31 Days - Day 4 : Let It Shine

From the wonderful shop of Leen Machine!

Ya'll, I'll be the first to tell you, I AM NOT A PERFECT PERSON. I realize some of you may not believe me when I say that, but it's the truth.

I've made some big mistakes in my life. I've had to learn the hard way, like many of you have done, too.  I've made promises to myself and to God that I have broken. I have doubted. I have faltered. And the Lord has picked me up every single time, shown me amazing love and forgiven me over and over.

It's this love and forgiveness that I try to let shine through me - not from me because I have no light on my own. I'm see myself as a mirror that tries to reflect the goodness that has been given to me.  Does that make any sense?  Maybe not. But it's all good, God gets it.

So, for those of you who do know me and have called me bubbly, happy, sparkly, encouraging, loving - yeah, that's just the God showing through. Obviously I'm not that all the time, and that's on me. But the good - that's thanks to God. :)

31 Days

Friday's Letters. :)

Oh yeah, hip hip hooray, FRIDAY IS HERE! Come on, do the Friday dance! Woop woop...woop woop...

Now let's focus on our Friday's Letters:

Dear Mom, do you know how old I feel when you give me these toys from my childhood? (just kidding, I love it!) The cutest thing - this Queen Busy Bee that had a string to pull it behind you as you walked.  The wings go crazy spinning, like the busy bee that she is! She is now a feature in my china cabinet, with all the other old stuff.

Dear Autumn, I am sooo enjoying the beautiful sunrises and sunsets in my day.  I love the pinks, yellows, oranges, and reds - in the sky, in the leaves, it's just good stuff.  So be prepared with a lot more photos of random driving shots (like this one, taken from my parents house, looking towards the back of my house) because as long as we have pretty skies, I'm snapping and sharing.

Dear Pressed Clovers, I'm focused on you this weekend.  I have to get some orders completed and my own Christmas presents in the works so I won't have so much pressure during the holidays. :) This is a paper bag album under way - one I stayed up too late working on this week!

Dear 31 Days, I'm happy to have found a new topic to blog about.  I went back and read the sad posts about Muffin's passing... I can see the total slump in my posts for the past several months. So this is good... I'm happy. :)

Ya'll have a great weekend and believe it or not, I'll post this weekend with more from the 31 Days series!  Now go link up with The Sweat Season! :)

31 Days - Day 3 : Wondering Where to Start

Isn't there a Disney movie that says something about starting at the beginning? A very good place to start? Wait - let me google that, I'll be right back. .... .... ....

source

ARGH! It was the Sound of Music! Not Disney at all!  I love that movie, how did I mess that up? Grr... part of the Do-Re-Mi song. *sigh*

Anyway, enough of that rabbit trail - so maybe you are wondering how to get into a daily devotional. One that appeals to you, speaks to you, isn't all stuffy and over your head but is still meaty enough that you gather something from it.

That's the place I was in about a year ago.  I wasn't comfortable with many devotionals because I'm not a Bible guru.  I haven't done devotionals in the past and I wanted something to bring me closesr to God and teach me what His word said about me. I wanted something personal.

I will say, I found it in #SheReadsTruth. I tried a few others that were seriously great devotionals. (I also recommend Girlfriends in God to have an email sent to you everyday with a devotional) - but She Reads Truth just hit home with me.  They are short themes easily accessed through You Version app on my phone. Usually lasting 14 days or 12 days or something like that.  Right now I'm in the Women in the Bible, part 4 - which I'm loving!! Proverbs really woke me up and got me totally hooked on #SRT.

So to start at the beginning, I'd say download the You Version app for your phone or tablet - Apple/Iphone here and Droid here. Once there you can search Plans and then Devotionals and look for She Reads Truth.  Pick one that you like and off you go!

You can also follow along on the She Reads Truth community on their blog, where folks comment on what they gained from the devotional that day. Sometimes the remarks are ... well, annoying to be honest. But more often than not, especially in the Proverbs theme, I gained so much from the other people's comments.

So there. Maybe that will help someone out there find a place to start in their quest to get closer to God. :) And one more entry into the 31 Days event. :)





Return to the first
31 Days entry! :)

31 Days - Day 2: TESTIFY!

In keeping with the 31 Days theme from The Nesting Place, today I'm thankfully I have faith! I grew up in a Christian household (so thankful!), but I didn't make the choice to accept Jesus into my life on a personal level until high school.  I think when you grow up in a church, you sometimes lose sight of the personal nature of God. It wasn't like I was a drug addict that hit rock bottom and had to see the light of God to find my way from death's door.  No... not like that at all for me.

I was actually at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes meeting and this guy (a senior, I was a freshman) began telling his testimony and it just hit me - I've never made a commitment on my own! Whoa. Yes, this is great, I am so glad this guy is sharing his testimony because it's really opening my eyes! I prayed that night at home and was just blown away.  Later in that year, I was asked to go share my testimony as a FCA freshman representative at a local church.  He was the senior representative and then HE was blown away that his words were used to help save me. :)

I'm still in touch with him, 20+ years later.  I call him my special friend, because he was used in a very special way to touch my life.  God is awesome and can use anything in this world to His will and power. It's great. You just never know how you may be part of God's plan - whether you are Christian or not! hee hee... isn't that something to think about?

If you aren't Christian, I hope you'll consider the love Jesus has for you and open your heart to Him.  It's ... everything. It. Is. Everything.  It's Eternal. It's Love. It's Peace.

:)  I told you, I'm finally excited about blogging again.  Thanks for joining me in today's message. :)

31 Days - and I'm late starting again.

So once again, I'm behind the curve! But I finally found something that interested me, thanks to Abbie at The Envelope Keeper.  She mentioned a blog challenge of writing for 31 days in October, which is hosted by The Nesting Place.

I'm totally new to this group, so work with me, but it seems there are several "topics" you can choose to file yourself under for the month of October.  I have decided to go under Inspirational and Faith, because that's where my heart is these days.

This is my button! Woop woop, I did it! :) 

Today, I'm thinking about the blessings I've received recently... like how I prayed all the way to urgent care for Macy's health.  I was seriously sick with worry about that little girl and God heard every fear and every prayer - and Macy was fine. *whew*

Driving home in the dark, in the rain, so worried I was going to wreck... Oh how I prayed for the Lord to keep my safe and it was like a BLINK - I was off the interstate and half way home.  I couldn't believe how quickly that drive went. *whew*

Mom's foot healed ... We found a solution for baby sitting while it was broken ... Dad's health reports have come back good ... Wow.  Blessed. Over and Over.  BLESSED. So thankful.

So expect more of this in the upcoming month.  I'm excited to be excited again. And I'm excited to be excited about something so dear to me - God. My Lord. My Father.

Hope you'll join me for this ride.

1-     You got it right here. :)
2-     Testify
3-     Wondering Where to Start
4-     Let it Shine
5-     Send in the Whales
6-     Build Me Up, Buttercup
7-     The Notebook
8-     Be Still
9-     You are Beautiful
10-   Who Knows What Day I'm On
11-   The Basics
12-   Rest
13-   Pray
14-   Cha-Ching!
15-   Courage
16-   Busybodies
17-   Thanks
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Monday Muses on a Tuesday

Ya'll know me, I'm behind the curve about half the time, including yesterday when I didn't get this blog written and posted. :)  You still love me though, right?

So here are my thoughts from the weekend and beyond:

1- Refrigerator Oats aren't that bad!! What are Refrgerator Oats? You mix oats, yogurt, fruit and other stuff together, put it in the frige overnight and it's ready for breakfast in the morning!  http://www.theyummylife.com/Refrigerator_Oatmeal  Check into it. Eating better isn't quite as hard as I thought it would be.

2 - I can sometimes be a cooking queen. This weekend I made 80 stuffed pasta shells with the most delicious cheese mixture, bagged them up and froze them for later; huge pot of soup, dessert, slaw, veggie dip, and these white chocolate chip oatmeal cookies for my Dad. :)  It feels good to get in the kitchen and make something yummy for family.

3 - I have the most adorable niece in the world.  Just an FYI. These were taken this weekend and let me tell you, I totally realize I am NOT a child photographer.  Oh my gosh, I was running around after her and she was NOT cooperating! But she's still adorable.


4 - Lying in bed on Saturday and Sunday morning, I just enjoyed the peace and quiet of the day. I love my house, where I'm located, my family and my life.

5 - I'm reading She Reads Truth - their series on Women in the Bible.  Then I stumbled on a video of how to tell if he is "Mr. Right."  GREAT tips.  Then I stumbled on more videos about how to know if you are ready to date, how to date, etc etc.  It was really good. So maybe all this is leading up to me actually finding a date??! Maybe not, but it still made me think and appreciate the message.

Ya'll I'm rambling. Go forth and have a great week.  :)

Friday's Letters.

So so so so so happy it's FRIDAY! Let me do the CABBAGE PATCH of victory! :) Woop woop!

Bestie, Me and Sweet Niece #2 celebrating my birthday last week... yeah I know it's a week late. Sorry. 

Dear week, You've been a long one. I'm glad you are finished.

Dear year, I added up how many days I've taken off in the past year... and it's over 33.  So let's see some positive vibes with fewer sick people, how about it? Many thanks.

Dear Mornings, Yay for the return of fun drives to work!  I love beautiful sunrises to enjoy on my way to work... and I enjoy photographing them to share with you!

Dear Autumn, I am so ready for you.  For the rustic browns, yellows and oranges, for pumpkins and apples and all things autumnal.  For cool (not cold!) weather, for burlap, for cute kids in Halloween costumes. :)  Yay, thank you for Autumn!

Dear Saturday, I know I signed up to work on you, but now I regret it because I'm missing a pottery festival and a pumpkin festival! WWWHHHHAAAAAAA! I'm going to go cry now!  (In reality, I probably wouldn't have made it to either but I'm still going to pout about it.)

Dear New Contacts, I don't think it should feel like the world shifts every time I move my eyes. Or that I can see my eyes attempting to focus and things still come out blurry.  Looking forward to getting you checked out at the eye dr next week.

Dear Lord, Thank you.  I have sent up some serious prayers this week, and you have answered each one with a YES YES YES.  I know I don't deserve it, but thank you.  Thank you so much!

Have a great weekend, ya'll and I'll see you back here on Monday. :)

Link up your own letters -