God's sense of timing is interesting....

While Kenn and three other guys from our church are in the front room "discussing" theology, I finally watched this video.

http://neverfails.wordpress.com/2008/05/15/church-gives-pastor-new-truck/

All the talking in the world will never touch my heart as much as a church showing its love to its pastor - or one other person giving me a hug when I'm feeling lonely or worthless.

Dare I suggest that we live our faith a lot more, and talk a little less?

God's in control!

Hi, dear friends! Here we are at the middle of May already - can you BELIEVE it?? Where has the year gone? And as I look forward - NOT! - to celebrating another birthday in just a couple of weeks (SIGH), God keeps nudging me to remember the lessons he's taught me over the years. Here's another one: He doesn't want me to just walk in Him when I'm making the BIG decisions, but also the SMALL ones.

This is heliotrope. If you've never smelled it, you've missed a great treat. It's an heirloom plant; my dad winters ours for me, because I love it so much - and it's not easy to keep alive! But the plants are big and healthy.

One of the really unique things about these blooms are that they make up clusters. Kind of lilacs in individual trumpet shape, they make small clusters - and smaller clusters grow together to make bigger ones.

Kind of like the decisions in my life. Little decisions add up. If I don't give Him the little ones, how am I going to REALLY give Him the big ones? I want to be like Balaam - nothing he could receive could tempt him to go beyond what God commanded him to do. Living in God's commands, His will, is worth so much more than anything I could get on this earth. It's funny how much we KNOW that, but it doesn't take much to throw us off course. :)

So, that's what I'm thinking about today. How about you? What's God saying to you? I'd LOVE to hear from you - I'm feeling like I'm talking in the dark again. :D I think my next post will be an in-depth introduction of myself, because I'm finding out a lot of you don't know much about me! LOL!!!

God bless you, my dear friend. He loves you - rest in that knowledge today! :)

God of the Second Chances

Today's photo taken by Kenn!

Poor Hosea. Called to share God's grief and woe over his love being unfaithful. God's nation had turned her back on Him yet again - and Hosea's wife did the same. God's nation had fallen in with loving other gods - Hosea's wife "loved" other men. They both felt anger, grief, and shame for their loved ones.

But they BOTH were willing to give their loved ones a second chance. A chance to return, and love and be loved as purely, as passionately, as boundlessly as the first time they were loved.

Two things jumped out at me from this verse selection today. First, how GREAT our God is, to continue to love us and want us to be His, even when we chase after all the carnal pleasures we think we want. It's absolutely amazing to me!

Second, how desperately WE need to be able to love this way. We're so afraid of being rejected, of not getting what WE need out of a relationship, of LOTS of things. God's put this example out there for us: second chances are NOT just FOR us, but are to be FROM us. Not the kind where we hold back, just because we've been hurt. The kind where we love as God loves us - and BECAUSE He loves us the way He does, we're able to love each other. Just the way it was when we first loved!

Please note: if you liked today's post, and would like to receive things like this in your emailbox every couple of days or so, please email me at pooh0612@aol.com. If you get tired of it, you can always remove yourself super-easily. :)

Here's the slideshow I promised you!

Hi, everyone! So sorry that I have taken a long time to get this up; I've been trying to find my desk. AUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's been a week-long project - LONG story, but lots to do before I could even start on the desk itself. :D SO. Part of finding the top is getting these scanned in and up for you.

Please note: there are some that use one or two Stampin' Up! things, and ALL images from the company are copyrighted, 1990 - 2008. Thanks. Hate the small print. :D

Anyway! There were some wonderful cards, and I cannot thank those of you enough who took the time to help make my mom's birthday special!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

Enjoy! And take the time to bless someone!!!

Six Word Memoir

Discovering God's Neverending Love Every Day!

Each and every day, God's love captures me. He will not let me go, and nothing can force me out of His hand. His mercies are new every morning; He loves me despite what I feel about me. His love never changes, no matter how much or little I do. He puts things into my day to remind me that He loves me. Whether my heart is shattered regarding an earthly issue or bursting with pleasure about something in my earthly walk, He loves me. Boundlessly, unceasingly, mercifully, gracefully, abundantly, deeper than I can ever measure or imagine - that's how much He loves me!


My dear friend Sparrow tagged me for this memoir meme. Here are the instructions as posted on her blog:





Instructions from Maxine to do your own 'Six Word Memoir'.
.
1. Write your own six word memoir.


2. Post it on your blog, and include a visual illustration if you like.


3. Link to the person who tagged you in their post.


4. Tag five more blogs with links.


5. Remember to leave a comment on the tagged blogs inviting them to play.

I'll list a couple of individuals but they are free to participate or decline. Please remember tags are always meant to be fun with no pressure.

Of course, Becky, Nancy, and Kimmie are tagged! I think I'll tag my sister, Kelli, and see if she'll have time to play in the next couple of weeks. :) And, YOU, if you'd like to play along! Just let me know you're playing - and put your blog into Mr. Linky over there at the right of this page!!! :)

I can't wait to see what y'all do. It made me think: what has my life up until now been? There are LOTS more things I can think of, but THIS is the one that God's been impressing on me the last year or so!

Have a wonderful BLESSED day!! :)

It's MONDAY!

And it's time to share about what you learned in Sunday school, church, or watching/listening to your program yesterday!

Yesterday was Graduation Sunday at our church; we had three high school graduates, and three college - I THINK. :) There were some sweet photos of some of the grads when they were little. Oh, the memories. I'm feeling a bit OLD today!!! :)

Our youth minister preached, and it was a good sermon! He talked about operating from the platform God has us on - using as his reference Nehemiah 8:4-6. He also tied it in to the sermon his preacher preached two weeks ago - giving what little you have to God, and allowing Him to use it. It was an encouraging, exhorting sermon - and Jerry should preach more often!!! :)

We arrived at Sunday School late; I'm fighting a sinus infection, and Kenn's allergies are really acting up, too. But we got there, and the lesson was on Life Changes - specifically, Jacob's relocation to Egypt where Joseph was.

I can't wait to hear from you! What did you learn yesterday? What is God saying to you TODAY????

Greg McDougal!!!!

I know it's last-minute notice, BUT....

http://www.horsentack.com/

A live feed for Greg's concert in Florida tonight (May 17) - starts at 5 our time!!!!

If you don't know Greg or his story - 3 of his 4 kids have been diagnosed with cystic fibrosis - please check out http://www.ahouseformykids.com/!

If you can't watch, PLEASE pray for them - they've been in Florida this week, and Greg didn't have much to say except things are going incredibly, and to get this to as many people as possible - so you MAY get this again. :D PLEASE PASS IT ON TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU CAN!

It's Thursday...

and I don't have much to report - but I want to say hello, anyway. :) Things continue to perk away here; Stampin' Up! is rolling right along - some days REALLY exciting, others, well.... :D I need to pray that God will help me be content wherever I am in business, as well as personal life!!!!!





I realized I didn't post too many photos from when we were in Paducah; I took a lot, but I now don't find too many of them exciting - except for the ones I took of Kenn, and I'm not sure how many of him YOU want to see! :D But THIS photo IS NOT KENN. ROFL!!!!

Some of you may know that there's an elk & buffalo preserve in the Land Between the Lakes area in Kentucky; we drove through, and saw many buffalo - no elk, though....

Anyway. It's a face only a mother could love, and I saw enough of them while we were there to last me a while. LOL!! There WERE a few calves, but they were lying in the grass - it was VERY hot the day we were there. So, no CUTE ones to show you.... :D

Well, I'm procrastinating; I need to be working, cleaning my stampin' area for my party tonight, and doing other non-fun things. :D

One more thing: I'm thinking of starting something like Kelli's Show & Tell (see previous posts!), but doing it on another day, and more about what you CHERISH - people, animals, things, whatever you have that you want to share. If you have a suggestion for a name, please leave it in a comment - and, if I pick your name for my sharing day, I'll send you a prize!!! :D

OK, I'm off to find something else to procrastinate with.... :D Have a wonderful, BLESSED day!!!!!!!!

Good morning! :)

Peonies!

How are you doing today? WHAT are you doing today? :D I just got done planning for my class tonight - nothing like procrastinating, is there. :D I had a hard time getting motivated yesterday; I've been sneezing my head off, and been tired a lot lately. So, I didn't do EVERYTHING I should have yesterday - and am paying for it today. :D

Well, things are growing quickly outside now! It's a beautiful day here in middle TN again, and the next wave of flowers is here. :) I thought I'd share some of God's beauty with you; I don't have much to say today, except to remind you to take a moment to notice what God has put into your day to bless you with. Maybe a flower? Or a person you don't say thank-you to often enough? Take a moment to count your blessings, praise God for them, and bless someone else! :) Enjoy, dear friends!!! YOU ARE LOVED, BLESSED AND HIGHLY FAVORED!

These are going to be gold lillies SOON!

These are mini carnations. :)

Happy Monday!

Good morning! How are you today? Did you have a good Mother's Day? Not only was it Mother's Day here, but also my mom's 60th birthday. THANK YOU to those of you who sent cards; I'll be making a slide show of those cards she received later this week, when she's tired of looking at them. :D

Kenn & I were in charge of dinner - Dad financed some of it. :D Kenn grilled veggies and ribeyes; we also had corn on the cob, baked white & sweet potatoes, and asparagus - and then a chocolate fondue with both semisweet & white chocolate sauces, LOTS of strawberries - my mom LOVES them - bananas and angel food cake. It was YUMMY. :)

SO. Lots of weather activities across the world this weekend; I pray you're safe! We were blessed by the severe storm systems Saturday night splitting and going completely around us. Kenn stayed up to keep a watch, but it was evident to him by 12:30 that we were going to be OK. God is good. And GOODNESS! The WIND we had all day yesterday!!!! When we went out to the car to go to Sunday school, the rose petals were scattered for YARDS!!!

These are some of the roses that I cut and arranged for a centerpiece for Mom. :) I used the buttercup-yellow bowl I showed in Show & Tell a while ago to arrange them in; it was low enough that it didn't hide the person on the other side of the table. :D Dad's roses are always beautiful!!

Well, it's Monday. What did you learn at church yesterday? Kenn & I came home after Sunday school; since I'm not a mom, I don't enjoy Mother's Day sermons much. :) Plus, I wanted to honor my mom with having a good lunch prepared!

Sunday school was more about Joseph, and the path to reconciliation. But we had a LOT of prayer requests, and that took a lot of time - lesson was short, which was OK with me. I think, honestly, that a lot of time we equate reconciliation with resumption of the relationship - and it's not the same. I feel it's important to reconcile, but that doesn't mean that the right thing to do is to pick up the relationship where you left off. I have an ex-friend with whom I reconciled, but did not resume the relationship - and even then, she did the SAME THING that caused the problem in the first place. She has no desire for reconciliation, and honestly, that's OK. That's her problem. I'm trusting God - and I have no pain from losing the relationship.

SO. :) What did YOU learn yesterday? What was your Mother's Day like? If your a mom, were you honored in the way(s) in which you'd like to be? Do you feel cherished today?

Talk to me, ladies! :D

Have a WONDERFUL, BLESSED day. Remember you are a child of the King, highly favored. If you're loved by Him, the rest of your world will see His love in you!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

Happy Thursday!

Good morning, dear friends! How are you today? It's rainy here today, kind of gloomy - the BEST kind of day for snuggling down into your bed and sleeping all day. :D Is that what I'm doing?

NO!!!! :) I've already taught one class today, and have another this evening - so I'm having to be alert and oriented. ;D

Please go read this post from Lysa:
http://lysaterkeurst.blogspot.com/2008/05/still-holding-hands.html

Now, come back and tell me: are you as CONVICTED by her post as I am? It's SO hard for me, in my relationship with Kenn, NOT to keep a record of wrongs. There are days when it all piles up, and I just want to scream ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GO AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then something comes along, like Lysa's post, and I am so convicted I can't sleep. Do you struggle with this in your relationship, too? Has anyone found an EASY way, or even a way that works for YOU, to forget those wrongs????? It's not even BIG ones that I have trouble with. It's all the LITTLE ones. LOL! As women, I really think this is something that is difficult for us. So, I'm asking you to pray for me. Talk to me; am I the only one who's struggling with keeping no record of wrongs?

Oh, what a BEAUTIFUL day!!!

THIS IS THE DAY THE LORD HAS MADE; I WILL REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow. What a GLORIOUS day it is here! The sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, and God is on His throne. I am SO blessed!

Yesterday was my friend, Angela,'s birthday. Last year I kind of started something - if you've followed my stampin' blog, you saw the results! :D - of getting to choose whatever we wanted to do for our birthdays, and Angela chose a mani/pedi party at a local salon with some dear friends who do that as a service.

Well, let me tell YOU! What a party we had. There's one person missing - Jennifer - who had to leave early and go to church. But the ones in the pink aprons, April and Melissa, are the ones who do the whole shebang. Then, to finish the top row, is Ang and Lori P. - whose birthday is the 13th of this month. Amy's kind of the middle row, and that's me and Cris P. on the bottom. SPA pedicures, followed by maincures - and all accompianied with petit-fors, brownies, muffins, and CHOCOLATE, coffee, and punch. Whew!!! The girls did SUCH a wonderful job! My toes and fingers all match! :D

After that, the five of us who HADN'T been working :D left for dinner, and I drove. One of Ang & Cris P.'s college friends, Ron, was working at Carraba's - so off we went. He treated us all like QUEENS!!! We had a great appetizer - thanks, Cris! - and a leisurely meal - and THEN Ron brought out a dessert for us to share, compliments of him. There were three different desserts on this one plate!! :D And the plate itself was covered with choclate and caramel. Do you think we enjoyed it? :D LOL!!!! And MY birthday is next. Decisions, decisions!!!!

OK. So, it's MONDAY. We're supposed to be sharing what we learned yesterday. It was a wonderful day at our church; it was Seniors Day, and they were honored in different ways - like getting to sing some of the OLD hymns, including one *I* had never heard before, but really like now, "Little Is Much, When God Is In It". We had a guest pastor whose sermon was titled that, and our music minister taught us the song. WOW, was it appropriate!!! The gist of it was: if GOD is in whatever you're doing, NOTHING is too small. One of his examples was the little boy who had brought his lunch when he came to hear Jesus speak. Five little barley loaves, and two little fish. A boy's lunch, nothing big definitely. But when Jesus blessed it and distributed it, it fed over 10,000 people, and there were LEFTOVERS!!!!!

I think I'd grown ambivilant about some of the stories. Yeah, it happened. But hearing it applied in this way - WOW. I never thought of it THAT way. It sure puts a lot of things into a different light. Each year, about this time - about a month before my birthday :D - I usually start feeling like my life isn't going anywhere, that I'm stuck in a rut. But you know what? I may not be doing GRAND things, but that doesn't mean my God can't MAKE them grand. All He wants is for me to give even the little things to Him to use and bless!

Sunday school was about Joseph again, this time about what his story has to say about relationships with others. I maintain again and again - and feel this is a GREAT example of what I say! :D - that you cannot change or prevent most things that happen TO you. The chance for SIN to enter is when YOU CHOOSE HOW TO RESPOND. Joseph could have been vengeful - he had over 20 years to think about what his brothers did to him - and he had a lot of opportunities, while he walked the plan out about bringing Benjamin to him, when he could have said, "Too hard. I want to PUNISH you for everything that's happened to me!" But he didn't. He's a very interesting character study, ladies!

OK. I've REALLY written a book today. :D I hope you had a great weekend, and your week is starting off beautifully. Go enjoy this moment that God has given you - and PRAISE Him for it!!!!

My latest blog quiz! :D

You Are A Peanut

You are popular, even with people who tend to have picky taste. Kids love you, as do dogs. From rednecks to snobs, most people have a place for you in their hearts. As popular as you are, there are some people who can't be near you. Don't take it too personally. There's just a few people you rub the wrong way.

What Nut Are You?