STAYED AT HOME TODAY, TREY HAD TO WORK OVER SO STAYED AT HOME INSTEAD OF GOING TO THERAPY. FELT GOOD THOUGH. TRYING TO GET READY FOR VBS. SIGNED UP FOR EXTREME COUPONING CLASS JULY 7, FUN!

I start Optimum Life tomorrow, I am really looking forward to it! My week has been OK, kept Charli last night while Gina and Trey went to Olive Garden for their anniversary (6 years) and we had a really fun time making a Pink Lemonade cake (recipe on Paula Deen's site) to take to church today, all got eaten but one piece which I put in frig for Charli. It was too tart for me, next time I will watch the lemon zest.
Nothing much else going on, worked on my cross stitch a little.

Tuesday's service was great, too, glad Sheila was back! Suzan went to ER because she was pushing truck and hurt back, Kathy came to church with us, she really enjoyed it, next is going to be 'I Want for Nothing"

I am posting notes here for my friend Sheila who was sick and couldn't be at church tonight...

Getting back to your first love

Preacher West started talking about how Samson was God's man and let sin come between him and God and tells us in Judges16:20
And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” So he awoke from his sleep, and said, “I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!” But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him.
He said that was one of the saddest verses in the Bible
He then goes to Rev. 2:1 where the church of Ephesus has slowly pulled away from God talking about how first we stop going to church on Wednesdays and skipping Sundays, then we stop praying faithfully and then we find we are no longer in love with God like we were when we first were saved!

Matthew 24:12 (New King James Version)
12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.

He talks about how went we lose something we need to go back to where we were when we first lost it.

IF WE LOVE GOD WE MUST RETURN TO DOING THE THINGS THAT BRING US CLOSE TO GOD!

We must read the Word, Pray and go to Church and HEAR GOD'S WORD"
Ps23 tells us we HE RESTORETH MY SOUL

It's a gradual thing that brings us back to where we need to be, there must be a starting point!

Ames rolled over today, Gina texted me to let me know.
I can't believe the month is over! Poor Jamie is having a colonoscopy on my birthday and is needing a ride home, poor thing, Les goes back to work tomorrow and I will have the babies, I wish I could be more of a help, she has helped us to much with filling out paperwork and stuff to get Les back to work after these 6 weeks!
Getting ready for Homecoming and Preaching Mission next week! Got to think of something to fix for lunch after preaching, I hope we have a full house!

I am actually ahead of the game for once, LOL! I created 6 posters for Homecoming through Walgreen and got most of the pictures printed and ready to go in the album while they were half price. Those posters are wonderful! I am thinking how they will be a great idea for gifts to send Jeremy's son Seth to help him know the family that he doesn't get to see. We did the 20 x 30 size at church and 6 cost $68.00 which wasn't bad. We are laminating them and each year I will make a new one. Our building will be finished by next homecoming so I have the pictures uploaded and ready, I will tell Sheila so if something happens to me she can get them printed. I do plan on being around, though, LOL!
Gina had a class and Charli went to Sunday School with us, she must have gotten up earl because she fell asleep in my arms, ;0) Papa Doug and Nana 'Laine gave her a singing card that sings "I Want Candy" Each Sunday he has a pack of Tic Tacs for her in his shirt pocket and they are another set of Grandparents.
I decided I want a chair for my Christmas/Birthday and Office Max had the very chair I want for $50, I was ready to go get it but Les's disability check didn't come in so I am afraid to get anything extra :( I am sure they will have it on sale again or maybe I will get the cash I need to make up the difference, I am tired of my air hanging in the arm of the chair I have and my back hurting. The new one is wider and has good support. I have less than 2 weeks until my birthday, I told Les I want a chair and a long sleeved Carolina shirt, I saw a Carolina Girls shirt at church I loved so I tell him what I want so I don't get something I can't use (BIG :0))
Have felt pretty good this week, just sleeping a little more than I would like to. Have been going to bed around 2 and sleeping in until 10 or 11, I sleep so good in the morning!

Words determine thinking, thinking determines our feelings & feelings determine the decisions we make. This is from the study tonight at church we started called Taking Control Rom 12:1-3
Preacher Bud talked to us about the difference in praying and communing with God.
As a teen I was taught that God cared about our every day life, things as simple as a good parking place so I have always spoken to Him saying, "Lord, I am in a hurry and need a close spot today" or if I lost something' "Lord I need to know what I did with that" and He would give me that spot or bring to mind where I put the object. This is a way that we communicate. I was sitting there and a light came on, God does talk to me in simple daily acts.
These 3 verses in Romans are a good start for this study:


1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Serve God with Spiritual Gifts.
3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
New King James Version (NKJV)

My Spiritual Gifts are CREATING, TEACHING, STUDYING & USING MY FAITH. I am blessed to teach Young Adults and to be the Church Photographer, I thought that I would have to give up teaching because I do not have the stamina that I used to and had given up teaching preteens when the Adults class came open, it has been a blessing to me!
Taking Control is something I have to do daily knowing I live and have breath that day because God sees fit to allow it, I can't give up because my Doctor says I need a lung transplant or that my lungs are at 41%, I have things to do, I want to see my grandchildren saved and other family members in their places in a church right for them! I want to keep taking pictures and keep my mind sharp and learn more and more about my Savior, Jesus Christ! I am looking forward to learning more and pray the weather on Wednesday nights will allow more members to come! (It was wet and cold tonight)
Please pray my son, Jeremy, will be moved to start sincerely looking for a church home in Tacoma Washington!

These are pages from Kevin'd Book at church, His is the first I have finished, I used Raspberry Roads JAVA JOE Kit so it would have a masculine feel to it. His Mom wanted pictures of his friends at church, I know he will be tickled when he get it!

We have had several people in church with problems... we lost Papa Hearst, Ronny who drives the train at Emerald Farms had a stroke Sunday and is now at Hospice, I picked this picture of Charli riding the train, she likes Mr Ronny!
Then Carolynn's Mom Florence is in hospital with double pneumonia. I am sure this is going to be a rough Thanksgiving for them all but I pray they will get through by using their faith!

Cathy K's Naturally Male

Cathy Krenek has 3 beautiful kits in SBE's U Build It so I made a couple of pages playing with it. I love the picture of Les holding Ames. I haven't scrapped much lately since I am making my crafts for the November show but these were fun to do. I have got several calendars to do for Church. I am doing them as a fundraiser for church to help the building fund. Tomorrow I have to go price things for next week's yard sale. I have been very busy lately, LOL!

Had a very pleasant Easter! Yesterday I took Charli to the Egg Hunt and she found 94 eggs, there were only 20 kids there so she had a lot to be able to pick up. She kept saying PICK IT UP, PICK IT UP!
Today Gina joined me at Sunday School. Les had to work Again so I took a good nap and then went to Communion with Nell and Cliff and then went to Arby's with Elaine and Doug afterward. Will add pictures later.

My brother took this for me yesterday before I shot the wedding. I made more doing this one that I ever have and I didn't quote a price, I had volunteered to take some shots because she had a friend taking them, too, but I ended up the main photographer and am working on the book for them. The pictures did turn out well.
I have felt pretty good. Sitting at the computer lately my right side hurts but I just take Tylenol and go lay on my electric blanket.My biggest problem is staying hydrated, am drinking mostly water, eating way to many Life Saver gummies, too. Food Lion put them on sale and they sure taste good!
Sunday School went pretty good, There were 1 of us which was up from 5 or 6 last week. No one I sent cards too came but that's OK, I will grow that class. It will just take time. I am bidding on the book on Ebay and pray I will get a copy! That way any one wants to read it can. It is Five Love Languages and is a great book!

We had a cake walk at church today, I made a suncatcher and Jada won it, she was proud. I also made these earrings and sold them.
Here is my good friend Sheila outside the church.
My Chemo is tomorrow at 1:15.

Only one life will truly pass,
Only what is done for Jesus will truly last!

This is the quote my Preacher started the sermon with today. (Our service was an hour later because of the snow) It was based on James 4. I told him it was a perfect sermon for me, I told him if he has to preach my funeral I wanted that one. I make a lot of crafts and know for awhile I will be remembered from the scrapbooks, jewelry, photos, drawings and crocheted things over the years but they will be torn, faded and thrown away but the way I raised my kids to go to church and have faith and pray that will be passed to their kids. The kids I taught at church will grow hopefully remember the fun chalk drawings, Bible scavenger hunts and games as I taught them to help them know the Good News.
I know my kids will be in Heaven with me, hopefully it will be many years but it will be. I have faith in that!

These are bookmarks I make for my loved ones today for Valentine's. I paid 99 cents on Ebay for the bookmark pieces.

Mom had her surgery today, it was just a cyst No Cancer! I also had to go to our WMU supper by myself because Les was throwing up and of course I had car trouble and had to call my SIL. Les's truck has been messed up about 3 weeks and we are sharing. I hope I an get to work in the AM!

Here's the Scripture Challenge at SBE

This week we are starting a new theme: GLORY. The scripture verse for Week 37 comes from Psalm 8:1 which says:
“O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.”

** Be sure to read the General Guidelines to the challenge HERE, where you can find out what will happen each week. It will tell you how you can take part, what you will be receiving, where to post your submissions to, etc.

Here is a preview of your FREE Word Art for this week (the link to download the Word Art to use as part of your submission appears at the BOTTOM of this message, and will only be available until the close of this challenge):


* The deadline for submitting your creation for THIS challenge is midnight EST on Saturday December 12th 2009.*

Today I pulled out my Christmas Clothes! It's moving closer isn't it?

Also today was the funeral for a church member, Curtis Wilson, Les is working and so I didn't go. He was blessed to have another church member be his patient sitter and spend his last weeks with someone who cared that he was comfortable.

CONGRATS to my nephew who won a Band award this week end.



HERE'S THE SCRIPTURE CHALLENGE


We're starting a new theme this week based on ABUNDANCE. So, our scripture verse for Week 33 comes from Jeremiah 33:6b which says:
“I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security.”

** Be sure to read the General Guidelines to the challenge HERE, where you can find out what will happen each week. It will tell you how you can take part, what you will be receiving, where to post your submissions to, etc.

Here is a preview of your FREE Word Art for this week (the link to download the Word Art to use as part of your submission appears at the BOTTOM of this message, and will only be available until the close of this challenge):


* The deadline for submitting your creation for THIS challenge is midnight EST on Saturday November 14th 2009.*

Good News!

OK, here are a couple of pictures from yesterday's Baptism, this is a mother and son, Karen and Dylan, she is the sister of our good friend Kevin, we had about 10 baptized this time.

I have some good news! For the last couple of months I have been praying seriously for my SIL, she always called me a Holy Roller and would make comments because I spend so much time at church, well she came over today (only 2nd time she has been here) and she has changed her attitude! She has been separated from her DH and he also has started reading the Bible and they are back together, I am so happy! I will pray she finds a church just for her, I invited her to church but I have enough family that belong to church and don't come now. She took her GED and passed all but the Math part and has lost a lot of weight. I guess it's been about a month since I saw her but she was so happy and I wasProud!

Now I can go to the next person on my list who needs to be in church...

Here's one more picture of my preacher. Les and I had Baptism at the lake tonight and I had to do my Scripture challenge stuff and enabling so I am running late and didn't get the pictures downloaded, it's almost 11 so I am going to bed. Got a meeting at 6 tomorrow so that's 3 days in a row we ate at church and I have a class Tuesday night at 6. BUSY, BUSY, LOL!

Les and I just got home a few minutes ago from our party, it was a blast! That's my preacher above trying to find his wife by touching her arm, he missed! That's him doing the Hoola Hoop, too. I was the only one to Roast her hubby but it was funny and he got a special prize, a monkey puppet, that's him beside our friend Sheila, and that's our Deacon who just had his hip replacement last month dancing with the Preacher's daughter. I got there after 2 to help set up and it was almost 9:30 when we left.

Les and I got a lot of work done in the garage today. He wasn't happy with me because I made him do more than he wanted but it is mostly done and I am happy.

Here is Charli checking out my butterfly bush last Saturday, I have been checking out some ideas on Esty for the craft show I will be doing in November. I am going to do Yard Art pieces and a few other things. I found a service project, too. I am helping the women in the Faith Home to make some things for craft shows to raise money. The Faith Home helps people addicted to alcohol or drugs. This is a ministry that I fully believe in and I have done volunteer work before.

Les has the week end off but since his gout is flared up he can't do much. I do wish we could have worked in the garage or something. He did go to see his parents last night with me and we did a couple of errands but mostly he lays on the sofa or in the tub to try to get relieve. Tomorrow we are having a fun party called a Wiener Roast and are cooking hot dogs and having a Hawiian Theme, I can't wait!