Christmas Love at Lake Tahoe

Recently, I was introduced to the work of Lena Nelson Dooley and am blown away that none of the ladies in the book club had ever mentioned her. She's a fabulous romance author with Christian themes throughout.

I have a copy of Christmas Love at Lake Tahoe and plan to dig in as soon as I finish quilting.

Yuletide Season

I get such a joy from seeing my grandchildren open their gifts on Christmas. My tree is fuller than usual because I have one extra grand-daughter this year. I am so grateful for that. All of them are normal, healthy and well-adjusted. My children are great too.

This year, I decided to show God how much I appreciate the gift of his son and started knitting Jesus quilts last month which is why I didn't blog much. I have two completed so far and plan to finish one more before Christmas for the residents of our nursing home. Everytime I look at them, my heart is joyful that I can give to someone else. What are you doing for others this year?

Another Awesome Story

My friendship with Lacresha Hayes has been well established. She's such an inspiration to others and does so much to enrich lives around her. I don't know how she juggles it all.

Last week, she sent me a copy of her book, Raw Redemption. I didn't even know it had been really released yet, so I was shocked to get a copy. I read the book and was blown away. I love her nonfiction, but I think she has a gift as a fiction writer. And often, fiction is less invasive and so people can get what they want from the story. I could really understand the heroine in this story and I got the point. Wish it had been longer and hopefully, she'll let Cheyenne become a regular in her stories. Good work.

Comfort in Correction

The Bible is hard for some to get into because they don't like to feel corrected. They only want to hear what they want to hear.

As a girl, we were spanked regularly for disobeying or disrespecting our elders. I learned that correction is a form of showing love and concern. A person who corrects you loves you enough to see you be a better person. Same as it goes with God.

I am reading through Job right now and plan to read through it three straight times until I understand the fullness of God's correction of Job. There's a lot of correction is Hebrews too, which will be my next book to tackle.

Scriptures to Meditate Upon

Erica gave me a list of scriptures she'd been meditating upon for the past few weeks. I've been using them lately too. Maybe they'll help you too. Pass them on.

Psalm 1

Proverbs 3

1 Corinthians 13

Colossians 2

1 Peter 3

Going Green

The children of this generation are much more intelligent than we used to be. My seven year old granddaughter is now "going green" and has started recycling anything and everything that can be recycled. I'm very proud. She asked me to do a series of blog posts about how important it is to recycle paper and medals, and to preserve water usage.

I hope that some of you reading this will be encouraged by her journey and begin your own green journey. Lord knows we are responsible for this planet and how we use its resources.

Your Support System

Do you have a support system?

In these times, being a part of a local church can be the best thing in the world. I'm not really one for those large churches where the pastor doesn't know your name, but for smaller family oriented churches. Those churches can be your lifeblood when you're ill or down in the dumps. The pastor and ministers come by and check on you, pray with you and often those churches have funds available to the needy in the church and community.

Other support systems include our families. Families have problems sometimes but they are still family. We need to understand that and learn to love our family past petty issues. Be there for one another and provide support when needed. My family is rather large because my mother had 4 sisters and 5 brothers. They all had at least two children. I make it a habit to email or send cards to family when I can. I stay in touch so they'll know I'm here if they need me.

Develop a support system because the time is near when you'll need one.

The Big Healthcare Issue

I sure wish some of our lawmakers had common sense. They get so tied down with innuendo that they don't actually think. People need affordable healthcare. We have a severe deficit. The bailouts didn't help with that.

First of all, there needs to be some kind of cap on the fees charged for both prescription medications and medically necessary procedures. Second of all, the government needs to put some kind of cap on the fees charged for health insurance for those over a certain age. Third, there needs to be a credit given to small and medium sized businesses who are willing to provide healthcare coverage for their employees. Fourth, the medicaid program can be expanded to include more people, while putting a time restraint on it for young folks who keep having babies out of wedlock. Require them to get a job, or job training or provide credits for them if they go back to school so they can be a part of the solution and not the problem. Lastly, they don't need to cut into the Medicare program anymore. Elderly people were promised coverage and they worked hard. It isn't fair to squelch on the deal now.

Just think, people

Just Finished a Great Book

I had never heard of author, Joyce Scarbrough, until recently when Debbie told me about her. As a gift, she sent me a copy of Different Roads and I loved it. I absolutely enjoyed the book from start to finish. In fact, usually a book over 200 pages takes me a little while to read, but I read this whole book in two days flat.

If you get a chance, grab this book. There are hidden revelations in it that will actually make you think about your own life, but it's entertaining.

Great Friends Like Mine

Last week while in the hospital, I was surprised to have friends of mine all come up to visit together and bring cards so that we could all play bridge. I had more fun than I've had in a long time. Thank you for coming, Nancy, Anne, Donna and Patricia. I love you all more than I can ever express.

Pray for Me

As all of you know by now, I'm still unable to speak, though I do believe in healings. If God does do it, I'll be happy to hear my own voice again.

Today, I've been feeling ill. I've been vomiting and believe I have some kind of viral infection. Asking for your prayers

Finding Comfort Now

I'm so thankful to have a new program that puts the scriptures at my fingertips since I spend time online everyday. I find my comfort in scriptures. I look at the state of our communities and I'm alarmed within myself. When I was growing up, we always said yes or no ma'am/sir. We were respectful of authorities, even the most rebellious of us. The big problems were few and far enough between that major issues were talked about for months. Now, major problems come hourly and news is only news for seconds.

Look to the scriptures for your comfort because all these things were written aforetime.

Watching a Catastrophic Event

Barack Obama, not that he's a terrible person and that John McCain is a saint, is going to be trouble. Already, he is unstable with what he plans to do. I think the idea of a black president is lovely, but more than color, we need qualified individuals in the White House. We have to pay for every decision we make though and this is one we'll pay for.

Don't Be Fooled by Barack Obama

I hope that none of you are fooled by the recent developments of our new president. Now, I'm not prejudice, but I really don't like that man much. He flip flops on issues and talks about things like he knows. He's made many mistakes, which is to be expected, but that's not why I don't care for him. I don't like people who cave in to public opinion. I want a president with his own opinions and who isn't afraid to express them, even if it loses him a popularity contest.

Elder Care

Pray for those old people in your local nursing homes. We just had an issue come up at our local nursing facility. People can be cruel, but even when you age, you're still a person with emotions. Let's pray for them everyday.

Be Still and Know

Be still and know that God is God.
Be still and know that He lives.
Be still and know that He loves and He cares.
Be still and know that He'll fight your battles for you.
He is able to do more than you've ever imagined.
Just be still.

Happy New Year

Happy new year to everyone. I know I've not been posting as frequently, but my body hasn't been well. However, I thank God for giving me one more year. I thank him that I was able to be home with my family on this wonderful day.