I got a phone call last Friday night. It was my dad calling to tell me that my cousin Shelley had died in a car accident just shortly before he called. It came as quite a shock.
Shelley was one of the friendliest people you could ever meet. She ALWAYS, and I mean always, had a smile on her face. And it was such a sweet, warm, welcoming smile. She always seemed genuinely happy, and she was always very friendly and outgoing. No matter what was going on in her life, you could count on her to be smiling and friendly. She always made you feel at ease.
Shelley's mother shared with us that just two weeks before her death, Shelley had told her that she knew she had the Holy Spirit in her heart, and that although she was not "perfect," she knew she was "right" with the Lord. Hallelujah! Isn't that wonderful! To know that she is in heaven, and even though we mourn her passing from this earth, we know that she is rejoicing with the angels, and meeting our blessed Savior! (for the Bible says that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord!) So I know I will see her again when I get to heaven.
It has taken a while for this all to sink in, and I know I will miss her the most when we have family get-togethers and she is not around. I know her parents and siblings miss her terribly. I cannot imagine the pain they are going through.
The funeral was nice, I thought. The minister did a really nice job with the sermon, and kept pointing us back to the Lord as our rock, our Savior, and our refuge. He sang "Consider the Lilies," and "Sheltered in the Arms of God." Both were very appropriate songs, in my opinion, and very healing to the spirit. I especially love "Sheltered in the Arms of God," although both songs were of great comfort to me. A couple of other songs were played, although the only one I can remember is "I Will Remember You."
Shelley leaves behind two beautiful young boys, both of her parents, and one brother and one sister. She is dearly loved by all. In heaven, she will join her grandpa, and two cousins (both of whom died as infants).
I just wanted to thank the Lord for the absolutely beautiful weather we are having here today. It has been in the 60's all day, and it feels wonderful!! :-) It has been in the 90's here lately, so this cool weather is a welcome relief.
I love it!
I have all my windows open, and I feel the cool breeze, see the wind gently blowing my curtains, hear the birds happily chirping outside, and see my laundry blowing in the breeze. I also have a teeny tiny garden out back that is blooming wonderfully.
Aren't God's creations beautiful, and awesome, and amazing?!! :-)
What a beautiful, glorious day!! :-)
Thank You, Lord! I love You with all my heart!!:-) You're awesome, Lord!
I have been so out of balance in so many areas here lately. I had done so well for a while with a schedule, routine, etc. I don't know when or why all that fell by the wayside. My house became a disaster area, and I got embarrassed to have people over. We just accumulated a lot of "junk" that we didn't have a place for. Then the holidays made it worse, as we had a ton of toys to find a place for.
Well, I'm working on getting things back in order. I have been working very hard on cleaning my house and getting rid of clutter. Yesterday I gave away 6 bags of stuff through Freecycle and to a lady in our church. Small areas of my house are starting to look manageable once again.
I have realized that I exercise very little discipline in my life. I am asking God's help on this, and He is helping me, just like He always does. The part that is hard for me to grasp is that I didn't get this disorganized and out of balance in one day, and it will take some time and will be a growing process for me to get things back in line. but I am slowly getting there.
DH and I had a money talk last night. Oh, those kinds of talks are sooo hard. But we are determined to get back on a budget and get our finances in order. We have both asked for each others help and input on this. I know I need lots of help to become a better manager of our money (and all I deal with is the shopping/groceries - DH handles the rest of the money).
I have also started The Lord's Table Bible study for help with changing my attitude about eating, and my heart is slowly changing.
I have started getting up early to get things done before DD wakes up (I used to always do this).
Things are getting better.
Oh, and by the way, I have a great big praise report!! DH was able to change departments and shifts at work. He is now able to go to church with us on Sundays. Last Sunday was the first week. It is so nice to go to church as a family again! And also to have all day Sunday as a lazy family day between services. DH also said that the guys on this new shift have prayer meetings before work, and that they are a group of really nice Christians. What a blessing. He works in a factory, and most departments you hear cussing and men talking about cheating on their wives all day. So this is a big change, and a very nice one. The new department is also easier work physically.
So, things are going well, and God is helping us with the issues we need help on. If you read this, please pray for us that God with give us wisdom and provide us with a way out of our financial situation. He has always been more than faithful to us, and I believe He will continue to provide for us.
Blessings!!
Mindy
This one's for Strivingforproverbs31!! :-)
7 things to do before I die:
1. Raise godly children
2. Show my husband that he is the most wonderful, awesome man in the world!
3. Hopefully have a whole slew of children
4. Learn to play guitar
5. Learn to play piano better
6. Train my children well in many areas, but especially in loving and serving God
7. Teach my children to love and serve others, and to be a blessing to others
7 things I cannot do:
1. Handle seeing a mouse in my house. I temporarily lose my sanity until the thing is gone!!
2. Manage money well. That is DH's job. He's so much better at it than me.
3. Build a computer from scratch. (Another area that my DH is so good at!!)
4. Bake a double layer cake. (Mine always come out lopsided. So I just stick with putting mine in a 9x13 pan. )
5. Fly an airplane. ;-)
6. Finish one book before starting another. LOL! I am always reading 2 or 3 books at a time, because I'm too impatient to finish one before I move onto the next.
7. Build anything that requires wood, nails, and/or screws. I'm terrible at it.
7 things that attract me to my husband:
1. His love. He loves me "as Christ loves the church." It doesn't matter what I do or how bad I act, my wonderful DH still loves me.
2. His wonderful good looks, and his gorgeous blue eyes!!
3. His muscles.
4. His wisdom.
5. His devotion, loyalty, faithfulness.
6. He is a hard worker and great provider.
7. His deep faith in God.
7 things I say most often:
1. I love you.
2. You're my sweetness.
3. Stop!
4. That's enough.
5. You're my sweet baby girl.
6. How was your day, sweetie?
7. It was so nice to see you!!
7 books I love:
1. My Bible.
2. Created To Be His Helpmeet.
3. Fascinating Womanhood.
4. You Can Be the Wife of a Happy Husband.
5. Your Money Matters
6. Creative Family Times
7. Fix Your Eyes on Jesus.
7 movies I watch over and over:
1. Anne of Green Gables
2. Anne of Avonlea
3. It's a Wonderful Life
4. Dance With Me
5. Sense and Sensibility
6. Emma
7. Pollyanna
7 people I want to join too (some of them may have already done it, I'm not sure):
1. mom2rebels
2. cappuccinosmom
3. HisWillingVessel
4. smfeet2001
5. TamInAz
6. sewingfanatic
7. stackeyha
This was fun!! I didn't think I would be able to come up with anything for the categories, but it was easier than I thought. ;-)
I love, love, LOVE the holiday season and all that it offers and all that it means. I love the lights. I love the Christmas carols. I love buying and wrapping gifts, and finding that "perfect" gift for each person on my list. I love Christmas caroling. I love celebrating Christ's birth. And, honestly, I love opening my gifts, as childish as that may sound. I also love to watch my DH and DD open their gifts, and see their delight if I pick something that they love. 
I pretty much love everything about the season! :D
I am so enjoying the holidays, especially now that my DD is old enough to enjoy it, as well. She loves the tree, the decorations, the lights, the nativity scene, the songs. She's going to be like me. Plus, she is a December baby, which makes it even more special. :-)
But this year I'm also feeling sad. We've had some unfortunate things happen in our church which have made my in-laws feel that they need to leave. This saddens me so very much. I love going to church with them, and it means so much to me to have them there. I'm also afraid my dad and his wife might not be far behind them in leaving. I really don't want that to happen. It has been so special to us to be able to go to church with so many of DD's grandparents. I also am going to have to resign my position as worship leader, which is very difficult to do. I have been praying and struggling over this decision for a while now, and it seems the only thing to do - especially now that MIL and FIL are leaving, as they are the ones who watch DD while I'm leading the music. (DH has to work on Sundays, and only gets to attend church with us on Sunday nights.) This whole situation just makes me very, very sad. I hate for things to change like this. It definitely forces me out of my "comfort zone." It is amazing how easy it is for us to get totally comfortable with our lives, and then it it so hard when things change.
I also get frustrated with trying to schedule our visits to everyone over the holidays. Everyone gives us a guilt trip, and it is so hard to get everyone together at the same time, which is what all of the parents want. It becomes very frustrating trying to juggle everyone's schedules and be wherever everyone wants us to be when they want us to be there. I do love to see everyone. I just hate the way it all becomes such a "hassle" most of the time.
Anyway, I need to think on positive things, and enjoy the good things about the holidays. I really do love this time of year, and I need to appreciate it.
Well, this post was just a big ramble and vent, I suppose, but I feel better for having said it all. ;-)