Happy New Year!

May he give you the desire of your heart
and make all your plans succeed.

We will shout for joy when you are victorious
and will lift up our banners in the name of our God.
May the LORD grant all your requests.

Psalm 20:4-5

Goodness, time just FLIES. I have SO MUCH that didn't get done during December; not only were we blessed with lots of stay-over company, but we had a washing mashine cause over $10,000 worth of flood damage! Which, in turn, caused a lot of fuss and turmoil, and time to recover - but God is GOOD, and there are LOTS of possible worse-than-it-was scenarios! :)

Last year, I THINK, we talked a bit about goals. This year, I want to present you with a DEFINITE goal to work on TOGETHER. Becky, one of my dear friends, was so not satisfied with the way her Christmas went! So, we're joining together to make every 25th of the month "DO SOMETHING FOR CHRISTMAS DAY"!

Whether it's gather your recipes together in one place for the special treats you want to make, or addressing your Christmas card envelopes early so you only have to do the cards - we're going to take one day a month to focus on getting things DONE, so we don't have to cram at the last minute. :)

Now, I will admit to you: I do a LOT of the same things year after year, and thanks to Christmas Organizing, I've had a couple of Christmas notebooks - one in particular I keep my December calendar, shopping lists for traditional meals and the Open House, and recipes in. It SO helps to be ORGANIZED - and it's a little, teeny-tiny job to do at the beginning of the year! I highly recommend CO - I'm a moderator for the Yahoo group, so I'm around there a lot. :D Krisann is a great person, and you'll learn a lot from her! (I'm not getting compensated in any way for the promo, just offering a place you can get sensible help!)

IF you want to join us in this goal, 11 days total in a year - because obviously, you'll be CELEBRATING Christmas in December! :D - just leave me a comment, or send me an email. I'll remind us on the 24th of each month, and IF POSSIBLE, tell you what I'll be working on. If it's a present for you, I can't really tell, now, can I. :D

OK, off to get back to work for the year. Please pray for me; I'm still pretty TIRED.

Be blessed, dear one! I would love to hear from you! Let me know what's going on in your life! If you have anything I can pray about, let me know - or tell me if you'd like everyone here to pray for you! It's a small group, but they LOVE to pray for other people!! :)

YOU ARE LOVED!!!! My prayer for you is that you'll truly discover HOW MUCH this year - it will change your life!

Neglected Awards

Hello, dear friends!! I hope you've enjoyed all the posts this week. :) I've received two awards that I need to post; one was during DECEMBER. I'm SO awful - but I'm so glad you love me, anyway. :D

OK, so both Karna and Becky gave this award to me on DECEMBER 10. :::::::::::::hanging head in shame:::::::::::::::

Part of the problem is, I don't know who else to give it to! :D Here's what the award says:

This award means that this blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY- nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming.These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends.They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers.

Isn't it a WONDERFUL award?? Thank you both, SO much, for granting this to me!!!!! You're so sweet, and it means so much to know I'm LOVED. :)

This one's hard for me to give away, because I REALLY don't bloghop as much as I should. I think I will give it to Jennifer, though. :) I've linked to one of her sites, but she's got another wonderful blog that you'd enjoy HERE.

If you think I should have given it to YOU, too, post a comment and tell me!!! :D

Here's the next award that I received from Ginny. :) Ginny is a dear online friend, and any prayers you can send her way would be awesome. I'll let her tell me if she wants to share with you!

ANYWAY. This is a sweet award, too; here's what it says:

These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbon's of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these kind writers. When you pass the award along please include these guidelines. I am to choose eight friends to share this with.

Yeah. Like I HAVE eight friends with blogs! :D Let's see. Of course Becky gets it, and Karna. And so does Jennifer, so SHE has two, also. LOL!!!! Let's see. Ummmm, Nancy, too! And AMY!!! :D She's got a blog now, so she's tagged! :D

That's all I can think of tonight. I'm starting to feel a bit of my hay fever coming on. I need that cold weather back! :D If you think you should have gotten THIS one - and it's QUITE possible, because I ALWAYS forget something or someone - please leave me a comment! :)

OK, girls. Thanks for coming and loving me!!! :) I love you all, dearly, even if I don't say much to you for a length of time. :) Please pray for us, too; the business Kenn's been freelancing with so much is gone. He's kind of excited about what God may be using this for, but it is still a shock! (To the wallet, too!!) But we know GOD is in control; those friends of ours who've lost their jobs there, too, are devastated. Please pray for them all.

BE BLESSED! Or rather, YOU ARE BLESSED! RECOGNIZE IT!!! :D Oh, and HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

And the winner is....

SUSAN! :) Congratulations, Susan! I'll wait for your email to pooh0612@aol.com to confirm and send!!

I generated the winner with random.org; it was difficult to make myself do it that way. Those of you who are my close friends, know I would have picked each one of you if it was fair! LOL!!!!!!!!!

BE BLESSED, dear friends. Tomorrow's the open house, so I need to fly! I hope you're stopping by if you're local!!!!

From a Friend....

A dear friend sent me this a month or so ago. Some of you know Kenn and I are sick with head colds - so silly when it's 85 outside!!!!! - but I thought I'd let this say what I want to say today. :) I'd love to hear your thoughts on it!!! BE BLESSED, dear one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU ARE LOVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Beautiful Christian Sister
by Maya Angelou

'A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ
that a man should have to seek Him first to find her.'

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not shouting 'I'm clean livin''
I'm whispering 'I was lost, Now I'm found and forgiven.'
When I say... 'I am a Christian' I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.
When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak and need His strength to carry on.
When I say.. 'I am a Christian' I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.
When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible but, God believes I am worth it.
When I say... 'I am a Christian' I still feel the sting of pain..
I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name.
When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not holier than thou,
I'm just a simple sinner Who received God's good grace, somehow!
Pretty is as Pretty does... but beautiful is just plain beautiful!

Guest Article Today!!!

Good morning, everyone! I know it's been a while since I posted, and I apologize - but thank you for coming back. :D

Today, I have permission from Carmen to post her blog post here. I've been struggling to get enough time to write the article I said I wanted to, and Carmen's post was on the Internet Cafe Devotions earlier this week. It's EXACTLY where I wanted to start, and Carmen graciously allowed me to "share the love". :) So that's what I'm going to do. Here, in its entirety, is Carmen's post. Thank you, Carmen!

H.U.G.S.!
More than anything, keep loving each other actively;because love covers many sins.~ 1 Peter 4:8

Have you figured out yet that this life is all about relationships? The Relationship Expert Himself wrote an entire Book about this matter of relationships. The First Four Words of The Ten (Commandments) He gave us had to do with relating to Him…and the Last Six Words had to do with relating to everyone else!

What I’m trying to say, folks, is that it matters to our LORD how we deal with one another…yes, even ‘Sister Scouring Pad’ (the one known for her abrasive qualities). Did you know that our (horizontal) relationships are the TELLING FRUIT of our most vital (vertical) relationship to the Father...the ROOT? We are able to know the true condition of how our Heavenly Father views our relationship with Himself simply by examining our relationships with the 'one anothers' in our lives.

We all have at least one relationship in need of His healing touch, don’t we? 1 Peter 3:8-12 describes a process of His sanctification in us through friction with others…’it is to this we have been called that we might receive a blessing’. We receive this blessing as we do things His way and give up the right to ourselves.

Recently, I had the privilege of sipping some very expensive coffee (as in ‘Venti fat-free hazelnut latte, please!’) across the table from a new friend. We both shared our strange love for acronyms. You see, the LORD gave me a brain that can be easily confused, so I have found that acronyms serve me well in remembering what I should do in a complicated situation. Sometimes I do not have time to grab my Bible and look up the appropriate responses. Perhaps this is why His Spirit instructs us to ‘hide (the Word) in our hearts that we might not sin against Him’!
H.U.G.S. is surely one great acronym to commit to memory in dealing with inevitable conflict. The definition of conflict is ‘to come into collision or disagreement; be contradictory, at variance, or in opposition; to clash’. Has this ever happened to you? John records these words from Jesus: “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

We have tribulation because sin resides in every human heart. But let’s not kid ourselves - even if you or I were the only one on this earth, we’d still have our issues! Therefore, we can look at conflict as an event and H.U.G.S. as appropriate God-honoring, Christ-exalting responses to a brother or sister. Until the LORD comes back, His Spirit will be teaching us all about His blessed grace and giving us ample opportunity to grow in it and extend it to others.

What would our relationships look like if we dealt in the following manner with each other?

• H - Honestly (Proverbs 24:26; Romans 12:9-10)
• U - Understandingly (Proverbs 14:29; James 1:20)
• G - Graciously (Colossians 4:6; Proverbs 11:16; Ecclesiastes 10:12) AND finally…
• S - Simply (Matthew 5:37; Proverbs 10:19; Ecclesiastes 5:7)

Jesus said that the world would know we are His disciples by the love we have for one another (John 13:35). This ahava (Hebrew: ‘love’) is the first attribute listed of the Spirit’s fruit because it is from this ‘ahava’ that the remaining Kingdom fruit flows. Ahava, at its core, is a heavenly action displayed through an earthly vessel. It is His very love flowing through us.

Because HUGS are a very SUPERnatural response, they are able to soften the edges of even the harshest Sister (yes, even Sister Scouring Pad or Brillo Britches…whichever you prefer).
Baruch Ha Shem ADONAI!!
Because HE Lives!
Carmen
Join Carmen daily at her personal blogspot

Absolute Truth John 17:17

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!!!!

Thank you, Nancy! :) It IS a beautiful day in the 'hood!

Nancy gave me my first-ever blog award!!!!!! :) We're celebrating Mr. Rogers' birthday this month, and this is a Good Neighbor's Award. "Just for being you". :D Isn't that awesome????

Fred McFeely Rogers (March 20, 1928 – February 27, 2003) was an American educator, minister, songwriter and television host. Rogers was the host of the internationally acclaimed and highly successful children’s television show Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, in production from 1968 to 2001. As Mister Rogers, he became an iconic presence to millions of viewers worldwide. Rogers was also an ordained Presbyterian minister. Throughout his life, he was an advocate for the education and welfare of children.

Of course, I'd grant it right back to her, but I can't do that! So, I'm passing it along to the following people. (Oh, and if anyone can help me figure out why Blogger is insisting on blowing this up and pixilating the picture, I'd REALLY appreciate it! AUGH!!!)

Becky, one of my best friends

Sparrow, who ALWAYS has something nice to say, or a topic to discuss that's interesting. I know we'd be friends IRL. :)

Lysa, because she always says something that inspires me to listen to her message. I hope I'll get the chance to meet her someday IRL.

Jennifer, because she makes me laugh, and because she's the only other person besides Becky brave enough to actually UTILIZE my Mr. Linky! :D

Jamie, because she's been a dear online friend for many years now. :) Thank you for always caring, Jamie!

Ginny, for caring about others even though she's going through an incredibly long, dark valley herself.

There are more people I'd give it to, but many of them don't have blogs! :)

We're going to skip over the Sunday review, since it was Easter - the Gospel was heard! AMEN!! :)

Have a wonderful day, dear one. Know you are loved beyond measure, beyond comprehension, but not beyond your ability to accept! :D

They are STILL here! :D

Hi, everyone. My family is STILL here. Things have been detoured in Georgia for the past few days, so they're here. It's a houseful, and I think they're tired of being bored. :) It's difficult when everyone doesn't have their own space - but I think it's gone well. God is good. :)

We had a difficult time at Sunday school yesterday; the lesson was on Esau again. It was the stuff going on outside of the lesson that was difficult. I'll write more when I get a chance, and get my own feelings and thoughts sorted out. I ask you to pray for Kenn and for me. I promise to sort of explain later. :)

OK, I'm off. I have a class to go teach tonight, and another workshop tomorrow night. :) Plus show stuff to tend to - life is CERTAINLY busy around here right now. :)

THANK YOU for being faithful! I appreciate you, my friend, and I'm grateful that I can ask you to pray for us. May you be blessed beyond measure today - and may you pass that blessing on!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! To those of you who celebrate it, anyway. I've always been rather disappointed in this day - in college, I refused to celebrate it - until my last senior year, when some friends refused to let me stay home by myself. They brought me flowers, and one of them - a dear Indian guy - fixed me real chicken curry. Ahhh, memories. :D

Anyway! This guy is now my valentine. He was playing a computer game Wednesday night, and I made him smile for me. :D

So, what are you doing today/tonight? Do you have a valentine? Do you even care? LOL!!!

To celebrate having over 1000 hits on my blog - and because why not give away something on Valentine's Day?? - I'm going to give away some BLOG CANDY! That's right, dear ones. I'll take entries - by leaving a comment on the blog - between now and Sunday night, Feb. 17. Then, we'll randomly draw. The prize, you ask? An assortment of hand-stamped and photography cards. You're looking at a prize with a retail value of over $20!

I love blessing people. :) Just be sure, if you leave a comment for it, that I know how to get in touch with you if you win!!!! I've given away blog candy on my other blog, and two of the six winners didn't leave me any way of getting in touch with them! :D

BE BLESSED, dear one. Know you are LOVED, each moment of every day. It doesn't matter what the calendar says; love is yours, each day, each moment, each SECOND. God loves you with an everlasting love!!!!!

Show & Tell Friday!

Good morning! It's a beautiful, sunny day here again. The birds and squirrels are busy outside, and I'm scurrying around inside, trying to get things done before I take a little time to have fun with friends.

Anyway. :) Today is Show & tell Friday, brought to you by Kelli at http://kellishouse.blogspot.com/. And here is my item!

Isn't it PRETTY? It's by Living Water Creations; Bobbie Jo and Marti are friends of ours, and Kenn did some photography work for them for the website - is still working on some of it, actually. :)

As a result, PART of his payment he took in tradeouts, and this is one of the purses I received - I'm waiting on the other one to be custom-embroidered for me. :) I'm SURE it will make it for Show & Tell when I receive it!

If you go check out their website, and LOVE what you see, and make a purchase, please let them know where you found them! :) Bobbie Jo reads this blog, and I'd love for her and Marti to be blessed by YOU. :)

I use this purse ALL the time now; it happens to match the Crocs that Amy bought me for my birthday last year! :) Let's see - I think I'll go take a picture of them....

Here they are!!!! Yes, that's an Eeyore charm - Amy bought him, too. :D The very first pair of Crocs I owned, she purchased for me, and put a Pooh charm on them. :D She loves me!

OK, enough showing and telling. :) I can't wait to see what other fun, new things people are showing at their blogs today!! :) Be sure and go check it out at Kelli's!

Have a WONDERFUL day, dear one. Find the blessings in your life, and count each one of them!

Please Meet Rhonda!

Hi, everyone! Rhonda's not sure how to send me a pic, and I haven't seen her in person since my wedding 11.5 years ago. :) I'll try to find a picture of either her, or both of us, from our "way back when days" - Rhonda was one of my roomies in college. We have a very UNIQUE story about how we became friends, which perhaps we'll share sometimes. :D ANYWAY. I'm thrilled to introduce you to my friend!

UPDATE: This photo is from my wedding, obviously. :D Rhonda was my matron of honor.

Hi everyone!
I am Rhonda. I am 41 years young. At least, that’s what I keep telling myself.;) I figure if I tell myself I am young I might stay that way a little longer!!!

I have three children who can be blessings or burdens depending on the day! My oldest is Audrey who is 14yrs old. She had become my most responsible one. She has had to do a lot of growing up over the last 8 months and it is proving to be a very good thing! However, she can be a typical teenager complete with the attitude!!!

My second child cam shortly after her, 14 months after her!!
She is Amber and has 13 years behind her! She is my very quiet child, but when you’re not watching she can be quite loud! She and Audrey are as different as night and day in the things they like to do. Amber’s interests revolve around anything to do with the military!!!! The greener the better! Audrey is the Girly girl, no outside activities for her!!!!

Jeremy is my baby at 10 years old. Have you ever noticed exactly HOW different boys are from girls? I learn new lessons each and every day! He does keep me on my toes!! I am ever so glad that God gave him to me!

Our little family has had a very rough 8 months. Because of a situation that built up and basically exploded on Mother’s Day, the children and I had to move from our home in El Paso, TX. We moved to Alpine, TX in June, and then again to Big Bend National Park in August. God blessed me with a teaching position in a school set up for the park ranger’s children. It is a k-8 Texas Recognized school. We are VERY small a total of 27 students! I am teaching the Kindergarten and first grade class. This a chore for someone who has never taught either first or kindergarten!!! God has truly blessed me in more ways than I could even begin to tell you!
My children are much happier and are getting the educational attention that they need to have for their dyslexia.

The greatest trial for me is adjusting to not having ANY Christian friends near by to talk to. I do not attend a church because there isn’t one near where we live. It takes at least 45 minutes to get to the closest town!! (And that town doesn’t even have a Wal-mart, or a real grocery store! AAAAWWWWWW Is that ever a BIG adjustment!!!!)

There is a small bible study that meets on Sunday mornings and Tuesday nights. I am usually helping with the children on Sunday and it seems that on Tuesdays it is difficult to get there because of homework and everything else that goes on in a family!

My Greatest need right now is wisdom and direction in what to do concerning my husband. Yes, he stayed in El Paso. I am having some difficulty with him in some very important areas. I do not know what the next step should be. Please pray for me so that I will hear God clearly!

I am so very glad to be a part of this blog. I honestly look forward to it every morning!
I pray that God blesses each of you far beyond anything you could ever dream or imagine!
Rhonda


OK, ladies! :) Let's uplift Rhonda and the kids, now that you know specific needs.

Wednesday is GETTING TO KNOW YOU DAY!

Good morning, dear ones! I haven't heard much from a lot of you recently - thank you, those of you who faithfully report in. :)

Today, my dear friend, Becky P., is introducing herself to you. She's a dear friend, and I know you'll enjoy getting to know her.

Hi friends,

I am Becky. A 34 year old SAHM to two girls. Hannah, a 6 year old girlygirl princess/drama queen & an 11 year old "anything BUT girlygirl", Heather. I have been married to Ron for almost 15 years and we live in East Tennessee.

In the summers we are usually out camping, hiking and fishing. Either that or at the pool. ANYTHING to keep the girls from going stir crazy.

My husband is a fur trapper and I participate with him in all of the trap meets acting right now as Lady Fur Harvestor Vice President. I also make handcrafted accessories out of the fur that he catches & Lady Fur Harvestor of the Year.

Besides my family, my true passion is paper crafting. I looove making cards and scrapbooking and love the friends that I have made because of it.

I love to read, I love to send and receive letters (yes, real snail mail ones) and I love movies.

It was only recently that I was able to quit my job as the Marketing Director for Realty Executives (Knoxville) and stay home with the girls. Now that both are in school, I find myself struggling with time management issues. I can ticktock an entire day away sitting in here at my desk...either plunking on the puter or stamping.

I have 3 fur babies...my ferocious beagle/bassett...Cyris (yes that is pronounced like Billy Ray)...who spends his days chasing squirrels and barking at leaves. The only way he might hurt you is if he ran over you...which he has proven is quite effective. I have Jenny...shes my old lady cat. Other than napping & eating she doesnt do much these days. And then there is Twinkle. Twink is my partner in crime. She and I hang out all day. Usually she in the middle of whatever I am working on or into SOMETHING. I have sooo enjoyed having a kitten all over again. She completely cracks me up!

Right now we are in between churches. It drives me batty. Whodathunk that living in the Bible Girdle of America wed have such a hard time findign a church to suit us? When we ARE a part of a church...I do get very active there. I am of course a Christian and do my very bestest to live by Jesus.

So right now...I am struggling most with self discipline and managment. I was recently told by the doctor that I needed to go to a low carb diet. My blood work came back waaay unlevel. That means no whites. No flour, no refined sugars, no potatoes, no corn...no no no--I struggle DAILY. I am a huge sweet eater and love bread. So I think Id seriously consider giving up an arm or a leg to be able to eat those. But in any case..not possible.

I also struggle with my husband. No...not in the way that most would think. Hes a wonderful husband. But he struggles with Bi-Polar, ADD and is also out of shape and in serious need of a lifestyle change. He balks at the thought of taking better care of himself and is constantly going to the doctor for that "magic pill". He has a bigger self discipline issue than I do.

So there you have it. I am a happy little person sittin at home lookin for a direction. Trying to listen to where and what I am supposed to be doing with myself.

Please take a moment to thank Becky, to visit her website, and to pray for her specific needs. :)

Have a WONDERFUL day, dear one. GOD LOVES YOU, so much. May you feel His presence today, holding you close.

Wednesday: Introduction Day!

Good morning, dear friend! Today's an easy day for me; I'm going to let Karen - aka Karna - tell you about herself.

I am Karen, old blonde woman going on Medicare this year WAAA WAAAA - it is hard to think I will be 65 years old next month. I feel like I'm 19 except when I go to get up off my sofa and the bones creak a bit or the body wants to stay in that position and not jump right up. I had two children, and two grandchildren. I was married for 35 years and divorced in 1999...so wow thats 9 years already.

Our family was fractured and blown apart in 1997 when my daughter accused my husband of molesting our granddaughter. That's like a time bomb going off and you hadn't read the book on how to survive.

So its been a long 10 years and a sad journey to say the least. In the midst of it all my son was diagnosed with MS - his wife left with their baby, and I was asked to come and be his caregiver. It was my joy and we spent 5 years together - he was brave and wonderful and passed away in June of 1996. He is safe with Jesus and I am left sad and lonely without him in my life. They say the second year after a loss is worse than the first one and I think I can attest to that.

Meanwhile I am remodeling his home and need to sell it pronto - of course I always buy in a high market and sell in a low, but this tops the cake right now -- couldn't be a worse time. I am just trying to trust the Lord to have a buyer out there so that it can be sold and I can pay my bills and move on.

Guess I'll stop cuz I could write a book - I have dreams and aspirations and know that the year 2008 (the #8 signifies 'new beginnings') will bring new journeys, lessons, and joy during the midst of all!

Thanks SO much, Karen! Ladies, let's lift Karen's needs, desires, and praises to God!!!

I'm blessed beyond measure!

This is one view of my stamping/crafting room in our house. If you are just getting to know me :), you don't know that we share a house with my parents. They are some of the most Godly people I've ever been around, and I am SO grateful for all their generosity, their guidance, and their friendship!

Part of their generosity is this room. It was given over to me for my business pretty much almost two years ago, but last May, while Kenn and I were in Oregon (my favorite place in the world!) for my stepdaughter's wedding, our contracter - another story you'll learn about, Greg McDougal - came and put in cabinets and the counter, according to plans Dad and I had decided on. I LOVE MY SPACE. It is an inviting, airy, WORKING room.

If you are a primary reader of my other blog, then you're well aware that I hold lots of classes and workshops/parties in this room. :) Today was the first of the new year - and it was more successful than any of its type that I've ever had. God truly blessed me today, and this room was FULL - almost to the point of not being able to move! - of women who love to stamp, of women who I consider some of my best friends. I was blessed to see them, and blessed by their business today. I am favored by my Father!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Trials and tribulations come with breathing. :) GOD IS GOOD. That is a PERIOD, ladies. :) Regardless of my circumstances, He IS. He is GOOD, and He LOVES ME. And HE LOVES YOU. What an awesome, mighty, grace-defining, merciful, loving God we serve!

I'm about done in, ladies. :) LONG day today, short night last night and this, so I'm going to bed. Actually, I think I'll take a bubble bath - one of my all-time favorite things to do. LOL!!!!

Have a wonderful, blessed Sunday. Don't forget to listen closely - Monday will be "What I heard at church" day! :D

And remember: YOU ARE LOVED!