MY BELOVED

The first time I heard this song it brought me to tears and it STILL does. Never before had I heard a song that so quickly brought me into the presence of God. It is so beautiful I just had to share it with you. Please take the time to watch and listen to this video clip. I promise you won't be disappointed!

Finding God In The Simple Things

On a morning I get to have some coffee, I like to pick a special mug. Sometimes there's no rhyme or reason as to which one I pick, however, this morning I picked a mug my sister Cathy recently gave me.

I was extremely tired so I picked this one, which seemed fitting at the time. As I was making my coffee, that scene from FINDING NEMO kept playing over in my head. After putting my creamer in, I clutched my coffee and literally said out loud, MINE!!! MINE!!! MINE!!! That's how I felt about my coffee today.....don't anyone touch it, it's MINE!!! Scary thing is, I was alone.

I don't know about you, but in the total business of life and all that goes on, some days I really wonder who I am and what my purpose is. I know I'm a daughter, a wife, Mom, Nana, etc, but sometimes I feel like I should be more, like I'm not enough. Have you ever felt that way?

As I sat there this morning looking at my mug, I couldn't figure out why those words, MINE!!! MINE!!! MINE!!! kept tugging at my heart. Then a scripture I have heard so many times, resonated so deeply with me......Isaiah 43:1

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are 

MINE!" .....MINE!! MINE!!

 I love it how God can show us Himself and how He much 

He loves us through such simple things!

My War Binder

I made some time over this past weekend to get started on my War Binder. I'll admit I've had it for months and have done nothing in/to it, but that is changing.  It's nothing fancy, but it's a start!

 

Morning Quiet Time

Drinking my coffee and having my quiet time is something I truly love to do in the morning.  My favorite place to go is on the porch.  There is something about being outside talking to God while being serenaded by His own beautiful birds.  Unfortunately, it is still too cold here so for now, my quiet time has to be inside where it's warm. 

I have a few devotionals that I use, including my Bible, going back and forth between them. It is amazing to me that no matter which one I am using, it has EXACTLY what I am going through and says just what I need to hear for that day.  God truly is AMAZING and always seems to meet me where I am.  

THANK YOU, FATHER for your mercy and grace.......I LOVE YOU!

I LOVE YOU

Dear Jesus,

I am sitting here writing this letter with a heart full of thanksgiving, and praise for You, and a desire to tell You and the rest of the world, just how much I LOVE YOU!!!

*I LOVE YOU because You have been with me my entire life, through good times and bad.
*I LOVE YOU because You have comforted me in times of great sorrow when I thought I would never be happy again.
*I LOVE YOU because You have encouraged me in times when I have been down and felt that things couldn't possibly get any worse.
*I LOVE YOU because You have filled my heart with joy by blessing me with a wonderful family.
*I LOVE YOU because You have made me smile by sending MY CRAZY FRIENDS into my life!
*I LOVE YOU because You have given me a Godly husband who loves You, and his family with all of himself.
*I LOVE YOU because You have shown Your trust in me by loaning us three beautiful children, 2 sons-in-law and 2 grandchildren.
*I LOVE YOU because You loved me UNCONDITIONALLY even when I didn't love myself.
*I LOVE YOU because You are a merciful and forgiving God and even though we may stray from our walk with You, You patiently wait for us to return. And when we do, You are there with Your loving arms outstretched, waiting to embrace us and welcome us back.
*I LOVE YOU because YOU LOVED US so much, that you willingly gave Your precious life on the cross for us!

Thank you, FATHER, for all that You have done for me!! I LOVE YOU!

Your Daughter,
Laura

Just A Few More Days

Devotions and morning prayer time with my girls while enjoying our tree for a few more days before it goes back to the shed!

365 Photo Challenge Day 9

365/9
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God!" Philippians 4:6 It is so easy to let our daily schedules bog us down and overload us with stress and frustration, but PRAISE THE LORD, He is always there to take that fear and anxiety away, if we'd only let Him!

NON-NEGOTIABLE

On Thursday, while waiting to pick up Mouse (my granddaughter, formerly known as Doodle Bug) from school, I was thinking of what my word for 2017 should be. Lots of words came to mind, but the one that stuck out the most was one I heard a young woman talk about this morning on the Christian radio station, WPER.....NON-NOGOTIABLE - not open to negotiation or discussion.  They had an audio clip by Christine Caine about how she keeps from getting burnt out and not feeling frazzled all the time with having such a busy schedule. Her key tips are: 

1) Make sure you are in the will of God, making sure you do what HE wants you to do and not what everybody else wants you to do.
2) Be healthy, nourish you body
3) 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!" The Bible promises us that we shall RUN not to be weary and we shall WALK and not faint.
4) Being burnt out is not from what you are supposed to be doing, and what we are supposed to be doing is listening to our spiritual disciplines: being in the Word, praying, being in the fellowship of other believers, etc. Through these things, the spirit of God sustains us and strengthens us.
5) Have and make those spiritual disciplines....NON-NEGOTIABLE!
6) Make sure quiet time with GOD is a priority as when we get busy we tend to push that and our studies to the side.

This all reminded me of what my husband said one day after he came home from work and I told him I had not done much of anything with the house because I spent most of the day in bed trying to keep warm and doing my Bible study. He said, "We only have ONE THING that we need to make sure we do each day and that's to spend time with the Lord!" And you know what, he was right!

So, as you read earlier, my word(s) for 2017 will be NON-NEGOTIABLE because nothing will interfere anymore with my quiet time with the Lord. I know that putting Him first will empower me to lead the life that HE intended for me to live!

Don't Forget

                                   

O*U*C*H!!!

I have often heard that kidney stones are horrible and the pain is severe and intense. Well, I can say now from personal experience that it is ALL TRUE!!

It was definitely NOT the way I wanted to spend my Sunday morning but in all honesty, it was exactly where I needed to be at that moment and it truly was a great reminder to me that on those days when I feel like everything is going wrong, or I feel I have it bad or am at the end of my rope, I will remember that through all the pain that this world can throw at me I will..........

PRAISE GOD FOR I AM ALIVE! 

I prayed a LOT that morning asking my sweet Lord to relieve me from that pain.  I knew He would.  Knowing that He was there right beside me, holding my hand, giving me strength is what helped me through.  THANK YOU, JESUS!

"God is our refuge and strength,
    an ever-present help in trouble!"

 Psalm 46:1

Quiet Time

Because my life has been so busy lately and I've often been gone 

more than I am home, I started to think that 

I didn't have time to have my quiet time with the Lord.  Oh, so not true.  

My precious friend gave me "Jesus Calling" for my 

birthday and it fits right in my purse.  

Honestly, I can no longer use the excuse 

I'm not home, my quiet time will have to wait. 

I can have my "much needed time with the Lord

ANYWHERE I am!

On my dear friend's back deck.....

 in Yorktown....

even in the park!  

Seven Day Scripture Challenge Day 7

DAY 7: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law!"
Galatians 5:22-23

Seven Day Scripture Challenge Day 6

DAY 6: "This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him!"
1 John 4:9

Seven Day Scripture Challenge Day 5

DAY 5: "For the Word of the Lord is right and true; He is faithful in all He does!"
Psalm 33:4

Seven Day Scripture Challenge Day 4

DAY 4: "He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither. And in whatever he does, he prospers!"
Psalm 1:3

Seven Day Scripture Challenge Day 3

DAY 3: "Children's children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers!"
Proverbs 17:6 

Seven Day Scripture Challenge Day 2

DAY 2: "From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised!"
 Psalm 113:3 

Blessings~
Laura

Seven Day Scripture Challenge Day 1

I was asked by a friend of mine to post a Bible verse each day for the next 7 days and my response was YES!!  How could I say no to such a WONDERFUL CHALLENGE.  How could I say no to getting to spend some EXTRA TIME IN THE WORD.  How could I say no to getting to share my LOVE FOR THE LORD and to SHARE HIS WORD with others........I COULDN'T!

So, for DAY 1, I chose to share with you my favorite scripture passage....

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future! " 

Jeremiah 29:11

Would you like to take this challenge along with me?  If you do, please leave a comment below with a link to your post so we can stop by and see what scripture you'd like to share with us!

Blessings~
Laura

FATHER, PLEASE HEAR MY CRY!! I thank You, sweet Lord, that You are a God of compassion and mercy. You do not cause evil or pain....You redeem it. You know first hand of rejection, suffering, grief, anxiety, hunger, loneliness, pain, being unjustly persecuted...You endured everything...so we can say You understand what we are going through. You are well acquainted with sorrow and grief and You know better than anyone, how to heal our hurts.

Father....today there are so many of my family and friends that are hurting in so many ways its hard to mention them all sweet Lord, but You know what they are. You hear our every cry out to You.

Throughout Scripture, believers are instructed to cry out to God in times of trouble. “Call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me” (Psalm 50:15). “Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not” (Jeremiah 33:3). “The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles” (Psalm 34:17). “When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me” (Psalm 56:9).

Thank you, Lord, for the blessings You give us....thank You for walking with us and being the one person we can count on that will never let us down or disappoint us. We love You, Lord, and we thank You that we have a Savior in whose name we can pray.

AMEN! 

Choose Life

No matter how good or bad your choices have been in your life, there is really just one choice that matters:  where you will spend eternity.

God has given you a free will, and He expects you to use it. You must choose Him-consciously; intentionally choose Him or you will be making a choice by default, a choice against Him.

The Bible says it's a life and death matter. Your free will is His gift to you-SO USE IT!!