Going Private For a While

I am going to make a change on my blog. I'm going to go private. If you want to continue to read send me an e-mail at  jb25853@email.vccs.edu  and I will add you. I'm going soon. Not sure how long I'll stay that way but it may be a long while, it may even be permanent. So if you want to continue to read let me know. Thanks ~ Jenileigh

Pasta Night

These were a gift to myself. I had been wanting pasta dishes for so long and found them on clearance! There was no way I could pass these up. Somehow they just make spaghetti taste better!

Another Cake Date

These are pictures of our cake date. My best friend Melanie, my oldest daughter Heaven, and my newest grandson Henley took off to Greenboro to one of our absolute favorite dessert shops called Maxie B's. We laughed all the way there and home again. We sampled the finest of cakes and found some we absolutely loved and some that we could do without. We lounged on their couches next to cozy fireplace with double couches facing each other. A much needed girls night out.

Heaven, me, Henley, Melanie

 7 up cake-divine

 Banana Pudding Cake- delicious

 Our favorite spot in front of the fireplace. So cozy.

Mocha Buttercream-oh my goodness. 

Pink Lemonade with Lemon Buttercream. Eh- good but not my favorite.

The Outside of Maxie B's. Doesn't it look so romantic?

Fresh Strawberry Buttercream. Worth driving 1.5 hours.

Lemon cake with Almond Buttercream. This one blew my mind. You just don't expect it to be this good!

This was Thursday night. A midweek cake date for the girls. Can't wait until next time! 

Enduring the Cold

What a lesson there is in that title.

The cold settles in and stays for a while when it comes. It lasts for it's season.

There are many good things about the cold. It certainly makes you appreciate the warm. It gives you excuses to cuddle with your children, your hubby and your doggies. I love that my doggies sleep with me. Foot warmers they definitely are. I've been thanking God today for the little things. Like gloves, and blankets, our home and gas logs. He is so good to me.

My precious daddy came by this morning for a visit and some warm coffee. He's so full of love. Our relationship with him has grown over the years, the appreciation for one another, time revealing that we stick together. He loves my dear husband Tony. I'm thankful that he is a loving, positive father figure for my husband - who lost his own father in 1994. He was not close to his own father and it means a lot to me that he has formed a bond with my own.

The bad things about the cold. The depression it brings in, the cold that seeps through to my bones, the attacks of the enemy from so many different people.  Well I guess that last one happens year round but this winter it seems as though he has definitely worked overtime. My husband has never had any real family other than his mother, his uncle Kenny and his aunt Bonnie. The devil seems determined to destroy his relationship with his mother and he is using his sister to do it. Tony and his sister have never been close. She's always been many things that aren't good. I'm not going to air it all out here as that wouldn't be fair. She has just gotten out of jail last August. We were both hoping for our families to be able to spend what's left of our lives together. Taking the time to get to know each other better, help each other out. She claims to have changed, she says she is different but all I see is the same mean, hateful, trouble starter she always was. Not caring about her own mother, keeping her so upset and starting so much stressful drama. I've been married to Tony for 20 years and it's always been this way. Somehow this time, I thought it would be different. The saddest thing is that his mother is believing his sister. All of her lies. If you've ever been blamed for something that you honestly didn't do then you can certainly understand how it feels. It's a horrible feeling.

The best thing is that the Lord is dealing with our hearts and our anger. We've made the decision to move forward and leave all the ugly behind. During this time the Lord has shown me how full of love and close my own family is. He has revealed all the truth to my family, my three girls and my husband. Now that we can all stand together it makes it better. It helps us to be stronger. It doesn't ease the pain of my husband's heart to have his relationship with his own mother destroyed but it helps him to move on.

I think that is what 2014 is going to be about.

Moving on. Moving on together. My next posts coming are going to bring more of our life. Less of those trouble and pictures of what we get to experience every day. Our children. Our grandchildren. Precious moments. Full of love. Focusing on the positive and letting go of the negative. Looking forward to where we are headed and not looking back to where we have been.

We will continue to pray for the truth to be revealed but we will not dwell on that we cannot change. Tony won't fight it. He never has. He'll sit back and allow his sister to do whatever it is she will do. In the end, I know, that the Lord will prevail. He will take care of it all.

It's going to be a good year.

We will endure the cold while it lasts and bask in the warmth of the sunshine that is to come!

Brrrr, Baby It's Cold Outside

I've had this blog for so long I often wonder how many times I have repeat my titles. Year after year, season after season there are so many catch phrases and favorite songs in my heart that I know I must duplicate myself. I've decided that I'm okay with that. When the Lord repeats Himself to me it is for conformation. That is a great thing so for me, if I repeat myself then just know it was worth repeating - to me.....or else I just forgot about the first go round, hence, the blog.

The blog.

The Journal.

Small details of my life. And believe me, even though I've been blogging since 2007, very little of me, my life, my family and my friends are captured here. I love that I have some sort of record of my life but I do wish that I had the time or took the time to share a little more. The one thing I hope is that one day my children, grandchildren and even great and great great grandchildren will be able to look back and get somewhat of a feel of the lives we live.

I hope that the love shines forth more than the struggles.

I hope that the Lord shines through most of all.

I've been missing Him lately. We aren't in church anywhere right now and even though I say that you do not have to be in church to love and serve the Lord, unless you are very dedicated it's easy to stop praying, talking, asking and thanking.

This past year has brought a lot of hatred into my heart. As you read through my blog the beginnings were of my deliverance. Now it seems I've become entangled again with the bondage the Lord set me free of.

So many people being cruel. So many accusations. Remembering at 42 that life is not fair. It's not about what you deserve. Innocent people are found guilty. Many lives are ruined due to the cruelty of others. I've never understood it. I've always tried to good unto others, to be forgiving, to help in any way I could.

I love friends. I have some great friends but one lesson I forgot was that there are wolves in sheep's clothing. Sometimes the friend you trust the most is the meanest, ugliest, liars in the world. You can't see it though because you are blinded, blinded so that all you see is a false good, and you hear false truths from their lips. And you are not their only victim. You fall so far from where you were, making horrible decisions, getting caught up in the lies thinking somehow that you are special. That you mean more to them than anyone in the world.

Lies.

You bare your heart and soul to them only to be exposed, used, hurt, mangled and not only you but all of those you love are hurt too.

You knew God's word.

You didn't obey.

You strengthened your flesh and abandoned your faith.

Mistakes. Some of the worst mistakes of your life and you can't take them back. Then the hate sets in. Hatred because you were a fool. Hatred because you didn't obey. Hatred because you believed someone to be something they absolutely were not and never will be.

You beg God for forgiveness. You know He forgives and forgets but can you ever forgive yourself? You have to, sometime on a daily basis. The only way I know to survive is to obey more than ever. To turn from those people and those sins and never look back.

You have to muster up the strength in God to pray for them, to pray blessing upon them. Sadly you wish they didn't know what they did but they do. They know. They are evil and they choose. It was a plot, a plan, it was premeditated.

It's a huge battle. A spiritual war.

I let down my guard some time ago. Actually years ago. I've suffered and those I love have suffered many consequences. Even now they still come and I am sure there will be more to bare.

It's easy to blame them but I am the one who allowed them to mislead me. I gave in to sin. I have to take responsibility for my actions.

I praise God that I am forgiven.

I'm forgiven now.

I'm putting my armor back on.

I'm praying for the Lord to fill me with Love. His love. The only thing that drives out fear and hatred is HIS LOVE.

It's cold outside. Tomorrow school is on a two hours delay. I know many times my blog words blur. I branch off from one thing to another. The things I speak of today happened years ago. It is this last year, the year of 2013 that I truly reaped much of what I sewed. This is when the anger overtook me. The anger was so bad I almost had a breaking point. I almost let it take me down. I was rock bottom. The Lord pursued me with a vengeance. How I love my Father. Thank-You Lord for NOT letting me go. You could have, you had every reason to, I turned my back on You and you could have given me over to myself but You did not. I praise You for that.

Lead us Lord. Lead my husband. Bring us back to You and allow to surpass the place that we were onto serving others and loving others in Your name. Lead us and show us the way.

1 Peter 1:22  Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,

1 John 4:7  Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.

Matthew 5:43-48  “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,  so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.  For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?  You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Scripture Love

Loving on this scripture tonight......

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified."  Isaiah 61:1-3 (KJV)