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This past week has been really busy. For one thing I have been cleaning my house because the Holidays are coming and I don`t want to be cleaning at the last minute. I don` know about you but house cleaning is the least of my favorite things to do, but I do love a clean house. I have also been trying to get some Christmas shopping done and a few cards addressed. Friday evening I had everyone over for dinner. The smaller gkids kept the place jumping. Em and Si can actually play with Layton now and even though he won`t admit it, he really likes to have them around.

On Saturday Lis and I took a bus trip New York City. It was the 1st time for me and 2nd time
for Lis. We had a great time seeing all the things you read about and see in magazines or on TV. A friend of ours, Laura and her mom went with us. It was also nice to see some ladies from our church especially since they knew a little about how to get around NY. We were really excited to find out that someone Laura works with gave the four of us free tickets to see the Broadway Show, Xanadu. It was musical featuring many of Olivia Newton John`s songs. The highlight of the day, however, was on the way up to NY when we received a phone call from Matt and Jess. Click on this link to see why we were so excited.

Get Me Out of the Ashes

This week has touched my heart in so many ways. I think we all have a hard time seeing ourselves the way the bible says that God sees us, but as I studied day 2 and 3, I began to feel so special to God that I had to stop and thank Him for making me beautiful. And even as I write the word beautiful it is hard to believe that God would see me as beautiful. As I prayed I thought,” God, years ago you reached down into the ashes and pulled me out of the past of being a victim of hurt, anger and unforgiveness and you gave me a new hope in you and I am so thankful”, you really did make me beautiful.

I have received many insightful things from this week`s study and I pray that you have too. We have a hard time seeing God`s ability to do something with the circumstance we are in. I love the sidebar on pg. 129, “An unhappy woman needs a change of heart more than of circumstances”. Wow, that is good. I can remember saying to my husband, “Let`s move away from all of this”. He would always just hug me and remind me that we would just move the problem with us. He was more right then he imagined, because some of the problem was my thinking that life would never be the same again. I needed a change of heart and God took me right where I needed to be and He comforted me and provided for me. He took away my mourning and gave me gladness and He gave me a song of praise instead of despair just like He said He would.

I love the treasure on day 5, “Come and share your master`s happiness”, Matt. 25:21.

Isa. 61:1-3 “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me….He has sent me…to comfort all who mourn and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair”.

What a Savior we have,

I want to be a princess

I hope you are as excited as I am about what we are learning in our study. I am thanking God for all the new wonderful truths I am able to apply to my life. I always like to learn things that I can actually use to make my life more consistent with the word of God.

As I said yesterday, I love this week`s study and I think you will too. The first day has already told me I am a Princess and all little girls want to be a princess, right?

As a little girl I remember loving to dress up in my mom`s dresses and pretend to be a princess. Mom was about 4 foot 9 and weighed maybe 90lbs so her dresses almost fit me and my friends and she had some beautiful dresses. My dad was a contractor and would often build things in his workshop. He used a hand shaver, I`m sure that you younger girls have no idea what I am talking about, but stay with me because you are going to be sorry you did not not have these curls to play with. When he would shave a board the shavings would come off like a long curl, much like a grain ribbon that you pull a pair of scissors through and it curls to put on a pkg. When he knew I wanted to put them in my hair he would try to make them as long as he could. My friends and I would pin them in our hair and we would have beautiful blonde curls as we played for hours, pretending to be princesses.

The most exciting thing is, we don`t have to dress-up, put curls in our hair and” PRETEND” to be a princess. All we have to do is become a child of the King. Tamar was a princess because of being a child of a king, but her king didn`t have the courage to stand up for her. Her king was not “The King”, the King of Kings, Creator of the Universe, the Holy One, Lord of Hosts, Sovereign Ruler of all the Earth, My Personal Heavenly Father.

This is a wonderful truth, don`t stay in the bondage of thinking you are not worthy like Tamar did, get those ashes off your head and put on your mended royal robe, you are free.

I Am Blessed

The last few days have been very busy. Monday, Lis, Dave and I went to John`s Hopkins to take Emma back for a post surgery check-up. I watched Sierra in the waiting room while Lis and David took Emma into the office Sierra literally entertained the whole waiting room. She talked the entire time. I made up a story about her and she filled in the blanks. She calls herself Erra Banks and she has blue eyes like mommy and not orange eyes like daddy, actually she has green eyes. She told me her SS story was about a king who marched' "like this" and she proceeds to march in long strides, and who also cried and was sad, and when I asked why, she hesitated, rolled her eyes and said,"because he has eyes like mommy". I could go on and on because we must have sat there waiting for 1-1/2 hrs. We finally went for a walk and when Emma came out and they saw each other I should have had my camera because they ran to each other and hugged each other like they had been separated for months.
We then went to lunch and Em and Si sat in a booth like big girls. We stopped at the Outlets and after about 1/2 hr. of shopping, it was evident that they were tired and ready for a nap. We decided to try one more store to buy the girls new shoes and belive me that was one store too many. We managed to get them a pair of shoes but it was a challenge. The best thing about grandkids is when we got to my house, they cried because I was leaving them, but wait, that isn`t the best part, you see I went in and sat down and felt blessed for being with them. Lis took them home promising herself she would never take them shopping again. You just gotta love grandkids.

Jesus Is The Answer

This week`s bible study, "Binding Up The Brokenhearted" reminds us of the passionate, tender side of Christ. When our hearts are broken we are vulnerable to almost anything. I pray that each one of us will be able to embrace one of the reasons Christ was sent to us. In Isa.61:1 Christ makes a statement of truth, "He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted". I have cried to the Lord so many times through trials and losses and hurts that I would say at times, "God it`s me again, I`m sorry to come to you with the same problem, but I don`t seem to be able to get past this." I remember the first time I heard the song, "The Comforter Has Come". I sobbed, I needed a comforter, as a mother hen hides and comforts her chicks, I needed a hiding place. We have all had broken hearts, sometimes small cuts, sometimes large fractures, but no matter how small or large, Christ is the one holding the bandage. First we need Christ to be our Savior, but when our hearts are broken we need Him to be our comforter. Before past hurts become our captivity let`s remember Isa. 61:1.

Layton Is Ninja Turtle

How To Eat Candy Before Mom Sees You.

Emma is a serious Pirate

Trick or Treat

Trick or Treat

Halloween is always a fun time for us. We take the little ones trick or treating in town around 5:30. There are a couple of streets in town where the people that live there go out of the way to make it a fun time for the kids. Last night Em and Si were pirates and Layton was Ninja Turtle. Em does not like masks so the evening went well until we met up with Kelley and Layton and she saw his turtle mask. She screamed and cried until we finally convinced her it was only Layton. Everytime we came to a house where someone was wearing a mask she cried. Finally we just kept her with us. Sierra would walk right up on the porch, knock on the door and yell, "Trick or Treat" while Emma stood on the walk. Sierra would always come back with candy for Emma, it was so cute. We ended the night at a friend`s home for pizza. Before I left I searched through all the goodies the kids had collected to find some Snicker bars. I told Layton to save me one and he said, "I have to save one for sissy too", darn that sissy.

Today is November the first, I cannot believe how fast the days pass. It has been a typical fall day here in MD, a little cool but warm in the sun. I spent most of the morning preparing for my Tuesday bible study. We are on week 5 of "Breaking Free", "Binding Up The Brokenhearted". In Isa. 61:1 it says. "He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted". I thought about how much hurt, anger and bitterness we could save ourselves if we would just give our broken hearts to Christ. Tonight I received a call from a lady who lost her daughter a year ago and because of some other circumstances she just can`t move on. She is broken-hearted. Our Sunday School prayer list is filled with names of broken-hearted people. Who is going to heal their wounded hearts? I can hug them, cry with them, pray with them, but Christ was sent to bind up their hearts. Beth points out something I think we all need to be aware of and that is we protect ourselves from more hurt by making self-made fortresses. She says, "We risk becoming captives in our own protective fortresses".