A touch of Grace & Mercy

I'll call her Stacy. I walked into a room and there she was. A beautiful young girl in her early teens. She looked completely helpless and unattached from reality. In her eyes you could see a deep ocean of pain, distrust, depression, lose of purpose in life and anything else you care to throw in there. She told me she had no friends. That she didn't need any friends...she didn't want them. That she was on probation for having done something 'silly'. She told of a lot more pain and past and while she said she wanted to go on to nursing because she's good with people you could still tell that she didn't trust them. But when asked if she finds it hard to trust people after what her life has held she quickly replied: "Oh I trust people".  As I looked at this young girl the reality of what is considered normal for so many kids today slowly begin to sink in. They survive. Steal & get caught for it & then lie to talk themselves out of it. They try their hardest to cover their pain & their lonesomeness by putting on a fake front that is supposed to appear confident and self sufficient but under it all you can hear them screaming that they want out. They are begging for Truth and real Love. For a touch of Grace & Mercy.

Stacy's mother didn't want her and she decided that she would live with her brother & his wife, some friends of ours who live just minutes away. Several days ago my Mom saw her and couldn't believe how different she looked. In was all over her face. It shone in her eyes and changed her whole appearance. It's called Grace, Forgiveness, Mercy.... it's what happens when a lost heart meets God. It's what happens when a person comes in personal contact with the reality of grace and mercy and they realize what it means for them. I have already been inspired by this young girls passion for truth and for God. Just looking at the situation she came from and thinking about how much she has to learn about living in general could make a person think that she'll never go far. But I can't wait to see what God has in store for her. 

Because....

...Even before we are born God has a beautiful dream for each of our lives. Even YOU. He knows what our future will look like and He wants to lead us through it. He wants us to trade our plan of a future for His. Part of His dream for every one of us is that we would experience and live lives that are marked significantly by the touch of His grace and mercy. That we would allow Him to accomplish His work in our lives. 

Ultimately that our lives would bring Him glory!

"Your life as a Christian should make unbelievers question their disbelief in God."

Thankful-Grateful-Blessed

I know this time of year everyone and their dog is doing 'thankful' posts and I guess I shall join the ranks with them... it does make me cringe a little though when I think of how many people -including myself- tend to complain about various things in life that we just really think should be different or we think that life should be treating us more fairly then what it is at the current moment and we forget that life isn't all about US & that all things work together for good to them that love the Lord.....and then November comes along in the calendar year and we suddenly turn all thankful for everything & we participate in the "30 days of thanks" challenge....which is all great and wonderful I just need to remind myself that November is indeed not the only month for remembering our blessings and giving God thanks for them. Thus I shall continue:

-20 Thankful things-

• Family- This is big on the list! The picture below is only the ones of us that are still at home which comes out to 0.25 + 1 of us kids and both parents so that totals to 0.50 of the immediate family plus there are 2 sisters & 1 brother that have been added happily as well as 7 grandkids! :) get that? :)

• Gods Grace. This has taken on a whole new meaning for me in the last year which I might blog about later.
• Fall! -yes please!
• Music - if you know me very well at all you know this is true
• Pinterest -actually, I think this is called being thankful for inspiration. :)
• Wonderful bosses at both jobs. -Seriously people. This is a big blessing!
• My new keyboard that I have owned for barely a year. :)
• Black Friday!! -this is an awesome way to buy shoes people! Go to the store & decide what kind/size you want, wait patiently for the sale then buy them online! You don't have to go out in the scurry of fierce people & you can often get a free shipping code... $$$$ are saved! :) 
• Good encouraging books
• Godly friends
• Thrift stores. :)
• Forgiveness
• The power that is available to us through the Holy Spirit 
• Freedom. -Let me never forget the price it cost
• Health
• The privilege of being homeschooled
• A house to live in -and nice people to live with! :)  
• Laughter 
• All the different personalities that make up the people in this world. -and like I tell people who complain about a personality opposite their own: "The world would be severely boring if we were all the same." 
• The very fact that God completes what He starts. -I have thought about this tons & tons in the last while & the verse on the picture below has become a new favorite. This subject deserves a complete post in itself but I will just say a few of my thoughts right now. It is not a new thing heard of that we -without God- are nothing. And I am so thankful that God views us as worth His effort. And because I like illustrations I will illustrate what I mean. Suppose you were trying to help a person that has/had a deep addition to drugs. Lets say that this person has even kicked the habit twice already but always keeps going back.... I don't know about you but I think that after a while one would begin to view this person as helpless & hopeless and all those sorts of things. But what if that's how God viewed us every time we messed up or deliberately went against what we knew he wanted us to do? I'm just so grateful that when God starts something in each one of our lives that He finishes it. To the very last day of our lives.  He doesn't give up. And the great thing is that He has started a work in each one of our lives. Yes, that includes YOURS and He will continue to perfect it until the day it's completed when Christ returns! It's such a glorious thought!

The beginning of fall...and other things

 So it is. Today is the first day of fall & I love it! I don't believe I have ever heard anyone complain about the nice cooler weather and small breezes that come with this time of year especially if the summer has been  a little warmer & dryer than some of us I appreciate. I know there is good, beautiful things about every season but there's some seasons that I like better then others.   I'm just being honest here & I am sincerely happy that this season hosts my birthday! :) 

My sister Rhoda & I have been all into celebrating the season. Yesterday we baked apple and pumpkin pies before we went to work and since I have tomorrow & the next day off we decided it would be perfect to send "fall presents" to friends & relations. Some now and some at the beginning of winter... So you never know. You might be getting something now or later. :)

 I love how Rhoda brings the outside in with whatever is outside at the time. Currently there is a tall vase of chives sitting on the kitchen table.  Simplicity I tell you. :)

 And I can start making all those amazing fall scented candles that I just love! I got some new ones this year & It seems like people like to buy them. :)

_______________________

And than there are other things to write about. The certain subject of time and what we do with it that keeps running through my head and not wanting to go away.  I believe it's something good for me to think about since I find it difficult to manage my time properly on occasion a lot of the time. It goes something like this. As I look and observe my life/lifestyle and the way I spend my time I have no option but to painfully observe how much of my time is wasted. Completely. One example is that I find myself spending a lot of unnecessary time on the internet.  While the things I look at are sometimes helpful ( i.e. looking for ways to better teach music to oneself, projects to do, etc..) and useful, the effort/time put into looking for those things is wasted if I could be spending time with my family or doing something that I really need to be doing or quite honestly, spending needed, important time with God. I find myself being the most frustrated and irritable at myself and life in general when I get to the end of a busy day and find that I have just spent all my 'spare' time on internet and maybe not even read my Bible that day at all!  It's beginning to become clear to me in this way: Imagine you had a close relationship with someone. Sister, brother, friend, parent etc.. and suddenly one day you see the relationship changing VERY fast. While you're still close and know each other well the relationship just kinda stops growing. Perhaps you or the other person has become very busy or you/other person has found other things to focus on and the time spent with each other becomes basically non-existent and as a result someone is left hurt and wondering what happened to the relationship that was once there but no longer is. This mental illustration brought to my mind a much more serious thought. What if that's how Jesus feels when we suddenly "don't have time" and the time we spend reading the Bible & praying & drawing closer/learning to know Him deeper becomes basically non-existent? I don't have to look very far to realize that the relationship that was once there has become one of those "when I need you/when I am afraid" deals. On my part. Not because He became too busy with other things but because I have little by little been filling my time with things that have become "more important" to me. Jesus doesn't want a relationship that only gets noticed when life gets rough. He wants everything. That includes our time. If someone were to ask what my excuse is for spending/wasting time on things of little importance when I have not even spent time with God....I would have no answer. People read us much more then we think and they can see -much better then we wish- what is dominating our lives. I have been deeply challenged by this thought: Whatever we focus on/give ourselves to the most determines who/what is our god.  When God sees a need for something to change in the life of one of His children He makes it known and does not force then to change but the peace that comes and the glory He receives when we do is reward enough for any small thing that we may consider a "sacrifice".   I am challenged to change my habits and live every day for the Glory of God. He created us for the very purpose of bringing Glory to Himself and too often we do just the opposite and take time for the things we want to do or we chose the things that make us feel good about ourselves instead of choosing JESUS. 

2 new favorites

I totally love this song... As I was listening to it I was thinking about life and how God's strength has always been sufficient for me above what I could wish for...I heard it last night and was blessed, I hope you are as well.

 My new favorite inspiring quote is this:

'Disturb us O Lord, when we are too pleased with ourselves;when our dreams come true because we dreamed too little;when we have arrived in safety because we sailed to close to the shore. Disturb us, O Lord, when with the abundance of the things we posses, we have lost our thirst for the water of life; when having fallen in love with time, we have ceased to dream of eternity; and in our efforts to build the new earth, have allowed our vision of the new heaven to grow dim. Stir us, O Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wider seas where storms shall show Thy mystery and, where losing sight of the land, we shall find the stars. In the name of Him who pushed back the horizons of our hopes and invited the brave to follow, even the name of Christ Jesus our Lord.'  -Sir Francis Prake

Isaiah 40:31

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31

The blessings of life.....

As I am sitting here counting my blessings, I realize just how much I really have to be thankful for.  Even though sometimes life doesn't seem fair and it may seem as though I am not getting all the opportunities to do things dumped in my lap like someone else doesn't mean that I am less useful to God.
There's times when I look at someone else and say to myself:  she should be perfectly happy, she has all he gifts/talents/opportunities that everyone else would like to have and she seems to have a smooth relationship with everyone around her.  And then I am reminded that God has blessed that person with that while He has chosen to bless me with other things.... and me thinking that another person has everything I want is jealous and selfish.

So I chose to count the things I have as gifts from God because really, He doesn't have favorite people, He loves us all the same, so He's not going to give one person everything and the next person nothing. 
To begin with, I have been given the gift of salvation while there are many in the world who have never even heard the Gospel. (or the name of Jesus for that matter)   Because of the extreme torture, sorrow, & pain of my Lord, I have been given unending mercy, love, grace, healing, forgiveness,.... the list could go on & on.     I have a godly heritage. (that is another thing that so many don't have)    I live in a free country where I can share my faith, and worship unhindered while many Christians are tortured and killed for their faith.  I have the complete Bible while many count themselves blessed to have just one or two pages.  I have plenty of clothes, food, water, fresh air, etc........ The question is;  What more could I want?     Living in a place where everything and more is within a hands reach I become discontent with what I don't have.   But those things I don't have that I think are so important are really of no eternal value when I think about it.  In the Bible it says to;   Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.(Col. 3:2)     it also says;   Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have : for he hath said , I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. (Heb. 13:5)

 I am challenged to live each day, counting the blessings of life!

         The well of Providence is deep, it's the buckets we bring to it that are small.    Mary Webb

Note: this was written on Wednesday, I'm having fun with automatic posting :) 

A new years update of sorts

 Hello all! I know it has been awhile since I've posted anything and I thought now would be a good time to update.....
I had a wonderful Christmas & I tried desperately to do a nice long picture post about it but blogger wouldn't cooperate.  So if you feel the need to see pictures you can go here & here.

Happy New Years to you all! I really wonder what 2012 will hold...(that goes for all of us) 2011 was a really challenging year for me and sometimes I still try to see what all God was/is trying to teach me.  I am quite certain that I felt/noticed more God moments this past year then any other so far....  my prayer for all of us this year is that we would draw closer to God then ever before and that we would be ready and willing to do what ever He asks of us.

Speaking of a new year....  My aunt Wanda has started a new blog.  The Ordinary Homemaker. She has a wonderful way with words and I find what she has to say to be very inspiring! :) Go check it out!

My brother Jon & his lovely wife Mary, They plan to move here sometime this spring, It will be so nice to have here....(instead of CO:)

  I don't put much stock into new years resolutions simply because by the end of January most of them have been forgotten (that's how it works for me anyhow) but I do sorta have two of them this year: #1 is to read the Bible through this year  & #2 is to "hopefully" update more often.....posts with pictures.....(no promise of this:)

  This is one of my theme verses this year.....

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin that doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.     

Hebrews 12:1&2