A Day to be Thankful

I am thankful to God for loving me enough to send His Son Jesus to die for me and choosing me to be His daughter. I am thankful to Jesus Christ for taking all my sins, oh how many there are, upon Himself and paying the price for them so that I may have eternal life. I am thankful for my husband Kenny, what a blessing and gift to me. I am thankful for my children Doug, Chrissy, Tiffany and Branden; for they are blessed rewards I could never have even dreamed of receiving from the Lord. I am thankful for their spouses, Jessica, Jeffry and Kevin; for they complete our family perfectly. I am thankful for my precious grandchildren, Nathen and Tahlya; I am blessed beyond words because of these two wonderful gifts of life and love. I am thankful for extended family, my dad and stepmom, mom and dad in law, sweet sister-in-laws, awesome cousins, nieces and nephews and I am thankful for my friends because they enrich my life so very much. I am thankful for teachers who push me and believe in me. I am thankful for all my sweet pets as they are therapy to my soul. I am thankful for a home that keeps me warm, food to fill my tummy, a car that gets me from here to there, a good college education, health that I may bless others, a voice to praise God with and my very life and breath. And I am thankful for all of you, what would facebook be without you all!

A Day of Refelction

This morning is a difficult morning already and it is only a little after 8 am. Baby is still gone, our family's old Lhasa Apso girl. She was blind due to dry eye that somehow causes her eyes to get stuck shut about every other day. I had just had a friend bathe her and I still needed to un-stick her eyes. A slow process that is not fun for either one of us but it provides a fraction of vision she needs to get around comfortably. Baby knew our house inside well, but the outside and off the deck was pretty much unknown territory.

It was about 1 pm yesterday that I was in a hurry to get ready for work and get out the door when I picked Baby up and gently gave her a shove out back so she could go potty without my supervision. When I put her out front, someone must watch her because if left for more than a few minutes, she wonders down the street like an elderly woman with Alzheimer's. I was rustling around getting things together and I last remember walking by the back door to see her go off the deck to go potty. I took a bathroom break myself and got caught up in finishing my hair so I could get to work on time looking half way decent. I rushed out the door, forgetting to let Baby back in. It as a very busy day for me and I didn't finish at the YMCA until
6 pm, home about 5:10 and then rushing around yet again to grab my notebook and Bible and had off the Divorce Care for Kids at Parkway Christian Center. My second intern job. Still, I had not remembered I had left Baby outside. By 9 pm I was exhausted and excited to find my daughter and her hubby came up from California to visit. I was thrilled it was time to take all the doggies out for their potty breaks before they were locked up for the night. This was around 11 pm and it hit me, Baby was not in the house for me to let out. I thought my heart was going to stop. I quickly grabbed my coat and ran outside with a flashlight , combing every inch of the yard overgrown with grass and dead weeds. I called and called, no answer, no movement. I went form one corner to the next, scanning the edges against the fence, looking under boards, anywhere she might have wondered as she was seeking shelter to stay warm. My daughter came out with flashlight in hand, inspecting every inch of the rain-soaked yard and into our pasture of half an acre, scouring ditches and hunting along fence lines for a little ball of fluff; lifeless or not. With temperatures in the low 30,s a small, bony dog has little chance of survival past a few hours, not to mention late into the frigid night. We jumped in the car and drove up and down our street for an almost an hour, checking out ditches, looking behind bushes and under parked cars in driveways. She was nowhere to be found.

It is almost 9 am and still not sight of Baby. I can count the times I woke last night, shuffled to the back door, flipped on the patio light and peered out the frosty window in hopes of seeing her huddled against the glass door. Realizing this is all my fault why she is not comfortably sleeping under my coffee table, just a couple of feet from a splendid fire in our woodstove, I cried off and on throughout the night, one minute wondering where she could be; did she find one of the escape holes to the front yard and wander down the road again only to be picked up by someone driving by? Hopefully this was her fate. Perhaps someone who caught sight of her before running her over and felt sorry for her, whisked her up into their car and she rested all night in a warm, cozy warm living room with a snack before nodding off to sleep. Prayerfully, she is still sleeping as she usually does until about 11 am, and then wakes to a nice breakfast and lots of petting an calm, soothing voices around her. I can only hope and pray she is alright.

I guess this is where trust comes in, in its fullness. I caused this most unfortunate event and there is nothing I can do to ensure Baby's safety, warmth, or security right now. It is up to God. I will keep praying for Baby and have informed my family and friends, near and far, of the dire need to be praying for her safety, wherever she is.

God reminds us to "Trust in the Lord and lean not on our own understanding" in Proverbs 3:5. I must trust God for Baby's safety and very life and lean not on my own understanding of what might have happened to her. knowing God wants me to trust in Him, makes me feel a bit better because I know God is able to keep that which concerns me. So in this case, I believe He is with Baby, wherever she is; watching over her and calming her fears. Now, I must continue on with my day, praying for her return and trusting God to care for her as His creation. Trusting God . . . what a lesson indeed.

Not my own.........

Kenny called me and told me he had another job offer from the Christian owner of the tire shop we visited while there last March. Now going from $25 per hour to $15 I hourly is a significant reduction, but as I began to think about it, I heard God whispering to me that He was giving me the desires of my heart. I said, “What? How?” He brought to memory the past several years I have been asking Him to draw me closer to Him and to help me trust Him to a greater degree. Wow! This is it? Figures it has to involved finances, one of the hardest areas to totally surrender. I have not had trouble cheerfully giving 20% of my income when I made good money, but was I ready for us to live on almost half of what Ken made here in Oregon to grow closer to God, to trust him more fully? If not, whoa! I have a bigger issue on my hands than my distance from God or lack of trusting Him fully.

Am I trusting in money through Ken’s job or want to avoid stressing about money? That’s not trusting God for my finances. Do I want Ken to make more money so we can help our kids and others? That’s not trusting God to financially care for or provide for them. Would I rather have more money to give to God? I know God doesn’t need my money and can multiply any amount we give to increase the kingdom for Him.

Surrendering means giving up what I think I have a right to. In all actuality, when I gave my life to the Lord, did I mean for a time, only if certain requirements were met or just specific areas of my life? I don’t recall making a deal with him such as this but somehow when it comes to asking more from me than I had expected to give, conditions fill my head and fear seems to grasp my heart.

Have I not built enough monuments reminding me of God’s faithfulness, protection, goodness and sovereignty? Why would I think he would stop supplying our needs when that is basically what we are going out to Arizona with and not much else? Why is it hard for me to trust Him yet again, when I have peace about this decision of Kenny’s even though it was NOT my first choice? Could I be engineering my own peace over this massive pay deduction? Uh, I would think not.

So I have a choice . . . will I surrender or grasp tightly that which doesn’t belong to me in the first place? Hmmm, let me think, or rather pray about this. What is there really to think about? What is there really to pray about? Do I love God or not? Have I totally given Him my life or have I not? Do I trust Him or don’t I? I believe a surrender that brings me closer to sweet Jesus and causes me to trust in Him more is the only choice for me. Awww, a sweet surrender it is. Arizona, here we come!

A Marriage Code Part III

Unlocking the code to your marriage will take work, dedication, patience,you'll need enthusiasm, intelligence, creativity and most of all, God's help. Moving into the dynamics and living above the line are the backbone of a successful marriage. Because we live in fallen world, sin abounds and temptations are everywhere. Remember though, Jesus has overcome the world and since He crucified our flesh for us, we no longer have to yield to sin's power and control. The victory is ours if we'll just reach out and take it for all its worth.

At the end of chapter 1, Bill and Pam list some questions meant for dialogue over dinner or a cup of coffee. Take these to heart, spend time thinking about them, learn to truly appreciate your spouse for who he is. Make your love last a lifetime.

Attempts to live below the line creates distrust, insecurity and will always be unsuccessful. A husband and wife do themselves a world of good to find out what makes eachother feel secure and successful, loved and respected, and most importantly, accepted by one another just as God has accepted each spouse.


To order Bill and Pam's book The Marriage Code, go to http://www.farrelcommunications.com/

Chrissy's Big Day in Surgery

Ephesians 3:20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.

How I love this scripture. Right now my sweet, oldest daughter, Chrissy is in surgery and I am reminding her of this wonderful scripture of promise. This past weekend was such a turning point for her regarding her walk with the Lord. My spirit leaped with joy as she unfolded the details and I could see a spiritual spark going off inside her.

Dealing with the pain of endometriosis and cysts has been such a challenge for Chrissy. While she would accompany friend after friend into the delivery rooms, coaching them during their childbirth and rejoicing with them over their beautiful miracles of joy, she intensely ached to have a baby of her own to carry, feel kick within her belly, deliver and kiss it's tiny face. She's pictured here embracing her precious niece, Keera.

As today is the day of salvation, it is also a day of happiness, peace, relief, excitement and great anticipation of what our sweet Lord has in store for her and Kevin. Earnest prayers going out for her and the excitement of a pathway cleared to invite conception and finally a miracle baby to be born with Chrissy's sweet spirit and Kevin's witty personality endowed with an unshakable love for Jesus and an astounding faith that will rock this world!

What an awesome day this is! Thank you everyone for your prayers.

A Marriage Code - part II

Knowing the marriage code sure makes a world of difference. Bill and Pam Farrel tell us in their book, The Marriage Code, the username for wives is wife and the password is success which gives her access into a workable relationship with her husband. A woman's greatest desire is to connect with her husband emotionally, spiritually and financially. She wants her husband to experience the same emotional fullness she does. I have to agree with Bill and Pam. Come on ladies, think about it. Do we not want our hubbies to feel the same things we feel, understand how we understand and love us like we want to be loved. Let's be honest now. I know I am guilty of this. What happened to the giving part of the relationship? All of a sudden somehow, somewhere, as wives we begin to get caught up in the selfishness of being a spouse and the next thing you know, life is all about us. Not good....

Bill and Pam also say that the username for husband is husband and the password is security. Using these gives husband's access into workable relationships with their wives. His greatest desire is to help his wife succeed at what she wants to do in life. Meeting a wife's security need first in all things. This goes against a man's most basic instincts, but if a husband accomplishes this task, he draws his wife towards him and the relationship becomes relaxed. All simply because of the marriage code that can radically change a marriage.

Knowing issues within our marriage can make a world of difference once we know how to access the marriage codes that provide succession our husband's and security for us wives.


To purchase their book go to: http://www.farrelcommunications.com/

A Marriage Code

My husband and I have been reading The Marriage Code by Bill and Pam Farrel and wanted to share a few things we thought might interest all who are married, and those who might be one day.

Discovering our own secret love languages has imperical value these days. We can find this language through understanding the secret code in marriages. Living in a world that uses codes has its advantages. We have usernames and passwords that get us into our email, facebook, twitter, eBay, blogspot, myspace, craigs list, amazon accounts, why would we not think there might be a code to delve inside the best parts of our relationships? Well there is. Taken right from Bill and Pam's book are a few tidbits to get you thinking.

* It is obvious when the code is in place because your relationship works well.

* It is just as obvious when the code is not in place because almost everything is out of sync.

* Entering the marriage code into your relationship is a daily exercise. In the same way that you need to enter a username and password into your computer each time you start it up, your love relationship needs an access code every day.

* The marriage code is based on the most common needs that men and women have.


Relationships are not as simplistic as you may have well found out by now. Men and women have different needs at the core of their very beings. These core needs shape how life is approached and how relationships are interacted within. Bill and Pam believe every person has these two core needs within them; the need for security and success. Security being the belief it is safe to be who we are. Success being the belief that our lives are workable.

Read more each day to find out what makes The Marriage Code such a life changing book every married couple should be reading!Whether you have figured out the marriage code in your own relationship or not, this book will give you keen insight to help other married couples. It can also be a valuable tool used in premarital counseling to give engaged couples an edge on their lifetime commitment of marriage.