Gettin' Ready for Jamaica

I am so excited! I am getting ready to go to Jamaica on Friday. I can hardly believe it is here already. I got my passport, my shots, my house finished for my mom, shopping done,packed finalizing my entire list and my schedule is on the fridge for the kids.


My sister and I have been collecting things to take to the "City of Refuge" children's home. We are allowed to take two suitcases each and they can each weigh 50lbs and our carry-on's. Our plan is to pack our personal things in our cary-on's and the big suitcases will carry everything donated. So between the two of us we are taking 200lbs of stuff to leave at the children's home....Ahhh, so cool!


A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who donated stuff, here is some off the stuff we are taking....



Tons of school supplies,

30+ pajamas

50+ white socks

Paint for the murals I will be painting

Oreo's, chocolate pudding and gummy worms to make dirt cake for the kids

50 + Bracelets that my Mpact girls clubs made for them

Children's Books

and so many other fun surprises!!!!! Yay!




Please, be praying for ...

• Our safety while traveling


• That all our luggage gets there intact and undamaged


• That we stay well


• My mom and John as they watch the kids


• Continued pray for my son as he heals from pneumonia ( I hate leaving with him not completely better)


• That God will be glorified always and in everything!


• That we will be a blessing in all we do!

Oooooooh, I am just getting excited all over again! I am and will....

Kids Christmas List's

(age 9)

1. Duck Tape - any color

2. Boxes - all shapes all sizes

3. DS - Silver or Red

4. Laptop - pink or green

5. Candy - chocolate and gum

6. NO more lip balm ( I already got a lot)

7. Warm pajamas

8. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs - movie or tickets for the theater

9. Jingle bell earing at Kohls

10. Three sashes - for our club





(age 6) I am going to leave it just as she wrote it...have fun!

1. Barbie and the three muscter

2. Baby a liy doll

3. Wotr areol doll

4. Eloise gos to school move

5. Felt doling

6. DS

7. Move barbie and the three muscters

8. A toy cumputr

9. A new Bed time lite

10. Flash lite

11. A traplen

12. A pink crismis tree

13. 2 gold fish

14, lots uv cande

15. A new lunch qal

16. leg womrs



(1 year old)

Uhhh!

100th Post

So, for my 100th post I wanted to get together with everyone and do something fun. I thought I would ask you to go on a walk with me. Fall is one of my two favorite seasons. I love the changing trees here in Mid Michigan. The ones that I love the most are the red trees. I found this beautiful tree that I wanted to show you. Get your sweatshirt jacket and mittens and lets go....

Thanks for following me if you are and thanks to all who stop by my blog! Now go get a cup a hot cocoa curl up under a fuzzy blanket and...


That was much better than sharing 100 things about me ...it was boring...long and I only could get to 52! LOL

Under His Feathers

Here are some beautiful portions from this passage that just really spoke to me the other day.

I thought I would post them here to remind us of our great protector.

Psalm 91

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."

3 Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare
and from the deadly pestilence.

4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.



9 If you make the Most High your dwelling—
even the LORD, who is my refuge-

10 then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.

11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;

14 "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.

16 With long life will I satisfy him
and show him my salvation."

Ooooo, this passage is so good. I love the words that God uses to show His might. I love that we rest in his shadow, he stands before us keeping us. He is a fortress a place for us to go when the world is beating us down. He covers us with His feathers under His wing what a picture of peace, protection and care. He is our shield keeping us from the arrows of the enemy, it is faithful. He is our refuge our God who we can trust 100%. And then to top it all off...He sends His angels to guard us.

This passage of scripture so clearly shows us how deep and how wide His love is for us. It also shows the great lengths that He will go to keep us from harm. Our God is big and mighty and does not give us too much to handle. He is always right there with us.

We must do our part by dwelling in His presence, love Him and call upon Him. Then He will be faithful to answer you, be with you, deliver you, heal you, bless you and save you!

Picture done by me!

Numbers 6:24-25

"Get Joy" Book Verses

My book is finally coming to a close. I hope you enjoyed reading some of my favorite verses and seeing some of my favorite people. I have many more favorite verses and many more influential people in my life; I guess those will have to wait for another book. On the back cover I finished it with this blessing....


I pray that God will bless me in all these ways; and I also pray that the good Lord will bless all of you in theses ways as well!

In all you do today...

Psalm 16:11

"Get Joy" Book Verses

What a beautiful verse that sums up God's Word to us. He has shown us the path of life through His word, meditating upon it and listening to Him. I love the last part...in Your presence is fullness of Joy!
Last night, I rushed my son off to the ER. He was really struggling with congestion. His ribs were sucking in. One of the signs my doctor told me to come in for. This is the third major sickness of my small boy's life in less than a year, Ugh!
On the way to the ER, I started to do the "What if game". I have told my self so many times to not go there in my head. But, there on my way I found myself playing the game. What if he has to be hospitalized? What if he is really bad? What about my trip to Jamaica in 6 days, will he be fine? And of course what then usually happens when I go down this path, what if he dies? I am sure I am not the only mom who has allowed her thoughts to go that way in the face of an emergency.
But in the gentlest of ways my Father, God, reminded me of a few things. He reminded me that I cannot control his life. I cannot keep him from all these diseases. I cannot know what all is in store for his life. But, in the most loving way as He always does, He also reminded me of a few other things. He reminded me that my son is His...that he is His creation...that He loves my son more than me...that He has my son's best interest always in mind....that He has a plan for him. I always seem to forget all those things. God is in always in control and I always trust in His promises no matter what. When He spoke those things it calmed my heart. When the Doctor came in and told me my boy had pneumonia, sure I got real nervous....but God has shown me the path of LIFE and I will trust in Him.

And in His presence I will...



My son is at home eating a piece of pizza with me as I write this. He is not better yet, but he will be. PTL

Romans 8:37-39

"Get Joy" Book Verses

This verse quickly became one of my favorites when we were living in Petoskey. My pastor's wife was having a birthday and I wanted to make her something. I worked at a paint your own pottery place at the time and I was going to paint her a plate. I had asked her what her favorite verse was and this was it.
As I painted the verse on her plate it really became alive to me, funny how God uses things to speak to us. I nearly cried over every word as my brush copied every line. I know that after the hours of work put into that plate...God had worked over my heart. Sometimes, we doubt God and we question how He could really love us. My friends there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God. He always has and always will love us. The question is...are we going to accept His love?


Rest in His love today and...

Romans 5:8

"Get Joy" Book Verses

I love this verse, here it is...redemption for me...for you! Even when we did not deserve His great love, in our ugliness, in the muck, in the mire...Christ died for us. What an amazing gift that my mind can not even fully understand.

One of my favorite hymns has my all time favorite verses...

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

It is well, with my soul.

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Thank you Lord, for the price you paid for the debt I could never repay. It is His sacrifice that allows us to be freed from the burden of sin.

I love my sister so much. She is dear to my heart in so many ways. Next to John, there is no one I can be more real with than her. I can be honest and open always with her. Daily, I am so thankful that she is in my life. It is funny because if you would have asked what I thought of her when we were growing up, I probably would have told you I couldn't stand her. There are many regrets from those days. I didn't know what I had when I lived with her, such time wasted. She has truly become more than even the best of friends...she is my dearest sister.

I am so thankful that we both have come to understand what this verse truly means. Our relationship with Christ has brought us even closer together than even I could have imagined 20 years ago. Life and growth in Christ has changed us so much. There are not enough times that I can express my gratitude for what Jesus has done for our family. He is truly a good and faithful God!

Philippians 3:13-14

"Get Joy" Book Verses

I think sometimes our past can be a pitfall for so many of us Christians and non-Christians. For the non-Christian it can be the very reason that keeps them from coming to Christ, "How could God love someone like me". "I have sinned too much". Or for the Christian it can hold them back from God's full potential, "I am not good enough"!

I have shared before about how God forgets our sin when we ask for forgiveness. I wish we could do the same. But since we can not...we must do our best to "forget those things behind us" with God's help.

"Reaching forward to those things which are ahead" is what God is calling us to do. I have begun to realize that when I focus on the reaching the forgetting becomes easier. Why is that? It's because I am now using all my energy in moving forward. I have transferred the energy from sulking to working. God is calling us to do more, be more. When we do that and work hard at it, we are too busy with God's business than sitting in the corner saying, "Whoa is me". We need to understand that God forgives, He wants to forgive, He longs to forgive and He sent his son to die so He could forgive. He went to great lengths for us to show us how much He loves us...who are we to say, "He can't forgive me". We hold our own selves back.

So reach forward for the goal the prize is His calling in Christ Jesus. When we give all that we are He can give us so much more in return.

So today....

Proverbs 31:30

"Get Joy" Book Verses

There are a few verses that directly speak to women. When there is one I really try to make sure I listen up. God has a very specific job for us and I want to do it the best that I can. I have blogged about Proverbs 31 before, you can check it out here!

Proverbs 31:10-31 is a great passage for any woman to study. I specifically like this one because I think it sums up the passage very nicely. I like this verse because once again God cuts to the heart of the matter. He knows how women can be and what can become important if we do not keep our eyes fixed on Him.

Charm and beauty all too often can quickly become an important thing in a women's life for various reasons. I think our society clearly shows how beauty is so important in a warped way. God says that these things are deceitful and vain. Ouch! God doesn't hold back here. *

The most important thing to Him is that we fear Him. Not an "Ooooo Scary...I am afraid of God" fear but a fear that understands the glory, righteousness, and awesomeness of our great and mighty God. It is a reverent fear. When God is more important than our outward appearance and we let Him transform our inward beings; then He can do something amazing in us and through us.

The picture is of my grandma. She lives out Proverbs 31 for me. She is one of those people that are my rocks. I know she is always praying for me. She gives me a call probably once a month to see how I am doing. She is truly a beauty in my eyes as in the eyes of Christ. She is my example of a Proverbs 31 woman. ~ Thanks Grandma!