What a wonderful Christmas season!

The love, laughter, joy and fellowship was so rewarding and filled my heart with love!  The little ones were filled with excitement which overflowed to us old folks and brought many smiles.

I know that isn't actually Jesus' birthday, but it is the day that we celebrate the overwhelming love of God in sending us his son knowing he would die on the cross to pay for my sins! His birth should be celebrated as no one will ever sacrifice for me as he has done.

I pray that your Christmas was joy filled as well and you felt the hand of God in your celebrations!

After three and a half days of overcast rainy skies, I am so glad to see sunshine! We still need rain, but I need the sun to survive!

Have you felt a difference in the climate of our fellow humans personality wise? 

I am not a shopper and hubby definitely is not, however today we both wanted to go looking.  There is nothing special, we were window shopping. Our little town has moved from downtown to the outskirts mainly northward toward the metropolis known as Atlanta. We don't have "shops" downtown so window shopping is a thing of the past. One doesn't get the feeling of warmth and stability from a strip mall and there is definitely no windows to shop. So I suppose we browse shopped.  

The many many people we encountered were friendly, courteous and accommodating - no pushing, shoving, ugly looks, or nasty comments.  At Hobby Lobby, the shopper behind me reminded me to use my 40% off coupon and offered hers as she already had it up on her phone! Pleasant - the whole shopping experience was just pleasant! 

I don't think it is just because of the season as in years past I have avoided shopping during the holidays.  Is it the idea of change in the government and promises of better governance from our political choices?  Is it the fact that after 40+ days with no rain and no cold weather we received both in the same week? 

I like it! More shopping may be in my future if the pleasantness continues. 

I recently posted on social media that my bundt pan was under the red bud tree with mud pies in it and it is. The response was overwhelming, but the general consensus was that my 2+ year old granddaughter had been playing with it - not so! 

Can you believe my 10 and 11 year old daughters are OUTSIDE playing, making mud pies, gathering foliage for greens and berries for beans to go with their delicious mud pies?  And yes, they are teaching the 2+ year old how it is done!

Yes, they get dirty! Yes, they get wet! Yes, their clothes are filthy! They also play in the creek and ride bicycles on the paths (that they cleared) through the woods! They tumble in the yard and do cartwheels in the grass.  

That, my friend, is what being a COUNTRY GIRL is all about!

Motivation has abandoned me this morning!

Some one recently told me  . . .
"It is none of your business what anyone thinks of you!"

Makes sense to me!

Special Time for Giving Thanks

I am thankful to have a family to love!
I hope that my family loves me, but I am more content knowing I have family to love.  The same is true of friends - I do not know if they love me, but I am blessed to have people in my life to love.       Can you imagine living in a world where you didn't haven't any family or friends to love?

I am thankful that I don't experience the stress of basic survival!
My stress if my worry for my families safety and health. I am blessed with food to eat, clothes to wear, shoes for my feet, safe home and a warm bed. If I go to bed hungry - I can get up and eat, if my feet get cold in the night - a pair of socks are a few steps away, if I am thirsty - water is just a turn of the faucet, if it rains or snows - I have a roof over my head. I am blessed!  Could you survive without a home to live in, food as easily as going to the grocery or to a restaurant, searching for water?

I am thankful for my senses!
I can hear the sounds of nature and the music of my grandchildren's voices. I can see the sunshine and the wind rearranging the limbs of the trees.  I can feel the heat of the sun, the wet of the rain, the cold of the wind in fall and winter. I can talk with my friends and family. I can feel the roughness of sandpaper and the softness of a babies hair. I can smell the earth, the stringency of rosemary, the calming smell of peppermint and clary sage, and freshly washed sheets and towels. What would you do if you couldn't see, hear, talk, smell, or feel?

I am thankful that I have choices!
I can smell the aromatic and walk away from the odorous. I can get out of the rain or soak up the sun. I can talk or sit silently. I have a choice. I can make the decision of what I listen to, look at, taste, smell, or feel. 

I am thankful that I am still in good health, mobile, and independent.
I can't do everything as I once did, but I can still do. Good health - I am not in a health institute nor do I have to see a doctor on a regular basis. I still move as needed - not as fast or as long as I once did, but I do move. I am not dependent on anyone for my basic needs. 

I am thankful for the saving Grace of my Lord Jesus Christ and the mercy afforded me by his Crucifixion and Resurrection! 

. . . she slowly died while trying to make his dreams come true . . .

In My Eyes

Easy going, soft spoken, dressed simple but always perfect to the occasion, quick to laugh with a mischievous twinkle to her dark brown eyes - this is the way I saw my sister-in-law in the early years.  After she lost her children one by one,  the twinkle died and the mouth was drawn, but she never let grief overtake her persona.

Life didn't change the way I felt about her and if it changed her feelings for me she never showed it. I never heard her judge anyone for anything - a most admirable trait in my eyes.

So much to do,
So little motivation!

Today is tomorrow's history - make it grand!

Sundays are not the same without family around! 
Ready to get back into a healthy routine of family fellowship!

Dang Kenny - just ran into your sister, then your daughter and now came across "Loose Pucks" - Go to sleep man - just rest a while!

Titus, chapter 3 - put it all in perspective, erased the worries and affirmed he is still in complete control!

What do you do when there is no one left to make cookies for ?

Finally, it is soup weather!  October will be ushered in with a pot of loaded potato soup - thickened with cream cheese and loaded with celery, onions, garlic, topped with cheese and bacon. I am ready for the weekend!

I need a good book to move my mind!

I love the little surprises! 
They made my heart smile!

Stretch your mind - Learn something new!

The media is too manipulative with the facts! 
Report the news and keep your opinions to yourself!

I am looking for a President that will put America first!

Don't change the words of the Bible to fit your life

Change you life to fit the words of the Bible,

Knowledge is what we know or learn

Intelligence is how we use what we know or learn

Wisdom is when we know the difference