There Is Hope!

My heart is joyful today! Especially after going to God's house yesterday and feeling His Loving Prescence.

The world seems very dark and sad these days. But I woke from sleep with joy and peace from deep within, because there is a God in Heaven Who loves me and you!

The society in which we live tries and tries to tell us that these things are not true, but all we have to do is read the Bible and we see that there is a God, and that He does care about what happens to us. The Book of Acts is a wonderful place to start learning about Him and His plan for us... It, along with the Psalms, are my favorite books of the Bible. Reading them always blesses me!

So take courage my friend today... talk to Him and seek Him, and you will find Him... as His Word says: "He is not far from you...." you can be filled with His Spirit and His love...

He is so Good... my heart is filled with praise!

I will trust, and I will follow...

Just sharing my heart with you a bit before I go to sleep... there are several things going on right now in my life that I do not understand... Have you ever driven down the highway at night in a thick fog? You knew for certain that things were all around you, but they were shadowy and indistinct. The fog was obscuring the landscape. It's hard to make sense of things and get your bearings when that happens! That's how I feel at the moment.

A thought just occured to me, however, and I believe it was put there for me by the Beloved of my Soul, because things are never foggy and confusing to Him! He knows the end from the beginning... and, He has my best interests at heart.

Here's the thought: "I will trust, and I will follow."

It's as simple as that.

My mother tells of a time when she and my dad lived at High Island Tx. and they had driven over to Baytown for something, and stayed late. On their way home, as they traveled through the southeast Texas marsh country, a terrible blanket of fog rolled over the road and made vision nearly impossible. It was scary for them, because the fog was so thick that it made seeing the on -coming traffic very difficult. They could not even see the center line on the road to tell if they were drifting into the opposite lane... Dad had to slow to a crawl and crack the door a bit and peer down to see the center stripe. They drove like that for miles, with Mom tensly looking ahead, and Dad trying to see the line and look ahead... but, with God's mercy and protection, they finally made it home.

With God's mercy and protection and help... and by leaning on Him, I will make it through this fog, too.

I have heard Ministers preach that if you don't know whether to go forward, or back, or to the side, "Stand Still"... and wait on the Lord... Just now, I am reminded of this scripture:

Exodus chapter 14:
13: "And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.

14: " The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace."

So, I have a strategy, thanks to the Lord Jesus. I will trust and I will follow, no matter what... and I will not rush about with worry and doubt... I will instead stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord...

Monday Inspiration from God's Word

This morning, around 5:30, I woke, and spent some precious moments with my Lord... There is no better way to begin the week! My soul was refreshed, and strengthened, as I talked to the Master. How wonderful to know that He cares about every little detail in our lives, whether big or small. Actually, to Him, they are all small... because He is so Great... He is our Mighty Powerful God, who cares even when a little sparrow falls from it's nest and lands on the ground!

After prayer, I read from 1 Kings chapter 17. My goodness! What a chapter about our God's faithfulness when we are obedient! It is not a very long chapter, but it is packed with encouragement and strength. Three scriptures were especially encouraging to me this morning:

1 Kings 17:14 - 16

14: "For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth.

15: "And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.

16: "And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah."

How Mighty is our God! And how blessed we are to know Him! I am reminded of a song that our church choir sings: "There's no God like our God!"

I think I will try to read chapter 18 later on today or this evening. It is about the prophet Elijah on Mount Carmel... and tells of how our Lord defeated and confounded the false prophets of Baal. I can't wait!

Hooray For Fall!

(Click on photo for a closer look)

Every year I eagerly await the arrival of the Fall and Holiday Season. I always say that my favorite months of the year end in "ber", and I think one reason is that the weather begins to cool (and here in Texas that's certainly a cause for celebration!) Also, to me, Fall and the Holidays are all about family and friends....

When my sister was 11 years old, she wanted a piano so badly. My parents told her "Why don't you pray and ask God to help you get one!" And so she did. And, as He always does, our good and loving God answered! This time, His answer was in the form of an old upright piano, and a lady who had a compassionate heart for a young girl that longed for piano lessons. She let us have it for around 125.00 dollars, I think it was. My sister and I both learned to play sitting at that old upright, and, to this day, though it is out of tune and timeworn, we still can't bear to part with it.

Every year for Fall and Christmas, I deck the dear old instrument in either Fall folliage, or Christmas finery (whichever the season warrants) and I have a grand time doing it. I treat the top of it much as one would a fireplace mantle...
There is a scarecrow couple on the top, (I will try to post some close ups later on) that also have meaning for me. I bought them at Hobby Lobby not long before Sept.11, 2001, and I remember looking at their smiling little faces during that first awful week after the tragedy, and thinking: "Will America ever smile again?" Of course now we know without doubt that God did bring us through, and has kept us safe, and has even restored joy that we thought was gone forever... season after Fall season, when I see Mr. and Mrs. Scarecrow, I think of these things....

I hope this "Autumn of the year" is wonderful for each one of you. Most of all, I hope that you will take the time to thank the Giver of all good things, for His love and goodness to you and yours...

9 - 11 - 10

My mind was full of memories, today, as we marked the nine - year anniversary of the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil in our history as a nation.

I've been thinking, today, about how that morning, 9 - 11 - 01, started for me; with a phone call received by my mother as I slept.... I was awakened by hearing her saying "NO!! OH NO!!" In a voice I had never heard her use before.... and I knew instantly that something terrible had happened. The world had somehow changed forever in those hours between my drifting off to sleep and waking...

The next sound I heard was that of the radio going on, and then, a horrified news anchor was recounting the soul - wrenching events that would change our lives forever. Our innocence as a Nation had been violated, and we would never get it back...

I am sure that all of you, too, remember exactly where you were, and what you were doing, on that September morning ... for those terrible hours, and indeed, that entire week, remains forever burned into our minds with the scorching flames of shock, sorrow, agony, and then, righteous anger.

How I leaned on the Master during those painful and frightening days! I remember going to the church during that awful week with Daddy to seek my Jesus in prayer....and He was there waiting for me, and those Hands that created the universe, and that have nail prints in them... reached out and drew me close, and comforted me as only He can... as I wept and sobbed and mourned for the families of the dead... those precious little ones that did not have a mother or daddy any more.... and those husbands and wives that were so suddenly bereft of the other halves of their hearts... and the mothers and fathers whose sons and daughters were wrenched away from them too soon... and for so many others...

9 -11 was a time in which I gained a better understanding of what it means to be a hero... as we learned of the firefighters that perished saving lives, and of the police and the medical personnel, and the rescue and recovery teams, and countless others, that gave so selflessly of themselves to their Country; in her hour of distress and great need....

It was a time in which our American spirit... the beautiful Eagle, did not cower and hide... but gained strength and soared... we knew in our hearts that we were not defeated...no cowardly, wild - eyed, crazed fanatic could do that to us, regardless of his planes and his terrorist threats..... and we knew, too, that we would not forget those that perished.... and we have not forgotten... and we will not forget...

I Am NOT Kidding...

Hmmm.... I had quite a new experience as I taught piano lessons today! Much of our musical terminology is Italian, and today's word was "pianissimo", which means to play very softly. Since the Italian words are long, we use many abbreviations, and the abrev. for "pianissimo" is two lowercase "P's". They look like this: pp

I teach a darling young lady named Breanna, and she played her piece, and then we discussed the meaning of the word "pianissimo". We then looked to the bottom of the book, for underneath the music, this particular series of books usually has a "discovery" section with which one can explore the terminology a bit more. Breanna read aloud from the book: "Discovery: Explain to the teacher what "pp" means...."

She turned and looked at me like: "You've GOT to be kidding..."

Ah well, never a dull moment..... **SMILE**

What a Happy Labor Day

Today was a great Labor Day. I got to sleep in, WooHoo!!! Then my brother - in - law, who is our "GrillMaster" LOL! barbecued brisket and ribs and sausage, my sister made her yummy baked beans, and we brought the other side dishes and deserts. They live right across the street from us, so we had quite a tasty procession of food going from our house to theirs! Dishes of garlic mashed potatoes and corn - on - the - cob, and pecan pie and coconut meringue pie were eagerly toted across to the "feast".

Our friends Kerri and Robert, and their darling son Robbie came, and we had a wonderful time visiting with them and eating entirely too much. My sister and BIL's huge Catahoula Hound dog "Camo", and their cat "Mr. Tom", seemed to enjoy themselves as well, with Camo draping himself across Robert's lap, in between begging (with large, soulful eyes) for scraps. Mr. Tom had a grand time with Robbie, too. Kerri had brought a platter full of watermelon, pinapple chunks, and cantaloupe, which I really thought tasted so good, because I LOVE fruit, whether it's in salads, pie, or just freshly cut into big 'ol juicy chunks.

Today was such a good day! It made me so thankful for our friends, and for my family as well; and for the good and gracious and wonderful Lord who brings all of us together. He was our treasured and honored guest, of course, for He is always present when His children gather in His beautiful Name...

Ah, School Memories...

My Friend Tara has been posting lots of the cute antics that her (very entertaining) kids have been up to since starting the school year. It got me thinking back to my own kinder days....

My beloved Grandfather was such a jokester and cut - up. He could enter the room and have everyone in stiches in no time flat. He had some Native American blood in him, (Cherokee), and so he thought it a great joke to tell me all about the "Indian" in his family.

I went to kindergarten so excited about my "new knowledge!" I told my teacher (per Papaw) that my grandfather's mother was a "Handsaw" Indian, his father was a "Hacksaw" Indian, and that made him a "Chickasaw" Indian!!!

I can still see my teacher's face as she gently tried to correct me, and I told her that she was wrong because if Papaw had said it, it must be so! (Teachers don't get paid nearly enough, do they?) **Smile**

Good 'ol school days....