Inside Olivia

I have a new friend, Olivia.

I do not have a picture of her yet.

She is a troubled person.
She feels alone, and a bother to everyone.
She just tries to stay out of the way,
and feels like it would be better if she were not even around.

I feel it will require a lot of time and love to get her back on track.


So, if I am not around much, you can just say a little prayer for us
as we walk and grow together.
Deep issues of the heart take along time to heal.

Blessings to all

barbara jean

PS I will try to keep my store, and other blogs going.

HAPPY 41ST ANNIVERSARY

Today is our 41st Anniversary so I have put
together just some random pictures,
and some even more random thoughts for our special day.



I'm married to hard workin' guy.


He not only maintains our home of 38 years,
but our business property, too.

And, although he rarely utters a word of complaint,
I have gotten some 'looks' at times. =0)
(this is not one of him
He won't let me take those pictures!) =0)

But mostly, he is a happy guy.



After all his hard work,
he deserves a rest.

Sometimes it's sitting on the couch
with a cup of coffee...

or laying down for a serious nap.




or maybe recouping with a round of golf.




And now he has retired
after 38 years of work.
38 years of supporting a family.

And I am most grateful to him for all his hard work.

In addition to all his hard work,
and recoup time on the golf course,
we play together.
Laugh together.

and celebrate life toghether.



He is a wonderful Dad,

and Grandpa.








And a loving husband.



who knows how to make me feel special...
with love notes in he sand....

even helps pick up rocks

for his wife to paint on. =0)

He is a gift to me from the Lord.


My prayer for him is that he will
have good health for many years so he can enjoy retirement,
and that he will walk each day with our Lord..

and that we will...

each other, with a deeper love,
as we grow closer together, and closer to the Lord..

Happy Anniversary my sweet fella.

I'm Doing OK Now

I haven't written anything here for awhile.

As a matter of fact, I've sort of been in limbo I guess.
You know, going through the motions of life,
but everything seems like it is a fog.

A cloud of sad holding you down,
making it hard to focus on what you are doing.

Sometimes life just hands you things
that take awhile to filter through,
before you can talk about them.

But I am feeling better.

My walk with the Lord was never an issue.
I knew He was near, but I could not, or did not, know how
to grab hold of Him for the comfort I needed,
or the compassion I usually have for others.
I could not feel anything but sad.

If you just looked at me on the outside,
I probably appeared fine,
except for looking tired some times.

But inside, part of me had disappeared,
left for awhile,
trying to figure life out.
Trying to understand what I was to do with the sad
that engulfed me.

Tears were rare then.
I just felt numb.

But at some point recently there was a turn.

I don't know when, or how.
I do not remember praying anything different than I had.

But suddenly I felt joy returning to me.
I felt the presence of Him who was always there.
I began to let myself be comforted.
Cry, on the shoulders of friends.

I was able to smile again, from the inside.
My heart for others returned,
and once again I felt the closeness and love of my Savior.

I began to delight in what I had,
instead of dwell on what I was losing.

I saw how unimportant some things are,
in light of slowly losing someone I love.

Slowly losing my Dad to dementia.

We moved my folks here from Arizona a couple of months ago,
so my brother, sis-in-law, and I could help care for him.
Mom was very tired from carrying the load by herself.

We have seen him slowly decline,
and yet some days he is entirely with us,
and we are so grateful for those days.

I find I think of my Dad, day and night.
And since those few days ago, when things somehow turned in my heart
from sad, to peace and gratefulness,
it has become most important to me to spend time with them.
To make my Dad smile, and give my Mom moral
support and encouragement.
We play games, and visit, and share memories.

These are the important things, the things that will last.

So, this Christmas, in the midst of all the gift buying, baking, decorating,
parities, and hurry and scurry everywhere,
think about those things that are really important.

Stop what you are doing.
Take a deep breath.
Think about those you love.
They will not always be with you.

Time with them is the best gift you can give,
to them, and to yourself.

To those of you who have been praying, thank you.

Blessings to you, and those you love, this special time of year.

Barbara Jean

There is Victory in Jesus

There is a wonderful song...

There's Victory in Jesus.....


But are you ever just too tired, or sad, to claim it?

Have Thine Own Way

My morning walks with God

While I was walking this morning,
I had the old hymn "Have Thine Own Way", in my mind.

The first verse goes like this:

"Have thine own way Lord,
Have thine own way.
You are the potter,
I am the clay.

Mold me and make me
After thy will
While I am waiting,
Yielded and still."

I realized I am not still very much of the time.

Matter of fact, most times I am on a dead run!!

Then, having the imaginative mind I do,
I pictured a potter at the wheel.
He is gently and seriously working on his creation.
Lovingly trying to shape it into what he wants it to be.

I pictured the round lump of clay.....

Suddenly jumping up, and running around,
having no clue where it was going,
or what it was doing,
just wild and out of control
out of the creator's hand.

Is that how I am Lord?
Are you trying to gently mold me,
but instead of calmly yielding to your loving hands,
I am running all over out of control??

Lord, help me to be yielded to your Spirit, and your will.
Help me to be quiet in your presence.

Mold me into what you want me to be.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Blessings on your day

barbara jean

Late Thanksgiving wishes.

hope you all had a wonderful time with friends, and family.

blessings

barbara jean

What is it? What do I do? Where do I go?

Does Life Seem Like a Blur Sometimes?

Problems glaring you in the face?

Can't make heads or tales of what it is or what is going on?



Wisps of thoughts, but no clarity?

Step back....

Take a deep breath....

Seek Him....


Wait....



Things will become clearer....




and He will show you which way to go.

Blessings as you seek His direction.

Barbara Jean

Blessings

Have a blessed and restful day

barbara jean

FIRE HYDRANTS

What do you think about when you see a fire hydrant?


We laughed and joked when i posted this giant
fire hydrant picture from our vacation.
And made jokes about how big the dog would be who used it.

But when i was walking the other morning,
and saw this hydrant,
my thoughts went another direction.

This fire hydrant,
the numbers on the fence,
the playhouse in the tree,
the representing of a home, and peoples lives,
and the people who go to help when called.

The many people who risk their lives to help us.
Whether it is a fire, a car wreck,
a heart attack,
an injury;
They are always on call, always ready to serve and to save.

I was amazed at how many hydrants there were just
in a 2 mile radius of our home.
And each time I thought about the people whose lives are touched
because of these emergency response teams.

I've decided to make fire hydrants my reminder of
of all the people who serve us locally to keep our homes and families safe.

And to offer up prayer and thanks whenever i see a fire hydrant.
And when i meet one of the people who go through their daily lives saving others
to thank them for their service.

Blessings and thanks to all you emergency workers.
May God bless you and keep you and your families safe.

barbara jean

Mind Rest

brought to you by our friend
Char, at Happy to Design

Mind Rest
We have all heard that we should give our bodies a rest, lest we wear them out.
Well did you ever think about your mind needing a rest?
Mine certainly does, and often!

I get so many things going on in my head i can't even think straight. Everything gets to be major, confusing, and frustrating because i can't get past square one. Everything is so attached to everything else.
In a book Scott and I read called "Men are Like Waffles, Women are Like Spaghetti", by Bill and Pam Farrel, it says a man's brain is like a waffle. It is all these little compartments where they keep everything separately. They can't be in more than 1 'box' at a time. There is a box for sports, one for work, a separate one for mowing the yard, for Bible study and so on. They have a 'listen to your wife' box (ever wonder why when he's watching sports he doesn't listen to what you are saying? It's because he isn't in his 'listen to his wife" box). And, they have a "NOTHING" box!!!!

Now, a woman's mind is like a spaghetti noodle. Everything is attached to everything else. So, we can't just simply chose one problem to work on, but we think about how it is going to affect everything else along the line. They are all attached together. Now men don't understand this, any more than women understand how they can have a "nothing" box.

OK, I got a little off track here.
What i started out to say is how we need to rest our minds. I have several ways i do this.
I have grandchildren. Wonderful grandchildren!! When i need a break from all the things that are going through my mind, i hang out with them. You can't think about life's problems and decisions when you are reading a story, drawing, playing Polly Pocket, or playing hide and seek.
Works every time.
Another thing that works is helping someone else. Sometimes i go help prepare the church dinner on Wednesday. If I don't concentrate on chopping those onions, it might be my thumb in the soup instead!
You can help someone else by listening to their problems. Kind of puts your aside for awhile and helps them all at once. Or you could even have a friend listen to yours. Sometimes a fresh perspective helps clear your mind.

Have you noticed a pattern here? All these ways of clearing my mind involved other people.
And most of them involve helping others.
WOW! Isn't that great? We can help others, and end up helping ourselves at the same time!
We are blessed, and we have blessed others!

One more thing. You must take time to do it.
Taking time to be with the Lord brings the best peace of all.
I know you don't feel like you have any time. But you won't have more time by worrying either.

So, give it a try.
Hang out, help people, listen, spend time with God, and let your mind rest.

Hope you have a peaceful day.

Today's prayer request please:

My sale starts today.

Please pray that although the store is not put together,
I will be put together with the glue of the Holy Spirit.
And that those who enter the doors,
will be blessed and will see the love of Jesus.

blessings on your day

barbara jean

WHAT AM I GRATEFUL FOR?

I was just on a blog that was having a contest.
To enter, you were supposed to tell something you were grateful for.
Not unusual this time of year.
Seems everyone has some kind of a grateful 'thing' going on.
And that is a good thing.
Something we should do every day, to be mindful of all our blessings.

I guess I was a little surprised by the first thing that came into my mind.
My first thought was about that fella in the top pic of my post today.
My sweet husband of nearly 41 years.

My first thought was that I am grateful for this man who
worked most of his life to support and his wife and children.
And my second thought was that i was grateful that he is in good health
so he can enjoy his much earned retirement.
I pray each night for years of good health so he can enjoy his retirement.


My next thought was that I am grateful that my parents have moved here.
My Dad has dementia, and it saddens my heart
to see him getting worse as time goes on.
But, I'm grateful for each time he remembers who I am.
And that he says to say hi to Scott, my sweet fella.
I see the confusion on his face sometimes,
but I'm grateful that sometimes he knows who and where he is.
I'm grateful for my Mom, who cares for him,
though i can see in her eyes, she is tired.
I'm grateful they have the strength of the Lord to keep them going.

And this is my brother and 'sis'. (sis-in-law).
I'm grateful that they have opened up their home to our parents.
Not a very big home, just one small extra bedroom.
But, they made room.
I'm grateful for their tender, loving, daily care for
Mom and Dad, for whatever time they decide to be there.

And I'm most grateful for a God who knows all that is happening,
love us with more love than we can ever imagine,
thinks of us every moment of every day,
and tenderly cares for us all, under that shadow of His wing.

Lord, help me to remember you are here
and hold me close as you collect every tear in a bottle.

````````````````

Blessings to you all.

Barbara Jean

BACK FROM VACATION

This is the view from the balcony of our room.
We overlooked the golf course.
Weather was beautiful.
Scott golfed and read.
I crafted, and shopped.
(A great antique/crafters mall there in Klamath Falls
if you get down that way!)

Nice weather, safe travel, no anxiety for one week!
A great vacation!!

I'll try to catch up on my visits, and share some new insights
with you as time permits. This is a hectic time at the store because of
Christmas/ holiday sales coming up.
THIS WEEK IS FIRST ONE!!

If anyone wants to be added to the email list for store sales.
please email me with that info.

Blessings

Barbara Jean

HELLO FRIENDS

WE WILL BE GONE TILL THE 8TH AND LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU THEN.

IN THE MEANTIME, FEEL FREE TO BROWSE THROUGH THESE POSTS,
AND I HOPE YOU ARE BLESSED BY WHAT YOU SEE AND READ.

HERE ARE A COUPLE OF MY FAVORITE PICTURES FOR YOU.







BLESSINGS AND SMILES

BARBARA JEAN

God Whispers

God Whispers


Listen Carefully



"Be still and know that I am God.
Ps 46:10

Blessings on your day.

barbara jean

Gifts That Money Can't Buy
by Pat Simmons
Dec.12, 1979

Love is a very important gift.
Some people can't have the gift of love.
Love is a very good gift.
I love people and people love me.
I love my mom and my Mom loves me.
I love my sister and she loves me.
I have a gift that money can't buy.
I have the gift of making friends.
My gift is handy because i make friends almost every place I go.
I like my gift. It is a very important gift.
It is a very very good gift.

I have a gift.
It is a very very important gift.
It is the gift I will never die.
I will never die because i have the gift of everlasting life.
It is the very very best gift you can have.

I give gifts too.
I like to be giving the gift of joy.
The gift of joy is a very very good gift.

He got an A! and Good job! on this paper.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our son wrote this.
I am very proud of him.
Then, and now.

He is a kind and caring person.

He is not currently walking with the Lord.

That breaks a Mother's heart.

Please pray for him when you think of it.

Blessings

barbara jean

KEEP IT SHORT

I am learning something when it comes to communicating with my fella.

When I'm talking to my fella, keep it short.

Here is the story:

I invited a friend to go to a sale with me, but had not heard back from her.
While out on my morning walk, and realizing it is a barn sale,
and there may be tons of stuff, and I might need help,
I called my sweet fella to see if he would go if my friend could not.


This was our conversation:
The usual hellos, then...

me "If Sally can't go to the sale with me, will you go?"
His response. "yes".
me "OK thanks"

Then our usual goodbyes, and back to my walk.

'that was short and sweet.'

My normal conversation would have been more like like this:

"Hon, I invited Sally to go to a garage sale with me, but i haven't heard back from her yet and I know you don't really like to go to garage sales, and maybe you have something else you want to do, but this is a barn sale, and it might be really big, and I might need help carrying some stuff, and I would really appreciate it if you would just think about going with me if i don't hear back from her and we wouldn't be gone along time and if you want to watch football or something we could arrange it around the game.
What do you think?"

Ever had that kind of conversation with your guy?
A continuous run-on sentence?
Probably with more information than needed.

Well, I have, many a time.
( although i will say this was a bit of an exaggeration) =0)

What I have learned now is that he quit listening after the first few words, and
had no clue what I was talking about by the time I got done.

So, short, and to the point, that's my point.

Give it a try.
Just ask the question.
Let him think about it.

Then, be sweet, no matter what the answer is.

Blessings,
barbara jean

WORD FOR TODAY

Scott and i do crossword puzzles together.
Sometimes they have these 'fill in the word' that are
foreign words that we have no clue what they are.

We usually just try to fill in everything around them,
and hope it will fill itself in.
Sometimes it does, sometimes not.

When we finally get it, using whatever means we need to to finish the puzzle,
we still have no clue what it means.
So of course we have to look it up.

Today's phrase:

Ora Pro Nobis

When we looked it up,
it is Latin for

PRAY FOR US!

Wouldn't that make a great sign?
And a great conversation starter?

Hugs and blessings,

Ora Pro Nobis

Barbara Jean