My mother died on July 25, she had lung cancer and brain cancer. I miss her so much. I can't call her, I can't hug her, I can't see her...... I know she is no longer suffering from the disease that killed her, I know she rests in the Father's arms. I guess I also know that I too can rest in the Father's arms and feel the comfort and strength that only He can give.

Just this week a couple from my church lost their baby girl. She would have been a year old on Friday, but she died on Thursday. After many surgeries to repair her heart, this recent surgery was just to much for her. Or was it? God is the giver of life and He knows when each and every life will end. He is in control of all things, so I would have to say the surgery was not to much, it was enough. God called her home at that moment, just like He did my mother. He was not early and He was not late. I believe this with my whole heart, I cannot grasp the full meaning of it all, but I know He will carry all of us through this time of sadness and sorrow. During the grieving process if we allow God to be the center and our strength we will draw closer to Him and that's not a bad thing!

Did any of this make sense?? One has to wonder!

I just added a comment to a post about how 2007 already seems better than 2006. LOL It looks better and sounds better already! Well I think that every year the Lord gives us is always better than the year before because He is still with us. So many things happen during a year that we: 1) can't remember it all,   2) don't want to remember it all, 3) only remember the good,   4) only remember the bad.  

If we look at it in a different light, we should always be able to say that the past year has taught us something. We have either gone through something and have grown from it or we have gone through something and have discovered we need to grow because of it! I know that the Lord was with me through 2006 and all prior years because He has a plan for me and I am still here! He knows my hearts desires and He is the only one who can help me reach those desires. God is faithful in all things. He is my rock, my fortress, my deliverer and in Him I put my trust. No matter what comes my way in 2007, God is going to be there cheering me on or lifting me up off the ground.  He is forever faithful!! Praise the Lord!!!!!!!!!!!

 I guess I either haven't had much to say, or have just been to busy to say it! LOL

I am waiting for spring to finally give up on the rain and bring forth the flowers! It has been so rainy this year, all winter we had more rain than snow, and now spring is here and we have more rain than sun. I hope that summer brings more sun than rain, but I prefer the lower humidity, but then again at this point I will take what I get. It's not like I have control of the weather!! Praise God that He does, I think He is a better judge of what is needed and when!! Did that confuse you? It confused me!! LOL

Right on time we have started another new year. Did you ever think it wouldn't come? There is no way we could miss it, it comes with as much hipe and hoopla as Christmas, Thanksgiving and all the other holidays.

What is so special about "New Years"? I don't really know, to me it means a new lighthouse calendar on my wall with new pictures to look at for 12 months, it also means I get that big tree out of my living room. I now have room for the family to sit in there together!

As I ponder the question about "new years" I have to admit I have done my share of celebrating in the past. I am older and hopefully wiser now and only celebrate at home with my family. We have all kinds of food, snacks and soda. I basically spent this new years eve reading a book, until a couple of minutes before Midnight, then I watched Dick Clark bring in the New year as usual.

Oh yes that question about New years! Well, I try to look at it like this: I have finished yet another year in my life, A year the Lord blessed me with on this earth. As the calendar changes to 2006 I hope He blesses me with another year of life on earth, maybe this time I will take more time to do whatever I can to bring Glory to Him and reach the lost in this world. How quickly I realize as the calendar changes that I could have done more to bring Him Glory, I could have done more to be a witness for Him. I guess that means that 2005 is a would of, could of, should of year that has ended.

It leaves me with a new year to approach with the same questions and add more questions. Will 2006 be the year I finally get it and do what the Lord wants me to do? Will I finally take the time to reach out to others who are in desperate need of a Savior, Will I finally take the time to tell them that Jesus Loves them so much?

Will I take the time to show my family and friends how much I appreciate them and love them. Will I allow others to love me?

Jesus is Love, I cannot love others if His love is not in me, I cannot receive love in return if His Love is not in me.  I will chase after Him all year if I have to in search of His unfailing Love.

So what's so special about the New Year? It's just a starting over point, I can start from day one and push through 365 days until I have reached my goals but more importantly His goals for me!

I will leave what is behind and press on to what lies ahead!

  Sometimes it is better not to watch the news .... It certainly seems to be so full of depressing things. The 18 year old who killed his girlfriend's mom and dad! The children that are disappearing. Hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, earthquakes ...The list goes on and on.....

The Bible warns us about the signs of the times. Just when you thought it was safe to go outside!

I thank God that He has not forgotten us and He will never leave us! He is faithful!!

Praise the Lord!! 

 Today I had opportunity to pray via IM for my daughter's room mate in college. Her friend is not feeling well at all. The symptoms sound like she is lacking something in her diet or that she is coming down with something.

So I prayed a typed prayer on the IM and sent it to my daughter.....after it was sent I asked my daughter if she felt better yet. She said no, she sent the prayer to her roommate across the room via IM and it hadn't gotten there yet! LOL

I told her it is nice to know that the Lord heard the prayer as it was being spoken (written). So man's technology is no match for the ear of the Lord! I am glad the Lord hears our cries and knows our needs faster than technology.

Today the youth from my church, which consisted of 4 teens, had a bake sale/car wash planned. To raise money for Convoy of Hope. We woke to gray skies and the promise of rain, and that promise came true, it poured! We were fortunate to have the bake sale under the covering at the Grocery store, so we didn't get wet. So with little effort on our parts in 2.5 hours the kids raised $194.00!! This is definately a God thing, there really weren't to many people coming by the tables, but many gave generiously! So what could have been a "washout", came as showers of Blessing!!

     This is the day that the Lord has made, I WILL REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!!!!  

 anyone want to join in on this?

 What a great day to visit the orchard! The weather was perfect! The beauty of God's creation was all around us, what more can a person ask for? My friend invited my 2 children and I to go with her and her 4 children to the apple orchard today. We enjoyed the small petting zoo, with geese that were a little irritated with people looking at them. They were hissing at the kids, and I am sure if they could have reached any of us they probably would have taken a nip at us too! There were 2 goats who would lock horns with each other over food. Chickens and turkeys that were well....just chickens and turkeys! Then we saw the donkeys, so quiet and tame....at least until you tried to feed them! Just like the rest of the critters they tried to push their way in front of the other one to get the food you offered. What love! Oh yes, I can't forget the sheep. They didn't do anything, they didn't even come to the fence, I guess they just weren't interested in the people that were passing by. They were probably thinking see one person you've seen them all!

We took a walk on the trail, of course the kids left us in the dust! So we decided they were old enough to walk alone, we turned around and went back to the beginning of the trail to see if they would notice we were missing! LOL I guess they did notice we were missing, but they didn't come looking for us, what independence!

We didn't pick our own apples, we cheated and bought them from the store there. Nothing better than a good apple picked by someone else! I think it was a great day, and hopefully the kids and my friend enjoyed themselves as much as I did. It's great to put all the cares of the world aside and just enjoy the day the Lord has given.

Now a note about the orchard. The orchard has several varieties of apple trees, but you will notice that there is never just one tree. One tree will not produce much fruit on it's own, if any. One kind of tree can be grafted to another to produce a different type of apple. Some are sweet, some are tart, some are definately sour! To get the greatest apples the orchard picks the best of the best and grafts and nurtures them. Of course we can't forget the bees, they must think they are in heaven when the buds on the trees open in the spring! The have a job to do, and they put their whole selves into their work. The result is a crop of wonderful fruit. Not only do they work hard in the spring, they also enjoy the benefits of fallen apples in the fall. Bees are always looking for something sweet, and the end result of their labor is the sweet juices of the apples they helped to produce. Hurray for the bees!

The body of Christ is like an orchard. We cannot produce great fruit alone. We need others to plant themselves next to us, so that the Lord can use our strengths and weaknesses to grow and mature each other. He grafts us to Himself, and that brings us life. We have something in us that the lost need, and that is the sweet fragrance of the Lord. Whether we are sweet or tart, the Lord can use us to bring Glory to Himself. We need to be willing to produce the best that we can, and plant ourselves next to others who are producing the best they can. Allow the Lord to graft you with like minded believers, and allow the Spirit of the Lord to stimulate good fruit in you. Others will taste and see that the Lord is good!     Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Psalm 34:8      

Today was another beautiful fall day. Not much color on the trees right now, but soon, too soon!

Even the wooly bears are venturing across roads and unfortunately I find myself seeing them too late and running them over. The old saying is the longer the brown stripe on the woolybear the longer the winter. That's one of those things I never remember when we get into the middle of winter. It seems that season is much to long no matter what the woolybears, or the hornets do!

There are times in life when we look to other things to help us cope with what tomorrow will bring. Some look at woolybears to see how long winter will be, I even find myself looking at the squirrels, some say the longer the tail and the bushier it is the harder the winter. One thing is for certain, winter always starts in December and doesn't end until March, how hard it is depends on how ready you are.

This is true with life. We can hope for the best and prepare for the worst. We can be ready for emergency situations or we can expect the other guy to be ready for us. As we have seen on the news lately saying you are prepared and actually being prepared are usually two different things!

Our heavenly Father has prepared a plan for each and every aspect of our lives. He is always ready when we aren't, always prepared to step in and take over. Ever wonder why we wait until things are really bad before we ask Him to take over? We lean on our own understanding.

The Bible makes it very clear that we are not to lean on our own understanding. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6. We need to lean on Him. That leaning comes through prayer, and reading His Word. When we are prayed up and tapped into His Word, it builds our faith and understanding of Who He is and What He has done and Why He has offered each of us peace that passes all understanding. Giving up each day to the Lord will bring that peace that He offers!

    Yeah! I got to add my first friend today!  livin4Him6 Check out her site it's really great!           

 Well it's October 1st, we all know what that means....beautiful colors on the trees (at least where I am), warm sunny days, and not so warm nights.

We know those cool nights are a sign of things to come! Winter, got to love the snow! I can't say that I am such a great fan of -30 temps, but I do like the snow, lots and lots of it!

It seems as though summer just flew by! Ever wonder why it always seems that way? Just when you get used to the hot weather it is gone.

As the calendar on the wall reflects seasons of change, so too do our lives. We all go through many different seasons in our lives. Some are good and others, well ... they may not be as good. One thing we can count on in our seasons of life is that the Lord is in control. He knows when we need to grow and when we need to rest. He knows what is best for us, and never gives more than we can handle!

As Spring brings new, Summer brings growth, Fall brings beauty, and Winter brings rest, so too do the seasons of our lives. The Lord brings new seasons to our lives to teach us. We then grow in the lessons we learn, and they bring forth beauty in our lives. As the season ends, He gives us rest. He knows what we need and never gives us more than we can handle.

As you reflect on seasons you have been through, remember what you learned and use it to grow and bring forth beauty for Him. Give the Lord all your cares and worries, and look forward to each passing season in your life. He knows the plans He has for you .... (Jeremiah 29:11).