I Love My Life!

Hello, My Darlings! I hope you are all doing well! Things have been really crazy around here. But it's so cool to watch how God is always present in the midst of the most chaotic turmoil there is! I just love the fact that I can find Him & cling to Him & things become calm.  He brings order even in the midst of it all. And then, to put the icing on the cake (hmm cake), He shows me just exactly why He allowed the turmoil to happen to begin with. The older I get, the less I like change. I want to be comfortable, just bob along on my little raft of life on a calm, smooth river.  Oops, I'm sorry, Dear, but that's not what God intends for you. You were not saved from the fiery pits of Hell by the sacrifice of His Precious Son, to just float through life in comfort and without stress. If that's what you think being a Christian is about, you've got a big ole whoopin' coming your way! I know from experience that I surely don't want me one of them!  Uh uh!

So I always thought that as I got older this Christian walk would get easier, that I would learn these incredible life lessons, that God would etch all these experiences on my heart & that with great wisdom I would face the latter years of my life like some sort of  icon of the perfect mature woman in:

Titus 2:3-5

New International Version (NIV)

3 Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4 Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

For a period of time I despaired of seeing the wrongs that were being perpetrated made right. I know that some would think that I am naive, but I still believe in the balance of good & evil and that the evil will come to light and that God works on our behalf even when we are not aware of it. He is always looking out for us, even though sometimes we don't want Him to. 

I am excited to see just exactly what He's got in mind. I have a feeling of expectancy that He is going to do all that He is able to do in abundance beyond anything I can even imagine. Exciting?? Shoot yeah.

I have also decided to take another quote from the Bible and those who are not for me, who are lukewarm to me, shall be spit out of my mouth. I'm tired of trying to get some people to love me, of jumping through their hoops in order to be a part of their lives. Love shouldn't be like that. It should be unconditional & returned. I will no longer accept the relationship on their terms. I have so many loving people in my life that I have no need to entertain those snobs any longer.  I know that sounds negative but the fact is that I don't wish them harm but I need to get rid of all that negativity in my life. Somehow or another I have had this crazy idea that I don't deserve better but I do.

The following is an excerpt from "Unshakable" by Carter Conlon. I found it to be extremely inspiring.

He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in that comfort God gives us. (2 Cor. 1:4-7, NLT) 

       These words of Paul reveal another truth about suffering: it fills individuals with something of Christ that enables them to reach people who might otherwise never understand the grace of the gospel. It grants them access into the deepest inner prisons of their generation-places no one else can go except those who have personally experienced God's comfort in the midst of their own trials. That means that if you are going to be able to comfort the sorrowing in the coming days, you yourself must first receive comfort from God. 

(End of Excerpt)

 Wow, that gives us a whole new perspective on exactly why we're here, doesn't it? It helps me to understand why I've had to suffer so much in my life. It's not about our ease & needs. Sometimes I think a lot of us come into this Christian life not fully understanding what it requires. We need to receive a job description. 

I hope this blog was as inspiring to you as it was to me. God woke me up early this morning to put these last few words down & post it.

I want to thank Marney, One Voice Director, for his insight last night at practice. His Spiritual leadership is invaluable.

What's Going on Around Here?

I cannot believe that it has been almost 3 months since I've blogged anything. Time has sure flown by. There has been so much going on and I don't even know where to start. Rather than try to actually catch you all up on everything that's been going on, I think I'll just kind of pick it up from where I left off. That's just more work then I'm willing to engage in. LOL! Yes, I'm getting lazy in my old age. Maybe it's just that I'm tired.

Either way, I did want to let you know that everything is looking good for me health wise. After a bunch of tests, and medical bills, everything is looking clean.  Work is also going well. It took me a little while to get adjusted but now I'm really enjoying it. Interacting with people and trying to make a difference in their lives is very rewarding.I'm also learning a great deal about the world that emergency medical  people operate in and I'm finding it fascinating. If I had discovered a lot of this when I was younger, my life might have gone in a very different direction but right now I like the direction that God is taking it in.

Our group, One Voice, will be traveling next week to Illinois to do a concert there, so I'm looking forward to that. I think that will be a lot of fun. I will be riding with some great ladies, Brenda & Mary Jane. I thank God for bringing them into my lives because they are great friends and I love them dearly. I love everyone in the group and I just love hanging out with them. What a sweet spirit we have together!

The only fly in the ointment, so to speak, is the issue with my son. I wish things could be different but obviously they can't. I just hate the direction that his life is headed in right now but there's nothing that I can do about it. You can see what's coming but no one will listen. It's one of those situations where I hate saying I told you so but it will come to that. Kind of like when my sister was killed. You knew it was inevitable but there's nothing you can do. That's when only faith can get you through it. It's very painful. 

Charles got a new truck and he is simply ecstatic. I love seeing him so happy and I  know that in about 6 months I will look the same way, because I believe by then it will be necessary to replace my trusty Kia. She's been wonderful but she's getting tired. I'll still keep her as a backup but she's got almost 250, 000 miles on her and she's pretty worn out. I do love Kias. They are great automobiles. I owe my life to one.

Amanda will be graduating in October with her Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice and will be seeking a position in Law Enforcement. (Big surprise there) and DeWayne will be deploying in January for Germany so Amanda & Sebastian will be coming to live with us for awhile so they can save some money to purchase a house when DeWayne gets back, so I'm excited about that.

I know you will not think me totally biased when I say that my Grandson is the most brilliant, delightful child every born, right?  It's true. I'm not making this up. 

I'm really disturbed by the direction that certain things are going in right now but I have finally accepted the fact that these things have to happen in order to fulfill prophecy foretold in the scripture. Staying grounded in the Word and on our face. Praying will be the only way to truly get through it. But it's difficult. I hate to see it happen. If you get the chance, please read "The Harbinger" by Jonathan Cahn. It will scare the daylights out of you, but it will give you an entirely new perspective on the awesome power of God. 

I'm also reading a book "Unshakable" by Carter Conlon that is very good. As things begin to shift and change in our world, we have to seek God's face in order to know what our new roles will be in so that we can serve Him the way He would have us serve Him. Not like we think it should be or what's been done in the past. There's a new world coming. We need to be ready. If we keep our eyes firmly focused on Him and not look around us at the things that are going on around us, we can be at peace no matter what is going on.


Psalm 121

1 I will lift up my eyes to the mountains ; From where shall my help come ? 2 My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not allow your foot to slip ; He who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, He who keeps Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The LORD is your keeper ; The LORD is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun will not smite you by day,Nor the moon by night. 7 The LORD will protect you from all evil ; He will keep your soul. 8 The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in From this time forth and forever .

Isaiah 40:31

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run , and not be weary ; and they shall walk , and not faint .

It's very simple, really. Either you believe it or you don't. I realize that this post today has been rather somber but we are in a somber place in our society right now. But I want you to know that this also comes from a place of peace and of joy and a clean heart. Fear not for the Lord thy God is with you, now and forever more! I love you so much.

We sang this song Sunday and it spoke to my heart & spirit. I hope you enjoy it!

 

You Are My Strong Tower

Psalm 27: 1-6

1 The LORD is my light and my salvation-- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life-- of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. 3 Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident. 4 One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. 5 For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. 6 Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD.


 You know, sometimes life can be very hard. I'm not going to lie, there are days when I really don't know why things have turned out the way they have. The hardest part of life is when things don't turn out like you expected them to. I've made mistakes. I know it's hard to believe but really I have. But I can honestly say that I always tried to do things the right way. We are a product of our environment and my adoptive parents didn't really teach me how to cope with things correctly, so sometimes I might have reacted in the only way that was ever demonstrated to me, violently. But usually, I got things under control and I really strived to let the Holy Spirit guide me in the path of righteousness.. I tried to love my children unconditionally and bring them up to be productive citizens.

When that didn't happen, I tried tough love and whatever else I needed to do to help them.  But it appears that it doesn't matter. A bitter, hateful person enters their life and convinces them that you're an awful parent and it might as well have been as if you never did anything for your child. When that happens you wouldn't believe the pain. And then, this same person tells you that you will never be a part of your granddaughter's life. Based on what? Good question. What THEY think is the truth. No matter how many times you try to tell them the truth, they don't believe you. I guess my life has not stood for anything. Trying to be an honest, loving, Christian person and mother doesn't matter. Tried and convicted, sentence handed down without due process. Very, very painful. Where is this coming from? I ask myself. The answer is the devil.

But let me tell you something that I do know. I serve an awesome God. He is my Defender & my Strong Tower. Of whom shall I be afraid? I know who I am in Him. I will stand strong and firm in my knowledge that He will work this out to my good because I trust him. No weapons formed against me shall prosper. I also know that when Satan is attacking me it's because I'm being effective for the Lord so I can choose to
dwell on that and let not my heart be troubled. He has vindicated me before and He will do it again. I just need to stand my ground!


The devil’s plan for your life is three-fold:  To Steal… To Kill… and To Destroy….. He has NO good plan for You and Your life!
Here I want you to understand the words of Jesus in this text. Jesus said, “the thief comes ONLY to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” John 10:10 (emphasis mine). He said; the thief will come. No doubt about that. In fact, read what Peter says in 1 Pet. 5:8 “Be alert, be on watch! Your enemy, the Devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” The devil has no plan for you except to steal, kill and destroy. Jesus said, “he comes ONLY… That means; surely the devil will come, but when he comes he has no other interest or purpose for you but ONLY one thing. He comes to turn everything upside down in your life. By nature, the devil doesn’t know any order. Actually, he doesn’t even want order.  He is the architect and the source of all chaos. There is no goodness in him at all!

I'm on my guard, praying and seeking God's face. I love you guys and I covet your prayers.

What's Up With That?

Well, one of the most wonderful things about life is the amazing amount of surprises that it holds. I just love how, when I think things are not going well and I start thinking they never will, God has this incredible way of showing me how amazing He is and how many surprises He has in store for me. 

I love surprises. When I hear people say they hate surprises, I think, "How sad is that?" That's the best part of life, as far as I'm concerned. Bring 'em on!

Today was a day of surprises for me. As I mentioned in my last post, I've been having these health issues. Well, today I had an appointment with the Infectious Disease Specialist. It was a very interesting visit, I must say. He said a lot of things that even now I don't understand but basically, they don't really know what the problem is. LOL! It figures. I went through that when I had my CSF leak. With me, it's always something bizarre. 

So they took what seemed like another gallon of blood to test, but the surprising part of the encounter was when the doctor looked at me and said, "Are any of your brothers & sisters red headed?" I said I don't know but my mother was. He said you have red hair and beautiful green eyes so I'm guessing you're of Irish descent and there is something called IEG, (or something like that) which is only found in people of Irish descent that causes them to be more prone to infections. (Which is something I have). So he's going to test for that. Interesting, huh?  I found that to be very surprising. I knew I had Irish & Scottish heritage but this really brings it home.

I'm not worried. I feel fine. I've been through much worse and I know that my Lord & Savior is with me every step of the way. I think He's making these things interesting just for me because He knows I love it.

Add to the fact that Easter is coming and I can't wait to spend it with my family, children, grandchildren, good friends, anyone that I can include in the mix. Spring is coming. You might not think so today but it's definitely on the way. I'm excited about what the future holds.

Because my God put a plan into place before the foundation of the world that would ensure a place for me in eternity with Him, I no longer have to fear anything that happens to me here in this world or later in the next. I'm excited to see what surprises He has in store for me when I get up there, too. I can't wait but I'm in no hurry. There are too many things that I have yet to experience here. Thank you, Father, for the ability to enjoy my life to the fullest now and the wonderful assurance of where I will spend eternity as well.

1 John 5:10-13-"Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe has made God a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about His Son. And this is the testimony:God has given His us eternal life,and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son, has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life."

My favorite song this week is "The More I 
Seek You"

The more I seek you,

 the more I find you.

The more I find you,
the more I love you

I wanna sit at your feet
drink from the cup in your hand.
Lay back against you and breath,
hear your heart beat

This love is so deep,
it's more than I can stand.
I melt in your peace, it's overwhelming

The more I seek you,
the more I find you.

The more I find you,
the more I love you

I wanna sit at your feet
drink from the cup in your hand.
Lay back against you and breath,
hear your heart beat

This love is so deep,
it's more than I can stand.
I melt in your peace, it's overwhelming

I wanna sit at your feet
drink from the cup in your hand.
Lay back against you and breath,
hear your heart beat

This love is so deep,
it's more than I can stand.
I melt in your peace, it's overwhelming

I wanna sit at your feet
drink from the cup in your hand.
Lay back against you and breath,
hear your heart beat

This love is so deep,
it's more than I can stand.
I melt in your peace...

I can't sing that song without being swept away to that moment and just feeling like I'm there. Incredible.

I pray the peace of God will permeate your lives.

 

Isaiah 54:10

Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

The Promise of Spring & Renewal

Spring is in the air and I am delighted. The end is in sight and I can hardly wait!

First, I want to fill you in on what's been happening with me lately. There's a lot to tell.  LOL! So what else is new? Right?

Well, first I lost my job. I was really bummed about it at the time but it turns out God knows exactly what He's doing. Wow! Really?

A week after that I was getting ready to go to the gym and I noticed a lump in my groin area. I asked Charles if my "package" looked big.  He was concerned. I told him that I would call the doctor. when I got back. I came back and called the doctor and they told me to come right down. That's what's nice about having a friend who's a doctor and not in the Wellstar group.

I went down and she examined me. She thought it might be a hernia. Unusual for women to get them in that area but not unheard of.  So she sent me right over to get a CT Scan done. Then she calls and tells me that it's not a hernia, that my Lymph Nodes are swollen. She wanted to send me over to see a surgeon to have  a biopsy done. So I went to see him and he scheduled the surgery.  That went well.

He said there was no malignancy, it was benign. But they had to do blood tests to see what is going on. And I have to go see an Infectious Disease Specialist. I'm feeling really good. If I had had to go through this stuff and work my job it would have been difficult but God is looking out for me. the only fly in the ointment is that I haven't been able to go to the gym as much and I hate that. I can feel it. I have put some weight back on but I will start working on taking it back off (And then some) after I get all this taken care of.

And Charles has a job working for Clark Ambulance and The Coroner's Office. My Unemployment should be kicking in any day now. I have also decided to use this time to really think about what I want to do. I'm so burned out on Customer Service. My son-in-law works at a hospital and says he can get me a job as a sitter. You just sit in the room with the patient to keep an eye on them. I think I can do that. I am also toying with the idea of a small home-based business I would like to start so there are many things in the work. So rather than being a downer, I'm very exciting about the prospects that are before me.

I just ask that you pray for me. That God will show me the way He would have me to go.

Easter is coming. It is my favorite Christian holiday. Christmas is great. The fact that God came down to Earth and wrapped Himself in flesh in order to give His life for us is wonderful. But Easter is the culmination of that incredible plan, the one He set in place before the foundation of the Earth.

I love the song "Blessed Redeemer" by Casting Crowns.

 Up Calvary's mountain one dreadful morn
Walked Christ my Savior, weary and worn
Facing for sinners, death on the cross
That He might save them from endless loss

Blessed Redeemer, precious Redeemer
Seems now I see Him on Calvary's tree
Wounded and bleeding, for sinners pleading
Blind and unheeding, dying for me

"Father, forgive them," my Savior prayed
Even while His lifeblood flowed fast away
Praying for sinners while in such woe
No one but Jesus ever loved so

Blessed Redeemer, precious Redeemer
Seems now I see Him on Calvary's tree
Wounded and bleeding, for sinners pleading
Blind and unheeding, dying for me
Dying for me


Blessed Redeemer, precious Redeemer
Seems now I see Him on Calvary's tree
Wounded and bleeding, for sinners pleading
Blind and unheeding, dying for me

Oh, how I love Him, Savior and Friend
How can my praises ever find end?
Through years unnumbered on Heaven's shore
My songs shall praise Him forevermore

Blessed Redeemer, precious Redeemer
Seems now I see Him on Calvary's tree
Wounded and bleeding, for sinners pleading
Blind and unheeding, dying for me

Blessed Redeemer, precious Redeemer
Seems now I see Him on Calvary's tree
Wounded and bleeding, for sinners pleading
Blind and unheeding, dying for me

Blessed Redeemer, precious Redeemer
Seems now I see Him

Thank You, Father, for the wonderful gift of Your Precious Son!

This Current Craziness

Well, I bet everyone has been waiting restlessly for me to weigh in on some of the crazy stuff that's going on in our world lately. Well, to be honest, I've been a little bit distracted (plus I really didn't want to think about it much) but I feel like it's time we discussed it a little bit.

It has now been almost 2 months since the Newtown incident, a lot longer then that since the Benghazi incident, etc., etc. But still the debates go on and burn ever brighter. I'm afraid to even think of the extent that our government is involved in these things that are happening. I don't even want to think about what this current administration is capable of. Like I said in my previous post, I have to remember the Serenity Prayer and trust God to let me know what I need to do something about and what i need to trust Him with.

But one thing that I've been watching carefully and I'm able to get a lot of information on is this gun control situation, since my husband is an avid gun owner & sportsman. His motto is the famous "you can have my guns when you pry them out of my cold dead hands". The thing is, I understand this but I want to  bring a new perspective to the average person, even if they don't like guns or can't even see a good reason for anyone to own them and help them understand why they should support our 2nd amendment and the rights of others to have them.

First of all, I grew up in Chicago - more exact - Cicero. Violence has been a part of my life for many years. It's just now getting down here to the extent we grew up with in the 60s and 70s. My father was southern so he had hunting guns. He never demonstrated them to me or showed me how to use them but I saw the evidence of what they could do. He never owned a hand gun. I remember one time we had to go downtown to St. Luke's Hospital to visit someone during the time of the riots that were going on & he put a machete under his seat. He never associated guns with self defense, just hunting. Once again, there was no discussion about it, he just did it.

Not long after that my Uncle Charlie who lived in Sikeston, MO was shot & killed by his own son because he grounded him. It was very sad. But Charles Jr. used a shot gun. He only shot him one time, that's all it took. Because he was only 13 years old, do you know what his sentence was? He had to leave the state of Missouri and never come back. That's the way to deal with it; make is someone else' problem. Nice.

Anyway, fast forward many years to 1977, August 5th to be exact. I had a baby boy named Eric who was 11 months old and a newborn named Adam who wasn't even 2 weeks old yet. My sister was shot and killed with a 357 magnum in her home in Berwyn during an argument with her husband. They had both been drinking and Howie had served 3 terms in Viet Nam and to say he had PTSD would be like saying Hitler didn't like Jews. You know what I mean? Of course, we didn't know it had a name back then, we just knew something was off about the guy. He was perfectly fine until he started drinking. Mental problems.

For many years I was totally against hand guns. I could never see any reason that people should own them. There wasn't anything good about them. You didn't need them to hunt and bad things would happen if you had one. Did I mention that between the time that my sister was shot and the time that my brother-in-law was arrested, my ex-husband sat by the door with a handgun because I was terrified that he would come there and kill me. Scary stuff. But it just demonstrates my hypocrisy. It's a double edged sword. It's kind of like cars. Millions of people every day are killed in auto related injuries but the only way to eradicate that altogether is to go back to horses and buggies. Are you ready for that? I'm sure not.

So it is with guns. They are a necessary evil as long as there is evil in the world. But let me explain to you about the debate over automatic weapons, ok? This is how it actually goes. It doesn't really have anything to do with the aforementioned situations.

When the original 2nd Amendment was framed by our Forefathers, it really didn't have anything to do with the traditional use of guns that we associate with them because in our society things are different. Back in those days, they were a necessary tool. Everyone had them because they were necessary for food (Kroger wasn't around yet), and in most of the country they were also necessary for self defense. There were still a great many people who lived in places where they were in danger of imminent attack.

The reason they added it was to protect citizens against a government that decided to overstep their authority, declare martial law and subjugate the citizens. Remember the words "For the People, By the People and Of the People"? It's not about them. But back in those days even the Army had the same basic weapons, a musket. Maybe with a bayonet attached but basically the same thing everyone else had. Some had cannon but not that many and those were not generally used for mobile forces. They were too cumbersome.

Ok once again we will use our time machine to fast forward. No matter what weapons we own we cannot even come close to the type of fire power that our government has now. Think about it, nuclear warheads, rocket launchers, heat seeking missiles, etc. How do we possibly compete with that? With a single-shot shotgun or rifle? Not only is that inefficient, it's stupid. You might as well throw rocks or run at them with sticks.

There is no such thing as an "assault weapon". That's just a term they came up with for a military style rifle. Any time you shoot someone, regardless of the type of gun you use, it's an assault weapon. You just assaulted them. Let's get over that term!

Let's put on our logic caps for a moment, shall we. Put aside our emotions & forget our feelings. If no one but the military has any of those types of weapons, we are defenseless against them. We would be at their mercy. That is their motive to take them away from us. They have all the power then.

Hopefully, it would never come down to that but we should be ever on our guard because you never know. The world is an evil place and things are unstable at best. Even if you don't think you want to participate in being prepared for such an occasion, at least you should support those who do & are vigilant about protecting those rights. That will give you peace of mind to be able to live life without worrying about it.

And then we get to the other stuff - if there are people around you in public, in restaurants, public transportation, anywhere there are crowds, just knowing that there might be someone in the crowd that may be armed might make a potential gunman think twice before he decides to open fire on innocent people. If he knows without a doubt that no one is, he won't hesitate. Police can't be everywhere, somewhere a long the line we have to take responsibility for our own safety. Laws won't do it.

We are so far removed from those people that lived only 200 years ago. We don't have to think about any of the things that they were concerned about. We just always trust that our laws and our "officials" will enact laws and take care of us and we can just breeze through life without a care. Occasionally something comes on the news that scares and shocks us, invades our malaise but the next day life is right back to what it was. Evil people count on our complacency and lack of interest. Don't wait until it encroaches on your life and become that victim we see on TV. Think about it. Pray about it. And do the right thing. Get involved. WE ARE THE PEOPLE. THIS IS OUR COUNTRY! And like Clint said: "THEY WORK FOR US"!

Just sayin....

Casting Crowns - Courageous [Official Music Video - HD]

The Strength to Stand

Hello, everyone! I hope that the new year will bring you many blessings. And that this will be one of those years that you look back on one day and say, that was the year that changed my life. Wouldn't that be wonderful? But what do you think it would take to make that happen? A miracle? Winning the lottery? Most of us can think of at least a thousand things that could happen to us that would make all the difference. What if you discovered that you had everything you needed within yourself to make the necessary transformation? Intriguing, huh? We do but we can actually only attain the true measure of what we were designed & created to be when we know the Lord. As I've stated before He had a specific purpose for creating us and He has instilled in us everything necessary to fulfill that purpose. But unless we're tapped into Him & allowing Him to guide us in the path He has for us we aren't "activated", so to speak. The reason I'm bringing this up is because those of us who desperately tried to tell everyone what was going to happen if Obama was reelected are beginning to see all of our worst fears coming to fruition and then some. On my part, it is actually so much worse then I even imagined. Even though, as believers, we know we can be confident that God is control, and that ultimately everything will work out for our good, it doesn't mean that things are not going to happen to us that could be challenging. In the words of a wise friend of mine, the world just feels "icky" right now. There's no other way to describe it. Things just seems to feel evil, foul. But we need not despair, we just have to learn how to dig deep, to hold on to God and allow Him to use us during this time to strengthen us & to allow us to emerge victorious from this time of tribulation. The Bible says, "In all thing give thanks". That's what we're called to do and now is the time when we must come together as God's people and be strong & courageous, standing up for what we believe in and who we are, in Christ Jesus. We knew this was going to happen. It's all been prophesied. I know I was hoping it would be more later than sooner but it is what it is. God is in control & His timing is perfect. And to be honest, we've brought all of this on ourselves. We've continued to remove God from everything in our country. So now we must be prepared for Him to remove His hand of protection from us as He promised He would. And He always keeps His promises. I am amazed at the number of people who think that He had nothing to do with the prosperity that this country has experienced. That we have somehow done all of this ourselves. Ha! What arrogance! But now the music will be faced, ready of not! The hardest part for me is understanding when it's time to act and when it's time to just be still & know that He is God. I have recently rediscovered the Serenity Prayer. I didn't know how much there actually was to it. Here it is in it's entirety- The Serenity Prayer God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next. Amen. Reinhold Niebuhr Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths. Proverbs 3, 5-6 I am praying that someday I will look back at 2013 and say that this year was one of the most incredible years of my life. That I learned more about God & myself then I could have ever believed and that He was able to use me in ways that I would never have dreamed possible. I'm going to ask Him to give me the courage and boldness that I need to stand strong, and to not allow myself to ever waiver in my faith & my actions. I'm going to discover new things about myself & about my fellow believers. We're going to rally together in ways we could never have imagined. I'm attaching the song Courageous by Casting Crowns from the movie of the same name. It is my favorite movie of all time and I love this song. I hope it motivates you to make a change.

Happy New Year 2013!

Hi, everybody! I'm sorry I haven't written much lately but it's been crazy the last month. I promise I will be back on here soon enlightening you with my wit & wisdom! LOL!

Love you guys. I hope your Holidays were wonderful & blessed with the love of family & friends but you remembered what it's really all about.