Sunday Meditation

"And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the
fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto
him, "Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away." And
Jesus answering saith unto them, "Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you,
That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, 'Be thou removed, and be thou cast
into the sea'; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those
things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye
pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand
praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is
in heaven may forgive you your trespasses."

Mark 10:20-25

Here is a true gem from our Savior. The inability to truly forgive someone can be the mountain that needs to be cast into the sea. Inability to forgive, to harbor lists of wrongs in our hearts - is like keeping a cancer within us. It hurts us the most. If we dig at the wrong and turn it over and bring it back into the light to examine it again and again - we are losing our perspective. We are so focused on something that should have been left behind that we no longer are able to see the beauty that is present today - we miss God's gifts of today - and dwell in unhappiness.

We know that we ourselves make mistakes and see things wrongly and do things wrongly. God's incredible mercies let us put those things behind and move forward. If we cannot forgive ourselves - we are stuck. Forgiveness for others works the same way. If we forgive, we can move on to a new life and get out of the mire. If we don't, we are stuck and will never be able to see any changes for good. And the truth is, we will be left behind in the mud as others move on in their growth - and we'll never see it because all we are looking at is the mud. Forgiveness doesn't make what is wrong suddenly right - it just allows what is right to have the opportunity to manifest itself at a later time.

The incredible blessing in this verse is, if we believe, that this mountain too can be cast into the sea. Believe that you have received the ability to forgive and move on. Then act on that belief. Get up out of that miry pit of past wrongs and open your eyes to gifts given by God today. God sends angels into our lives to help us in our journey. I know that God gives me the people and messages that I need every day. I have to lift my eyes from the pit and look for God's gifts to me and they will be there.

Home Improvements

Hey All!! I have time for one very quick update. We installed a little ceiling fan in the guest room today. All guest we may ever have stay in there should really thank us. That room can get so hot, with or without the heater. It just bakes in there for some reason. Tried out the fan after we were all finished and it really worked great. We even have a little more light in their now, since the old fixture held only 2 bulbs and the fan light fixture holds 3. The lights are wired to a dimmer switch and we also upgraded our installation by putting the fan on a OFF-Low-Med-High switch. Makes it nice that you don't have to stretch up to increase the speed of the fan. SO!!! Who wants to come on over and try out our guest room, now that it is sooo CHERRY!!!

Yay!! Birthday Presents Rock!!

Well, I know this seems a little belated, but my mom gave me some birthday gifts from off of my Amazon list and it took a couple of days to receive them and a few more to selfishly enjoy them. I have been taking in the sublime sounds of Eric Johnson, in TWO albums!! Ah Via Musicom and Venus Isle. They have been playing constantly in my car this whole past week. I had both of these CDs stolen from me a few years back, out of my husband's car. Unfortunately, I hadn't ripped them onto my computer and I had been living in a void ever since. If you love electric guitars and haven't heard Eric Johnson play them, you MUST check these albums out.

Sunday Meditation

“For thus says the Lord:

When seventy years are completed for Babylon,

I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise

and bring you back to this place.

For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord,

plans for welfare and not for evil,

to give you a future and a hope.

Then you will call upon me and come

and pray to me, and I will hear you.

You will seek me and find me;

when you seek me with all your heart,

I will be found by you, says the Lord,

and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations

and all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord,

and I will bring you back to the place

from which I sent you into exile."

(Jeremiah 29:10-14 RSV)

God, in his love toward those who love and seek him, has provided a plan. His promises are sure and His word is faithful. The hope of Israel has become our hope, and we too long for the day when God will re-establish his kingdom in Israel. A kingdom of righteousness and justice ruled by his Son that will eventually cover all the nations of the earth with its authority, bringing TRUE peace. Let us earnestly pray to God and seek him with all our heart. Let our prayer resound: Come quickly Lord Jesus.

Random Collections of Consciousness

Blog Lameness and Temp Job

Hi all, sorry to have been so neglectful of my blog. It has taken me a little time to adjust to this new routine, since I've started my temp job. I took my little radio to work with me. The silence was just so......... silent, I had to do it. I was paranoid that the radio wouldn't work inside the hospital library what with it being buried in the middle of the building and also they have a computer always running in there, too. But I was pleasantly surprised when I plugged it, in fully expecting a burst of static, and instead it came in crystal clear!! Yay! No more oppressive silences for 5 and a half hours.

Wedding Shower

My mom and I are throwing a shower for my cousin Josh and his fiancee, Amber on Saturday. We planned out these goofy wedding shower games, and started decorating the fellowship hall. I'm really excited by a particular stroke of genius that I had. Mom had asked me to come up with a corsage and boutonniere for J & A to wear, but I was not totally sold, because I hate boutonniere's on anything other than a dress jacket. Same goes for a corsage not on a dress. I loved the idea of decorating them with flowers though, so I was trying to figure out an alternative. I finally hit on getting Amber wrist corsages and I'm going to make both of them orchid leis!!

It would have cost me oodles of money to have the leis made at a flower shop, but I have connections!! Called a grower I know and she set me up, awesome girl! Picked up the orchids on the way home and after a visit to Michael's craft store, I should have what I need to put everything together, either Friday night or Saturday morn.

Birthday Fun!!

Ed and I are going out for a blended party of sorts. We get to celebrate my birthday from the 3rd and Ed's on the 7th as well as my mom's which was in June, but was missed, they were in Europe at the time. We are getting together with just a handful of our close family and friends for the evening, to have dinner and do a little country dancing!!

Thank you all who wished me a happy birthday. I think I even heard some faint singing. When I update next, I have a Reader Appreciation to post that I was saving up!

And Now We are 28...

Today is my birthday.
.::Looks around::.
Funny, I don't FEEL older.