Part 2

Last week I was very confused by another's actions. I started finding fault in myself over this and began asking God to show me out of this funky mood. Today, with great gratitude to Brent Riggs, God's grace was sufficient!

Grace is part of the attitude of God.

It was in my attitude all summer when:
my van blew a hose late one evening...all alone,
running errands,
standing next to an impatient lady,
dealing with financial hardships during a strike,
baking for a loved one,
handling my teenager,
worrying over my traveling eldest,
replacing my in-laws toilet,
attending my first ladies night at church,
reuniting with old friends...
and this list could go on and on!

Today it only took a few blogs to get me thinking and journaling.
I am exceedingly happy to go see the Pirates play this weekend!
Hoping hubby snags his first MLB foul ball!
Now that is grace!

Pic, verse and thought

Psalm 86:3 From: A Prayer of David

"Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily."

The pic is from my daughter's trip to Italy this summer, near Cortina.

The reason for the chosen verse is it's connection to many...
new Christians,
established members of the Church,
those hurting and seeking understanding,
those of unbelief but desperately seeking help,
and a King.


My point is that often I see God's beauty all around me, but often
I let the pain of those I love, and my own flawed thinking get in the way
of God's embracing love for us. Before I know it, I too, am seeking His council just as an Israel King did.

PS...
Psalm 86:10-13

"For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.
Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.
I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore.
For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell."
KJV

Linking up

Earlier today I read a devotional of the dangers of spending too much time on the net,
and not enough time in study of the Word. In total agreement, because of an unsettling feeling in me, I hit the Book!

Thankful I did. Thankful I did more tonight...searching various commentaries on the internet to explain more of what I was reading.
Mathew 5:13-17

I have to admit it was something in an e-mail ad for roses and growing that hit me.
"3-5 days of deep watering"

Truth!

But guess what-I got three communications this week from old friends!
Loving it!
Two were in my wedding!
Got a lunch date set!
I did the Facebook thingy.
More updates on gals I love from work!

Tomorrow we are going into the woods...ON BIKES!
Yesterday I did my first real workout via FIT TV!
Slightly sore thighs today!
AGHHH...hubby says its a 12 mile ride tomorrow-geocaching on bikes!
I hope they wait for me!

God is GREAT!

Best quote of the week...my Dad
He has Alzheimer's...yet he stared into my face
"you are good-looking"
then wheeled away a few feet and turned
"aren't you glad you came"

I'm thankful for much!

Fav Photo Hop

Today is pick your favorite photo and place it on the hop.

We love at least one yearly trip to Niagara Falls, especially Cave of the Winds!




Same predicament...two different perspectives!!!!

I love them both equally!!!!


Thanks for stopping by!

Love and Blessing to all!

Carol
>

Recipe swap! Yum!

Okay, I am in dire need of blog help. I bet somewhere there is a "Blogging for Dummies" book out there. I did get me some tunes and made a list of blogs I want to follow that didn't have e-mail subscriptions. Twice I hit to subscribe and realized they came up on our home page. Hubby wouldn't stand for that! Live and learn...I swear that is my life motto!

But here is today's recipe for the swap! Thank you Anissa!
(Thank God I found this on my e-mail because I couldn't find it in my recipe box or tucked in one of my books)
It is Yummy!





Butterfinger Grape Salad


2 lbs. of green seedless grapes
2 lbs. of red seedless grapes
8 oz. pkg. of cream cheese (softened room temp.)
1/2 Cup of white sugar
8 oz. of sour cream
1/2 cup of chopped pecans
1/2 Cup of brown sugar
3 reg. sized Butterfinger bars-chopped

Wash and dry grapes-must be completely dry!
Mix cream cheese and sour cream into white sugar until blended.
Add grapes and mix until well coated.
Place grape mixture in 9 X 13 in. pan.
Mix chopped nuts, brown sugar and chopped Butterfinger bars together and sprinkle on top.
Refrigerate until serving.

That's it! Enjoy...looking forward to what pops up on the swap!

Have a great day...thinking I should clean the pantry out!!!!

Love and Blessings!

Blog Hop Friday

Here goes....Welcome to Crazy Silly Me! This blog was created on a wintry snowed-in weekend, inspired by reading the posts of some "wise women" over at Proverbs 31 Ministry. If you saw a movie in fast motion of my past...I shouldn't have what I have. This blog represents the joy I have found through reconnecting with God after a major setback following the birth of my second daughter. It is part journal, part experimentation (forgive me!) in witnessing, and lastly, something I am just compelled to do. I confess that I severely lack in my involvement in church activities and don't have a huge circle of "girlfriends"...that is a major key to why I set up this blog. I am still growing, still moving on, working on improving relationships outside my family and stepping out through the medium of the Internet.
But...I laugh constantly, I love to dance spontaneously again, I persevere through trials with happiness in my heart, I don't remember the last time I have had a down day, and I owe it all to making God first in my life.
Thank you for taking time reading this! God Bless you!
Coincidentally, a few days ago I thought I could improve this blog through Adsense and was denied (can't blame them) for lack of traffic...so when this came up I jumped on it.
Have a great day...I have much to do for the 4th getting ready to host a family picnic tomorrow, hope to pop in and out on the blogging world. Fireworks over the bay tonight! Going to roast us some Smores! Have a great weekend!
Gotto get to work!
Love ya!

***I messed up already by not copy and pasting my link...sorry to the first Carolee

The Last Thing

The absolute last thing I would do today is sew!

Not when you have a rainy day and a persistent teen who doesn't take no for an answer.

Between reorganizing our "play room" (aka sun porch) which holds all our craft supplies, games,and remnants of days of kids playing school...then going through every bit of paper work, junk mail, not to mention laundry, a dentist appointment and shopping...this is the one heck of a run-on sentence...

I fixed my sewing machine!

The sewing machine that was beyond help.
The sewing machine that didn't even have a light, was missing a bobbin holder, the cord was frayed.

The light worked.
The cord was in perfect shape.
The bobbin holder was no where to be found...my little commando remembered seeing an old sewing machine in her grandparents upstairs and her mission was successful!

The end result...


Thankful...beyond words!!!!!

Remembering

It is raining.
A tad dreary for a summer day and I have three huge piles of clothes to transfer upstairs, yet my little one is still asleep. This is the first day she has slept in since returning from camp. She has many bruises and scrapes on her now 5'11" frame.
I am letting her sleep. Oh....to be a teenager and not have guilt from sleeping late. I'm happy to oblige this teenage luxury.

Hubby is visiting his parents next door, caught in this rain shower.
I found out this morning I am truly jealous of his body pillow. I awoke early around 7 AM and just watched him sleep. But to my surprise, I watched as he rolled over and physically put a bear hug on his pillow. Granted that pillow has helped him tremendously get a better nights sleep and snore less, but when I told him what I saw he laughed and said I was jealous. Speechless...I eventually agreed.

Hey, she is up!

Anyways...I must have subscribed to Beliefnet.com sometime back. Today in my inbox was "10 Inspiring Quotes for a Depressed Heart"

I usually don't opt in on much from that website, some content just doesn't agree with the me that is me today. But today, I enjoyed reading those quotes. Years back quotes like these made me even more depressed. I was so settled into a pattern of defeated thinking that it angered me to hear uplifting messages. Yet over the these past few years I see that messages of hope said to me years ago by family, mental health professionals, and those closest to me was truth. Early this morning, before hitting this e-mail, I was thinking back on a couple things that had a definite change in my heart and mind. Truly forming an attitude of gratitude, coincidentally one of the first books to begin a change in me and the methods I learned in the book "The Papa Prayer" by Crabb.

I haven't glanced at the second mentioned book in quite awhile but basically to me "PAPA" prayer time stays the same each day.

P-Present myself before the Lord...the Lord's Prayer helps me on days and nights when I am drained.

A-Acknowledge all the blessing and praise I can muster to Him. Telling God I know He is God...all-knowing...all-present!!!!

P-Praise...more lists of all I have to be thankful for. Sometimes I drift off to sleep after this part, I have come to realize that this is all that is asked of me.

A-Ask...ask for forgiveness, ask for others, then ask for myself.

Now this is pretty much my shortened and altered version of the book but isn't that what spending time with God is all about, making it personal. Taking seeds and planting.

Well this was a little seed of me today.
I once hated much, found joy in so little.
Depression is curable.
Never dismiss something that easily gives offense one day because someday it will make the most sense of all!


WooHooo!!!! The sun is out! The child is fed...I was up early and hit the store before anyone was awake...bought a couple pastries and fruit. She is happy!
Needs being met...not falling behind...got too much to be thankful for to dwell on our current financial situation!

Update:
hhh... I pulled "The Papa Prayer" by Larry Crabb from my shelf and I have altered his version quite.

Present
Attend
Purge
Approach

I must read this book again this summer...I have a feeling I will find something new!

Thankful for hard work!
Thankful for some unexpected bucks in our pocket today!

Not Me Monday

First time for everything...a blog carnival.

So what did I not do today...
hmmmm...

I didn't serve rice and chicken made with garlic and bean salsa I found in the fridge and forget to check for an expiration date.

I didn't empty the dishwasher just before dinner and use my hubby's 2X T-shirt to dry a fork.

I did clean my bathroom!!! But I didn't decorate using duct tape and a hot glue gun.

I did pick up some ice cream confections at the grocery but didn't eat the last cherry turnover!

I spent time entering contests tonight but didn't think I had a chance.

Thanks for the fun, MckMama!!!!

I do know how to blog...or do I?

Had fun!
Always hopeful!!!!

God uses dictionaries!

So...after a day of geocaching, then a full day of cleaning my basement, then a day of rain and shopping in preparation for our youngest's first trip away from home this weekend to volleyball camp...today I couldn't exactly get the physical fire going to tackle our cluttered attic.
Anyways, it's Thursday and this morning Lysa TerKeurst came up on one of my subscribed morning devotionals. Gossip and the junk that comes forth from us was the topic. She opened her daily devotional with Philippians 1:9. It worked.

Hubby is home, sleeping now after picket duty...we were up late playing board games and his early morning awakening at 5 AM has taken its' toll. So I felt the urge to stop my messing around from room to room and google the word melancholy. That led me to a whole list of words; pensive, optimistic, listless, quixotic and a few others to boot. The only one I didn't like was exanimate: meaning spiritless.

The succession of words up to that point had meaning. Ironically less than two hours after reading Lysa's devotional and her blog, something happened that usually sends our emotions flying in this household. But this time I didn't feel the offense or bitterness I usually feel. So to put this story in the short version: 1. All is well, we're disappointed but not troubled. 2. I had another reason to explain to my daughter the power of Holy Spirit. 3. This mood I am in led me to finding something in the Scripture.

Every Christmas I have this handmade plaque I did years ago with John 3:16 on it. It's one of my favorite objects to arrange around with greens and silk flowers. But today 1 John 3:16 popped into my head and there it was...the succession of God's love for us.
1 John 3:16
"Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren."
That means laying down our thoughts before God and our tongues.

Thankful I felt a pulling to check something out and putting a quick fix on it!
Thankful I took the time to do something that seemed somewhat foolish.
Thankful my youngest daughter just called on her cell laughing joyously!
Thankful my hubby agreed with me not to go geocaching three days straight next week, so now I have breathing room of another day until the sale next weekend.
Thankful my eldest got to ride a Vespa through a Milan suburb with her wonderful host parent yesterday. How cool is that!

Very Early Start

Wow...I haven't posted in months.
It has been 6 months of testing and trials at work yet moments of pure joy.
I was placed at my school as a classroom aide in an autistic support class.
Enough said on that-God was there with us! Hallelujah!

So here are some pics....




There goes my little girl...off to Italy to teach for 5 weeks!
Did I cry? Yes, but not until Saturday while we waited to get word that she was in Italy and settled into her hotel...that didn't come until she was able to hit an internet cafe on Sunday. Now she has a cell, so grateful...talking to God, resting in trust and peace over this and a real eye-opener to His power.

Next...



An elk...where do you find an elk in Pennsylvania?...in Elk County! Actually they were roaming around this town like a tame herd of beef. This one was standing along the road feeding near a house. We happened along this geocaching and today we are off again, picnic lunch to boot!

No big vacation plans this summer...hubby is on strike. Crazy as it sounds...today's local paper has it's first letter to the editor on why these guys and gals should be so thankful to have a job that strike shouldn't be an option. Actually it isn't the money that has their union in an uproar and I don't know anyone my husband works with that isn't thankful for their job. Going to have to do some repair once he gets up and sees the paper, I just know others will take the pen up and defend. Thankful he is listening to me more about God supplying our needs, as a matter of fact, I am receiving my last paycheck today for the summer too. So... today we are going out into the Pa. forests and hamlets happy to just be getting by. There is a strange outlook of joy and laughter in this crazy household these past couple weeks. What's God up to? One thing is teaching us not to be slaves to our weekly income!

So that is all for now. Going to get myself together with some prayer,a bath, make us some egg salad sandwiches and then get the other two up for a day of geocaching. Next week we will be getting ready for a yard sale. Thankful this may finally break the spell of keeping things no longer in need of! I just got another "Amen" on that too!

Snow Day Ramblings

Well...what a morning! I had three dreams last night, all called for an impending snow day, and in all three cases it did not happen. Then I awoke at 5:30, to be ready for hubby, who was asked to prepare for at least a 3 day call out for power outages by having his bag packed on arrival to work this morning...and school was cancelled! We weathered wind chills of -15 degrees by having school a couple weeks ago, one of the few districts in this part of our state to do so, so last night I really didn't plan today would be any different.

But here's the thing. (that was improper grammar)

I actually saw another personal financial gain if this storm turned for the worst in this part of the country. It didn't settle well. Then this morning we saw that from Ohio to New Jersey there isn't anything so damaging and widespread that teams of workers from our area need to attend to. I just hung up the phone with dear hubby and admitted, "I was so stupid to want financial gain from the misfortune of others."
Thank God!
Thank God another fleshy, worrisome part of me fell away.

*******

Both girls are sleeping still.
One of them needs, needs, lots of rest!
Fighting a nagging cold and managing a full schedule has taken it's toll.


*******

Tapped into another Proverbs 31 blog...Renee Swoop...much needed revelation came from that. I have been asking God to show me a place, to share, to bless others, by testifying with a humble heart to others on how He has helped me along these past 14 years. This place may be walking distance from my house!


*******

Speaking of walking....I estimated we walked 3 miles in snow, wind and wind chill factors near zero last Saturday. There was a local winter carnival and the local Geocachers had their version of the Amazing Race incorporated in the event. We didn't win and like many things of God, had we checked the batteries of our GPS we would have noticed that our signal was incorrect and saved my youngest and I a half mile walk through unentered National Forest land. "Oh Mom, you know your loving this", she piped back at whiny ole me. Of course when we didn't reconnect with the other two...they ventured up the toboggan hill and followed our footprints. We were four tired puppies by the end of our day. Wishing so much the digital camera hadn't died again.
**Saw sled dogs races.
***Walked across a small frozen lake. That was so surreal...like nomads...everyone was moving across after witnessing the triumphant plunges of 90 daring men, women and teens who bared it all for charity and ran into the icy waters!
****Didn't do the snow sculpture, but people asked ...I guess our second place finish last time was memorable.
*****Got snow tackled!!!! Giggled and laughed until I cried again. The smaller one, who even though she carries the adult weight of a full time teacher got me down. Then the bigger one, all 5'10 and still growing held me there. I wanted so much to say...let me up or I'll pee my pants but I knew there were other people in the woods.
Thankful we all still have the little kid in us still!!!!!
******And....ate a chocolate cricket to boot! Wasn't too bad, but part of the game. Don't think I would tackle a whole handful of them though.

Well....that's enough for now...can't do much, or make too much noise...so I decided to blog.
So blessed!!!!!!!
Amen

Hubby got a "Wubby" and other stuff!

Well to start...I did let go of the forest scenery on here...too cluttered.
New Years resolution #1--Get rid of clutter...
clutter of the brain, the heart, my emotions and my house!
**got two new books this Christmas- Joyce Meyers: "100 Ways To Simplify Your Life" and Don Piper: "90 Minutes In Heaven".

Now to Hubby...hehehe
We definitely pulled the wool over his 50 year old eyes!

Surprise party...my eldest took him shopping the Sunday before his 50th B-day (Christmas Day) and used the excuse she needed to buy gift cards at our favorite Italian restaurant. Well...stubborn Joe refused to enter the restaurant when he recognized a couple cars in the parking lot (he didn't want to be seen buying gift cards). Well, 22 yr old girls can still have hissy fits! She even resorted to stomping her feet in the car to get him to walk in with her. SURPRISE!



Then Santa came...


Then he got his "wubby"...this is what a gal gets her man when she tires of nagging him about his old dusty T-shirts...not an original idea...got it from an old sitcom.


To end this post all I have to give is thanks.
Thanks to a wonderful seamstress. It was worth it!
Thanks to my family.
Thanks to God for much laughter shared, for trials and minor pitfalls during this hectic season, thanks for memorable events, thank you God for great food (even for the return of power Christmas Eve just minutes before dinner was to be served-the butternut squash soup got pureed to perfection), thanks for just enough funds and our first Christmas without using credit cards, thanks for the two words to ponder on this past week when I was weakening.

"Power hungry"... it's true meaning isn't quite defined but every time I get frustrated with people and events around me...those two words bring calm to a hectic situation. I see where I need to let God take control.

Thank you!
Thank you!
Thank you!
Dear Sweet Father of Creation!
Happy New Year!