20 Things That Add Joy to My Day

A little while ago Christie challenged her "blogging buddies" to make list of things that added joy to their day. Its not something that you would automatically think of so its kind of cool to have to stop and ask yourself: "What makes me feel joy?" So. . . . here is my joyful day!


*walking in the mornings (when I am in the routine) with a dear friend -Miss Carol Ann. Our conversations almost always center around the Lord * watching Helena eat- she truly enjoys her food! *sending a note or email to someone special *receiving an unexpected note, myself
* getting a craft or project completely done *standing still early in the morning on a spring day and listening to the birds sing * watching the little shadows play across the room as the sun shines in * snuggling with Helena on a dreary day and watching "her programs" with her * reading a random verse and finding it applies to a situation at hand * getting dinner done on time - yep, that's a big one! * reading my email and finding someone is praying for me at just the right time *window shopping *finding out one of my grandchildren has done something wonderful *putting on an outfit and feeling good in it *hearing a quote that touches me *listening to Ben laugh (he has a most unique laugh) *having a cup of coffee waiting for me when I wake up! (Bob is so good about this!) *reminiscing over photos as I scrapbook
*just knowing i have special friends *knowing God loves me - even when I am unlovely

I know at any given time there could be a dozen or more joyful things added to this list. I think I take the small joys for granted and I am really put on the spot to name them! I have really tried to stop a take note of my daily routine and all the hidden joys in it.

Thank you, Christie, for this challenge!

"What kind of package is he in?"

Right after Christmas Kelly called in a panic - the girls were in tears, I didn't know what was going on. When Bob and I got there we got the news. Their finch (Elizabeth Swan) had died. She was a present from Santa. So Bob put the bird in a shoe box and we brought it back home to bury. (Kelly lives in an apartment and didn't have a yard to use as a pet cemetary). The pain of the loss eased up until last week.
Last week our neighbors little dog died. Rease and Helena were quite fond of him. His name was Boomer - a cute name for such a little dog. Anyway - they talked about it a bit here and there. Today Helena told me she thought Boomer was too little to die. I said I know, and dropped it. She then casually asked me "what kind of package is he in?" I had to think for a moment - I asked her if she meant a shoebox like "Elizabeth Swan" was buried in and she said yes. She said "perhaps its brown like Boomer". I said "perhaps".
I've thought about this packaging thing. . . . . kinda like the ring of it

Never Under Estimate the Power of Prayer

Pastor's message in church this morning seemed to speak directly to me. It was about prayer and what we expect from God.

• God is always in control, but we let our emotions get in the way. The answer to our prayers may be right under our nose, but we can't see it because we basically choose not to.
• We think God isn't listening - but His ears are always open - He hears everything.
• Prayer is the turning point - we all need to pray for specific, earnerst things and look for the answer - because...
• God deals with everything.

My favorite book in the Bible is the book of James. These two verses tie in with Pastor's message:

James 1:6
"But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed."
James 4:2b-3a
"ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts."

God takes all our prayer seriously - so shouldn't we seriously pray to God?

Girls Just Want to Have Fun!

I have been working in the yard off and on all week - weather permitting. Helena has been my shadow - can't move without her. I've been digging weeds and crab grass along the fence so I can plant a flower bed. Since it rained some - the ground was damp - which made for easy pulling and a treasure trove of earthworms! I didn't draw attention to them - not my cup of tea. But of course, Helena's sharp eye found them. Had to put some dirt in a bucket so she could carry her new found "pets" around. When Rease got home from school, she joined the "search".

Rules though - couldn't dig the "babies" - only the "mommies" and they had to let them go at the end of the day. Now, just knowing those worms were in the bucket wasn't enough -nope. They just had to take them out, check on them, pet them and of course an occasional tug of war - which would end with someone's worm getting "teared apart"! Whoever said girls were afraid of worms - hasn't met these two!

Malachi 3:3

My entire family has been going thru many different and difficult challanges for quite some time.
Heidi Gore, a most dear friend, emailed me the following - and I must say - it hit the nail on the head. It truly gives me hope for those days when I feel there is none. I just remember - God will NOT leave me in the fire too long!
Such encouragments will undoubtedly find thier way into my blog from time to time.
I thank the Lord for my wonderful friends!


Malachi 3:3 says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver."

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study. That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.
The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says:

"He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it."


If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has His eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.

"Life is a coin. You can spend it anyway you wish, but you can only spend it once.”

Unexpected Blessing

I was in WM last night to pick up creamer for my coffee. The thought of waking up w/o it was more than I could take at that moment! lol Anyway, I DON'T care much for WM. I usually get overcharged, end up with a cashier that is non-talk-a-tive, very, very slow or very unhappy looking. Well, last night I had a girl that was a gem. She saw us coming, smiled immediately, initiated conversation right away and was just plain happy. She was telling me about her day - day off from one job (for Good Friday, I assume) - she managed to get most of her food prepared for Easter, came to work at WM, and still had a smile on her face! She had worked at WM the night before, as well, and after getting off - she went shopping for the "goodies" that the kids would enjoy hunting for on Easter. She really made me ashamed of myself. She really made me think about how I spend my day. Kudos to this wonderful lady and the encouragement she gave me (although she may never know that)! ! ! God truly does send someone into your life at just the right moment. AMEN, AMEN, & AMEN.

The Perfect Pitch

In the game of life you get a lot of "pitches". Sometimes life throws you that "curve ball" that you arent' quite ready for and you swing too early, or too late, or not at all. Sometimes you get the unexpected "strike" - one of two options - it blows past you and you are just standing there watching it, or you are swinging like crazy to make contact. Sometimes you get the justified "ball" and you need to let it go. To swing at that would be futile and frustrating. And then there is what is affectionately called the "lollipop" - the perfect pitch that leaves the field when you make contact. Sometimes you know its the pitch right away, and sometimes you know it the moment contact is made. Aren't our decisions about the things the Lord puts in front of us the same? I think, more often than not, we get more "balls" than "perfect pitches". We just have to be aware of what to let go and what to "swing" at. I am thankful that I don't always have to make that decision while at the plate, that I can think about it in some cases and that I have wonderful Christian friends that can give me that "pep" talk when I need it and when I want it. Life is like that - so enjoy the "game" and listen to the "umpire"! ! ! !

Sunday Stroll

Today was a good day! Kelly and the girls, and Ben were here for dinner (and laundry)! The weather was great. The girls played outside a lot and Kelly and I got to take a walk around the block (good mom and daughter time). You could smell the cherry blosssoms on the trees. The only problem is - Sundays go by so fast.