The Best Kind of Tired

February is only half over, but it seems like it's been a busy month!  We've had beautiful snow...

This is our new house...in the snow.

Each year on Valentine's Day, I take some sort of treat to all our widows and singles.  I have yet to find them all at home, but I try!  This year I made strawberry cupcakes with cream cheese icing...and a chocolate heart on top!

This is one thing I just love to do...

And this past weekend, was our church valentine banquet.  I got to do the food and while I had some anxious moments (will there be enough...will the everything go as I've planned?) it was all perfect.

Decor by Janet Hendrix

My homemade truffles at each place.

My new favorite...twice baked potatoes...they were the best!

Melinda and Vicky helped me on Saturday and I must admit by the end of the night, we were pooped! But it's the best sort of tired...when you've made others feel loved and pampered in some little way.  I am the one who is blessed!

Right on Time

We are having a family crisis right now - and we are all clinging to the Word knowing that He is our strength, our comfort, our hope! Crisis bring out our fears. Job said, "the thing I greatly feared has come to pass", as the news of the death of his children was brought to him. 

Abraham and others are listed in Hebrews 11, the Hall of Faith.  He is described as the one who "believed God and it was counted to him - righteousness".   What is believing God?  It is faith...in what He says.

God told Abraham in Genesis that his "seed" would be a stranger in a land that was not theirs...that they would be slaves there and that after 400 years, He would deliver them. I marked that passage.

Then last night I come to Exodus 12: 40-41: "Now, the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. And it came to pass at the end of four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt."

For this to happen, God first had to allow His people to move to Egypt...to be put into bondage...to suffer.  But He never forgot them...He was with them and at the exact time - He delivered them.  Not just any day, but the exact self-same day - four hundred thirty years to the day, that they went into Egypt!

Yes, we are being tested.  We are hurting and afraid.  We don't know what is ahead.  But we do know this - we are not alone, He is right here with us...He is in control...and He will act in accordance with His will...right on time!

We Are So Blessed

This is my song in the night...tonight....
We are so blessed
by the gifts from Your hand
We just can't understand
why You love us so much

We are so blessed
we just can't find the way
Or the words that can say
Thank you, Lord, for Your touch

When we're empty, You fill us
'til we overflow
When we're hungry, You feed us
and cause us to know

We are so blessed
Take what we have to bring
take it all, everything
Lord, we love You so much!

We are so blessed
By the things You have done
For the victories we've won
and what You've brought us through

We are so blessed
Take what we have to bring
Take it all everything
Lord, we bring it to You!

Lord, we are SO blessed.  You are so good.
We praise Your Holy Name.

Why is choosing paint colors so hard? Part 2

Well, I have to take back all my words...my complaints.  I went back a few days after painting my two test walls - and lo and behold - I LOVE my bedroom paint!  It looks EXACTLY the way I thought it would...exactly like the paint chip.

The jury is still out on the living room.  It is like the paint chip...I think the disconnect is in my head - figuring out exactly what I want. But, I believe I will use it.

LOL!  Life is good.

Reflection

My thoughts are rather jumbled today.  I'm hoping I can straighten them out by writing them down.

I'm thinking about how God made us each unique.  How He made us just the way we are.  And how He loves us unconditionally.  He tells us to loves each other the same way and to forgive as He has forgiven and continues to forgive us!

Here's the rub.  We are sinners.  We are flawed.  The fact that God made us the way we are...and that He loves us unconditionally - does NOT give us the right to stay the way we are.  Jesus died and rose again to give us the power to change...into His image, to reflect Him to those around us.

So, what does it say when we are not changed, when we continue to stay as flawed as we were to begin with?  We even cop out with, "Well, God made me this way."   I have come to believe God gets the most glory when a flawed human is changed through the power of His Spirit.  No one can deny it when someone is truly changed - when someone begins to act like and look more like Jesus - because it is something we can never do on our own.

I cannot continue to act badly and expect you to just love me anyway.  Can I?  I can't use that old - "I'm only human" excuse any longer.   I can't expect God to be pleased with me (He never stops loving me) if I refuse to be obedient and  hear Him when He points out those areas I need changed or if I do not allow His Spirit to work in my heart.

It starts with renewing our minds through His Word.  I am not likely to even see my true reflection...unless I look into His Word. It is easy to deceive myself, or compare myself with someone else, and think I'm looking pretty good!  I do not naturally think like God thinks...I do not see those bad spots that others see.   And face it, all others can see is what I say and do...the expression on my face...my attitude - they cannot see my heart, but God does.  Jesus was very plain about everything we say and do coming straight from our hearts.

Lord, help me to see my reflection...to repent and depend on Your Spirit to change me...so that Your reflection will be seen when others look at me.

Why is choosing paint colors so hard????

Why?  Why can't they come up with a way to show you exactly what paint will look like on your wall? I am far from being color-blind.  I can tell the variations of color quite well.  I even know what I want on my wall. But somewhere between what is in my head...and what is on that color chip - there's a definite disconnect.


Somehow what is on that chip, doesn't end up in the can.  And what is in the can, doesn't end up on the wall. What's the deal?

The person who can solve this dilemma - might become a millionaire - strike that - a billionaire!

Continuing the Journey

Who would have ever thought we would see 2011?  It seems only yesterday that we were about to enter the world of 2000 and everyone was terrified of what might happen...computers might not work...food must be hoarded...funny stuff now.  Yet here we are.

For me, 2010 had some major happenings...

• My Daddy went home with the Lord - February
• Cary's family moved to New Madrid, only 1 hour away - April
• God called me to lead worship - May
• My brother and I discovered a new relationship built on Christ and His Word - all year
• God allowed us to buy a house - a "fixer-upper" - November
• Living Bethlehem 2010, Jesus Saves! - December

My Daddy was a rock...he was there if I needed him.  It already seems as if he's been

gone for years and it hasn't been one full year yet.   Whenever I am surprised by a picture of him, it takes my breath away - I think, "There's Daddy!" and immediately, "He's gone."

We'd spent 2 years here, at least 3 hours from most of our children and grandchildren.  Then God placed Cary in New Madrid, Missouri.  Now we have someone close by...and we get to see them pretty often. It hasn't made me miss our other 5 children and their families any less, but it has removed a little of the loneliness of our family being away from us. 

Probably the most impacting event of all...God called me to lead worship.  Not something I've dreamed of doing...not something I'm particularly comfortable doing...yet - what I was made to do.  I am still not skilled at it...I am still growing and developing...I still struggle to stay close, closer, closest to Him knowing I cannot do it.  But hearing Him call me...priceless.  I still can't believe it - me?  now?  here?  It is probably without a doubt the hardest thing I've ever attempted to do.

Then there's my brother - Dear Kevin (with wife, Sandi) - what an amazing person!  I can't begin to tell you how he has grown in the Lord this year.  Proof positive that we can know the Lord as well as we want to! He has become a spiritual giant in a few short months...well versed in scripture...wise in the truth...willing to follow the Lord into ministry...my strong support and encourager. What a blessing!

Then, this is most likely the most trying while most exciting thing - a house!  We had very little time in December to work on it, so that has started in earnest in 2011. I am a mass of aching muscles and stiff, sore hands - what a "wuss"! It is a typical remodel so far - everything that can go wrong, has - and everytime we think we've found the last problem, another one arises!  I will share more as we go along on this adventure God has given to us.

 And lastly on this particular list - Living Bethlehem 2010, Jesus Saves!  I am continually amazed at what God can do when His people come together.  Men who work against all odds to make fireworks come off at an exact moment in time (while keeping fields from catching on fire - LOL)...couples who haul animals back and forth every night...folks who brave extreme cold for hours 3 nights in a row, in order to share the love and salvation offered by Jesus Christ...ladies who sew for months and months, taking to heart every single costume...those who built (and re-built) the village,  put together gifts,  mix up hot cocoa, bake cookies, pretzels, and bread...those who register and serve and park cars...who hand out candy canes...it is a never ending list.  How my heart is changed from this one event.

My Encouragement for Today talked about the 30 some odd parables told by our Lord.  She talked about how His stories depicted everyday life...everyday happenings.  You know  - death...children moving...new areas of ministry...all the feelings we have, the people in our lives - those are all ordinary and everyday things. 

The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, "We come to realize that it is in the everyday world of sowing and eating and dealing with family members that people make the great spiritual decisions and that God's grace works."

Stephen Covey, "We are not human beings on a spiritual journey, but spiritual beings on a human journey."

I've only listed a few things here.  There is no way to recount every wonderful thing of this past year...my wonderful praise team...my family...my mom...my friends.

One of my brother's  favorite sayings is, "Loving the journey", as he experiences walking with the Lord and trusting Him in every area.

Who knows what 2011 will bring? We've been placed in this life to live it...by His grace, in His will, through His Holy Spirit.  My new saying is going to be, "Continuing the journey..."