Seeing His Glory

Happy Wednesday my friends!

This Wednesday is a little different at our house. My son left this morning with his grandparents to go to a cousin's wedding out of state. I am not nervous. I know he is in good hands. But would you please say a prayer for protection while they travel? I would greatly appreciate it!

For those of you who do not know, I work with my husband and my in-laws at our family business. I usually work very limited part-time hours. Since my mother-in-law is gone, I have to work in her absence. That means I was up and out of the house by 8:30 this morning. I am not used to that anymore. I'm not sure how you ladies work full-time and run a household. I used to do it. But I don't think I could anymore ;)

Enough blabbering...Even though things are different here, it is still time for Word-Filled Wednesday, which is being hosted this week by my sweet friend, Amydeanne @ The 160 Acre Woods.

The purpose of Word filled Wednesday is to share God’s word (no famous quotes or other literature — only the beautiful word of our Father) through photo’s & a Bible verse!




I am posting a repeat for WFW. I had something else I wanted to post. But this scripture kept coming to mind instead. I hope it blesses you as much as it has blessed me this morning.

Praise be to His glorious name forever,

may the whole earth be filled with His glory.

Psalm 72:19

I pray that whatever you are facing today my friend, you would be able to see His glory. May He give you the strength and the grace to praise His name despite the circumstances, despite the problems, despite the situations. Know that His glory never ceases and His mercies are new every morning. And I pray that as you see His glory around you today, may your Father in Heaven remind you just how much He loves you and just how special you are to Him.

Take care my sweet friends!

Happy WFW!

Blessed Assurance

Happy Monday my friends! I hope you had a great weekend celebrating the Independence Day with your family. If you are not American, I hope you had a great weekend anyway ;)

But it is Monday and that means it's time for our favorite meme, Making Your Home Sing Mondays hosted by my sweet friend, Nan @ Momstheword.



I woke up from a dream this morning that left me thinking about the past. Then I had an email from a dear friend during that time of my life. I am thankful for my friend's email and her concern about us. But between the two, it left me feeling a little bit sad.

I was reminded of a time in our lives when life seemed easier and not so stressful. Yes, there were problems. But they weren't as consuming as the problems we face today.

It's easy to live in that past. It's easy to think about the "what ifs" or the "what might have beens". It's difficult to think about the present. It's difficult to focus on the problems of today and not want to go back.

Unfortunately life doesn't work that way.

We do have to face today.

We do have to live in the present.

Paul set the example for us when he said, "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

That is the example I want to follow this week. I want to focus on the blessings of the present. But more than that, I want to honor my Father in Heaven. I want to keep pressing in and pressing up knowing that His future is much better than the past.

I may not understand the present.

I may not always like it.

But I have learned over and over in my life that God has a purpose. I know that His promises of Jeremiah 29:11 are true. I know that His plans are for good and not for evil. I know that He gives us a hope and a future.

So I am going to trust.

I am going to trust that THIS present is in God's hands. THIS present has a purpose for the future. THIS present is for His greater glory.

As I have typed this, the words of Blessed Assurance have gently started playing in my heart.

This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.

I pray that you have Blessed Assurance today my friend.

I pray that you know the love of the Father who loves you so dearly that He sent His only son to die on the cross for you. May you know that you can trust Him with your past, with your present and with your future. May you know that He has a plan for you. He has not forgotten you. He has not abandoned you. He knows you by name and He is working out the future just for you. All you have to do is trust Him my friend. Simmply trust Him.

I pray each of you have a great week praising our Savior all the day long!

Don't forget to visit Nan for more Making Your Home Sing Mondays.

Take care my friends,

Fifteen Years Ago

Fifteen years ago today I married my best friend.

I woke with a sense of excitement.

I dressed in a beautiful white dress.

I walked down the aisle on my Dad's arm.

I met the man of my dreams at the altar.

Then I said, "I do."

At that moment two became one.

Together we walked back down the aisle.

Together we started a new life.

Together we've never looked back.

Sweetheart, I may not remember many of the details of that day.

However I do remember the feelings, the feelings of absolute peace, joy, happiness and love.

People kept telling me that I shouldn't get married at 19. They said I was too young and that I should live a little. I didn't listen to them. I knew that I was doing what God had called me to do. I have to admit I didn't completely understand it. Getting married at 19 was not in my plans. But I knew it was in God's plan and that was all I needed to know.

I did know something else, though.

I knew that I loved you with all of my heart.

Over the last 15 years, that love has grown as we have walked this journey called life together. I'm so glad I didn't listen to those naysayers. God knew what He was doing. I could not have picked a better husband on my own.

Every day you make me feel special.

Every day you make me feel loved.

Every day you make me feel like your one and only princess.

You have truly shown me the meaning of unconditional love. Thank you. Thank you for all that you do for me. Thank you for all that you are for me. I hope you know just how happy you make me. I love you sweetheart.

Happy You and Me Day!

And thank you my dear blog readers for celebrating this day with us. If you are a new reader and missed the story of our meeting and wedding, you can read it HERE.

I do have an apology to make. Real life has taken over blog life lately and I have not had time to visit with many of you. I have well over 200 unread posts in my reader at the moment. If I have not visited you lately, know that I have not forgotten you. I think about you and pray for you often. Hopefully between painting the house and celebrating Independence Day (not to mention my anniversary ;), I will be able to have some time to visit this weekend. Because I sure do miss you!

Take care my sweet friends!

And if you are a fellow American, Happy Independence Day!

Singing off Key

Happy Monday my dear blog friends!

Since it is Monday that means it's time for Making Your Home Sing Mondays hosted by my sweet friend, Nan @ Momstheword.



The last two weeks, I have started a MYHSM post and was not able to finish them. Hopefully this week will be different. Hopefully ;)

I love MYHSM because it's a great time for confessions. And we all know how I like to keep it real, right? Today is no exception.

This Monday I have to confess that my house isn't singing very well.

The harmony is all messed up and it's off key.

We are in the middle of several projects and looks pretty bad.

We are still working on the outside of the house. We haven't really made it much farther than this POST. If you missed this POST, we are painting the outside of our house.

Our neighbor did get all the woodwork replaced. But now there is sawdust, left over wood pieces and all the paraphanalia that comes with major house projects all over the front porch. And let's not talk about the piles of discarded wood in the yard.

Inside the house is not much better.

In the living room, which also doubles as our school room, I am sorting through books. I am trying to decide which ones to keep and which ones to sell. So there are books everywhere. I would take a picture and show you. But I am not THAT honest ;) BTW, if you are interested in any homeschool or adult audio books, email me (aliciathesnowflake at gmail dot com) and I'll happily send you the info.

I am also rearranging furniture in the living room. It feels very tight and cramped. We use this room ALOT and I would like to make it feel less cramped. So I am trying to change out bigger end tables for smaller ones. You can just imagine the mess that is creating, especially with the books ALL over the place.

Then there's our bedroom. This weekend we bought a new set of mattresses, which we desperately needed. The problem is we decided to upgrade from a queen to a king size bed. Since the new bed is bigger than the old, all of the other furniture is spread out. So now I need to do some rearranging in there as well.

The other problem is that we haven't found a bed that we like. So our mattresses are just sitting on the floor right now. All the storage that was underneath the bed, is now scattered around the room. It is mostly on top of the new area rug that I bought trying to flatten it out. So my plastic rollaround containers that contain my shoes and some book boxes are in the middle of my bedroom. Are you imagining this mess, yet?

I really should stay home and finish listing books on ebay, finish rearranging furniture in the living room and the bed room...not to mention clean the bathrooms. But today is not the day. I really need to go to the office and do some things there.

So I have a decision to make.

I could either worry and fret about the state of my house or I could choose to ignore it. I rather like that last option better don't you? Well, I'm not really going to ignore it. But I am also not going to stress about it either.

We as wives and moms set the tone and the tune in our house. We can either make it sing a happy tune or a distressed tune. The difference is our attitude. How are we going to approach the mess?

This week I am going to approach my mess with a light heart, realizing that I cannot get it all done in a day or maybe even a week. But it will get done. Then hopefully as it gets done, without my stressing over it, my house will slowly start singing a happy tune and it won't be off key any more!

How about you?

What are you doing to make your home sing this week? Go visit Nan and join in the fun. Making Your Home Sing Mondays is always a great way to encourage ourselves in our most important job...taking care of our families.

Until next time...

Take care my friends!

And I hope you have a great week!




I did manage to get this post finished. Aren't you impressed? At least something is done ;)

Friday Photo Flashback

Whew! Can you believe it's Friday already?

Me neither!

It just proves the old adage...

the older you get...

the more time flies!

But since it is Friday, that means it's time for Friday Photo Flashback hosted by my sweet friend, Alicia @ More Than Words.

Friday Photo Flashback is a great time to pull out all of those pre-digital pictures and share them. So go visit Alicia and join in the fun as we laugh at old pictures of each other...oh no, I meant as we celebrate the past!

I decided to go way back for this picture.

This is my first grade school picture, it was probably taken in 1980 or 1981.




Did you notice my lovely nose?

We were taking my younger sister to the doctor and it was very cold outside. It was so cold that the front deck was very icy. Since I have always been known for my grace, what did I do? I beautifully fell right down the stairs and busted my nose.

Of course, it was the day before picture day. Of course ;) When else would be a great time to fall down the stairs and bust your nose, right?

Oh and of course, it was also one of the few times that my mother could actually afford to buy my school pictures and had already made plans to buy them. Of course ;)

Aaaaahhhh the memories :o)

Now go visit Alicia and join in the fun as we laugh at our funny old pictures...oh, I mean as we celebrate the past!

Take care my sweet friends!

Our Fortress in the Rain

It's Wednesday, which means it is also time for one of my favorite memes, Word Filled Wednesday hosted by Amydeanne of The 160 Acre Woods. The purpose of Word Filled Wednesday is to share God’s word (no famous quotes or other literature — only the beautiful word of our Father) through photo’s & a Bible verse!




It was a dreary day when I took this picture. The sky was full of rain clouds. Sometimes there was a light mist in the air. Other times, the rain came down quite heavily. It felt like the rain would never stop.

Sometimes life can feel that way.

It seems like no matter what we do or how hard we try, the problems keep coming. Some days it's small things like a broken glass or a bounced check. Other days, it's major problems such as a blown engine or even a lost job. Then there are days where everything seems to go wrong and all we want to do is run and hide.

The good news is we can.

We serve a mighty God who is our fortress and our rock.

He is our deliverer, in whom we can take refuge. It doesn't mean the problems go away. But it does mean that He gives us the grace to walk through them. He helps us to put them in perspective and reminds us Who is in control. And when we remember Who is in control, the rain doesn't seem quite so heavy.

For more inspiration this Word Filled Wednesday, please visit Amydeanne at The 160 Acre Woods.

Take care my sweet friends!

Celebrating Father's Day with a Flashback

My sweet friend Alicia (who has a really cool name ;) at More Than Words hosts this wonderful meme, Friday Photo Flashback where we pull out all of our pre-digital camera pictures. We have a great time reliving everyone's old memoriers. So hop on over to Alicia's place and join in the fun!

In honor of Father's Day, I thought I would pull out one of my favorites. This is my husband and our son. This picture was taken May 16, 1997, two days after our son's birth.



Sweetheart, please forgive me for posting this picture. I know you don't like pictures of yourself. But I want you to know how very special you are to me.

Do you remember when we first brought this little fellow home? We were so enamored with him. He was our everything. He still is in many ways.

People kept telling us how much he would change our lives. They were right. But it was a good change. I think he has made us both better people. He has definitely put more fun and adventure into our lives.

Now he is turning into a young man right before our eyes. He is intelligent, thoughtful and loving. Sweetheart, you had a lot to do with that. I know you don't think so, but you are a wonderful father. You put your heart into everything you do and raising our son is no different. I think he is your finest achievement yet.

What does the kid say?

He says, "You're the best!"

So sweetheart, thank you for all that you do for him and for me. You are a great father and a wonderful husband. You give us your all. May we give you as much happiness as you give us.

Oh and one more thing...I know you are probably thinking how young you look in that picture and how much older you look now. But honey, no matter how gray your hair is or how many wrinkles are on your handsome face, you will always be that young guy in my eyes. Besides as you said to me those many long years ago...

Grow old with me,
The best is yet to be!

So Happy Father's Day my love...from me and "the kid"!

Thank you, my dear readers, for taking a moment to celebrate Father's Day with me. Please know that in honor of Father's Day, I am going to take some time away from blogging. Hopefully, I will be back in time for Making Your Home Sing Mondays.

In the meantime, I hope each of you have a wonderful and blessed weekend celebrating the fathers in your life.

Take care my sweet friends!