Have a beautiful and blessed week..

Have a Beautiful and Blessed Week..

Because you are beautifully Made 

By An Awesome Creator ! 

Our God is an Awesome God !

Farmhouse Blessings

Sara

A Grateful Heart ... free fall design

Well we are on countdown week till Thanksgiving ... 

I can't believe Thanksgiving is already here .. it just seems a short while back I was watching fireworks shooting into the night sky and bursting into beautiful color..

And..

Here we are but a few months later and the weather has cooled and the leaves have changed to beautiful fall colors and many have drifted on the fall breeze to the earth below preparing for a long winters nap... 

Well we're not quite to winter yet .. although I hear some of you in the higher elevations of the west and the east coast may have a beautiful blanket of white headed your way pretty soon. 

I personally think I would really enjoy a white Thanksgiving this year .. although  I don't think there's any chance of that happening .. we are having an unusually warm fall here in the Ozarks .. I think today and tomorrow we are looking at breaking records today was 78 degrees here ! Looks like that's about to change Saturday much cooler temps are on the way Hooray !

Well now that we've talked of the weather...

I wanted to offer up a sweet little Thanksgiving Design I created this week. Please feel free to use it for your personal use. Print it out and make a cute poster .. or make some charming ornaments .. whatever you would like or just share on your blog or pinterest page whatever makes your heart happy...

And lets not forget to "Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart ..."

"Give thanks with a Grateful Heart"  ..is one of my favorite sayings I guess that's because it refers to so many scriptures in the Bible .. and a favorite praise song of mine that we sang in church..

Psalm 100:4, ESV Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!

Psalm 107:1, ESV Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!

 And these are the lyrics to the praise song I loved singing so very much ..

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Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks unto the Holy One
Give thanks because He's given
Jesus Christ, His Son

And now let the weak say, "I am strong,"
Let the poor say, "I am rich,"
Because of what
the Lord has done for us.

Give thanks
Give thanks

 

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So do you all have any fun Thanksgiving traditions ... ? One of my family members who has hosted Thanksgiving has a wonderful tradition. They purchased a basic tablecloth many years ago .. and each Thanksgiving whomever is at their table signs the cloth with something they are thankful for as well they have traced the hands of the kids on the tablecloth too. What a fun memory for the kids to look back on .. and to see what they were thankful for and how the size of their hand has grown throughout the years. Traditions are a beautiful thing no matter if you are just on your own or there is 2 or 3 or a dozen gathered for Thanksgiving . My parents and I celebrate Thanksgiving each year just the 3 of us ..by having our traditional favorite Thanksgiving foods .. and then we at some point in the evening sit and go through the Samaritan's Purse Gift Catalog and choose gifts for families in need.  To me that's the best part of Thanksgiving ..  knowing we are able to be bring joy to someone else that they too might take part in having a grateful heart.

 

 

I am so very grateful for all the Lord has done for me ..  It's always easy to be thankful in the good times .. but much harder to be thankful in the tough times .. but from experience I have learned I will thank him and praise him all the time .. 

Wishing you all a blessed and Happy Thanksgiving 

Until next time ..

Thankful and Grateful ....

It's a beautiful cold crisp sunshiny day here in the Ozarks. It's a day to stoke the fire or turn on some heat .. just to take that little bit of coolness out of the air. 

It's Sunday .. another beautiful day to Serve our Lord Jesus and to give him all the praise and glory

for the blessings that have been bestowed to us. I am so thankful and so grateful for all the Lord has done for me and my family. We have walked some precarious paths and wondered where they would lead and why in the world our Lord would take us down them ..but in the end each path has had it's reasons, each path has had it's lessons, each path has had it's way of growing us and bending us in new directions which we never would have chosen for ourselves. Many times we grow comfortable and complacent in our lives and God finds ways to grow us in the direction of his will for our lives. Sometimes the growth is painful other times it's uncomfortable .. and sometimes we have fun when we are growing and don't even know that's what he is accomplishing in us until one day we look back and realize how much change has taken place in our Hearts and Minds .. 

 this is a picture I took a few weeks back of an old dliapadated house that sits on a hill overlooking a beautiful green valley... it made me think ... a house... for God.... is a house that will stand forever and weather the storms with him by it's side ...

She who walks with Integrity ...

I've been so enjoying taking photographs of God's beautiful creation and adding beautiful scriptures to them.. Here's a new one ... 

She who walks with Integrity walks Securely. Proverbs 10:9

Enjoy .. and feel free to share ...

until next time ..

A New Year Start ~ Stength for Today and Hope For Tomorrow !

 

 A beautiful Friday Morning Devotion

 

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As Your Days…

As your days, so shall your strength be.
Deuteronomy 33:25

Recommended Reading Deuteronomy 33:24-27

Only one man is listed twice among the presidents—Grover Cleveland. He served two non-consecutive terms, so he’s listed as the twenty-second and the twenty-fourth president. Cleveland was a Presbyterian preacher’s kid who was trained in Christian truth. He faced a lot of troubles in office, but was considered honest. His dying words seem to have summed up his life: “I have tried so hard to do right.”

Cleveland had a motto he lived by, and it hung directly over his bed where he would see it every night on retiring and every morning when awakening. He once said, “If I have any coat of arms and emblem, it is that.” It was a verse of Scripture—Deuteronomy 33:25: “As your days, so shall your strength be.”

That’s a verse for you too. As we face a new year, none of us knows the challenges ahead. But if we have God, we have the passion of God’s power and strength within us. He will give us strength for each new day. In Him, you’ll always find strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.

At home or abroad, on the land, on the sea, as thy days may demand shall thy strength ever be.
From the hymn “How Firm a Foundation,” attributed to John Keene.

 

Devotion By: Dr.David Jeremiah, Shadow Mountain Church, El Cajon, Ca

 

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Wishing you all a Beautiful New Year .. May your Strength be enough to walk through each day and may you have bright hope for all your tomorrows of this New Year. Our Lives can be overflowing and with joy and yet equally overflowing with sorrows .. God never told us life would be easy but he did promise to help us through it.  I know sometimes there are great chasms where we have felt like God is not there, or does not hear us, but I have learned that he is there and he does here. These are times he requires our patience and trust in him. A time for growth in our life.

 

Isaiah 40:31

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

 

The Lord is always there through our times of unending joy to the moments of our deep sorrows and pain, we may not always "feel" his presence but he is there. He will give your strength for today and Hope for tomorrow...

 

Blessings .. Saa

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Power of Words ~ Our Daily Bread

 

 

 

 

Good Wednesday Morning to you all or Afternoon or Evening depending on where you live in this beautiful world of ours ...

 

Each morning dropped in my inbox is a devotional from Dr. David Jeremiah. He is a pastor at Shadow Mountain Church in El Cajon, CA. He is a true man of God that is a Bible Teacher .. and I have come to enjoy his teaching over the years and enjoy his devotions that arrive each day to start my morning...

 

This Morning .. touched my heart .. and I hope it touches yours too ...

 

 

 

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Powerful WordsThen God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.
Genesis 1:3

Recommended Reading James 3:1-12

In the beginning God spoke and it was. His words created something out of nothing. While our words are not as powerful as God's, Proverbs declares that "Death and life are in the power of the tongue" (18:21a). Once we accept the power of our words, we must decide on their purpose.

Words can be as useful as a strong horse ploughing a field or a spark used to start a warm fire on a winter night. They can also rage uncontrollably, destroying what lies in their path. Caring words of support create a safe and intimate friendship. Truthful words spoken in love can offer a friend the opportunity to grow, but spiteful words destroy friendships, and vindictive truth discourages the hearer instead of inspiring them to grow.

Within seconds thoughts become words that slip off our tongue and into the world. Pausing before we speak may seem cumbersome, but it allows us to decide: Is this helpful? Does this need to be said now? What is the best way to say this?

Our words reveal what we care about and they influence others. Is there someone you can encourage today?

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Martin Luther King Jr.

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It's so true that there is great power in our words ..

 

I'm sure that you can recall at least one time that words were spoken towards you in Anger, maybe even Hate from someone in your life .. and even if that relationship has mended, those words have never left your memory... Isn't it amazing even mended relationships that are now working beautifully still retain the memory of Harsh words that were spoken in the past. That is exactly how poweful "OUR WORDS" are when spoken. 

 

We can look to young children in school and they come home to mom or dad crushed by the words spoken by another child toward them .. WORDS ARE POWERFUL ! And are we not like children crushed by words from our piers .. we are just in grown up bodies with the same feelings and emotions .

 

 

I have always been an observer in life .. the quiet one you may have saw off in the corner ..not necessarily appearing to be part of the group .. I was the different child in school because I was not super social ..Now I know as an adult I have always been an introvert living in a world that is made up of mainly extroverts.  This made me different from the crowd ..and because I didn't fit the mold .. I can assure you that names were called and words were spoken that seemed to not mean much to others .. but they hurt greatly at the time .. Oh yes I recovered, however those words spoken have never left my memory. I didn't hold onto them for revenge or spite .. in fact I have no ill feelings towards anyone ... we are all at different stages of life and learning we are all cut from a different mold, my only hope is that many will come to think before they speak .. Because Once words are spoken you can't undo what they have done to another's spirit. Words can break a person's spirit.

 

In Fact... I think leaning towards speaking encouraging words towards others is the way to go.

Lifting others up rather than tearing them down is a much better choice in life.

And

When a situation arises that is serious and you need to speak ...rather than attacking the person with words and tearing them down ..instead discuss the action or the behaviour .. There are ways to approach situations with words that don't harm but help.

 

WORDS ARE POWERFUL !  Use your power to lift someone up today ... More often than you realize those around you really need words of encouragement ..

 

 

 

Have a Beautiful and Blessed Day Full of Powerful Encouraging Words !

 

 

 

 

 

Our Daily Bread ~ it's time to Rise n' Shine Psalm 143:8

 

"Our Daily Bread"

 

Yesterday Morning as I arose ..I once again opened my "Jesus Calling" devotional and read the day's devotion. And Before I stepped away from my bed I read a scripture that was given to me many years ago and has been an encouragement to me for many years ...

 

It's a scripture that is tucked away in the book of Pslams ...and possibly is read over without much meaning ... as it doesn't correlate with any special story in the bible that is told ..or isn't one I have heard spoken of in Church on a regular basis ...but it touched my heart at a time in life when I needed to know that the Lord was with me every moment.. and that If I kept me eyes on him ...he would guide me throughout my day.

 

 

 

 

I thought I would share this favorite scripture of mine with all of you ..that it might touch your heart as it did mine ...

 

"Let the Morning bring me word of your unfailing Love, for I have put my trust in you, Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul."

Pslam 143:8

 

It meant and still means a lot to me to wake up and know that even when I awake in the morning through his word I am surrounded by the "UNFAILING" LOVE of the Lord ..his love never fails. And that I can call on him each morning and tell him that I have put my trust in him for the day for the week for the month for my life ....and call on him to direct me to show me to make my path straight ... because to him I give myself ..my soul ..my life ...

 

For a long while I must admit I cried this out to the Lord when life was bleak and uncertain .. and he heard me and answered in his perfect timing not mine and that season of life passed as I have learned all seasons do .. and now each morning I read this scripture which reminds me of where I was and where I have come because of him .. and it reminds me to put my Trust in him ..and His Unfailing Love will always be there to hold me in times of sadness or despair and to be Joyful in my times of Joy and Happiness ... He is always there ...

 

Wishing you all a Life Filled with His Unfailing Love...

 

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