~Happy Thanksgiving!~

~Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus ~ I Thessalonians 5:16-18

 

"In Thanksgiving, Let Us Praise Him"

From the first bright light of morning to the last warm glow of dusk;

Every breath we take is sacred, For it is God's gift to us.

 

In the season of our plenty, in the season of our need;

We will find His grace sufficient, we will find His love complete.

 

Safe within His hand that guides us, Hidden in His healing wings;

Day by day His love provides us every good and perfect thing.

 

In thanksgiving, let us praise Him; In thanksgiving, let us sing

Songs of praise and adoration to our gracious Lord and King.

~Austrian hymn~

~Unexpected Blessings~

Wow.  I am truly humbled and thankful for each and every response that was made regarding my last post.  From your tips on taking baby steps in getting my house uncluttered; to sharing your daily organizational and cleaning routines; to cheering me on..."you can do it!";to giving me website recommendations for cleaning and organizing (flylady.net and organizedhome.com); to recommended book reading (One Thousand Gifts); to understanding my physical and emotional obstacles; to your willingness to be reach out when I need someone to talk to or lean on; and to, most importantly, your thoughts and prayers!  It is true that some of the sweetest friendships have come about through blogging and I am finding that out firsthand.  I am touched deeply by those of you who are wanting to reach out and become a true friend.  I am blessed.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

My middle daughter called me unexpectedly at the end of last week and wanted to bring her two boys over to help me with any kind of cleaning project.  Who can resist an offer like that?  I  was caught off guard but I thought a good place to start would be my laundry room.  It had become quite the junk room having anything and everything thrown in there, in a jumble and quite the mess.  So everything was brought in to the living room.  I mean EVERY thing!!  We had a trash sack....or two.  Empty boxes were brought from the attic: boxes for organizing the things that I wanted to keep and boxes for items to be taken to Goodwill.  And this what we ended up with...

See?  Most everything was taken out.  Side note:  This cabinet between the washer/dryer and freezer was built by my sweet son-in-law several years ago.  There are doors to be mounted but I haven't finished painting them.  Yep, they've been sitting for several years waiting for me to finish painting, distressing and crackling.  Sigh...  Anyway, All the items I'm keeping are back on the shelves and labeled.  There's a reason why the stuff is still in boxes but that's for another post. :)  This little cleaning project would have taken me the better part of several days if I had tackled it on my own.  Thank you, my middle child, for your willingness to come and help me.

These were my unexpected blessings from this last week.  Now, I may not have got much cleaning and uncluttering done over the last several months, but I have been busy working on some sewing projects and I want to show you what I've been doing.

 It involves some of this...lots of soft yarn.

 I love these colors...Bone and Country Blue.

 The next project involves a whole lot of these fabrics.  I am SO in love with these fabric patterns!  Western prints that I got from local stores and also online.

 I cut up a whole lot of little squares to make a lot of bigger squares that look something like the one shown above.

 And then another project that involves some lightweight denim, corduroy and drapery fabric.  Again, the theme is Western.

Look closely and you can see what these fabrics are being used for.   Hint, hint ;)

Three projects.  One common theme.  For one very little person.  The last one isn't quite done yet but I've got to hurry!  Several months ago, I announced that my youngest daughter is expecting her thrid child and the time is now here.  She is going into the hospital tomorrow to have him brought into the world....our grandbaby #6!!  And big sister and brother will be staying with us for the next couple of days.  What a blessed time!!  I ask that you especially pray for my daughter and for the new grandson tomorrow.  And for the medical group who will help bring him into the world.  Once I get some pictures, I'll share with you our new little bundle of joy.  And, of course, I'll also share with you the completed projects that are made for him.

I have much to be thankful for in the unexpected AND expected blessings that He is bestowing upon me.  God is so good.  I pray your day, and weekend, are filled with unexpected blessings.  Those that come when we least expect it or when we think we least deserve it.  They are the best, don't you think?

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~Happy Resurrection Day!~

~The Resurrection~

We hold so close to our hearts

The cross where Jesus died

But so much more than the blood-stained cross

Is that Jesus came back to life.

The stone's been rolled away,

The tomb lay open and bare.

They looked for Him and then the angel said

That He is no longer here.

Oh, what joy they must have felt

To see Him just once more.

To eat with him, to drink with Him,

To receive Him back as Lord.

So much did He accomplish

Through His death upon the cross

And in His rising from the dead

He reconciled us back to God.

Nothing else could bridge the gap

That sin had wrenched apart.

Now we can freely go to God

And receive Christ in our hearts.

~by M.S. Lowndes~

internet

~The Snowflake Prayer~

Thank you God, for the gift of winter.

For the cold frosty snow and shimmering icicles,

For frozen lakes and rivers,

And most of all for snowflakes,

Ever so beautiful, so special, so one of a kind.

Let them remind me that I am like that in Your eyes...

So beautiful, so special, so one of a kind.

Thank you, God, for snowflakes,

Thank you, God, for me.

May you be reminded of how special you are in His eyes~

Note:  All photos are courtesy of the internet

~An Early Sign of Spring?~

This morning while I was letting my dog out to do his business, I noticed a bunch of birds in the far part of the yard.  After watching them a bit, I thought...could those be robins??  So I put Banjo back in the house and grabbed my camera to get a closer look with my zoom lens.

While watching them, I started clicking away on my camera.  Sure enough, these fine-feathered friends were indeed robins.  We've had a fairly mild winter, but is Spring coming already?  Surely not.  I went back inside and went to my next best friend, next to my camera.  Google.  I started doing my research and found this article..."The Robin Is Not a Sign of Spring".  Surely they jest, I thought!

Excerpts from article went something like this... "I saw a bunch of robins in the middle of January's snowstorm.  It sure didn't look like Spring to me!"  "I saw a robin last week.  Spring must be coming!"

Robins are a sign of Spring, right?  Wrong!  (what???...my thoughts)

Robins are not a sign of Spring any more than Punxsutawny Phil, that pampered Pennsylvania ground hog, is a predictor of weather. (darn!!)

So why do we cling to the old wives' tale that a robin is the sign of Spring?  Because, as we all know, all robins go south for the Winter and return in the early Spring.  Unfortunately, that is not true.

In part, we are just not paying attention.  Maybe, during a long winter, we are too housebound, or too bundled against teh cold to notice.  But if we strap on our snowshoes and wander the garden or roam the woods - or if we just walk to the corner store for a coffee or newspaper - we may hear the rattle of the robin on any day of the year - even a mid-winter day.

...perhaps, like the ancients of old, you want an omen from the skies, a bird sent from the gods with the message that "Indeed, Spring is on the way - Persephone returns to bring life and fecundity to the earth." (whatever that means)

Red-winged Blackbird                                      

If that is what you are looking for, then watch for the Red-winged Blackbird...with his "Conk-a-reeeee, Conk-a-reeee". (his mating call).

That is a sure sign that Spring is coming.  Other birds will be following along in quick succession....

Well, rats!  Not that I'm in any hurry for Spring to come because that means Summer is not far behind.  So, in the meantime, I'll enjoy the splash of color we get from our little feathered friends. 

Note:  The excerpts from this article were taken from the Tails of Birding blog.

May God bring you splashes of color on this winter day~

~When the Time Was Right....~

Last week, I finally got around to purchasing a 2012 calendar.  The one I picked out was from DaySpring.  When I opened it up, there was a cardboard insert with a poem inside.  I don't know if it's the same one in every calendar but it is so lovely and, of course, so true that I wanted to share it as today's Thought to Ponder.

When the time was right,

the sea parted,

the walls fell down,

the lions went hungry,

the sun stood still,

the star appeared,

the waves were calmed,

the stone was rolled away,

the Lord ascended...

And when the time is right,

the King of Kings will return.

God is never early and He's never late~

He's always right on time and His plans for you are good.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." ~ Jeremiah 29:11


I pray that you are blessed with knowing and having peace about God's plan for you today ~

~My New Year's Prayer for You~

About six months ago, I started this blog; my very first.  Little did I know how much joy I would receive from writing and sharing ideas about my family, the things that I love and the projects that I take on.  More importantly, the joy I would receive from the people who have stopped by to read what I have shared.  From the four corners of this nation and beyond.  People who have taken a little time out of their busy day to share their thoughts; kind words of encouragement in all areas of what I write about or share pictures of; give kind compliments about my family and the things that I may cook or create; and offering prayers on my behalf when I have had a bad day.  People who care enough that they desire to become my friends...dear friends.  Dear friends whom I have never met face to face.

In turn, I receive great joy as I look forward to reading your posts where I receive much inspiration with your creativity in areas I may or may not be familiar with, or what you do in the kitchen, or the hobbies you enjoy.  I find such kinship with those of you who share the same interests, the love of family and home, and knowing that we are sisters in Christ.

As we enter this new year, my desire is that we may continue to be an inspiration and encouragement to one another as we share our interests, our hearts and our friendships.  I am truly grateful and blessed.  With that, I want to share this New Year's prayer with you....

May you always enjoy the love of family and friends, 

May you be blessed with health and happiness,

May you continue to enjoy new experiences with God,

And may your walk with the Lord be closer than ever.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, " plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." ~ Jeremiah 29:11

Have a joyous first day of the New Year ~

~I Will Remember~

Veteran's Day has come and gone and I am ashamed to admit that I did not say thank you or even remember to acknowledge this day set aside to honor our soldiers.  But today I came across a beautiful post from Cindy at Oakview Cottage who got the post from Gracie at Gracie Jewellry.  It reminded me that we should honor and remember our soldiers each and every day not just one particular day a year.    This is quite humbling and gives us so many reasons to be thankful.  Thank you, ladies, for sharing.

WHEN A SOLDIER COMES HOME

When a soldier comes home, he finds it hard....

...to listen to his son whine about being bored.

....to keep a straight face when people complain about potholes.

...to be tolerant of people who complain about the hassle of getting ready for work.

...to be understanding when a co-worker complains about a bad night's sleep.

...to be silent when people pray to God for a new car.

...to control his panic when his wife tells him he needs to drive slower.

...to be compassionate when a businessman expresses a fear of flying.

....to keep from laughing when anxious parents say they're afraid to send their kids off to summer camp.

....to keep from ridiculing someone who complains about hot weather.

....to control his frustration when a colleague gripes about his coffee being cold.

...to remain calm when his daughter complains about having to walk the dog.

....to be civil to people who complain about their jobs.

....to just walk away when someone says they only get two weeks of vacation a year.

....to be forgiving when someone says how hard it is to have a new baby in the house.

The only thing harder than being a Soldier...

Is loving one.

Lord, I pray that you protect and bless those who have chosen to serve our country near and far.  Also for those who serve in other countries.  I pray that you protect and bless their loved ones while they are carrying out their military duties.  Thank you, soldiers, whatever branch you may represent, for serving near and far, for the sacrifices that you make.  God bless you!

Have a blessed day ~