thankgoodness for lil sister

my lil sis....she is the funniest grown up i know. no matter where we go together or how many times i talk to her during the day, she always manages to keep me entertained by humor or interesting topics. we face our foes together, strategize together, have different enough tastes that we don't shop for the same items at sales together, and above all we lol together....and i mean big ol' embarrassing belly loling together. this is the relationship i had always hoped to have with her...she gets me...not many pple do...but she does. at this moment she is probably at home with a headache, but HOPEFULLY along with that is the memory of another outing together filled with laughter amongst mishaps. what a treasure she and her family is to me....all good things come from the Lord.

...........it's monday

so much to think about....
thankful i followed the tuggin on my heart to read first thing this a.m....trying to put aside the thoughts weighing on my mind....my heart is aching over the loss of loved ones for some, the loss of trust and dreams in relationships for others, what role i have in reaching out to ones that are constantly on a rollercoaster of ups & downs.
what responsibility do i have....to lead a lesson-i can't make others do their part to better understand things...i'm only human, not perfect, not all knowing...just blessed to be in a position to lead in sharing our history. i don't like using this line, but the underlying truth seems to fit-'you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.' aren't pple thirsty, i feel like i'm dehydrating sometimes....what do you turn to instead of the Well of Life? sometimes i turn to food, sometimes others again i am thankful today i started out turning to you, when it could have been so easy to be distracted by other things goin on around me. i am hopeful that God will bless the rest of our day, that know that what i read will be in my heart to be useful to whatever the day brings-not that i expect just rainbows and giggles, but through it all. i am calling on the truths i read to assist in dealin with what is weighing on my heart. some of my sisters (and brothers) in Christ are going through such real struggles today.

cluttered

so many things floating around. too many voices colliding. i gotta get back to where i'm longed for. think i'll take the day off from the world tomorrow, gotta "quiet down now" my brain. too much noise pulling at my old nature-tendencies. too many other opinions tearing at my heart. i seek refuge, think i'll flip to Hosea, maybe visit quietly with Crowder a while....course that won't end quietly- how could you visit with Crowder and NOT get fired up. recharge, refuel, re-ignite

ENGRAVED

i am a marker....i have been ever since i can remember. when i have to remember something that i am afraid my busy mind might forget, i take a pen and write the first letter of the thing i must not forget on top of my hand, sometimes it's a number-for a time or date. it washes away, but for that short amount of time, i remember the thing, each time i look at my hand. it's not a forever reminder, but it works. now, speaking of remembering- when i was younger, i took my lil sis jada on a 3-wheeler ride (yeah, 3 wheels, not 4-back in the day that's how they made 'em). we went down this tiny gravel road out in rural raleigh that led up to a tiny church. there was a really sharp curve in the lane, i completely did not make the turn and it probably seemed to her that i just decided to keep going straight-that's how much i missed it. we went off the road and straight into a mess of wild rose bushes. no one was hurt, other than my pride-being that i was an excellent driver-in my own mind-and i had many thin lines of blood from where the thorns had caught my legs. i didn't think much of it, until later that summer when i got a tan. to this day, if you look hard enough you can still see the faint thin lines on my lower legs. i didn't mean for this to happen, but i have a permanent reminder of that ride. these things came to mind as i read my devotion the other day,-"see, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands" (Isaiah 49:16) we all have things that help or cause us to be mindful of things in life, occasions, people. it's NOT that God needs a reminder to think of me, or you...He created us. He knows how many hairs are on our head (or how many some pple have lost,lol). No matter where you are in your walk with the Lord, He will never forget you, never stop loving you, no matter what you have done, no matter what your lifestyle, His love is greater, and the forgiveness that is found in Jesus is more than enough to cover those sins-when we repent of them. God loves His creation, He does not love sin, as a matter of fact, God hates sin. like i said, there is forgiveness to be found in Jesus. He died on the cross to save us from our sins, every sin of every person. Jesus has the permanent mark of nail scarred hands to remind us of His love. Thank you Jesus.
http://www.billygraham.org/SH_HowtobecomeaChristian.asp

God's Tender Moments

God's Tender Moments

PRAISE GOD!!! HE HAS HEARD OUR PRAYERS AND ANSWERED!!!
the little boy was given back to his daddy and momma s and big bro b saturday evening. keep praying that this process will be completed wednesday. praise God, He is good, His love endures FOREVER!

the system is b-r-o-k-e-n ya'll

tonight, a little boy was taken from the loving home of his daddy and given back to his not-well mother. earlier this week, the little boy was taken from his not-well mother b/c of reasons pertaining to her "not-wellness"....the daddy was told that he would have his little boy until further notice, with regard to the mother having supervised visits. last night was one of those times. the daddy arrived to pick up his little boy, to find him not being doted over or held or anything well mommies do, but being ignored. the little boy and his daddy were handed a bag of packed up clothing and sent on their way. between then and tonight, someone....someone called a reported that the daddy picked up his little boy 10 minutes too early. tonight, the little boy is spending the night with his not-well mother in a smoke-filled house and no little bed of his own. since when does someone's 'story'...someone deemed 'not-well's 'story' more acurate and more reliable than a christian man's truth-YEAH, I WENT THERE. all i know is this-this world is sooo broken, and while i may not understand all the why's and how come's....i know this-God reigns, God does take care of his children, and His timing is perfect. my timing wants the little boy back in his little bed, where he is cared for, fed properly and doted over....but i trust the Lord. I trust that even though i am saddened with the little boy, his daddy and momma s. and big bro b. as well as his other family....i know that God has a plan. i'm thankful that i know the Lord, i can't imagine how 'not-well' i would be without HIM. i'd be more broken than the system that puts children and loving parents through this.
pray for the little boy. pray for his family. pray that his 'not-well' mother gets well. pray for other children going through crisis.

come on in....

hey, i'm ju. i'm just a girl with something to say. as it says above, i'm not perfect, i stopped trying to be everything to everyone a while back. it also states,i'm forgiven, not out of anything i myself have done, but out of the grace of God through my Savior, Jesus. i hope to share things on my mind, sometimes there will be ramblin', i can't guarantee there won't be any rants, but i can say that i hope to make this a place of encouraging words. i believe that all good things come from the Lord, and i will try not to get in the way of that. i don't capitalize much and i type it the way i sez it. yeah, cause i rock like that. so that's about it for now. stop back in if you like! toodlez, ju