Wordless Wednesday-Happy New Year!

To see other Wordless Wednesday's visit 5 Minutes for Mom and link up!

Super Snapshot Saturday

I love to take pictures!

It's my photo journal of our journey through life.

It all began in...

...and along the way we

built a...

If you like to take pictures,

join in with Angel at Emily Makes 3.

Sunday-Funday!

Keely's doing her Sunday Funday-Getting to Know You. Hop, Mklinky, over, join in and answer this weeks questions.


Today's questions..


1. Middle name?


Marie

2. What do you think is your best asset (physical)?


I would say my legs

3. If you could only eat one type of cuisine for a year, what would it be (Mexican, American,Chinese..etc.)?


Living 2 miles from Mexico, definately Mexican

4. Walmart or Target?


Target, but shop Walmart/Sam's Club for staples.







5. Favorite State besides the one you live in?


Hawaii


6. What side of the bed do you sleep on, left or right?


Right

7. King or Queen size bed?


Cal-King

8. Beer or wine?


Neither, might have A glass of wine or A bottle of beer a few times a year, but thats about all.


9. Water..ice-cold or room temp?


Prefer it on ice, but sometimes one must settle.


10. Christmas..love it or hate it?

Absolutely, definately, LOVE it!
 
Now it's your turn, and don't forget to link up to MannLand5.

How to Donate Soda Can Tabs

After I read Welcome to the Nuthouse's post on the Yoplait tops, I wanted to share something we did for years at my hubby's parents house.

They, along with our Uncle on Orcas Island, collected soda pop tops for the Lions Club. Us, along with our children, knew when a soda was finished, you rinsed it out, popped the top off, put the top in a mason jar and the can in the recycle bin. Unc for Orc would come down every fall and collect the tops.

I love the memories! After reading the article below, I think we will pick up where they left off.

How to Donate Soda Can Tabs eHow.com

Live today because tomorrow is not promised...

I love the emails I receive, here's one I would like to share.

One day a woman's husband died, and on that clear, cold morning, in the warmth of their bedroom, the wife was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't "anymore". No more hugs, no more special moments to celebrate together, no more phone calls just to chat, no more "just one minute.." Sometimes, what we care about the most gets all used up and goes away, never to return before we can say good-bye, say "I love you."


So while we have it, it's best we love it, care for it, fix it when it's broken and heal it when it's sick. This is true for marriage......And old cars... And children with bad report cards, and dogs with bad hips, and aging parents and grandparents. We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it.


Some things we keep -- like a best friend who moved away or a sister-in-law after divorce. There are just some things that make us happy, no matter what.

Life is important, like people we know who are special.. And so, we keep them close!

I received this from someone who thought I was a 'keeper'! Then I sent it to the people I think of in the same way.... Now it's your turn to send this to all those people who are "keepers" in your life, including the person who sent it, if you feel that way. Suppose one morning you never wake up, do all your friends know you love them?

I was thinking...I could die today, tomorrow or next week, and I wondered if I had any wounds needing to be healed, friendships that needed rekindling or three words needing to be said.

Let every one of your friends know you love them, even if you think they don't love you back.

Live today because tomorrow is not promised..

I Heart Faces

While I am confined to bed for a few days, what better way to pass the time but to blog, read blogs, find new blogs...and with the latter, with the help of Emily Makes Three, I found...

Believe me, I AM an AMATURE when it comes to photography, but do love taking pictures of Our Journey Through LIFE with my liitle ol Kodak EasyShare Z1015 IS. Someday I hope for one of those Canon Rebels, but until our remodel is finished, it will have to wait.

Without further ado, my photo for this weeks challenge "Pet's Only" Tucker, our 6 year old, Miniature Chihuahua, who loves going to the NASCAR race's. He love's snuggling in blankets even more.

Who is the Susie in your life?

I received this email and thought I would post it instead of sending it out to other's that had probably already received it. Maybe you have received it also, or have read it before, and if so, then just skip right on past. I am a bit drained and instead of coming up with something of my own, excuse me while I'll cheat, just a little for tonight.

WET PANTS

Come with me to a third grade classroom.


There is a nine year old boy sitting at his desk and all of a sudden, there is a puddle between his feet and the front of his pants are wet. He thinks his heart is going to stop because he cannot possibly imagine how this has happened. It's never happened before, and he knows that when the boys find out he will never hear the end of it. When the girls find out, they will never speak to him again as long as he lives.

The boy believes his heart is going to stop; he puts his head down and prays this prayer, 'Dear God, this is an emergency! I need help now! Five minutes from now I'm dead meat.'

He looks up from his prayer and here comes the teacher with a look in her eyes that says he has been discovered. As the teacher is walking toward him, a class mate named Susie is carrying a goldfish bowl that is filled with water. Susie trips in front of the teacher and inexplicably dumps the bowl of water in the boy's lap.

The boy pretends to be angry, but all the while is saying to himself, 'Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!'

Now all of a sudden, instead of being the object of ridicule, the boy is the object of sympathy. The teacher rushes him downstairs and gives him gym shorts to put on while his pants dry out. All the other children are on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk. The sympathy is wonderful. But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have been his has been transferred to someone else - Susie.

She tries to help, but they tell her to get out. You've done enough, you klutz!'

Finally, at the end of the day, as they are waiting for the bus, the boy walks over to Susie and whispers, 'You did that on purpose, didn't you?' Susie whispers back, 'I wet my pants once too.'

May God help us see the opportunities that are always around us to do good.

Remember.....Just going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in your garage makes you a car. Each and everyone one of us is going through tough times right now, but God is getting ready to bless you in a way that only He can. Keep the faith.

My instructions were to pick four (4) people that I wanted God to bless, and I picked you. Please pass this to at least four (4) people you want to be blessed and a copy back to me.

This prayer is powerful, and prayer is one of the best gifts we receive. There is no cost but a lot of rewards. Let's continue to pray for one another.

The Prayer:

Father, I ask You to bless my friends, relatives and those that I care deeply for, who are reading this right now. Show them a new revelation of Your love and power. Holy Spirit, I ask You to minister to their spirit at this very moment. Where there is pain, give them Your peace and mercy. Where there is self-doubt, release a renewed confidence through Your grace. Where there is need, I ask you to fulfill their needs. Bless their homes, families, finances, their goings and their comings. Amen.

(If the Lord lays upon your heart to send this to more than four '4' people, you are truly blessed)

Day 8 "Trust in the LORD..."

 "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." (Proverbs 3:5-6)

As a Christian, and with the way our economy is, and with  how our Goverment is acting, I find that I am refueled when I TRUST in the LORD!

I need to remind myself, sometimes daily, that it is to be GOD'S way and not the world's way. I pray, "I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness."  (1 Timothy 2:1-2)

Our goverment sometimes see's things in the world's way and it has effected our economy, sometimes for ways other then God intended. I am NOT to pray to our goverment, but I can pray for our goverment that they follow what God would be pleased with. I use to put my faith in my doctor's to heal me or at least find the right treatment. Now I put my faith in God to help them find the best way to treat me. Allowing God to take care of what we have no control over has given us more life then we (or the doctors) thought possible. Allowing God to present what is best for our busisness has now shown growth that we couldn't have done without him.

I use to want what other's had, always trying to turn what God had provided into something else. I now see it so differently. I now care for and praise what God has allowed me to have. For if not his will, I would not have what I DO have. We use to say we worked hard for what we have. Now I say, God allowed us to work hard for what HE wanted us to have. God saw that we could be trusted with very little, enjoy it in His glory, and he has rewarded us with much.

"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?" (Luke 16:10-12)

Day 5 "For nothing is impossible with God." ( Luke 1:37)

In the last couple of days we found out that my brother and his son were not able to make the Nascar race at PIR as planned. This left us with 2 tickets unsold. We quickly posted them on Craigslist, but upon doing so, saw that there we many more people selling tickets as well. Feeling like our would not sell, we turned to pray and what was God's direction for us and these tickets.

Yesterday my hubby had a thought, and a good thought it was, it was from God. The more I prayed on the matter, the more he guided us to do something for someone else.

We have a dear friend who is in stage 4 breast cancer. She has always wanted to go to a Nascar race and God has provided her with this gift. I just got though talking with her and she is very excited. Please keep her in your prays so that she feels her best for this wonderful experience. I did not tell her, but I will also give her my Hot Lap tickets so she can experience how fast they go on the track. We have done it before and enjoy making others happy. It will be a wonderful surprise.

Claudia's Blog: God’s Timing: Trusting It

Claudia's Blog: God’s Timing: Trusting It

"Then God said, 'Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about'" (Gen 22:2).


Have you ever wanted something so bad that you would do almost anything to get it? Have you ever gotten so close to fulfilling a dream only to have it disappear right before your eyes? Such was the case for Abraham.

God promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations. He would have a son. However, Abraham panicked when Sarah aged beyond child bearing years and tried to help God by birthing Ishmael through Sarah's servant, who was not the promised son. Eventually, Isaac was born, who was the promised son.

However, God tells Abraham to sacrifice his only son on an altar to demonstrate his obedience to God. Truly, this is one of the hardest instructions given to one of God's people in all of scripture. It compares only to the Heavenly Father sacrificing His own Son. God intervenes and allows a ram to get caught in the bushes nearby, symbolizing the Lamb of God as a prophetic sign of what is to take place in the future.

God often births a vision in our lives only to allow it to die first before the purest version of the vision is manifested. This has happened several times in my own journey. Oswald Chambers observes, "God's method always seems to be vision first, and then reality, but in between the vision and the reality there is often a deep valley of humiliation. How often has a faithful soul been plunged into a like darkness when after the vision comes the test. When God gives a vision and darkness follows, waiting on God will bring you into accordance with the vision He has given if you await His timing. Otherwise, you try to do away with the supernatural in God's undertakings. Never try to help God fulfill His word."*

When God's vision is finally birthed, nothing will stop it. Our job is to allow God to birth His vision through us His way and in His timing."