Post 51...didn't realize i had 50

Wow...i made it to 50 and today i write number 51 the same age i am~! wierd!

Today though please pray for my dear friend Amy Ruff, she and her husband were pastors at our church in Bloomington. They were missionaries in Ghana and now have come back to the states because she has stage 3 breast cancer (one side)....today she starts chemo. please pray for her. please pray for her journey with this with God...pray for sweet Terry her hubby and their 2 children and their hubbies. thanks.

It is cold here. It is 60 something in my house and you would think it was 40. my nose is cold, i have chills, my fingers need those gloves with the holes in the end so i could still type. I am such a whimp! I would freeze in Indy if i was there. I did not even do my prayer walk! bummer

I am writing my Christmas cards to my small collection of adult children who are either in college or in jobs away from home. I feel compeled to keep their mailboxes full of hope and not empty...so i send them cards every once in awhile (i wish more) and today i am sending them Christmas cards to "welcome them back" home after they have been with their families. ahhhh. one will be our daughter, Megan. It is great to have everyone back here for the break. But i have to keep a positive attitude or i go and start thinking how fast the time is/will be going!! DON"T GO THERE!

Megan is showering, molly is babysitting and ruth is doing what i would LOVE to be doing sleeping and cuddled in a warm blanket!!! hmmmmm. should i join her???

So what are you doing during your break? if you get one. If you don't what are you up to???

WEll...receive and believe the greatest gift ever..JESUS!

blessings!

weather should not be a factor of Christmas

Hey friends of mine!
I am bloggng today...10 days later than last time. But today on my power prayer walk, I was thinking about how people say "it isn't Christmas cuz it is hot". Maybe but scripture says that "He washed us white as snow"..that is the best "snow" we could ever ask for (and we don't have to shovel it). so maybe look beyond your weather, your circumstances, or even your day. Christmas is more than a temperature, more than shopping for that perfect gift, more than lights and cookies. Christmas (and i know you all know this)is "CHRIST"mas...all about God sending His son, to become man, to save us on a cross...wow, no weather needed, no jackets, no presents, just time with a Giving God who came to earth to save someone like me and YOU! So why do you need certain weather to make it feel like CHRISTmas? Jesus is your present, so is grace, mercy.... merry CHRISTmas.

So beyond that...i am in fact laying out on a comforter in my front yard with Ruthie, my wonder dog, sweating! but hey if i get to hot i can go inside! right, just like you can get out of the cold.

Molly just came home with fantastic news about her grades....her first oollege eng. class...A! her art class probably the same! yeah for the A. and she has raised almost 91% of her sr. trip they are doing in feb. (a disney cruise for 3 days)FUN! I never had a sr. trip like that, but i lived in Ohio...no cruise ships there! Now all we need is some college acceptance letters to come in and scholarship money. Not much considering all the news she just gave me. Proud of her!

so enjoy this day that the Lord has made...be glad.

blogging is fun...but i want "pazzaz" on it

Hi.
I want some "pazzaz" on my blog. some Christmas cheer or winter look. but how? I am not good at the "special effects" so i am pleading with you all if someone wants to help me "redo" my blog and make it more whimsical....HELP. It is the time of year to "give" so give my blog a new look.

Okay that was such a boring paragraph....on to fun, whimisical thoughts. I love that word "whimsical" it makes me laugh inside. I am home alone (like the movie, but not in New York.) Molly is at SAT's trying to get more $$ from higher score...she has DONE FANTASTIC, but every extra point counts as money! Brian left for work and won't return til 3. Megs is in Ft. Myers. So ruthie and I are going to craft today and put up lights. Well, she will sleep while i do that.

What do you like to do on rainy days? I was wondering if all this rain was snow...oh my we would be singing "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas!" There are little bubbles on my pool from the rain dropping from the cage. they are whimsical.

So enjoy this day that the Lord has given. Do something whimsical, do something happy for a friend (like help her with her with a blog,hint)

Enjoy and CHRISTmas hugs to you all

shhh...hear His voice...

Good day, this third day of December....

Shhhh.. "Be still and know that I am God..." I love to wait in anticipation for His voice and direction. Sometimes, i get "static" in the hearing, but God's voice is so big and so distinct that it gets right through. But i have to be willing to hear it loud and clear and be ready to be obedient to the calling.

I have started a tradition every morning and do a prayer walk. I do it as exercise, start the metabolism and mostly to talk to God. I love it. It wakes me up and starts my day with Him. Today, I started walking and just singing Christmas songs, then went into prayer. It was nice...cuz in that small voice of singing, I ask God to let me hear from Him.

So do you let the stactic keep you hearing God's voice or do you just "switch" and listen with GREAT anticipation. Right now in the middle of the busy season, clear your thoughts and make room for God's voice. He has so much to tell us, He loves to hear from us. Listen....shhhh God is callng you.

May you continue to be open to His voice now and forever. Remember to focus on what is Eternal and nurture those priceless things...family, friends, strangers, believers, future believers....

CHRISTmas hugs!

Christ Celebration is every month

Today is the first day of December...a month full of decorations, hustle/bustle, money changing hands, bell ringers everywhere, Santa's confusing children, and somewhere you will find a manger or a "Merry Christmas" on the door of a store (Target has it!!!) But Christmas spirit is in our hearts and in our actions. That is my search this month...making sure i am doing both. Showing CHRIST in my merry "CHRIST"mas and doing something with it.

How will you do it? How will you push through all the stuff in your way and show CHRIST to those around you? Will it be in a smile, encouraging word, daily study of the Word, or just being friendly to a stranger (to your garbage men). But remember to do this each month...every month is a Christ celebration!

I am going to the attic and start bringing Christmas into my home. I was to do this 2hours ago (start) and i have been doing other things. But I am leaving in 6 min. and start the duties of making my house a celebration of Christ. My dear husband would like me to "tone" it down and not forget the "real" reason for the season. But decorating my house does not distract me from the spirit of Jesus...in fact i look at it all and it makes me smile. It reminds me of Jesus...lights, color, memories, and love are in my decorations. In each ornament that brings back a memory of a loved one here or who has gone to Jesus' arms. The white lights are JESUS lights...they are bright and full of hope. The tree smells of fresh evergreen. The smell of freshness that comes when we read His Word. So my house will bring joy and not clutter, it will be soft and full of joy and color..it will be a Jesus Celebration.

So may we all share the celebration of the birth of Jesus and not see our cups half full or half empty but "my cup runneth over with Jesus"!

So stop by for some hot chocolate, or a story, or a walk through the house. A home full of memories and ready for new ones to be made all because YOU stopped by to say "Merry CHRISTmas".

May the Joy of Jesus be evident in your home and on your face!
blessings....

Crazy day, listening to Christmas music!

Hi....Hey...
I LOVE, LOVE, Christmas music. I know it is early for some of you, but really isn't Christms music alot of praise music anyway! I listen to some of the music (the faith based ones) and it is GREAT Praise and Worship music!!! Most tell the story of baby Jesus, what a better praise story?? Nothing!

My family thinks i am a little early...so i just CRANK it up when they are not here and burn a mistletoe candle. I go somewhere else when the music is on. I remember alot. I think alot. I pray alot. I clean! Yes, i do it with an "extra" step when i listen to the music! A happy "no worries" step! yeah!

I am encouraged again that my blogging is not all that bad. thanks jg.

In my Charles Stanley (actually ours) devotional this a.m. I loved what it said. It was about perseverance. The end said this: "Biblical success means two things: achieving what the Lord calls you to do and becoming the person He desires you to be. Seek His specific goals for your life. Persevering through obstacles ill be a faith-building adventure that teaches you to depend on the heavenly Father." Pretty cool! I want to become the person Jesus desires me to become! I battle with this, even though I KNOW I am a better, healthier me when i let Him do me!

I read a blog today about "funky" schedules. I do think sometimes "seasons" change our schedules. I also think relationships change, even though the male is to be the head of the household, spiritual leader...that just sometimes, that will not be the case and roles are reversed. Temporarily! My schedule i feel is my families and the volunteer duties i do. They make my day. so bring on the funk! (jg!!)

I aso know that my step-dad is moving out of the house he and my mom lived in for over 20 some years. It was the house they lived the longest in their 35 years of marriage! It is sad because that is it....door closed...end of the chapter...end of the journey.! No more a house to go to that was the home of my mom. No more smell, or memories to go to. Maybe this will be freeing for me. I have struggle for a very long time (3 years) with my mom's death...too long, i know! But now my step dad moves into a condo...and it will be his place! not mom and merlin's....just Merlin's place. I am happy for him. I have been down a couple of times to help him. And it was hard, it was like after she died...going through the stuff. But it is all just stuff.

Do you have stuff you need to get rid of so you can focus on the true meaning of Christmas? Do you have things that keep you from moving on? Do you? I know I do.
May God bring you peace, clarity, and comfort to clean out the stuff!!! and see Christ! He is the only thing we need!

Merry "CHRIST"mas!

another month went by and where was I???

I was (and still am).....still getting use to Megan living in Ft. Myers.
I was (and still am).....working on college stuff for Molly.
I was (and i am pretty well okay with him).....getting use to Molly having a boyfriend. (yes i said the word) He is a nice guy! (just don't hurt my baby!)
I was (and still am).....still doing the "change4change" for our church. Which is a monthly "collection of coins" to raise funds for our building. We are at alittle under 8,000 for 8 months! not bad considering it is literally "pocket change".
I was working feverishly on the church's cookbook...they did one some 10+years ago, it is off to the printers now!
I was sad about Molly having her first fender bender (and no it was not her fault) but she is okay!!!
I was (and still am) very sad for my friend Bonnie in Bloomington, whose daughter Nikki passed away end of last month! She just went through the "first month". Prayers appreciated!
I was.....in Indiana and got to see my buddies!yeah!i love, love my friends there. we just pick up and go on whereever we leave off. so very cool.
I was (and still am) trying to get back my "girlish" figure! want to start running/walking again TOMORROW!
I was visited by a dear friend from Columbus (who is an OSU fan, but i still love her!)
I was....riding my bike one day and in the bike lane was a dead BOBCAT>>>>freaky! i got off my bike and took pictures. and also found a sheriff to clear it out of the bike lane. it was kinda spooky and caught me off guard!
I was 50 and "still am NOT" now i am a year older! birthdays are just not the same anymore! i love having birthdays and making them special....but this year just seemed to pass without a hitch...EXCEPT (OSU buddy) came and saw me. AND MOLLY made me the neatest sign and hung it at the coffee shop for me on Sunday! ah..precious. and Megan found me the "Wizard of Oz" pez candy collection set. cool!
I was (and still am) trying to do better on my blog writing....still a work in progress. But when I know someone is reading it...it gets me all fired up to write...So this is for you Cath...even though you can't "comment" I know you check on my every once in awhile.
so enjoy this short visit about my month of October...it FLEW by and today is the first day of NOVEMBER! and it is NOW dark at 6... i do not like that!
Megan will be home in 18 more days if thanksgiving is on the 19th? do not really know...how sad is that.
I have a busy month...BIG fundraiser for Molly's school. prayerfully the cookbook will be done and published! cool.
so Happy fall y'all!!!