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January 2018
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March 2018

Calm

 

Another beautiful day of living in Plainview . Texas!!! Blessed!

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A Brew barista was practicing for Sunday's competition. I unknowingly photobombed the shot! Calm. Coffee calms me. I love to arrive at meetings early and read. It takes me away from my responsibilities for just a few minutes.

The Broadway Brew is having a SPRO-Down this Sunday, March 4th @ 5 PM. The cost will be 5 dollars to get in the door. There will be plenty of coffee to drink. The regular menu board will be closed during the competition. It is a fun evening!!! Join the baristas as they compete creatively on their coffee.

 

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Fresh Find: Oh, LOVE this piano!!!

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It's Who I Am?

 
 
I keep up with our family trees, but it drives me crazy. I love to connect and read stories about family. I don't enjoy how confusing it all gets. It also is a never-ending quest, so I don't visit our online genealogy site often.
 
I did have my DNA tested by the two most popular sources. 
 
It's who I am...
 
056
 
 
Ancestry
 
Great Britain 27%
Ireland/Scotland/Wales 27% 
Scandinavia 24% 
The Iberian Peninsula 10% 
Europe West 5%
Europe South 3%
Finland/Northwest Russia 2% 
Caucasus < 1% 
Melanesia < 1% 
Europe East < 1%
 
 
23 and Me
 
British & Irish 68.9%
Broadly Northwestern Europe 22.1%
Scandinavian 4.0%
French & German 3.3%
Southern European 0.8%
Broadly European 0.7%
Sub0Saharan African 0.1%
West African 0.1%
Middle Eastern & North African <0.1%
North African <0.1%
 
 
 
It is interesting to know whence my forefathers came. I wish I were more of a history buff. I'm not though. I like to learn about things when someone shares, but I don't go searching. I honestly just don't make it a priority.
 
Who I am is a child of God. For me, that is what is most important. Moving forward in faith; It's who I am. 
 
I know I would not be me here today, where I am in my life if it weren't for all those who came before me, yet, it is God who instrumented my song. I'm thankful and blessed!
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fresh Find: What a fun cashmere sweater! My kind of sweater!

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Art

 

While starting the artwalk several years ago, it has been my joy to watch young artists develop, perfect and try new styles of art. One student of artist Sally Gubser is Carrie Huang. She is gifted, and it has been fun to watch her bloom in her works. We have a few pieces of her art in our collection. This is the latest piece from her.

From the East coast to the west coast, our patriotism remains steadfast.

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Fresh Find: Love this diaper bag!

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Finger Pointing

 

What if God had not created us with fingers to point? He created us with fingers for good, not bad. We should honor that.

I believe we all have had fingers pointed at us at one time or another. We know how it feels to be labeled as less, broken, or faulty. In my experience of attempting to live in a broken world, I find that I get lots of fingers pointed at me. It may not be a literal finger point. It might be the sharing of information that one has heard from this one or that or taking something I have said and sharing it in a way that it was never intended. It might be building one's self up through another's failure or hurt. Pointing fingers hurts. We have all pointed, and we have all been pointed at by others.

My grandfather lost his pointer fingers when he passed out from alcohol many years ago in a freezing snow storm in New Mexico. People pointed fingers. He had no fingers to use to point. Emotionally, he had traveled a journey that led him to have compassion towards others who were hurting. He ignored the finger pointing and created a ministry in Plainview through Alcoholics Annonymous. He helped hundreds of families stay together. He made a wrong choice, probably more than one, but he took his lot in life, grew a ministry and stepped away from finger pointers. We can do this, too. God is good.

 

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When you use your hand to finger point, you create a little vessel with the remaining three fingers curled into the palm. Three fingers are curled into the palm and the thumb rests on top. When we finger point we need to remind ourselves of what is in our little vessel.

Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. 2 Timothy 2:21

God speaks ...

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”? Hebrews 1:1-14

 

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Fresh Find: Pointing Finger game.

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Well Woman

 

In listening to a study about the Samaritan woman, you know, the one at the well? A few thoughts.

 

I think we often forget that Jesus was humanly relatable. He had been traveling. He was thirsty. Was he thirsty for a drink or was he thirsty for a soul? 

As a follower of Christ, I know that when the Holy Spirit whispers my sin, I become thirsty, not for water but the Living Word of God. It is through a stirring in my spirit that I accepted Jesus. I have a relationship with him. He refreshes me beyond my earthly thirst.

This woman had five husbands. I don't think we know who or why or where they went. It wasn't the five husbands of her past that were the issue. It was the sixth man that was spiraling her deep into sin. We must let go of the past to fully focus on the present and to create the change.

She says, "He told me the story of my life." Jesus simply shared the truth in love with her.

I love these words...

John 4 21a

As the story unfolds, she begins to see that this man is someone special. The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

And Jesus said, "I am he."

When you meet Jesus you know!

This woman, who had been the town gossip, became a witness to the people, men, women, & children. God used her. He took her sorrow and allowed her to shine for him.

A thirsty woman, who did not even realize she was, found herself by Jacob's well being filled with the Living Water!

 

"Woman, believe me."

 

 

 

 

 

Fresh Find: A fun well. Would be great to paint.

Download

 


See you Again, Billy Graham

 

What a day of rejoicing. Billy Graham was a man of action for the Lord. My prayers are with his family and dear friends today and in the days ahead. 

From the time that I was a young girl, I saw that Reverand Graham had a special calling. His sacrificial giving changed lives too numerous to count. 

Perfected completion is known today in his Eternal home.

 Hilton Cavitt Graham Barrows

 

 

 

Fresh Find: Remember these Sonic cup animals? Fun!Bring them back!

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Death

 

 

God has prepared the way for me in every situation. My sweet friend, Nan Ballinger, is in her final hours here. As I have been faced with the deaths of family and friends, it is in the Word that I find victory!

1 Corinthians 15:55-57

55 Hey, Death! What happened to your big win?
    Hey, Death! What happened to your sting?

56 Sin came into this world, and death’s sting followed. Then sin took aim at the law and gained power over those who follow the law. 57 Thank God, then, for our Lord Jesus, the Anointed, the Liberating King, who brought us victory over the grave.

 

We live in a sin-filled world, and our comprehension of life after death is limited. The Word gives hope. When my Mother opened her eyes in eternity, God led me to journal comforting scriptures about the beauty of death.

I find it reassuring that God is the one who holds the secret of my life. He knew me before I was born and he is the one who knows when my life here will be done.  Matthew 24:36, No one knows the hour or the day, not even the messengers in heaven, not even the Son. Only the Father knows.

There are scriptures on each page of the journal, and I don't have space or time here to share them all with you, but God will bring them to you just as he did for me.

1 Corinthians 13:12, For now, we can only see a dim and blurry picture of things, as when we stare into polished metal. I realize that everything I know is only part of the big picture. But one day, when Jesus arrives, we will see clearly, face-to-face. In that day, I will fully know just as I have been wholly known by God.

We know that he prepares a place for us and that we will be in his presence. In Luke chapter 23 verse 43 we read, Today, you will be with me in paradise.

You have made known to me the path of life, you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalm 16:11

1 Corinthians 15:50-53 I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.

What happens after we die depends on what happens before we die. We are all going to die. The choice is ours as to whether we will see clearly.

Revelation 22:14 is such a beautiful picture in my mind. Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. 

I am the resurrection and the source of all life; those who believe in Me will live even in death. Everyone who lives and believes in Me will never truly die. Do you believe this? John 11:25-26

I do.

Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. Jesus said these words on the cross. We read them in Luke 23:46. I desire to live every day willing, open, and ready for action. Holy Spirit lead me.

 

 

 

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Fresh Find: This is a great vintage look Tech mascot sweatshirt!!!

Shopping


Sales

 

My work experience is diverse. By trade, I am a retail shoe salesperson and did some shoe buying, as well. I am a "professional gift-wrapping" guru. I have served as the Hale County Literacy Council Director and was interim Director of the Plainview Chamber of Commerce. I was the children's director at First Baptist Church, and I owned my own custom stationery business, Arissa Designs for several years. I do the marketing for High Plains Concrete, and I volunteer. 

In every situation, God called me to that place. In every situation, I was called to sell. In every situation, I was called to serve. I think so many people who go to their jobs each day are not in jobs that they are passionate about. If we are passionate about our job and we know it is our job to sell whatever it is, from fries to faith, then it will be our desire to serve the customer with gladness. If we want others to frequent our door, then how they are made to feel is of utmost importance. It doesn't matter if we are the boss or the box shucker, we need to remember that without the customer, we are neither.

One of the problems today is that we allow all of the personal drama to get in the way of our joy. It is hard to share joy if we don't have joy. So, how do we get joy?

Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, produced by God's work in us, and it is part of God's will for us. “The Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14:17 NLT)

To have joy allows us the opportunity to serve others with gladness. We can be subservient in our service and know peace. 

When someone seeks help from us, we should ask ourselves three questions. One, do I have what is needed to help this person. Two, what might I do beyond helping them. Three, did I affirm their joy in their selection.

 

God smiles...

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Fresh Find: Simple gold hair barrette, sweet!

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