Favorite Scriptures

One of my favorites... 

Song of Solomon 6:3 

I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine: 

he feedeth among the lilies.

Treyton-7 months

The Nicene Creed

Traditional Wording

I believe in one God,
the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
and of all things visible and invisible;

And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only begotten Son of God,
begotten of his Father before all worlds,
God of God, Light of Light,
very God of very God,
begotten, not made,
being of one substance with the Father;
by whom all things were made;
who for us men and for our salvation
came down from heaven,
and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost
of the Virgin Mary,
and was made man;
and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered and was buried;
and the third day he rose again
according to the Scriptures,
and ascended into heaven,
and sitteth on the right hand of the Father;
and he shall come again, with glory,
to judge both the quick and the dead;
whose kingdom shall have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Ghost the Lord, and Giver of Life,
who proceedeth from the Father [and the Son];
who with the Father and the Son together
is worshipped and glorified;
who spake by the Prophets.
And I believe one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church;
I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins;
and I look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. AMEN.

My Little Men!

Treyton my grandson

Treyton and Derron my nephew

Treyton

Treyton

These little men sure are the joy in my life. Growing ever so fast. These were taken right before this month. I praise God for answered prayer. Sometimes He answers in a different way than what you had in mind, even so, I know He does what is best for me! Thank-You Father!

Cry Out To Jesus

This is how I feel..............

Treyton

Thankful Thursday

Proverbs 31:10-31

A good woman is hard to find,

and worth far more than diamonds.

Her husband trusts her without reserve,

and never has reason to regret it.

Never spiteful, she treats him generously

all her life long.

She shops around for the best yarns and cottons,

and enjoys knitting and sewing.

She's like a trading ship that sails to faraway places

and brings back exotic surprises.

She's up before dawn, preparing breakfast

for her family and organizing her day.

She looks over a field and buys it,

then, with money she's put aside, plants a garden.

First thing in the morning, she dresses for work,

rolls up her sleeves, eager to get started.

She senses the worth of her work,

is in no hurry to call it quits for the day.

She's skilled in the crafts of home and hearth,

diligent in homemaking.

She's quick to assist anyone in need,

reaches out to help the poor.

She doesn't worry about her family when it snows;

their winter clothes are all mended and ready to wear.

She makes her own clothing,

and dresses in colorful linens and silks.

Her husband is greatly respected

when he deliberates with the city fathers.

She designs gowns and sells them,

brings the sweaters she knits to the dress shops.

Her clothes are well-made and elegant,

and she always faces tomorrow with a smile.

When she speaks she has something worthwhile to say,

and she always says it kindly.

She keeps an eye on everyone in her household,

and keeps them all busy and productive.

Her children respect and bless her;

her husband joins in with words of praise:

"Many women have done wonderful things,

but you've outclassed them all!"

Charm can mislead and beauty soon fades.

The woman to be admired and praised

is the woman who lives in the Fear-of-God.

Give her everything she deserves!

Festoon her life with praises! 

Yay! It's Thankful Thursday again. I'm with Lynn-I heart this day! 

Today I am thankful for my husband. 

The Lord has me focusing on him for the next 30 days. Praying for him daily, showing him how much I love and appreciate him, doing small sweet things for him. Learning how to be a virtuous wife to him. Discovering more ways to serve him.

The scripture I am studying is Proverbs 31. 

The Lord spoke this to me on Sunday. He said, "You ARE a Proverbs 31 woman." He didn't say I would be or that I could be. He said that I am.

I came home and looked up this scripture and as I read through it my heart began to drop. The more I read the more I knew that this couldn't be so. 

Ah, but the Lord said, I AM. It took a while for this to sink in.

Help me to listen and obey.

How about you? In what ways can you pray for, serve, help and show your love for your husband? Allow the Lord to lead you.

For more Thankful Thursday's visit Lynn at Spiritually Unequal Marriage. Have a blessed week!

Time is Rolling!

I can't believe it's almost Thursday again and I haven't had the chance to sit down and blog. I have so much I want to share. God is moving mountains here and I am so thankful. I just want to praise His holy name. He is such a great Father. So tonight I'm keeping it simple.

Psalms 34: I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make it's boast in the Lord, the humble shall hear thereof and be glad. Magnify the Lord with me! Let us exalt his name together!

Thankful Thursday

Genesis 50:17

'This is what you are to say to Joseph:

I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins

and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.'

Now please forgive the sins of the servants

of the God of your father."

When their message came to him, Joseph wept.

My brother and sister and I have always been distant. We led different lifestyles. My sister lives states away. My brother is 10 years younger than I am. For various reasons as we got older we lost our connection, our comfortability around one another.

It's been a rough several years. We love one another so much but somehow couldn't figure out how to bond. We'd see each other at holidays, give hugs and kisses but after the simple greetings of, "How are you doing?" and, "What have you been up to?" We sort of didn't know how to proceed.

I could always look at them and see pain. I'm not sure what they seen when they looked at me. I always prayed for them and I'm sure if they prayed they prayed for me also. It was hard on all of us.

For me, I didn't notice the 'hole'. I guess I filled that place with my family and I felt that my prayers for them were enough. I prayed for so long part of me really didn't have the faith that my prayers would be answered. I've tried to figure out a time period, the closest I can get is over 10 years.

The odd thing here is that this year when I fell flat on my face away from my Father, they were so angry with me, so let down, so disappointed. I didn't quite understand it. I had been praying for them for so long, so many long years and I seen them hurt so badly. I had cried out to my Father to stop their pain and hear their cries and answer their prayers. Somehow when I fell I think I thought they would be happy. Glad to have me living a similar life, we'd have more in common, maybe I wouldn't make them so uncomfortable, finally-maybe we could be family.

But, that didn't happen.

They were so bothered by my fall that it put it even more space between us. My heart was broken. I felt as though I were dangling alone, as though I had lost everyone, and was accepted by no-one.

This was when the Holy Spirit wooed them in.  He wooed my brother and He wooed my sister. The Lord answered my prayer, after all this time. Then He did the same for me. He brought us all to repentance. The Father refused to let us go, to turn us over to ourselves.

We all had a lot of forgiving to do, and are still a work in progress, but tonight as I read that scripture above and I remembered what Joseph had been through, I knew my walk was a piece of cake compared to his. He was told to forgive and so should I. Not only forgiving others but forgiving myself, which to me, is the hardest part.

So today, I am thankful for my brother and sister, I am thankful for forgiveness-that they forgave me and I forgave them and the Father forgave us all, and I am thankful for unity. It is so wonderful to be a family that is growing and getting to know one another all over again.

This is but the beginning. If you think of us please continue to lift us up in prayer.

Have a very blessed Thankful Thursday. 

For more Thankful Thursdays visit Lynn at  "Spiritually Unequal Marriage."

Wordless Wednesday

My old blog design. My how the time has passed.

Remember my birthday?

It was just the other day. I was not going to share this but my oldest daughter insisted.

She had come to visit me that day and someone had walked through my front door calling, 'Hello..Hello, is there anyone home?' She greeted them to find that they were delivering a vase of flowers for me for my birthday. She brought them in to me and my facial expression didn't change. Um, who were they from I wondered? We read the card and it was from my precious sweet dear husband.

Most of you are going....awww.

Not me.

They were so ugly.

Here is what they looked like.

Well maybe I would not have thought that had it been a different occasion, but I was turning 39 this year. These were not the flowers I love. To me, they reminded me of a funeral arrangement. Getting ready to hit my 40's hasn't been easy for me either. They are orange asiatic lilies with a purple flower for garnish, a green vase with a burgundy ribbon. The lilies were not in full bloom yet, so they would have lasted a while but there was no smell. None. They looked like a fall flower and the burgundy just does not go with the orange and purple, the purple does not go with the orange. I just couldn't see paying money for this arrangement.

My hubby called and I tried so hard to pretend that I loved them. He asked me to send him a picture of them and that excited me because I just knew when he seen them he was going to see how ugly they were and call the florist. There had to be a mistake. He called later and told me that they were nice, and he asked me if they smelled good.

That is when I broke. "No," I answered, "They stink!"

Oh my.

So I went ahead and explained the dilemma and asked him if I could return them to the florist. He told me to go ahead.

I returned them to the florist and I know that lady thought I was crazy. She is actually a friend of mine. She said, "You actually told your husband that they were ugly?"

Well, I wasn't trying to be rude or ungrateful. I know that many of you are probably reading and would think that the gesture alone was enough. And it was. Sort of.

I knew what he meant to send but that particular florist couldn't get them in time. So I took my refunded money and went to the next town and purchased the flowers that I knew my sweet husband meant to send.

This is what I got. 

Now, those of you who know me and have been reading my blog from the beginning have to know what a flower lover I am. Every single blog design has been flower themed. From tulips to roses to fields of flowers. So just to let you know how picky I really am, I did not like the purple or red in this arrangement either.

Gasp! ( My family was not surprised!) 

I wanted pinks and whites. I love the babies breath, I love the pink roses and I adore the stargazer lilies but I didn't understand why the florist insisted on adding the rest.

So there this what I did. 

I separated the arrangement into two arrangements. I pulled all of the red, purple and some white out to create a different vase. It reminds me of a friendship vase. The stargazer lilies and roses speak boldly to me. They seem to scream celebrate! Whether it be love or happy birthdays, they simply take my breath away.

I also went one step further and ordered myself this....

This cake was divine. Mmmmm makes me wish I had a piece right now. Mmmmm

Thankfully since my husband and I have been married for 17 years and he knows me well, he understood-sort of- after the initial shock- that I wasn't being ungrateful and that I did NOT mean to hurt his feelings. I simply want what I want sometimes. I like what I like and in simple things like flowers if I can fix it, well....I fix it. 

I am a very spoiled wife. I have the greatest husband in the world. 

Tony, I want to thank-you for putting up with me. For loving me. For spoiling me so. I love you so much and this truly was the best birthday ever. 

And just so you know, my stargazer lilies are STILL blooming and putting off there sweet smell in my home. I smile every single morning that I come in and sit down in my spot on the couch beside them. 

Check these out....

Happy Birthday to me! 

New Beginnings

It seems that the Lord has been speaking 'New Beginnings' to me. It's what I need, it's what I want and desire. I want to be new, start new, be fresh, washed clean, become a new man. I want to find my first love in Christ.

1 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the  new has come! NIV


This evening at our church the pastor spoke about 'New Beginnings'. I love this kind of confirmation from the Father.

New Beginnings.

A chance to start fresh and anew. An opportunity to change old behaviors. Washed clean, white as snow, forgiven. It's a divine place to be. Such a precious gift that the Lord has given us. Sending His Son to die for our sin. A man who knew no sin, that we might become His righteousness. Oh how He loves us. If we could ever comprehend how much He loves.

For some reason, no matter how many times I'm reminded that it's not about us, it's about Him.... I seem to forget. I forget that *I* don't need to know everything, that I don't have to be good at speaking in order for the Lord to use me to speak. If I could truly grasp, comprehend this in my mind and my heart I would be seeking HIM so much more.

In my mind I always have these great ideas of what I want to do for the Lord. I can vision, dream and create such wonderous things, but in all my planning I forget that maybe-just maybe-this isn't His call for my life. It's not about what I want to do for Him, it's about His plan for me. Do I really want to know His plan for me? Is it what I want? Is it what I want to do? Where I want to go?

I was reminded today that Moses wasn't a great speaker and that he doubted his ability to do what the Lord asked him to do. He questioned the Lord over and over again, trying so desperately to get the Lord to see that he wasn't capable of fulfilling the call that the Lord had placed over his life. In the end Moses chose to obey. In spite of his fear, in spite of his doubt, in spite of his reluctance, and in spite of the fact that he wasn't looking forward to, nor did he really want to do what the Lord had asked, he obeyed anyway. His obedience was vital because had he allowed the fear and doubt in himself to stop him he would not have fulfilled the call that God had for his life. It's not about Moses' ability, it's about God's.

Occasionally I look at people and I think there is no way that they are ever going to change or be any different then they are. There are times that I pray without believing it will actually be answered. I look at people and situations and often times my life with a look of hopelessness.

Think about that. 


Hopelessness. 


Definitions for hopelessness are: providing no hope; desperate; despairing, impossible to accomplish; not able to learn or perform; inadequate for the purpose. 

For example, I will look at the person-the alcoholic that has been that way for 40 years and think they are never going to quit and live for God. Yet I pray for them. I look at the situation rather than to my Father and His word. I have the habit of fearing that things will never change, believing that God that won't answer. I don't do it on purpose, it sort of just comes naturally. It's a habit, a bad habit that happens without my even thinking about it. 


What a lie from satan!

Satan doesn't have to possess you all he has to do is to get you to believe the lie. If he can do that, he's won that battle.

I am so tired of this habit! I want to remember that my God can do ANYTHING! It isn't about US it's about GOD! It's not what we want to do, it's what He wants us to do! It's not about what we can do, it's about what He can do through us. If we learn to trust His word, know His greatness, believe in His power and remember His love for us and take our focus off of ourselves, the people, and the world-THEN- we could LIVE what we BELIEVE. If we can see through the physical realm and see into the spiritual realm remembering that we do not war against flesh and blood but against principalities, the rulers of darkness in this world then we could allow our faith to come alive.

Imagine that. FAITH. Real faith, feeling it, experiencing it, living it. Through and in spite of everything. Being content with what we have and where we are knowing we are in HIS will and fulfilling the call He has on our lives.

If God could use regular people like Moses and change men like Paul, then just imagine what He will do with you and me when we hear and obey.

New Beginnings.

I'm so thankful for New Beginnings.

You Say It's Your Birthday! Happy Birthday To Me!!!

Another year gone by. It's amazing how time just seems to fly by. I am 39 today. 39 Amazing. 40 is just around the corner. I can remember when I thought that it would never get here, that it be forever-an eternity before I would begin getting old.

I've had one daughter graduate, get married and give birth to my first grandchild, a grandson. The concept of getting older has never been one that easy for me to conceive. It's something I have to think through. I believe that over time I have finally began coming to the place of accepting that there is absolutely nothing I can do to stop it, the best I can hope for is to embrace it.

I want to do things for the Lord I've never had the nerve to do. I want to LIVE each moment to make Him proud. It's time for change in my life and it's about time. It's time to stop looking around and wondering what everyone else thinks of me and look to my Father.

Father, have I made you proud? Have I fulfilled even partially the call that You have placed on my life? Let me live today and everyday to come for You. I want to please You and fulfill Your will and not my own. I want to live for You and die to myself. It isn't about me, it never was, it's always been about You. Lead me, guide me, use me. I surrender all. I give You all my love and praise this day for You are worthy! Holy is Your name! Hallelujah! Jesus is Lord!

Finding Myself

You know I've spent the last few hours reading over some of my older posts again.

My discovery is so odd, and yet at the same time, somehow...now-it makes perfect sense.

The Lord was filling me around the end of 2009. At the time I thought that He was getting me through the moments, the days, the trials, BUT as I look back and read what the Lord was speaking to me, what He was saying so clearly, He was teaching me, preparing me...well at least trying to prepare me, as much as I would allow, for the attack to come during the early part of 2010.

Instead of absorbing and really learning, truly listening and retaining, I shared with everyone as though I had word of knowledge for THEM and I emptied everything out without retaining the lessons He was teaching ME.

The lessons that were meant for ME.

Sharing is perfectly fine, but if you empty out what has been given to you without absorbing it, you've gained nothing.

As I look back now, I can clearly see how my Father provided me absolutely everything I needed to overcome every obstacle, every trial that came my way. As I prayed it was like I was asking Him to do it for me, take care of this for me, make it go away but He expects us to do our part. He gives us what we need and He expects us to use it.

It seems almost silly now, so obvious, but at that time I couldn't see it. I was so hungry for God, yearning for Him to speak to me, convinced that my relationship with Him wasn't good enough or strong enough or right enough or real enough......

Then I wind up here.

And the view from here shows me that it WAS good, it WAS strong, it WAS right and it WAS very very real.

I needed this.

I know my way now.

Thank-You Father for Your revelation. I am truly on my way back.

Off Track

I am so off track with my exercise and my eating. UGH. I usually get off track a few days and get right back on board but this time it's been two weeks. Two weeks can do a lot of damage. I wouldn't even be concerned at all if I had any thought of getting back on track. I mean, I'm thinking I need to but I'm not feeling good. All this year I've felt wonderful and had all this energy and now I'm wondering where it has gone. I cannot continue down this old path. I've lost 31 pounds and gained back 2. If you think of me, could you pray for that determination and energy to return? I want to make it to my goal of running a 5k! Thanks

Friday Funnies

I was looking for a short and sweet Friday Meme and I came across this over at my old friend Susan's place at Forever His.

Thankful Thursday

“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.”- Romans 15:7 
I am thankful to have a husband who accepts me for who I am. He doesn't think that I should aim to be like others. He doesn't desire that I should worry about getting older or how I look. He loves me, bedhead, bad breath and all. He is satisfied with my housekeeping. He never complains about whether dinner is ready or not. He is simply happy when I am happy. The love that he has shown to me over the past 17 plus-years has taught me much about love. He brought love to life for me. 

1 Corinthians 13

The Greatest Gift

 ¹ Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. ² And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³ And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
⁴ Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; ⁵does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; ⁶ does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; ⁷ bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
⁸ Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part. ¹⁰ But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.
¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. ¹² For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.
¹³ And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Thank-you Tony. For loving me no matter what. 
I love you.
I am ever so thankful for you.
(To participate in Thankful Thursdays visit Iris at Grace Alone)

Drawing Near

I love seeing people draw near to my Lord. Especially my family. We have been under such an attack of the enemy this past year. How I wish I could have/would have/should have recognized this attack and put on the full armor of God available to me and fought back instead of giving in.

I'm so thankful. Ever so thankful for God's mercy and grace.

I've been praying for such a long time for my sister and my brother and then I blew it myself. It seems that just a few months after this I am seeing God answer those prayers that I had prayed so long ago and in many ways given up on.

God is so faithful.

My sister is serving God. Tonight she inspired me. It was incredible being on the other end of things, having her minister to me. Praise God! What an awesome experience.

My brother is coming to church, reading his bible and praying.

These are miracles.

Their hearts were so cold.

God is all powerful.

It isn't easy trying to get back to where I was. I just want to please my Father. I'm trying to look forward and not back. It is so wonderful to see God moving on my loved ones. So wonderful to be reminded of forgotten prayers.

God is good.

Cover Up

About 19-20 years ago I decided I wanted a tattoo. What I didn't have was the patience to find a good artist and in my hurry to get my tattoo I found someone with little talent and reputation. I was never happy with the rose band that covered my left ankle but felt *stuck* with it since, after all, tattoos are permanent.

I looked into removal but it was just too pricey. Tony didn't think I would be able to get a cover up because of the darkness of color in the red roses and green leaves. I've been hunting high and low for a good artist for about a year now. I finally found a girl by the name of Christinia Wassilie at The Blue Lotus Tattoo, that I thought was really good. She's a two hour drive from us, but that was completely irrelevant if her work is good and her shop is clean. Both of which were very true.

Christinia looked at my leg and said that she could cover it up with no problem. I was so shocked and HAPPY. She was affordable so we unexpectedly started working on it yesterday. I knew I'd never be able to sit through the entire job at one sitting. So she said we'd do the outline and then see if I thought I could continue. I was amazed at how quickly she finished the outline and decided I could make it through the entire cover up.

I'm going to post a couple of before pictures. The before pics are blurry because I had to crop them out of other photos but you'll get a good idea of what my leg looked like before my cover up tattoo.

Before

Before

After, inside part of leg.

After

After, outside part of my leg.

I love it. Love can't even express how happy I am with these results.

Blue is also my favorite color.

I am so satisfied with the cover up and thankful that we didn't have to add onto the old work or have to have it removed. There is nothing worse than having work that you aren't happy with and can't have removed. I thought I would be done after this but now I'm pretty sure that I want to start on a lower back piece. The lily is also my favorite flower. So, what do you think?

Blessings

This is Treyton. My grandson. He was born July 3rd.

This is Derron, my nephew. He is 5 months old.

This is me on a typical day.

I had prayed for many years for another child. Our Father knew exactly what He had in store for me and it was much better than my own hearts desires. I am so thankful that the Lord knows whats best for us and doesn't give us everything we want when we want it.

I really enjoy caring for these two precious little boys. After having three girls, I must admit I'm ecstatic to care for little boys. These two little men have my heart.

New Season?

On top of all of the other changes that have been going on in my life this past year we decided to put our girls back in public school. After home schooling for almost 10 years it is a huge change for all of us. The girls seem to be adjusting well and I have felt very relieved. It's like a weight has been lifted off of me.

I have gone back to school. I've talked about it a lot over the last couple of years and I finally did it. I'm taking Dental Assisting classes and should graduate sometime in October. Hopefully once I get a job we can get back on our feet financially and begin building again. For so long its felt as though we were drowning.

Tony and I are on this weight loss journey together. So far he has lost 65 lbs and I have lost 29 lbs. I'm heading back in the right direction-lost the pounds I had gained plus some.

Life is good. All is well.

Maybe I can get back into my blogging style soon.