Forget The Past/ Look Forward

“I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” Philippians 3:12-14 (NLT)

Paul had reason to forget the past – he had held the coats of those who stoned Stephen, the first Christian martyr (Acts 7:57,58, Paul called Saul here). We have all done things for which we are ashamed, and we live under the pressure of what we have been and what we want to become.

As we come to the close of another year, many of us reflect upon the goals we may have set for ourselves this past year. To continue with my post I am over at Laced With Grace today. Click here to continue reading.

When It's Not Just Exhaustion

Tired All the Time?

If you can’t pinpoint why you’re so fatigued, these tests can help you determine why you're dragging.

By Julie Evans

When It’s Not Just Exhaustion

We all tend to blame fatigue on a too-busy lifestyle. And much of the time we’re right.

If you feel tired all the time, don’t blow it off. Give yourself about 2 to 3 weeks to make some lifestyle changes. Get more sleep, trim your social calendar, eat more wholesome foods, drink more fluids, take a multivitamin, and cut back on caffeine and alcohol.

"If you're still feeling the symptoms of fatigue after those changes, then you need professional help," says Sandra Adamson Fryhofer, MD, an internal medicine doctor in Atlanta. Excess exhaustion could be the sign of a more serious medical condition that can be treated. Here are the 7 most common problems to know about.

To find out more please click here (Prevention Magazine)

There Is None Like You

Please scroll down left side of blog and mute my Playlist to view this video.

Psalm 86:7-9 (New International Version)

⁷ In the day of my trouble I will call to you,
for you will answer me.

⁸ Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord;
no deeds can compare with yours.

⁹ All the nations you have made
will come and worship before you, O Lord;
they will bring glory to your name.

Dear gracious heavenly Father, I am in awe of Your mighty power and strength. When everything around me falls apart or fails, I can always count on Your tender mercies and loving kindness. I am so thankful that You oh Lord give hope to the hopeless, and rest to the weary. In all the world there is none like You - Praise the Lord! All honor, praise and glory is Yours oh Lord! In Jesus Precious Name, amen!

Finally A Stress Free Christmas

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." --Matthew 6:34

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" --Matthew 25-27

This past year has been a year of multitude changes for my family. (Click here to read about the changes). For a time this fall I had stressed myself out worrying about our finances that I made myself sick!

I am so thankful that we have a heavenly Father who knows all our needs, our thoughts, our fears, our problems, our illness, our desires and our wants. We are to bring it all to our Father and He will give us rest for our weary souls, peace in a world of turmoil, hope when life seems hopeless, strength when we feel we cannot go on.

This Christmas season is the first stress free Christmas I have ever had! I do not worry that I did not bake homemade sugar cookies and other holiday treats for my family to snack on; for I am thankful that we have food and nourishment for each new day. I am not stressed over the fact that we do not have a big tree with lots of decorations inside and out; for I am thankful for the little table top tree and the few cherished decorations that are sentimental to us. I am not upset that we do not have a slew of gifts under the tree; I am thankful that God has provided for my family as a need came about.

As my family celebrates Christmas this year with my newly widowed mother, I am thankful that God has provided a way that we can live near my mom and other cherished family members in their twilight years. I may not be able to bring them presents as we visit them these next couple of weeks, but I can give them something they have not had in many years….my presence. Hummm, sounds like I finally realized what Christmas is all about!

"The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" --Psalm 27:1

"The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower." --Psalm 18:2

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." --Isaiah 40:31

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!!

I wish I had a picture to show you just how beautiful the falling snow is right now. The trees are weighted down with a coating of cottony white snow. It truly looks like the pictures we see on the beautiful Christmas cards we have received over the years.

As I gaze outside my window I am reminded of some of the lovely Christmas songs we hear on the radio - White Christmas, Let It Snow, Frosty the Snowman, Silver Bells, Chestnuts Roasting on An Open Fire, and so forth.

Living in Phoenix, Arizona for the last 20 years these songs were just that - songs. Finally Travis's prayers have been answered as it looks like we will have a white Christmas this year! No more dreaming of a white Christmas!

Enjoy this pretty video.

And A Little Child Shall Lead Them

Isaiah 11:6 "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them."





The above quote from one of my husband's favorite Christmas show (the original) brings to mind the Charlie Brown Christmas show I watched last night. Whenever I see this show it reminds me of one our most memorable and special Christmas's my family had a long time ago when Heather, our daughter was about 3 1/2 years old.

This was during a time in our lives when we were so poor that we depended upon prayer and God's grace to bring us our next meal! It was truly a miraculous time in our lives. We learned so many lessons during those years. It was also the year we have called our "Charlie Brown Christmas".

To continue with the post I am over at Laced With Grace today.