Happy Thanksgiving!

A Happy Thankgiving to all! Our family of 5 will celebrate here at home, then travel to the hospital to spend some time with my Mother-in-Law who is doing well in rehab after accidentally cutting her foot off over a week ago.

Our menu for today:

Grilled Ribeye steaks (Bought on sale!)
Yeast rolls - from scratch
Mac and cheese - from scratch
Butter beans - home grown, picked, and frozen
Deviled Eggs - from scratch
Pecan pie - from scratch
Cherry Cheese cake - from a box mix :-)

Yum! Yum!

I'd better get back to cooking now.

My Mother-in-Law Accidentally Cut Off Her Foot

Now, if that doesn't get your attention, I don't know what will. My First reaction was WHAT?!?!?!?! I mean, how does one accidentally cut off their foot?!?!?!? Well, some of the details are sketchy, but here's what I think I know: She had just hooked her little dog to a cable in the yard before going to revival. Somehow the cable unknowingly got wrapped around her foot and she drove off severing her foot just above the ankle. I'm not exactly sure how help came, but Johnny (Raymond's step-brother) managed to get her to the hospital in Poplarville, MS. (Which is a very, very small community hospital.) From there she was air-lifted to Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg where they did surgery to clean up the wound. They were unable to re-attach her foot. She received 3 units of blood. The family was able to see her before surgery. She has a long road of recovery ahead of her both physically and emotionally. The doctor said there will most probably be other surgeries. I'm not sure what this means for our immediate family. She will need care for a long time. Will she come live with us? I'm more than willing for that to happen, but we have to move from this house by the middle of January. We have a couple of temporary options, but we need permanent ones. Raymond has a temporary job, but we need a permanent one. It has been a very, very trying few months for us. Yet God has generously provided our needs and I'm more than grateful to everyone He's used to do that. I keep hearing God say, "I'm in control. Wait on Me." When I got in my car last night to drive home "Everlasting God" was playing on KLOVE. If you know that song it says, "Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord." That's what I'm trying to do today.

Huh?

I read a CNN article today that begs for comment. It seems that D.C. buses will soon be carrying this message: "Why believe in god? Just be good for goodness' sake". Believe it or not, that's not what I'm commenting on.

Top of the page bullets summarize the article. The last point being: "Humanist spokesman says agnostics, atheists feel isolated during holidays" This is where I go, "Huh?" I mean, why should agnostics and atheists feel isolated during the holidays? Let's face it, Thanksgiving and Christmas (or Hanukkah or Ramadan for that matter) aren't their holidays! There is no one to thank on Thanksgiving and no one to celebrate on Christmas if there's no God. Why should they feel left out or even care?

My family and I lived in a Muslim part of Europe for two years. We never felt "isolated" during their holidays. Though we are Christians we'd sometimes be invited to share in a special meal (and awesome goodies such as baklava!!) for friendship's sake, but never did we feel isolated. Why should we? We weren't Muslim; those weren't our holidays!

America is a free country; if people don't want to believe in God (or don't care about God) that's their right. But don't whine about the holidays! After all, the word "holiday" is a contraction of "holy" and "day". If someone doesn't believe in anything holy, then they've missed out in more ways than one. That's their choice. If they happen to be included in the festivities of people of faith, then do it for friendship's sake and be blessed. Ooops...can't be blessed if there is no "Higher Power".

I'm off my soap box now.

God's Word to me today via Kay Arthur

"O precious One, whatever your need, learn to run first to the out-stretched arms of Calvary where you will find His all-sufficient grace, grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 416). Then wait...wait on the Lord, that He might provide in His perfect way and His perfect time all your need. Not to do so is to end up in the horrible distress that comes when we will not walk in obedience of faith."

from Teach Me How to Live A second devotional journey with Kay Arthur

Interesting Sight...

We had rain last night. Today there was a bouquet of mushrooms in the yard.

Isn't it cool?

Any ideas on what kind this is? (Comes from one root.) Could it be the Armillaria tabescens?

A Christmas Star

A couple of years ago a dear friend of the family made an origami star out of $1.00 bills. It was so cool! I decided it would be a great Christmas ornament if done in yellow paper.

I was right! Isn't it cute?

I just cut some paper the size of dollar bills and then followed the video I found.

Enjoy!


5 Dollar Origami Star -

You can turn the sound down as it only has written instructions. The music is just background.

Giving Thanks

My friend Amy over at Dandelion Seeds is "Giving Thanks Every Day" for her blessings. I'm not organized enough to post every day, but I'd like to post some things I'm thankful for as they come to mind. I've been in the doldrums lately, but really shouldn't be with so many blessings. Here I go:

1. I talked with two ladies today who lost husbands when they were young. I'm thankful I still have my wonderful husband of 24 years.

2. Our family was blessed with a very generous, anonymous, monetary gift today.

3. A friend blessed me with a very thoughtful and creative gift today.

4. I went to vote with my son today...it was his first time.

5. This morning on my walk I saw a large flock of birds fly over in perfect "V" formation. It made me feel peaceful to know such organization couldn't just have "happened".

6. We've been invited to eat supper with some dear friends tonight.

**to be continued**

Your Grace is Enough...Or is it????

2 Corinthians 12:9 But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

**Pretend you hear Chris Tomlin singing “Your Grace is Enough” in the background. If you have a hard time pretending you can click here.**

I love this song.

I've sung it with the radio while driving to Wal-mart.

I've sung it live in Daytona Beach, Florida with Chris Tomlin. (I was part of the audience.)

I've sung it with my praise team as we led Sunday morning worship.

I've sung it in my head as I've completed chores around the house.

Maybe you have too. It's a catchy tune reminding us of Paul's great declaration of God's sufficient grace in 2 Corinthians 12:9.

I have no doubt that in reality all we truly need is God's grace. He said it Himself: My grace is sufficient for you. And God does not lie. He knows that the absolutely worst thing that can happen to us is hell, and His grace and brutal sacrifice offer us deliverance from that. My question is: Do we believe it? Do I believe it? There's a lot going on in my life right now, and I'll confess that too often I find myself weak, vulnerable, and complaining. If I was completely honest the song might go something like this:

Your Grace - plus a good paying job, nice house, plenty of food, faithful friends, and healthy bodies - is enough for me. (Hmm...doesn't flow quite as well, does it?)

I'm reminded time and time again: God gave me everything He had when He gave me grace. He gave me Himself. Everything else should pale in comparison.