I'm so glad I have a 'big brother'...

This is the week of my brother's birthday! This is my brother and I when we were kids...

He lives in California. I live in Texas and my sister lives in Oregon!

He is the one who chased me with a garden snake in Tacoma, Washington one summer, hit me with pillows a million times when he babysat with my sister and I, teased me about my first boyfriend, without mercy!... and was always there for us... mostly to tease us and make sure our lives were at least a little bit miserable!!

But that was before we all grew up... it's amazing how all the childhood stuff turns into something we all cherish...This picture is the 3 of us more than a few years ago! Our parents called us 'the 3 musketeers'! Even though we don't see each other as often as we would like to... we are always in close touch by phone and in our hearts! Hopefully this summer in Norway, we can get some updated pictures...

When my parents went to heaven within one year of each other... he was the one who held everything together and closed up their home in California, while my sister and I cared for our mom in the hospital in Dallas. .. We called him, and he just stepped in and did it all! Our parents would have been so proud of their son!

I am so glad he is my brother... I love you 'Key '.... you are our one and only brother, and we are so glad God gave you to us!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

I admit it... it was 'that kind' of a day...

Do you ever have a day when you just feel out of sorts??

I had one of those yesterday.

This is my nephew's little girl, and she was having one of those days too.

I know, I know.... I KNOW it's not right... but that's how I felt yesterday.

Even the drivers on the road I was traveling, were slooow and in the 'wrong lane'...

Have you ever noticed that when your spirit is irritable and on edge, everyone around seems to be an irritant??

So... because I know better, and because He does not want me to STAY in that spirit... I went straight to Him, (well... not immediately, but quicker than I used to...) and got a 'personality adjustment!'

He is ready to hear us, forgive us, and change our attitude and heart!

The day ended on a much brighter note... more like this!

1 John 1:9 (Amplified Bible)
If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action].

P.S... I am aware that today's posting comes right on the heels of my 'dad and Billy Graham'... satan was happy to 'trip me up', he will try to get us any place he can ... but I also know he can only go as far as we allow him to... another good reminder to be constantly aware of his tricks! I am also sure that sometimes it's just 'me'... and I am glad that God sees it all and forgives us no matter who started it...

These are the first 3 blogs I ever visited...

Last August, I discovered what a blog was, by accident.

Once I opened my own blog, I thought, hmmm... I wonder if anyone else has a blog about spiritual things...

I don't remember what search word I used, but the very first blog I found was Andrea at Heart Springs I read her blog that night and was thrilled! Andrea's heart for God was the first thing I noticed. Her gentle and beautiful way of sharing is such a gift... I sent her an email, and very quickly we formed a friendship.

From Andrea's page, I saw SASSY GRANNY, and chuckled out loud... she sounded like me! I emailed Kathleen and she was in Germany at the time. Her return comments were so cute and her blog was so special. I knew I would love her too, and I still do! She has an amazing way with words and expresses things in such a thought provoking and unique way... always challenges me.

Then I saw another name that I was caught by... HEART CHOICES, Debbie's blog. I quickly went to visit her page and that opened up a friendship that has so many parallels that we both laugh! Our Norwegian backgrounds, where we grew up, our taste in music... and so many other things. She is a constant encourager in my life. I call her my third sister...

All 3 of these women are gifted writers, each one is different, but all reflect the Lord in what they say and how they live.I have since found so many other 'friends' on these pages. I learn from all of you, and I am blessed and encouraged by the way you share from your hearts. You know who you are, by the amount of times I visit your pages... Elaine, Shirley, Lisa Shaw, Judy, Rose, Jackie, Debby, Lisa Smith, Tammy, Beth, Debra, Lea, Alleluiabelle, JBR, Andrea, Mary, Stephanie, Gwen, Felisol, Lidj, Patrina...and the list goes on, and it keeps growing! ...

But these 3 were my first experience with blogging, and I'm just saying... I think I started with some of the cream of the crop!

24 slices of cucumbers...

On Saturday, we had a Spa Birthday Party for our grand daughter Avery's 9th birthday. This one was 'mimi's spa party"... and I had so much fun! I am the new queen of "Dollar Tree"!!... There were also treats from Aunt Carol in Oregon!










The invitation asked each girl to come to Avery's house in a cuddly bathrobe, and the first thing we did was put cucumber slices on their eyes and let them 'chill' for a minute.Then they had a warm bubbly foot soak and pedicures applied by big sisters & a friend. Some of them moved into the kitchen and had flowers and other 'things' painted on their faces.

They mixed up bath salts and colored them and added scent so they could bottle them and take home later. There were beautiful cup cakes and lots of color everywhere, with candles and "Secret Garden" music in the background.














She is sunshine and smiles most of the time...
She has a kind heart and cares about others...
She prays with real wisom and depth...
She enjoys telling a cute joke...
Her giggles are music to our ears...
Avery is nine and doing just fine!!

We love you tons Avery!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

guess where I'm going??...

This is Tromso, Norway, and I'm going there in July!!

My niece is getting married, my sister's daughter, and she has chosen to be married in Norway, where my mother was born. (Her story here).

We are all so excited!! It will be a fast trip, but we will also get to travel to the northern part of Norway and meet with our aunts and cousins there.

The picture below is my sister and I when we were little girls and visited Norway with my family. Here we are with the 'laplanders', the native people from the very northern part of Norway. We had laplander outfits when we returned to America, and I wish I had kept mine!

I will get to visit my aunt, my mother's younger sister, who was in concentration camp during Hitler's invasion of Norway. (Her story here).

I feel so blessed to be taking this trip. It is a gift from God!

There WILL be pictures to share!! I just got my passport in the mail. I cannot believe the person in that mug shot is me!

Band aid or surgery??...

Recently I was having a conversation with someone about repentance. What does true repentance really mean? Repentance is a change of heart, thought and action ... genuine Godly sorrow as we see our sin before holy God...

It's a subject most of us know from our own experience, I know I do! When I was a child, I had a 'besetting sin'... and it became a pattern in my life. I would get caught, and tearfully confess and apologize, it was like putting a 'band aid' over the sin, and going on...relieved that it was 'over' ...

Much later, as an adult... that very besetting sin, was something God dealt with in my life, and trust me... it was NOT a band aid fix! When God wants something out of our life that doesn't belong, He does it with His surgical skills. It is painful... but it is complete! He wants that sin removed from His child, so He takes us through His process, to be sure He 'gets it all'!

Repentance begins with obedience, a desire to do it God's way... We are convicted by our sin, we confess our sin, and we ask His forgiveness, we want that area in our life to be changed and healed. As I confessed my sin and repented (turned away from), He reminded me of things that needed to be restored and made right. I had many things from the past years to make right. I had letters to write, people to confront and ask forgiveness from, and restitution to be made. This process went on for a period of time...

The old pattern of sin was being changed in my life... As a child, I thought I was 'getting away with it'. Oh the foolishness of trying to do it on our own or thinking God may not see. (It reminds me of a friend who says her husband sneaks potato chips out of the pantry at night, and he thinks as long as she doesn't see him... it doesn't count!)

As an adult... I began to desire to know God in a deeper way. God is holy, and we don't get to first base with Him unless we get honest with ourselves, and with Him...

When genuine repentance comes, for an ingrained pattern of sin in our lives, .... the layers of sin are peeled off like an onion, one at a time, until the healing is complete, and in that process... God forgives, restores and makes strong the very thing that was the weakest. It is ALL His work, and it is real and lasting.

My 'band aid' attempts and efforts were worthless. The root problem was not removed and healed until I came to Him in complete honesty, willing to do whatever He asked...HE forgave and changed my life ... HIS way!

I am so thankful today, many years later, that this area of my life was forgiven and healed. When you do it God's way, it gets done right, and YOU. NEVER. WANT. TO . re-visit that area of sin again! It doesn't mean we never sin again, we do... I do, but when God forgave me, He also healed me from the inside out... It's a story I share over and over... it's part of His story in my life. He takes the weakest and most sinful areas and makes them strong. Nothing...NOTHING is impossible for God!

I've been reading ALL OF GRACE, by Spurgeon. Here's what he says:

"Repentance grows as faith grows"...

"Both forgiveness & repentance flow from the same source"...

"Jesus has both ready to freely give us"...

Painful though it may be... I'll take surgery at the hand of Jesus anyday, rather than a 'band aid', which only touches the surface and hides the deeper problem. The great thing is... we are NOT EVER beyond His ability to forgive, heal and change!

Amazing grace!

consider this...

In the spring, in Texas, the wildflowers are amazing! There are so many colors, sizes and varieties. They cover the hillsides and highways as you travel down the road. And then, in a few weeks... they're gone. But while they are blooming, people come from miles away with cameras to capture their beauty. It's another beautiful picture of how God cares for us.

When He asks us to consider the beauty of these wildflowers, which are 'here today and gone tomorrow', He goes on to tell us how much more He will care for us...

He has given us a million ways to show us us that He loves us. By creating every. single. different style and color of flowers that just grow wildly, He is giving one more example of that love, telling us that if He cares enough to create all of those flowers so carefully and differently... how much more He cares for us!

I'm so thankful that He has chosen not only to tell us, but to show us, over and over again how much we are loved by Him. I never get tired of hearing it.

"Has anyone by fussing before the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? If fussing can't even do that, why fuss at all? Walk into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They don't fuss with their appearance—but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them. If God gives such attention to the wildflowers, most of them never even seen, don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you?Luke 12:24-26

Worship & Praise music... or... Hymns??...

These cartoons made me smile! I don't know what kind of music you have at your church, but we have a lot more of the praise and worship than the old hymns. I love so much of the newer praise music, which really seemed to begin as far back as the Gaither's...

BUT... I still love the old hymns of faith that I grew up with, and I don't hear them as much anymore...

Really... I think there is plenty of room for both, and for sure God's Word makes it clear that all music that worships Him is good...

When the drums began to take a more prominent place than the organ, I knew I was missing something that I love...


I do think that I have 'grown into' a lot of today's christian music, and some of the new songs have become my very favorites. Still... how can we ever do better than "The Old Rugged Cross", and "How Great Thou Art" and "Blessed Assurance", etc., etc....

Praise ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints. (Psalm 149:1)

I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. (Psalm 104:33)

So today.... I think I'll make it a point to hum through the day... "Blessed Assurance", and then... "Here I am to Worship", and maybe "Give Me Jesus" to kind of tie all of it together...

looking forward...

"Faith goes up the stairs that love has made and looks out the window which hope has opened."
(Charles Haddon Spurgeon)

Easter always brings a fresh surge of hope to the heart of the believer. Once again we see what His gift of love has given us.

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.John 15:13 (KJV)"...

Because of that love... we climb the stairs and look out the window of hope... with hope!

...we head into spring with the fresh touch of where we have been this weekend. Our hearts have visited the source of our hope and been renewed... That focusing on calvary that happens each Easter is important, necessary and always brings us something new... The old story is new every Easter.

And so, we move into the next season... expectant and with a fresh outlook... the window is open!

Happy Easter...

The stone rolled aside on that glorious morn...

light of heaven on His face adorned...

Jesus appears from out of the grave...

Our Saviour, Redeemer, Mighty to save...

He carried my sins as He walked that road...

To free my heart from the weight of the load...

Easter, the life changing gift from my King...

No wonder my heart wants to burst out and sing...

"He arose, He arose...Hallelujah, Christ arose!"...

HAPPY EASTER!!!!