God's Word for Today

Sunday, April 29, 2012

There are a few things I know for sure….

Over the long years of my Christian walk I have come to a very interesting observation. It happens sometime, we all have them, those days that you want to rewind and start over. The days that just don't seem to go very well and you wonder how so many small things can go wrong in such a short period of time.

It was the closing celebration of our Disciple study today. We end out the year with a Fellowship dinner together followed with a closing worship service. It is always a wonderful time where the participants have a chance to share how God worked in their life and in the lives of their class mates. In other words God was glorified in a big way. Lives have been changed and glory and praise were being lifted up to the Lord in abundance.

It started early in the day. The hubs had to leave at 6:00 A.M. to catch a flight to New York. He very much dislikes having to travel for business on Sunday, so he missed church.

After worship I find out that I was given the wrong information about when our closing dinner was scheduled so I had to do some quick phone calling to let everyone know that the information I had given them was not correct. Due to an unexpected human error the wrong time had been given out so lots of folks had the wrong time. Thankfully I was able to get in touch with all members of my class except for one.

After church the DD has choir practice so I have to hang out at church until 2:00 in the afternoon. Well since my time frame had been moved up by one full hour I had to grab the DD and rush home. I walk in the house and I have just enough time to make a  peanut butter and honey sandwich, sit down long enough to gobble it down with a glass of milk and then get back in the car and head back to the church. Well since I did not get my afternoon nap I figured I had just enough time to stop at the Starbucks for an ice coffee.

With a tall ice coffee in hand I hop back into the car and head for the church. I back out of my parking spot and have fully pulled my car out and have straightened up to drive out of the parking lot when BLAM….CRUNCH a car backs into the side of my car.

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What just happened as I roll down my window and look out to see that there is the back end of a car smashed into the side of my car.

The woman hops out of the car and announces “didn’t you see me?”

It was not until after we exchanged insurance information that my brain actually began to function again. It was not me that did not see her since there is a huge dent in the drivers side of my car. Unless my van spontaneous converted into a hover craft she was the one who backed into me!

So the Hub’s is out of town and now I have to call him and tell him the I’ve had a fender bender and guess what? I just made the very last payment on the van just this past month so it is paid off in full and NOW I have my very first wreck!

Now I am late to church,

Well I arrive at church all flustered and a bit on edge, will this afternoon never end? And I still have two plus hours to go!

I park around back because my classroom has been moved down to the first floor. I hop out and find all the door along the backside of the church are locked up tight as a drum. Back in the car and drive over to the side of the church and have to walk up the hill because there are no parking places because all the Disciple classed are meeting today!

Thankfully our last session was uneventful and we all ended our study on a positive note.

Then we all go back upstairs into the gathering area to have our closing fellowship dinner.

The final straw that broke the camels back was that in addition to me getting the incorrect information the caterers also got the wrong time as well. So we are all standing around and there is no food for our dinner.

The Disciple leaders had to do a quick reshuffle and we all moved into the Sanctuary.

We had our closing worship service first while we waited for our dinner to show up.

So what is my point? What do I know for SURE!

There was some powerful transformation going on today in the kingdom because the devil was working overtime to throw some major monkey wrenches into the plan!

But in the end God was glorified and if the devil doesn't like it he can sit on a tack!

Now I am safely back in my comfy recliner, the hubs has been informed of my dent situation and all is well.

I even got a call earlier from the DS and he has an unexpected day off so Muffinhead will not be here in the morning and I will have a much needed morning off!

God is GOOD!

R

Project 365 ~ Week 17: Playdough, Mommy Treasures and a Party

Monday, April 23

.98 cents worth of salt, $2.50 worth of flour and a few other ingredients and you have enough playdough to last the entire summer.

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Thursday, April 26 a little Then and Now!!!!!

Every mom knows the moment they walk in and find their child sitting on the floor holding a pair of scissors surrounded by piles of wacked up hair! I think it must be some randomly pre programmed event that is built into every child's DNA. A lovely unexpected event placed by the Lord into each child's genetic make up. Like the roll of the dice you just never know when the program will occur.

1993 ~ My Son…………………………………1999 ~ My Daughter

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2012 ~ Muffinhead found the scissors y’all! Needless to say mom was not very happy! Muffinhead and Angel Baby have matching heads now!

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Friday, April 27 

The DD 17th birthday is this weekend. They made there own personal pizza’s, had a spa night and then spent the rest of the evening doing what teenage girls do best. Acting silly, giggling, talking and solving the words problems until the wee hours of the morning!

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Well that was my week! Not a lot of pictures but a lot to look back on and smile for sure!

For more P365 y’all head over to Sara’s and link up!

Blessings

R

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Project 365 ~ Week 16

I had an inkling on Friday when I was shopping for all the flowers for my back yard that there was something in the works. By the end of the day after long hours digging holes in the hot sun I felt really yucky, my throat hurt and I really did not feel well. Saturday morning I woke up with a full blown sore throat, stuffy nose and nasty cough. I spent the rest of the weekend nursing my cold with alka seltzer plus and my box of tissues.

Sunday, Monday and Tuesday…..no pictures.

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Wednesday, April 18

Thankful by Tuesday evening I was feeling much better. It was a good thing as I had my bible study class. I have finally gotten the routine down of getting me and Muffinhead out of the house down to a science. I have figured out that it is easer to leave really early and let her have her breakfast with her class at church or just let her have her breakfast with  me in our room before I take her down. No food in the tummy lessens the chance of her getting car sick, which she has done a few times. That made for wonderful mornings. I think we have it figured out now that the bible study schedule is over in one week. Go figure!

I have to make a few trips out to the car to get all our stuff loaded and this is just a green light for Muffinhead and Buster to get settled in for a car ride. Much to Busters dismay he never gets to come along for the fun! He does keep Muffinhead company while I get all out stuff loaded in the car though.

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Thursday, April 19

YIKES….That’s $70.04 to fill my tank!

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Friday, April 20

I was watching Paula Deen make Shrimp and Grits on her show and it sounded so good. The closest I could come for supper was pan seared butterfly pork chops and cheesy polenta. I served sautéed kale (for me the the DD) Allen’s green beans for the Hub’s (he does not like kale) and we had a fresh picked from the garden green salad! YUM!

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Saturday, April 21

My Four Favorite Words….Reduced For Quick Sale! I made a HUGE score! Leg of lamb y’all!

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YIKES…………..to……………………...YES!

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I had to restrain myself not to buy all four that they had marked down. I did get two of them. One to cook now and one for the freezer! The Hubs loves lamb!

Well that was my week. I hope everyone is enjoying the spring weather and taking lots of pictures!

For more P365 y’all head over to Sara’s and link up!

Blessings

R

Thursday, April 19, 2012

My House Is Quiet…Gethsemane, a new layer of understanding

The DD just left for school, the dog is snuggled up in the corner of the sofa and Muffinhead is still asleep. I can hear the birds waking up outside and the sun has just come up. We got rain yesterday so everything is washed clean and it promises to be a beautiful day.

Confession time: I am ready for a break! I love studying God’s word, however I am really looking forward to finishing up this course of study and moving into summer. I need a break! We have two more sessions and we will be done. I have gained a whole different layer of understanding of scripture from this bible study for which I am thankful for. Delving into the Hebraic culture and learning about their customs shed a very new and different light on who Jesus was and what formed His foundation as He began His ministry.

In our session yesterday we learned all about olive oil. It was a major crop in the middle east and a common theme throughout scripture. The olive tree, olive branch, olive oil, olive press are all common threads and themes in multiple places thought out the Old and the New Testament.

The word Gethsemane means “oil press” It is derived from two Hebrew words, “gat” which means a places of pressing oil or wine and “shemanim” which means oils.

The first part of the process was placing the olives in this large stone basin or sea as it was called. Then a massive millstone was placed on top and it had a large stick inserted through the middle and it was then turned by human power or a donkey. The olives were then crushed into a pulp.

The pulp was then transferred to woven bags and stacked one upon another. This massive stone was then lifted up and placed upon the bags and the weight of the stone would press the oil out of the crushed olives. The stone rested upon another platform the had a circular channel carved (this picture is not very good, but you can see the stone platform directly under the pillar and the circular indention in is if you look closely)  in it that would then funnel the oil out to a collection well where it would be then transferred to bottle ready for use.

To give you some reference this olive press is probably as tall as an average man and weighs several hundred pounds.

This defining of the meaning of exactly what Gethsemane means has added a whole new layer of understanding to Jesus’ painful and agonizing night as He prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, a place of pressing olives, a place were great pressure was brought to bear upon something that was a valuable commodity for so many people.

Having just celebrated Easter, this weeks look back upon the preceding hours before Jesus’ crucifixion added a new layer of understanding.

For me, there is no escaping the lesson here. Jesus in his total obedience to God’s will for him went to Gethsemane knowing what the future would hold. God directed His path in every way, even to the point of picking the precise spot for his ultimate test of obedience his Gethsemane moment, his moment, the agonizing weight of what was about to happen became a reality, The sin’s of the would were far heaver than any olive press could have been and yet he chose to accept this weight for each and every one of us. 

Luke 22:43-45

43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.[a]

45 When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow.

God is so GOOD y’all!

Blessings

R

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Project 365 ~ Week 15

Hey Guys! Well it was back to the old weekly grid. With spring break and our staycation over things got back to normal in short order.

Sunday, April 8

We got a visit from my son and family on Easter evening. In all the time that Muffinhead has spent at our house she had never actually spent the night. Well since she was due to be back at our house the very next morning and mom had some extra clean cloths in the car we had an impromptu sleepover.

Grandpa and Muffinhead had some fun after bath time. Love those giggle sound don’t y’all!

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Wednesday, April 11

Normally Muffinhead’s mom picks her up before I finish up with my bible study on Wednesday. However she had a meeting and I ended up having her for the rest of the afternoon. I am not entirely sure what the fascination is with folding chairs but every time we find ourselves in a room with multiple folding chairs Muffinhead feels compelled to fold them up and line them up against the wall!

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Thursday, April 12

A left over Turkey Burger with Feta Cheese and Spinach. It was actually pretty good. It was a recipe from my sister who does not eat red meat.

1 pound of ground turkey, about 1/2 a bag (16 oz) of chopped frozen spinach (thawed) one small container of feta cheese, we used the feta that was flavored with sun dried tomato and basil and one egg. Mix all ingredients together and cook on hot griddle or flattop for about 3 minutes on each side. It was really good y’all. The Hub’s even liked it. Next time I think I will makes sure the meat is a bit more seasoned before had with some salt and pepper too!

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Friday, April 13

A friend and I went to our favorite place for bedding plats. I got several new additions for the back yard that I am eager to see if they will make it though the summer. Now that I have a full sun backyard i am having to lean all about a whole new concept in plants. My old yard was nearly full shade, so I was very familiar with what to plant. I am learning all about full sun gardening! I also got some bright pink geraniums and a couple of tomato plants and a bell pepper plant to.

Penstemon Husker's Red, Miniature Bells Penstemon, Crocosmia, Salvia, Black-eyed Susan and some Achillea 'Cerise Queen, have I ever heard of any of these except for the Black-eyed Susan…that would be a big no! My sister did have some Crocosmia in her yard but I have never had any. I am learning a lot and keeping my fingers crossed for success.

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Saturday, April 14

Last fall a very dear friend gave me a ton of new bulbs for my yard. This is the first bit of new color from her garden sharing! Digging out bulbs may be a chore but it is so much fun to share with others.

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Well that was my week.

For more P365 y’all head over to Sara’s and link up!

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Thankful Thursday ~ A Morning Off

My first clue came at 6:15 when I woke up and slowly came to the realization the the DD had not come in and at 5:30 to tell me the Muffinhead had arrived. My son had been working out of town and retuned home last night. I assumed that mom was seizing the opportunity to sleep in, she has to get up an hour earlier on the days she brings Muffinhead to my house, who wouldn't want to get a little extra sleep. Muffinhead will have some Daddy/Daughter time and I get to have a morning off!

My Thankful Thursday is that I am curled up on the sofa with my furry companion and as soon as I hit the publish button I will be spending some quality time with my Kindle and the new book I just started a few days ago.

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Blessings

R

Monday, April 9, 2012

Callaway Gardens… Mr. Cason’s Vegetable Garden….It was Veggie Garden Heaven Y’all

First a few more pictures from our visit to Callaway gardens!

The Sibley Horticultural Center was just beautiful. They had it decked out for Easter with bunny topiaries tucked in various places all over the garden. The were so sweet.

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I especially love this little chick. They had a pair of them placed like they were pecking for a treat in the greenery!

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Banks of white Easter lilies were everywhere! Thousands of them…the smell was amazing. It just hug in the air!

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The azaleas' were a bit of a disappointment but there were a lot of other things blooming to take their place!

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I never tire of imagining what is just beyond the end of the path. It just takes me back to the days of once upon a time and unicorns, fairies and magic enchanted forests where something wonderful can happen!

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But here is what I wanted to show y’all!

I was walking around with my jaw on the floor. I guess we missed this the last time we were here. It was one piece of giant awesomeness around each turn in the garden path.

Mr.Cason’s Garden is 7.5 acres and it is staffed by 6 full time gardeners as well as many volunteers from the community. You can bet that if I lived closer I would sure be over there soaking in all the knowledge of all those professional gardeners as often as I could.

As you walk up the steps you see the entire garden laid out before you. In between the garden beds are wide paths spread with mulch. Most of the beds at this time of the year had been planted with some kind of red flowering clover and some of the beds had just been left fallow waiting for whatever would go in next. They did have their tomatoes in and  plot of onions as well as some greens. With 7.5 acres I am sure that there is no end to the amount of produce this garden can accommodate. Off to the left as you walk down the mulch paths is a small section of the garden that is surrounded by a lovely picket fence, you can see it circled in the below photograph.

Walled  in section ofthe garden

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When I walked through the garden gate I was just drooling with envy. It was just amazing and I never wanted to leave. The garden is also home to the Victory Garden South. I used to catch that show in PBS all the time!

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Just inside the gate is an entire bed planted with Foxglove and Snapdragons, it was just gorgeous!

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It was one amazing small little garden nook around each turn!

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How about having this garden shed in your backyard!IMG_9240

I asked the hubs if he thought he could build one of these in my back yard.IMG_9243

It had a small hosta garden.

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Directly in the center of the sweet little garden retreat was this amazing porch. IMG_9253

It had a 360 view of every part of the garden. The amazing things is that during our visit this time we were troubled occasionally with some frequent rain showers. It had begun to rain fairly heavily and the Hubs and I dashed in out of the rain and sat down in these two chairs and just enjoyed listening and watching the rains fall on the garden.

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I am not sure what this is but I suspect it may be some type of poppy!

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Y’all it was like dying and going to veggie garden heaven!

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Y’all I want one!

Blessings

R

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