great things of God ...

♬♪♩... blessed be the Lord, blessed be the Lord
for He had done great things, blessed be the Lord ... ♫♩♪

1. The Red River has finally crested! Good news has finally come. The people have worked so hard but it is only God's Mighty Hand to stop the rise of this funny upstream river. Sure there is major lost already but only trust in God will get you through.

2. Dad has been in Texas for a week and he got home just in time to miss the crazy weather Texas is having. Dad didn't have to be delayed at airports and we at home didn't have to worry any longer. The pups are certainly glad to have everything alright in their furry little world.

3. My little bro isn't that fond of anything that is mechanical and requires some kind of tinkering. He lives in one town and has to travel about an hour to two for his work in completing his schooling. On the way to his work the car stops going. Panic is already rising. He sees people in a house so he goes up to see if he can get help but the woman is frantic and says to call 911. 911 just happens to send out a wrecker who specializes in the type of car he has and was took little bro back to the dump. They figured out what was wrong. Get this little bro had taken the car in days earlier because of a the signs of a problem and they said nothing was wrong!

Little bro had to figure out how he was going to give directions to his wife on how to get around the detour and find the dump. The wreaker guy made is real simple for little bro and took him into McDonald's before the detour.

What is super amazing is that the car place wasn't helping little bro so God made the car break down in the right place so that little bro would get the right help to fix the problem. Sure it is out of the way but now little bro knows where to get help.

Isn't God Good? Here is more to tell the generations....

organizing creativity ...

Mere minutes before closing up shop at work yesterday, my boss comes in to tell me that the plant is off work the week of April 6 and so will the office. This will be my first week of unemployment which means no pay. My co-workers have already done the dance of work a week or two and off two to three and then back to work ... etc. Not to mention the whole county being the top unemployment rate in the country at 18.3%. So it is time for me to get in on the experience too. I must say that the thought of no pay can try to be disruptive in my thoughts but I can't have it!

First order of business is to recall my learnings thus far and do it in my own life!
*Fear not!!!!
*If your life is out of whack, then you are either not listening to God's Word or you don't know what the Word says.
*You are either listening to God's Words or you are listening to the lies of the evil one.
*Obedience is blessing. Disobedience is punishment.

I am looking at this time as hunkering down and not spend! This is hard even though I have limited my spending of late but have not totally shut the $ flow.

I have promised to help with the spring cleaning with my parent's yard so that will take out a day. I do want to a purge in my home. Paper is my enemy! I did some shredding today to jump start my plan. I also want to figure out a better way to keep my important papers. Oh, that file safe would come in handy but that takes mula. I want to figure out my money. I hate dealing with my finances. I need to try to do the banking thing online including paying certain bills online as well seeing that the good old US mail is becoming unreliable. (don't get me started on the mailing system as I could really have a huge fit ... grr) I do need to get a resume going and while I am at it maybe a fun resume should be there too. You know a resume for a job that I really want not just settling for something that pays for the food on the table and home that surrounds me. Ok, those are a few things I could do and need to do.

Now to what I really would like to do! I would like to really get myself creative self organized! I have pictures to download and get put in places to share with others. I have music to organize. I need to really make some decision on selling my homemade online! The shipping is really giving me fits. I want to organize my writing life. I have been saying that all my life. I want to be creative but I can't let it drive me like it did during my Christmas holidays. I really need to focus on organizing my creative life and home so that I can do the summer things as well as keep up on my creative side.

Having large bits of time off might help me launch myself into a totally different place with my creativity being a my source of income! Oh, that would be nice!

my 14,610 day ...

Wow! It is here and I am doing ok! That is a sigh of relief.

I have been wondering how I will deal with the middle ages of my life. There is a culture where everyone wants to get to 40 because they are respected and revered. Well, I don't live in that culture. Sooooo, was I going to let it get me down? I am not married and living in an apartment. No kids nor do I really want to handle that on my own. Oh, and the dreaded change that happens to all women. I guess that living on my own, no one will have to deal with my falling apart. And then there is a thought that as you get older that your circle of people get smaller and smaller. Mine is so small now what will happen..... stop....

That was where my mind was going in past years. Not this year I am glad to report. I start every year with a theme. A theme where I am searching for something. It is a request for God to come and surprise me with new learning and a renewing. This year is me allowing God to romance me with His Everlasting Love. I don't want this to be a surface thing I really want depth and width. I am soooooo sick of the unstable and weak. Won't take it no more! Man's love is so fleeting and feeble but God's love? EVERLASTING! This is where my mind is. I am totally focused on RECEIVING His Everlasting Love. I have rejected it in the past without realizing it. It is in the bad thoughts. You know, those negative thoughts that are always there. Do you realize that we woman think about if we are beautiful enough as much as men think about sex. I have decided that harnessing my thoughts on God's Everlasting Love is a do or die thing.

Another thought of sailing through this middle patch is that after listening to women who have come undone because of the woman change, I wonder if the major source of this dysfunction was because these women never dealt with stress. Stress is everywhere and cannot be avoided but learning what de-stresses you is extremely important to practice and do in life. Could women learn to de-stress and go through the change without medication and be intact physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually? This needs to remain a question. There is no need for you to answer me on this. Answer it for your own self.

With this question of going through the middle ages de-stressed and savoring and delight in my God, I have found a new passion - amigurumi. I have noticed that I have this passion that de-stressed the stress and fears of work. For me de-stressing is all about learning for me. I must not stop. There is always more I want to know so must never give up on learning. If I can learn to crochet in my middle ages with no human help then I can do it again in all my other curiosities. I must say here you cannot de-stress without a focused thought life on inviting His Everlasting Love and delighting and savoring it.

So on this happy day, I am numbering the Mighty Works God has done in my life. I am trilled with the passions and dreams He has given me. I am grateful that He takes the time to nudge me via my pet words to speak depth to me and my walk with Him. I am honored to have my family and puppers around me. Our lives are so connected and precious. Remembering to value and hold them as fleeting - treasures to store in Heaven. I have friends and memories to cherish and hold. It is the good with the bad that make our lives rich. I am valued to be called woman and beautiful by my Beloved. I am His and He is mine. My greatest gift to give is my smile and my softness but also remembering that it must never be thought of as weak because God's Strength is the source.

One last thing is that my relationship with God has to be top priority. I must read His Word as much as I pray. It must remain a two way street not just a whimpering mess on my part. Reading His Word has been like being full and hungry at the same time as it should be. I am satisfied but wanting more. MMM, yes, I admit I want to be a junkie with His Word!!! Oh Taste!!!!!! (Oh devour tooo) and see that He is Good...

All that we are promised is one day. What will I make of this day? It is a wonderful life, am I living it wonderful?
I rattle the lone marble in my glass jar. I stand on my writer's desk and shout 'Yes, This is a Wonderful Life. I choose to live it WONDERFULLY. Thank You, My Beloved for this precious life. My answer to Your Command - I CHOOSE LIFE. I CHOOSE WONDERFUL LIFE. I CHOOSE WONDERFUL EVERLASTING LIFE!''

seconds & thirds please ...

I have been finding it hard to write here like I use to. And this week for sure will be sporadic like usual. Dad is away for the week so I am over being with Mom and the 3 pups for company. It is sorta like a vacation but not! I am planning on some cooking because Mom tends to just eat leftovers or eats fast food. I thought this would be good for me to try cooking for others and save a bit of pocket change. However, this is like living between two places and it means other things are put on hold. This explains this week. Now to explain the other weeks where my writing has become sparse.

The Amigurumi has certainly taken a real strong hold in my life right now. I love these little crochet toys and the smaller the better. While on this wacky ride I realized that besides books and my bike being my 'bestest' childhood friends, small stuff animals that I could pack and hide in my purse because I didn't what to leave them at home since I was afraid a fire or tornado would take them from me. Whew! I know a poor tween girl was I! I am so glad that I don't feel the need to pack them in purse as an adult. Now my purses are very small and only pack the essentials. {sheepy grin & red cheeked} But to be able to make these little pocket friends with smiles have become a driving need inside. When I have completed them all decked out in a smile and cuteness, I smile. I love it.

I have found that Amigurumies de-stress me in these wild and troubling times. Of course they are only apart of the de-stressing but it has been a cool ride. I do wonder if the ride will stop and why my other creative passions don't drive me like Ami does but I am a perpetual learner that what Ami has done to me, I am going to work it in my writing and my painting. This is way to good to let it slide unheeded in my other parts of my life.

Being able to create little best friends that made my childhood is coming full circle. I have to thank my precious Heavenly Father for enabling me to get crochet from web pictures and self teach it. Whenever I look at the things I like and what I have done to creatively express it, I rejoice that God gave these likes and passions to me. I know I feel sometimes embarrassed especially describing my passions to men but I mustn't. I forget to come outside myself and see the light in my eyes. Too often I sit within myself trying to hide! Hmmm, interesting that this comes out here when I didn't intend it too. Another connect the dot...

I did spend a lot of time researching and gathering because I felt so behind. Now that my pattern book is full, I hope I can manage more efficiently by junkie cravings! However, I am finding the need growing stronger and stronger to make my own patterns. Having nieces and a nephew, I do want to create characters from their story books but wait, why not create my own ami characters and stories!!!! My goal is to definitely marrying my passions and crafts together! I might have a full plate of passions but I think it quite alright to have second and thirds full plates! Isn't that the way to have a full and delightful life?

highway ...

I know that my journey as a believer is on a narrow path. Jesus even said this in Mat 7:14 'Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.' Many times I have felt the narrow begin to squeeze in. That is ok and it is as it should be. So imagine my surprise that my beloved narrow way could be describe in another way - a more broad means.

I love words and as I read I find God giving me words that intrigue me and keep me in the wondering about them. The word is highway.

Isaiah 35 has quickly become a favorite because it is totally about JOY. Here in verse 8 I found 'way of holiness' described as a highway! Hmm, that is way different from what I have always known as a narrow way. Look up the meaning of highway and it is a public road. Another hmmm.

Isaiah 35:8-9
And a highway will be there;
it will be called the Way of Holiness.
The unclean will not journey on it;
it will be for those who walk in that Way;
wicked fools will not go about on it.
No lion will be there,
nor will any ferocious beast get up on it;
they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there

When I stumble upon something intriguing like this in the Word, I tuck it back in the brain to ponder. To my lovely surprise as I was reading a chapter of Proverbs a day, highwaycame up again two days in a row.

Prov 15:19 The way of the lazy man is like a hedge of thorns, But the way of the upright is a highway.
Prov 16:17 The highway of the upright is to depart from evil; He who keeps his way preserves his soul.

Each verse is more meaning to this highway and yet I want to learn more. I can't help but think the meaning has something to do with the Way being lofty and high up. I love sitting at the feet of Jesus.

hb amigurumies

My nephew and his Mom had birthdays this month and we shall be celebrating today. I made a amigurumies monkey for him. He really loved his sock monkey I made for him this past Christmas so I when I learned to crochet just so I could make all things amigurumies, I had to try my hand at his favorite animal. Yes, I hope to get some smiles - those are the best gifts in returns.

Let me tell you I did get made at the monkey. I had problems with attaching all the extremities to the body. The head was crooked, the arms seemed mismatched in thickness, the tail was sideways, and the legs were twisted. I sent the 'woppy-jawed' (this has to be a word b/c I used and have heard it used by my mom - maybe it is just one of our words!) monkey to the corner for a week before I settled down enough to fix the poor thing. It is better. {smiles}

I told you this story because my little bro liked the bear I made for his daughter that he has ordered two bears to give to friends who are having girls. I didn't like the bear's head. It seemed tooooo square. Remember this is after my little tiff with the monkey, I decided to do the pattern again but instead fuse the head and body together so I would NOT have to worry about attaching the head and the body. This only means that I once I began to finish the head I stopped with 18 scs and began the body since the biggest part of the body is 18 scs. It looked like a light bulb before I attached the legs, arms, and ears. Then I thought maybe I needed more definition in the neck by going down to 12 scs and then back to the 18 scs for the body. Welllllll, it affects the shape of the head. I will see how others like it but bear number two wins my heart (light bulb one!) It has been good to play with this bear pattern and go with something I like! I have some ideas for my own patterns that I want to do and can't wait to do. I do have patterns that I want to try because it will help me get a grip on my own creating since I am such a newbie at this! 3 months!

I am giving a small bird in a nest (amigurumi) to my brother's wife. The reason being is that she is still looking for a job loss. God took her through a job loss before He will take her though it again. The vengeance she might feel belongs to the Lord. She is worth more than many sparrows and those sparrows worry not over food or clothing BUT THEY DOOOOOOOO SING!!!! I am not sure what I will put in the card - oh, I must go and get that finished!!!!

Ps 98:1
O sing unto the LORD a new song;
for He hath done marvellous things:
His Right Hand, and His Holy Arm,
hath gotten Him the Victory.

hb gift ...

I decided that for his birthday this year the only thing I could do is pray.

A lesson that I began to get a grip on last fall was that it is time that I focus on what is solid and true. No more going with a gut feeling and this goes with the questions I ask God and my prayer life. What is solid and true? God and His Word.

With my relationship with guy who is a believer, I always focused on the Eternal. We might not be able to touch each other but we are in the Family and we spoke the Language. Because we were believers, I was always talking to God about my part in this relationship, however, my questions were asking for answers that would not be solid which means that I was going more on what I thought or felt what was right than beginning with God's Words. Look where this got me! NO WHERE. The relationship is gone and there was no fight to keep it. He just left and I was left with no way to get answers. It was hurtful and painful enough that I VOW to NEVER let the feelings get in the way of ROCK SOLID TRUTH.

So with the only thing being ROCK SOLID TRUTH - God and His Word, I have left this relationship as 'being knitted together'. (Oh, he was a good gift) Paul in many of his letters to the early churches starts off telling these early christians that he is praying for them and their faith. I love this so became the perfect gift so someone who was sooo precious to me who does not read emails and has moved and reverted into insular habits.

I took 13 days at 7ish AM & then every hour on the 12th day through the 13th day (since he is a day ahead) to pray for a Joy invasion for his life as well as trust, faith, & protection on his life. I used verses to pray. I also thanked God for the memories I had with 'the leaver' and my lessons learned and am continuing to learn.

A side note about keeping the focus on reading and doing what the Word says even in prayer, I noticed that I am not whining and whimpering and getting messy with my prayers. It is all about TALKING BACK the Word. I come away stronger and lighter. It doesn't mean that I don't feel sad or upset, I do still have all the feelings but my mind is being renewed.

It will be interesting to see how prayer worked here on earth when I reach the other shore.....

Ps 15: 8 & 29
... but the prayer of the upright is HIS DELIGHT.
... but He hears the prayers of the righteous.

AMEN!!!

home vs street

I love the word picture in Proverbs 7 that King Solomon has painted here. You have someone safe in a home looking out onto the street. I like to picture here a fireplace warm and inviting with a comfy rocking chair close by with a table and a reading lamp. The pantry is full so the tummy is full. This home has four walls protecting and keeping the occupants warm, safe, and dry. In that rocking chair sits a the occupant reading the Living Word - then looks up to see a wonderer outside in the street.

This wonderer is aimless and probably lost but it doesn't seem to bother by it. A harlot is in the road and this harlot is any one who has defiled themselves by doing anything to defile God no matter the gender. The words from this harlot is dangereous and sweet. A wonderer really doesn't have anything to stand by - it is whatever. The harlot is even married and says so quite frankly and matter of fact-like to the wonderer. There are no worries! The home-dweller is shocked to see that there is no running or fleeing but the wonderer has come under some spell because there has been no binding the Word on the heart. So all protection the Word has cannot protect if one doesn't have it bound on their minds and hearts.

Proverbs 7
''My children, keep My Words, and treasure My Commands within you. Keep My Commands and LIVE, and My Laws as the apple of your eye. Bind Them on the tablet of your heart.''

~When my life is out of whack, it is either because I don't know what the Word says or I am not doing what the Word says.

~In every situation you are either going to believe the Word of God or the lies of the evil one.

doing w/ what I have ...

I think I mentioned this before that I got fed up with myself and so this year I have decided to live my oneness life. I used really want couplehood and I still do but I have focused on this singleness life that I have been given and letting God romance me. It is amazing that I am getting along ok with this new view. I still have this desire on how to be a good wife but if that never happens ... ok moving on! {smiles}

I also have this very strong desire to have my passions be my vocation. I get tired of my day job. I would rather be creative or write. For some reason from the back of the mind came a thought that instead of being frustrated with my day job that I have this day job of numbers and I have my passions. The day job feeds me and allows me to have a shelter and my passions allow me to live stress free! I have both and I need to have a good attitude about the day job while working out my passions at night. Just maybe my dreams will come true. In the meantime I feel better....

man plans ...

''So do you think what we have has a future?'' he asks. Wanting to drop the bomb and leave without a proper answer, he tried to end the conversation quickly.

''Wait a minute buddy. I know exactly what I feel about this relationship. I believe in you and I believe in us. I have made my vows know to God about keeping this friendship in the eternal mode. I know my side very well but in any 'ship' there is another side - your side. You have kept silent about your plans for this. You lead this. What do you want? What are your plans?'' ....

Oh how a few years away from this actual questions gives you lessons you wish you had when the it happened. I just learned that every man has a plan. They are possessors & protectors. They have a plan. They just don't come up to you for no good reason.

Two disclaimers:
If the plan is not voiced, the girl should never think up plans for the two of them. Never Never. A big no no. The girl has a life and she should be getting on with her own life. A girl knows what she wants and if the girl don't she better get to knowing because this girl will grow up to become a frustrated stressed out woman wondering where her life went.

If the plan is voiced, the girl has a right to veto or go for the guy. Remember a good girl knows what she wants. He might not be into you but to our defence a girl just might not want the boy or his 'plans'. {smiles}

rumor ....

I took Friday off and when Mom said that Dad had heard that my work had shut the doors, I couldn't help but feel a bit of a pang. Then I started talking back the Word and the blessings of God took me through it before and He will take me through it again.

I did go the Word for reaffirming of my faith. God is so good because He gives comfort and all I have to do is receive it.

Psalms 61:8
So I will sing praise to Your Name forever, that I may daily perform my vows.

I have told God that when I went through the job loss before I was a child just learning how to possesses JOY. I acted like a child and felt like a child shaking in fear and yet reaching out to God. I want to go through this job loss as a learned adult. I admit I probably will be shaking in my boots but all the while knowing I am in God's Almighty Hand. I will be shouting out God's Word and firmly holding onto His Promises and Blessings. I will not fear. In order to do this? I must praise Him.

Hebrews 10:35
Therefore do NOT cast away your confidence, which has great reward.

Hebrews 11:13-16
'... they were strangers & pilgrims on the earth ... declaring plainly that they seek a homeland ... they desire a better, that is a heavenly country.'

I just couldn't help but my heart did a jump for joy. I am just a passing through! This is not my home. I will not waste my time in fear nor stress. I want that crown of Joy!!! I will not wallow!!!

I did quickly get online to access my work email. Everything looked normal. No big announcement. It is the usual off a week - work a week - wondering when ....

one marble ...

You know how a parent or teacher takes a jar full of marbles to help a small child understand the concept of time by having the child take out a marble for each day - maybe there is a big celebration when all the marbles are taken from the jar or someone is coming home after a long absence. Now that child has something visual to understand how much time he has.

This week a radio pastor was talking about how much time an average person has here on earth. He has a jar of marbles and with how much time he has in months sitting on his desk. Every month he takes out a marble. This helps him taking an accounting of his days. Another man has just one marble in the jar.

I have decided to have the one marble in the jar to sit on my desk at work and also have the same reminder at home. But I am adding the verse found in ....

(bummer ... can't find it by googling it ... going through my marked up new testament....)

It is amazing how it changes your decision making and fearing not takes hold. It just might help me be less tentative and more bold. No, I will continue to think because I am a thinker but once I have had a good think it is time to grab that jar with the one marble and talk back the verse in my very intense voice like I mean it. {smiles}

(off to find the verse - brb)

Proverbs 27:1 seems to be the one that I had found a comfort in but I don't remember it the way it is written... but I tend to pray verses out using what I glean ... so maybe I saw it as I just have today - one marble....

''Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.''

How Rich I am!!!

How rich I am 
Since Jesus came my way
Redeemed my soul and turned my night to day

How very rich, how very rich, I am!!!

Such peace and joy
I never knew before
And countless blessings
from His boundless store

How very rich, how very rich, I am!!!

There is greater glory in a sunset!
A briter twinkle in each star!
There is much more promise in a rainbow!
More music in a singing bird by far!

All things have changed
My eyes once blind now see
The whole wide world
Is now a symphany
And with all this
Heaven is my destiny! How rich I am!!!

There is greater glory in a sunset!
A briter twinkle in each star!
There is much more promise in a rainbow!
More music in a singing bird by far!

All things have changed
My eyes once blind now see
The whole wide world
Is now a symphany
And with all this
Heaven is my destiny!

I haven't figured out the author or history of this song. I heard on the way to work this week and I couldn't help but agree. I love the sunrises and the sunsets. They seem so rich because I know God has made them for me each day. All I have to do is enjoy!!!!

As the days have gotten tougher, the sparrows do twitter much more and I find them so precious because they remind me of the richness of God's love for me. The dance is in each step I take because I am IN LOVE with God. Now that is rich.

my picks ...

So the Oscars are all the buzz but like always they pick weird and in my humble opinion downright wacky flicks! I am a movie buff of sorts but I am picky. So here is my bit of what I thought was Oscar worthy:

~ Australia ~
for the epic like story and for the wonderful overall epic picture. I am an Australian buff. I loved the accents, the Australian words, and the harsh but beautiful Australian land.

~ The Dark Night ~
for the moral between the dark and the light. I love the depth that this movies has and only the lucky few tap into that depth and glean the wealth. Most just get off on the darkness and destruction. Others are offended by the violence.

~ Nim's Island ~
for the child and the romantic in us all. It is cute and it also has a smidge of Australia in it.

~ Fireproof ~
for the stand on marriage. It is about keeping the marriage sacred. You won't find it in hollywood and we didn't. The church brought to hollywood.

links to my movie reviews..

junkie stage ...

I have been in a very excited state of late. I can't seem to get enough. All I want to do is get home and try my hand at amigurumi. I have a collected a stash of patterns from the web as well as a book. I want to create all the little 'amies' at once but can only do one thing at a time!

I just finished a bear with a honey pot. It is a prezzie for my little niece. I didn't like the head and I am thinking that when I find a better head, I will use it and attach the small body too. I have plans for the monkey once I get that warm chocolate brown color if they would only stock it! The nephew has a birthday coming up fast. I need to make these things quick for the boy before he out grows them.

I have plans for Easter with the egg patterns I have. Super excited to put that into action. I just might make them for the whole family if I can get started soon enough. Then I found a rather cute bird pattern that I just can't wait to make. Then there is this heart pattern that just didn't make much sense until I worked out the math and I finally got it. The pattern wasn't as clear as it should be but I was surprised that I finally got it. Now the trick is to make it and hopefully it turns out well. If so I will have to make pix and then add the photo to the pattern.

I have other talents that have been sitting dormant and I hate that but I just can't get enough of this. I do want to incorporate all my crafts together. They may seem very different from each other but who knows... I say that I am a creative sort so I just will have to do some daydreaming and get down and creative!

Hmmm, words, paper, paint, glass, amigurumi, loom, yo-yos, crochet flowers.....

Victoria fires ...

Dear Heavenly Father,
My heart is heavy as I read the stories coming from the fires down in Victoria, Australia. I cannot imagine the lost or the horrific moments when the fire was chasing them down. There are many 'Jobs' down there and I wonder how one can go on when a spouse or children are taken and the little space you called home is gone. Cars crashing into each other because they could not see in front of them. Fears of people stuck inside... They are having a hard time identifying the bodies because the heat was 1200*c. If the person was out in the open there would be charred remains but stuck inside a car, there would be nothing but ash. Ash is ash.

There are happy surprises like people running to the dams or coolers that came out unharmed. Then the animals like the koala wanting water to cool down or to drink. There is Old Man Roo who was a kangaroo would was a friendly sort that the land owner thought would have perished but when she came back she was surprised to see him there.

I pray that these 'Jobs' will follow the Job of old. May they not curse You. May they find comfort in You alone. I pray for showers of blessing to fall. I pray for the believers there that they will not let the horror engulf their minds but they will renew their minds.. Ps 143:5-6 ''I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your Works; I muse on the Works of Your Hands. I spread out my hands to You; my soul longs for You like a thirsty land.'' You alone can hold our anxieties. You alone know how precious our tears are for You have weighed them and have written them down in Your tear book. You do not waste our sorrow nor our pain.

I often wonder if I have what it takes and when these harrowing times press in, all I can do is go to the Word. I want that crown of Joy and I think to get that crown it must start here on earth. Can I find Joy like in Isaiah 35? ''The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus , it will burst into bloom...''

I lift up Australia and like in the movie Australia, you cannot possess land nor people, all you have is your story. May their story have You in it because without You, they truly have nothing. May they store up treasure in Heaven where no fire can get to... That is a great hope to have your young believe in the One True God. Because when they are taken, they are treasure stored up in Heaven. The lineage or legacy that you leave behind you here on earth isn't going to matter when earth passes away....

Thank You for holding us close when we walk through the Valley of the Shadow of death... You put a tear in our eye to put a rainbow in our heart...
always your child

love equations...

God validates her beauty + God validates his strength.
+
She offers & gives her beauty to him + He offers & gives his strength to her
=
a good union.


She seeks validation of her beauty from him
= abuse, desertion, loneliness -
She becomes ugly.

He seeks validation of his strength from her
= moody, restless, sex addict -
He becomes weak.

Just a few equations of love ....

a love story ...

This was a forward in my email box and I thought I would share as it is a love story - perfect for Valentine's Day:

The Tablecloth
The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned to their first ministry, to reopen a church in suburban Brooklyn, arrived in early October excited about their opportunities. When they saw their church, it was very run down and needed
much work. They set a goal to have everything done in time to have their first service on Christmas Eve. They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls, painting, etc., and on December 18 were ahead of schedule and just about finished.

On December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days. On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church. His heart sank when he saw that the roof had leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit, beginning about head high. The pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor, and not knowing what else to do but postpone the Christmas Eve service, headed home.

On the way he noticed that a local business was having a flea market type sale for charity so he stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful, handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross embroidered right in the center. It was just the right size to cover up the hole in the front wall. He bought it and headed back to the church.

By this time it had started to snow. An older woman running from the opposite direction was trying to catch the bus.. She missed it. The pastor invited her to wait in the warm church for the next bus 45 minutes later. She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.

Then he noticed the woman walking down the center aisle. Her face was like a sheet..
"Pastor," she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?" The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria.

The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor told how he had just gotten the Tablecloth. The woman explained that before the war she and her husband were well-to-do people in Austria. When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
Her husband was going to follow her the next week. He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her husband or her home again.

The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth; but she made the pastor keep it for the church. The pastor insisted on driving her home, that was the least he could do.. She lived on the other side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn
for the day for a housecleaning job.

What a wonderful service they had on Christmas Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the spirit were great. At the end of the service, the pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door and many said that they would return. One
older man, whom the pastor recognized from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he wasn't leaving.

The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on the front wall because it was identical to one that his wife had made years ago when they lived in Austria before the war and how could there be two tablecloths so much alike. He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and put in a prison.. He never saw his wife or his home again all the 35 years in between.

The pastor asked him if he would allow him to take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten Island and to the same house where the pastor had taken the woman three days earlier.

He helped the man climb the three flights of stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on the door and he saw the greatest Christmas reunion he could ever imagine.

True Story - submitted by
Pastor Rob Reid

What I would have done in the past after reading such a tale, I would have a small piece of hope for the lost love that I have. But no more. It is a lovely story; yet, my hope must stay firmly on the Rock.

In my past I would have taken this as a sign. Today I understand that signs are fleeting and not really signs. We tend to get caught up in signs as hope and even answers to the questions we might be harboring. I am not one to really a sign taker. It is just once in a while especially when I am really into something and a big fat question is sitting there, I fall for a sign. Not any more! Not even for a tiny sign.

I had a relationship that I took to God and really made sure that everything I did was with Eternity in mind. I prayed a lot and ask God for help in whatever I was giving in this relationship. I would be very aware of His speaking. Now that this relationship is gone, I use to have a ton of questions that were not answered and not just why he walked away but what am I to do now. Then it hit me that nothing not even a sign was stable. I have begun to dig myself into the Word of God and find myself rooted. All of my questions are put into the Word and where I find God's Will plainly written in black and white. All I have to do is trust and obey. I am so at peace now more so than ever before. My questions are quieted when I grab a law or blessing and pray through my questions, decisions, and plans. No more waffling for me.

True Love, Everlasting Love, Love that stands the test of time comes only from God. He will see me through and if this friendship should ever come back into my life, I will be here knowing the 'knitted together' comes by God's love coming through me via reading and standing on God's Word.

given bountifully ...

'For there is no one who acknowledges me ... ' Have you ever felt like that? I tend to feel most times and I just go on but sometimes I feel it acutely. I am a work horse and can work quietly on my own. Numbers is not my thing so this job takes all the patterns and obsession to detail that I have to manage this huge job. With God, I did it to the best of my ability. I had conversations with God without ceasing to get me through the tough times. Now the times have changed and I have a boss who is more hands on which I am finding I don't like so well only because life has shown me that I am much better off working alone. I say this as it wasn't a choice. I just haven't found much in the way of people who want to work with me as a team.

Anyways, today I began to feel 'unacknowledged' and it was beginning to bug me. I stole away a moment to read God's Word hoping for some peace and comfort. God does not disappoint! No wonder I love King David...

Psalms 142
A Contemplation of David. A Prayer when he was in the cave.

I cry out to the LORD with my voice;
With my voice to the LORD I make my supplication.

I pour out my complaint before Him;
I declare before Him my trouble.

When my spirit was overwhelmed within me,
Then You knew my path.
In the way in which I walk
they have secretly set a snare for me.

Look on my right hand and see,
For there is no one who acknowledges me;
Refuge has failed me; No one cares for my soul.

I cried out to You, O LORD: I said,
"You are my Refuge, My portion in the land of the living.

Attend to my cry, For I am brought very low;
Deliver me from my persecutors, For they are stronger than I.

Bring my soul out of prison,
That I may praise Your name;
The righteous shall surround me,
For You shall deal bountifully with me."

...He often speaks aloud my feelings. I don't have to complain anymore! I just read King David's word and I feel my feelings are acknowledged and then I am comforted as King David leads me into praising Almighty God.

hiding place...

I heard this hymn on the way into work this morning. It was sung by a male which I love more than high female voices. I think I have heard it once before but certainly not enough. I don't know how old this hymn is. It is not in my old hymnal that I have harbored from my grandma. Not only did the melody of this song soothe me but also the words.

In a time of trouble, in a time forlorn,

There is a hiding place where hope is born.

In a time of danger, when our faith is proved

There is a hiding place where we are loved.

There is a hiding place, a strong protective space,

Where God provides the grace to persevere;

For nothing can remove us from the Father's love,

Tho' all may change, yet nothing changes here.

In a time of sorrow, in a time of grief,

There is a hiding place to give relief.

In a time of weakness, in a time of fear,

There is a hiding place where God is near.

~by Bryan Jeffery Leech

Thou art my Hiding Place;
Thou shalt preserve me from trouble;
Thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance.
Selah.
~Psalms 32:7

Thou art my Hiding Place
and my Shield:
I hope in Thy word.
~ Psalms 119:114