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