Happy New Year! The past two days I've been reflecting on the past year, and how the Lord has brought me safely through it. My meditations did include the blessings He bestowed upon our family as a whole, but I wanted to focus here on His mercy and grace towards me.

The past several years have been pretty rough ones for me in many ways, but I see the goodness of the Lord in them too. It is only through His mercy that I am here today. The biggest thing I learned this year was this: "it's not about you, it's about Him," said to me by a very dear online from of mine. Mrs. Cheese knows who she is.

I want to thank Mrs. Cheese because those words were a life saver to me. During those times that I became discouraged, ore even despondent, and I hate to admit this but there were many days I felt like that, and they still come, her words came back to me, and do come back to me, sometimes to haunt me lol. There were times I didn't want to hear that little voice, and wanted it to go away, lol. But, I am so glad she said them to me because they have never failed to bring me hope, and back to my senses.

The trials the Lord has brought into my life, and continues to bring, are not fun, they hurt. But every day I see more and more how the Lord is taking the crutches, ie the idols I had, and still have, in my life, away so that I am left with the ONLY thing that really matters in this life, and that is HIM. Sometimes I don't think I can be crushed anymore, and then boom - there it is again. Through it all, the Lord has proven Himself to be so faithful, full of grace and mercy.

I want to leave you with two things. First, a reminder that it's not about us, it's about HIM, and HIS glory.

Finally, I want to leave you with this to ponder today, and this passage is 1st Chronicles 16:8-37:

1Ch 16:8 Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples!

1Ch 16:9 Sing to him; sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!

1Ch 16:10 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice!

1Ch 16:11 Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually!

1Ch 16:12 Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles and the judgments he uttered,

1Ch 16:13 O offspring of Israel his servant, sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!

1Ch 16:14 He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth.

1Ch 16:15 Remember his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,

1Ch 16:16 the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac,

1Ch 16:17 which he confirmed as a statute to Jacob, as an everlasting covenant to Israel,

1Ch 16:18 saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan, as your portion for an inheritance."

1Ch 16:19 When you were few in number, and of little account, and sojourners in it,

1Ch 16:20 wandering from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people,

1Ch 16:21 he allowed no one to oppress them; he rebuked kings on their account,

1Ch 16:22 saying, "Touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm!"

1Ch 16:23 Sing to the LORD, all the earth! Tell of his salvation from day to day.

1Ch 16:24 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!

1Ch 16:25 For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and he is to be held in awe above all gods.

1Ch 16:26 For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.

1Ch 16:27 Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his place.

1Ch 16:28 Ascribe to the LORD, O clans of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!
1Ch 16:29 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him! Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness;

1Ch 16:30 tremble before him, all the earth; yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.

1Ch 16:31 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice, and let them say among the nations, "The LORD reigns!"

1Ch 16:32 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it!

1Ch 16:33 Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth.

1Ch 16:34 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!

1Ch 16:35 Say also: "Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather and deliver us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name, and glory in your praise.

1Ch 16:36 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting!" Then all the people said, "Amen!" and praised the LORD.

A PS to my Merry Christmas post

PS - I almost forgot to add something else I wanted to share with you about how the Lord blessed our daughters.

Since April, I have been looking for the perfume, Love's Baby Soft, for my oldest daughter, and could never find it. I used to wear it in high school, so I thought they discontinued it. While we were at Walmart on Saturday, I saw it, and had to buy it for her. So, that was a blessing.

Another blessing was this. Every year I buy our daughters Lip Smackers for their stockings. This year I could not find any at Walmart and was very disappointed. And guess what? Our daughter in law, not knowing I couldn't find them, bought them for the girls. Another blessing.

One last blessing was this - my older daughter wanted a Nintendo DS game. She had it on her list for a relative of ours, but I told her it was too expensive. So I suggested some other things that were much less expensive. She ended up being blessed with one, as well as her sister, from one of her aunts.

Those things were such blessings to me because God met my daughters *wants* and did exceedingly abundantly more than I asked Him for.

Eph 3:20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,

Eph 3:21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Merry Christmas!

This is the first opportunity I've had to wish you all a Merry Christmas. I hope it has been a good one.

This Christmas has been the most humbling, and memorable one for me. Financially it has been a rough year for our family, but the Lord has always provided, and for that I thank Him. Because things have been tight, my husband and I decided he and I were not going to get each other anything for Christmas. We used Christmas money we received from a relative to buy our daughters some things. Plus, they received gifts from other relatives too, so they had three days worth of opening presents. Because we had less money to spend on them this year, we choose more wisely the gifts they were receiving from us due to our being blessed with the Christmas money from our relative.

This caused me to focus completely on the REAL MEANING of Christmas, and that is Christ's birth, so that's what I've been doing this month. I sang Christmas hymns during the week, and pondered the coming of Christ in the form of a baby.

Our son had to work yesterday, and so he dropped our daughter in law and granddaughter off early yesterday morning on his way to work. They spent Christmas Eve with us, including spending the night. Our granddaughter is 3 months old now, and as I held her, I thought of Jesus, and how He had once been a little baby like her.

We washed a load of towels late in the afternoon, and discovered that our dryer broke completely and we couldn't use it. We left our daughters with our son and daughter in law, and went to the laundry mat. It was about 9:00 PM on Christmas Eve. As we pulled up I saw a little girl of about five or six years old inside the laundry mat. My first thought was what was she doing in a laundry mat at 9:00 at night on Christmas Eve. She should have been in bed asleep like all of the other little children who were anticipating Christmas morning. When we went inside, she went outside, and it looked as though she was alone. I went out there because I was concerned about her, and then saw a young woman outside smoking a cigarette, and it turned out the little girl was with her. Then I wondered why a young woman would bring a little girl like that to the laundry mat so late at night, especially on Christmas Eve. Their clothes were still in the dryer when they left for a little while. As we were leaving, I noticed two sandwiches of some type, like from Burger King or somewhere like that. I couldn't stop thinking about them on our way home, and even today.

I did buy my husband one book, which he was not aware of, and it was wrapped yesterday afternoon when he left the house for a bit. This morning I did indeed learn that it truly IS more blessed to give than to receive. On Sunday, one of my brothers blessed my husband and I with a digital camera, and we felt badly because we were not able to get his family much. He has always told us that they didn't give us presents in order to receive one back. They give because they like to. That was something that I did not learn until this morning. My oldest daughter gave me a little knick knack of a girl with a guitar, and she bought me a big Peppermint Pattie. My youngest daughter gave me a coffee mug and another pretty knick knack. Our son and daughter in law bought our family a beautiful puzzle of the Last Supper. My husband, though he said little, was upset that he hadn't bought me anything. At first, for a very brief few minutes, I was a bit selfish, and my feelings were hurt a little bit until I reminded myself that my focus was on Christ, and His birth, and nothing more. God gave me the ultimate Gift when He chose to save me through the Gift of His Son. As I came to that realization, it also came to me that I bought that book for my husband because I WANTED to, simply for the pure pleasure of giving him something he might enjoy.

I was also reminded of the young woman, and little girl in the laundry mat last night. There she was, so late at night, on Christmas Eve, in a laundry mat where it isn't safe to be that late at night, but on Christmas Eve? Where was her husband? Or her parents? Who would let their wife or daughter do something like that so late at nigh, especially on Christmas Eve. Maybe she was a single mother, and had no parents, for whatever reason. I could very well be wrong, but it didn't look like she was going to have much of a Christmas, and here I was a little bit hurt because my husband didn't get me anything. I was so ashamed of myself, and my selfishness. It's not about *me*, but about Christ. I am so blessed by what the Lord has given to me, and blessed me with - a husband, children, a granddaughter, a home to live in, a job for my husband, and that list of blessings could go on and on. But most important to me is the gift of salvation, eternal life, that He has given to me. I pray that my husband will understand that he has nothing to feel badly about, that I gave him that gift because it would bring him pleasure.

I can truly say that I'm thankful for the situation we were in this Christmas because it brought me even closer to the Lord.

I pray that this was a Christmas that brought you closer to the Lord as well.

Hailey Elizabeth's First Picture

Since the birth of our granddaughter, I have had her first picture as the background of my desktop. What I didn't realize was that I had not saved the picture. I had downloaded it from the hospital's website. Last night, I was on Nancy Leigh DeMoss' website and she had some Christmas desktop backgrounds to download. Stupidly, without thinking I downloaded one of them and lost my granddaughter's picture on my desktop completely. The hospital no longer has it on their site. I was so upset, and spent part of last night crying. To the rescue this morning came my oldest daughter. Thankfully, we had saved Hailey's picture on our cell phones, so she sent me an email and I was able to download onto the computer from there. I am so thankful. So I've decided to post her picture here so I don't ever lose it again. Also, this way you get to see a picture of her. She will be three months old on December 17, 2007.

Isn't she beautiful? Of course, I'm not biased or anything, :).

Our best Thanksgiving

I became a Martha Stewart wannabe over the Thanksgiving holidays. I baked a pumpkin pie, sugar cookies, and made fudge. That was a first for me because I usually only make brownies or chocolate chip cookies. I'm a late bloomer, what can I say.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and we've all decided that it was our best Thanksgiving. It was just the four of us, and after we ate, the girls helped our elderly neighbor and her son, put her Christmas decorations up. On Friday, we put our Christmas tree up, and the girls decorated it. They did a great job, and it looks beautiful. We taught Brooke how to play Rummy, so we played that one day. My husband had four days in a row off, which was nice. It was nice because the time seemed to go slowly.

After dinner on Thanksgiving, we went around the table saying what we were thankful for. Besides my salvation, which is what I'm thankful for most of all, I'm thankful for what the Lord has done in my family this year. He has brought us closer together as a family, and in September, He blessed us with a beautiful granddaughter.

He is teaching me to be thankful, and as a result, He is filling me with joy.

A Lesson in Submission

Last night my husband and I went out to eat for our date night. This is something we try to do if not weekly, at least every couple of weeks. It's always an enjoyable time, and it gives us a chance to discuss certain things without our daughters listening in. Because we were going to Target, he suggested we go to the place we normally go, but to a closer one. I like the tea better at the other one so we went there. Afterwards, we drove to Target to buy a roaster for Thanksgiving that they had on sale. I was afraid they wouldn't have one, and we didn't see them at first. My husband went to their customer service counter, talked with someone and I was going to call them today after their trucks came. While he was doing that, I stayed behind to look at tea pots, and things like that. On our way out of that section to head home, his eyes fell upon not only one roaster, but four of them. I was so thankful he saw that.

Before we had gone to Target, we stopped at the grocery store. We were in need of batteries for our card shuffler. I saw some batteries, and he said we should get them at the dollar store because they were cheaper there. We walked out of the grocery store with the batteries.

We have had a headlight out on our van that I had forgotten about. On our way home, as we approached the light where we turn left, I saw on the other side of the road a police car suddenly turn on their blue light. That was the third blue light we saw last night, two others had gotten stopped, and looked like they were in the process of being given a ticket. We talked about how the police officer had ruined both of their nights. So, when I saw the blue light go on, my first thought was how he was going to ruin that person's night. Much to my horror, he did a u-turn. Even then it didn't occur to me that he could be after us because I knew my husband wasn't speeding. As we turned left, suddenly it dawned on me that we had a headlight out, and he might be after us. I hesitantly asked him if the police car was behind us, and he said yes. I couldn't see the blue light on, so I asked him if he saw one, he didn't see one either. We drove a little further, and he still hadn't stopped us. At first, I thought it was because it's a small two lane back road, and there was nowhere really to stop. As you drive further on though, there are new subdivisions being built, so I thought for sure he would stop us there, but he still wasn't. As I stated in my other post, my husband is easy going, and nothing worries him. I, on the other hand, am the opposite of him. I was sitting there with my stomach in knots, wondering how much a ticket was for a headlight that was out, and was thinking that it was the worst possible time to get a ticket. He told me not to worry because if he hadn't stopped us by then, he probably wasn't going to. He added that they usually give warnings the first time. I still sat there with my stomach in knots, until he made another turn a couple of miles later.

After he turned it hit me, and with a sinking feeling I remembered that he wanted to buy a headlight about a month ago when we were at Wal-Mart. Finances were a bit tight then, so I said we needed to wait until we saw how much we had left. We left there without the headlight. With more of a sinking feeling, I remembered the batteries (and that they had them at Target for dollar too I pointed out to him when we got there), and then his suggestion earlier of going to the other place near Target. I was kicking myself inside knowing that I had done it AGAIN. Not only ONCE, but THREE TIMES last night. The Lord used that police car to show me my sin of not submitting to my husband, not yielding to him. I sat there wondering if I was ever going to get it. My disobedience to my husband could have cost us a ticket. I was so ashamed of myself, and have determined in my heart, with the Lord's help, not to do that again. Obeying God, by submitting and yielding to my husband, is much more preferable to me than having my own way, and then feeling ashamed when I sin that way again.

Honoring our Husbands

Honoring my husband is something I've been thinking about alot in recent weeks. I admit that in the past I've done more than my share of dishonoring my husband to others, and am ashamed of it. I repented of that some time ago, and am seeking ways that I can honor him. It's a shame that I didn't learn this until I was in my 40's. One of my prayers is that by the time my daughters get married, they will have learned the importance of honoring their husbands, and speaking well of him to others through my example, however imperfectly I am at doing that sometimes.

The Amplified Version of 1 Peter 3:2 says it this way:

1 Peter 3:2
When they observe the pure and modest way in which you conduct yourselves, together with your reverence [for your husband; you are to feel for him all that reverence includes: to respect, defer to, revere him--to honor, esteem, appreciate, prize, and, in the human sense, to adore him, that is, to admire, praise, be devoted to, deeply love, and enjoy your husband].

I don't know if it's because I've been thinking about the issue of honoring my husband lately, but I've become more aware when wives dishonor their husbands to others, whether it be over the Internet, by phone, or face to face. It's something that bothers me a great deal.

Pro 14:1 Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands. (KJV)

Pro 14:1 The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down. (ESV)

The foolish woman tears her house down, and one way she does that is through dishonoring her husband. Several years ago when I was in my 30's, an older woman was talking to me about her husband, and added "that stupid Jack." At the time, I knew little to nothing about my role as a wife to my husband. But that comment disturbed me, and with that one comment, the respect I had for this lady disappeared. She was well into her 60's, and I never thought about her the same again.

Pro 12:4 An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones.

Which type of wife do we want to be? An excellent wife, one who is a crown to her husband, or one who brings him shame? A wife who builds her house, or one who tears it down with our words, and actions?

I want to publicly thank my husband for being a hard worker, and for being faithful. He works hard so that we can have a roof over our heads, food to eat, and a bed to sleep in. When times have been tough financially, he has worked two jobs so that I could stay at home, and take care of our home, and train our daughters. He's easy going, nothing ruffles his feathers, which is unlike me since I tend to let things distress me. He opens car doors for me, as well as other doors. We celebrated our 18th year of marriage on October 24th, and I can say that I am blessed, and pray that we have many more years together.