.
That's my girl! ;) \o/

Of course I had to add a few thoughts here to the positive side.
We talked about how a person who loves God could also influence others actions to the positive.
It was a sweet conversation that I tried not to turn into a a full blown sermon. :)
But I could have....it has been a long time since I have had the opportunity to sermonize. :)

And now our little home is all decorated.
We have a tree and the cranberry garland and stockings have been hung. If you are in our neck of the woods we are also the camper with the big red bow on the door and the snowflake lights hanging on the awning. Never thought I would become an outside Christmas light person...but Julia and I think they look cute. A nice addition to the campground.
And soon we will start some baking for those around us.
Many of the people are here because they have nowhere else to go.
It is a great opportunity for us to reach out with love in His name.
And if this is not toooooooo much of a stretch......
because He chose to be that lead bulb and love first....
now we follow His example.
How about this? Let's get caught playing follow the leader.Let's let our lights shine so that others will follow. ;)

Heads up!

I was over at one of my girls today
and found that she is giving away something
so tantalizing
so marvelous in smell
that you just might be tempted to lick it (her words:).....but beware....it is not edible!
But you have to agree that it must be something mighty fine smelling
to temp someone in such a way.
Interested?
Do you want to win something
that has a snowflake dingle-dangle on it? (again her words:)
Isn't she just so creative with words? :)
Go ahead....you know you want to.
Go on over to Janera's blog and put your curiosity to rest.
This will be one thing you can enjoy this holiday season without guilt!
Hurry, hurry!

Let Your Light Shine At Christmas!

I know, I know....some of you are saying that you still are not ready for Christmas yet.
But it is coming....... and just like you can't stop a baby from being born when it is ready...
you can't stop Christmas or slow it down.
Although the last might be nice.My goal this year is..No Rush.
Just enjoy this season and continue to remember what this is all about.
You know the other night on the other night on the way home from my brothers I was thinking about why Chirstmas is such an important holiday. We know it is important because it is a celebration of the birth of our Savior. But why is it so important to the rest of the world?
Why are they constantly reaching for the ever elusive?
We see commercials that promote giving and receiving....but the ones that "get us" are the ones that show families coming together in love. Fires roaring as it snows outside....everyone sitting around laughing and smiling.......sounds like a greeting card commercial. ;)
We see families that were apart coming together. Families that were separated by great distances showing up at the last minute to show how much they want and need to be present for this time of year.
WHY?
Why such a massive need for family?
Don't you think that probably it is because God put family in our hearts?
He gave us a desire to become part of something bigger than ourselves....something that could never be taken away. Something that will wrap us up and make us feel safe in a world that is growing ever colder.
What they don't know is that becoming part of this family will fill them up. It will be better than all the finest prepared food. It will warm their heart more than the glow from the largest diamond or the warmest fires. He promises to wrap you in the greatest gift of all.......His son.
It will change your heart like the Grinch's at the end of the movie.Well, a little bigger than those hearts. :)
So we have the secret of Christmas don't we?
We have what everyone wants.
That's right.........even if they don't know it.
Here is a little something for my girls. Because I know that they will choose this season
to let their light shine here in blogdom.

Post it if you like................... and then pass it on.
It you put it in your side bar don't forget to click the reduce button.
Let's give those talking about
The Reason For The Season
a big old
GREAT JOB!
Just a little something fun and cheery. :)

What do ya do on a day like this?

So what do you do when it is cold out and school gets canceled?
First you wish that the school posted earlier than 6:00- that school is canceled so that you wouldn't have had to get up to fix breakfast....... just to find out that there really was no school after all. :(

Next, since no one seems to be able to go back to sleep even though it is still dark outside......you come up with something to keep you and the kind of little one....... occupied.
Actually we started this before Thanksgiving...so today was a great day to finish it up.

I am sure that most you have done this little project with your children before. A little cinnamon, applesauce and some glue and you have the prefect smelling dough that gets hard when cooked or left out to dry.

We put ours in a Ziploc bag and rolled it out
with a rolling pen. Then Julia used some cookie
cutters and I used the birds below. I had an extra
sheet and cut those out as patterns.

If you don't get the emails from Martha Stewart with daily crafts to do....you are missing out. She has had some great ideas for cheap presents for Christmas. There is also an email that you can sign up for a daily cookie. I don't know about you but I do do some baking for Christmas gifts.....these extra recipes will come in handy.

By the way you can find this craft on her site under bird ornaments.
Click on the above and it will take you to the site.

Below is what we came up with. We put most of these in the oven at 200 for about 2 hours. Since I don't have a lot of extra room in the camper it was easier to do this. Then I stored them in a plastic container till we were ready to decorate. I went to Walmart and the dollar store to pick up some assorted things to decorate the ornaments with......you may have somethings around the house but all our crafty stuff is in storage.
I did mostly red birds.......but a few of the snow flakes too.
Julia and I had fun and we will include these with some of the loaves of pumpkin bread that we will give for Christmass presents.

I did make a red bird with an extra long ribbon so that I could

hang one from my review mirror. Someone said that these make a really great
air freshener for the car......we shall see.