I Pray You Have A Blessed New Year
The ball is dropping in New York City and here comes a New Year. I pray last year was good for you.
I am sorry I have not been here as often as I used to be. My Aunt Katie died and several other events have kept me away from my writing. I plan to spend more time at it next year.
My main resolution for next year is to grow closer to God. That means I need to spend more time praying and in His Word.
I also want to spend more time writing. I love to write and have been very unhappy that I have let it go. It is going to be better this year.
What are your plans for next year? Pray about them and make sure they are in God's plan for your life. That is my biggest challenge. I always want to run ahead of God. I am here to tell you that it does not work. It will only make you miserable.
I would love to hear from more of you this year. Let me know you are reading. And, pray for me. I need it. Thanks.
Christmas Cards
I have not sent them in three years. This year I want to do everything I can to communicate with those who are important to me. What better way to start than with Christmas cards. I am already getting them ready but will not mail them until a little closer to Christmas.
I had not had them out in a very long time and had a bit of a problem finding them until all of a sudden I knew where they were. I took everything out of that box and there they were on the bottom.
I had forgotten how vivid the colors were. They all have a Christian theme. Many are of the manger or the wise men. How much fun I am having picking just the right one for each family or person. If I can send every one of them it will make me very happy. I will buy new ones for next year right after this Christmas.
I love to display the ones I receive. I love waking up to them in the morning. It reminds me how blessed we are to have a Savior to watch over us.
For several years I mounted them in books. How special those are now. So many of those people are no longer with us and the memories they bring back.
Well, I better get back to the cards. Oh, how the time flies. It will be Christmas before we know it.
Death of a Loved One
My mind has been reeling with so many memories, emotions, things I want to remember, people I want to talk to.
Who can forget the riddles - way back to the ones that went like "How do you make time fly?" (Throw the clock out the window.) How we wish we could make time slow down now or go back in time for just awhile. Then, there were the ones about the colors. What color is a telephone? "Yellow" (Hello.) Or, what color is rain on the roof? "Pink, pink, pink" So silly, but so special.
When I was selling Avon in her neighborhood many, many years ago she often wanted me to come by and just sit and talk for awhile. I don't remember what we talked about but I do remember how special it was.
Later, she is the one who gave me the Guideposts Yearly Devotions in a hard covered book. Oh, how I loved having that. I will miss it this year.
She, my Mother and I would go to lunch together from time to time. Now, it was not nearly often enough.
These last few days have been filled with talking to people who knew her and are also special to me. We don't talk often enough. I am going to do something about that. I just pray that we all keep it up. That part has been bitter sweet. Catching up is always such fun but why does it take something like this?
Some of us will gather for the visitation in two days and the funeral in three. Then, will we just go our own ways? I hope not.
Who is that special person to you? Why don't you give them a call? You just might make their day and yours.
Beyond The News
This comes to my email box and I appreciate the points it brings up. It is a nice change from the rhetoric of the daily news on the t.v. and the newspapers.
Make Someone's Day
The better part of yesterday and today has been spent on projects on this computer. Now, this computer does not actually make me happy. It is behaving right now, but for a while if it could betray me and not let me get anything done, it was right there to do it.
I have been working on the blog for Homebound longer than I have been doing this one. It came from a list that I took over when a very special person died. He gave me lots of emotional support when I was facing a possible scary situation.
I told his wife that if she did not have someone else to take it that I would. When I got it I was so excited and happy. I really wanted to do as good a job as he did. Of course, I cannot but I keep plugging along.
I had to let it go for quite awhile. I started it back up yesterday and his wife is so happy and has been a lot of support.
I spent the better part of yesterday working on the website that I put up to go with it. It will never be finished but is ready to use.
So, in doing something that I enjoy, I have made someone else happy. I never got to meet him. Someday, I am going to meet her. This is one of those times when a computer is a good thing.
Is there something that you can think of that you could do with the same outcome? It is really worth it - even with all the trials it might have.
Try it this week.
Make someone's day.
Christianity Today MagazineI have always enjoyed this site. It has links to Today's Christian Woman and lots of other sites that you might find interesting. If you find articles that are not complete on the site please let me know. I am not trying to sell these magazines. There websites have had some very good information on the and that is why I am sharing this.
Christmas Eve Answer To Prayer
I have heard this story in so many forms and love them all. I was just reading in one of my devotionals and was reminded of it. They were telling it with the illustration of the ants in a field with a tractor coming. I had never heard that version before.
The one that I love I usually use at Christmas but thought I would share it now. You see, it was on a Christmas Eve that I really grasped why Jesus came to earth.
Now, there was a man who never went to church. He did not understand it all and just did not want to waste his time. Many times his family had asked him to go with them but he always declined.
This particular time he was sitting in his chair by the fire reading his newspaper when he heard a commotion outside. He got up to look and saw that birds were flying into his window.
He went out and shooed them off but they came right back. He put bits of bread from the window to the garage hoping they would go in there. That did not work.
"If I could just become a bird and lead them to safety."
All of a sudden it dawned on him. Jesus was sent to tell us about God. From then on you could always see him with his family in church.
Apology
It has been more than a week since I have posted here. I am sorry to those of you who read this weekly.
God brought to mind one biggy. Anger. I begged "Please, no." so then He brought Temper. They are almost one in the same to me. So, I will be dealing with these and posting soon. And, I see Forgiveness here also. I am going to have a very busy time putting these down on paper with God's muchly needed help. There is another subject. Prayer.
I think I will stop now. I love His ideas but I feel I have enough for now.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.A special friend from many years ago put this to music. I wish I could sing it to you. Bible verses put to music is a fun way to memorize them.
Have your trusted in friends in the past and they have let you down? God will never let you down. Sometimes the answer will not be what you thought it should be, but He knows best. Sometimes, He works through those friends.
Stay in prayer and Bible reading. Often, He gives you your answers through those avenues.
Once, I could not understand what was going on and why I was not getting an answer. Finally, I just asked Him to write it on the wall. The clarity came and I knew what to do. And, He did not write it on the wall. LOL
Another time, I had a friend who I really knew was a bad influence. I begged God to get this person out of my life. It seemed like we got closer. Finally, I looked up in the sky and said "God, I do not understand it but if this person is supposed to be in my life, I will abide by it." That person never called me again. I believe that God just wanted to know that I would abide by His will. Of course, He knows what we will do before we do, but oh how He loves to commune with us.
If you don't already, spend some time with Him. You will be blessed by it.
Sunset On The Beach
God has made a beautiful earth for us. In many places we can still enjoy it.
This morning as I was hanging wet clothes on the line, I saw some purple wild flowers. Wait a minute! Those are the ones that grew wild by the condo on the beach several years ago. I will get some cuttings and bring them up here this evening.
It reminded me of the sunsets we enjoy on the beach every year.
Often, a bunch of us are out under a covered area to watch it go down. When it does it gets a well deserved applause. But, wait a minute. There it is again. Because of the cloud formation we will see it "set" twice tonight.
There used to be a cam at one of the National Parks and when the sun was going down the colors and shadows on the rocks were magnificent. I am looking for the cam. If I find it, I will share it with you.
What beautiful sights has God given you around where you live? Stop and enjoy them. It adds so much to the day. We need to remember to thank Him more often for them.
When It Seems Like Everything Is Going Wrong
Here I sit wondering when I will be thrown offline again. There is so much static on my phone line that the computer has been going off about every few minutes. If I turn the email off, it seems to last longer. I have no idea what that is all about.
I have friends in Houston. I know one did not get out before Rita. I don't know about the others. I pray for everyone who is being impacted by this hurricane.
So, I can't work (computer) and I don't know about friends. That equals patience and faith. Ouch! I have done a surface attack on patience. I will go back and read those.
Now, I need to work on faith.
God only wants the best for us. He has been so good to me. He has put a roof over my head and I most certainly am not hurting for food. I look at my freezer and wish I could get more order in it. I am wanting to "cook from scratch" but I will have a problem with leftovers. I love to put them in single serve size containers but there will be no room for them. Such a problem. LOL
We need to put everything in perspective and focus on the positives. Oh, how I need to learn that.
What can you be thankful for? Take a look at your life. Start with the small things. Then, you can put a smile on your face and feel so much better. And, that is so much more fun.
God will take care of us if we will let Him. But, he needs something to work with.
Prayer For Hurricane Victims
Rita is already causing problems.
Water is already pouring into New Orleans again.
A bus exploded on the interstate and killed many elderly.
There are people left in Houston. I know of one family that wanted to get out but they saw the problems on the interstate and decided they would be safer at home than on the roads. They are in a higher area.
Please lets all pray for these people. It could have been us. Anywhere we live, there is something that can affect us.
More Patience - But, Don't Pray For It
Oh, how often I have heard "Don't pray for patience. It will only bring you trials"
It kept me from praying for it, but how much I have missed.
God allows us to go through trials to strengthen us and bring us closer to Him. I grieve at the times that I have tried to do it myself. He was right there waiting for me to ask and wanting to help. If only I had asked Him. He will not just barge in and take over. We have to be willing for Him to help us.
He is our Heavenly Father. He wants only the best for us and would give us everything we ask for. But, sometimes He says "No" because He knows it would only harm us because we could not handle it. He loves us enough to say "No".
How I long to be closer to Him in every aspect of my life. But, how I miss the mark. He wants us to talk to Him and listen for His answer. I need to get better at that.
I am finally writing again. I just did not have the words for so long. I prayed about it - not often enough - and waited. He allowed it to happen at just the right time. Now, all I want to do is write.
I was not always patient about it. I begged Him to show me what was wrong. I pleaded with Him to give me some ideas. Finally, in His timing, it is happening.
Wait on Him. Whatever is His will for your life will happen in His timing.
Determining Our Daily Plans
Have you ever had what you thought was just the right plans for a morning or day only to have them squashed right after you got everything ready?
One morning I thought it would be wonderful to sit out on the dock and study my Bible. Well, I packed a satchel with my favorite Bible and several other resources and off to the dock I went. I unpacked it all and laid it out ready to start. Then, I felt a drop and then another. "Okay, God, I know I should pack it all back up and go in. But, then what? Do you have another plan for me or shall I spread all of this out on the living room floor and study there?"
I really don't remember what I did that day but there are two ways to look at this.
Was it Satan trying to keep me from studying and I should not allow him to do it?
Or, was God telling me that this is all well and good but not what I have planned for you right now.
The only answer was to pray about it. But, what if you get no answer from God. Or, at least, you are not ascertaining it if it is coming.
Just wait on the Lord. How hard that is to do. It is one thing that I am having to learn to do right now. It is not easy. "Lord, are you there? Do you hear me?"
Of course, the answer to both of these questions is "Yes." But, sometimes He has other things He wants to teach us as we learn to watch and wait.
Like I said, it is not easy. But, oh so worth it. After having come through a trial, it is such a joy to look back at it and say "That is what you were up to." Don't look up in the sky and ask Him to tell you what He is up to. He will just say "No. Trust me."
Oh, for more patience. But, don't pray for it. LOL
