Michaels Photo Entry - Chritstmas JOY Wood Plaques

Michaels Photo Entry - Chritstmas JOY Wood Plaques

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Brother Harry and Salvation

Yesterday I attended the funeral of a man that I loved and admired very much. He was an awesome man of God and a source of both comfort and inspiration when my husband was going through his battle with cancer. His name was Harry Stuart (Brother Harry to his family from Grace Community Baptist Church) He also had cancer but NEVER let it get him down. His motto was that he was in a win/win situation. If he continued to live here on Earth, he won because he got to spend more time with his family that he was so devoted to. If he passed away, he would also win because he would be with His heavenly father. This was something he was so confident in and was willing to share with EVERYONE that he met. Though I have that same assurance, I definitely don't have his boldness to share it with everyone I meet. It is something that I am not proud of but something I long for. I wish I had that boldness. That is one area of my life that I struggle with and am constantly working on. Evangelism is definitely not my spiritual gift. I think part of the reason I am uncomfortable with sharing salvation with others is that I'm just not sure how to present it so that others really understand. I am currently reading a book called The Ultimate Makeover by Sharon Jaynes. This book gives the most awesome explanation of salvation and our need for it that I have ever read!!!! Although the book was written for women, the beginning of the book and its explanation of salvation is perfect for anyone. I am reading this book very slowly because I want to truly take to heart every part of it. I want to memorize the way salvation is explained in this book so that I can use it when talking to others about it. At the funeral, Brother Dean shared Brother Harry's favorite verse, Romans 10:9. "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Last night when I got home and began reading my book, guess what verse was in the very first sentence I read. Yep, Romans 10:9. Since I don't believe in coincidence, I know that this is a truth that God was driving home to me in my quest to be able to share salvation with others. I pray that He will continue to use the experience in my life to reveal His truths to me in ways that I see them for what they are and can use them to share Him with others.

DOG spelled backwards is GOD!!

Ever think about how much our relationship with our pets can resemble our relationship with our creator. Don't ask me why I thought about this today but I DID. I guess this empty nest thing is doing weird stuff to my brain when I sit around and think about my relationship with my dog. But at least God is using it to make me think about my relationship with Him. I was just thinking about how glad my dog is everytime I walk in the door and how happy she is to see me. That is how our Father is, He is so glad to hear from us everytime we choose to allow Him into our lives. Just like the dog, He sits by just waiting for us to acknowledge Him and then He is there with kisses and the love we so desperately need. At night when I get in bed, the dog gets in bed with me, runs around to get the last few minutes of attention and then lays her head on the pillow beside mine and goes to sleep. Isn't that what He does as well. He waits for me to get in bed and hopes to get those last few minutes of my attention. When I'm finished talking to Him, and rollover to go to sleep, He lays His head on the pillow beside mine and is with me throughout the night. When I get up in the morning, my sweet Daisy is there to snuggle and give me good morning kisses. So is my Daddy God, He is there waiting to kiss me good morning and spend time with me. What an awesome start to each day. Also like my puppy, even when I'm having a bad day and am grouchy, He forgives me and loves me anyway. His love and the dogs are completely unconditional!!! If only we could love one another that way....what a wonderful world this would be.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Make a Smilebox slideshow

A Day Spent on My Knees

Today was an AWESOME day!! I woke up about 8:30 and had coffee with my husband. We talked about our plans for the day and decided we would work in the yard. We got dressed and headed to Lowe's to begin our adventure. Even though we have always lived in the country, my husband has never been one to spend much time doing yard work other than mowing. However, since moving here, he seems to have developed a desire to do so (another great change that has occurred since our move here to Aubrey). So off we go to Lowe's for some new stone to redo one of the flower beds in our front yard and all the stuff to go along with that including FLOWERS!!! A couple hours and a couple hundred dollars later we arrive home and begin our day of yard work. I spent the rest of the day on my hands and knees, digging to level the area for the stones, weeding (getting rid of dandelions), taking out the old mulch and getting the beds ready for planting. Although the time spent with my husband was very enjoyable, the time I spent alone was equally enjoyable. Anytime I am outside, I feel close to my heavenly Father and I am always amazed by something new I see. Today was no different. As I was weeding and pulling up the million (okay maybe not that many) dandelions from my flower beds, I started thinking how sometimes life resembles dandelions. The dandelions are unwanted yet unavoidable weeds in our yards and flower beds just as sin is an unwanted yet unavoidable weed in our lives. Like the dandelion, sin can be pretty for a season but if we let it continue to grow in our lives, it will spread to all areas and affect everyone around us. After thinking about this all afternoon and reflecting on the areas in my life that I let get out of control, I decided to do some reading on the dandelion. I was surprised to find out that, although it is an unwanted weed, it is beneficial to our yards and gardens. The dandelion helps to aerate our soil and make the "good" things in our yards grow even better. They also attract ladybugs which feed on the aphids that sometimes attack our flower and vegetable gardens. Again, I thought how appropriate. Sin is also beneficial in strange sort of way. The sin in our lives causes us hardships that remind us of our need for a merciful and grace giving God (our ladybug). He forgives us and cleanses us (feeds on our aphids). These "weeds" in our life are essential to us growing in our Christian walk and help us to grow into the beautiful "flowers" God intended us to be. Like I said anytime I am outside and spend time talking to and listening to my heavenly Father, He always shows me something new. I will never look at the dandelion in the same way and won't be so quick to get rid of all of them. I need that reminder of the sin in my life and the need to confess it to my Savior. Well, I spent most of the day on my knees weeding my flower beds and now I will go and spend some more time on my knees "weeding" the flower beds of my soul. After all, I only want beautiful flowers to grow there!!!!

Life Changes

Well its been a while since I created this site and I haven't written anything but I've been BUSY!! A lot has changed in my life since I last wrote. I now live in a totally different area of Texas, both of kids no longer live at home, my husband has a new job, we go to a new church (it was really hard to leave our church family) and I have had some major changes in my job as well. Through all of these changes, God has worked his miracles and I am more at peace at this time in my life than I ever have been. It was absolutely amazing to see the way that He worked in moving us from Fannett to Aubrey. I know that He has plans for us here and I can't wait to find out what they are. I am currently reading a book that a friend gave me about being able to discern what God's will is for your life. He has blessed us so much in the past two years and I want to make sure that I don't mess up His perfect plan. I'm going to try and write a lot more often and keep a record of the miracles that occur in my life daily.

Well, it is the first day of the new year so I am going to try this blogging thing that so many of my friends are doing. Today was a great day!!! Both of the boys were here all day and we had our usual New Year's Day lunch of pork, cabbage and black-eyed peas. All of us stayed in our jammies all day except for Matt who had to get dressed to come over. We watched movies and of course football games. We all took naps. It was just one of those days that makes you feel very content and a great way to start out the new year. It did make me a little sad though because I know this is the last time this will happen for a while. Taylor is moving to College Station in a couple of weeks and Pete and I will really have an empty nest. I'm SURE I will be writing more on that subject later. I'm really not ready for all of this but proud that my boys feel independent enough to set out on life's journey.