Have A Blessed Christmas!

Times of stillness and beauty

There are those times when He says, Peace be still....and the snow begins to fall and quiet falls.

The air alive with activity....brings a silent hush to the country side.

 

People stop their endless scurrying and settle down to enjoy Gods creative hand.

Trees are draped in white....only to willing to carry the weightiness of the contents of Heavens storehouses.

And then the night falls.....and in the silence God drapes the world in a hush that brings rest.

And though His people sleep.....He is ever on His throne guarding and protecting.

\o/

Morning dawns with views that make one catch their breath at the purity of the Masters work.

 

Breaks in the clouds....give way to glorious blue skies....

The scenes leave one in a state of incredible awe....with these treasures given so freely here on earth..... what must heaven be holding in store for those who are found faithful to the end?

 

Life is not a picnic....:)......but oh the glory that awaits those who have selected the

high road...the road seldom chosen by those who would rather an easy journey.

Isaiah 55:10& 11 (Amplified Bible)

¹⁰For as the rain and snow come down from the heavens, and return not there again, but water the earth and make it bring forth and sprout, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater

¹¹So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void [without producing any effect, useless], but it shall accomplish that which I please and purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

Blessed be the name of our Lord.

We have a winner!

Sooooooo today is the day!

Some sweet person who left a comment is going to get a blog makeover.

So I am going over to the random number generator .......I'll be right back.

And the winner is

Here are your random numbers:

12

Timestamp: 2009-12-18 14:08:15 UTC

Now secuse me while I go back over and see who the winner is....I'll be right back. ;)

And the winner is....

Leslie of....... Do You Weary Like I Do

Girl have fun working with Holly....I look forward to seeing what the two of you come up with.

Thank you Holly for this sweet gift...what a generous heart you have.

Really she does....love this girl!

If you haven't met Holly of Crown Laid Down...go on over to her site and check her out.

And if you would like to have her do a little makeover on your site...the tab to her design blog is at the top of the page.

We are getting snow, snow, snow....maybe up to 10 inches!

Stay warm!

 

Love you guys! 

The Perfect Storm?

So the last couple of days have been rough....but I know I am not the only one out there who has been hit by a few things. So last night as I went to church to help with the Awana'a program my heart was a tad heavy.
You see....because of unforseen circumstances we are once again without a job.
But what God had prepared for me there was something that would wrap my heart in something sweet....a gentle hug was given to me by my Father.
There are people praying.....it means so much....thank you.
And I know that my co-worker from last night does not read my blog...she does not even know about it....but I so want to thank God for her. You see there were some things that were just not right about Keith loosing his job.....and I was dealing with a bit of anger. And sometimes that anger gets aimed where it should not.
Just being honest here.
But God allowed this young woman to speak to my spirit and soul.....I know He knew I needed that.
After a day out looking for a job.....I really didn't want to go to church last night.
But He had prepared something for me and I was so glad I did not miss it.
And when I got home....these were the thoughts that followed.
Thank you for your prayers and thank you for listening.
You are precious!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 wikipedia.org

If a storm was coming....

a storm you thought would destroy your life....what would it look like?

A lost child

A lost job

No money

An accident

Cancer

Being falsely accused

A friend turning on you

A spouse that leaves

Is that wave getting big enough to cause a flutter of fear in your heart?

What in your imagination could happen that would bring an end to who you always thought you were?

Could something happen that would bring your relationship with God to a grinding halt?

Now maybe....you say, "nothing could take me there".

Or maybe you have walked this walk long enough..... that you know better than proclaiming that.

Our enemy is so used to creating storms..many just in our minds...but I am sure

it comes easy to him these days.

He has been at it for as long as we humans have been hanging around on this earth....I would gather he has perfected his craft. (The last few years of my life agree with this)

And yet.. as I envision that huge wave coming my way.....what catches my minds eye are the stones

that are being flipped around underneath that massive wave.

The stones once a bit larger...at first would not so easily be dislodged.

.

But as the storm continues to rage on and on.....and the beating is taken......their size decreases.

Can you picture it?

Now picture that smooth stone being picked up by the hand of a young boy.

.

If that stone could speak....

it would tell you that the hand is a tad clammy.

And adrenaline was duly noted as blood rushed through the veins of that hand...the pulse almost audible.

But the rock would also tell you that after all it had been through....it would allow no clammy hand
or raging pulse to disturb it.

Being picked up....again.... is just the next step in a long journey.

.What the stone did not know was that it had been prepared for this very special day.

It was not aware of the master plan.

It did not know that it had been set in the perfect place....by those "perfect" storms.

A perfectly positioned spot that would give easy access to a young boy ready to fight an enemy face to face.

And do you remember that with that stone....they defeated the enemy!

Little David....God...and a stone.

Want to be used by Jesus?

Have you asked Him to use you?

Then expect the enemy to try and take you out with the "perfect storm".

But KNOW this......our Creator never stops a work till it is finished.
Yes, He has final say.
And sometimes in His wisdom He knows that it is not the time to tell the storm...Peace Be Still.  

He will never stop a storm that He knows

will create a unique weapon to bring down the schemes of the enemy.

Have you ever really thought about the fact that He has known about those schemes

before they became schemes?
That is a cool thought.

So when the perfect storm comes...and it will.....remember He is there.

And when the storm passes... it will be His confident hand that reaches down to

gather you to Himself......just before He aims His perfect weapon at the enemy. ;)

Can't wait to take the enemy right between the eyes!

Love you guys!

(Don't forget to check out the post below if you would like a new blog makeover--drawing Friday)

Come one.... come all !!!!!!

No.. we are not going to the beach..(it's too cold)..but Christmas will be coming early for one dear person.

A dear friend of mine was having a give away.......so of course I entered.....and I won!

Now there is a hitch.....the give away was a blog make over.......

Yes, a new header and background.

The hitch.....I love my recent blog makeover which was done by the same person who is doing the giveaway.

(Just a note....this is not the picture that will go on your blog...it is just the picture that represents the package)

So I have been given permission to pass my win on to you!

How cool is that?

Now ya'll....everybody needs a little sprucing up every once in a while. ;)

So...should you choose to jump in...and I know you will....Holly will be the one you will be working with.

She is really fantastic...and has her own style. Matter of fact..... you can click on the whitecap picture and it will take you to her site and you can look at some of the stuff she has done.

Alright...nuff said....do a little something for yourself and leave a comment I will enter you.

How is that?

And please, please, PLEASE...pass the word.

Enter as many times as you like...really...it's free...so pamper yourself!

Alright I'll hush.

Drawing will be next Friday..December 18th.

Come one...come all!

Tis the Season

 Tis the season for all those holiday things. Above you see our church float in the process of the final touches.

If I remember correctly the theme this year was "A mountain Christmas".

Our float was to represent all those in the back woods. :)

Once the float was all put together the guys hooked up the chimney and we had smoke!

It was our first time participating with our church...Julia and I had fun walking the parade route passing out candy canes with little cards inviting people to our live nativity that will start this Friday.

~~~~

Then on Tuesday we went to Asheville with our small group, to Grove Park Inn, to see the ginger house collection....and they were amazing! This has become a Christmas tradition that I love.

My nephew was manning the camera...can you tell by the look on my face that I was not entirely sure that we would even be in the picture! :)

I actually didn't care to much for the winner this year,

so I took a picture of the ones I thought were interesting.

If you look close you will see that this participant decided to bring a little "reality" to their gingerbread house.

Standing at the front door is Mrs Obama...the girls are playing to the left

and look who is sitting on top of the chimney.

 

 That's right.....our president is playing santa claus.

Not sure if there was a statement there or not.

 

 This is the one that I thought was pretty cool. Look at the detail above the door!

How they do all of this?

 

 Here is a close up of one of the birds....it was amazing.

 

 Then on Wednesday the rain began!

We had a mess of rain...and many of the rivers were coming out of their confines.

I went out and watch as the river quickly became swollen....everything in its way got swept up in its fury.

It had a strange beauty.

I remember thinking that lately I have been taking a trip in that river.... often felling like one of those limbs I saw being tossed around.

But eventually the river receded and those branches came to "rest".

I am sure if they could speak you would have heard..."Well it is about time-enough is enough!".

Ha!....and then came the cold weather. Down into the teens we plunged.

Not only had those branches been displaced from their trees, tossed into a roaring river...and then shoved

in amongst others like themselves...but now they were being submitted to more harsh treatment.

Then morning came.....and this is the effect of the nights work.

A tangled  frozen mess?

 

Maybe not....

Again I thought that maybe one day I would have something in common

with these limbs that had lived through such harsh events.

At this moment I can't see the beauty that will come.

After all when the branch below looks down at its tip......it does not get the full benefit of what has been created. Its view is so limited.

 

 But those looking down into the river from above see an incredible thing.

To me it looks like something that should be hanging from a chandelier. Beauty in the midst of debris.

A beautiful piece that when touched by the light ...will send thousands of orbs of light all over its surroundings.

 

The final thought?
When Jesus submitted to leaving His heavenly throne......He came down-- willing to be tossed about by the things this world would throw His way.

He knew that this suffering would be a willing price to pay...in the end.

And so....even though I do not understand the things going in and around me....I will submit to this season. There is a hidden beauty that I can not yet see.

I leave you with this little piece from a morning devotion by....Prime Time With God.

~~~~~

When faith doesn't see results it challenges what we believe. We must pray as Job prayed: "Teach me what I cannot see" (Job 34:32). God says there is a purpose in everything we go through. .........Our greatest tests come when we cannot see positive results from our faith and obedience. In such cases we must die to our expectations and entrust them to our Lord.

Tis the season to TRUST. :)

It will be a beautiful thing!

He is....

 Thought I would give ya'll an update on my sweet friend.

This was taken on Thursday when I took Elayne to one of her Radiation treatments.

This coming week she starts week two of treatment....things are going well and she is not feel the effects of the treatment yet. They have said that after this week she may start getting a little tired. I am so thankful that

God has given me the opportunity to be with her during this time. There are two other ladies who are taking turns taking her to her appointments...John, her husbands calls us Elayne's Angels....after Charlie's Angles. :)

Please continue to pray for her. She has four weeks total of radiation and then they are going to see if she is still o.k to do a special treatment called.....IL two treatment. Because of the type of cancer she has this is the only treatment that has shown success.  I am  asking that Jehovah Rapha....The God who heals....steps in and blows the doctors away with His healing hand.

I thank Him that His will will be done in this...... as it is being done in heaven.

Then Friday night we were visited by a familiar friend.

 

And that is just how I felt as I looked out the door and saw those beautiful white flakes coming down.

Saturday we took a quick drive up to the ski slope and as you can see-- we did not get enough to keep them from having to make a little of the man made stuff.

 

 Alas......I forgot to bring my pot of cactus in and I am afraid that they won't make it.

 

I just love this time of year.

And even though the trees are bare.....I see the hand of God everywhere.

"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse" (Rom 1:19-20). 

He makes the evidence of Himself so clear.....that not one person will be able to stand before Him in the end and say...."I did not know You existed". 

And I know in my life......He is there.

And so I thank Him for the evidence of Him in and around my life------

things like..... a check that showed up that I was not expecting; pictures from my computer that I found on a google site that are the ones I lost when my computer got wiped, two little jobs that have been offered that will provide some extra cash for Christmas, for our church and the people there who love us, and for our warm home when the temperatures outside where in the teens!

I see His hands everywhere.....He is our Jehovah-Jireh (our provider); Jehovah-Shalom (our peace); El Shaddai (our strength giver) and El Olam our Everlasting God!  

And how could we ever forget that He is our Emmanuel.....God with us.

\o/

Remember....we have not because we ask not...don't know why I needed to write that...but it is true!

Love ya girl

 

Checking in

Don't have much time here this morning but wanted to stop in and say......Hi!

We had a great Thanksgiving....hope you did too.

I am off to court this morning. I SOOOOO hope that this will bring my case with the Guardian Ad Litem to an end. We are asking the Judge to return the children to their family.

They have been out of the home for a year now....and since all charges have been dropped it is way past time for us to step out of this families life and let them move on.

Other than that I have applied for a part time job....waiting to hear on that...hopefully soon.

Oh....and did I tell you that I am going to be a grandma?

I will go into those details a little later....btw...our son is the father to be.

But..... me a grandma?

Sounds a little strange.....do you ever feel old enough to be a grandparent?

That will have to do for this morning since I need to run and get everything ironed so I am in proper attire for court.

Thanking God this morning that He chose to pursue and come after us by sending His Son.