Well, we are finally getting new internet and phone service. Even going with direct tv. We have such problems with who we have now. It didn't use to be that way. But the service guy has been out more times then I can count. So it is hard to post when your internet is down. I can do without internet but we need the phone line. I have a friend that we are her lifeline. Can't call if we have no phone. Our cell phone minutes sure goes fast also when you have to use it like your land line. This month we used every minute. Thankfully, today starts a new month. If we went over I think the phone company should pay it! Like that would happen. I also am working extra hours at work. So, lately I am staying busy. I am trying to crochet a baby blanket but I am having such problems with it. I don't understand why it is a easy pattern. So, thats about it around here. August is going to be even busier for me. Well, have a great day!

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God's Hands.Author Unknown

Wishing to encourage her young son's progress on the piano, a mother took her boy to a Paderewski concert. After they were seated, the mother spotted a friend in the audience and walked down the aisle to greet her. Seizing the opportunity to explore the wonders of the concert hall, the little boy rose and eventually explored his way through a door marked "NO ADMITTANCE."

When the house lights dimmed and the concert was about to begin, the mother returned to her seat and discovered that the child was missing.

Suddenly, the curtains parted and spotlights focused on the impressive Steinway on stage. In horror, the mother saw her little boy was sitting at the keyboard, innocently picking out "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." At that moment, the great piano master made his entrance, quickly moved to the piano, and whispered in the boy's ear, "Don't quit. Keep playing."

Then, leaning over, Paderewski reached down with his left hand and began filling in a bass part. Soon his right arm reached around to the other side of the child and he added a running obligato. Together, the old master and the young novice transformed a frightening situation into a wonderfully creative experience. The audience was so mesmerized they couldn't recall what else the great master played. Only the classic "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star."

That's the way it is with God. What we can accomplish on our own is hardly noteworthy. We try our best, but the results aren't exactly graceful flowing music. But with the hand of the Master, our life's work truly can be beautiful. Next time you set out to accomplish great feats, listen carefully. You can hear the voice of the Master, whispering in your ear, "Don't quit. Keep playing."

I wanted to post something to go along with my last blog. But I have been so busy that I won't at this time do it justice. So for now I will post this.



It's the struggle that makes us strong
Author Unknown
A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole.
Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further.
So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon.
The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.
The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.
Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.
What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.
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Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives.
If God allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us.
We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We could never fly!
I asked for Strength... and God gave me Difficulties to make me strong.
I asked for Wisdom... and God gave me Problems to solve.
I asked for Prosperity... and God gave me Brain and Brawn to work.
I asked for Courage... and God gave me Danger to overcome.
I asked for Love... and God gave me Troubled people to help.
I asked for Favors... and God gave me Opportunities.
I received nothing I wanted ... I received everything I needed!

Read through the Bible 2010”
July

1. Ps 130-134 It is good and pleasant for brethren to dwell together in what? ________

2. Ps 135-137 How many times in Psalm 136 do we find the statement “bless the Lord”? ________

3. Ps 138-140 Write out Psalm 139:17 ______________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________

4. Ps 141-143 If the righteous smite you, it shall be what characteristic? _____________

5. Ps 144-146 Happy is that people whose God is who? _________________

6. Ps 147-150 In Psalm 150:4 there are 4 types of instruments listed, name all four? _____ _______________________________________________________________________

7. Pro 1-3 Whose understanding should we not lean unto? _________________________

8. Pro 4-6 The “Principal” thing that a person should get is what? ___________________

9. Pro 7-9 The fear of the Lord is to hate what? ________________________

10. Pro 10-12 “A righteous man regardeth the life of his” what? _____________________

11. Pro 13-15 “The heart of the righteous studieth to answer, but the mouth of the wicked poureth out” what? ____________________________

12. Pro 16-18 A fool hath no delight in what? ___________________________________

13. Pro 19-21 Write out Proverbs 21:23. ________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________

14. Pro 22-24 Who should we not make friendship with? ____________________________

15. Pro 25-27 Faithful are the wounds of who? _________________________

16. Pro 28-31 What is it that a faithful man shall abound with? _______________________

17. Eccle 1-3 For in much wisdom is much what? _________________________________

18. Ec 4-6 Keep thy foot when thou goest where? _________________________________

19. Ec 7-9 Why is it that the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil? ______ _______________________________________________________________________
20. Ec 10-12 According to Solomon what is the conclusion to the whole matter of life? ___ _______________________________________________________________________

21. SS 1-4 What is it that spoils the vines? ______________________________________

22. SS 5-8 Write out SS 5:12. _______________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________

23. Isa 1-3 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the what? ____________

24. Isa 4-6 How many wings do the seraphims have? _______________________

25. Isa 7-9 Unto us a child is born, list the 5 names he shall be called? ________________ ______________________________________________________________________

26. Isa 10-12 Who is it that is believed to be a rod out of the stem of Jesse? ___________

27. Isa 13-15 Who is Isaiah’s father? ______________________

28. Isa 16-18 “We have heard of the pride of” who? ________________________

29. Isa 19-21 The Lord rideth upon a swift cloud and shall come into where? __________

30. Isa 22-24 The Lord maketh the earth empty and waste and turneth it how? __________ _____________________________

31. Isa 25-27 Write Out Isaiah 25:8 ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________

This blog I want to write about Laziness (slothfulness). First, I want to define these words.
Lazy:adj. la•zi•er, la•zi•est
1. Resistant to work or exertion; disposed to idleness
2. Slow-moving; sluggish:
3. Conducive to idleness or indolence:
Slothful – Disinclined to work or exertion: lazy
These two words basically mean the same thing. So I am going to use the word slothful. The Bible uses this word a lot, especially in the book of Proverbs. You can see slothfulness in a lot of places you go. People do just what they have to get by and not a bit more. You can especially see this in the work place. I can tell you an example that I had happen this past week. We went to a pizza buffet and it was to have the buffet at 5:00. We got there a little after. They had the salad bar up. 1 pizza done, mash potatoes, and carrots. I go for the chicken. Anyway, we sat there for a bit. Do you know what the workers were doing, standing by the cash register talking about their day. It was almost 5:30 before the buffet had stuff on it. What was bad is one of the people chatting was the manager. People learn from example.

Pr.6:6 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:
Pr 6:7 Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,
Pr 6:8 Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.
Sluggard is define as slothful or lazy.
Another way that I think people get lazy in is planning for the future. I know that Christ can come at any moment. But I don’t think he meant for us to just sit around and not provide for your future. Otherwise I don’t think He would have given us scriptures on providing for our future. Look at the verse Pro. 6:8.
People tend to want things handed to them. I think why my children have a good work ethic is because they had to work for the things they want. Nowadays it seems like children want the parents to hand them the stuff.
Pr 13:4 ¶ The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat
Oh, the excuses you hear from people as to why they don’t work.
Pro 20:4 The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing.
Also, it is just irritating to others when they are working hard and the other is just standing around. People tend to only do enough to get by.
Pr 10:26 ¶ As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him.
Next blog I will take a look at the diligent person. Also, I am aware that there are a lot of people that can’t work or do things because of illness. To them I know that they are not lazy. I know that they are probably so wishing that they can do things. But to them I say you can. You can be an encourager, a prayer warrior. Lots of things you can do. So until next time!

Spilled Apples.-- Author Unknown

A few years ago a group of salesmen went to a regional sales convention in Chicago. They had assured their families that they would be home in plenty of time for Friday night's dinner.

In their rush, with tickets and briefcases, one of these salesmen inadvertently kicked over a table which held a display of baskets of apples. Apples flew everywhere. Without stopping or looking back, they all managed to reach the plane in time for their nearly missed boarding. All but one. He paused, took a deep breath, got in touch with his feelings, and experienced a twinge of compassion for the girl whose apple stand had been overturned.

He told his buddies to go on without him, waved goodbye, told one of them to call his wife when they arrived at their home destination and explain his taking a later flight. Then he returned to the terminal where the apples were all over the terminal floor. He was glad he did.

The 16 year old girl was totally blind! She was softly crying, tears running down her cheeks in frustration, and at the same time helplessly groping for her spilled produce as the crowd swirled about her, no one stopping, and no one to care for her plight. The salesman knelt on the floor with her, gathered up the apples, put them into the baskets, and helped set the display up once more. As he did this, he
noticed that many of them had become battered and bruised; these he set aside in another basket. When he had finished, he pulled out his wallet and said to the girl, "Here, please take this $20 for the damage we did. Are you okay?"

She nodded through her tears. He continued on with, "I hope we didn't spoil your day too badly."

As the salesman started to walk away, the bewildered blind girl called out to him, "Mister..." He paused and turned to look back into those blind eyes. She continued, "Are you Jesus?"

He stopped in mid-stride, and he wondered. Then slowly he made his way to catch the later flight with that question burning and bouncing about in his soul: "Are you Jesus?"

Do people mistake you for Jesus?

That's our destiny, is it not? To be so much like Jesus that people cannot tell the difference as we live and interact with a world that is blind to His love, life and grace.

If we claim to know Him, we should live, walk and act as He would. Knowing Him is more than simply quoting Scripture and going to church. It's actually living the Word as life unfolds day to day. You are the apple of His eye even though we, too, have been bruised by a fall. He stopped what He was doing and picked you and me up on a hill called Calvary and paid in full for our damaged fruit.

Let us live like we are worth the price He paid. Think about it.

The other day my husband was reminiscing about things. So I thought that is what I will blog about. I have been married a number of years and all of our kids are out on their own now. Believe me when I say that is just bizarre! How did the time just go so fast! Seems like only yesterday that my oldest was a baby. Now my baby is having a baby! I remember when Kendra was little (Sorry Kendra I am telling on you) and I took her for swimming lessons. The first lesson the parents could not watch so we were in the lobby waiting. It wasn’t too much time and the instructor came out and said I need to speak to the parent whose child thinks if they get in the water they will turn blue! Everyone chuckled! I knew right away it was Kendra. She loves the cartoon smurfs. I said Kendra and she grinned. Or how about the time we moved into a new home I didn’t have furniture yet in the living room and had fresh white walls. Kendra took a black crayon and made circles on the walls because after all Big Bird told her to do it! I could go on and on with stories on her. Kayla my middle child loved Batman. We had batman cars, capes, figures. In preschool the bus would pick her up last and then she would be the first to get dropped off. One time I was waiting and waiting wondering where the bus is. Called the school no answer. Pat the driver takes the bus home, she lived in the country. Pulled in at her home looked and there is Kayla sitting just looking out the window. She was just enjoying the riding of the bus. Caleb always calls me buddy. When he was a toddler we lived in a house with no basement. We had a room that had the water heater in it. We were watching tv and Caleb comes out with a pair of boots in his hands. Sits down and says better put my boots on. That was it. At commercial I walked into my kitchen and I had water on the floor. The water heater had broke. So the room which Caleb had to get his boots from that housed the water heater and the kitchen were flooded. Here he thought enough about getting his boots on but not saying anything to us! Learned I need to make sure I ask questions! Children are so very special. Sometimes I wish we could keep them that size. I wish that I would have had a house full of children but that wasn’t in God’s plan for our family. Guess I just have to hope that God gives me lots and lots of grandchildren!