Time....Blessings....Times of Blessings....

Have you ever considered how quickly time goes by...it seems when we were youngsters we thought that summer would never get here...I know I did!  I couldn't wait for the time of playing with my friends...we had a small group of us that spent a great deal of time together climbing trees, working on our hide out, playing in the tree house.  Oh there were a great many things we did to pass the summer away.

I was in many ways blessed as a child by the associations I had in the friends I had. Although there were times that my mother didn't feel I was being blessed....usually those were the times that I foolishly brought different behaviors home with me that were not acceptable in our house.  I had one particular friend when I was young that was a little bit disrespectful of her parents at times, not that she didn't love them, quite the contrary.  There was a ton of love in her household!  In a lot of ways there was a great deal more than in my own home....but let us remember that I was an army brat,  my natural father (before my parents divorce) was in the army, however it was my mother who was the Staff Sargent.  That being said,  we where taught to be prime and proper, we said yes mam, no mam, yes sir, and no sir...now I consider this carrying "respect" a bit to far to the extreme.  But back to where I was going...occasionally I would bring home some unpleasant behaviors and would be grounded from spending time with my friend...I didn't do that again to soon, because, I was much happier being with my friends than being at home in the summertime!

These were times of blessings for me.  But now as I am older I receive blessings in so many other ways.  This past weekend we had a youth conference at our church and it was quite awesome.  We had wonderful, anointed speakers.  In fact here are the direct lines to the three nights....
Night one.    http://www.harvestchapelpa.com/medialisttest/item/408

Night two.   http://www.harvestchapelpa.com/medialisttest/item/409

Night three.  http://www.harvestchapelpa.com/medialisttest/item/410

The first night was Brian Connolly, who is the father to one little girl and is going to be being a father again to two more little girls.  He is a very rich man.  And an amazing writer.  I was blessed to receive his book that he wrote titled "First Dance."

This book is awesome, on May 2, I will be celebrating my 24th birthday in Christ, and in reading the dedication, who reads these, some of us do, and I will from now on, I learned that I am in fact worth what Jesus did for me...I am worth the blood he spilled for my sins (and I will live for Him).  That I learned from the dedication.
Then in the forward I learned about the purpose of the wonderful music we sing as the"worship leader" leads the congregation to the throne.  I guess I never realized it but the worship leader leads...and therefore the worship leader must themselves be really right with God.  A quote from the book's forward, which is written by Nic Billman, "You can't give give what you don't have, or another way of saying that is, you can't lead others where you haven't gone yourself.  Once you know what is on the Father's heart for a particular service or time, then you know what to sing over the children."
Isn't that awesome.?  I thought that the worship leaders just got together a list of songs and sang, but apparently this is not so!

Oh phooey....I have run out of time.  But I will continue on with this tomorrow!

So go and take some time to bless someone today.

The Education of Our Children

The Education of Our Children!

How do we do it........coming tomorrow......well it is past tomorrow...a few days past tomorrow...my question is this, what do consider part of your children's education.?

Is it how well they do math?  Is it well they play football?  Is it how well they do science?  Is it well they write?  Or how about their studies in history, whether  US or world, let us remember that the education of our children is not just body and mind!  It is also spirit!

Proverbs 22:6 KJV

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old , he will not depart from it.

Do you remember when your child fell and skinned their little knee for the very first time?  Do you remember the pain that they were in?  Now I known that this may be difficult for you but this is important, multiply this  a hundred times, and this won't be enough.  That could be the kind of pain your child could be in if they die without knowing about Jesus.  Now the alternative is much more pleasant.  And the alternative is something that you as a parent can do something about.

Find yourself a good Bible teaching church...I personally would look for an independent church, although make sure their mission statement is biblical.  And make sure there are activities for not just the children, we as parents need to learn as well.  And if you have skills with people, maybe you could qualify as a teacher.  

There is so much more to be said about this, but my primary point for today is do not forget about educating all three parts of your children's being...body, mind and spirit.

Well it is time for me to go for today, but don't forget to be a blessing this fine God given day.

and There Goes the Baton.......

Psalm 38:15

For in thee, O Lord, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God.

What a wonderfully blessing filled verse...this verse has so much love and promise in it....in order to have hope in the Lord, you would have to have the full knowledge, and accepting knowledge that God is there and that God does hear what we say, and, what we say to Him.  Did you catch that.  God hears everything we say, whether we are speaking to our friends, our enemies, our family, or to Him!

And He hears our laments, and He wants to answer us...just listen.  When my son Samuel was about 14 or 15, I had asked him if he had prayed about something, and he said to me, Mom I did pray, and people pray alot, but they also need to listen!

Samuel is now married and has a wonderful family of his own....and I am pretty sure he is frequently listening for what God has to say to him....Samuel was also my runner.  He loved to run! And not short distances. He did cross country in college, and those races were usually about 4-5 miles....not something I could have ever done.  And when he was in high school, he ran track.  When you are in a relay race it is not only important to run quickly but it is also vitally important to hand off the baton very carefully.  Not handing off properly can lose the race for your team.  We are sort of in a relay race, God has handed us His baton and it is now up to us to hand it off correctly.

And don't forget, once you have handed off a baton, you need to then cheer on that runner (mentor).  And look for the next race!

Time to get ready for work and to find someone to bless. How about you?

And it is soon time to hand off the baton...

I am not in this race by myself...and anyone who thinks he is, is a fool.  Now I am not going to be negative...just realistic.

1 Corinthians 9:24

Know ye not that they which run in a race, run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.

Let's just taken a gander at this verse.  The first half of the first sentence talks about running in a race...when you run in a race, you don't run at the back of the pack, if you are able to run in the front of the pack, you run at your best speed.  The verse says that they run all which means they run their best, they run all out!  Then it goes on to say that you should run in such a way as to be able to acquire the prize...so run a good race...now I want you to consider...what is the prize...is it a trophy?  Is it a ribbon?  Is it a nice cake?  Ahh no, the prize is so much better than any of these things....it's knowing that Christ lives in you....and you are living for Christ...you no longer live your life for you, you live your life for Christ.   Now I don't want you to think that this life is easy....it is not!

There is a kind of cross country race, that involves navigation and a card that needs to be punched, by the runner as he completes the course, and with each point of punching his card there is a new set of directions telling the runner the direction he needs to go.  Now remember this is not on a track....oh no this is up hills and down hills and over rocks, and I am not talking little stones, I am talking about boulders the size of a house, and over creeks and thru creeks...and at each point a new punch is in your card.

Okay this is sort of what it is like to be a Christian...it is not an easy walk, or should i say run, but imagine the end of the race....this verse says it all....

Hebrews 12:1

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

Do you feel that there are times in your life that you are encompassed, or surrounded by people who may be non-practicing Christians?  That is what the writer of Hebrews, I believe, is saying to us, there are those that would have us to walk as they walk, I will not!  I want to walk as Jesus walked.  I will be around these people, but I want to behave as Christ would have me to behave....and this isn't easy....and I have a long way to go...but I will continue in the race and I will look for the baton to be passed on to me and I will continue to run this race...tomorrow we will run the next leg of the race.  But for today won't you work hard at running this race with me?  Please be a blessing to someone this day, won't you?

We are still in the race....

What does God want for us?  And what does God want from us?  Have you ever thought about these questions.

I think, if we are honest, we would have to admit, that there have been times in our lives, when we have said, "cmon  God, what do you want from me?". And the simple answer is..."I want the best you can give me, not Harry's best or Joanna's best, I want your best.  I want you always to give to me your very best.  No short cuts...your very best.  And remember I see everything, always...I hear everything always, I see what you are seeing before you even look at it!  I know the direction  your feet are going to walk before you even walk there.  Guard yourself always!"

Isn't our God amazing?  Psalm 84: 11 no good thing will God with-hold from them that love Him!  (The exclamation point is from me....)

Psalm 119:105. Thy word is a lamp until my feet and a light unto my path.....Guide ME Lord!

I know this is a bit short, but God would have me doing some other things at the moment....so that is what I am going to do. Please be a blessing and mind God, obey Him....He only wants our best. And He only wants to give us the best.

More tomorrow....

Finishing the Race!

Well I known I haven't been here for the last few days...I have managed to spread myself to thin!  Imagine that...have you ever done this? No I guess I am the only one.

If you all have been reading my blog for a time you should know that frequently I write about or re-hash my weekend and...that's right I am going to do that today!

Friday was busy as usual with helping out at Daddy's House and then a few errands and then home.  And busy bee at home.  Saturday morning we got a call from our son Samuel, he wanted to know if we were busy in the evening...I said we were considering going to church, but what did they need?  No that's okay mom he said...urrrrgh!  When our children call and ask if we have plans...we don't stay home all the time...we are busy sometimes...but when the children call we almost always avail ourselves to them, because that is what we choose to and want to do!  I say generally because there are times when we have to say...sorry but we can't this day or that day....this very thing just happened the other day...this weekend coming up, we are going to two of our grandson's baseball game....two little boys in one family are on the same team, and then their older brother and another one of our grandson's is in a performance that evening at the Strand-Capital Performing Arts Center in York, Pennsylvania.  So since we had already made plans for one set of grandchildren, we were unavailable for another set.  These things occasionally happen, not to often, but occasionally.  So long story to tell you that our currently youngest grandchild, came for a visit so that mommy and daddy, could go out to dinner.  Boy did we have fun with this little guy, Levi is his name.  What a sweet little baby.  And boy is he active.  We finally put a children's video on the TV and the he was still for just a couple minutes...I put on a video titled "Flo". A wonderful group of stories, by Max Lucado, a series that is part of Hermie and friends...and yes these are Bible based stories...that's the best kind to have and they really are the favorites of the children.

So that was our Saturday evening...then church on Sunday morning... wow...we have an awesome pastor...you know I spoke to you all about being spread to thin last week, and on Sunday, Pastor Wolabaugh  spoke to us about finishing... and I am sure that you all are aware of one of the problems of being spread to thin is that you tend to have a lot of things that aren't finished....so I made a list...because I want to be a finisher...please don't think that I am generally not a finisher, because I usually am.  But there are things that I do need to finish...sewing and knitting projects, mostly.  So far I have a list of eight items I must finish...and they are actually items that I do work on, I sort of rotate what I am working on...I knit for a bit then I crochet for a bit...so they are being worked on, but I think I need to just finish one at a time....so that is what I intend to do...the item I am going to finish first I can't at this moment tell you what it is, because it is a present for a grandson who hasn't arrived just yet and his mommy hasn't seen it yet.  So it's a secret.

It is amazing just having made a little list, I feel more in control of my self made confusion.

A little rabbit trail...as my children were growing and learning, I taught them that they were only allowed to have one toy out at a time...and if they wanted to play with something else, they needed to put away their first toy...this was a little tough to grasp at first.  But they eventually got it!  Confusion in your surrounding, breeds confusion in your mind.  It is much easier to stay focused when you have direction and less clutter.

And for me just making a list has helped...then I can cross things off as I have completed them...

I have really gotten off track but it will all come together, I promise.

I have run out of time but I will be back on this topic in a bit, so go find someone to bless and consider what you may need to finish!

Is the Icing Spread to thin?

Do you like icing? I do! I actually love icing.  To me I would rather eat a pretzel dipped in butter cream icing than eat a candy bar.  Now please don't misunderstand, I am not a sugar addict.  But if I am going to eat something sweet, I want what I want, not what somebody else wants.

Anyway that is enough of that rabbit trail....when you eat a piece of cake....do you like a piece of cake with a lot of icing or a little icing?  I like icing...okay that is established....however to much of anything is to much!  Do you remember the saying of not spreading yourself to thin. (Like the icing on a cake) I am sure if you are a parent you have already told your children not to spread yourself to thin...in other words...limit what you commit to.  It is important to ask the Lord to help you decide what it is that you are committing to.  It is important to ask the Lord to help you with every decisions you make ....our Lord wants us to be his sweet savour....in other words..when we live our lives according Gods will for us, (first you must discern prayerfully, what is Gods will for you)...there will be times of sacrificial living, in other words, when you are doing something for someone else, that you may not particularly want to be doing, but you are doing it anyway, because you can see plainly that it needs to be done....this is a sacrificial act on your part.  God of course would be happier with you if you did what ever this thing is with a happy and pleasing spirit.  

We need to everything as if we are doing it for God.  When you cut the grass, don't think of it as your grass or your neighbors grass, think of it as God's grass...do whatever you do as if you are doing it for God.  And oh I missed a spot..oh well no one will notice...oh yes they will...remember if you are doing everything as unto God, then do it that way.

Remember God is everywhere and in everything and sees and smells and knows everything...and yes I know this is huge.....and a little tough to wrap our minuscule brains around, but you can do this.....

I want to be a sweet savour to God, don't you?  I know that this little machine doesn't recognize this word, savour, because it keeps getting a red line under it. Oh well, this is in the King James Version of the Bible and that is good enough for me.

Alright I need to back up a bit...if we are going to do everything as unto God, then we have to limit ourselves just a bit.  If we put to much on our plates we will not do everything to the best of our abilities, it will not be possible, because we are not omnipotent!  So limit yourselves if you must.  Pray about what needs to go or needs to be condensed...and what can stay....

Ephesians 5:2

And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

Be that sweet smelling savour for God, do all things as if you are doing them for God and God alone!

Now in order to get the things accomplished that I need to accomplish I must continue onto my next task....pictures.  I need to get some pictures of a lovely young lady finished up....so go and be a blessing to someone today, and as you are being that blessing, just consider that your are actually blessing God!

The Goodness of God

Psalm 52:1

Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually.

Man is a mischievous being, but God constantly shows us His goodness.

Romans 2:4

Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

God is so good to us, He leads us to Himself, but He doesn't force us! And He teaches us to repent.  As a young person that I am getting acquainted with told me,"the essence of serving my Savior, the hardest and most and best I can.". In other words, I believe he wants to serve God with everything he is.

Romans 11:22

Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. 

I believe this verse is pretty much self explanatory. Live according to God and reap the rewards,  don't live according to God and you will also reap these rewards or should I say lack of rewards.

2 Thessalonians 1:11

Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power:

In this last verse we see Paul speaking to the Thessalonians, and telling them that he and his friends would be praying always for them.  And reassuring them that God is with them always.   And that God finds them worthy of His calling on them and on their lives...remember they were in jail at this time...but even though they were in prison, God was still with them....and that He heard their prayers.  We have God with us always, if we would only just accept His presence and allow Him to BE in our lives!

God's goodness isn't hard to see or find. It is there, yay God!  As it says in our first verse, God's goodness endureth continually...it is always there, and always there for me (and you).

Now go and be a blessing.....

Successful Christians continued from 4/9/13

What is success?  Yup you know it...let's see want Merriam Webster has to say:

Definition of SUCCESS

1

obsolete : outcome, result

2

a : degree or measure of succeeding

b : favorable or desired outcome; also : the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence

3

: one that succeeds

wow I didn't see that one coming.  I can't figure out where the first definition comes from.  I can't imagine success being obsolete....hmm maybe there is an English scholar out their that could leave a comment to explain this to all of us.

But while I was looking at the related writings on this page I saw this...."

Chezyown Ybyby
SUCCESS IS THE PROGRESSIVE RELIZATION OF A WORTHY IDEAL WORKING TOWARDS A PREDETERMINE GOAL.........

Well considering that I do not know this person, I must first of all say Thank You, for this word, plus I do not know if he is a child of God.  But in reading this I have to say that this so completely tells what the goal should be for all Christians.

Isn't our goal to be miniature Christ's, so this would be the predetermined goal, that we should be seeking after....and when we first become Christians since we have this as our goal, or we should have as our goal...and since being a Christian is such an ongoing and long learning process, I feel as though this gentleman has so succinctly stated our ongoing progression of walking with Christ.  What could possibly be a more worthy ideal? 

You know I will soon be celebrating my 14th birthday in the Lord...and I am still learning new aspects of being a Christian and what it means to be a Christian.  This morning already I have learned two separate things.  The first being I have been speaking into having aches and pains....I will explain...on Saturday I was weeding in the front of our house....and I got up to where our bedroom is and the air conditioner was there and I straightened up under the corner...needless to say the old man kicked in and while I didn't say any bad words...I should have said God take away this discomfort and heal my head right now in the name of Jesus...amen.  But I didn't!  And by Monday my hair hurt, where I bumped my head....no more...I speak, not good health, but excellent health over myself and my loved ones...how else can I or we possibly be of the best use to our Lord?

My God is so good I want to be able to serve Him always and to the very best of my ability!

The second thing I learned goes back to positioning....by this I mean...putting myself, especially my mind set, in the correct place always, to hear what God is saying to me, and doing what God would have me to do...this past Sunday at church, God told me to tell someone very specifically that they are blessed,  now please understand, this was the first time that I audibly heard God telling me to do such a thing as this, and it wasn't that easy to do...but I did it...I do not and did not know this person, but I did tell him he was blessed and that God had told me to tell him that...I am curious why, but it isn't necessary for me to know...what is necessary is obedience to God.

Now it is time to find someone to bless...who will it be...hmmm....

What is Your Temperature?

So yesterday I asked you if you are lukewarm?  I do not want to be a lukewarm Christian!
Being a lukewarm Christian is like living of this gray world, no matter what time of the year it is, if it is springtime and the colour of the world is turning lush and green, it is still a gray world.
Or imagine yourself standing over a low fence, one foot is in the world that we currently have to live in, and the other foot is in the heavenly world of Christianity, but still on this planet....

Revelation 3:16 NIV
So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

So do you want to be spit out?  Think about this?  Because if you are spit out , where will you land?  I can't imagine you will land someplace nice...yuck...what a repulsive thought.  Okay I am going to get graphic.  

Imagine you are walking down the street one day...

     and there is an elderly man walking ahead,  

          he coughs, 

              he sputters, 

                    and hocks up a big one.  

                           Where does it go? 

                                   On the sidewalk, I suppose...

Now I am sure that Jesus is not an unkempt elderly man, but I am sure that you get the picture.  This is not in any way shape or form a comforting thought!  

So now again, I will ask you, what's your temperature?  I want nothing more than to be on fire for my God and Savior! 

I have quite a few friends, acquaintance, and relatives that are on "Facebook," and a lot of them are professing Christians...and the main reason I started a FB account was to stay in touch with family and friends...however what so many people fail to realize is that the picture postcards that they copy and paste to Facebook, may not always be from reputable places...I had one on my page and my son pointed out to me that it came from a group that has a lot of very distasteful posts and there is a little tiny, but legible moniker that has a word in it that I have only rarely used,  but I have used it, I am terribly sad to say.  Needless to say I removed it quickly!  But back to my point.  When you post something on Facebook, it is there for all the world to see. 

If you go to someone's home page and see distasteful post, it is frankly quite easy to see who is walking with one foot in the "world," and one foot in Christ's world.

It is really quite easy to see.  I have gotten to the point that I have changed the way that I see what is going on, on FB.  I receive notifications that someone in my circle of friends has posted something, I can the click on the notification and see it, but it doesn't show up on my home page or on my news feed.  And you can quickly peruse and see if this is something you should read.  It maybe something you want to read, but do not fall into the trap of Satan.  You can tell if it is something distasteful or off colour.  Quickly remove your eyes from what they are looking at!

I can look at someone's FB page and see who of my friend's really need prayer for walking with one foot on one side of the fence and one foot on the other side of the fence.  Or by walking in a gray world rather then in God's black and white world!  Or who is lukewarm and about to be spit out!  Yuck!

Well I really hope I have touched someone's heart today.  And/or helped someone to realize that maybe they need to walk differently.  And I am going to get my breakfast, and get ready for work, and find someone to bless!  How about you?

Wonderful Few Days...and more to come...

Good morning, Good afternoon, Good evening, or maybe I should just say Good Day!

How was your weekend?  Mine was busy, I worked hard, and enjoyed every minute of it!

Right now I am still off from my regular job on Fridays, and although it is a bit difficult financially it is wonderful to have the extra time to give to Jesus.  I go to church and help, wherever I can.  This weekend I was privileged to be able to clean up the weeds in the flower beds.  By the time my husband Tim had arrived and we finished up, Tim took a look at some things that need to be accomplished so that he can be prepared to do do them, when he stops in again.  We then went to Hanover and did a few errands.  By that time it was time to go home.

Saturday was another busy day...I was supposed to drive over to Reading with a dear friend to visit another dear friend...but this didn't work out...but it will happen the next time I plan it.  So instead I made some bread for my husband's lunches or whatever.  I made a little gift for  a new baby that will be here soon.  I weeded my flower beds all along the front of our house.  Cleaned up my kitchen...played with my goats and the dog a bit.  And started the hemming of a jacket for my husband...it was a very busy and productive day....

Then Sunday, oh what a wonderful service, not that other's aren't, but our Pastor has been away on a bit of a vacation and there was the couples retreat...so it has been a few weeks since he has preached to us...but I'll tell you what...the Preacher was in the house yesterday....AMEN!

What an awesome lesson....in Romans 8: 28....all things work together for good, for them that love the Lord....and just what this means....Pastor Don started out and then kind of stopped and brought back some of the worship team to sing a song that one of our very talented worship leaders wrote....some of the words are as follows:
         
          I wanna know you God
          I wanna see the way you see
          I wanna hear what you are saying
          I wanna know you God
          I wanna know you God

Then Pastor Don went on to teach us about seeing ourselves thru the lens of who we were created to be, by God.  God wants us to see ourselves through His lens, so that we may strive to be what He created us to be.  Each and everyone of us is created with a Godly purpose.  And if you aren't walking with God, you are not able to walk in the path that He created for you....how terribly sad is that?

But God, there are those two words again,  can sneak up on you and get your attention...and it may not be in a way that you want, but God will get your attention.  Pastor Don say Jehovah Sneaky,  I just love that little phrase...it just makes me giggle...Jehovah Sneaky will sneak up on you, He does what He needs to do, to get you where you need to be.

So once God has gotten your attention it is time to get radical...now unfortunately this word has become associated with some pretty bad stuff...but the way we are using this word here, is not in any way, shape, or form, bad stuff.

As in radical obedience to God.  Or you could actually say complete and total obedience to God.  God doesn't want us to come to Him Luke warm. He wants us to come to Him, on fire for Him!  Are you on fire for Jesus?  And I think that we will continue on this same note tomorrow...so for today, go and find someone to bless!

A Slippery Slope....Part II

Acts 16:32-36

New King James Version (NKJV)

³² Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. ³³ And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. ³⁴ Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.

Yesterday I said to you about have a family meeting and do some reclaiming...do you understand this?  To me reclaiming is to take back.  To take back something that may have been lost....when I look back on my young life, it would have been good if my natural father, would have done just that.  But that is a story for another time.  For right now I want to tell you a story I heard the other day....

          A little girl came home from school one day
          and she asked her mother
          can  I ask a friend to come over to play...
          the mother said yes, and the phone calls were made
          for the little girl's friend to come over and play.

           The day finally arrived and to the mother's surprise...
           The little girl asked her a question, oh my...
            She said to her Mommy,
            Could you please say that you are my step mom,
            instead of my mom this day?

            Hmmm said the mother
            and why oh why?
            Cause nobody has a real mom
            you see.....
                           By Rebecca K Smith

Do you see how great our God is?  He just gave this to me....Thank you Jesus!
You are welcome!  

This little poem or whatever it is called is a true story, and I do not know about you, but this is a very sad take on our society today.  So what might you reclaim in your family?

How about starting with your relationship with your spouse?  My husband and I have kisses every morning before he goes to work, and hugs as well.  And sometimes we do this when I walk into the kitchen in my jammies.   My husband gets up at 3:00 to 3:30, has his coffee, takes a shower, eats his oatmeal, and then wakes me with a kiss.  It may then take me a minute or two to get my eyes open, but I get up and come and make him his lunch...people say why don't you pack his lunch the night before....I think that sandwiches or whatever, don't quite taste the same when they have sat in the refrigerator overnight.  So, I wouldn't want it, what would make me think that he would want this?  I set up his oatmeal the night before and that is good enough for the night before.  When we still had children living in the house they new this and they saw the love and affection that exists between husband and wife.  And this is a really important thing for children to see...of course within reason.  Children need to know that their parent's love each other.  And that they are on the same page!  This is really important too!

I heard something else said the other day between two parents...the father asked the mother, are the children going to go with you? And the mothers response was if they want too.  I let them decide.   I am sorry, but I don't believe that children should be the ones to decide, we are the parents, not the children.  We need to stand up and be parents.  And we need to be good and kind and loving to our spouses...not ignorant and arrogant.....oh I see so much of this some days and it makes me feel sick...when a man works very hard for his family and it is not appreciated by the wife/mother and children...grrrr!  And what is really sad, this is teaching the sons to be the same way with their future wives and it is teaching the little girl to be ignorant and arrogant to her future husband. Parents, buck up and love each other and do it in such a way that your children can see it!  Remember they learn what you teach them and what they see....okay so this is one thing to reclaim!

Another thing to reclaim is your involvement with your children, if your child plays sports, then you need to participate in someway with your child.  Be involved in their lives...whether they want you to be or not.  I know there were times when I showed up as a chaperon and my daughter was not particularly happy about it, but you know what, she got over it and had a good time.  And if I had it to do over again I would have been even more involved.  This is so important for a good relationship with our children.

If you aren't sure about how to do this there are plenty of good resources out there to help you learn....take the time to do this, because you are investing in yours and your children's future.

The slippery slope is what you want to avoid and, unfortunately the government these days would be happier if you were totally on the slippery slope and giving up all your rights to everything, but I will not be doing this, I want my family to live according to what the Bible says...after all the Bible has been around a lot longer than has our government.

So reclaim your spouse, and reclaim your children, and have a happy life!  Don't let life just happen, be a participant and be an example!  Believe it or not, your actions are observed by all that see you...I have been informed that my husband and are the "cute couple." When I first heard this I was a little taken aback, but then I realized that this was an awesome compliment,  and I am glad that that is how people see my husband and me.  Now I want to make sure that we are the cute couple all the time. (I think I was taken aback because I thought this was a term used for older couples,  guess what we are an older couple!  It is amazing how things like this creep up on us...)

Well it is 6:40AM and I have a few things to accomplish before I go to church so....Go and be a blessing...

A Slippery Slope.....Part I

How's your family?  Is it doing well?  If your family is doing well that is awesome, if it's not, maybe you need to have a family meeting and let your children know that there is going to be some reclaiming going on and it may be a little uncomfortable for a while, but in order to save your family from the slippery slope....it's necessary.

Have you noticed that lately in our society sin is becoming more prevalent than is the good and Godly behavior that we should all be striving for.

Now for your children or if you are a younger person who has stumbled upon this blog...you may be thinking that you don't really want to turn things over to God, that won't be any fun...guess again...there was a time in my life that I thought pretty much that way.  But once I did turn my life over to Christ, I soon found out that the way that I had been living was not any were near as much fun as I now have as a Christian.   And what is really wonderful is that I now feel good about my life rather than sometimes thinking to myself, "Hmmm, maybe I shouldn't be doing what I am doing..."

Well I know that this is short, but I really want you, that are reading this, to consider your own circumstances, think about your life, if you have a family, think about your family, and decide if there may be a necessity to think about the slippery slope that you all maybe on and what you as parents maybe able to do to adjust the direction of your family.

So think, think, think, and go be a blessing!  We will continue this tomorrow after you have had a chance to consider some of these things.

Yay...more Easter Pictures...Are You Ready?

Baby Levi and Aunt Celeste...Levi is almost 7 months old and Celeste is....

My baby, Aunt Ruthee holding Celeste's baby, Madie Grace.

Ryan, Celeste and Tim the II's, son, who is quite an athlete!

Ryan, boy what a great picture Jen.  Good subject matter, but a really great picture!

Trenton, who is the six year old son of Scott and Andrea.  And Scott and Andrea will be blessing us with another grandson in a few short weeks!

This is Jacob, another great athlete.  We have lots of very  athletic children in our family. 

Michael, Jacob's little brother and another great athlete...our family is truly blessed!

Samuel, who is married to Mary, and the parent's of Levi.  Samuel is our soccer player!

Michael, Madison on Aunt Ruth's hip, and Ryan's red ball cap can just be seen behind Ruth, Jacob, Trenton and Josiah, who is Ruth's friend, and an extra son.

The back of little Madison, and Aunt Ruth checking on how many eggs, they have!

Aunt Celeste, Levi, and Levi's mommy, Mary!

Trenton, Ruth, Madison, and Josiah.

Levi and his daddy, Samuel.

Levi and Aunt Andrea, holding onto the wiggley worm, Levi!

Michael and Madison 

Who says boats are just for fishing and bats are just for baseball...Ryan, Laine and Trenton are in the boat and Jacob is on the ground...

of course my goats joined  the gathering, they are Comet and Star!

Comet, Jacob, and Jacob's daddy, Michael.

Daddy Michael with Jacob and Star and Comet!

Jacob with a wonderful look of surprise!  Love it!

Little Madison, with her cousin Jacob, feeding Star. 

A curious steer and Michael!

Madie, running up to the farm, up the road from our house.

This truly is the all American picture!

Madie climbing on a farm fence.

Mam-maw (me), Madie and baby Levi!

Louis, the dirty and smelly dog, do you see the dirt on his neck...that is cow poop, very smelly, needless to say, he had had a bath before he came in the house!

Prince Louis of Ruby Chocolate, that is his paper name.

What a crew? Michael, Ryan, Michael, Samuel...

Trying to take Tim down...do you think it will work? Ryan, Daddy Tim and Michael.

Samuel, Mike, Ryan, grandson Shea, Michael's head and Tim's back...playing football!

Son Scott...we have big guys in our family!

Two more big guys, Trenton at Six is off the worry charts as is Shea who is 17 or18....

Trenton with his tape measure from the shop....I think he is measuring the field.

Tim and Ryan standing and Michael sitting and taking a breather!

Uncle Michael pretending to gorilla groom Madison!

Jacob at the piano...so dear to my heart!

Once again you are seeing a part of my wonderful family...how ever I see there is not a good picture of Pappy and his grands...we will have to remedy this!

A huge Thank you, once again to Jen, an outstanding photographer.  You once again out did yourself...Thank you Honey...you have blessed me so much with these wonderful pictures.

Now it is time to go and find someone to bless, how about you?

Successful Christians

Are you a successful Christian? I was watching the 700 Club this morning and this question popped into my head.  I thought this was an excellent question...So what is your answer to this question?

What makes for a successful Christian...let's look at John 4 and the story of the Woman at the Well....

⁵ So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. ⁶ Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

⁷ A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” ⁸ For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.

⁹ Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.

¹⁰ Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

¹¹ The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? ¹² Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?”

¹³ Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”

This is probably the best example I can show to you...we as Christians are to spread the gospel...isn't this exactly what Jesus is doing here?  Do you show others what the Bible means to you on a daily basis?  We as a people can be trite at times, and I do not think nor do I believe, that this is what our Savior could possibly want from us!

"I think" that God wants us to live our lives according to what God want's for us, not necessarily what we want.  Now there are those who are able to do both!  How awesome would that be?  But for those of us who do not have that wonderful life, we may have to work a little bit harder at figuring out the direction that God wants us to go.  God wants us to be successful Christians....are you willing to find out if you are being a success?  And a success for God? 

There are days when I start to talk to you all and I really wonder what direction I need to take, and there are times that I reread what I have sent out and I can't help but think, thank you God, because I don't feel necessarily that the words are from me..I firmly believe they are of God.  We may continue on this tomorrow, but for today go out into this wonderful world and be a blessing!

The T. A. Smith Family Easter Gathering of 2013

Lots of pictures today... so enjoy our Family.....

Pappy putting the finishing touches on the little gifts that we made for the grandchildren.  They are simply small crosses with air dry clay stones around the bases to help them to remember what it is that Christ did for us.

Levi visiting with the Girls, especially Aunt Ruthee, who doesn't get to see him to often.

The boys and one little girl, outside looking for Easter eggs...

Still Looking ..... (I think there were about 60 eggs total.)Whoops, there is Maddie, in the blue-green shirt.

These are the mommies from left, we have Jen, with another camera, her pictures will come later, then we have Andrea, who is due to have another little one in 4 weeks, and then we have Mary...the little guy with his back to the camera is Trenton, he belongs to Scotty and Andrea.

This little guy is Michael.

This bigger guy is Grandson Shea, and Pappy is on the porch!

Mary, Jen, and Aunt Celeste is holding Levi, the baby for the moment!

Doesn't this remind you of the Pied Piper.....

From the left...
Ryan,
Josiah,
Trenton,
Laine,
Michael,
and
Jacob....Some how Madison didn't get into any of these pictures...Jen, help, what have you got?  I did find one of Maddie back up a ways! Whew!

Levi enjoying sitting on the floor enjoying a toy!

Well everyone as you may have guessed we don't celebrate our family holidays on the holidays....it is just to hectic for all concerned, so we have our gathering, usually a week later...it is much more fun that way.

It is time to get ready for work and to have some breakfast, so go and be a blessing to someone today!