My list for today...

I must blog today about some things for which I am thankful, otherwise, I'm likely to head down another path! That's the kind of day it's been. And I feel it in my shoulders.

I started a list on my iPhone last week called 'Thankful For...'. My thought was that I would add things to that list every day when I came across things that make me smile. The first thing I added was gum! Apparently, I was very happy to have gum that day. Now...my memory is not the greatest in the world, but I believe that I added gum to my list because I was talking to a friend last week while I was enjoying my morning coffee. Now...some people can drink coffee in the morning and still have pleasant breath. I am not one of those people. Definitely. As I was talking to my friend this particular morning, she interrupted me with a look of pain on her face and asked, "Do you have a piece of gum I can have?" I was horrified because I know it wasn't her breath she was concerned with! Fortunately I did have a piece of gum and I gave her one. I also chomped on a piece for myself. And now she is still my friend! So...I am thankful for gum!




This makes my heart melt. And I LOVE things that make my heart melt!

When I have fear or worry or uncertainty, I'm thankful that
God reminds me what He's capable of and how much He
cares about making provision for His creation.

And I am thankful for the truth of this quote...

"The gospel is good news of mercy to the undeserving. The symbol of the religion of Jesus is the cross, not the scales" [that weigh our deeds both good and bad]
~John Stott

And today...especially today...I'm thankful and humbled by John 14:27 - Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

So I won't. At least for today.

Things I Love

Today I decided I needed to come up with some things for which I'm thankful...things I love. So often I can get into the rut of finding things to complain about and if this were that kind of post, unfortunately, the entry would probably be a lot longer than the one I am writing. I believe strongly that I can give great power to the words that come out of my mouth and I am in a season of wanting to change those words to have a positive nature rather than a negative one. Hopefully, as I venture out that the norm will become that the positive heavily outweighs the negative. So...here they are...things I love.

1. The boy in this picture with me. If I've said it once, I've said it a million times...he's a God-send.


2. The 5 other people in this picture with me. This is my family. I could try to describe how I feel about them, but there really are no words that would adequately do so. If you have a close family, then you understand what I'm talking about. I love them dearly.




3. E-Mealz. O.M.G. This has changed my life!! You must go directly to their website and try it out.


4. Candles. Love how they smell and love how they spread a fresh scent all through my house. My favorite candles are Tyler candles.





5. Toasted almonds. I could eat these in anything. Sometimes, I will mix them with Archer Farms dried cherries and it is a h.e.a.v.e.n.l.y. snack. At Christmas time, I will add the miniature Hershey's chocolate kisses to the mix. I put them in my salad. I eat them by themselves. And tonight, I added them to the dinner I made from e-mealz!





So there you have it. Five things that I love. What do you love?

It's 3:07 a.m.

That's right! 3:07 in the morning!! I went to bed at 10:00 and fell right to sleep. I've been awakened a bazillion times since then. I've visited Pinterest and repinned some yummy treats. Played Mahjong 3D and ended with a 6-digit score. Facebook. Twitter. Read Big Mama's blog archives. Reorganized my iPhone apps. Perused my photos. Recited my scripture memory verse several times with which my husband should be very thankful! Surfed the app store and found this mobile blogging app called Blog Booster. Here's a picture from my camera roll...
That's Lucille Ball. I love her! It's 3:15 now.

Leather wrapped bracelets

I have been looking everywhere for this kind of bracelet and have not had much luck. However, as I was browsing Pinterest today, I came across this blog on how to make one. Maybe I'll give it a try.

Forgiveness

Yikes...that's a tough one! I'm going through a study right now called The Fitting Room by Kelly Minter, and forgiveness happens to be the chapter I'm on. This book is written around Colossians 3:12 ~ Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. The author writes, 'I've always had plenty of these virtues till the moment I need them', and oh how true that is for me as well. It's easy for me to walk a friend through trusting God in the midst of difficult circumstances, or forgiving someone who hurt them, or having compassion on someone who just doesn't have a filter, but the moment I need to put those virtues into practice I become a novice! Knowing and doing are quite different!

So...forgiveness. After reading this chapter, I've been enlightened on a few things. Humbling.

First - we are often unwilling to forgive others because we have not accepted the forgiveness of Christ for ourselves, and the first cannot take place before the second.

Next - when we don't like something about someone else and are quick to judge them for it or whine to others about it, sometimes it's because we possess that same quality. We despise it in ourselves but have not received the forgiveness of Christ yet for that quality in ourselves.

Also - when we fixate on the trespass of another person, it's often because we are feeling guilty about something in our own life.

I've had to do some deep soul-searching and praying. As always, He's faithful to show me what I need to move forward in my journey. I asked and received, I sought and found, I knocked and the door has been opened. Now I have the choice to tackle it on my own or to surrender it to Him and allow Him to turn it into something beautiful.

I want beauty for ashes.

I really do.

Summer Highlights

It's HOT y'all! I remember the heat wave in 1980 when it got up to 113 one day. I burned my legs every time I crawled into the green station wagon and sat on the green vinyl seats. That was a long time ago.

I had a fabulous summer. It was way too short, though, and have been dragging all week since I started back to work on Monday.

I'll stop whining now.

Here are a few of my highlights from the summer of 2011, although, it does not even scratch the surface of all the fun I had!

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