The after Christmas blues....why does this happen?

Merry Christmas everyone!!! It's only a few days after the big day and some of you out there may be feeling the after Christmas blues.  I know, because I certainly have in past years.  I remember one year, and this was a long time ago, because I had not really heard from some of my family members, I hurt so bad I just wanted to run to a corner and cry.  Those were the days when Satan had a hold of me.  Yes he did and by God's grace he is never going to do that again.  See I used to listen to what thoughts Satan placed in my mind about how my family was jealous of me and that they didn't really care about me.  These were lies from the enemy, but after reading scripture and truly walking with the Holy Spirit,  I have learned that was not the case at all.  Yes, there may also be jealousy or bitterness on their part for something I said or did in my past, but I refuse to go backwards.  I want to live for the future and what God has in store for me.  Picking at old wounds only makes them bleed over and over again, and that is no way to live at all. Besides, we have been forgiven by Almighty God, if our own friends or family cannot forgive us, well then that certainly is not our problem.

People show love in other ways and not everyone is the same. I now pray for them and hope that the spirit of God will be in their hearts, and that they will experience the peace of God.  That is so important to me, having that peace means everything, because even when things are not good in a relationship, the spirit of God will comfort and keep you strong and the enemy will not get his way.  I will keep encouraging those I love, keep on loving them unconditionally and hope and pray that their lives will reflect the peace of God always.

Being truthful with yourself is so a very important, looking inside and figuring out what your motives are is what God wants us to do on a daily basis. To walk in love by showing God's love to others should be our main goal, not what we are going to get that day. It's taken me a long time to finally get that,  I realize that I will never please everyone, my only goal is to please God.  Then we have to remember that God's mercy and love is new each and every day.....which is what keeps me strong in my faith.

So, there are other things that bring on the Christmas blues, one is the cleaning up after all the festivities.  I had my family over for Christmas eve dinner and exchanging our gifts, it was so much fun.  But the mess afterwards at least in the kitchen, well was not fun at all.  My grand kids, bless their little hearts cleaned up the living room and put away all the wrappings, that was so nice and thoughtful of them.  I have been blessed with a wonderful family and I see God in each and every one of their hearts!

Then there are the blues you may feel when you did not receive what you truly wanted for Christmas.  Well I do not have any experience in this area, because since I received Jesus as my Lord and Savior,  I received that awesome gift of salvation, which is exactly what I needed, and that makes me not want anything else.   What an awesome gift it truly is, and it comes from loving and believing in Jesus Christ.  Each year it just keeps getting better and better and my love for him keeps growing.

I hope you are filled with joy because of what Jesus did for us, and not so much because of the gifts.  May your hearts be filled with the love of God for others and may 2015 be the best year ever in your finances, your relationships and in everything that God brings forth in your life.  God's grace be with you all, and a great big Happy Birthday Jesus!!!!!!

What does humility really mean?

Good question! Our Pastor in our church this past Sunday demonstrated the very act Jesus performed over two thousand years ago with his disciples, he washed the feet of three of our church leaders.  He washed the feet of an older very wise lady, of an African American gentlemen who does so much for our community, and a Hispanic gentleman who spreads the word of God to others like there was no tomorrow.  These three have given their lives to bring others to the Lord and our Pastor humbly washed their feet and prayed for them at the 9:00 service.  Wow this is humility at it's best!

I constantly ask God to humble me especially when I start to feel greed or bad feelings start to stir up in my spirit.  See lately my relationship with two of my sisters has been strained.  I don't understand their animosity towards me because I have always tried my best to show them love and respect and have shown them grace. But for some reason that grace does not find it's way back to me.  They are in my prayers constantly and what the Lord has shown me through this ordeal is humility.  He reminded me of James 4:10 "Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you. Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it".…bingo!! So, I got the message Lord, I am trying and with the help of the Holy Spirit I know I can overcome anything that comes my way.  Amen.  So I will love them from afar and will only want the best for them. Thank you Jesus for your word and how it helps me to be lifted when I am feeling sad or hurt.  You are my strength.

Now I would like to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year.  It's going to be a great year - a year closer to seeing our Lord and Savior - Blessings to you all.

As Fall arrives so does my "art fabric panels" for all your sewing projects!!

Hello fellow bloggers, it's been a while since I posted on here and feel like I am so behind the eight ball.  Well today I am so excited to announce that some my "art fabric panels" are now available at "In Stitches Quilt Shoppe", in Anacortes, Wa.  As you recall a few posts ago I introduced a photo of a pillow I created using one of my digital oil paintings fabric panels.  Well, after this I did more research and with God's grace and help, I am now selling these to local quilt and sewing shops.  "In Stitches" will carry these exclusively in Anacortes, so be sure to stop in, say hello and check them out!  This is such a friendly shoppe to visit and they have everything you can possibly need to sew any project imaginable.  When you walk into the shoppe you are instantly drawn to all the beautiful sample quilts and projects on display.  My art panels are their "newest" fabrics for sale, so they created a gorgeous art panel displaying them all.  "In Stitches" also now carries six of my Pacific NW Lighthouse fabric panels as well.  So if you need some inspiration for your next sewing project do stop in or shop online, they will truly keep you In Stitches!!!

My art and photo panels on display at "In Stitches Quilt Shoppe"

Get inspired in this fun quilt shoppe!

Pacific NW Lighthouse fabric panels available at "In stitches Quilt Shoppe"

 

 

Happy Fall & Happy Sewing everyone!!!!!!!

There is no hole so deep God cannot pull you out of!

Greetings friends and family! I just have to report that things are going good with me and my husband Larry - Praise be to God.  He is still attending physical therapy at the hospital and his heart and body are getting stronger day by day.  God is also showing us that by trusting in Him that things do get better, but patience is the key.  Larry's diabetes numbers are also at their all time low, because he is eating less and healthier.  The only thing I ask for is prayer for his eye sight.  See Larry has been seeing double - on very short instances and it's been scarey to say the least.  He has not had any headaches or pain, and his Dr. ordered an MRI which came back clean and no strokes thank God. He also had an eye exam the other day and the Dr. concluded that perhaps one of two things is happening, his diabetes is causing this or the muscles in his eyes are weakening and when he is tired he could get the double vision.  Anyway, Larry has a Drs. appointment both with his internal medicine Dr. and his cardiologist next week so we will see what they have to say as well.  So please keep him in your prayers for God's healing to take place and that this is nothing serious and will go away in time and not occur any longer.  Thank you for that.

Now on to my new post.  Today I am going to share a little bit about a famous individual by the name of Glenn Beck.  I used to watch his shows on Fox and then he disappeared out of thin air it seemed.  He ventured out and purchased his own television network, good for him.  He still has his radio shows in the morning and sometimes I do get to catch a little here and there.  But, to tell you the truth Glenn was getting a little to radical for me.  Let me explain, see I believe in some of what Glenn talks about when it comes to government control and other issues and some things about his faith, which happens to be Mormon.  I think he is a great guy but the public and media certainly do not.  I was at Costco a few weeks ago and picked up his book "The Seven Wonders That Will Change Your Life". This book gave me such insight into this man's life.  To summarize, Glenn was a lost soul, very mean to his co-workers and was destroying his life one day at a time by drinking and taking drugs.  When I read about his mom, I cried. See his mom committed suicide when he was only 10 years old and he lived with that not forgiving her for a long time.  It was only until he forgave her and he got to the bottom of the deep hole that God pulled him out of it. This book is an eye opener into so many of the things that we struggle with from day to day.  Depression, anxiety, un-forgiveness and just not doing God's will in our lives will lead us to a dark place that we never want to go to.  Glenn was there, and in his book  he explains how God transformed him into the man he is today.  This is a must read for sure.  I highly recommend it, give it to others as a gift if they are struggling with any of these issues.  Glenn and his friend Dr. Keith Ablow lay out a wonderful plan for us to follow on how to let God and our souls heal and become what God had intended us to be all along. If you are interested in this book it's featured on the right hand side of my blog in the Amazon books. 

I am also including a link to one of my hubs called "10 must do's to live a happier and fulfilling life" that has a few things that I have learned in life to do live a happier life.  They are easy and if you make a conscious effort to do them, you will see a change in your life, in the people around you and it will all be for the better.  God Bless and have a great rest of the summer.

God is good all the time - Amen!

Hello everyone - it's so good to be here and feeling good.  I recently had a bad cold and cough and was just miserable until I tried a few home made remedies and started feeling better really quick.  I will add a link to my lens that I wrote where I shared these very easy remedies that really do help when you are feeling ill.  Besides summer is no time to get a cold can I get an Amen.

I also want to share a little more about what God is doing in our lives. He is so good isn't he? Larry's healing is going better than expected and his physical therapy is helping him improve each and every day.  Unfortunately, he also caught the cold so he had to miss a few sessions, but he is well and back at it again.

What I want to share with you in regards to this illness we both experienced is that God shows us ways to help ourselves.  I did not go to the doctor this time because I felt a strong urge to research home remedies and try and get better that way and it worked.  I prayed to our Heavenly Father each day and asked him to direct me to find the things that I needed to be doing to help myself.  He placed in me the memories as I child and what my mom used to have us do when we were sick with a soar throat and cold like the gargling with warm salt water, chicken soup, hot tea. I know you understand what I am saying.  Anyway, through this summer cold I really feel that God showed himself to me in ways that I needed for guidance and support and he strengthened my own belief in Him and myself and what I am capable of.  Isn't that like Him folks, he is so good!

I also want to share a new craft that I am so excited to talk about.  It involves my artwork and fabric.
Here is a pillow I created with one of my digital oil paintings in which I added God's amazing words of wisdom to.  It's truly a masterpiece!

Praise be to God for his faithfulness - Larry is home!

It's been a tough go the last few weeks, but Glory be to God Larry's surgery went well.  He had the valve replacement heart surgery on Tuesday May 13th.  It was funny because it took about 2 hours prep time and he finally went in at 9:00 and was out of surgery about 12:13.  I saw him a couple hours after that.  He asked me when the surgery was going to take place.....I was so glad he didn't remember anything.  He had tubes everywhere and was very groggy and tired.  I only stayed for a bit and just let him rest. 

I was fortunate to have my daughter who lives in Capital Hill in Seattle so I drove over to her place and stayed the night, as I did for the remainder of Larry's stay in the hospital.  I have to say Virginia Mason may be an older hospital but the nursing staff at CCU and his surgeon and everyone else who came into contact with Larry was amazing.  I believe God's hands were all over this one.  He sent the right doctors to do the surgery and take care of him while in the hospital.  God is so good.  It was such a blessing too to be able to spend time with my daughter Michelle, we had some good mom and daughter time.

So fast forward to today, Larry got out of the hospital on Saturday the 17th, he was progressing rapidly and doing his walking and breathing into a tube to open up his lungs.  I guess during this type of open heart surgery they pretty much put everything to sleep and had actually stopped his heart for the duration of the surgery, scary but necessary.  Anyway, he began to feel good within days and no hard pain, just his back because I guess they open up your chest and pull your shoulders back to be able to access your heart, that sounds painful to me. 

We stayed at a local apartment complex very close to the hospital so we could be there for his follow up appointment which would be in a few days.  We live on Whidbey Island so the drive would not have been good for Larry in his condition.  So on Tuesday we were at the hospital once again for his follow up appointment.  We met with the surgical nurse and she was awesome.  Larry of course first had blood drawn and xrays and an ekg to make sure everything was functioning properly and all his stats were good.  She was amazing and gave us some great tips on keeping the incision clean and such.  She gave him a clean bill of health to go home.  So home we went. 

The 2-1/2 hour drive was good and we didn't have much traffic that time of day.  Larry was so glad to be going home.  Today is Friday and we have been home for 4 days now, he is improving every day, getting stronger and resting a lot.  He is doing his walking and breathing and his blood sugar numbers are really good too.  His appetite has improved a bit, because when he got out of the hospital he wasn't hungry at all, the Doctor said it was to be expected. 

So my praise is to you dear God for your faithfulness and grace in all this that has transpired in our lives.  You have brought us closer to you and to each other.  I love Larry with all my heart and I love caring for him, sometimes it can be a challenge, but I know God will give me the grace for whatever comes our way.  Larry is also so very grateful for this second change in life to live out his days with a much healthier heart.  I know he will take better care of himself from here on in.  Besides I will be here to make sure of that.

Thank you Jesus for everything and all of your for your prayers and love!!!

God be with you all.

Stop and think....about your life!

Top of the morning to you all.  I am happy to report that after my last post my husband Larry is still doing well and we have an appointment with the cardio surgeon next week in Seattle.  This is a consult and he will be scheduling my husband for his open heart surgery, so all your prayers are certainly welcome.

Today I wanted to share a very cool video titled "Stop and Think" by Francis Chan.  As you recall Francis Chan also wrote an amazing book called "Crazy Love" which I did a review on hubpages.  The book is excellent and will certainly help you in your walk with God and on how to become closer to Him.  This video which I highly recommend sharing with family and friends, takes on an emotional flair regarding the gospel and why Jesus died on the cross for us.  He explains the love of God with passion. View it and pass it along to someone who possibly does not know the Lord, hopefully this will give them a chance to really stop and think about where they came from and why they are here. They may also understand more of just how much God truly loves them.  

I am also attaching a link to my newest project Re-cycled light bulb snowman ornament, that I am sharing with everyone on Squidoo.  It's the instructions on how to make a very cute snowman from a burnt out light bulb, the kids will love this one and so will you.  

Blessings to you and keep spreading God's word and love!!!!! ya hear!

 

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