Good morning and happy Friday. Thankfulness. Be blessed today and be thankful for it. Give God glory for all He does and has done in your life. Be thankful for the freedom we enjoy and take for granted. This weekend thank the men and women of our military for their sacrifice for our country so that we can give thanks to God. It's a long three day weekend. Take the time to enjoy it and rest and give thanks. Don't save it till November. Be thankful everyday. Let it be humble thanks. Thank you all for listening to these rambles everyday too. God puts things on us and we just have to say them to somebody. Thank you for being "it". I love you. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Thursday. Have you ever read the Ten Commandments? Do you know all ten?  Do you think you can live a week and not break one of them? Ever wonder why God made the rules so hard to live? Yet they seem easy enough really. I can go a week or two and not kill anyone. But there are some others that I don't know if I get through a day without breaking. The bar is set real high for a reason. So that we quit trying to do it alone. We need help. We need God in our lives so that those things are doable. We need Him. That's the whole idea. We are His to do whatever He wants. But He wants us to willingly choose Him. Making us love Him, which He can do, is not love at all. It's our choice to love Him or not. When we reach a point of maturity in our lives and start to see God better, we begin to understand all that rules and needing Him to live by them stuff. We begin to see with His eyes. We see people's hearts and not their shirt. It's our choice to be there though. Choose God. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Wednesday. How much stuff do you have? How many things do you have?  How many toys? Are they yours? Do you own them? Sure, on paper and in this world we do. People always say the poor talk about possessions and the rich because they don't have anything so they point to others to feel better. Might be true for some. Did you know Jesus and His disciples were homeless and poor? Had no food or jobs for three years? The example He was living for us was to rely on God and He will provide. It doesn't mean to sit around on your butt and do nothing. It also doesn't mean that the one with the most toys is doing better than everyone else. I have gotten to that place in my life where I've seen God give and take away, and then give right back. He truly is in control of all of this and when we come to see it, we will be much more willing to follow His will. Fear drives our need for things. Fear drives our failures in life because we believe those things. With God there is no fear. To be like Him is to be fearless. But we're human. We can't be totally fearless. No, but we can be a lot less fearful than we are. That comes with our relationship with the Father. Knowing I don't "own" this stuff and it's His to take when He wants leads me to another place. A place of dependence on Him. That's what we have to come to. He's got this. It's His anyway. Enjoy the blessings of life and the things He has blessed you with. Just don't let them own you or He will remove them from you so you can focus better on Him. In love always. <>< 

Good morning and happy Tuesday. My patio has needed to be cleaned off for a while now. Just not enough time in a day or week sometimes. It's been a good busy though. Lots of stuff going on and a little neglect in an area that doesn't have to be tended to today. Well, the patio is pretty clean without me lifting a finger. As a matter of fact, with the mowing of the jungle back there, I added to the mess. We had a nice rain last night. Real heavy drops here too. Patio is clean and fresh. Just needs a touch up. God shows up in the small stuff of our lives just like that all the time. He knows the whys behind something like why the patio isn't done. He knows why the things at work are going the way they are. He knows why the marriage is at the place it is. He will move on our behalf when we are doing what we can. Sometimes it's just simple perseverance. He needs to know if you can go the distance in the bigger race He has for you. If not, you will be doing laps to get into shape for it. None of this is new, it's just how and when we recognize it in our lives. We are quick to let others know that God will get them though it, but blind to the fact when it's happening to us. The people I know that have that kind of faith and trust blow me away when they're running those laps. Nice a smooth and an easy pace. Do what has to be done and Trust God to be God. It has helped me live a better and more peaceful life. And to see other struggling in the same water lets me know I'm doing it right. What to do with those struggling is another day, today it's about getting our faith in line so we can help those others. Trust God to help you. Have faith that it's going to be ok. Because when it's over, you'll see that He was right there with you all along. In love always. <><

Good morning and happy Monday. Can there be happiness in sacrifice? Even if the sacrifice is painful?  Can you let something or someone go, while wanting it or them the whole time, and still find happiness? We all know that if it's for the best and greater good that we can find it inside somewhere to be happy. So, what about Jesus on the cross? It was physically and emotionally painful to be there and still see how many would reject Him. To go through all that for us, to have so many turn away from Him. Yet there is happiness and great joy found in this most giving sacrifice of all. All those who have come to Him to be saved and have a place at His table in eternity. Are you breaking His heart by holding out til the last days? He sees you and He knows you and He died for you. He did that so we would have a way Home. Follow Him the rest of your days to gates of Heaven and throw your arms around His neck and say thank you for your sacrifice for me so I can be here. There is great happiness in sacrifice. Bring joy to others and yourself by giving of yourself.  It's worth any pain you may have to go through. In love always <><