Give Thanks To The Lord...For He is Good...

From our home to yours...

A very blessed Thanksgiving.

"They celebrate your abundant goodness
    and joyfully sing of your righteousness..."

 Psalm 145:7

So Very Thankful...

Torrential rains...

High winds...

Coastal flooding...

Downed trees..

Power outages...

On one of the busiest traveling

days of the year...

We are so very thankful today that,

although we lost several big trees,

this one only nipped the corner 

of the chicken coop...

 As I was preparing pies this afternoon

and feeling so very thankful 

for the family that the Lord had

blessed me with...

I came across this message 

that my son, Joshua had written...

And I thought it fitting to share it tonight...

"So tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I imagine that many of my friends will be sharing about their Thanksgiving and what they are thankful for. So, in the spirit of the holiday, I just wanted to share what I was thankful for.

I believe that one of the signs that a man has truly come of age is when he realizes in his heart that he does not know everything. A man's pride is too often the culprit of his downfall...the Word of God says this over and over and over again! A quick example...Proverbs 16:18 says,

"Pride goes before destruction,
And a haughty spirit before a fall."

But Proverbs also has much to say about wisdom. Clearly pride and wisdom are foreign to each other...

"When pride comes, then comes shame;
But with the humble is wisdom." (11:2)

"By pride comes nothing but strife,
But with the well-advised is wisdom." (13:10)

A man does not know everything...he must be willing, with a spirit of humility, to seek the counsel of God first and foremost. Also, he must be humble enough to seek the direction of men of God who have gone before him...his father or his father-in-law, his brothers or brothers-in-Christ, or the elders in the church, just to name a few.

I am thankful for the men of God in my life whom I can confide in. Above all, I am thankful for my Heavenly Father and the promise He made recorded in James 1:5..."If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him."

Wishing you all a blessed Thanksgiving!

A Little Salt...

I'm not certain how it happened..

But I found this terrible scorch mark

on my iron yesterday...

This picture was actually taken after

I attempted to rub it off with a little steel wool...

Which did remove some of it.

Then I remembered something

I had heard a long time ago about

the power of "a little salt..."

This really works well!

Just sprinkle a half cup or so of salt

onto a soft cloth...

Set your iron at the cotton setting

with no steam...

and press until the scorch is gone!

It is truly amazing...

the power in "a little salt..."

"Let your speech be always with grace, 

seasoned with salt,

 that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man..."

Colossians 4:6

In Everything...Give Thanks...

  "Yours, O LORD, 

is the greatness and the power 

and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, 

for everything in heaven and earth is yours.

I Chronicles 29:11

 "Praise the LORD.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever..."
Psalm 106:1




 "Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;
make music to our God on the harp..."

Psalm 147:7  


 


  "You are my God, 
and I will give you thanks; 
you are my God, and I will exalt you..."
Psalm 118:28

"But thanks be to God! 

He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ..."

I Corinthians 15:57

Now, our God, we give you thanks,
and praise your glorious name."
1 Chronicles 29:13

"I (we) thank my (our) God

every time I (we) remember you..."

Philippians 1:3

Never Give Up!

A very emotional week for our family...

My brother, Gary, and his wife, Nancy,

having no children of their own...

Decided early on to treat their
22 nieces and nephews

as their own "babies"...

Nieces and nephews from Gary's side...with mom and dad

They traveled from 7 states...

Vermont, New Jersey,  Maine,

Massachusetts,  Pennsylvania,

Florida, and California...

All 22, gathered together,
  to celebrate Uncle Gary's life...

My brother had two mottos

that he lived every day of his life by...

Time is so precious...
so forgive instantly
and enjoy the people God has 
put in your life..

And,
No matter what...
Never give up.

Both of these mottos
were shared lovingly at
Gary's memorial service...

So, today...
Even though he was discouraged...
After having already spent
hour upon hour over the last two months...
Joshua decided to go out this rainy afternoon
and give it one more try...

This one's for you, Uncle Gary...

"And let us not grow weary of doing good, 
for in due season we will reap, 
if we do not give up..."
Galatians 6:9

When Tomorrow Starts Without Me...

When tomorrow starts without me, 

and I am not here to see
If the sun should rise and find your eyes 

all filled with tears for me,
 

I know how much you love me 

as much as I love you,
And each time you think of me 

I know you'll miss me too.
 

 

But when tomorrow starts without me 

please try to understand,
That Jesus came and called my name

 and took me by the hand.
 

He said that my place is ready 

in heaven far above,
And that I have to leave behind 

all those I dearly love.

But as I turned to walk away 

a tear fell from my eye,
For all my life I'd always thought 

it wasn't my time to die.

I had so much to live for 

and so much yet to do,
It seems almost impossible

 that I was leaving you.

I thought of all the yesterdays

 the good ones and the bad,
I thought of all the love we shared 

and all the fun we had. 

 

If I could have stayed for just a while,
I'd say goodbye and kiss you 

and maybe see you smile.

But then I fully realise 

that this could never be,
For emptiness and memories 

would take the place of me.

And when I thought of wordly things 

that I would miss tomorrow,
I thought of you and when I did 

my heart was filled with sorrow.

But when I walked through heaven's gate 

and felt so much at home,
As God looked down and smiled at me 

from his great golden throne.

He said "This is eternity, 

and all I've promised you,
Today your life on earth is past, 

but here it starts anew."
 

"I promise no tomorrow 

but today will always last,
And since each day's the same here

 there's no longing for the past."
 

So when tomorrow starts without me 

don't think we're far apart,
For every time you think of me

 I'm right here in your heart.

Anon

I love you so much, Gig...

and I miss you...

But I'm so thankful you're finally home...

Rest peacefully in His loving arms

my beloved big brother.

"For if we live, we live to the Lord, 

and if we die, we die to the Lord. 

So then, whether we live or whether we die,

 we are the Lord’s..."

Romans 14:8

She Keeps Me In Stitches...

My sister-in-law knows

how much my mom and I love to cross stitch...

So, whenever she comes up to visit

or when we go down...

She usually has a shopping bag

filled with craft kits for us.

 I love to take these quick little kits

with me when I take my parents

 for their doctor appointments...

You see,

Nancy loves to visit the Senior Center

in her town...

They have a little store

that the elderly ladies run...

Filled with handmade goods

and "thrift" items...

The ladies there know

and love Nancy so much

that they set aside any craft kits

for her to buy when she comes in.

What a treat for mom and I...

We love looking in the bag to see

what treasures Nancy has found...

But, even more,

We love to hear the delightful stories

of the ladies at the Senior Center...

It always brings a smile to our faces

and puts laughter in our hearts.

Currently working on this one...

I'm thinking that,

after I finish up 12 or so,

I might use them as centers 

for the blocks in a quilt...

And let Nancy give it to the ladies

to sell at the Senior Center...

A wintry November morning on the coast...

"Then was our mouth filled with laughter,

 and our tongue with singing..."

Psalm 126:2

Just perfect for stitching by a warm fire...