Guest Blogging

One of my nearest and dearest friends, Beth, over at will I ever wear a white shirt again?  The Messy Journey of a Life Surrendered to Jesus, asked me to guest blog for her this week as a part of her June series on intentional living.  WOW!!!  What an honor!!! 

The longer I live the more I'm convinced that God brings people in and out of our lives for a reason.  He brings people into our lives to grow us or for us to be a part of their growth;  He brings people into our lives to show us something new, insightful, or challenging.  He brings people into our lives to point us to Him and sometimes to simply bless this journey we're on called life.  I am so very blessed by those He's putting in my life--those that challenge me to be a better Christ-follower, better wife, better mom, daughter, sister, friend, neighbor, . . ., those that show me a glimpse of who I am and who I want to be in Christ, those that allow me to be an extension of His grace, mercy, and love, those that love me well and that teach me to love deeper and more authentically.  That's my friend Beth.  She's been such a challenge to me, such a blessing, such a motivator at times.  She makes me think deeper, love longer and stronger, and long to be more like Christ. 

So, to be asked to guest blog--WHAT A BLESSING!! Here it is if you'd like to link up and read what God's teaching me about intentional living with the life He's giving me NOW!!! http://bethwebb.typepad.com/blog/2012/06/guest-post-intentional-living-part-4.html

Choosing!

This past Christmas season we were blessed in our home to discover the devotional book Jesus Calling by Sarah Young.  I have found the words to speak to me RIGHT WHERE I AM as I travel this spiritual journey.  Actually the only way I can explain the deep significance with which the words resonate is that the Holy Spirit allows the words of the author's pen to transcend time and space into my life and to speak directly to my situation as if Jesus Himself were sitting at my kitchen table talking to me.  Just this week I felt God's Word intersect my current, harried, frustrated, frazzled, I feel out of control mindset with such a gentle and soft-spoken word as I read the devotion for June 17.  The author's words reminded me to stop.  To STOP and breathe deeply.  To inhale all that God has and is and will continue to do on my behalf.  To STOP and to RECALL that He is GOD and that He does not need me to be in control.  To STOP and to sing PRAISE.  To STOP and to recognize all the gifts that are mine, even in the midst of sickness, and flood, and dust, and piles of clutter that I can't uncover because I'm living in the middle of a construction zone, and days when I know I'm far past the limit of what I can handle on my own. 

These simple words spoke to me and I thought they might speak to you too.  So I share with you from the author, Sarah Young (Jesus Calling).  "Relax and know that I am God with you.  When you desire My will above all else, life becomes much less threatening.  Stop trying to monitor My reponsibilities--things that are beyond your control.  Find freedom by accepting the boundaries of your domain. . . .  Do not miss the Joy of My presence by carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders."

So today as I give thanks, I am reminded that in our daily life we really do have a choice to make.  We can CHOOSE the joy of His presence or we can CHOOSE the doubt, the depression, the sadness . . . that the enemy would love to fill our life with.  We won't always feel happiness but we can truly feel that deep sense of joy, the knowing that there's someone bigger in control here.  We can choose to look up to the heavens from where our help comes, knowing that we have so much to thank Him for.  And, I choose to believe that when I begin to focus on the THANKS the doubt and the dread begins to demenish. 

I GIVE THANKS!!!

#141  I give thanks for Godly men in my life.  On Father's Day I thought a lot about the men that God placed in my life at different times to guide me from one milemarker to the next.  I'm thankful that God has given my daughters wonderful Godly men to love them, to show them a glimpse of their heavenly father.  These are a few of the men who came to mind:  my dad, my father-in-law, my husband, my brother, Mr. Bull, my pastor when I was a teenager (Troy Finney), my pastor when Jason and I were dating and engaged and newly married (A. J. Alderman), my pastor when Jason and I were becoming new parents and learning how to serve in ministry (Pastor Steven Lester), my Papa. 

#142  I'm thankful when I get to see my girls participate in something they really enjoy like art camp or dance lessons or swimming.  It reminds me how much God must delight as He sees us enjoy the blessings He bestows upon us.

#143  I give thanks for how God puts people at the right place at the right time and then you get to sit back and say WOW!! that was God's provision. 

#144  I give thanks for 3 hours on a Saturday at a block party with total strangers, seeing moms and dads and boys and girls enjoy snow cones and hot dogs and bounce houses. 

#145  I give thanks for the WORD of GOD that is alive and active and sharper than any two edged sword. 

#146  I'm thankful for the truths in Nehemiah that are penetrating my mind and heart with a fresh clarity and challenge.

#147  I'm thankful for fresh zucchini and cucumbers and green onions.

#148  I'm thankful for an updated home study.

#149  I'm thankful for doctors.

#150  I'm thankful for my friend Beth.  If I said this everyday, it would not be often enough.  She blesses my life and challenges me to be a better person.  God knew I would need her during this season and I am thankful doesn't really do it justice.

#151  I'm thankful for fresh paint.

#152  I'm thankful for new shelves in my garage.

#153  I'm thankful for a weekend getaway to Savannah with my hubby.  What fun!!! 

#154  I'm thankful for my two daughters.  I'm thankful for the wonderfully, creative personalities that God has given them both.  I'm thankful for the way they can play together for hours and how they love each other and protect each other.  I'm thankful that they care about the things of God and want to serve Him.  I'm thankful that God has given me the amazing opportunity to be their mom. 

#155  I'm thankful for SUMMER!!!!!  I'm thankful for a God that created the seasons, the planets, the stars, and holds it altogether.  I'm thankful that as I look all around me I see so many signs of an AMAZING creator and yet I know that this same God loves me; He knows me by name and He cares about my every care.  How amazing is THAT!!!!!

15 Wonderful Years. . . For That I Think I'll Say Thanks!!!

Today is no ordinary Thankful Thursday.  It's a monumental day on the calendar of life.  It's a mile marker, a stone of remembrance, a flag raised on this journey of life. . .  It's a day to celebrate life and marriage and love and happiness and choosing to live the covenant relationship that Christ has called us to.  It's a day to say thanks to God for helping us stick it out when the world around us is throwing in the towel.  It's a day to say thanks to God for choosing us for each other, knowing we would need the strengths and weaknesses of one another in this journey toward Christ likeness.  It's a day to say thanks to God for showing us that it's okay to not be perfect, to not have it all together all the time, that it's okay to simply love Him and love others.  It's a day to look at one another and say I love you, and after 15 wonderful years, I'm so glad God gave me you to do this thing called life with. 

So, on this Thankful Thursday, I'm going to keep it short and sweet.  I'm thankful for my husband; I'm thankful for a marriage that is not perfect but a marriage that is teaching me more about Christ and His love, His grace, and His mercy everyday.  I'm thankful for the wonderful opportunity to love and serve my husband and my children everyday.  There is no greater privilege than loving my husband and loving my children well.  I'm thankful that I get the great joy of being married to my best friend.  I'm thankful that we have lots of fun together.  I'm thankful that God is breaking our hearts for the same things.  I'm thankful that while I don't know what the future holds I do know that the God who spoke the universe into existence knows me by name.  He has a wonderful plan for my marriage, my children, my grandchildren, and my great-grandchildren.  And, I plan on growing old with my wonderful hubby (I just don't plan on growing gray--WINK, WINK!!!). 

Happy 15th Anniversary, Jason!!!

BLESSINGS!!!!!

A Month Full of Thankful Thursdays

WOW!!!!  That about sums up this month.  My dad reminded me last night that I have not posted since May 7th.  I can assure you it has not been by choice.  We have had a rather eventful month.  Every Thursday has found me away from my computer, unable to post.  The last time I tried it from my trusty phone that didn't turn out so good.  So, I have continued to look ahead until the next Thursday with my thankful list continuing to grow in light of every little event that we've experienced.  Life sure does catch us by surprise sometimes, but I am so very thankful that it absolutely NEVER catches our amazing God by surprise (#111)

#112  It really doesn't matter how clean my house is, or if every piece of laundry is washed, dried, folded, and put away.  The time I spend with my girls, my husband, my family, and my friends is a gift from God.  I am thankful for each of those moments. 

#113  I am thankful for days when no one is sneezing, coughing, vomiting, having a headache, or (you fill in the blank).  We really do take our health for granted.

#114  I am thankful for Dr. Pepper and Happy Hour at Sonic.

#115  I am thankful for pool days once again!!!!

#116  I am thankful for dance recitals and choir musicals.

#117  I am thankful for friends like Beth who will take the time to have her precious daughters record and send a special video to my sick little one in the hospital just to brighten her day.

#118  I am thankful for a message like this sent from many miles away--"I wish I was there to make sure you were taken care of."  God blesses our life with special friends who understand the depth of that kind of message only a few times in our life. 

#119  I am thankful for health insurance. What a blessing to owe only a small price for such amazing health care!!!!  Five days in VCH is not cheap.  Insurance is a blessing.

#120  I am thankful for a husband who works hard, loves selflessly, laughs with us daily, enjoys being with us, chooses to like our hobbies/interests, . . .  the lists goes on and on.

#121  I am thankful for my daddy!!!  He came to sit with me while Anna Claire was in the hospital just so I wouldn't have to be alone so Jason could continue to work.  He loves his kids and grand kids. 

#122  I am thankful for suffering.  God teaches just how BIG He is, just how much He is into every detail of our life, just how much He can be trusted, just how much His ways are higher than our ways, just how much He loves us.

#123  I am thankful for Kim, Chris, Kathryn Grace, and Christin Faith.  They are like family to us.  What would we do without them?!  I can't begin to imagine.  For five days our oldest daughter lived with them while we made sure our youngest was taken care of in the hospital.  Not one time did I have to wonder if she was safe, protected, fed, bathed, loved, . . .  Friends like that are a treasure.

#124  I am thankful for doctors and nurses, housekeepers, IV techs, dietary/nutrition staff--every single person who crossed our path at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital.  I am thankful for the care that we received that restored our precious daughter to full health.  I am thankful for the guiding hand of our Great Physician.

#125  I am thankful for a successful year of homeschooling.  I couldn't be prouder of the progress of Carrington and Anna Claire.  They both worked so hard.  God rewarded their efforts; He expanded their knowledge; He grew them spiritually, emotionally, physically, and mentally. 

#126  I am thankful for friends who visited AC or sent her a special little treat to brighten her days in the hospital.  She was BLESSED beyond what words can truly say.

#127  I am thankful to be a mom!!!!

#128  I am thankful to be on the journey toward adoption even on days when the path seems rugged and steep, days when the path seems covered in quicksand, days when the path seems like where trudging through mud. 

#129  I am thankful for summer Bible study in the book of Nehemiah.

#130  I am thankful for the sacrifices of men and women in uniform, past and present.

#131  I am thankful for my mom.  I am thankful that when I was a teenager she was my friend, not my enemy, that she was willing to listen to me, that she had time for me. 

#132  I am thankful for food, shelter, clothing, and love.  The simple things in life are often so very easy to overlook.  Today I got to eat Mexican--one of my favorites.  I get to sleep in a comfy bed tonight.  I had a choice of what to wear today, and I have the amazing opportunity to love and to be loved by many.

#133  I am thankful for my friends from Los Trojas, amazing how God binds your heart to those who aren't just like you, across language barriers, just by investing a little time in building relationships.

#134  I am thankful for Bill and Sharon Z. and their leadership in our church in the lives of young families.

#135  I am thankful for Barbara and Bill and how they love our family like we were their children and grandchildren.

#136  I am thankful for a weekend in the mountains with Meme and Grandpa.

#137  I am thankful for a garden full of plants just waiting for a harvest of fruits and veggies.

#138  I am thankful for Shonda and Neil and how they make me laugh hysterically and how they jumped right in to help take care of Carrington on the day AC was so sick.

#139  I am thankful for dance teachers who would make AC feel so special by sending her the cutest pink pig and tiara craft kit to the hospital.

#140  I am thankful for Kelly.  A long phone conversation with her makes everything seem okay!!!  She loved us so well when my sweet girl was in the hospital.

WHEW!!!  I'll stop here for this week.  I feel like I could go on and on forever.  I have so much to be thankful for.  I don't want to cease to notice every detail in my life that really is a gift from the Father. 

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good!

His faithful love endures forever.

Psalm 107:1

Thankful from a Bench in DisneyWorld. . . Or Maybe Not!

I originally wrote this post on Thursday as I sat on a bench in Disney right in front of Cinderella's castle.  However, as you know, technology can sometimes be difficult.  And, after writing the whole thing, it didn't post exactly right, so it was deleted, and here I sit.  Not, on a bench in Disney, but in my bonus room/school room, back at home, returning to the everyday routine of life, reflecting on what I would like to add to my thankful list.  So, here it goes. . .

103.  I am thankful for a week spent making memories with my family. I'm thankful for laughter sometimes with each other, sometimes at what we saw happening around us (but never at the expense of others), sometimes at what one of us said (often Anna Claire because that kid is absolutely a stand-up show all by herself!!!), sometimes at what one of us did (that could have been anyone of us at any given late night hour--bless the poor guy whose foot I ran over with the stroller--the look on his face was priceless but his immediate response of  "it's okay, I still have a finger!" was good enough for camera!). . .  I'm thankful for seeing the magic in my daughters' eyes, the magic to believe, to imagine, and to dream!


104.  I'm thankful for a reminder just this morning of God's protection and provision, that what we see as a closed door and as something painful is often His watchful eye.  We may not always see that at the time, but down the road we will nod our head in agreement knowing that God always works for our good!


105.  I am thankful for air travel.  How amazing is that!!!!  I am thankful that we made that trip to Orlando in just a couple of hours.  I absolutely do NOT like long car rides.  That short little plane ride was delightful!!!!


106.  I am thankful for my friend Sharon and her wonderful sense of humor.  She has a unique way of making me laugh and a way of helping me see the lighter side of some pretty intense situations.  I am thankful that God knows who we need in our life and who will help us carry some of our heavy loads.


107.  I am thankful for my nephew Slade.  His sweet little voice and his cute facial expressions melt my heart.  I love the way he says the names of my girls and myself and "Uncle Jase."  He's a keeper!!!  What a blessing he is!!!


108.  I am thankful for my mother-in-law and my father-in-law and how much they love their family.  They love to love us.  They find great delight in giving of themselves.  They want to help us in anyway possible and that means a lot.  Jason and I are so blessed with wonderful parents who loves us and love our children.  We have a remarkable spiritual heritage and we are better people because of it.  We are blessed!


109.  I am thankful for Monday night outreach.  I missed going last week and I can't wait to go tonight.  What a joy it is to see those same sweet faces each week and to share life with them!


110.  I am thankful for the women in my Bunco group.  They lift me up.  They bring fun and laughter to my month. 


111.  And, if you're reading this post, I am thankful for you!!!!  Thankful that you are a part of my life.  Thankful that you are investing in me and my family in some way and that God has given us the opportunity to share this remarkable journey called life.  Let's live it to the fullest!!!!

86, 400 Seconds, 1440 Minutes, 24 Hours=One Thankful Thursday

God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today.  Have you used one to say "thank you?"
~William A. Ward

I'm CHOOSING to thank God today for all the wonderful gifts in my life.  I'm CHOOSING to see, hear, smell, taste, and feel the fullness of where I am right now, not missing even the smallest blessing that flows from His hand.  I'm CHOOSING to be JOYFUL on the JOURNEY!!!! 

We all have only 1 life to live.  Do the math!  How many seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, years are behind you?  What's possibly ahead?  How will we invest them?  

91.  I am thankful for getting to hug the neck of my friend Beth and her three sweet daughters.  Oh, how cute she's looking preggo with her first little boy!!!!  The hug and a few minutes of face to face, in the same room, able to hug each other conversation will carry me for a few months at least.  :)

92.  I am thankful for friends around the country who are passionate about sharing the Gospel, reaching people for Christ, going into places that others aren't going, doing church in ways that others aren't doing it to reach those who aren't being reached.   I am thankful for Tiffany and Jeremy in Florida, Buck and Beth in Wisconsin, Shawn and Brooke in Missouri/Arkansas. . .  Thanking God for their passion, love, commitment, sacrifice, example, perseverance, faith, . . .

93.  I am thankful for VACATION!!!!  While I do like the routine, the consistency, the familiarity of our life, I'm always thankful for the interruption of a VACATION!!!  I am thankful for the time to enjoy making memories with my husband and daughters, to focus on nothing but their laughter, their smiles, their pure enjoyment of life. 

94.  I am thankful for our adoption caseworker, Kelli.  She is so kind and considerate as she walks us through each step of this roller coaster of a journey.  She's reassuring; she's committed to the Biblical concept of adoption; she's conscientious and does her job well.  We're thankful to have her in our life.

95.  I am thankful for a God who sees the bigger picture when I only see the here and now. 

96.  I'm thankful for friends who remind me that God is always working on our behalf and that the fulfillment of promises may not come quickly but they will come perfectly.

97.  I'm thankful for accountability.  I'm thankful for friends who love me enough to want to see me stay the course, finish well, and enjoy the journey along the way. 

98.  I am thankful for the promise of summer break!!  Our co-op is already finished and we only have a couple weeks of home instruction left.  WooHoo!!!!  Bring on the summer fun!!! 

99.  I am thankful for time spent with some wonderful ladies at Morning Pointe.  I'm thankful for seeing those ladies love on my girls and for seeing my girls love on those ladies.  WHAT A BLESSING!!!!!

100.  I'm thankful for a mom and dad who loves their family with such love and devotion that it amazes me.  I'm thankful that they would go to whatever lengths necessary to make sure we are okay.  I'm thankful that they taught me you don't have to "be rich" to "be rich".  I'm rich in soooo many ways because of the commitment they made to each other and to our family a long time ago and they have stayed that course!!!  Thanks be to God!!! Thanks to a great Mom and Dad!!!!

101.  I am so thankful for my six year old prayer warrior.  If she tells you she will pray for you, then you can know with certainty that you're name is being called out to the Father.  She humbles me as I listen to her prayer, reminding me that Christ really did say, "You have not because you ask not."  I am thankful for the compassion and concern I see in her life for those she knows are suffering. 

102.  I am thankful for how my ten year old got to witness firsthand this week that God sometimes just surprises us!!!  He will send us an unexpected blessing, something that He knows will thrill our heart.  He knows His children, He knows the desires of our hearts, and He wants to give us good gifts!!!  Thankful for sweet friends who allowed God to use them to bless her with what was probably the highlight of her year--a trip to hear her favorite Christian artist, Francesca Battistelli!!!!   She was oh so thankful!!!  She couldn't stop smiling--literally! 

Sometimes God really does just send us little blessings, doesn't He?  Sometimes???  I think He does this much more often than any of us realize.  Are we looking?

Give Thanks, He is Good, His Love Endures Forever!

I'd like to start this "Thankful Thursday" (I know, I know!  It's actually Friday!) with a Psalm.  Would you take the time to read this Psalm.  Would you think about what your story is?  What can you thank the Lord for?  How has He shown Himself good in your life?  How has He proven His enduring love?  The psalmist exhorts the redeemed of the Lord to tell their story.  Surely, we all have a story to tell.  I would imagine that as you read this Psalm you could nod your head, give a shout, proclaim an "Amen, brother!" because I am certain that ever "sinner saved by grace" has a story.  We've all traveled similar roads.  As I like to say, we all have stuff.  It might look a little different, might be clothed in different attire, it might have grown up on a different street on a different side of town, it might have happened to us or happened because of us or it might have happened in spite of us, but we all have a story.  And thank the Lord, He has a beautiful way of redeeming our stories, of taking what Satan would have used for harm and turning it into something amazing, wonderful, a true masterpiece.  Truly, His love is unfailing.  His deeds are wonderful.  He has been more than merciful to me!

Psalm 107

 ¹ Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
   his love endures forever.

 ² Let the redeemed of the LORD tell their story—    

those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,

³ those he gathered from the lands,

   from east and west, from north and south.

 ⁴ Some wandered in desert wastelands,

   finding no way to a city where they could settle.

⁵ They were hungry and thirsty,

   and their lives ebbed away.

⁶ Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,

   and he delivered them from their distress.

⁷ He led them by a straight way

   to a city where they could settle.

⁸ Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love
   and his wonderful deeds for mankind,

⁹ for he satisfies the thirsty

   and fills the hungry with good things.

 ¹⁰ Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness,

   prisoners suffering in iron chains,

¹¹ because they rebelled against God’s commands

   and despised the plans of the Most High.

¹² So he subjected them to bitter labor;

   they stumbled, and there was no one to help.

¹³ Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,

   and he saved them from their distress.

¹⁴ He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness,

   and broke away their chains.

¹⁵ Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love
   and his wonderful deeds for mankind,

¹⁶ for he breaks down gates of bronze

   and cuts through bars of iron.

 ¹⁷ Some became fools through their rebellious ways

   and suffered affliction because of their iniquities.

¹⁸ They loathed all food

   and drew near the gates of death.

¹⁹ Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,

   and he saved them from their distress.

²⁰ He sent out his word and healed them;

   he rescued them from the grave.

²¹ Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love
   and his wonderful deeds for mankind.

²² Let them sacrifice thank offerings
   and tell of his works with songs of joy.

 ²³ Some went out on the sea in ships;

   they were merchants on the mighty waters.

²⁴ They saw the works of the LORD,

   his wonderful deeds in the deep.

²⁵ For he spoke and stirred up a tempest

   that lifted high the waves.

²⁶ They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths;

   in their peril their courage melted away.

²⁷ They reeled and staggered like drunkards;

   they were at their wits’ end.

²⁸ Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,

   and he brought them out of their distress.

²⁹ He stilled the storm to a whisper;

   the waves of the sea were hushed.

³⁰ They were glad when it grew calm,

   and he guided them to their desired haven.

³¹ Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love
   and his wonderful deeds for mankind.

³² Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people

   and praise him in the council of the elders.

 ³³ He turned rivers into a desert,

   flowing springs into thirsty ground,

³⁴ and fruitful land into a salt waste,

   because of the wickedness of those who lived there.

³⁵ He turned the desert into pools of water

   and the parched ground into flowing springs;

³⁶ there he brought the hungry to live,

   and they founded a city where they could settle.

³⁷ They sowed fields and planted vineyards

   that yielded a fruitful harvest;

³⁸ he blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased,

   and he did not let their herds diminish.

 ³⁹ Then their numbers decreased, and they were humbled

   by oppression, calamity and sorrow;

⁴⁰ he who pours contempt on nobles

   made them wander in a trackless waste.

⁴¹ But he lifted the needy out of their affliction

   and increased their families like flocks.

⁴² The upright see and rejoice,

   but all the wicked shut their mouths.

 ⁴³ Let the one who is wise heed these things
   and ponder the loving deeds of the LORD.

73.  I am thankful for navigation systems.  It is so nice to know that I can travel safely and know where I am going.  What an amazing invention!  God gives man such amazing intelligence to think, plan, invent!

74.  I am thankful for a wonderful day spent with my children and a friend and her children.  We enjoyed a wonderful field trip to the Space and Rocket Center exploring and learning.  What fun!

75.  I am thankful for mercy--where would I be without it!

76.  I am thankful for mistakes-it's through mistakes that we learn the most.

77.  I am thankful for news from a friend that she's having a baby boy!  That little prince will be one spoiled little boy, coming into a house with three princesses!

78.  I am thankful for God's healing touch on my mother-in-law and my father, both recovering from surgery.

79.  I am thankful for on-line worship services.

80.  I am thankful for a God who understands everything about me and loves me anyway.

81.  I am thankful for the life of Peter, knowing that even mess ups don't exclude you from God's work.

82.  I am thankful for 3 hours of drive time in a car, all alone.  QUIET!!!!  Time to think, to ponder, to listen, to reflect, . . .

83.  I am thankful for praise music.  Where would I be without my music?  Sometimes when I don't know what else to do, I can simply worship!

84.  I am thankful that God's plan can not be thwarted by man.

85.  I am thankful for avocados--yummy!  These have become my favorite afternoon snack.  :)

86.  I am thankful for my friends at the Mexican restaurant--Gustavo, Rosie, Omar, Ulma, Jessica, . . . 

87.  I am thankful for the opportunity to shop for outreach ministry and imagining what it will be like to use the materials with children and adults, imagining laughs and smiles as we interact.

88.  I am thankful for a friend named Lana who PRAYS for me!

89.  I am thankful for memories of my granny who was my best friend when I was a little girl.  She taught me so much.  She taught me to love life, to love God, to dream big, to love people, to love cooking, to love cooking for people, to love sharing a meal with your family, to love sharing a meal with friends, to love sharing a meal with new acquaintances and old friends alike, to love on ALL the people that God puts along your path. . .  I miss her so very much but I am sure that she is still very much a part of so much of my life and that I will get a chance to dine with her again one day.

90.  I am thankful for playing basketball and jump rope and riding tricycles and motorized Barbie jeeps with my nephew, my girls, my parents, and my husband late on a Friday afternoon.  What joy is found in the simple things in life!

God is Good!  His Love Endures Forever!!!