House cleaning

Last week, I threw out worrying, it was getting old and in the way. It kept me from being me; I couldn't do things God's way. I threw out a book on MY PAST (Didn't have time to read it anyway). Replaced it with NEW GOALS, started reading it today. I threw out hate and bad memories, (Remember how I treasured them so)? Got me a NEW PHILOSOPHY too, threw out the one from long ago. Brought in some new books too, called I CAN, I WILL, and I MUST. Threw out I might, I think and I ought. WOW, you should've seen the dust. I ran across an OLD FRIEND, I hadn't talked to in a while. His name is GOD the Father, and I really like His style. He helped me to do some cleaning and added some things Himself. Like PRAYER, HOPE, FAITH and LOVE, Yes... I placed them right on the shelf. I picked up this special thing and placed it at the front door. I FOUND IT- its called PEACE. Nothing gets me down anymore. Yes, I've got my house looking nice. Looks good around the place. For things like Worry and Trouble there just isn't any space. It's good to do house cleaning, Get rid of the things on the shelf. May the Lord open the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that you will not have room enough to receive it all. Malachi 3:10. May the Lord bless you exceedingly abundantly above all you could ever hope for. Philippians 4:19.

Sunshine's Spirit Club kids

Make me cry!

Make me cry!

Every, EVERY time I see this video, I cry. Not a single tear falling down my cheek like you do when you watch a sappy romance movie but, full out gushing, my soul pouring from my eyes, can't see through my tears - crying. I really cry.

It is so beautiful and moving....a near perfect portrayal of Jesus' desire to love us and protect us and how we are constantly "dancing with the devil."

For me, this is almost like my own memories. I can paste my face on the girl and see my life. There is a very dark period of my past. For years, I knew God was there and that He loved me but somehow convinced myself that what I was doing wasn't that bad. I physically feel ill when I think about all the things I did, things I said, where I went, how I got there, etc. Those of you that know me personally only know the half of it. Honestly. I'm sure God was there....but He was in the back of my mind, not even close to the front.

At the end of the tunnel, after years of searching for something, I found Him standing there, patiently waiting on me to figure it out and want Him again. He removed so many ugly, sinful, disgusting elements from me. It wasn't me, I am small and tried before to do it. Only He is big enough. These things only bother me when I allow Satan to whisper in my ear, to remember...then, the feelings of shame and guilt come flooding back.

But I have an amazing and powerful GOD! One prayer to Him and Satan has no power over me!

Now days, I have a basically boring life...and I'm thankful for it. Drama is fun on TV but not in real life. I deal with the same stresses that everyone does....house, kids, spouse, bills, practices, appointments, snotty noses, pets dying, etc. The difference, in me, is in me. I lay these at the feet of God, smile, and walk away. It's that simple. Hand it over to Him and have faith that He will battle it, fix it, deal with it for you.....let Him protect you.

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I will say that I needed to see this video tonight. It was shown at my church during evening services this evening and I had playfully complained to my friend that I hated this video......only because it makes me cry. Actually, it is exactly what I needed to see to remind me of what I have.

Easter time pictures

No, I don't know why the pictures landed in this interesting arrangement. Hope you like the picture anyway.

Band-aids & french fries are blessings from God

So, as my job of "Mother" reminds me frequently, I get to do things that are not nice to my children. Good for them, the best for them, but sometimes not "nice"........or they wouldn't so say anyway.

Abbie is quickly going to be 5 and I thought it would be good to go ahead and get her Vaccines for Kindergarten. The summer flies by so quickly and the fall will come before we know it.

I called a got an appointment with her pediatrician for last Thursday morning. I talked with her about everything. She is much happier knowing what is coming, even if it is bad, than being surprised. We talked about the shots, how many and where. That they would hurt but only for a minute and she would get cool band-aids afterwards. She asked why she needed to get the shots and I told her that they would keep her from getting some illnesses. I also told her she had to have them before she started school.....that everyone she knew, that was going to school, had had these same shots.

Well, like the little warrior that she is, she was ready and even excited. You could just read her face "if this is what I have to do to get to go to school, then let's do it!"

The night before, she had a bath and then we painted her nails to be ready for her appointment. She got to pick the colors, Grandma Ruth red on her toes and light blue/grey on her fingers... only my child.

The next morning, Eric was off work and Nick was out of school for Easter/spring break. BUT it was freezing cold and no one was moving fast enough so I ended up calling and rescheduling for Monday. You would have thought I killed her puppy in front of her. She was SO disappointed.

Monday, all went according to plan. We got to the appointment on time and Dr. Ditraglia was his delightful self. He is a great children's doctor. So, time for the shots was upon us. Abbie, cool as a cucumber, took her shirt off, held still and smiled. She ended up with three shots. The first two in her right arms and the last one in her left. The first two, she didn't cry AT ALL. Nothing. But whatever was in the last one, must have stung.

She got her band-aids and was all smiles by the time we left to go get "comfort" french fries.

Going too soon, Dr. Deeb

After years of "doctors" instructing me and my parents on how to balance my blood sugar correctly, we pretty well gave up. Not on keeping me healthy, but on anyone with a medical license knowing anything more about Diabetes than we did. Move more, eat less, don't change the insulin.....that's all we ever heard. That is fine advice but doesn't work very well for a child.

***My parents love me very much. They did NOT stop taking me to the doctor to hurt me. They stopped because the "experts" at the time were stupid. We really did know more about the disease than they did. The practical, everyday kind-of stuff. They read the books, but we actually lived it.***

I am diabeticly perfect! My heart, my eyes, my feet, my kidneys, all the way they should be. I thank my Mom & Dad for that. Apparently, we DID know something, huh?

So after I had Abbie in 2003, I got the chance to meet one of the BEST doctors I have ever known....Dr. Wasim Deeb.

Eric, Abbie (3 weeks old) and I went in to meet him for the first time. As I sat on the exam table, I laughed with Eric as to how I didn't need this and we should just go home. Anyway, Dr. Deeb walks in and introduces himself with a smile, and asks me about my history, what's been going on, etc. Then, he gets to "and who has been managing your Diabetes for you?" WHO, I thought? Who else, me! But I said, "I have. My insulin is over the counter so I don't need a prescription. I don't need a doctor for that." He looked at me funny and said, "Why don't you have a doctor?" "Well," I said, "because I know more about this than they do and, quite frankly, I'll be surprised if you do either." (Oh, I was bold.) He looked at me and smiled, again, and said, "Well, I did borrow this lab coat from my friend down the hall, but I will do my best!" We both laughed. And thus the beginning of a beautiful friendship, both in and out of the office.

He discovered my thyroid issue and solved it. He discovered my Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome and solved it, as well. That is a funny story. He ran a bunch of lab work, like he loves to do and found that my Testosterone was off the chart, like it should be less that 30 for a woman and mine was 133. Yeah, can you say aggressive? But, like I said, he found it and fixed me. He has been a blessing to me every time I am in there.

I have talked him up to everyone I meet that sounds like a medical mystery that would be up his alley. I have said to many people, "Between God and Dr. Deeb, it can be fixed!" I really feel that way.

So, I got my letter in the mail. Dr. Deeb and his family are moving in June to Florida. I thought my heart would stop. The man that made me believe in doctors again, was leaving. I don't know what I will do without him.......or how I will pay to fly to Florida 4 times a year for my check-ups. HA! HA! HA!

I will miss looking forward to doctor's appointments. I will miss running into Fidaa at Walmart. I will miss seeing Elias, Danny & Alex at Vacation Bible School. I will miss being able to talk to him about ANYTHING relating to my physical OR emotional health. I will miss them.

The Lord our God is the GREATEST PHYSICIAN but

Dr. Deeb is at the top of the human list, for me.

A word

Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won't need to compare yourself to anyone else. Galatians 6:4, NLT

(This is Klove's Encouraging word of the day, today)

Two days ago, Eric, Nick, Abbie & I were just sitting around, like we do sometimes, listening to Eric play music from the computer. Abbie & Nick love it and do their best to dance to whatever is playing. This particular song was instrumental, or at least it was at this point. The kids are dancing, Eric & I are laughing and clapping and then it happens. Abbie, which looked like she needed a loin cloth and a bonfire, stops, raises her hands & face to the sky, says, "I Love you, Lord, I love you, I love you, I love you, God!"

You have heard the saying to dance as if no one is watching. Well, Abbie was dancing as if no one but God was watching.

Just an example of how I think pure joy in God's love expresses itself.....unconcerned with what anyone thinks, how it looks, even if your socks are falling off at the time. She doesn't know to lower her voice, put her hands down (that's something adults have come up with).....when she is talking about the "guy that can fix and do anything, and he's really big and loves me!" She's thinking of Him, not being distracted by everyone around her.

God and the T-Rex

The T-rex turns and strides quickly back towards them. It circles, slowly, bending over to look in at them through the window. Grant and Malcolm sit trembling in the front seat, watching as the giant legs stride past their windows.

GRANT (a quivery whisper) "Keep absolutely still - - it's vision's based on movement!"

MALCOLM "You're sure?!"

GRANT (pause) "Relatively."

Malcolm freezes as the rex bends down and peers right in through his window. The dinosaur's giant, yellowing eye is only slightly smaller than the entire pane of glass. The T-rex pulls away slightly, then reaches down and BUMPS the car with its snout, rocking it.

Okay, we all remember Jurassic Park from 1993 and how crazy it was. For some reason, while trying to go to sleep last night, my mind was racing (as it always does) through things done, things needing done, what is coming up to prepare for, etc. Somewhere in all that, I started thinking about this silly movie. "It's vision is based on movement" kept coming to the front of my mind.

I shifted gears and began my nightly prayer. I prayed for the many people in my life, their illnesses, struggles, hopes, dreams. Then, I always pray for my own heart. I have a very colorful temper and a quick mouth. Both of which I wish God would end for me. Then, my thoughts again went to "it's vision is based on movement." Why am I thinking about that while trying to pray? The last time I saw that was years ago, it's not recent in my memory.

It occurred to me that maybe God or my own guilty spirit was saying something. I think that I think sometimes that if I do something, but I move slowly and step lightly, God won't catch me. Or won't see me for what I am trying to get away with. (this is a deep thought, not on the surface where we would be aware of it) I KNOW God doesn't work that way! I know He sees all and knows all. But far too often, we think God works the way that we do.....thinks the way we do.

~My motive might suck but if the end result is good enough, then I will look good enough to the people around me.~

EXAMPLE: As a nurse, I know that when you give out narcotics, you have to sign them out on a count sheet. The number of pills left needs to equal the number that is reflected on the sheet. Simple enough. However, if a nurse pops the pill out, signs the pill out, and drops the pill into their pocket/purse....no one would ever know, with some patients. Because some people can't tell you that they didn't get their medicine because of a physical or mental issue. So the count sheet is right, the patient is nuts (but she/he always is) and the nurse got away with it. The nurse STEPPED SOFTLY ENOUGH TO NOT ATTRACT THE T-REX! Now, its possible that her mother is suffering with cancer and can't get any relief and she is trying to help her. Its possible that she is trying to kick an addiction herself and is simply weak. Its possible that she doesn't think the patient needs it, but its ordered, (she has to give it) and she is just trying to make her paperwork match. Lots of things are possible....that doesn't make it okay.

This, of course, might not be the best example, but you see my point. We can look good to everyone around us, we might even fool ourselves into believing we are good people, but God IS NOT FOOLED. He sees us crystal clear.

“You are the God who sees me.” She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?” So that well was named Beer-lahai-roi (which means “well of the Living One who sees me”). Genesis 16: 13-14

If I don't wake the beast, nothing will bite me. Well, God is not a beast and He NEVER sleeps.

A letter to you, from Satan

A LETTER TO YOU FROM SATAN

I saw you yesterday as you began your daily chores. You awoke without kneeling to pray. As a matter of fact, You didn't even bless your meals, or pray before going to bed last night. You are so unthankful, I like that about you.

I cannot tell you how glad I am that you have not changed your way of living, Fool, you are mine. Remember, you and I have been going steady for years, And I still don't love you yet. As a matter of fact, I hate you, because I hate God. He kicked me out of heaven, and I'm going to use you as long as possible to pay him back.

You see, Fool, GOD LOVES YOU and HE has great plans in store for you.

But you have yielded your life to me, and I'm going to make your life a living hell. That way, we'll be together twice. This will really hurt God.

Thanks to you, I'm really showing Him who's boss in your life with all of the good times we've had.

We have been… watching dirty movies, cursing people out, stealing, lying, being hypocritical, fornicating, overeating, telling dirty jokes, gossiping, being judgmental, back stabbing people, disrespecting adults, and those in leadership positions, no respect for the Church, bad attitudes.

SURELY you don't want to give all this up.

Come on, Fool, let's burn together forever. I've got some hot plans for us. This is just a letter of appreciation from me to you. I'd like to say "THANKS" for letting me use you for most of your foolish life.

You are so gullible, I laugh at you. When you are tempted to sin, you give in.

HA HA HA, you make me sick.

Sin is beginning to take its toll on your life. You look 20 years older, and now, I need new blood.

So go ahead and teach some children how to sin. All you have to do is smoke, get drunk or drink while under-aged, cheat, gamble, gossip, fornicate, and live being as selfish as possible. Do all of this in the presence of children and they will do it too. Kids are like that.

Well, Fool, I have to let you go for now. I'll be back in a couple of seconds to tempt you again. If you were smart, you would run somewhere, confess your sins, and live for God with what little bit of life that you have left.

It's not my nature to warn anyone, but to be your age and still sinning, it's becoming a bit ridiculous. Don't get me wrong,

I still hate you.

IT'S JUST THAT YOU'D MAKE A BETTER FOOL FOR CHRIST.

P.S. If you love me, you won't share this

***Its amazing how much of myself I saw in this*** Who am I serving? Not while I'm at church in front of all my "churchy" friends, but who am I in front of my husband & children, at home, where there is no one to fake who I am for? Who am I telling them that I love? Who will my children follow to their grave, the Saviour or the Destroyer?

Saviour refers to a person who helps people achieve Salvation, or saves them from something; a person who saves, rescues, or delivers: the savior of the country; a person who rescues you from harm or danger; (usually with capital) a person who saves people from sin, hell.(www.dictionary.com)

Saviour - Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary: one who saves from any form or degree of evil. In its highest sense the word indicates the relation sustained by our Lord to his redeemed ones, he is their Saviour. The great message of the gospel is about salvation and the Saviour. It is the "gospel of salvation." Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ secures to the sinner a personal interest in the work of redemption. Salvation is redemption made effectual to the individual by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Destroyer a person or thing that destroys; One that destroys: a destroyer of family unity; a destroyer of our environment; a person who destroys or ruins or lays waste to; "a destroyer of the environment"; "jealousy was his undoer"; "uprooters of gravestones" (www.dictionary.com)

I can't remember who said it but I heard it said once to question the message, when something is urging you to move....because sometimes Satan whispers in God's voice (or close to it).

1. Who is speaking to you? God or Satan

2. What is the purpose of the message? What will really be accomplished?

3. Who gets the Glory? you or God

...then make your decision to move or stay

Faith without works

Faith in Action ~ James 2: 14-26 (The Message) Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense? I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, "Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I'll handle the works department." Not so fast. You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove. Do I hear you professing to believe in the one and only God, but then observe you complacently sitting back as if you had done something wonderful? That's just great. Demons do that, but what good does it do them? Use your heads! Do you suppose for a minute that you can cut faith and works in two and not end up with a corpse on your hands? Wasn't our ancestor Abraham "made right with God by works" when he placed his son Isaac on the sacrificial altar? Isn't it obvious that faith and works are yoked partners, that faith expresses itself in works? That the works are "works of faith"? The full meaning of "believe" in the Scripture sentence, "Abraham believed God and was set right with God," includes his action. It's that mesh of believing and acting that got Abraham named "God's friend." Is it not evident that a person is made right with God not by a barren faith but by faith fruitful in works? The same with Rahab, the Jericho harlot. Wasn't her action in hiding God's spies and helping them escape—that seamless unity of believing and doing—what counted with God? The very moment you separate body and spirit, you end up with a corpse. Separate faith and works and you get the same thing: a corpse. Where do I fall into all of this? What part do I play in the grand plan? I am a mother. I am a wife. I am a daughter, sister, aunt, cousin, friend, etc.....but who am I? I believe that I am exactly what God wants me to be RIGHT NOW: FORGIVEN, REPENTANT, BLESSED....and I pray that I will continue to change until the day I go home to heaven, everyday becoming the creature that He wants me to be, not what I want to be. I want to be a servant. I want to see every person in heaven someday. I want the Spirit to move me in ways only clear to God, I don't have to understand it. I am clay. I want to go out into all the world. I want to be a part of God saving the unsaved. I don't want the glory. I don't want it in print in the paper, a billboard, or the bulletin. I want Jesus to smile when He thinks of me. I think He already does ~ its like positive, visual reinforcement to picture that in my head. I want to see the look of DEFEAT on Satan's face when Jesus claims me as His own on Judgement Day. I want God to move me because I AM WILLING! I would like for anyone out there, reading this, to pray for me and my family. The things in this life are very good for us right now. We have noticed that when we think things are the best is usually when Satan strikes. We need to be brave and strong in God and in love for each other. Eric & I have recently made some plans....some bigger than others.....many of them stretch out over the next few years. I pray that it is God's will, not just my idea. I need God's approval or the plans will be for nothing, even if they do happen. Making something happen because YOU want it so badly, doesn't mean that it is blessed. There are times when God stops your plan dead in its tracks, then, sometimes, He allows it to happen but isn't "in your corner." To me, I don't want ANYTHING if God doesn't give it to me. MY GOD IS GOOD, ALL THE TIME! ALL THE TIME, MY GOD IS GOOD!

Just some things worth sharing...

Please take a moment to relax your mind and humble your heart to focus on Christ. Allow God to be the only person on your mind while you read this prayer. If we can take the time to read long jokes, stories, etc., we should give the same respect to this prayer. Friends, who pray together, stay together.

Dear Lord, I thank you for this day. I thank You for my being able to see and to hear this morning. I'm blessed because You are a forgiving God and an understanding God. You have done so much for me and You keep on blessing me. Forgive me this day for everything I have done, said or thought that was not pleasing to you. I ask now for Your forgiveness.

Please keep me safe from all danger and harm. Help me to start this day with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude. Let me make the best of each and every day to clear my mind so that I can hear from You.

Please broaden my mind that I can accept all things that are in accordance with "Your Will". Let me not whine and whimper over things I have no control over. Let me continue to see sin through God's eyes and acknowledge it as evil. And when I sin, let me repent, and confess with my mouth my wrong doing, and receive the forgiveness of God.

And when this world closes in on me, let me remember Jesus' example -- to slip away and find a quiet place to pray. It's the best response when I'm pushed beyond my limits. I know that when I can't pray, You listen to my heart. Continue to use me to do Your will.

Continue to bless me that I may be a blessing to others. Keep me strong that I may help the weak. Keep me uplifted that I may have words of encouragement for others. I pray for those who are lost and can't find their way. I pray for those who are misjudged and misunderstood. I pray for those who don't know You intimately. But I thank You that I believe.

I believe that God changes people and God changes things. I pray for all my sisters and brothers. For each and every family member in their households. I pray for peace, love and joy in their homes that they are out of debt and all their needs are met.

I pray that every eye that reads this knows there is no problem, circumstance, or situation greater than God. Every battle is in Your hands for You to fight. I pray that these words be received into the hearts of every eye that sees them and every mouth that confesses them willingly..

In Jesus' most Powerful and Holy Name, AMEN!

6 reasons not to mess with children.

(1) A little girl was talking to her teacher about whales. The teacher said it was physically impossible for a whale to swallow a human because even though it was a very large mammal, its throat was very small. The little girl stated that Jonah was swallowed by a whale. Irritated, the teacher reiterated that a whale could not swallow a human; it was physically impossible. The little girl said, 'When I get to heaven, I will ask Jonah.' The teacher asked, 'What if Jonah went to hell?' The little girl replied, 'Then you ask him.'

(2) A Kindergarten teacher was observing her classroom of children while they were drawing. She would occasionally walk around to see each child's work. As she got to one little girl who was working diligently, she asked what the drawing was. The girl replied, 'I'm drawing God.' The teacher paused and said, 'But no one knows what God looks like.' Without missing a beat, or looking up from her drawing, the girl replied, 'They will in a minute.'

(3) A Sunday school teacher was discussing the Ten Commandments with her five and six year olds. After explaining the commandment to 'honor' thy Father and thy Mother, she asked, 'Is there a commandment that teaches us how to treat our brothers and sisters?' Without missing a beat one little boy, the oldest of a family, answered, 'Thou shall not kill.'

(4) The children had all been photographed, and the teacher was trying to persuade them each to buy a copy of the group picture. 'Just think how nice it will be to look at it when you are all grown up and say, 'There's Jennifer, she's a lawyer,' or 'That's Michael, He's a doctor'...' A small voice at the back of the room rang out, 'And there's the teacher, she's dead.'

(5) A teacher was giving a lesson on the circulation of the blood. Trying to make the matter clearer, she said, 'Now, class, if I stood on my head, the blood, as you know, would run into it, and I would turn red in the face.' 'Yes,' the class said. 'Then why is it that while I am standing upright in the ordinary position, the blood doesn't run into my feet?' A little fellow shouted, 'Cause your feet ain't empty.'

(6) The children were lined up in the cafeteria of a Catholic elementary school for lunch. At the head of the table was a large pile of apples. The nun made a note, and posted on the apple tray: 'Take only ONE. God is watching.' Moving further along the lunch line, at the other end of the table was a large pile of chocolate chip cookies. A child had written a note, 'Take all you want. God is watching the apples.'

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~I am not the original author of these ~ all of them were sent to me through various emails.~