Pondering Blessings from God

"If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" - Matthew 7:11 (NIV)

 "But his bow remained steady, 
       his strong arms stayed limber, 
       because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, 
       because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,

 because of your father's God, who helps you, 
       because of the Almighty, who blesses you 
       with blessings of the heavens above, 
       blessings of the deep that lies below, 
       blessings of the breast and womb.

 Your father's blessings are greater 
       than the blessings of the ancient mountains, 
       than the bounty of the age-old hills. 
       Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, 
       on the brow of the prince among his brothers." - Genesis 49: 24-26 (NIV) 

"If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth." - Deuteronomy 28:1 (NIV)

"I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings." - 1 Corinthians 9:23 (NIV)

 "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ." - Ephesians 1:3 (NIV)

Saying, "Hello"

I can't believe it's already been a week since we moved! Needless to say I've been a little bit too busy to blog this past week... so I'll give a brief summation of just a few of our PRAISES: 

 - The movers were fantastic (so nice to work with and they didn't damage anything)! 

 - Our daughter who is only 3 years old has been a real trooper through it all (she likes her new home and just goes with the flow)!

 - My husband's first Sunday of services went well (they have both contemporary and traditional services)! 

 - I met new friends (during a luncheon, goody drop-offs, and hanging out in the nursery allowed me to talk with a few of the ladies of the church)! 

 - We love our new church family (they have been super friendly and welcoming)! 

 - We love our new house (we are busy cleaning, painting, and organizing to make it our home)! 

 - We love our new town (taking walks to here and there is so fun and convenient)! 

There is so much more to say but, basically... we LOVE everything about it! 

I also would like to say a special "Thank You" to my mom who has been so incredibly helpful throughout this move... words cannot express my gratitude! She is AWESOME... in fact she is NEVER allowed to leave... I am going to hold her captive with sweet enticements... chocolate, pedicures, we'll decorate her room to her taste, you name it we'll do it!! Thanks Mom! I love you!

Saying "Good-bye"

We've been busy packing, packing, packing! And now all of a sudden... TOMORROW is moving day! (These moments in life can be a little surreal!) Today was our last day at our current church and what has been our home for the past four years. The congregation had a super sweet (and do I mean sweet... you should have seen the chocolate!) going away picnic for us with lots of good people and good hugs and kisses. We shed tears and shared in communion together... very special. It was just a perfect ending. What a wonderful group of people who loved us and we loved soooo much! What a blessing they have been in our lives and what a blessing to serve them. 

I know God has plans for them and us yet it's still hard to say, "Good-bye" to those you love. I thank God for our time together... it was exactly where God wanted us to be for those years of ministry. We are confident of God's calling to our next church as well and we have great hope for what is to come on our new adventure.

It is all about following God... His Voice... His leading... His timing. God calls us to the places we go... we leave our future in his hands because it is the ONLY safe place to be. It's all about trusting God... nothing else... because... God is Good... All the Time and All the Time... God is Good!

Faith Like Potatoes

My Mom recommended the movie Faith Like Potatoes to us and we finally got to watch it the other night. It is the story of Angus Buchan of Shalom Ministries in South Africa. What an incredible testimony of this man's transformation! It's a must see video.

God is our Healer!

My cousin from Florida sent this story to me... This past Father's Day a 10 year old girl who survived a heart transplant (due to a virus that attacked her heart) recently sang, "Healer" at First Baptist Orlando. Read about her story and hear her sing praise to God, her Healer! 

Check her out here.... Gracyn!

Here is Gracyn's Blog too.

Happy Father's Day!

I LOVE my husband! 

He is a WONDERFUL father! 

Our daughter is so blessed to have him for a Daddy.

I LOVE my Dad! 

He is a WONDERFUL grandfather! 

And, I am so blessed to have him for a Daddy.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY FATHER-IN-LAW!

We don't agree on politics (don't get us started!)

... but we do agree on our LOVE of...

 the Steelers, his Son, and  his Granddaughter!

I thank God for a Godly man who raised a Godly son for me to marry!

Happy Birthday!

My Uncle the Artist

"Murals by Jack" is my uncle's website.

 He is quite talented as you will see... 

just CLICK HERE.

Idlewild Park at Age 3

We had another fun time at Idlewild Park. 

This year Little Miss was old enough to ride the Raccoon Lagoon rides (when I was young I believe it was called "Kiddieland"). She loved the same two rides that I loved when I was her age... the hand truck cars which go around a railroad type track and the little race cars (by chance she got the #7 Steeler car both times she rode) that go on a track as well but you feel like you are really driving! It was so great to see her so happy doing it as she says, "All by Myself!"

She did a few other rides as well. However, there were some other kiddie rides that she said she sort-of wanted to do but said, "I think I'll wait until I'm 4 to do that." (I love that she knows her own limits.) 

She also immensely enjoyed the kiddie pool with Daddy at her side at the Soak Zone. She even went down a little water slide and liked it. 

She enjoyed watching the musical show on stage and wanted to be up there singing! As she looked on from afar (she doesn't like loud music/noises up close) she danced with her Pap-pap which she said was one of her favorite parts of the day.

Perhaps the most important part of her day is that Maga came back home with us and sat in the seat next to her. Our baby girl was very tuckered out and fell asleep on the way home, but before falling asleep assured Maga that she would be up to her bedroom to see her (wake her up is more like it) in the morning. 

Oh... the fun we all have together... and we'll have new things to look forward to for next year's Idlewild adventure!

God is so GOOD!

IT IS A HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

OUR LITTLE GIRL IS 3 YEARS OLD TODAY!!! SHE IS SO THRILLED AND HAS THE BIGGEST SMILE... SHE IS JUST BEAMING! "I'M NOT 2 ANYMORE, I'M 3!", SHE SAYS.