Do you love?

This morning while I was doing my Bible study, I was reading the story in Luke 7:36-50 about Jesus being anointed by a sinful woman. First, let me start by saying the story in Luke is a different account then the one in Matthew, Mark, and John. Those books tell about Jesus in Bethany and Mary of Bethany anointed His feet. In Luke, this account is just of a sinful woman whose "faith saved her".

Anyway, as I was reading through this story, I got to Luke 7:47, "'Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven - for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.'" Then I asked the question of myself, do I love much or little. I believe I love much, but how much? In worldly eyes, I have sinned little, but in God's eyes, I have sinned much. In worldly eyes, I am better than many, but in God's eyes, I am no better than a murderer, adulterer, or thief. Do you believe you are better than others, or do you know that you are a wretched sinner?

So when I looked at Luke 7:41-43, I realized I do love much. Jesus says to Simon, 'Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more? Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled." In God's eyes, a sin is a sin is a sin, no matter what that sin is. Therefore, you can only come to the conclusion that we have all debted much; therefore, we should all love much.

Are you truly thankful for the forgiveness of your sins? Do you truly appreciate what Christ did on that cross for you? Have you ever put or saw your sins hanging on that cross with Christ? I have, and it is overwhelming. I can not describe the grief and relief I experienced when I truly placed my sins on that cross. Christ in all his perfectness died for me, He choose to die for me and for you.

Nehemiah 9:17 says, "...you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert them..." What a picture of Christ. I know my God, THE God is slow to anger and abounding in love, do you?

Neat...

Check out the map at the bottom right now. It will show you where my visitors are visiting from. I thought it was pretty neat. Enjoy. I have not got it completely figured out though. If you click on the map it will show you all the places. The map should update every fifteen minutes, but it is not right now. I'll have to get the hubbies help.

P.S. Got it fixed, I think.

P.S.S. The map will update daily, but the list of visitors, if you click on the map, will update every five minutes.

What car are you?

I'm a Porsche 911!

You have a classic style, but you're up-to-date with the latest technology. You're ambitious, competitive, and you love to win. Performance, precision, and prestige - you're one of the elite,and you know it.

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

I am not sure that I agree with this assessment at all. Friends, what do you think?

Surprise...Surprise

So, I very rarely brag on my kids, because everyone things there kids are the best in the world. But today, I feel like bragging just a little on Kid-O. As most of you know, she is a strong-welled, stubborn, highly intelligent child. So life is always a little bit of a challenge with her. Well, last week, she comes running in the house from school with a blue piece of paper. Read this Mommy. Well, I read it and it said that her Mona Lisa had been choosen for the student art tent at Panopoly (a Huntsville art festival). She was very excited; which I was too.
So here she is standing in front of her prized Mona Lisa. Not bad at all for a first grader.

Then, she made a Mother's day card at one of the activity tents. Well, when she got home, she was finishing her card. Last night, when the Hubby and I get ready to go to bed I see this card on my dresser. So I of course I read it.
I love the what she wrote on the front (that it was "erly" so she did not forget).

The inside touched my heart because just a couple hours before I was making homemade strawberry shortcake, and talking to my mom about one day, like when my kids are in the thrities, they might look back and remember, and say "Wow, Mom did that for us." Plus another bonus of this stuff, was that God gave me yet again another small glimpse into Kid-O's heart, into the person that one day he will grow her into. I have faith in that, I just continue to pray for her, that he use her strong-welled, stubborn, highly intelligent personality for the building up of His kingdom. So that is my bragging on Kid-O.

What nut are you?

You Are a Cashew

You are laid back, friendly, and easy going. Compared to most people, you have a very mild temperament. You blend in well. You're often the last person to get noticed. But whenever you're gone, people seem to notice right away!

What Nut Are You?

I find this funny, since cashews are my favorite nut.

Making Jelly

Don't these strawberries look delicious.

Brown Farm has the best strawberries for eating and making jelly.

Of course, this is what they look like before I cut them.

Washed and cut strawberries.

4 cups crushed strawberries to 8 cups sugar

The final product. I had eight batches and got 48 jars of jelly.

The sad thing is, I will have to make more, 48 jars will not last my family for the whole year.

Priceless....

Diapers: One month supply $35.00


Groceries and necessities: Two week supply $350.00


Termite Treatment and bond: $990.00 plus $125.00 per year


God providing all our needs: Priceless

An answer

Virginia Blue bells, according to my mom.

Blogging through pictures

My hostas are growing great this year.

Maybe we won't have a late cold snap that will kill everything off.

Mini-Me walking blindly with Little Man's hat over his face.

He has managed to only run into a few walls.

My blueberry bushes are looking great too.

I love blueberries. I can't wait.

The hubby's new lawn mower.

He'll only get to use it about 5% of the time though.

I usually do most of the grass cutting.

This is Max, the 10 year old beagle.

He is basically living at the neighbors house now.

I think the neighbor feels sorry for him since he has to stay tied up (no fence).

Max has even been sleeping in his house. We go visit him.

Does anybody know what this is?

I am clueless.

God is Fun and Funny

Would you like to guess what this is?

If you guessed termites, you would be correct.

So here is the funny story. One night probably around a month ago, Hubby tells me as we are going off to sleep, that God told him he was going to show him something tomorrow. So the Hubby goes through the next day looking for what God wants to show him. Well, he did not see anything until we were about to go to bed. He went to feed the fish in one of the aquariums and noticed that the aquarium was leaking. So we decided that was it, God was saving us from having to clean up a very large mess. So we removed the aquarium from the house to be fixed at a later date.

Well, Friday night when I get back from scrapbooking, the Hubby is looking online. He was researching termites. Sure enough, he discovered that what he found was termites. Well, take a wild guess where he found those termites, in the corner where that aquarium has been setting for a few years.

Now if you believe God is in control of everything, you will see how funny and wonderful God is. If you believe in coincidences then you will probably just think we are a little coo-coo, but we know that is not the truth. God is too faith, too trusting, and too loving for coincidences.

Just some random thoughts...

Shawna is on her Walk to Emmaus, and will meet God along the way.

Kid-O looks all grow-up for some reason and about the finish first grade.

Little Man is just down right funny.

Mini-Me has learned the art of throwing a tantrum which is comical. I bet God gets a kick out of tantrums when we throw them like children do.

And Hubby will be starting a new job (temporary, 120 days) with the possibility of a permittant job a week from Monday. This is the job he wants, God is soooo good. Pray Gods will for our lives.

Getting Ready

Well, I finally got the 12 inch grass cut, bought groceries, and cleaned the house. We are getting ready to take the wife of Blessed & Beyond on her Walk to Emmaus. Oh the hubby got a bonus. Praise God. What a blessing. Makes doing projects a little easier. We are thinking about buying a riding mower, since we have been using the neighbors for three years. We thought it might be time. And we are about to remodel the bathrooms. Small inexpensive projects. We would like wood floors, but that is going to cost around $3000, so we have not ventured out to do that yet.

Kids are funny

So everyone knows kids say the darnest things. Well, yesterday, Little Man sees the neighbor out and ask why Mr. Stewart does not have a police car. I told him because he is not a policeman. His reply was "what does he do?" I told him he worked at a plant in town, but that I did not know what he actually does. Then Little man asked, "what does daddy do?"; I replied he is an engineer. Well if you have read about us at all you are painfully aware that Little Man loves trains. So his response was "daddy drives trains", I said no not that kind of engineer. But in his world his daddy is now a train engineer.

Tonight he asked his daddy if he was a engineer. Daddy said yes, Little Man responded, "Choo-Choo".

Kids say the darnest things and make us laugh a lot.

Oprah's Ratings Fall

The fall of Oprah?
I think it has less to do with her supporting Barack Obama, and more to do with her speaking out about Christ. Watch "The Church of Oprah Exposed" (check my April archives for it) and then watch the video I have linked today.

What are you?

You Are a Colon

You are very orderly and fact driven. You aren't concerned much with theories or dreams... only what's true or untrue. You are brilliant and incredibly learned. Anything you know is well researched. You like to make lists and sort through things step by step. You aren't subject to whim or emotions. Your friends see you as a constant source of knowledge and advice. (But they are a little sick of you being right all of the time!) You excel in: Leadership positions You get along best with: The Semi-Colon

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

Come Home Running

I love this song. So many people have walked away from our Heavenly Father. He just wants them to come back to Him.

Nothing to say - And don't want too

If you can believe that, I actually have nothing to say. I could talk about my grass that is about a foot high that I don't want to cut, I could tell you a funny story about one of the kids, or I could talk about what God is teaching me right now. But for some reason, none of that seems like anything I want to write today. I am tired from the overwhelming weekend, and feel the need to just rest. Maybe I'll take some pictures later of the foot talk grass. Who knows?

Indyretreats.org

If indyretreats.org visits my site again, thank you for your comment. My husband and I are very involved in the Walk to Emmaus. We attended Emmaus of the Cumberlands, in Livingston, TN, Walks #61 & #62, and sat at the Tables of Luke and Rachel. We are involved with the New Covenant Community out of North East Alabama. Being involved and watching God work is amazing.

Overwhelmed with Joy

God is amazing. I went to bed last night singing; "Our God is an awesome God, He reigned from Heaven Above, Our God is an awesome God." I can't seem to get it out of my mind.

This weekend with the sponsoring a of friend for his walk to Emmaus and working the walk to Emmaus was a blessing beyond measure. I can't go into much detail yet, because the wife is going this weekend coming up and she reads daily. But I can tell you, to watch God work and seeing his work is beyond anything anyone could ever even begin to measure. Just try to measure and God will blow it out of the water again.

I am sure that over the next few weeks, I will be able to tell you all so much more about what God has and is doing in the lives of my hubby and I, and our dear friends of "Blessed and Beyond".

Part of the story is theirs to tell, and part is ours to tell. I am sure that when God is ready for us to tell everyone, he will tell us NOW.

Thank you for reading my babbling for the day. I am soooooo overjoyed with so many blessing, that I am and have been overwhelmed by God again. I thank God for loving me so much that he choose to use me and then to see the blessings.

Blessings...Men's Emmaus Walk #54

It is amzaing what God will teach you in times when you don't realize the learning is for you. What I would love to write right now, I can't because people will read that can't know these things right now. Confusing, but amazing. God is powerful, all-loving, all-caring, and in all things. Thank you to my Heavenly Father for the blessings of the day and the blessing to continue this weekend.

Scrabble

My mother always fixed scrabble for us at Christmas time. We had the discussion about why we only fix it at Christmas. We never did come to a conclusion. Well, my kids love scrabble as much as I do, so I am no longer just fixing it at Christmas. I fix it when we run out. While making a batch today, I thought I would share the recipe with others. The recipe came from my Great-Grandmother. I don't know where she got it from either. All I really know is that it is delicious and very bad for your health. If you try this, you will never go back to the store bought kind. (AKA Chex Mix)

12 oz Wheat Chex
10 oz Rice Chex
7 oz Corn Chex
7 oz pretezel sticks
2 lbs mixed nuts
1 lb butter - Yes, I said butter, not margarine it will ruin the batch
2 TBS Worchestershire sauce
1 1/2 TBS garlic salt

Mix together butter (melted), worchestershire sauce and garlic salt. Pour over cereal mix. Bake at 250 for 1 and 1/4 hours. Stir every 15 minutes.


I modify the recipe because my kids don't like the nuts and wheat chex.

1 Box Rice Chex
1 Box Corn Chex
1 lb pretezel sticks
1 lb butter
2 TBS Worchestershire sauce
1 1/2 TBS garlic salt

How big is God?

Last night, the hubby and I were walking and talking, then laying in the driveway looking at the stars. As we were laying there, we were talking about God, and how great and big he is. The hubby was talking about God being everywhere and in everything. That He is infinitely far away, as in the stars and universe going on forever, but at the same time infinitely close, as in us. He said that was the only way he could even begin to grasp how big God is. I just found it interesting that he grasps God that way, and I grasp God in the sounds that I hear, because He is in all sounds. God allows me the ability to hear things that I never used to hear; therefore, giving me a small grasp of just how big God is. Just crazy thoughts of the hubby and I, but I thought there might be others, that have their own way of getting a small glimpse of God's greatness.

Too Cute

I just thought the picture was too cute not to share with others. Mini-Me was tired, I guess, and just decided to go to sleep on the floor behind daddy sitting at the computer.

The Church of Oprah Exposed

Busyness

This weekend was filled with busyness. The hubby and I normally led boring lives, not having much to do, a blessing by the way. Anyway, Friday evening we had World Thinking day for our little brownie (Kid-O), Saturday morning our final meeting for Emmaus, the afternoon a walk through at the camp for the walk to Emmaus, and Saturday evening and night a marriage seminar at church, Sunday morning, of course there is church, then a baby shower in the afternoon, then back to church for evening service. I got to thinking about how the weekend just blow right by, but then I got to thinking what a blessing the weekend was as well. It is amazing how God uses the busyness of life sometimes, to teach us different things, like what is the most important thing: having a relationship with God through the saving grace of His Son.

Beautiful Noise

What beautiful noise? The sound of many people praying to our Heavenly Father all at one time. The hubby and I have been blessed to serve on a Men's Walk to Emmaus. At our final meeting, before the walk, after communion; people were praying. Some in groups some as individuals. As I was praying, God said listen. I did. Wow, what a magnificent sound, all the utterance of people praying, not caring that others were around. I got a very small glimpse of what Heaven will be like. What a blessing.

Another Blog to Check Out

A friend has Confessions of a CF Husband linked to her blog. I went and read it. This blog is amazing and the faith of this family is only Christ-like. I have linked the site in my blogs to read. Pray for this couple as they run the race of life.

What do you hear?

When I am spending my time with God each morning, I get to enjoy many of God's wonderful sounds. I notice the birds singing, the wind blowing, dogs barking, and cars with people in them going to work without look for these things. I find God amazing that he not only blesses me with time to spend with Him each day, but he allows me to hear his world and appreciate it. Do you hear the sounds God created for you? Do you hear His voice calling you? Do you tell him no? Talk to Him, he is a wonderful communicator. There is no right or wrong way to talk to our Heavenly Father, he just wants us to talk to Him and to listen.

When we talk and listen he tells us things like this; How often do you put me in a box? Sometimes is my response. This morning he showed me from his Word why I can't put Him in a box. I have been reading through the Old Testament and I am to 2 Chronicles. In my reading this morning I got to Chapter 2:5-6, I found this: "'The temple I am going to build will be great, because our God is greater than all other gods. But who is able to build a temple for him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain him? Who then am I to build a temple for him, except as a place to burn sacrifices before him?'" (King Solomon) Just a reminder that God is too great to be put in a box (ie:temple).