"Interview Me"

My blog buddy, Brenda, of It's All Right, posted an interview. These questions are from Brenda. If you'd like me to give you an interview, just leave "Interview Me" in your comments, and I'll shoot over some questions so I can get to know you better, too.



1. If money or time weren't an issue, what would you consider an ideal vacation? I would go The Netherlands. My father was Dutch heritage and I've always dreamed of going there. Since time and money are no issue, I would go all over Europe and end up in Norway & Switzerland. I had a pin-pal from Norway , from the 3rd grade clear until I was married, and I've always wanted to go to Norway



2. Who would you say has had the greatest influence on your life and why? Absolutely my father. I adored him and never wanted to disappoint him. He taught me integrity, honesty, to know who I was and that I could do anything I set my mind to.



3. If you had to be transported back in time which would you choose and why? Victorian Era, Pioneer days, or Bible times? This one was a hard one for me because I have always been so grateful to be born in the time period I have been because I believe we are the generation that will see the Lord return. I guess if I have to pick another it would be Bible times.



4. Who is your favorite woman in the Bible and why? Another very hard one because I'd never thought about that. I have often wondered how it must have been for Mary to know the child she was raising was the Son of God. I marvel at the verse "But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart." Luke 2:19



5. What is one of the funniest things that has ever happened to you? It's funny now, but wasn't so funny at the time......my forever friend, Joan, and I getting locked in the Santa Fe Art Museum in the 5th grade. I had call my father and tell me and he had to call the Art Director to come down and get us out.

Your turn. Can I "Interview You"?

TESTING OUR FAITH

I, like I'm sure the rest of you, have been sitting in amazement as we watch what is happening in our country. I want to scream at the top of my lungs......

WHAT ARE THEY DOING?

WHAT ARE THEY THINKING?

As you know I did not support Obama during the campaign and election. The very things we are seeing come to pass is exactly why I did not support him. Sadly, he is implementing his agenda at a MUCH swifter pace than I think any of us expected or believed he could.

After Obama giving the tax prayer's money to pay for MORE abortions and his soon to be enacted clearing the way for partial birth abortions I cannot keep quiet any longer.

Add to that Biden's announcement which he just made, this is coming true faster than any of us have even feared.

What they are doing is going to be the death blow to our GREAT country, as we have known it. If the Lord does not return soon they are mortgaging our children and grandchildren's future to a load of debt and servitude they will be unable to bare.

As a Christian, I believe we are fast racing toward the return of our Lord and Savior.

"If God doesn't soon bring judgment upon America, He'll have to go back and apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah!"

This statement frequently attributed to Billy Graham, actually originated with his wife, Ruth, during a review of her husband's manuscript for his book, World Aflame, published in 1965. He had just finished a chapter vividly describing the sinful conditions in America, and gave it to Ruth to read. She was very much sobered by the writing and returned the document to the study where he was writing and laid it on his desk, saying, "Billy, if God doesn't come soon and bring judgment upon the United States, He's going to have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah!" The account was recalled briefly as an illustration in a message by Dr. James Kennedy (pastor, Coral Ridge Presbyterian, Fort Lauderdale, Florida), entitled "Prayer and the World Crisis", at the National Prayer Congress, Dallas, Texas in 1976.

That book was published in 1965!!! Think how much worse everything has gotten in the past 44 years!!!! Some of you were not even born then.

I believe this is a testing time for every living soul, not only in American, but world wide. I believe as Christians we are going to have our faith tested as most of us never have before.

One scripture that has given me pause for years is Luke 18:8b

"Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?"

My constant prayer is that my faith will pass the tests whatever they are.

SIMPLE WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

Leanne asked me to share the bread recipe, so here it is.

SIMPLE WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

3 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

2 (.25 ounce ) packages active dry yeast (I actually used 2 scant tablespoons of Fleisch*mann's active dry)

1/3 cup honey

5 cups bread flour (I actually used all purpose white flour)

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1/3 cup honey

1 tablespoon salt

3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix warm water, yeast, and 1/3 cup honey. Add 5 cups white bread flour, and stir to combine. Let set for 30 minutes, or until big and bubbly.

2. Mix in 3 tablespoons melted butter, 1/3 cup honey, and salt. Stir in 2 cups whole wheat flour. Flour a flat surface and knead with whole wheat flour until not real sticky - just pulling away from the counter, but still sticky to touch. This may take an additional 2 to 4 cups of whole wheat flour. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the surface of the dough. Cover with a dishtowel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled.

3. Punch down, and divide into 3 loaves. Place in greased 9x5 inch loaf pans, and allow to rise until dough has topped the pans by one inch.

4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 to 30 minutes, do not over bake. Lightly brush the tops of loaves with 2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine when done to prevent crust from getting hard. Cool completely.

From: allrecipes.com

ICY DAYS

I showed a picture of our front yard yesterday with the ice on everything.

This is our backyard. So.....as I said I was going to do Monday, I baked bread. 3 loaves of good, nutritious Whole Wheat Bread.


As always with my bread pictures, I have one that we have already cut into, because we HAVE to have a good, hot piece the minute it comes out of the pan and we can cut it. Hot bread with butter!!! YUMMY and in this case I opened up a jar of Strawberry Rhubarb Jelly that had been given to us by friends at Christmas. Oh my, was this ever good!!!!

The recipe made 3 loaves and here are the other two. As I write this we have already eaten (devoured!!) the first loaf and I had to get another out of the freezer this morning. Nothing like fresh, home made bread, and especially the good, healthy whole wheat type.

Yesterday I decided to make some cookies

Harvest Pumpkin-Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

That's Mickey's hand trying to grab one while I was taking the picture!!

These were absolutely one of the BEST tasting cookies I've ever made. They aren't the prettiest but the best tasting. Plus they are at least somewhat nutritious because of the pumpkin, oatmeal, raisin and walnuts.

I had a whole bunch of Spl*enda packets I wanted to use up. I got the recipe off of the Spl*enda site on the Internet. Oh, how did I do anything before using this wonderful internet??!! The hardest part of making these was opening a BUNCH of packets to make a 1/2 cup!!!! They are so tasty I am posting the recipe:

Harvest Pumpkin-Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/3 cups quick or old-fashioned oats

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter or margarine, softened

1/2 cup SPL*enda Sugar Blend (as I said I used the individual packets and I didn't use a full 1/2 cup, but close)

1/2 cup SPL*enda Brown Sugar Blend, packed (I did not have this so just used regular light brown sugar)

1 cup pumpkin

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

3/4 cup raisins

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees F. Spray baking pans with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

2. Combine flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in medium bowl. Beat butter, sugar & brown sugar in large bowl at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add pumpkin, egg and vanilla extract; mix well. Add flour mixture; mix well. Stir in walnuts and raisins. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto prepared baking sheets.

3. Bake 14 to 16 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned and set in centers. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Serves: 48 (I got 55)

Bake and ENJOY!!

We are still iced in so I'll go see what I want to bake today. I have 1/2 the opened can of pumpkin left so I'll make something with pumpkin. If it's good....I'll share it. Have a great day. "This is the day the Lord hath made, let us rejoice in it!"

ARE YOU HEEDING THE WARNINGS?

The following is a devotion that our Pastor, Gary Rogers, sent to us yesterday. As I posted a few days ago, about having eyes to see and ears to hear, and paying attention to what is going on around us in our world today I wanted to share his timely words with you.

I found it timely because the ice storm that I spoke of yesterday, and he refers to did, arrive. All the schools in our area are closed and they are telling everyone who can stay home to do so and only go out if you absolutely must.

"The weather reporters are warning of ice, sleet, and snow. Every news cast and radio weather anchor is giving details of bad weather on its way. Warnings are being issued of how the ground temperature is cold and the roads will be slick and hazardous. It would be hard for anyone with any type of electronic communication devise to not be aware of the pending storm. We must all agree that we have been warned, and we have no excuse for not being prepared. For me personally I traded my light weight, rear wheel drive, sports car for Paula’s big, heavy, four wheel drive SUV. I’m ready for the storm.

It is easy to see that the news announcers don’t want anyone to be able to say, “You didn’t warn us!” If they happen to be wrong, people will forgive them for warning of potential problems that didn’t happen. But if a terrible ice storm was to hit with no warning, everyone would be trying to find out who wasn’t doing their job. No warning being issued would let people down. No warning being issued would result in people being caught unaware and then suffering the consequences of being vulnerable and unprepared in facing the elements of the storm. The warning gives opportunity for preparation. The warning is due diligence in the person issuing the alert.
Jesus is coming back! I know this sounds like a weather report you’ve heard before, but He really is coming back. John 14:3 Jesus said, “I will come again…” His integrity tells us that He is not a liar, so He will come again. Matthew 24 Jesus told us to watch for signs pointing to His return. These signs are like weather patterns pointing to an approaching weather event. Jesus said for us watch man in relationship to man in that there will be wars and rumors of wars, nations fighting with nations. Jesus said to watch man in relationship to the environment in that there will be famine, diseases, and earthquakes. Jesus also told us to watch man in relationship with God in that the gospel will be preached worldwide, but the hearts of many will grow cold. Jesus told us in Luke 21:28, “Now when these things being to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” There is no question that people need to act upon the evidence found in God’s word that Jesus is coming.

Jesus’ return is far more important than an approaching ice storm. If Jesus returns tonight and I didn’t issue the alert then you would have every right to condemn me for not having due diligence in ministry. But if I tell you and warn you to be ready, and Jesus comes and finds you not prepared then that is you not heeding the warning that was issued. Facing an ice storm is no big deal when you’ve been warned and have time to prepare. Anticipating Jesus return and knowing you are completely prepared gives a wonderful assurance for both today and tomorrow."

This is a picture I took of our front yard this morning. You can see the ice covered tree branches and it is solid ice under the little snow on the streets and walks. The pine tree lost it's top 1/2 in the last ice storm.


Please, I pray, that you prepare yourselves for the storms that we are being warmed about as we read The Word with open ears and open eyes.

MONDAY MORNING & CATCHING UP

I missed my weight report last week because my internet was down for 4 days!!!!! So I'm catching up with it here. Last week, 1/12-1/18, I did BAD and gained a lb. This week, 1/19-1/25, I did INDIFFERENT and stayed the same. I don't know why I'm having such a hard time getting with the program this time but, as I've said before, I am not quitting and I am not giving up.

We had Aric with us from Friday afternoon until this morning when Mickey took him to school.

Aric all ready to attend church with Grandma & Grandpa


Mickey & I. Doesn't Mickey look great 3 1/2 months since his double bi-pass heart surgery? Praise God!!!! The tie Mickey has on is one of my Christmas gifts to him. The new slacks and sweater I am wearing is my Christmas BD gift from my daughter, Jacque. I had to have the slacks hemmed up because I'm getting shorter!! I still can't get over that fact.

One of the woman, Judy, in my church began a home Bible study on Monday, January 12th. I am so excited about this!!!! The first week there were only three of us: Judy, a friend she used to work with, Linda, and me. Last week there were 5 of us: Judy, Shirley, Wantha, Peggy (a friend of Wantha's) and me. Linda could not make it because she was ill. We meet at 11 o'clock. I have ALWAYS wanted to be part of an in-home Bible Study and am very excited about what God is going to accomplish in and through this group. We are praying that God add those woman who He wants to be part of this group. It is not a "church" function as such, but just a desire the Lord placed on Judy.

I am hoping we will still meet together today, but that is kind of up in the air at the moment. They are predicting sleet and rain beginning around noon today and it could turn into an ice storm.

I'm praying it doesn't turn in to one like above that we had in December, 2007 when the above picture was taken.

If you remember, one of our goals this year is to entertain more. Well on Friday night, the 16th, we took Ronnie & Carol out to one of our favorite Italian Restaurants for dinner. It is a lovely place that even has a violinist playing as you eat, and he is very good. He was doing a lot of Classical Spanish songs, which is a favorite of mine. Ronnie and Carol attend church with us, they are LONG time members, and Ronnie is Mickey's bee mentor and was such a blessing and help during our Anniversary trip and during the months that Mickey was unable to take care of his bees. Can you believe I didn't get a picture???!!!! Anyway we had a grand, good time.

This past week, since we had Aric all week-end we did not do any entertaining.

The prayer group is aware of this because they have been praying with us, but I hadn't posted on Penless about it. One of our friends, Lee, has quadruple heart bi-pass surgery on Thursday. On Friday he began bleeding and they were afraid they were going to lose him. They finally got the bleeding stopped but then he was unresponsive. Mickey and another friend, Jack, drove over to Oklahoma City and the VA Hospital to be with him and his family on Saturday. Yesterday we got the report that he is responding. His blood pressure is way to high and they are keeping him sedated at they figure out the proper medication to get the pressure under control. NEVER under estimate the power of prayer!!! I don't. Praise God for touching our friend, Lee, with His Mighty Hand.

I just got a call that our Bible Study has been called off for today because of the impending storm. Judy lives way out in the country so a long drive was deemed not the best choice for today.

Since I'm not going to Bible Study I'm going to go make some home made bread. See ya.......and enjoy your day.

HEARING EARS & SEEING EYES

Over and over again, in the four gospels, Jesus himself tells his disciples to have ears to hear and eyes to see.

In John 10 Jesus is talking to His disciples about being His sheep and His being their
Shepherd. Then in John 10:4 He says: "And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for theyknow not the voice of strangers."

As we enter this period in our country, and in our world, of so much change & uncertainity I feel the Lord is telling us, as Christians, to be alert . To use our ears to really hear, and use our eyes to really see, what is going on around us and what the Spirit of God is truly saying, and showing, each of us.

• Whether it is the President, or anyone of his cabinet, or a spokeman for him.


• Whether it is your Governor of any spokesman for them.


• Whether it is a congressman, or a senator, on the national or state level.


• Whether it is a corporate leader, or a business owner.


• Whether it is someone speaking for the medical profession.


• Whether it is your local school board.


• Whether it is your city councilor.


• Whether it is your local Pastor or any pastor or spokes person who claims to speak for God.

On the last one we know that if what is being said cannot be supported by Scripture then it is to be doubted and checked out.

We truly must listen and watch what is going on around us and being told to us.

As I posted in the previous post I am totally and utterly disheartened that one of Obama's first acts in govering is to reverse the abortion fund policy. I, for one, and I KNOW I am not alone, cannot understand how one can claim to be a Christian and stand for and support abortion. Supply of funding for abortions is certainly supporting abortion.

I am praying for President Obama daily, as we are instructed to do. I am praying for the Peace of Jeresulem daily, as we are instructed to do. I am also keeping my ears and my eyes open. I am praying that each and every one of us do that.

WILL YOU JOIN ME?

Having said all this.....one thing I know for sure.......God is in control...

we have nothing to fear if we stay under HIS covering and protection.

REGARDING GEORGE W. BUSH

It is hard to believe this is only the 5th day Obama has been in office.

The fact that he reversed the abortion fund policy on his 4th day in office speaks volumns to us that did not support him. It speaks volumns of the fears we have of what he is yet to do, and what he is about.

I was appalled at the booing that occurred when President Bush was announced at the ceremonies Tuesday. This great man that has been so vilified by so many, I believe, will get the honor and glory due him as history unfolds and tells the true story.

My friend, Maxine, of Nanna's Reflections, sent me two links about President Bush that I would like to share with you. I do not know how to transfer these from e-mail to my blog so all I can do is give the links :o(

If you respect George W. Bush and wish the best for him I ask you to please go to these two links and spend a little time on them.

The first is his speech and arrival as he and Laura arrived in Midland, TX.

http://www.kwes.com/global/story.asp?s=9705398/

It just blessed my heart to see them so happy, relaxed, and standing on right.

The second one is called Mission 1 Accomplished.

http://mission1accomplished.com/

SOAKING IT IN

Yesterday we cleaned our son's home, as we do every other week. Both Mickey & I were tired, achy and exhausted.

Last night I decided to take a L-O-N-G, very HOT, bubble bath and just SOAK!!!!

I filled the tub up to the drain overflow spout, leaned back and just relaxed.

You know, sometimes I think we take so many of the blessings we have for granted.

As I enjoyed my soaking I thought of the many blessings I was enjoying in this simple pleasure: 1) plenty of hot water at my very finger tips - 2) not only hot but pure, clean water - 3) my ever ready bottle of bubble bath that turns a plain bath into a special, aromatic pleasure - 4) a nice, private bathroom to enjoy this pleasure in - 5) in the safety of my own nice, warm, comfy home - 6) the luxury of no time limits on how long I choose to linger - 7) the plush bathmats to step out on and keep my feet off the cold ceramic tile floor - 8) my large, fluffy, white clean towel to dry off with - 9) my bottle of Ba*th & Bod*y Sun-Ripened Raspberry lotion to apply all over - 10) nice, warm, soft, fluffy, flannel pj's to put on.

As if this bath pleasure wasn't enough I then had: 11) a comfortable chair to lounge in - 12) in my own living room - 13) with my loving husband - 14) as he fixed us both a delicious cup of steaming hot chocolate - 15) then being able to turn the lights off - 16) check that the doors were locked - 17) feel safe in climbing into - 18) a pre-warmed by the electric blanket - 19) queens-size beautiful bed - 20) with my feather top quilted mattress pad - and 21) my large, plump, soft feather pillow - 22) the right to thank my Lord for all these blessings - 23) and drift off to sleep in all this safety and comfort - 24) with the wonderful husband I have spent 50 years enjoying this simple life with.

I am indeed a Blessed Woman and I never want to take all these pleasures for granted or cease to be thankful for them.

MY 2ND BLOG-A-VERSARY!!!

When I timidly posted my first post on January 21, 2007, here, I had absolutely NO idea what a blessing blogging was going to be to not only my life, but my very heart & soul. I had no idea how many wonderful friends I would be making, and that I would actually be meeting some (so far 7!!!) of there new friends from far away in person.



I had no idea that God would lead me to begin a Prayer Blog, Hearts In "1" Accord, and what a blessing it would be, as of this writing, for 23 of us lift up our united hearts to our Lord & Savior on a daily basis.

Last year, on my 1st blog-a-versary, I began 2 yearly awards that I wanted to give each year. You can go here to see the two from last year. Leigh Ann for the Angel Award & Karen for the True to His Word Award.
*************

This year my two awards go to:

PENLESS WRITER'S 2ND ANNUAL

ANGEL AWARD

January 21, 2009

Ginger of Just A Thought

All of you who follow Ginger's blog know that this Angel Award certainly describes her. She is a lovely wife and mother, but most of all she is a loving and faithful child of the Living God. Ginger is a real blessing to my life, a member of the Hearts Prayer Blog, and someone I got to meet in real life.......at midnight at a McD's!!!!! You are a living Angel in my life, Ginger.

PENLESS WRITERS ' 2ND ANNUAL

TRUTH TO HIS WORD AWARD

JANUARY 21, 2009

BOB OF AN EYE FOR REDEMPTION

Bob is one who writes wonderful posts about Our Lord & Savior and his posts really make you think!!!! I appreciate someone who stretches me and makes me evaluate my beliefs. Bob has the ability to do that. If you are not familiar with his blog I invite you to pay him a visit.

Thanks for letting me put my little 2 cents into this wonderful world of blogging!!!

Thank you to my faithful readers.
Thank you to my family & friends who humor me as I take all the pictures

and then allow me to blog about them.

Thank you to my wonderful Lord & Savior who gives me life

and life abundant!!!!!!

BROAD BAND ISSUES!!!!

In case any one wonders what's happened to me, and where I am.......my broad band has been off-line since Friday evening.......ggrrrr!!!! So aggravating. Tomorrow is my 2nd Year Blog-o-versery!!!! I will be posting tomorrow. Please come by and say howdy!!!

FREE TO BE QUIET

This beautiful sunset was out my french doors on Wednesday night. My grandson, Aric, noticed it and I had to get a picture of it. Such beauty painted in the sky.

The following devotional was the reading yesterday in The Word For You Today. I trust it will bless you as it did us.

"He opened not his mouth." Isaiah 53:7

Sometimes it's wise to wait, to say, "I don't have the answer right now but I'll think about it, pray, and get back to you." Your need to rescue someone or impress them and make points, will come back to bite you. The Bible says, "A prudent man keeps his knowledge to himself, but the heart of fools blurts out folly" Proverbs 12:23 NIV Allow wisdom to determine your response, not ego!

When people are anxious for answers they'll pressure you into speaking before you have all the facts or have taken time to pray and consider the situation. If you ask Him, God will tell you what to say and when to say it. His promise is "I have put my words in your mouth and covered you with the shadow of my hand" Isaiah 51:16 NIV. Ego says, "Don't just stand there, say something." Wisdom says, "Don't just say something, stand there!" Quietly ask God for insight. One insight from Him can settle things in a hurry. Someone else's need to know shouldn't determine your need to speak.

When Jesus stood before Pilate in judgment He said, "Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?" Matthew 26:53 NIV. Yet the Bible says, "He opened not his mouth."

When He was brought before Pilate, Jesus just stood there and said nothing. That's because He was not on trial. Pilate was. Jesus knew His destiny, and most importantly, He knew His Father intimately. And when you know God, you can face anything with confidence--and be free to be quiet. What a wonderful place to be!

TWO AWARDS & Something different

I've been given this lovely award twice recently. On January 9th by Pam of Midnight Musings and back in November by Barbara of Ramblings from an English Garden. Since I've already passed this one on here I'm just taking the opportunity here to say a big "THANK YOU" Pam. You certainly are in my BFF club!!!

They say good things come together and this was true of this lovely award. I received it January 9th from Pearlie of Pearlie Gates and January 14th from Mari of 365 Days.

The Lemonade Award is a special one.......making Lemonade when life hands you lemons. This has been a favorite saying and attitude of mine for years. We all get handed some lemons from time to time in life and it's up to us how we deal with them. I choose to make that Lemonade!!!!!

The rules for the Lemonade Award are:

ONCE YOU'VE BEEN AWARDED, THE RULES ARE:
1. Thank the person who was so thoughtful for giving you this award by linking their blog to this post.
2. Put the logo on your blog or post.
3. Nominate 10 blogs which show great attitude/gratitude.
4. Link your nominee to your post
5. Comment them to tell them about the award they've won.


Instead of picking just 10 of you,,,,,, I am passing this on to EACH of you who read my blog and KNOW that you have earned this Lemonade Award because you've chosen to take some lemons life has handed you and made that sweet Lemonade. that.

**********

SOMETHING DIFFERENT: I thought it would be fun to have everyone who reads this post to comment and put tell me what the verification word is for your comment. As I've left comments and done the verification letters I've just always thought it would be fun to know what ones are coming up on my blog. Sometimes they "almost" say something. Humor me PLEASE....leave me a comment and tell me the verification.

WEEKLY WEIGH IN & MEET A FRIEND OF MINE

You can see I got my little "Lady Bug" back on my weight ticker again!!! And I lost a pound this week and now am back up to 8 of those terrible pounds gone. We have got to get back to our daily walking. It's such a slow process to make up ground and re-establish GOOD habits but I am determined to keep on, keeping on. So on my good, bad or indifferent scale thank goodness I at least get to post GOOD!!!!!!

************

A friend of mine, and a sister-in-Christ, has started a blog and written her first post.

I hope many of you will drop by and greet Kelli at Sweet Nothings. Leave her a comment and tell her Penless sent you :o)

You will not be disappointed! Kelli is a prayer warrior through and through. She & her husband, Kevin, are a blessing to our Church body and to Mickey & I personally.

Welcome Kelli!!!!

************

Speaking of prayer......we are headed back to Oklahoma City again tomorrow (Tuesday) for the long awaited Echo Cardiogram. We are expecting a good report!!!

BACK TO NORMAL

Normal is good.

Normal - conforming with an accepted standard or norm; natural; usual.

The first normal is we are once again picking our grandson, Aric, up from school on Wednesdays and bringing him home with us.
Here he is in his new Royal Rangers shirt, vest & cap. Royal Rangers is a youth group at our church on Wednesday nights. Aric is able to attend this, spend the night with us, and then we take him to school on Thursday morning. We are so happy to be able to once again do this "normal" pattern every week.

The next "normal" is we are back to cleaning Marc's home for him every other week. This makes life so much easier on him, as a single parent, and the extra "pocket money" is a nice bonus for Mickey & I.!!!

My next normal, is to begin entertaining friends in our home once again.

Mickey & I both enjoy opening up our home for this type of fellowship and one of my goals for 2009 is having friends to our home often for a home cooked meal.

We had two couples of our church friends over Saturday night. After dinner it was so much fun just visiting and talking about the Lord and what we are expecting for our church this year. Both of these couples have been attending Coweta Assembly for years although it's only been 2 years for Mickey & I . We are so thankful God chose to place us in this fellowship.

DENNIS didn't have a clue I was sneaking this picture as we are watching a video from the 1998 Brownsville Revival we attended!!


SALLY, is Dennis wife. She has the best sense of humor and the most infectious laugh ever. This couple are such a joy to us.

CATHIE & DAVID are actually not only Church family but live just two blocks from us. I became acquainted with Cathie last summer when she asked me to go with her to pray for a very ill friend. When I gave her my address we discovered we were neighbors!!!

That is a piece of Mickey you see sitting on the couch :o)

The joy of good Christian friends is a gift without measure and yet another wonderful blessing of the Lord we enjoy.

UNITY

Five days ago I posted here about God giving me the word UNITY for this New Year.

I jotted down the 10 words that God gave to others in Blogland. that I am aware of.

The 10 are - TRUST (actually 2 of you were given trust) - SIMPLICITY - LAUGHTER - GRACE - DEEPER - MOVE - FLEXIBILITY - RESOLVE - TREASURES.

I thought it would be interesting, and in keeping with my word UNITY, to see if I could UNITE them to make a statement.

I TRUST God has given me this word for 2009 in order to lead me into total TRUST of Him. I believe it will give me a SIMPLICITY of living I have not known before and a year filled with joy and much LAUGHTER. My desire for 2009 is to understand His GRACE and love for me on a much DEEPER level. To be ready and willing to MOVE in the directions He guides and instructs. To have the FLEXIBILITY needed to make necessary changes in my life to obtain a closer walk with Him. I RESOLVE to keep the word He has given me for 2009 utmost in my mind. I believe in doing so He will reveal TREASURES to my soul that I have not yet known or experienced. I commit to prayerfully strive to fulfill the calling for UNITY that He has placed on my life.

I thank you wonderful Triune God (Father, Son & Holy Ghost) for the many and varied ways you speak to my heart.

MOTIVATION

I love a brand New Year......

Even though the Lord gives us a clean sheet to write on every day.... "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23 ....a New Year with 365 of those clean sheets is always motivating to me.

In preparation for getting back to losing the pounds I need to lose I decided it was time to take inventory of, and straighten out, all the food that is stashed in various places in this house. We have an extra refrigerator and freezer in the garage, and in addition to my kitchen cupboards I have "extra" food stored in a 2 closets.

Mickey helped me take the inventory, which was no small chore. Then I decided that this NEW YEAR I was going to put, and maintain, this inventory on an Ex*cel worksheet. I love Ex*cel!!! So we worked some on the inventory Sunday between church services, and finished up yesterday. I built my worksheets (yes plural!!) and I am so excited and feel so good about this project for this NEW YEAR. Now I will have to daily make adjustment by deleting what I use that day and adding in new items we buy at the grocery store.

The surprise benefit of this project, after realizing how very much we had, is we are not going to buy any new groceries this month, except for perishables like fresh vegtables, milk, eggs, etc. I am hoping to save enough to make an additional principal payment on our mortgage. As my blog friend, Brenda, would say, "It's a Good Thing"!

Another added benefit, I am doing more meal planning and using up things that I need to use and had forgotten about. After supper, I made an Apricot-Walnut bread because I found the dried apricots that needed to be used. Sure is good......now what does this do to the weight loss?!!!!!

Another of my goals for this NEW YEAR is to de-clutter this house and have a big yard sale this spring. God has really been speaking to my about de-cluttering in every area of our lives, mentally, as well as physically. As my header reads, "If you keep things simple, they'll stay pure."

What new motivation has God given you this NEW YEAR?

A GREAT END & A NEW BEGINNING

A Great End to 2008

Not quite 3 months ago Mickey had double bi-pass heart surgery.

The healing process seemed long and was not easy but look at him now!!!

Remember the dead tree in our back yard that needed to be cut down and Mickey couldn't do the job because of the surgery? Then the Lord just laid that tree down for us with a wind burst!! Go here to see and read the post, It All Fell Down. Well, our neighbor friend, Wayne, came down and he and Mickey got it cut into logs. I didn't get any pictures of that :o( Here Mickey is picking up logs, loading them in the wheelbarrow and wheeling them to the wood stack.

A few days later he has pulled out the refrigerator and is blowing out the dust from the coils and motor with his air compressor.

For a man who is use to being busy and doing many projects the hardest part of his recovery was having to "sit and take it easy."

Yes, it's a great end to the year 2008 to see my man up and happy being busy!
***************

Now for another great end & a new beginning.

Meet Deann, a lovely, young, single mother of 3 boys.

We were honored to meet Deann, New Years Eve, when we all went to dinner with our son, Marc.

They are looking forward to the New Year to build on that friendship.

A New Beginning


(Click on pictures to enlarge)

A beautiful sunset I captured from our back patio a few days ago.

A display of the beauty that life holds for all of us in this New Year - 2009!!!

GETTING HONEST - Back to the weight!

We'll I can't "wait" any longer to deal with the "weight" I need to lose.

(click to enlarge)

This comic strip was mailed to me by my dear friend, Don!!!

It's time to get honest and time to get back to the task. As you can see I've changed my "Ticker" to read the 38 lbs I truly need to lose. When I posted the ticker before I only put up 20 lbs because I was afraid if I looked at the real amount I needed to lose I'd get discouraged......but that wasn't being totally honest with myself.

I had managed to lose 11 of those pounds and then.........well, no excuses.......I didn't stay with the challenge and so I begin this New Year with a weight loss of 7 pounds and 31 to go.

As before, I will weigh in each Monday and report if I've done good, bad or indifferent. So this Monday I have to report a really big BAD!!! But, this is a New Year and a new week.......so here goes!!

38 pounds is what I truly need to lose to look like I'd like to look, weight wise.

A NEW YEAR - A word & a goal

The past 2 years, our Pastor has given us a Phrase for a Goal for our Church for the year. In 2007 it was "Not without Jesus". 2008 was "I want More". I was waiting for Church yesterday to see what the Phrase would be for this year and going to post about these. This year he didn't really speak about a phrase but during his sermon he made the statement "I'm Here for HIM". I love that and am going to be repeating this Phrase throughout the year to remind myself.

For both 2007 & 2008 I noticed some of you choosing a WORD for yourself for the New Year. I had not done that before but am going to participate in this for 2009. The word the Lord laid on my heart is Unity. I was torn between Perseverance, Remnant & Unity.

"Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect, man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." Ephesians 4:13

Unity - (yoo-ni-tee) - noun

1. the state of being one; oneness.

2. whole or totality as combining all its parts into one.

3. the state of fact of being united or combined into one, as of the parts of a whole; unification.

4. absence of diversity; unvaried or uniform character.

5. oneness of mind, feeling, etc., as among a number of persons; concord, harmony, or agreement.

So, "I'm Here for HIM" to be used use as He chooses in bringing us together in Unity. I am eager to see how God developes me in this word and this word in me.

Have you picked a word or phrase for 2009? I'd love to hear what God is putting on your hearts.

I LOVE YOUR BLOG - Award

I received this lovely award from Tiffany of Southern Sass. As her name indicated, Tiffany is a wonderful Southern girl. If you haven't visited her site I know you will be blessed to do so.

Along with the award goes meme questions to be answered.

1. Where is your cell phone? We only carry and use one for emergency use so it sits on the kitchen counter until we are ready to leave to go out somewhere.

2. Where is your significant other? In the living room watching TV.

3. Your hair color? Gray (use to be a dirty blond when I was young)

4. Your momma? In heaven

5. Your daddy? In heaven

6. Your favorite thing? The Word of God

7. Your dream last night? Not aware of dreaming.

8. Your dream/goal? To see all my children, and grandchildren serving the Lord.

9. The room you're in? The office/computer room.

10. Your hobby? Blogging, but I view it as so much more than just a hobby.

11. Your fear? That I would miss the purpose God has for my life.

12. Where do you want to be in six years? Wherever God wants me to be.

13. Where were you last night? Taking our oldest son to the airport :o(

14. What you're not? Phoney - I hate phoney bologney.

15. One of your wish list items? For the pain in my knees and legs to go away.

16. Where you grew up? Santa Fe, New Mexico

17. The last thing you did? Get up.

18. What are you wearing? New pj's I got for Christmas. Very soft, and comfy!!!

19. Your TV? Going in the living room.

20. Your pet? None

21. Your computer? HP

22. Your mood? Optomistic about what God's going to do in 2009

23. Missing someone? My oldest son not living in this area.

24. Your car? 2007 HHR Chevy -Bright orange and I love it!

25. Something you're not wearing? Shoes - you'll never find me in shoes in the house.

26. Favorite store? Walmart & Aldi

27. Your Summer? Went too fast

28. Love someone? Yes, but only for 50 years :o)

29. Your favorite color? True Blue

30. When is the last time you laughed? Yesterday

31. Last time you cried? Last evening as I said goodbye to #1 son

Since I had already received this award once before in August and passed it on at that time I'm not going to pass it this time to anyone individually but to all of you who read my blog and want to have it and answer the questions. If you do, please link to me and let me know.

HAPPY NEW YEAR - JANUARY 1, 2009

2009

I love a New Year!!!!

I am expecting GREAT things in this NEW YEAR, as I have all my other NEW YEARS.

My commitment for this NEW YEAR is to live each and every day in the Faith & Trust of my LORD and SAVIOR, JESUS the CHRIST. To be daily in His WORD & PRAYER

Speaking of PRAYER...........I have been praying that God would add to our

Hearts in "1" Accord 24/7 Prayer Warrior team

If the Lord has been speaking to you about making a commitment to PRAYER in 2009

please consider joining the 22 of us who are currently praying daily.

Our focus is praying for The BODY of CHRIST, HIS CHURCH.

God is truly wanting to do a great work in His Body and it begins with each and every member .... US ....You .... ME.

I read this morning "God Moves Wherever He's Welcomed"

It went on to say "If He isn't moving in your church or area yet, He will if He's made welcome." That could be brought down to ------ If He isn't moving in YOUR life....

He will if He's made welcome.

We welcome HIM and we would love to welcome YOU to join us.

If you have any interest please click on the "Button" on the side bar, or leave a message in the comment section, and I will contact you with further information and answer any questions you might have. You can also e-mail me from my profile page.

BLESSINGS TO YOU & YOURS FOR THIS NEW YEAR!!!!