Catching Up !

 Well I realized that I had not written anything for a bit.  Must be because I have been busy enjoying life !  
  So to catch up....Monday consisted of a variety of things ~~ taking Rick to the doctor for a blood test. (Yes he still has blood ! ) A few things out of balance but that is why he had a test.  Ended up being an awakening to get back to the gym and change a few things that we have been eating.
  Monday was the day I called the Idaho Foodbank to see if they could assist with Mosaic Street Ministry's feeding the homeless in the park.  I spoke with someone on Sunday who had worked with a rather large church and she told me that the church received assistance from that agency.  So this week I will do a followup and see where that goes.
  Also on Monday I went to my dentist for another visit following up on my dental work.  It is getting there.  Yea!  is all I can say on that one.
   Monday evening was a JOY !  Rick and I assisted a friend in celebrating her birthday!  We joined Cressa and Jed at Tucano's for dinner.  Really good time.
  Tuesday was the last meeting of the Heart to Heart Ladies Bible study for this year.  The group celebrated with a really good study followed by a potluck.  With the added celebration of a baby shower for Cressa !!  She is having a little girl in January 2014!  Fun Times !
  Tuesday evening was another celebration.  Z turned 5 !   Z is Cressa and Jed's oldest boy. Dinner was french toast and cake !  Yummy in the tummy and just what Z wanted.  Followed by the frantic opening of gifts!!  There were several other little ones present which made for a Very Fun celebration!   A little on the loud side but the type of loud that is okay!
  Thursday was Thanksgiving.  It is probably one of the best I have had for quite awhile.  Rick and I started out at Laura's place for good breakfast and good conversation.  Followed by yummy turkey dinner at Mom Dorey's in Nampa.  There we had good times with Rick's Mom and his 2 brothers.  It was very nice to be there as it had been about 3 years since we had such an enjoyable gathering.  The last stop of the day was at Kelso's Place.  Joe and Taylor had spent the day there with the Kelso Klan. It was the absolute perfect ending of an Awesome Thankful Day.
   Then last night we went to the Friday Gathering for Bible talk and Prayer.  So much there I doubt I could give it justice in this message.  Just simply state that there was much prayer and shared wisdom.
   So that is it on Catchin' Up !   Time to get some breakfast to get Saturday going in the correct direction.
 
 

Figured out

  Well I have been working on learning my sewing machine for about a month now.  Been doing it in my "spare" time.  Guess what ??  I finally figured it out!  Come to find out the machine likes the thread threaded a certain way along with the bobbin being put in "just" right.  My learning curve seems to be a bit longer on this one!!  
  The result of me finally figuring out the machine is that I have been able to finish the worship flags that I started about 3 months ago !! Yea....  : )
   Now onto that other project that will be a gift for a friend.  I figure that project after that will be to make myself some dresses!  
   So glad I went thru that learning curve and kept having the patience to continue figuring it out!
 

 

Answered prayers

  I go to a Friday prayer group that focuses on discussing the Bible and doing prayer. The leader of the group is the Lord. The makeup of the group varies from week to week.  But the Spirit of the Lord always is there.  Last night really good discussion was going on in 3 different circles of people.  
  After that there was concentrated prayer. As a result of that prayer a woman's back pain was gone completely along with some other internal problems that had begun to bother her. Also a gentlemen was completely released from the lingering hold that some drugs had on his body.  Thank you, Lord.
   I see answers to prayers now on a daily basis.  Perhaps because firstly I am paying more attention to what I pray about and secondly because I am looking for the results.  So it enforces my resolve to do both of those.  There is power in prayer!

Does God Hear Me?

That was a question at the Bible study last night. We ask God for many things and have you wondered if He heard you.
 Here is my answer ... what might yours be?
God always hears.  He hears things spoken and simply thought about.  I have confidence that God will honor and nurture my requests.  Believing that God knows the path my life is to take and my requests fall in alignment with God's plan my requests will be fulfilled.  
I know that God answers prayers as I have seen the results. So why would we assume He does not hear us at other times?

Just my ponderings from last night.

Sad and Happy

 I just learned that a good man has gone on to heaven to be with God. He will be missed greatly by those of us still walking on the Earth.  I am sure that he will be told what a good and faithful servant he was.  So I am sad that he is no longer physically present and happy he is in the hands of God.

Errands

Today was a day to drive around Boise to stop at the various Dollartree Stores.  A friend of mine travels out of the country and teachers women to dance for the Lord.  She likes to give them a gift and has found a way to give them each a ribbon flag.  She asked me to assist in putting things together as she will take 500 of them on her next mission trip.  The ribbon she uses she gets at Dollartree as it is a good way to make them less expensive.  So today I was able to get about 2/3rds of the ribbon needed to make flags that match the countries colors! On Friday I will make the circuit again of the dollar stores as the supplies will be replenished.

This evening I will rip the organza material that goes with it.  It gets measured 1" wide.  Good thing it rips!!  So later tonight I get to have Fun with Fabric !  : )

Lessons

Well yesterday was my reminder to take a breath and believe in the Lord.  Nothing major or earth shattering... But an awareness on my part on what some "things" mean to me.  I know that people are Much more Important than things but when someone I love gives me a gift I want to treasure it.  Keep it safe. So I created habits when I handle my special things.  I am pretty sure I am not the only one to do this.
   So... yesterday I was taking my charm bracelet I received to the jewelry store to get a  stopper so the charms would not fall off one of the ends.  The night before I had placed it in my purse so I would not forget it.  Instead I accidentally had it fall out of my purse while I stopped at a store to do an errand.  When I arrived at the jewelry store it was gone!  The employee there was very good with me and mentioned he had seen that look before.  You know, the look that says "I know I had it... WHERE is IT?" Next I needed to get my husband home for lunch.   My husband was Wonderful... calmed me down and had me drive back to where I feel that I had lost it.  On the way there the loud voice that always brings negative thoughts was telling me how I had assisted someone else to have a wonderful gift !  When I arrived at the store I was Extremely Blessed to see that it had been turned into the clerk !  YEA !!  Thank you, Lord, for caring for my special bracelet.

So my lesson on this is to do what I tell other ~~ Stay calm, Breath in the Lord and Breath out your trouble.  It will all be okay...

Coupons

Saving money on something I am buying is a good thing.  So today when I went to Fred Meyer I got a blessing.  There were several things on my list that the store had on sale Plus the store had coupons that made their sale price lower !  On top of that I had coupons for the items!!!  So instead of spending $77.00 for groceries I spent $42.00 ! That is how I like to shop : ).

Bible Study Questions ...

Today I wanted to pass on some thoughts that I pondered while doing the Bible study homework.  My husband who is a pastor is creating a study for our church's Bible study on Wednesday evenings.  While working on the homework for this evening the question of "How does listening to and obeying the Holy Spirit affect your obedience to God through faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control ?"  WOW....This is what I came up with ~~~

These work together to keep us from the effects the enemy ( the negative voice) would have us feel.  Self-control keeps the negative "I told you's" down.  I have a tendency to really mentally beat myself up when I do not use self-control or gentleness.  When I remember to listen to the small voice that whispers in my ear the good things and follow that path my life is smoother.  I believe it increases the shield that I have to keep the attacks at bay.

So that is what I came up with.  I will see this evening what others think. I do know that I have a much more peaceful walk on this earth now.

Monday

Normally Mondays end with Rick and I simply having a normal dinner together and watching some TV to relax.  Last night we were blessed to have dinner with 2 good friends of ours!  Good conversation and yummy taco salad : ).  Followed by a special treat of warm brownies with ice cream on the side.

We have not seen our friends for about a month and the conversation flowed.  An excellent way to end a Monday! 

Then we come home to a message that someone we know who has been looking for a job found one.  YEA!!!  Just a wonderful topping on a good evening.  Thank you, Lord.

Ponderings while Working Out

Today while I was working out I started thinking on the verse in the Bible where Jesus says, "Forgive them Father for they know not what they do."  Putting that sentence in what I see go on around me today I saw that in a new light.  Jesus wants us to come from peace, joy, love, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Yet I look at the world around me and see many opposites of this.  People coming from anger, hate, jealousy and impatience.  
Could we not stop our thinking processes long enough to come from a different place? 

Special Moments

Yesterday held special moments.  A couple weeks ago as I spent time with a good friend of mine her oldest son, Z, who is almost 5 came over to me.  Z said " Miss April, you need to watch a movie with me!"  So I set a "date" to watch a movie with Z and share some popcorn.  Yesterday was our "date" and we watched a Chip and Dale movie!  Very fun!  
The other special moment was spending time with my good friend, Z's Mom.  : )
We have been friends for many years.
So a good time was had by all present!

A Quiet Day

Today is a quiet day.  I have the garlic bread ready to put in the oven tomorrow to take to the park.  While Rick went to Men's Bible Study this morning I made 2 pans of dump cake. ( For those who do not know what dump cake is it is fruit with a yellow cake mix dumped on top and then butter is sliced on top of that!  and then baked : ) ).

Today I am taking it easy as to not completely "catch" the cold that would like to stay !  
So today is a quiet day.