It IS A Good Life!: September 2009

Sep 30, 2009

DANCING WITH THE STARS HEARTBEAT INTERNATIONAL CHARITY EVENT

One of the Annual Charity Events that Chad is involved with is....HeartBeat International...
Sister Lynn and Tony in Tux made a great showing from our family...

Tony, Lynn & Chad 'smile' for the camera....THEY ARE MY STARS!

Sister and Brother Love

Sep 28, 2009

Forgive.....Good Word!

Daily Word — Monday, September 28, 2009

Forgive
I draw on God's love within to forgive.
Forgiveness is an act of love.

As I forgive, I release negative energy that may manifest as resentment or anger.

I open the way for something positive to happen.

If I feel wronged or annoyed, I release the impulse to judge.

The lines of communication remain open, and understanding flows freely.

Relationships with family, friends and colleagues flourish when I act with compassion and easily forgive. I relate to others in harmonious ways.
I exercise the same forgiving attitude toward myself.

If I have erred, I learn from it and move on.

I draw from the reservoir of God's love within me to give and receive forgiveness.
Jesus said, "Do not judge, and you will not be judged;

do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.

Forgive, and you will be forgiven."--Luke 6:37

Sep 27, 2009

Happy 24th Birthday dear Carla...Your Family Loves You and we are very PROUD of YOU! God Bless You, Dear One

Your Mom and Dad celebrated their 28th wedding Anniversary yesterday in Kenya (see pic below)...Today their hearts and prayers are with YOU, their one and only daughter....they ask God, daily, to care for you while they are serving HIM in Africa..You are a very loved young woman and the world was made a better place the day you were born 24 years ago today.

We, your Florida Family, your brothers and nephew, Turk, thank God for you...

Happy Birthday Dear Carla

aka: Babydoll, exotic creature, Molly, Molly~butt etc.

Sep 26, 2009

Chuck & Terry...Happy 28th Anniv. in Kenya from Your Family

Sep 24, 2009

People are not...perfect, merely human!

Seeing the beauty in others and being continuously grateful for the blessings of life may appear to some as 'living in a rose~tinted world, living in la~la~land, being out of touch with reality etc.'.
I am fully aware of errors, mistakes, wrong choices etc. that I make, that my family and friends make as well. Sometime lives appear 'out of control' from my point of view but you see I don't have the 'full view' that God does.
This is where 'faith' is required in order to be a success as a 'human being'!
My job is looking for the beauty, loving at all costs, forgiving no matter who did the 'wrong', and enjoying the time on earth with those I love.
1 Samuel 16:7 says it perfectly....
"God does not see the same way people see. People look at the outside of a person, but the Lord looks at the heart."
I am so glad He does because He can see when my heart is 'pure' and when it gets 'contaminated' with the 'crap' of life and interferes with a true vision of others....
My God will allow me to see others, as He sees them, IF .....I look for beauty, love at all costs, forgive no matter what and......think right as He says thru Paul in
(Phillipians 4:8) ......."Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable ~ if anything is excellent or praiseworthy ~~~think about such things."
.....As A Man Thinketh...so is he! 'Tis true of a woman or child as well!

Sep 23, 2009

Seeing....Is....Believing

I received a phone call yesterday from someone who is dear to my heart...

she said, "I just wanted to call you and tell you how very much I love you and how great it is to have you in my life."

I had to catch my breath because it was such a beautiful declaration.

It was a priceless gift of ....Love.

This person is one that has shared good, bad and ugly with me....in my life....and her life.

We each know the strengths, the weakness, the vulnerabilities, the dreams, the prayers of the years. Yet, she 'took the time' in a busy world to communicate words of the heart and give them to me as a exquisite and sacred offering of life.

A 'pure' heart opened its door and allowed me to enter ~

and.....I.....saw......God....

Thank you dear one, for your touch of serendipity brought into my life on just a normal, ordinary day ..... yep, 'heaven done come to earth' as our friend Lucille used to say....

Hallajuah!

Sep 22, 2009

Being Thankful....Are We?

Hearing a sermon Sunday on 'Being Thankful ~ Being Grateful' reminds me anew of all of the blessings we have.....and take for granted!

Asking myself the question, "What do you DWELL on?" gives me the answer to how much time I spend thanking God for my blessings....and how much time I spend lamenting to Him about the 'unanswered' prayers or lives that 'need' to be changed.

I have a heart full of prayers that have been prayed continuously for years.

Life long prayers.

Progress has been made in many of the lives I bring before God in prayer...but truth be known, answers are just not 'fast' enough for me...so I tell Him again...and again...and again...

During the meantime, blessings galore are all around me, everywhere I turn I am blessed...

Now what do I 'dwell' on?

It changes from day to day but I assure you I get in my fair share of thanking God for every single thing in my life because I AM SO HAPPY WITH HIM!

BUT.....there certainly is room for improvement because the time I dwell on 'things yet undone' would be better spent thanking Him that He hears, He answers, He changes and He blesses...

according to HIS TIMING IN LIFE....NOT MINE.

Patience goes hand~in~hand with prayer...

I have to learn this again and again.

Meanwhile, my focus needs to be on the continuous flow of blessings that I see minute by minute and name them, One by One, and thank God for each and every one I see...

For instance....our Son Chuck and wife Terry, who are missionaries to Eldoret & Turkana, Kenya , tell us that in the desert of Turkana there is dust everywhere, all the time.

They live, breathe and sometimes eat....dust.

It gets in everything......

There are layers and layers of it in their house, their clothes, their jeep on everything.

Here I sit in my nicely air-conditioned house without a thought of dust at all...my air is filtered perfectly for my 'creature comfort'...

Why in the world would I not be thankful for these blessings of living this way normally in the good ole USA? Why take it for granted?

Seems like I could spend ALL day, praising and thanking God for my life filled with...

BLESSINGS...

And so I shall....and so I will....till my last breath... Praise The Lord!

The Psalms say, (98:4...104:34 & 35)

......"Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth; burst into songs and make music...May my thoughts please Him; I am happy in the Lord. My whole being, praise the Lord...

Be glad that you are His; let those who seek the Lord...be happy!"

Chuck welcomes friend/pastor, Jimmy Jones from Plant City...

Today they should be in the desert of Turkana, working in dust and

Praising The Lord to be doing it as well...

............................................Mawe Peak in Kenya

Sep 16, 2009

Lunch with Abby at Channelside Towers

Chad 'loaned' us his clubhouse for a fun lunch ...
Pressed Cuban Sandwiches, Crab Cakes, Plantain Chips
Abby, my dear friend and prayer partner for YEARS and I had
a private lunch in a beautiful setting ....

Beauty everywhere especially inside
my friend Abby...