And 2018 Begins.

Happy New Year!!! Since we are only halfway through the first month, surely I'm not too late. I made my "resolutions" for lack of a better word, and am working on my life. So thankful I am so blessed that resolutions are something I can focus on because I don't have to worry about my basic needs. So thankful.

In the recent cold snap...heck, deep freeze!...I gave thanks for a protective and warm shelter, warm electric blanket, and running water when I woke up in the mornings. I'm hoping I don't have frozen pipes this morning as I forgot to leave a faucet dripping! I have yet to figure out how you people in the north survived crazy cold winters and don't have frozen pipes. Baffled. Beyond my comprehension.

 So what have I been up to, you ask? Because it's obvious it hasn't been blogging. Last year was a tough work year. What should have been our down year, recuperation time, reorganize and get the office back in order year, became one of the busiest years I think I've ever experienced there. Including an election on Halloween!!! And the week of Thanksgiving! But my sweet nieces came to see me at work so I wouldn't miss out. Little Miss trick or treated from desk to desk.

I've spent my downtime exploring many interests, including family history and genealogy. I find this fascinating! This pic, my great grandmother and brother sitting on the porch of the house I live in now.  Wonder if the paw prints were in the concrete at this point or if it was repoured at some point. Anyway, I've hit a roadblock on my great great grandfather that will take some real digging and hopefully that will crack the case.  Although this is a "big" election year, I still think it will be less crazy than last year. So i should be able to find time to take some days off and Visit the historical center. I'll let you know if i figure it out.

Y'all, I started this entry early yesterday morning, having no idea what had happened overnight.  Our police officers were ambushed, four sent to the hospital.  One barely hanging on to life.  I'm not sure why it is settling so heavy on my heart, but it definitely is. I am familiar with two of the officers through my work.  Even if i weren't, the images in my mind of the chaos, fear, adrenaline, grief, anger, confusion...the families at home having no clue anything had happened.  Or maybe listening to it unfold over a scanner, and feeling so totally helpless.  My heart physically hurts for the officers, their family and friends. Please pray for them and especially for officer Doty.

Thanks y'all.

No More Tit-for-Tat

Gracious there are times when the Lotd, quite simply, grabs your attention. Not always through some magestical way, but sometimes in the quiet of the morning. I've been very slack in reading and praying through the chaos of my life lately. As I wrote to one friend - does it look like everything is going well in my Facebook posts? - yeah, that shows you how deceiving Facebook is! And for some reason, I shut down when the going gets tough, instead of reaching out to God. And that brings on anxiety. What a vicious circle.

So this morning, after several nights of no sleep, I'm awake in my dimly lit bedroom, reading the Girlfriends in God devotional that I've been ignoring forever. Today's message was good, about those God moments where the overwhelming desire to praise Him can occur in any life moment. And they said to read Psalm 63. 

I opened my Bible app and the verse of the day appeared. I usually glance at the first lines that show but rarely click on it To read the entire passage. Today I clicked. 

“To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer for that person. If someone slaps you in the face, stand there and take it. If someone grabs your shirt, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously. (Luke 6:27-30 MSG)

Two things stand out - (1) To you who are  ready for the truth. (I am often not! And therefore the Lord's message will not be revealed until we are ready!) and (2) If someone takes unfair advantage of you, practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Wwwhhhoooaaa. That's definitely not what society teaches us!! Living the servant life - no society teaches we live to be served. It's ME driven. Not THEE driven. 

So this concept of a servant's life keeps popping up in various places for me. Enough that I am recognizing this message. I pray I can have a servant's attitude because it's definitely not what I currently have. But it is what the Lord wants. 

Continue.

I told you I would come back to my Edisto photos... I just needed a little time. Here are some pics that came from my real camera (vs. my or mom's cell phone).

Sweet Niece #1 hanging with the frog at the aquarium

Baby sweet niece

Preteen sweet niece

Sister Love! 

My sister and the youngins 

Little girl LOVED the beach

There you have it - sweet nieces on the beach.  We got so many great photos of the girls I see many photo frames in the future, filled with beachie pics.  :)

So on a totally unrelated note, I read a devotional this weekend about being encouraging to those around us.  You know - Don't be a hater, be a celebrator! It really hit home for me because I know I'm very judgemental. I may disguise my comments so very slightly but the receiver knows it's some kind of a put down, disapproval, etc. Basically, it's not making the person feel better.  How ugly is that? Why would I want to be that kind of person? So I'm trying to stop these types of words coming out of my mouth. It's slow. I'm not sure I'm seeing improvement yet, but it's so heavy on my heart I do believe I can improve. It's like now that I've had my attention drawn to it, I really see the ugliness in it and I want to clean it up. So pray that I change. :)

Ya'll go have a great week. :) I'll see you back here in a few days.