One Week Away….YIKES!!!!!!!!

Wow, I can’t believe that Thanksgiving is that close!!!!!  Where has this year gone!  People are not lying when they say that times speeds up with age… I remember as a child, the Holidays would never come it seemed and then when they did, they were over just like that and we had to wait a whole year all over again (my birthday is in January so it would be a long wait...hehehe!)  Now that I have my own children and family (very Thankful for) it seems that it is here before you know it!  There is never enough time, energy, money to go around it seems.  But there is nothing like the house being decked out, Christmas music playing, making candy and treats, the joy on children’s faces….

This week I am going to be cutting out and sewing a skirt for my mom for my sister’s wedding.  She didn’t have time or a sewing machine and I have both so I offered.  I am kind of excited!  It has been awhile since I have actually sewn something other than mending…  Plus I have some little projects I need to get finished up so hopefully it will give me a chance to do that as well!  Next Thursday we will be doing Thanksgiving with my husband’s side of the family and then taking my daughter to my cousin’s and either getting my brother to come to the house or taking my son to him.  We are going black Friday shopping!!!!!!!!  Yay!  Can’t wait.  I am not die hard about it but I think it is fun and always enjoy good deals if I can!  Saturday we are going to do our own Thanksgiving.  I think my mom and maybe sister might come up and maybe a few other, not sure yet… This will be the first that I actually do Thanksgiving at my house!  I am excited!  This is the menu so far….

Appetizers: (haven’t officially decided yet)

            Ham and pickle rolls

            Artichoke dip

            Veggie pizza bars

Main Course:

            Turkey

            Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

            Sw. Potato Soufflé

            Dressing

            Green Bean Casserole

            Relish Tray

            Deviled Eggs

            Dinner Rolls

            Corn Chip Salad

            Cranberry Salad ?

           

Dessert

            Pumpkin Torte

            Carmel Apple Cheesecake

            Maybe some pies

What are some of your Thanksgiving traditions or favorite menu items?

Weekend Recap

Ahhhh!!!!!!!  What a weekend!  Everything seemed to go well!  My sister got a lot of nice stuff from her bridal shower.  I am so happy for her!  The surprise birthday party went really well on Saturday!  I think Mom really enjoyed herself!  It was good to see people I haven’t seen in awhile and to meet people that I hear about but have never met.  There were quite a few people that had RSVP’d that were not able to show so needless to say we had a TON of food!!!!!  Instead of trying to divide it up and it going bad in our refridgerators, we decided to donate to a local homeless shelter.  That felt really good!  Yes it was a lot of money spent on preparing food, but it would have gone to waste if we would have tried to take it home and this way we were able to entertain and have a good time and help out people in need as well.  Very good feeling!  Sunday I made a ham, cheesy potatoes, corn casserole, dinner rolls (leftover from party) and apple crisp (leftover from party).  My sister and hubby and daughter came up after church for dinner.  It was very nice and relaxing and felt good to fix a good meal on a Sunday!  Needless to say after that weekend I was exhausted!  Hubby wasn’t feeling the greatest and daughter was so cranky!!!!  Hubby decided to stay home with sinus pressure and headache Sunday evening and it was so tempting to join him but I had this still small voice in my head saying I needed to press thru and go to church, God had something for me.  So after my sis left, I finished cleaning up the kitchen, got the kids dressed, diaper bag packed and off we went!  Boy was service amazing!!!!  Our pastor taught an awesome message on King Saul titled “Decay of a man, loss of a crown”.  It was so good and so much needed for my soul!  I soaked up everyword that I could while still taking care of a cranky 15 mo old.  Altar service was amazing as well.  I was able to pray thru and lay some of my heavy burdens down that I have been carrying around for the last several months.  Believe me, I am no where near perfect and like the song states that I heard yesterday, “ I may not be over the mountain, but I can see the other side”.   So far this week, I feel so refreashed, like I got that cool drink of water in a very dry and barren land.  I am so thankful that I didn’t give in to the flesh that day, I pushed thru and heeded what the Holy Ghost was trying to speak to me.  It made me think back to a post I read about a week ago.  I believe it was titled “Moving…when the flesh doesn’t want to.  There was a lot of encouragement in that post and I believed it helped me in that situation!

Anyway, that is a recap of my busy, exhausting but very rewarding weekend!  Hope you have a good week!  Comments are welcome! J

Finally Friday

Whew!  Thank goodness it is Friday!  This week went fast and drug all at the same time!  So much stuff, so little time.  Seems to be the story of my life anymore!  This weekend is packed again as usual.  Tonight, my hubby and son are going to a b-day party for a little boy at church. My daughter and I have a bridal shower for my sister.  I am excited and sad at the same time.  It is so exciting to see her getting all this stuff and to see her so happy but am so sad she is moving clear across the US!  Hopefully we will be able to go visit in the spring or summer next year to break it up, otherwise it will be a very long year L  Tomorrow we are having a surprise b-day party for my mother-in-law.  Shhhh!!!!!  It should be lots of fun but there is a lot of preparing and decorating that will need to be done!  Very thankful for a wonderful sister-in-law!  You have helped out and done tons!!!!  Sunday we will have church in the morning and then I am making ham, cheesy potatoes, dinner rolls, veggie or salad and a yummy pumpkin dessert!  My sis, brother-in-law and niece are coming up for dinner!  I am so excited, don’t even remember the last time we had Sunday dinner company!  I grew up with it being the norm, at least 1 or 2X a month.  So I am really looking forward to it!  Then, my week starts all over again!

In my studying and reading this week, the thing that is sticking out the most (maybe something God is trying to tell me) is that we must put our thoughts, feelings, desires and wants aside.  When I repented of my sins, was baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ and filled with the Holy Ghost, I died out to this old carnal man. Romans 8:7; I Corinthians 15:31. I put on a new name, the Name of Jesus Christ.  Therefore, it isn’t about me or what I think or want.  It is about fulfilling God’s will and doing my part in His Perfect Plan.  It is about making Heaven my home, staying on the straight and narrow and leading others that are lost to Him along the way. Matthew 7:13-14 I can’t listen to my “hurt” feelings, my “bright” ideas or any other of “my” thoughts that pop up here and there.  If I listen to this flesh, it will lead me straight to a devils Hell. Yes, Hell is real, it is hot, it is horrible and tormenting and it is for ETERNITY!!!!!  So when things have popped up here and there, I have tried to think about that and question my feelings.  Is it the Holy Ghost speaking to me or is it this flesh that is trying to trip me up?  Remember, it is the little foxes that spoil the vine! Song of Solomon 2:15.  Happy Friday!

He'll Do It Again

Don't really have words to say how I have been feeling lately, especially today but this song gives me hope so thought I would share!  Broken, sad, scared and lost.....

You may be down and feel like God
Has somehow forgotten
That you are faced with circumstances
You can't get through
But now it seems that there's no way out
And you're going under
God's proven time and time again
He'll take care of you

God knows the things you're going through
And He knows how you're hurting
You see he knows just how you're heart
Has been broken in two
But He's the God of the stars, of the sun and the sea
And He is your Father
You see He can calm the storm
And He'll find some way to fix it for you

CHORUS
And He'll do it again
He'll do it again
If you'll just take a look
At where you are now
And where you've been
Well hasn't He always come through for you
He's the same now as then
You may not know how
You may not know when
But He'll do it again

Friday and Snowing

Today I am thankful that it is Friday!  Woohoo!  Gotta love the weekend!  Although when I stop and think about it, we are busy every weekend from now till the end of the year.... depressing isn it?  But I am not letting that get me down!  There is a saying that keeps going thru my head lately :

God, grant me the serenity

To accept the things I cannot change;

Courage to change the things I can;

And wisdom to know the difference.

This is so true!  If it is out of my control, then I need to accept it and move on!  But if it is something that I have control over and can change, then I need to change it and quit complaining, right?  The kicker is having the wisdom to know the difference. 

Anyway, excited to start my weekend and it is SNOWING!

Comments are welcome! :)

Being Thankful

Although I feel you should do this on a daily basis, this season always makes me focus on everything I am thankful for and do have instead of what I don’t have.  It seems that there is so much going on lately.  So many crossroads, so many decisions to make or face…. “Why” I find myself asking…. Simple word, Satan.  It seems that we will just get thru one trial and we find ourselves in another. 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 comes to mind. “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;” Our pastor just taught on this verse and I have been chewing on it ever since.  If I focus on every trial that I go thru and all the bad stuff it brings or causes, I will become very depressed.  But look at what the verse says, troubled but not distressed, perplexed but not in despair, persecuted not forsaken, cast down not destroyed.  If we are truly God’s people, his children, we may have troubles come our way but we are not supposed to become distressed, we are to claim the victory in Jesus Christ’s name before it ever happens because he also said we are persecuted but NOT forsaken.  God is always with us as long as we are true to Him and his calling.  As long as we are humble and obedient to His Word and Will in our lives.

So even thru all the trials that have been thrown our way lately, I am thankful!  I am thankful for my family, my wonderful, loving, hard working husband; two beautiful children that are complete blessings and miracles from God Almighty; a good, stable, flexible job that allows me to be there for my family whenever they need me since I am unable to be at home at the moment; our home, while it may need quite a bit of work, we have done so much to it in the last year without taking out any additional loans, Praise God! He provides! ; freedom to serve and worship Him; the Revelation of who He is, the perfect plan of salvation, being baptized in his Name, The Name of Jesus Christ, and being filled with his spirit, The Holy Ghost…. These are just a few things that come to my mind off the top of my head.  Although, I am unable to really get on here everyday and post, I am going to try to post several things a week this season that I am truly thankful for.  Things that pop up or come to me thru out the week.

I am curious and anxious to see what God has done for you; what you are thankful for!

Breaking Chains

This is the song on my heart today...God is great and Greatly to be Praised!  I feel a revival in my soul and am claiming back the ground the devil stole from me!

Chorus
Can’t you hear the sound of breaking chains No longer bound / No more the same Freedom for captives in Jesus’ name Can’t you hear the sound of breakin’ chains

Verse 1Though Paul and Silas in chains were bound No bits of iron could keep them down They started praising and when they sang They heard the sound of breaking chains

Verse 2There at the alter on the day I knelt Its hard to tell you of the power I felt Just how it freed me I can’t explain But I heard the sound of breaking chains

Verse 3The day is coming when the saints will rise The law of gravity will not apply The graves will open and those that remain Are gonna hear the sound of breakin chains