Psalm 139:4 “You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord.”

Oh my goodness, so many people are hurting in so many ways .... like the words of one of my favorite songs, ' we pour out our miseries, God just hears a melody.'  A young mother with two small children is fighting for breath tonight in the St Louis area -- she was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer last November; she never complains and her faith is so rock strong!  My younger brother is having a manic episode and has been hospitalized on a 96-hour hold; praying he will cooperate and realize he must follow his medication regimen to stay on the even keel. Reading Isaiah 24 today at the bequest of my husband -- so many telling prophesies in this particular chapter.  Lord hear our cries; your will be done! On a lighter note, spent much of the day trying to catch up emails from this past week -- not sure where all my time went but .... made pancake cupcakes with maple bacon buttercream frosting for our church's men's breakfast early this morning.  Hubby went to the firing range with his new Ruger Scout rifle.  Completed my first block of a new sampler quilt I am working on:

  Completed a jelly roll quilt top recently -- this is a completely new crafting outlet for me.

Tomorrow, after church, I will be attempting a mini tag album and a smash book! I am usually just a card or ATC maker so .... wish me luck. Recent cards and ATCs include:

New Challenges

Life has a way of taking us back to reality ... when I don't take the time to spend daily time in my Quiet Spot I find I run into lots of walls!  Biggest challenge right now is decision on retirement -- you might say, what's to decide?  Many fibers in my being say 'let's just stay home today and play,' but my real fibers say you know you enjoy working --- or more, I enjoy being a servant to others!  It would be so awesome to find a job that I am passionate about.  So, I have been spending lots of time making lists, reflecting, and seeking wisdom on what to do about retirement. 

Good morning from the sunny Pacific Northwest ... no rain this AM! Nice plate of 'polenta' for breakfast and about to ready myself for Palm Sunday services.

Today we celebrate the triumphal entry of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, into Jerusalem. This marks the beginning of Holy Week. Sad to think that many of those who greeted him with Hosannas, waving palm branches, would taunt him in just a week as he hung on a cross to save you and me! Have a fabulous day!

One Quarter of the Year 2012 ~~~ Gone!

WOW, where did three months of this year go? Seems like it was only yesterday we were ringing in the new year ... and now hear we are at the end of March! Exhausting just thinking about all the joys we've shared, fears we've faced, and life-altering decisions we've made!

Today it is raining here in Yakima and tomorrow we are volunteering at the Yakima Canyon Marathon ~~ hoping the rain will subside for at least the morning hours!

Looking ahead to April, it will be an honor to celebrate Easter -- I am so humbled to think that Jesus went to the cross to save me!

A week following Easter, my sister (Becky) and cousin (Cathy) will attend the Women of Joy conference in Oklahoma City. I know we are going to be truly blessed: Speakers are Stormie Omartian, Pam Tebow, Anita Renfroe, Lisa Harper and Charles Billingsley. The concert will be Casting Crowns with Matthew West and Royal Tailor. So looking forward to this event!

My dear husband bought me this most wonderful gift yesterday! I can hardly wait until the work day is over to start finding out about it and using it. I love to prep veggies, etc., for the week's meals as it is so much quicker to get a great meal on the table during the week. Oh, the possibilities!!!

Random .... there's that word again!

There is nothing random about any aspect of my life, and I’m not in charge of its destination. God is. He is sovereign, not random. Therefore, my life path is sovereignly superintended by a loving God. This message came through loud and clear in numerous ways this morning!

First, I had a random conversation with my sister Linda where we discussed how God gives us free will and even though we make the wrong choice, that choice is in His plan for our lives and He will provide the moment of redemption for us to get back on the right path.

Second, reading my devotionals (this one from Women of Faith) and Marilyn Meberg supplied the beginning paragraph of my post today.

Third, our Command Sergeant Major has 32 years in the Army and is anxious about retiring because he really wants to continue to work and ... he stopped at my door this morning and we also discussed how nothing is random in our lives -- God has a plan for him ... and for me (also contemplating retirement this year).

I thank God every single moment of every day that NOTHING IS RANDOM in my life!

Monday, Monday

What can I say about Monday? I am always exhausted when I come home from work on Monday -- it's a mental thing because Monday is not really any harder than any other day of the week!

I happened on this Bible verse today during my blogging and studying: Ephesians 2:10, "For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." I found solace in this verse because it means I don't have to do everything, be superwoman, etc.; I only have to do what God purposed for me.

Began reading "You're Already Amazing" by Holley Gerth today for Bloom (in)courage book club -- wonderful way to read a book and chat with the author and other women as we all dig into the book and God's word together. I have the book on my Kindle reader, along with my Bible for easy cross-referencing.