New this year for Christmas!

Okay, I’m not all about the liberal stands on individual rights. I have my opinions, which most of the time I keep to myself. I know the reasons I vote the way I do, I know the reasons I worship the way I do and I try not to “force” these opinions on anyone that doesn’t want to listen. But on a visit to an elderly ladys' newly acquired retirement apartment, I noticed a strange sight…….

I immediately conferred with a friend that was there, just to make sure I was seeing what I thought I was seeing. Yes, it was and is a gay nutcracker. I know we are supposed to be polite and not mention such weird occurrences, just roll with the punches, but this one tops them all. As you may notice it is adorned with the red hat ladies attire. This I’m sure is how it made it into this nice ladys' living room. Even with all the marketing going on with the red hat ladies, this takes the cake. If a nutcracker is gay and I’m sure they’re out there, I’m sure they would need to keep the pants and the very tall hats, otherwise how would they crack the nut! I’ve tried to do several things in a dress, short of the boa, and have a very difficult time accomplishing the task. My point is that just because the nutcracker is gay, does this mean you must dress it up like a girl. There is one point I didn’t consider, what if the nutcracker is a transvestite? No, there would be much more makeup.

Smile!

I have decided that from this day forward, I am going to look for something that makes me smile or laugh and share it with someone else. I think I will ask my family to do the same, so that we can share that at dinner. It’s not that every day doesn’t bring me some sort of laughter, it’s just that I don’t always share it and then I forget it. I was telling my ex-sister-in-law something my niece did that made me burst out in laughter and as I was about to tell her, I forgot what it was. What a shame. A moment of pure enjoyment just lost due to my feeble mind. I guess I just need to take my labtop with me so I can immediately write these things down. Oh yeah, there is such a thing as a notebook and pen. Remember those days. Or I could carry around a tape recorder and talk into it all the time. Can you see that…wait a minute let me turn on my tape recorder so I can record this moment! I am fortunate that I know a friend that writes wonderful funny blogs and I always get a laugh from them. So if all else fails, I’ll just refer to her blog site. I hope today brings you great joy and cherish the laughter.

Daily Bible Verse

For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:26)

As a child of God, I have a world of opportunities and possibilities from which to choose. As I claim my divine heritage, I realize that I am capable of achieving my dreams and fulfilling the promise that being a creation of God offers me.
One with the power of God, I am strong. I am healthy and whole in mind and body, sure and positive in the way I think and feel.
Knowing that I am a child of God inspires me to live up to the potential that is within me. I am open to innovative ideas and ways of thinking, to untried goals and accomplishments. Willing to let the sacred into every aspect of my life, I am ready for God to work miracles in and through me.
I am a child of God.

Daily Bible Verse

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 15:58 KJV)


Wow! Does this not tell us that everything we do we must do for the Lord! It becomes so much easier on daily chores and mundane tasks to put it in perspective. I wash dishes and think, “Lord, I do this for you”. We should realize that everything we do is a reflection on the Lord. We must never give up this work. You think that by doing something as simple as saying “Good Morning” is not doing the Lord’s work. WRONG! Everything we do and say reflects on the Lord. Have I said that enough? I fail so many times to understand this and am ashamed at how many people I may have influenced negatively because of my ignorance. Let’s try and remember that we must put the Lord first in our lives and everything else will not be in vain.

Honesty is always the best policy

A precious 5 year old little girl from my church started school this year and in order for her to get off on the right foot she decided the best thing would be to introduce herself to her teacher. Most of us have forgotten this common courtesy and I am impressed that she felt it very important. If we took the time to introduce ourselves to other individuals, how much more would our world open up? More friends, more opportunities to witness, more laughter, so much more is possible by one small sentence, “Hi , my name is Christie”. We have become a society that creates little bubbles of just close friends and family. We are afraid by opening up to other people we may be taking on their “problems”. Instead we could be embracing the experiences and wisdom that they have acquired along the way and sharing our own.

Brianna gets this and is willing to share herself to others. This was her introduction to her teacher, “Hi, my name is Brianna and I talk too much”. Just that simple and true. Can we be this honest about ourselves and more importantly are we willing to share that with others. I pray she always keeps this honesty and continues to be so outgoing.

Daily Bible Verse

"My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing."(James 1:2-4 )

How many times have I said, oh Lord why this, why now? Here is the answer. I need this trail to become complete and mature. With every trail, I have grown closer with the Lord and have come to trust Him more willingly and quickly than I ever have before. It is hard for us to ask for “lessons”, but without them we are unable to grow. Do we believe that by asking the Lord to teach us endurance that all He will provide is trails. There are lessons to be learned even in joy. Just remember that whether it be joy or trail, the Lord’s hand is on it and we will be blessed because of it. We should take joy in knowing our Lord never leaves us and is always there with us, teaching us, growing us, loving us.

Daily Bible Verse

"While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, 'Peace be with you.'" (Luke 24:36 )

I came across this explanation of inner peace and thought I would share it with you.

Regardless of where I am or what is taking place in my life right now, there is a place where I can go and be at peace.

In the silence of prayer, in the quietness of my soul, I let go of worries and fears and connect with the divine within me. Here is where I commune with God. With an unquestionable knowing, I understand that peace is mine, and I gratefully accept it.

The peace of God calms me and lets me know that the worries in my mind and heart are temporary. My divine heritage is a peace-filled, joyous existence.

In the quiet of my soul, I experience an inner peace, a peace that sees me through every experience of my life. In this quiet place, I commune with God and know true peace of mind and heart.

Back Up!

Imagine, if you will, that you have taken over 200 photos of your vacation. They were wonderful, they will invoke memories of a time gone by. Now imagine the only picture you have is the one in your mind..... they are all lost and with an nasty little message that says "All data has been lost".... WHY? It was a major mistake. I did not download my digital camera every day while on vacation. I know better. I know that having my pictures on one system is never safe. I went to the maker of the memory card and they offered me a demo of their recovery software to see if I could recover my data. Guess what? Even the recovery software said "Are you crazy for not downloading the pictures". Ok, not exactly, but it too was unable to recover my pictures. Oh did I tell you that this was not just one of my vacations, it was two of them. I should be beaten for procrastinating and not downloading after the first vacation. It should be punishable by death, that I didn't do it after the second! I had a friend tell me today that this is the reason she doesn't own a digital camera. I told her that it is no different than accidentally exposing your film or losing the film canister. It happens! I don't like it and am sick at my stomach. I watch these organizing shows that like to tell you that your memories are in your head and you don't need "stuff" or pictures to remember. Obviously they don't have a mind like mine. It gets overexposed all the time. I need the pictures, just like air. I love looking back and seeing the amazing changes over the years. My house is filled with pictures of family and friends. My computer is overloaded with way too many pictures. I love it! I like scrapbooking. I like creating slideshows of vacations and events. I like sharing my photos with family and friends. I like boring friends when they come over by showing them what I have created. I leave you with one photo that was saved. Can you believe this was it! Remember memory cards do go bad. Storing and deleting constantly will eventually "wear" them out. So back up often. I figure my card lasted through about 2000 pictures and no more!

I'm Back.....

I am back from the ends of the earth. Oh, it was just Florida. We go every year and take my niece. I was amazed at the changes occuring in our favorite vacation spot. I have been going to Panama City Beach for 30 years and quite sure I haven't missed a year. I did not realize how much things change. It was like I just opened my eyes for the first time. I mean good grief, I was just there in May. Was I totally blinded by the sun? My husband said he didn't even recognize the place and would not even drive while we were down there for fear of getting "lost". (I'm thinking always head toward the beach, you'll find your way) Part of the charm to me in PCB is the old quaint motels and the beachside shops that offer goods you would never buy anywhere else. Well they are all almost gone! Big, tall, reaching for the sky condos are going in their place. You can't even ride down 98 and see the ocean unless you lean down and look through the parking garages of the complexes popping up. I was pleased and felt reassured that our two favorite spots are still intact. Goofy Golf and Angelo's Steakhouse. With these two all the world is on it's axis!