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April 2017
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June 2017

Sometimes

 

Sometimes you wonder why. Why is that hurt hurts? Or rejection breaks? Why does intolerance breed hatefulness? Why is it that we are not able to see the good in others? Why do we criticize others for the very things we, ourselves do? Are we blind? Are we heartless? Are we just accustomed to the two-sided vision created through the plank in our eye? 

Matthew 7:3 "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?

Is it the need to control? Do we think we are doing someone a favor by continually crushing their spirit? I dare say that one day the plank will finally reach their innermost being and separate us from them.

Oh, no one will notice. No one will care. No one will apologize. No one would dare!

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 2 Corinthians 4:8-9.

Sometimes we consider the purpose of the pain. As we do, we must remember that when it is well with OUR soul, it is truly well! ...

Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:4-6

We cannot change anyone and their habitual patterns. We are only able to commit to our personal relationship with Christ. When we are open and willing to grow and share his love; we pray, he hears and responds.

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you, your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Ezekiel 36:26-27

How do we heal a broken heart? How can a "loser" ever win? Help someone mend their broken heart! The answer is JESUS. The rain may fall down, but he refreshes our soul always!

 

 

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Fresh Find: I love this shell-cell "amplifier." 

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Signage

 

Today, I was driving to an appointment, and this thought entered my head. What if there were no signs along our roadways? No instructions for drivers? No visuals? No speeds? No enforcement.

Utter chaos!

The same is true for our life journey. What if there were no signs along the way? No instruction on how to live? No visual? No acceleration plan? No enforcement?

Tragic.

The good news is that we do have signs to help us travel and we do have a God that has mapped our way.

Make me know Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; For You I wait all the day. Psalm 25:4-5

Simple, but eternal!

 

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Fresh Find: Love this bench.

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Already Done

 

This morning, as we were on our way home from DFW, I decided to find a church service on a radio station. We typically listen to SiriusXM The Message, but I felt the nudge to switch. Here is what God had me to hear.

Do we see what God has already done? 

Have you ever thought about all that God has already done? The battle has been won. God has done it and blessed us, and we are missing it. 

I must share Ephesians 1:

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Praise for Spiritual Blessings in Christ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding,  he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,  in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

 

God opens our eyes when we are willing to see HIM. He blinds us when we aren't. My questions are these; Do we cause the angels of heaven to rejoice in the harvest of our lives; our work here on earth? What has God already given that we are not seeing? How can we create a change to take notice? Do we know we are blinded? Do we see?

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Fresh Find: Fun scarf holder!

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Loss

 

I'm not one that does well with loss. I guess no one likes it much. I battle to control, and when  I enjoy someone being in my life, I find it painful to say goodbye. Our sweet friend, Donnet is being kidnapped by a man named Barry and taken towards the east of our great state of Texas. If you are traveling around mid-June, be on the lookout for a U-Haul truck pulling a trailer with an itsy Mini-Cooper on it, a pickup and a car headed to the promised land! If you see this Beverly Hillbillies duo. Honk and wave and tell him to let her come back now, ya hear!

We will miss you Donnet, the encourager emeritus of our group!

 

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Fresh Find: Hang-O-Matic!

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Gabriels

 

 

 

Oh, how I miss Gabriel's and those I had the opportunity to work with there. We had some good times!


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Nancy

 

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Bonnie

 

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 Nina

 

 

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Helen

 

 

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Juanita

 

 

 

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Vanda

 

 

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Char

 


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Virginia

 

 


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Pat

 

 


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Doris

 

 


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Debbie

 

 


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Vernie

 

 

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Marilyn

 

 


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Sally

 

 

 

Fresh Find: Fun pooh paper & gifts! Seriously, elephant pooh! Mr. Ellie Pooh

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Happy Health

 

I believe that God provided what we need to survive and remain healthy. Our environment creates a barrier, but not enough to hinder God's gift of foods.

Sometime after my mother became ill and died of pancreatic cancer, and that was certainly a wake-up call for me to look closely at what my intake was. Not necessarily because intake has anything to do with having pancreatic cancer, but I suddenly moved into my parent's role of older adult, and I needed to determine what was best for me.

God has always guided me to great discoveries and prunes was the first change I made. Remember, there was no particular reason for the changes I was making other than God leading me to them. I began eating two prunes a day for breakfast with my half cup of black coffee. I prefer the individually packaged ones just because I don't like pulling them apart in a can. I like the freshness provided, too. I had osteoporosis and was on the bottom of that chart. My doctor had started me on a once a month pill that cost bout 300.00. I had taken them for a year or so. They maintained my bone level but did not improve it. I had a bone density test, and my doctor was very surprised that my bones were near perfect. It had to be the prunes. I came home and asked several local ladies with bone loss to try it. They did and found good results, as well. Happy Health 1, accomplished!

I was on an airplane, and my seatmate was a doctor of toxicology studying at Texas Tech. We had a wonderful conversation about her country of origin, Pakistan, and their culture there. We discussed the prune "study, " and she shared with me the about water.  A few years ago I tested bottled water, purchased water from a water stop, and city water. They all tested about the same and within normal for drinkability. She shared with me about the importance of purifying water, and the way she did it in her country was in a copper pitcher. You fill the pitcher (must be pure and not decorative) with tap water or any water really, and overnight, the copper purifies the water. It is like pure, clean water. Yum! Happy Health 2.

This past weekend I had the opportunity to visit an Olive Grove, a Texas one, to boot. This olive grove produced a world recognized first place olive oil. This is quite an accomplishment for Texas! We had an olive oil tasting. Olive oil is good and is loaded with antioxidants that help protect the heart and blood cells from damage. It is also a great pain reliever. I have never tasted good olive oil, but I did, and now, I'm hooked! A really great olive oil has an earthy flavor with a kick at the end. Olive oil typically lasts abut 180 days before it starts to break down. I'm excited that God led me to this discovery for my health. Happy Health 3.

I also picked up some bottles of really, NO, really great balsamic vinegars from Italy; Blackberry-Pear, Rasberry, and Fig-Vanilla. I think that I should drink a bit each day.

I like walnuts, too. I eat a handful with my breakfast. My breakfast consists of water purified in the copper pitcher to wake up my system, two tablespoons of olive oil, the two prunes, a handful of walnuts, a shot of one of the vinegars (or apple cider vinegar) and a cup of black coffee.

Oh, I see an acupuncturist, as well. I am more than happy with my results there.

Happy Health to me! It is a start. I'm thinking about more exercise, too!!! I said thinking. Ha-ha-ha!!!

 

 

 

Fresh Find: Fun bike planters!

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Helping Her Die

 

This weekend I shared a sweet time with a few friends. God was among us. One of the women left the group and came back with a book and said she wanted me to have it. She encouraged me to be sure I read the Introduction.

The title of the book is, What Happens When You Die, A Biblical Guide to Paradise, Hell, and Life After Death, by Randy Frazee. As a group, we were discussing this topic.

His mother died of pancreatic cancer, like mine. Reading this book will be a journey for me.

In the introduction, the first thing that jumped up from the page that God wanted me to see are these words; "It's time for you to shift gears from helping your mom heal to helping her die.'

He goes on to say, "A tsunami of grief spread over me." It did me, too.

I feel it is pretty normal to grieve the absence of those we love. Often, grief plays out before the person passes, when they have an extended and painful earthly illness. Other times, we grieve afterward because the illness takes them suddenly. One grief is no harder than another grief. All grieving is a process.

I felt guilty because I could not make my mother better. I would have loved nothing more than to see her healed. Since I was the one who saw that her skin was yellowed and insisted she go to the doctor, I did feel some guilt. I started the ball rolling and then I could not control it. I wanted answers on how to stop it, but there were none. 

After a year and a half of searching for answers in Plainview, Lubbock, and Dallas, we knew nothing about why she was in such pain. Eight days before she died, we got the diagnosis, pancreatic cancer.

He goes on to say, "I could sense the very fabric of my faith unraveling." I never felt this way. I felt that I saw my faith, what I had learned my whole life, but never experienced, unfold before me. As her chest took its final rise and she released the sustaining oxygen of this life, I knew she was better. It is the most beautiful moment of the end of life, that last breath.

I still have so many questions that I need my mother to answer for me. I am not God, but I am his. He prepares the way for me. I'm fine without my parents because I'm growing in my faith. I'm pretty sure that I have never felt as loved as I do now. In my loss, I gain. It is a choice that I'm glad I made.

I'm excited to see what this book has for my journey. I was so honored to help my mother die. Every exhausting moment, I cherish.

Friends who hear the Holy Spirit and act on it are just the best kind of friends!

 

 

 

Fresh Find: Like this 'hobo' bag.

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