The Christmas Candy Cane originated in Germany about 250 years ago. They started as straight white sugar sticks.

A story says that a choirmaster, in 1670, was worried about the children sitting quietly all through the long Christmas nativity service. So he gave them something to eat to keep them quiet! As he wanted to remind them of Christmas, he made them into a 'J' shape like a shepherds crook, to remind them of the shepherds that visited the baby Jesus at the first christmas. However, the earliest records of 'candy canes' comes from over 200 years later, so the story, although rather nice, probably isn't true!

Sometime around 1900 the red stripes were added and they were flavored with peppermint or wintergreen.

Sometimes other Christian meanings are giving to the parts of the canes. The 'J' can also mean Jesus. The white of the cane can represent the purity of Jesus Christ and the red stripes are for the blood he shed when he died on the cross. The peppermint flavor can represent the hyssop plant that was used for purifying in the Bible.

Around 1920, Bob McCormack, from Georgia, USA, started making canes for his friends and family. They became more and more popular and he started his own business called Bob's Candies. Bob McCormack's brother-in-law, Gregory Harding Keller, who was a Catholic priest, invented the Keller Machine that made turning straight candy sticks into curved candy canes automatic! In 2005, Bob's Candies was bought by Farley and Sathers but they still make candy canes!

http://www.whychristmas.com

in case you missed it

2016 Thanksgiving pictures

Its been a wonderful Thanksgiving time, Got to spend time with friends and family.  My hope for you, is you were able to have a wonderful time also.

The sights sounds and smells of Thanksgiving

I have so much I could say today. Its the day after thanksgiving and we are preparing thanksgiving yet again with friends of ours. I personally have enjoyed 5 Thanksgiving this year. Am I complaining? No way! It involves  my favorite beings- children. Last weekend, My kids and grandkids came over for thanksgiving celebration. A tradition I started 13 years ago, I wanted both my kids family with us at the same time. I didn't want them to need to choose which  family they spent the holiday with each year. The solution? Have it early. They liked the idea and so did I!

The following week,our daycare had a thanksgiving program and meal. I really enjoyed that

We had a thanksgiving meal/potluck last Sunday. A big turn out with church family, Sunday school families and neighborhood families. We enjoyed using it for a reach out to others effort.

Yesterday, we had a fun day at my mother in laws. Kids, grandkids, cousins aunts and uncles. Cutting wood and going for walks before the meal and dessert and game playing afterwards. Visiting with friends in the evening and playing games after watching charlie brown and bedding kids down. staying up way too late- you know who you are.

Today my house is filled with what I love the most. Grandkids and friend"s kids running thru the house playing games.  Hearing their voice shout nana and papa, all the excitment bottle up in those words. Enjoying the fact that I have many grandchildren and many that call us nana and papa too.

The smells of yet another turkey cooking, mashed potatoes cooking. Watching my granddaughter Jordyn make 2 apple pies and Mckenzie running errands for me in the van, Shelby and Sierra helping play with the younger kids. Listening to the voices of Peter,Heidi and Shane and Glenda  discuss, well who knows what.

Family is so important,I can't say enough about that. Reaching out to others and including into your family only adds to the blessings.

Another thought...  There are lonely people. They may put up a mask but maybe they have no one.... it will be a lonely, depressing time. Offer, that person maybe hiding behind the grumpy mask a invitation to be a part of your meal and family.
Or maybe its the tough punk or string out individual  that is dealing with thier problem the only way they know.

Advent is the period of four Sundays and weeks before Christmas (or sometimes from the 1st December to Christmas Day!). Advent means 'Coming' in Latin. This is the coming of Jesus into the world. Christians use the four Sundays and weeks of Advent to prepare and remember the real meaning of Christmas.

There are three meanings of 'coming' that Christians describe in Advent. The first, and most thought of, happened about 2000 years ago when Jesus came into the world as a baby to live as a man and die for us. The second can happen now as Jesus wants to come into our lives now. And the third will happen in the future when Jesus comes back to the world as King and Judge, not a baby.

There are several ways that Advent is counted down but the most common is by a calendar or candle(s).

Some European countries such as Germany use a wreath of fir with 24 bags or boxes hanging from it. In each box or bag there is a little present for each day.

We just celebrated Thanksgiving today.  I have so much I am thankful for. I am looking forward to celebrating the birth of my Saviour in the coming month. 

Thank you Lord for your blessings and beauty I see everyday

 Thanksgiving Delights

On Thanksgiving Day we're thankful for
Our blessings all year through,
For family we dearly love,
For good friends, old and new.

For sun to light and warm our days,
For stars that glow at night,
For trees of green and skies of blue,
And puffy clouds of white.

We're grateful for our eyes that see
The beauty all around,
For arms to hug, and legs to walk,
And ears to hear each sound.

The list of all we're grateful for
Would fill a great big book;
Our thankful hearts find new delights
Everywhere we look!

By Joanna Fuchs
www.poemsource.com.

Thank you
For being everything you always are
For being there like no one else
You know my heart
Do you realize what you've done for me
You made me see that love is worth believing in
I want to thank you for being 
The one thing I can count on in my life
For always giving more than you have to give
I love you for everything you do
I just want to say thank you
I want to give you all you've givin me
From the sweetest gifts down to the little things
Anything you need.everything i am i'll be loving you until forever and...
I want to thank you for being
The one thing i can count on in my life
For always giving more than you have to give
I love you for everything you do
I just want to say thank you
From sunrise,to sunset
You know.i'll do my best
To say thank you thank you
I want to thank you for being
The one thing i can count on in my life
For always giving more than you have to give 
I love you for everthing you do
I just want to say thank you

A-Z Lyrics 

KACI BROWN Lyrics

Thank you dear Heavenly father, my husband , my friends for all you have done.

What a difference you have made in my life!

I will never be able to fully say thanks

 

ANDRAE CROUCH

My Tribute Lyrics

[Verse 1:]
How can I say thanks
for all the things You have done for me?
Things so undeserved,
yet You gave to prove Your love for me.
The voices of a million angels
could not express my gratitude.
All that I am and ever hope to be,
I owe it all to Thee.

[Chorus 1:]
To God be the glory,
to God be the glory,
to God be the glory
for the things He has done.

[Chorus 2:]
With His blood He has saved me,
with His power He has raised me.
To God be the glory
for the things He has done.

[Bridge:]
Just let me live my life,
let it be pleasing, Lord, to Thee.
And should I gain any praise,
let it go to Calvary.

[Chorus 2]

copyright <a href="http://elyrics.net">http://elyrics.net</a>

Thanksgiving Potluck

Today we had such a wonderful morning service. Our music focused on being thankful. It set the tone for the meeting as all of us lifted our voices in praise and thanksgiving to our heavenly Lord.  We enjoyed hearing Brother Storey's testimony. Truly the Lord made a change in his life. The beauty is,as he pointed out.... That Jesus can still do that today for the hungry soul.  We were blessed to hear Sister Karen preach on God answering prayer and hearing our prayer. Thanking Jesus that He heard us when we pray.  This was followed by alter call.

Our noses had been smelling the wonderful food cooking since before Sunday School. The rooms had been beautiful decorated and it was not hard to find our way to eating,  We had a really nice turn out and many parents and young people from our Sunday School.  The food was delicious but even better was the fun and fellowship of everyone there.

A big thank you to all those who worked so hard;fixing food,decorating,serving and clean up. Listening to the jokes and laughter.  Taking time to pray for those we had been in contact with. Praying for Journey to Bethlehem coming up next month that souls will be reached for the Lord.

Salvation 
Hubby
Children 
grandchildren
My job
House
God's word
Church family
Healing
God's  protection 
Creation
Our country we have freedom to worship 

Best Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is here, so our minds have turned
To what time has taught us, to what we've learned:
We often focus all our thought
On shiny things we've shopped and bought.
We take our pleasure in material things,
Forgetting the pleasure that friendship brings.
If a lot of our stuff just vanished today,
We'd see the foundation of each happy day
Is special relationships, constant and true,
And that's when our thoughts go directly to you.
We wish you a Thanksgiving you'll never forget,
Full of love and joy—your best one yet!

my goose is cooked

On Thanksgiving Day we're thankful for
Our blessings all year through,
For family we dearly love,
For good friends, old and new.

For sun to light and warm our days,
For stars that glow at night,
For trees of green and skies of blue,
And puffy clouds of white.

We're grateful for our eyes that see
The beauty all around,
For arms to hug, and legs to walk,
And ears to hear each sound.

The list of all we're grateful for
Would fill a great big book;
Our thankful hearts find new delights
Everywhere we look!

By Joanna Fuchs

Random thinking Wednesday

What makes  a cat think he can jump and walk  sideline up my wall? She feels it's her job to protect us up from insects  shadows  and the scariest a piece of lint!

Thank You my Lord and Saviour

Its so much a blessing to be near family.  We had our first of many thanksgiving celebrations, I had both my kids and their families here for a big blow out thanksgiving dinner. Yes its two weeks before thanksgiving.  Such a thanks giving rose in my heart. Because of my car accident, young and old would not let me do much. Just let my body heal. I love  everyone! My grand daughters were baking  and frosting and cleaning my house in preparation for our big day.  So much fun to have so many hands helping getting the meal ready. Cutting up the meat another was making gravy, another one pulling stuff out of refrigerator. The last time we did this was 13 years ago. Only had 4 grandchildren at that time. They most likely didn't even remember we did do it.  Now I have 12 plus some adorable twin babies with us too. My 2 oldest grandsons couldn't be there. We having them over one evening before thanksgiving.  Nothing makes me more happier than to have my kids and grandchildren over. My hope and prayer is they will be impacted with the love of Jesus.  That they too will discover the joy of walking daily with Jesus.

Guest blog by my son in law- Peter

Guest Post: Why I Foster

I’ve been asked many times, “Why do you foster?” This question is generally followed up by other questions. “Isn’t it hard? Doesn’t it hurt to let them go? How are your kids handling it, are they okay?” I’ve been asked these questions enough times that maybe I just need to put my answer to paper – for my own benefit as much as yours. 

It all started through a very random set of circumstances. A little baby boy needed a home. His body was wracked by seizures so that he was taking greater than an adult dosage of phenobarbital. He needed a home. He needed someone to love him – no strings attached. I don’t know what my extended family thought – I was afraid to ask. But I couldn’t help myself. His need struck a chord in the deepest part of me and the only response could be to open my arms and my house to give him a life. Could someone else have answered that call? Could they have done a better job? For sure. But someone else wasn’t asked. I was.

The word “yes” is a simple word: three letters, one syllable. Yet it was through the simple, yet profound decision to say “yes” that an entire world opened up to me that I had no idea even existed. Our house has since had many visitors. Some of my fostering experience has been wonderful, and some has been painful. But through it all, I can say it has been worth it. 

We went on to adopt that little baby boy. Though it doesn’t always happen this way, his seizures subsided. We rejoiced the day that he took his last (ever) dose of the medicine that seemed to turn him into an emotional zombie. We’ve watched with awe as he has blossomed into a beautiful young man who has a depth of empathy that I can only begin to fathom. 

Then one day a new visitor came to our house. He changed everything. He taught us to see beyond the surface anger to the agonizing pain caused by neglect that hides just out of sight under the surface. He taught us to speak a new language. I can now understand and translate the language of neglect. I now know that rejection, hoarding, gorging, and tantrums are all cries for help being screamed by a prisoner to pain. 

But the greatest gift he gave us was brokenness. Something inside of me is shattered beyond repair. I no longer find it okay to live in a world where innocent children are tormented by the effects of drug addiction. I can no longer sit on the sidelines and do nothing. When I see a child whose life is being torn apart by the choices made by the adults in their life, there is a righteous indignation that rises up in me something fierce. 

Our visitor stayed at our house for two years, and then it was time for him to leave. Change is never easy in these circumstances, and his preferred method of self-defense was to be as nasty as possible. Perhaps he thought that if he tormented us to the place where we would reject him and eject him from our lives that then the separation would be easier. He was wrong. There is a quality about most foster parents that I admire – tenacity. My family has it, too. But as the days towards his move approached, things began to escalate around our house. So, one Saturday, we decided we needed some family time – time to huddle up, get some fresh air, and regroup. We took a drive into the beautiful southern Oregon wilderness. 

I’m pretty sure I could take you to the exact spot that it happened. Through all of this experience, God had been talking to my heart, but I had not been willing to accept what he was asking of me. Honestly, I was ready to give up. Who wants to have to deal with that kind of pain and drama all the time? But as we drove down the road that Saturday afternoon, God came along, too. In the gentle way that God directs our paths with his still small voice, he spoke to me in no uncertain terms. “You always talk about wanting to be the hands and feet of Christ. If you really mean that, then THIS is your option. Take it or leave it.” God was asking me to continue fostering – continue opening my home to these most vulnerable members of society. What could I say? I certainly couldn’t say no. I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself. 

That commitment has opened still further worlds that were as yet unknown to me. I’ve learned more. I’ve discovered that even though DHS is a government organization that has many flaws, it is filled with some of the most beautiful people who make unimaginable sacrifices to try to rescue victims from suffering. I’ve met brothers and sisters in arms who have answered this same call. Fostering is a world where millions of tiny miracles happen every single day.

More than that, though, as a Christian parent, I have what I would guess are fairly standard Christian parenting goals: I want to be as much like Christ as I possibly can be, and I want to so passionately espouse the gospel in all that I say and do that my children will be irresistibly drawn to do the same. That requires me putting into action the words of our savior when he talked about simple acts of compassion like giving a cup of cold water. It requires the kind of agape love (love with no statute of limitations) that Jesus exemplified on the cross – the kind of love that comes from giving without taking any thought for recompense. 

I can’t think of any time in my life when I have given where recompense was not part of the agreement. Most all of the giving I have done in my life has been in the form of short term loans, or quid-pro-quo arrangements where I give when it benefits me. But then I became a foster parent, and for the first time in my life, I found myself in situations where the people who I was pouring out compassion, effort, and time to have had no capacity (and, sometimes, no desire) to give back. This has created the kind of teaching moment in my home where life values are forged. I’ve been able to explain to my children that this is what it means to love as Christ and give with no thought to recompense. This is what it means to give a cup of cold water. This is what it means to be the hands and feet of Christ to a broken world. 

The beautiful thing is, I watch my children in action, and they are getting it. The light has come on. I watch in awe as they live out those core principles of the gospel that are so often relegated to cliché. They have discovered that family isn’t just who you are related to. Sometimes family includes the people that you choose to embrace. When that becomes your definition for family, then you are never alone. 

How do I sum this all up? I once read where the noted evangelist Oswald Chambers wrote that “God hates sin, and the cross is the estimation of his hatred.” In similar words, I hate watching innocent children be victimized by the effects of drug addiction. My choice to foster is the estimation of that hatred

need I say more?

a very big thank you

I am thankful that the Lord protected me from serious injuries. After enjoying my grandsons 9th birthday party, I decided I needed to go home to my sick husband. The evening was dark and foggy. Out of nowhere  I was t-boned by anther car running  a stop sign. Thank God I was just a block from my daughters house and the ambulance company. I think God for a party full of praying Friends and family. After much x rays and cat scan, it was decided that nothing serious seemed serious. Feeling achy and stiff.

Thank you all for praying for me.

Thankful for my friend Jesus

What kind of friend are you?

Pro 18:24 .... and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

My husband tells of a time a dog attacked him when He was a young boy, resulting in several scars on his face. He tells of how the kids at school would laugh and call him names. He had one friend, that he had grown up playing with. But as they got to a larger school, He discover that friend didn’t treat him the same way anymore. When the boy’s new friends were there, He would ignore him. When they were not there, then the boy would treat him like they were still good friends.

It brings to mind, our friendship with Jesus. Do we find our self guilty of only being his friend, when no one else is around? Proverbs reminds us that Jesus is a friend above all friends. Jesus said greater love hath no man than this, that a man lays down his life for a friend. Jesus did that for each of us. Why? He felt we worth it.

In Matt 26, we read how Peter denied Christ 3 times. He had told Jesus that he would never deny him. Things got tough for Peter and he was put in the spot of making a choice. He was depending on his own strength rather than God’s. Things can try to get between us and Jesus. We don’t plan it to happen but our eyes can get off the friend above all friends. We need to take steps to make sure our friendship with Jesus stays strong.

Spending much time in prayer will strengthen our relationship. We need the strength, we gain through prayer. Jesus takes time and waits for us to find that time to spend with him. The more we communicate with our Lord, the more He communicates with us. The more we praise and thank him, the more He blesses us.

 Situations come up when there is not a lot of time to pray. We can rest assure that at the name of Jesus, He is already stepping in to help us. Once I heard someone say, they never say amen because the prayer goes on all day long. The channels to heaven are already open. You already have the ear of Jesus.

Read God’s word and memorize it. This will ground you in your relationship with Jesus. David tells us how he hid the word in his heart that he might not sin. The Bible is a very powerful weapon. It will cause our enemy of our soul to be rendered useless when we use it.

Psalms 119:105 tells us that God’s word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. Just like a lamp will guide our feet down a dark path. God’s word provides encouragement. Help when we don’t know which way to go. It gives us examples of others who have had tough choices to make . It is full of victories.

Let us not be a friend that pushes Jesus aside, when our other friends come. But instead let the beauty of our relationship, cause others to seek after Him too.

2015 Thanksgiving blessing #7
I am thankful for having the opportunity  to have ms
Otherwise I would not have  experienced  the blessing  of healing from Ms in 1995.  God is good.  Every step I take,I am reminded  of what God  has done .  Rough times can shape us to be the instrument  he can use. But only if we let Jesus go thru it with us
# steppingouteverydayforjesus

Thankful for the Great Physician

HELP WHEN WE NEED IT   I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. Psalms 121:1   When we moved to our new home, we found ,we have a beautiful deck. As we sit there enjoying God’s creation, I look out across the range of hills. I feel especially close to God. I remember how many times God has answered my prayers. One time comes to my mind, when my husband was very ill. I got up that Sunday morning, knowing my husband had not sleep all night. I stood at the Kitchen window and lifted my eyes up to the hills, knowing He needed a healing. I remember, beseeching the Lord to remember us and pleading our cause to him. God is good. That night My husband was anointed and prayed for and God healed him Psalms 121:2 says my help comes from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. As I remember that difficult time. The days missed from work and feeling desperate for help. I remember the story of the women who spent much money on doctors and still was sick. She knew if she could just touch the hem of Jesus garment she would be healed. The doctors kept running tests on my husband and they still did not know what the problem was. That morning as I cried out to God, I knew that He was our healer. We had proved him many times in our marriage. Genesis 18:14 asks “Is there anything too hard?’ The following morning after my husbands healing, the doctor called. He apologized to me because he still didn’t know what was wrong. I was able to tell him, there is nothing no longer to worry about.

Today's devotion reminded  me , what I am thankful for.  God's  protection over Heidi Sletmoe when driving  home one night and she had a serious car accident, totaling  our jeep. The good news (minor) the cat didn't  get hit. God's  protection when our son totaled  our next jeep that the paramedics  had expected they would find a dead body.  I am thankful as a parent, we can trust our Lord to protect our children.  As a grandmother I depend on my lord even more as the family grows. I may not be  with them,but my prayers and Gods all seeing eye is.

Today ,after many years we finally have another jeep.  A constant reminder of what he had done for them

Today is election day. I enjoy excercising my freedom to vote.  What I don't like is the mail in ballets. Honestly, how many people have pencils laying around? If you are not going to school or have children in your home, finding a pencil can be a challenge.  I have pens, I have a computer, I have even colored pencils. But your #2 pencil is a bit harder for me to find in my house.   I was beginning to think I would have to miss this election. Just hoping I would find one before next election in 4 years. But just as hope almost died. I found a perncil,  quite likely  from last election.

This year I have a grandson voting for first time.  Tis makes me feel very old.  Regardless of my weird thinking.  I am thankful we still live in a country that gives us the freedom of worship, to vote and bear arms.  Don't take this freedom lightly.  Pray for wisdom and get out there and vote!

Advent is the period of four Sundays and weeks before Christmas (or sometimes from the 1st December to Christmas Day!). Advent means 'Coming' in Latin. This is the coming of Jesus into the world. Christians use the four Sundays and weeks of Advent to prepare and remember the real meaning of Christmas.

There are three meanings of 'coming' that Christians describe in Advent. The first, and most thought of, happened about 2000 years ago when Jesus came into the world as a baby to live as a man and die for us. The second can happen now as Jesus wants to come into our lives now. And the third will happen in the future when Jesus comes back to the world as King and Judge, not a baby.

December 2016 S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Calendar provided for free by decembercalendar.net

Clinton C. Cox declared this about the deliverance thankfulness can give us, “John Henry Jowett said,

‘Gratitude is a vaccine, an antitoxin, and an antiseptic.’ This is a most searching and true diagnosis. Gratitude can be a vaccine that can prevent the invasion of a disgruntled attitude. As antitoxins prevent the disastrous effects of certain poisons and diseases, thanksgiving destroys the poison of fault-finding and grumbling. When trouble has smitten us, a spirit of thanksgiving is a soothing antiseptic.”

what are you thankful for this day? It takes less muscles to smile than to frown. It is healthier to be thankful rather than unthankful. May God bless you today

Name something your thankful for beginning with each letter:

T
H
A
N
K
I
N
G

for me this is my answer:
Timely help from my Saviour
Happiness in my heart
all my family
new traditions
keeping old traditions
instant support from friends
new food dishes to try
going to thanksgiving parties

2015 Thanksgiving blessing #4 : I am thankful for the beauty of God's  creation.  One of our favorite things to  do is to go for  rides and see what God did today.  I am thankful  I can see the colors.  I can smell the smells of the season.  I can hear the birds and other animals.  I hear the sounds of different ones up and down the street moving their lawns. Smelling  the wood stove in the air or the leaves burning. I am thankful I see God's love for mankind ,everywhere I look. I see his signature in the sunrises and sunsets. Saying "good morning  I love you "  or " good night , I still love you"

I posted this last year. I still feel the same, only the place of country has changed. Do miss my midwest friends

#stillpraingmylord

In the winter of 1620, Pilgrims, traveling by sea, settled at Plymouth, Massachusetts. They came for religious freedom — a desire to worship God and live according to Holy Scripture. But the country they found was bleak and uninviting, with several inches of snow already on the ground. Of the 102 passengers aboard the ship, the Mayflower, nearly half died during the first winter of the "great sickness." Yet, according to settler Edward Winslow, they were grateful to God for his provision in their lives. A year later, the group celebrated with a feast of thanksgiving

Make your young guests feel special when Thanksgiving dinner is served atop a custom-made tablecloth they designed. Break out the color crayons, or markers, and allow each child to draw their own artwork depicting a thankful day. Later, play a game of "Alphabet Thanks," where children draw from a bowl of letters, and then tell God thanks for something that begins with the letter they picked.

I am #1 thankful for my Saviour Jesus

 followed by my hubby

children

grandchildren

my job I love

Give Thanks

Don Moen

Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks to the Holy One
Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son

Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks to the Holy One
Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son

And now let the weak say, "I am strong"
Let the poor say, "I am rich
Because of what the Lord has done for us"

And now let the weak say, "I am strong"
Let the poor say, "I am rich
Because of what the Lord has done for us"

Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks to the Holy One
Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son

Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks to the Holy One
Give thanks…

This year for the first time in 13 years, I will be having my kids and grandkids for thanksgiving dinner.  My family has more than double since we last had it but I am loving it.  I always use to have the holiday meals ahead of the holiday. The reason, I selfishly wanted both my kids family here at the same time. I didn't want them to have to choose which family they would spend with on the real day. Having it early takes the stress out. But now i realize I will be going to 5 thanksgiving celebration.  God is good all the time and it is truly good to be with family and friends.

Count your blessings

Gipsy Smith, a famous evangelist of yesteryear, said of this song, “Men sing it, boys whistle it and women rock their babies to sleep to it.”

When upon life billows you are tempest tossed,

When you are discouraged thinking all is lost.

Count your many blessings every doubt will fly,

And you will be singing as the days go by.

Chorus:

Count your blessings, name them one by one.

Count your blessings, see what God has done.

Count your blessings, name them one by one.

Count your many blessings see what God has done.

In everything give thanks:

for this is the will of God in

Christ Jesus concerning you.

- 1 Thessalonians 5:18

thanksgiving

He who thanks but with the lips
Thanks but in part;
The full, the true Thanksgiving
Comes from the heart.
~J.A. Shedd

I would like to say I am very thankful for my husband. 

He is my childhood sweetheart. I have know him for 48 years. I have been married longer than I haven't. 

Sometimes he knows me better than I know myself.

He loved me and supported me during my years of ms.

Times when I didn't love or understand myself.

He knows when I need a cup of coffee or some chocolate.

He will hold me and listen to me cry .

He laughs with me and shares my joy.

God is such a part of our marriage. That's the way it should be.

Most of all he prays with me .

I love him and it has been a wonderful 40 years of marriage.

wild Wednesday

What is the craziest thing you have ever done? How old were you? Did you enjoy doing it?

my mom

I have been thinking about my mom  a lot lately. We moved away 12 years ago. In that time a lot has happen. Her health got seriously very bad. I made many trips back to see what could be done.  The result was moving her into a home that specialized in memory loss.  My mom has been gone a little over 2 years. We now have moved back and I wish and long to see her as she was when I left. I know it was very hard on her to have her oldest daughter leave to go across the country. We didn't always see eye to eye on things, but we loved each other. My mom would always encourage me and help where she could in our walk of faith,even if she didn't always get it.  The thrill I had when just before she died, I knew she had made her peace with God. My mom gave me a love for flowers and working in my yard with flowers. She gave me a love for animals.

This is why I am thinking of her. If she was here she would have loved my cat-Joy.  Joy would have made her laugh as much as she has made us laugh. She would have worried over joy and been after me to make sure I was doing everything right.  Maybe joy would have loved her more than me! Mom would have spoiled her worse than me.

Mom I love you and wish I could tell you that one more time.'

Thou hast given so much to me,
Give one thing more,

 — a grateful heart;
Not thankful when it pleaseth me,
As if Thy blessings had spare days,
But such a heart whose pulse may be Thy praise.
~George Herbert

This month, I want to remember the blessings the

Lord has poured out on me.

He didnt have to, He did it because He loved

me.

Thank you my precious Saviour for dying for me.

Thank you for forgiving me from my sins

Thank you for giving me victory over sin every day of my life.