Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Thought...

It's good to declare you independence,
 but it's even better to declare you dependence on God.  
God knows that true independence is impossible.  
There's no way we can function effectively if we are cut off from His help.

*~*~*

"Remain in Me, and I will remain in you.  
For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine,
 and you cannot be fruitful apart from Me."

John 15:4

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Thought...

It's hard to learn from a mistake that you don't acknowledge making.

*~*~*

But no, you won't listen.  
So you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself
because of your stubbornness in refusing to turn from your sin.

Romans 2:5

Monday, July 29, 2013

I am blessed...

My life has been so wonderful this past year with everything exciting and new unfolding right before my very eyes.  Being able to look back into my life and see the BIG picture, this is something not everyone gets the opportunity to see in their lifetime.  I am SO blessed!  Yet, every now and then something will trigger something that makes me keenly aware of all that I have lost.  Things I have lost: not meeting my Mother, not being able to grow up with my sister and brother, not meeting my many aunts, uncles and cousins, I missed out on the day to day typical family love and challenges with my Mother and siblings.  So I allow myself a little pity party and move on once again to being grateful. I am very grateful for connecting with my siblings at the age of 50, grateful that we truly love AND like one another and desire to be in one another’s lives.   I am so BLESSED!


Sunday, July 28, 2013

Thought...

Strive to be a person of faith rather than fame.

*~*~*

"And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world
 but lose your own soul in the process? 
 Is anything worth more than your soul?"

Matthew 16:26

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Thought...

The naïve person underestimates God;  
the foolish person ignores Him.

*~*~*

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked.
 A man reaps what he sows. 
Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; 
whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

Galatians 6:7-8

Friday, July 26, 2013

Thought...

Focus on where you are going rather than where you are now.  
The best is yet to come.

*~*~*

“Blessed are you when people insult you, 
persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 
Rejoice and be glad,
 because great is your reward in heaven…" 

Matthew 5:11-12

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Thought...

The deceitfulness of riches promises peace,
only to deliver problems.  
Productive living comes from confidence in Christ,
not from faith in the fleeting things of this world like health and wealth.

*~*~*

But the wisdom from above is first pure,
then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits,
unwavering, without hypocrisy.

James 3:17

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Thought...

When you intentionally leave God out of the details of your life,
you are being defiant and rebelling against His authority.

*~*~*

"Yet I want you will, not mine."

Matthew 26:39

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Thought for today....

True patience comes when you wait on God's timing rather than your own.

*~*~*

But if we look forward to something we don't have yet,
we must wait patiently and confidently.

Romans 8:25

Monday, July 22, 2013

Meeting Mary....let the trip begin!

May 5, 2013 - The three of us (Michael, Cindy and I) got up early and were on the road by 6:30, we decided to get a few hours' drive time in and stop for breakfast around 9am.  Today we were driving across the state of Colorado.  We had wanted to eat a good breakfast that would last us until dinner time.  We stopped for breakfast in Breckenridge Colorado at a very quaint restaurant.  The day was beautiful and sunny, no jacket needed.  Mary was to fly into the Denver airport and from there board a smaller plane to take her into Grand Junction.  Her flight was scheduled to land at 4pm in Grand Junction, our goal was to check into the hotel rooms that Mary had booked for us and drop off our luggage, then get to the airport to welcome Mary to our 'First Family Vacation'.  I was so excited to be seeing Mary again and spend valuable time with her.  You may remember that I met Mary for the first time on 10/27/2012, spent the day with her Michael and Cindy then saw Mary once again on 10/29/12.  I talked to Mary on the telephone frequently, but only saw her in-person twice.  Waiting at the airport I found myself mixed with all kinds of emotions: HAPPY, anxious, and apprehensive but mainly apprehension.  I would be spending the next nine days and nights in the same room with my sister whom I had only met face to face twice.  Would we get along in person for that many days?  Would I drive her crazy? Would she drive me crazy? Yes, we are related but would we actually like one another?  I was concerned about this and many other things that my mind conjured up.  After all we are sisters, we have half of the same blood flowing through our veins, yet our relationship had 50 years of “not knowing” one another.  We were raised differently yet in many ways we were raised the same.   Mary's plane was several hours late and our breakfast was wearing off.  I enjoy being in an airport 'people watching'.  I was also enjoying the quite time as it gave me time for prayer and meditation in hopes that this trip would be everything I dreamed it would be.  I found myself taking many deep breaths before Mary’s plane landed.

Finally the arrival/departure board at the airport showed that the flight Mary was on was soon to land.  I could barely breathe.  Who would Mary hug first? All kinds of silly irrelevant thoughts crept into my mind.  Passengers were now exiting the plane and coming towards us in the airport.  There was Mary, she looked great!  She approached the three of us smiling from ear to ear.   Mary approached me with her arms wide open for a hug.  Then Mary hugged Michael and then Cindy.  I offered to carry her 'carry on' as we walked towards the luggage carousel.  Michael grabbed Mary’s luggage off the carousel; we all made small talk and headed to the car.  Mary told us all about the reason why her flight was delayed two hours, technical issues in Denver.  We drove to the hotel so that Mary could unload her luggage and freshen up and then we were going to Main Street in Grand Junction, there were many restaurants with outdoor dining and shops, and there was an art exhibit with art lined up and down the street.  We could not have picked a better time to be in Grand Junction.  A very artsy town, I LOVED IT!

We decided to dine outside and each of us had a Margarita to celebrate Cinco de Mayo and to celebrate that tommorrow would be the start of our trip together.  After dinner we relaxed outside at our table and talked and talked until it was dark outside then headed back to our hotel.  Here is where my apprehensiveness lie.  I was concerned about spending the night with someone I really did not know.  Once we both were in our hotel room I mentioned to Mary as we both got ready for bed that I was apprehensive and explained why I felt that way, that I only met her twice and even though we spoke on the phone there was so much we did not know about one another.  Mary said "Carol, I too am apprehensive".   Once Mary and I said it out loud that we both had concerns the apprehension just drifted away from both of us, never to return again.  Mary and I were together for nine days and nights, only time apart was when we were in the restroom or showering.  We both agreed that we loved one another as roommates but mainly as sisters; our relationship grew so much during this trip. We completely bonded.  There is a saying “You can never love someone as much as you can miss them”.  I finally know what that means, what that really means to me in my life.  I love Michael, I see him every two weeks, he is a wonderful brother and means the world to me.  Mary however, I don’t see as she lives up east, she means everything to me and when apart I miss her and best of all, she misses me too.

All pictures seen in this post were taken the evening of May 5th on Main Street in Grand Junction. 










Sunday, July 21, 2013

Thought...

The good news is that God helps us despite ourselves.
He doesn't help us because we deserve it;
He helps us because He loves us.

*~*~*

"You keep Your promises and show unfailing love
to all who obey You and are eager to do Your will."

2 Chronicles 6:14

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Thought...

Christ's superiority is the cure for your inferiority.

*~*~*

Jesus said, “You’re tied down to the mundane;
 I’m in touch with what is beyond your horizons.
 You live in terms of what you see and touch.
I’m living on other terms.
 I told you that you were missing God in all this.
You’re at a dead end.
If you won’t believe I am who I say I am,
you’re at the dead end of sins.
You’re missing God in your lives.”
"The One who sent me stays with me.
He doesn’t abandon me.
He sees how much joy I take in pleasing him.”

John 8:23-24, 29

Friday, July 19, 2013

Thought...

God is much more than a problem solver.  
He is the eternal, holy, unchangeable, loving,
all-powerful, all-knowing God of the universe.  
 He wants to do more than solve your problems.  
God wants to give you direction and purpose every day of your life.

*~*~*

For who is God except the LORD?  Who but our God is a solid rock?

Psalm 18:31

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Thought...

When you think about settling for less than the best,
 think about what God wants for you.

*~*~*

"For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD.  
"They are plans for good and not for disaster,
 to give you a future and a hope."

Jeremiah 29:11

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Thought...

Rest on God's promises;
 stand behind your own.

*~*~*

And by that same mighty power,
He has given us all of His rich and wonderful promises.

2 Peter 1:4

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Thought...

Seek God and what He wants for you every day,
 and to help you remember,
put His name on your calendar.  
That's the one meeting you don't want to miss.

*~*~*

In the morning you will see the glorious presence of the LORD.

Exodus 16:7

Monday, July 15, 2013

FIRST family vacation...

On May 4, 2013 at 6am my brother (I just love saying that!) Michael, and my sister-in-law, Cindy picked me up to begin our first family vacation. We left our corner of the world and headed out west. I am so happy to be included in the yearly family trip with my siblings, it would not have mattered to me where we were going I was just thrilled to be included and looked forward to bonding with them. And bond we all did! Our road trip to meet Mary in Grand Junction Colorado was FUN! There are no other words to describe it. Cindy brought along with her many CD’s, oldies such as Beetles, Moody Blues, Eagles…music that we all knew, grew up with and could easily sing along too. Carrying a tune is not a talent of mine, I was bashful of singing along but quickly learned that Michael could not carry a tune either, obviously a family trait, so we laughed at how badly we were off key and happily sang along to every song. We would take breaks from the music, talk of current events, Cardinals baseball and several times spoke of our Mother Dorothy. We crossed the border into Colorado close to 5pm on Saturday evening. We stopped in Limon Colorado and checked into our rooms and went to dinner. We spoke of how we all enjoyed our day together and looked forward to Sunday’s adventure of getting up early and driving across the state of Colorado to meet Mary at the airport at 4pm. Here is a picture of Michael and myself entering the beautiful state of Colorado

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Thought



Can you say that you have made God your top priority?  
Does your daily schedule confirm or deny it?

~~~~

He has told you, O man, what is good; 
 And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice,
 to love kindness, 
And to walk humbly with your God?

Micah 6:8

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Happy Birthday Mary....

Happy Birthday to my beautiful SISTER Mary!!! 

 I am so much more complete with you in my life!

If I could have hand picked you to be my sister I would have. 

Love, Carol



You begin to seek God for Who He is
when you stop seeking Him
for what He can do for you.

He prayed,
"O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in all of heaven and earth."

2 Chronicles 6:14