Good Advice

"Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."

Quote the raven,"Nevermore"

Happiness depends upon ourselves.
Aristotle Greek critic, philosopher, physicist, & zoologist (384 BC - 322 BC)

Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.
Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865)

Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city.
George Burns US actor & comedian (1896 - 1996)

You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.
Dale Carnegie

There isn’t much better in this life than finding a way to spend a few hours in conversation with people you respect and love. You have to carve this time out of your life because you aren’t really living without it.
Real Live Preacher, RealLivePreacher.com Weblog, August 27, 2003

When someone allows you to bear his burdens, you have found deep friendship.
Real Live Preacher, RealLivePreacher.com Weblog, January 4, 2003

The friendship that can cease has never been real.
Saint Jerome (374 AD - 419 AD), Letter

I no doubt deserved my enemies, but I don't believe I deserved my friends.
Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892)

Youth cannot know how age thinks and feels. But old men are guilty if they forget what it was to be young.
J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, 2003

It's not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what's required.
Sir Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965)

Alert Expectancy

And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Romans 5:5 (NIV)

In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary - we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit! Romans 5:5 (The Message)

A Song for Connie

Bless your beautiful hide,

Bless your beautiful hide.

Bless your beautiful hide

Wherever you may be.

We ain't met yet

But I'm a willin' to bet

You're the gal for me.

Bless your beautiful hide

You're just as good as lost.

I don't know your name

But I'm a-stakin' my claim

Lest your eyes is crossed.

Oh, I'd swap my gun 'n' I'd swap my mule

Tho' whoever took it would be one big fool.

Or pay your way thru cookin' school.

If 'n you would say I do.

Bless your beautiful hide

Prepare to bend your knee.

And take that vow

Cause I'm tellin' you now,

You're the gal for me.

Pretty and trim but kinda slim.

Heavenly eyes but oh that size,

She's gotta be right to be the bride for me.

Bless her beautiful hide

Wherever she may be.

Bless your beautiful hide

Wherever you may be.

We ain't met yet but I'm a willin' to bet

You're the gal for me.

Tuesday night this song started going through my mind. It is from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers..........one of my many favorite movies. I even tried to sing a line or two; but not very well so don't bother to tell me that. So I dedicate this to Connie who said she would be singing it the rest of the night. Hey girl.....I'm still singing it!

Pet Pictures

Once upon a time Bright wasn't allowed on the beds. Now the only one he hasn't been on is Donald's and mine. (And that's only because Donald won't allow it. LOL)
How can I get this thing in my mouth???



















But why is the dog in the house and I'm out here??
A dog's life. If I can't get on a bed then the tub will have to do. (Wait a minute, that's our tub!)

He really was little once~!

Let's see. Which bed do I prefer??
Once we were strangers, now we are adopted brothers.
"But this one is so tiny!" (Bright with Sarah J.'s kitten.)
He's so cute~!


If you park at our house more than likely you'll have a cat on your car.

Known by Him

I'm so glad I'm known by God. Months ago Pastor Paul told us that we can't always know the mind of God but that we can know His heart. That is a deep statement for me. I guess up until the past couple of years I might have disagreed. Or to be more exact I believed that others might know His heart, but that I probably never would. Most of my Christian life I have coasted along knowing I had trusted Christ as my Savior, but living my everyday life apart from that. Needless to say I didn't have a lot of joy or hope.

Sunday's message was about THE ONE WAY-THE ONLY WAY into heaven. It is only through Jesus Christ that we can be saved; there is absolutely no other way. You can't pray enough, do enough good deeds, bow down enough, or anything else man comes up with to reach God. God has already reached out to man and given His sacrifice, His only Son Jesus. (Romans 10:9-10 "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."

We need to believe and confess. There is no magic prayer that will do it. Anyone can be saved. "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Romans 10:13

I'm afraid some people know God, but aren't known by God. Matthew 7:21-23
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord!' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the person who does what my Father in heaven wants. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in your name? Didn't we force out demons and do many miracles by the power and authority of your name?' Then I will tell them publicly, 'I've never known you. Get away from me, you evil people.'

God wants us to call on His Son, Jesus Christ. I love the way The Message puts John 3:16......
"This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life."

Jesus Himself said, " I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of. "(John 10:10 The Message)

Are you known by God?

Pictures

This is an interesting picture of my dried flower arrangement on our hearth. Leave it to Hannah to come up with some incredible pictures. This one is looking down on it and you can see the rocks in the vase. (All pictures shown are taken by Hannah.)Who would have thought back in 1975 that we would have five incredible children????
Bright having a much needed bath. Now did they remember to clean their tub??
Donald's dragon from Thailand. Doesn't Rebekah find neat gifts?
My kitchen that I redid summer before last.

Our living room. Our hearth is in the corner. Donald let me buy the coffee table for my birthday two years ago. This is our first coffee table in years. We got rid of the old one because of limited space and never replaced it until this one.
The corner of our living room suits our computer just fine. Rebekah found this picture at Bed Bath and Beyond and Donald told me to buy it.
My color washed walls that Vicki did for me. The pictures were my Mother's Day gift. They say Faith, Hope, Love with scripture verses. You can see the hall that leads to the back two bedrooms and bath. This addition was what made our house work for our family.
My pretty flowers that Bethany brought me last night. She loves flowers~!

My new comforter from Rebekah and my color washed walls that I did.

I love this shot. I call it "3 in 1." It a picture of my bathroom, dressing area, and bedroom in one photo thanks to a large mirror and Hannah's photography skills. See my new shower curtain??

This is the only thing I have on my walls. Nothing I had matches. I kept trying to convince Rebekah that "something" would work with my new colors. Nothing does~! These are gifts from Bethany. Our children love to give.

I am so incredibly blessed. I have a wonderful husband, five incredible kids, a dog who adores all of us, a comfortable home, and so much more. But the most incredible thing of all is to be known by God. More on this later.