I will still miss my kids, but...

Buddy and I were wondering what we would do with ourselves this holiday season.  Matt and Clair and our little grandsons are in Pennsylvania and we won't be able to see them until sometime next summer or fall. So... we were expecting a kind of boring holiday season this year.  But, God has provided us with some great oportunities to be with family and friends!

Our friends Bobbie, Missy and Terry are having dinner at Houlihan's on Thanksgiving Day and we will be joining them.  Buddy and I figured to go out to eat on Thanksgiving.  We wanted to get out of the house and go... somewhere that day.  Well, we will be joining our wonderful friends, this will include Missy's daughter Sammie and Terry's husband, Jake.  We are so looking forward to this.  (And, NO COOKING!  How great is that?)  The Saturday after Thanksgiving we are going to visit with my husband's sister, Loys and anyone else in his family who wants to join us.

My Uncle Sammy and his family have invited us to go to be with them on December 26th.  This will be so great. 

This leaves me able to work for my friend Betty on Christmas Day.

I thought there was not much to be excited about this holiday season, but I am so glad I was wrong.

Praying today for...
Then nation of Syria
The state of Wyoming

Remember, Nana loves you!

Pain is a not four letter word...

Well, it is a four letter word, but it is not a bad four letter word.  There is a very good book about pain by Dr. Paul Brand called, "The Gift of Pain".

Why does God allow pain?  Dr. Brand helped me understand that pain can be a positive influence in our lives.  Pain actually means, "Stop what you are doing.  Get help. NOW."

Whether our pain is physical, emotional, or spiritual, it is telling us:

1. Stop what we are doing.

2. Take an evaluation of the pain.  Is it because of growth?  Is it because of harm?

3.  Get help.  A doctor, a counsellor, God.

Your pain is not your enemy.  It is an alarm built in by your Creator, because He loves you.

Praying today for:
The state of New Hampshire
The nation of North Korea

Remember, Nana loves you!!!

Good Stuff...

There are a lot of things that are good...

Micah laughing out loud at some silly nonsense.
Joel with a muddy face.
Having breakfast with my son.
Hearing my daughter in law say, "Hello!" with her sweet accent.
Sitting with my husband and laughing at some fool thing Boo is doing.
Meeting up with friends and laughing until we cry.
Reading a Bible verse for the 100th time and finally "getting it".
Listening to Ella Fitzgerald and Aretha Franklin sing.
Watching an old Cary Grant movie like, "The Awful Truth".
Rainy mornings.
Sunny afternoons.
Smell of a campfire.

There are many, many more. 

Praying today for:
The nation of Sweeden
The state of New Jersey

Remember, Nana loves you!!!!

More than we can ask or think...

I love the hymn, "It is Well With My Soul".  The lyrics were written by Horatio Spafford.  Mr Spafford was a successful businessman in Chicago, Illinois.  He lost his business and much of his money in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.  A short while later, all four of Spaf­ford’s daugh­ters died in a shipping accident while crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Spaf­ford’s wife, Anna, sur­vived and sent him the now fa­mous tel­e­gram, “Saved alone.”  Many weeks lat­er, as Spaf­ford’s own ship passed near the spot where his daugh­ters died, the Ho­ly Spir­it in­spired these words.

"It is Well With My Soul"

Verse 1:

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Verse 2:

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

Verse 3:

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

Verse 4:

And Lord, haste the day when my faith be made sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

Chorus:

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Of all the triumphs this song speaks of, the one that makes my heart jump inside my chest most of all is that third verse.  All my sin, every bit of it was nailed to the cross with Christ "and I bear it no more".  If God's plan provided nothing else for me but that wonderful priviledge.  My head and my heart cannot fully grasp what that means.  The honor, the God purchased right to actually talk to God, one on one.  To be called His child. Colossians 2:13-14 "When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross."

 

Praying today for:

The nation of Liberia

The state of Mississippi

Remember, Nana loves you!!!

Just be still for a minute, will ya?????

There is a battle going on in the time we live...  sometimes you can feel weak and insecure.

There is an old saying, "Knowledge is Power".  People speak those words and they seem very wise.  But, "knowledge" is not necessarily empowering.  There is a lot of information out there that we might have "knowledge" of, but if it is not true, does it give us power?  And, if so what kind of power is based on lies?  It would seem to me that knowledge based on lies is like the man who built his house on the sand... it is something easily toppled.  But, knowledge based on truth?  It will stand forever.  So it is safe to say, "Knowledge of THE TRUTH is Power".

 Lots of folks are looking for answers these days.  And just where do we go to find the "Truth".  We hear lots of folks claiming to tell us the truth.  But, like Ponitas Pilot, we end up asking, "What is truth?"

We can tear around trying to fight the lies and never find what we are looking for.

In Psalm 46 the Psalmist speaks of battles and the insecurities we can have trying to struggle through life.

1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; 3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. (Selah) 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. 5 God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved; God will help it when the morning dawns. 6 The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. 7 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. (Selah) 8 Come, behold the works of the Lord; see what desolations he has brought on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. 10 "Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth." 11 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. (Selah)

There are a lot of things that can topple and be crushed.  It can frighten you to see things around you fall.  Banks are failing, unemployment is up, kingdoms rise every day, and kingdoms fall every day.  Companies that people thought would be around forever just disappeared overnight.  But, without God's truth, no plan, no idea will stand.

God's truth will not topple, it cannot be crushed, it cannot be shaken.   The waters of the earth may roar and foam, but they do not harm the city of God... in fact, the city of God is BLESSED by the river that flows through it!

In verse 10 God Himself tells us, "Be still and know that I am God!"   He wants us to stop tearing around and just LISTEN for the small voice.  The word "stop" is translated "drop your hands" in one translation.  Stop throwing your hands up in despair and frustration, instead "stop" and just enjoy the presence of God!

When we are tired of all the hype, when we just cannot stand lies and mendacity one more second, pause... stop... drop your hands... shut your mouth... listen... 

He has all the answers.

Praying today for:
The nation of Egypt
The state of Connecticut

Remember, Nana loves you!

Homing in on a major goal!

I met with the counselor today for the first time...  I only have to have two meetings with him and I have fulfilled all the requirements for my bariatric surgery!

The counselor seems great.  I think I can get my head straight to succeed at last!

Praying today for:
The nation Of United States
The state of Nevada

Remember, Nan loves you!!!!

Who is the most controversial person?

I read an article that said Sarah Palin is the most controversial and the most polarizing person alive today.  Well, I am sure she doesn't mind that title in the least.  But, unfortunately, it is not true.
Anyone who stands up firmly for what they believe in these days is polarizing and controversial.  There are lots of folks that people agree with and love or disagree with and hate.
Sarah Palin is one.  But, both Bill and Hillary Clinton, Michelle and Barak Obama, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Tom Delay, Newt Gingrich, Glen Beck, Keith Olbermann, John Stewart, Rush Limbaugh, George Bush and his daddy are too.
The man who wrote the article just happens to be a liberal and he clearly doesn't like her because she is a conservative.  But, there are just as many conservative people writing things about liberals that are just as silly and just as untrue.
Kinda makes me want to give my brain a bath.

Praying today for:
The nation of El Salvador
The state of Michigan

Remember, Nana loves you!