A Reveal 40 years in the Waiting

When I was a young teenager

(some 40 years ago)

There was one thing about myself that I struggled with

It wasn't my weight or height

It wasn't my list of chores or parental controls

It was that I Hated my Teeth

However,

In my family, it just wasn't necessary or a priority for 

the girls to get braces

Oh how I wanted them though

As I became an adult and started earning my own income,

I never seemed to have enough cash to pay for braces

Once I met and married my hubby

Children arrived and other things took priority over our finances

It was always a desire to get braces but was also

A higher priority for my children to have straight teeth

And not feel self conscience about their smiles

So, As the boys grew

They had years of braces, both have beautiful smiles to prove it

Then when I felt money was less of an issue

Hubby became ill, his teeth began falling out

And dentures overruled braces

I would not have had it any other way

It was not something to complain about

Just the choices we made while raising a family

However, after my hubby passed away on Christmas Eve 2010

I had to make some tough choices about finances

We did not have life insurance

But God blessed those days and with good counsel

I made several decisions that eased a bit of the financial

burden

Seven months after hubby met Jesus face to face

I did this:

YES, I DID!!!

I finally got braces

That was July 18, 2011

The above was July 2013

And THIS is September 26, 2013

They may not be Perfect

But I will Never Regret one moment of 'torture'

I went through or one financial sacrifice I made to have

my teeth straightened

Some may think this is selfish and vain

But for me

It has boosted my confidence and brought some sense of 

Joy to my life

I DO Consider This JOY

What about you?

Have you done something that you always wished you could?

I'd love for you to share!!

God Bless!

Wednesday Word

 

 

 

Forgiveness

 

 



 

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”  Luke 23:34

 

Isn't is easy to forgive someone when they did not purposely intend to hurt you. Maybe a friend said something that hurt your feelings but they truly did not mean to hurt you. Or, a child accidently breaks you favorite vase, you are disappointed but you easily forgive because it was an accident and you love them.

 

Father, help me to forgive when (whomever) really didn't mean to hurt me.  Father, I forgive them because they really didn't realize they did something wrong or hurtful.

 

Those are simple acts of forgiveness.

 

Yet, what happens when you are purposefully and intentionally hurt, betrayed or abused and the person is not remorseful?

 

Say a friend purposefully betrays a confidence, or a spouse intentionally calls you horrible names in front of 'the guys', or a family member physically abuses you. What do you do in those cases?

 

Do you have to forgive that offense?

 

Are we required to forgive?

 

 Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”  Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.  Matthew 18:21-22

Ouch Friends...

 

Yes, in our most painful moments, when someone has purposefully, intentionally, and even repeatedly choses to hurt us, betray us or even abuse us, we are instructed to forgive.

 

Father, not if, but when these hurts happen, work in my heart to not only forgive, but to see the offender with your eyes. Hold me accountable to your word and you truth. Amen! 



Welcome Fall

Welcome Fall

The Calendar may indicate that fall has arrived

And...

Thankfully, the weather in Southern Arizona

Is attempting to cooperate with the calendar

At least it is forecast to be in the mid to upper 90's all this week

For many of you

You would say that is NOT fall

However, in Arizona we welcome any temps under 100

Also, there has been a nice breeze today

Which has helped to keep being outside tolerable

So,

What has fall brought me on its first day...

HA HA HA

It says to me as I looked out my bedroom window this morning

That nice breeze sent one of my umbrella's for a swim

My son knows that he is not to leave the umbrella up after swimming

But he sort of forgot

SO...

 

Yep, I'm mean...

He got sent in to fetch said umbrella 

The slightly cooler nights

Brought the temp of the pool way down

I think it may be the end of swim season

Thank you MJC for helping 

Now go take a nice warm shower :)

 

Although I have not spent much time decorating the house this weekend

I did retrieve my fall decorations from the garage

 And I am looking forward to slowly getting my house 

Fall-der-ized

Besides fall stuff

M and I decided to go through several boxes of wires

Where do they come from?

So many of these are simply old, unused, and outdated

After we separated the good from the bad

I decided I am going to strip the copper from the outdated ones

And turn it in for some $$$

Guess what I will be doing the next few nights

 

The above photo is just a few of my son's

Game controllers

Oh my, how he loves his games

In fact, we had to do major grocery shopping today

Because he has 2 friends coming over in the morning

They will be staying all week

A new game came out on Thursday night

Now they need to get together and play

Oh the life of this momma :)

Sweet peace to all

That is what I will be praying for

1000 Days

1000 days of not seeing your face, hearing your voice or feeling your touch

1000 sleepless nights, lonely days and empty chairs

1000 times I've yearned to include you in a conversation, share my deepest heartaches and my greatest joys

1000 times I've cried and come to realize, that it's really okay

1000 days to awake and be grateful for the 10,814 days we were married, shared life and dreamed dreams together

1000 nights to pray and contemplate what life is like in heaven, to be drawn closer to my Savior because I know you are there, and find contentment in this day because He chose to give me breath

1000 evenings I've looked to the skies and attempted to figure out heaven, it's vastness, it's beauty, it's purpose and it's location in comparison to the stars, moons, suns and planets

There is no 'figuring it out' however, not this side of heaven, yet I'm drawn to wonder, because it's now your home

1000 days you've looked into the face of Jesus

1000 nights you've worshiped in His Holy presence

One day is like one thousand years to the Lord, could it be that you have been in heaven for 1,000,000 years, a concept impossible for my mind to grasp

1000 moments I've wondered whom you have met.  The hero's of scripture, Abraham, David, Paul, Timothy, Joseph and the hundreds who have gone before us

What conversations you have cherished, I can only imagine 

1000 days we've attempted to live out your legacy, to encourage, greet and love others the way you taught us to

We are all 1000 days older, your boys, grown men

K-Bug, such a delightful, gentle and compassionate young girl

K-Bel, so much like her daddy, you would adore her energy and spunk

K-Baby, you've never met, but what a treasured gift she has been

So much has happened in our 1000 days, you never knew I got braces, or that my mom had a stroke, or that M was hospitalized a couple of times. You never heard our littlest K's talk or saw them walk or run or play

You didn't see me replace the garbage disposal or the reservoir in the car, or fix a leaking toilet. You weren't there when I bought a new car alone, or paid off the house, or buried your remains under your cactus on your mom's property

God says there are no tears or sorrows in heaven, so I don't believe you've known our grief, our pain or our loneliness. But I wonder if you've been able to catch a glimpse of the joyful events in our lives. The births, the parties, and the successes we've witnessed. The moments when God answered gut wrenching prayers with perfect timing, the times when we've laughed at memories of you or when the boys have verbalized "If dad could only see you (me) now". Oh how they laugh at some of my antics and the ways I face challenges these days without you

1000 days we've walked in God's grace and mercy and faithfulness

1000 times we have faced difficult choices, physical trauma's, and felt the agony of defeat, yet and still, 1000 times we have been lifted by our creator, embraced by his love, conquered our fears and forged on to victory

You would be proud of our 1000 days; sure, we've had our share of falters, missteps and stumbles. We've grumbled, stomped our feet and pounded the walls, we've cried, yelled and shouted at God

But you would still be proud, for you left a family stronger for having had you lead us, guide us and love us. You encouraged us in the Word, the Lord and taught us to serve God. You prayed for us, believed in us and supported our dreams

AT 1000 days we are beginning to dream again, to serve again and live again, without you, yes, but also because of you

Your 1000 days looks very different from our 1000 days, but I'm thankful for them all, each side of heaven, none the less. For it is in these 1000 days that our hearts have been changed, our spirits challenged and our lives transformed

1000 days, God Blessed them ALL........

Nana's Nuggets {Reading}

Oh, How I Love to read to my granddaughters

And...

They Love to be read to

They Love books

I start with books that are tactile

Raised pictures, fuzzy, rough, smooth, gritty
Anything on a board book
That you can use to talk about while reading

I graduate to short stories
And also poems, rhymes and riddles

By 7 my K-Bug was reading Nancy Drew
And long chapter books

A favorite place to purchase books
'Garage Sales'
I picked up these 2 for $1 the other day

10 Reasons to Read to your Children/Grandchildren

1. It helps to build a stronger relationship with them

2. Academic Excellence, one primary benefit is a higher aptitude for learning in general

3. It develops basic speech, language and enunciation skills

4. Children learn the basics of reading a book, left to right, separation of words, etc

5. It initiates communication skill, talking about the story and its characters helps a child learn to communicate with you and others

6. Mastery of Language, reading to toddlers has been linked to a better grasp of the fundamentals of language as they approach school age

7. It helps develop logical and abstract thinking skills

8. Reading and telling stories can help a child acclimate to new experiences

9. Reading to children helps enhance concentration and discipline before school 

10. And finally, Reading is just plain FUN!!!  
Help them learn to Enjoy reading and it will a Gift for Life!!!

Wednesday Word {9/11}

 

 

 

"If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land". 2 Chronicles 7:14

 

 

 

We serve a God who is for ALL people of ALL lands

May we ALL join together and pray for our World

Not just our own backyard

Never Forget

Always Remember

Always Pray

 

 

 



Weekend Treasures

For many in our country

Garage sale season is beginning to wind down

Summer is giving way to fall 

And the weather is cooling off

Yet, here in AZ

The garage sale season is just starting

The temps are in the low 100's

And today we even had rain

I don't believe it hit 90

Saturday I took a quick tour of my neighborhood

Just to see if I could find anything 'special'

Check out my treasures...

My son needed a small stool 

I was happy to find this one for only $1

I offered to paint it and 'boy' it up a bit

But he likes it just the way it is

YAY

Next

I found this brand new decorative pumpkin

Still has the tag attached

$1

I will definitely use this with my fall decorations this year

 

I also scored this nifty box

$2

 

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it yet

But, I'll find a great place for it

 

Then I hit pay dirt

This adorable little girls chair

Guess how much

 

$2

Yep, only $2

I will cover the name on the back with a little paint

And add it to my collection of items

That I will add when I complete 

A playhouse in the backyard this fall

 

Finally

I love to get books at garage sale

Scored these 2 for only $1

My garage sale experience was great this weekend

6 super items

$7 spent 

Awesome

And then...

 

I entered one of my photos

Into a contest 

And guess what???

I WON!!

This beautiful set of Geoffrey Beene Luggage

Now resides in my home

Guess I better start planning a vacation :)

Share your thrifty finds in the comment section !!

All Access Pass {Random Fixes}

 Whether my chance or by choice

Millions of women are single

Sometimes we

Just need to do what we need to do...

 My hope this past weekend

Was to complete several small projects

The first one was super simple

I've had a hook in my bedroom ceiling for 18 years

I've never hug a thing from it

 

I purchased this small chandelier

Several months ago with the intention 

Of re-wiring it and hanging it in my closet

Well, I think it adds a touch of class to my bedroom

So, here is where it will stay

 

Next, I have always wanted to add something above my front door

Kind of boring

So...

I found a sign I really liked at Hobby Lobby 

50% off

 

I hung it over my door

Honestly, I Love the sign

I'm just not sure it works here

What are your thoughts, Please???

Here is where my list of quick fixes 

Became 

Not such a quick fix

My bathroom toilet has been leaking (inside) for several months

I needed to replace the fixings

As I gathered my tools and began to work

I soon realized it was not going to be such a quick fix

 

Because my home is 32 years old

Some of the hardware is beginning to wear out

I easily removed the working parts from the inside

And replaced them with new

 

 No Problem

I began putting everything back together

When...

The ancient copper supply line began to LEAK

Big Time

After going outside and turning off the water to the house

(I had turned the water off to the toilet - just not the house)

I made a quick trip to Ace Hardware

For some new parts

 

Then after making a few phone calls to family members

With questions like:

"Who is your plumber?"

And "How do I get this off?"

My brother talked me through the 

'Don't take that off!!!'

And...

 

Voila

I have a new supply line

And new inside fixings

No leaks, No drips, No hissing 

This job was NOT as easy as I had hoped

And when you are dealing with ancient parts

Be prepared for more work and trips to the hardware store than you had planned

Ladies, 

Don't be afraid to try new things

Just because you have never done it before 

Doesn't mean you Can't do it now

There are some things I will NOT tackle

But there are many things I will

The amount of confidence that fills your soul

When you accomplish something new

Far out weighs the fear of trying

Leave a comment and tell me what you are going to

Achieve this week!

I'd love to encourage you!!!

 

 

 

Wednesday Word

 

 

"Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;

my hope comes from him.

He alone is my rock and my salvation;

he is my fortress, I will not be shaken". 

Psalm 62:5-6

 

 

 

It is true that we live in uncertain times

There is a constant attack on our families

An ever present barrage of mixed signals toward our youth

 

America, as we have known it, is changing

The safety we felt growing up

Is not a safety that our children experience today

 

In fact, our world is changing

We face the possibility of missile attacks on Syria

We continue to have military troops in countries all over the world

Men and women from our great country

Always in harms way

 

Terrorist love to threaten America,

It's people and it's freedom

 

YET:

 

When it seems everything in our world is shaking around us

We do not have to fear

We live with the promise

That God alone is our rock, our fortress

And we will NOT be shaken!

 

Hallelujah

For God's Truth