Honest Scape Award - DO YOU HONESTLY KNOW ME?

I received the following award from Tiffany at Southern Sass back on December 1st and just now finding time to finally post about it. Go here to read Tiffany's. You will be blessed!!

Rules for the award:

1. Must thank the person who gave you the award and list their blog and link it.
Thank you so very much Tiffany for this award. It especially means a lot to me because it came from YOU. Tiffany is a young wife & mother and a lover of Jesus, who I have the utmost respect for. I truly hope you will follow the link above and get to know her.

2. Share "10 Honest things" about yourself.
This has honestly been a very hard thing for me to do. Not because being Honest is hard for me, but because I have been so open & honest on this blog that I feel most of you know me VERY well. I also realize that I have new readers. If you don't find anything new it's that you've been a faithful follower from my beginning and I thank you and appreciate you so very much.

1. THE most important relationship in my life is JESUS. Even though I was raised in the Church, my father was a Deacon, and I loved God I was not saved until I was 18 years old. I was invited by a neighbor to a revival at her Independent Baptist Church. When I heard this Pastor preach he presented Jesus in such a real way I'd never heard before and I literally ran to the altar. I have never been the same, and I have never looked back or had a moments regret for choosing to serve and love my Triune God; Father, Son & Holy Ghost. You can read my complete testimony here.

2. I am first and foremost a WIFE, MOTHER, & GRANDMOTHER. I cherish these roles and endeavor to be the best I can doing so.....although I have had many failures along the way.

3. Because of #1 & #2 Family is of the utmost importance to me. God established the family before He established the church . The family is the foundation for a strong church and nation. Part of the problem in our country today is the disintegration of the family unit. Especially so in the role of a strong husband and a submissive wife. Took me years to learn the submissive wife part!!! but believe me once I did I would not live any other way.

4. Lying, and even putting up a false front and not being real, is totally unacceptable to me. I call it "phony baloney" and have always demanded honesty from my family. It's not always the easiest way, at the time, but it is the only and best way to be in the long run. All of my close friends are "real" because it is so important to me. I wrote about being authentic here and here some time ago. I live by the 2 quotes that appear on my header.

5. The Bible is the foundation on which I stand and build my life. I have been in a variety of different churches, during my 54 years of Christian walk, and have learned different aspects from each of them but I do not stand on a church but on the Holy Word of God. No church or denomination has the whole word of God but The Body of Christ does have. I love THE WORD and I read it daily because it truly is the Bread of Life to me. To the old question so often asked, "If you were on a deserted island what is the one thing you would have to have?" I have always answered, my Bible. While I have many Bibles of various translations, and I use and appreciate all of them, the one Bible I treasure and cherish is a Leather Bound King James Version that Mickey gave to me on our First Anniversary in 1959. The pages are paper thin and totally marked and it has been rebound once.

6. I was engaged to my high school sweetheart at age 15 and we married when I was 16. I graduated from High School after being married and at the age of 16. My two daughters were born 12 days before I was 17 and 3 days before I was 18. I was divorced with 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 year old daughters when Mickey & I married in 1958 just 2 months before I turned 21. Mickey legally adopted Suzette & Jacque and they are every bit as much his daughters as they are mine. In fact, I think they are more Daddy's girls!!!! Our first son, David, was born when I was 26 and our 4th child, and 2nd son, Marc, was born when I was 31. It was very interesting having a 14 year old, a 13 year old, a 5 year old and a new born!!!!!!! I've always said, "I don't know if it made us older faster, or made us stay young longer!"

7. Books are my next greatest love and passion. I have been an avid reader since my childhood. Growing up basically as an only child, my books were and still are my greatest friends. Since becoming a Christian, at the age of 18, most of my reading has been spiritual in nature. I attribute a great deal of my growth as a Christian to my reading in addition to Church attendance and My Bible. It has NEVER ceased to amaze me how God can, and does, place in my hands the very book, on the very subject, I need at just the perfect timing in my life.

8. Life has not always been a bed of roses. Who's is???? Being divorced and facing the circumstances of why I was divorced at age 20 with 2 babies was very difficult. To sad I was shattered would be an understatement. I am so thankful for the support of my wonderful Father & Mother and for God placing Mickey in my life very soon afterward. We faced years long struggles with our 2nd daughter and drugs. Praise God it was a battle she conquered. It was the first real "blow" in my perfect little world of Mickey & our family of 4. Then we faced the same battle with our 1st son who literally disappeared and for 10 years we did not hear from him or know where he was. Praise God he is also doing great now. Talk about a growing experiences in the Lord. You have to grow a lot in your Faith and the Lord or you don't make it through drugs and disappearance. Last, but not least was the violent attack by Satan on Mickey's and my marriage after 25 years. It was absolutely almost my undoing and I was suicidal. During the drug issues with our children I would often tell Mickey, "Our world may fall apart but you and I are solid." When that turned out to not be true it was devastating to me. Praise God for two faithful friends, Joan & Beverly, who helped me through this terrible period of my life. I have often written about how happy I am that Mickey & I "weathered the storm" and have lived 26 wonderful years since. Joan lives in Albuquerque and I hope to see her next September for our Class Reunion. Beverly is waiting to greet me in Heaven. Last but not least, we have had the heart break of failed marriages among our children.

9 Growing older. I must admit that prior to this year I never "felt" my age. Oh, I could see it when I looked in the mirror. After all I am not blind!!! But I did not "feel" it. I wrote about my view of aging back here. The last few months I am beginning to feel it because I am finding that I cannot physically do all the things I use to be able to do. I find myself tiring easily when I use to be literally tireless and I find myself not remembering things as well as I once did, especially names. That really gets me because I use to never forget a name. It is a very humbling experience. Especially when you've been a busy "doer" all your life and jumping in and doing anything & everything you wanted to do.

10 On dying. When my mother was beginning to age I use to wonder, to myself, if she was scared or worried about dying. Now that I am going to celebrate my 72nd birthday in just 12 days I feel it important to address this issue for you young readers who might wonder!!! I have ABSOLUTELY no fear of death. I am looking forward to joining my family and friends in heaven and I have had a full, good life. If the Lord told me today He was taking me home I'd say goodbye to everybody and go. I do fear being very ill and suffering physically in that way. With the problems our family has faced the one thing we have been above and beyond blessed with is good health. I have only been hospitalized with 4 child births, major chest surgery (at age 18! among everything else going on in my life at that time!!), pneumonia, & gall bladder surgery. Mickey had never even been in a hospital his entire life until last year when he dealt with his heart issue and surgery.

I do not know what the future holds.....but I do know who holds my future and I am secure in that knowledge!!!!!

Well by this point you should honestly know me!!! Perhaps you know me too well but I trust not. With me, what you see is what you get.

3. Present this award to 7 others whose blogs you find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged you.

These are the 7 blogs I find brilliant in content and have encouraged me and I would like to honestly know them. I'm not real into design, as you can tell since I've never changed my blog look since Leigh Ann helped me set it up very near the beginning.

1-Kathy of A Field Lilly
2-Dan of The Bumbling Genius
3-Sandra of Sister Faith
4- Bob of An Eye For Redemption
5- Maxine of Nanna's Reflections
7-Brenda of It's All Good

and excuse me but I'm going to add an 8th - Marallyn of Shalom From Jerusalem


4. Tell those 7 people they've been awarded HONEST SCRAP and inform them of these guidelines in receiving the award.
Now I'm off to do just that!!

Thanks for taking the time to drop by and PLEASE leave me a comment.