Gooseberry Patch

I'm always looking for new ideas for decorating, making gifts and adding a homestyle touch at Christmas. I wanted to share with you, my friends, some great ideas I found on the Gooseberry Patch Website and Blog.  I really LOVE it! Click here to Gooseberry Patch and you'll be connected to these ideas on their blog. These wonderful ideas are found are under the Nov. 29th "Getting in the Christmas Spirit" post.

My favorite idea was giving a gift to the mailman/lady. Who would think to leave a present in the mailbox for them? How thoughtful is that! Very! I say! I am definitely going to do that for my mail lady this Christmas.  To make it even more special, I am going to place a scripture on the sweet treat box.

Hope you enjoy their blog and special Christmas ideas.

Manna Monday- Bearing Each Other's Burdens

Recently, I prayed with a group of believers over their greatest burdens including my own. The idea was for each person in the group to share one burden on their heart. Then, another person in the group would volunteer to pray specifically for the burden mentioned. By the end of our time every burden had been prayed over. What made it a unique prayer time was that many of us had never prayed together over personal burdens. (Some of us had, but not everyone in the group.) You could tell at the beginning of our prayer time, everyone felt a little awkward getting started. Once the burdens began to be voiced, everyone had something to share. We could have kept sharing and praying but we were out of time. It was amazing by the end of our prayer time how much each person knew specifically how to pray for others in the group.

That's why its important to come together with other believers and bear their burdens through prayer. First, you find you are not alone with the burden you bear. And second, there's an intimacy that develops with your brothers and sisters in Christ when you pray together. But what happens many times in our churches is that we walk in on Sunday, do church, and then go home. The bible talks about "bearing" one anothers burdens. Bearing one anothers burdens is how we build up the body.

I was thinking over how amazing our prayer time was together and what I would have missed if I would have entertained these thoughts:

These thoughts are not biblical. They are selfish. They are excuses to not praying together with other believers. Yet, it is so easy to entertain these ideas and let them rule our actions and lead us to not pray with other believers. We miss a blessing when we don't pray with others. We miss being a part of building up God's kingdom through prayer when we opt out of sharing and praying with other believers.

I love what The Message says in Galatians 6:1-3:

"Live creatively, friends. It someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day's out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ's law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived."

What is the greatest burden you carry deep inside your heart today?

Pray over it right now. Give it to God. Don't push the burden aside and forget about it. Pray over it. Bring it to the burden bearer- Jesus. Don't let the burden steal the life from you, give it to the life-giver, Jesus. He can carry all of our burdens.

Better yet, be intentional. Ask another believer what they need prayer over. Commit to praying for them. The more you pray for other's burdens, you'll find that your burdens don't seem so heavy.

Sunday Song of Worship- Christy Nockels @ PDWC 08

Good Sunday morning friends! Through Jesus Christ, we have a REASON for living!
One of my very very favorite Christian artists is Christy Nockels. I wanted to share one of her songs with you this Sunday morning. The video above is five minutes long. My prayer is that you would take time this Sunday to stop and worship Jesus, our reason for living. He is to be exalted, to be worshipped and adored. You will be blessed by listening to this song.
Love you all!

Decking the Halls




(This artwork comes from Houseof3blogcouture. Check out their site at)
 http://www.houseof3.com/blog-couture/blog-backgrounds.html

  Thanksgiving is over and at our house we are preparing for the Christmas season. Hooray!!!!!
Today we finished decorating our Christmas tree.  Here are some of the stories behind my favorite ornaments. Enjoy!

10 years ago my husband and I decided an artificial tree would be the way to go. He is not one to decorate nor go buy a real tree so this agreement has proved to help keep our marriage healthy! This is a real sacrifice for me because growing up, my family always had a real tree and it was something I looked forward to every year at Christmas. I am thankful for the memories of finding a tree with my dad all those years. But like Martha Stewart says, "it's a good thing." It's a good thing for our marriage! It definitely has reduced some of the stress at Christmastime.

I bought this ornament seven years ago to add to our tree because I wanted to remember the JOY of Jesus at Christmas. I was looking for a word ornament to place on our tree. I was so excited when I found it! Just looking at this word on our tree reminds our family of the true reason for Christmas- JESUS CHRIST. The joy of the birth of Jesus. The Joy of His Salvation. The Joy of the Resurrection. The Joy of one day forever living with Him in Heaven. The joy of Jesus is what I talk about a lot on this blog so I wanted  to share with you this very special ornament. Joy from Jesus is not just something I write about. It's something I want to treasure and remember that He gave me. This is a way I remember the Joy of Jesus at Christmas.

This ornament is very, very special to me. My music minister's wife from my home church, Mrs. Nell Mangum, gave this to me the first year of our marriage. (She was like a second mother to me in many ways. I have lots of second mothers from my home church that I still treasure to this day. )This ornament is ten years old. Every year Nell would give me ornaments at Christmas. I always appreciated them, but this one I treasure now even more. Years later, the book of Joshua came to mean a lot to me through intense personal study and the verse on the church, Joshua 24:15, has become the mission verse for our family. When she gave me this ornament, I had not studied the book of Joshua like I did later. So at first, it was just a pretty ornament with a verse on it. Later, when this verse became the mission verse of our family, I treasured this ornament even more. Five years ago, Nell lost her battle with cancer and I don't receive any more ornaments from her. So this ornament even has become even more special to me through the years. She and Mr. Walter never had any children but I know she loved me like her own. So this ornament is all I have left of her. I always thank God for her presence in my life and praise God I will see her again in heaven one glorious day. How I miss her Christmas presents each year.

When my son was two he LOVED penguins. He called them, "win wins." So the hunt for penguin ornaments began. He still loves them to this day. So needless to say, we have added a few more to our tree!!

A very special friend gave me this ornament. It's the best reminder of why we celebrate Christmas on my tree.

How I treasure this ornament. My son was 2 1/2 when he painted this ornament with his little finger. When he is old, I know it will mean much more to me than it does now.

My parents bought this ornament for me for my first Christmas out of college. I hang it high so it won't fall and break.

And LAST but not least....... the bell ornament I received from a family member for my son's first Christmas.

He likes to ring it now because I put his toy train around the tree. It has become the train bell now!

And the final result of the tree?....... looks much better than it did when we started!

Hope you all are getting your halls decked out for the season. Would love to hear your favorite ornament stories too!

Good-Bye After Thanksgiving Sales!!!!!

Eleven years ago I decided never to go shopping the day after Thanksgiving again. I talked my mother into getting up early and going to the mall to hit the sales with me. She was a good sport about it all. But it proved to be a bad decision. Besides being crowded, I felt an overwhelming feeling to grab items off the rack and hold on to them for fear someone was going to buy it before I could make up my mind if I even wanted them. Looking at all the sale signs can get a girl in trouble if she doesn't have a plan! The fact was I didn't even need them and hadn't come to buy some of the items I had placed in my hands. I got caught up in the day like everyone else around me. "What was I doing?" I thought. What was the point of going shopping after Christmas? Yes, there were 'good' deals but the payoff wasn't worth the stress of pushing against all the crowds.

It didn't hit me how ridiculous the entire morning was until we decided to break for lunch at Chick-fil-A. With food trays in hand, we swarmed like vultures around crowded tables inside the restaurant as well as outside the food court. There was no place to eat. As I looked around, people were eating on the mall floor because there weren't enough tables for them to eat on. Where was the fun in that? By the time you found someone get up from a table, another person would come in and sit down at the same table not even feeling bad about seeing you wait for the table. It was so chaotic. That's when it hit me that 'Black Friday' was nothing more than an over glamorized hunt for treasures that break, get old and become forgotten.

Did you know that today, Toy's R Us opens for the first time on Thanksgiving tonight at 10pm? Other stores like Wal-mart and K-Mart open at midnight too...... on Thanksgiving!!!!!! So much for sharing time with family. I know there are people who love scouting for bargains on this monumental shopping day of the year, but I'm not going to be one. Here's just a few of the deals I heard about on commercials tonight. (60% off of men's sweaters and 50-60% off of pajamas. That's worth getting up at 4am for isn't it?)

I did like the half price on the I-Pad at one of the stores I found offering it. But, it's still not worth it to me. I want my family to enjoy the weekend together, not be engrossed in shopping.

My purpose for sharing thoughts about this day is to encourage you to turn your eyes back on Jesus this Christmas. CHRIST is CHRISTmas. He is why we celebrate Christmas and the reason we buy gifts for our families and friends. I am not against after-Thanksgiving sales. I just found it to be a day that took more from me than it gave back.

I love The Message translation of Matthew 6:19-21 saying,
"Don't hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it's safe from moth and rust and burglars. It's obvious, isn't it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.

                                                                    Matthew 6:19-21 (The Message)

I love you my sweet friends and I pray if you do go shopping today, shop with a plan and a purpose. Don't get wrapped up in all the sale signs! Just get what you are looking for and get out of there! And most of all, while you have more time than usual during the holiday weekend... spend quality time with your family.

Trevor Morgan - "Rejoice in the Lord"

This is my choir at church singing one of my favorite songs called, "Rejoice in the Lord." We are accompanying Christian Music Artist Trevor Morgan who wrote the song. What a great song to be singing today as we celebrate a time of Thanksgiving. The video is three minutes long. Enjoy, and have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

My Great-Grandmother's Pecan Pie Recipe

I love Pecan Pie! It is one of my favorite things to eat on Thanksgiving Day. But the one I love the most is my great-grandmother's recipe that my mom makes every year on Thanksgiving. I wanted to share it with you all. I hope you enjoy!

Great-Grandmother Snowden's Pecan Pie
(6-8 servings)
1/2 cup sugar
2 T. cornstarch
3 eggs, well beaten
2 T. milk
1 cup dark corn syrup
1/2 stick butter, melted
1 t. vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans
1 9-inch pie shell, unbaked

Mix sugar and cornstarch.
Add eggs; beat well.
Add remaining ingredients.
Pour into pie shell.
Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.
Reduce heat to 375 degrees; Continue baking for 35 minutes or until firm.

Happy cooking and a Happy Thanksgiving to you!

Why do we celebrate Thanksgiving?

Do you really know why America celebrates Thanksgiving Day? I believe looking back on the 'why' helps us to appreciate the 'now.' So here are some basic beginnings of how Thanksgiving began.

A time for harvest
In the fall of 1621 the colonists of Plymouth held a celebration feast after their first harvest. Indian chiefs Squanto, Samoset and Massasoit joined in on the celebration along with ninety of their men during the three-day event.

On June 29, 1671 in Charlestown, Massachusetts, the first recorded Thanksgiving was held. It was observed by proclamation from the town's council.

A time for prayer and fasting
In the 1700s, Thanksgiving was observed as a common practice for individual colonies each year.
Back then, a Thanksgiving day was set aside especially for prayer and fasting. It was not a custom marked by loads of food as it is today. In the 18th century each state would designate a day of thanksgiving either to honor a military victory, the adoption of a state constitution or a bountiful crop.

In December 1777, a Thanksgiving celebration was held to commemorate the surrender at Saratoga of British General Burgoyne.

A National Holiday
Then, on October 3, 1863, President Lincoln called for the observance of the fourth Tuesday of November to be a national holiday.

It wasn't until 1939 that President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving to the third Thursday of November. The purpose was to extend the Christmas shopping season to boost the national economy. (Imagine that!) After much protest, Roosevelt changed the day again in 1941 to be observed the fourth Thursday in November. That is when we celebrate it today.

But did you know what George Washington proclaimed about the first General Thanksgiving Proclamation? He said:

"WHEREAS it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favour; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me "to recommend to the people of the United States a DAY OF PUBLIC THANKSGIVING and PRAYER, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:" (Library of Congress)

Wow! Would that be written today in 2010? I doubt it!

God was the foundation of Thanksgiving. Did you notice in the proclamation that George Washington noted Thanksgiving was also a time for prayer. Even though there will be millions of Americans who don't pray or thank God on Thanksgiving day, you and I can still give Him the thanks and take time to pray. Let us remember what the foundation was for thanksgiving and not get caught up in the fast paced eating frenzy. Make it a memorable day in your family.

What's the harvest in your home in 2010? Since most of us don't gather the harvest physically, we still gather the harvest spirtually through the reading of God's word. What truths of God have you gathered as a family in 2010? What have you prayed for this year? What are you still praying for? Share it with your family. Make it a tradition at the dinner table. It will be something your family will treasure for years to come.

I'll end on this puritan prayer from "Valley of Vision."

May I live by Thee, live for Thee, never be satisfied with my Christian progress but as I resemble Christ; and may conformity to His principles, temper, and conduct grow hourly in my life. Let Thy unexampled love constrain me into holy obedience, and render my duty my delight. If others deem my faith folly, my meekness infirmity, my zeal madness, my hope delusion, my actions hypocrisy, may I rejoice to suffer for Thy name.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Manna Monday- Thank you God

How do you thank God on Thanksgiving? It's so easy to get wrapped up in the turkey and pumpkin pie that sometimes Thanksgiving can be more about the meal than the thanks.With Thanksgiving day just around the corner, I wanted to share with you some things I am thankful for in my own life. I pray it encourages you to take time and reflect on things you have to be thankful for in your life as well. Thankfulness shouldn't be thought of only at Thanksgiving but should be continually in the mind of the believer.

1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18 – "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

With my father being ill this Thanksgiving season we are giving thanks during all circumstances, even cancer. God has shown us He is with all of us, including my father, as he has journeyed through cancer. We were supposed to go to the mountains for Thanksgiving, but won't be able to. Should that make me sad? No. Because Thanksgiving can be celebrated anywhere. It's who you celebrate it with that makes it special. So I am giving thanks in the circumstance and finding that the joy of the LORD truly is my strength during this Thanksgiving season ........even with a parent who has cancer.

Deuteronomy 8:10 – "When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you."

After reading this scripture, I thought how a song of praise would be fitting to God after a nice family meal don't you think! I am still thinking which song would be a good one to share. Leave a comment if you can think of a good one. Maybe that could become a great tradition to start in my family on Thanksgiving day. To end with a song!

Psalm 75:1 – "We give thanks to you, O God, we give thanks, for your Name is near; men tell of your wonderful deeds."

One of the things I will be thinking of this Thanksgiving is all the wonderful deeds God has revealed in the bible and even more importantly that His NAME is near to the believer. His name is like no other name. God's most common name- Jehovah. Compound names exist. They are:

Jehovah Jireh- The Lord will provide ( Gen. 22:13-14)
Jehovah Nissi- The Lord, my Banner (Exodus 17:15)
Jehovah Shalom- The Lord is Peace  (Judges 6:24)
Jehovah Sabaoth- The Lord of hosts (Psalm 68:17; 104:4; 148:2; Mt. 26:53)
Jehovah Rohi- The Lord is my Shepherd ( Psalm 23:1)
Jehovah Tsidkenu- The Lord our Righteousness ( Jer. 23:6)
Jehovah Shammah- The Lord is Present ( Ezek. 48:35)
Jehovah Rapha- The Lord our Healer ( Ex. 15:2)

How has he showed you His name in your own life?

Here are some things I am thankful to God for in 2010:

My family

My home

My health, my family's health

Friends, new friends, and new mom friends so my son can play with other kids his own age.

Providing for my family through a poor U.S. economy

My church family- whom I love dearly!

My Sunday school family- the ability to share life with God with other believers

New things I have learned about God and His word this year.

My pastor and his family.

Freedom to worship God in His sanctuary every Sunday.

Being able to share the gospel with those of other languages.

Witnessing the fruit of laboring for Christ.

God's mercy on me through salvation.

God's grace, which I continually learn more about each year.

The ability to be used by God despite my weakness.

Growing stronger on the inside despite the decaying of this worldly body on the outside.

Christian mentors who show me how to live and love more like Christ.

The access I have to God through prayer. That I can talk to him anywhere, anytime.

That God hears and answers prayers in ways more than I could ever imagine.

The gift of song. A voice to sing to God and be used as witness of God and His love to the body of believers.

I've got so much to be thankful for this year. There is much more but this post has to end sometime! I pray God will use it to encourage you to reflect on everything He has done in your life in 2010. If you have time, share with me what He has done in your life. I would love to hear it!

Blessing to you friends. I am praying for you!

This is my prayer for you on Manna Monday: "

Colossians 3:17 – "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Wherever you go this week and whatever you say may you all do it in the name of the LORD Jesus. May you be mindful of Him in each day. May your love and commitment to Christ be contagious to those around you. May God grant you strength to endure difficult family situations(if you have to!) so that you may be a shining light for Him in your family.

A Saturday Blog Vacation

I thought since today was Saturday we could take a blog vacation! Pour yourself a cup of coffee, sit back, relax and reminisce with me over my trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It's been six years since I last visited. I look forward to the day we get to return. In my opinion, it's one of the most beautiful places in the good ole U S of A.

If you're looking to get away from everything and be close to the most beautiful creation God has made.....Jackson Hole is the place. I would hop on a plane tomorrow if I could! I'm telling you it is gorgeous! Anyone want to buy me a ticket?

This is a pic on a float trip down the Snake River. Saw a momma moose and her babies near the end of the trip that day. Aww.....the view. Breathtaking isn't it?  These are the chains of mountains Ansel Adams took a picture of that has become so famous. The story was told to me that he photographed his picture from the top of the road overlooking the Snake River. Let's move on we've got more to see!

So....I got talked in to riding horses up the mountain you see behind me. I wasn't too enthusiastic about this ride. I got off. I got back on and I did ride the horse. So glad I did. You'll see why in a minute!
Horses and I don't really get along. I like'em..... but I'm not warm and fuzzy about being that far off the ground!

Okay, so I totally didn't ride the horse all by myself. I was led around the mountain by the guide! Give me credit, at least I stayed on it! My husband thought it was funny documented the entire ride.

But look what I would have missed...................the view at the top of the mountain! Nothing like being able to see this view. It made the effort worth it all!

One of my favorite mountain wildflowers- Mountain Holly cock. Isn't it a pretty shade of pink! The day, as I remember, was perfect. The weather was perfect. It's one of those days where everything around you is so beautiful all you can say is, "Thank you God." He gives creation for us to enjoy. From the massive mountains to the fragile flowers. All for our enjoyment.

Yep. There was a traffic jam down the road. A buffalo! He didn't seem to be in a hurry. Not one bit at all!

This was the view behind our condo every morning where I had my quiet times with God. Now you see why I loved it. Where on earth could there be a better spot to study God's word and pray?

Well, time is up for our blog vacation. I hope you have enjoyed our destination!

One of the things about being thankful is remembering life. The more you remember, the more you become thankful for what you have. Take time to remember everything you have comes from God. The more we remember all God has given us, the more we'll live in the contentment of Christ, because we will be focused on the giver instead of the things.