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.

The Right Thing?

I am so dang stressed and I'm trying not to be. Why? A few reasons but probably at the top of the list is my car. And the guy that hit it. Sigh. Older fella, had his grandson in the truck with him and was going through the Mickey D's drive thru. It's one of those split drive thru concepts where I was on the outer ring and he the inner. As I pull up and stop behind someone waiting to pay, he pulls forward and pulls forward and crruunncchh. Into my drivers side back door.

It wouldn't be so bad if 1- it didn't go down through all layers of paint and 2 - if I had a color easier to blend. Both repair companies said the same thing. Ugh. 

He freaked out and jumps out, wanting me to settle outside of insurance. Ugh. I don't do stuff like that. But after an hour of him pacing and begging while we waited on the cops (I'll be honest, he intimidated me!) I said I'd consider it and call over the weekend. 

This was Friday afternoon. I gathered as much into as I could for a Friday afternoon but wasn't quite finished. I didn't call over the weekend (bad me, I know) but wasn't ready to make a decision. Monday (today) I was able to see another company for a second estimate and talk to my insurance agent (adore her!).  

Holy smokes this man showed up at my workplace and for another 30-45 minutes went to talking nonstop. He'd borrow the money. He has a friend that could fix it cheaper. He and his wife were on limited incomes. They were raising his grandson. Listed allll the ailments if every person. Admitted they would probably take his license because of all the wrecks he had while on painkillers. But then he found the Lord. And I was invited to his church. They have a great preacher! I mean, I was tired of hearing him talk. 

So I gave him a month to get together the money and no-I'm not accepting $50 at a time for $800+ of damage. Then he tried the tactic of - well, you probably have a $500 deductible ... Sir, my insurance isn't paying. Yours would. ... Oh yeah, well, I heard even if you aren't at fault your insurance could go up... No sir, my insurance will not go up. 

Can you see why I have a headache? I really want to file with insurance because I'm lazy. But I am trying to do the right thing for the little damage that was done. But I seriously feel like he's going to run out on this and try to leave me with the bill. And I told him I'd call back tonight with an estimate on rental cars. Ugh. 

So I left work early, came home and enjoyed a three hour hot bath. Not that it solved my problems but I swear, it helped. 

Any thoughts on this situation? Because I can tell you, my dad thinks I'm nuts and that I should file with insurance to be done with it. Man it would be so much easier or to do it that way. I'm not sure I'd ever agree to something like this again. 

Sigh. 

Let's look at happier, more fun times! Like a few of my coworkers and I went to conference in Myrtle Beach (let's not discuss how cold it is in January!!!) but it was fun. Really enjoyed my villa-mate. We are Hot Tamales!! Hahaha!!! 

This lady will crack you up! Had some great convo with her, as well. Love good talks. 

Came home to this sweet thing, that I missed so much while I was gone. She is what makes me home sick when I'm away from home! ❤️

My happiness meter was overflowing when I took half a day from work (on my first day back from conference) to babysit these cuties!!! 

Can we say TEETHING?! Poor fellas. But oh they are soooo snuggly! Growing so fast! I love every moment I get with them. 

Holy smokes, as I'm typing this, I just made a sale on Etsy!! That's two for today(which is unheard of). Wow, I'm excited! I sewed like a madwoman this past week, trying to up my stock. Looks like that was a good thing :) 

Some of my bibs in the store I sell them. Spent part of Saturday working on inventorying all I had for sale there to better track everything. 

Totally missed the super bowl and its commercials. That's another story that we'll just skip for now. But look at all these great times!! These blessed moments!  Life is good and I needed to take a moment to realize that. Thank You, Lord, for all You have given me. ❤️ 

Wrapping up the Birth Month

September has been wonderful, y'all! Loved the many blessings and celebrations - it's been one thing after another that I'll claim as a birthday celebration.

      My family, minus Roger and Aliah

Gifts on my doorstep night after night, beautiful star-filled evenings to greet me as I got home late, visits with friends and babies, it's just been so wonderful! 

Thanks to everyone who has been a part of it :) Truly thanks for making September and year 41 so special!

Nobody gets as excited about birthdays as much as this girl! Well, except for maybe me! 

It's been difficult and confusing, too. I live just South of Charlotte so seeing that situation play out on the local news... It's so hard to understand how totally destroying a city can be perceived as the answer. Hurting other innocent people cannot improve the situation. I hope and PRAY tonight is better and calmer. Thanks to all who have worked to bring peace to the city, to those who have prayed for peace. 

And work kicked into overdrive already, which is exhausting. For all of us. Therefore, sometimes those frustrations, stressors, and such are taken out on other coworkers. Pray for that, too. Because when it happens, cool heads are often difficult to maintain. 

I've been in a pillow making mood. These two are for mom - the Christmas pillow came first, the second is an autumn pillow. I love creating and trying new patterns. Glad I got these done before work became too chaotic. 

....and I've been sitting on this for who knows how long. :). That's what happens when you work in an elections office and it's a Presidential year. Sorry y'all. 

Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Crazy Cat Ladies...

Ya'll, I'm just happy right at this moment.  I'm not sure why - but I'm kinda wrinkling my nose and smiling.  Maybe because I feel accomplished at work: I'm getting the job done and feeling like I'm doing it well.  I'm managing some folks under me that will help take the load off by covering training classes for me and I just held an honest to goodness meeting where we covered everything I wanted to cover and it went smooth.  Let's hope that continues next week when they start teaching. :)

I'm also happy because I have a FITBIT! I'm so not into technology - I don't have internet at my house and the computer is so old I'm shocked it works.  Well, it used a modem to get online at some point but lightning fried that so... yeah anyway.  Fitbit.  I went to the DR and he basically said - your A1C is 6.5 and that's the threshold for medicine.  UGH.  HORRIBLE NEWS! Not what I wanted to hear at all!

Since 2014, I swear that June election tried its best to kill me.  Seriously.  Two ER visits. Thought I was having heart attacks.  I now have stomach issues.  I went from 2 medicines too 6 meds to try and get everything leveled out.  So when he said more meds, I just wanted to cry.  I knew I'd been being even worse than usual.  I really did.  I could feel it sucking the life quite literally out of my body.  But please no more meds.

So we made a deal - 3 months to get my life back in order and healthier.  I did something I so rarely do - I spent money on me. A Fitbit Alta and I love it.  I am not walking as much as they tell you to walk, but I'm walking more than I ever have been.  One of those reasons I'm happy today - I found a place to walk that is usually empty-ish, air conditioned, and big enough to make some laps around it and you know you've accomplished something.  They have a gym, too, so I'm hoping I can hit it after work a few days a week.  Free Free Free! (Part of the training for the police officers).  So I went on my lunch break today and did several laps before having a salad and chili for lunch. I'll keep you posted on how this continues.

Of course, it was Mother's Day this weekend.  The first picture is Macy and Katie, ready to go to church. I thought they were just so cute and we were late because I insisted on pictures. :)  But it is a great photo of them.  Below that is Katie, Macy and Mom - the three generations photo.  This one also needs a frame! I love it! Katie and Roger added a nice deck to the side of their house and bought patio furniture, this covered swing and a grill.  So Roger grilled for everyone for Mother's Day and it was DE-LI-CIOUS.  The weather was great, it was so relaxing.  Very thankful for a good day with family.   The picture below is what I made my profile photo for Mother's Day - me, my mom and my grandmother.  Another three generation photo from way back yonder.

My friend, Raynore - ALWAYS remembers me on Mother's Day.  It's really awesome, actually, because there isn't an Aunt's Day or anything like that.  But I so very dearly love my nieces and nephews and spend a lot of time with them (at least Macy right now! AH is a teen and is busy busy.  The boys I try to see when I can!) So it's very special to have someone recognize the love I have for my nieces and nephews on Mother's Day.  Her cards always bring happy tears to my eyes.

And look! I am a mama! To FIVE kittens. Oh yes.  Five.  One-two-three-four-FIVE.  I'm totally going to lose my mind if I don't find a home for these babies.  So stinkin' cute! But holy moly, I'm going broke in cat food!  But aren't they precious?  Yes, I'm smitten but not so much that I don't welcome a happy home for them...

I need to get home and figure out what halfway healthy thing I can eat tonight.  Tomorrow I teach a night class and will be home late, so maybe I grocery store run is in order to find food for the rest of this week.  Tomorrow morning I get to go with Macy to Muffins with Mommy (Katie is a teacher and they are in the middle of standardized testing, no way she could get off for this!). MawMaw is going with me, so she'll have extra "mommies" ... yummm... muffins. Ok, food is needed.

Night ya'll!  :)

Merry Eve of Christmas Eve

Holy cow, where did 2015 go? This last month especially! Today is it for shopping and running like crazy. My family celebrates with a feast on Christmas Eve so all presents must be wrapped up today. So of course, I wake up with a sore throat. Argh!

I noticed when life gets a bit crazy, I put God on the back burner. How crazy is that? I know, it makes no sense. But I've put down the Advent book and gotten behind. And I really enjoy it! It seems when the days go bonkers I crash into bed and the thoughts of reading or writing just seem like more than I can handle. Like it's stressing me out. When in reality, it would calm my stress and soothe my frayed nerves. And even knowing that, I still roll over and ignore. So that must change today. 

Let's talk about what's going right. Both twins are HOME and snuggling with mommy and daddy. One is on oxygen but both are doing well. This makes me SO HAPPY. I'm not able to see them right now (super sad face) because I can't seem to stay well enough, but I'd rather just see pictures than put them in danger. They are so handsome!! Love being an aunt!! 

Speaking of being an aunt, the two sweet nieces are home. I'm so thankful for the time off this week. Even though I'd missed work with my and family's doctor appointments, I decided to go ahead an take this week off. Best decision ever. 

Macy and her mommy and I visited with Santa. No crowds on a Monday - hooray! The mall has these critters to ride an Macy loved it. Especially loved the fact she got a puppy instead of angry bird. These things are really hilarious. 

We came home and rested, then went on a search for Chtistmas lights!  Picked up her sister on the way and life was good. 

Yesterday Katie helped wrap up my shopping while I kept the girls. We really lived it up with painting projects (gifts), decorated Christmas cookies and read pop-up Chritmas books in bed. And Katie knocked out several hard-to-find gifts for me. Hip Hip Hooray!! 

Macy is really getting into Christmas and I'm soooo glad I'm able to see her excitement firsthand.  This is the first year I've felt excitement about Christmas in a while. We've had a rough three years and this one is tough, too. So make it four. Her sparkle is rubbing off on all of us. :)

So this year, mom is totally down with a very painful tear in her knee. Totally. Down. Dad is pretty much staying close to her but he's got some issues, too. So I'm trying to wrap up their shopping and plan for the Christmas Eve feast. Those parts aren't terribly stressful but point back to the health troubles my parents are seeing. Katie went to the eye doctor in hopes of finding something to help her migraines. She can't keep on like this. And her husband is in immense pain from the multiple surgeries that didn't work. Of course the new parents won't make it this year and I really miss them. So there are some prayer requests in there. 

But we always have blessings, too. Like Dad being able to help mom. And me being able to take off from work. Katie being out of school right now. Those sweet baby boys and their successes. Their mama is also a teacher so she's able to extend her leave time. The great reviews of the classes I taught. It's hot here but at least we aren't buried under snow!! Aaaannnndddd...

We have 7 completed NICU isolette covers for our children's hospital from my church!! So excited! So thankful! We have another sew day in Januaury. And I'm excited to see how it goes. Here are some pics. 

I had a pic of another one but must have deleted it trying to get pics of Macy and Santa. Oops. Those flaps sticking out cover the ends of the isolette. I know it looks weird :) 

Ok this is top secret so do not tell a soul BUT this is what the girls made for their daddy. He's from West Virginia and this is the lyrics from a John Denver that all WV people worship. :) the white states are WV and SC, where home is now. Macy painted the background with three shades of yellow and Aliah did the states and letters. Pretty good, eh? He'll love it. He is going to be so surprised!! 

I suppose I should get moving for the day. Things to do and people to see. Y'all have a very blessed Christmas. Tell Jesus Happy Birthday and thank The Lord for sending His Son to us for our sins. That's Christmas. All this other stuff is fluff. 

Hugs to you all!  

Late Night

Another night of early rising - three something in the morning. Should have never picked up my phone. It surely doesn't help me want to go back to sleep. Instead I find myself pinning dozens of quilt patterns and playing Words With Friends.

As I was surfing the web instead on sleeping tonight, I found this post on Instagram. She left this on someone else's page-I don't know either of them but I liked it: 

Another family member is back in the hospital. Been there since Wednesday night. We are pretty worn out and we are all lacking sleep. We are tired of being tired and tired of being so worried. Our preacher came by the hospital and read Psalm 42 & 43 to us and it just seemed to fit us. The writer is suffering deeply from something and cries out to God. As my preacher said - it reminds me of y'all with the years of suffering you have had. He said while we may not understand it today - or ever - God is with us. 

Here is Psalm 43:  

I don't know - maybe it will help someone else out there. 

The preacher made me smile - he's trying hard to encourage us but with medical issue after issue after issue - it's hard to explain why people are allowed to suffer. So he said several times - keep hope and look at the success with the babies. ;) 

And we are SO THANKFUL for their progress!! I miss seeing my sweet nephews so much. The hospital Is about an hour away and I am required to have one of their parents with me to visit. Just difficult to schedule. But they are doing well and are handsome little fighters. 

I've had some Macy time as it's her daddy in the hospital. She is struggling with the emotions of not having her parents with her much and not understanding all the tension. Please pray for all these situations. 

Slumber party at MawMaw and PawPaw's house!!! For both of us! 

Sweet nieces at a local produce stand. I tried getting Christmas Card pics but had little luck. These smiles are beautiful though. 

Volleyball season wrapped up a last week and we are very proud of AH and her team. They improved over last year tremendously! 

Let's not discuss how much she's grown. Sniff sniff 

Preschool field trip. Seems someone loved the stick horse so MawMaw is making her one. 

Yesterday after Mommy got home from the hospital we had a front porch picnic. Macy was so glad to see her Mommy. She cried when we left to go up there. This evening when Katie came home after work and then the hospital, Macy grabbed her in a huge hug and said, "We are back together again!" So hard to juggle all life has put on their plates right now and know where to be and what balls not to drop. So tough.

A friend suggested I focus more on the positive. And there are positives!!! 

The sweet twins are getting stronger and have so many wonderful people praying for them. 

My dad got to meet his grandsons and introduce himself as Pop :) 

The support from our pastor, our church family, definitely our family and so many friends and friends of friends that we'll never know - thank you!!

S'mores with the family around the fire pit and eating too many marshmallows! 

The days have been beautiful, allowing us to enjoy the outdoors and Macy has been swinging her heart out. 

I'm so thankful I was able to attend AH's last game of the season, even though it was on an Election Day. God worked that one out! 

Every time my brother calls mom about a baby update, I can tell it just touches her heart. She's totally invested into her grandsons and hearing news is important to her. So glad Clay is keeping in good touch with her. 

A dear friend won her court case. Yay!! 

Rogers very life was in danger but the doctors were able to turn things around. Great nurses and doctors in the ICU, too! They deserve a lot of respect. 

My workplace has been so good about letting me off to take the day shift at the hospital with no guilt. They've texted and checked on us, too. 

Wow. An hour later and I'm wrapping this up. Y'all thanks for letting this be a place I can download emotions. It's hard to find someone to talk to when everyone around you is living it, too. 

Thanks for your prayers. :)

Name them before you forget them

Morning y'all.  It's another night of waking up at 3:30 am and being unable to go back to sleep. Dad called before 6 am because he saw my house lit up on his way to breakfast with the boys. ;)  

We've had a few more bits of tough news this week. I won't say bad because it may all be overcome simply through medicine. Mom had been concerned about Macy's vision and took her to the elementary school she retired from for a vision and hearing test. Hearing was good, vision not-so-much. Took her to the pediatrician who basically said - we don't do eye tests on three-year-olds so we'll refer you. As a side note here: it's amazing how little doctors know about their community. He had no idea if there was a pediatric optomistrist in our area and flabbergasted that it was requested. Thank heavens for the nurse who knew the answer and got us referred to a great doctor. 

Mom took her to the eye appointment. Pretty much immediately mom knew something serious was up. Both sides of Macy's family has Marfans. Marfans impacts connective tissue - most frequently eyes and heart. Macy is only seeing out of a small portion of her eyes right now. She'll have to head back to the dr for a more thorough checkup for heart issues. She's getting special glasses that will hopefully retrain her brain concerning her eyes, but if that doesn't work, she's headed to Duke for eye surgery. *DEEP BREATH* I'm sure you can try to imagine Katie's reaction to hearing this about her baby girl. But let me tell you about this doctor. The fact she has heard of Marfans is impressive. The fact she sent my sister her cell phone number with instructions to call at nine so she could explain everything - WHOA. This lady rocks. And let me say here: thank you, Lord, for placing this lady in our lives. I give Him all the credit for making it happen. 

My family is pretty familiar with Marfans because we assume our dad has it, and all three of us kids have signs but haven't been tested. Don't want that not covered by insurance as a pre-existing condition. It can be bad ma'am-a-jama stuff. 

That was Wednesday. 

Thursday, my brother and his wife were told both of their micro-preemie baby boys have heart murmurs. Things have been going really well for the boys so this was a toughie. Granted, you knew there would be setbacks along this path. Anyway, this is a common issue in preemies and they are trying to address it with meds, too. However, if that doesn't work, it's surgery for the little fellas, too. 

In the midst of all this, I realized I let all the negative news in our lives dominate my very well-being. My heart, my soul, my health. It's like everything in me is weighted down with sacks of heavy boulders I'm desperately trying to carry everywhere I go. So last night I vowed to make a change. 

In my prayer journal, I will start with five things I'm thankful for- Five Blessings. Because I know if you get out of the habit of being thankful, you can't even see your blessings anymore. 

Last nights blessings: 

1. The doctors found this heart issue with Liam and Kellan, are familiar with it and know how to treat it. 

2. The Lord led us to a wonderful eye doctor for Macy, who believes in supporting her patients- even at nine o'clock at night! 

3. My cousin's abdominal mass (10 lbs!) was NOT cancer!!! Huge cheer!!!! 

4. The Lord has given Clay & Angela and huge network of supporters praying for them and their sons. 

5. The Lord provided my mom a friend in one of her sister-in-laws when she needed one. It's been a huge blessing because she's trying to deal with all these issues, too. 

I'm going back to the basics, count your blessings and name them one by one. 

Yup. This is a long wordy post. Sorry about that. Sometimes I just need to unload it somewhere. 

You know, I think we may need to check! I mean, it couldn't hurt, right? Ok y'all, I'm heading into work. Gotta try to get Macy a minions Halloween bucket from Mcdonalds today. :)  I mean, yeah it does seem like the world is crumbling beneath my feet, but you still gotta have priorities!! *wink*  thanks for your prayers! 

Sleepless in SC

Ugh. It's almost 4:00 am and I've been awake since 2:00. Of course, today kicks off a crazy busy time at work where my long hours start and here I am, wide awake and feeling kinda sick. Probably from lack of sleep! I think I'm getting too old for this job - the crazy hours kick my butt.

Last week I enjoyed lunch with Macy at preschool. She'd asked me if I could see her at school a few weeks before. I knew if I didn't go now, it would be awhile before I'd be able to take off work again. 

In celebration of Grandparents' Day, they were invited to lunch with the grand kids, so MawMaw was meeting us there, too. When she sees me she says, "Bethie! Where's MawMaw?" Oh well, she and MawMaw are besties. ;) 

She was so afraid of the tire bridge. But she conquered it! And was so proud of herself! We were very proud, too. 

Did I mention my 40th birthday was in September? Oh yeah, FORTY!!! (Pumpkin donuts. Ohhhh yeah)

Someone decided to decorate my mailbox and roll my yard... Wonder who? I still have streamers in the bushes...the ROSE BUSHES. So yeah those decorations maybe be staying. 

What a sunrise!! So beautiful! It's been a while since I've seen one so I really soaked up this one.

Maybe I should do this blogging in the middle of the night more often - I passed out with the phone on my chest! woop woop! It's Monday, ya'll, go have a wonderful week.  :)

Name them One by One

Count Your Blessings, Name them One by One.
Count Your Many Blessings, See What God Has Done.

Don't ya'll remember that hymn? I'm sitting here at my desk at work, staying late so I can type this up and post it before I leave for the weekend, and that is what popped into my head.

My family, we've had some serious trials lately.  It's been less than fun.  Heck, it's been down right crazy stressful. My sister-in-law had surgery, then my brother-in-law about a week later, then my dad a week later.  My close friend 6-hours away from me, her husband had a wreck and was in critical condition.  Now I'm having a biopsy to screen for uterine cancer.  And my b-i-l's last surviving close relative passed away yesterday.  Can I say I'm stressed out?!?  Because I really am.  We all are.

So yes, I'm asking for your prayers. 

But I'm also sharing with you some blessings we have seen:

So many wonderful people - including folks I'll never meet and don't know -
have been praying for us tirelessly.  That's so humbling. And powerful. 

Our preacher has been on the ball, really giving us support and we are so thankful. 

My workplace has been wonderful about me being out for all this
and my co-workers have texted to check on us continuously. 

The first surgery went well - and we are still seeing positive results! (hooray!)

I pray I meet my two nephews in December!

The second surgery went well - this was my b-i-l's 2nd back surgery in 5.5 months.
The hospital was HORRIBLE last time - but was just GREAT this time.
Talk about being thankful! 

The third surgery went really well. I was afraid mom would be there alone,
but my brother and our preacher were both there with her. Again - so thankful!

My time with Macy has just been a delight. Yes, she's definitely impacted by

all these events, but she's just been precious. Three nights she spent at my house

and I can't tell you how much I enjoyed it. 

My friend's husband is becoming more alert, nodding his head and rolling

his eyes at questions he thinks are ridiculous (Like her asking him if he knew her! haha)

A good friend is expecting and I'm so excited! I've decided it's a girl... :) 

There are dozens more, I'm just too tired to remember them all.  I'm trying to write more in my journals to remember those blessings because sometimes, you need to look back at all that is good in life.  And there is so much. 

Please keep us in your prayers.  And please celebrate the good things in life! :) 

A little late - this didn't post?

I wrote this a while back and thought it posted, but nope, it didn't.  I don't even know if it's finished, I'm not reading back over it, I'm just going to post it.  

In life, we all have our ups and downs.  There will be times we feel on top of the world and times we wonder why all this is happening to me.  And during both times, the highs and the lows, we can always find someone doing better than us and someone doing worse.  We can compare ourselves to the person doing better and be bitter and jealous.  We can compare ourselves to the person doing worse and have fake thankfulness.

Or, we could quit comparing ourselves and our situations to either and do what God tells us to do - be thankful in all things.

Yup.  It's hard.  Very hard.  And I'm not saying I do it well because I reallllllllly don't.  Ya'll have heard me discussing some of what my family and friends are going through right now.  I haven't been thanking God for the trials.  For the blessings I strive to see - yes.  But for the suffering, no.  But He clearly tells us to be thankful in all things.

Always be joyful and never stop praying.  Whatever happens keep thanking God because of Jesus Christ.  This is what God wants you to do.  - 1 Thes 5:17

Always use the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to thank God the Father for everything.  Eph 5:20

My family has seen six surgeries within the past 13 months.  Three in the past month.  My sister and her husband were four of them.  We are tired.  Drained.  Exhausted.  Our resources are tapped out.  Add to that I have some new medical stuff to check into next week and my very close friend in Alabama - her husband is in critical condition from a wreck. Let's not discuss the mounds of doctor bills I have - some for more than a year now that I'm paying on, but can't seem to really accomplish much headway.

But just like the card I sent my friend in Alabama, the Lord never promised Easy Street, but that He would be with us every step of the way.

Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we are in.  Heb 12:1

Be strong! Take courage! Don't be intimidated.  Don't give them a second thought because God, your God, is striding ahead of you.  He's right there with you.  He won't let you down, He won't leave you. Deau 31:6

Be strong and courageous!  Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.  Joshua 1:9

The Lord will never call us to do something we cannot do through His power.  We have to take the step forward.  Isaiah 6:8

Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid, for the Lord God is my strength and song and he has become my salvation.  Isaiah 12:2

I find comfort in these scriptures.  It's like a calm comes over me and I can have peace.