A Windows Open Kind of Day

After what seems like an eternity of sweltering, 100+ days of heat, the chain has finally been broken!  For 3 days now, I have been able to leave my air conditioner off in the house and leave the windows open!  This is one of my favorite times of the year!  Everywhere you look or even listen, you can witness the wonder and beauty created by God!  I woke up this morning to the sound of the birds singing and the squirrels having their "Squirrel Olympics" on my roof as the scurry gathering up their food for winter storage.  The cooler breezes are clearing out the Summer staleness that has been closed up in my home.  I imagine that I am storing up all the freshness I can before I have to put my home on lock down for the Winter.  I will do a final hanging of the bed linens, rugs, and curtains.  I want to absorb all of the outdoors that I can before the super cold sets in.

Jasmine Sophia out for her ride

This morning I will get all of my Fall decorations out of storage.  Now that it is September and football season has officially began, I believe it is socially acceptable to do so!  My new Fall Scentsy burners are on their way along with those fabulous Fall fragrances!  My home will soon be filled to the brim with the sights and smells of fall!

If you are fortunate enough to be somewhere today where the weather allows, open up those windows and air out your world!  I pray that everyone has a very blessed day!

New adventures...

New adventures always tug at my heart.  I have always been the spontaneous and daring one,  just ask my Mom!  Growing up between two boys, I think I was the one (and still am) who keeps my parents on their toes!  I will jump out of the plane and then consider the consequences! I am quite the opposite of my Mom, I assure you!  If I were an element, I would be the wind.  I will pretty much go wherever there is an opportunity for adventure and new experiences!

Right now I am beginning a new adventure.  I have decided that since the stock market stinks up the joint, I can find my own ways to sock funds away for my old age.  So what did I do?  I bought a second home.  Yep, that's what I said, a second home.  Now, my husband and I joke around calling this our Summer Estate.  It is a simple, two bedroom home on the shores of Grand Lake here in Oklahoma.  It comes complete with fishing docks (one is enclosed for the cooler months), a swim dock, boat ramp and tons of fish!  It is conveniently located just 5 minutes from anywhere in Grove you want to be!

I am currently remodeling this abode inside and out so that I can share my love of Grand Lake with my friends and family.  This is going to be a getaway spot for any of my friends and family who wish to make their escape from the hustle and bustle of the city and experience the peace that we have to offer in small town America.


I have dubbed my place, Rustic Cove on Grand Lake.  The decor has a bit of a western flair with touches of rustic design and my own personal touches throughout the home.  This home sleeps up to 4 adults and there is always floor space for kiddos.  If you are interested, please contact me for details.


The anticipated construction wrap up date is somewhere around early to mid-September.  (I'm hoping so anyway!)  I would love to have this open for the fall and especially the holidays.  I HAVE ONLY ONE RULE: This is for my friends and family ONLY!  I will not allow anyone I don't know to stay here.

This home is in a retirement community and quiet time begins at 10:00 pm!  No parties, no loud music, no nothing to draw attention is permitted whatsoever! Smoking is only permitted outside under the canopy and never permitted inside of the home.  No pets are allowed either.  This is not South Grand Lake so the party is NEVER welcome here!  This is a place of peace and solitude and I'm sure the neighbors would appreciate this as well.

I'm looking forward to this opportunity!  I pray that God allows me to bless each of your lives the way he has blessed mine!

Prayer Request

I have a prayer request. There's a lady I've known forever. She's very sick. On top of that, she's being abused by those she has given everything to. Lies about her abound, and seem to come from all sides. Just breaks my heart. Seems there's nothing I can do alone. But maybe, if we join in we can lift her up. She's well over 200 years old, but way too young to die. Her name is America... and I love her. Re-Post if you love her too♥ ♥ 

Reflections of Joplin

Once in a while you have a life experience that leaves an imprint on your soul.   An imprint that will never leave you the same as you were before the experience.   On May 22, 2011, as an E-5 tornado ripped across the town of Joplin, Missouri, thousands of lives were changed forever.  Not only were the people who lived in Joplin physically left in ruins and emotionally changed forever but on that day the people of Joplin were about to realize how resilient they were and just how loved they were.

I have been honored to be a ground zero volunteer since the first week following the tornado.  I work with others to help victims of this tragedy be able to quickly replace items that were necessary to their survival.  We have provided hundreds of items so far and the list of needs just keeps growing each day.  The generosity of this nation is overwhelming!

In the midst of all of the destruction, what you will see in Joplin is the beauty of those who have gathered from all over this nation for a common purpose. What you will see is a place where political parties play no part, ethnic background, or religious affiliations aren't relevant. It is simply people helping people, families helping families, and those who were once strangers and might not have ever crossed paths in this lifetime, that are now considered family. God has blessed Joplin in so many ways. In a time when the world seems to be falling apart because of the things I mentioned above, there sure is a lot of humanity happening right in the middle of it all! It is shocking when you see Joplin for the first time but when you look beyond the surface, you being to see the hope and strength of its people. Joplin will never be the same but not in the way that most may think. They are forever changed. They mourn for the people who were lost but support those who are still here. They lost material possessions but are finding out that the true meaning in their lives don't amount to what they had in their hands but what is now in their hearts. They have one another.

THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

In Congress, July 4 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America 

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.—That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it; and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.—Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavored to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their acts of pretended legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the Lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free People.
Nor have We been wanting in attention to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.—
WE, THEREFORE, the REPRESENTATIVES of the UNITED STATES of AMERICA, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do.—And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
Signed by ORDER and in BEHALF of the CONGRESS,
JOHN HANCOCK, PRESIDENT.
ATTEST.
CHARLES THOMSON, SECRETARY.

Wishing you a blessed 4th of July!

I am not posting much this weekend out of respect for my family, my inlaws and extended family, who we are spending time with this holiday weekend.  Second, out of respect for my country, America.  This is a time to be proud of who we are as a nation.  We can show our patriotism and celebrate our freedoms and teach our children the importance of our history. 

I will return next week with more blogging.  For now, it is about family, faith, patriotism and FOOD!  I pray for a very happy and safe Fourth of July for everyone!  God Bless America!

Taking Inventory for Joplin Families

I spent the afternoon at the storage unit going through items that have been donated for victims of the Joplin Tornado.  I am so thrilled to be a part of the Adopt a Joplin Family organization.  This has been so rewarding for me.  My husband and I feel like we cannot teach our daughter to be a servant of God without setting the example ourselves.  She is witnessing first hand as well as participating in what is to our family, a completely self-less act of what we are commanded to do as Christians.

We are not wealthy by any definition of the word but we have been blessed.  Mainly blessed by having good, Godly friends who have jumped right in to help us locate items that are so desperately needed by these folks! I cannot imagine losing everything you have accumulated over a lifetime!  Especially if you have heirloom items.  How does one emotionally recover from that?  I strongly believe that the only ones who survive are those who lean, steadfast in their faith in God.  This is our temporary home.  Material items are nothing compared to eternal life with the Father!

I am so blessed to be meeting these people and being able to provide them with some peace and help restore their dignity.  Thank you, God for this experience.

RESTORING HONOR

Last Summer, I had the honor of traveling to Washington DC, my very first visit, to witness a remarkable coming together of 1 million plus people (I don't care what the media reported!  I was there and I have great vision!) in the name of Restoring Honor to this great nation of ours.  

The First Train rolling on by!

On August 28, 2010, we made our way from our hotel room to a subway station to be first in line, and we were, at 5:00 am.  As people began to gather to catch a ride to gather at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial for this day of celebration, the feeling of excitement was so thick in the air that you could almost taste it!  We thought we had been so clever to arrive so early that we just knew we were going to have a prime, front row seat for the days festivities!  Unbeknownst to us, we were not the first stop of the morning.  We were the second!  We knew just exactly what kind response to the call to come to Washington DC as soon as that train blew into the station!  There was not enough room on that puppy to squeeze a piece of notebook paper!  All we could do was stand there with our jaws on the ground, waving goodbye to the first train!  We finally sucked it in enough to make the second train because we could no longer stand the anticipation of getting down there to witness history!

Me and Mom on the subway!

The subway tunnel packed!

As we merged in the lower tunnel after exiting our train, it was wall to wall people as far as we could see!  You would think that with that many people there would be pushing, shoving, cussing, or the likes.  Oh no! There was not one bit of that!  As a matter of fact, a group started singing "God Bless America" and before you knew it, the entire underground had erupted in song!  It was one of many beautiful moments that we would witness that day!

Our Location looking behind us

We rounded the corner beside the Lincoln Memorial heading to find our spot on the lawn surrounding the reflecting pool and all you could do was gasp in amazement!  There was not a blank piece of grass to sit on  except waaaaaaaaayyyyyyy back by the Washington Monument and even that was filling up fast!  We knew just like on the subway, we had better suck it up and find a small patch of ground to stake our claim on !  We found our spot and settled in between a family who had driven from ALASKA with their 4 children, an artist from San Diego, CA, and grandparents from Tennessee who had brought their children and grandchildren to witness this momentous occasion!  We all sat and talked as if we were all old friends who had come to the greatest reunion on earth!  It truly was!  To know that we were NOT alone in our belief of God, our goals for this nation as set forth by our Founding Fathers, our concern for the well-being of our children and grandchildren and their children to come.  

Me with NO SLEEP!

All of a sudden, none of us were alone any longer.  We had come together for one purpose and that was to work towards restoring this nation to an honorable place again in this world.  To restore Patriotism and remind the citizens of the United States of America that our country was founded on Godly principles and Godly ideals!  We were sick and tired of having to take a back seat to political correctness!  This gathering turned out to be the best prayer and praise service I have ever been to in my entire life!  God was not only there with us but he was US! The Holy Spirit was moving in and around everyone there!  We prayed together, we cheered together, we cried together, and we sang together!  When you've heard 1 million plus people sing "Amazing Grace" together in unison, you have witnessed a small taste of what Heaven will be like! 

My first time to see the Lincoln Memorial!

I was honored to be in the presence of not only my brothers and sisters from across this great nation but to also hear such great people like Alveda King who is the niece of the late, Martin Luther King, Jr., Glenn Beck who was responsible for this massive coming together, Sarah Palin who so many believed was there as a politician but she was there as the mother of a son in the military, The Lone Survivor-Marcus Luttrell,  and so many others! We honored men and women of Faith, Hope, and Charity that day.  We honored men and women who fought for this great nation as well as those who are currently serving or had lost their lives fighting for our freedoms.  We were introduced to the Wounded Warrior Project.   We saw the return of the Black Robe Regiment which is comprised of ministers, pastors, rabbis,  and preachers of all walks of Christian or Godly faiths.  They stood, united together, on one stage holding hands with one another as they prayed for this nation and for each other.  What a beautiful moment!

As the rally drew to a close, everyone was smiling from ear to ear!  They were holding hands, hugging, crying, and just altogether filled with pride to be Americans!  Those of us who were standing there that day will never be the same again!  I am forever changed!  I am blessed to have shared that day with my parents as well.  Whenever we see or hear something about that day, we look at each other, without saying a word, knowing what the other is thinking.  It was more than an experience.  It was a feeling......a changing moment.....an emotion. God Bless America!  My home, sweet home!

REVERENCE

Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh. Hebrews 10:19-20

Our generation lacks a sense of wonder and reverence toward God. We want to bring God down to our level, to the commonplace. He is God! Though we have direct access to Him as His children, we ought never to forget that this access was purchased with the precious blood of His only Son.

No one who truly understands this ever enters God’s presence without a sense of holy awe. No one who comprehends the incredible price paid at Calvary ever takes his relationship with God for granted. We will never truly understand God and the way He relates to us unless we first comprehend a true sense of His holiness and His demand for holiness among His people.

If we are in God’s presence, we are on holy ground! We must never act as if it were God’s purpose to make us successful. It would be preposterous for us to become impatient when God does not answer our prayers when and how we think He should! He is God, we are not!

As you meditate on the price Jesus paid to give you access to the Father, you will come to treasure your prayer times with Him. Worship will become a privilege you seize with gratitude. Scripture will be dear to you as you strive to be holy in all that you do (2 Cor. 7:1; 1 Pet. 1:15).

If you have lost your wonder at the incredible gift of salvation that has been given to you, you need to revisit the cross and witness your Savior suffering for you. How priceless God’s gift of salvation is!

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Blackaby Ministries

It's Family Day!

I've got a HUGE brisket cooking in the oven, potato salad is made, and now it is time to slice some strawberries for the angel food cake!  Mom's making baked beans and corn on the cob!  Ahhhh, summer!  Could it get any better than that?

Today we will have 4 generations together to celebrate my dad's recovery following his surgery.  I love being with my family.  It just doesn't happen often enough!!!  I though by us moving up to the lake that we would have a revolving door on our home.  It just seems that everyone is too caught up in the hustle and bustle of their lives to slow down and take time to enjoy those who won't always be around.

Looking forward to the beautiful day of family and fellowship!