Something Special

The boys all went away this Saturday so Abigail decided we should have a
Tea Party!

 She wrote out her own invitations for Her doll Emily and for Me.

Abi got out the Demitasse Set I just found at the thrift store for a special occasion like this...

...and she set the table herself.

She wanted to dress up so we put on special dresses and I let her wear Grammy's Glass Beads.  They are so special to me and Abi loved wearing them too.

She decided on special hot cocoa with peppermint and cream for our 'tea', M&M's, Cinnamon Croccantini, and Pizza and I had to pretend to just arrive, she even had an 'English' accent as she talked with me about our Tea Party.

Here she is serving Emily her special plastic foods.  Emily had a great time!

So did I, what a special blessing she is to me!

Follow no man, but one...

I wrote some of this back in 2008, ours is a journey of much repetition!   I hope you will be encouraged to keep traveling with God.  ~Blessings!


Follow Jesus.

When we get our eyes off of following Jesus, we get into trouble.  We must NOT allow ourselves to follow anyone but Him, no matter how "wonderful" they may be.  Nor should we take another persons "interpretation" of the scriptures for being truth, but instead we should take all things to Him who can show us the way. 

God can speak to each one of us, IF we let Him and if we learn to trust Him to.  He didn't send His Holy Spirit to guide a few "special" people, NO!  He sent His Holy Spirit to teach us all truth, ALL of us who choose to follow, not just an 'elite' few of His followers.  Learn to hear His voice. 

What does Jesus teach us?  Read the written word, ask for understanding, He will show you and He will confirm to you His truths.  He has done this for us so many times over the last 10 years, directing us to different places, mostly on the Internet (yeah, I know, scary place).  He is teaching us His ways, showing us the error of our ways, correcting and washing our minds clean from the errors we picked up along the way. We are often surprised at how much we once thought we knew has been absolutely wrong or twisted.  So much still to learn....

Honestly, this choice to follow only Jesus' example isn't easy.  There are so many times when we feel lost, confused or otherwise out-to-lunch as we struggle to understand what God is trying to teach us.  We have had to say goodbye to comfort as we shed ourselves of the church system and the friends who did not understand. The things that once seemed so important have grown strangely dim and the pain lessened as the importance of them made way for the King of Glory in our lives. I tell you the truth, it is a painful, lonely, misunderstood path at times, but so worth all the hardship if it leads to knowing God more and more each day.  Be encouraged for God is with you!

~Courage

If Only...Then

If only time would turn back to give us one more chance.

Then maybe they would still be here, 

But no...

If only we could see the path of life ahead.

Then  those whose time has come could say goodbye,

Perhaps...

If only words could be enough and time could really heal.

Then we would not understand time ends, but Eternity's for real.

If only...

We can play the 'if only....then' scenarios over and over in our minds, but it does no good and actually harms us.  Only God knows the why of each situation, it is our choice to trust Him with all the unknowns.  Someday time will end and all we have been through and all we have done will become as precious jewels or be burnt away.

Blessed (happy, to be envied) is the man who is patient under trial and stands up under temptation, for when he has stood the test and been approved, he will receive [the victor's] crown of life which God has promised to those who love Him. James 1:12 AMP