It's Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you! On this day may you truly discover the greatest gift of all - Jesus Christ and His redeeming love.

I've had several people in my family and at church deal with some kind of sickness in the last couple of weeks and I've been praying for them to be completely well and not miss Christmas. The Bible says that, "a merry heart doeth good like a medicine" so here's a little medicine if you've been a little under the weather!

Merry Christmas and I'll see you back here after my husband and I celebrate our fourth wedding anniversary on New Year's Eve!

Christmas Tour!

Welcome to "Praise Mountain"! Our home is a place of peace and joy and we welcome you to partake of the joy of Jesus Christ and all the love He has given. Be sure to go back to The Nesting Place and tour all the beautiful homes this season.




I've done my best to "theme" each little vignette I have around the house. Around the mantle are the nativity scenes. On the side table next to the loveseat are all my penguins. I have my snowmen gathered next stove and the Christmas simmering pot . My little Christmas cabin got the beautiful evergreen candles outside it's doors. And the kitchen and dining room are filled with the beauties of the outdoors - I have gorgeous Nandina bushes that give me all the wonderful red berries I can find a place for and lots of young cedar trees to nip the tops out of. Our tree has all the rustic and "outdoorsy" ornaments I've picked up and been given over the last four years I've been blessed to be in my own home.

I had a GREAT time at the November half/price Saturday at Goodwill. I can tell you that our Christmas decorations this year are very beefed up are from that one shopping trip! Be ready next year on the first Saturday of the month. I went in November but I think they start putting out Christmas decor in October.

Both snowmen here came from Goodwill...
The tall guy in the back there is actually made of octagonal boxes that stack on top of each other. It's a CUTE craft and I love that someone out there did it FOR me!!!

This is our kitchen window. I have a wonderfully deep window sill here and I fill it full of baskets and goodies. The birch bells hanging, my daily calendar up high in the window, the little puffy Christmas tree and the greenery filled basket all came from my November Goodwill half-price day extravaganza.

This little wreath is hanging on the support beam between our kitchen and living room. I surrounded it with my ribbon lights (one of my FAVORITE things). I'm going to use the wreath to tuck our Christmas cards into. You might not like me for saying this but I got this wreath, fully decorated... at Goodwill. I think it was about $3.

Can you tell I REALLY like pinecones? I only bring out the wax-covered green and red ones at Christmas but I keep the that large brown vase in the back full year round. I also keep that little copper scuttle full of them. They make for a great "frog" when decorating with all your faux flowers.

Umm, I got that massively wonderful print at Goodwill too... And two of my stockings... and those little wooden Christmas trees behind the nativity... I filled the gaps with tops out of the MANY baby cedar trees we have up here on the mountain.

Well, thanks for coming to our home! I hope you enjoyed the tour and sensed the peace of Jesus Christ. Check out some of the other links while you're here and remember to go back to Nester's and enjoy all the Christmas fun!

Start Snapping Some Pics!

--Our Christmas Tree From 2008--

Hey gals,

Get ready to show the blog world your beautiful homes on MONDAY with The Nester's Christmas Tour. Remember, this is just an opportunity to show how you make your home full of Christmas for your family so it doesn't matter if you go all out or just have a little. Bring all your Christmas joys and check out the instructions on how to link up this Monday!

A New Day

Yesterday was a sad day. About 8:30 A.M. we learned that our great buddy Gus, our Great Pyrenees dog, had advanced bone cancer and would have to be put down. It was a total shock since Gus had no previous signs of illness at all. Right up until yesterday morning and even getting in the truck to go the the clinic he was his usual spunky self. We learned that the cancer had actually eaten a hole in his front leg bone and what we thought might have been a sprain or seasonal arthritis turned out to be a fatal sickness.

My husband and I wept yesterday. Gus was really my husband's dog since he had him before we ever met or married but the three of us were a family and it was a hard day.

But, today is a new day. Even in the short 24 hour period the memory is still fresh but is being replaced with happy thoughts of the goofy, lovable, laid-back pup known to those who loved him most as Gustafson Jones. We'll miss you pal - thanks for being a part of the family.

The Past Gives Us Vision...

... into what tomorrow might look like. This cartoon from 1948 could have been made last week to warn the people of the United States. Take time to watch and remember this important lesson from our forefather Thomas Jefferson: “A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.”

Truthful Thursday

Acts 4:13 (KJV) "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus."

If your life so full of fellowship with Jesus Christ that people can just see it on you? Does your life so represent the image of the Master? May we all be "filled unto all the fullness of God" and "have the richest measure of the Divine presence." (Ephesians 3:19 AMP)

In the words of the old hymn...
"Filled with God, yes filled with God
Ransomed and pardoned and filled with God
Filled with God, yes filled with God
Emptied of self and filled with God"

Be sure to check out A Wife Loved Like The Church's Truthful Thursday Linky Day!

$100 or Jesus Christ

Have you ever been afraid to witness to someone? Maybe you were just embarrassed or didn't think you knew what to say. Do you think you could get over it if someone offered you $100 to do it? See what happens in this video and let it shine a light on your heart... I know it did on mine! See you back here for Truthful Thursday.

Truthful Thursday

It's been a week since I've posted, but I wouldn't miss Truthful Thursday!

Check out this glorious truth from the Smith Wigglesworth Devotional:

"Human weaknesses can spoil the effectiveness of faith. Victories become uncertain, prayers lose the anointing, and the power to take hold is hindered. But when God breathes His life into us, 'we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand.' (Romans 5:2) When the Spirit of God is waiting at your heart's door, do not resist Him; instead, open your heart to the touch of God."

Our yieldedness is key to any move of God in our lives. Don't let weakness stand in your way - yield to the power of God and by faith access His grace which is always sufficient!

Truthful Thursday

Have you ever wondered if someone was actually telling you the truth? The truth can be hard to come by these days. From the mainstream media to your co-workers to unfortunately, some believers, the truth is not highly prized as it should be.

The truth is priceless. When Jesus was praying in John 17:17, He said, "Sanctify them through thy truth. Thy Word is truth." So, if you've ever wondered what real truth is, it ultimately comes back to the Word of God. Jesus told us in John 14:6 , "I am the way, the truth, and the life." What Jesus has said we can trust implicitly. He is the personification of truth. He never exaggerated, never stretched the truth, never came close to uttering the tiniest white lie. The Bible describes Him in John 1:14 as being, "Full of grace and truth."

Now, Sarah over at A Wife Loved Like The Church is hosting Truthful Thursdays. I hope you'll stop by and learn some more about THE truth - His name is Jesus and in 1 John 4:4 we also learn that He is LOVE. Let Love Himself teach you the truth today.

Things That Make You Smile

If you sat for minute or two, you could probably make a fairly long list of things that always make you smile. I can think of quite a few and one of the things on my list are puppies. Even dog breeds that I don't admire very much seem to even still produce adorable puppies.



My husband and I own a Great Pyrenees and those puppies are some of the cutest on the planet. We're also really fond of French Bulldogs and this poor little puppy might be one of the cutest ones ever.




What are come of the things that make YOU smile?

The Crisp Fall Air

It has yet to hit the south but crisp fall air is right around the corner. I can just feel it!



Do you go to your state fair? I never did as a kid. My parents aren't exactly what you call extroverts and so large crowds and noisy rides weren't exactly their thing to say the least. In fact, I had never been to our state fair until two years ago when my husband and I went together. He grew up in a state where the state fair is almost sacred and cannot be missed. Being that it's one of the best and largest state fairs in the country, I can understand why. But the state we live in now... not so much. Our state fair has had a long history of utter puny-ness. Maybe that's another reason why my parents never took us. I have to say it was a pretty big disappointment to my hubby after the grandeurs of state fairs gone by in his childhood but we had a fun day and enjoyed the grossly over-sized pumpkins and the pig races. Seriously.

But, I digress. Jeremy ordered some witnessing tracts this week and it's making us both feel like going back tomorrow for our weekly Friday date. When you can combine a great night out with your best buddy AND get to preach the Gospel to people in need, what better multi-tasking could there be?

Tell me about your state fair or county fair memories. I need some good ones!

Bureaucracy

This made me laugh out loud...

A cowboy named Bud was overseeing his herd in a remote mountainous pasture in California when suddenly a brand-new BMW advanced toward him out of a cloud of dust.

The driver, a young man in a Armani suit, Gucci shoes, Ray Ban sunglasses and YSL tie, leaned out the window and asked the cowboy, "If I tell you exactly how many cows and calves you have in your herd, will you give me a calf?"

Bud looks at the man, obviously a yuppie, then looks at his peacefully grazing herd and calmly answers, "Sure, Why not?"

The yuppie parks his car, whips out his Dell notebook computer, connects it to his Cingular RAZR V3 cell phone, and surfs to a NASA page on the Internet, where he calls up a GPS satellite to get an exact fix on his location which he then feeds to another NASA satellite that scans the area in an ultra-high-resolution photo.

The young man then opens the digital photo in Adobe Photoshop and exports it to an image processing facility in Hamburg, Germany.

Within seconds, he receives an email on his Palm Pilot that the image has been processed and the data stored. He then accesses an MS-SQL database through an ODBC connected Excel spreadsheet with email on his Blackberry and, after a few minutes, receives a response.

Finally, he prints out a full-color, 150-page report on his hi-tech, miniaturized HP LaserJet printer, turns to the cowboy and says, "You have exactly 1,586 cows and calves.." "That's right. Well, I guess you can take one of my calves," says Bud. He watches the young man select one of the animals and looks on with amusement as the young man stuffs it into the trunk of his car.

Then Bud says to the young man, "Hey, if I can tell you exactly what your business is, will you give me back my calf?" The young man thinks about it for a second and then says, "Okay, why not?"

"You're a Congressman for the U.S. Government", says Bud.

"Wow! That's correct," says the yuppie, "but how did you guess that?"

"No guessing required." answered the cowboy. "You showed up here even though nobody called you; you want to get paid for an answer I already knew, to a question I never asked. You used millions of dollars worth of equipment trying to show me how much smarter than me you are; and you don't know a thing about how working people make a living - or about cows, for that matter. This is a herd of sheep. ......

Now give me back my Dog.

You Just Never Know...

...when you're going to meet up with an old friend. Through the technology we enjoy, I was the one who was found by a friend I had when I was a young teenager at our church. She looked up our church website and saw my picture and e-mail on there on the staff page. I was COMPLETELY surprised when I got her e-mail and we started to enjoy occasionally e-mailing back and forth to each other and getting caught up. Now, after two years of attempts at getting together in person, we're finally doing it on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. We haven't seen each other in about 10 years and it's exciting to reconnect now that we're married and she has two young children.



I hope you find a way to connect with people too. Today we went out with our witnessing team from church and connected with about 20 people, preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Isn't that what Jesus really came to do - connect with people and connect us with God? Thank God for the bridge of the Blood of Jesus, reconnecting me with my Heavenly Father and with my sister in Christ. I'm glad to know you S.L. and I can't wait to finally see you again.

Our Great Big Dog

We have a big dog. Seriously. He's about 3 1/2 tall and he weighs 150 pounds. He's a Great Pyrenees, a guardian breed. This video of another Great Pyrenees illustrates just how great these gentle giants are at their job. We love our Gus!!!

Can One Life Really Make A Difference?

YES!!!! A thousand times YES!!!

Remember that your one voice can change the entire course of a person's life. Watch this video and be encouraged to speak the truth of the Gospel to someone everyday.

Something is Brewing

Well, just because I was on vacation for a week doesn't mean the wheels stopped turning in the politics of our country. Some crazy, insane stuff happened while I was gone. Including the murder of a high school football coach in Parkersburg, IA - just 30 minutes from where my in-laws live and work. Michael Jackson finally went over the edge. Farrah Fawcett lost her battle with cancer. And, just a few days after we arrived home, Quarterback Steve McNair was murdered and it was revealed that he was in the midst of an adulterous affair.

Paul definitely had a grip on what was to come when he wrote by the unction of the Holy Spirit 2 Timothy 3:1-5, "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away."

My sister-in-law sent me a link to this blog with a series of YouTube videos posted on it. People say that we're not a war with Islam, only the extreme terrorist groups that don't practice true Islam. I say those people have their heads in the sand. Truth is truth and it cannot be denied. Check out this blog and watch all the videos. We are on a precipice and it's time to make a stand for THE way, THE truth and THE life.

Popcorn At Last!!!

The long awaited popcorn post...
Here it is folks! The step-by-step guide to mouth-watering popcorn, complete with pictures. Sounds like I'm trying to sell something, but I promise I'm not. Believe me when I say though, this popcorn is the most delicious you have ever put in your mouth, bar none. Alright, enough with the preliminaries - let's cook some popcorn!

Step One: Choose your vessel and set your stove-top (you didn't think you cooked this stuff in the microwave, did you?!?).



My DH and I have come to really appreciate our Whirly Pop stove-top popper. It is so easy to use and pops the corn much faster. It's also nice to have a dedicated cooking vessel for your popcorn since it is optimal to "season" it, much like you would cast iron cookware. Before we started using the whirly-pop, we just used a regular heavy-weight pan with a glass lid.
When setting the temperature on your stove top, you want to go pretty high. I go up two thirds of the way on mine. Adjust to suit your stove top's peculiar personality.

Step Two: Put in your cooking oils.
I like to use a combination of oils and fats when cooking my popcorn. Bear in mind that these need to be high temp tolerant oils. You want to coat the bottom of your vessel with about 1/8-1/4" of oil. I use mostly canola or sunflower oil blended with olive oil and just a few drops of sesame oil for flavor. Now, in contradiction to what you might think, I also add my butter now, about 2 tablespoons. You get the same rich, buttery flavor without the soggy, cold butter taste that can sometimes come from pouring your butter on after the popcorn has popped.

Step Three: Add the popcorn.
If you're popping in a whirly pop, you'll go ahead and put all your popcorn in now. For large kernel corn, I use 2/3 cup. If you're popping in a regular pan, you'll put in a single kernel and wait for it to pop. After the first one pops, put in the rest. You may have to experiment with how much popcorn to use depending on the size of your vessel.

Step Three: Let the popping begin!
In a whirly-pop, once the popcorn begins popping, you'll start slowly turning the crank to keep the popcorn moving on the bottom of the pan. It has a unique system with a little arm that moves across the bottom of the pan, keeping the popped popcorn from sticking and burning and moving it to the top. This popper has really reduced the number of "old maids" (un-popped kernels) we have at the end.



In a regular pan, you want to give your pan some hearty shakes throughout the popping. Again, this keeps the popped popcorn from sticking and burning and helps keep the un-popped kernels at the bottom where the heat is.

Step Four: Pour, season, ENJOY!
You'll know your popcorn is finished popping when you can count to three or four between the pops. Remember, your pan is still VERY hot and your popcorn will continue to pop (or BURN) after you take it off the heat.



Pour out about 1/4 to 1/3 of your popcorn in a large bowl and salt to taste with sea salt. I only use sea salt because of the wonderful flavor. If you have finely ground kosher salt, that is delicious too. Iodized salt is only for melting ice if you ask me.



Once you season the first part, pour a little more popcorn out into the bowl and repeat the seasoning. Keep doing this process until you have poured all your popcorn into your bowl and seasoned it.

Step Five: Clean Up
If you're using a whirly-pop or if you have another pan you want to keep only for popcorn, here's how you want to clean up. DO NOT use any soap. Soap cuts through the oil in your pan and prevents the seasoning process from taking place. The more times you cook in your pan, the better it works. So, I get my water running really hot and just thoroughly rinse the whirly pop, inside and out. Then, I set it over to dry on a towel or wipe it out right away to put away. Of course, you can only do this if you have a cooking pan dedicated to only popping popcorn. If you're having to use a cooking pan you use all the time, just be sure to use plenty of oil each time so your popcorn doesn't stick and gets a good flavor.

Well, that's it! Go try this plain recipe and if you want, go check out the cool seasoning recipes that are on the web! Just remember to stay away from anything that calls for Lawry's or accent salt etc. You don't want to load up your natural, yummy popcorn with nasty MSG and artificial flavors!

Long Time, No Post!

We're gearing up for a great summer. In just a few weeks we'll be in Iowa for a week with my DH's family.



DH and I have a tradition of popping popcorn on the stove, the old-fashioned way on Wednesday nights when we get home from church. I make it every few weeks for the kids to have as a snack on Wednesday nights at church in their classes. People ask me all the time how I make it. I think it's just because it tastes so different and so superior to the microwave popcorn we've all gotten used to.



At any rate, I'm going to do a post about it over the next couple of days, giving you a how-to on honest-to-goodness popcorn.

On one final note, here's a funny picture of my horse Tiki. The vet came out on Monday and gave her an annual exam, her annual vaccinations and also filed her teeth. Horse's teeth have to be filed every few years to keep them from developing sharp points that make it difficult for them to chew their food and also make having a bit in their mouth more comfortable. The usual procedure is to lightly sedate your horse since the vet uses a drill with a file on the end to smooth off the horse's teeth. After it was over, Tiki was resting in her stall to let the effects of the sedation wear off before she went back out to her pasture. She walked over to her feed bin and just rested her head on it like a pillow. She is such a funny horse anyway and this just took the cake.



See you again in a few days with the popcorn how-to!

A Day To Remember

I have to admit, Memorial day hasn't always been on my radar of days to do good things. In fact, our family never even made a big deal of going on a trip or having a cook-out on Memorial day. But this year I'm turning a new leaf. I'm really pondering what Memorial day means and how Americans should keep the holiday. Both of my grandfathers were in the South Pacific in WW2. I've been thinking about them and the things they saw and experienced while overseas. My mom's dad actually had to recover from a broken back that he suffered while training as a para-trooper. While I don't know anyone personally who actually gave their lives in war, my grandfathers gave time in their lives in service to our country.

Webster's 1828 Dictionary gives this definition of the word, "memorial":
1. Preservative of memory.

There high in air memorial of my name,
Fix the smooth oar, and bid me live to fame.

2. Contained in memory; as memorial possession.

Let's do more this weekend than enjoy big barbecues and a few hours getting sunburned and let's actually honor the memories of the men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice. They followed the example of Jesus and as it says in Revelation 12:11, "they loved not their lives unto the death."

A Merry Heart Doeth Good...

Enjoy a good laugh from this video!!

I Was Featured

Woo Hoo! After submitting back in February, it was finally my turn to get featured on Tip Junkie today! I showed some creative ideas for making your cut roses last and give you pleasure for a long time. Click here to see my post and take time to submit something creative, time-saving, money-saving, or household saving that you know how to do to Tip Junkie. It will be YOUR turn to be featured before long!

It's A New Day...

...and it's raining, again. But, I'm not complaining. Our area has been in sever drought for the last two years so hopefully this is getting those levels back to normal.

This is just a personal update post. Nothing educational, no tips or tricks on household maintenance, and no righteous indignation over some unjust act. Nope, it's just me saying, "Hey there!" to the nice folks who read this blog.

It seems life has picked up the pace lately. As some of you know already, I work full time in our church office and our homeschool umbrella program. With graduation hurtling towards us, we are working hard with our seniors to make sure every last "I" is dotted and every last "T" is crossed. Our graduation comes late in June but the caps and gowns, invitations, transcripts, ETC ETC ETC are all upon us right now. Additionally, my good friend and co-worker was out of town for about 10 days recently and left me with all HER work to do too (If you're reading this Toni, I forgive you...LOL)! I'll get her back when I go on vacation in June.

Speaking of vacation, it has been on my mind practically everyday! For the last three years, we have gone every summer to visit my husband's family in Iowas for our summer vacation. This is the only time we get to see his brother and his family. My husband's parents come down to visit usually around Thanksgiving but this is the one time a year we get to ALL be together as a family. We always have such a blast and my mother in law (I hate calling her that) and I are really close. Since it's vacation, I have a little looser regulations for that one week about coffee and sweets (for those who don't know me that well, those consumptives are under STRICT regulation.) so we go out pretty much every morning for a cup of coffee and a bagel. We take our Bibles and share all the glorious things God has been working in us since we last were together.

I'm really blessed to live so close to my family. Our whole crew is going to be together this Sunday for Mother's Day. I really have compassion for my DH because I cannot imagine only seeing my mom twice a year. I can hardly go two days! LOL Seems wimpy I know but she means so much to me. If you're reading this mom, I love you so much!

Well, I'm going to stop the rambling for now and hope that you enjoyed getting caught up with me. Remember to call your mom this Sunday if you can't be with her and remember that everyday is a day to worship HIM! Blessings...

Mother's Day

Mother's Day is just around the corner. It's the holiday set aside for honoring the woman who gave you life and hopefully nurtured and raised you in the fear of God. It is a sad state of affairs, however, that our country also celebrates death and a "woman's right to choose" when it comes to the legalization and federal support of abortions.

How horrific to consider that when one mother is praying desperately for her premature baby's life, another mother is having a late term abortion of "a fetus, a piece of undveleoped tissue".

If you haven't heard about it yet, there is a pro-life organization here in Tennessee that conducted a sting operation at the Memphis Planned Parenthood last year. Here's the report on it and the link to the YouTube video of their undercover visit. This is shocking stuff folks - it's time to stand up and be counted.

STATE LAWMAKERS CLASH WITH PLANNED PARENTHOOD OFFICIALS OVER UNDERCOVER FOOTAGE;

UNEDITED UNDERCOVER VIDEOS SUBMITTED TO TN LAW ENFORCEMENT


MEMPHIS, April 29--Following the release of undercover footage from a Memphis Planned Parenthood clinic, state lawmakers have introduced legislation that could divert taxpayer subsidies from Planned Parenthood in Tennessee. In response to Planned Parenthood of Greater Memphis Region's contesting the veracity of the footage, the group responsible for filming, Live Action, has sent the state Attorney General and Memphis District Attorney an unedited version for review.

The full footage is also on YouTube for public viewing. CLICK HERE to watch.

Lila Rose, 20-year-old president of Live Action, says the unedited video further exposes Planned Parenthood's reckless counseling practices. When Lila, posing as a 14-year-old girl impregnated by a 31-year-old man, mentions, "My boyfriend said he could pay for everything--But he shouldn't come here to pay 'cause you'll see him, right?" the counselor replies, "It doesn't matter. As long as your parents are not here and can't identify him, he can just pay and that's it. He could be like your older brother or whatever." Tennessee law states that a minor must have parental consent before undergoing an abortion.

Rose commends the Tennessee state lawmakers, led by Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey and Sen. Jack Johnson, who have questioned the state's over $700,000 funding of Planned Parenthood. "Why would citizens tolerate paying the bills of an organization that protects statutory rapists and victimizes young girls? This is the sad result of the careless abortion-first mentality that has persisted at Planned Parenthood for decades."

On Monday, Planned Parenthood Greater Memphis Region CEO Barry Chase sent an email to state legislators asking them to stop the bill and claimed that Live Action's president, Lila Rose, refused to release the unedited footage, even though neither Rose nor Live Action received any correspondence from Mr. Chase.

"We have not received a request from Planned Parenthood for the raw footage, so their efforts to raise doubts about the validity of the tapes are made only to mislead," Rose said in response. "The typical last-ditch effort of Planned Parenthood is to wantonly suggest that the unedited tapes might prove them innocent. But to better illustrate the deliberate cover up of statutory rape and abuse by Planned Parenthood, we have made the entire video public."

Live Action has also responded to the gross errors in Mr. Chase’s email to legislators. “It is all the more troubling to think that even a novice counselor at Planned Parenthood would know to recommend this law-evasion strategy. How prevalent must this evasion be at Planned Parenthood clinics when even the ‘interpreters’ are implicated?” states the letter. CLICK HERE to read the letter.

Live Action has released similar footage from five other clinics, located in Arizona and Indiana, as part of its Mona Lisa Project, which shows Planned Parenthood employees as they respond to reports of statutory rape and offer secret abortions. Find out more at www.liveaction.org.

Choosing Modesty

Life really is all about choices, isn't it? I was just sitting here planning what I was going to wear to a family outing coming up and it's going to be WARM already here in Tennessee. I was thinking of an outfit that would be comfortable and in most books, modest. But not to me - not on the inside.



You know that feeling you get from the Holy Spirit down in your gut when you're contemplating doing something that you know is displeasing to Him? You just can't get away from it and the more you try, the worse you feel. Well, thankfully THIS TIME I settled it all with Him in a matter of moments.



Sometimes it's taken me much longer and there have been times I haven't yielded at all. I'm learning to take these little learning moments and value them highly. It's these times when I yield to Him in something that seems small that will build my character to yield in the critical moments. How have you had to discipline yourself lately to yield to Him?

A Witness To The Gospel Part 2

Well, the first official outing with our youth group on Saturday was an absolute success. The weather forecast wasn't promising but it ended up being a gorgeous afternoon and the park was full of Gospel starved folks. By the end of the day, priority number one was reached with two people praying to give their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ. All of heaven rejoices!!! Priority number two was also accomplished by every young person in our group learning more about being an effective witness and getting absolutely addicted to the glorious high of leading someone to be born again.

I'll keep posting updates on our witnessing adventures. We'll be going out as a group at least once a month and the youth have been given the challenge to share the Gospel with at least one person per week. I can't wait to share our testimonies with you!

A Witness To The Gospel

Today is a special day - we're going on a mission! My husband is a passionate servant of the Lord Jesus Christ and he has really been getting our entire church fired up about witnessing. We're gearing up a new outreach today with our youth group. This afternoon is our first formal outing together and we expect to see many reached for the kingdom of God.

Jeremy has been really blessed by the teaching of Ray Comfort and his ministry, Way of the Master. I HIGHLY recommend his book, "Hell's Best Kept Secret". We're going to pick up his example and use a camcorder as a way to draw people in and start talking to them in a TV News interview style. Check out our church's website to see "the GPS test" and how we've learned to use the law of God as a schoolmaster to bring people to Christ (Galatians 3:24).

Share a comment or two with me about any witnessing you've done lately. I'd love to hear your stories! And, I'll post again on Monday and let you know how it went today. I know it will be glorious!

New Life

This Sunday we will celebrate in churches across the country the new life given to believers by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I hope this little video from a mother's day will remind you of how much God cares about life. Remember that it is His ultimate desire for us to be brought near to Him and obtain the fullness of life afforded to us by the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

Blessings to you this Resurrection Sunday!

On A Funny Streak

I just decided. Just now. No, literally just this moment to not even feel the slightest twinge about not posting in over a week. Seriously, I do this for fun so it's not going to be a downer to me if I miss a few days. The most important thing to me is to keep up with YOU and pass along something from God's Word or from my day to make you laugh or help you in your walk with Him.

Today, it's going to be something funny again. My ONE OF A KIND mother-in-law (I don't even like to call her that.) e-mailed this to me and I thought it was hilarious. I'm a big fan of Dave Ramsey and I think he would say, "This guy isn't even for real. I mean, he's so out there he's not even breathing the same air as we are." HAH! Enjoy and leave a comment about something funny that's happened to you on the phone with a telemarketer, etc.

A lady died this past January, and Citibank billed her for February and March for their annual service charges on her credit card, and added late fees and interest on the monthly charge. The balance had been $0.00 when she died, but now somewhere around $60.00. A family member placed a call to Citibank.

Here is the exchange :

Family Member: 'I am calling to tell you she died back in January.'

Citibank: 'The account was never closed and the late fees and charges still apply.'

Family Member: 'Maybe, you should turn it over to collections.'

Citibank: 'Since it is two months past due, it already has been.'

Family Member: So, what will they do when they find out she is dead?'

Citibank: 'Either report her account to frauds division or report her to the credit bureau, maybe both!'

Family Member: 'Do you think God will be mad at her?'

Citibank: 'Excuse me?'

Family Member: 'Did you just get what I was telling you - the part about her being dead?'

Citibank: 'Sir, you'll have to speak to my supervisor.'


Supervisor gets on the phone:

Family Member: 'I'm calling to tell you, she died back in January with a $0 balance.'

Citibank: 'The account was never closed and late fees and charges still apply.'

Family Member: 'You mean you want to collect from her estate?'

Citibank: (Stammer) 'Are you her lawyer?'

Family Member: 'No, I'm her great nephew.' (Lawyer info was given)

Citibank: 'Could you fax us a certificate of death?'

Family Member: 'Sure.' (Fax number was given )


After they get the fax :

Citibank: 'Our system just isn't setup for death. I don't know what more I can do to help.'

Family Member: 'Well, if you figure it out, great! If not, you could just keep billing her. She won't care.'

Citibank: 'Well, the late fees and charges will still apply.'

(What is wrong with these people?!?)

Family Member: 'Would you like her new billing address?'

Citibank: 'That might help...'

Family Member: 'Odessa Memorial Cemetery, Highway 129, Plot Number 69.'

Citibank: 'Sir, that's a cemetery!'

Family Member: 'And what do you do with dead people on your planet???'