Our sweet friendship

It was a month before I turned 9 that I moved into our home on Prescott Ave. It was that summer that I met my friend Linda (I found these old pictures of us...guess we thought we looked cool posing :) ). She lived a street over from mine and her house was on a wonderful corner lot. It was there that all the neighborhood kids would gather to play games. In those days we were outside a lot playing hide and seek, tag, and any other game we could think of. We became close friends enjoying so many things together throughout the years. Linda and I went through elementary school and high school together. She went off to college and I stayed in the same little neighborhood and went to work. We both married the same year and were in each other’s weddings. Military took us both to different states over the years. Linda and her husband eventually moved to IN where they still live. We always stayed in touch and saw each other whenever we could. I know she is always there for me, will pray for me, encourage me, laugh with me and is a faithful friend. Business brought Linda and her husband to Dallas last week. I was so excited to see my friend. We had time to laugh, reminisce, look at old pictures, talk about our families and our life, and just enjoy being together again. She and I know if we lived closer we would spend a lot of time together. I am so thankful that when I was a little girl God brought the blessing of Linda into my life. How wonderful to have a friend for so many years that can share so many memories of school, family, friends, sorrowful times and happy times. Best of all, I am so thankful she and I share the same Father God.  I love this precious friend!

 

I can't believe I said THAT!

We've all been there.  I know I have opened my mouth and said something I later regretted.  Those times are so hard to get over.  I am featuring my daughter, Stacy's, blog today (see link below).  She tells how she received help after she saying something wished she had not said.  You won't want to miss this.  Leave her a comment and let her know how this helped you!

destinyinbloom.com

He loves us eternally!

I could so relate to today's devotional written by my friend. There have been times I have picked up something where the memories of the person it belonged to floods my mind and I long to be in their presence.  It is hard when those people we love are no longer with us.  I, like Jennifer, am so glad that my God will never leave me and loves me forever. 

A Heart to Hear

It's officially summer now. I know this because of the constant pile of wet towels in the laundry room, and the corresponding bare shelf in the linen closet. This morning, I ended up grabbing an old orange towel I took from my grandmother's house when my dad and I packed it up after she passed away. Amazingly, it is still soft and fluffy. As I picked it up, I was suddenly swept with a longing to be the little girl who used this towel to dry off after swimming in Aunt Ann's pool, the little girl living it up at Grandma's house with no worries except when she will get to swim again. I thought about it for a moment and I realized that going back to that time wouldn't really help. Knowing all the things I'd have to face all over again made that wish lose it's appeal! It hit me that what I really wanted was to know that I am taken care of by someone who loves me unendingly. My spirit's true longing is for Heaven and my Abba God. His love is the only one that never ends. He will never leave me. He will take care of all the things that worry me. He tells my heart to rest and trust Him; everything is going to be okay. Knowing this, I'm comforted and my heart is warmed, just like a little girl wrapped in a cozy orange towel by a loving grandmother. Maybe you don't have an orange towel, and maybe you didn't have a grandma like that, but we all have a Father in Heaven Who loves us without measure and without end. He has promised to never leave us and He has put the spirit of adoption in our hearts that enables us to call Him "Daddy God". That is what Abba means. When it was time to close up my grandmother's house, my heart ached. It had been the one constant place in my life. Through the pain, God taught me that home is really just our name for the longing we have to be with Him. We take it with us in our hearts and one day, we will experience it with all that we are. So next time you wrap yourself in your favorite fluffy towel, remember you are loved by your Abba Father and He is your home, now and forever!


For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God's Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, "Abba, Father." For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children. Romans 8:14-16




Whom have I in heaven but you? Earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73: 25-26

~~Jennifer Davis

With Amy in their hearts...

Today I read a post on my friend, Michelle's, blog...about my daughter.  Our family was so blessed as we read the beautiful tribute to Amy.
God has a plan for each of us.We never know how our lives will touch another person. 
I hope you will visit Michelle's blog
off-to-honduras-with-amy-in-our-hearts  and be blessed!

Happy Birthday/Happy Heart

Last Monday was my birthday.  Funny thing about birthdays...you never know what to expect or how you might feel.  That's how it is with me anyway.  For whatever reason, this birthday I  felt very emotional.  I  had my mom, who is with the Lord, on my mind so much.  I was missing her as well as Stephanie, in Honduras and Joshua in Ft. Riley.  I began to ask the Lord to give me a happy heart. 

The morning of my birthday I was greeted with a HAPPY BIRTHDAY from Jim. He headed out to Starbucks to buy us a coffee while I made scrambled eggs and put a coffee cake in the oven.  Shortly, Colette arrived, and I told her that today was my birthday and along with our coffees Mr. Jim had bought her a hot chocolate.  Instead of her sitting down to drink it she went to work setting the table with Elmo placemats, fancy napkins and asked where the candles were.  All the while I was to not look.  Then I heard her whispering to Jim.  I hurried and got my camera!  I loved my birthday breakfast.  My heart was happy.  I felt loved by this 5 yr. old that wanted to make my day special!

Stacy called on her way to work to tell me happy birthday and asked about my lunch plans. We met for lunch and she surprised me and had my friend Marilyn join us.  We had a fun, fun lunch.

I received messages and phone calls from family and friends throughout the day.

That night Jim took me to a favorite restauant, Cheesecake Factory and we had a great time together.  I smiled as I opened his card and heard singing: When a Man Loves a Woman. How blessed I am to have Jim as my husband. 
In the days that followed there were other sweet happenings...like the pretty apron I received in the mail from a close friend, the vase of flowers left at my front door from another friend. The candles I received from a friend .  I have a pretty night light in the shape of a tea pot that another friend gave me because she knows I love tea.  A card from a friend was left at my door one day.  Another friend knows I love white chocolate and gave me a piece of Dove white chocolate.  I received a new devotional in the mail yesterday and I had been praying about getting one.  This friend did not know that.  Then  yesterday I went to a tea party given by Colette's mommy.  We all had such a fun time.  She had scones, lemon curd and jellies, cucumber sandwiches, iced sugar cookies and tea. 

I have had a week of birthday blessings.  The gifts were wonderful, but what they represented, the love  from my family and friends ... and from God,  filled my heart with thankfulness.  He did indeed give me a happy heart my birthday week. 

Shared birthdays...

Happy Birthday Stacy

What a wonderful gift you are to our family!

We love you!!

~~IN MEMORY OF~~

We were so excited that Stacy was born on the same day as her grandmother, Jim's mom.

Over the 24 yr. we were in the military we moved a lot, but when we could, Stacy and her Nanny would celebrate together.  We were blessed to have her live in Texas with us for a few years before she went home to the Lord.

 It always meant a lot to all of us that they were born on the same day!

We miss her so much.  We will always remember all the wonderful times we had with her!

Rose of Sharon

We have a Rose of Sharon growing in our side yard that has special meaning to us.  Each spring we wait and watch for it's blooms. This year it bloomed in early spring and we thought that was all. But the other day we saw another flower.  We were so excited that we were going to have more flowers than usual.  The bush originally grew in my husband, Jim's, grandmother's yard in Tennesse.  His father took some of the bush and planted it in his yard in Ohio.  My husband took some and planted it in our yard here in Texas.  When we look at it we have fond memories of my husband's grandmother and his father.

Waiting on the Lord

A Heart to Hear

There are times when the only thing God wants from us is stillness. Have you ever struggled to calm a child in distress and known the wonder in that moment when the child is finally still, just resting her head on your shoulder? You feel the weight of the little body settling down and resting in your arms, fully trusting the security of your embrace. You breathe in the peace, so thankful for this moment of rest. Our Abba Father longs for those moments with us. He desires rest for our souls. He wants us to get to that place where we aren't doing anything except resting in His arms, completely trusting the safety of His embrace. For most of us, springing into action is way more comfortable than waiting on God. Sunday morning, I woke to the sounds of my little girls in the kitchen, getting themselves a bowl of cereal. As I heard the cabinet door slam, I remembered that I had stuffed three big bottles of soda onto the top shelf of the fridge to chill for our picnic at the lake. When they tried to get the milk down, they were going to have a major problem! I jumped out of bed, and raced downstairs only to find they had gotten to the milk just fine. I then proceeded to begin putting everything back and somehow managed to drop the nearly full jug of milk from the top shelf of the fridge, creating an explosion of milk that saturated my hair, my robe, the rug, and coating the inside of the fridge. Glory! No, actually that wasn't my first thought. As I set about undoing the enormous mess I had created, I kept thinking that if I had just stayed in bed, everything would have been fine. My leap into action had caused my imagined, worst-case scenario to become a reality. As I started the washing machine, I could hear the still, small voice of the Lord talking to my heart, encouraging me to learn from what had just happened. I needed to know that leaping into action apart from His Holy Spirit's leading only causes a bigger problem than the one I'm trying to fix. I also knew He was talking about things much more critical than spilled milk. Sometimes we face issues that require us to wait on the Lord. There were many times when the Lord sent the Israelites out to fight their enemies head-on, but there were also times when He said, "Stand still and see what I am going to do for you."

That is where I am today: waiting on the Lord to do what only He can do, and trusting Him for the outcome. Choosing to rest in Him is a battle in itself. By an act of my will, I have laid all my burdens at His feet and now I am choosing to rest my head on His shoulder and listen quietly to His heartbeat. He is my Abba Father and He is all I need.

 

"But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother is my soul within me...Put your hope in the LORD both now and forevermore." Psalm 131:2-3

 

Lord, please give us a heart to hear you.

~~Jennifer Davis

Early Birthday Gift...

My friend, Diane, is taking a class on flower arranging. She gave me one of her arrangements for my birthday. I can't believe she hasn't been doing this for a long time.  I have it setting on my coffee table. 

 I love it Diane!  Thank you!

 

Mother's Day

I thank the Lord today for my three amazing daughters!

Stacy,  I love you dearly!

What a talented, caring, generous, loving daughter you are!

You are my first born and such a joy to my life!

 

Amy

I love you!  I always thank the Lord for the wonderful 21 years with you. 

Your caring, joyful heart and fun loving ways will always be missed!

Shawna,  I love you! 

What a sweet, creative, loving daughter you are.

What a gift you have been to our family.

Because of these three girls I am a mom !