"atta boy"

Good Morning dear ones:

This morning I had a dentist appointment and it was good to hear that I had no cavities. That positive affirmation was music to my ears. My attentiveness to my pearlies had paid off and another 6 months of no drilling. We all need that positive "atta boy" from time to time. It bolsters our spirit and gives us the stamina to keep going.

1 John 1:9 (ESV)

"9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Matthew 25:21

"His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’"

2 Kings 10:30 

"And the Lord said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in carrying out what is right in my eyes, and have done to the house of Ahab according to all that was in my heart, your sons of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.”"

Luke 19:17 

"And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’"

Have a great day and know that I am so very proud of you all!

SJ

then came the morning. . .

Good Morning dear ones! 

Last night I was upstairs in my craft room cleaning and getting more and more frustrated with myself. I was gleaning out paper, etc to donate to the church's sale and the pile kept growing and growing. All I could think about was the waste of money this was and why did I buy all of this in the first place!!!

A friend of mine posted to my rant and said. Maybe it was for, just a time as this. God knew years ago that there would be a need and He provided for it. You just had to store it until such time as it was needed. 

Okay, I stopped berating myself and thought - what a wise woman my friend was. And Thank you God for allowing me to have the stuff to donate for such a time as this. 

Jeremiah 17:7-8 (ESV)

7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
whose trust is the Lord.
8 He is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

Headed back upstairs to glean the corners of the harvest and take it to the church. 

Hugs everyone,

Stella

Paper overload

At first I was feeling pretty proud of myself because I had gone through my scrap pieces of paper and gotten rid of a tall kitchen garbage bag full of bits and pieces.  I decided to go through my 12X12 printed paper and honestly decide

1. do I have a project for that?
2. was there a reason I bought that?
3. is there a reason I need to keep that?

This is after Carla had helped be back in the spring last year,  go through all of it and sort it for my shelves.

Well tonight I am feeling pretty disgusted with myself. I have two 12X12X16 shipping boxes full of 12X12 paper that I either don't need or can't remember why on earth I would have bought it in the first place. Even at a penny a page - That was a lot of money I just flushed. I am so mad at myself I could just scream.   Grrrrrrrrrrr. I am glad there is a place to donate it rather than just throw it away. but still feel like kicking myself in the backside.

Okay vent over need to call it a night so I can start over again in the morning with the rest of my stash.

SJ

Galatians 5:22-23

Good Morning dear ones,

I remember when we were growing up going to Granddaddy's to plant gardens. Grandma had one too. Us kids, running around in the fields like wild things, while the adults planted, tended and harvested. Those were good times. Watermelon never tasted so good as when Daddy would set us down on the side of the field with a fresh cut watermelon just picked. 

Galatians 5:22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Are you seeing the spiral fruits of your walk? Personally, I think I have to tend my spiritual garden a bit more.

Have a blessed day,

SJ

Peace , ,

Good Evening dear ones,

This morning was quite a morning and we were out the door before 7 a.m. All the things we normally do, had to be done in advance and some did not get done at all. However, there was still peace. 

Yesterday, Chris was helping someone and the end result was that he busted out his back window of the truck. We had two choices. We could be upset at the cost of repairing the window or be grateful that we were able to repair it. We chose the latter, and celebrated with a corned beef and cabbage dinner at our favorite restaurant. And there was peace (and gas).

Last night we were to do pictures of my group at church and one of my peeps didn't show. I found out he may even drop out. I was disappointed but still there was peace. 

This morning I had to report for work at 7:30, we had to get Chris's truck to the glass repair shop by 8:30, and he had to be at the church at 9:00. We got it done and still there was peace. 

My manager was up from Dallas, I had to get some field time in, and get home in time to get Chris to the glass shop to pick up his truck, back to the house to feed him supper and out the door in time to go to work. And still there was peace.

Romans 15:13

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

I love the peace that passes understanding. I pray that for you all. 

Hugs, 

SJ

going for a walk

Good Morning dear ones!!

This morning as Chris was getting ready, Charlie kept getting more and more excited. He recognized the signs for a W. A. L. K. Oh boy oh boy!!! Get to drag Dad around the neighborhood and chase rabbits! He knew as Chris put his shoes on and looked for the harness, the one thing he looks forward to was going to happen. He was going to get his walk!!!

Luke 21:25-27 

“And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. ..."

Like Charlie we are to be on the look out, but for Christ's return. We are to be just as excited that God is sending Jesus back to collect us. 

Every morning. Charlie checks the bed to see if Dad is still in it. If not he checks to see if he is in the closet getting his clothes. Is he getting his socks and shoes? If I stand on his feet will he notice that I am ready? Okay if I sit, will he harness me this morning sooner?

Are we checking for the signs? Are we looking to see if He is ready to come get us? Are we at the ready to "harness up" and head out the door? Are we as exited to see the signs of the return of our Lord and Savior, as Charlie is to see the signs for a walk?

Luke 21: 29-31.

29 And he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. 30 As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. 31 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

Hugs dear ones and know I love you -

SJ

A word of encouragement from a friend. .

Good Morning dear ones. 

I received a word of encouragement from a friend and was more than touched that she went out of her way to encourage me. 

Yesterday, was a hard day and I was missing a friend who went to be with the Lord several years ago. 

His birthday was on the 12th and I was feeling slightly melancholy, when my phone beeped and there was a message and reminder. The enemy uses my love against me sometimes and the funny thing is I let him tear down my walls, brick by brick. 

1 Thessalonians 4:17-18 (ESV)

17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

It helped that she took the time to reinforce my walls. Sometimes we need someone to push the bricks back into place. If you feel the need to drop a word to someone, it may be because God sees that the walls need to be reinforced. Someone to push back some of the loose bricks. Drop them a note, email them or send them a PM. You may never know the results of the effort, but God will.

Love you all,

SJ

Glimpses

Good morning dear ones,

My vacation is coming to an end and Chris has been well fed and a little spoilt since I have been home. One night as Chris was leaving for work he stated "If this is what is going to be like when you retire, I can’t wait."

Well with 336 weeks to go, it won’t be any time soon before He sees that. However, having little glimpses into the future makes him look forward to it.

Do you get small glimpses of Heaven? Are you looking forward to being with God even though we don’t know for sure when that will be? 

Genesis 28:12

"12 And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder[b] set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!" 

Genesis 28:17

"17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."

God has given us the knowledge of what to look forward to. Sometimes knowing the reward makes the struggle a bit more bearable.

I have read the last chapter of the Bible and we win. Now to get through the rest. 

Hugs,

SJ

Getting ready for the day

Good morning dear ones,

This morning as I was getting ready for work, I did all my usual things, hunt for my glasses, plug in my curlers, berate myself for not prepping the coffee pot, finding clothes for the office, I had to stop and remind myself that I needed to do one more thing -

Colossians 3:12 -14 (ESV)

12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

I need to remind myself as I put on my clothes for the day that I need to put on the Love of Christ for the world. Okay - adding that to my morning routine. 

Hugs,

SJ

I don't wanna

Psalm 23:1-3 (ESV)

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 

    He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.[a]

3 

    He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness

    for his name's sake.

I used to work at a craft store. One of the times my eldest was in town she came in to visit with me. At one point, I told her. See that blond lady the next aisle over?

To which she responds -Yes?

Me: Go give her a hug.

She: Are you sure? Who is she?

Me: Trust me, she needs a hug today.

She: MOM

Me: Please,  will you do this for me?

She: Okay

As she is the obedient daughter, thinking her mother has lost her mind, she gets up and heads down the aisle, turns a corner and the store is filled with squeals of glee as two people hug each other and start chatting.

The young man at the table says, “Welp she either knows her or makes friends really, really fast”

I knew she knew her. I also knew that they both needed that hug.  She may not have understood my motive, but I knew it would be a blessing for her.

“He leads me in the paths. . . “

We may not understand where God is directing us to go. We don’t see the whole picture. But He does, we need to trust and obey because there is a blessing waiting for us down the aisle around the corner.