…this is not written by me.  However, I did want to share it with you.

Read This Statement and Weep

My grandma (my mom’s mom) is going downhill fast.  That means I will soon have lost 3 grandparents in 3 years.  Please keep my family in your prayers.

I was working on getting song lyrics for my Women’s Connection Group, and God used this song to really speak to my heart.  I wish you could hear it, because it’s simple and yet very beautiful.  However,  I pray that the words will minister to you also. 

I love free stuff!  And I’m sure you all would love to try something fun AND FREE!!  (Right Jami!!)  Check out this site… http://islandreview.blogspot.com/.  They are doing a Klean Bath and Body giveaway  “The generous people at Klean Bath & Body are giving away a 3 month membership to their Scrub Club (value $55) to one lucky winner. Imagine, receiving a delectable 5 oz. KLEAN Sugar Body Polish for three months!”

Read this testimony!!  Here’s a couple quotes from it to peak your interest…”I actually wanted to punch a tomato in the face.”  “I was jealous of Bob the Tomato.”

…

Why Blog? III – Tomatoes

This site http://www.5minutesformom.com/ always has fun free stuff.  This time it’s Go Wireless With Our Rocketfish Giveaway

=)

She was a spectacular woman. Determined and full of fire. She’d meet you at the porch door after the long drive into the country, and you knew that, if you were patient and played outside for a while, there’d be a Dr Pepper party coming along soon.

She’d tell you to stand up tall and be proud of your height, and she’d snap at you if you had your hand in your mouth or near your eyes. Germs were for the foolish and lazy.

When the food was ready, she’d ring the dinner bell and cry out in her singular manner. A cry that could also be heard coming down from the bleachers, over everybody and everything else, while you stood on the football field in the middle of the game.

She was proud of her heritage, of her family’s past, but she was even prouder of its future. She made me laugh like no one else. She had feisty one-liners and sometimes they stung.

She’d hold you tight in her hug and start to tickle your sides, but then she’d squeeze your hand and, with a serious look, tell you how much you meant to her and how she was so proud of you, of all her bunch. Her singing voice was direct and unflappable, and she’d take the bass line. She’d volunteer you for anything and have the utmost confidence that you would make it a smashing success.

She liked dogs and cared little for cats. She loved her great-grandchildren. She had no patience for whiners.

She had traveled the world but was more than content to be living in the sparse expanse between Sedan and Amistad. Come summer, she was moving into town.

She’d pat your friends on the behind upon introduction, and you’d expectantly wait for that look of surprise to suddenly appear on their face.

She loved a man fiercely for over fifty years, and they were a balanced pair. She loved him even after he died, and she tried to keep real flowers at his grave, but nothing stays alive in that summer heat.

Her hair was thick, and her eyes sparked. Her faith was strong.

She would always say how lucky she was to be in this family. But we knew we were the lucky ones.

(The above was written by my youngest brother, David.)______________________________________________

I don’t even know if I care to continue this blog.  I just don’t have the time or it’s more like it not a top priority for me!  However, I’m having a hard time this week. 

My grandma died in May.  It was a total shock.  She was strong in body and mind.  Since she was moving to town, I was going to get to see her more.  I was really looking forward to that!  I miss her so much!  I miss her smile, her encouragement, her voice, her hugs, her talks, her drinking coffee with me, her commitment to Christ, her love for me and my little family … 

I’m behind on editing my pictures.  I was working on some from Easter of this year.  I found this in the corner of a picture taken of one of my girls being tickled by an uncle.  Here’s Grandma hugging one of my cousins.  I can’t see her face, but I can feel her hug, and I needed that today. 

So, here’s a hug from my grandma to any of you who need it…

This is from EVERYDAY CHEAPSKATE, Apr 25, 2007 – Mary Hunt

Living Above Your Circumstances

Her letter was long. Page after page she went on about every aspect of her miserable life.

In between the accounts of her husband’s unemployment and her high blood pressure, this woman managed to weave each and every detail of their broken down cars, leaking roof, busted faucets, ungrateful children, delinquent taxes, nosy neighbors, empty retirement account and unpaid bills. I’m telling you, by the time I reached the word that for me spelled relief (Sincerely), I was nearly worn out.

My immediate reaction was a sympathetic, “Oh, you poor thing!” I mean really, the way she carried on I was nearly convinced she was enduring troubles and pressures way beyond the legal limit. Her situation as she described it did appear to be without solution.

I couldn’t help but wonder how things would be if she won the lottery, which according to her hastily written postscript was her only source of hope. That would certainly let me off the hook because the point of her letter was for me to fix her, her family—her life. She was looking for a fairy godmother, complete with wand, who would magically return everything to normal, whatever that is. I’ve read about fairy godmothers and I can assure you, I’m no fairy godmother.

Some people allow their problems and pressures to control their lives. Whether they live under their circumstances or above them has nothing to do with the troubles themselves, but how they view them.

Those who live under their circumstances see every calamity as a catastrophe. They choose to be victims; they whine, complain and carry on.

Those who live above their circumstances are not in denial. They simply choose to see these times as hair-pin curves on the road of life that will straighten out soon.

While you live and breathe on Planet Earth you will experience troubles and pressures from time to time and in varying degrees. It doesn’t matter how wealthy, educated, noble or good you are. Life cannot be separated from periods of adversity. Here are some basic steps to help you gain control of your circumstances:

CHOOSE JOY. One thing that distinguishes you from the animal kingdom is your ability to control your attitude. You choose your thoughts, so for today choose joy.

SMILE ON PURPOSE . Regardless of how you are feeling, greet the next person you see (even if it is a family member) with a smile and sincere pleasantry such as, “Isn’t this a wonderful day?”

DON’T DWELL ON PROBLEMS. Refuse to worry unless you have a pencil and paper in front of you. With those tools in hand your worrying automatically becomes a planning session. Write down creative and positive ideas.

DON’T BE FOOLED BY DISGUISES. Your troubles are brilliant opportunities disguised as impossible situations. Those who recognize this truth are experts at turning lemons into lemonade.

What you can do matters much more than what you can’t. Focus on getting through the mess or if it’s not going away, find a way to joyfully persevere. Your greatness will never be measured by wealth or position but by what it takes to make you quit. That’s why you must never, ever give up. No matter what. EC

Check this out!!  If you’re going to be around Sherman, Texas on June 7th through the 9th, this would be awesome to attend!

Enjoy this cute story I received from a friend:

A mom was concerned about her kindergarten son walking to school.  He didn’t want his mother to walk with him.  She wanted to give him the feeling that he had some independence but yet know that he was safe.  So she had an idea of how to handle it. She asked a neighbor if she would please follow him to school in the mornings, staying at a distance, so he probably wouldn’t notice her.  She said that since she was up early with her toddler anyway, it would be a good way for them to get some exercise as well, so she agreed. 

The next school day, the neighbor and her little girl set out following behind Timmy as he walked to school with another neighbor boy he knew.  She did this for the whole week. 

As the boys walked and chatted, kicking stones and twigs, Timmy’s little friend noticed the same lady was following them as she seemed to do every day all week. 

Finally he said to Timmy,  “Have you noticed that lady following us to school all week?  Do you know her?” 

Timmy nonchalantly replied, “Yeah, I know who she is.” 

The friend said, “Well, who is she?” 

“That’s just Shirley Goodnest,” Timmy replied, “and her daughter Marcy.” 

“Shirley Goodnest?  Who the heck is she and why is she following us? “ 

“Well,” Timmy explained, “every night my Mom makes me say the 23rd Psalm with my prayers, ‘cuz she worries about me so much.  And in the Psalm, it says, ‘Shirley Goodnest and Marcy shall follow me all the days of my life’, so I guess I’ll just have to get used to it!” 

_____________________________________________

     “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift His countenance upon you, and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)

… and May Shirley Goodnest and Marcy be with you today and always!!  =)

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