What am I most thankful for ?

What am I most thankful for this Thursday?

 










The gift of eternal life.  Thank you sweet Jesus for making a way for me to live eternally with you.

In the last several months since moving back to Kentucky, I have witnessed much sickness and death of loved one (older friends). And I am witnessing another slow and agonizing death of a dear friends husband (hence why I wasn’t on here at the blog yesterday).   And I am just thankful to know that when our end here on earth is over, it’s NOT over for us that believe.  God made us a way to never die.  I am so thankful for that assurance and gift.

Onto other happenings around here, today is my check-in.  Buy that I mean that I started working out on the treadmill several weeks ago, and last week I decided to take my measurements (inches).  So today I will check to see if the inches have melted away.  LOL….no really, not expecting any major progress, but I know some of my clothes are fitting a bit different so either way I am happy, and looking in the mirror I can see some difference….so it might take it some time to reflect in the actually measurements, I don’t know.







Since I am still unemployed, I will be spending my morning on the treadmill and with my bible reading.  I really enjoy this time.  I have read the Bible through twice now and this is my third go around.  I picked up a book by Dr. Henrietta Mears to accompany me in my reading the bible this time.  



This is the back cover.




It helps me to better understand why things happened as they did.  I’m also taking the time to learn the books of bible in order, I have learned the first 27 books in order now to learn the rest.

Couple of questions here.  Do you have any great resources that help you with reading your bible or for bible study that you would like to share?  I’m always looking.
And also, what are planning to do today?  Please do share.

Hebrews 11:1“[Faith in Action] Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Brought to you by BibleGateway.com. Copyright (C) . All Rights Reserved.

Many hugs and blessings,

Cindy

Organizing my mind, Are you?

It is ultimately our thinking, more than our outer circumstances, that determines whether we live lives of harmony and peace or pain and despair.  ---- Marianne Williamson


I know what some of you are thinking when you see this title.  Yeah right?  How do we do that?  Not really sure but will tell you that there is a lot of that going on with me at the moment.  Do you ever feel like this young lady.  Always feeling overwhelmed.  Me too.  But I have decided to take action and
put a stop to this feeling.




So you ask how am I achieving this?  I am getting proper sleep, at least 7 hours or so a night.


I’m creating my daily morning To Do list


One thing I am doing in conjunction is making a ongoing list, projects and future projects, and working toward one project at a time to get them accomplished. Focusing on just 15 minutes a day rule is better than “NO minutes a day”.   I also find that when I start with just 15 minutes I tend to go longer.

I might include things like:
Getting rid of clutter, one room at a time, one drawer at a time

Organize closets
Paint a room/or several rooms

Organize my pantry
ETC….

Planning to start a writing journal.  I purchased one, and so plan to write at least weekly, not daily, not putting that pressure on myself, but think it will help to journal some of what is going on with me.
And who knows it might become a daily habit.

Another thing I try to do is keep a gratitude list/journal.  Actually I am keeping a list born out of reading Ann Voskamp book “  One Thousand Gifts”. Usually I post my list on Monday’s when I join in with the Multitudes on Monday with others. (Off topic a bit, but wanted to share that this morning I found a wonderful journal that accompanies this book.  It is now on my Christmas list, take a peek it is wonderful!)

I am also limiting myself with TV and computer time.  Doing pretty good with the TV time, still working on the computer time.  


A few other things that I am trying to do as well, as make some time for myself, doing something fun everyday that I enjoy and not feeling guilty about it.  Also get in some physical exercise.  Usually it is walking but now that the weather is turning cooler and cold, not sure what form I will take up.

Also, make time during the day, preferably the morning to spend some time in the word.


So how about you?  How are you doing organizing your mind or are you?

HELPFUL TIP: One tip that has helped me is limiting the amount of negativity in my life, whether it be by family, friends, TV, newspaper, etc.

2 Timothy 3:16-17“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Brought to you by BibleGateway.com. Copyright (C) . All Rights Reserved.

Cindy

My Monday

Happy Monday Morning everybody!!!!  I hope everyone had a great weekend and got a chance to spend some time with that special “father” in your lives.  Unfortunately I didn’t get to  spend it with my dad, but I did talk to him on the phone, nor did I spent it with my hubby as he went to Houston to spend it with his dad.  Plus he got to spend it with his children.  So he had a nice day.  :)  And that is all that matters right?  I mean, it is their day!!!

 

Let me say “thank you to everyone that has left me comments or sent me emails” to my last post.  Your prayers, and concerns really mean the world to me.  Let’s just say that I am doing quite a bit better, I have taken action and started on some medication.  Which I can see a big difference already and it hasn’t been that long…so I know it will get better as time goes on.  The hopeless feeling has dissipated and for that I am grateful.  Each day brings new hope and excitement.  I can’t tell you how good that feels.  Anyway, just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate you all.

Since I had the weekend to myself, by the way it was a LONG three days, I missed my hubby while he was gone, I had a chance to catch up on some reading.  I finished up “Plain Paradise”  by Beth Wiseman and “A Promise for Spring” by Kim Vogel Sawyer, (which I highly recommend both these books) and I’m now reading “Hanna’s Dream”.  Yet  another Amish fiction for me.  The book description states ” Set in the Amish communities of northern Indiana and Montana, Hannah Miller has just found a poem about love that stirs her dreams. Checking her past experiences with boys, no one seems to fit, especially not Sam. She had chosen him in the eighth grade only because everyone back then just had to have someone. With his mouth that always fell open when astonished, Hannah now looks for someone else. Feel the agony of mistakes, the burden of guilt, and one girl s attempt to make sense out of love. In this end, will Hannah go the whole way with the logic of her conclusions?”

I also had the chance to spend some time with my daughter and her boyfriend on Friday night, they came over to visit and it was such a wonderful treat to have them here, we didn’t do anything special just visited and watch some TV but it was WONDERFUL!  I loved seeing her and catching up with her. We talked about her recent trip to the beach, (wish I had pictures to show you but she hasn’t uploaded them yet) her work schedule, and just things going on in her life.  Then on Saturday night my son and his wife came over, actually we met for dinner and then came back to the house and just  chilaxed! It is one of the first times I have seen him since he got married and I loved having them here too.  I really do miss seeing my kids on a regular bases so it makes the time spent with them now even more precious.  They really made me one happy momma this weekend.  Thank you Wesley and Tori! 

I am suppose to have a lunch date with Tori and her boyfriend tomorrow, but other than that nothing is on the agenda.  Not really sure what this week holds in store.  I haven’t really kept up with my blogging or blog visiting, so I may try to catch up on some of that. Really need to scoot, want to spend some quiet time reading.  Hope you have a blessed  Monday!

Psalm 91:1“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” Brought to you by BibleGateway.com. Copyright (C) . All Rights Reserved.

Amish Reads by Wanda Brunstetter

Happy Tuesday everyone, hope this finds you all having a great day and a fantastic start to your week.  Now to interrupt my normal postings, I wanted to share something a little different with you today.  Something I have a passion for, and that is reading….in the last several years, I have gravitated to Amish fiction and I still can’t get enough.  Did you know that it has become the fastest growing genre of books….once you read one you’ll understand why.

This past weekend, I pre-ordered my reading material.  I love to read Amish fiction, there is just something about the simple life and the simplicity of their days that lure me in.  If you never have read any of the Amish fiction I hope you will give it a try.  I am eagerly awaiting the following book in the mail, and can’t wait for it to arrive.  It’s the third book in a series, but for fun, I thought I would post the trailers to this book as well as the two prior books. 

Book 3 in the “Indiana Series”.

Book 1
A Cousin’s Promise

Book 2- A Cousin’s Prayer

There are some great Amish writers out there, and believe me, I have a listing of them all.  I also have my “coming soon” list so that I can always get the latest releases.  If you are new to Amish fiction, you might want to try some authors like:

Beverly Lewis
Cindy Woodsmall
Kathleen Fuller
Amy Clipston
Beth Wiseman
A great site to check out is Amish Hearts

Enjoy!

 

Wow, how time flies

My question is wow where does the time go?  I can't believe it has been over 1 1/2 months since I wrote anything on my blog.  Life has really been busy for me over the last month or so...it naturally is but for some reason this year it has been particularly busy. 

As you see from the last post, we got our house on the market, and that is a experience all in itself.  As any of you that have done this knows, it is alot of work to keep your home "show ready".  So that has taken up some of my time, not to mention having to leave the house each time someone wants to come and look at it.  Oh well, that is part of the process I guess.  Everyone keeps asking....nothing has happened yet with the house, but we have had a abundance of second and third time lookers.  Guess people are being cautious about spending that kind of money so they want to get the biggest bang for their buck.  Can't say I blame them.  So if and when it sells, you will be one of the first to know.

I also have started back to work full time and that has taken a adjustment...the early hours and early nights....so therefore my evenings are more structured and blogging doesn't always fit into the plan. 

This is the first weekend we have been home in a month.  Three weekends we had a unexpected trip to Missouri for my dil's mothers funeral.  It was such a shock and sad time.  She was only 52.  I think our dil was glad we came down, just wish there had been more we could have done for her.  She is such a sweetie and glad to have her as a part of our family. 

The next two weekends were spent in Williamsport Pa, for the Little League World Series.  It just so happened that both my hometown team, Russellville, Ky....the Logan County team made it as well as hubby's team from San Antonio...so of course we had to go and root our boys on. We had a great time, seeing old friends and making new ones.  Although neither of our teams won the title we were so proud of them and the way they represented us.  Our hats off to the parents and coach's of these young men.  What a wonderful experience for them to carry into adulthood.

Our weather here has turn almost fall like, and I welcome it.  It is by far my favorite season.  It has my mind reeling with all kinds of things I want to cook and bake....I love the days spent out going to craft fairs, fall festivals, apple picking, hayrides, shopping for the perfect pumpkin.  Is there anything about the fall NOT to like.  God blesses us with wonderful warm and cozy colors to set the perfect backdrop for this time of year.  Simply gorgeous!

I have also been reading like a mad woman...I have read some wonderful books written about the Amish...my favorite...and have a list of about 6 more to buy...both Beverly Lewis and Wanda Brunstetter have new ones out.  Woo Hoo!  So might try to hit a bookstore over the weekend to pick them up, if not...here I come Amazon.

Well that is a brief snippet of what has been going on with me...with alot of little mundane sprinkled in there...but overall just real busy and feeling real blessed.  God is so good! 

Heading out this morning to get me a manicure which is in great need as lately typing has become a major chore....so going to take care of that before much else gets done. 

I hope you all have a wonderful and blessed Happy Labor Day, spent with those you love and capturing sweet moments that will linger as wonderful memories with your family and friends.

Till next time,

Hugs to all!

Safegaurding your marriage

Howdy friends, it's finally here...the weekend that is. I am beside myself, because it has been a LONG week with work and more work at home. Originally our forecast called for a wonderful weekend, but that has all changed and now it is all about rain. I know I shouldn't complain because later this summer we will be needing it. So I am trying to be optimistic and just work between showers. That is if there is "between time". I still would like to get out in the yard and get some flowers in the ground. Will see if it happens or not.

Right now I am in the midst of reading about three books and last night I ran across a book that I had forgotten that I had until I went to packing away books last night. I ran across a book by Kay Arthur on a biblical marriage. So now it resides on my bedside table. I read about two chapters of it last night before calling it a night. I am excited to read this book. It really looks good. This is the book description:

"A Marriage Without Regrets": No matter where you are or where you've been, you can have

This book isn’t about how to have a perfect marriage, or to change our spouses,” says Kay. “It’s about having the kind of marriage where you can stand before God and say, ‘Lord, I was all that You intended me to be.’ Only when we make that kind of commitment can we truly have a marriage without regrets!”


Speaking candidly about her first marriage, her conversion to Christianity, and her longtime marriage to Jack, Kay offers practical advice on effective communication, security and significance, difficult relationships, parenting, and God’s guidelines for divorce and remarriage.

Readers will discover what the Bible says about.

resolving conflict

understanding each partner’s role

improving the sexual relationship
becoming financially wise

respecting and keeping marriage vows

This rerelease with a fresh new cover (more than 110,000 copies sold) contains the marriage–building and life–changing material Kay has presented to enthusiastic audiences worldwide—helping thousands of people in many countries experience supportive, Christ–centered marriages.

No matter how great we think our marriage is, it could always be better. I know after the dimise of my first marriage (which I thought was a great marriage) if you don't stay connected to God, the creator of marriage then when things start falling apart, your marriage will too.



I often look back at the mistakes that was made in that marriage and my part in them and remind myself, I don't want to make the same mistakes twice. I hope I have learned from that experience, no matter how good it is and how much you love someone else, you have to be practical. I loved my husband and was more than forgiving on many issues that others couldn't believe I could forgive. But my marriage was important to me, as I had made a covenant with God. I honestly believe I was married to this man for a lifetime. However, one thing I learned during the process, that one can't do it alone. I didn't want the divorce but he did and you can't make someone else stay if they don't want it. I believe I wanted the marriage for all the right reasons, and I asked/pleaded with God to save this marriage. However, my ex told me he didn't love me anymore. I felt so hurt and rejected, and I knew that I had never known anyone other than my family that loved me so unconditionally as he did. So what happened!!! I believe what happened is that God wasn't the center for both of us. I believe my ex couldn't or wouldn't deal with the past mistakes he had made, even though I was willing to forgive the past so we could move on to the kind of marriage that God ordains.



Marriages aren't safeproof unless you put GOD first. I have known for a while that was a major problem in the first marriage. So many hurt feelings, and no abilitly to forgive ourselves. You later, sit and ask yourself what happened? I know I did. I know that me and my ex both played a part in the demise of our once happy home.And I know we will answer to God for that one day. But by God's grace, we can move on and be happy once again. Believe me, I never thought that would happen for me.



I guess that is why this book has intrigued me. You see, know matter how strong you think your marriage is, Satan has a way of moving in. And he will, unless you both stand firm and arm yourself with the appropriate armour. Be ready to go to battle for your marriage. This book tells us the biblical truths about marriage and how God designed it for us so that we could have a marriage with no regrets. I had one with LOTS of regrets but I NEVER want to have another one that way. God is/will be the center of this marriage.


Didn't mean to get off on a tangent but I feel so convicted that I have to share with you, that you MUST have God in your marriage. It is the most vital part of your marriage. As the bible says, " What God has put together".....you know the rest. Please safeguard your marriage by knowing what the bible says about it. Don't be a victim of divorce as I have been.





It took me a long time and lots of prayer before I could move forth in another relationship. But I have been blessed to find a man who loves ALL of me. I have been blessed to have that twice in my lifetime. (yes, I say twice, because I know my first husband did too, but ....) I want to glorify God in this new marriage. I thank God everyday for my husband and continue to pray that he will be the head of the household as that is God wants. I have been learning to trust again, and that has been hard when you have felt so violated and rejected. But God has a way of healing those wounds. Praise God!


As I did deeper in this book and also in th WORD, I will be made aware of where/how/why my first marriage when wrong, so that I don't repeat the same mistakes.


I hope I have given you something to think about.


Feel free to drop me a note if you feel you have something to share. Would love to hear from you.

Blessed,

Cindy

Movin right along!!!

How ya'll doin? Can you believe that this month is half way over? I'm not sure where the time is going but it is moving, I think the older we get the faster time travels. Before long, instead of getting ahead, I am going to be falling way behind.
So glad Michael got the yard work done last night, because the rain set in this morning. It rained all the way into work on me. Word has it, it isn't suppose to rain all day. We will see. Right now the clouds look grab and drab. Poo! But that makes it a good day to work in the house..huh? So back to my list.
Last night I finally got my main floor cleaned completely up with the exception of a few boxes that we need to move to the garage for storage. They are just to heavy for me to lift alone...but other than that..I finally feel like I can breathe again. I hate when my house is in a state of chaos'. My plans for today are to start on my room upstairs. I have a antique cabinet in there that has all my collection of books (that I want to keep), so I need to box all them up. So we can remove the cabinet from the room. I also have a chest at the foot of my bed that houses bunches of my handbags, so I need to box them up as well. Need to get that chest out of my room. I'm trying to create space as well as have things out of the way for the carpet layers. Basically my room is going to get a good clean.
I think Michael is going to start painting in the foyer. We have a tall foyer (20 ft.) so he is going to freshen that up with a coat a paint and bring it on up the stairs into the hall area. After that...ALL the painting will be done in the house. Woo Hoo! So guess that means we will both be busy tonight.
Any fans of AI? Did you see the show last night? I hated to see Danny go, but was thrilled Kris got to stay. I love him. I know alot of you are big fans of Adam, but I really am tired of him and his attitude. To me, he acts as if he has already won this competition. Did you see the look of the judges faces when Kris name was announced? Unbelievable outcome last night. Guess I will have to make sure that Kris gets my votes again next week.
Need to scoot...my bedroom is calling me. Hope you all have a wonderful evening.
Blessings,
Cindy

Aren't long weekends wonderful?

I am so happy to have this long weekend.  My Saturday was spent running around and having some fun.  My day started with running some unwanted yard  items ( old wicker chair and settee, trash cans, and misc things) to our city park.  Twice a year the city brings in trash trucks and dumpsters to the park to make getting rid of old, tired, worn, broken things easier for us instead of having to carry it all to the landfill.  We didn't have any little things this year, mainly bigger items so it didn't take us long.  So off we headed to rid ourselves of the unwanted baggage.

Then we were off to do some yard saling.  And yard saling we did.  We also traipsed through the craft fair at ColorFest.  We finally got back home around 2:30 and my body was aching from all the walking. So I took a little nap and headed out again, only to get back home with bags of goodies all over the place and no energy to put them away.  So that leads me to what I am going to be doing the rest of the weekend.

Now for my do-list for the next two days-

• Clean my kitchen (completely) wash down my cabinets and counters, clean out fridge, run dishwasher, possibly rearrange my countertops.
• Put goodies (from saturday away)find a home for all my little treasures
• Spend some time reading - Picked up some reading material last weekend and again this weekend.  One book for pleasure and one for a bible study.
• Complete some computer work- upload some pictures to the web, create a new banner for the holidays, to be used at a later time.  Work on organizing some of my computer files, etc.
• Bake- some pumpkin bread and possible make something using some of my apples.
• Cook- I am craving for some home cooking, I get tired of eating quick type meals. Hopefully I will have plenty of leftovers to carry to work this week.
• Get to the antique mall (I always like to check it out several times a month)
• Craft projects- I have several projects that I need to complete.  Get out the black spray paint. 

I am sure there is more, but most likely will not get all these accomplished.  But I hope I get most of them done.  What a awesome feeling it would be to go back to work with all that behind me. What are you working on this weekend?

Have a blessed Sunday!

Time Marches On....

Sitting here thinking about how time is flying by. Can't believe it's been as long as it has since I last posted. Not enough hours in the day. Please don't ask me why because quite honestly I am to tired to think. Seems like lately I just go through the motions? Do you ever do that? I feel like I am on autopilot. I do what I have to, and then everything else, just goes by the way side.

A real quick update on Betty. She is finally out of the hospital, but they sent her home with oxygen. But that is helping her feel better. She is still tired and sleeping alot but overall is feeling much better than she was. Not sure yet, if they will be able to resume her chemo this week or not. All Michael's children were there over this past weekend, and they helped out there grand dad get caught up on some things around there. Ron's primary focus is taking care of Betty's needs and so other things are let go. So I know they appreciated the extra help this weekend. Please keep Betty's health in your prayers and Ron as well.

Lately, life has consisted mostly of work, and on my weekend's off running errands. Over this past weekend I spent Saturday running around with my list and getting things and doing some shopping for me. I can't remember the last time I did that by myself. It is a rarity and it was nice. I also spent some time in a Antique Mall looking around. Found a little cabinet I fell in love with, and much to my surprise Michael went and got it for me yesterday. I was pleasantly surprised. Anyhow, I brought it in the house and we put it in my bedroom. I am using it as bookshelf for now. If I think about it I will take some pictures of it. (Speaking of, I took some several weekends ago, and Michael finally offloaded them from the camera) I took some shots of some of the goodies I have bought while out on my antique and yard sale excursions.

While on Sunday, Michael had several things to do with redoing his new office. He has been looking for furniture to replace what is in there. He finally decided on some antiques instead of typical office furniture. So we hit the stores again on Sunday. He has decided he wants to furnish this office in things that he would like to put in our home office someday. Anyway, while I was scouring th e shops with him I walked away with a few small trinkets but nothing big. I did find a "boiler" that had been painted. Fell in love with it, so grabbed it.



When I have a few minutes at home I am reading...started the third book in the "Sisters of Holmes County" called "A Sister's Hope", by Wanda Brunstetter. I have enjoyed this little series. Once I am finished with it, I have another Beverly Lewis series I am going to read. "The SummerHill Secrets" Volume 1. Looking forward to her new book coming out in the fall. Whoopee!

As you can tell, nothing exciting going on with me. Same old stuff, just another day. I think one reason I haven't posted to much is there just hasn't been anything exciting to share with you. I will try to do better. I mainly just read and lurk right now.

Need to scoot, I hope you all have a blessed day.
Hugs!

Its that time again

Time to start thinking about my upcoming week. This has been a busy weekend it seems but I couldn't tell you what we have done. I just know that I am tired. I am going to grab my book and take a little rest here in a few minutes before thinking about dinner. Tonight was suppose to be roast but didn't lay it out of the freezer. I decided we have things in the fridge that we need to eat up, and since it's just Michael and Tori and I, not going to make a big deal about it.

Did you all do anything fun for Father's Day? I called my dad this morning and wished him Happy Fathers Day and he was still in bed. I couldn't believe that. We had a nice little chat, and I told him that his fathers day present wasn't going to come to the house, it was waiting for him at the golf course. His next three games are on us. So he seemed pleased with that.

I have time today doing wash, didn't have alot to do. Just a couple of small loads, so that didn't take a long time. Michael went outside and has sorting through things in my potting shed. Believe me it needed it. We both have been on this cleaning kick lately. Don't get me started.

I picked me up two new books last night. I started "A Sister's Secret" and I know I will enjoy it.

From Amazon:

From Publishers Weekly
This first installment in the Sisters of Holmes County series is more of the same for Brunstetter, who has more than a million of her Amish-themed novels in print. Grace Hostettler is settling down to a conventional Amish life and marriage to a kind young man in her community. But when a stranger from her past shows up, she's forced to acknowledge the "English" life and family she left behind during her rowdy adolescent rumschpringe period. Will her new husband accept her when the secret of her past comes tumbling out? Unfortunately, technical problems mar this novel about second chances. Grace is a weak and uninteresting protagonist who is more an observer of the action than its leading lady. While Brunstetter's fans will no doubt appreciate the novel's loving—even hagiographic—portrait of the Amish, the Amish characters' dialogue often feels stilted and unnatural, impeded rather than enhanced by awkward sprinklings of Pennsylvania Dutch. Stock English characters, such as an intrusive reporter and an aggressive developer who wants to buy up Amish land, add little to the story. (July)

Product Description
Grace is the oldest sister in the Hostettler family. Having put her rumschpringe (running around years) behind her, she has returned to Holmes County, joined the Amish church, and begun a new life. For the past four years, everything has been going fairly well, until the day she sees an English man who knows enough of her past to jeopardize her future. Will Gary Walker's passion for Grace destroy more than one life? Amish man Cleon Schrock is planning to marry Grace, but ignorant of her past. Will love and faith triumph over shame and deception in Holmes County?

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

I just finished reading Pam's daughters book. A "Pirates Daughters Promise". I enjoyed it very much. Now I have to wait for Molly to publish the next one.

Well need to scoot for now, hope you all have a wonderful and Blessed Sunday.

Hugs!

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