Jesus wept

Two powerful words with a profound meaning. Jesus was sent for when Lazarus died. Everyone was mourning his death. Many bible scholars have studied the various meanings of this verse. On the surface, it appears Jesus was weeping for the loss of a dear friend. Other views believe He was weeping for other reasons. Jesus already knew that when Lazarus died, He would raise him from the dead.

He had spent considerable time with these people. They knew of His many miracles, yet they still did not have faith that He could help Lazarus since he had already passed away. Many believe that is why He wept. Not for Lazarus, but for the fact that the very people who were closest to Him still didn't get it.

Jesus saves. It's that simple. He performs miracle after miracle in our lives. Yet, how many times do we try to do things ourselves because we do not have enough faith to ask for His help.

If we look back in our lives, how many times have we suffered in silence simply because we did not have a strong enough belief that Jesus can still perform miracles today. How many times have we sat in the stillness of the midnight with our hearts and minds heavy laden? How many times have we struggled in deep despair needlessly?

If someone were to write a book about what we have gone through in our lifetime, would there be any moments when our loving Saviour was looking down upon us that someone would simply have to write "Jesus wept."

Do not keep your troubles from Him. Take your burdens to the foot of the cross and leave them their. He wants to help if we only let Him.

Pressing Onward....

Philippians 3:12-14 (NKJV)

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

For the past day or so, I've noticed on TV where so many shows are looking at "the year in review". They are reliving the most memorable moments...good and bad...of news stories. They look at the top 100 songs of the year, the best movies, etc.

To me, the past is exactly that...the past. Why do we waste so much of our lives with the "what was" and "what could have beens". What is done is done. And while I hope we can learn from our mistakes, it is counterproductive to dwell on them.

My wish for each of you today is that you each press onward to your goals and dreams. Paul wrote to the Philippians urging them to forget about the past. To reach forward to the future. A future that God has waiting for each of us.

My New Year's wish for you is that you will continue to press onward. Don't look back, but set your eyes on God and allow Him to lead you where He wants you to go.

How do you celebrate New Year's Eve?

What are your plans for New Year's Eve? Mine are simple. Hubby and I have been married 29 years. Every New Year's Eve we play a Monopoly marathon. Over the years, we have collected the anniversary editions and even one that is tropical beach themed. This year, I'm opting for the 70th Anniversary edition as the one we will play. The dice are clear and sparkly and the pieces are bigger than normal.

We are fixing DiGiorno Pizza for supper. We like the sausage and pepperoni with the rising crust. It reminds me a lot of Domino's without having to go out and get it. (We don't have any pizza delivery where we live.)

I love salty chips when I have pizza. My favorite is Snyder's Rippled. They are thinner and crisper than Ruffles and have a much better, saltier flavor. 

And of course, I wouldn't be me if I didn't have a side bowl of M&M's with my pizza. This is my favorite meal. It consists of savory, salty and sweet. Not to mention CHOCOLATE!

And a must have is a tall, ice cold glass of Caffeine Free Pepsi.



Whatever your plans are, I hope you have a Happy New Year's Eve. Stay safe, happy and healthy. See you in the New Year!

Stichery Appliques

As we move into 2011, people think of their New Year's Resolutions. We see so many resolutions made and not followed through. That is why this year, I am making New Year's Decisions. A resolution makes me think of a determination to "try" to do something. A decision on the other hand is an active resolve to, as Nike says, Just Do It!

One of my New Year's Decisions is to spend more time on crafting. I love to craft and have a lot of craft "stuff" but end up letting my work day carry over into my fun time. So effective January 1st, I will no longer check emails or work on work after supper. That will be my craft times. One thing I love doing, but got away from is primitive stitching type items.

I just visited http://www.patternhutch.com/ on line and can't wait to run up there to look at all the new patterns. Here are some that caught my fancy that I need to get:

I want these cool chicks, but don't want to put the love goddess or lovebirds on them. Not sure what they will go on, but love them anyway. I may have to do 3 new t-shirts for spring. One chick for Mom, one for Rachel and one for me.

These little quackers just looked to adorable to resist. Thought I could do one per t-shirt for the grandbabies. I can always reduce the pattern size on my copier to get it small enough for their shirts. Every time they visit, they like to walk down to the river to see the ducks that hang out there. Thought these would be appropriate for the kids. And talk about easy to do!

With my new obsession about cats and whimsical birds, this one was a no brainer (Ms. Debbie, do you need the pine tree/cardinal one if I get this?)

I'm not planning on trying my hand at making an apron, but Mom likes to make them. I may have her make an apron so I can put the coffee mug on it.

These fat cats are so cool. But I would change out for different material. I don't know why, but I'm thinking whimsical on so much stuff this year. It must be my new "thing" for 2011.

These pillows are the cutest things I've every seen. Look at the hodge-podge of material they used. These are really neat.

Love this pin cushion. I won't need a pattern for this. I just want to make it.

My wish list for 2011....

Every year when Christmas is over, I get in the mood for change. I normally start looking for some new decor for the house, change the layout of a room or simply start a new collection. This year, I'm going to be scouting for cats. I do not like to do collections with a shelf that holds the whole collection. I prefer to collect the pieces in a way that I can infiltrate them throughout the house so you see the theme, but they go with the decor of where I place them. I was doing some research on the web and here are some that have been added to my wish list for 2011.

I would love to have this one for my masterbath which has these colors in it.

These are just so whimsical and would match several different rooms in our house.

This one is called Romeo and Juliet. I fell in love with it for several reasons. One, because it's Romeo and Juliet and I'm a romance nut. The second is because I have had two cats in my adult life who I had for many years and were very special to me. One was gray and white and once was orange/yellow and white. This figurine reminds me of them.

I am in to anything whimsical now and this gave new meaning to the word "fat cat". I love it.  

These colors are in my bedroom (except the yellow) and this would fit in perfect with my decor.

I just think she is absolutely beautiful. I love the dragonflies on her. My hall bathroom is birds, birdhouses, and dragonflies and has a lot of her colors in it. She would be perfect for that room.

My next item of desire is going to be some more pineapples. Nothing says WELCOME in a home like pineapples. Here are a few I fell in love with.

Then, of course, with January approaching I get in the mood to go to the local Donna Sharp outlet to get my new spring purse. It is a tradition with me and my sister. She comes to town in January or February and we go to The Maple's Tree in Pigeon Forge and in Gatlinburg to get a new Donna Sharp purse for the new year. She hasn't introduced the 2011 line yet, but based on 2010 here are a couple that I'm considering for next year.

I need a new glasses case for my sunglasses as well and she carries those to match purses so I'll have to add it to my "must have" list.

Why do we blog?

I asked myself one day "Why do I blog?". I enjoy my followers and love when someone leaves a comment. When I started blogging, I wasn't even aware of what a follower was and didn't even know that I needed to check for comments.

As time went on and I learned more about the blogging world, I began to see how much importance was put on followers and comments. I began to feel like a failure since I did not get many followers. I then added a stat counter and realized that I had way more visitors than I realized and even though they are not signed up as followers, I could tell by the stats that many of the same people were come back on a regular basis. Then I became obsessed with reading my stats to see who had been here and where they came from.

You can really become intense on information overload. Then you start thinking: Who is my target audience? What do they want to hear about or see?

Then I went back to the reason I started blogging in the first place. I have always kept a journal, but with the onslaught of technology I found myself drawn more and more to my computer. When I discovered blogging, I realized it was simply a way for me to document my daily life in lieu of a journal.

I realized there is no right way or wrong way to write a blog. There are no secret tips on what topics to write about. Some of my most memorable comments and finest moments have been on blog topics that I just wrote "because it's what I wanted to write".

Do I love my followers? YES
Am I happy with comments? YES

But most importantly, do I enjoy blogging? YES. I finally realized it doesn't matter why I do it or what I talk about, what matters is that I enjoy it.

What lies ahead.....

A new road is opening. It is called the future. 2011 is just around the corner. What will you do with your life? What path will you take?

As we approach the New Year, our minds begin to envision all the things we wanted to do in 2010, but there never seemed to be enough time. We all wanted to lose weight, and many of my friends succeeded beyond their wildest dreams with this resolution. Some wanted to eat better...and did. Some wanted to exercise more...and did.

Some set their goals toward family and home life....be there more for their kids, be more supportive for their husbands.

Some yearned to read their bible more and some wanted to do more active bible studies or become more active in their church.

Some wanted new careers and took steps to pursue their dreams. Some wanted to excel in their current jobs and worked hard to achieve that goal. Some went back to school to earn their degrees and some took chances on new jobs which paid off.

Now that this year is ending, we once again have the opportunity to look ahead down life's road and set new dreams and new goals for our lives. What road will I travel this year? Where do I want 2011 to take me? I'm not sure, but I do know that with God by side, helping me to steer, the road will be a little easier to travel.