I won!

 I won a book!!!! 

I am the person that never seems to win anything,

BUT

I won the give away from an awesome blog I follow. 

 Michelle at She Looketh Well had a contest. 

 To enter the give-away we were asked to leave a comment naming ten (10) gifts the Lord has given us! The winner's name would be drawn on Friday morning, March 18, 2011

She contacted me today to tell me I won.  I will be watching my mail box for my book.  

I encourage you to visit Michelle's blog (if you are not a follower yet) as you will be so blessed by all she writes!  Recently through this book and her posts I have become excited to begin my own gratitude list.

THANK YOU Michelle

for your generosity in giving away this book!

Ready for spring

"The March wind roars

Like a lion in the sky,

And makes us shiver

As he passes by.

When winds are soft,

And the days are warm and clear,

Just like a gentle lamb,

Then spring is here."

        - Author Unknown

 

A cup of memories...

I opened my kitchen cabinet this morning and chose a cup for my tea. As I picked up this cup, memories of two friends came to my mind. They gave me this cup years ago when they were visiting me and we were all attending a conference at my church. At one time we all lived near each other but now all live in different states. The distance doesn't matter because in my heart the blessing they have been in my life is not forgotten.

Thank you Cheryl and Karen for your friendship!

Sweet blessing

I have had a couple fun days this week with my sweet
 3 1/2 yr. old granddaughter.  My life is fuller because of this precious girl.

Fixing "food" for our tea party!

New hair barrettes for her cute new hair cut!

Every girl needs a pair of fancy shoes!

Setting up her Little People neighborhood

Lunch time!

Prayer...

Today my husband and I are praying for a friend who has been diagnosed with colon cancer!  He and his wife were so appreciative of us coming to the hospital to pray for them. I am thankful that we can cry to our Lord for help and He answers!

Blessing...

My order from Current arrived today. I was excited to see all the fun things I had ordered.The little girl I take care of, Colette, age 5 yr. was excited too. We opened the box to see all the fun things I had ordered. She saw a package of cards and wanted to see them. I let her take each one out and I read it to her.  Inside one of the cards were the words, 'You are such a blessing in my life'. She immediately asked me for the card and an envelope.  I had no idea why she wanted it.  Then she told me she needed a pencil and to not look !! The only word she asked me to spell was my name. She then put the card in an envelope and brought it to me.  I was so touched when I saw her sweet handwriting on the envelope and the cute stamp she drew!  I took out the card and tears came to my eyes as I read what she wrote to me. 

Sweet girl, you have no idea

the blessing you are in my life!

This card and envelope will go in the box where I have saved my other treasures!

Memorizing verses..

I have hidden your word in my heart

that I might not sin against you.

Psalm 119:11

How do you feel when someone tells you to memorize a scripture?  Is your first thought that you can't do that?  That is mine.  And almost every Bible study I have ever done encourages me to memorize scripture.  So why do I panic?  Maybe I am looking at it as a test and if I don't get it right I am in trouble.  This seems a little funny to me right now since I am doing a study on God's grace.  I have nine verses to memorize.  There is one each week.  I am asking the sweet ladies in my class to do this too.  I haven't asked them, but from the look on their faces I think they may be feeling the same way as me.  Another funny thing is that as I sit here writing there are many verses that are coming to my mind that I know from memory. I don't feel any pressure sitting here alone.  I am asking the Lord to let me remember why I am memorizing. 

I am doing it so I will know Him and 

I will know how to live. 

Last week's verse was:

For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth

were realized through Jesus Christ.  John 1:17

This week's verse is:

Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace

with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom

also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this

grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the

glory of God.  Romans 5:1-2

God's Grace...

The first day of our Ladies Bible study was last Tuesday.  I am so glad to be studying grace with 18 other ladies from my church.  It all began like this: A friend asked me many times to please do a study by Kay Arthur. I had led some by her in the past but had not recently. One Sunday she gave me the devotional book, Lord, I Need Grace to Make it Today as a birthday gift. She tells me she wants me to do this devotional study. I know in her mind she is thinking if I do it, I will lead it. It laid on my desk unopened for several weeks. One Sunday she asked me if I had started the book. I wanted to say YES, but that was not the truth, so I blurted out, "no, not yet, but I will". I went home and picked up the book and thought I owed it to her to do it. Afterall she had taken the time to buy it and give it to me and then even check on me to see if I had started it. I opened up the book and as I began to read I realized it was exactly what I needed. Little did I know at time that the Lord would actually be wanting me to lead this as a Bible study at our church. It wasn't too many days after I started it that a stirring began in my heart. Then my Ladies Bible study leader called asking me if I had anything in mind to lead. Nothing came to my mind except this devotional study. I am excited to be studying grace. It is a word we use often but I am sure I do not know the depths of the meaning of this word as pertaining to God's grace and living a life in the grace of God. How about you? Are you in a Bible study or beginning one soon?

Spicy Garlic Lime Chicken

Who doesn't like a new recipe that tastes good?  My daughter Stacy and her husband both enjoy cooking.  She posted  a new recipe she recently tried on her blog.  She said it tasted GOOD!   I am looking forward to trying it.  I hope you will visit her blog and see if it is something you would like! Sweeter Things 

Snow days!

It is so unusual for us to have more than one or two days of ice and/or snow and some years we don't get either!  We have had ice and now snow for 4 days.  The temperature is finally higher than the 12-18 degrees it has been.  I think I heard on the news that the last time we had weather like this was in '96.  Wanted to share some pretty snow pictures!