A Loss for Words

I struggled with creating a post this morning. I guess being away for so long had a greater affect on me than I first realized. I couldn't think of anything yesterday and it was hard for me today. I thought, I could post about this nasty weather blowing through town today. Wind gusts of 50-60 mph. But then everyone has weather issues. I thought I could talk about my oldest son who complains every morning about having to get up for school and has repeatedly asked that we start homeschooling. I had no real purpose or plan about what to post. And in searching for my purpose I turned to God.

Now, I didn't ask God to send me an idea for a topic. What I mean is that I was feeling lost and uncertain about what to do, how to speak, where to go with all of this. And normally when I'm feeling uncertain about anything in life, from the smallest problems to the seemingly insurmountable ones, it means that I have turned my attention away from God and it's time to make a U-turn. It's time to turn my attention back to the One who is always present in my life and ask Him to guide my path.

Psalms 143:7-10

7 Answer me quickly, O Lord; my spirit fails. Do not hide your face from me or I will be like those who go down to the pit. 8 Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. 9 Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord, for I hide myself in you. 10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

How easy it is to stray. To get caught up in our own sorrows and problems. To feel as if there is no one to turn to, no one willing to help. Drawing a blank when it comes to blogging is in no way equatable to the afflictions others may be facing this morning. But all things, great and small, can affect our lives. And I realized that if I was struggling to come up with a topic, then surely there were others out there with problems greater than mine. I knew that if I couldn't come up with something to say, a regular chatter-box, then something was holding me back. That something was that I was not focusing on giving glory to God. And for my own self, when I turn my back on God so-to-speak, when I don't focus on fulfilling His plan for my life, I become lost. The focus in this house hasn't become anti-christian, mind you. But it definitely hasn't been completely on doing the will of Christ. So maybe that was His intention all along. Maybe I was called to remind not only myself that when all else fails - turn to God. I was struggling with what to say and God turned that opportunity into a way to glorify Him. I'm reminded to look at the animals: DOG - depend on God, FROG - forever rely on God.

So my post today seemingly wrote itself. No longer was I struggling to come up with an idea. The idea was there all along. I had just lost focus...

What Season Are You?

So I finally get the sty in my right eye cleared up and doesn't one form in my left eye over the weekend... It's enough to give a person a complex, you know. My grandmother always said that you get styes from peeing in the alley. HA! I swear I haven't done that in years. Just kidding. I've had eye infections my whole life. I think it's because I have such nasty allergies. And I'm constantly rubbing my eyes. Terrible habit, I know. But I think therein lies the problem. And tea bags taped to my eyes is a big pain in the old patootie. Anywhoop - Kari from Just Living Large suggested rubbing my wedding ring over it. Something about the metals and it being all better. So I'm waiting to see how this turns out. Thanks for the tip, Kari!

I know that I mentioned this before. But I hate winter. I am so sick and tired of being bundled up. I'm tired of our gas bill. I'm tired of having to wear shoes (I'm a barefoot girl in the summer.) And I'm longing for the day. You remember "day" don't you? We only see it a few short hours now. I'm so looking forward to sitting on my porch until well past 5 o'clock and being able to enjoy the sun. I miss the sun. That stupid groundhog will probably see his shadow this Saturday. Interesting fact about old Phil. Did you know that the way they determine if he has seen his shadow or not is based on his desire to mate? Doesn't that just take the cake? If the little bugger is horny and anxious to jump Philomena - spring is right around the corner. If he is listless and not too terribly interested in his partner's needs (typical man) then it's 6 more weeks of winter folks. YUCK! Well at least Lent is right around the corner. That's something to look forward to.

Here's a little quiz for this gloomy Monday morning. I had suspected this all along...

You Belong in Summer

Energetic, creative, and very curious about the world... You're not going to let anything hold you back, especially a cold day. Whether you're chilling out at the beach or partying all night, you live for the warm weather.

What Season Are You?

You Make My Day and Spotlight Saturday!

While I was away, kicking my computer, Linda at Restyled Home gave me an award. Can you believe her generosity? I am always so proud of any award I receive from my fellow bloggers. But this one is extra special because I wasn't even blogging when she gave it to me.

I'm sure you all know Linda. But let me fill you in on a few things about this special lady. She is the one who helped me vision how I wanted my house to look this Christmas. She is the one who gives us such dreamy ideas and inspirations from Matthew Meade. She's the sweetie who so refinely spells words like favorite as favourite. She's the wife, mother and business owner we can all look to for guidance. And I just adore her. To think that I make her day is quite a boost to my ego, I don't mind saying. So my Spotlight goes to Linda as I humbly thank her for honoring me with this award.

If by some freak of nature you haven't met Linda and basked in the beauty of the Restyled Home, stop over and tell her I sent ya!!

I Hate Winter!

I hate winter! We were running late this morning. Either I didn't set the alarm last night or I shut it off and don't remember. Either way my husband is normally on the road by 6:15 and we woke up at 6:13. OOPS! Still had plenty of time to get to work. Austin still had plenty of time to get ready for school. No real harm was done. Except that every Friday morning Kenny puts his paycheck in the night deposit drawer at the bank. For numerous reasons we do not have direct deposit. Too many people he works with have had their accounts screwed up on a semi-routine basis. So, we just fill out a deposit slip and chuck it into the box. Since he was running late, I drove down to deposit the check which is right over the hill. GOOD GAWD is it freezing out. It is currently a balmy 7 degrees with a windchill factor of -5. Going from the truck to the window and back to the truck took all of about 30 seconds. And I thought my finger tips were going to break off. I HATE WINTER!! Did those asshats at my children's school think to delay? Oh hell no. Let them stand at the bus stops in -5 degree weather. Let them walk to school. No reason to delay. Jack asses all of them. I think that I will be calling the school. Pardon for the outbursts but I'm a little jacked this morning!

Now, as for my eye. It is about a 1000% percent better than it was yesterday. It's still a little puffy. But it's open! And I don't feel myself blinking this morning. I used warm tea bags last night. Kenny taped it over my eye and my sons walked around the house saying "ARRRRR." They also got a kick out of saying "Hey it's Tea." Now let me explain why that is funny. All of my nieces and nephews call me 'T' for reasons we don't know. And I have always had dark circles under my eyes. Kenny said I had tea stains. General jocularity at my expense last night. But whatever, my eye feels better. So my tip to anyone who feels a stye coming on - use tea bags. Works like a charm!

Now that I'm done ranting like a total lunatic...let's focus on something a little sweeter. This morning in a Proverbs 31 email I found this verse. How perfect is it? It's what I try to relay in my posts, just not so eloquently. Have any of you found a hidden blessing? Polly found quite a few that could simply be lost on someone else: the rain, not the mud...the sun, not the glare... the children, not their arguments. Even this stinking winter weather can be construed as a blessing, I guess. The earth needs it's deep sleep in order to awaken in spring with all it's glory. So look for your blessings, share them with us and experience the glorious love of our Lord.

"...And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together will all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled up to the measure of all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:17-19 (NIV)

Hidden Blessings

A stye has formed in my right eye. Funny thing is, I had one forming in my left eye earlier in the week and I managed to stave it off with warm compresses. I could feel myself blinking. That's never normal. And I applied warm compresses all day yesterday but I woke up this morning looking like I had been in a huge fist fight. I told Kenny that he "should see the other guy!"

I was so overwhelmed by the number of people who welcomed me back yesterday. That means more to me than you will ever know. I wasn't able to visit everyone yesterday as I had hoped. But I will be making my rounds again. Doesn't it amaze you the friends you find through blogging? Kenny was pretty proud of himself when I told him that you all sent your thanks. And I thanked him properly myself this morning, ahem.

I spoke with a friend yesterday who has been going through a rough patch these last few months and during our conversation I began to appreciate the blessings in my life. But more to the point, I began to look to notice the hidden blessings we take for granted. For example: Austin has been sick lately with a simple cold. His nose is running like a faucet and he has a cough. I hesitated sending him to school yesterday but he got his shower and got ready for school anyway. Evidently they have a new bus driver because he never stopped to pick them up. Drove right past them. All those kids had to walk up the hill in the bitter cold yesterday if there was no one home to drive them. I took that as a sign to keep him home. I notified the school the bus driver isn't stopping for these kids, explained Austin wouldn't be in school and we had a delightful day at home together. He took a nice nap and his coughing has decreased. Small blessing from God wrapped up in an incompetent bus driver.

The whole point in relaying that story was to serve as a reminder that there is a bigger plan for our lives. Our plans may go awry. Even the carefully executed ones. But it is at those times, more than ever, we should step back and ask for God's guidance. We've wandered off His path and will need a Light to find our way back. We have to trust that "this" is happening for a reason and realize that He knows better.

So this is my challenge for the new year. I am challenging myself and you as well to look for the hidden blessings in our lives. Who will join me in this effort? I have a "Blessings Button" on my side bar. Please feel free to use it on your blog and share your stories with us. Each one of us is a Success Story, if we only looked for our hidden blessings!

Good Morning Everyone!!

HI!!! I'm practically giddy! I think that Kenny (my sweetheart of a guy) may finally have the kinks worked out. He has spent the last 4 nights working on the computer. And, knock wood, it appears to be working. So how the hell have you all been????

Goodness, it's been a long time. I was able to change the background picture. I wanted something spring-y. The winter scene just wasn't cutting it anymore. I am done with winter. I'm so impatient for the upcoming season. I am ready for tulips and daisies. But, unfortunately, I can't remember the user name and password for my playlist right now. I requested an email giving them to me, but it hasn't arrived yet. So - please pardon the Christmas music playing in the back ground. WAIT - Tell you what....I'll move it to a spot lower in the page and it shouldn't play unless you pass by it.

I had 282 emails in my inbox this morning. Sorry guys - but I just deleted pages at a time. If you have sent me an email, I probably got it...but I deleted it. That was a little overwhelming. 18 pages of emails to go through? No way.

I received my bracelet and earrings (an extra bonus) from Shelbi yesterday. I won her giveaway and I couldn't be more excited. The bracelet is a little big but it still stays on. Hee hee! And the earrings are gorgeous. What a nice treat!! Even Austin commented on the earrings this morning. They were still sitting in the box on the dining room table. So, you know something is truly beautiful when your 14 year old son comments on them. I wore the bracelet last night. HA, I had on sweatpants and a Dierks Bentley T-shirt and this GORGEOUS and very delicate crystal bracelet. But I tell ya, the combination was working for me. Hee hee. Thank you again Shelbi for the beautiful creations. I absolutely LOVE them!!

Austin's infection has cleared up nicely. Thank you to everyone who said a prayer for him. He's such a handsome kid. And that huge 'thing' on the side of his nose looked just like a witch's wort. The kids who had picked on him when they just thought he had a huge pimple were very apologetic when he returned to school and found out what he actually had. I think it humbled them a little bit which is always a good thing. Ain't God slick? An old friend of mine used to say that all of the time. And it always seems appropriate.

Well, cats and kittens...that's about all for today. I wasn't expecting to be able to log on so I really had no post in mind. Just rambling today, I guess. I will have to work on a schedule for blogging again. HA HA HA! I've been away for so long...my routine had changed. And now I'll have to implement blogging again. But have no fear - I'm back!! Whoopee!! Love you!!

Nunnie's Attic is haveing a Sale

Hi,
Margie here. Since Julie is not able to post, I wanted all of you to know that Nunnie's Attic is having a sale. An additional 10% off of your entire order. Use the coupon code 10%. Offer good untilJan. 31st.
To you and all your family's I wish you a very blessed New Year.
Love, Margie (Mom)

Hi Everyone!!

Well, I'm still having computer issues. So I came up to my mom's to use her computer. Do you know how frustrating it is to be completely without a computer? I can sometimes log-on but then within a matter of minutes this little window pops up telling me that Firefox has encountered an error and will need to shut down. But they always apologize for the inconvenience. Isn't that nice of them? So I thought maybe it might be Firefox. So I tried just using Explorer and that is no better. And until we can afford to have someone look at it, I remain in anguish. Kenny can't even download spyware because the "administrator is locked."

So how is everyone???? Did you all have a wonderful Christmas? Ours was delightful! Extremely busy and hectic but that's what it's all about, right? I had 20 people over for dinner. And everything went off without a hitch! Kenny surprised me with "The Journey" diamond pendant and stud diamond earrings. AND an MP3 player which is sitting around collecting dust because I can't download any music right now.

Please know that if you are sending me any emails, I'm not ignoring you. My mom tells me what everyone is saying in the comments. But if you're sending anything to my home email address I can't access it right now. And I miss everyone so much! I went 5 months posting and visiting everyone every day and now I'm blocked. I hate that! I am still remembering you all in my prayers and thoughts though. And I look forward to the day I can log in at home at visit everyone!! I'll come up here to my mom's again next week for sure and maybe then I'll have enough time to do some visiting too. I can't wait to see what everyone has been up to! Big Hug and Love to you all!! Keep us in your prayers.

Julie has problems!

Hi,
This is Julie's Mom. Just wanted all of you to know, Julie's computer is not working. I don't have to tell you how upset she is. I am glad I am not Kenny.

She will be back on as soon as she can. Hope you all had a Happy New Year.

Love, Margie