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.

HAPPY BIRTH DAY 'S!!!

Today is our oldest daughter, Suzette's birthday. Here she is on her 1st birthday!!!
Happy Birthday Daughter #1!!!!!

BUT December is also the birth month of 3 others in our family. Daughter Jacque, who is only 1 year and 9 days younger than Suzette, the 22nd, Her daughter, and our first granddaughter, Jessica is the 23rd and Mine is the 25th.

SO rather than celebrating them each separately with a family doing, as usual, we decided this year to have a "girl's day out celebration". Granddaughter, Oksana, was suppose to join us but ended up having a Leadership drill at school and had to cancel. We invited our son Marc's friend, Deann, to join us for the fun.

We began by meeting at 11 a.m. at a nail salon for either a manicure or pedicure

These three, Suzette, Deann & Jacque went for the pedicure. Do you think Jacque is relaxed?!!!!


Granddaughter Jessica and I opted for the manicure.

Next it was to Ol*ive Gar*den for soup & salad.

I had little monogram notes for each of my girls just as a little "something".

After a fun lunch it was off for some Christmas shopping!!!!

It was a great, and different way for us to celebrate during our always too busy month of December. With Mickey & Dave's birthdays both being on November 24th we have 6 birthdays and it gets a little busy and hectic.

Any day spent with my family is always a special day to me.

ISRAEL & JERUSALEM

2 Chronicles 6:6: "I have chosen Jerusalem that My Name might be there, and I have chosen David to be over My people Israel."

Psalm 132:13-15 "For the Lord has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His habitationl. 'This is My resting place forever; Here I will dwell, for I have desired it. I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her with bread."

In I Kings 11:32, the Lord calls Jerusalem "the city which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel."

A fight is raging over Israel & Jerusalem - God's Chosen Nation.

Many are wanting Israel to give up even MORE of their land and now even Jerusalem .

The Wailing Wall in Jerusalem

THIS is the size of Israel

THIS is the total size of the Arabic States

From THE MOUNTAINS OF ISRAEL by Norma Parrish Archbold

AND YET ...The battle to divide Jerusalem is intensifying.

Sweden is pushing hard to pass an initiative to persuade 27 foreign ministers of European Union states (EU) to endorse a plan to recognize unilaterally East Jerusalem as the capital of a new Palestinian State.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, is doing everything he can to counter the Swedish effort.

The following excepts from Haaretz. Go here to read the entire article Haaretz.com.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has phoned several European leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero, asking them to oppose the plan and to pressure the PA to renew negotiations with Israel. Meanwhile, in an attempt to counter Israeli pressure, PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad convened a group of European diplomats to ask them to support the Swedish proposal.
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Sweden's initiative calls for the division of Jerusalem and the recognition of East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine. The 27 European foreign ministers are to discuss a draft of the proposal.

Sweden, with the support of Britain, Ireland, Belgium and a number of other countries, continues to promote its original formulation of the proposal calling for East Jerusalem to be the capital of the Palestinian state.

Israel is continuing in its efforts, together with the United States, to advance a renewal of negotiations with the PA. Netanyahu's envoy Yitzhak Molcho met secretly a few days ago in New York with the U.S. special envoy for the Middle East peace process, George Mitchell. The two discussed developments in the PA ahead of the meeting of the Palestine Liberation Organization Central Council in Ramallah on December 15. On Friday, after the talks with Molcho, Mitchell phoned Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and discussed the possibility of renewing talks with Israel.


The Bible teaches that the Lord will judge the nations who seek to divide Israel and Jerusalem.

Joel 3:1-2: "When I restore the fortunes of Jerusalem (in the last days) I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat.l Then I will enter into judgment with them there on behalf of My people and My inheritance Israel whom they have scattered among the nations and they have divided up My land."

Please join me in praying for the Peace of Jerusalem.

YEAH!!! - I am no longer cameraless

I know it's no big deal to you but it's a BIG deal to me. After several days of looking, pricing, comparing, asking questions, seeking advice I am now the owner of one of these. I'd take a picture of my pretty new, green colored camera......but since I'd need the camera to do so, and how so and that can't be done I had to take a picture of the box!!!

I ended up spending about double what I wanted to spend, as a new camera was certainly not in the month of December with 6 birthdays and Christmas but I couldn't stand not having a camera.

For a good laugh today, please go here to Becky's blog and view the picture there. I love how fun and creative people can be!!

Beautiful Words of Truth For TODAY

I read these words this morning. Even though these were written many years ago they speak truth to my heart & soul and are so apt for the world we deal with daily.
I wanted to share them with you. I hope they speak truth to you.



They are by Edith Stein, who voluntarily revealed her Jewish identity in order to share the love of Christ in the midst of the horrors of the Holocaust concentration camps, writes in her meditation, "The Love of the Cross":



"The sight of the world in which we live, the need and misery, and an abyss of human malice, again and again dampens jubilation over the victory of light. The world is still deluged by mire, and still but a small flock has escaped from it to the highest mountain peaks. The battle between Christ and the Antichrist is not yet over. The followers of Christ have their place in this battle, and their chief weapon is the Cross.



....The lovers of the Cross, whom He has awakened and will always continue to awaken anew in the changeable history of the struggling church, these are His allies at the end of time. We, too, are called for that purpose....to have one's feet on the earth, to walk on the dirty and rough paths of this earth and yet to be enthroned with Christ at the Father's right hand, to laugh and cry with the children of this world and ceaselessly to sing the praises of God with the choirs of angels this is the life of the Christian until the morning of eternity breaks forth."

TWO TREES

God so often speaks to me through nature and what I see with my eyes.

We have a Japanese Maple tree in our front yard. This fall it has had the most beautiful brilliant RED leaves. The sun would shine on them and it looked almost like it was on fire. I would have taken a picture to post but for the mislaid camera :o(

SUDDENLY we have had a very cold snap, along with winds, and the side of the tree away from the house was being stripped of it's leaves. I mentioned it to Mickey and within another 2 days the tree was TOTALLY bear of it's leaves.

This spoke to me of the Christian life that is ablaze with joy, hope and fulfillment that SUDDENLY, when faced with an unexpected turn of events, begins to lose that joy, hope and fulfillment and within a very short time is totally bereft of all the truth they have once known.

On the other hand, we have 2 large native Oak trees where the leaves very gradually turn into a non-descript yellowish color, then into a unappealing brown, BUT they cling with all they have, regardless of the winds that blow or the sudden cold snaps. These leaves, although not bearing the appearance of beauty, remain on the tree until next spring when the new buds of life push them off to make room for the new green growth.

This speaks to be of the Christian life that weathers the storms and clings to the TRUTH that summer will once again come and all the hope, joy & fulfilment will return anew and the tree will grow even taller and put down even deeper roots.

My prayer and hope is that I will develop to be the sturdy Oak tree that will always cling to TRUTH no matter what assails me.

*No, I am not going through a difficult period in my life!!!! I can just relate to times in my life when I have.

As a matter of fact, I have WONDERFUL news. Mickey just had his medical check-up and was given an excellent report. YEAH!!! They do not even want to see him for a year, although he will go in for blood work in 6 months. Praise God

Random Dozen #2

I'm participating in Random Dozen, over at 2nd Cup of Coffee today for the second time. Since my camera is still missing I thought this would be a good thing to do, Check it out and read the other Random participants.

1. Which Wizard of Oz character are you most like? Now that's starting off with a hard one. Probably Dorothy because I always see the possibilities.

2. When you're deciding what you're going to wear each morning, which item do you select first? Why? If I'm staying home it's easy.... something comfortable like capri's in the summer or sweats in the winter. If I'm going out I look in my closet and the first decision is slacks or skirt. Then I select that and then the top to go with it.

3. What kind of animal do you think the world could live without? MEAN dogs that hurt and attack young children. One of my friends at church Grandchild was just mauled by one of this type.

4. How many Christmas trees are in your home? We've always just had one....until this year and I've put a small, pre-lit one with no other ornaments in the guest bedroom for Aric to enjoy. Yesterday was his weekly Wednesday to spend with us and he was so very pleased to see it!

6. Do you ever experience holiday let-down or depression? Usually I am very excited and love it. I did have a spell, way over 20 years ago, when I dreaded Christmas because our family was going through some hard times.

7. Do you like Michael Jackson's music? I don't listen to a lot of "popular" style music so I couldn't tell you a thing about that music. I love Christian music and classical, especially piano and violin.

8. Why is it that we never judge people who have their teeth fixed for cosmetic reasons, but every other cosmetic procedure has a stigma? I don't pay a lot of attention to that type of thing one way or another.

9. Enjoy horseback riding? Loved to ride when I was younger. My sister and her husband had horses when I was a teenager and I loved spending time with them and riding.

10. Shoes--practical or stylish? I USE to wear very high heels but could not do so now and wear very cute, but practical, flats.

11. What was the name of your first pet? A cat named Muffy. I loved and adored her especially since I was raised as an only child.

12. What percentage of your Christmas shopping is done? First, we are doing very little this year, except for the grandkids. I'd say about 1/2.