A Healthy Soul

Marilyn and I put this little list in our "Notes" on our phones. It comes from Beth Moore's "James" Study. BTW, that was a great study!

So here's the deal.....

1.  Loss the victim mentality.
2.  Don't let anyone tell you there's nothing you can do.
3.  Live life with God.
4.  Pray and be prayed for by others.
5.  Confess sin.

And then just a little bonus (not from the study).....

When you stop chasing the wrong things, you give the right things a chance to catch you :)

Thanks'living' Evening

Yep, it was one of those precious times for me. Last night, Keelie brought a meal down to the house. She had made a couple of comfort foods that we all could enjoy (especially Tim with his soft diet).

Lots of good food and conversation at the table....

After the kitchen was cleaned, I retreated with the others to the living room.

As I sat on my nice comfy sofa,  I looked around admiring the picture in front of me. Family members, young and "older," with electronics going (the iphones, laptops, and oh, Tim's heating pad!). The television was playing to the tune of the Mavs and Tebow. Magazine pages being flipped through.

What a blessing and joyful thing. Thank you for Your Love and the love of others. What a Godstop!

(“The stop in GodStop comes from the acronym: God: Savoring the Observable Presence. When God makes Himself observable, we want to stop and take notice.  Savor the moment! A Godstop is any means by which God seems to go out of His way during your day to make Himself known to you." Believing God/Beth Moore)

Happy Day(s) After Christmas!

The Light of the world is still here.......

Remember to silence my playlist. This song is worth the 3+ minutes!

"Do Everything"

Silence my music at the bottom and be reminded today that everything we do really does matter to God!

Weekend Stuff

Easter weekend was packed. Packed with everything we love and enjoy......

~~a great church service
~~time with our family
~~an Easter meal (or two!)
~~egg hunt for Jonah and Glory
~~camera fun

Rick was personally pretty busy, too. He went to the church "youth lock in" on Friday night for several hours, and then he went back Saturday morning for several more. Youth is not his ministry area, but the sound booth is! Because they had special music, they needed him in there to operate this.

Hope your weekend was full of everything you wanted. Have a great week!

Happy Easter

Accepting Our Assignment

This morning just a few thoughts from “Jonah”  (week #1)...........

Are you being given a Nineveh assignment—something God wants you to do that you do not necessarily want to do? Why not?

This “thing” our sovereign God has chosen you to do over someone else means He has literally singled you out for this particular purpose!

Will you accept this....... 

challenge AND privilege to write a story of significance for eternity?

Words from Charon on "Jonah" (by Priscilla Shires)......

First, let me say that I am ill-equipped to do JONAH justice in one blog post!  This, by far, was my favorite Bible study in years!  I'll admit when I first saw the title I thought "what on earth is there to know about Jonah and the whale?"  A LOT.  That's what!  Girls--if you're about to start Jonah, know that you will be BLESSED!

This Bible study will change the way you look at life's circumstances, or, as noted in the Bible study, interruptions.  Jonah certainly was interrupted when he was directed by God to go to Ninevah!  Not only did Jonah run, but he was interrupted AGAIN when he was swallowed by a whale!

We've all had interruptions--good and/or bad.  Some shake us to our very core, some are challenging, and some interruptions are exciting.  A few of my personal interruptions are

-My brother's Naval ship being bombed overseas and us not knowing if he was alive for 2 or 3 days
-My Mom dying at 44 years young; I was 20.  This happened only 7 months after my brother's ship being bombed.
-Having my children "planned" out.  I thought I would have 2; one boy and one girl.  2 rowdy, rambunctious boys later, "why 2 boys Lord" was on my mind all the time.  (I know many women suffer from infertility and this in no way is meant to offend you--it simply goes to show that OUR plans are not HIS plans.)  A necessary and somewhat emergency hysterectomy when I was 27 years old would make me thankful to have children period.  (though I still have days when I yearn for baby dolls and tea parties rather than super heroes and hot wheels, ha-ha).

Our yielding to God during life's interruptions is what is important.  As Priscilla notes in the study, the interrupted life is the privileged life.  We are such a privileged people that our God lives AND speaks to us!  (although I'm guilty of running just like Jonah when God does speak).

While God's call to you might seem like an interruption to you at first, you will find through the JONAH Bible study that this call is actually DIVINE INTERVENTION.

May you be blessed as you venture into JONAH!


Thank you, Charon!! Hugs to you.

Charon is doing a "Guest Post!"

This past week I posted about my new bible study that will begin Wednesday night -- "Jonah: Navigating a Life Interrupted." (Previous Post)

My first comment came from a special blogging friend.

Charon graciously agreed to do a guest post for me. We have been blogging friends for a long time. She loves and enjoys so many things that I do -- God, her family, sweet tea, Diet Coke, and even Paula Deen!

So be sure and come back to see how "Jonah" touched her!

New Bible Study

We just finished our ten-week study of "The Patriarchs" by Beth Moore. She has challenged us each week, and we have learned so much. We had a time of praise and reflection last night that blessed my heart!

I have such an awesome group of ladies to fellowship and study with each week. We are jumping right in and starting a new one next week. I am SO excited!!! I have never done a study by Priscilla Shirer. We will be doing "Jonah: Navigating a Life Interrupted." I hear it is awesome and life changing!!


"What do we do when God interrupts our lives? Many times, like Jonah, we run! In this study, Priscilla redefines interruption and shows that interruption is actually God's invitation to do something beyond our wildest dreams. When Jonah was willing to allow God to interrupt his life, the result was revival in an entire city."

Can anyone relate?!

His Plan

Here's a great reminder to us from my bible study, "The Patriarchs." 


“God means for you and me to cast our utter dependency only on Him.  His plan does not depend on any human. He has well-planned a fruitful life for you. Nothing and no one critical to YOUR GOD-PLANNED FUTURE can fail to come through once God says it’s time. 


No human has the power to overlook what God determines to oversee.”

A big YEAH!! That’s God’s sovereignty!

W.A.I.T.I.N.G.

You may remember my ladies’ study group is doing “The Patriarchs” by Beth Moore. I am finding each week to be filled with little gold nuggets!

It seems God is putting one particular issue out there with people I am coming in contact with or in things I am reading and that is……."WAITING."

Everybody’s waiting on something. What are you waiting on? Praying over?

In one day’s study Beth wrote:

“I believe far more often than not God answers our prayers immediately though we may not see the fulfillment with our own eyes until much later. We sometimes ask, ‘God, why won’t You answer me?’ Often He has answered, but the fulfillment is still on His ‘items yet to be completed according to His sovereign and wise plan’ list. If we could only find peace and security in knowing that God is good for His word! Though the action tarries, it shall come.”

So comes the hard part for us. So while we wait, let’s ENCOURAGE each other to be faithful to PRAY, PRAISE, WORSHIP AND SERVE our Lord.

He promises us the wait will be worth it!!

Learning from Abraham

 What are we learning from Abraham so far?


1. Trust God. He always knows what is best for our lives.
2. God is always working in our lives.
3. God keeps His promises.

Served this at one of our nights together. One of the ladies said, "Take a picture of this." Actually, I'm glad I did because you always just get pics of desserts from me! So let it be recorded, here's a SALAD!

A New Study

My ladies' group will be starting back this evening. We are doing Beth Moore's "The Patriarchs." Many of us have done her studies before; however, only a couple have done this one. I know it will be challenging but a real blessing! I would love to hear your thoughts on it if you have done it before.

Blessings!

1. These are pictures from the sunrise I mentioned a couple of days ago.

2. Lunch today with a special friend.

3. Plenty of prescribed meds today to help this "junk" go away. I already feel 100% better thanks to a shot.

4. Celebrations around the corner........so

Merry Christmas!

Where's the Line to See Jesus?

Silence my playlist at the bottom and listen to one of my newest favorite songs. We were blessed with it this past Sunday morning. Even if you've heard it before take a few minutes to do so again.

Free Random Stuff

First bit of randomness......I just came across a very generous offer for free sewing patterns! Just go to HomeSpun Threads, where all the patterns are free. Not sure how long this will last, but it's a great deal if you need some projects!

**************

Second bit.......These bring me simple moments of pleasure five or ten minutes at a time.

Third bit of randomness....this video which my brother sent me. Family and friends...please watch "Old Barns and Old People" (silence my music first).

And finally.....

I'm watching the sunrise this morning. Absolutely breathtaking! Enjoy the beautiful day God has given us!

It's All about Him! Marilyn, my sister, said it so well she is my guest writer for the day!

It's All about Him!
Marilyn, my sister, said it so well she is my guest writer for the day!

Last year, the week of Thanksgiving in our Victory SS Class an extreme need was brought to our attention. We had a handicapped, widow lady that was living in a house that was BAD. I will not dwell on this, other than our class was convicted to do something about this. Our SS teacher became our fearless leader. Praise God for Godly teachers.

One year and one week later we are handing over the keys to a brand new house built by God's people. God says that he gives different talents to others, and we are all different parts of the body to be one. This house is God's way of showing this. Many people and businesses donated materials, time, food, money, and talents for this to come to fruition. I am very careful about what I write, because I do not want us to take any of the credit. It is truly "All about Him." God just allowed us to do His work for Him for us to receive the blessings.

Waiting is Weaving

You may remember that In my ladies’ bible study group we are studying “Women of the Bible.” Each week we study a different one. We have learned so much through our fellowship and studying together.

Our next lady to study is Elizabeth. I wanted to share something that has already jumped off the page. It is in reference to Christians having to WAIT. Yes, we sometimes don’t like to do that.  But we have to remember that God sometimes has awesome surprises awaiting us! Our challenge is to faithfully follow and trust Him as we do so.

Read what the author says.

“Are you waiting on God about something now? Remember, He cares about the smallest thing and is working all within the big picture of His redemptive plan that includes you. Trust His timing, and His goodness….God is never late; nor is He ever too early. He is always on time, working according to His timing that is always perfect.

With God, waiting is weaving----weaving the full beautiful tapestry of His will.”

Don’t you just love that?

The Weekend and a Winner

This was a fun, busy weekend. It included a trip to Canton's First Monday Trades Day on Friday and "Christmas in Cowtown" in Fort Worth on Saturday. I am pumped.  I've got lots of new ideas for "Crafting Camp" coming up later this month.

Then yesterday we went to church and had fun time with the family.

And now.....

The winner of the "Pink, Brown and Blingie" giveaway is # 18........ Brenda (a Texas gal). Congratulations and email me; I'll get your package to you ASAP!

Have a great Monday!