Great is our God

The Lord is my Shepherd...I shall not want...all the days of my life, My Lord will be there for me!  To love me, to hold me, to protect me, to keep me warm when the cold winds blow.  Isn't God great?

We had Sandy, the hurricane, go thru our area, Monday afternoon and evening, and needless to say my husband and I didn’t sleep really well, and not because of fear, but because of the constant noise.  It was a bit hard to block out.  And of course the electric went off for about 20 hours, which that was tolerable, a week is a little rough; I’ll take 20 hours anytime.  And then this morning watching the 700 Club, they talked about putting in wells for people who don’t have clean drinking water, just live in the country where you have a well, but the well requires electric to get the water out…you might begin, just begin, to have an appreciation for just a tiny, tiny, bit of what these poor people have to deal with on a regular basis.  And I am not saying these people are poor as in lacking wealth, I am saying poor as in, how sad.  I am sure there is a lacking of wealth but there is also richness in spirit.

That richness in spirit is something we could all use more of.  God is so great and really I think a large portion of the, “educated,” population of the world is aware of this but they ignore it…how sad is this.  I am not an educated person, as in I never went to college; however I have a great deal of life experience.  And I know Jesus!  This to me is worth everything.

People will say to me, how are you today?  And I always (or almost always) give them a very positive answer.  Because I am.  How can you not be great when you have Jesus? 

Proverbs 27:17 As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

My Pastor, on Sunday, stated, “I like me best when I am with you.”  Do you have any friends like this?  I do…

If you have children, these are the kinds of friends that you hope your children will end up with, however, they don’t always.  I have had experience with my children where I have had to say, okay, you may not spend time with this person or that person because you bring out the worst in each other.  Instead of iron sharpening iron, as in bringing out the best in each other, they dulled each other, and quite literally they dulled each others sense of what is good and right.  This is never a good thing.  So make sure if this is happening in your household right now, have a backbone and put a stop to it!

I am dealing with this in a sense right now, but I can pray.  When you have an older child who is struggling, (as in grown and mostly out of the house) you can pray and ask for our Lord’s help, He is the ultimate parent and He will now be the one to deal with things.  Oh boy!  Watch out!

It took quite a few years, but my oldest child now understands the old adage, “Birds of a feather flock together!”  So make sure that your child is flocking with the right birds.  Because sometimes, as they get older, it is hard to guide and protect them.  They believe that they can manage it all on their own.  And then when advice is asked for you may at times feel like you are spitting in the wind, but if you are asked you opinion, make sure that you give it, your advice may not be taken right away but perhaps it will be stored someplace safe for a time when it will be most needed.  And one final note, make sure that it is Godly advice, it only takes a half a second to say in your mind, “God You speak thru me…”

Go be a blessing to someone today.  And in answer to the bold words above, my friend is Jesus, keep Him always present as He is anyway, but behave and respond that way, you will be amazed at the difference it will make in your life! 

Sandy

How is Sandy affecting your life?  For me it is no electricity and somewhat inconvenient.  And needless to say I am not really enjoying this storm very much.  I am finding as I get older that I do not appreciate this kind of weather as much as I did when I was younger.  The wind didn't used to bother me at all, after last night hmmm!  It howled and hollered all night long.  I found myself lying there and listening to the pitch of the wind.  Waiting for it to go up in pitch meant it was blowing harder.  And I am at work so this is all you will be getting from me this morning...God Bless you and keep you all safe and sound in our Lords wonderful and Loving Hands.  Don't forget to go and be a blessing to someone today!

How Was Your Weekend?



Helping Pappy



This was a portion of my weekend.  My son Tim and his wonderful wife Celeste wanted to go car shopping and asked if we could keep these two wonderful grandchildren of their's...of course we said yes.

It is really pleasant to be around children who are respectful, don't you think..  These two little guys helped their Pappy to load up wood in the little wagon and then transfer it to the wood rack outside of the kitchen, so that it is handy and easy to get when we need it.  They were a wonderful help.  And of course Mam-Maw helped too by manning the camera.

And when they were finished helping Pappy, they helped Mam Maw to feed and tend to the goats.  And those pictures are on a camera that is not working with me this morning.

But we took the boys, all of them for a walk down to the creek; we are truly blessed to have the Bermudian Creek running not to far from where we live.  So since Mr. Louis (the dog) showed up, looking much less than the white he is supposed to be, he needed to go for a little swim in the creek and the goats, Starr and Comet seem to really enjoy this, and yes they do walk along beside me,  sometimes I do have to hold up a moment and call them to come along and they do.  They are very sweet and this weekend we even tried to have Madie ride them since she is such a peanut.  And they actually tolerated this just fine.  They just kept right on grazing.  Well after mom and dad picked them up we went to bed. 

Sunday of course was church, and this was the first service for our pastor since he and the team was away to Nicaragua. They will be having the testimonies from the trip on Saturday evening the third of November at 7:00 PM if any of you out there are close enough to be able to make it.  As my husband said you couldn't keep us away with wild horses.  The service yesterday was awesome as is every service, I am just amazed at the teaching in this church.    

I have to tell you about the teaching we had yesterday.  It was titled, "It's worth the Risk" and it is worth the risk, you might say what is worth the risk.  I'll tell you.  If you see someone that may not know who Jesus is and what He has done for them, it is our obligation to tell them about Christ.  And if they don't want to hear it, this is their choice but YOU have made the effort and can move on to someone else who may really want to know.  So that they do not spend eternity in a very, very uncomfortable location.

             

Now let me ask you this.  Do you have anyone in your circle of friends, coworkers, or just people that you are in contact with on a daily basis, who profess to be Christians...however...Do they behave as such?  I have people in my life who are professed Christians.  And yet they curse, and tell bad jokes (not around me).  Have you ever heard or seen the saying that if you were put on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence in your life to convict you of such?  Do you ever think of this?  I do. And I want to be convicted of being a Christian.  Don't you?  My earthly life will be and is such a minuscule part of my eternity.  Don't people see this?  I wonder...or do they just not think about it....I believe there needs to be firmer teaching of this in the churches.

Jesus paid such an incredible price for me. And He paid that same price for you.  Think about this, and I mean sit back and close your eyes (after you have read this) and just think about what our Lord and Savior did for us.  For these wonderful and blessed children who know about our Savior, because they have spent time listening to the word, from both their parents and their babysitter (Who is a Mennonite women and her family).  Do you teach your children about this...well...what are you waiting for?  No time like the present!

I would find it extremely sad to get to Heaven and find that because I hadn't taken the initiative, someone in my family has missed out, on being in Heaven...what kind of mother and/or grandmother and/or friend would I be?  That would make me so sad.  Just think about this.  So isn't it worth the risk to tell people what eternal life is all about.  Or help them to know what it is like to be a Christian?

Another thing that we were taught was that Love believes the best...it is wonderful to me how things work out.  Have you ever been around someone who has extremely bloodshot eyes?  What would be your first thought...That they have been up for 24 hours straight working or that they may be stoned?  I have in the past thought about them being buzzed, but I am trying with the help of a friend to see that perhaps their life is a bit difficult and that they have been up and working for a long enough period of time that they have bloodshot eyes.  We can think the best or we can think the worst, I find it humorous that sometimes I do think the best and yet other times I do not, why do I do this, it is a human condition that I will with my Saviors help fix.  I really only want to think the best of people period, don't you?

So don't forget that all the people you meet are worth the risk, just remember what it is that God did for us...By giving us the ultimate gift of His Son Jesus Christ... and you know it...go be a blessing.

Legacy Part II



My Little Samuel In a Modified Canoe.
About 1997

 Just in case you didn't read yesterdays post, this is what we are talking about:

What kind of legacy do you plan on leaving on this earth? 

How will your children remember you? 

How will your friends remember you? 

How will your electric company remember you? 

How will your church remember you?


Well yesterday I had to leave rather abruptly...but I am back...

We were speaking about how our children will remember us yesterday morning.  And I want to add one more item of remembrance to this list.

When my two youngest children where tiny tots they loved to cuddle with their mommy...and I am so thankful to God that they were like this.  My oldest child wasn't a cuddlier and unfortunately she was born into much different circumstances.  Actually she was an earlier chapter of my life, which I will tell you about sometime.  But I will tell you this, she is the best part of that chapter and I learned a lot in that chapter as well.  When Samuel was able to walk, which was I think right around a year old, he would wake up in the morning and if his daddy and I were not in bed, he knew he could find me in the living room in my rocking chair reading my bible.  He would come and climb into my lap, and listen to me read the bible to him while he had his breakfast.  Our children slept in the same bed with us.  And although it got a bit crowded at times it was always warm and cozy and filled with love.  Now there were times when they slept in their own beds especially after about three years of age.  But up to that point they mostly slept with us. And until they were each about three to three and a half this was our practice just about every morning.  And yes my children all nursed and they all nursed exclusively until they were a year old and then they were introduced to other foods, but we really didn't have much jarred baby food in our house.  Except Jonquil, my oldest she had tummy trouble and did nurse and did some formula as well.
So Samuel and Ruth were introduced to Jesus at a very young age.  And Jonquil was about 12, and since she had had a taste of the world she didn't really prefer the world of Jesus.  At least not right then, but she did enjoy and love her new little brother and then her new little sister.  So along with my sense of humor and my ability to listen, I think they well also and most importantly, remember that mom loves the Lord.

I think at looking at my list above I would probably have to say that my friends will also remember me in the same way,  They all know that I love the Lord, and that I have a sense of humor and that I can listen.  Oh and one other thing that both my children and my friends know of me...and this may not be a great thing.  I have a very low tolerance for crass behavior.  Now since I will guess that most of you do not know what this means I will tell you, the dictionary says: gross, insensitive, however you get a much fuller picture if you look at the online dictionary:

Definition of CRASS

1a : gross 6a; especially : having or indicating such grossness of mind as precludes delicacy and  

      discrimination

  b : being beneath one's dignity <crass concerns of daily life>

  c —used as a pejorative intensifier <crass flattery> <crass propaganda>

2: guided by or indicative of base or materialistic values <crass commercialism> <crass measures of   

    success>

— crass·ly adverb

— crass·ness noun

This is truly a kind of behavior I cannot tolerate.  And I am sure that this is as a response to the way that I was reared.  Oh well...I don't consider this to be a bad thing.  So when you come to visit me leave your potty mouth and your bathroom humor outside.  I think I just now figured something out about myself.  I also have very little tolerance of fake people or people we used to call nouveau riche.

Definition of NOUVEAU RICHE

: a person newly rich : parvenu

See nouveau riche defined for English-language learners »

Examples of NOUVEAU RICHE

1. <a nouveau riche who is reportedly using his money to buy his way into Palm Beach society>

Origin of NOUVEAU RICHE

French, literally, new rich

First Known Use: 1801

 

Well I do believe that most of you are getting a pretty good understanding of who and what I believe in.  And I truly hope that this is a good thing.

 

The next item on my list is "How will the electric company remember you?"  We are told in scripture to basically pay our bills on time...and while I know that this is what I am supposed to do, I must admit that I am not always the most on time person when it comes to paying bills.  I sometimes feel a bit overwhelmed and just stick my head in the sand.  Like an ostrich.  But I am working on this and trying to improve.  My God is patient and I know that He knows that I am working on this.  I want to be a blessing to all I come into contact with, and not just a few, so I even want to have a positive relationship with the electric company.  I am hoping that eventually they will even say, "She always pays on time!"

 

Ahhh, we have saved the best for last.  You know it says in scriptures that the first will be last and the last will be first... Matthew 20: 16 Jesus then said, “So it is. Everyone who is now first will be last, and everyone who is last will be first.”

How will my church remember me.  One thing is that I try to be involved but sometimes with life's demands I may fall short at times.  Last weekend we had our ladies gathering on Saturday morning and I missed this because I had a football game for one of my grandchildren...okay so I had to decide which one was more important at that moment and my grandson won out.  I try to do what I can, once every six weeks or so I help out in the nursery or I should say with the twos and threes.  Nursery is earlier that that in our church.  I don't really know how our church will remember me, I hope with love and kindness, and knowing that I do try to participate to my best ability.

 

Well I am going to go and figure out what I will need to purchase at the grocery store.  Tomorrow at church we are having a Harvest Party, and I am donating a child vest to be auctioned in the silent auction, and I have to make a cake or two, one for at home and one for the cake walk at church.  So if I have some time tomorrow I may stop back.  we are supposed to be getting so bad weather her in the northeast US, however I did ask my God to make hurricane sandy into a fish storm and I am going to stand on this prayer request.  However if we do get the storm, that doesn't mean God didn't hear me, it just means that He has other reasons for bringing the storm this direction. 

At any rate you all should know my schedule by now I am here Monday thru Saturday and if we would get the storm we may lose power and that may make it difficult for me to talk to you all.  So this one is a bit longer than some in the past and I hope you have enjoyed this writing today.  God Bless you all and I really hop I am back to you all next week.

Now you know I have to say it!  Go and be a blessing to someone today.

Legacy



I love you Ruthee!



What kind of legacy do you plan on leaving on this earth? 

How will your children remember you? 

How will your friends remember you? 

How will your electric company remember you? 

How will your church remember you?

Okay you say we are alive and busy we don't have time to think about these things...well make the time...and I am not saying to spend hours and hours on this, I am just saying to spend enough time on this, so that if your life is out of whack....you have time to put it back in the proper order. 

Isn't this a great picture...I hope it conveys the silly spirit that my Ruthee can sometimes have.  This is my baby, and I think I have given her a sense of humor, she does have the ability, to mostly, laugh at herself, although not always!  But at least most of the time...Hey Ruth remember the fried Chicken story?  As I sit and type this out I have to giggle at this story, and no I will not be telling it, sorry, but you probably wont find it as funny as it was in the original telling anyway.  But I will tell you another short story that I  you may find humorous...Yesterday, I was ready to walk out the door to go to work at 7:45, I thought I need my phone...where is it?  It is not by my chair...let's see I was in the bathroom...nope not there...I was in the closet...nope not there...I was in the laundry room...nope not there...I was in the kitchen...nope not there....Now I am really feeling frustrated.  I have rechecked my pockets in my pants, for the umpteenth time and it hasn’t miraculously appeared where in the world is it!?!   Well by now it is 7:52 and I have barely enough time to safely, get to work and still no phone...Where in the world did I put that thing down?   Okay, now first of all I have to tell you when I related this story to my husband he laughed, a nice strong belly laugh, and his boss was standing next to him and of course he had to tell his boss what was funny, so I figure I may as well tell you!
A few weeks back a very dear friend of mine had to answer her phone, and she stuck her hand inside the collar of her shirt and pulled out her phone.  She keeps her phone tucked under her bra strap, it is a perfect place to keep our phones ladies, it is so comfortable that you don't even realize it is there...Ha Ha Ha Ha...You got it...that was were my phone was.  When I got to the car I was sitting there totally frustrated and thinking to myself I had better send a text by email to my children and let them know Mom misplaced her phone.  And for who knows what reason I put my hand  up to my shoulder and low and behold there was my phone...I had to laugh at my self because I thought it was funny...do you have the ability to laugh at yourself.  Well of course the first thing I did was cal my wonderful husband and relates this to him and you know the end...sometimes the things I do...
In order to have a great sense of humor we have to be able to laugh at ourselves, can you do that?  I am pretty sure that my children will be able to say that about mom.  I on the other hand remember my mom as very stern and she hated messes, Oh, I don't think I know another person who hated messes as much as my mom.  Now to me, a mess is something you clean up and probably laugh about, the mess is already there, so don't sweat it laugh your way to the cupboard and get the paper-towels and clean it up, and thank God (literally) that it's not any worse a mess than it is!  And find the humor in it!
Anyone who knows me, knows that my favorite movie is either Pollyanna or (the original) The Parent Trap, both Disney movies, and both extremely clean, and extremely funny, and sweet, and filled with tender moments. 
The other thing I think my children will remember me for is that they could pretty much call me and I will mostly listen...do you listen to your children?  Oh boy I hope they will remember me for this...I know that as they have gotten older there have been occasions were they have called me and I have had to make it short, or I have had to call them back.  I really hate to have to do this, but unfortunately there are times, especially if we work outside of the home, were we have to do this.  It is somewhat difficult to tell your boss, a, could you hold that thought I have to take this call from my child, just incase it’s important...kinda of tough to do this...
Oh boy we haven't gotten very far on the list have we...I guess this will have to be a two or three parter.  And you are so right...go be a blessing!

Baggage, Do You Have Any?

Isn't this an awesome picture?  These are the feet of my daughter and her friends when they were going to their Spring Fling.  This is sort of like a prom without dancing.  Kind of sad that there was no dancing but understandable.  All of my children attended, mostly attended Christian schools.  Not necessarily completely, but for some time.  My two youngest went exclusively to Christian schools.  And I am thankful that they were able to do this. 

Now two days ago I started out speaking of baggage.  Just so we are clear...I do not feel that we as parents should beat ourselves to a bloody pulp because of the paths our children have chosen to take.  We can be the best parents we know how to be and give our children all that we think that they need and as they grow up and mature we might look at their chosen paths and think "Why God?"  Were did I go wrong?  I know personally that there have been times with my oldest and now my youngest that I have asked this question or perhaps at this point in my life I should say that I have started to ask this question and then I stop myself...First of all because they were only short lived and momentary points where I was going to ask this question, but then decided that it was my responsibilty any longer.

Okay, you say why did I stop myself?  Because I have finally figured out at the wonderful age of 55+  that their choices are not my choices, and that their choices are not even necessarily as a result of the way that they were reared!  They can't blame their choices on their baggage, their choices are simply that, they are their choices.

Now please don't think that my children are involved in all sorts of bad stuff...they are NOT.  They are simply put making some choices that I wouldn't.  And I can say that now because I am a little older than them and I have a few more years of experience than they do, and oh my goodness, I really hope I have a bit more wisdom, although this last point may not necessarily be true.  There is a lot of wisdom in my children in different areas than where I may have wisdom. 

So do you have baggage?  I do...do I blame my baggage for where I am to day?  And do I still carry my baggage with me?  Some of these questions, yes and some no.  First of all is all of our baggage bad?  I think that anything that we carry with us from our formative years whether good or bad is baggage, so it is not all good or all bad it is just baggage. 

When you go away on vacation you take a suitcase and you fill it with the items that you think you will need while you are away.  This is your baggage.

As you grow up you can look at a list of items and decide what you will carry along with you.

  1.  Singing to your children.   definitely pack this.

  2.  Hitting your children with a riding crop.   DO NOT PACK!

  3.  A sense of pride.  Pack just a small portion of this.

  4.  Being an alcoholic.  DO NOT PACK THIS!

Okay I think that this is enough.  And you can see were I am going.  We have to pick and choose what things we will take with us as we grow and mature.  And some of the really important things we don't even learn from our parents.  We learn constantly and what goes with us is our choice.  As I was growing up we didn't always go to church.  We were more of the Easter and  Christmas type of family. And that is so sad.  I do think that for the most part I did instill in my children a sense of love for God and for enjoying church, so at least this is in their suitcases.  And this is something that I learned after my parents, after I was out and on my own.  So you see our baggage isn't all bad and we don't get all of our baggage from our parents...we pick things up along the way as well.  Just don't hoard...please get rid of the bad things and don't carry them along with you.  They will not do you nor anyone else any good to continue to carry them with you, all they will do is weigh you down.  And we want to lift up...sing some praises, spend time in the word, and be thankful for who and what we are!  Go be a blessing to someone, anyone and get rid of the negative baggage, you needn't carry it with you any more.

  

Are You a Child of God, Part II



Winter, January 2011

 Can you tell that I just love to take pictures, and pictures of God’s creation. If you haven’t figured this out you will as you continue to come back day after day and see what I have to say. Do you see my Goats? Well actually they aren’t my goats, they are Gods, I am just their caretaker, God made sure I had them for my enjoyment, and believe me I do enjoy them.

Actually if you think about it…everything we have is the Lords. We own nothing! If you just think about this for a moment, this is pretty awesome. Wow! It is even inspiring, because…is there something in your life that you don’t take particularly good care of? Ugh! There is for me. And since Everything is Gods, aren’t we doing a disservice to God by not taking proper care of whatever IT may be? Oh phooey! I had better get my act together. I have a lot of things I need to improve upon.

Now if you are a child of God’s, and you spend just a moment, and think about the previous paragraph, I am sure that there will be at least one thing that you can put your finger on that really can use improvement. I can think of several. That’s why I said, “ Oh phooey!” If you can’t think of any, well then what are you doing here…you must be perfect and you belong up there with God!

There are so many areas of our lives to look at, like our homes, do they shine for Jesus? Now if you have children, I can understand, because your children are only little once. But what about me, my children and are all grown and out of the house, that is why I have a dog and two goats. My house should be spotless, it’s not! My kitchen sink should be empty, it’s not! My car should be clean inside and out, it’s not. I could go on but I am feeling so overwhelmed it’s not even funny.

Well I think when I am done with my writing to you this morning I will at least straighten up my desk…if I do one extra thing each day, then I can minimize what needs to be done. After all I am living for God! I want my Daddy in heaven to be proud and happy with me and with what I do. Hmmm “Kirsten, Kirsten…do you hear me?” Yes Daddy. “I just want you to know that I am happy with you! You have a good heart, and a servant’s heart… most of the time. And if your house doesn’t sparkle as does mine, don’t fret, I know that you have little free time and that when you do have a moment you will work on the responsibilities that I have placed in your care, Okay?” Yes Daddy, and Thank you for being there.


The Farm Next Door, January 2011


I do believe, one of the most awesome parts of being a Christian or child of God, or whatever you want to call it…is if you listen and are quiet, He will talk to you as He just did me. And they aren’t all amazing off the hook conversations, sometimes they are as simple as I just wrote out. Sometimes we just have to be still and listen…God will speak!

Well I really pray that if you can not pin point a moment in time that you asked Jesus to live in your heart, I really do ask you to do just that! It isn’t difficult to do and you will be amazed at the changes that will occur in your life. And believe me when you are true to God you will occasionally have tribulations, because the devil doesn’t want us to give ourselves to God, Life can be so sweet, when God is your Abba, your King, your Daddy, as He is mine.

I know, I know, I must go get ready for work and find someone to bless, how about you?

Are You a Child of God?



January 2011

 As we grow from infancy to young adult and then into old age we take many things with us...our baggage, if you would.  We learn so many things from our parents and acquaintances as we grow up; we pick and choose which items to carry along with us.  This is, I believe how we decide who and what we are and what we want to be...Now I will ask you are you a child of God?

If you say yes to this question, then I will ask the next question?  Are you a born again Christian...Can you remember a specific moment in time (not necessarily the date) when you actually said to God,  "I want Jesus to live in my heart."  I can, it was May 2, 1989 and I was in the bathtub getting ready to go to a revival meeting at Denver Bible Church, in Denver, Pennsylvania.    It was a very tearful moment between me and Jesus.  And it was a moment I will never forget.  If you can remember a specific moment in time, then I believe you are good to go...if however there is no specific moment that you can remember, and you just "feel" that you asked Christ to take up residence in your heart.  I want you to think about something.  Feelings can play havoc with us...and the truth is really what is important.  Now I am not doubting that you feel you are a Christian, but when you consider the absolute necessity of the truth, I don't think that I would take the chance.

This is my favorite tree!

Something that Pastor Don Wolabaugh said a few weeks back,"Truth is with us all the time, feelings not so much,"  Feelings are what give us a warm cozy feeling inside, however the truth of God is what will take us to Heaven.  Has a person, other than your husband, (or wife) ever said I love you, to you...and then some time goes by and you think about this and realize that, that person really didn't love you, and that it was just a feeling, a feeling that you can now see that this other person was play-acting.  It's really not very nice when people treat each other in this fashion.  But my point is this, that was a feeling and not a fact of truth.  Love is a choice.  You can choose to love someone or not. 

And this does go back to our baggage.  What you choose to bring with you from your growing up time and from previous encounters, helps us to decide what kind of person we will be. 

My growing up time wasn't always the most pleasant, but I don't choose to allow that to mold me, rather I have chosen some other paths to walk, because I don't want to walk down the paths that my mother and father walked down.  And I am not saying that all their choices were bad or good, mine are just different....My mother would never have been as bold as I am,  and that was fine for her, but not for me.  I think that we will continue on this path tomorrow.  And for now I will go and try to find someone to secretly bless.  How about you!

Do You Ever Complain?




Checking things out on the farm.

 First of all do you understand what it is to complain?

1: to express grief, pain, or discontent <complaining about the weather>

Yesterday in church the pastor who was preaching made this statement, “Complaining is the anointing of the devil, so if you want to elevate the devil, complain, and be a pain.”

All right now do we all understand what anointing is?

1: to smear or rub with oil or an oily substance

2 a: to apply oil to as a sacred rite especially for consecration

b: to choose by or as if by divine election; also : to designate as if by a ritual anointment <critics anointed the author as the bright new talent>

We are looking at 2b, in this particular instance.

First of all this particular statement caught my ear, because I don’t care much for complaining, I find it to be quite annoying.  Infact you might call it a pet peeve of mine.  I have always thought this way.  If you have a headache, go and take and aspirin or, a Tylenol, or what ever it is that you take, because complaining isn’t going to help your headache to go away.  And now that I have heard what Pastor Rick had to say, I do understand better why I have never liked complaining.  It is also a very negative behavior.  I may have done some negative things in my time, but I would have to say that that is not a part of my personality.  In fact I have to say I am a half full type of personality rather then a half empty.  How about you?

Do you look at things from a positive perspective or negative?

God = positive, and the devil = negative.

I think if you are a person who spends a lot of time complaining you are inviting hardship, dissatisfaction, and sadness into your life.  And I do not believe that those are things that we as Christians should want in our lives (this is what the devil wants for us).  What kind of example are we displaying to the world if all we do is complain, or even if we do it just a little bit, I can guarantee that those who are around you will see the complaining a lot faster then they will see all the good stuff that you do.  I think this is human nature to pick up on the bad, and it is also a habit that we can pick up if we ourselves aren’t careful.  It is very easy to see the bad and not even look at the good.  I really would rather look for the good in a person, but even I at times do struggle with this. (This is my Eve nature, showing its’ ugly little head!)

Alright who do you want to spend time anointing, God or the devil?  Well I for one will not spend time anointing the devil especially now that I have a much better understanding of what complaining really is….I am not going to do this!

I want to spend my time and my life glorifying God and not singing praises to the devil. 

God is so good to me and my family; I really don’t want to give any accolades to that other critter.  And I will no longer even mention his name.

If you think about this in the bigger picture, would you really rather spend time around positive or negative people?  Well I know what the answer is for me.  How about you?  When we think of a kind and loving and Godly person, do we ever consider that a complaining nature is part of their make up?  I don’t, that thought wouldn’t even enter my thoughts, those two natures do not go together at all, do they. 



Even my dog Louis is smiling and positive!



So today take a look at your nature and if you find yourself being negative and/or complaining about things…stop for a long moment if need be and resolve to stop being this way.  I so believe that you will find it quite difficult to be a blessing to someone while being negative.  So go and be positive and be a blessing.

Okay Pastor Rick I have expounded on one little statement that you made, that made a huge impact on me, and I thank you for this!

Gifts From God

We can see God all around us if we just look!

1 Corinthians 12: 4-18 Talks all about gifts, don't you like presents?  I do.

Have you ever considered the gifts that you, as one of God’s children was given?  The gifts that God gave to us are remarkable, and sadly, not used.  We have each been given gifts by God.  However if they are not used what good are they to us or to the rest of the people around us?  In verse 7:  But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.  In other words, we are each given gifts, but of what use are these gifts, if we don’t use them?



Purple for the King's royal robe, although
He will be wearing  white the next tim we see Him.

 About four or five months ago, my husband and I went to the alter at church for healing for someone else; we were standing in as proxies, for this person.  First of all I should tell you that this is done when the person in need of the healing is far away or can’t get there for what ever the reason.  So we went to the alter, and we received pray for this person, and then we went home and contacted this person and informed them of this pray on their behalf.  My husband noticed that his back wasn’t bothering near as much as it had been.  I mean…Tim would go to bed and sleep for just a few hours and have to get up, pretty much in the middle of the night because his back just hurt that much.  Each day after this healing, God helped Tim’s back to get better and better and better.  Tim is now able to sleep thru the night and get up in the morning and feel alive, rather than tired.

He is all around us!  All the time!

If we, as a people turn to God for all of our needs, instead of turning to the government for answers, as many do,  can you imagine were we would be today…..As far as healing goes we wouldn’t need Obama Care or any other Health insurance for that matter.

“Were ever two or more are gathered in my name, ask and it shall be given unto you,” Jesus said that!  So how pathetic are we….We have all the answers we need if we will but listen and do as God asks us to do.

It is really not that difficult to do.  Like I have told you before, don’t try, just do!

Well as much as I wanted to clean today some other things have come up and I will be doing them instead.  1. A first football game for Trenton. 2. Is a secret.  I am hoping to get some cleaning done between 1 and 2 and 3. Is a healing service tonight at church…I am going to that especially to stand in proxy for my daughter Ruth.  God is so good... and His people said…All the time!

Please go and be a major blessing to someone this day.

 

How Do You Feel About Ignorance



Harper's Ferry, West Virginia


Me personally, I don't like it one bit!  But I would really like it if you would think upon this for a moment or two, for there are several types of ignorance.
1.  There is the state of lacking knowledge.
And frankly I believe that that is what we think of most of the time when we consider using this word, however...
2. Resulting from or showing lack of knowledge or intelligence.
This is the one that I think of most often as well as the last one that states...
3. Unaware, uninformed. (As in not taught)


Now let's step back from this for just a moment.  When I was considering what to write about this morning, oh and I just asked God to guide this writing this morning, I should have done that before I started, maybe then I wouldn't have struggled at first, anyway what I was struggling with was...what pictures to use in this article. I have to have pictures that are somewhat related to the text.  So this is what I came up with. 

If you can't figure out the relevance of this I will tell you, do you know who John Brown was?  He was a man who intensely hated slavery.  And he and a band (group) of men attacked the armory that was originally built in Harper's Ferry.   Brown wanted to seize weapons to start an uprising to free the slaves in the south.  John Brown was an emotionally charged man, who believed very strongly that slavery was wrong.  I don't believe that John Brown was ignorant I believe that people who believe that they can hold another human being as "property" is ignorant.  So this is why I choose these pictures.

Harper's Ferry is one of the places that I like to go to take pictures.  But it is also a perfect example of the way that peoples minds can work.  It is very difficult for me to understand how one person can find it plausible to take another person captive, as in slavery.  During war time, this I can understand.  But these people were brought to this country for this express purpose and I find this to be ignorant.

When I say that someone is ignorant, I am generally not being very nice.  This is my way of saying that someone is treating someone else perhaps with indifference, placing themselves above that other person...to me this is rude. It is like fingernails on a chalk board, as we used to say, in other words it really gets my goat!  How people can choose to treat other people like this I have yet to understand.  Perhaps it is because of the way they were reared.  But to me, this is neither correct nor proper.  And it can be very demeaning and hurtful to the person on the receiving end.

I don’t like to see this kind of behavior in anyone, it makes me sad and I personally find it difficult to deal with, especially the few times that it has been aimed at me.  I consider myself to be strong enough to deal with most things, but when a person’s character is under attack and unfortunately this is generally the whole point of this type of behavior, it does one thing, and one thing only, it hurts people. 

However, I don’t think that when some people behave in this fashion, they realize that they are being so terribly hurtful.  If while reading this you see yourself and the way that you may behave at times, well I hope this will give you pause to reflect and change the way that you behave.  Especially if you call yourself a Christian, because you are helping to give us all a bad name and I don’t wish to have my name tarnished.  So buck up and change!

You know it ……. Go and be a silent blessing today.

Regrets, don't have them!

Do you live your life regretting anything?  Well I used to do that....But not anymore.  My relationship with Jesus Christ is to good and to powerful to worry about regrets.  (By the way, if any of you are wondering why I use such a large font...it's because I like it that way, it's much easier for me to see were I am.  Plus us older folks can see it more plainly!)

Time for a fun picture!  Can't you just hear the giggles as Comet sniffs Trenton's ear?  Boy oh Boy Trenton sure does love the goats.  When I told my husband we were getting two goats, he wasn't thrilled but when he sees how much the grandchildren enjoy them he doesn't seem to mind as much.  So this isn't a regret.  We are both glad we have them.



I think maybbe I should have put these pictures reversed.

 I have to say in looking at this priceless pictures, it is all worth it!

God really is great! Do you ever look at your environment and think how blessed you are?  I do this a lot.  Each morning that you get out of bed you have received a blessing from God, and I am not being trite.  Each day that you get into the shower or bathtub is another day to be cleansed of your sins (and dirt and sweat).  There are those that are much less blessed than we are.  We are given these blessing and we should not take them for granted, they really are a gift from God.

Now if I was speaking to my earthly dad, he would say no there not; they are a gift from Bobby,  so sad that my dad doesn't acknowledge his Heavenly Father...but there is always hope.  Hope that just the right circumstance will befall him and he will turn to Jesus, for there is no other way to the Heavenly Father but thru Jesus Christ.  I do not want to see any of my relatives end up in Hell, but then again I won't see them in Hell I will just know that they will be missing from Heaven.  

Last night at our women's group we had an amazing time together.  we shared so much "STUFF" and I mean "STUFF."  It was awesome. When you are together with like minded individuals it is amazing the love and support that is generated.  We all love each other in a wonderful way, such that we can bring anything to this group and we can talk it out and pray for just the right direction, sometimes the results will be instant and sometimes they will take a while to be seen, but we all have faith that change is coming as a result.  I don't think that my sisters in Christ live with regrets...this would be a waste of energy and time and none of us want to waste our time, because our time is prescious.  God is the giver of life and He wouldn't want us wasting our time or our talents,  whatever they may be.

Well everyone the time has come for me to hit the showers and get ready for work.  And maybe do a little something extra so that Saturday's load won't be quite so heavy.  Remember to be a blessing to someone today, and to not be rude, if someone gives you vinegar give them sugar back, and I will take my own advice as well!

Bloom Were You are Planted!

Doesn't this look lovely, it is really a shame it doesn't look like this now.  This has been one tough summer.  We here in York Springs, have received a lot of rain this year and it has made it extremely difficult to take care of the yard and lawn and gardens as they should be cared for.  Plus for some reason this summer, it seems as though we have been spread to thin.  And that is not a good thing. 

My husband and I are home bodies; we really like being at home.  We don’t need to go places, to be happy; we truly are a fine example of “bloom were you are planted.”  Just ask our children, these past few months it seems as if all we have been doing is going, going, going!  We do have a new grandbaby so that does account for some, and would we give that up, I think not!

We are also much more active with the church we are attending and boy is that wonderful.  I think that things will settle down a bit as the year draws to a close and that will be nice. 

While I have enjoyed being out and about, I really need to spend a day at home and clean!  Do any of you ever feel this way?

We are also much more active with the church we are attending and boy is that wonderful.  I think that things will settle down a bit as the year draws to a close and that will be nice. 

While I have enjoyed being out and about, I really need to spend a day at home and clean!  Do any of you ever feel this way?

Well I am making a decree, or a promise, that this weekend I am going to go out only for groceries and church and one thing that I am obligated to do on Sunday.
Saturday will be spent with dust-rags, and the sweeper, and the container of Lysol Complete scrubbies. (I love those things, they really work!)  And my house is gonna shine! 

Do you sometimes feel that while the rest of your life may be in order, sometimes you need to boot yourself into action to take care of some of the necessities that you maybe don’t really like to do?  I do!  When I was a child, and my sister can attest to this, we had to clean the house, top and bottom.  I cleaned the upstairs and my sister and mother cleaned the downstairs.  And if you didn’t do something correctly, you did it over again.  As I was growing up my first dad was in the army.  But I’ll tell you what, my Mother was the Sergeant!  She was definitely a task master, and in my estimation not always the kindest task master.  But her job got done, be that as it may, and I now know how to clean.  This is a good thing, because not everyone does.  Do I make cleaning the highest priority, no!  Because sometimes the grandchildren stop by, or I need to go and see one and I am sorry but to me this takes precedence.  I am sure that the dirt won’t go anywhere.  And unfortunately no one will come in and clean it for me.  So that leaves it up to me.

And even though I know it is only Wednesday I do believe I am going to end this in just a moment or two and go do something else for a little bit before I must get ready for work.  So make sure that your priorities are in order and get done the things that need to be gotten done, but remember, if you have children or grandchildren they really are your priority and the cleaning can wait.  They will only stay little for a short time.  So enjoy those moments!

You got it!  Go and be a blessing today!