365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 221

As I pondered what to write, I looked up at my wall of scrapbook pages and all the photos, all the memories and a sadness came over me for the families that lost their homes this week to the fire. I know that for me, considering my memory is not so good, that these photos and scrapbook pages mean the world to me. Your kids grow up so fast. It really all does go by in the blink of an eye. But there are those moments that you capture on film or nowadays, digitally that show who we are as human beings. What it really is showing is a glimpse of God. The joy you see in faces, the love you see in the hugs and arms around each other, the smiles of those you love and who love you, the experiences that are captured that show how much the Lord has blessed us with. God is everywhere, within our lives if only we open our eyes to see it. And even if you don't have the photos or scrapbook pages to look at, we have the present and the future to look at and see and feel God. Praise to God for being with us at all times.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. -- Psalm 46:1

Father's Day 2012

 

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 34

What a wonderful weekend it was! And back to work I go... But let me just say I am praising God for all the great memories that occurred this weekend starting with the fabulous and unique version of worship service we had on Christmas Eve with a re-enactment of the birth of Jesus in which any child that wished could dress up as an angel, sheperd, sheep or wise man and come forward to where Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus were at the appropriate part of the story. It was quite the sight to see them all surrounding baby Jesus and all of us singing Joy to the World. Christmas eve dinner was super fabulous thanks to my brother's special taco shell preparations and reading the Christmas story to the kids was a very special moment for me taking me back to my teaching days and pulling at my heart strings to maybe get back to teaching Sunday school sometime and than there are the Christmas morning memories: Faith's reaction when she opened her American Girl doll she wanted, Tristan being taught how to make bacon for breakfast by Nathan and staying in pajamas all day. The weekend ended with a game night with our new Uno Attack game in which there was a lot of laughs and "your mean" by Faith. So, I am praising God for all these memories of my family just being together and sharing in the celebration of Jesus. Now, it's time to get my photos uploaded into Studio J and creating my scrapbook pages before these memories fade.
Luke 2: 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.