http://www.myspace.com/gwensmithmusic
Listen to Broken into beautiful!! Awesome!!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Yummy GF cheesecake!
http://shop.thecheesecakefactory.com/PublicStore/product/GODIVAsup/sup-Chocolate-Cheesecake,154,92.aspx
This looked to yummy not to share with all our celiac friends!!
This looked to yummy not to share with all our celiac friends!!
Q
Well we have another trip scheduled for this weekend! Q is going to participate in a 1 year Christian discipleship program that helps troubled girls. She starts Saturday morning we have a long journey ahead. She is so EXCITED! This is a very good and healthy step for her. I have been thinking about all the emails I have received from folks who asked how they could help because they really love and care about her. Well here is a chance! The program she is starting is very expensive $850 per month. It is very expensive to offer the care they provide. They are taking her full aware there is no way we can afford it! So I kept thinking about sponsors. I am looking for loved ones to sponsor her for 12 months to help with the program fees. I want to put together a picture board of all the people who believe in her that are helping her complete this program. I think it will be a great motivator for her. I plan to get it ready over the next month and mail it to her as a surprise. So email me if you felt led to help her through this journey. This is not an easy program and she knows all the rules but still can't wait! She told me she really wants to make me proud! She has never said that before. We are going to do what ever we can to make this work for her!
Lawyer speak?
So I went to the Center for Nuerological Disorders MS clinic yesterday. My appointment was at 9:30. The doctor finally graced my presence around 11:30. Apparently he got busy in the back (forgot I was there?) . Well I was just thankful I had nowhere to be well the appointment was interesting as always as they try to explain things. It is actually entertaining (grin).
The doctor is a very nice man but what a reminder we all make mistakes. I went over all the tests and blood woork they have done. Now keep in mind we have discussed lymes disease several times but they had done more than one test and they were negative. Well that is what I was told in my chart the test findings were inconclusive. Well that means neither positive or negative... So he ordered the test again.
So I went to the lab where they could not read his writing and had to call to verify which tests he wanted performed. It turned into an all day experience.
I just kept thinking well you know my first pregnancy test with A was purple. It was supposed to be blue or red it was purple. :)
My blood test for celiac disease inconclusive I am antigliadin defiecient...
I am thankful the love of god is conclusive and to him this is all small potatoes...
Have a blessed day I pray it all concludes with his peace!!
The doctor is a very nice man but what a reminder we all make mistakes. I went over all the tests and blood woork they have done. Now keep in mind we have discussed lymes disease several times but they had done more than one test and they were negative. Well that is what I was told in my chart the test findings were inconclusive. Well that means neither positive or negative... So he ordered the test again.
So I went to the lab where they could not read his writing and had to call to verify which tests he wanted performed. It turned into an all day experience.
I just kept thinking well you know my first pregnancy test with A was purple. It was supposed to be blue or red it was purple. :)
My blood test for celiac disease inconclusive I am antigliadin defiecient...
I am thankful the love of god is conclusive and to him this is all small potatoes...
Have a blessed day I pray it all concludes with his peace!!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
message from God
To: YOU
Date: TODAY
From: GOD
Subject: YOURSELF
Reference: LIFE This is God.
Today I will be handling All of your problems for you. I do Not need your help. So, have a nice day. I love you.
P.S. And, remember... If life happens to deliver a situation to you that you cannot handle, do Not attempt to resolve it yourself!
Kindly put it in the SFGTD (something for God to do) box. I will get to it in MY TIME. All situations will be resolved, but in My time, not yours. Once the matter is placed into the box, do not hold onto it by worrying about it. Instead, focus on all the wonderful things that are present in your life now.
If you find yourself stuck in traffic, don't despair. There are people in this world for whom driving is an unheard of privilege.
Should you have a bad day at work; think of the man who has been out of work for years.
Should you despair over a relationship gone bad; think of the person who has never known what it's like to love and be loved in return.
Should you grieve the passing of another weekend; think of the woman in dire straits, working twelve hours a day, seven days a week to feed her children.
Should your car break down, leaving you miles away from assistance; think of the paraplegic who would love the opportunity to take that walk.
Should you notice a new gray hair in the mirror; think of the cancer patient in chemo who wishes she had hair to examine.
Should you find yourself at a loss and pondering what is life all about, asking what is my purpose? Be thankful. There are those who didn't live long enough to get the opportunity.
Should you find yourself the victim of other people's bitterness, ignorance, smallness or insecurities; remember, things could be worse. You could be one of them!
Date: TODAY
From: GOD
Subject: YOURSELF
Reference: LIFE This is God.
Today I will be handling All of your problems for you. I do Not need your help. So, have a nice day. I love you.
P.S. And, remember... If life happens to deliver a situation to you that you cannot handle, do Not attempt to resolve it yourself!
Kindly put it in the SFGTD (something for God to do) box. I will get to it in MY TIME. All situations will be resolved, but in My time, not yours. Once the matter is placed into the box, do not hold onto it by worrying about it. Instead, focus on all the wonderful things that are present in your life now.
If you find yourself stuck in traffic, don't despair. There are people in this world for whom driving is an unheard of privilege.
Should you have a bad day at work; think of the man who has been out of work for years.
Should you despair over a relationship gone bad; think of the person who has never known what it's like to love and be loved in return.
Should you grieve the passing of another weekend; think of the woman in dire straits, working twelve hours a day, seven days a week to feed her children.
Should your car break down, leaving you miles away from assistance; think of the paraplegic who would love the opportunity to take that walk.
Should you notice a new gray hair in the mirror; think of the cancer patient in chemo who wishes she had hair to examine.
Should you find yourself at a loss and pondering what is life all about, asking what is my purpose? Be thankful. There are those who didn't live long enough to get the opportunity.
Should you find yourself the victim of other people's bitterness, ignorance, smallness or insecurities; remember, things could be worse. You could be one of them!
Honesty in Journalism??
Would the Last Honest Reporter Please Turn On the Lights? By Orson Scott Card
Editor's note: Orson Scott Card is a Democrat and a newspaper columnist, and in this opinion piece he takes on both while lamenting the current state of journalism.
An open letter to the local daily paper — almost every local daily paper in America:
I remember reading All the President's Men and thinking: That's journalism. You do what it takes to get the truth and you lay it before the public, because the public has a right to know.
This housing crisis didn't come out of nowhere. It was not a vague emanation of the evil Bush administration.
It was a direct result of the political decision, back in the late 1990s, to loosen the rules of lending so that home loans would be more accessible to poor people. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were authorized to approve risky loans.
What is a risky loan? It's a loan that the recipient is likely not to be able to repay.
The goal of this rule change was to help the poor — which especially would help members of minority groups. But how does it help these people to give them a loan that they can't repay? They get into a house, yes, but when they can't make the payments, they lose the house — along with their credit rating.
They end up worse off than before.
This was completely foreseeable and in fact many people did foresee it. One political party, in Congress and in the executive branch, tried repeatedly to tighten up the rules. The other party blocked every such attempt and tried to loosen them.
Furthermore, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were making political contributions to the very members of Congress who were allowing them to make irresponsible loans. (Though why quasi-federal agencies were allowed to do so baffles me. It's as if the Pentagon were allowed to contribute to the political campaigns of Congressmen who support increasing their budget.)
Isn't there a story here? Doesn't journalism require that you who produce our daily paper tell the truth about who brought us to a position where the only way to keep confidence in our economy was a $700 billion bailout? Aren't you supposed to follow the money and see which politicians were benefiting personally from the deregulation of mortgage lending?
I have no doubt that if these facts had pointed to the Republican Party or to John McCain as the guilty parties, you would be treating it as a vast scandal. "Housing-gate," no doubt. Or "Fannie-gate."
Instead, it was Senator Christopher Dodd and Congressman Barney Frank, both Democrats, who denied that there were any problems, who refused Bush administration requests to set up a regulatory agency to watch over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and who were still pushing for these agencies to go even further in promoting sub-prime mortgage loans almost up to the minute they failed.
As Thomas Sowell points out in a TownHall.com essay entitled "Do Facts Matter?" ( http://snipurl.com/457townhall_com] ): "Alan Greenspan warned them four years ago. So did the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers to the President. So did Bush's Secretary of the Treasury."
These are facts. This financial crisis was completely preventable. The party that blocked any attempt to prevent it was ... the Democratic Party. The party that tried to prevent it was ... the Republican Party.
Yet when Nancy Pelosi accused the Bush administration and Republican deregulation of causing the crisis, you in the press did not hold her to account for her lie. Instead, you criticized Republicans who took offense at this lie and refused to vote for the bailout!
What? It's not the liar, but the victims of the lie who are to blame?
Now let's follow the money ... right to the presidential candidate who is the number-two recipient of campaign contributions from Fannie Mae.
And after Freddie Raines, the CEO of Fannie Mae who made $90 million while running it into the ground, was fired for his incompetence, one presidential candidate's campaign actually consulted him for advice on housing.
If that presidential candidate had been John McCain, you would have called it a major scandal and we would be getting stories in your paper every day about how incompetent and corrupt he was.
But instead, that candidate was Barack Obama, and so you have buried this story, and when the McCain campaign dared to call Raines an "adviser" to the Obama campaign — because that campaign had sought his advice — you actually let Obama's people get away with accusing McCain of lying, merely because Raines wasn't listed as an official adviser to the Obama campaign.
You would never tolerate such weasely nit-picking from a Republican.
If you who produce our local daily paper actually had any principles, you would be pounding this story, because the prosperity of all Americans was put at risk by the foolish, short-sighted, politically selfish, and possibly corrupt actions of leading Democrats, including Obama.
If you who produce our local daily paper had any personal honor, you would find it unbearable to let the American people believe that somehow Republicans were to blame for this crisis.
There are precedents. Even though President Bush and his administration never said that Iraq sponsored or was linked to 9/11, you could not stand the fact that Americans had that misapprehension — so you pounded us with the fact that there was no such link. (Along the way, you created the false impression that Bush had lied to them and said that there was a connection.)
If you had any principles, then surely right now, when the American people are set to blame President Bush and John McCain for a crisis they tried to prevent, and are actually shifting to approve of Barack Obama because of a crisis he helped cause, you would be laboring at least as hard to correct that false impression.
Your job, as journalists, is to tell the truth. That's what you claim you do, when you accept people's money to buy or subscribe to your paper.
But right now, you are consenting to or actively promoting a big fat lie — that the housing crisis should somehow be blamed on Bush, McCain, and the Republicans. You have trained the American people to blame everything bad — even bad weather — on Bush, and they are responding as you have taught them to.
If you had any personal honor, each reporter and editor would be insisting on telling the truth — even if it hurts the election chances of your favorite candidate.
Because that's what honorable people do. Honest people tell the truth even when they don't like the probable consequences. That's what honesty means . That's how trust is earned.
Barack Obama is just another politician, and not a very wise one. He has revealed his ignorance and naivete time after time — and you have swept it under the rug, treated it as nothing.
Meanwhile, you have participated in the borking of Sarah Palin, reporting savage attacks on her for the pregnancy of her unmarried daughter — while you ignored the story of John Edwards's own adultery for many months.
So I ask you now: Do you have any standards at all? Do you even know what honesty means?
Is getting people to vote for Barack Obama so important that you will throw away everything that journalism is supposed to stand for?
You might want to remember the way the National Organization of Women threw away their integrity by supporting Bill Clinton despite his well-known pattern of sexual exploitation of powerless women. Who listens to NOW anymore? We know they stand for nothing; they have no principles.
That's where you are right now.
It's not too late. You know that if the situation were reversed, and the truth would damage McCain and help Obama, you would be moving heaven and earth to get the true story out there.
If you want to redeem your honor, you will swallow hard and make a list of all the stories you would print if it were McCain who had been getting money from Fannie Mae, McCain whose campaign had consulted with its discredited former CEO, McCain who had voted against tightening its lending practices.
Then you will print them, even though every one of those true stories will point the finger of blame at the reckless Democratic Party, which put our nation's prosperity at risk so they could feel good about helping the poor, and lay a fair share of the blame at Obama's door.
You will also tell the truth about John McCain: that he tried, as a Senator, to do what it took to prevent this crisis. You will tell the truth about President Bush: that his administration tried more than once to get Congress to regulate lending in a responsible way.
This was a Congress-caused crisis, beginning during the Clinton administration, with Democrats leading the way into the crisis and blocking every effort to get out of it in a timely fashion.
If you at our local daily newspaper continue to let Americans believe — and vote as if — President Bush and the Republicans caused the crisis, then you are joining in that lie.
If you do not tell the truth about the Democrats — including Barack Obama — and do so with the same energy you would use if the miscreants were Republicans — then you are not journalists by any standard.
You're just the public relations machine of the Democratic Party, and it's time you were all fired and real journalists brought in, so that we can actually have a news paper in our city.
This article first appeared in The Rhinoceros Times of Greensboro, North Carolina, and is used here by permission.
Editor's note: Orson Scott Card is a Democrat and a newspaper columnist, and in this opinion piece he takes on both while lamenting the current state of journalism.
An open letter to the local daily paper — almost every local daily paper in America:
I remember reading All the President's Men and thinking: That's journalism. You do what it takes to get the truth and you lay it before the public, because the public has a right to know.
This housing crisis didn't come out of nowhere. It was not a vague emanation of the evil Bush administration.
It was a direct result of the political decision, back in the late 1990s, to loosen the rules of lending so that home loans would be more accessible to poor people. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were authorized to approve risky loans.
What is a risky loan? It's a loan that the recipient is likely not to be able to repay.
The goal of this rule change was to help the poor — which especially would help members of minority groups. But how does it help these people to give them a loan that they can't repay? They get into a house, yes, but when they can't make the payments, they lose the house — along with their credit rating.
They end up worse off than before.
This was completely foreseeable and in fact many people did foresee it. One political party, in Congress and in the executive branch, tried repeatedly to tighten up the rules. The other party blocked every such attempt and tried to loosen them.
Furthermore, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were making political contributions to the very members of Congress who were allowing them to make irresponsible loans. (Though why quasi-federal agencies were allowed to do so baffles me. It's as if the Pentagon were allowed to contribute to the political campaigns of Congressmen who support increasing their budget.)
Isn't there a story here? Doesn't journalism require that you who produce our daily paper tell the truth about who brought us to a position where the only way to keep confidence in our economy was a $700 billion bailout? Aren't you supposed to follow the money and see which politicians were benefiting personally from the deregulation of mortgage lending?
I have no doubt that if these facts had pointed to the Republican Party or to John McCain as the guilty parties, you would be treating it as a vast scandal. "Housing-gate," no doubt. Or "Fannie-gate."
Instead, it was Senator Christopher Dodd and Congressman Barney Frank, both Democrats, who denied that there were any problems, who refused Bush administration requests to set up a regulatory agency to watch over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and who were still pushing for these agencies to go even further in promoting sub-prime mortgage loans almost up to the minute they failed.
As Thomas Sowell points out in a TownHall.com essay entitled "Do Facts Matter?" ( http://snipurl.com/457townhall_com] ): "Alan Greenspan warned them four years ago. So did the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers to the President. So did Bush's Secretary of the Treasury."
These are facts. This financial crisis was completely preventable. The party that blocked any attempt to prevent it was ... the Democratic Party. The party that tried to prevent it was ... the Republican Party.
Yet when Nancy Pelosi accused the Bush administration and Republican deregulation of causing the crisis, you in the press did not hold her to account for her lie. Instead, you criticized Republicans who took offense at this lie and refused to vote for the bailout!
What? It's not the liar, but the victims of the lie who are to blame?
Now let's follow the money ... right to the presidential candidate who is the number-two recipient of campaign contributions from Fannie Mae.
And after Freddie Raines, the CEO of Fannie Mae who made $90 million while running it into the ground, was fired for his incompetence, one presidential candidate's campaign actually consulted him for advice on housing.
If that presidential candidate had been John McCain, you would have called it a major scandal and we would be getting stories in your paper every day about how incompetent and corrupt he was.
But instead, that candidate was Barack Obama, and so you have buried this story, and when the McCain campaign dared to call Raines an "adviser" to the Obama campaign — because that campaign had sought his advice — you actually let Obama's people get away with accusing McCain of lying, merely because Raines wasn't listed as an official adviser to the Obama campaign.
You would never tolerate such weasely nit-picking from a Republican.
If you who produce our local daily paper actually had any principles, you would be pounding this story, because the prosperity of all Americans was put at risk by the foolish, short-sighted, politically selfish, and possibly corrupt actions of leading Democrats, including Obama.
If you who produce our local daily paper had any personal honor, you would find it unbearable to let the American people believe that somehow Republicans were to blame for this crisis.
There are precedents. Even though President Bush and his administration never said that Iraq sponsored or was linked to 9/11, you could not stand the fact that Americans had that misapprehension — so you pounded us with the fact that there was no such link. (Along the way, you created the false impression that Bush had lied to them and said that there was a connection.)
If you had any principles, then surely right now, when the American people are set to blame President Bush and John McCain for a crisis they tried to prevent, and are actually shifting to approve of Barack Obama because of a crisis he helped cause, you would be laboring at least as hard to correct that false impression.
Your job, as journalists, is to tell the truth. That's what you claim you do, when you accept people's money to buy or subscribe to your paper.
But right now, you are consenting to or actively promoting a big fat lie — that the housing crisis should somehow be blamed on Bush, McCain, and the Republicans. You have trained the American people to blame everything bad — even bad weather — on Bush, and they are responding as you have taught them to.
If you had any personal honor, each reporter and editor would be insisting on telling the truth — even if it hurts the election chances of your favorite candidate.
Because that's what honorable people do. Honest people tell the truth even when they don't like the probable consequences. That's what honesty means . That's how trust is earned.
Barack Obama is just another politician, and not a very wise one. He has revealed his ignorance and naivete time after time — and you have swept it under the rug, treated it as nothing.
Meanwhile, you have participated in the borking of Sarah Palin, reporting savage attacks on her for the pregnancy of her unmarried daughter — while you ignored the story of John Edwards's own adultery for many months.
So I ask you now: Do you have any standards at all? Do you even know what honesty means?
Is getting people to vote for Barack Obama so important that you will throw away everything that journalism is supposed to stand for?
You might want to remember the way the National Organization of Women threw away their integrity by supporting Bill Clinton despite his well-known pattern of sexual exploitation of powerless women. Who listens to NOW anymore? We know they stand for nothing; they have no principles.
That's where you are right now.
It's not too late. You know that if the situation were reversed, and the truth would damage McCain and help Obama, you would be moving heaven and earth to get the true story out there.
If you want to redeem your honor, you will swallow hard and make a list of all the stories you would print if it were McCain who had been getting money from Fannie Mae, McCain whose campaign had consulted with its discredited former CEO, McCain who had voted against tightening its lending practices.
Then you will print them, even though every one of those true stories will point the finger of blame at the reckless Democratic Party, which put our nation's prosperity at risk so they could feel good about helping the poor, and lay a fair share of the blame at Obama's door.
You will also tell the truth about John McCain: that he tried, as a Senator, to do what it took to prevent this crisis. You will tell the truth about President Bush: that his administration tried more than once to get Congress to regulate lending in a responsible way.
This was a Congress-caused crisis, beginning during the Clinton administration, with Democrats leading the way into the crisis and blocking every effort to get out of it in a timely fashion.
If you at our local daily newspaper continue to let Americans believe — and vote as if — President Bush and the Republicans caused the crisis, then you are joining in that lie.
If you do not tell the truth about the Democrats — including Barack Obama — and do so with the same energy you would use if the miscreants were Republicans — then you are not journalists by any standard.
You're just the public relations machine of the Democratic Party, and it's time you were all fired and real journalists brought in, so that we can actually have a news paper in our city.
This article first appeared in The Rhinoceros Times of Greensboro, North Carolina, and is used here by permission.
Monday, October 27, 2008
WHEN YOU THOUGHT I WASN'T LOOKING
When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you hang my first painting on the refrigerator, and I immediately wanted to paint another one.
When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you feed a stray cat , and I learned that it was good to be kind to animals.
When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you make my favorite cake for me, and I learned that the little things can be the special things in life.
When you thought I wasn't looking I heard you say a prayer, and I knew that there is a God I could always talk to, and I learned to trust in Him.
When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you make a meal and take it to a friend who was sick, and I learned that we all have to help take care of each other.
When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you give of your time and money to help people who had nothing, and I learned that those who have something should give to those who don't.
When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you take care of our house and everyone in it, and I learned we have to take care of what we are given.
When you thought I wasn't looking I saw how you handled your responsibilities, even when you didn't feel good, and I learned that I would have to be responsible when I grow up.
When you thought I wasn't looking I saw tears come from your eyes, and I learned that sometimes things hurt, but it's all right to cry.
When you thought I wasn't looking I saw that you cared, and I wanted to be everything that I could be.
When you thought I wasn't looking I learned most of life's lessons that I need to know to be a good and productive person when I grow up.
When you thought I wasn't looking I looked at you and wanted to say, 'Thanks for all the things I saw when you thought I wasn't looking.'
When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you feed a stray cat , and I learned that it was good to be kind to animals.
When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you make my favorite cake for me, and I learned that the little things can be the special things in life.
When you thought I wasn't looking I heard you say a prayer, and I knew that there is a God I could always talk to, and I learned to trust in Him.
When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you make a meal and take it to a friend who was sick, and I learned that we all have to help take care of each other.
When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you give of your time and money to help people who had nothing, and I learned that those who have something should give to those who don't.
When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you take care of our house and everyone in it, and I learned we have to take care of what we are given.
When you thought I wasn't looking I saw how you handled your responsibilities, even when you didn't feel good, and I learned that I would have to be responsible when I grow up.
When you thought I wasn't looking I saw tears come from your eyes, and I learned that sometimes things hurt, but it's all right to cry.
When you thought I wasn't looking I saw that you cared, and I wanted to be everything that I could be.
When you thought I wasn't looking I learned most of life's lessons that I need to know to be a good and productive person when I grow up.
When you thought I wasn't looking I looked at you and wanted to say, 'Thanks for all the things I saw when you thought I wasn't looking.'
Friday, October 24, 2008
Fireproof
My sweetie took me out for dinner and a movie last week before leaving town for a few days..
This is an awesome movie every married person grab your partner and go together don't miss this one!!
http://www.fireproofthemovie.com/
Never leave your partner behind.....
This is an awesome movie every married person grab your partner and go together don't miss this one!!
http://www.fireproofthemovie.com/
Never leave your partner behind.....
Todays Truth
A sweet friend recently reminded me of this verse and todays devotional was too good not to share!!
Today's Truth
"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." (1 Peter 5:7 NIV)
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." (Philippians 4:6 NIV)
Friend To Friend
I memorized today's verse as a little girl in Christian school. However, as is typical of God's Word, the meaning of the verse deepens each time God applies it to my life. Just two weeks ago, God reminded me again how much He really does care.
Rushing around on last minute errands prior to a trip, I needed to drop a pre-packaged delivery envelope into the nearest UPS collection box. To my dismay, the receptacle I drove to was a FedEx drop box instead. As I kept driving, my mind tried - without success - to come up with the next closest UPS box.
This problem may not rank high on your personal list of frustrations, but that particular day's schedule and my patience were seriously overloaded. Crying out to God, I asked what to do. In the very next second, I passed a convenience store where a big, brown UPS truck sat idling in the parking lot. The driver congenially accepted my parcel, and I pulled away humbly worshipping the God who cares about the tiniest details of our lives.
Just twenty-four hours later, I approached my travel destination only to find my directions slightly amiss. Deciding to pull off onto a quiet side street to check the map, I began making the corner and immediately knew something was seriously wrong with the car. Carefully guiding the car to the curb, I parked and got out to investigate the problem.
Imagine my shock when I noticed a rear wheel was coming off of the car! The five lug nuts normally holding it onto the car were completely missing. Lying on the pavement behind the car, I could see from underneath a separation between the wheel and axel. My mind whirled with the possible scenarios. Just ten minutes before, I had been driving fast in thick traffic on the Interstate. Worship again flooded my soul as I knelt before the Lord and thanked Him for taking such good care of me.
While the world chants: "Don't worry, be happy," we Christians should practice a much more appropriate principle: "Don't worry, God cares!" God knows and God really does care about the little and large things that touch our lives.
Let's Pray Lord, thank You for caring about every single detail of my life and for taking care of them all. Help me to trust You more and turn to You more quickly for help in every situation. In Jesus' Name, Amen
Today's Truth
"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." (1 Peter 5:7 NIV)
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." (Philippians 4:6 NIV)
Friend To Friend
I memorized today's verse as a little girl in Christian school. However, as is typical of God's Word, the meaning of the verse deepens each time God applies it to my life. Just two weeks ago, God reminded me again how much He really does care.
Rushing around on last minute errands prior to a trip, I needed to drop a pre-packaged delivery envelope into the nearest UPS collection box. To my dismay, the receptacle I drove to was a FedEx drop box instead. As I kept driving, my mind tried - without success - to come up with the next closest UPS box.
This problem may not rank high on your personal list of frustrations, but that particular day's schedule and my patience were seriously overloaded. Crying out to God, I asked what to do. In the very next second, I passed a convenience store where a big, brown UPS truck sat idling in the parking lot. The driver congenially accepted my parcel, and I pulled away humbly worshipping the God who cares about the tiniest details of our lives.
Just twenty-four hours later, I approached my travel destination only to find my directions slightly amiss. Deciding to pull off onto a quiet side street to check the map, I began making the corner and immediately knew something was seriously wrong with the car. Carefully guiding the car to the curb, I parked and got out to investigate the problem.
Imagine my shock when I noticed a rear wheel was coming off of the car! The five lug nuts normally holding it onto the car were completely missing. Lying on the pavement behind the car, I could see from underneath a separation between the wheel and axel. My mind whirled with the possible scenarios. Just ten minutes before, I had been driving fast in thick traffic on the Interstate. Worship again flooded my soul as I knelt before the Lord and thanked Him for taking such good care of me.
While the world chants: "Don't worry, be happy," we Christians should practice a much more appropriate principle: "Don't worry, God cares!" God knows and God really does care about the little and large things that touch our lives.
Let's Pray Lord, thank You for caring about every single detail of my life and for taking care of them all. Help me to trust You more and turn to You more quickly for help in every situation. In Jesus' Name, Amen
Thursday, October 23, 2008
handsome dude!
Wild Mike has had the most dramatic change over the past couple weeks. He is singing and dancing. We never knew he could talk so much. We have seen this little love come to life. He goes to rainbows every wednesday night and last night his friend said, " I never knew he could talk, he talks better than me" Now I hope we can get him potty trained. His thumb is in his mouth less too :)She is sure growing....
Princess sure is growing fast over the past few weeks there has been such an amazing change in her. She is such a mature young lady.....
Friday, October 17, 2008
Michelle Obama
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/thesis.asp
interesting read....
I posted one about Mrs. Mc Cain here a while ago so here is one about Mrs. Obama.
I am a girl, my blog so I chose to share about the ladies...
Don't forget to get out and vote!! This is America we choose!!
interesting read....
I posted one about Mrs. Mc Cain here a while ago so here is one about Mrs. Obama.
I am a girl, my blog so I chose to share about the ladies...
Don't forget to get out and vote!! This is America we choose!!
Friends
I got a couple emails last night and this morning from such awesome women praying for me!! Thanks you so much!! I would not even know these amazing gals if it weren't for our Liberian adoptions and don't know how I would live without such amazing friends!! Thank you ladies!!
Thoughts...
So today I woke up feeling very grumpy. I have a headache and just feel irritated. This high does of predisone is getting to me :( Since this is where I am able to journal and share my thoughts with such sweet friends and the rest of you :) Stop reading now if easily offended. (grin)
Love is patient, love is kind, does not envy, boast keep record of wrongs.... We all know the verse right. This is the kind of love I try for but every once in a while catch myself too... From behind my safe little fence casting my opinion out on others.
You see as much as all this free will stuff ticks me off because life would be so much easier with out it. Boy would it be boring.
Last weekend while visiting some family a conversation emerged between an adult and one of our kids (without us around of coarse) about the adults disapproval of the type of school our chiildren attend. We have already had this conversation with this adult.
Well A we (the parents) choose what is best for our kids and B just because we don't do things as you would does not make them wrong :) A point a sweet sister in law recently pointed out too :) Couldn't agree more!!
We don't have to all hold the same opinion to love one another. I mean to really love each other and maybe not cast blame and judge situations we ourselves could never really understand. How can I disagree with how you handle something I have no grasp on the complexity of? Just a thought. I can't help but wonder how so many people can read my blog and all of them walk away thinking I meant something different. I believe so many of us walk away unchanged, walking away just like we walked in. We comprehend and evaluate everything with our own filter seeing and hearing what we want or are comfortable with. Maybe feeling a little puffed up but not really changed. We can walk our own path, God's path, or even a combination of them. But we can't walk anothers path. We can walk with them loving them, or we might as well just leave them alone. I tend to be pretty black and white. Honest with whomever I am talking to. I won't be talking about you or your choices behind your back. Not very good at being blunt, but this all has CHANGED me. And for that I am thankful I have alot to learn yet.
Love is patient, love is kind, does not envy, boast keep record of wrongs.... We all know the verse right. This is the kind of love I try for but every once in a while catch myself too... From behind my safe little fence casting my opinion out on others.
You see as much as all this free will stuff ticks me off because life would be so much easier with out it. Boy would it be boring.
Last weekend while visiting some family a conversation emerged between an adult and one of our kids (without us around of coarse) about the adults disapproval of the type of school our chiildren attend. We have already had this conversation with this adult.
Well A we (the parents) choose what is best for our kids and B just because we don't do things as you would does not make them wrong :) A point a sweet sister in law recently pointed out too :) Couldn't agree more!!
We don't have to all hold the same opinion to love one another. I mean to really love each other and maybe not cast blame and judge situations we ourselves could never really understand. How can I disagree with how you handle something I have no grasp on the complexity of? Just a thought. I can't help but wonder how so many people can read my blog and all of them walk away thinking I meant something different. I believe so many of us walk away unchanged, walking away just like we walked in. We comprehend and evaluate everything with our own filter seeing and hearing what we want or are comfortable with. Maybe feeling a little puffed up but not really changed. We can walk our own path, God's path, or even a combination of them. But we can't walk anothers path. We can walk with them loving them, or we might as well just leave them alone. I tend to be pretty black and white. Honest with whomever I am talking to. I won't be talking about you or your choices behind your back. Not very good at being blunt, but this all has CHANGED me. And for that I am thankful I have alot to learn yet.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Wild Mike at the dentist with Mommy....
Wild Mike wanted his picture with his cool Daddy glasses the dentist let him borrow. He wanted it with Mommy :) That's my boy!!Wild Mike and the Dentist
Wild Mike had his first dentist visit he was so quiet and such a good boy. He let the dentist count and polish :) No cavities but no more thumb thumb....??? We'll see how that goes (grin) Best news all the kids have been to the dentist over the past couple months and none of them hads any cavities. Now that is something to smile about!!Wild Mike and his friend!
Putting the last touch on his scarecrow Wild Mike was very careful to pick the right hat. He picked one for himself and one for his friend.Grandma and the pumpkin patch
I am not sure who had more fun 3 little grandkids or grandma? We went on a horse ride, made scarecrows, saw animals, and ran around outside :) What a fun day!!Rosebud and her brother!
Some days are crazy but in all the craziness some fun surprises are around you don't forget to look :) We took Rosebud in for her shots and check up and I saw a gal I used to work with. Well we started chatting and realized she had Rosebud's brother. It was so cute as the 2 puppies ran to each other to play. They were seperated at 5 weeks and are now almost 4 months old. It was very fun of coarse I pulled out the camera. It was hard to get them to sit still for a picture J helped out.Wealth
Luke 12:15
"Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
Greed and stress go hand-in-hand. If we want to eliminate stress, we must choose to put "things" in their proper place, refusing to attach importance to them. In Luke 12:15, Jesus issues a warning, "Be careful and guard against all kinds of greed. Life is not measured by how much one owns" (ICB). I believe that attaching importance to "things" is sin and will always lead to more sin. The monster of greed is fed by fear. We are afraid to give it all to God. We are afraid of not having enough. We are afraid to sacrifice and not having enough resources for the future. How important are your possessions? How do you view the things you possess?
The story is told of the world's stingiest man who went shopping for a friend's gift. Everything was too expensive, except for a $50.00 vase that was on sale for $2.00 because the handle had been broken off. The stingy man bought it and had the salesman ship it so that his friend would think that he had paid the full price of $50.00 for the vase and that it had been broken in shipment. A week later, the penny-pinching man received a thank you note from his friend. "Thank you for the lovely vase," the note read. "It was so nice of you to wrap each piece separately."
One way we can guard against greed and control our wants is to view our possessions as resources loaned to us by God for us to disperse instead of treating them as earned rewards or deserved pleasures. "Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others." (I Peter 4:10 NIV) Every spiritual gift, every financial resource and possession has been given to us by God as a way to serve others. Greed steps in the minute we begin to view those gifts and resources as our own while clutching them tightly in our hands and in our hearts. Fear then leads us to worry about losing what is not really ours to begin with and left unchecked, greed can lead to dishonesty. Greed and exaggerated wants can control our lives to the point that we are consumed by a fear that naturally leads to dishonesty and lies.
The reality is that who we are should never be measured in terms of what we have or do not have. Instead, our lives are measured by who and what we are. The lure of material wealth is undeniably stronger than the human will or self-control and always positions itself between us and God. The result will always be stress. Someday, I think we will discover that the door that shuts out many from heaven is covered with silver and gold.
I love the story of a wealthy man who prayed, asking for permission to take his earthly wealth with him when he died and went to heaven. An angel appeared to the man and said, "We heard your prayer, but I am sorry. You simply cannot take it with you." The man pleaded so passionately that the angel said, "Let me see what I can do." When the angel returned, he reported, "Good news! God has made an exception for you. You may bring one suitcase with you when it is your time to go." Delighted, the man packed his one suitcase and went on with life. Several years later, he died and appeared at the Pearly Gates where he was met by St. Peter who took one look at the suitcase and said, "I am sorry, sir, but you cannot bring that in with you." The man protested, "But I received special permission." Just then, the angel appeared and said, "Peter, it is true. He has special permission to bring one suitcase in with him." Curious, Peter said, "Do you mind showing me what is in the bag that is so important to you?" With a smile, the man replied, "Not at all" and proceeded to open the suitcase to reveal stacks of gold bricks. Peter's face said it all, "Pavement? You brought pavement with you?"
Stress thrives on greed that urges us on, in a never-ending and futile quest to accumulate "pavement" here that is totally worthless there! Wealth is all a matter of perspective. We need to understand that our Father wants us to have wealth. We just have to be careful that we do not settle for earthly money and possessions instead of eternal treasures.
"Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
Greed and stress go hand-in-hand. If we want to eliminate stress, we must choose to put "things" in their proper place, refusing to attach importance to them. In Luke 12:15, Jesus issues a warning, "Be careful and guard against all kinds of greed. Life is not measured by how much one owns" (ICB). I believe that attaching importance to "things" is sin and will always lead to more sin. The monster of greed is fed by fear. We are afraid to give it all to God. We are afraid of not having enough. We are afraid to sacrifice and not having enough resources for the future. How important are your possessions? How do you view the things you possess?
The story is told of the world's stingiest man who went shopping for a friend's gift. Everything was too expensive, except for a $50.00 vase that was on sale for $2.00 because the handle had been broken off. The stingy man bought it and had the salesman ship it so that his friend would think that he had paid the full price of $50.00 for the vase and that it had been broken in shipment. A week later, the penny-pinching man received a thank you note from his friend. "Thank you for the lovely vase," the note read. "It was so nice of you to wrap each piece separately."
One way we can guard against greed and control our wants is to view our possessions as resources loaned to us by God for us to disperse instead of treating them as earned rewards or deserved pleasures. "Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others." (I Peter 4:10 NIV) Every spiritual gift, every financial resource and possession has been given to us by God as a way to serve others. Greed steps in the minute we begin to view those gifts and resources as our own while clutching them tightly in our hands and in our hearts. Fear then leads us to worry about losing what is not really ours to begin with and left unchecked, greed can lead to dishonesty. Greed and exaggerated wants can control our lives to the point that we are consumed by a fear that naturally leads to dishonesty and lies.
The reality is that who we are should never be measured in terms of what we have or do not have. Instead, our lives are measured by who and what we are. The lure of material wealth is undeniably stronger than the human will or self-control and always positions itself between us and God. The result will always be stress. Someday, I think we will discover that the door that shuts out many from heaven is covered with silver and gold.
I love the story of a wealthy man who prayed, asking for permission to take his earthly wealth with him when he died and went to heaven. An angel appeared to the man and said, "We heard your prayer, but I am sorry. You simply cannot take it with you." The man pleaded so passionately that the angel said, "Let me see what I can do." When the angel returned, he reported, "Good news! God has made an exception for you. You may bring one suitcase with you when it is your time to go." Delighted, the man packed his one suitcase and went on with life. Several years later, he died and appeared at the Pearly Gates where he was met by St. Peter who took one look at the suitcase and said, "I am sorry, sir, but you cannot bring that in with you." The man protested, "But I received special permission." Just then, the angel appeared and said, "Peter, it is true. He has special permission to bring one suitcase in with him." Curious, Peter said, "Do you mind showing me what is in the bag that is so important to you?" With a smile, the man replied, "Not at all" and proceeded to open the suitcase to reveal stacks of gold bricks. Peter's face said it all, "Pavement? You brought pavement with you?"
Stress thrives on greed that urges us on, in a never-ending and futile quest to accumulate "pavement" here that is totally worthless there! Wealth is all a matter of perspective. We need to understand that our Father wants us to have wealth. We just have to be careful that we do not settle for earthly money and possessions instead of eternal treasures.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Saturday, October 11, 2008
email...
Dear friends who have been trying to email me please try again. My email was shut down sometime between Wed. night and Thursday morning until late Friday. So please try again!! This has been a bad time to have so many important emails rejected!! :( I sent myself a test message that came through so hope it is working!! Hope you try again!!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Princess starts piano...
Princess started piano lessons today. I can't believe she is so big already! Her teacher said she will do great she is a smarty pants just like her shirt says :)
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
funny??
So I have had so much to blog about for so long and had no time to. So now you may get sick of the posts for awhile as I catch up with a few thoughts...
You know when things get crazy but you still need to find something to laugh about...
Well in our talks about how to share our family changes so many times we have laughed and said lets say nothing and see how long it takes anyone to notice (hehe)
Although we have never taken this approach it is amusing! Especially now when receiving emails from others who want to contact S & Q directly. People who only met them a couple times and never called or wrote them before. People whom had we not told it could have taken years for them to find out.
So as I take a minute to chuckle as questions roll in from those uninvolved in our daily lives. I have to wonder how long would it have taken for them to know?? (he he)
Don't get me wrong I am so thankful they are now wanting to take a front row seat and be involved. I count that as another blessing in all this. I just hope no one forgets I have 6 kids that would love that concern not just 2. All 6 of our kids are cool !
I am in no way upset for the limited contact so many of us have, life is busy. Something we are trying to get a new pace at.
I also understand things have been tough here and many have chosen to tuck and run. All part of the human condition, run from suffering. People have known for awhile we were needing help and are now just emerging as really being concerned even shocked??
No one likes to see people hurting I get it.
Just enjoying the amusement park called life.
You know when things get crazy but you still need to find something to laugh about...
Well in our talks about how to share our family changes so many times we have laughed and said lets say nothing and see how long it takes anyone to notice (hehe)
Although we have never taken this approach it is amusing! Especially now when receiving emails from others who want to contact S & Q directly. People who only met them a couple times and never called or wrote them before. People whom had we not told it could have taken years for them to find out.
So as I take a minute to chuckle as questions roll in from those uninvolved in our daily lives. I have to wonder how long would it have taken for them to know?? (he he)
Don't get me wrong I am so thankful they are now wanting to take a front row seat and be involved. I count that as another blessing in all this. I just hope no one forgets I have 6 kids that would love that concern not just 2. All 6 of our kids are cool !
I am in no way upset for the limited contact so many of us have, life is busy. Something we are trying to get a new pace at.
I also understand things have been tough here and many have chosen to tuck and run. All part of the human condition, run from suffering. People have known for awhile we were needing help and are now just emerging as really being concerned even shocked??
No one likes to see people hurting I get it.
Just enjoying the amusement park called life.
Dad's & Grandmas
A dear friend reminded me Dad's understand what it is like to just love a child unconditionally too. This has been a long journey for the awesome Daddy in our house and I am so thankful for him!!
I also have to take this chance to thank Grandma Sue she has been such a blessing over this past weekend! I really missed my grandma, she was such a support through so much of this and she is now helping from heaven.
So Daddy's, & Grandma's too really know how to love us all!!
And grandpas........
I also have to take this chance to thank Grandma Sue she has been such a blessing over this past weekend! I really missed my grandma, she was such a support through so much of this and she is now helping from heaven.
So Daddy's, & Grandma's too really know how to love us all!!
And grandpas........
Monday, October 6, 2008
mountains and valleys
I know 2 posts in one day but bear with me....
So without the deep valleys how can you really appreciate the mountain top view? Boy I could go on about all my hardships, health issues, whatever. Life is not easy then God gives us free will on top of it! But I could also go on about all my blessings.....
Here is an example. I had some cancerous issues over 10 years ago ended up having a hysterectomy I thought it was horrible and questioned why God?? I felt destroyed... I was so thankful for my 2 beautiful children but knew I had more.
Well I never needed chemo and felt better I am happy to never know what God protected me from. Had that not happened I would never had pursued adoption to bring all my kids home and life not knowing all my children would not have the heartache and joy I now feel I would not trade it!! Not for anything... Just one example in my short humble life....
So without the deep valleys how can you really appreciate the mountain top view? Boy I could go on about all my hardships, health issues, whatever. Life is not easy then God gives us free will on top of it! But I could also go on about all my blessings.....
Here is an example. I had some cancerous issues over 10 years ago ended up having a hysterectomy I thought it was horrible and questioned why God?? I felt destroyed... I was so thankful for my 2 beautiful children but knew I had more.
Well I never needed chemo and felt better I am happy to never know what God protected me from. Had that not happened I would never had pursued adoption to bring all my kids home and life not knowing all my children would not have the heartache and joy I now feel I would not trade it!! Not for anything... Just one example in my short humble life....
Sovereignty and adoption...
I have been thinking all weekend what to name this post and where to start. I sent out an email this morning to family & friends and am so thankful for you all. It was easy to tell which ones really know us and are involved in our lives and which ones hold a back row seat with quick opinions. I have to say I do appreciate all the honest responses either way.
Our lives have been busy, crazy... You get the idea...
but the comment has come up about adoption and God's sovereignty lately.
How could God allow so many bad things to happen specifically to S and Q. I am with you; something I have thought of often myself. I am by no means an expert, but this is where I have come.
Well over the past few years I have learned to trust his sovereignty, not as a feeling, but just like love as a choice. He either is or isn't, and I believe he is.
Just as I know there is no difference between an adopted child and a bio child. As a mother of both, they are, well, just my children. The children God has chosen to bless me with. Some for a much longer time than others, but still my children.
I refuse to give into my selfish indulgence to keep any of my children from what is best for them due to what a few naysayers who have never walked my path or even been in my home dictate. Or to just keep them to myself because I can't let go.
Two of our children are mentally ill, we have gotten so much help for them and given all we have to help them. It is very humbling to realize that is not enough. So this past weekend many miracles came together to get those 2 children the help they need and deserve. Yes all my children deserve the best. And guess what, that is not always me.
S & Q have made it very obvious since they came home that they had no desire to be in the same family or home. This past weekend they were both very thankful to learn that would no longer be an issue. They will always be part of the same family (ours) & (God's) but will not have to live together any longer. This made them both very happy as they professed to never see each other again :(
So Q went to live with a family with no other children which is what she needs most and deserves. She requires so much more attention than we could offer. She is very happy with her new home and that her mom (me) will always love her and be part of her life (smile)
S has gone to a treatment home and has so many more opportunities. I am so sad to say goodbye for now, (this has been a very emotional time) but so excited at the chance they are both being given. I know as a Mom my job is to teach them right in the ways they will go and let them go. They both really are closer to 17 years old. So I am letting go.
I will still talk to them, visit, write and send treats that only Mom can send. They have not left my heart and never will.
It is a gift! Only a Mommy can understand your children are always your children. One thing I know they learned here is they will always be loved, and for that I am thankful.
I know I am not perfect and could have done many things differently, and I am sad because this is not how I wanted it to be, but also know that I wouldn't change a thing; my kids, all 6 of them, are safe, loved and receiving all the help they need whether adopted or bio, they were all born in my heart!!
I also want to share the biggest lesson learned: I will never judge another's journey; I will only have love and support to offer. Only God knows how difficult it may be and I thank you all for your grace and love.
Keep checking for pictures there will be some of all 6 of our kids along with updates.
Just because they are not living in our home doesn't change the fact they are our chldren, we will post updates and pictures like always!! (grin)
Our lives have been busy, crazy... You get the idea...
but the comment has come up about adoption and God's sovereignty lately.
How could God allow so many bad things to happen specifically to S and Q. I am with you; something I have thought of often myself. I am by no means an expert, but this is where I have come.
Well over the past few years I have learned to trust his sovereignty, not as a feeling, but just like love as a choice. He either is or isn't, and I believe he is.
Just as I know there is no difference between an adopted child and a bio child. As a mother of both, they are, well, just my children. The children God has chosen to bless me with. Some for a much longer time than others, but still my children.
I refuse to give into my selfish indulgence to keep any of my children from what is best for them due to what a few naysayers who have never walked my path or even been in my home dictate. Or to just keep them to myself because I can't let go.
Two of our children are mentally ill, we have gotten so much help for them and given all we have to help them. It is very humbling to realize that is not enough. So this past weekend many miracles came together to get those 2 children the help they need and deserve. Yes all my children deserve the best. And guess what, that is not always me.
S & Q have made it very obvious since they came home that they had no desire to be in the same family or home. This past weekend they were both very thankful to learn that would no longer be an issue. They will always be part of the same family (ours) & (God's) but will not have to live together any longer. This made them both very happy as they professed to never see each other again :(
So Q went to live with a family with no other children which is what she needs most and deserves. She requires so much more attention than we could offer. She is very happy with her new home and that her mom (me) will always love her and be part of her life (smile)
S has gone to a treatment home and has so many more opportunities. I am so sad to say goodbye for now, (this has been a very emotional time) but so excited at the chance they are both being given. I know as a Mom my job is to teach them right in the ways they will go and let them go. They both really are closer to 17 years old. So I am letting go.
I will still talk to them, visit, write and send treats that only Mom can send. They have not left my heart and never will.
It is a gift! Only a Mommy can understand your children are always your children. One thing I know they learned here is they will always be loved, and for that I am thankful.
I know I am not perfect and could have done many things differently, and I am sad because this is not how I wanted it to be, but also know that I wouldn't change a thing; my kids, all 6 of them, are safe, loved and receiving all the help they need whether adopted or bio, they were all born in my heart!!
I also want to share the biggest lesson learned: I will never judge another's journey; I will only have love and support to offer. Only God knows how difficult it may be and I thank you all for your grace and love.
Keep checking for pictures there will be some of all 6 of our kids along with updates.
Just because they are not living in our home doesn't change the fact they are our chldren, we will post updates and pictures like always!! (grin)
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