Monday, December 31, 2018

As we start a New Year

 (source - Woman's World)
At the end of your life, what will you regret? What will really be important?

Tuesday, December 25, 2018

Christmas Prayer

CHRISTMAS PRAYER
Loving Father, help us remember the birth of Jesus, that we may share in the Song of the Angels, the Gladness of the Shepherds, and the Worship of the Wise Men.
Close the door of hate and open the door of Love all over the world.  Let Kindness come with every gift and Good Desires with every greeting.
Deliver us from evil by the Blessing which Christ brings, and Teach us to be merry with Clear Hearts.  
May the Christmas morning make us happy to be Thy Children and the Christmas evening bring us to our beds with Grateful Thoughts, Forgiving and Forgiven.
For Jesus' Sake........ Amen.
(Robert Louis Stevenson)

Sunday, December 16, 2018

Words to Live By


The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched.
 They must be felt with the heart.
Helen Keller

Sunday, December 9, 2018

Words to Live By - Reflection

As we will soon enter yet another new year, we pause for reflection. Remembering the years that have past. I'd like to share with you about a very special lady. One who filled a hole in our lives.

She was my teacher, friend, and soul mate in treasure hunting for over 30 years. I used to tag along with her to yard sales, antique shops and all kinds of second hand stores. She loved paper weights, and she also loved vases. She had quite a collection of both. I have several of her paper weights displayed in my home.

But more importantly, she loved my children and was a huge part of their growing up years.

My own mom passed away many years ago, before my children were born. She stepped in as an auntie, but more like a grandmother. Her generous and loving spirit filled us with her unconditional love.
Every Christmas my children and I would descend on her house and decorate for the season. It was a tradition we held until she no longer was able to live by herself. Our memories of her prick my heart, missing her laughter and generous hospitality.

Very rarely does someone come into your life that has left such a deep imprint on your heart. I am most thankful to have known and loved her.

 

Before the year is out, take time to tell someone you love them. For some people, it can be a very lonely time of year.

Sunday, December 2, 2018

Words to Live By


"Let him that is thirsty come. And let him take the water of life freely."
Revelation 22:17

Thursday, November 22, 2018

Happy Thanksgiving

 

So once in every year we throng
Upon a day apart,
To praise the Lord with feast and song
In thankfulness of heart.
~Arthur Guiterman, The First Thanksgiving

Wishing you a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving!

Wednesday, October 31, 2018

The love of .....

....Books

My home has always been filled with the aroma of printed paper. Ever since I was a young child, a book was a friend who would go with me and fill my life with entertainment. Books capture my imagination and take me to places I will never visit. I relish entering into the lives of characters who often defy odds. 
When we travel, I make it a habit of searching out places where older books are sold. I found a half price book store in Minnesota, and there's always a wide variety of books at the Goodwill or Hospice thrift stores. Have I found treasures? Yes, I often find out of print books or by some of my favorite authors. 
One thing has perked a question in my mind. With all of the ebooks on Kindle and other hand held devices, what is happening to the printed word? Will we still go to the library or book store to acquire a solid, page turning book? Maybe one day books will become obsolete, but for now I think not. I recently went into two thrift stores, and is my habit, went to the book section. As I stood there, head leaning to the right searching out titles, the whole section filled with people. It becomes a bit of a treasure hunt, mostly because the books are not sectioned. But oh the fun and thrill of finding that one special prize. A title, or an author that will take me away to places where my imagination will fill in the gaps. 
Let's not lose the love of books. I've passed that love on to my children. And I hope they will pass it on to the next generation.

Sunday, October 7, 2018

Words to Live By


Detours

When Pharaoh let the people go, "God did not guide them by the road towards the Philistines, though that way was the shortest.... God made them go round by way of the wilderness towards the Red Sea" (Ex 13: 17, 18 NEB).

The direct route would save time as well as wear and tear on the people, but God had something infinitely more important than economics in mind--He wanted the people to be able to sing the song of praise of chapter 15--"The Lord is my refuge and my defence...my deliverer. He is my God and I will glorify Him; He is my father's God and I will exalt Him" (Ex 15:2 NEB). They sang this song because they had firsthand experience of God's power and deliverance. Pursued by all the chariots and horses, cavalry and infantry of Egypt, they had passed through the Red Sea in safety and seen the enemy drowned. They would have missed this glorious lesson if they had taken the short road.

When we are puzzled by delays and detours, let us think about the great purpose of life: to glorify God. The lessons He wants to teach us "in the wilderness" are priceless means of providing us with a song we could not otherwise have sung: "In Thy constant love Thou hast led the people!" (Ex 15:13).

~ Elisabeth Elliott

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

My Pressed Flower Friend



My Pressed Flower Friend
 (Sherry Morris)

In my book of memories, 
there is a pressed Flower that fills a page,
With a gentle fragrance lingering still,
though it's faded now with age.
The way my Friend smiled and laughed,
The many ways she cared,
Are a legacy that she left behind
In stories I love to share.
So remember the hearts who've touched
your life,
It's what we each are here for.
A pressed Flower gently reminds us
To love and treasure our friendships more.

·.·.,¸¸,.·´¯`·.,¸¸,.·´¯`·.·\o/.(¨`-¦-´¨).\o/·.·´¯`·.,¸¸,.·´¯`·.,¸¸,.·.·
I love you Diana.  Your Fragrance still lingers.

Sunday, September 23, 2018

Words to Live By - Freedom



"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Philippians 1:21

These very profound words hold such an impact. One Sunday, as our Pastor was preaching from this text, he began to cry. He said as he studied this passage, the realization of his mortality grabbed him. He wrestled with the fact that he really wanted to see his children grow up. He wanted to be here with his family. And yet, the scripture teaches that to die is gain.

Day by day, as we each walk the pathway we are to go, life just seems to keep going. Until we are stopped in our tracks with the loss of a loved one or friend. It's then that we start thinking of the "other side".

14 years ago, on a Sunday morning in September, during the middle of a raging hurricane, my BFF lost her battle with cancer and walked into the arms of Jesus. I have missed my sweet friend all these years, but on that Sunday, the Pastor's message brought a sense of peace to my heart. Diana was such a special friend. A heart friend. We were friends for almost 20 years. She always encouraged me, with unconditional love and always with a smile. It is selfish of me to want her to be here, when she has gained so much more. As she reached out her hand that Sunday morning, she left behind her tired body to walk with Jesus. I can almost picture her, in my minds eye, looking back at all of us and saying, "It's all right, I'm whole now."


Mark 8:35 states: “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's, will save it” (ESV).
Jesus Christ offers you the greatest freedom - in learning how to die, we learn how to live.

Tuesday, September 11, 2018

Remembrance

Today is a day of remembrance,
a day that we've counted no more,

the lives that were lost one September morning
as our country woke from shore to shore.

The innocent men and women
who entered eternity's gate,

the pain that our nation encountered
as we beheld their indescribable fate.

A day that changed us forever
as we wept and mourned the loss of an age

we watched with horror at the ruins
and stepped into a new centuries page.

This time in history will be remembered
for the grief and unity held,

by a Nation free and proud to be heralded,
America! God bless you we yelled!

So mark this day one of memory
of a time God held us together

We will never forget,
God is still in control of our land,
let us hold that in our hearts forever.

Sunday, September 2, 2018

Words to Live By


"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."
Colossians 3:16-17

Sunday, August 26, 2018

Words to Live By - Acceptance


There are certain things in life that can sometimes leave you wasted and torn. Acceptance is one of those issues. I sometimes wonder if having survived the ravages of a dysfunctional childhood has left it's ugly imprint on my soul and spirit. Too many times there have been feelings of rejection which have ushered in a sense of lack of self worth.  I've never been particularly bright, or pretty or talented in any specific way. Yet God tells us the we all have a purpose in living.

As a child I never had a family life like I would see on TV.  No happy ever after, fairy tale endings.  Yet when I married, I felt the Lord leading me to a man who was raised in a whole family. He was raised to be honest, sincere, a man of integrity and honorable. So many of the values that I never learned were radiated in this man's temperament.

One of our children recently married. I had always hoped that I would be able to establish a good relationship with my children's spouses. When I first married, I never felt I was fully accepted into my in laws circle, but in the long run, I think eventually my husbands parents learned to love me.

  Recently I was informed that there would be no informality in what we would be called as the parents of our child. I was told that the new in law did not know us well enough.  They did not want to hurt us, but in a sense, it felt like another rejection. When I married into my hubby's family, it was a formal acknowledgment until one day I started calling them by their first name. It was not rejected, yet I knew that my own MIL had called her own mother in law "Mom".  That was not approved of in my situation.

Perhaps when we are accepted into God's family we should call Him Mr. God.  No, He would never allow that. We are adopted as sons and daughters of the most High. He is to be my eternal heavenly Father, and I can call on Him anywhere and anytime. There are times when I would love to crawl up into his lap and cry like a baby. I know He hears my voice and sees my tears.

Perhaps I am expecting too much too soon. I am just thankful that MY Father in heaven has accepted me as I am. I am thankful that, even when everything else is taken away, I can always rely on Him.
"Strange as it may seem, one of the primary purposes of being shaken by suffering is to make our faith more unshakable.
Faith is like muscle tissue: if you stress it to the limit, it gets stronger, not weaker. That’s what James means here. When your faith is threatened and tested and stretched to the breaking point, the result is greater capacity to endure.
God loves faith so much that he will test it to the breaking point so as to keep it pure and strong. For example, he did this to Paul according to 2 Corinthians 1:8–9,
We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not in ourselves but on God who raises the dead.
The words “but that was to” show that there was a purpose in this extreme suffering: it was in order that Paul would not rely on himself and his resources, but on God — specifically the future grace of God in raising the dead.
God so values our wholehearted faith that he will, graciously, take away everything else in the world that we might be tempted to rely on — even life itself. His aim is that we grow deeper and stronger in our confidence that he himself will be all we need.
He wants us to be able to say with the psalmist, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:25–26)."  Quote by John Piper

Sunday, August 12, 2018

Words to Live By


"Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise; be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good..."
[Psalm 100:4, 5a]

Sunday, August 5, 2018

Words to Live By


The LORD your God is in your midst,
A victorious warrior
He will exult over you with joy,
He will be quiet in His love,
He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.
Zephaniah 3:17

Sunday, July 29, 2018

Words to Live By

"May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the LORD. " Psalm 104:34

Relax, throw open the windows of our stuffy little souls and let the cooling breezes of a better world sweep through! What will all our petty worries amount to fifty years from now? Rejoice in the old simplicities which no man can take away—like spring and green woods and mocking-birds. And, better still, rest our souls in the goodness of God and His amazing grace. –V. Havner

Sunday, July 22, 2018

Words to Live By


"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths."
Proverbs 3:5-6

Sunday, July 15, 2018

Words to Live By

"If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
The Lord will guide you always;
He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land -
you will be like a watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail."

Isaiah 58:10-11

Sunday, July 8, 2018

Words to Live By


They who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31

Sunday, July 1, 2018

Sunday, June 24, 2018

Words to Live By


For behold, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone.
The flowers have already appeared in the land;
The time has arrived for pruning the vines,
And the voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land.
Song of Songs 2:11-12

Sunday, June 17, 2018

Words to Live By


As water reflects a face,
so a man's heart reflects the man.

Proverbs 27:19

Happy Father's Day

Sunday, June 10, 2018

Words to Live By


"Let all who take refuge in You be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread Your protection over them, that those who love Your name may rejoice in You. " Psalm 5:11

Sunday, June 3, 2018

Words to Live By


"In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait in expectation."

Psalm 5:3

Sunday, May 27, 2018

Words to Live By



How precious also are Thy thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.
When I awake, I am still with Thee.

Psalms 139:17-18

Sunday, May 20, 2018

Words to Live By


"And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord;
and great shall be the peace of thy children."

Isaiah 54:13

Sunday, May 13, 2018

A Mother's Day memory



My presence shall go with you,
and I will give you rest.

Exodus 33:14

 The call came early. She was experiencing pain and was having difficulty breathing. My husband and I rushed to her apartment, where we found her lying on her bed. She told me she had eaten a banana that morning, and wondered if it was indigestion. It did not sound like it to me. We gathered her up and rushed to the Emergency Room. 

After spending a couple of hours in the waiting room, a doctor came out and gave us the news. She had had a heart attack and was being transferred to the cardiac ward. After several long hours of waiting, a cardiologist came to talk with me. He was sober but not disheartened. He told me that if you had to have a heart attack, she had had it in the best area of the heart. So apparently there was minimal damage. They would keep her and do more tests. That was Tuesday.

On Wednesday I went back to the hospital, but because she was in the cardiac ward, visitors were not allowed to stay in her room. Only intermittent visits every five or six hours. Her sisters came and of course they wanted to see her. So I gave up one of  my visitations for them. Then my cousin wanted to see her, and again I allowed her my place. I finally was able to visit with her that evening. Fifteen short minutes was all that was allowed. So I spent most of Wednesday in the waiting room. I told her I would be back for the ten o'clock visitation the next day.

Thursday morning I brewed coffee and filled a thermos. Newspaper and magazines in hand, I settled in for a long morning, waiting for the ten o'clock visitation.

Other people wandered into windowless room. At 9:45 a nurse came into the waiting room and asked if there were any of my mothers relatives present. I stood. The nurse escorted me to the hallway where a doctor waited to speak with me. He told me my mother had had another heart attack and wanted permission to insert a pace maker. I told him to do whatever he needed to do. Finding the pay phone I called my husband and one of my aunts. A nurse appeared and I was taken to a private room. A large table centered in the room with chairs surrounding it. I took a seat as the nurse said the doctor would be in to speak to me shortly. By then my aunt and husband had come, and we waited until the door opened and presented the doctor who had spoken with me earlier. 

His appearance was serious but kind, as he told me there was nothing more they could do and my mother had died. My aunt started crying, yet I sat there stunned. I had just spoken with her the night before and now she was gone. Before the doctor left the room, I thanked him. 

Two days later, I sat in the church where I had been married, as the preacher spoke words about my mother. She was a kind and generous woman. She had come to know Christ late in life, but she was now safe in the arms of Jesus. 

As a young woman losing a Mom, it was difficult to relate to others. Most people didn't lose their parents when they are in the twenties. Yet, God had deemed his need for her. Even after all these years, I still have an empty place in my heart where she resides. 

Don't lose an opportunity to tell your mother how much you love and appreciate her. We don't know if we will have tomorrow.




 (author unknown)

Grace At Home

Sunday, May 6, 2018

Words to Live By


Blessed is the man who listens to me,
watching daily at my gates,
waiting at my doorposts.
For he who finds me finds life,
and obtains favor from the Lord.

Proverbs 8: 34-35

Sunday, April 29, 2018

Words to Live By


"Sing unto the Lord, all the earth;
show forth from day to day
His salvation."

1 Chronicles 16:23

Sunday, April 22, 2018

Words to Live By


A gentle answer turns away wrath,
But a harsh word stirs up anger.
Proverbs 15:1

Sunday, April 15, 2018

Words to Live By



The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
They are planted in the house of the Lord;
they flourish in the courts of our God.
They still bear fruit in old age;
they are ever full of sap and green,
to declare that the Lord id upright;
he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

Psalm 92:12-15

Sunday, April 8, 2018

Words to Live By


You shall call,
and the Lord will answer:
you shall cry,
and He will say,
Here I am.

Isaiah 58:9

Sunday, April 1, 2018

He is not here


Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?"
She said to him, "Yes Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world." (John 11:25-27)

"He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said" (Matt. 28:6)

May you rejoice in knowing that the Savior of this world lives.

Wishing you a Blessed Easter.