Heartfelt Praise

We are rejoicing and Praising our Amazing God....

Mom's biopsies came back NORMAL! She is still going to have a surgery.... but that hideous

"C" word is nowhere around...... Halleluia!

Thank y'all for praying for her! A song is in my heart today:

God is a Good God

The Gospel is the Good News

Today is a Good Day

To Give our Good God Praise!

Looking for the meaning

As I toil through yet another bout of illness with my lungs..... something just occured to me... could there be something I am missing spiritually through all of this illness? I am reminded of this scripture:
Phillipians 3:10 "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable to his death;"
I am also reminded of an old Song by Fannie Crosby:
I am Thine, Oh Lord,
I have heard Thy voice,
And it told Thy love to me,
But I long to Rise
in the arms of Faith,
and be closwer drawn to Thee
Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord
to the Cross where Thou has died...
Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord...
To Thy precious Bleeding side....
Consecrate me now,
to Thy service Lord,
By the Power of Grace Divine,
Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,
And my will be lost in Thine.....

Is there something to be learned from this trial I am going through? For, while I do realize that some things that happen to us are just "Life"..... I also know this very well.... God can take bad situations, painful things... valleys, and times of suffering, and turn them into beautiful, good, and blessed things, times of refreshing and strength..... and great Faith can be born during these times........when we come through them and and see that His Mighty Hand was holding us and guiding us so gently and tenderly.... and yet so firmly......
Lord Jesus, please help me to "get it"..... whatever is to be learned from this.... reveal it to me I pray......in Jesus' Name......

A sweet hand-crafted card for Spring

This evening I enjoyed working with these pretty pastels.... it seems that I am drawn to all shades of lavender and purple and pink these days...... and I have also found myself getting that same itch that I get every year around this time, too! It's an itch to plant flowers..... lots and lots of flowers..... as soon as the weather settles a bit, though....... I had bought a pretty tin bucket last year that I am hoping to use as a planter of sorts..... hmmmm..... what do I want to see growing in it? Maybe something Lavender, purple and pink? I don't know yet.... but it is fun imagining what I'll put in there.....

I have caught yet another cold.... **Sigh** and my lungs are filling up yet again.....my Mom and Sister are also suffering from this cold.... when you get the three of us in the same room.... we sound like a family of Seals barking away ..... LOL!

I went with my sister to petsit this weekend, and spent more time just lying around than I usually do..... made it to T.J. Maxx Homegoods, bought a pretty Spring Wreath for our Door.... and then went out to the car and fell asleep while my sister finished up in Ross.... then both of us headed back to the house, coughing up a lung or two.... and just took it easy the rest of the day.... we didn't feel like doing much else!

I hope each of you had a wonderful weekend...... as always, I am rejoicing in my Heavenly Father's Steadfast Love today....I didn't get to make it to the Thursday night Service at our Church, and didn't make the A.M. Sunday service, either.... so I was pretty anxious to get to the Sunday P.M. service.... I knew that if I could just walk through those doors..... and worship God with my brothers and sisters.... and hear those beautiful songs of Praise... and if I could hear the Preached Word of God..... I would feel so much better....... I was just starved for it! Goodness! I detest having to miss Church....... and you know what? Oh My! The service just fed my soul! And it gave me strength to keep on Walking with my Lord! And as I worshipped... I began to feel the joy and peace that only Jesus can give......

I Know He Watches Me

(I made this pretty bird card this evening, using die - cut pieces from K. and Co. by Brenda Walton. The Papers are from the Mademoiselle stack, and the Four Seasons stack)

God moved in our Church in such a special way during both services yesterday. The message in the A.M. service was taken from Psalm 61:2: "From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee: when my heart is overwhelmed lead me to the rock that is higher than I."

The Minister also used Psalm 77..... and I gained a whole new appreciation, understanding, and love for this Psalm.... it is the cry of an anguished heart...... and David finds the answers he seeks and the solace he needs from the Lord God.... in His Sanctuary......

Today, my heart was overwhelmed, dear friends..... I was carrying quite a heavy load..... and so I did what I imagined David would do under such circumstances...... I went to the Church.....and I poured out my heart to God..... and He heard me, and came down and touched me..... and Comforted me like No other can do....... and I left His House feeling so much better, with hope and joy and peace!..... and when I came home this evening..... as I got out of the car, and walked across the darkened front yard..... I heard myself singing this song:

"Why should I feel discouraged... why should the shadows come.....
Why should my heart be lonely, and long for Heav'n and home
When Jesus is my portion, my constant friend is He:
His eye is on the sparrow.... and I know He watches me
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me
I sing because I'm happy! I sing because I'm free
For His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me!"
And I love this verse too!
"Let not your heart be troubled!" His tender Word I hear,
And resting on His goodness.... I lose my doubts and fears,
Though by the path He leadeth, but one step I may see,
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me
(by Civilla D. Martin, 1905)

If He cares for a little sparrow, I KNOW He can handle my cares......
and I find such solace and answers in His Word... in the precious, wonderous, life - changing book of Acts, and in the Psalms....
I love Him so!

A Pretty "Goodie" Bag

I thought I'd share with y'all a photo of one of the goodie bags I fixed up for the wonderful speakers at our Ladies' Conference.... My Pastor's Wife has a real burden for ladies, so our church has held this annual conference for many years.....

This year I had the fun of putting together these bags, and enjoyed it so much! They were stuffed with all sorts of wonderful things, plus the carry bag inside the plastic over - bag is a Kenneth Cole Reaction quilted tote, so it was really two gifts in one.....

I just thought y'all might like a peek......

I hope y'all are all having a happy week, and that the weekend ahead of you is filled with Joy...

It's been a long time.....

(A cheerful Card I crafted with a sweet little lady sending rosy Valentine's Greetings)

Hello, dear friends of my heart! It seems like forever since I have posted anything! Several of you came by to encourage me and let me know through comments that y'all were thinking of me and prayed for me and my family..... and I felt so happy..... that meant a lot.......

Mom is still scheduled for her biopsy next week, and we are trusting the Great Physician..... He will not let us down! He is Faithful.......

The dear, special Lady that I had posted about, that was undergoing some serious health issues, came through surgery with strength, and leaning on God's Strong Arms...... she is doing much better, Praise the Lord! Many Fervent prayers were sent up on her behalf, and Jesus heard them with His ever - attentive ears.... and He came down and took such good care of her.....

He is such a Good God!

It is really rainy here in our part of Texas...... it is such a blessing from the scorching drought and heat we experienced during the Summer Months..... I felt sorry for the squirrels that we have been feeding, though..... they huddled out on the patio today with their fat little selves gobbling corn and dripping wet....... I am just a sucker for animals.... they make me smile, big, little, fat, skinny, old, young, cute, or homely...... I just love God's Creation!

A family has moved near my Grandmother, and they have a pot - bellied pig..... it stays in their yard most of the time, and so when I stop at the Stop sign on the way to her house, it is usually there...... and I have a secret..... If no cars are anywhere near me, I roll the window down and say "Hello there!" and he/she always grunts back...... it makes me smile every time!

Well, I hope you all have a Happy Valentine's Day and a Wonderful week! Thanks for Visiting!
Hugs,
Jenni

Whew! What a Week!

(Just a little something I crafted this week as a stress reliever, LOL! It's for a friend that is crazy about butterflies)

Have you ever had a week that felt like a never - ending marathon? A marathon of emotions, I mean?? Well, here I am on Saturday Morning, with my tongue hanging out, gasping for breath, so to speak, but alive! (Thanks to my Lord)

My Mom had to have another sonogram this Wednesday.... it was for the "mass" they have been watching for the past year, but had just about decided was a benign cyst. We have trusted Jesus with this, and He reassured us through the radiologist just before Christmas that it was almost 99% certain to be harmless....

Well, they have found a couple of other things, and they need to be biopsied...... of course when they say "biopsy" you sort of go all tense.......

Mom has heard that the biopsies will be painful?? I don't know, having never had to have one... thank the Good Lord.....I DO know this, however! I have complete Faith in my Jesus..... I truly believe that everything is going to be alright! He has always taken care of us, and He is not going to stop now...... I am reminded of a little song that says:

He didn't bring us this far, to leave us,

He didn't teach us to swim to let us drown

He didn't build His home in us, to move away

He didn't lift us up, to let us down

And that is comforting, because it's TRUE!

Several other things have happened this week..... one of which is that another dear and precious and much - loved Lady in our lives has had some scary medical reports, and we are sending up constant, fervent prayers for her healing.... along with Mom's healing.........

But, do you know what? I asked the Lord to do something for me..... such a small and insignifigant little thing, really..... but something only He and I knew about....... and, by the next DAY He had brought it to pass.......... I just wept when I saw it...... you see, it was my Father letting me know yet again how much He cares for me and loves me and knows even the desires of my heart....

He answered another prayer for me this week, too, by the way..... Oh! He is so good! He is so Faithful! He can be trusted, leaned on, and depended upon with the big and small things in our lives, because that's the kind of God He is! My Soul praises Him this Morning and I lift up His Holy Name.....

How I love Him, with all of my heart, all of my mind, all of my soul, and all of my strength......

I'm a little Homesick....

Here in these early morning hours, I am feeling homesick. Homesick for a place I've never seen........ Oh but it's calling my heart...... for you see, the One I love most is there.... and my dear grandfather Papaw Johnnie is there.... some Aunts are there just waiting on us to arrive, my Grandmother Lillian is there, as well as dear loved friends from Church over the years.......

But the One I want to see most is my Best Friend....... He is my Savior, my Hope and my Joy..... how I long to sit at His feet for a while........ look up into His dear face and tell Him how much I love Him.......

An old song by the Southern Gospel group the Talleys has been on my mind today, it's called "Thinking 'bout home"..... have you ever heard it? the chorus says something like:

Thinking bout home,
thinking bout goin' home,
thinkin' bout leavin here,
ready to be movin on,
it won't be long until the sun will set and I'll be gone,
but until then, I'm thinkin' bout home

and then that brings to mind another "homesick" kind of song that I love, called: "The Hills of Home are calling me" by Dottie Rambo. Those lyrics say:

The holy hills, of Heaven call me,

to Mansions bright, across the sea

Where loved ones wait, and crowns are given,

When the hills of home, start calling me

This house of clay, is but a prison,

bars of bone, hold my soul

But the doors of clay are gonna burst wide open

When the angel sets my spirit free

I'll take my flight, like a mighty eagle,

When the hills of home, Start calling me

I see loved ones, over yonder

Tears are gone, and hearts are free...

And from the throne, my Savior beckons

and the hills of home, start calling me......

I'm happy and content here in this life, dear friends..... because of my Jesus... but somedays I just get a little homesick.....