Today Is National Toasted Marshmallow Day

Posted by Unknown |



Yesterday I thought it was Toasted Marshmallow Day~ but I was wrong. It is today. I sent a text to My Brian and asked him to stop and get some on his way home from work last night so we could toast them over a fire by the pond. And guess what? ~He did. I really did not think he would! Now that is love. I just love a reason to celebrate~ ask my family. Last night we sat by the pond and enjoyed toasting marshmallows. With Summer almost over it is a perfect time for some old fashioned marshmallow toasting.

The history of marshmallows goes back to ancient Egypt. The Pharaohs would squeeze the mallow plants and eat the sweet extract that came out of the plant. Later in the 19th century marshmallows evolved to be the delicious treats we know and love today.

Gooey and sugary, marshmallows are just a good way to end summer. So today grab a bag and head outside to toast  marshmallows and celebrate! Summer won't be here much longer!


Psalm 34:8

King James Version (KJV)

 8O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.


I like toasted marshmallows in my hot chocolate~ what is your favorite way to eat marshmallows?



And while we are being all sugary why not spread some sweet ~sugary ~ kind words to those we meet today.


"Kind words do not cost much. They never blister the tongue or lips. Though they do not cost much, the accomplish much. They make other people good-natured. They also produce their own image in 
other men's souls, and a beautiful image it is." - Blaise Pascal



Proverbs 15:23

A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!



  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS
Read User's Comments0
Posted by Unknown

Unanswered Prayers~

Posted by Unknown | Labels:


I can look back and remember the times God has answered my prayers. I mean I had prayed something specific and when God answered the prayer ~ He gently said, "See I am listening and I am answering your prayers."  Those answered prayers are etched in memory and in my heart. When God almighty took the time to answer little ol' nothing me is unfathomable. I remember once praying for $700.00 dollars ~ we needed the money but we needed God's assurance and the miracle of knowing we were on the right path with the Lord more. It was if God himself walked into our lives and handed it to us~ $697.00~ I had $3:00 in my purse. Does God care that much?~ sure He does. I could go on and on of specific prayers that I have had answered. God is so good ~ all the time.

Even at times when our prayers go unanswered. Often in life our faith is strained when we don't see God answer our prayers in a timely manner. Why~ sometimes our prayers are selfish and amiss~ (James 4:3)~ sometimes we shut off the windows of Heaven with inequity in our hearts (Psalms 66:18)~ sometimes God says, "Wait" and sometimes He says, "No." When we inwardly ~ we most the time don't have the nerve to outwardly rant in the face of God~ complain about our unanswered prayers we need to remember Jesus on the cross when His prayers went unanswered.


Matthew 26:39

King James Version (KJV)


 39And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

You see God the Father said no to Jesus on the cross so that all mankind's sin debt could be atoned.  Jesus Christ bowed to the will of the Father when He submitted to the the beatings from the whip, the cursing of the solders, the lies of the Sanhedrin,  the mob that spit upon Him and ultimately to the weight of that heavy cross. His sacrifice for the weight of the world's sin was bowed to at the garden when He prayed that the cup be passed from Him. But it was not to be so. As my heart is heavy with grief just thinking about the horrific pain my Saviour endured with a thankful heart ~ I am so humbled that my sin can be forgiven because of this unanswered prayer. For there He paid for all sin, for all time~ forever.


Hebrews 9:28

King James Version (KJV)


 28So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.


Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers!


  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS
Read User's Comments0
Posted by Unknown

What A Horrible Dream~

Posted by Unknown | Labels:







I am not a T.V. watcher~ I just get bored with it. I do like me a good love story as I think all women do. Last night I started watching a love story~ and once I started I just could not finish until I knew the end. I was totally upset when at the end of the movie the lady character took her life. Boy was I mad~ I always have to end every story with a happy ending. Call me a Pollyanna if you like~ my mother does!  That is why it is best to stick to Christian movies and stories~lesson learned!


So I go to sleep mad at this crazy movie ~ in my mind thinking if I had written the story lines how I would have ended the movie. Then I  fell into a fit of bad dreams all night long about people dying. This morning I was sure ready to do my devotions. Reality never looked so good this morning. 


 In the movie this beautiful~ talented woman was so unhappy with her life that her solution to the pain in her life was to end it. I know it was just a movie ~ yet I wonder how many desperate people think that this is the end?



Is death the absolute end of human existence? Not according to Ben Franklin. While scholars differ as to what he believed, there is no dispute that he believed firmly in the resurrection of the body. This epitaph he composed for himself:
The body of B. Franklin, printer, (like the cover of an old book, its contents torn out and stripped of its lettering and gilding) lies here, food for worms. But the work shall not be lost; for it will (as he believed) appear once more,in a new and more elegant edition, revised and corrected by the Author.

Oh boy~ what a epitaph! Kind of reminds me of the Apostle Paul's affirmation when he said~ that the risen Lord will transform our corruptible bodies, making them like His own.


Philippians 3:20-21

King James Version (KJV)

 20For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
 21Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.


I don't like the thought of dying but I am not afraid to die. My name is written down in that Book of Life and my reservation is secured~ signed ~sealed and delivered. But ~in my Pollyanna way of looking at things I think I have eternity in Heaven~ forever and forever~ so I would like to stay here on this earth as long as I possibly can. In fact I have asked the Lord since I was young to please let me see my 100th birthday. Not sure if He will answer my prayer but He does say He will give us the desires of our heart. I don't suspect I will ever be ready to tell my loved ones here on earth good-bye. I cry at every goodbye~ just ask my family! 


It is a comfort knowing that as we move on moment by moment toward death that we have the assurance of Heaven and eternity with our our Saviour and our loved ones. This comfort is to all who believe the good news of the atoning death of Christ on the cross with its victorious sequel of the empty tomb. 


The resurrection assures what Calvary secures~ now that is worth celebrating today!


Are you 100% sure if you died today that your name is written down in that Lamb's Book of Life?  If not I invite you to click here and make the best decision you will ever make!







  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS
Read User's Comments0
Posted by Unknown

Washing My Family's Feet~

Posted by Unknown | Labels:



Sunday was our 40th Anniversary of our church~ Bible Baptist Temple. I started our church when I was 5 as a bus kid~ right after our church started. After all those years we are busting at the seams ~ we recently bought a new~ big building. We are so excited!  We have been busy as bees remodeling~ it is going to be beautiful!

This will be our auditorium~ in the first stages of the re-model.


This is my boy at the foot of the cross and my nephew and his other cousin. ~
  The boys seemed to be having a good time at work. 
I pray my boy stays forever at the foot of the cross.

In our celebration services we were blessed with Mrs. Abigail Miller singing for us. She writes all her songs and is a mother of nine children. She was a blessing for sure. She wrote and had her children sing a song called~ Washing My Family's Feet. It talks about the unending list of duties and chores that never seem to be done in raising a family. And how each and every task that we do is serving each other in love and pleasing God in doing so.  Abigail had a Biblical application to serving our family as Jesus did in washing the disciples feet.

As recorded in the 13th chapter of John~ God incarnate washed human feet. God ~ Almighty God humbled himself to do the lowliest task! Our God does not ask people to strap bombs to themselves and destroy others. NO~ He was a servant that washed dirty~filthy feet that had walked streets of dirt and grime.

As wives and moms we sometimes get so tired of the daily dishes, dirty clothes, dusty floors and soiled toilets. But if we considered all those so~ daily~mundane chores as washing the feet of our family and  serving our God ~ it would put it all in a new perspective. I pray I have taught all my children to serve others enough to wash their feet. I wash my family's feet but not always with joy!

Even more humbling this wonderful Saviour of ours became a servant of all when He laid down His life for a sinful~ ungrateful world so that we may heirs to all that is His. Wow~ what an incredible~ fabulous and amazing thought. His fathomable~ sacrificial love for us should cause us to surrender to Him too.

How about you? Are you willing to wash the feet of your family today?
I want to surrender my whole life to this foot-washing God ~ and I want the wash my family's feet with joy!


John 13:1-5 KJV


 1Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.
 2And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him;
 3Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;
 4He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.
 5After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.


  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS
Read User's Comments0
Posted by Unknown

In The Quiet Times~

Posted by Unknown | Labels:





Yesterday I was reflecting on the life of Christ and just what it was that He did from age 12-30. I have questions ~if you know me I am a true detective at heart.  Sometimes we too go through quiet years. When I was a young mom I would get so lonely~and MOPS was a great encouragement to me. I was reminded each Tuesday morning over breakfast that these desert years were not forever~ and they weren't. Oh how quickly they were gone. (If only I could recapture a few of those moments when all my children were tucked safe and sound in their beds~it was the greatest feeling I ever had.)  Sometimes in life we just have quiet years.


As I ponder the quiet years of Jesus Not having all my questions answered I do know these facts~


*He grew in wisdom. He spent his days from 12-30 growing in wisdom. Jesus as man yet God grew day by day in wisdom~ He would need that wisdom for the ministry ~and the days ahead~ we all know that! Where does wisdom come from?


I want to be wise so that I can be used by God!

Proverbs 9:10 (King James Version)



 10The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.


In my quiet times in life I seem to feel set aside. It is during theses times that I need to draw close to the Lord ~draw close to the Bible and increase my knowledge of God and what He wants from my life.


* He grew in stature. Stature is both physical and emotionally. A trip to the Doctor recently has prompted me to take better care of my physical body. I really thought I was doing better than I was~ouch! I have made some major changes in my life. As a mom we are tempted to ignore our health because of lack of time. I am with you ~I understand. We sometimes get so busy taking care of everyone else that we fail to take care of our self~ we need to be eating a healthy diet and exercising. When I take care of myself I feel so much better~it is amazing what a few changes can do. 


Now that mental thing~ oh my. We should be getting more mature emotionally~ but what about pre-menopausal. I was doing so well ~ then it hit like a bomb. It hit me right out of nowhere. You know I had grown and moved past that selfish~ short tempered girl I once was to a more mature woman in the Lord. Then all the sudden I get hit with these crazy mood swings~ hot flashes~ irritability and I sometimes think I want to pack my bags and join the circus for Pete's sake! Where did all these emotions come from ~not to mention the migraines? What is a girl to do?


 Well~ draw closer to God and spend more time with Him. I am finding I need to clear my schedule a little more so that I have down time. Quick temper and screaming fits don't describe a woman wanting to be used by God. Jesus could never have handled the horrors of the cross if He had not controlled His emotions. In my weakness ~He is strong. I must rely on Him. We must tap into our Heavenly Father's strength. And be ready to be used by God.


* He grew in favor with God. Jesus ~as man~ learned God's preferences. He obeyed God and followed God's desires. When we are in the quiet times of our life~ we need to make God our closest friend. I have a great husband~ wonderful children and family and the best of friends~ but they are not my closest friend. The Bible calls Jesus the friend that sticks closer than a brother. He is my very best friend. He one day will cross over Jordan with me~even my Brian wont be able to walk that day with me but Jesus will. 
I want to keep myself holy and pure so that I can be used by God.


* He grew in favor with man. We call it today~gaining people skills. Relationship skills are vital to the work of God. If we can't get along with people how are we going to influence them for Christ? If people are put off by our offensive ~know-it-all attitude we will never influence them for Christ.  I tend to be a sensitive person~ I don't want people to walk on egg shells when around me. We need to determine not to let our personality keep us from being used by God~whether it is strong or weak!  We will never be useful to God until others feel loved by us. 


Are you finding yourself in the "quiet times"of life? Take your "time in the shadows" and make the most of it. Grow and grow and grow in God's Word. When we do we will look back someday and remember how God molded us into the person we needed to be. Those desert years at home all alone with my small children taught me to totally depend and trust the Lord. Whatever the stage in life you are at~ physically, spiritually or emotionally God wants us to be growing and to be used for His glory! 


  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS
Read User's Comments0
Posted by Unknown

Do You Want To End Up In A Padded Cell?

Posted by Unknown | Labels:









My Christian Womanhood teacher in College~ Mrs. Johnson~ told me to live each day as if it were my last. She is in Heaven now and her husband has remarried. She died young leaving behind six children. I bet she did not know that her life would be cut short when she taught that class. I hear her words of wisdom almost every day. I am sure she is dancing on the streets of gold this morning~ but I must tell you she was full of joy and a sweet smile dressed her face all the time she was here on earth. She molded my life so much in that year. I can't wait to tell her thank you and give her a big hug when I get to Heaven. One of the things she taught me was to let go of the past and move forward. We are all going to mess up. Ask forgiveness and move on~ full of joy!


It has been my goal to have joy! The older I get the more I see if we let circumstances of the past control our joy we will never have joy.  God wants us to be joyful. In order to be joyful we must obey this verse~



Philippians 3:13

King James Version 

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
Why is forgetting the past so hard? I don't know. But I do know the enemy wants to remind us of it every chance he gets. He likes to put thoughts in our minds such as~
"God can't use me."
" You'll never be good enough."
" I will never be normal."
These thoughts are lies that we are believing!  So many people in the Bible had a tainted past!  Moses murdered~ Davis committed adultery~ Paul killed Christians. 
There are examples one after another ~ but the point is we are all human. We have been hurt and at times we have hurt other people!  None of us are without sin.  When we accept Christ as our Saviour ~ He makes all things new. If you need to get things right with others then do so and move on. You must forgive others who have hurt you!~ Get over it!
Are you living in the past?  If so ~get over it. Do you want to end up in a padded cell? Pity parties are a waste of time. Stop believing the lies that the enemy and the the world tells you! This going back and going back and feeling and healing our pain is not Biblical~ God's way is always the right way. If you have returned to the pit that God has brought you out of ~ get out!! We don't need to keep reliving our past in order to help others. I really feel we give more power to the enemy when we do this. My heart is burdened for a special person in my life who has chosen to do this. It is so unnecessary!


When Paul wrote about forgetting the past in the verse above I think he was writing with great experience. Can you imagine how he must have felt once he received Christ and realised all the guilt of his actions? All the Christians he had tortured to death. Now lets get real here~ that would put a person in a padded cell if they decided to dwell and continue to feel that pain. Paul understood that God had forgiven him and he had to put that former life in the past. He had to press forward and live his life as the new Paul~ no longer Saul. God even gave him a new name! And guess what? He didn't have to feel and heal all his pain forever to help people. Nope ~he forgot his past and pressed forward and he is still helping thousands of people this morning.


It is time to get over it!


Jason Gray - I Am New Lyrics
Now I won't deny

The worst you could say about me

But I'm not defined by mistakes that I've made

Because God says of me



I am not who I was

I'm being remade

I am new

I am chosen and holy and I'm dearly loved

I am new



Who I thought I was

And who I thought I had to be

I had to give them both up

Cause neither were willing

To ever believe



I am not who I was

I'm being remade

I am new

I am chosen and holy and I'm dearly loved

I am new

I am new



Too long have I lived in the shadow of shame

Believing that there was no way I could change

But the one who is making everything new

Doesn't see me the way that I do

He doesn't see me the way that I do



Hidden in Christ

Made in the image of the Giver of Life

Righteous and holy, reborn and remade

Accepted and worthy

This is our new name



This is who we are now...





  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS
Read User's Comments0
Posted by Unknown

Need A Love Letter?

Posted by Unknown | Labels:



I am new to the texting world. My kids bought me a new phone for my birthday~ one that has a key board so I can text. Seriously~ I thought why in the world do I need to text? I would get so frustrated with Hannah and Caleb over this texting thing. Caleb promised me if I ever tried it I would be hooked~ oh my he was right. How in the world did I get along without texting?  But you want to know what I love most about texting?  I love it when My Brian sends me sweet little love notes. Next to him would be my sweet text I get from time to time from my son-in-love~ so sweet!  Of course Caleb still reminds me often of how horrible I am at texting~LOL.


After the US entered World War II in 1941, Estelle tried to talk her boyfriend Sidney out of joining the Army. But he enlisted and began his training in April of the following year. For the next 3 years he wrote her love letters—525 in all. Then in March 1945, she learned that her beloved fiancé had been killed in combat.
Although Estelle did eventually marry, the memories of her first love lived in her heart. To honor that love, she published a book of Sidney’s wartime correspondence more than 60 years later.

Like those sweet love letters the Lord has given us a record of His love letters to us ~ the Scriptures. Sometimes we need a love letter~ it just puts pep in our step. I love getting love letters from those that love me. Do you need a love letter today? God has recorded love letters just for you~










Jeremiah 31:3

King James Version (KJV)


 3The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.




John 15:9

King James Version (KJV)


 9As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.




Ephesians 5:25

King James Version (KJV)


 25Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

1 John 4:8

King James Version (KJV)


 8He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

Titus 2:14

King James Version (KJV)


 14Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.


Have a blessed day~ You are loved!


  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS
Read User's Comments0
Posted by Unknown

Happy Back To School~

Posted by Unknown |


Back To School ~Ready or not!

Last night we tried to enjoy our last night of Summer. After church we came home and made a camp fire by the pond and roasted hot dogs~ a final farewell to the lazy days!  To tell you the truth~ this Momma is not ready for school to start. Caleb is entering 10th grade and my last child to homeschool.  I plan on making the next couple years a Mother ~ Son making memories time~ for all to soon he will be spreading his wings too. I already hear it in his voice.

This morning however is the first day back to homeschooling for us~ along with classes at our Christian School. I will be teaching Home Ec. this year at our Christian School They will be hosting one full day a week where the Home School Students of our church can come the full day for Chapel, Elective Classes, Music, Art and P.E. It is sure to be a busy year.

As I type I am getting ready to go teach a group of Future Christian Homemakers. I am going to start the class of today with this verse. It is one I continually have to work at~ working with love.

Proverbs 15:17~
Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.




Proverbs 15:13~


A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.


I am off on this rainy Monday to make some memories~ I hope you have a merry day! And as you start a new school year my prayers are that we will all shine our light in a dark world where ever that may be!



P.S. Don't miss my challenge for this school year!  Click here!

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS
Read User's Comments0
Posted by Unknown

A Girl And Her Coffee~ Happy Lord's Day

Posted by Unknown | Labels:


Would you like some coffee this morning?~ wish you could share a cup with me on my deck. I really need to be moving but this cool air and watching my three little kittens who lost their mittens is keeping me here. I would so enjoy your company this morning. I should be getting myself ready for church and lunch too because in less than two hours I have a room full of rowdy 4 and 5 year olds that we need to teach Sunday School to.

But right now I am enjoying my hot coffee~ coffee brings warmth and comfort to me. Can I tell you a secret?~ I am not a big coffee person. I may drink one cup in the morning. However part of drinking coffee is ritual, part relation, part hope ~having a cup of coffee in my hand just feels natural. The first thing I do in the morning is start the coffee. Hearing it perk makes me do a little dance in my kitchen and the smell takes me back to my Grandma Baker's house. She only had one arm due to cancer and so she used her left hand to do everything~ she would use her index finger to stir her coffee. Why I don't know but she did? Her favorite thing to eat was hot coffee and vanilla ice cream. Oh~ sweet memories. She is enjoying her coffee this morning in glory!

Coffee is the universal welcome. Even people who don't like coffee like to smell it. I have a friend who does not like coffee but makes a pot every day. In a  different way it gets her going too. My coffee is a wake up call. I drink one cup of coffee in the morning with just a little creamer. I sip on it all morning and even have to microwave it a few times to warm it up. Needless to say it is my wake up call. 

I dare to say I have learned this girl can't live without her coffee~ it has become a habit. But more important yet~ I can't live without my Spiritual wake-up call. I have come to depend upon God's Word EACH MORNING. I was listening to a Bible teacher yesterday and was challenged to spend at least five minutes each morning waiting upon the Lord~ this will be after my Bible reading and prayer. I mean five minutes in meditation waiting on the Lord. Why you may ask? 

Isaiah 40:31

King James Version (KJV)

 31But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.


See it makes sense~ just spending a few minutes asking God to renew your strength and rest your mind and soul from this weary world ~ resting in Him. I have to tell you it works~ but I had to discipline myself!  My mind wants to wonder in so many different directions!

So this morning as you are having your cup of coffee remember to let God awake your soul.

Happy Lord's Day~   How do you like your coffee?



It saddens me that many of us need to have pain as a wake-up call.
 Now I try my best to not stand on the sidelines of life with deadened,
 dulled, disinterested senses until another shock 
makes me suddenly aware of the magic, marvel and mystery of it all. - Breathnach

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS
Read User's Comments0
Posted by Unknown

Need A New Purpose?

Posted by Unknown | Labels:



Jeremiah 29:11

 (KJV)

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.


I love old churches made into homes. If you google ~"churches made into homes" you will see some beautiful homes. I love to see something no longer useable have a new purpose. A once abandoned structure that no was longer viable ~yet someone was able to see promise and a new purpose. And let me tell you there are some that are just beautiful.


If structures can find new life and purpose ~why not people? There where men in the Bible whose lives took on a different purpose after they met the Lord. Like Jacob ~when he wrestled against the angel. Moses when he talked to the burning bush. And Paul who was temporarily blinded. Their stories were all different but they all had a change of purpose when they encountered the Lord~ and God sent them down a different path.


Circumstances change the course of our lives. I have just about worked myself out of a job as a "Homeschool Mom" and a "Momma" in general. I will always be a "Mom" but the purpose is changing~ a time of letting go instead of "mothering".  As I see my life changing I also have to believe that God has a new purpose for my life. God reminds us~ that He loved us before we loved Him. He wants to give us a hope and and a future because He loves us. 


As I cling to God's promises ~ I am praying for Him to reveal a new direction and purpose in my life. As we follow Him~ we can believe that He will direct in the paths that we need to go.

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS
Read User's Comments0
Posted by Unknown

I Am Just Surviving~ How About You?

Posted by Unknown |




One Saturday morning a little boy and his father took a long awaited trip to the local pet store in search of a new puppy. The dad had been promising the trip for weeks and finally, the day had come.  For weeks, the little boy had been reading books about dogs, surveying the pets of his friends, asking countless questions and waiting for this day, ready to make his choice.
When father and son walked into the pet store the dad immediately realized that this task was going to be much harder than he had thought it would be. There were so many adorable puppies from which to choose. But with determination in his heart and confidence in his step, the little boy began his search. Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks, eyes and heart locked on the perfect dog. Staring at the little boy from the wired confines of a small crate was an undersized and fairly unimpressive but hopeful black puppy. Following his son’s gaze, the dad cringed as he realized that the first puppy he had eliminated as a possibility was the very one his son was watching. 
The father attempted to re-direct the interest of his son toward a more suitable dog. It was not to be. Each time the little boy returned to his first choice, the black puppy who was grinning at the boy, eagerly pawing at the cage door and wagging his tail with great enthusiasm. The dad finally asked, “Son, which one do you want?” The little boy immediately pointed at the dog with the furiously wiggling tail and announced with great certainty, “I want that one, Daddy! I want the one with the happy ending.”
This story was in one of my devotions in my inbox this morning. We all want happy endings. I have a wonderful life~ a wonderful husband and wonderful children. I have more blessings than I deserve but lately I just have not been feeling well. I have summed it up to normal pre-menopausal hormones~which is just where I am at in life. It is a bit depressing if you ask me! It appears that this is puberty turned upside down and inside out  at the other end. Yuck~ I mean when hormone levels  fluctuate dramatically it can lead  to hot flashes, mood swings, weight gain, cravings, insomnia, fuzzy thinking, migraines, exhaustion and the list goes on. I do not feel joyful lately at all!  I have been doing some research on how to get these crazy things that are happening in my body fixed. Number one they tell me is to eliminate stress. Ok~ someone please tell me how in the cotton picking world ~ do you do that? It comes knocking at the door or on the other end of the telephone line.  It is kind-of hard to be joyful when you don't feel well. I am taking a trip the the Health Store today~ and putting my walking shoes on. I mean maybe I can walk it away. That seems to work for everything else in life~ tee hee.  Not feeling well can steal your joy. So it is time to do something about it. 
Many Joy Stealers lurk in the shadows just waiting to crush joy wherever they can find it.  As I remind myself ~ I am reminding you this morning ~ nothing or no one can rob you of your joy without your permission. SO ~ don't give it up!  Choose Joy!!!
At times our past can haunt us ~you know those should have, would haves or could haves! Sometimes we allow people  to rob us of our joy. It may be a fearful circumstance or a broken dream. As a wife and mother we always have concerns at any given moment~ is that not right? We can't let these concerns rob us of our joy either!  Right now besides feeling like someone has taken the normal me~ whatever that may be~ and placed it on another planet~ I have burdens weighing on my heart.  Life can be very painful ~at times unfair ~ and just down right hard.  BUT!!!!! ~ God is still in control.  When I am weak~ He is strong. Praise God!   As I say often~ "I have read the end of the book and we win."  That ought to be enough to renew our joy this Thankful Thursday!
 I don't just have to survive I can fight these dog- gone hormones and I plan to~ I can fight my battles on my knees and I plan to~ and I can trust the the Father has it all under control! Now that is a happy ending!



Job 8:21

King James Version (KJV)

 21Till he fill thy mouth with laughing, and thy lips with rejoicing.





  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS
Read User's Comments0
Posted by Unknown

Need A Little Dose Of Autumn?

Posted by Unknown |

*Turn off my music play list at the bottom before playing~








Just watch this and see if it doesn't put you in the baking and nesting mood. I love all the seasons ~ I just could never tell you one of them was my favorite. But right now I am excited to see Fall. The temperatures are cool today which like you all~ I am so ready for. This cool ~ Autumn looking morning has me in the baking mood. SO I am off to light my Autumn Magic candle and see what I can bake up this morning. 


The three little kittens are all doing well. They appear to be living in our Pole Barn. They did not come to eat yesterday so I was worried but they all came to eat breakfast this morning. They let me pet them a little. I was so glad to see them safe and sound after they seemed to have disappeared for a day. They are spooked easily and are wild for sure.

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1 







These little birds are outside my closet window. They are friendly little guys who are not bothered by me at all. They look right at me through the window. They sing to me~ I have so enjoyed watching them. Do you know what they are?


I am off to bake~ have a wonderful morning?


What is your favorite thing about Fall?

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS
Read User's Comments0
Posted by Unknown

Happy Monday~ Oh Just Look And See Who Showed Up At My Door

Posted by Unknown |








Happy Monday!
It is cool here this morning if only for a little while~ and it is softly raining. Look at my three little kittens who have appeared to not only have lost their mittens but seem to have lost their home. They showed up Saturday morning on my door step. I am sitting here on my porch enjoying my last week of summer and watching them play~ while I am drinking my coffee.  Next week my" back to school schedule " begins! 

The little black kitten is the momma cat~ even though she is just a kitten herself. She knows how to care for her babies though. They seem to have adopted us and we are kind-of fond of them already too. I put out a kennel last night and they slept in it~in hopes to keep them from sleeping under Hannah's car hood. I think they may become our outdoor cats.  The momma is letting us pet her but not the babies.  We have not named them yet ~any ideas?

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

Optimistically Looking Ahead

One of England’s distinguished statesmen, Sir Fred Catherwood, offers an insightful analysis of the world. He writes, 
“We look back today because we dare not look forward. We live in a violent, greedy, rootless, cynical, and hopeless society, and we don’t know what’s to become of it all. . . . As we stop believing in the dignity of man and woman made in the image of God, violence has risen dramatically. . . . The social pillars of society have been shaken. All down [through] the centuries, governments have had moral guidelines to tell them how to shape the social structures. Now . . . they do not know what to do.”

Just because the Bible does not disclose the divine plan for history's outworking does not mean that we are entitled to start looking around this out of control world of ours in pessimism! God is still on the throne~ Christians are still reading their Bible~ people are still witnessing about the Gospel of Salvation~ and people are still getting saved! There is still the possibility of heaven-sent revival and social renewal in our great land. No matter what may happen if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour ~ when King Jesus returns this world will become His Kingdom. (Rev.11:15)

Our responsibility is to be a witness ~ to be salt and light to the world.

Matthew 5:13-16

King James Version (KJV)

 13Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
 14Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
 15Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
 16Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

We are not to walk around looking like we have eaten a sour grape. We are to be living, working, worshiping, praying, witnessing, loving~ so that our world will see the saving grace of God at work through us.

In other words ~ lets enjoy the journey~ I read the back of the book and no matter what may happen today~ in the last chapter ~ we win! 


  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS
Read User's Comments0
Posted by Unknown
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)