Faith

Laying on my desk this morning was a card advertising a book. On one side of the card was this statement.  His beliefs sent him to prison his faith set him free.  I read that over and over today and began to think about this statement.  We might not ever be sent to prison for our beliefs but at the same time we can be in a type of prison.  Problems we might have might seem like being in prison.  Sometimes people might say things to hurt our feelings or say untruths about us or maybe a family member.  When this happens we might get upset or even angry. If we continue to dwell on this we put ourselves or allow the devil to put us in prison.

The last part of the words on the card say his faith set him free.  If we rely on God and let go of the things upsetting us or making angry, have faith that God will handle the situation we will be set free.

Something to think about.

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling." This is found in Psalm 46.

But what if......God will be there.  But what if....God will be there.

As you read on down in the Psalm we are told God is in the midst of her and she will not be moved. and God will help her and The Lord of hosts is with us.

Sometimes when things aren't going just right we forget God is there.  No matter how big or little the problem is God is there.

How do we let go and let God handle things?  Read verse 10.  "Be still and know I am God."

Something to think about today.  Have a great one.

New Year

It is a new morning, new day, a new year. 

One of my favorite scriptures is Lamentations 3:20-22  The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion says my soul  therefore I will hope in Him.

New every morning!  His mercies never cease!  That is why we have hope!

Something to think about in this new year.

( I haven't written on my blog in a long time and thought that I would start again in this new year.)

It's November

It is November.  Usually this time of year in Cherokee, Texas the ground is brown and all vegetation seems to have gone to sleep.  Well God has found another way to bless us.  We have had more rain than usual, the grass is still green and I have roses and petunias blooming.  This morning was the first  really cold morning.  It has been so spring like.

Most everyone knows I don't like cold.  I think I am going to be cold until July. It happens every year but usually before now.  Another blessing.  So many are pleased with the cooler weather and I am happy for them.

 You see even though I will be miserable others will feel great.  It is like a cartoon I saw years ago.  It showed a farmer praying for rain for his crops and at the same time a family was praying for sunshine because they were going on a picnic.

The way we look at things is important.  We can't always have our way.   If we did we might not appreciate it but would expect it. Paul tells us in Philippians 4:11 that he was content in what ever state he was in.  It would be good for us to try that.

So I will just put on more sweaters and jackets and be thankful others are feeling good.

Are you content?

Who would have thought...

Who would have thought a skinny girl from Westside, Georgia would grow up and be able to do so many things, go to so many places and meet so many people? It was never in my mind that these things would take place.

 I have been married to a wonderful man for 45 years. I have four great children and two precious grandchildren and two daughters-in-law and one son-in-law.  I am so blessed but it doesn't stop there!

I have had the opportunity to go to Russia and teach women on two different occasions.  I was able to go to Egypt, Israel, Greece and Rome last year. And at other times I have been to Jamaica, Mexico, Bahamas, and Grand Cayman. Not to mention all the states I have been to and lived in.

I have taught all ages in Bible Classes, camps and also at work.  I have had a foster daughter, kept other children in my home for short periods of time and helped out in some of the cottages at a children's home as part of my job.

I have met so many wonderful people and have been encouraged by so many.  For the last twenty five years I have lived in the most amazing community.  We average about 250 people if you count the occasional hunters and visiting grandchildren.  We have seen many babies born, many sweet ones die and many move away and some move in.  We get together on many occasions such as our six man football games (by the way my husband announces the games and I help spot), Fall Festival, volunteer fire department fund raisers, community Christmas party, fund raisers for disaster relief, forth of July celebration, graduation, etc.  It is a special place.

I would say that I am truly blessed.

As I said before Who Would have thought............

Springtime

After spending several months freezing or at least being cold we look forward to spring.  The flowers bloom and if you are in Texas the bluebonnets are amazing this time of year. The birds begin to sing and lots of baby animals are born. It is like a new beginning.  Coming out of the dark into the light.

Sometimes during spring it gets cold and dreary again.  It is like we are being teased.  But think about it for a minute. God is in control and just maybe He wants us to remember that.  If we get too used to the beauty we might not appreciate it as much.

Coming out of the darkness into the light.  Jesus is the light.  Flowers bloom in the light.  We need to bloom in the light-Jesus.

Something to think about.

Grandma's Christmas

We had Grandma's Christmas at our house this year.  That might sound strange to some of you but that is what it was labeled and I must say I liked it being called that.  I am Grandma!  You see it was the first time in many years all our children, their spouces and our grandchildren were all together with Doug and I for Christmas.  Actually it was after Christmas but it was still a celebration together.

We ate together, played games together, took pictures together and some of us even worshipped together.  We laughed alot.  Grandma's Christmas was fun. 

You know what is not fun?  Sickness.  Some of us ended up sick.  The flu struck.

It is never fun to have sickness at your house. Doug has the flu. I have read where many of my friends have been sick or had family members that were sick. It is never fun.


Sometimes we have to endure the bad to realize the good.  To be thankful for the good.

It wasn't fun for Jesus to die on that cross either but because He did we can celebrate the good------HEAVEN!

Noah

When Doug was getting ready for his by-pass surgery a nice man stopped by. He is a volunteer at the hospital that has been through the surgery and lets the patient know what to expect.  On this day he brought his grandson, Noah.  He wanted to see first hand what his grandfather did.  A few days after the surgery Doug had a visit from the volunteer.  He told us Noah had been concerned about Mr. Suggs so he came to see so he could let Noah know how he was doing.  This was special to us.

Last Saturday Mr. Nix, the volunteer and his grandson Noah and granddaughter, Ali stopped by our house.  This was such a wonderful surprise.  Noah got to see first had that Mr. Suggs was doing well.

After they left I began to think about the Noah of the Bible.  Noah was told to build an ark that would save him and is family from a flood.  Now there had never been rain before so you can imagine how this looked to the people watching.  Noah had great faith in God.  He built that ark even though the people laughed at him.  He and his family and lots of animals went into this ark and it began to rain. 

Now they were locked in an ark with lots of smelly animals while it rained for 40 days and nights.  Then even longer while they waited on the land to dry and for God to open the door.  That takes lots of faith, and patience.  They were rewarded for their actions.  For the faith they had in God.

How is your faith today?  When troubles arise how do you handle them?  Do you trust God to see you through them or do you try to handle it yourself?

Something to think about.

Excitement!

It has been so busy and so fun around here.  Our Christmas Open House was so much fun.  It took lots of work to get ready for it but it was worth it.  All the wonderful people that came was such an encouragement.

Then back to work on Monday.  But it was even fun on Monday!  There is a German Tradition that a pickle ornament is hidden on the tree and whoever finds it gets a gift.  Well my daughter-in-law picked me up some pickle ornaments in Fredericksburg.  I hid one on our tree at work.  You should see all the adult men and women looking for that pickle.  It is so much fun.  Some of them are down on the floor looking up into the tree.  Some have found it so I move it to another place.  One of our men is about to go crazy because he can't find it.  One woman finally found it after looking a long time.  Her comment was, "now I can sleep tonight"!

It is good to see adults leaving all cares and worries behind to find of all things a pickle!  We need times like this to refresh.  Laughter is so good.

Sometimes we get bogged down with things of this world.  Remember God and His word for refreshment of a different kind.  Have a great day.

Complaining

In my Wednesday night Bible Class we have been studying Moses.  We just crossed the Red Sea last week.  Remember all the complaining and lack of trust they had when they got to the sea and saw the Egyptians headed right for them? God took care of everything.  They then rejoiced.  As I was preparing for this week they begin the complaints again.  The water is bitter.  "You have brought us out here to die!"  Now this is a very large group of people that had been slaves for 400 years.  God rescued them from that then rescued them again at the Red Sea.  What happened to the rejoicing and their faith?  Well God takes care of them again.  Food and water provided.  Over and over again this happens.  Their faith is good when things are going the way they want them to.

Are we like that?  It really made me stop and think as I was reading this all again.  We trust in God when things are great but as things start to slip our faith sometimes does too.  You know God never leaves us.  He never slips.  Who does the slipping?

Something to think about.

How are you feeling today?

How are you feeling today?
I have a friend that always says "HI, How are you?" when she approaches.  Just love her.

Most of the time when someone asks us that question we say fine.  We might be in great pain physically or emotionally but we say fine.  Now when a person asks that question do they really want to know how we are or are they just being polite?  Something to think about.

Recently someone asked me that question and I said fine and he said, "Now how are you really?"  He really wanted to know.

When we ask someone that question do we really want to know how they are feeling or are we just being polite?  Something to think about.

Maybe we need to be more sincere when we greet people.  Maybe we need to take more time when talking to others.  Let them know we really are interested in how they are.

Jesus cares how we are and He cares how others are.

Aren't we supposed to be more like Him?  Something to think about.

Our Trip

Our Trip was amazing!  If you ever get the chance to go then do it!  This is going to be long and I am going to leave a lot out.  Sorry.

We left Austin and flew to New York and then on to Rome, Italy.  We went by bus to the Mariner of the Seas Royal Caribbean Ship.  We spent two wonderful days floating on the water on our way to Alexandria, Egypt.  We were docked there two days.  On the first day there we had a chance to  to Cairo and see the Pyramids but decided not to go.  One reason was it had only been six weeks since Doug's surgery and it was going to be a 13 hour day with 5 hours travel time on a bus and the other thing was the unrest there and our children's fears for us.  We watched others as they got on the buses to go and saw men in suits get on the buses with guns! It was for their protection.  We talked to several the next day and it was a disappointing trip for them.  There was a demonstration and an explosion that took place that day but you will not hear about it.  We did go into Alexandria, well right off the ship to a market place.  There we met Jimmy Green from Missouri!  Actually he was an Egyptian trying to sell us things.  He was so funny and we did buy some things from him.

The next day we went on an excursion in Alexandria.  We went to the library there and saw the Gutenburg Bible and some of the Dead Sea Scrolls and other manuscripts.  Then we went to see a catacomb.  This was really interesting.  We saw other sights around the town also.

The next day we were in Ashdod, Israel.  We went to Jaffa and Tela Viv that day.  We went to the area where Jonah boarded the ship running away from God, and also where Peter might have been when he had the vision of the sheet with all the animals on it when God told him to teach all men.  We ate Falafas in downtown Jaffa.  We drove through Telaviv.  It is a very modern and worldly city.

The next day we went to Jerusalem and Bethlehem.  This was an amazing experience.  Things are commercialized but still knowing Jesus walked those streets at one time and you are there walking those streets is amazing. We went to the Garden of Gethsemane.  There are still some of the same Olive Trees there that were there 2,000 years ago. Now remember I am telling you what our guide told us.  She also said a lot of what she was telling us was not in the Bible but was tradition that had been handed down for 2,000 years and was right.  There are church buildings built on top of all the places you go so you take everything with a grain of salt so to speak.  Still amazing.  We then went to the wailing wall.  It is divided and the men go to one place and the women another place.  You are not allowed to go together.  We also saw several Barmitzvas (I don't know how to spell it.) taking place while there.  It was very crowded.  Then on to the market place and the 12 stages of where Jesus walked carrying His cross.  According to this guide He fell three times and Mary came and kissed Him at one place and there is a place He put His hand to keep from falling and other things along the way.  They now have doors on the stalls of the Market Place so they can leave their wares there and close them up at night. We went to the burial place of Jesus.  A large church building is built there also.  Then we went to lunch at a large modern hotel there.  Then a bus ride to Bethlehem. Now since Bethlehem is under Palestinian rule it has been walled in.  You have to go through gates and security to get in.  The people living in Bethlehem are not allowed in Jerusalem with out special permission.  We went to the Church of the Nativity. We were not able to go down into the cave because we arrived there late and it would have been a two hour wait and we had to travel back to the ship.  We did however tour the building and when we went into the sanctuary we sang "Silent Night" as a group.  This was really neat.  We traveled by a place that was the area where David slew Goliath!  So much to see and I know I am leaving out a lot of things.  You just have to go yourselves! 

We had another day at sea then docked in Athens, Greece.  We went to the Acropolis and saw the Parthenon but the thing Doug liked best was he got to stand on Mars Hill and quote Paul's speech! We also went to a place where they make cameos.  They are made out of shell.  Well I didn't buy one.  I told Doug I had plenty of shells at home he could just watch the master carver and make me one when we got home!

We had another day at sea and docked at Naples, Italy.  We went to see Pompeii.  This was so amazing.  These people were so beyond their time in so many ways.

The next morning we were in Civitevechia, Italy where the ship docked for the last time.  We had to leave the ship and ride a bus back to Rome and head back to the United States.  Now I love our country but I knew when I got back I would have to go back to work.  Now my job is not a hard one but when you have been pampered, fed, and entertained for 11 days it is hard to get back in the groove of work, cleaning, doing laundry and cooking.  I think I might need a few prayers.  No I will need a lot of prayers!!!

I know this has been long and I left a lot out.

God is amazing and He created all the places we went.  He is such a great and loving and caring God. But most of all He is a forgiving God.  That is such a peaceful feeling.  While we were on the ship we had our own "Sunday" worship service together in another country and it was still God's country!

Isn't God good!

Excitement Abounds

Yesterday Doug had an appointment to see his cardiologist.  All is well!  For that we are so thankful.  God is good.  That was exciting.

But more excitement!  On Monday we fly to Rome, Italy and board a ship and cruise to the Mediterranean.  We bought this trip back in February not knowing what would be ahead.  We never do anything this far in advance but decided to go ahead and book the trip.  Well after by-pass surgery we still get to go.

There have been many things getting in the way such as surgery, unrest in Egypt, American Airlines planes having trouble, etc.  We trudge ahead. 

That is the way it is supposed to be with our walk with Jesus.  Things and people get in the way.  The devil puts them there and sometimes we stumble but if we look to Jesus and keep on keeping on all will be well.  It might not turn out the way we want but we are not to please self but God.

Yes we are excited.  We might get to walk where Jesus walked (Jerusalem and Bethlehem) and see the pyramids God's children built and where Jesus spent the first part of His life (Egypt) and walk among the ruins in Athens where Paul might have been. But if we are unable to get off the ship our own personal walk with Jesus will still be first in our lives.

Walking with Jesus now is much more important than walking where He walked.  Have a great week-end.

Just plain rude!

Growing up as a child I was passed around from family member to family member and to live with a family not related and then finally lived with my mother.  I never knew my father.I grew up like a lot of the children that live at the children's home where I work.  I was often blamed for things that happened  that I didn't do.  I learned to be un-emotional.  I did not cry when my mother died.  That might sound harsh but she didn't cry about things either. I loved my mother but felt I had to be strong and crying was not strong.  I could not let my guard down.  My husband had open heart surgery and I stayed strong for my children.  I did later cry tears of thanksgiving but no one knew it.

Recently I was told I was rude and opinionated.  I fell apart.  I never meant to be rude.  I did on occasion speak my thoughts.  I have found once again my opinion doesn't count.  I was hurt to think others thought of me as mean.  I became an emotional nightmare.  I have cried off an on for over a month.  I have since apologized to everyone I can think to apologize to for my rudeness. 

The Bible says to be ye kind.  I have taught this to others for many years and I was not kind.  I was wrong.

I just read an article by a woman that had had her feelings hurt.  She became unhappy and everyone around her knew it.  There was a bad smell in her house and she could not find it.  When she found it she removed it and it made her think about the stinking way she had acted.  She got rid of the smell in her house and her life.  That is what I am trying to do today.  I am getting rid of my stinking ways.

I hope you will have a great day.  You have already been blessed.  Lets just don't be rude today!

Get Smart

Do you remember the show "Get Smart"?  I do and always thought it funny, silly, and a little crazy.  Well as I listen to what is going on in our country I want to yell out GET SMART!  So many of us listen to a little and think we are smart enough to make decisions about our country, elected officials, etc.  Maybe we are smart enough but I am not so sure.  How much time and effort have we really put in to know what is right and wrong?  Do we pray about it?

Same thing with God's Word!  We think we know enough but do we really?  How much time and effort do we spend studying God's Word?  Do we take what someone we know tells us?  Do we listen to peoples opinions and accept them without studying to find out the truth?  Do we pray about it?

LET'S GET SMART!

The weather

It seems like everyone around here is complaining about the weather.  It is too hot!  Well it is pretty hot even for me.  I can tolerate the heat if I am sitting on my porch with a glass of iced tea.  It is shady there.  I like to listen to the  noises of nature and of course watch the cars go by.  Right now the weather isn't bothering me near as much as those pesky mosquitoes.  They just love me!  It is nice to be loved but not necessarily by those insects.

So do you sometiomes wonder why God made certain things?  Scorpians, mosquitoes, spiders, etc.  I guess if everything was perfect on this earth we wouldn't want to leave.  Though I can't imagine anyone not wanting to go to heaven.  God loves me a whole lot more than those pesky bugs and I know He loves you too.

Have a great week-end.

I'm Back

Well not totally.  My emotions are playing havoc with me lately.  I am not usually an emotional person so this is a hard thing for me.

Doug is doing so much better.  He is getting his strength back more and more every day.  For that we are thankful.

I guess I wrote about 12 blogs in my head the two weeks we were at the hospital but they never made it to the computer.  I am sure now I will not remember them.  But what I do remember is that God was with us the whole time.  He never left us or forsaked us.  He wrapped His arms around us.  He sometimes used others to comfort us.

As I walked the halls of the hospital I saw families that were also concerned for the health of their loved ones.  Some might not have been as lucky as we were.  I prayed for them and I know others were praying for us.  That too was a comfort.  Knowing your friends and loved ones cared.

We are so blessed.

decisions

Sometimes making decisions is easy but not all the time.  Sometimes the out come is good but not all the time.  For instance, I love the Olympics and want to watch until they go off at night.  Well then that means less sleep.  I still have to get up in the morning.

Shopping on line is sometimes a good thing if you live way out in the hill country like I do, but not all the time.  It is too easy to buy things you really don't need.

Then there are really big decisions like moving to a different house or buying a house, whether or not to go back to school or changing jobs, etc.

What about the decision to spend more time reading God's word or spending more time in prayer?  That is a good decision and the out come is even greater!

Olympics

I really enjoy the Olympics.  I get so excited watching the games, races, etc.  My family was able to attend the Olympic games in Atlanta.  That was such a wonderful experience being around people from all over the world.  I am not much of an athelete but I can Hoola Hoop!  (It has to do with the live it I am on!)

You know God has set a race before us.  One we need to race with endurance.  Sometimes we get out of breath just like the swimmers and hurdle jumpers.  It is a little different though.  We run out of breath because we don't spend the time we need to be spending in God's Word!  Those competing in the Olympics just didn't wake up last week and decide to compete.  They have been preparing and practicing for years.
How much practice/preparation are we doing?

Something to think about.

FOOD

I like food.  I like to eat.  I think I am hungry all the time.  I just finished lunch and though it was not a big lunch it was more than some get all day.  I think I am hungry now.  I need to loose some weight so my clothes will fit better.  So the terrible word diet is now being said.  I liked the way Richard Simmons always said it--Live it not diet.  Well sometimes I don't feel like I am living it if I can't have chocolate, hot rolls, candy bars, chocolate, etc!

We need to "Live it" but not just for chocolate.  We need to "Live it" for Jesus.  He wants us be about serving others, praising Him, spending time in His word.  Living for Jesus is a good thing.  I am going to do my best to "Live it" for Him.

A hot fudge sundae sounds good about now! (How easily I get distracted!)