a nifty, frugal and fun DIY idea

No He Is Not Abnormal... (much) :P

He's just bored and seeking attention! He's all kid!
too funny :D --so I thought I'd share...

In honor of my husband...

In honor of Thoms,
~s.hub, dh, bestie, soulmate, lover, advisor, confidante, encourager, leader, comforter, spritual advisor, playmate, partner in the journey to healing and wholeness, one who makes me laugh, and the only man on earth for me....
Here's to you, my brave and courageous man:


Loving you forever...Your Suz <3



it is what it is ... and I'm thankful  for any of it ... as I am on a journey to wholeness, sojourning to the secret places that should no longer be ... I need to be real, grasp the real, shed the masks and pretenses that I so loathe in others ... quit pretending that "all that" never happened to me ...

Have you ever experienced  this?  It's (as follows).

I will be moved.  I will be watching a movie or reading a book or hearing a heartfelt (or heart-rending) story, whatever the case may be, some cathartic something tips the scales, and I slip.

 So -- here I am, finding myself able to "stay with it" as opposed to drifting or shutting down to large degrees.
 During these blessed times when I am "able" to stay and not shut down... though those times are few, that I feel blessed.  Why? because, it is during these times, when I come out of the shock and trauma of them, that I realise that I am further down that path to embracing the reality of what I've been taken through, or allowed to go through, or trusted to endure. 

It is during this discovery that I also realise that I am gonna make it to the end of this journey -- or at least get to the place, further down the line or healing continuum, where I will be able to leave that door (of my soul) open ... and peek in for longer periods of time and actually live in the moments ... long enough to  maybe touch the real ... touch the pain, and then, give it to God.
To be able to choose to let it go to Jesus.
Thank You Father ... I want to come home ... to Your place of peace ... for me

Braces be gone!

Done! and a beautiful smile : D  No more : X

Dr Lovelien wrentches the metal off ;P

looking things over...

Before the appointment (anticipation mounting!)

A song I wrote, inspired by two lines of Switchfoot's "Your Love is a Song"

                           My Lord, my Hope, is You.






 I have been keeping my mind wide open, trying to keep hope unbroken... as I ponder what will be, what has been, and what we might see...
What will it take to get us there...We dare not faint we must not dare.
Let Joy ring out, clear and true... Our hope, My Lord, my Hope, is You.


To be whole.. and be able to sing, Glorious Symphonies of Praise to Him, He who loves like no other "The Author of Love" the "Troubadour of Peace"...our "soul Fire, Our Shield and our Song... It won't be long, You tell us it won't be long...




We see the faint, ethereal glow of what shall one day be ... All around are shards of shattered glass, softened by a gauzy sea. The illusion, the softening... it's a trap-- a lie-- a traitors song.
Strange fire from a different father.. one who won't leave us alone.
Sing this praise to you--to You I Sing... whole heartedly, let Freedom Ring.. in our hearts to Your's our Risen King...,




 It won't be long till we are through (striving) and broken to be whole, for You, broken to be whole, by You,.... That we may be, in dependence to --Your Perfection, through and through, remade in Your image, let us cry out to be made new, made new by You...


 I Sing this praise to you -- to You I Sing... whole heartedly, let Freedom Ring.. in our hearts to Your's our Risen King...,
To be whole.. and be able to sing, Glorious Symphonies of Praise to Him, He who loves like no other "The Author of Love" the "Troubadour of Peace"...our "soul Fire, Our Shield and our Song... It won't be long, You tell us it won't be long...

Sing this praise to you--to You I Sing... whole heartedly, let Freedom Ring.. in our hearts to Your's our Risen King...,

Revelation Song - Phillips Craig & Dean

I found this and loved it... I hope it blesses someone else.

To speak of the soul with certainty seems a child's boast. Who can know for certain what is there in our innermost being? Who can know for certain what isn't? And if we can't plumb the depths of our own being, how can we begin to fathom You, O God? To write of such things is like a child who runs through the surf, kicking up a lot of spray yet knowing so little of the sea. With a child's vocabulary I approach a subject too deep for words. Is it a child's attempt to sound very grown up, talkative and very sure of herself? Or is it a child's step toward growing up...tentative and unsure? I don't know. Maybe something of both. Whatever the reason, Lord, watch over that child and over the words she has gathered like so many broken shells along the shore. Please smooth the edges of those that are sharp and let them find hands that will treasure them even in their brokenness.



~Ken Gire~

Best Intentions are not always enough

I grieve that so many times, I , despite my best intentions, really miss it.  It has always been this way... and wonder if this is really true for all of us.  What do we do with the mess we feel  we made, whether it actually is a true mess, or the mess that we simply feel might be a mess, or a mess that absolutly, no holes barred,  is a mess?
 I am thinking we should strive to keep it real and go public with it, letting the chips fall where they may. (with most thinsgs that is)  There are always those situations where another is involved, or others..., that may make it hard or impossible to speak your mind "out loud" because it may bring undo attention or recriminations on another innocent party, but I am talking about the former type of situation.. where it is okay to speak up about our "messes".

 The Lord says to judge yourselves so you do not have to be judged.  (loose translation)

I take that to apply to me in that,  if I see I have done wrong to anyone etc... it is mine to correct it, that worse consequenses might not befall me.

I strive to love well.  I fall short so often.  I am learning as I go...

I strive to be more aware and sensitive to things and that is, without a doubt, only accomplished if we keep ourselves in His word...studying "the Perfection... the Purity , the Unadaulterated Truth" so that when we veer off, or another comes to us who is veering off the straight and narrow course,... we readily recognize it as such, that we might have time to make our paths right again--or help another to do the same...

 This is always a good thing, but what is better is to be open before other believers, brothers and sisters in Christ, that they might see into your life and the goings on therein, and speak Truth into it.. or Chastisment or Wisdom... where necessary or appropriate.

 If we fail to check ourselves and no-one comes alongside of us to speak Truth.. well, we are easily pulled off course and can soon enough find our faith, to one degree or another shipwrecked...

This is all I have to say... and for whatever reason... it was on my heart, as it applies to my latest misjudgement in my photo shoot post of my daughter in a reflective and romantic mode.

 I am sure I need to look deeper into this... and well, I just had to vent.  Maybe some might relate and be encouraged or ?
 Not sure, but JIC and for what it was worth... I felt it right to post, so, I posted ...

God bless your days... to all who read here :)

Love and Peace,
Suz

Fuzzy Jamie Henry

In talking about mean things I had done as a child, I told my daughter Noelle the story of fuzzy Jamie Henry.


Jamie Henry was the cute, curly-haired neighbor girl. She was all of four years old. While sitting together one hot afternoon under the canopy of her sandbox, along moseyed a fuzzy caterpillar. Me, all of, well, old enough to know better -- off the top of my head, I blurted out, "Go ahead and eat it!"

Well, Jamie commenced to chew.

I've blocked the rest out.

Upon telling Noelle this story, and after listening to her "yuck" and "ewww", she said in jest, "Well, she's probably healthy even today -- all that fiber and protein."

And I say, "Yeah, but I wonder about her brain..."

And Noelle said, dryly:

"It's fuzzy."

look for Michael Kelly Blanchard on YouTube or at www.michaelkellyblanchard.com

The Hope That Ends the Human Drought
by: Michael Kelly Blanchard




The hearts of some speak from their hands,

Those calloused cups that caring make...

That, tucked in pocket-wombs of pants,

Wait for ways to fix the break, hold for days the hurt and ache,

Join to pray for the lost soul's sake.

The hearts of some speak from their eyes, to see the good where bad has been.

Beacons from a paradise, that weep for winners who never win,

Love the sinner not the sin, spot the inner light within.



(Chorus)

The Master's mercy falls like rain,

On this desert dressed in doubt.

Needs no logic to explain,

The hope that ends the human drought.



The hearts of some speak from their lips, with words that know the brokenness.

And sail the soul like summer ships, to stop in ports of tenderness,

And weave comfort with a Holy stitch, that binds all sorts of emptiness.

The hearts of some speak from their homes, magnets in this scrap-iron life.

A splint to stranger's broken bones, a temple with a front-porch light.

A balm of blessing from the fight. A door of day in the weary night.



(Chorus)



And where do all these hearts come from, these timeless testimonials?

Where's the reason for what they've done, the rationale to sound this call?

Why such passion in us all? Why compassion when we fall?

The heart of God speaks from the One, Who climbed the hill of skulls to die.

For all the foolishness I've done, and then with one last lonely cry,

Professed that love was not a lie. Confessed love as the reason why.



(Chorus)


<3
Love this song....

Beginning to see....

I am beginning to see that we are not held back by the love we didn't receive in the past, but by the love we're not extending in the present...
Roman's 12:9-10

You Came...

Daughter--
You came, you grew, you defy explanation.
Have you been fun to love or what!?
:P

Gorgeous Gown For Sale

Last Listing For Gown...

~it's listed here on my smugmug site...
'n yes, It's now summer , but if anyone is in a pinch for a gown, it'd do through the Autumn with it's shawl/wrap (pictured here) http://shuttersisters.smugmug.com/Fashion/Moonlight-Wedding-Gown/6868832_iViRR#503348454_w4mRK
I'm asking only $100.00 for it, no matter what  it reads elsewhere,,, Just mention you saw it here on on my facebook acount :)
 Email me at vintagemommy@gmail.com and I'll send on my gamil address... and ship it per your specs. pronto!
Have a Blessed rest of the summer!
~Suz

His Heart...

~Just a really quick thought that is maybe, on the simple side... and granted it's a bit late as I ponder this... but at the same time, it is about God's heart... so really cannot be simple at all-- just the messenger and her writings that sometimes turn to ramblings, :)
 nevertheless...
Have you ever really thought about the word "Heart"?
~ it signifies love... it's  the main organ pumping our lifeblood through out our being... it symbolizes care, committment, loyalty, selflessnes, passion, and so very much more... I could go on and on...

I noticed recently  that the word "Heart" , if you break it down, 'n looking at it closely... says "HE" art--as in "His art"... is creating... it is bringing something from nothing... it symbolizes what is inside of us.  in God there is Love... the very thing he created our Hearts to stand for... the wellspring of Life and feeling... It is His art that created all of us... He Loved us into being... He came back when we were cut off from Himself and died ... as one of us!... for us!.. that we might Know Him and all of His heart... fully and forever!
I want to live for Him this way... "Heart" Fully!
My passion, my plan , with my utmost--my good and reasonable service.  How could I repay such? I can only try and Live and Learn and Grow and "Be" ... Learn to Love and Learn to Just Be.
"Heart"-Fully.

Old habits die hard and some patterns never die on their own, you've gotta squash them!

“Don't let others win at the expense of your emotionalism.” Those who have aways had power over you by way of controlling anything they might "gift" you with, while always doing all that is possible to dis-empower you in your belief of your ability to 'get there' on your own, will use against you any emotional display resulting from your feelings of being scapegoated. This is true when you are right, and they are clearly in the wrong. When you "react" you make it easy for “THEM” to dismiss you.


Use logic and not emotions to outsmart an enemy or those who spitefully use you...!

Be wise as serpents and gentle as doves!!!

I have tried -- I need to do...

I am stuck, right in the middle of recognizing my heart call to lay it all down (all being all of my own efforts at getting us out of a financial predicament, etc...) and  peaceably standing beside my husband as his help meet , focusing on healing issues in our marriage and other familial issues that need some balancing done

... all of this I ponder and want to be faithful to, as  well as learning (practicing) being content and blooming where I am planted... (in the right here and now) 

I have tried my hand at so many ventures only to come up on the short end of the stick and I know why..

I am not called to be striving right now, I'm called to just rest secure and learn to "be"

  Now this is not the first time I have written this to myself and share it with all of you... I confess It has been an off and on venture, and one that I knew needed to be an "on venture"  in a bigger way than not.

I am trusting God here.. putting my faith into action so to speak , instead of harping with a bunch of hot air about what I know is the right thing for me... my calling...

I am determined, now, from this day forward... to count my blessings and  follow the heart of my favorite scripture... Isaiah 30:15...
~it goes like this... and Lord , please help me to keep living it... "In repentance and rest is your salvation, In quietness and trust is your strength."
 Lord help me to hold fast to this Truth you have repeatedly revealed to me for my life, and help me to not veer off to the right or the left, once again... but to stand firm, bold and planted where I know I need to be... Thank You Dear Father...

~I have so much on my heart today...

Things have been so hard the past five years or so.  And often times needlessly I do believe... but, well,  more on that as I go...

The Lord has on our hearts (my family's and mine) to be ministering for Him-- more and more, as we grow and get our own ships righted and steadied after a bit of a tempest that had threatened to capsize our faith a few times.. but again, that's another story as well.

And, at the same time, there are those ever present financial woes (consequenses from the past)...and  besides that, there are a myriad of health problems between us all. (sigh)

If I look at it too long... just like that,... It just seems at times that there is no end in sight, no reprieve.

 ~ Yet for all that is wrong.. there is so much right! 

I need to (have to)  remember to count my blessings.
 It is really easy to get tunnel vision and  brain lock --or could I call it (tender-heart block) and find our focus fixed too firmly on the negative or on the what we don't have yet or what we haven't accomplished yet or the strides in our walks that we haven't spanned yet.  But the truth of the matter is that when I look around at the blessings that have been bestowed on us, I feel ashamed and at the same time, very thankful for what we do have..
It can be that easy to step into this mindset and to pass it along--(the thankfulness mindset)  I just need to keep the attitude of gratitude in the forefront of my day... and remember that there are so many around this world that have so very little... So many that don't have enough to eat,  that don't have clean water, no comfortable bed, barely any clothing and  little means by which to keep them clean, and on and on.

~Never mind that most of us have luxuries less privileged countries and even some in our own country could only dream of...

For example, how many of us have premium mattresses and bedding to sleep on?-- sleep number beds anyone?,  How about 500 to 1000 thread count bedding (so soft), Or  high quality footwear and clothing... (even if it is from the thrift stores). Here in the reslae shops and thrift shops much of the the merchandise is high quality and gently, if at all, worn and there is usually quite a selection at hand.
 Never mind techno gadgets, entertainment centers, stocked with the latest and newest...?
and many times, these things are the fair of the working poor... Not the wealthy in our country.

  I have many times spent under $20 on an array of clothing and accessories that would have retailed new for over $500-- not exaggerating.  -- and  I know those of you who do the same can attest to such treasure trove excursions!

~But more importantly... there is a key ingredient many miss, whether we are without, and dirt poor... or whether we are rich, and wanting for nothing materially... and that  key ingredient is the rich relationship with Jesus that He means for us to have.

 This is the only way to the lasting peace that won't ever die out --  no matter what the circumstances hold in store for us.
 If we keep our hearts and our purpose (our thoughts and intents of our hearts) fixed on Him-- we will be fulfilled beyond what any temporal stuff or lack of can touch.

We have to try Him though.

  We cannot just sit around and  read about Him... we cannot sit in church and hear about Him and sing about Him.. we have to be about His business... in the here and now, wherever we find ourselves!

  It is only then He becomes real in us!... Then He is alive and thriving in our spirits.

I really stressed over all this for so long...  I felt like--"how can I get back to the place of zeal for ministry to others"?  How can I get beck my zeal for God and His Kingdom--  zeal for sharing His Good News of Freedom  for those captive in sin and oppression.. etc...?

How do I get this compulsion to go out and bring the good news to others, despite the personal cost? (which is consequently so very little compared to the rich and abundant blessing it is to walk this truth and this reality through out our days!)

So, here I was,  in a quandary.

I was so caught up (and still am at times)  with .. "how are we gonna handle this?" or "take care of that?" or "afford this other?" :(
  All the while, the reality was that I already possessed the answer to how to get back to that place of zeal...

 "The irony was that I already had all I needed-- and these other things-- these temporal worries were indeed  inconsequentials... They were, no doubt, distractions to keep my focus off of the Lord, who is quite able and quite willing to take care of all of those things for me, if I would only keep my mind stayed on Him and be about His business." 

Not to be at all glib about it, but it's like working for a wealthy, benevolent employer... right?  You take care of the things that you were enlisted to do, trained to do,  have a talent, and a gifting for and he makes sure all your needs are met, per the agreement upon your coming in to the organization.

Just the same, The Lord sees to it that we have all that we need and much of  what we want and delight in as well, perks,  but the most exciting perk is that we have the privilege of partaking of  His life... He lives His life through us, as His vessels... and this is a most glorious, THE most glorious perk!

I am still struggling (imagine that--seems silly, but my human-ness gets in my way, much to my chagrin...) to make this my  "main" MO... motus operandi... My heart's song, my joy, my strength and my purpose...
 I will never give up , a sojourner at heart... on a pilgrimage to the place where He is... constantly, in my heart.. for it is with Him that I am my best... I am best when  he is the most and I am the least.  This is where I long to stay.

 ~Thanks so much for sticking with me through this... It helps to be able to get real about all of this, to share it...it helps to solidify it in my own spirit.
If anyone else is blessed ...
that's a great bonus.
It was very good to get it out.
Blessings to you all!...
 Suz <3

Starring Noelle and her Pa... compiled by Suz... for her S. Hub whom she adores...Thank You babe... for being you...

A Father is:
A father is a person who is expected to watch the woman he loves suffer during childbirth. He growls good-naturedly when he feels good and laughs very loud when he is scared half to death. A father never feels entirely worthy of the worship in a child's eyes.... He is never quite the hero he yearns to be for his daughter. Never quite the man his son believes him to be.....and this worries him. A father is a person who goes to war sometimes --always at home in the spirit realm on his families behalf, and sometimes physically on tour of duty-- and would run the other way except this is a the main part of the job in his life -  helping to make life better for his children than it has been for him. Fathers grow old faster than other people, because they, at times, have had to stand at the train station and wave goodbye to their sons and daughters as they leave to their fate--  And, while mothers cry where it shows, fathers stand supportive...outside...and die inside. Fathers are men who give daughters away to other men who will never be good enough,  and forever feel they weren't enough of an inspiration for her to keep the bar higher. Fathers fight dragons  daily. They hurry away from the breakfast table off to the arena, which is sometimes called an office or a workshop. There they slay the dragons named Weariness, Stress  Fear and Monotony. And they never quite win the fight, but they never give up. Knights in shining armor; fathers in shiny trousers, or work worn jeans. There's little difference as they march away each workday. a little bit wiser though wearier it seems Author unknown ~edited, changed and elaborated on by Susan Mathison (wife of one of these)

How then shall we live with our husbands, this day?

March 8, 2010
Your Marriage Problems Are All In Your Head




Today’s post is from Courtney, author of the blog Women Living Well and speaker at the upcoming Relevant conference. 

(see her there for more like this)
I’m not saying you are crazy.

But I am saying that your thought patterns affect your marriage. I remember sitting at the dinner table with my daughter in her high chair and my 2 year old son, watching the clock. Tick tock tick tock. These thoughts ran through my mind, “Why is my husband 20 minutes late? He knows the kids are hungry and can’t wait.” Tick tock tick tock. “He is 30 minutes late and hasn’t even called. If he loved me he would at least call”. Tick tock tick tock. “This is so boring just sitting here with 2 children who can’t even carry a conversation…why is he doing this to me?”

Finally, the garage door went up and how do you think I greeted him at the door? Since I had spent 30 minutes brewing angry thoughts, guess what came out of my mouth – angry words. In Luke 6:45 Jesus says “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.”

Imagine you had a cup of hot tea in your hand and your husband bumped your arm and it spilled onto the table. What came out of the cup? Hot tea. If you had coffee, then coffee would have spilled out. In the same way, if you are filling your mind with bitter thoughts towards your husband – then when your “cup gets bumped” what’s going to spill out? Bitter words. But if your mind is filled with good thoughts – then when your “cup gets bumped” what is going to spill out? Compassion and forgiveness.

What have you stored up in your heart towards your husband – are your thoughts of him good?  They were when you were dating!  Many of our marriage problems begin in our heads – in our thought patterns.  If we play a recording over and over of selfish and bitter thoughts then we can expect to have a bumpy ride in marriage.  Here’s how this dinner scenario went once I matured and learned that getting into World War 3 with my husband is more miserable than eating dinner alone!

It’s dinner time, tick tock tick tock…”he’s late again…he knows I hate this so he must have something really important to finish up.  I am so blessed to have a good man who works so hard.  We have food on the table and warm beds because of him. There are widows eating alone tonight.  They don’t even know where their next meal will come from.  I will wait peacefully for my husband to come through the door.”  And when he arrived he was greeted with warm hugs, kisses and the promises of warm intimacy in bed.  Extreme you may ask – not at all. It’s disciplining our minds to stop evil thoughts and create good thoughts.

When a plain ordinary wife spends her day thinking thankful, loving and respectful thoughts about her plain ordinary husband – they can have an extraordinary marriage.  Start today to weed out bitter thoughts in your mind and begin to plant seeds of thankfulness – in no time your marriage will be extraordinary too!

Walk with the King!

Courtney

a few "picniked" pics... from my heart...

I tried to upload these 'bigger" but found myself disappointed. 

I just loved the new X-large option feature for the photo sizes; However, with this  template, it seems I can only have a smaller size of photo or they run into my right hand column videos and such (which are important to me and I want to share as well)

Therefore, my images will now be uploaded "only" on my photo blog 

www.alittlebitofalot.blogspot.com

 That blog link is here on the right hand column... and is called Ornaments of Grace (in case this link isn't live yet)

 I will now only add images here that correspond with my posts... and of course there is also my smugmug gallery to peruse if you have a mind to.

You'll find that one at www.shuttersister.smugmug.com

Anyway.. I am getting the shutterbug again... I am itchin for a camera again... and I'm yearning to learn and grow, in the Lord and in my skill as a photographer... desiring to mix them up and together, create something in co-operation with Him,... and use it for His glory! 

  Only considering  that this pleases Him as well...

and if so... well, 

The possibilities are endless!... photojournalism/signs of the times or maybe photojournalism with a bent toward the human condition with Jesus, and those without... and those who once were with out and now are within!...

maybe focusing on people, and images of where their hearts in Jesus have led them.. and where they have come from, what have they come out of... who are they reaching for Him and how...  or how about Spiritual Gifts... love in action ... etc!

I am  so looking forward to exploring some of these (or all!) Does anyone else have any ideas or inspiration to share?

 

 

 

A glorious song to inspire praise!

Another way to look at life...

~This is a picture my daughter Noelle did when she was nine or ten.

This is the kind of art she liked to do, colorful and from her heart.. she was never much for copying ... (something that as an "artist) :( I felt was necessary for a great sketch)...
...looking at a guide, a piece of clip art, a photo a magazine picture, etc, for an exact representation, so as to "get it just right"...

But (thankfully) not her :)

Still yet, and typically so, she was never satisfied by her work.
...I was awed.
I just adored the honesty in her simple lines and her colorful representations.

I have kept almost all of her work, though she is a tried and true writer now... I hope she writes a book someday and includes her sketches!

About this attitude she held about art, well, it has me thinking. I would love to live the way she drew pictures. Simply, honesty, definitely colorful... and most gracious, and never copying

Her original art was always very gracious.

I love my daughter's art, and her heart...

...I would like to recapture that innocence, now tainted by the harshness life.

The reality is that this kind of life can be lived...only be lived by sticking closely to Jesus for inspriation and guidance, and every thought word and deed...

It is then that my (and anyone's for that matter) life will my life come closer to being a Masterpiece -- Fit for the Masters use., reflecting all the Color, Joy and Grace He intends all our lives to reflect.

~Lord help me to find my life in You, every day... Help me to remember that each day of this life is a gift... and to live it to the full.

Help me to keep Your message for life, uppermost in my thoughts throughout my days,and remembering that I have to live it from the heart, (that "new" heart, that You freely gave when I accepted Your sacrifice on my behalf at Calvary's cross... Thank you Lord for life, for hope, for second chances, for mercy and for grace...


~and for colorful hearts and the pictures they inspire!
grace and peace, mercy and joy, and comfort to you all...
In His Precious Name

Grandkiddos~A Day at the Park, Working Things Out...

The Light Meets The Dark: A Must Listen!

Tenth Avenue North - "Healing Begins" Video Journal:

~ This generation... The one in which my peers begat... are THE VOICE of OUR TIMES, I believe! :)
It is exciting to me to watch what God will do. Am I mistaken, or are the zealous younger people much more outspoken and in greater numbers than those of two decades ago?

As Paul entreated Timothy. a young follower of Christ in his day in 1st Timothy 4:12--to Timothy--young disciple and bringer of God's Truths...His Holy Word:
"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers, in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.
Wow, This is what I hear now, coming forth .. I would have to say, more-so in the "young believers" camp than the older... who it seems have sold out to the milquetoast gospel of ease and fire insurance... period. Yuch. But He will raise up a remnant... and though we have failed to a degree...we have somehow , someway, despite ourselves, inspired the youngers... Praise you Lord!

This is where the healing begins....
His Truths.. Where the Light Meets the Dark

~Who says a 2 year old cannot help with housework?

If you have a child's heart, they will strive to excel.... This dear little heart is a big help to her own Mommy, just as she helped her sitter Noelle here in our kitchen last summer. She was always the brightest spot in our day... Miss you Miss Ava Nicole <3

(((hugs))) (((hugs))) 'n More (((hugs)))

A Sweet Memory to Cherish

~Who says a 2 year old cannot help with housework?

If you have a child's heart, they will strive to excel.... This dear little heart is a big help to her own Mommy, just as she helped her sitter Noelle here in our kitchen last summer. She was always the brightest spot in our day... Miss you Miss Ava Nicole <3

(((hugs))) (((hugs))) 'n More (((hugs)))

Me (Suz) and Tom (Thoms) during the summer of 91

I loved him then, I love him still... maybe more than ever... Yep, I'm sure, it's more than ever...
Thanks babe for almost 18 interesting.adventurous.courageous.terrifying.life-giving.reality-promoting.zealous.devoted.hilarious.nurturing.educational.tender.love-filled years

"We Preach Best What We Need To Hear Most" ...unknown

Oxygen is what all mortal humans breathe.
Faith and Love are what all Spiritual beings breathe.
As a human—stop breathing oxygen and see how weak and powerless and foolish you are, in only a matter of moments.
Spiritually—walk in doubt and fear and self-love, or in rebellion and jealousy and bitterness, or in arrogance... or in self-pity and whining... and the results in your Spirit-life will be just as real and just as devastating as suffocating for lack of oxygen to the physical body.

Cultivate a life of Faith, and Trust, and Love—Believing Him in all things without reservation!
Crush the fear, self-love, self-hate, doubt, and disputes with His Promises and His Ways.
Reject all thoughts of how you are being cheated, or your so-called “rights violated” or that something is not “fair” or that God is not AWESOMELY good and wonderful in ALL His Decisions and Ways.
Step into the OXYGEN of Spiritual LIFE and LOVE: THIS is the victory that overcomes the world, sin, and death: even our Faith.

I love to paint -- but didn't. ;)

I love to paint. But haven't painted in a long while... therefore, am not very "practiced" any longer. I wish I could paint like this... but with digi software from picnik.... look-y what I can do!... turn my daughter's pretty face into what looks like a painting... maybe a little?
Anyway.. I liked it a lot... so I thought I'd post it up!
Happy Spring all!