The Spoken Word ....

Well I tell ya, my speech is a topic that is up for great debate most days in my head. I will think, "now why did I say that?" or "why didn't I say that" or "Really Dawn?!!?!" Yep that kind of stuff goes on in my head a lot.

There is a verse that has come up twice in the last three days and generally that means I need to take notice. It is Proverbs 25:11. It came up in Kelly Minter's "Ruth: Loss, Love & Legacy" Bible study and then this morning in the Neil T. Andersen daily devotional I receive.

It says:


Proverbs 25:11 (New American Standard Bible)

11Like apples of gold in settings of silver
Is a (A)word spoken in right circumstances.

Well my goodness, now what could that mean? Ummm yes, it could mean that I need to be paying attention to what I say.

In this current season it has been of UTMOST importance for me to keep it shut, or to speak when spoken to, or to just speak only what NEEDS to be said, but really I haven't been very good at any of that until just very recently. God has been really delving into this area of right circumstances speaking over the last several days. And I am so grateful.

In my study, Kelly says this: "But keeping Ruth's words to Naomi in mind, today we'll look specifically at the use of our spoken words - especially as they relate to the people in our lives."

ummm yeah, I wrote off to the side, "WOW am I in trouble with this one -- smile =)"

But instead of heavy conviction and rebuke, I felt hugged by God; like He was saying that He knew I needed help in this area, and He would provide the help, I need only to let Him. I love Him so!!

So how's your spoken words? Do they inflate or deflate? Do they encourage or discourage? Let God work it out in you child, and hold on for one wonderfully, wild ride!!!

Love you ~~ Have a Blessed day,

Long Obedience ....

So those of you who know me pretty well, know that I love me a good Study. Whenever I can get in the Word and grow, I'm all about it.

Well that is exactly what is happening in this study of Ruth by Kelly Minter. If you have not had the opportunity to start, it is not too late. This is such a good study.

I wrote on Friday about how "weeping forward" is a place I find myself in life right now, well seems as if I also find myself in a place of "Long Obedience". Where the Lord is telling me to keep on keeping on obeying and loving Him.

You see sometimes I want to obey and be through the trial.

I don't want to linger in it, and yet I know that there is much God wants to teach us through our trials. Sometimes I just want to be on the other side of the trial having learned and am now smarter and ready to move on. Yes, I know.....I am a mess....

And yet sometimes I have this persistance that is just unstoppable, much like Ruth. She knew she needed to go with Naomi and she wasn't taking no for an answer. That is perserverance in it's lovliest form, don't you think? Here is Naomi not wanting to hold her daughter-in-laws down, and also I think wanting a little time to her self, but that was NOT to be. Ruth would have none of it. She was persistent in going with, and so she did. I love that tenancious spirit of hers!!

Sometimes "long obedience" is hard, but there is MUCH to be said for obeying and keep on obeying even if its in the same issue. God is teaching me that. It is part of this whole Trust issue that He calls us to as Christians.

We live in such an instant world and we want things right.this.minute. But God (don't you love that) has designed things differently, slower paced if you will. Be Still. That is His take on our busy world.... And KNOW that I AM God .... Yep we know that He is God in those moments that our hearts are still before Him and we are basking in His sweet Presence..........

Yes Father, You are the I AM....You are my God!!! Praise You!!!!! Help me to be Still before You and to KNOW You in those deep places of my heart. You know I hurt. You know I get weary. Thank You for the gift of "long obedience" Father. You are my everything ~~ Amen.

Have a Blessed day,

Weeping Forward ..........

Yep I know it's Friday and normally I would be doing my Random Friday post, but I read something this morning I can't get out of my heart, so I wanted to share.

Here a couple of weeks ago I wrote a poem entitled, "Falling Upward". It is a deeply personal poem, chronicling a deeply personal time I am in right now. God spoke to me through this poem in a deep way. Well ..... as often the Lord will have it, He spoke to me this morning through the study I am currently in: Ruth, loss, love & legacy.

Kelly Minter writes: "Although there will be weeping in this life, the direction in which we weep is what truly matters."

WOW!! That is where I am at RIGHT NOW in my life. Weeping, sometimes feeling as though I'm gonna fall, and all the while being reminded that God will NOT let my foot slip, Ps 121:3.

Yes, there will indeed be weeping in this life, but oh how important for us as Christians to be aware of the direction in which we should weep; right into Papa's arms. Amazing!!

I will leave you with just a line from the poem Father gave me:

The face of pain
Behind the joy,
Falling upward
in the morn....

The reference to morn meaning my time with Father in the morning, I fall upward into His very capable arms.

I hope y'all have a beautiful weekend.

If you are in a season of weeping, let me encourage you to weep forward.

Love you ~~

Love & a Recap .....

Well last night was the kick off to our Summer Bible Study through The LPM Blog. If you are not in a SBS and would like to join us, please do. You can go to Beth Moore's blog here or look at the tab in my side bar entitled "Summer Bible Study" to join us. It is wonderful to be in the Word of God, especially with a group of ladies stretching across the miles.

If you'd like to read the incredible insight these ladies had to share last night, just look at the comments on my last post. They were simple amazing!!! I felt God all over this computer last night, and I am so pumped to see how He will use this study and these friendships in each of our lives. AMAZING!!

Well, Sunday as y'all know was Father's Day. Me and my man (the best Father I know on this earth) went to his daddy's (also an outstanding Father, yep Dick was well taught) and spent the afternoon.

My SIL took this picture of my man and I, and it just makes my heart swell. I LOVE this man so much. He enriches my life every.single.day.

I told you the pillow story yesterday, well last night when I was getting ready to start Bible study, he came in and wanted to know if the compressor in the garage would bother me.

That was such a sweet thing for him to recognize. It didn't bother me at all, but how sweet of him to consider that it would. And yes he would have stopped what he was doing for me if it would have bothered me. Yes he is just that thoughtful.

He really is like that all the time. He thinks of me and honors me in ways that I know I don't always realize. He is the best man I know!!! THE.BEST.

Thanks Barb for this picture and thanks honey for being the man that you are.....my hero!!!

Have a Blessed day and take some time to hug your heroes today and thank God for them ~~

Summer Bible Study ~~ LIVE AND ON THE AIR ~~ JOIN US!!!

Well, it is finally ~~ Summer Bible Study!!

I don't know about you, but my summer could sure use a good dose of the Word.

How this will work as far as our meeting goes through this blog.

Please log into The LPM site in another tab or window. Right here is the link, and have that at the ready, so you can refer to the questions Beth Moore asks as we go through them.

To view comments you will have to refresh your page. I know this can be a little confusing, but it worked for McMama, and she was having hundreds of comments in minutes, so I thought it might work for us to. I will be looking at a little better way to do the discussion part of it, but for tonight, you will need to refresh your page to bring up new comments. You can do that by right clicking and hitting refresh or by typing in the address again at the top.

Leave comments on this post only, so we can all view them and discuss.

After our discussion this evening, I will be recapping on the LPM blog and let them know how many we had in our virtual home =) where the candles are glowing, the food is delish and the company.........divine!!

Thanks so much for joining me on this journey.

I'm believing God for BIG things this summer. I find my self in a very difficult season during this Bible study series, so I KNOW that God has some BIG things that He wants to reveal to me through it and through you ~~ can't wait ~~ well, just a little longer on the wait.....

I'll "see" you in five ~~ love you,

Summer Bible Study Kick-Off ~~ WOOT WOOT!!!

Welcome to Summer Bible Study!!!

I wish I could have you all in my home over the next few weeks to study the Word of God. What a rich and rewarding experience it ALWAYS is!!! Anytime you commit yourself to studying the Word you grow. I LOVE THAT!!

So if I were going to get to have you all in my home, you might be welcomed with a pretty bouqet of my favorite flowers.....

I mean seriously, how gorgeous is this bouquet?!! I need to make one of these...














Or maybe a whimsical little cake like this one..... have you ever.....

Or possibly a more sophisticated cake like this one. WOW there are some EXTREMELY talented people out there.... These cakes are AMAZING!!!

But since we are meeting across the miles I send you BIG smiles and hugs......

and Ruth!!!

I am so looking forward to this study and what it will pull out in me. As I was thinking about it this morning, one word kept coming to mind, with an example. How cool is that? Love it when that happens =)

anyway....

The word that kept coming to mind was sacrifice. Ok STEP AWAY FROM THE COMPUTER KEYS ~~ DO NOT SHUT DOWN THE COMPUTER!!! Sacrifice often times is misconstrued. People sometimes think of it has a bad word, but not so.

When I started thinking about this word, God led me to example that happened in my life LAST NIGHT!!! WOW!!

So last night my man and I went for a bike ride. I new at the start, it probably wasn't a good idea. From the first peddle my knee was hurting. But I pressed on.........

Well, just over about half-way through my knee started really giving me problems and I had to stop....started again.....had to stop.....I.was.bummed. So we took it REALLY slow on the way back. Made it back to the house, iced, elevated and hurt. bummer.

So we went to bed, and my knee was still really hurting, and since I am generally not the pill-popping kind, I decided not to take anything for it. Well, about 30 mins into the whole trying to sleep thing, I mentioned to my husband that I wish I'd grabbed another pillow to put between my knees, thinking this might help. WITHOUT HESITATION he took the pillow from under his head and gave it to me. He never even bat an eye. He could have grabbed one on the floor, he could have said that wouldn't work, he could have told me to quit whining and go to sleep =) but nope, he grabbed his own pillow and gave it to me. He didn't even have to think about it. This may seem like a small thing, but to me it was huge, and it helped tremendously. I tried to give it back, but he wouldn't hear of it. I kept that pillow for several hours, until I woke up and my knee felt better, so I returned that pillow to its rightful owner, my dear man.

Sacrifice.....it is the stuff of champions. Just like my husband, he is a champion to me. And that is the way I want to be, a champion. So to succeed at this Bible Study, I am going to have to sacrifice some things. I find myself in a very busy season, and really didn't think I had time to "fit this in". Silly girl. So I will be sacrificing some TV time, and possibly even some sleep over the next several weeks, to spend some time gleaning in the harvest fields with Ruth. I am so very glad that you are joining me on this journey.

Even if you didn't buy the book or are not doing the study, please join us. This evening at 7:00 PM CST we will be doing a live chat right here on my blog. I've never attempted this before, but I've seen it done, and thought we'd give it a go. I am going to check on doing maybe a Ning chatroom or Google chat or something like that for next time, but for today we will be chatting here on the ole blog. I am so very excited to meet you all here. Just before 7:00 pm CST I will post a little post =) and then we'll begin at 7:00 pm. So jump on over....

I'm looking very forward to what Beth Moore has for us through the LPM site and also what Kelly Minter says to us in the pages of this study. But most importantly I am ready to hear from God. Are you ready?

Let's go.....

Love and hugs,

Summer Lovin' Part 2 ~~ Garden Style ....

So part of Summer for me is a garden. Gardening has become such a love of mine. It is something that has developed for me over time. I absolutely LOVE to garden. I am still developing some much needed skill, and our garden looks more like a jungle than a garden, but I still adore gardening. Even though I don't do it the traditional way.

Last night, when my man and I got back from a bike ride, I strolled out to the garden to harvest our garlic. This is the maiden voyage of garlic for us. I tried to grow it last year with no success. Well, back in October, Martha Stewart showed us how to plant and grow garlic on her show one day, so I decided to give it a go. With wonderful results this time ~~ YAY!!!

I went to our local Health Food Store, yes the ever popular MaMa Jean's and purchased some Elephant Garlic, then I took it home, pulled it into individual cloves and planted them. I then mulched them and let them do their wonderful thing in the winter. grow. And grow they did!! Come spring their beautiful green stems hit the surface. They look much like Tulips at first, and then they became ginourmous and just kept growing. Well the green started dying back and it was time to harvest.

So here you have our beautiful, Elephant Garlic in all it's summer, harvestable glory!!!



Here is my E Bulb next to a reg bulb of garlic. I mean seriously, is this the mac-daddy of garlic or what. I cooked some in our first mess of beans yesterday, and surprisingly it has a very soft and subtle flavor. It was just lovely. It has a light personality for such an opposing piece of lovliness. Yumm!!!!!

Okay so I almost didn't add this pic of me, but then thought oh I might as well. You can see what I look like at the end of the day and sweating after our bike ride. Pretty huh?!! Yeah I know....just keeping it real =)

So here is our garden. These pics were taken at dusk, so they have a strange look to them.....sorry. Some of you are such good photographers, but me, nope not so much. I'm a click and shoot kind of gal =)

This is the way of it most days. Scissors and a glove. Yep takes care of most needs in the garden ~~

Oh look at this lovely. Sunflowers are my favorite flower and all of my sunflowers this year are volunteer. Wasn't that nice of them just to pop in and say hello like that. No work required on my part. Just enjoyment. Hello lovelies!!!

I know, a little overboard on the sunflower pics, but I so love me some sunflowers....


I love how the fresh sunflower is framed by the one already done showing color, now all that is left is the head it grew on.....so pretty together....

Then tucked in amongst the green of our tomato plants is a tomato that will be ripe for the pickin' this week ~~ yay!!!

Below is our okra. It is coming along nicely. I grow it in memory of a dear friend of ours that is now with Jesus. He was such a great gardener and LOVED his okra. We miss you Bro. Earl.

Here is a view from the garden. Beautiful.

Look at this bean ~~~ Can you see it?!?!!

Yep I'll be picking again today!! These beans are SOOOOO good!!!











Here is our Swiss Chard. I love to grow it. It brings such color to the garden and it is so good to eat. But it is almost done. I'll probably be pulling it up this week. Yes I know it is big and lovely, but it is also bitter. And bitter Swiss Chard is just no good to eat. When it gets hot that is what happens to our lovely greens. Our Romaine is doing the same thing. tear. But both have given some lovely eating this year.

Here is our cilantro, surrounded by volunteer grape tomatoes, chives and sage. Lovely ~~

And what post with this many pics is complete without one of Sir Cuteness. Here he is in all his tiredness with his pink bink. Hey a girl does what she has to do. It's all Wal-Mart had that day and we were in need of a bink. I try to keep his other one handy, but this day Mr. Pink Bink was all that was available in my purse.....He doesn't seem to mind =)

Why yes that is a mon-mower (lawn mower =) in his hand. Every boy needs one right. And this one plays his ABC's.....I mean seriously....it's dual purposed at it's best =)

Okay, so don't forget.....tomorrow starts our Summer Bible Study series in Ruth. I'll post a short post (hahaha I crack me up.....short post....haha like I ever do that....hahaha) anyway..... tomorrow and then at 7:00 pm we'll meet right back here at my blog for a chat. I'll start with an Intro to Ruth post and off we'll go!!! Should be LOADS of fun. Even if you are not able to do the study this summer, please join us for the chat. It will be fun, informative and God-honoring.

Love and Big Hugs .....

Honey Roasted Peanut Brownies ~~

Yes you read that right ~~ I know!!!

This is the recipe I wanted to get posted last week, but alas, I am a busy slacker =0)

So here you go ~~ you certainly should try this one on for size ~~ PLEASE...

Honey Roasted Peanut Brownies

Ingredients:
For the oatmeal layer:
2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup salted honey roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped

For the chocolate layer:
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
¼ tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
¾ cup salted honey roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Grease the sides of the pan with butter.

To make the oatmeal cookie layer, combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Whisk to blend. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter on medium-high speed until it is soft and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the brown sugar and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Blend in the vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Mix in the oats and peanuts with a rubber spatula until evenly combined.

Reserve 1½ cups of the mixture. Place the remaining dough in the prepared pan and press over the bottom of the pan in an even layer.

To make the chocolate layer, combine the condensed milk, chocolate chips, butter and salt in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir occasionally until the mixture is warm and the chocolate chips and butter are melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and peanuts.

Pour the warm chocolate mixture over the oatmeal cookie layer and spread evenly with an offset spatula. Crumble the remaining oatmeal cookie mixture and scatter evenly over the top of the chocolate.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the topping is golden brown and the chocolate layer is starting to pull away from the sides of the pan. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely. Cut into bars as desired and serve.

Yes, I know it takes a little work, BUT THEY ARE SO WORTH THE WORK IT TAKES, (so I'm told =)

Enjoy!!

The Path to Understanding...

There are many avenues that Father takes us down to gain understanding in our lives. Now please let me be clear, THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO FATHER AND THAT IS THROUGH THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. But when it comes to our walk, there are many different ways that God brings us to understanding, and one of those is through Bible Study. It is just one of many things that God is using to bring me closer to Him. And I love it!!!





Our Ruth study is fast approaching, so today I wanted to give you just another glimpse of this study, and some of the fun things the Lord has laid on my heart for this blog part of the study, and then just a note on this beautiful path to understanding. WOW since when did I get so uniform in my approach to blogging? Generally I am a wild flower kind of gal, not the manicured lawn kind of gal. Yep so far, this has been manicured. Interesting.....





anyway....





This is what Miss Kelly Minter says about Ruth, the person of Ruth: "She is a flesh-and-blood example of integrity, kindness, purity, commitment, faith, and hard work. She is godliness with its sleeves rolled up, expressing her love for God even when she was profoundly devastated and left with a mother-in-law who had changed her name to "Bitter." (I think this means they weren't baking a lot of cookies together.) All this in the middle of a culture distinctly hostile to Israel's God."

The discription of Ruth in the first part of this sentence as "flesh-and-blood example of integrity, kindness, purity, commitment, faith and hard work..." is an Amen prayer to me; let it be Father. For so long I've prayed to be the kind of wife and mother that Dick and Dak deserve and need. I pray to be that Proverbs 31 woman, and I pray to be a woman of a gentle quiet Spirit. So this sentence spoke volumes to me of the longing in my heart to be a woman of God, with all the attributes that He instills including; integrity, kindness, purity, commitment, faith and hard work. Some time I would like to take each of these attributes mentioned here one by one and do a post of what each one means to me in my life. I long to be a Woman after God's own Heart. I long to be!!

Godliness with it's sleeves rolled-up, WOW!! Let's do some work in this study shall we?!! I mean let's roll those sleeves up and step out in faith in this study and get to the heart of the matter. I believe Ruth is going to take us on quite a faith journey and I am ready, how about you?

So as we study Ruth, set your heart toward Father. Let Him speak to those deep places in you that need Him to open the door that you long ago locked tight. Let Him help you to open it and carry you as you walk through the Loss, Love and Legacy of Ruth and you. Child it will be a beautiful thing!!

In honor of this Bible study I made some yummy treats on Tuesday: Honey Roasted Brownies. Oh my stars ~~ get-out-of-town good!!!.... or so they tell me =) I didn't partake because of all the butter and sweetned condensed milk, and y'all know of my love for the vegan diet, so I didn't partake, but oh did my family and friends love these!!! So I will post this recipe in my recipe tag later today ..... you're welcome =)

There are many recipes in this book that I thought might be fun to try. So each week, I'm gonna try at least one out of the book on my family and then I'll let you know how they like it. So if you'd like to join me, please do. This is a fun part of Kelly's studies. The recipes!!!

Also, I am working on maybe a specific time for us to "meet" here on my blog every other Tuesday for a chat. I'm thinking maybe 7:00 pm CST for about 30 minutes. I haven't worked out all the particulars but would love your feed back on this. What do you think? If y'all have ideas please let me know. I've seen others do chats on their blogs and it works pretty good if your group isn't too big, you just have to refresh to see the new comments, what do you think?

I'm looking so forward to the "meat" of this book, I can hardly stand it!!! God's going to work in us. I'm ready....How 'bout you?!!

So let me leave you with this little bit on a path to understanding. I am currently in a VERY painful season of growth. Father is teaching me to trust Him no matter what my eyes may see. It is difficult, but I know that God is working and He is calling me to Trust and Trust Deep!!! So I am really looking forward to this study and all the understanding and knowledge and wisdom I will gain through it to touch me right now in my place of need and growth.

Well let's get ready for some Bible study shall we?!!

Love you ~~ have a Beautiful day,

Letting Him Grow Up ~~ Oh Boy!!!

So I have learned over this last year, often the hard way, that I must let my boy grow up. It is a hard reality, but one I have learned to embrace. Instead of fighting so hard against, because I mean it is seriously happening right before my eyes....I've decided to embrace it and all its intricacies, joys and pain. And what a trip....what a beautiful, scary, amazing trip!! And Dak makes it all the more interesting!!

Well over the weekend he went to his dad's who lives about 1/2 hour from us in the "Big City" =) Okay so it's Springfield, but still the biggest city around here and getting bigger all the time.... I digress....

anyway.....

And yes he drove himself, and yes that is the norm now. Dak going where Dak wants to go pretty much, and me smiling, hugging, waving bye with my brave face on, never wanting him to know how much I long for that cute itty bitty I held in my arms, or the gangly 7 year old who used to crawl up in my lap and love on me, just because I'm his mama. Oh there are still VERY sweet moments. He is such a sweet kid.

Like for instance....

I walked out of my bedroom yesterday on my way out the door to the doc's and he said, "Mom your hair always looks so pretty." Ahh now how sweet is that?!! Yep that went right into his Senior Journal with "Moment" underneath it. Yep I think that will be a regular feature in our journal, the "Moment" feature. Yep it gives me cause to stop a moment and smile a deep smile in my heart. I hold these "Moments" dear....so dear.

So back to the weekend....

So he started telling me how much fun he had. How he'd eaten at Buffalo Wild Wings, one of his favorites and how he'd seen a musical, another fav, and how he played tennis with his dad, yep fav. Well then he told me he did this.....

Hey Dak, are you kidding me? That is a motorcycle. Hello?!! Are you listening? A motorcycle really? EEK!!!!!

But how stinking cute is this child on this crazy, I don't like them, GET MY CHILD OFF THIS MOTORCYCLE, motorcycle?!!?!

And yes I most certainly voiced my opposition to said motorcycle, but again he is growing up and as a mama I must let go and put him in the hands of my always loving, always capable God.

Now let me just say, he is NOT driving the motorcycle, just riding it with his dad. Not sure that makes me feel any better, but boys will be boys right?!! oh boy!!!!!

So here I sit contemplating all this growing up stuff, knowing that Dak is so sweet and kind, and such a nice kid, that my heart just smiles. And he loves his mama. The feeling is oh so mutual!!! I love you kiddo!! Now STAY OFF THAT MOTORCYCLE!!! Always the mama right?!! Right.

Have a Beautiful Day,

Lovely Weekend....

This weeked has been so much fun. It has been full. I love full, fun relaxing weekends like this one. Nothing to serious. Just fun.

On Saturday morning I met a new friend for coffee at Hebrews Coffee. It was SO good and SO fun.

I am just over the moon, excited about how God is orchestrating this friendship. It truly has His stamp ALL OVER IT!!!

Perhaps one day I will share the beginning of the journey of this friendship, but for now, I will keep it in my heart. It is special and it is deep. Thank You Jesus!!!

I look forward to many more meetings at Hebrews Coffee with my new friend K.


Then it was back home and lounging with the family for a little while and then hubby and I headed out to eat.

I went it to tell Dak that we were leaving and he looked at me like I'd grown a third eye. Apparently that is not allowed =)

Convo:

Me: Hey son, see ya later...
Dak: Where are you going?
Me: Dick and I are going out to eat....
Dak: Really?
Me: Yep. Date night.
Dak: You two are so cute....
Me: Yeah, I know. hahahaha

Then we were off to the Garden Cafe for pizza and sandwiches and AMAZING conversation!!! I LOVE being with my husband. The love in which he shares his wisdom with me is truly rock solid and inspiring. I am currently working through some stuff in my life. Ya know like the "what am I going to do with my life" kind of stuff. BIG stuff!! The kind of stuff that God is ALL OVER and my hubby is the biggest encouragement to me and gives me the most sound advice and loving me all the way through it. (BTW as I am typing this he is vacuuming. Yep he's a keeper =)

anyway....

I love that God doesn't stop, He doesn't give up on us...on me. My calling in life is different than my wanting in life. Does that make sense? Why is it that when God gifts and calls and you know it, that you want a different gift or call sometimes. Oh brother....I am pathetic.

In church this morning, God seriously got a hold of me on this subject. Yep He knows me. Pastor Curt (our Senior Associate Pastor) spoke this morning, and the boy was on fire I tell ya. What a message!!! He was preaching out of Ephesians 3 and he said this in regards to verse 2 which talks about being stewards of God's grace. Pastor Curt said this:

"What God has given you to do is important. Stop having gift envy and do what God has given you to do. Serve Him in the call and gift on your life, right where you are."

Oh snap. Yep I got called out on this one. I knew exactly what he was saying, and that one was just for me. So I am now moving right on in the call and gifting that God has on my life. And I do so with a joyful and expectant heart. I can't wait to see how God will use this in my life. Yep it is an exciting time for me. My heart is full and ready. I've so needed to get off the Spiritual couch and get on with what God has for my life. Amen? Amen!!!

Well in other exciting news, next Tuesday starts our Summer Bible Study Series. If you want to join us, it's still not too late. Looking so forward to all that God has in store for us.

Y'all have a Beautifully Blessed day ~~

~~ Random Friday...Sir Cuteness Style ~~

Welcome to Random Friday the Sir Cuteness Edition.

I get to watch this little bundle of joy full time and oh the fun we have.

Yesterday mom had an appointment to get her port flushed at the Cancer Center, and so since Sir Cuteness can't go into the lab area, we decided to check out the Healing Center Gardens. It is on the second floor (there are seven floors total) of the Cancer Center on the roof of that floor. It is so beautiful!!

My friend Penny did a beautiful job!!!

Here is sir cuteness in front of the fountain that he couldn't stay out of.
He loved picking up rocks and throwing them in there.

Here he is on the ramp and in front of some of the beautiful flowers that they have planted in big, beautiful pots. Look at how big Sir Cuteness is getting. WOW!!!

This place is so peaceful and beautiful. What a gift to the Cancer Patients and their families to be able to spend a few peaceful, breathing moments in the midst of such a tough time.

I love this picture. Looks like Sir Cuteness is bustin' a move =)

Then we headed to the Nature Center. Sir Cuteness had such a wonderful time hanging out with the frogs, see?!! heehee

And of course karate chopping the frog....letting him know who's boss!!!


Oh my, look at the beauty of this place.

Sir Cuteness had such fun out here. He kept telling me to "c'mon maw-maw"

Here he is saying no to the Paparazzi =)

"No pishur maw-maw" hahaha

Oh be still my g-babe, nature lovin' heart!!!

Next time come with us. I mean seriously the cutest g-babe ever in the most peaceful setting = perfect moments in time.

We have another taker for the Summer Bible Study Series. I am SO excited!!! If you'd like to join us, it is NOT to late. It doesn't start until June 22nd. It is going to be a beautiful time in The Word. Please leave me a comment if you'd like to join us or you can e-mail me, and I'll give you all the details.

I'm gonna try to get those recipes I mentioned yesterday up this weekend. Also I have a couple of garage and thrift store finds to share in the "Creativity" link. Oh so happy about that!!!

Have a Blessed weekend,

Summer Lovin' Part 1

Oh how much I am lovin' summer, even before it has actually begun. But it certainly feels like summer to me. It's been hot and humid here in our cottage corner of the world.

So here we go.........my summer loves........

1). ~~ Lovin' homegrown sunflowers ~~
I looked out two evenings ago, just before it got dark out and what did my eyes see?...
Yep, a beautiful, lovely sunflower bloomed out. Oh how gorgeous!!! My fav flower!!


2). ~~ Short Summer Hair ~~
Lovin' my shorter do -- I went yesterday afternoon and got it schussed up. Oh I'm lovin' it!!

3). ~~ Summer Purses ~~

I have been looking for a lovely summer purse. I have been really liking those trendy mustard yellow purses, but couldn't find any that I wanted to pay the money they were asking for, but I've still continued to look. Well, I went into Cato's the other day and they had this purse on the clearance for $6.99. Yep it is so lovely and a keeper!!! GREAT summer purse!!

4). ~~ Summer Lovin' Sir Cuteness ~~

This kiddo makes me so happy!!!

So what are you sitting on Sir Cuteness?

Well, toliet paper of course Maw-Maw!!

How funny is this!! We'd just been to the

grocery store and this was his "chair" that

whole day. Hahahaha so cute!!

And this is just a bonus pic for you ~~ your welcome =)

5). ~~ Summer Lovin' my family ~~

A couple of weeks ago my dad was in and we had dinner with him. This is from L to R: My baby sis, Dena - my dad - my sis Rhonda - me.

Side note: my sis Rhonda brought us her famous Chocolate Cake with Coffee Icing last night. How nice was that? She brought us 2 bowls and Dak ate an entire bowl by himself. So funny!!! He LOVES Aunt Rhonda's cake!! Thanks sis!!!!!




6). ~~ Summer Lovin' Front Door Fun ~~

Yesterday I got this very cute flower on a clearance at a local nursery,

so I bought it thinking I could somehow make this a front door lovely....

and oh look how cute she is!!!

This was so easy and fun. I love how it turned out!!

7). ~~ Back Porch Summer Lovin' ~~

We have a very modest back porch, but I love it. And this year I've decided to get it fancied up. Look how cute!! Yep this is a nice place to sit in the evenings.

8). ~~ Summer Lovin' Canning Salsa ~~

Tuesday G and I made 21 pints of salsa from last years tomatoes that we'd froze. So now we are ready for this years harvest. Now let me just say that I couldn't have done this without G. She did most of the work, while I chased a baby, tried to figure out teenage world stuff and had the bug guy here to spray for ants outside. WOW!! It was a day!!! Thanks G for all your help!!!!!





9). ~~ Bible Study Siestaville Style, Summer Lovin' ~~

I'm really looking forward to this study for the summer. I do love me some Summer Bible Study. I'm picking up two more books today for two ladies who will be joing us. There's still plenty of time for you to join us. There are five of us now that will be doing this through my blog. If you'd like to join in, please just give me an e-mail and I'll send you the details.

10). ~~ Summer Lovin' Recipes ~~

This week I have made two very easy recipes. I will be posting these recipes this afternoon hopefully. Pasta Alfredo and Black Bean and Corn Enchiladas Both keepers!!

Well there you have it. My first of probably many "Summer Lovin' " posts.

What are you lovin' this summer?

Have a Blessed and Beautiful day,