It's Pitch Black

It's 6:00am and I'm sitting on my porch. The sky is black and it's so silent, except for the crickets. The birds aren't even up yet. I love this time of day. I think I've mentioned this before in another one of my blogs. It reminds me of the scripture: Be still and know that I am God. It makes me understand why I like to get up early and meet God. The pressures of the day haven't had a chance to distract my mind yet. It's all very good. 

I was speaking with Bethany last night about how she and Daniel like going to church with us. They both love it, but most of all they love what God is doing in their hearts. It's so exciting to see how the Holy Spirit draws someone to Him and penetrates deep within a man's heart and removes the heart of stone, layer by layer. It's only God who can do these things. That's where Be Still and know that I am God would be appropriate. Man can take no credit. Like the ole saying, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink it. Unless God grows the seed in a man's heart, it's not going to grow or last for that matter. 

You are good Lord and we give you the Praise!

Expect a God moment today, He wants to give us one.......

I can't believe today is Friday

Oh my gosh, this week has flown by fast. Today was blue-jean Friday at work, it's amazing how everyone gets excited about wearing jeans. When were off on the weekend and can wear jeans, you don't see people getting excited about putting their jeans on; huh? I suppose it's a good motivator. Kawana broke the rules and wore a blue-jean skirt, which she can wear any day of the week :()  (just want to see if you're reading my blog or not Kawana)

It's neat to see how people who work in the same office bond together. I've really grown close to the people I work with, they are genuinely good people. 

I work on a plantation in a department that's called Owner Services. We take care of the owner's needs, such as, hunt, boat, equestrian and kennel reservations. We do everything from typing letters for people to updating the website to cottage rentals and overseeing the U.S. Mail. And believe me, it doesn't stop there. It's enjoyable for the most part. Summers are boring, because most of the owner's are up North and in the winter it's crazy busy. Feast or famine like. I can't believe that I've been working there almost a year.

It does feel weird working full-time after 16  years of homeschooling and being an active wife and mother. I was privileged to work with my husband in his construction business also. My heart is still at home, I love serving my family. It is a high calling and one that I took to heart. When people ask me about working, I say it's a blessing, not a passion. My passion is to be home and/or on the mission field one day. So, in the meantime, I wait on God and ask him to give me my hearts desire.

My husband and youngest daughter are leaving in October to go to Romania on a missions trip for 9 days. David will be constructing an addition and Cally will be working with the children and using her new found skills of hairstyling to minister to these people. They will also be visiting some orphanages and loving on the children. I'm sure they'll come home changed, for the good. 

Well, it's probably going to be a long weekend with 4 sets of taxes to prepare tomorrow, moving a church on Sunday and celebrating my mother-in-laws birthday. That's a lot to accomplish. My oldest daughter asked me to babysit my grandchildren this weekend and I had to sadly say ,"no". I miss seeing my kids and grandchildren more than life itself. 

I'm going to sign  off now, I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

I am Blessed

Yesterday, Seaside Vineyard had another yard sale to raise money for the Romania Missions trip in October. David and Cally are going on with Seaside on this trip, it will be their very first missions trip ever.  So, we spent Friday evening and all day Saturday helping with the yard sale. It was a lot of fun and work to say the least. Seaside has a lot of loving, caring people who follow the Lord. God has been very good to have sent us in their direction. I had been praying and praying for an opportunity to share the Lord with someone or just for God to use me in anyway. I'm really not truly happy unless I am able to do what I've been wired for, which is Christ. Well, Friday night at Seaside as we were finishing getting ready for the yard sale, I started talking to a young lady. A sweet young lady for that matter. She shared some of her life's trails with Cally and I. It truly was a privilege for her to trust us enough with her life. She has had an unusually unfair past and it's so amazing to see God in the midst of it. She hasn't been a Christian very long, but she is making strides in her walk. Her desire to follow him will make her win this race in life. I was so blessed to be apart of it.

Friday evening before leaving to go to the yard sale, I invited my friend Daniel to come to church with us. I really like Daniel and I know more than life itself, that God loves Daniel and desires for him to surrender his life to Him. Well, Saturday as I'm walking in Walmart, Bethany text's me and said that she and Daniel would be coming with us to church tomorrow. I love to see God work in the hearts of people and most of all, love being apart of it. 

Thank you Lord, I am blessed,

~ Kelly

Thoughts to share

Today, I took a day off from work to go to 2 doctor appointments. Who in the world wants to waste a precious day off on the doctor? But, at the same time, who wouldn't be thankful for getting paid for it either? Yes, I'm thankful!

Right now, I'm sitting down at the waterfront park, drinking a coffee and enjoying the first day of cool weather. 

I was graced today by eating lunch with all three of my children, my daughter-in-law and all three of my grandchildren. And of course it was exciting to eat at one of my favorite restaurants. Japanese! Yum!

In February of this year my son and his wife left on a six month hike traveling the Appalachian Trail. They hiked from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Katahdin, Maine on foot. They are what you call, purists, because they walked every inch of the trail. ( They didn't skip any parts) 

When I heard that they were going to actually hike the trail, my heart cringed with fear. It was really tough to know that they were out there with all the Lions, Tigers, and Bears. And the bad guys too! It was tough releasing them to the Lord, but as time went on God seemed to work it out in my heart. As Hunter and Amy were strengthened in ways that I can't even begin to write about, because it really needs to be their story, God also strengthened those of us who were left here praying for them. But, if the truth be known, it was really praying and worrying. Which we all know that fear and faith don't fit in a man's heart at the same time. It's usually one or the other. After I became so worn down with fear and weariness, it was time to let the fear go. And there was proof! My son would call up and say things like," You wouldn't believe this rattlesnake that was directly on the trail that we walked, or when I was trying to take a picture of these really cute baby bears , the momma bear turned around and stood up on her back legs and roared at me, how about, we have numerous rivers to cross with our packs above our heads, you know 6 people have died doing that this year". 

O.k. what's a mother to do, I ask you? One thing the Lord kept saying to my heart was something that my sister shared with me many years ago. The Lord doesn't need a particular circumstance to take your child. The Lord didn't need the Appalachian Trail to take these two young adults. Scripture says, that it's appointed for man once to die. The rest is up to the Lord.  

I finally had to release the overwhelming thoughts of the two of them being on the trail or it was going to over take me.

Yes of course, there are still overwhelming thoughts and feelings that can overtake me in the course of a day. Prayfully, it won't take all of the worry and discomfort in my heart to finally turn it over to the Lord.

Have a great evening.

Grandchildren's Day

Don't Look

So, it's unofficially Grandchildren's Day, but it was at my house , anyhow. Watching the 3 banches Friday night and all day Saturday really takes a grandparent back a few 24 hours.

Scripture says that, " Children's children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children. Proverbs 17:6.

Grandchildren are most definitely the icing on the cake. But, if you read that scripture again, I suppose that it is saying that I'm aged. Wow, 48 yrs. old. and aged. Never really thought about it like that. 

Children are full of life and it's contagious, if you let it. We laughed  and played all weekend. They are my buddies!

Every time I watch my grandchildren, I have a deeper appreciation for my daughter, Mikal. ( The mother of these children) She truly has her hands full and does an excellent job. Have you ever seen a 3 and 4 year old that wanted to wash their hands after they used the bathroom? How about children who want to lay down and take a nap?

Also, these children have such a tender heart for others. I love the concern that they give each other with kisses and hugs. I don't want to make it sound like their perfect, because their far from perfect, but they are special, set apart. I love them to pieces. 

Good job Mom and Dad, keep plugging along with the Lord, because He's the one that makes the difference in your life and Olivia, Deacon and Levi get to taste the goodness of the Lord from you.  If you read this blog, I love you all.

To Love our Neighbor as Yourself

Why is it so difficult to love others as much as we love ourselves? I'm sure there are many, many reasons,such as, just being tired and caught up in the day and we unleash on someone, thinking we deserve something and forgetting about others needs, selfishness, or having a broken spirit and not being able to give.

Scripture speaks loud and clear on this, in Leviticus, 3 times in Matthew, 2 times in Mark, Luke, Romans, Galatians, James. " Love Your Neighbor as Yourself". The Lord new we were going to need extra help in this area.

God surely knows that we love ourselves for the most part. Some of you reading this could even say, no I don't because you have no self-esteem etc... (I've been there) but, even those people love themselves to some extent. We will put ourselves first, think of our feelings instead of someone else, or even fight over the last scoop of ice cream. ( ha-ha) It will manifest itself in one way or the other.

It's difficult to always love others like you love yourself, but the Lord has made a way or he wouldn't have commanded it.

Maybe it would be helpful to take time to get involved in someone's life or try to understand where someone is coming from. Ask God to strip away our flesh and give us a heart like His. Being honest with God is the first step, telling him how much you need work in a certain area or telling him you really don't want to love a particular person and your going to need His help.

A friend was telling me about a missionary to China who had a book titled, "The Heavenly Man". I haven't read his book, but it was so intriguing to listen to Jacob talk about him. In the book it described Christians as never fully able to do God's work because we are constantly backbiting one another and having division between us at whatever level.

If we would walk in the Spirit and treat one another as we treat ourselves, can you imagine how much we would further the kingdom of God, which would have a snowball affect in our lives, because we would be doing the right thing and grow spiritually too.

God is willing to change your heart and give you new eyes to see a person with His love and compassion.

He will give you a new want to, if you want one.

Have a great day!

God Morning to You-Yes God!

One of the things that I look forward to the most is sitting on my porch drinking coffee at 5:30 in the morning. It's dark, still and unadulterated, if I must say. There's a pureness about it, the thoughts of the day are far away and life is so still. It's the best part of my day. It's a great place to be alone with God. Just the two of us.    And then, just like now, the pressures of life are invading my thoughts and it's time to move on with the day, it's sad to leave such a peaceful place. But, God never intended one to stay in a place like that forever.  Reality hits and now I must go, to work that is.......Hope you've had a God morning~

A day to worship

It's Sunday morning and of course I'm sitting on my porch drinking a cup of coffee typing this blog. I need to mentally prepare for church (worship) this morning and there are 100 different thoughts that are trying to win me over. Sometimes it's really hard to take every thought captive, I suppose if we admitted it, there are times we just don't want to give our thoughts over to the obedience of Christ.
In the end, that doesn't pay off though. (In more ways than one)

So, I'll close this out and try to get prepared for church. Hope everyone has a great Sunday!

My First Blog

It's morning and I am on my porch drinking coffee and talking to 3 girls that stayed the night with us. One is my daughter Cally, one is Bethany who lives with us and the other is Bethany's sister Whitney. Daniel, Javier, Cally, Bethany, and Whitney had an unplanned hurricane party. They played Monopoly until 1:30 in the morning. 

 It's the day after Hurricane Hanna and the weather is actually beautiful; the wind is blowing and it's a little cooler. We were really expecting a little more weather than we got last night. There's always a little let down after a huge high of expectancy. Sounds kinda morbid. 

Today would be a fun day to see the grandbabies, take a motorcycle ride, go to the coffee shop or even having a party tonight, but reality is calling and there's always the house to clean or taxes to do, or just do all of the "must do" things of life. It will be interesting to see what side of life wins.