What does a miracle look like?

A miracle is when you receive a call while you are on vacation that says "Your granddaughter is coming two months early."

A miracle is that precious little girl being born healthy at only 1 lb and 14 ounces and only 13" long. But they had to keep her so she could be monitored while her lungs finished developing and she put on some weight.

A miracle is when Mommy gets to lift that precious bundle from the bed, to touch her, to feel her.

A miracle is that first feeding in Mommy's arms. Snugly and soft, like holding a tiny little baby doll.

A miracle is Daddy getting to hold his little bundle of joy. His daughter, his princess. The one who took his heart and will never give it back.

A miracle is Papaw getting to hold his first granddaughter just a week or so after she came home from the hospital. Just 2 months old and only 4 1/2 pounds. But she had Papaw wrapped around her little finger.

A miracle is watching that little tiny baby grow into a precious energetic little princess.

A miracle is that princess growing and having a head of long beautiful hair that weighs more than she does.

A miracle is watching that dainty little princess graduating from kindergarten. She's about 1/2 the size as the rest of her class. They call her the back pack with hair.

So what does a miracle look like? Like this. My granddaughter, Alexis Caroline. Happy birthday princess. You are the light of Mamaw's life and I love you. Thank you God for our little miracle.

A great message....

Our pastor preached a wonderful message last nigh from I Corinthians. I wanted to share something with you from his message.  He was talking about Faith - Hope - Love. He simplified these three very important topics by saying this:

Faith is believing.
Hope is anticipating.
Love is accepting.

I have a very analytical mathematical mind that is always looking at things from every angle to see if any patterns emerge. Now, to some what I'm about to say may sound a little strange but bear with me.

As we look at these three words that are the basics for all Christians, look closely at what the preacher described them as:

Believing
Anticipating
Accepting

When I saw this, my first thought was "Oh, it's an acrostic for the word Baa." Then my next thought, was "Like a sheep." Which led me to think about Jesus is our shepherd and we are his sheep...obedient and following wherever he leads us.

Isn't it amazing that EVERYTHING God does or shows us has an underlying meaning that just re-enforces His word?

And the winner is....

Congratulations to Rachel Ashworth. She is the winner of our book gift package. Thank you for being a faithful follower. And thank you to everyone who entered. I wanted to place the random generator on here to show how the winner is chosen, but for some reason the link wouldn't work. But, again, thanks to everyone who entered.

I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD. - Psalm 122:1

In the U.S. Constitution, the first ten amendments make up our Bill of Rights. The first amendment, in the very first words says "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; .....". This very clearly gives us the right to worship in our own way in our own manner.

We, the people, believe that we are one nation, under God. In 2004, Fox News did a poll in America. The results showed that 92% of American's believe in God, yet only 85% believed in heaven and 82% believe God still performs miracles. In 2007, Pew Forum did a survey of 35,000 people. There results showed 78.4% of the people surveyed were practicing Christians, 4.7% practiced in other faiths, and 16.9% did not believe in anything. In 2009, they did an extensive national survey using U.S. Census information and determined that 79% of Americans are Christians.

This leads me to two questions: First, if 79% of our country are Christians, why do we have so many pews empty in our churches. We complain about it being so hard to find parking when we go to ball games, car shows, or the mall. Wouldn't it be wonderful to say "I have to leave early to go to church so I can find a parking place."

My second question is, if 79% of Americans are Christians and the first words of our Bill of Rights gives us the freedom to exercise that religion, why are we not allowed to pray in schools? Why is there such an uproar to remove In God We Trust from our government...the very government that gives us the right TO trust in God? Why can we not display our Ten Commandments in public, why must we be "politically correct" in everything we say and do?
If the majority of the United States of America are Christians, why are we made to feel like a minority with no rights?

I for one will continue to exercise my rights. I will pray when and where I want to pray. I will put my trust in God. I will attend the church of my choice and I WILL BE glad when they say unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.

Survival

Many hearts and minds will remember the importance of 9-11. We all know where we were and remember the devastation. The families that lost their loved ones, those who went to work not knowing they would never go home again.

But I know a man who is a survivor of the devastating attack on our country. Michael Hingson was working on the 78th floor of Tower One that day. He relives the fear and terror that they all faced. But Michael's story is a unique one. Michael has been blind since birth. His Guide Dog Roselle worked diligently to get them both from the building to safety by walking down all 78 floors in the stairwell where you could feel the heat and smell the jet fuel.

He travels the country to tell of his experience. I have had the pleasure of hearing him in person three times. He takes you through the entire process from the time the plane hit until he made it to a safety zone where he was able to breath clean air.

I cry every time Michael tells his story. He tells how they were coming down the stairs and would have to stop every so often to make way for firefighters to either go up or for them to bring someone injured down. He talks about the smoke, the water, the fumes, the terror, the fear. You can feel like you were there.

But he also talks about survival. The way everyone worked together to help each other get to safety. He talks about the trust that was among the ones trying to get out as stranger helped stranger.

I wish everybody could have a chance to hear his story. I don't think any of us can every understand what it was like to go through something like that and survive.

What a great way to end the week...

I just received my very first blog award. I'm thrilled! I want to thank my dear friend Debbie at http://www.jeremiah-2911.com for my first award. It made my day. What a special way to end the week!

I’m supposed to list 10 things that I like....in no particular order so here it goes.......

1. Playing with the grandkids

2. Spending time with my family

3. Shopping

4. Ceramic Cats

5. Chocolate

6. Baking

7. Reading

8. The Beach

9. Driving with the window down

10. Singing

Now I'm supposed to pass it on to 10 fellow bloggers. Since I am just now starting blog hopping, I'm not sure how to pass it on so I invite you to grab the button when you visit my blog.

This says it all....