What A Weekend

What a weekend I had!! It was wonderful. I spent saturday with my mom shopping and having a good time at DeerBrook Mall. I was looking for an outfit for my son Brian's Air Force Graduation. Found some good deals at JCPenney. Then went looking for shoes. Payless really didn't have what I was looking for, so on we went. We left the mall and decided it was lunch time. We went over to Red Lobster, mmmmm, the Talapia was excellent, and the lunch portion was just the right amount. After lunch we hit Home Depot and found some beautiful mums. I got 2 yellow, red and orange mums and some Pansies. Now back to the shoe hunt. Oh, but wait, lets run in Wal-mart real quick. We looked at a couple of things and then left. Only bought 2 25cent sodas on the way out. Now over to Kohl's for the shoes. They had several pairs, and most on sale. Got a real cute brown pair, and comfortable too. By then it was close to 6pm, time to end the day.

Sunday I got up and went to church. We were having something different. We have been doing a study on Faith In Action. So to finish up on this study on Sunday, we did service projects in place of regular sunday services. Our group picked up trash, trimmed trees and bushes, mowed and weed eated along one of the city feeder roads. We worked for about 3 hours and picked up loads of trash. It is unbelieveable what people will toss out onto the road. After 3 hours of bending and picking up trash, I was starting to feel it in my legs and back. However, I bought the pretty flowers the day before and they needed to get in the ground. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get to it before wednesday. (We leave for San Antonio for Graduation) So, now I'm already a little sore, so why not make it worse. It wasn't a simple task of just putting some mums in the ground. The flower beds had leaves and pine needles covering them. So get the rake, rake 'em out, pull the little weeds that popped up, then plant the flowers. By the time I was finished (4:30) I was sore everywhere!!! I went and soaked in a hot tub with some lavender bubble bath. ( Best part of the day) Today I can tell you that I'm not moving very quickly. I guess that means I'd better do more exercising so as not to be so sore when doing yard work. Or at least to not do an entire day of yard work. But the bright side is I have some pretty color in the front yard and it was a gorgeous day to be outside. I did enjoy it, even if my muscles are screaming now!!!! Thankfully, with my job, I get to sit at a desk :)

Hope all you had a wonderful Fall weekend too.........
Karen

Grateful

Grateful may sound like an odd title for this post, but it actually fits. Last friday, while no one was home, our house was robbed. "They" broke in from behind the garage, used a screwdriver to wedge open the inside door. Then proceeded to take things from the house that could be easily pawned. They only took about $1000 worth of stuff. Things that can be replaced. We filed a police report, just in case anything were to turn up. I suspended service to my sons' cell phone. Brian had the insurance coverage, so for the $50 deductible, it will be replaced. And, since we reported it stolen, if anyone tries to get new service on it, it will be confiscated. Needless to say, every door is now double checked to make sure all deadbolts are locked before leaving. Yes, I am upset, but also grateful that no one was home and no one came in on anybody while they were there. You never know how an intruder would act if "caught in the act". I am normally home around 2pm, but this day I had a hair appt. My sons got home together around 4:30 and I came in around 5. I do believe God was watching out for us during all this. Please pray for those that did this. That God will meet the need in their lives.

Patience

Who here is patient? Not me... In our instant society patience is not expected. We want everything now. From instant food to instant messaging. Waiting 60 seconds on the microwave, or for our computers to boot up or switch pages, we sit there tapping, saying "you're taking forever!!!!" In our Esther series we are learning that she was patient and waited for just the right time to make her request of the king. At the end of the first banquet, she did not make her request know to the king. She invited them back again for another banquet. Tomorrow, I'll let you know my request. Now, if you had your sworn enemy sitting at your table, and the king asked you what you wanted, would you be able to wait, have patience for the right timing. God had prepared her a table in the presence of her enemy. It would have been so easy for her to ask for Haman's head on a platter. Did she wait because she was suddenly afraid to ask, or did she wait because God told her too, or did she wait because she wasn't sure of what to ask for? It doesn't say why Esther chose to wait for one more day, but she did and it proved advantageous to her. Haman's ego had not reached it's full height at this point and the King still regarded him as a trustworthy man. God tells us to wait for different reasons. Sometimes, the timing isn't right for us. Sometimes, we are ready, for something to happen, but others may not be ready. Patience isn't easily obtained, especially in a "get it now" society, but maybe that's why it is a virtue. It is something we need to seek daily. And if you're a mother of small children or even teenagers, your patience gets tested daily. Do we pass? Some days I would say yes, but most days, probably not. So what's the answer...God, of course. In Isaiah he says he will renew our strength. We lean on Him and He will give us what we need in any situation.
Lessons learned so far from Esther: Make the most of your situation-Being taken from her family to be put in a beauty pagent for the honor of Queen. Do not be afraid- "And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?". Courage-" I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish." Patience - wait till the timing is right.

A Beautiful Day

I must say, from the moment I went outside today, It was hard pressed to keep me there. It was a gorgeous, Autumn day here in SE Texas. It was about 64 degrees when I left for work. I work in a small office and we left the door open and the window up until about 1pm. That's sayin' something for here. We don't easily turn off our air conditioners! I do have a convertible and as soon as I was off work, the top went down(on the car). It has been a beautiful day to be outside enjoying. And it's not over yet. I'm about to leave for my mom's house, with 2 thirteen year old boys. She's about an hour north of me. It should be fun for the end of a great day.

"This is the day that the LORD has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalms 118:24

Hungry Hearts

I chose that title because I really believe we need to have a hungry heart. A heart that wants to dig deeper, learn more, love others more...really have a heart for other women and meeting their needs. I have been going to Beth Moore in Houston on tuesday nights and have invited others to go along with me. Some have and for various reasons, some have not been able to come. So, what do we do for those not able to be blessed on tuesdays. My friend and I started a thursday night study for ladies to come and dig a little deeper, to get some knowledge, to get some healing, insight, whatever it is that they are needing. We've got some hungry, hurting and interested-but-don't-know-how-to-get-started, ladies right in our own churches, friendships, workplaces...etc... All it takes is a willing heart to get things started. If you use a dvd formatted study, then the author does the teaching, you facilitate...get things started, keep them on track, and provide a safe environment for women to reach out to each other. We provide coffee, tea and maybe some chocolate and a lot of love. This time around we are using Beth Moore's "When godly people do ungodly things". In January, we plan on doing "Captivating" by John and Stasi Eldredge. Right now we have about 14 ladies participating. Next time, we may have more, may have less. The point is, we are there and will continue to be there as long as we are needed. Space can some times be an issue. Talk to your church if you get to be too big, or break off into smaller groups at homes. There is a real need for women to connect. This past summer, after Beth finished Proverbs, I was not ready to stop Bible Study for the summer. I had her Daniel study, so I invited some friends and ladies at church to join me. We had a wonderful time learning together, but more importantly, we were there for one of the ladies at possibly the worst point in her life. If we had not been meeting in my home, I don't know that she would have called on us at that time. It was summer and you just kind of live in your own moment with your family. ( And that's good, we can't neglect our families either.) But, it is very possible that we would not have known until the entire situation was over. Then we would have lost a very important opportunity to minister to her and her children. It has made us closer and stronger friends. Just wanted to share a little piece of my heart this morning. Hope you all have a God Blessed day.

Refresh

Today, as I was working on my computer, I went to hit the "refresh" button. I began to think about that word "refresh". How often do we have a rough morning, day, week and wish we could hit a button and refresh. I then went to scripture to see what God has to say about refreshing ourselves. I found many!!! Here are just a few:

Jeremiah 31:25 "I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint."

Exodus 23:12"Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the slave born in your household, and the alien as well, may be refreshed.

Psalm 68:9 "You gave abundant showers, O God; you refreshed your weary inheritance.

Proverbs 25:13"Like the coolness of snow at harvest time is a trustworthy messenger to those who send him; he refreshes the spirit of his masters.

My favorite place to go to "refresh" is the beach. The sound of the water, the smell of the salt water (sometimes dead fish, not as appealing)just melt away my stresses. My other favorite place, where I can go more often in my mind than in person is the mountains. This summer we went to Silverton, Colorado and spent 10 days in the mountains. It was awesome!!! God's creation!!! I can't always go to one of my favorite places to "refresh" my soul, but God is always with me and His Word is always there for the "refreshment" we need everyday! God Bless you today

One Proud Mama

Let's start with my oldest son Brian. He graduated h.s. in May 2007. He is now in the Air Force. I can never remember the title of his job, but it is something in communications. He is currently in Basic Training in San Antonio. He is scheduled to graduate from BMT on November 2.
My second son, Jeremy, has been homeschooled since 7th grade.(y'all know different kids need different things) He has been doing so well, that this wonderful 16 year old boy, finished his studies and graduated over the weekend. October 7th to be exact. He got a job over the summer which was originally going to be a summer job. But he excelled so much in this job, they were planning to keep him part time through the school year. Now that he has graduated, he's working full-time. He's doing such things like welding, painting, metal cutting, using a forklift and so on...He plans to save his money to pay for the Tech school. What a kid/Man he has grown up to be!!!
My third son, Joseph, not to be left out, is certainly another source of pride. He is also growing into a special young man. He has become the "bicycle fix-it guy" in the neighborhood. He seems to always be fixing someones bike. Putting chains back on, adding brakes or adjusting brakes. I guess he's got the mechanical gene just like his brothers and dad.
I was told at church the other day in the jr. high youth, that Joseph lifts his brother Brian up in prayer every Sunday, to help him labor through his basic training. I work in the high school group, so I don't know what happens in the jr. high. It's good to know how much they really love and care about each other, even when it's left unsaid most of the time.

On another note... I got a call from Brian on Saturday!!!! It made me feel so good to hear from him. He's doing well, a bit home sick, but good. It's so hard having him gone and not being able to at least call him. Writing letters is okay, but nothing like hearing his voice!!!