365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 365

It has been exactly one whole year I have been writing up my praises. This has been a tremendous blessing to me and I hope to you who have read them. I am thankful to God for the use of this blog to be able to praise Him for all he is, does and gives us. It just wouldn’t be the same writing it in a private journal. It has been an honor to share these praises with you this last year. So, what is up for the year to come? There are a few different options I have been thinking about but I keep coming back to this one so here it comes:  365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge.  The Holy Spirit is within us but we need to call on His power to work in us everyday. My favorite scripture is Galations 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  So, this coming year will be devoted to praying about these fruits, seeing these fruits in my life and striving to be Spirit-Filled everyday. I hope you will continue on this journey with me and will be Spirit-filled with all these fruits each day in the year to come.

Galations 5:25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 70

My son lost his retainer. To me it almost seems like inevitable that this would happen. It's just not something you are use to doing and distractions happen. So some poor guy cleaning our table up at Jason's Deli probably saw and wondered 'what the heck', into the trash I am sure is where it went. My hubbie was fuming at this loss because he thought the cost to replace ran around $250. Ouch! In the scheme of things, I certainly don't want his teeth to get messed up and ruin all the work and money already put into them but at the same time I feel like we have to focus on the fact that we could give him braces in the first place. We have much to be thankful for and yes an extra $250 will hurt and probably mean no mini trip during Spring Break but I am going to pray and keep my focus on the positive and know that in the end God will provide as he always does.
Luke 12:24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds?

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 22

I don't know about you but my getting older experience has been all about little things. Nothing life threatening, thanks to God but little things like my hormone imbalance, cists and now boils that come up on your body in places that are aggravating and my shoulder pain. It's been the year of the shoulder for me. First my sternal-clavicle joint was seperated in a fall I took on ice and not diagnosed properly for 3 months and than my right shoulder was hurt exercising on a machine at the YMCA and diagnosed as a shoulder bone spur and now I am in pain on my left side which has been going off and on for quite some time and I believe is another bone spur issue. I had a steriod shot the last time I was in to see the doctor and my whole body went into itch mode which means I was starting to have an allergic reaction. And for those that don't know, I am allergic to allergy medication so... Yeah, not a lot of options. I ended up at my actupunturist who helped me finally get rid of the pain from the first shoulder injury and she took care of the allergic reaction. Whew! So, now I am pushing through the pain because they next option is going to have to be surgery and I didn't want to have to go there. As I sat in the hot tub last night, trying to relax after a day of putting out fires at work and fixing other people mistakes, I was listening to the music playing and these words stuck out to me... "When it's all said and done, the only thing that matters is how we have loved." It's from the song Blink by Revive. At that moment, I smiled and thought it's not about my pain at the moment but how I respond to other around me despite my pain. I can always go the easy route and be a cranky witch or I can choose to not let the pain I am feeling cover over my feelings of love for those around me. So, today I am thankful for the words of others whether they come in a song, in an email or spoken directly to me that somehow give clarity and perspective and point you back into the direction that God wants for you. So, how have you loved? Haven't heard this song? Click on the iTunes button at top left.
John 15:12 My command is this: Love each other as I have love you.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 4

Thanks to Walmart for the good DVD deals, I got the movie Nights in Rodanthe with Richard Gere and Jessica Lange. I had seen it before but thankfully because my memory is so bad I forgot all the details and it's like watching it for the first time almost every time. LOL. This one is a tear-jerker! I already knew what happens in the end so I was balling long before the tearful stuff started. The movie is about two people who come into each other's lives by chance. They are both in very different difficult places in their lives that have to do with relationships to spouse, son, daughter, etc. The main point of the movie was that these two people had changed each other just by being who they are. There have been plenty of people in my life that had an impact on changing me for the better. One of those people is a good friend of mine named Claudine. She prayed for me that I would except Christ someday and I did. She prayed for me and my daughter when we struggled to keep baby inside of me at 20 weeks of pregnancy. She has always been a great support and though she doesn't live within quick driving distance anymore I am so thankful for her friendship, support and love throughout the last 14 years we have known each other. The Lord has worked through her in helping me. My prayer is that I can be that kind of loving supportive person for those people in my life and that my dear friend has plenty of that loving support given back to her from the people around her.

My daughter Faith with Claudine's daugther in Fall 2009 trip to visit them.

Psalm 94:18 When I said, "My foot is slipping, your love, O Lord, supported me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.