Count It All Joy!

How is it Monday morning already?

It seems as if someone hit the fast forward button on the weekend, and it was over before I knew it.

Monday's take a hard assault.

Most people dread Monday; they loathe it; they despise it. I think if it were possible they simply would remove it off the calendar and extend our Sunday into two days instead. (sounds good to me!)

But I think we are forgetting something, a change in how we perceive Monday.

As a child, one of my favorite toys was the Etch-O-Sketch. Probably something children today might find frustrating and difficult to manage because it requires patience and doesn't gratify instantaneously like technology today does.

Turning those knobs brought you up and down or left and right, but you could never simply pick up and start your line over again someplace else. If you made a mistake, you had to shake it up and down and begin again. But the line you began with was continuous, unbroken, and you just never knew what picture you might wind up with.  (The drawing on top was what mine used to look like).

But our lives every morning can be a new beginning. We simply have to see it like that Etch-O-Sketch and realize that whatever mistakes we made yesterday, we get a fresh day to begin again. Today is a first for us.

The first time to live today.

Until today, we only lived yesterdays. All the things that happened yesterday can not be changed by walking into today and carrying it with us. Today is our do-over.

Today we can make different choices than we did yesterday.

Today we can forget the things that hurt us yesterday and accept today as a new day and let those things go.

Nothing we do today, can change the impacts of yesterday. We can only pick up today and start fresh with new choices, new perspectives and new hope.

There is a reason the Word of God has us moving forward and not looking back. We need to readjust our focus and keep pressing on to what lies ahead.

Even runners in a race, know that when they look back to see how fast others are gaining on them, losing their focus. Professional runners never look back. They only focus on what lies ahead.

That is exactly what we need to do today.

Today is a new day, a fresh new piece of paper just waiting to see what you can do with today. Forget tomorrow. Forget yesterday, what can you do with today?

The possibilities are endless if you are but willing to change how you see the day. Perhaps this Monday, might be your best Monday ever. It is the first Monday for you today, how will you choose to spend your day?

James 1:2 "Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy." (New Living Translation).

Awards Are Like the Passing of the Torch!

I awoke this morning a lot different than other mornings this week to more pain. Yes, just when I thought I might be able to wean myself out of bed, other than taking a shower, and possibly join life outside my bedroom, my body had other plans. "Not today!" it said. Which has left me feeling a little lower than dirt on my floor if it hadn't been vacuumed up by my daughter earlier.

Then this morning, life handed me my second lemon. Blogger and Goggle were the target of an attack today according to the BBC news and I wasn't able to log in for hours. I could see the contents of my dashboard page, but couldn't visit other blogs, view my own, and even post comments. My life preservers today were Loren and Kat who emailed me to tell me that I was not alone in the sea of blogging hell. I had to make room as they climbed in with me.

Yet like most storms at sea, shining moments prevailed, first the issue with Blogger was resolved, and the Google mess was eliminated as I remained watchful and commenting on both the Blogger Help Forum and Google's as well. We were rescued.

Once back on board our ship, I was treated to no warm blankets and coffee, well kinda sorta but two amazing blog awards. The first, bless my life boat buddy was from Kat at Art's Chili. She is my soul sister on the east coast that I have so much in common with, we just have to be related. She passed along the True Heart Award above. I am to pass this award along to:

"Those who receive this award are of the sweetest nature. They are kind, friendly, funny, loving, eager to share their love for Jesus with others, and brave in their efforts to reflect Him to this darkened world. They are the kind of folks you're blessed to know, even if it's only in the bloggy-sphere."

The good thing about this is I can pass this along to as many or as few as I want. So without further hesitation I am passing this torch to:

1. Sharlyn at Dancing on Rainbows.

2. Migraine Mom.

3. Lisa Shaw at Sharing Life with Lisa.

4. Michelle at Psalm 104:24.

5. Warren at Family Fountain.

6. Christina at Luvin This Life.

7. Sea Glass Reflections.

8. Charlotte at Simply Divine Love.

9. Lidj at Crown of Beauty.

10. Andrea at Arise 2 Write.

11. Rosel at Off the Beaten Trek.

12. Loren at The Magoo's News

13. Tiffany at Tea with Tiffany.

14. Yolanda at Higher Grounds

15. Steve at Gotta Have Faith

Here is what all of you need to do. Pass this award along, please. Don't let it sit in your blog, thinking you don't deserve it, accept it in God's glory for the work you all do everyday you blog, and pass it along to someone else that you believe needs to know that their work isn't going un-noticed and don't tell people to come and get it either. We all know these bloggers aren't selfish to just take, then want to be like you and get it first hand from someone, it means something then.

When you list it on your blog, please head on over to them, congratulate them and let them know that they have this award so they can pick it up at your site. Otherwise they will never know.



WAIT, I am not finished yet. That was just my warm cup of coffee I received on the life boat, I also got a blanket remember. That was courtesy of Country Mom who passed along this lovely little award, called the Loyal Friend and Visitor Award. If you haven't been to her blog, please do. It is as warm and welcoming as it sounds and we all need more people visiting our blogs and leaving comments, otherwise we would never know people are stopping by.

Again this blog comes with no limits on the amount of people you can pass this on to, and for me the winners are:

1. Kat at Art's Chili.

2. Loren at The Magoo's News.

3. Annette at Lemonade Skies.

4. Tiffany at Tea with Tiffany.

5. Andrea at Arise 2 Write.

6. Rosel at Off the Beaten Trek.

7. Lidj at Crown of Beauty.

8. Mari at My Little Corner of the World.

9. Silver at Reflections

10. Jennifer at Through the Storms of Life

11. Leslie at Writing for the Lord

12. Collette at Jesus Loves Mums

13. Christy at The Secret Life of an American Wife and Mom

14. Lisa at Sharing Life with Lisa

15. Amy at Filled with Praise

You need to pass this award on to those loyal followers that comment, and follow you no matter where you go, offer a kind word when you need to hear it, and just keep encouraging you on to take that next step. Please once nominated, go and tell them about their award as well and let them know how much they mean to you as all these people have.

I would have just copied and pasted by who list of blogs I follow and who follow me, but then again its not fun to just hand them all out yourself, you need to spread the love around. SO please let people know that you care and thank them for following you too!

OK, now I am officially done, don't forget to click on my captions contest and enter to win! No purchase necessary and you can enter as many times as you want.

In Need of A Laugh? Look No Further!

I had to pass this along because like all good treasures when you share something really good you know most people won't find, you post a link so they can share in your fun.

Well I have to pass along this link to my hubbies blog for today not so much because he is said "Hubby", but because he really came up with something funny and thought provoking to write about today.

It's about Ants and that much as we try to get rid of the little buggers, they keep finding a way back into our lives no matter where we go...

so click here for his post at Gotta Have Faith to find out just why they exist and also what really goes on in their little world.

Somethings are just too good to keep to ourselves. We must share what we find!

Thankful Thursday

Thursday's are a great way to reflect on what we are so thankful for, and I think it makes us stop and think so we are not so caught up in other things. If you haven't do so already, stop by Sonya's blog, Truth 4 The Journey to find out how you too can become part of the Thankful Thursday group.

Here is my thanks for the week:

1. I am thankful that I never take God's grace and love for granted. Too often when things are going great, we have a tendency to forget about God because we don't "need" Him, but I am thankful He is always looking out for us to make sure things are going His way in our life. So when things go right, it's that time you should take to say, Hey Lord, thanks for the blessings you are giving me today!

2. I am thankful I have a wonderful husband and best friend in Steve. There are just times when I need him to be my friend and help me deal with life and other times I need his love and support as a husband. He is a classic example on a daily basis on all the goodness that God has given me through him. He is also the kind that will go to the store at 9pm just to get you a heat pack because you are in pain, after a long day at work for him.

3. I am thankful for Spring Break. It's so nice as a homeschool mom to get mini vacations. Mornings when I am not running all over town taking and dropping kids off somewhere, where mornings consist of long, slow starts, pajamas til 11 or all day, relaxing days where we just get to be together without obligations. It's so nice, can't wait for summer vacation!

4. I am thankful for the windy 55-75mph winds that are on their way out of town. We are expecting 90 degree temps by the weekend, but it will be short lived. Time to find something relaxing to do, like beach combing this weekend perhaps. Thanks God, for clearing the skies!

5. I am thankful that my oldest daughter was able to sign up for sign language classes at church. It's something she has wanted to do for some time and we thought she would be taking them at the college in the fall. God just blessed us with timing and price. $5.00 isn't bad at all.

May everything good or bad that happens today, glorify God in all His goodness and mercy! He alone is in control of everything!

Good Friday!

Today holds such significance! I woke up this morning to the most amazing thought and I wanted to share it with you. I get emails from Max Lucado, one of my most favorite authors and wanted to share with you, his meaning of why as Christians the cross remains our symbol for Christ. The article begins by analyzing why as Christians would we take the cross as a symbol of our Savior's torture device. 

Why would we want to remember that? Take any symbol and make it mean something. A mini electric chair, a guillotine, an ax? Basically we are taking something, like a cross, and using it to signify our religion and our beliefs. Many don't see that way. Crosses are everywhere, they are on the top of churches, engraved on tombstones, hung on our walls in our homes, and even worn as jewelry around the neck. Yet besides the significance that the cross did not kill our Savior, we choose to hold it as a way to remember. A way to remember the ultimate sacrifice that was paid for everyone of us that has lived, so that we can share in the abundance of life everlasting, provided to us by Jesus Christ and our belief in Him. 

How sad to think how many people go through life without true faith and hope in something better than this life. My heart goes out to people lost in this world, bound by their own self inadequacies, faults, mistakes that they have made or currently making, and living a shell of existence as they go through life each day. How different is the life of a believer especially this weekend! We have hope, joy, peace, love and all the gifts of the spirit. We also have the added benefit of knowing that this life is temporary, our suffering in it, is nothing compared the suffering Jesus Christ took upon His perfect body and soul for us! 

We should be happy even in the midst of crisis because we didn't have to endure what Christ did for us. I believe today is a time to reflect on that day. To review and read the gospels stories of Jesus' final days. It's a time to realize that our bad days are nothing compared to the days Jesus faced in his final hours. It's time to remember that this life is temporary and we are just visitors in the place, designed to make sure we add to the very population of our eternal home, by taking as many believers with us as possible. Heaven has no capacity limits, and then again neither does hell. 

However, I would rather spread the news about hope and joy, than eternal damnation and suffering that nothing here on earth, could ever imagine. This Easter, it's about life! Eternal life! Just those two words are enough for me! Now here is what Max had to say about what he believes the cross truly means. Love his definition! "Why is the cross the symbol of our faith? To find the answer look no farther than the cross itself. Its design couldn't be simpler. One beam horizontal--the other vertical. One reaches out--like God's love. The other reaches up--as does God's holiness. One represents the width of his love; the other reflects the height of his holiness. The cross is the intersection. The cross is where God forgave his children without lowering his standards." May you all have a truly wonderful and blessed Easter!

A Gift From God

I had to add this extra blog in as a super surprise and at the majesty of just how God can bless your life at the lowest of hours! I got a blog award from Sitka on All God's Creatures! This truly made my day and it's so hard to get passed up by all the little things in life, but this one was just like getting an academy award.

Two rules accompany this award:
1. Confess 5 things you are addicted to
2. Pass the award on to 5 deserving bloggers

Task one: 5 Things That I Am Addicted To:

1. Grey's Anatomy. Never miss an episode if I can help it. Yes, I am one of those people filled with the hope that Meredith and Derek will finally get married and live happily ever after.
2. Chocolate. Perferably the darker and sweeter the better. Plus I heard it's good for your heart too! I especially love See's Dark Chocolate Bordeauxs.
3. My Hubby. I was loving him far before he ever fell for me. He helped me through one of the most difficult times of my life, and now loves me in spite of my many shortcomings, too many to list here.
4. My kids. Yes, they can get on my nerves sometimes, but I would never trade a day without them. They help mold me into the mom I am today.
5. God. He is not only the period at the end of each sentence in my book on my life, but the author, publisher, editor, and creator! Some may wonder why I placed Him last instead of first, and the truth is, He is always first in my life but He is also my last. He completes who I am and even though I leave Him sometimes, He never abandons me. He is always there for me.

Task Two - The blog award is being passed to:

1. Caitlyn at Dear Craisin . She is my daughter and its her first blog, I think it's amazing that she is writing from a teenager's point of view. My goal for her was to continue to write as a journal and be able to look back at both the high and low points of her life and see the amazing ways God has blessed her. A mom couldn't be more proud.

2. Samm at Samm's Inspirations. Again another teenager that I know quite well that has used her blog to help her through a difficult time in her life. She is working on advancing her photography career as well as her spiritual walk in a home where her parents are hard on her. Keeping the faith!

3. Michelle at Scribbit. She has the most amazing blog and has inspired me to follow suit. I can only hope at some point to live up to her blog. She is a mom who lives in Alaska and I find myself living through her eyes what life is like in Alaska. She gives great advice to bloggers and I look forward to reading her post everyday!

4. Layla at the The Lettered Cottage. She is super amazing designer and the ideas and pictures she shares has given me some hope that some of my ideas might not be so far off. She will even do a consultation for you via her site and email for a fee. So if you have that hard to decorate room or like me, have tried in vane to find the right paint color for the room, she is the answer.

5. Rachel at Made With Love and Glue. Again she is amazing with creative, low cost ideas that will not only inspire you to join in but will give you the faith to step out on your own as well and try some simple things. Love this site.

Thanks again to my wonderful friends for all your wonderful blogs and amazing ideas.