My Miggy

They're all coming to see ME? And I'm having a BIRTHDAY? I thought that happened last year! Oh, an ANNIVERSARY of my birth day....

Well, Mommy and Daddy, you sure have given me a good first year! I've taught you so many things, haven't I? I've taught you a lot about the heart of God, your Father. And you've taught me lots of things. You have taught me, and I think will continue to teach me all my life, what unconditional love is. I can't believe you love me so much! And you're so nice to me when I'm sick. You get so sad. And you're teaching me what I can and can't do; even though I don't like the word "NO," please don't stop saying it when you need to. And I can't get enough of that "I love you" that you say all the time! Keep teaching me. And Daddy, thank you for reading the Bible to me and teaching me about God. I have so much to learn. Thank you, both, for loving me, for singing to me, for loving each other, and for loving God. I am so happy to be your daughter! God was so good to put me in this family. And you say Grandma and Grandpa are coming soon to love on me?! It doesn't get any better than this.

One more try

Here's that sweet Abby!

Frozen in Time

This is the most beautiful Baby Abby, our newest baby grand. (We have one more due in September.) She is the family's last baby, and she seems to have frozen in time; her looks haven't changed--she just gains some weight now and then, I think. She is delightful. She has a smile that lasts as long as it takes you to see it, then she shuts 'er down! Miss Soberface. Whatadoll. The pics aren't very focused as I wasn't allowed to lift her, so I put the camera above her and shot downward, whilst I was downward also. Awkward angle, eh?

I'm feeling pretty good after my complete hysterectomy with major repair. Everyone has been so helpful to me, especially the hubby. He has been so kind, and such a model of loving me as Christ loves the Church. It's been wonderful. I have read 3.5 of 20 books loaned to me. I'm taking notes on them, and I have been blessed. I'm also finishing up my Bible in 90 Days--we're in the New Testament! We should be finished around the 9th of April. Whirlwind, but excellent!
I am blessed.

I had Principessa take out ALL my craft bins from the guest closet, and I aim to go through them and get rid of much of it at the yard sale Princi's having in a few weeks. I can do this a little at a time. It's raining now (bliss!), so, if it's dry enough come Tuesday, I will try the riding mower to see if it pulls too much on my abdomen. If not, it should take me a few days (5 acres). If so, Bubs is gonna have to come visit me soon.

(If this gets any more boring, I'm gonna put myself to sleep!) This morning I listened to the first two messages from Community's Bible conference. Very good. Looking forward to the rest of them. One of our favorite preachers, Dan Cozart, also preached. He is a JOY!

I put up a little hummingbird feeder, so hopefully the little critters should come around soon. They are absolutely my favorite creatures of all God has made! I've even been known to swat one with a broom in order to get a good look at it! (This is NOT true; SOMEONE "embellished" a story about me....) My goal is to get an outstanding pic of one this season. Here we have the ones that have the beautiful turquoise coloring that looks like peacock feathers. (Ever seen a WHITE peacock? THE BRIDE! Awesome.)

Off to read some more. I'm taking notes as I read "The Death of Death in the Death of Christ," by John Owen. (What a great title!) You KNOW it's gonna be a good book when the preface, introduction, foreward, dedication, table of contents, and appendices are a blessing! This is going to be THAT kind of book! Thanks, Chad.

Flash flood watch. Gotta love it. More later. I think I lost Abby's pics....

Not your Springtime in Alaska

Aren't these gorgeous? The blossoms are from our apricot (?) tree in the front, and the pansies from Coleman Hospital (get well soon, Sybil!). What a great time to have a camera.

Books, Books, Books

What books have changed your life, changed the way you think, the way you believe? Chadwick's post spurred me to these thoughts.

Of course I would have to say the Bible, first and foremost! It contains ALL we need for life and godliness. It has all the answers we need to our questions. But most of all, it tells us all God wants us to know, and all we need to know, to live lives glorifying to Him.

That being said, here goes:

1. The Bible
2. Knowing God by JI Packer
3. The Sovereignty of God by AW Pink
4. Revival by Martyn Lloyd-Jones
5. Gadsby's Hymns
6. Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God by JI Packer
7. Desiring God by John Piper

Kinda short, eh? I'll think of others later. What's on your list?

Happy 33rd Birthday to Me

Eighteen years old. Rebellious, angry, ungodly, without hope, lost. That would sum me up, 33 years ago. I THOUGHT I was a Christian, but I lived worse than I did when I was "lost." The Lord Jesus so graciously showed me my sin, and showed me Himself. "Draw me, we will run after Thee," it says in Song of Solomon. I ran after Him, and I have been, only by grace, running after Him ever since. He took away EVERYTHING I held dear, and left me only with Himself. And He was ENOUGH. And still is. I am forever grateful. I am so thankful for the things He taught me during this extremely difficult and lonely time. He showed me that He was my portion, and I was able to say, Whom have I in heaven but Thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee. (Psalm 73:25.) It was a glorious time, and that is an understatement. I bless the Lord for His forgiveness, and for making me a new creature. I want to love and serve Him forever.

My life verse is Philippians 3:10: That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death. We can't know Him and the power of His resurrection without learning the fellowship of His sufferings. This I am still learning, and imagine it will be so until I go to be with the One, whom, having not seen, I love. It is hard, but it is so good, and so good for me. As Peter said (in one of my favorite passages), To whom shall we go? for Thou hast the words of eternal life....

What a glorious God we serve! To Him be all the glory! Thank you, God, for birthing me into the Kingdom of your dear Son!

Papa and the Firstborn Among Many Brethren

Here is our firstborn with the Papa on a windy day--don't let the breeze fool you--he is NOT fat! I like my firstborn, on top of loving him very much. He's a great son, and a great father. I am so thankful for him.

Under the latest news: I'm having a total hysterectomy a week from today. Wowie. My first "real" surgery, and my first stay in the hospital where I'm not bringing home a little one! Hopefully many repairs will be made and I will be as good as new when it's over. The Papa is taking off for a week to care for his Pee Wee, and he is such a wonderful caregiver (and an outstanding cook!). I do believe they will kick him out of the hospital, as he wants to sleep with me. He is actually quite needy concerning me, which is interesting to see in a man of his strengths. I think the nurses will point out that none of the beds there are full- or queen-size! AND for a reason! He'll probably make me sleep on the cot so he can get a good night's sleep. My sweet Bubby has offered to come take care of me when the Papa goes back to work. Precious dotters I have, as, of course, Principessa has also offered to come help. Whatafamily! Even my "other dotter," CC, has offered to come help me. I LOVE that girl! Can't lift anything over 25 lbs. the rest of my life, or I undo the surgery. Glad they didn't say 10 lbs., or I'd never get to hold Misty's newborns!!! Precious baby grands....

The Big Birthdays Bash begins shortly! Miggy the 28th, Naomi June 13th, Abs July 22nd ! Start saving now, eh?

I'm in the middle of Jeremiah currently, reading through the Bible in 90 days. I'm loving it! Dear Jeremiah of the broken heart. What should we glory in? Anything in ourselves? No. We should glory in this, that we know and understand God (see John 17:3). His ways are amazing. I'm looking forward to spending the rest of my life getting to know and understand Him.

I forgot! Happy Birthday to me! More in the next post!

Inchoate (in ko' et) (upside-down E)

I love, love, love words! And I love new words. And here's my new word: inchoate. Found it in a book I was reading. When I find a new word, I say it to myself over and over again, I can't stop thinking about it, I type it in my mind, etc. (Does this count, Chadwick?)

How about a definition? "Being only partly in existence or operation; esp: imperfectly formed or formulated (misty, inchoate suspicions that all is not well with the nation--JM Perry)." --Webster's

What do you think? Have you heard or read that word before? I HAVE to drop it into a conversation soon!

I also love unusual names. IOUSE. (That's an Air Force one.) Pronounced OS way. Ineligible for Scrabble, but it would be outstanding, eh?

I HAD to do something with my new cool word. Thanks for reading. Sorry.

Bits and Pieces

Lots has been going on since I wrote last. Our dear daughter miscarried. You can read about it at http://bought-with-a-price.blogspot.com. She and Miggy accompanied me to the doctor in Angelo yesterday, and we had us a good cry on the way home. God is faithful, and it has been such a bittersweet blessing to see her and her precious husband go through this trial. God gets the glory.

I finally got some medicine so I can feel on top of everything again. Bubby visiting said it felt like I wasn't here. Blah. I feel better already. I've felt like I'm always fixin' to get bronchitis again (misery). Maybe this round of medicine will help.

The Bible in 90 Days is something I'd encourage everyone to sign up for. It takes a VERY strong commitment, as there is a LOT of reading in one day, manageable in smaller portions a few times a day. Sarah and I are about halfway through. It has been EXCELLENT. It's helped me so much to get the Big Picture, and a lot of the history in the Old Testament. The story of Balaam finally makes sense, too!

Bubs "loaned" us their deluxe treadmill--it even blows cool air on you! I got a few minutes on it this morning, as I can almost breathe normally today, and I got my most-wonderful Z-COILS! My plantar fasciitis is non-existent when I wear these! What a wonder! I will hopefully add a pic of the most comfortable shoes ever! (And I'm a tad taller, which, at 5', is quite nice for 6' hubby's kisses!)

I got some awesome pics of Bubby's beautiful tulips. I will add one here. I had a ball taking them. Just put up a black background and have fun!

Somehow I have Shaunna's pics from her blog scrolling on MY pics on my sidebar! Help!

Greg's preaching Sunday. We just had Forrest Keener come preach--he is a joy! Pray for us as we seek a pastor. We are blessed with three godly men (and a young man) in our church, and all three of them can preach and teach.

This entry is like a shotgun--all over the place!

Beans turned 5 on Monday--our only grandson. I took him to eat at Chili's, and we had a great time. He had $9 burning a hole in his pocket, so we shopped for toys. He is precious--Emmie, tell me what you want and I'll buy it for you! We have a special bond, we do. He promised that when he grew to be a teenager he would still hold my hand in the mall (like we'll still have malls then!).

The weather! It's in the 80s today, after a low in the 30s, I think. A preview of coming attractions....

And that's how I get caught up on blogging. Sorry, guys. I love you.

Forgiveness

A beautiful reality. A few days ago I was listening to "the flag-waver special" on my favorite station, and they played God Bless America. Great song. And I was brought back to my childhood, when I sang God Bless My Underwear. And I wept. What an ungodly fool I was! I now, by grace, KNOW and LOVE this God, and I belong to Him for eternity. He has ONLY been good to me! (I weep now as I write.) And there I was, so lost, taking His beautiful name IN VAIN. I deserve hell. I deserve separation from God. Yet He had mercy on me, and forgave me my foolish ungodliness. He won't hold the one guiltless who takes His name in vain, it says in the Ten Commandments. Christ, my love, the Fairest of the fair, took my punishment.

What does one do with SUCH love, such forgiveness? Does one continue in the same transgression, trusting there will be forgiveness still? As Paul says, God forbid! "But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be FEARED."

If the forgiveness we believe we have leads us to continue in sin and being perfectly content in that position, we do not have that forgiveness! Christ's forgiveness produces not only cleansing, but holiness. Only God can help us to have a right view of ourselves, and a right view of Him who is Holy. Only a new birth can give us such a heart to desire such things for our lives. May we walk before the Lord and be pleasing to Him. May He guard our mouths and our hearts--how desperately I need Him to!

Thank you, Lord, for forgiveness, for being CLEAN before you. How did I LIVE before this? I DIDN'T. I was worse than a walking dead person--I was actively wicked, and lived my life contrary to God.

But what about the person who says, "THAT wasn't me; I've always been a good and a nice person"? One preacher said, "When God saved me, He reached down BELOW the murderer, the child molester, the adulterer, the thief--He reached down to me in MY SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS." The GREATEST commandment is to love the Lord our God with all we have; if we do not do that, we are the GREATEST sinner, no matter how much we try to be and look good and proper. We ALL lived our lives contrary to God before we came to know Him--NO man seeks after God. God doesn't see as Man sees: He looks on the heart.

How can you LIVE without Him? How can you teach your children right from wrong when they start asking? What example will you give them? Where can you go for help when there is no help? May God show us our desperate need of Himself!

I thank the Lord for showing me--a proud, stupid, foolish, ungodly punk (this is NOT an exaggerated description!)--His grace and His forgiveness. Glory to God!

Happy February! and my shelves....

I FINALLY got my shelves! What a great husband I have. And they were just as I pictured them in my mind. I had a great time this morning putting stuff in them.

There went the title!

The dragonfly was so pretty, but waaayyy too dark for my taste. So it's off to pink, and I lost half my title. Hum-dee-doo!

Snow, beautiful snow!

Obviously, I didn't get to go to McKinney (sorry, Ledbetters! You are so missed!), but I do have beautiful, beautiful snow outside! What do I think of when I see snow? "...Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow...." Seeing a beautiful bright red cardinal outside contrasted against the snow really enforces the image in my mind. I'm trying to upload a snow pic from my kitchen window (the only time I've been glad for no screen there!). What a glorious day!

I was talking to the cashier at Wal-Mart, and I asked him to please check a price for me. He went on and on about the word, "please," and how wonderful it is to hear. At the end of the conversation, he called it "the most beautiful word." I couldn't leave that alone, so I said, "One of the most beautiful words is FORGIVEN." He agreed, and spoke about how some people's religion is a sham, and I said, "Yes, but for some it is their foundation."

Maybe I'll get to talk to him again. Nice guy.

Lovin' it!

Lovely weather, eh? I'm loving it, but it might hinder me going to McKinney tomorrow! Dean's Wal-Mart has its Grand Opening on Thursday, and the kids need a babysitter. I hope to be the one! The weather really is awesome; I can't believe it's staying so cold for so long! I don't think it's been over 32 degrees for the past 4 or 5 days! The water's running in the sinks and outside, and the cabinet doors underneath are all open. Enjoy this wonderful WINTER weather--the AC will be on in the car within a month, I can almost guarantee. I love the cold....

Jacob made me cry.

I'm going through The Bible in 90 Days with a sweet online group of ladies. Yesterday I finished Genesis. First a comment on Jacob.

Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery, Jacob, the father, thinks he's dead, there's a famine in the land, and now the older brothers come back from Egypt, telling Jacob that the man in charge of the food wants them to return with the youngest brother, after keeping Simeon (another of the brothers). Listen to what Jacob cries: "...Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: ALL THESE THINGS ARE AGAINST ME." (Caps mine.) --Genesis 42:36. In the times I've read this story, I usually cry when Joseph sees his brothers (coming up), they don't recognize him, and he has to leave to cry. But this time, upon reading THIS, I cried. Poor Jacob! I cried because I KNOW THE END OF THE STORY! This appears to be the very WORST thing that could happen to him--he must be ready to give up and die. BUT GOD is working behind the scenes, and all these things are working together for Jacob's good!

What was last year like for you? For us, we went through THE most difficult trial of our Christian lives. I felt like Jacob--All these things are against me! Against us! BUT GOD knows the end of the story from the beginning, and He IS working behind the scenes, and all these things are working together for OUR good. Linda, take heart! If we could know the end, I'm sure we would laugh with joy and wonder. And cry with amazement. How great is our God! "O for grace to trust Him more."

The high temperature has not been up to 30 the past three days, and we are iced in. I'm enjoying my Blogfest! AND my husband!

TRADITION

From our Top 10 Movies comes the song, "Traditon" (Fiddler on the Roof--watch it--even the songs!). One of our traditons is a cold evening, homemade sticky buns, and watching Moby Dick, on GREG'S Top 10 Movies. Sadly, the Ledbetters could not join us, so that left the Blanket Risses and the Early Miggy-and-Family. Captain Ahab "beckoned." A cozy fire on a freezing cold night completed the picture. Wish everyone could've been there. Made-from-scratch hot cocoa, rice, beans, and wocca-wocca (guacamole) were also on the menu, though not in that order! A good time was had by all.

Growing in Grace

A perfect evening. A welcoming hostess, door prizes, a wonderful meal--beautifully presented, and a searching Bible study. Our verse was, "But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."--II Peter 3:18. We discussed what it means to "grow in grace," shared some excellent quotes, talked about what "knowledge" meant, and were encouraged to start a journal of God's workings in our lives this year. I was blessed to see the growth in grace evidenced in my two precious friends. As one challenged us to step out of our "comfort zone" to minister to others, I marveled at how I was seeing that happen right before my eyes! It's wonderful to see how Christ conforms us to His image, while still keeping our personalities. May Jesus Christ be praised!

Chin-up Queen

If she looks unsure of herself, it's only because she's only done them once before on my canopy bed! Isn't she dear?

...but can they name the twelve disciples?

These guys! They can tell you the score to any sport game in the past 30 years, along with other "relevant" stats... A fun reunion after Howard Payne's bb game produced this pic, which I absolutely LOVE:

(AND he can preach!)

Ho-hum....

Some thoughts on David

Does something in the Scriptures ever catch your eye? In II Samuel 7, the prophet Nathan (the bravest man in Scripture, methinks!) tells King David of God's covenant with him--how God will bless his house and his kingdom. Verse 18 has these interesting words: "Then went king David in, and SAT BEFORE THE LORD (caps mine)...." (I'm smiling as I type.)

Did he sit in a chair, on the floor, on his throne, on a cushion? We don't know. If the verse had said, "He knelt before the LORD," it wouldn't have captured my attention. He SAT.

And he had a talk with the Lord, a wonderful session of praise and thanksgiving. Read this: "...and he said, Who am I, O Lord God? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?" (the rest of verse 18). Imagine a humble KING! He understood his SOURCE--the God of grace! That is precious.

Then David says this in verse 20: "And what can David say more unto thee? for thou, Lord GOD, knowest thy servant." It's not surprising that this is the same man who, inspired by the Holy Ghost, wrote Psalm 139, which begins with: "O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me."

What an excellent time of praise it is that we get to "eavesdrop" on! King David sat and talked to God. And we can do the same. May our New Year be filled with many such days. How worthy is our Lord!