Grateful

Even with all my whining and complaining, I realize that I am very blessed.
I have three children that are still home, I know where they are, I know who their friends are.  I know what they are doing.  They aren't on drugs, they don't drink, and they aren't having premarital sex.  Their relationships with God may be rocky, but they haven't given up on Him altogether.
We may not stay in a mansion on a hill, but we have a roof over our heads and we are together.  My health may not be the best, but I'm still alive.  None of us wears the latest fashions, but we have clothes and we can crawl in our beds at night and sleep.
I may not have an income right now, but God has never let us go without.  Every bill paid, food to eat, etc.
So today, I just wanted to express my gratitude.

Blessings...

Amarian Derrayl Randel

This little guy is the sweet blessing we have been praying for.  My Great-Nephew!!!  He will be staying within our family and not adopted.  We are praising God for answering prayers!!!  He was born on Tuesday, October 18th and weighed 7lbs 4oz.  He looks just like his daddy and big sister.  I'm in love all over again!!!!!

Anonymous...and Lifestyle Changes

God simply amazes me more and more and It has to do with the simple fact that He is good!!!  Since I have made up in my mind that I'll do my best not to worry, just pray and trust God to do exactly what He says He will do, He has been blessing my socks off left and right.  Last week I checked the mail and to my amazement, there was a money order in the mail from someone in Florida.  I have no clue who sent it, I have no idea at all.  I did make sure it was a legitimate postal money order and after verifying that, we headed to purchase groceries, much needed toiletries, and paid a bill!!!  I had no clue how we were going to take care of any of that prior to that, but God had already worked it out!  So to who ever anonymous is.....I thank you with a sincere heart and Praise the Lord for your willingness to bless us in such an awesome way.

A sweet friend and I were talking and we both agree, if the body of Christ would step up to the plate, I don't believe we would have any Christians struggling in this nation.  Single moms would be able to fulfill their calling to stay home and raise up godly seeds.  And then, think of the testimony that would be to non believers...no brother or sister in Christ going to the government for housing, food, or medical expenses...
Now that would be awesome and amazing in and of itself and YES a mighty testimony to the world!!!

You know I do a lot of reading and many times I happen upon someone's blog and have no idea how I found that blog, but am ever grateful that I did.  Well, last night was no different.  I have purposed in my heart to make some changes for myself.  Some of it has to do with the economy and the fact that I am still unemployed.  Yet some of it has to do with the fact that I just want to live a healthier simpler life if at all possible.
So I've gone back to drinking green smoothies every morning and it has helped to cut my cravings and I find at lunch time I'm really not hungry and don't start getting hungry until around 5ish...well, dinner is at 6 so I usually drink a tall 44 oz of water and eat dinner at 6.  Since I'm on a serious budget, my smoothies are basic.  water to cover the blades in my blender, 2 handfuls of spinach or lettuce (green or red leaf), 1 cup frozen fruit, 1 cup plain yogurt.  Quick and simple yummy breakfast, followed by a large cup of ice water.  I've increased my water intake throughout the day as well.  In the last 3 months, I've switched from disposable pads to cloth pads and just in the last 2 weeks I switched from toilet paper to cloth wipes (I buy a small pack of toilet paper now for certain needs in the restroom, but that 4 pack should last me for a time).  I just made my first batch of deodorant and let me tell you it's been 2 days and I love it already.  I've been wanting to make the switch, but I've been a bit chicken!  I also tried another thing suggested from this blog and washed my hair with ivory soap...oh yea, I've switched from the fancy soaps back to ivory.  I've used dove for as long as I can remember, but found in the last 2 months or so it was beginning to cause me to itch like no one's business!  I digress.  So the reason I washed my hair with ivory soap, is that between my 2 daughters and I, the shampoo is gone in a month.  They simply use too much.  I did an experiment and bought everyone their own bottle of shampoo, the same size and my sons lasted the longest of course, then mine, but the girls were out of shampoo in 3 weeks.  So, I tried washing my hair with the ivory soap and it cleaned it very well and then made it feel like a dry mess, but I applied conditioner in it and it is just fine and very manageable.  I have used the apple cider vinegar as a conditioner before and loved the way it worked, so after we have used the remaining 3 bottles of conditioner in my home, I will be buying apple cider vinegar from that point on.  I had already been making my laundry soap so no changes there.  I have one thing I just have not been able to give up and that's the bleach.  I don't even use it on our clothes anymore, just to clean with, but I'm noticing it is causing me to have more headaches and it's burning my eyes and nose and that's just with a little bit being used.  So I'm sure that will be next.  I'm in search of a liquid dish soap replacement for hand washing dishes.  I've gone to using coconut oil in my bath water as a moisturizer....love the way it feels on my skin and I don't even have to use lotion when I get out and it only takes a little....1 TBSP!!!!  I also use coconut oil on my face.  I've weeded out hair grease and simply use a mixture of coconut oil and olive oil on my hair.  And with those few changes just for my hair, it is growing by leaps and bounds!!!

Please share any ideas you have or come up with that I can give a try.  I'm all about saving money and living healthier!!!

He Cares for Small Things Too...

My children and I have been reading through the Bible together, along with our church family.  We are now reading through the book of Daniel.  As we are reading, I am learning great truths and drawing ever closer to My Father.  It is an amazing feeling of peace and calm.  However, as we are reading, songs I remember from a young girl kept popping into my head.
When I was a little girl, we went to church for the big holidays.  We did attend regularly for a while, but my mom was a nurse and as a single parent with the ever changing hours, our attendance began to taper off.  When my brother left home, he was in search of God.  Some horrible things had happened in his life and he was having a hard time trusting God and yet he knew his answers were wrapped up in God.  So he began a journey that led him into a couple of cults, but he had the protection of God and fled from those.  He then found himself among a group of Christians that was able to help him find some answers.  There was still a lot of hypocrisy within this group and he did eventually leave it too, but before he did, he bought me a gift.  This gift was MY first MAJOR introduction to God.  I listened to that cassette tape daily until it would no longer play and whenever I read certain stories within the Bible, I begin to hum these songs that helped me learn of the truths of God long before I ever opened a Bible and read it for myself.
I have been looking for this book and cassette for many years; at least since I was about 14 years old.  I have searched high and low looking, but to no avail.  All I had in my head and heart were tunes.  I could remember a few words, but I could not remember titles at all.
Today was one of those days after our reading that one of the songs popped into my head and I began to hum along.  Then I began to search through google trying desperately hard to locate this gift..... Just as I was about to give up, and I did say Lord I'm never going to find this am I?  Then I prayed, Lord please let me find this, it may be very small, but this means so much to me.  At that moment, the very first song on the list came to mind, along with words.  WOULDN'T YOU KNOW IT, THOSE WORDS WERE ACTUALLY THE TITLE TO THE ENTIRE MUSICAL!!!!!!!!!!  I began to search frantically for it and after only 3 minutes of additional searching, I found it!!!!  All I could do was shout praises and thanks to God and tears streaming down my face.  My kids thought I was crazy and that something must be really wrong with me, but they will never understand the treasure within this children's musical.  I loved God then with a child's heart of purity.  This was the best moment of my childhood and I had lost all touch with it.  Now, I was in touch with it once again.  I hope to purchase it very soon and share it with my nephews and nieces and give them an awesome introduction to this Great God we serve.  TIME TUNNEL when you scroll down, it's the second book on the list and you can listen to clips of each song!!!!

Quirky Denim...

Yesterday I completed a quilt for one of my daughters.  She's all original and has very much an out of the box personality.  The pictures below are of her completed quilt and yet it's not complete.  It has to be washed and dried several times so that it will fray around all the edges and each block.  I pieced together the back to match her personality....quirky (in a good way).  She loved it and I'm pleased with it as well.

I don't have the batting to complete the other 5 quilts I have waiting.  So today's project is to make a fitted sheet for my king size bed.  This will be fun!!!  Pictures soon to come.

Front

Back

Embroidered date and signature on lower back corner.

Appliqued name on front lower corner.

Wednesday Night Bible Study 4-27-11

Last nights Bible Study was eye opening for me and I just wanted to share my notes.

James 1 (BOLD is my translations for better understanding)
 1 James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
      To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings.

      2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, (count it as a positive thing even though it's a negative experience) 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

      5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

      9 But the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position (position of being a child of God); 10 and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away.11 For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away.

      12 Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.


FROM CRISIS TO THE CROWN


James 1:2 - Trials in the will of God are to be celebrated, your faith is being tested.
James 1:3-4 - Finish the exam. (I've wondered all this time why I keep getting the same issues to arise in my life.  Could it be that before I completed the exam I gave up?
James 1:5 - Ask for wisdom (the skill to apply Biblical truths to practical life).  Look for wisdom and expect it!!!
Wisdom is not given to deliver you from the trials, but to navigate you through the trials.
Ask for wisdom in faith, no doubting. (Now all this time I thought this was pertaining to the "feeling" of doubt.  I was so overwhelmed with peace as Pastor Evans shared a nugget with us last night.)  In this context, doubting is referring to questioning God's Character and WHO HE IS!


Don't weight your view or others views and opinions with God's view or opinion.


James 1:9-10 - Praise for what God is doing.  Move yourself mentally out of your circumstances and praise for the spiritual growth during this time.  Don't look at your circumstances or lack, but glory in the fact that you are a child of God.  Take your eyes off of stuff and put your identity in Christ.  


Know that when you are going through a trial, God is showing you special attention.  He is developing something in you that you lack.  (Thank you God for all this special attention you have been giving me!!!!!!!)


James 1:12 - In the end, after you have persevered and endured under trials, after your faith has been tested and you have grown in that area that God was stretching you in spiritually, know that God has a promise of a crown of life waiting for you!!!!






I pray this blesses someone else.  I know I was literally sitting on the edge of my seat last night, as I felt God was speaking directly to me.  So today has been filled with praise.  I've been praising Him through these various trials, but I've also asked many questions too.  I think I'll set the questions to the side for a while and rejoice in that fact that I AM HIS CHILD and in WHO HE IS!!!!  Because as I look through His Word....if God said it, I believe it, and that settles it!!!!!  Listen to this video, but please pay close attention to the words towards the end!!!!!  Be Blessed

miracles Do Still Happen, Even When You Doubt! PART 3

OK, Miracles keep happening left and right!!!!!  God is soooooooo awesome!

I went to Walmart and made the $900 payment on the mortgage via money gram.  About 45 min. later the mortgage company called.  Remember now I still owed $145 by the 31st to be caught up.
He said Ms. Williams, I just want to let you know we appreciate your effort.  If you can just get $76 to us by the 31st, I'll put it in writing that you are in the clear and January will start you off fresh!!!!!!!!!

WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOO Can we say PRAISE GOD!!!!??????

So Very Thankful

I know it's not Thanksgiving or time for my Thankful Thursday post, but I am just so filled with gratitude that I wanted to tell you all and the other many families that have blessed us with prayer and monetary gifts just how much I appreciate you.  There are many days when I think about how each of you has blessed me and many of you I don't even know.  I'm grateful to the body of Christ, but I'm even more grateful for my Savior and all He has done for me.

Have you ever been so full of gratitude that there just weren't words to express how you feel?  I feel that if I keep going, I'll be weeping.  I am blessed beyond measure!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Winner of Give Away

I'm delighted as punch that there is a winner over at Love Abounds At Home.  The blessed winner Nabila not only wins a beautiful maternity apron from my dear friend, but she also wins these lovely items as well..... 

Nabila, I'll get your information from Love Abounds at Home and get this in the mail to you right away!!!!  What an awesome blessing!

Weary...Depression...Blessings...

And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. Galatians 6:9

Sadly, this is where I find myself today.  Among the praise, the provisions, the blessings...I find myself weary with our housing situation.  We still don't have a deadline and I am ever thankful for that.  We still have a roof over our heads and that is a blessing all on its own.
I'm one of those people that likes to have all my ducks in order and the limbo setting is nerve racking to me.  One of those, if I at least knew we would have a home to move into soon, then I'd have at least one answer.  I could move my mind to something else.

I know God hears me, I know the answer is already done in heaven and must come forth on earth.  I'm in the phase of wondering "how long"?  Everything just seems to be in limbo and I don't do well without stability and routine.  I'm wondering if I am out of the Will of God because I have no peace, only chaos and uncertainty.

I'm also dealing with some depression.  I feel it creeping in slowly.  I've been doing my best to think of the months in numbers and not names, but then someone reminded me that this is November and with that came the realization that we are coming up on the 1st Thanksgiving without my mom and then just weeks later the 1st yr. of her death.  I'm dreading it all and I'm wishing these months would just vanish away for this year.

With all of that going on, we have been blessed beyond measure in the last few weeks.  People from all over have blessed us with prayers, finances, and kind words.  I am so thankful for each of them.  This is what the body of Christ is supposed to look like!!!  To see the outpouring from so many has been mind boggling.  I can't even grasp a full understanding of it all.  Thank you just seems so inadequate to express how I feel.  My heart is overwhelmed.  Yet, I praise God for each of you!!!!

Ok, off to kinda think of some gifts for my sisters for Christmas.  I'm thinking lap quilts with some of the scraps I have around here or maybe matching napkins and placemats.  Any ideas?

Happy Birthday Momma!

 She will forever be the queen of my heart. Today she would have been 68 years old and though she is not here for me to tell her Happy Birthday, the feelings are still the same. I miss her more than ever.
If your mom is alive, don't take these moments for granted. If you can't get to her to hug her, at least call her and tell her how much you love her. Don't let a moment pass that you will later regret, cherish her now...time is much too short and gone before you know it.
Mom, I can't believe you are gone, I can't believe I can't walk out my door and see you piddling with your flowers, I can't believe I can't hear your voice or see your smile. Your name was only a glimpse into the jewel that you were. It's been a hard 10 months without you, but I thank you for the YOU I see in us! Your legacy will forever live on and we will always remember to Keep God First!!!!


She was a jewel, FAR ABOVE RUBIES!!!!  She often wondered why her mother named her Ruby (her mother died when she was just 18 months old).  I believe her mother saw the priceless gem that she was.  I'm sure when she met her on Dec. 9, 2009, she asked her.  What a joy that must have been.  


There are so many things I cherish about her.  She loved to live life and she lived it to the fullest.  She was a classy lady!  Her style was all her own and she wowed folks with her cooking!  Man, I can taste all my favorites now.  She was a mom to many all over the world.  Everyone she met would call her momma and she never hesitated to invite them into our home.  For years I said I was looking for that Titus 2 Woman in my life...I missed it, she was there all along.  Now as I look back to how she welcomed people in our home, fed them, nurtured them, and cared for them...she was modeling hospitality.  She wasn't afraid to share Jesus and often said Put God First, though she didn't learn until later in life exactly what that meant or how to do it.  


She was beautiful!  I loved to see peoples faces when they found out how old she was.  HA she never looked her age.  The picture below was her last birthday before she passed...doesn't look a day of 67!  I always thought it funny to watch the men stare at my momma and she never looked back, just kept right on walking as though she didn't notice.  There was never a woman as beautiful to me as she was.  


I love/loved her beyond measure.  I often pray she knew that!  I don't think I said it enough or showed her enough.  I didn't realize time would be so short.  
After losing my brother to Aids, she said she had lost too many children in death and didn't want to lose anymore, we were to bury her, not her bury her children.  Not long after that statement, she went home to be with the Lord.  
No more pain, no more tears, just shouts of joy and laughter!  One day we'll see her again, but until then, she's watching over us and I believe she would be pleased.

RUBY

THE JEWEL IN MY HEART

In honor of my mother, I've launched my Etsy shop.  If you will be a new mother or need a gift for a new mother to be, please consider purchasing one of my items.  There will be several items.  At the moment Nursing Cover ups, but soon I will add burp cloths, bibs, snugglies, crib sheets, and crib quilts.  Check back often!!!!  Blessings

Nephew arriving soon...

God has definitely chosen the birthdate of my nephew.  He will be born sometime today.
We can't wait to see him, but we also wish our mom could meet him too.
Mom would always be the first to hold my sisters babies when they were born...

Ahhhh sweet blessings with the birth of a new babe, mixed with sadness over the death
of our mom...LIFE!!!

ADDENDUM:  Aaron Mark-Anthony
                            4/14/10  3:49 AM
                            6lb 1oz

My Joy

Have I ever shared how much joy my children bring me?

Yes, they argue and disagree and yes I have to referee those disagreements.  But there is something that far out weighs even those...
When I hear their joint laughter over an endeavor they have taken on together, when they are coming up with new skits, when they are standing up for one another against outsiders that try to come against them, when they pray for each other and when one feels sad and the other two are racking their brains trying to figure out why.

Yes, I've been blessed beyond measure with these 3 monumental joys in my life and you know what?  I would NOT trade them for anything in this world.

In our society today, the world would have us to believe that 3 children are more than enough.  That actually we could stop at two if we have a boy and a girl and the only reason to have three might simply be because we had two of the same sex the first two times.  Or society would have us to believe that putting children on hold until a more perfect opportune time comes is more than ok.
Yet when I read my Bible, I read in Psalms 127:3-5  It says that children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.  Like arrows in the had of a warrior are the children of one's youth.  Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!!! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gates.

No, my children are not my regrets, my children are my blessings and I am blessed beyond measure because they are in my life.  My only regret is my choice of closing off my womb and putting a halt to the many blessings God could have given me.  However, that will not stop me from praising Him for the one's He gave me before my poor judgement and decision.

I feel like Mother's Day is every day and today I am abundantly blessed to be their mother!!!

Friends

I had a comment about my post yesterday on Friends/Fellowship.

I wanted to tell her this via email, but was not able to do so...
Then thought, it might be good for others as well.  You never know
who is struggling in various areas with lack of friends as well.

There was a time, not so long ago, when I had friends, but none of them really following Christ.
They were the kind of friends that said all those things that make you feel good, but there was
no meat or substance to it.  You know, the kind that give you the advice "if I were you".
BUT GOD...
I began to pray for godly friends and then began to be more specific in my prayer.
I prayed that God would send godly women into my life that I could call friends.  They wouldn't
tell me what I "wanted" to hear, but would be honest (brutally honest if necessary).  I wanted
friendships that would stand the test of time.  Friends that would understand and be comfortable
with me not liking what they said and even getting upset with them, but strong enough to stick
around and wait for me to come to my senses if need be.  Friends that would give me advice from
the Word of God and lead me back to it if I went astray.
Iron sharpening Iron....that's what I envisioned a godly friend to be and do.

I didn't want weak friends, but friends strong in their faith and doubly strong in their convictions.

It has taken some time, but as I look back over the last 4 years or so, I can see that God has chiseled out
the perfect friends for me.  I don't always agree with them, may not like what they say or do all the time
either, but they are truly my friends...sisters in Christ and they are REAL!!!!

They have cheered with me when things were good, comforted me when things were bad.  They've prayed for me when I couldn't pray for myself, and lifted me up at my lowest points.  They've rejoiced and praised
right along with me.  Given me words of wisdom and always directed me back to the GOOD BOOK.

YET, each of them is different in various ways.  We constantly throw around the phrase "best friend".  These are the bestest friends (I know that's not a word) I could have ever prayed for and I am so very thankful God chose them to be a part of my life on this journey called life.

Angie, Kelly,Jackie, & Christine, you are the ones I prayed for years ago.  The ones God placed in my life for such a time as this...and many years to come.  I wish I could express just how appreciative I am of you and your friendship.  Dare I say best friend?  That truly would not describe what and who you are to me.  In fact, there really are no words.  Thank you!!!  I love each of you to pieces and you are the best you for me!!!

So for those that are praying for those godly women to be a part of their lives...KEEP PRAYING!!!
He does hear you and when He answers, it will be in a mighty way, yet it will be so subtle you won't even realize it at first.

Thank you Father for each of these dear friends and all the other men and women of God you have placed in my life.  Thank you for their character and especially their love for You.  Thank you for their love for me and my family.  Thank you that You dwell so richly and mightily in their hearts and lives.  Cover them with Your love, grace, mercy, and Your hand.  Keep them far from all hurt, harm, or danger.  What the enemy brings into their lives for bad, turn it around for their good and Your glory.  Shine Your face upon them more and more as they continue to draw closer and closer to you.  They are truly far above rubies and for that I thank You.  In Your Precious Son's Name, AMEN.