Saturday Psalms

Psalm 112

 ¹ Praise the Lord!   How joyful are those who fear the Lord
      and delight in obeying his commands.
 ² Their children will be successful everywhere;
      an entire generation of godly people will be blessed.
 ³ They themselves will be wealthy,
      and their good deeds will last forever.
 ⁴ Light shines in the darkness for the godly.
      They are generous, compassionate, and righteous.
 ⁵ Good comes to those who lend money generously
      and conduct their business fairly.
 ⁶ Such people will not be overcome by evil.
      Those who are righteous will be long remembered.
 ⁷ They do not fear bad news;
      they confidently trust the Lord to care for them.
 ⁸ They are confident and fearless
      and can face their foes triumphantly.
 ⁹ They share freely and give generously to those in need.
      Their good deeds will be remembered forever.
      They will have influence and honor.
 ¹⁰ The wicked will see this and be infuriated.
      They will grind their teeth in anger;
      they will slink away, their hopes thwarted.

Out of the Land of Hurry- A Tale for Moms

Time runs incessantly by like a waterfall, violently. Clock and Watch seem to have the power over the days of men, they are such cruel rulers. The Sun and the Moon are no longer the Masters of the biological clock of the people in the Land of Hurry. Tic Toc; Tic Toc is the sound that can be heard all over the land, no time for listening to the birds' song or watching squirrels, or kissing longer, or hugging tighter. Moms run from here and there, tirelessly, dragging feet and children.


This is an amazing story calling for us to slow down.  It is a quick read and totally worth it.  Read the rest here.

The post above is an excerpt from Daily on My Way To Heaven by Becky.

A decision that has lasted a lifetime...

I was young when I got married, only 19, and within 6 months of getting married I was pregnant. I was very excited to be having a baby and to be a Mom. There were many in my life that were not excited, they said I was too young, that I was ruining my life and that my husband and I couldn't afford to have a baby. I held on to my convictions and had my baby, he is now grown up and has his own baby, and I am so glad that I didn't listen to the negative voices when I was pregnant.

But my story doesn't end there. My husband, who had been in the service when we met and married, got out of the service and was unwilling to look for steady work, he drank a lot and was just generally immature. We ended up getting divorced and I went to live with my Mom for a while. I was also young and woefully immature but not willing to admit it at the time. I spent some time on welfare, I tried to go to college and succeeded for a few semesters but I was way to immature for the workload, so I got a job earning a little over minimum wage and had my daycare supplemented by a workfare program (a division of the welfare program to encourage moms to go back to work).

I met a terrific man, a few yrs younger than me at work and we began to date. He liked my son, my son liked him, I liked him, we moved in together when he graduated from college much to his catholic fathers chagrin. His family loved me though, and his mom insisted that my son refer to them as Nana and Poppy instead of Mr ___ and Mrs____. Things were going fantastic, my boyfriend proposed to me and I accepted and we began planning the wedding. My future mother-in-law was very supportive of me in all I needed to do. She would babysit my son at a moments notice, she loaned me her car when mine was broken down, and I know she spent oodles of money on us that I am still unaware of, she was forever buying clothes for my son and gifts for us.

Then I got pregnant.  Read the rest here.

This post is being featured on Rachels Voice, where Jessica is committed to giving a voice to those lives that have been affected by abortion.  I encourage you to read the other stories she has shared, abortion affects far more people than you may think.  I also encourage you to share your story, if you have one, she will allow you to publish anonymously if you choose to.  If you have a story of how abortion has affected you or a loved one sharing it is a powerful healing tool.

You can also check out and share 180, a movie about talking about the issue of abortion which can be found by clicking on the link.

Be Blessed,

Ann

This post has been shared on the following link-ups:

The Blind Leading the Blind

I have a friend who blogs over at The Pilgrim Road.  She and her family have been down a painful and amazing road walking with Jesus every step of the way.  In November 200- her husband and her daughter were driving to pick up her younger son when their car was literally driven over by a drunk driver.  She was working at the hospital when they arrived by lifeflight.  Amazingly, through the power of Living God one year later a man who was not supposed to survive his injuries walked into his own party to thank the many people who helped them, from EMT's to simple folk like me who could only cry out to God for their family.  You can read more about it here.  She began blogging during that difficult time and transferred her blog over to The Pilgrim Road at the 1 year mark.  She continues to blog there as time ind inspiration allow.  I always walk away richer for what she has shared.  




Can a blind man lead a blind man? Luke 6:39

What a picture that verse stirs up in my mind.

I have a precious friend who is blind.  She astonishes me regularly with her capacity to do things I would kill myself doing with my eyes closed.  She cooks complete meals, washes dishes, runs on her treadmill, does laundry, and takes outstanding care of her husband who has an acquired brain injury. Read the rest here...




Be Blessed,
Ann


This post has been share at 

180- Changed Minds

This is an amazing 30 minutes.  My daughters and I were riveted.  And it may even make you think twice about what you believe.  Watch it and come back and tell me what you think.








Warning:  There are some graphic images in this film, you may want to be prepared to look away or warn your children to look away.  It is still very much worth watching

Great Giveaway!

Raising Homemakers is hosting a fabulous giveaway!  Check it out!

Sarah Mae of 31 Days to Clean is guest blogging at Raising Homemakers and giving away 5, count them FIVE, beautiful prints from her Father-in-law's works.  Just hop on over and check out all the ways you can win.

Be blessed,
Ann

is your light on or off?

I have been compared to many things but this past weekend was the first time I had ever been compared to a light bulb.  My Pastor, Pastor Rob of The Plant, spoke (Lessons from a lightbulb) about how much we are like light bulbs.  Just like a light bulb all you really see is the outside, yet the most important part is on the inside.  Inside of a light bulb there is a wire that runs up to the filament, and then back to the power source, and under that is a sort of glass piece that captures some of the light created when power is running through those wires and causes the light bulb to glow.  Can you see the parallel? When I meet a new friend all they can see is my outside.  Inside my heart is wired up to my brain and when I connect to the power of God the Holy Spirit inside of me captures it and allows me to glow.
















In 1John 1:6-7 John says  "If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."  God is the source of truth and therefore light in my life when I fill myself with Him then the people around me will see the glow that he leaves behind it will be apparent in all that I do.


Unfortunately, as my Pastor pointed out, I sometimes tend to turn off my light bulb in places where the glow may get in the way of my desires, for instance at the grocery store, in traffic, or maybe at my daughters soccer game.  My job is to remove the switch that allows me to turn my glow on and off.  The truth is God wants to glow through me all the time and when I allow Him to be the light I will be unable to turn my light on and off.  And God will use that light to illuminate truth inside of me.

Pastor Rob had so much more to say on this.  I have included the link to his message above although at this writing it hadn't been posted yet it should be soon.  I encourage you to listen to the whole message and see where he took this analogy.  He left me thinking about my light and asking God to show me when I am apt to want to turn it off, and when I want to turn it on for the wrong reasons.  I pray that I can be an example to my daughters in the way I allow His light to show through my actions.

God used the message this past Sunday along with the Bible Study I am doing with the Good Morning Girls to wake me up this morning.  This is basically a mix of my notes from the message on Sunday and my notes from my morning bible study.  Interested?  They haven't closed the sign up yet!  Run on over and join up!  We are studying 1John using the SOAP method.

Be Blessed,
Ann

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