In the Midnight Hour ...

Here I sit waiting on a batch of muffins to finish baking and can't stop thinking ... In the Midnight Hour ... and what it seems to mean to me.
I find that no matter how exhausted I may feel as the midnight hour approaches that that is exactly the time when I draw so much closer to God.  In my thought life, in my spirit, in my whole being I find I am drawn to deep conversation with my Lord.   Tonight the thoughts revolve completely around life and death and what it means to me as a child of God.   There are a few factors that help this topic of thought.  First is the fact that yesterday I attended a funeral and it so drove home the anniversary of my own father's passing.  Secondly is the fact that I've signed up to share during Adult Education (aka Sunday School )  on the topic of," Being Children of God."

So many various thoughts run through my mind when I think of what it means to be a child of God.  To begin with the idea strikes my fancy that we are not "infants" therefore we are not "babies" and that indicates we are responsible for our choices, our actions, our words and even our thoughts.  As babies we are so totally not capable of making the choices for ourselves therefore someone else is responsible for our complete care.  As a child of God we can be totally dependent on HIM however we are responsible for our actions, our choices etc etc ...  

Recently our daughter & son in love (law) along with our 2 yr. old & almost 4 month old grandsons moved in to our home. One day during this past week, while I was thinking about just how to present the concept of being Children of God to the class, my grandson got "busy" taking care of "business" (if you catch my drift) ... so his mother asked him if he had "gone" or did he need to use the potty?  
This made me think ~   Do we think we can hide our "stink" from God?  Do we think if we just "hide" behind something and "do our business" that He won't smell our "mess"?  

If we are children of God then we should mature past the "toilet training" and recognize our own stench.

Yes that is what has been on my mind lately.   But I want to go back to the first reason for my thoughts about the midnight hour.

My friends' dad passed away and his funeral service was Friday morning. I understood how my friend felt having "lost" my dad 14 yrs ago today.  Yes time has passed swiftly and yet my father is not forgotten.   And the more I age (hopefully gracefully???)  the more I think about the things of heaven more so than the things of this earth.   After all this earth is not our "HOME"!!  
My friend's dad was well known.  He was very well loved.  He was a man who you could depend on, who you could turn to in your time of need. He was a wonderful husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, uncle, friend.   But even with all that to be said about him he was a man in need of a savior.  My friend had been praying for him to accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior and had many family and friends praying for him as well.  Thankfully about a month before he died he had accepted Jesus as His personal Lord and Savior.  Ensuring that his eternal home is with God forever and ever without end!!!!   This brings children of God great joy, for we all understand the importance of the decision he has made.  If you have not made this decision for yourself  then I encourage you to do so ~ you can't be an "infant" and expect someone else to make this decision for you.  If you need more information ask God to reveal Himself to you more fully, and read a Holy Bible,  or go speak with a minister, a preacher, a church goer, or feel free to leave me a comment asking for more information.  I do not claim to know everything but I will do my best to answer you from the Word of God.  

Yes it is that important and yes YOU DO Mean that Much to ME... because YOU MEAN THAT MUCH TO GOD!!!!

So as I sit here with my muffins smelling very tasty, and my heart rejoicing over the fact that this is not all there is to living and dying ... for in dying we merely pass from our fleshly body setting our spirit free to join God in Heaven.  Yes we mourn the loss of our loved ones because we miss them but we have a hope of joining them when it is our turn to leave this earthly home.  That hope is there for you too all you need to do is become a child of God.    Repent of your sin, (we are all born with sin and all fall short of the Glory of God) Believe on Jesus Christ (the Son of God who died to take away the sins of the world),  Confess Jesus Christ as your Lord & Savior.   Grow in the Lord ... read the Holy Bible (Gods Word) and pray for God to reveal Himself to you daily, and take time to "listen" to the Holy Spirit as He guides you in a closer walk with God.

May your "Midnight Hour" bring you peace, joy and fresh revelation of Gods love, grace and mercy.   Good Night & God Bless!!!

Today is the Day of Salvation chose wisely!!!!

Sitting here ... needing to head to bed and still can't shake the feeling that there is so much more to be said ~
So here it goes  ...  The love of God for each one of us is undeniably the Greatest Love to be had ... in fact it is so Great it is Priceless! 
Meaning you & I could NEVER PAY the PRICE for Gods LOVE!!!   

That being said here is the best thing to know about this Great Love ... God gives this LOVE to us FREELY!!!!  
That bears repeating so here it is again  pay attention will ya???   GODS LOVE is FREELY GIVEN to US ... IT IS PRICELESS meaning we could never Pay for it yet HE Gives it to us for FREE!!!!!!!!

Okay that is great, I mean something we could never afford to purchase is given to us for free how incredible is that??? But here's the sad news  :(   so many people are hung up by lies about God, about this gift He has given us that they never accept this gift of Gods Love for themselves.    Big huge sad face here.   I've been seriously dwelling in the place of growing closer to God based on basking in His Love because that is where I can honestly be free ... free from any of my past mistakes, sins, or whatever title or word best describes the garbage that passed as my lifestyle on this earth before accepting Christ as my Lord and Savior.  Free to enter into forgiveness, not only for myself but for everyone else whether I've met you or not.  You see God has been showing me how because of His great gift of His Love ... that when we enter into a relationship with Him, asking Him to be in control, to have our back so to speak ... when we enter into that close relationship with HIM as our Lord and Savior we gain the ability to lean on HIM for His great love for others ... including those individuals we might otherwise despise.  

In my prayer time I am constantly drawn to pray for the children around the world who may be living in abusive situations ... this prayer often ends in my sobbing for them to be covered by Gods love, grace and mercy so that they not only survive the abuse they are subjected to but that they grow strong in the Lord to be a part of His Kingdom, and that they are set free from the damage the abuse could cause them ~ even possibly keeping them from entering into a healthy relationship with God.  When I am praying for these precious children ~ whom I fully believe God LOVES and CARES about ~  I then find myself sobbing for the lost souls that are subjecting the children to the abuse.  For you see God Loves them as well.  God recognizes that SIN has them bound, and unless they are set free they are headed for Hell.  For an everlasting separation from God for all eternity.  I see and understand Gods compassion and mercy that is offered freely to them both the abuser and the victim. For God so LOVED the World that HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON .... yes HIS SON gave up HIS life Freely for me and for You ... whether we are victims of abuse or not ... even if we are abusing others or not... HE LOVES US and has paid the price for us to be set free from the sin that keeps us from being Heaven bound!

Freedom was paid for with a great price.  The price of the blood of the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world.  Our part is in the acceptance of this gift.  Whether you realize it or not ... and trust me the enemy of your soul does not want you to realize this by any means ... when you think to yourself that you do not need to make this decision .. later may never come for those who are facing the choice of surrendering to Gods Love.   Today is the day of salvation enter into the shelter of Gods Love and be saved for all eternity.  Do not put off until tomorrow the decision to follow Christ for tomorrow is not promised to you!  

I just can't stop thinking how so many will be lost forever because they haven't heard the truth of Gods Love for them.  And how many more will be lost forever because when they did hear (or read about) Gods Love for them  but they couldn't be bothered to make a decision right then and there.  (There is no buyer's remorse when you enter into the family of God!)   It won't be a rose garden without any thorns that's for sure but you will have strength for each day, you will have comfort when you are mourning and you will have joy unspeakable.  

So I encourage you to call on the Lord and be saved ... repent of your sins (we are born with sin and therefore all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God) ... and chose to follow Christ.   The Lamb of God who through His shed blood paid the price so that you could be reconciled to God and spend eternity with HIM.   or chose to ignore the message of Gods great Love for you and spend your eternity in hell, separated from God forever without end ... the ultimate choice is yours ~ I pray you chose wisely, and I pray you don't put off what needs to be done today!

Baby Afghan on my hook :) & some "food for thought"

Yes I want to do the baby sweater and the baby dress and I so want to figure out just how I want to finish my sweater for myself but the yarn it calls to me and it speaks very loud & clear that it wants to be worked up into an adorable baby afghan!  So it has begun ... the magic ring has been cast and the first two rounds of an "Anne's Square" has been worked.   Tomorrow the contrast color will be worked for round 3 and then I will have to decide just exactly how I want to work this afghan up... I already have ruled out one giant granny ~ but I am not sure if I want to keep it to small squares joined as I go or larger squares joined together after I complete them ... if I want to work all the same square or if I want a really nice contrast ~   I only know it will be decided tomorrow and it will be designed with love.  And it will be worked with prayer and love in every stitch for a baby that is loved before it arrives to join our family as it has already captured our hearts.
Then the joy of playing with the previously mentioned baby patterns will be all mine!!!

When I think of how much God loves us and how He gives us  precious gifts such as children to love I am always struck with this thought ~   how is it possible that we start out with an ease of faith and yet lose the ability to believe at very young ages?  
God Loves YOU ~ do you know it?  Do you Believe it?  Will you bask in it?  Will you accept it?  Will you share it?  What will you do with it?  

My grandchildren are so loved by us and yet I've already seen how they have gone from accepting what we tell them to questioning us.  Often I hear "Is that true?"  ~     I've also noticed how many times I end up saying, "Don't you believe me?"  and then wondering how many times God is saying that very thing to me ... is He saying that to you as well?

We are all on borrowed time here on earth but that does not mean that our life is over or our journey ends it simply means that we move on to the next place and continue the journey that is ours to complete with HIM.
I Believe!
I Await His Return!
I will carry on and do my best to keep Trust in the forefront and doubts and fears banished from my thinking!!!!

As we see this year coming to an end may I encourage you to stop and think, even if only for a moment, about how Great Gods Love is for  YOU.  Bask in the fact that His Love is real and that He wants to see you through whatever challenge you may face today.
May you be blessed with Truth, Strength, Courage, and Wisdom and may you find Peace, Joy, and Self Control along with Love flooding your heart, mind & soul ... Filling your home with the ability to LIVE in LOVE :)

:)  Peace out!!!

New on my Hooks :)

So my very beautiful niece is expecting her second lovebug in Feb. and I would love to reduce my yarn stash even if by a little bit so I was on a pattern search for the 'just right' newborn baby gift (besides my usual favorite baby afghan patterns that is ! )  and came across some really lovely options via Ravelry ... a couple of very cute newborn sized items which I am now itching to get on my hooks!!!!  I am going to get  a very easy (almost too easy) newborn sweater underway first or well maybe I'll start the absolutely adorable dress or top from Sarah's Sweethearts ... found here on Blogger ....

Little White Dress

I just know it will be a welcome gift and I'm looking forward to making it for our family's newest little love :)

I also have my own short sweater/ shrug? not sure what to call it yet ... it's my own pattern worked from the top down and once it is finished I will post pictures  ~  I know... I really do know... that if you've read my blog in the past you have heard promises of pictures that simply never showed up but I Promise to post a picture of me wearing my new "top" in the new year as I am sure it will take some time to do the finishing touches on it since it is a work in progress without a set pattern to follow.

So my hooks are busy and I'm happy about that.  My yarn stash is supposed to present itself for my use so that in time I reduce my stash enough to have more space in my bedroom.  Yeah like that's going to happen any time soon hahahahahahha   seriously I crack myself up when I talk/ think that way it's just too funny!!!!
Have a great night and may all your projects be fun, and Frog Free ;)

Home again home again Jiggity Jig :)

Here is a picture of one of the harbor seals that I managed to see & capture several photos of while I was in Howth, Ireland (north of Dublin).   
Yes you read that correctly.  I was in Dublin, Ireland for 3 nights in late Oct. (yes of this year) and then I was in Venice, Italy for 2 nights, followed that with 2 nights in Rome, Italy & followed that with 2 weeks in our cousins home in Francavilla al Mare ~ which is near Pescara.   God has blessed me with the opportunity to see a little bit of Ireland (Lord willing I will be blessed again with an opportunity to see more of Ireland in the future???)  


I loved visiting with family ~ it's always interesting to work out our communication. I do not speak any Italian.  They speak some English but when we seem to hit difficulties out comes the dictionary or better yet we get on the computer and type and translate through a translation program she has on her computer.  "Ma" would be so pleased to know we've managed to visit with her family. And for the record although Tiziana is taller than "Ma" she truly reminds me of my sweet grandma :)   


But as with all vacations they come to an end and one must return to their "real life".   In my case returning home was not to my "same old same old" but instead it included my home being transformed into a "full house" while I was away.   Not that I'm complaining!  I'm so blessed to see 2 of  my precious grandsons daily now that they are living with us, along with their parents.    
In case you were wondering (you were wondering, weren't you?? of course you were ;p )  going from an empty nest to a full house is... different to be sure.  Thankfully we are all adjusting just fine.  


It is my hope to get back to blogging more consistently. The current project on my hook is a shrug/sweater?  for me!  I started it on Oct. 22 and it is very close to being finished.  I just have to work on the remainder of the sleeves and then trimming it all around and decide if I'm adding a snap or button or if I'm leaving it open.  
Decisions decisions :)  oh how I love them ;)
Happy crocheting & may your projects be "frog free"  (rip-it rip-it)

I Can’t Sleep ~

Sleep.  It’s so good for you.  Except when it doesn’t come.  Especially when you know you have an early morning and you headed to bed early or at least on time!

I laid in bed, with my sleep apnea mask on, machine on and closed my eyes ready for sleep to overtake me.  Thoughts running through my mind.  Ut oh!  Thoughts are not supposed to be running through my mind!  At least not the entire time I’m waiting for sleep to overtake me!!!!

Finally I couldn’t stand it any longer & here I am at the end of another day writing.

I can’t share fully the thoughts that ran through my mind but I can share a few.

Like how we are supposed to die to self and take up our cross.  I was thinking about that a lot lately. Especially due to the fact that I’ve been sitting with a friend of our family who is slowly slipping from this life into the hereafter.  This process of dying can be so fast it takes you by surprise and you are ill equipped for the emotional aftermath.  And then there is the slow death which surprisingly enough takes it’s emotional toll on the care givers but in the end still you find yourself with an emotional aftermath that takes you by surprise!

In the first case, where death seems so merciful in its’ swiftness and you are left reeling from the shock of it all the loved one didn’t suffer or at least it’s easy to believe they didn’t suffer.   In the second case, where death takes its sweet time to arrive and snatch your loved one away from you if you are a care giver (even if you only attend to their needs for a little while throughout their lingering days) you may be aghast to find yourself praying for Gods mercy to be swifter in its arrival.  Not that you no longer value their life but it is so painful to witness their abilities leaving them. 

Okay so how does that enter into the whole process of “dying to self” and “take up your cross”?  Well I think that some issues in our personal journey with God (whether you believe in God or not you have a personal journey in the one case you actively seek to Know God while in the other case you will spend an eternity Knowing just who He is and why a relationship with Him would have benefited you) can die swiftly while others suffer a  S L O W & L I N G E R I N G death.  

Satan is like a vulture circling over head just waiting for you to succumb to death so he can pick your flesh away.   He picks and tears the flesh and enjoys his meal.  Leaving behind the bones to dry out right where he finds you.  

We have the power to LIVE in spite of the devils attempts to devour us.  He strikes most in our moments of weakness.  He searches for just the right time to strike and when he sees us at our most vulnerable he does all he can to knock us down and keep us down.   He wants to destroy us. 

However when WE DIE to SELF we are in the position of SURRENDERING to GOD!  In our surrendering to God we relinquish our control to His control.  In our dying to self we are allowing God to reign supreme in us.  In that place where we no longer struggle to ‘be in control’ but rather ask God to “be in control” we have entered into a safe place.  One where the things of this earth can no longer bother us.

Going back to the picture of a vulture devouring a dead body and I’m able to say this ~ if I’ve truly died to self then I don’t feel the weight of the vulture as he sits upon my carcass and picks away my flesh.  If I’ve truly died to self then I don’t have any pain as the strong talons of the vulture grab ahold of my flesh to perch upon me to his best vantage for his meal.  If I’ve truly died to self then the pain that must surely accompany the tearing away of my flesh as his beak digs in to me is in no way cause for alarm because I have risen above his attack. In that a dead body does NOT FEEL the things of this earth.  A dead body is DEAD.   But when we haven’t finished the process of “dying to self” we can are still very much ALIVE and  therefore we Feel the attack of the enemy so much that it weakens us.  We can feel the pain with each talon digging in for the feast. We can feel the suffocating weight of the vulture as he tears into our flesh.

I can honestly say I have not completely “died to self”.   And I am in the process.  And I am learning.

What I have learned so far on this journey through this life really is amazing.  GOD LOVES ME.  GOD LOVES YOU.   And that is more than enough to get you through  IF you BELONG TO HIM !

If you don’t belong to HIM (God) then you actually may not realize just how much the vulture has stolen from you.  If you don’t belong to HIM (God) then you may discover when it’s way too late what you were missing out on because this life here on earth is merely a beginning, and the death that we see around us is not the end but rather a “mere stepping stone” for a much longer life.  Because our physical death here on earth opens the gate on our the spiritual life we will have for ETERNITY which in case you are not aware is FOREVER, … as in NEVER ENDING!!!!!

So as I sit here writing out a small portion of my thoughts this evening (well now it’s the midnight hour) I wonder how many will ever read this and will it make any difference to the way they comprehend the Greatness of God, for while we were yet sinners HE LOVED US!!! Enough to send His ONLY SON that He would Die for us so we could be reconciled with God the Father and not perish but have Life Everlasting!!!!

I pray someone does read this and does become aware (or possibly more aware) of a Loving God who wants you to surrender to HIM and allow Him to be your guide as you journey here until the time He calls you to your heavenly home.  If you don’t belong to Him then you don’t have a Heavenly Home to be called to instead you have chosen (even if by default) to spend eternity with all of those who refused to believe on Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in hell.   I pray you hear the truth of Gods Love for you and turn from your sin and accept HIM as YOUR Savior before your time on this earth is over.

May God speak so clearly that you can’t possibly ignore Him for another second!!!! 

My Face book status :)

Thankful to my Loving Lord & Savior who has continued to bless me in spite of myself, who has shown me His grace & mercy does not run out, who speaks in the midst of all this world may throw at me ~ it is in HIM that my Joy is everlasting :) Thank you Lord Jesus for saving my soul :)


That was my Face Book status tonight ... but it dawned on me that is is so much more than what I put there ... so often in my prayer time I find myself drawn to pray for the children who are neglected, or worse abused whose parents don't care enough to protect them or worse yet are the ones abusing them.  It amazes me that after I pray for these precious children whom I know God LOVES and cares about that I am then burdened to pray for their abusers, for God Loves them too.  In fact He reminds me that although my reaction to them may be to hurt them in the same way or worse, His reaction was the cross.  He loves everyone and His desire is for each person to come to the understanding that we have a choice of our forever after.   You may not believe this but we all will have a "Forever After" !  My choice is to spend my forever after with HIM.  And you may chose to do the same or not as you wish.   It's the easiest thing to put off believing that tomorrow is another day and therefore what's the big rush?  However today is the day of salvation and tomorrow isn't promised to any of us, at least not tomorrow here on earth that is!  We are promised an eternity.  How & where we spend eternity is up to us individually.  I can't chose for you and you can't chose for me.  In fact God has given us this choice because of His great Love for us.  


I chose Christ.  I chose to take a stand, and say as Joshua did, "As for me and my house we will serve the Lord."  This often conflicts with my idea of how things should work.  You see I'm still learning and growing and walking on my journey with my Lord ~ so basically there is still lots of room for 'improvement'  and all I can really say is Thank You God for Your great patience with me and my growing pains :) 


Eternity.  Forever After.  In the fairy tales the princess is always rescued by the prince, who then marries her and they live happily ever after.  In reality God told us that His Son, Jesus Christ, the Savior will be our Bridegroom and when it is time He will come and collect His bride (the church, aka all of His believers) and we will live together forever without end.   Unfortunately there will be those who choose not to believe that He is who He said He is, and they will allow that unbelief to keep them from seeking the truth and discovering that He is all that He has told us He IS.  They will have an entirely different forever without end from those who are HIS.  It will be a never ending knowledge that they could have been with their creator God and instead they are forever separated from HIM.  Never to be able to bridge the gap between Heaven (with God) and Hell (without God) has between them.  


So it is with this view towards the Love of God for all mankind which does include the vilest of sinners that I must pray for them to repent and accept the Love of God and His gift of salvation before it is too late.  For it is truly our mission to share the love of Christ with everyone, every where.  


If you have been one of those who thinks they can't be forgiven by God because of some horrible thing that you have done, or are currently doing that is a lie from the pit of Hell.  God told us if we believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior (accept the free gift of salvation) we can be with Him for all eternity.  It's that simple.  So what's the problem?  Satan seeks to destroy our soul.  And he will do whatever he possibly can to keep us from believing and accepting Gods word.  A little doubt here, a lot of doubt there ~ here a doubt, there a doubt, everywhere a doubt, doubt!   Once we buy into the lies from the pit of hell we find it harder and harder to accept the truth of Gods Love.  Therefore we must be more diligent in what we 'take in' such as in our reading material, our viewing material, and our "listening" material.  What we read, watch and hear does impart something to us so we must combat the things of this world that would draw us away from living our life for God.  Give up the garbage, give up the not so obvious garbage, and even then keep pulling the "weeds" out of our way! " Weeds"  such as bitterness, deception, anger, hatred, to name a few.
My question for you is: "Where will your forever after be?"  Prayers you make your choice wisely.  


Good night (or rather good morning) and May Gods blessings be with you :) 

Sabotage … self saboteur… both need dealing with!

Yes I’m still on my weight loss journey, however I’ve taken a few detours along the way.  In the process I’ve learned a few things.  I could go all negative and say it’s taken me too long to learn & therefore I will just quit.  However I really don’t want to quit.  I don’t want to be a failure at this.  And more then that I don’t want to be unhealthy.  Really I don’t want to be unhealthy.  
That said, the question then becomes why then am I a self saboteur?  At first glance I really didn’t think I ever was the one sabotaging my journey.  In fact I would have sworn I was innocent of that charge!  But most recently I have discovered that the fact is I am a self saboteur.   I know that carbohydrates when consumed in to high a quantity will set me into a carb overload frenzy.  I also know that to break that cycle requires me to be more diligent to avoid that overload in the first place, that not happening then requires me to just stop eating and take full responsibility for what I am eating.
I seem to have been caught up in the idea that I could simply blame my weight on all of the issues I have rather than owning the fact that along with my health issues I still chose what I consume.  Yes I still have health issues that make it harder to lose the weight however the weight can be conquered and brought under control if I stay on top of my food choices.   
Unfortunately once I was derailed (and I do know exactly what derailed me, it was an error on the settings for my sleep apnea treatment) and hit a plateau that just didn’t seem to want to be broken ~ I s l o w l y  fell only to crash & see my weight climbing back up!  
Waking up to the realization that I have been my own worst enemy is by no means a small consolation, it means I have to stop myself from being self destructive.  I have to really come to terms with I can live without whatever craving has hit my system at the moment.  I have to walk away more than just the pounds!!  I have to walk away from the cravings, I have to walk away from the underlying cause of my self destructiveness.   I still haven’t come to terms with why I am a self saboteur along my journey but I can see my actions in a hold different light now that I recognize the destructive behaviors that work to keep me from my ultimate goals.  
With the discovery comes new challenges.  No longer can I state that all my weight problems were due to my health issues.  No longer can I ignore the part I have in my weight not being healthy.  No longer can I say, “I’ll walk it off tomorrow” because tomorrow may not be any easier to ignore the cravings I’ve allowed to run rampant.   I can see how much I need to be completely committed to the journey.  Not just when the journey is working!  Even when I am diligent if the weight stays unhealthy I have to remain steady and continue on with my healthy choices instead of giving up!  I had hit the plateau (seriously by no self destructive actions on my own it was a machine setting malfunction ~ and that is the bald truth) but once the plateau had shown it wasn’t moving for a while I stopped trying so hard.  I basically gave up.  I had the attitude, “it really doesn’t matter what I do since it isn’t working”.     Now I realize that had I not given into that attitude I may not have to start the process all over again.  I could have simply moved through the plateau and ended up in a healthier state. This realization hasn’t come too late.  I can & I will be reaching my goal it just has taken me a little longer than I wanted.  I have to begin my journey all over again to get the habits I had been living with back in control.  And once they are well established I hope the results will follow like they did last time if not that won’t stop me from continuing in the path where my health drives my choices and my attitude will remain what is best for me rather than nothing works so why bother.     I think sometimes that is how the enemy of our soul sabotages us on our spiritual journey.  If he can’t get under our skin one way he attacks our underlying attitudes so that we give up.  It’s so easy to give up when we think what we are doing isn’t working.  And it is so easy to fall for the lies of the enemy when we are not keeping a healthy spiritual diet of time spent in prayer, in reading the Word of God and in just basking in His presence.     Where do you stand today?  Not yesterday, or last month or year but today?  Do you find yourself growing busier and therefore have less time to spend with God?  Do you find yourself getting weaker spiritually?   Don’t let a “plateau” derail you!  Don’t let a weak attitude keep you from entering into all that God has for you.  Today is the day to move ahead in God, for yesterday is gone never to return and tomorrow isn’t here yet if it even arrives for we are not promised tomorrow!  So move ahead with God today, close in with Him and listen to what He has to say to you.  Be blessed and know that God Loves YOU don’t listen to the lies the enemy of your soul speaks to you!!!!

May God bless you today

Another day to Praise my Lord & Savior

Well I woke up this morning, tired and sort of dragging from a rather not so restful night of sleep... one might say, "go to bed earlier" another might say," you don't sleep long enough" ... but I say it makes no difference since I have sleep apnea, when I take off my mask or nasal pillows and immediately fall back to sleep and then get up a few hours later feeling as if I haven't slept the actual bed time or the actual number of hours spent supposedly sleeping doesn't matter... and yet all of my tiredness makes no dent in my Praise to God!!!
 I can be ready to fall asleep yet does my heart sing praises unto the Lord God,
Jesus Christ the Savior !!!

How could anything keep me from Praising Him?  can anything keep Him from caring for me? NO!  Nothing hinders His Love for me, Nothing keeps Him from pouring His love into me & my life.  Nothing prevents His care for all that concerns me.  
Therefore I find more and more the desire to Praise Him stronger than ever before!  But even more I'm learning how I simply can't keep it all to myself.   Today I may have woken up feeling like I still needed to recline in my bed and close my eyes but at the same time I immediately praised God for another day, another day to share His great Love for all of us.  You may disagree with me but He died in order to save the world ... for anyone & everyone who accepts Him as their Lord and Savior!  Yes that includes the vilest of sinners if they repent and accept HIM as their Savior he will forgive them & save them from Hell.  (Hell = separation from God for eternity)

The purpose of telling you all of this is to simply state that God deserves all our praise no matter how we may feel.  We need to realize truth is truth and facts are facts and the truth is that God alone is Worthy of all our Praise forever without end,  and the fact is He LOVES US and desires a real, personal relationship with each one of us.

May you all be so blessed as I am with the knowledge of the truth of Christs love for you and enter into a real relationship with Him as I have ~ if you already have a real relationship with Him then may you grow ever more in Love with Him daily praising His name!!!!

A M A Z I N G

ALMIGHTY
MAGNIFICENT
ALL POWERFUL
ZEALOUS
INCREDIBLE
NOBLE
GREAT GOD

Amazing  AMAZING   AMAZING     do you get it????   GOD  IS AMAZING!!!!!!!

and here I am in AWE of HIM
 more in love with Him then ever before
 waiting for whatever is next on my journey home.  

Looking at the journey thus far & find myself wondering how it is that I am loved so much by my Heavenly Father that He would send His Only Begotten Son to die for me?  How can my Lord and Savior have so much Love for me that He would ransom me from the pits of Hell?

And seriously how can I respond in any other way but complete surrender?   I know for years I ran in the opposite direction ... I know that my rejection through those years caused Him great pain... and yet, still HE LOVED me!!!

There is nothing that I could ever do to repay Him.
Thankfully He doesn't require repayment.
How can I not find this whole situation anything but AMAZING?

Where does the time go????

So here it is 45 minutes before May 1st and I haven’t posted in what feels like forever.  And since I should be heading to my bed for some rest I find myself compelled to “express” some things … WHY???
I don’t know and I doubt I will ever really understand why I get into these ‘moods’.  But here goes  I’ll be “expressing” some things I’ve been “pondering” on lately.  Hope it’s not too boring for ya
The other day at book group at the library (it’s a book discussion group) ~ one of the ladies who attends regularly mentioned that it’s hard to cook when you’re alone.   It got me thinking just how easy it is to take our spouse for granted.   I really do love my hubby and appreciate having him in my life.   And I feel badly for my mother in law & my mom who are living "alone" and my prayer is that they will find life not so lonely.     Another member of the group mentioned that she believes her life is “boring” not necessarily 
“her life” as in the fact that she lives but there isn’t anything interesting to “report” for her “story”
  (we all have a “story” of our lives”  after all)   … and yet I understood her even if I didn’t agree with her simply because that is how I once felt about my own life.   I used to think that all I was doing was living day to day and excitement wasn’t really a part of my life.   But then I woke up one day & realized that excitement is different for everyone.  What excites you?  Well when I started to think about what excites me I discovered that I am a very basic, down to earth woman.  It really doesn’t take much to “excite” me!!!  I like seeing the sky as I drive from point a to point b … yeah I really do just love to see the sky in all it’s many glorious looks … I don’t have to be going farther than my home to my son’s house and I can be so thrilled to see Gods handiwork in the view I’ve got right in front of me on the drive.  
Another thing I do love is whenever I’ve had the opportunity to travel.  I realize there is often a lot of stress involved with traveling however that doesn’t hinder my enjoyment (or at least not for long   )
our granddaughter asked me recently, “Grandma, why do you like to travel?” And I told her I always have liked seeing new places.   And I am sure I always will.  
So boring, maybe, by someone else’s standards but actually I’d rather be “boring” than miserable trying to live up to someone else’s idea of exciting!!! 
While I’m thinking about all of this my hope is that no matter where I am, no matter what I may find myself doing ultimately I want to be where God wants me doing what God has placed before me to do. 
After all I’m not of this world I’m just passing through on my journey ‘home’ to my heavenly home!  So staying busy may be one way to look at things but ultimately I want to be busy with being a witness for Christ.  Not just busy passing time ~ what a waste that would be if I managed to remain ‘busy’ and no one ever knew I belonged to HIM, and my hearts’ desire was for everyone I’ve encountered whether in person or via the internet would have the opportunity to know that He is my reason for being.  And my purpose is to Praise & Glorify His name!   Dear Lord, let all who stumble upon my blog have a true encounter with YOU.  Life changing.  Soul saving.         Until the next time …