How Precious Life is!. . . Handle with Care! 2011 Edition/Spiritual Sundays

This was my post a year and 10 days ago:

I am just so overwhelmed at this moment, with the fragileness of life.

I am wholeheartedly against abortion.

I know that it not only ends one life, but affects all others involved, for the rest of their lives.

This week, Sanctity of Life week, I am not only thinking about the millions of babies who never got a chance at life, and all the others that are affected by an abortion,

I am also heartbroken for friends who are burying their 10 year old son, (grandson, brother) today, who was killed in a car accident.

I am also heartbroken for my sister-in-law who lost a baby, Eli.

I am also heartbroken for the many who have lost or are losing a child to illness.

I am also heartbroken for family and friends who are coming near to the end of a long life, and are losing the quality of their life.

Life is too precious to spend being hurtful or careless. My prayer is that I will show love to my family, friends, students, and co-workers every second that I am with them.

Once again, tonight, I am overwhelmed at the fragileness of life.

A week ago today, my sister-in-law called me to tell me that her 18 year old nephew had taken his own life. It was later ruled accidental shooting. (Russian Roullette)

Again. . .Life is too precious to spend being hurtful or careless.

My prayer is that I will show love to my family, friends, students, and co-workers every second that I am with them.

Click HERE to go to the Spiritual Sundays blog to share and be blessed.

Thank you so much Charlotte and Ginger!

Be JOYFUL ALWAYS-Count it All JOY Wednesday

I am so glad that it is Why I Count It All JOY Wednesday! I have been trying to write ever since my last post 10 days ago, but just haven't been able to. . .some days because of daily life that would not let me get to the computer. On the days that I was free to get to the computer, there was plenty to write about, but I just couldn't come up with the words.

Today, I am full of JOY because of God's promises to us and the beautiful reminders of His promises.

This past week, my heart has been heavy for others going through unthinkable tragedies. I have felt helpless to do anything to help any of my loved ones going through difficult times. I count it all JOY, that I have heard some of them say, "God is so amazing! I have this wonderful sense of Peace."

I am "weary and burdened", and know others who are so much more weary and burdened than I am, and I count it all JOY, that we have a God who says,

"Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you wil find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Matthew 11: 28-30

I am filled with JOY because, like Angel and many of you, I have been praying for Joanne for about two weeks and we are now getting great reports from her husband!! If you don’t know about Joanne, she is a mom and wife who suffered a major stroke and has been in critical condition since. You can follow her blog, which her husband is doing now, here.

I count it all JOY that even when we aren't happy about our circumstances, we can still

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circimstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." I Thessalonians 5:16

What is filling you with JOY today?

It is a true JOY to read other joyful posts, so go here to share in the JOY!!!

Thank you, Angel!

SPIRITUAL SUNDAYS-Taking Time to PRAY

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. James 5:16NIV

The scripture above is the one I am working on memorizing at this time. I tried to find a different one, but the Lord kept giving me this one. . .the one I need at this time! He is like that!

The lesson that I am working on in my Discipleship Bible Study right now (Understanding and Knowing God by Andy and Kim Harrison) is on Prayer, and then I picked up another short study guide, that was on my shelf, Adventurous PRAYER from Women of Faith, and am really enjoying all of the lessons, and the daily devotions from JOURNEY that have been on trusting God, lately. I already had Proverbs 3:1-8 as my life scripture and have always trusted in Him, but I am getting the message loud and clear, not to ever forget to trust in Him always, no matter what!

I do take time each morning to read the devotion and scripture, but do not always make time daily to do a Bible Study lesson and to really spend a lot of time in prayer. I want to do that.

I love the weekends for all the reasons everyone else does, but I also love Saturday and Sunday, because I do take more time to do my Bible Study lessons, and to spend a lot of time in prayer. I started prayer journaling years ago, and filled lots of journals, and then stopped doing that on a consistent basis. My youngest son has filled lots of journals in the last 2 years, and is an inspiration to me. He carries his journal with him always.

God, our Heavenly Father, has asked us to come to him daily with all of our thanks and our needs.

Spending time in prayer can give us the peace of God.

I pray you have a blessed weekend!

Click HERE to go to the Spiritual Sundays blog to share and be blessed.Thank you so much Charlotte and Ginger!

1st and 15th Scripture Memory 2011

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
James 5:16NIV

I would love to read the scripture you are focusing on at this time!

JOY in serving the Lord

Today, just like Angel, and just like I do every Wednesday, I am counting it ALL JOY, and I am filled with JOY, just because it's Wednesday, the day to realize all the blessings we have every day.

I did not find out about the job that I'm waiting to find out if I got or not, because the board meeting was postponed til next Monday, because of the snow. I thought that I'm going to have to wait til after then, but I did get a call from the principal today. I haven't gotten to talk to her yet.

I am filled with JOY because God gave us beautiful snow!

I am filled with JOY, because I do have a job, that although it is very challenging, I do enjoy working very much.

I am filled with JOY, because I am enjoying the time that our daughter is home from college.

Romans 12: 6-8NIV

We have different gifts,

according to the grace given us.

If a man's gift is prophesying,

let him use it in proportion to his faith.

If it is serving,

let him serve;

if it is teaching,

let him teach;

if it is encouraging,

let him encourage;

if it is contributing to the needs of others,

let him give generously;

if it is leadership,

let him govern diligently;

if it is showing mercy,

let him do it CHEERFULLY.

What is filling you with JOY today?
It is a true JOY to read other joyful posts, so go here to share in the JOY!!!
Thank you, Angel!

2nd edition of Lessons Learned/Reminded of in 2011

This week, the "lesson learned" is really just a collection of truths that we all know, but have all been reminded of. . .

"Life isn't picture perfect. Just enjoy it!"

"We never know when our life or the life of someone we know will end abruptly."

"Live today as though it is your last."

"Enjoy every moment."

"Take nothing or no one for granted."

"Love others deeply."

"Live your life to glorify God."

Psalm 103:15-18NIV

As for man, his days are like grass,

he flourishes like a flower of the field;

the wind blows over it and it is gone,

and its place remembers it no more.

But from everlasting to everlasting,

the Lord's love is with those who fear Him

and His righteousness with their children's children

with those who keep His covenant and

remember to obey His precepts.

Praying for our children and grandchildren

Click HERE to go to the Spiritual Sundays blog to share and be blessed.Thank you so much Charlotte and Ginger!

"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." Colossians 4:2NIV

I have been praying for our children for 25 years now, since we were expecting Josh, the Daddy in the picture above. Now, I am still praying for each of our 3 children each day, along with our "daughter-in-love", Adrianne and our 2 grandchildren,
Madasyn Shae and Jocyah Thomas David.

Kalyn and Jase have both grown into compassionate, responsible young people, also.

Last January, I joined Brooke in a commitment to pray all year for our children. We are making that commitment once again to continue praying daily for them.

Last year, Brooke wrote a prayer to pray over her boys.
You can join us by praying this prayer or writing one of your own. If you want to join, you can link up on her post here.

I thank God daily for each of my children and grandchildren.

My prayer for Josh is that he will continue to grow in his walk with the Lord, continue to be the devoted husband and Dad that he is, continue to mentor teenage boys at church and in his job as teacher and coach and will continue to raise his family in the way that the Lord would have him to and stay involved in church. My prayer is that God would give Josh the strength and wisdom daily to do the things that he needs to do to fulfill his God given responsibilities.

My prayer for Kalyn is that God will help her to be secure in Him and to always remember how beautiful she is to Him. I pray that He will help her to continue to grow in her walk with Him. I pray that He will be with her daily in her studies and on her job and in her relationships and as she disciples young girls. I pray that God will give Kalyn the strength and wisdom daily to do the things she needs to do to fulfill her God given responsibilities. I pray that He will show her the church He wants her choose as her church home.

My prayer for Jase is God will continue to help Jase love the Lord and love people as Jesus does and continue to live his life daily on fire for God, sharing that with others daily. I pray as Jase asked me to, that God would help him be bold in sharing his faith with others. I pray that God will be with Jase daily in everything he does, as he continues to learn academically and in His word. I pray that God will give Jase the strength and wisdom daily to do the things he needs to do to fulfill his God given tasks.

I thank God for Josh and Adrianne's marriage and for how He has helped them to grow in their marriage, in their walk with Him, and as parents. I pray daily that God will give Adrianne the strength and wisdom that she needs to be a wife, Mommy and in everything she does. I pray that He will be with her daily as she works in a Dr.'s office, helping others. I pray that He will help her to know how much our family loves her and help us to continue to develop our relationships.

I thank God for Madasyn Shae, for her health, and for how she is always learning. I pray that God will be with her as she begins a new preschool. I pray that He will be with her every time she goes to church and help her to soak up what she learns at church and from her parents. I pray that you will help her to obey her parents and help her to continue to be well mannered.

I thank God for Jocyah Thomas David, for his health, and for how he is already growing and alert and will soon be learning new things. I pray that God will be with Adrianne's Granny as she cares for Jocyah, while Adrianne and Josh work. I pray Jocyah will continue to grow physically and mentally.

SIMPLE PLEASURES-children at play/laughter

Madasyn, our 4 year old granddaughter,

drawing a picture of her "baby brother"

on a balloon to play

"Keep the balloon in the air"

with her 24 year old Daddy!

Recess today:

1st grade-uncontrollable laughter, swinging, creative play

2nd grade-jump rope

3rd grade-hand slapping jingle

"Year by year the complexities of this spinning world grow more bewildering, and so each year we need all the more to seek peace and comfort in the joyful simplicities."

Those words of wisdom are from a woman's publication in 1935. And here we are, 76 years later, still feeling a need to seek out the "joyful simplicities" of life.

Join Dayle @ ACollection of This and That

to share your SIMPLE PLEASURES THURSDAY

the JOY of Experiencing 2011 and being Thankful!

Yea, it is Why I Count It All JOY Wednesday, and Angel has already posted this morning! I am so full of JOY because

Jase came back home to us last night from his mission trip to Nicarauga!

he was filled with JOY as I knew he would be to share with us what he experienced.

he had so many great stories to share with us about people coming to the Lord.

the 7 year old girl who went with them led 6 people to the Lord herself!

I haven't ever been to another country myself, but I knew that he would see people living in poverty, and I had heard before that the people that live like that are so much more content than we are sometimes. That is exactly what he shared, as he described the plastic and cardboard houses they live in. I often complain about the small kitchen we have now. He told of a family of 3 that live in something as small as our very small kitchen!

You can see in the background of the picture of Jase and Kalyn, that we haven't quiet got our Christmas decorations put away, yet. We will do that in the next day or so! We are busy experiencing every minute of every day.

Now, it's almost time to go to work, to keep up with a very strong, special girl. This time next week, I may or may not have a new job teaching English to at risk high school students. I have to wait until after the board meeting next Monday night to find out. Until then, I'm just living each day, counting it all JOY!

What is filling you with JOY today?
It is a true JOY to read other joyful posts, so go here to share in the JOY!!!
Thank you, Angel!

"Think on These Things Tuesday"

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 4: 8-9

Today, to help continue my goal of always having God's Peace with me, I am going to choose to think and dwell on only things that are: (NIV)
true, lovely, admirable, excellent, praiseworthy.
I am going to stay away from gossip and bad attitudes.
I am going to smile more and be kind to everyone.
I am thankful that I have had my quiet time this morning and am ready to go back to work.
I praise God for the peace that He gives me.
What are you "thinking on" today?
Happy Tuesday!

The Beginning of Lessons Learned in 2011!

I've got this post in my mind that I'm going to try to get to come out right.

The first lesson I've learned in 2011 is

Not to put shrimp tails down the disposal!

You may have already known not to do that, but I did it, and it has been a real headache to my husband, but he is being calm about it, and is taking care of it, hopefully. So today, no cooking the soup in the crockpot and making more messy dishes.

When trying to make an analogy out of this, this is what it means to me:

There are some things that can be "put down the disposal" and go away, but there are some things that just need to be put in the trash and taken away completely, so that there is no chance it comes back up. Some things can be processed and thought about and then they're gone, but some things just need to be forgotten.

The second thing I've learned is that there seems to be a new trend of NOT setting New Year's Resolutions or even goals, but to find our God Given Purpose.

I know that my God Given Purposes are to glorify God as I strive to be the best

wife, mom, daughter, sister, in-law, friend, teacher (or teacher's assistant), employee, neighbor, mentor, blogger that I can possibly be.

I know that to do that I need to

renew my mind daily;

take care of my physical body;

live with others in peace;

reach out to others;

speak kind words always;

and throw out the "shrimp tails"!

Psalm 25:1a,4-7NIV

To You, O Lord,

I lift up my soul,

in You, I trust, O my God,

Show me your ways, O Lord,

teach me your paths,

guide me in Your truth and teach me,

for You are God, my Saviour,

and my hope is You all day long.

Remember, O Lord,

your great mercy and love,

for they are from of old.

Remember not the sins of my youth,

and my rebellious way,

according to Your love,

remember me,

for You are good, O Lord.

Can you relate to anything I've written today? What's on your mind as you begin 2011? I'd love to hear from you!

SPIRITUAL SUNDAYS-2011 SCRIPTURE

I am so excited that it is January 1, 2011, and Beth Moore is back to hosting the 1st & 15th Scripture Memory Team! I memorized scripture in 2009 with this "team" and went to the celebration in Houston last January. I continued to memorize/meditate on scripture in 2010 and post on this blog.

Beth Moore had said that since we each choose our own scripture to memorize each time, if you were to look at our spirals where we write down our verses, it would tell a lot about our life during the past year. That is so true. I always choose a scripture that is very personal to me, but I almost always have a difficult time choosing just 1 verse. Although, I probably should try to, so that I could actually memorize the verses!

This year, I have heard God giving the word "PEACE" for my theme for 2011, with a "sub theme" of "Kindness". I am going to strive to be kind to everyone and to help promote peace in relationships.
There are many scripture verses about the peace that God gives us. For my theme scripture for the year, I have chosen:

James 3:17-18NIV
But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all
Pure, then
Peace loving
Considerate,
Submissive,
Full of Mercy and Good Fruit,
Impartial and Sincere;
Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.


For my scripture for January 1, I have chosen 2 short verses. I chose the first one as an overall prayer for the year, and I chose the second one, because it is one that I am to memorize in the next couple weeks for the Bible Study I am doing.

Proverbs 16:3NIV

Commit to the Lord whatever you do and your plans will succeed.

Colossians 4:2NIV

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

I would really love to hear if the Lord has given you a focus theme for the year, and if you are working on memorizing scripture, and just whatever you are working on as we begin this new year!

Happy 2011 to you!

Click HERE to go to the Spiritual Sundays blog to share and be blessed.
Thank you so much Charlotte and Ginger!