Wow, It's Been A Long Time...

It's been a REALLY long time indeed since I've written anything on my blog!  I have been so very busy.  And neglectful, wow!  I must get back to encouraging people in the Word!  :o) 

Above is a photo of my beloved Momma and nephew Ryan.  She has been gone 7 years today.  I miss her dearly!!!!  I cannot believe how quickly the time has gone by!  I am looking forward to the day that I am reunited with her in heaven. Praise God that I have that hope; that I know that I will see her again one day!  What a reunion that will be!!  :o)  It truly makes my heart happy!

Since writing last, I also lost my dear, sweet dacshund, Punkin.  She was 14 1/2 years old.  Wow, losing two animals in about 3-4 months time is tough.  But when they are all about the same age and getting so old, I guess it's inevitable.  So very hard, though.  She was the sweetest dog I've ever known; she truly had the sweetest spirit:

And, next week, our 3rd grandbaby, Benjamin,  is scheduled to be induced!  Yay!  We are so excited!  We are flying out to meet him after Thanksgiving!   :o)

A little encouragement for you:  God is for you!  He has a future filled with hope for your life (Jeremiah 29:11).  You are His treasured possession (Exodus 19:5) and He rejoices over you with singing (Zephaniah 3:17).  His Word, the Bible, is His love letter to you.  Read it and you will come to know Him intimately and develop an unquenchable hunger and thirst for Him and His Word. 

May God richly bless you!  :o)

Good-bye Girl! We'll Miss You!!

Well I haven't written anything on my blog in quite awhile because I have been pretty busy lately.  Today I come with a very heavy heart.  We had to put our cat to sleep today.  Well, she's actually our daughter's cat, but she's lived with us for probably the last 10+ years.  When we took her to the vet today for the second time in about 6 weeks or so, we never dreamed that she would not be leaving with us.  She was about 15 years old and lived a good, long life and we know that death is a part of life. But still.  We are so very sad and greiving the loss of our furry companion who has been there every single day for those last 10 years or so.  Pets truly are a part of the family.  We are praying for God to heal our hearts from this major loss.  We are thankful for the good memories we have of her and we will cherish each and every one. 

God Bless!

"Cats leave paw prints on your heart."

Happy Memorial Day!

Let’s remember what this holiday is truly all about - those who've given their lives for our country. Freedom is not free! Thank you to all those in our military that have given their lives for our country! And although this holiday is about remembering those who have died while serving, I'd like to thank those who continue to put their lives on the line each and everyday so that we may be free. May God bless you!

And a big thank you to my son for his service to our country!  I love you very much and pray God's continued protection around you!!

Photo Bookmarks or Cards for Father’s Day



These are super easy to make. I used a template for the tie here.  I copied and pasted it into a Word document and resized it to approximately 6 and ½ inches long. Next, I printed and cut out the tie template. Then I traced around the tie onto some nice, masculine patterned paper. After that, I cut that tie out. I erased any pencil marks and inked around the edges. I cut out the backing of the bookmark itself (to paste the tie onto) to approximately 6 and ¾ inches long by just under 2 and ½ inches long. Then I adhered the tie to the bookmark itself. These measurements do not have to be exact and I just sort of eyed it. Go with whatever works best for you.

I used 2x2 pictures and actually cut them down even smaller and adhered them to the bottom of the tie. Some of the photos I backed with patterned paper and others I did not. I just kind of went with whatever I thought looked best. I also used both black & white and color photos. Again, this is just a personal preference. I happen to like both.

I also typed up different phrases: Love You, Papa; Love You, Dada; Love You, Grandpa, No. 1 Papa, No. 1 Dada, No. 1 Grandpa, etc. You might want to simply say Happy Father’s Day, We love you. (You will notice that I also handwrote on one of them to give it a little more personal touch.) I adhered those phrases just above the photos. You could place them wherever you desired. I will list a few Scriptures and sayings below if you would like to include them on the back of your bookmark or inside your card, etc.

For the card, I just used a blank card that I already had, but you could make your own out of card stock. Again, I just traced the tie template, cut it out and adhered it to the card. These are easy peasy and I think they are cute. You could also enlist the help of your kiddos or grandkids. For the Papa card, I’m thinking about putting handprints on the inside, if possible (if I’m able to have both grandbabies here before Father’s Day; not sure if that will happen or not. We’ll see; Papa just might have to get that card AFTER Father’s Day. The grandbabies usually give him their own card anyway, but I had to make one up for an example.).

In addition, you could use the full sized tie template and have your kids or grandkids decorate that for dad or grandpa. They could color it and/or write on it themselves - that would be very special for dad or grandpa! :o)

Scriptures and Sayings:
The righteous man walks in his integrity; His children are blessed after him. Proverbs 20:7

Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers. Proverbs 17:6

The love of a father lives forever in the heart of a child.

A good man obtains favor from the LORD. Proverbs 12:2

He shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers. Malachi 4:6

Sometimes the poorest man leaves his children the richest inheritance.-Ruth E. Renkel

I hope this has given you some ideas and has been a blessing to you!

Happy Crafting & God Bless! :o)
…For God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7

Honor Mom on Mother's Day!

This Sunday is Mother's Day!  Don't forget to honor your Mom, Grandma (Mimi, Nana), & Great-Grandma and show them how much you love them!  No mother is perfect, as no person has ever been perfect, except Christ, but we are suppose to honor our mothers and fathers.  So, even if you have had a less than perfect mother, show her some love and respect.  After all, love is a "verb."  It's something you do, not necessarily something you "feel."  My mom has been gone for just over 6 years now and I miss her dearly.  So, cherish the time that you have with your mom!  (Good or bad.) And if you have had a wonderful mom, then great!  All the more reason to celebrate her!!

I love the verses below describing the Proverbs 31 woman.  I pray that as I follow Christ that I become more and more like this virtuous wife and mother who fears the Lord:


Who can find a virtuous wife?
For her worth is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband safely trusts her;
So he will have no lack of gain.
She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life.
She seeks wool and flax,
And willingly works with her hands.
She is like the merchant ships,
She brings her food from afar.
She also rises while it is yet night,
And provides food for her household,
And a portion for her maidservants.
She considers a field and buys it;
From her profits she plants a vineyard.
She girds herself with strength,
And strengthens her arms.
She perceives that her merchandise is good,
And her lamp does not go out by night.
She stretches out her hands to the distaff,
And her hand holds the spindle.
She extends her hand to the poor,
Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of snow for her household,
For all her household is clothed with scarlet.
She makes tapestry for herself;
Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
Her husband is known in the gates,
When he sits among the elders of the land.
She makes linen garments and sells them,
And supplies sashes for the merchants.
Strength and honor are her clothing;
She shall rejoice in time to come.
She opens her mouth with wisdom,
And on her tongue is the law of kindness.
She watches over the ways of her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children rise up and call her blessed;
Her husband also, and he praises her:
“ Many daughters have done well,
But you excel them all.”
Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,
But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands,
And let her own works praise her in the gates.
Proverbs 31:10-31

I hope this has been a blessing to you!! 
Happy Mother's Day to all of the Mom's!!
God Bless!!  :o)

Make Mom a Photo Card for Mother's Day

I actually made Mother's Day Cards for both my daughter and daughter-in-law this year. But, of course, I cannot show them here until after Mother's Day, so...I decided to upload a picture of a birthday card I made for my daughter one year.  This is actually a scrap-lift of a Becky Higgins' design of a Mother's Day Card she made for her mother one year.  It was in the May 2007 issue of Creating Keepsakes Magazine.  This is a little different than her version, but very close.  I loved her card and adapted it as a birthday card since my daughter was not a mother at the time.

For other Mother's Day Card ideas, go to Scrapbooks, Etc.'s website here to see more fabulous ideas.

Happy Crafting & God Bless!  :o)
"...God loves a cheerful giver." 2 Corinthians 9:7

Negativism

I know a lot of people who seem to have this trait, and I tend to struggle with it as well. I notice that I wrestle with it more when I am around others who are negative, grumblers and complainers. But to be quite honest, I don’t need anyone’s help. I have the negativism thing down pretty good on my own. Why do we do this? I’m not really sure. Sometimes, as Americans, I think we are a bunch of big ‘ole spoiled brats. We have more than we need and when things don’t quite go our way, we get all upset. We stomp our feet like little children and get angry. Then we start to moan and groan and complain and grumble. But I think we are showing ingratitude toward God when we do. I believe we must seek to change this by becoming grateful to God for all the blessings He has given us. Otherwise, we are sort of acting like the Israelites back in the Old Testament. They moaned and groaned and complained, too. And what happened to them? They wandered around in the desert for 40 years!! I don’t know about you, but I really don’t want to do that!!! I want to get victory over being negative, complaining and grumbling and to stop wandering around in the desert!!

Well, I came across this wonderful devotional from Our Daily Bread. I actually tried not being negative for a week. Let me tell you, it’s harder than you think. At least it was for me. I felt like the harder I tried, the more I failed. I felt like there was a little demon following me around saying, “Oh yeah, I’m not going to let you succeed at this, Missy.” But, that did not stop me from trying. And, so I continue… when I fail, I repent and ask God’s forgiveness and keep on trying. One of these days, I will have victory over it. Because “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).

Clean Up The Environment
What a frustrating problem pollution is! Everybody suffers with it, yet everybody contributes to it.

Pollution takes many forms, but one type is often overlooked. Charles Swindoll calls it “verbal pollution,” passed around by grumblers, complainers, and criticizers. “The poison of pessimism,” Swindoll writes, “creates an atmosphere of wholesale negativism where nothing but the bad side of everything is emphasized.”

A group of Christian friends became concerned about this form of pollution and their personal part in it. So they made a pact to avoid critical words for a whole week. They were surprised to find how little they spoke! As they continued the experiment, they actually had to relearn conversation skills.

In Ephesians 4, Paul called believers to that sort of decisive action. He said we are to “put off” the old self and its conduct that grieves the Holy Spirit (vv.22,30) and “put on” the new self that builds up others (v.24). As we rely on the help of the Spirit (Gal 5:16) we can make those changes in our conduct, our thinking, and our speaking.

If we want to be rid of verbal pollution, we must choose to change and ask for God’s help. It’s a great way to start cleaning up our spiritual environment.
~by Joanie Yoder/Our Daily Bread (April 8, 2010)

I hope this has been an encouragement and blessing to you.

God Bless!! :o)