1/19/11
1/18/11
When God calls you, do you put Him on hold?
There is an old song that I loved that says "I was born to serve the Lord." Being saved at 16, I have always felt like that was my theme song. I try to do what is asked of me and go where He sends me. I have to admit that I don't always hear His still, quiet voice when it speaks to me. Sometimes He has to shout to get my attention, but when He does, I try to obey.
This past week, I was asked via email to do something for the Lord. When I opened my email, I read the request and immediately closed it. "Oh my!" I thought. "I can't do this!" Then I opened it up again and took another peek. I replied that I would have to think about it.
The minute I hit send, I heard that still, quiet voice say "You want me to call you to serve and when I did, you put me on HOLD?" The voice was very querulous. I'm sure He was amazed at my audacity. To place God on hold. WOW! I was immediately chastised.
So I opened the email a 3rd time and said, "Yes, I'll do it." Isaiah 6:8 says "Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “ Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”
I was truly blessed by doing what God asked of me. If we will just obey His will, He will bestow on us blessings untold.
I know one thing...the next time God calls on me, I won't be so quick to place Him on hold. I want to be an Isaiah with an "I'll do it!" attitude for God.
1/17/11
Love at first sight...
January 17, 1981. It was a cold and snowy day. She had been spending the day primping and getting ready for this date. They were introduced by a lady they worked with, but they had never met each other. She worked days in one building and he worked nights in another, so their paths had never crossed. They had spoken on the phone several times once their mutual friend told him about her.
She was very nervous. She had been divorced for 3 years and had never been on a date in all that time. She wasn't sure if she was ready for this, but he seemed so sweet and nice on the phone and she was really looking forward to it. Her best friend, Becky, was coming up to spend the night and babysit the twins.
As she is getting ready, she is getting worried. The snow started earlier in the day and was slowly accumulating. They had received about 4" and she lived up a steep hill that had not been treated. Would he come? Would he want to brave this weather for a date with somebody he has only "met" over the phone? Time would tell.
As the evening approaches, she hears a car coming up the hill. It is him. He has made it. It takes a brave soul to come out on a night like this to see someone he doesn't even really know yet.
They go out to eat and see a movie. Afterwards, they go to his apartment for snacks and he teaches her how to play backgammon, a game she has always wanted to learn. He has been the perfect gentleman all evening. Opening her doors, holding her hand, walking on the street side of the sidewalk. He has been very respectful and treated her like she was a rare and precious jewel. She wins her third game of backgammon and laughingly leans across the board to give him a quick kiss. Sparks fly and she realizes "I'm falling in love. Tonight. Right this very minute."
He takes her home and walks her to the door. He tells her what a wonderful evening he has and asked to see her again tomorrow. He is going to bring food and will cook supper for her. He kisses her good night and heads back down the hill. She walks in, closes her door and leans against it. She looks at Becky and declares. "I'm in love. I'm going to marry him." Becky laughs.
Jump ahead to Valentine's Day. They have spoken or seen each other every single day. Never letting a call end without telling each other "I love you." He asks her to be his wife. He does not want to spend another day without knowing she is his for eternity. She readily agrees and they set a day for September. But in March, he goes to Florida for a week to the Gator Nationals with his friend. He gets home at 12:30 at night at the end of the week. He knocks on her door. He couldn't help it. He missed her so much. He asks her if she can get off work Friday so they can go to Virginia and get married. He doesn't want to wait until September to make her his bride. He loves her and wants a future together beginning now. She agrees and he heads on home, leaving her to dream of the years to come and a love that will last a lifetime.
That was 30 years ago today. That is the story of how I met my husband, the love of my life. He is every breath I breathe. He is my soul mate, my heart, my life. He is my best friend, my confidante. He has been a wonderful father to my children and a loving grandfather. When I told my friend Becky that I was going to marry him, she thought I was joking. But I knew. God brought us together. This was my destiny. Thirty years have passed and we still kiss and say I love you whenever we are going to be apart, whenever we talk on the phone, and when we go to bed at night. We laugh about it because I won't even walk up to the mail box without giving him a kiss and telling him I love him. Most people don't remember the anniversary of their first date. But I do. When it was something this life changing and important, you tend to remember. So Happy 1st Date Anniversary Sweetheart! I love you!
1/16/11
Sunny and Mr. Wind
Sunny had been out of town, but yesterday he decided to make an appearance. Everyone was so glad to see him. People started venturing out of their homes. Snow could be seen melting off the roof tops and patios. You could feel the warmth on your face as you looked up to the sky. People went shopping. They worked in their yards. They washed the salt off their cars. It was totally an awesome day.
Just when we were feeling good about the day, guess who blew back into town?
That's right that old wind bag, Mr. Wind. Did he return as a gentle breeze softly kissing our face? Did he bring the warm air from the ocean? No he came back like a blast of cold arctic air. One whisper of air from his lips was enough to cut right through you. But we kept on enjoying our day with Sunny. We suffered through the chill Mr. Wind cast upon the day.
We have always heard the saying "Into every life a little rain must fall." We knew Little Miss Icy Rain was coming to visit tonight.
So we braved Mr. Wind to make sure we got plenty of time with Sunny. Once Little Miss Icy Rain heads this way, we know it's back to the "Woe is me" winter blues. So I hope you each enjoyed your time with Sunny and here's a little thought of spring to help you through the winter week to come.
Happy Sunday!
1/15/11
Craft Craze
When working on crafts or visiting craft stores, do you ever find yourself overwhelmed? Sometimes I feel like the little birdy in this picture. He looks like he is thinking "Uh oh, what do I do now?" Well, that's my sentiment exactly.
Just a couple of weeks ago, I decided I wanted to get back into my crafting. I had let it slide for almost a year and I was really missing it. I decided I wanted to do some of the primitive stitching but had gotten down low on my stock of assorted fat quarters. I made a trip to Jo-Ann's. Bought some material, some Wunder Under, needles and thread. Then I headed to Walmart and bought a sweatshirt and some bread cloth napkins. A skein of yarn caught my eye, so I added that to the cart as well.
Once I was ready to start crafting, I thought to myself "I need a couple of new coasters for the living room." I make these with plastic canvas and yarn. So I went to http://www.freepatterns.com/ and found some cute coaster patterns and decided to "whip up" a couple. In two days time, I had six new coasters. Which led me to a desire to do a box. My sister wanted one for her bedroom so I bought some more yarn in her colors. I started it last night. Here's part of the top of her box.
When I was looking for pattern ideas, I found the cutest little pattern for something simple that can be made into an ornament, refrigerator magnet, whatever. I decided to make him for a dear friend of mine. He's not complete yet, but this is a project I'm going to finish up tonight.
My major weakness in crafting is yarn. So yesterday, when I went to AC Moore to get some more plastic canvas, I just HAD to go through the yarn. I love variegated yarns and found a couple I couldn't resist.
I want to make a little basket and birdhouse for my living room. My colors are Burgundy, green and deep country blue. I was having a hard time finding a blue I liked, but I found this one at AC Moore and it is exactly the color of the blue flowers in my furniture. So I had to get that as well.
This weekend I'm going to cut out and iron on the designs for the sweatshirt and bread clothes that got me started a couple of weeks ago. I have a tendency to get side tracked when it comes to yarn. But I'll get it all completed. There is nothing to me as relaxing sitting on the couch watching TV with hubby while I craft.
1/13/11
A good laugh....
I see people posting funny pictures on their blogs all the time, just so we can all get a good laugh. They run the gamut from cute cartoons to strange animal behaviour. But it occurred to me last night that if you need a good laugh, drag out some old pictures of yourself.
I have been wearing my hair reasonably short for many years. Once it gets down on my neck and covers my ears, I usually get a trim. Well, I recently decided that even though I was 54, it didn't mean I couldn't let my hair grow some. So I got out the old picture box and started going through to see if there were any of my hair-do's that I liked "way back when". Let me tell you, it was a complete exercise in futility. I did not accomplish what I set out to do, but I did get some good laughs out of the process. I thought I would share some of my past hair-DON'TS with you so you could get a good laugh as well.
First, I thought I would show you a recent picture so you can see what my normal hair is like nowadays. I have excess natural curl and body so it is always easy to style no matter how I cut it. A quick shampoo, add some gel and Poof! I'm ready to roll. So here is a recent one where I actually liked how my hair looked.....
Then to amuse you, I thought I would travel back to the 8th grade in 1970. Oh My GOSH!! Can anybody say Nerd Alert!! This just cracked me up. I weighed all of 75 pounds back then and was a little bean pole. I hadn't made it to my full height at that time (which is now all of 5'0" tall) But this just cracked me up and I cannot believe I am making it available to the public!
Since I am contemplating the whole long hair thing again, I thought it would be good to go back to my 80's & 90's when I was doing the young mom long hair image. WARNING: THE PICTURES YOU ABOUT TO VIEW HAVE SOME REALLY BIG HAIR!
First off, if you going to get a good laugh at the hair then the glasses will just add to your giggles. We had went over the mountains to spend a weekend in Cherokee. Check out the fringe on the shirt. I loved that shirt.
As I got a little older, the hair got a little bigger. Lots of curls going on this day. All natural.
I must share a little story before you scroll to the next one. My daughter was in high school and taking a cosmetology class. She had to give a perm. She was petrified. Since I had long hair anyway and needed a trim and being the wonderful devoted mother that I am, I let her talk me into using me as a guinea pig for her first perm. Now I must admit it sounded a little strange to perm naturally curly hair, but we were going to just do a body perm to add a little control to the curls. The result....Major Big Hair!
I have been wearing my hair reasonably short for many years. Once it gets down on my neck and covers my ears, I usually get a trim. Well, I recently decided that even though I was 54, it didn't mean I couldn't let my hair grow some. So I got out the old picture box and started going through to see if there were any of my hair-do's that I liked "way back when". Let me tell you, it was a complete exercise in futility. I did not accomplish what I set out to do, but I did get some good laughs out of the process. I thought I would share some of my past hair-DON'TS with you so you could get a good laugh as well.
First, I thought I would show you a recent picture so you can see what my normal hair is like nowadays. I have excess natural curl and body so it is always easy to style no matter how I cut it. A quick shampoo, add some gel and Poof! I'm ready to roll. So here is a recent one where I actually liked how my hair looked.....
Then to amuse you, I thought I would travel back to the 8th grade in 1970. Oh My GOSH!! Can anybody say Nerd Alert!! This just cracked me up. I weighed all of 75 pounds back then and was a little bean pole. I hadn't made it to my full height at that time (which is now all of 5'0" tall) But this just cracked me up and I cannot believe I am making it available to the public!
Since I am contemplating the whole long hair thing again, I thought it would be good to go back to my 80's & 90's when I was doing the young mom long hair image. WARNING: THE PICTURES YOU ABOUT TO VIEW HAVE SOME REALLY BIG HAIR!
First off, if you going to get a good laugh at the hair then the glasses will just add to your giggles. We had went over the mountains to spend a weekend in Cherokee. Check out the fringe on the shirt. I loved that shirt.
As I got a little older, the hair got a little bigger. Lots of curls going on this day. All natural.
I must share a little story before you scroll to the next one. My daughter was in high school and taking a cosmetology class. She had to give a perm. She was petrified. Since I had long hair anyway and needed a trim and being the wonderful devoted mother that I am, I let her talk me into using me as a guinea pig for her first perm. Now I must admit it sounded a little strange to perm naturally curly hair, but we were going to just do a body perm to add a little control to the curls. The result....Major Big Hair!
Does that not crack you up! It's as wide as it is tall. I weigh 92 pounds then and I think 15 pounds of it was hair. And what about the glasses!!! Huge! I was so tiny and petite that I must have thought I needed to have big hair and big glasses just so you could find me in a crowd. The bad part is I actually LIKED it back then. And, guess what, the perm lasted one full year! Well, now that I have totally humiliated myself, feel free to get a good chuckle at my expense. If your friends can't laugh at you, who can. Hope you have a great day.
1/12/11
My God
His mercy endures forever; his grace has set me free.
His love flows like a river as it washes over me.
His peace comes down from heaven. With joy my heart sings.
As I go into His presense riding on angel wings.
My faith is never ending; my cares on Him I cast.
I don't worry o'er the future; I don't dwell upon the past.
I know that He is with me with every step I trod.
I'll always be His chosen; He'll always be my God.
Copyright Brenda Keefer 1999
I wrote this during some rough times in my life but the words are as true today as they were when I wrote them. Pride is not always a good thing. But there are times when being proud is called for. And one of those times is when you can stand up and smile and without a shadow of a doubt proclaim that the great I AM is MY GOD.
He is mine and I am His. No matter what that will not change. The world can beat us down and trample us. Friends can cut us to the core with ill-chosen words. But when push comes to shove, He will always be My God and will always be there for me.
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