I'm still smiling....

 

Here we are. -- Dec. 31, 2011.   I've been reading alot of tweets, posts, and blogs about how so many are glad to be saying "good-bye" to 2011.  Everyone's ready for a fresh start with 2012.  I guess it's easy to look back and think of the difficult times and be glad for the calendar to change over and put the past behind us.  2011 definitely brought some trials, sad moments, and difficult times, but when I look back on the pictures I took, I realize I was smiling ALOT.  It reminds me that I have OH so much to be grateful for. 

I have a loving family.  Supportive friends.  A roof over my head, food on the table, happy pets, vehicles that take me places so I don't have to walk everywhere.   I may have a few wrinkles on my face, but I also have some wisdom that comes along with those wrinkles.  I may be fighting the battle of the "bulge", but I'm not fighting cancer or some other disease that greatly affects my health.   I have three beautiful kids that I adore.  I have an amazing husband who loves me with a passion that I have never known.  And I have my God.  A God who shows mercy and grace to me as I fall on my face over and over again.  A God who never abandons me and sets me straight each time I get off course.  A God who's so BIG that I feel terribly small most days, yet incredibly safe in my smallness.   I feel protected and loved.  Who could ask for more than that?  I am blessed.

Will 2012 be better than 2011?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  But either way, I know I will be ok.  I am surrounded by people who will help me through whatever comes my way.  I have a God who has promised to never leave me and I believe that promise.  

Hebrews 13:5 - "For God has said, 'I will never leave you; I will never abandon you."

See?  Told ya!  There it is in BOLD.   If you are questioning that promise right now, it's ok.  If there wasn't doubt, there wouldn't be faith.  You can doubt all you want, and still God will be there.  It's who He is.  He doesn't promise that things will always be beautiful and smooth.  Life is rocky and that will never change.  But He WILL be right by your side, holding you tight during the hard times.   I encourage you to turn all your troubles over to Him.  Today.  Enter 2012 with HELP.  God's help.  I promise, you will find true peace and comfort when you rest in Him.  

HE is why, through all the struggles of 2011, when I look back on those pictures... I'm still smiling.

May you all have a lovely and safe New Year's Eve celebration tonight.  See you in 2012!!  

Here we go.....

Good morning.... Only 2 days left in 2011! - Clouds are dancing in the sky... wow.

 

"Show me what a man envies the least in others and I will show you what he has got the most of himself." -- Josh Billings

     It's a little disconcerting to discover that the faults we deplore in others are exactly the ones we're dealing with too.  A person who berates a partner, friend, or co-worker for being too critical is demonstrating the same flaw.  Why can't we see our own character flaws, so apparent to others?

     Maybe it's because we're dealing with a spiritual principle.  Our brothers and sisters are our mirrors.  God made us essentially alike.  Each of us is as deserving of criticism as anyone, and as worthy of love.  When we condemn someone, we condemn ourselves.  By loving others, we are loved.  

Today I will see others as I want to be seen, and treat them as I want to be treated. 

Good morning! It's frosty here in Music City!

 

"Hunting God is a great adventure." -- Maria DeFloris

     Eventually, most of us discover it's not very difficult to find God somewhere in our life.  We may find God in the simple beauty of a flower when we're out for a walk in the woods.  Or we may experience God working through the women and men who share our journey.  In time, many of us come to believe that God is everywhere, always, and never more than a thought or a breath away.

     When we have achieved full acceptance that wherever else God is manifest, God is within us too, we'll walk easier through our dark and troubling times.  But even when we know that God is with us every moment, we may forget.  Then, just pausing and praying for help will relieve our anxiety, and God's presence will be felt.

     We may still fear the outcome of a situation because we're not certain God wants the same things for us that we want.  But by recalling our past, when God's direction has brought us where we need to be, we can rest our mind and turn our life over again.

I'll remember that I don't have to look very far for God today. 

No snow... But it's still pretty up here in Michigan country.

We got snow last night!!

Good Morning from the farm!!  

Turning 50 is kinda fun!! :-))

Rehearsing "O Holy Night" @crosspoint_tv. So beautiful!

You can't beat a good neighborhood Live Nativity Christmas play!

Saturday Morning Scriptures and Stuff -- Psalm 28:7

I am the WORST at bible verse memorization.  I have always struggled with it, but as I'm getting older, it seems to be getting even harder for me.  This morning, Psalm 28:7 seared itself in my heart and I've been repeating it over and over and OVER to myself all day.  I'm convinced it WILL stay in my memory somehow.  I'm even considering getting it tattooed on my body.  ----I'm not kidding. 

Psalm 28:7 - "The Lord is my strength and my shield.  My heart trusts in him, and he helps me."

I love this verse.  I love this promise.  And I believe it. 


So I have 2 questions for you guys today.
        1)Does anyone have any good tips for memorizing bible verses?  

And the 2nd question is actually a 3-fold question for anyone out there who has one or more tattoos:
       2)WHERE on your body did you get your first tattoo?   WHAT is the tattoo?  and WHY did you choose it/get it? 

Have a great weekend friends!!  

Dinner w/2 of my favorite guys at the Sycamores Terrace Candlelight Christmas dinner.

Waiting at the vet with this little guy... He was sick all night. Hope they fix him up fast!

"Confessions of a Prayer Slacker....."

I struggle with prayer.

I mean, I'm good at quick little "arrow" prayers all throughout the day.  It's easy to just shoot up those prayers whenever you hear some bad news (Oh Lord, please help Johnny through surgery today... Amen.)  Or even when you hear good news (Oh Lord, thank you for helping Janie to pass that test!). 
But the kind of prayer where you shut off the world for a few minutes and not only talk AT God, but try to actually listen to Him, well, that kind of prayer is NOT my forte.  Yet.

"God insists that we ask, not because He needs to know our situation, but because we need the spiritual discipline of asking." - Catherine Marshall

I read this today:
     "An omniscient God must know what we desire before we ask.  God knows what we really need most is reliance on God.  And how do we develop reliance?  Like most other things, by practicing.
      If it weren't for the need to remind ourselves daily or hourly that all power flows from God, we could just say a quick prayer at the beginning of each week, or each year, and be done with it.  Surely God could fill our requests a year ahead of time.  But getting our wishes granted isn't the purpose of prayer.   Getting to know God is the purpose."  

I LOVE those last two sentences:  "But getting our wishes granted isn't the purpose of prayer.  Getting to know God is the purpose."

How do we get to know someone?  Spending time with them, talking with them, listening to them... why is that so hard for me to do that with God?   Sigh.... I'm SO easily distracted.

I've heard it said that you never "drift" toward good things.  You don't drift into a good marriage.  You don't drift into a good exercise program.  You don't drift into a good prayer life.  You have to make deliberate decisions to step toward good things.  SO....I'm really trying hard these days to carve out a piece of my day for prayer.  Solid, direct, focused prayer.   And I'm anxious to see how my life transforms from it.

And I'm going to re-read my friend Diane Moody's book, "Confessions of a Prayer Slacker".  It kicked me in the butt the first time I read it and I got on track.  Sadly, I drifted back into my old habits.   If you are like me and need a good kick-start towards getting your prayer life alive again.... I highly suggest getting Diane's book.   Diane also has a brand-new book "Blue Christmas" and several other books that I'm anxious to read.  I love her writing and I LOVE that lady!  Check out all her books at her website: www.dianemoody.net

Have a great week everyone!! 

Nothing like coming home from vacation to a newly painted living room! Love it!

Oh yeah....