Woke to a beautiful sunrise and feel so blessed.  

I came out to the back deck and just sat in the warmth of the sun and God's love.  

So many times I feel like I just go 

I have started so many diets, so many exercise plans, so many of this and that and I make a little progress and then I get derailed and start all over and today I am on the verge of trying something new again and I am reminded that it is okay to try, try, again.

and in Luke 5:19-20 I am reminded that with God's assistance He will make a way for me.  I just need to keep on going and so once again I am fixin' to try something new again.

I have met with a couple of doctors due to the continuous tummy problems I have and so starting on Monday, May 26, 2014 I will be doing the Elimination Diet for 3 weeks...I keep telling myself I can do anything for three weeks...right...right!!!

I will not be eating or drinking caffeine, dairy...oh my gosh...what am I going to do without cheese????, soy, eggs and gluten...you know pasta's and breads and stuff like that.

For the past week I have been checking recipes, planning meals, writing out grocery lists and praying, praying and praying some more.  I think the hardest thing is going to be not having the dairy...I can go without coffee

I woke this morning thinking of you Kathy.

Hard to believe you have been gone over 5.5 years.

Today you would have been 60.

Though we didn't always get along 

and would go weeks without talking

I knew you were always there

whenever I called.

We have shared many joys and sorrows together,

celebrated the births of our baby's,

said good-bye to Dad & Mom

we have laughed and cried together

we have always been sisters.

I woke to thinking of you this morning,

hard to believe that I can't just grab the phone

and give you a call to share some news.

Or to cry because someone has hurt me

some how, some way

or to laugh about something that happened.

You would be so proud of your sweet daughter

She brings such joy to so many.

She knows how to have fun

and has a tender heart.

She misses you so much.

I wish I lived closer to her so we could

some things together that you would have done with her

like going to a movie or shopping.

You would be so proud of her.

I love you and miss you Kathy.

That is how Ron greeted me this morning, he from the bed to me as I was walking into the living room before 5 this morning...why was I up then...who knows...but I was.

So I had some quiet time with the Lord,

read some emails,

sent some emails,

and then this sweet little girl arrived

Miss Liberty or Miss Libby as we call her.

Her mommy, daddy, grammy and papa all work at Silver Dollar City

and when they all have to work we get to claim her as our adopted grand.

We then decided to head out to church.

Pleasant View Baptist Church

in Highlandville, MO.

We have been blessed to get to know Dakota, the recently called pastor and also the manager of our sister business, The Cliffs at Table Rock Lake.  

The church is a little country church and about 45 minutes from us here in Branson.

We were warmly greeted by members of the church.

Dakota's message was on 

2 Timothy 1:5 that precious memory triggers another: your honest faith—and what a rich faith it is, handed down from your grandmother Lois to your mother Eunice, and now to you! And the special gift of ministry you received when I laid hands on you and prayed—keep that ablaze! God doesn’t want us to be shy with his gifts, but bold and loving and sensible.

And the Legacy of our Mothers and Grandmothers

Today was the first time I had been in church on a Mother's Day in many years. I have a very hard time listening to how sweet and loving everyone's mother was or is, how mothers were/are so perfect and how thankful people are for their mothers.

Don't get me wrong, I loved my mom, but she was not the perfect mother, not even a great mother.  She worked hard and I know she did the best she could with what she knew and had but my childhood was far from a happy and blessed time.  And it makes it hard to hear all the sweet, mushy things people say about their mothers.  

I think God protected that thought from my mind this morning as I was getting ready to go to church.  I wanted to be there, to be a support for Dakota as he brought the first sermon since he was actually called as pastor.

I am glad I was there.  God spoke to me in a couple of different ways.

First, that just as I am choosing JOY and sometimes that is hard to do in different situations, like when you are sitting in an emergency room and the doctor treating you acts like you are nothing but an irritant or a problem and the check out lady is asking for more than half of your weekly pay as a deductible and you were wondering where the money is going to come from just to make ends meet...but I chose Joy that my hand was not infected...but I digress...

that what I can do is find something to be grateful about in relation to my mom.

I am grateful she did not stop me from going to church after I said I was not going back to the Catholic church (I was 12 and it was boring) and that opened the door for me to meet Rita Roth...a mom of 4 who kind of adopted me as one of her own from the time I was 12 till I lost contact with her when we were stationed in Holland.  Rita was the godly mother in my life at that time.

I am grateful that she did not stop me from marrying Ron...she was not too delighted that I wanted to get married at age 18 and she could have stopped the wedding has she had legal guardianship of me till I was 21...but she didn't put up any roadblocks.

So for those two things I choose to be grateful for my mom.

The second thing that I garnered from the sermon and the scripture in 2 Timothy 1:5 was that just as Timothy's mother and grandmother prayed for him that I am reminded that even though I am not in the daily lives of my kids and grands I can pray for them each and every day.

And then when I do get to talk to them on the phone or via Facetime or Skype I am so blessed to have my children, grandchildren, daughters-in-love in our lives.

So thank you Dakota for your message this morning.

And thank you Lord for bringing me to the service this morning.

In closing I would like to ask you to say a prayer for Dakota's sister and her family...they were in the tornado that went through northern Missouri last evening and they had the roof blown off their home and their church (her hubby is a pastor as well).  Our understanding is that no one was hurt in their little town but almost every home and business lost their roofs.  Thank you Jesus that no one was hurt.

May all you are reading this have a blessed evening or day!!

Woke up to this view

 out the back deck this morning

but the longer I am up the clearer it is becoming.

Sort of how I am feeling about some things in my life.

I am finding (recognizing I am slow learner) that

as I have stepped back the last few week,

that sometimes

to

and 

and 

is the best way to 

figure out where I am going

and what I need to be doing.

This past week has been good for me as I work on a majorly long 

and to find 

between 

work

me

friends

relationships

time in the Word

that I don't have to do everything in one day

and that it is perfectly okay to 

and to 

and

Thank you Lord for this time this morning

to reflect on you

and that in all things

I need to give thanks

and be content

wherever I am

and to choose

to live in

so 

How will you choose to live today?

Good morning.  Woke from a sound sleep, jumping out of bed remembering we have a guest coming into the cabin today and the linens were still sitting on the chair in our sun room...so quickly got up, got dressed and walked over to the cabin...what a beautiful sunrise so was glad I was up.  I really do like being up early but when I stay up late those early mornings are kind of hard.  But alas, it was beautiful this morning.  

Lots of stuff on our minds and hearts today.  Ron's cousin, Missy passed away yesterday morning after dealing with ovarian cancer for almost a year.  We are sad that she is no longer with us but rejoicing that she is now pain free and in the loving arms of Jesus.

We love you Missy!!!

After the beautiful sunrise this morning, dark clouds came rolling in and we had a downpour for about 10 minutes.  Then the weather radio went off saying we are under a Severe Thunderstorm warning for the rest of the day.  That got Ron scrambling to put the soft top on the Jeep...it has been nice to have it off for the past couple of days but since we have to go to Springfield to get Ron's new glasses this gal is not chancing getting caught in a downpour in the Jeep with no top on it :)

I began my quiet time in Habakkuk reading chapter 2, verse 4.

and I was reminded how important it is to remember the many trials and struggles I have faced and through it all how the Lord has been right here with me every step of the way.  And in looking back and seeing His handiwork and provision day after day, month after month and year after year I find hope in knowing that He will always provide and be with me.  And I am encouraged to pick up my Gratitude journal once again and start writing in it and recording God's awesome blessings.

Do you keep a Gratitude journal?  If not, I want to encourage you to find a little notebook or journal and begin writing down things you are thankful for each day.  I try to write down 3 things...sometimes they are big things that have gone on in my life that day but most of the time it is simply the simple things...like yesterday, one thing I wrote down was "I am thankful to have a day off to spend it with Ron just riding around enjoying God's artwork."

And then I turned to Job 7-14...

 

And this quote from Barbara Johnson "Suffering is good for us ~ it brings us closer to God, making us better people."

And I am reminded I am who I am today because of all the struggles, issues, sorrows and accomplishments, circumstances and joys that have been a part of my life.  

and

which fills my heart with 

Praying for a day of Joy for each of you reading this today.

Good morning.

First off ~

to our sweet daughter-in-love

Danalyn!!!

We love you and hope you have a great day!!!

This is what I saw first thing this morning.

These are taken from our deck looking out over Branson.  

Isn't God a beautiful master artist?

It was quiet and peaceful out on the deck with the birds chirping and making their own sweet music. So  that is where I decided to sit while I spent time in God's Word and pray for the stuff laying heavy on my heart and give thanks for the many blessings in my life.

What an encouraging verse this morning.  

What it reminded me of  is a Daddy's love for his child and the security and safety a child feels in the loving arms of their Daddy.

Here is Opal getting reassurance from her Daddy.

And Alexander with not a care in the world snuggled in his Grandpa's arms.

And I am reminded that no matter what is going on in my life

I can  crawl into the arms of Jesus

like this little girl

And HE will hold me close and comfort me.

Thank you Lord for your Word this morning that you are never too busy for me.

You are always right here, beside me, ready to take my hand or let me

climb up into your lap for a hug that no one can duplicate.

And that because God is Faithful, always Available

that I need to be faithful to Him

all the time!!!

And then I decided to read in Psalms

Psalms 16:2B

My goodness is nothing apart from You.

I am blessed beyond measure because of You.

and

and

And I am reminded that God provides for all my needs,

not my wants but my needs.

I need to remind myself that God 

has always provided for us,

sometimes in ways that we would never have imagined

and to be thankful each and every day 

for every blessing, big and small,

and most importantly

to remember 

foibles and all!!!!