Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone,

I know you're busy cleaning and preparing for the next few days of food, family and friends, so this will be short and sweet.

We have all faced or are facing many life challenges this year but I wanted to pause for a quick moment just to say how grateful I am for each one of you.
You never fail to bless me with your comments and encouraging words. I am meditating on the verses you shared with me last week and my heart is over flowing.

So Happy Thanksgiving friends, each of you is one blessing I give thanks for each day.

Liberty Church

Good morning friends,

I could hardly wait to share some of the pictures from the sweet ladies at Liberty Church in Lawerenceville, VA.

These ladies were MORE than gracious to me and these ladies Love Jesus!

And just look at the darling Bed and Breakfast Inn they made arrangements for me to stay.

Talk about feeling like a princess.
The Three Angels Inn http://www.threeangelsinn.com/

Tom and his lovely wife Pat are most gracious In keepers and they went out of their way to make me feel welcome.

Pat has a way with decor and Tom is not only a wonderful chef, he presents his delectable creations with edible flowers on the plate.

I'm sorry my time with them was so short.

Girlfriends, I say lake a few friends and stay at the Three Angels Inn for a girls night out. You will NOT want to leave!!

Here are a few pictures from our time together. I'll post others when they arrive.

Thank you a million times over ladies of Lawerenceville and surrounding communities, it was a joy to spend time with you.

Journaling Encouragement

Here are a few verses I wrote in my journal regarding the subject of perseverance.
I know my heart is encouraged today as I meditate on these words.
What verses did you find?

Hebrews 12:1,"God Disciplines His Sons Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." NIV

James 1:4,"Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." (NIV)

Revelation 2:19, "I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first." (NIV)

I Chronicles 28:20, "David also said to Solomon his son, "Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished." (NIV)

Encouragement

I couldn't wait to share this word of encouragement from my sweet friend Marybeth Whalen in light of the conversation we had a few days ago. I too have a lot on my plate (I know, who doesn't?????) and feeling overwhelmed.

It appears the opportunity for our son returning home in order to get those flight hours here in Charlotte, has all but dried up. Joseph's contact will not return any phone calls or e-mails.

Honestly, I am right where Marybeth describes herself in her blog post from Tuesday.http://www.marybethwhalen.com/.

"Instead of pouting, I should be praising. Instead of sulking, I should be savoring. Instead of regretting, I should be rejoicing. I clearly needed an attitude adjustment."

Girls, this is where I am today... in need of a serious attitude adjustment.
What is my problem? Good grief, why am I tripping over this?
Why can't I persevere through this with an attitude of praise and thanksgiving (things could be so much worst- my daddy's word)?

Hebrews 10:35-36, "So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised." (NIV)

I think I'm going to begin two new sections in my journal today. I'm going to find as many verses as I can on the subject of perseverance and on the subject of receiving what He has promised, when you have done the will of God.

Anyone want to join me in this?

He's Baaaaaaaaaaack!

Sorry I've been away lately, life is full these days.
I had to remove my last posting and comments due to some unwanted "advertising" comments. I've forgotten how to remove individual comments, any advice my bloggy friends?

For those of you who regularly follow my blog you will remember that our youngest son Joesph moved to Dallas Texas in September in order to get flight hours necessary to begin applying for a job. This was an incredible miracle from the Lord and we continue to be grateful.

To make a long story short, the company who agreed to let Joseph fly for FREE was unable to keep it's promise to him due to a slow down in business so after a month of constant job searching and without any options our sweet son has returned home.Yep, that's right, as of 7:00 tonight our empty nest is not empty anymore. We of course are more than grateful that the Lord brought Joseph and his little red car safely to our door.
Joseph has an opportunity to continue getting the 1000 needed hours here in the Charlotte area so his journey continues.

He's been diligent to beat the bushes and turn over every stone possible to get this training just to be able to APPLY for a job, yet the Lord chooses to keep the doors closed or slightly cracked at best.

Now that you have the back story, here is my question
How do you encourage a grown child who has seemingly done everything to fulfill the requirements for his dream job only to experience one disappointment after another?
Of course we've reminded him of God's providence in our lives and encouraged him to trust the Lord in ALL things.
To be grateful for the Lord closing doors in order to orchestrate things for Joseph's good.
We've spoken all the truths we can find on God's hand leading and guiding our lives and we have earnestly prayed for the Lord to make a way for our son.
I'm confident there are lessons for each of us to learn, but my heart is breaking for my son.
So... how do you?

Am I Getting Old?

Hey friends,

Tom and I were away last week on business and now it's back to work and back to the business of normal life. Whew!
Anyhoo... back to today's question "Am I Getting Old?"
I know we've shared stories in the past and I haven't felt too old lately until this last week.

I've said for the last five years "You know you're getting old, when you watch jeopardy every day (sorry Jeopardy lovers) and you have to call your teenage or twenty something child to program the latest electronic toys you just purchased."

Well, from that description, I am not getting old, I AM old. Mercy NO!!! This can't be!!!!!
We recently gave my car to our son and daughter-in-law and I purchased a newer one.
While I enjoy having that new car smell, can I just say that this car is the hardest thing the world to figure out. We purchased a few "toys" to make my traveling "easier", but I'm just saying...
I can't figure out how to do much more than put this thing in drive. LOL

How embarrassing to call the dealership and ask for a tutorial on how to use my car. :-(
Good grief! Now before you ask... Yes, I did sit in my driveway over the weekend for over an hour with the car running trying my best to make sense of the 4 owners manuals. Yes, I said 4 owners manuals! After one hour and all my neighbors stopping by to ask what I was doing I didn't know anymore than I began, in fact I think I deleted some of the basic set-up items. Good Grief!!
So this morning I swallowed what little pride this new car has left me and scheduled a tutorial with the 12 year old salesman. Okay, he's not really 12 years old but he looks it and he knows how to work all the electronic toys like a whiz bang 12 years old video game champion.

Good Grief Y'all, I AM OLD!! Okay, I look good, but I AM Old!!!!!

Can you encourage this old gal and share your stories.

Calvin and Hobbs

Hey friends,

I ran across this cartoon the other day and boy did it bring back some parenting memories.
What humorous parenting moments can you share?