Making time for the things we love to do.....and of course family!

It's a tough thing to be able to balance work, family activities on a day to day basis.  It was much harder for me of course when my three kids were younger and my ex-husband was on cruises all the time while he was in the Navy.  I was over worked and always stressed out in my day to day life because the whole load was on my shoulders.  I know this sounds so familiar with some of you out there that have husbands were are in the military and they are deployed from time to time.  I only wished that while I was going through those tough times I would have placed the Lord as front and center instead of just trying to do it all on my own.  I learned a valuable lesson from those days and now I can honestly say that my life is pretty mellow and there is a peace that I cannot explain to you which comes from walking closer with the Lord.  See I place him first in my daily activities, I get up and pray, grab my favorite cup of coffee and then I read his word.  Since I have been doing this, which is now almost 10 years, my time and days are much more pleasant and so am I.

Mind you there are times when I just get up and pray because of early obligations that I must attend, but for the most part I do my best to honor God each morning the best way that I can, and he loves that.

So, my tip of the day if you will is to get right with God each morning, and ask for His guidance through the power of the Holy Spirit, ask him to show you what is most important and to give you the strength and ability to do it.  I always add in my prayer for him to show me someone who I can bless or just make smile that day. 

By honoring God and keeping him first in your life I know you will begin to see a big difference in the way things happen during the day.  You will begin to notice you have more time to do the things that you truly enjoy instead of working and rushing all the time.  Now those of you with small children, it's a bit harder to get enough time with your spouse when the kids are young.  But, remember God wants you to have a good marriage and if you place him in the center of each of your hearts - well God's been known to make miracles happen even when things seemed impossible.  So trust and obey, keep him first and your family next and you will see amazing changes for the better.  God Bless!

Don't ever give up on your child......keep believing that they will be saved!

Good day everyone! This particular subject is very close to my heart because I have been praying and believing God for my unsaved children and grandchildren. Slowly but surely God has come around and answered some of my prayers and I am forever grateful to Him for that.  I see God working in a mighty way in my families lives and it warms my heart to no end.  But it wasn't always like this, and that is why I decided to write this post. See my dear friend Carolyn gave me a prayer that say's it all one day.  She is my sweet friend who I have coffee with all the time. We both share these prayers for our families salvation, so we can one day after this life is over and done with, we can be together in God's presence.

So here is the prayer that she copied for me -  it goes like this:

Don't you worry, God knows exactly how to apprehend your children.  And when the time comes, He'll do it,  after all, you weren't in your prayer closet when He found you!  But until then, you must stand fast in faith for them.  No matter what they get into, no matter how far off the track they seem to be, just keep saying what the Bible says about them.  Keep your eyes focused on the covenant mercy of God and not on the symptoms of ungodliness that you see in their lives.

Don't ever give up on your child!  If you've gotten weak and discouraged lately, it's time for you to get the fire back in your bones.  Dig into the Word of God and dig out the promises He's given you for your children.  Lay hold of those promises and don't let go.

Learn to call things that are not as though they were (Romans 4:17).  When you hear bad news about your children or you see them do something that hurts your heart, just say:  "God, I thank you that Your tender mercy hovers over my child.  I thank You Lord that he is born again, filled with the Holy Ghost and obedient to You. I thank you that Your Word is in his mouth (Isaiah 59:21), that he is taught by Your Spirit and great is his peace (Isaiah 54:13). I am not moved by what I feel or what I see.  I am moved by Your Word and I call it done in Jesus' Name!"

You have a covenant with God that covers your children.  So rejoice!!! God will be faithful to you.  One day your boy or girl will be going about their business doing their own thing when suddenly - "Psssst" - they'll hear the voice of God.  When that happens - they'll come running - you can count on it!

I encourage you today to begin thinking and praying like this and reading as much as you can to equip you with God's word and what his promises are for our lives.  Joel Osteen is a great writer and inspirational speaker who has lived by these set of principles that were taught to him by his father, here are a few books that may interest you on this awesome subject - God Bless!!!

A new year can ring in a renewed life!

Happy New Year!

With each passing new year I have found in my lifetime that when I look back at what exactly I accomplished I can either be happy or disappointed.  I choose to be happy, even though I didn't get to finish some projects that were on my list. I then say to myself; there is still tomorrow, and by not dwelling on the things I didn't accomplish, but have the attitude that this is a new year and I will get as much accomplished as possible, I know things can only get better - Amen.

Now, with each new year we also tend to examine our lives and what we are truly made up of. In my own life I know that I am grounded in Christ, he is my rock and my foundation.  He is my Savior and my reason to get up each and every day and face whatever challenges that come my way.  But, I realize there are so many others who do not have that hope of Glory in Christ.  They are the ones that I want to speak to right now.  I pray that some of the things I am about to say will strike a chord and awaken that inner most spirit to make a change if that is what is needed. 

I was listening to Adrian Rodgers preach the other day and he was talking about how God is the Potter and we are the clay, he really caught my attention because it is so true.  See making pottery is the oldest craft made to man.  The potter shapes and molds the clay on the potting wheel and creates a beautiful artwork when it is complete - he's created a masterpiece from a lump of clay.  Ever feel like a dirty lump of clay - boy I have.

Think of God as the master workman and he is constantly at work in you, if you have allowed him into your life that is.  See God gives all of us a free will, so some of us choose not to allow him to work in us or be a part of our life. Shameful as that sounds, just look at the people who are walking around lost trying to do things on their own and not getting very far.  God wants to make us a vessel that he can use for his purpose from the lump of clay that he begins with, we are unclean, unlovely and unable, until he places his hands around us and begins to shape us and mold us.  Remember we were made from the dust of the earth.

There are some people like I mentioned above that don't believe God can do this and they mold their own lives, we all know some of those "moldy" people don't we?  The wheel God uses represents circumstances in our life. It's the potter who turns the wheel and orders every turn of the wheel, sometimes it doesn't make sense to us only to God.  God thinks differently, his ways are not our ways.  Every turn of the wheel is turned by God or is allowed by God.  When a person resists God that's when the clay may break or crack, there is a problem and it's not with the potter, it's with the clay.  There maybe some hidden inpurity, something hidden that keeps the vessel from becoming what God wants it to be.

There might be something inpure in that individuals life, not broken enough, stiff and doesn't yield to the potter.  This is where self examination comes in - is there something that stands between you and God and he cannot mold and shape you into a vessel he can use?  Are you truly yielded - have you said to the Lord - use me, may your will be done not mine? God doesn't mess up.  When there is a problem like this do not dispair, there is hope.  Just because you fail doesn't mean God is through with you.  On the contrary, there is good news.  You can have a brand new start because our God is a God of second chances. Do this while your life is still pliable, it gives him all the pieces he needs to work with.

Unfortunately, when a life rebels and they are not going to yield to God then that clay gets hardened and can break, he cannot be made whole again.  Do not harden your hearts - but turn to him and listen to his words. Remember God will give you the desires of your heart.  In bible days people who were vain and foolish and lived in darkness, sexual immorality and perversion were their lifestyles because that is what they wanted.  God gave them over to do those things which were not his way. Their hearts were hardened and God could not use them or remold them.

God is saying I want to make something beautiful of your life.  He can take you even if you feel like a dirty lump of clay and shape you into a beautiful life of service to him.  The wisest thing you can do is receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior today.  He will give you a fresh start, but be careful to not harden your heart until the clay sets and the vessel is deformed because then it is fit to be destroyed and never repaired. 

My prayer today is:

Dear God in Heaven, today I pray for all my family, everyone who reads my blog and the whole nation.  Those who are hurting and those who do not know you as their Lord and Savior.  May your grace be poured over them and may they find you.  May they experience your peace, which surpasses this worlds understanding.  Bring joy into their hearts and enable them with the power of your salvation through Christ Jesus.  

Become real to each of them and my loved ones, and may they humble themselves before you and repent of their sins. May they receive that forgiveness and they leave at the cross all the guilt, sin and attitudes and fears and may they be washed clean as snow.  If they are needing a fresh new start in 2013, may it come to pass this year and they allow you the Potter to shape them into the person you are calling them to be.  I know this will come to pass because it is your will.  In Jesus name I pray - Amen!

Story of Santa and Sarah....grab the kleenex!

Merry Christmas everyone! I do hope that your Christmas was filled with the company of family and lots of good cheer and food too.  I had a very blessed Christmas with some of my family, but it just wasn't the same without all my children and grandchildren here.  My oldest son Ken and family were not here, but I will hopefully see them this week before they journey to Virginia.  See, my son has retired from the Navy and has received an amazing job doing what he loves to do - fly!  Anyway, please keep them in your prayers as the weather is not the greatest this time of year back east.  But for those who did come, my son Jason and wife Mandy and my daughter Michelle, plus grandkids Kenny, Blake, Macie and Wade, thank you for making it a nice Christmas and for all the blessing they brought to me and Larry. 

I wanted to share this very touching story with you, I actually read it to my family on Christmas eve since it over whelms you with sadness and joy all at the same time.  God is amazing and I hope you get to read it and are blessed by it!

Three years ago, a little boy and his grandmother came to see Santa at the McAllister Mall in Saint John . The child climbed up on his lap, holding a picture of a little girl.    Who is this?" asked Santa, smiling. "Your friend?   "Yes, Santa,' he replied."My sister, Sarah, who is very sick," he said sadly.

Santa glanced over at the grandmother who was waiting nearby, and saw her dabbing her eyes with a tissue. "She wanted to come with me to see you, oh, so very much, Santa!" the child exclaimed. "She misses you," he added softly.

Santa tried to be cheerful and encouraged a smile to the boy's face, asking him what he wanted Santa to bring him for Christmas.   When they finished their visit, the Grandmother came over to help the child off his lap, and started to say something to Santa, but halted.

 "What is it?" Santa asked warmly.

"Well, I know it's really too much to ask you, Santa, but.." the old woman began, shooing her grandson over to one of Santa's elves to collect the little gift which Santa gave all his young visitors.    "The girl in the photograph... my granddaughter well, you see ... she has leukemia and isn't expected to make it even through the holidays," she said through tear-filled eyes. "Is there any way, Santa, any possible way that you could come see Sarah? That's all she's asked for, for Christmas, is to see Santa."

Santa blinked and swallowed hard and told the woman to leave information with his elves as to where Sarah was, and he would see what he could do. Santa thought of little else the rest of that afternoon.  He knew what he had to do. "What if it were MY child lying in that hospital bed, dying," he thought with a sinking heart, "This is the least I can do."

When Santa finished visiting with all the boys and girls that evening, he retrieved from his helper the name of the hospital where Sarah was staying. He asked the assistant location manager how to get to the Hospital.  "Why?" Rick asked, with a puzzled look on his face.  Santa relayed to him the conversation with Sarah's grandmother earlier that day.  "C'mon.....I'll take you there." Rick said softly. Rick drove them to the hospital and came inside with Santa.

They found out which room Sarah was in. A pale Rick said, he would wait out in the hall.   Santa quietly peeked into the room through the half-closed door and saw little Sarah in the bed.

The room was full of what appeared to be her family; there was the Grandmother and the girl's brother he had met earlier that day. A woman whom he guessed was Sarah's mother stood by the bed, gently pushing Sarah's thin hair off her forehead. And another woman who he discovered later was Sarah's aunt, sat in a chair near the bed with a weary sad look on her face. They were talking quietly, and Santa could sense the warmth and closeness of the family, and their love and concern for Sarah.

Taking a deep breath, and forcing a smile on his face, Santa entered the room, bellowing a hearty, "Ho, Ho, Ho!"    "Santa!" shrieked little Sarah, weakly as she tried to escape her bed to run to him IV tubes intact.

Santa rushed to her side and gave her a warm hug.  A child the tender age of his own son -- 9 years old -- gazed up at him with wonder and excitement. Her skin was pale and her short tresses bore telltale bald patches from the effects of chemotherapy. But, all he saw when he looked at her was a pair of, huge blue eyes. His heart melted, and he had to force himself to choke back tears. Though his eyes were riveted upon Sarah's face, he could hear the gasps and quiet sobbing of the women in the room.

As he and Sarah began talking, the family crept quietly to the bedside one by one, squeezing Santa's shoulder or his hand gratefully, whispering "Thank you" as they gazed sincerely at him with shining eyes. Santa and Sarah talked and talked, and she told him excitedly all the toys she wanted for Christmas, assuring him she'd been a very good girl that year.

As their time together dwindled, Santa felt led in his spirit to pray for Sarah, and asked for permission from the girl's mother. She nodded in agreement and the entire family circled around Sarah's bed, holding hands. Santa looked intensely at Sarah and asked her if she believed in angels.    "Oh, yes, Santa... I do!" she exclaimed.

"Well, I'm going to ask angels watch over you." he said.  Laying one hand on the child's head, Santa closed his eyes and prayed. He asked that, God touch little Sarah, and heal her body from this disease. He asked that angels minister to her, watch and keep her. And when he finished praying, still with eyes closed, he started singing, softly, "Silent Night, Holy Night....all is calm, all is bright."  The family joined in, still holding hands, smiling at Sarah, and crying tears of hope, tears of joy for this moment, as Sarah beamed at them all.

When the song ended, Santa sat on the side of the bed again and held Sarah's frail, small hands in his own.  "Now, Sarah," he said authoritatively, "you have a job to do, and that is to concentrate on getting well. I want you to have fun playing with your friends this summer, and I expect to see you at my house at McAllister Mall this time next year!"    He knew it was risky proclaiming that to this little girl who had terminal cancer, but he "had" to. He had to give her the greatest gift he could -- not dolls or games or toys -- but the gift of HOPE.

"Yes, Santa!" Sarah exclaimed, her eyes bright.    He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead and left the room.   Out in the hall, the minute Santa's eyes met Rick's, a look passed between them and they wept unashamed.   Sarah's mother and grandmother slipped out of the room quickly and rushed to Santa's side to thank him.    "My only child is the same age as Sarah," he explained quietly. "This is the least I could do." They nodded with understanding and hugged him.

 One year later, Santa was again back on the set in Saint John for his six-week, seasonal job which he so loves to do. Several weeks went by and then one day a child came up to sit on his lap.

"Hi, Santa! Remember me?!"   "Of course, I do," Santa proclaimed (as he always does), smiling down at her. After all, the secret to being a "good" Santa is to always make each child feel as if they are the "only" child in the world at that moment.  "You came to see me in the hospital last year!"

Santa's jaw dropped. Tears immediately sprang in his eyes, and he grabbed this little miracle and held her to his chest.  "Sarah!" he exclaimed. He scarcely recognized her, for her hair was long and silky and her cheeks were rosy -- much different from the little girl he had visited just a year before. He looked over and saw Sarah's mother and grandmother in the sidelines smiling and waving and wiping their eyes.

That was the best Christmas ever for Santa Claus.   He had witnessed --and been blessed to be instrumental in bringing about -- this miracle of hope. This precious little child was healed. Cancer-free. Alive and well. He silently looked up to Heaven and humbly whispered, "Thank you, Father. 'Tis a very, Merry Christmas!

Forgiveness.....how sweet the sound!!!

Forgiveness is the focus of my post today because many of God's children are walking around in life either needing to forgive, or to be forgiven.  They have issues they can't let go of regarding another individual or regarding themselves.  Bitterness has set in and it's really tough to let go of the issues involved, whatever they maybe.

Well I am here to tell you that Jesus has freely forgiven us, so we need to do the same.  Holding back forgiveness only places a heavier burden in our hearts that gets heavier and heavier to bear.  When you forgive someone of things they have said or done to you, you are freeing two people, the other person and YOUSELF!!!

I encourage all of you today to get free from this burden and make it right with that person if you can, and with God.  This decision can bring much welcome peace and joy into your life and to the other person.

But remember that sometimes forgiving ourselves is the hardest of all, so be sure to do that as well and you will truly be free!

Blessings!

God's Mercy is new every single day.........

I want to share this awesome story with you today.  It touched my heart deeply and hope that you will also see the resemblance between this little boy and all of us, and what Jesus truly did for us on the cross.

The story goes like this:  There was once a classroom of unruly kids in the Chicago slums area, the south side. Every teacher who had tried to teach this class had failed and was instantly booted out by these disobedient and rebellious kids.  These kids had a group leader who went by the name "Big Tom", because he was big, very tall and was bigger than the others.

One day this young teacher, who was in his late 20's decided he wanted to teach this class, he saw it as a challenge and he wanted to win.  The principal warned him of course, but he still wanted to do it, so the principal agreed and let him take the class.

The very first day of class, when the teacher arrived all the kids were talking and carrying on like he wasn't even there.  Finally Big Tom volunteered to his classmates, "this one is mine.  I will take him out before this class is over".  When Big Tom approached the teacher's desk, the teacher said "I'm new and I would like to ask your help in establishing some class rules, can you help me with that".  "Sure" said Big Tom.  So the teacher asked, "what will be our first rule"?  Big Tom replied, "no stealing", "good" said the teacher, then a shout came from the classroom, "no being late" someone said.  Great, and they went on and on until they had 10 classroom rules, their (10 commandments of the classroom) they called it.  After they were done the teacher asked the class, "now that we have the rules we need a punishment if they are broken".  So Big Tom yelled out "10 lashes with your belt that should be the punishment", and the class agreed.  The teacher reluctantly agreed, thinking that was a bit harsh even for him.

So when lunchtime rolled around Big Tom went to get his lunch and much to his surprise it was gone.  "Who stole my lunch", he said.  In a small voice way in the back of the classroom you could barely hear his voice, Little Bobbie said "I stole your lunch cause I was really hungry, I am sorry".  So Big Tom rushed to the back and brought Little Bobbie up to the front of the class, "ok teacher he needs to be punished".  As the teacher glared at this frail little boy, he thought to himself, "I will never be able to do this".  So the teacher asked Little Bobbie to take his coat off, and much to his surprise he only had suspenders and no shirt.  "Where is your shirt" asked the teacher.  Little Bobbie's reply was "See teacher we are very poor, I don't have a daddy and my mom tries really hard.  I only have one shirt and today is the day my mom washes it.  But I will have it tomorrow".  Just then you could feel the tension in the room and the eyes beginning to water in most of the children.  The teacher could hardly contain himself enough to administer this dreadful punishment to this precious little boy.  But rules are rules, so he told him to turn around.  Just then Big Tom got in front of Little Bobbie and told the teacher "No don't punish him, someone has to take those beatings, give them to me".  Little Bobbie was elated and grabbed Big Tom by the neck, hugged him hard and said "Thank you so much - I love you for doing this for me".  Everyone in the room began to sob, including the teacher.

That's exactly what Jesus did for us, we deserved punishment for all our sins, but he said "I'll take that punishment for you".  All we have to do it believe in him, ask for forgiveness and we will go free.  So he took our beating on the cross for all time.  His Mercy is new each and every day!

Our after Thanksgiving Tamale making party!

Did I mention yet that I was a blessed woman?  Well, if I haven't done that lately I need to tell you that is a fact, God is awesome and he has blessed me with amazing friends.  Two of these ladies joined me on Sunday afternoon after our church service to make my mom's homemade tamales.  It was an afternoon of fun, laughter and lots of work plus a glass of wine which helped to keep us going.....:)

I made chicken and pork and my friend Carolyn just made chicken, and Val made pork so we had quiet the assembly line going on my kitchen breakfast nook.  It was a beautiful day too, the sun was shining and the hubbies were watching football, folks it just doesn't get any better than this.  So needless to say I made about 7 dozen total and each of them a little less than that, especially Val's tamales, she made them HUGE!! I believe in my heart they really enjoyed the time together and learning a new mexican dish, one that I was taught as a child in south Texas.  My mom used to get up really early in the morning like around 4:30 to begin making these delicious tamales, we loved them.  I guess that is why I enjoy sharing these recipes so much because they take me back to when I was a child and I loved watching my mom make them and loved eating them too. 

So here is a photo Larry took of us all around the table making tamales.....memories I will cherish for a lifetime!  Blessings to you!