Where is the Snow!?

So.. if it has to be this cold (3 degrees) why cant we have snow??? I have been waiting all year for some good snow, and we havent got squat! Whats up with that??

I love the snow, especially fresh fallen snow, before its all muddy and ugly. It has a way of reminding me of Gods Grace..everytime. How cold and bleak the world is in the winter.. naked limbs, brown grass, dirty, and sometimes just plain ugly. Then when God lets the clean white snow fall and cover all the dirty landscape, it becomes a beautiful scene,... white glistening trees, the trash and muddy ground are covered in the blanket of snow, Much like our souls when God forgives us. He takes our tainted, sinful, dirty souls, and rains down his blood on us, washing us white as snow... clean, purified, and beautiful. We are fresh, and untainted.. forgiven. I thank God for that reminder of his forgiveness.. and for the changing seasons.. for always knowing that a better day will come. God is good! All the time!!

So its a week into the new year.. I guess I should have written before now.. but hey I am a procrastinator! I just realized I havent blogged in over a month! The Holidays have kept me busy, and now life returns to semi-normal. I guess I need to make a resolution to stop procrastinating. I did make a few New Years Resolutions, and to keep myself in check, I will write them here.

1. Again, I aim to delve into Gods Word Each and every day.. I desire a closer walk with my creator, and I know that reading and studying the Bible is the very essence of creating a deeper relationship with my God. I have done well so far, not missed a day :)

2. I want to be more preservering.. moving forward, and not letting my aches and pains drag me down so much. Life with Fibromyalgia and Arthritis is a challenge in itself, but I need to push myself a little harder.

3. I want to cultivate my friendships. I need friends, and I surely love people, I just need to be more adamant about staying in touch with those who mean so much to me.

those are for now, but for me every day is a new start, and each day I can resolve to do things that further Gods kingdom. God help me to do your will. Amen.
Now for being Thankful...

38. Today I am thankful for the desire to Get back into church.. and the ability to forgive .. I was hurt and resentful of some things, but Gods Mercy and his love have allowed me to get past that hurt. I know that some people are just not friendly, and I need to learn to not get my feelings hurt by people who ignore me or dont want a friend ship with me. I do believe however that as Gods children, it is our duty to be a friend, and to love others in Christ. Some people appear to be very unfriendly and lacking in love for their brothers and sisters in Christ, but I dont know their heart or soul, so I will not judge them, but rather pray for them.. and forgive them for the slight, real or imagined. I need to be more understanding, and forgiving, and I need to remember that God loves me, whether someone else does or not.

39. I am thankful for some very special people at my church. I, being a mother of young adults and a pre teen, love to be around younger people, they light up my life with their enthusiasum and excitement. I must mention a young person in particular who insires me ... She is a beautiful young lady named Jillian Pye. This young lady has a heart unlike any I have ever seen... she if full of love,for God, for her family, her husband, her church, her friends, and anyone else that she meets. She loves most unconditionally, whether they be young or old, rich or poor, sick or healthy, she is never afraid to give a hug, or a beautiful smile, or a word of encouragement to anyone. If God is looking down and checking to world to find someone who loves as he commands I am sure he sees her love light shining all the way from heaven. I am so thankful for this young lady.. she is a Blessing.

40. I am thankful for my husband who seems to be changing for the better, he is becoming the person I knew was hidden deep inside.. he has had a rough life, and he has that rough exterior, the kind where you are never sure if he cares or not.. but lately he is opening up, being more emotional, and I am thankful for that!

41. I am thankful that even though I am only human, God forgives and gives me Grace New each day. Thankful for Gods forgiveness.

Gosh I am so bad at keeping resolutions, hence the reason I try not to make any New Years Resolutions. I think in my entire life, the only one I have ever kept was to read my entire bible in one year, I did it!!! Twice now :) There are so many other things I want to do, but never get done. Am I lazy? hmmm Maybe.... Tired... Always... Busy... more so lately. So why the heck cant I keep a simple promise to myself to blog on a daily or semi-daily basis?

Anyways, in this time of Thanksgiving I need to be more Thankful!!!! So here are todays gifts.

36. I am excited about my Realtor Career.. its going fairly well, I love meeting new people, and looking at peoples homes. How better to marry the two, than to be a Realtor?? Even though the market is slow, I have hope that it will pick up. I appreciate the company I work for, and their Integrity. So I am happy in my career life.

37. I went to visit my Auntie Lois, last week, and realized that I really need to do it more often. She is my mommas baby sister, and Its so much like visiting with my momma when I talk to her. I love her dearly, and Uncle Cliff too, I heard stories from him that I had never heard before. He was in a nostalgic mood about things that happened in his life, and he told me stories about how God took care of him, many times over when he was in the war. His words weren teaching me a lesson that I thought I knew, but sometimes overlook... God knows what is happening in your life.. he has a time for you, and until then he will take care of you... He will be there for you, even when you think he isnt. Everything happens for a reason, we may not realize at the moment what it is, but there is a reason for all that God lets come our way. I appreciated the words from this 86 year old man who really inspired me with his stories of war, and loss, hope and love. It was a wonderful visit, and I will make it happen more often.

Picture Perfect World

Today was a good day.. Tiff and Brady and I went for a drive out through the country... came upon a little pond with a weeping willow tree.. how lovely ;)I love the country, driving down old roads in the backwoods is so relaxing, you just never know what you will see! We just wandered and stopped to take a few pictures here and there, I love pictures.. sometimes the things that we fail to notice can be the most beautiful gifts God gives us, and we let them pass us by....I am trying hard to really pay attention to the earth and all its goodness...
So Today I am thankful for...these Gifts from God.

28. Living in the country..so that I can really enjoy the Goodness of God's Green Earth,

29. For God creating the Weeping willow tree, something so magical about its warm embrace... it feels like your always welcome under a willow tree, it covers you in its shade, and hides you from the troubles of life...if only for a moment or two...






30. For the fields of wheat almost ready for harvest...how beautiful the countryside...






31. For the portraits that God himself paints upon the water...





32. For Lovely Country Roads...








33. For the trees that shade us, and stand guard ore the earth...





34. For ponds and trees, lakes and seas..abundant life lives in these...











35. For grace and love and all the above!!

Screaming Jets!

Thursday Evening... ok really its Friday morning... Gosh I am such a night owl.. I actually tried going to bed earlier last night.. but only slept two hours then was up for two more.. reading, doing sudoku.. which I love, and trying to talk Brady into actually going to sleep. Thats a joke, the kid dont know what daylight is. He is lucky we homeschool, I would never get him up in the mornings!! Then I was woke up to the scream of fighter jets flying low over our house, doing flips, and flops, and amazing me and Brady with their fearless piloting! The airshow is the weekend at Scott Air Force Base, and tommorrow will be even heavier with air traffic as the base sets up for the weekend. I love the Airshow:)
Anyway,

Just thinking on my gifts today...

24. Thank God for old movies, they are such a refreshing gift.. old, clean, family oriented movies, no trash talk, no obscene sexual inuendo.. Tiffany and I watched, Mine, Yours and Ours, with Henry Fonda, and Lucille Ball, what a lovely movie:)

25. It was a fibro free day, I actually enjoyed the day, except for the hour or so, I was frustrated and crabby, but it was quickly over and Me and the kids ran errands, found bargains, and bought a few groceries from Wally world.

26. I talked to my brother last night, and he is doing really well after his cancer surgery, I thank God for his healing touch in Kennys life, he really is a miracle.

27. The moon is beautiful tonite, even though its not full, the night is clear and bright, and the air is crisp..I am ready for a bonfire!!

28. I thank God for his mercy, and his love, and the beauty of the Earth.. he gave us so much to enjoy, we really need to learn to enjoy it more.

Small but Great!

I am tired and have a headache.. but still I must take time to Thank God for his Gifts..

19. A beautiful day of sunshine..thank God he knew just how far away from the Sun to set the Earth.. not a degree to close, nor a degree to far...He is the Great Creator.

20. A beautiful night, stars are shining, the sky is clear, and the few minutes I was outside tonite reminded me again how I love this fall weather.

21. I Thank God for a wonderful daughter who even when she doesnt feel good, helps me so much around the house. She is wonderful.

22. I thank God for three days of peace from the hubby ;), no gripping, God is Good!!

23. Tommorrow is Payday!!! I love Paydays, and grocery shopping.. even though I have this frugal new approach to buying groceries. :)

Reminising

While cleaning the basement I ran across a old bag that came from my parents house after they had passed, it contained old papers, and part of the story of their life...I stood and opened up paper after paper, my daddys old pay stubs from 1966, he cleared 147.76 a week to feed a family of 7...and we think we have it bad today.. I ran across old rent checks from when we lived on the farm..$64 dollars a month.. wow... a income tax return for 1966..he made all of $7,800. There were old utility bills, insurance premiums, part of a letter from my brother to my momma when he was in the philipines telling her how much he loved writing to her, because he knew she would always be there for him..he talked of his car, and how he wanted my daddy to save his money for him when he sent it home, it just kind of grabbed me in the soul, and brought me to tears, those little remnants of their lives, little bits of their history, little bits of their love...my daddy worked so hard for what little we had, we didnt have much money, but I never can remember doing without or going hungry. Momma was a stay at home mom, who never worked a day in her life in the professional field yet she was the hardest working woman I have ever known..\
She raised five good kids, and I loved the life she and my daddy gave to me, they gave me love and family, and a home... I have so many memories of the good old days... I miss them so much....And tonite I miss my parents, and their love so very much....
But even through the tears I find my gifts..

11. My childhood on the farm, it was so wonderful!

12. The downy softness of the baby chickens as I cuddles them close.

13. The old farmhouse that holds so many memories in my heart...

14. The love of my Bo-Bo, my constant companion, except when he was out chasing the foxes :)

15. The many hours of enjoyment spent swinging in my old tire swing in the backyard, under the old Oak Tree.

16. The noise of the country when I would close my eyes.. the horses nickering in their stalls, the pigs eating their supper, the owls talking in the darkness, the crickets and locusts, and the symphony of insects singing in the night...the creaking of the old house in the winter wind..the lonesome sound of the two oclock train as it rumbled down the railroad track..the sweet singing of the birds, the crowing of the rooster, the sound of daddys truck coming up the gravel road after a long day at work... they were all gifts.. gifts that I am so grateful I had..

17. The smells that came from my mommas country kitchen, apple pies, blackberry dumplings, peach cobblers, pumkin pies, chicken and dumplings, fried chicken and country gravy, Thanksgiving dinner, bacon frying in the morning, coffee brewing on the stove,..so many scents bring me back to that most wonderful time of my life.. Thank you God for all those smells.

18. Im so grateful for the love I had as a child.. for the best momma and daddy in the world.. and for the memories they gave me...