Thankful Thursday May 31, 2009

Thursday, May 28, 2009

On the way to the imaging place today, I reflected on all the wonderful things the Lord does for us. He has blessed me in so many ways, I could never say thank you enough and find myself thanking Him more and more each day. Thank You Lord!

1) While driving to my appointment, for some stupid reason I found myself becoming apprehensive. I prayed and told Satan he’s a liar, sited the Lords Prayer, and instantly felt calm. How great is that!

2) After that, I started to look around when my son mentioned the fact that the farmers are already reaping their crops, which is never seen this early in the year. Praise God for the much needed moisture this year to help out the struggling farmers. The fields are so green and lush!!! Especially for being a dessert area.

3) Then I thought about the beauty that surrounds us daily that He has provided us and for the beautiful sunshiny day.

4) I also thought about how thankful I am to be given another day here to learn, to grow, to become more faithful and to become closer to God. We can never be too thankful for that.

5) After the MRI–which I did have a couple of panic attacks at the time, but know one could tell–I was thankful that He answered me when I asked him to hold me and walk me through it all. As always, He was there and held me. What an awesome God. Thank You! Once it was done, I was thankful for being able to get through it without stopping. I was thankful the IV did not hurt at all, the nurse was awesome!!! I was thankful that the chemical put in me did not have any side affect at all!!! Praise the Lord!!!

6) On my way to my appointment I could feel the prayers of everyone, literally, which brought a smile to my face. Thank you so much!

7) On my way home, I looked around at the beauty and color of the trees, thought of a blog post I had recently read about being thankful for nature (sorry I don’t remember which one it was) and agreed. God has hand painted a land for us that holds so much beauty no matter where we live. The majestic mountains, the many different trees with different colors, the array of flowers, bushes, etc. The animals, and all the other critters that fly and crawl. And yes, some of them creep some of us out, but if you really look at them, they still have a beauty about them. The wonders of all flying creatures. I could sit and watch the birds of prey as well as other birds for ours. (My goal, to become a photographer if and when I get the right equipment, by God’s will) to capture their beauty some day. They are so graceful.

Psalms 121:1-2
1 I will lift up my eyes to the hills–from whence comes my help?
2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

Isaiah 40:31
But those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

Psalms 100:2-5
2 Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing.
3 Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
5 For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.

2 Samuel 22:2-4
2 “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
3 The God of my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; My Savior, You same me from violence.
4 I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.

Just to Say May 31, 2009

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Hello All!

Just letting you all know all is well here. Just been very hectic. Putting in long days and by the time I get home I’m in pain and just collapse on the couch. I’ve been so wanting to get on here. I haven’t even checked my mail in the past few days. Mornings are hard to get up and get going as it’s hard to sleep with toes that keep shooting pain through my feet, and a shoulder that keeps saying quit using me. Hee hee. But I’m not giving into the pain, and am working hard at getting used to it so I can still get on here.

I can honestly say, I’ve sooooo missed reading everyone’s blogs. It’s what keeps me smiling and cheerful and uplifted. You are all such a blessing! I could never begin to thank you all for all that you share. You each have such a unique personality and witty charming ways. There’s also the charge of the Glory of the Lord that shines through and that is what really makes it all worthwhile.

Just a short prayer for all going through some, many or all of the same types of things. Lord you are so precious in our lives. You give us so much, and yet we are often not a thankful people. You deserve all the glory and praise! You are a loving, giving, caring God who is always there no matter what. Thank you Father for Your great kindness and love.
Father, please touch those that are hurting, those who are going in circles, give them a purpose and a clear mind to do the work you so desire us to do. Remove the enemy that keeps trying to tangle our minds and lead us back on the right path. We so desire to have you lead us and for us to faithfully follow. Father forgive us for those times we try to do it alone instead of putting our faith and trust in your hands. Heal the sick, the weary, the blind, the lame, the broken hearted, the lost, bring back to you. Guide us oh Heavenly Father. Thank you Father for Your greatness. I am believing in healing of many. I am believing in Your great healing of all those babies posted on my side bar and those posted on many other blogs. For only You can save them. Only You can make us all whole again.
Thank you Father. In Jesus name we pray, Amen!

Update: I am finally getting my MRI done this Thursday! Yeah. I have a good feeling about it. :O) I get my feet looked at on the 9th of June! Yeah! Hopefully will be back on track for the greater part of the summer. Am praying to be healed by the 4th of July as we are going to attend a Tea Party that day. Lot’s of walking. It will be worth it. May the Lord shine upon each one of you and pour out His blessings on each of you beautiful friends/brothers & sisters.

Thankful Thursday May 31, 2009

As always I am thankful for so many things. Mainly being a daughter of our Great Lord our God!

But I am also thankful for His cleansing, His giving us sight to see our wrong doings, for His forgiveness and love, for setting us on the right path once again.

I’m thankful my children, grandchildren, parents, sisters and their families, for my husband and his parents, brothers and sisters. For the love that is allowed to flow through our families for one another and not having the split families that don’t get along.

I’m thankful for the nice weather coming, for the singing of the birds, the warm sun upon our faces, the gentle breezes, the color of green being more vibrant this year than normal and the colors of the flowers. For there being enough water from the snow melts and rains that we have finally received this year!

I’m thankful for my oldest grand daughter opening her heart and going up to the front of the church to receive God!!! I love his miracles and am so thankful for them.

I’m thankful to have read about one of the children being prayed for on my side bar coming through her heart surgery just fine. Of course still praying that she will recover fine. I’m thankful for doctors that are loving and caring enough to take the time to fix little ones and enduring the long hours and the intensity of operating on little ones.

I’m thankful for teachers that never give up and do their best to help children learn. I’m thankful my nephew T was honored for doing outstanding in Algebra when almost failing math class a couple of years ago. Yeah T’s mom for helping him through his struggles. I’m thankful for parents that love, nourish and work with their children.

I’m thankful for books written that touch the heart and teach. I’m thankful for movies that opens ones eyes to see what is going on.

I’m thankful that the Lord took me to a T.V. program that I used to watch and haven’t for a long time, “Law and Order” to receive a very much needed message. My mother and I were once so close when I was young, then one day something snapped in here and she’s never been the same since. I always felt something wasn’t right with her as well, my sisters thought the same. This particular episode let me see my mother all over again through someone else and helped me to understand and finally FULLY forgive her. I love you and am thankful for you mom. Thank you Jesus. What a relief and blessing that was.

Psalms 9:1-2

1 I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works.

2 I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

Diet Tips and Sites May 31, 2009

Diet Tips and Site

For all of you out there struggling with weight loss, finding ways to eat the stuff you love and stay healthy; Tami of Diary of a Mad Woman led me to the following site: DWLZ.com Thank you Tami! This site is awesome! Dotti’s Weight Loss Zone has so much information available. I was thrilled with the short time I was there with what I had found already. I can’t wait for my next day off to research further.

Also, Tami had mentioned Trader Joes has semi-sweet dark chocolate that is cut to the daily intake for those chocolate lovers that want to lose but still have their “cake and eat it too” like me. Dark chocolate has been proven to be beneficial in small quantities, to include a daily piece. So there you have it! Once again, thank you Tami.

Kim from Homesteaders Heart had made a great point as well. To cut out everything you like is asking for trouble. Believe me, I know, as I’ve done it before and it is too easy to fall off the band wagon that way. Treating yourself once a week will not hurt you, and remember though, do it in a small quantity. It doesn’t mean we can engourge ourselves. Which I have done in the past. It’s not worth it. It’s not healthy. Thank you Kim for the great reminder.

Plus there are a lot of great snacks that taste sweet and “fattening” but aren’t. The important thing is to read the labels and know how to read them. There are great sites out there that will teach you if you aren’t sure.

After all, we are suppose to be taking care of His temples. I’ve done poorly, but am thankful He is so loving and forgiving when we are sincere. Which reminds me. I’m working on a post that just has worked wonders for me and hope that you will like it as well.

I had written in the comments section but decided to put it here as well. I will be visiting and posting again soon on a regular basis. I had some issues to work on and get myself on track so as to cut out a lot of the stress. Very important when you are facing possible heart problems.

May the Lord continue to bless you all and fill your hearts with joy and love. You are all the best!!!

We Are Blessed! May 16, 2009

Washing Clothes Recipe

Never thought of a “washer” in this light before..what a blessing!’

Washing Clothes Recipe’ — imagine having a recipe for this ! ! !

Years ago an Alabama grandmother gave the new bride the following recipe:

This is an exact copy as written and found in an old scrapbook -

with spelling errors and all.

WASHING CLOTHES

Build fire in backyard to heat kettle of rain water.

Set tubs so smoke wont blow in eyes if wind is pert.

Shave one hole cake of lie soap in boilin water.

Sort things, make 3 piles1 pile white,1 pile colored,1 pile work britches and rags.

To make starch, stir flour in cool water to smooth, then thin down with boiling water.

Take white things, rub dirty spots on board, scrub hard, and boil,

then rub colored don’t boil just wrench and starch.

Take things out of kettle with broom stick handle, then wrench, and starch.

Hang old rags on fence.

Spread tea towels on grass.

Pore wrench water in flower bed.

Scrub porch with hot soapy water.

Turn tubs upside down.

Go put on clean dress, smooth hair with hair combs.

Brew cup of tea, sit and rock a spell and count your blessings.

================================================

Paste this over your washer and dryer

Next time when you think things are bleak,

read it again, kiss that washing machine and dryer, and give thanks.

First thing each morning you should run and hug your washer and dryer, also your toilet

—those two-holers used to get mighty cold!

For you non-southerners -wrench means rinse.

Couldn’t resist sharing this one. Really makes one realize just how lucky we are. There are people that still wash their clothes this way too. I remember my mother doing this very thing. What a pain in the rear it was too.

Wake Up Call May 16, 2009

I have not been on as I’m sure you’ve noticed and apologize, even though I know I don’t need to with all you wonderful loving, understanding friends. I guess you could say I went through a pity party. Yes, I know, pathetic. I recieved a wake up call Tuesday telling me that my cholesterol is high and had to go on medication for it. At first I thought, okay. The Good Lord is telling me it’s time to wake up and smell the roses, you need to take better care of yourself. Then thoughts set in. My grandfather had died from hardening of the arteries, a massive heart attack, and Alzhiemers. My dad has already had stints put in and has high blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetic. His mom and dad were both diabetics, with an aunt that was very diabetic. My mom’s mom suffered from strokes, and I’m sure she has had them as well but won’t get tested.

So I “dwelled” on all this and became angry with myself for letting myself get like this, thinking I would be the odds and ignoring all the “early” warning signs. Then thought about my family and what it’s doing to them. Then came the “poor me” garbage. Oh no, now I can’t eat this and that. I can’t enjoy the foods I’m used to. After 48 years of bad eating habits, it’s going to be hard to change. Wah wah wah.

Then I thought, what am I doing. How pathetic is this. This is my chance to do what I’ve battled to do over and over and over again for years. This is my chance to do things the healthy way and “stay” there!!! I went and had my hair cut. (Jay had given me a gift certificat for mother’s day) and decided to pamper myself for a change. I usually cut my own hair. Then off to barns and noble and bought a couple of cookbooks. One being the American Heart Associations “Low Fat, Low Cholesterol cookbook,” and the other “Sensational Salads.” When I browsed through these books, I realized that many of the favorites were in there, just prepared in a much healthier manner.

Now I realize that over all, I’ve been cooking healthy for the most part. It’s all the other “stuff” I was doing. Sweets, oh yeah, gotta have that CHOCOLATE! :{ Fast food, hard to avoid for some stupid reason. Thurs. when going to get the books, we passed these different places and it was like saying good bye to some good friends. (Shaking head in disgust with myself). Now, I’m excited!!! I can let go of the bad habits and bring in the good!

But anyhoo, I became depressed and didn’t really want to do anything, but one good thing came out of it. I finally got back to listening to pod casts and getting in the Word. Forgive me Father for being such a whimp! Thank You for lifting me back up. Thank You for giving me a second chance! May this story give others hope if they are experiencing weight problems and/or poor eating habits. Amen!

Oh yeah, still no MRI. I’m going to give my doctor a call on Monday and ask to see a Neurologist first, as the feet are getting worse, and he/she can deal with the possible strokes (TIA’s) as well. While looking this stuff up, I have had all the symptoms. God is good! He could have had me go through a full blown stroke; but instead gave me warning signs. Thank You Lord!!!

Trust and Faith Part II May 11, 2009

Remember the parable of the lost sheep in Luke 15:4-7 (NKJV)?
4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?
5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!
7 I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.”

Dr. Charles Stanley says this: “The Lord is neither cold-hearted nor matter-of-fact about finding His lost sheep and bringing them home. He takes great joy and feels great excitement in re-establishing a close bond with His wandering creations.”

So if God will do everything in His power to save that one lost sheep, then why would we think He would leave us to wander around hopelessly lost? He is always there for us no matter the circumstances. When we feel He’s not listening when our hearts are crying out and we are weary, remember He’s carrying us at that time.

Remember the Poem by Mary Stevens: “Footprints in the Sand?” You can go here and read about the history of the poem and read the poem. The poem is copyrighted, plus it is more affective when seen with the scene and the words rather than typed out here.

Habakkuk 2:4 says: “Behold the proud, his soul is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith.”

The just shall live by his faith. This right here is telling us to live by faith. He wants us to have faith and not be a prideful being which puts us in the wrong frame of mind, unable to hear him.

2 Samuel 22:2-4 (NKJV) talks about trusting the Lord our God.

2 And he said: “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
3 The God of my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; my Savior, You save me from violence.
4 I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.”

With this verse I am going to use the Message Bible as well. It starts out by saying: “David prayed to God the words of this song after God saved him from all his enemies and from Saul.”

2-3 “God is bedrock under my feet, the castle in which I live, my rescuing knight. My God–the high crag where I run for dear life, hiding behind the boulders, safe in the granite hideout; My mountaintop refuge, he saves me from ruthless men.
4 I sing to God the Praise-Lofty, and find myself safe and saved.”

Now the (NLT)

2 He sang: “The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior;
3 my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. He is my refuge, my Savior, the one who saves me from violence.
4 I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and He saved me from my enemies.

I like to use different translations at times as it can help those that are just coming to the Lord or who haven’t yet. Sometimes one translation may be harder to grasp than another. Such as the original King James Version can be fun to read making it a bit intimidating. This is not say it’s not good. All the Bibles are the same thing, it’s the written Word of the Lord. Our book of instructions.

With this on trust, it is saying that God is going to save us from our enemies, we just need to trust in Him to do it, sing praises to Him and keep the faith!

So today I will leave you with an all time favorite. Psalm 23:1-6 (NKJV)

1 The Lord is my Shepard; I shall not want.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.
3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of the righteousness for His names sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord, forever!

I have to admit, I like the way it sounds from the regular KJV.

So here is the KJV

23 The Lord is my Shepard; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul; he leadeth me in the paths of the righteousness for his name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; thou annointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

I do have a tendency to be a bit nostalgic at times. Bear with me please. ;o)
I like how Dr. Charles Stanley talks about v 1. He had a remark stating that if we have the Lord, we have everything, but without Him we have nothing. In order to have Him in our lives, we need to trust in Him and have faith in Him.

Stanley also says about v 6:
“We cannot always see goodness and mercy ahead of us, but when we look behind us, we see them. That helps us to look ahead and see more clearly, where we glimpse our place at God’s side forever.” Again, to me this is basically reminding us to keep the faith and trust in Him.

Be Blessed. Make a ripple and watch it grow and grow and grow! And always remember to P.U.S.H. Have a beautiful day!

Relaxing Sunday (May 2, 2009) May 11, 2009

I was going to do something totally different with this today until I read hon’s post at God is Our Love. This is when I realize God is pretty much demanding that we get this word spread around amongst all Christians.

What is the best way to lead people to the Lord?

That is easy, but we often forget and give off a false message.

The best way to lead people to the Lord is by “Our” actions. The way we behave, treat others, act in public etc. is what people look at. If they see loving individuals that are kind, caring, loving, show compassion and all those good things, they are going to say, “Wow! Why are they so different?” Chances are, you will be approached and asked how you do it. Or they will know and tell you they want to get to know your God! There’s the open doors.

So when we are out and about, look for ways to show kindness. Our Pastor’s wife, Pastor Connie is one who leads by example. She loves to meet as many people as possible and strike up a conversation. If she sees someone who seems to be down, having a bad idea, what ever the situation will try to strike up a conversation and show compassion in hopes to help them out. Her goal is to have them relaxed and smiling by the time she leaves. How awesome is that?

This is exactly what we need to be doing. It catches on. It makes people wonder. A show of kindness can be done in so many ways. So what I’m asking for is come Monday to leave one suggestion or a list of suggestions/ideas that are acts of kindness that we can all be doing. I will do the same. I don’t know how to do the linky thing, so leave me a message here that you are going to do this, then I will link you to the post.

Let’s make a difference and lead the lost to our Awesome God!!! God Bless and may you all have a glorious, peaceful, relaxing Sunday!

Friday’s Funnies (May 1, 2009) May 11, 2009

Note: Please be sure to read the next post. Thank you!

 

Installing a Husband

I thought this was too cute not to share. Hope you all get a good chuckle out of it.

Dear Tech Support,
Last year I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and noticed a distinct slow down in overall system performance –
particularly in the flower and jewelry applications, which operated flawlessly under Boyfriend 5.0

In addition, Husband 1.0 uninstalled many other valuable programs, such as Romance 9.5 and Personal Attention 6.5 and then installed undesirable programs such as AFL 5.0, The Ashes 3.0, and Golf Clubs 4.1.

Conversation 8.0 no longer runs, and Housecleaning 2.6 simply crashes the system. I’ve tried running Nagging 5.3 to fix these problems, but to no! avail.

What can I do?

Signed, Desperate
.
Dear Desperate:

First keep in mind, Boyfriend 5.0 is an Entertainment Package, while Husband 1.0 is an Operating System.

Please enter the command: “http: I Thought You Loved Me.html” and try to download Tears 6.2 and don’t forget to install the Guilt 3.0 update. If that application works as designed, Husband 1.0 should then automatically run the applications Jewelry 2.0 and Flowers 3.5.

But remember, overuse of the above application can cause Husband 1.0 to default to Grumpy Silence 2.5,Happy Hour 7.0 or Beer 6.1.

Beer 6.1 is a very bad program that will download the Snoring Loudly Beta.

Whatever you do, DO NOT install Mother-in-law 1.0 (it runs a virus in the background that will eventually seize control of all your system resources).

Also, do not attempt to reinstall the Boyfriend 5.0 program. These are unsupported applications and will crash Husband 1..0.

In summary, Husband 1.0 is a great program, but it does have limited memory and cannot learn new applications quickly. You might consider buying additional software to improve memory and performance.

We recommend Food 3.0 and Hot Lingerie 7.7.

Good Luck, Tech Support

A Must Read May 11, 2009

I just have to share this. I ask that all that have not yet visited Valerie Lynn’s blog; “Simply 4 God” needs to go and read the post; “Three Little…But Powerful Words.”

In this post, you will see what a true heart for the Lord is all about. You will learn what it is to forgive. How forgiveness sets us free. How retaliating is not the answer. I could go on and on about the lessons one can learn from this one post.

Valerie has a strong loving heart that just never ceases to amaze me. Please visit here and receive so much blessing from her. Strength in the Lord takes on a long way!!! God Bless you Valerie Lynn. You inspire me so!