It's that time again....you know what I'm talking about!! Yep! New Year's Resolutions! But guess what!? I stopped making them long ago. Why, you ask? Because I never keep them, that's why!

This subject was brought up in our Sunday School class yesterday. The question was asked " What is the main resolution most people make?" You guessed it, I bet! Losing weight! Well, you all can see my pretty little bear here, can't you? This is what I tell my hubby ( and even told my doctor! once...LOL). That's my story and I'm sticking to it!!

Finally back to my blogging...

Been gone a long time I know! I had just barely gotten this blog up and going when, as my last post said, I had to begin helping my mom take care of my dad. Then on September 4 we had to admit him to one of our local hospice homes. He was there exactly 5 weeks when he died on October 9. It was a daily struggle for him and for us as well. I don't think there was a day that he didn't tell us he wanted to die. He questioned the drs. and nurses as to why he couldn't just die. His body was worn out and he was so miserable. I prayed every day we were there that God would just call him home. But things don't always go the way we want them to. God has His own timing in everything.

It has been a hard stuggle for my mom as she has dealt with being alone now. The holidays have been especially hard for her. I would say that they have been for me as well, but I would be lying. It was a great relief and blessing for me that he was finally at peace. That may sound strange to some, but when someone you love is that sick and has suffered for any length of time, I truthfully believe that deep inside you have to be happy for them if they were a Christian and prepared to meet God.

So as a tribute to my dad and others who are spending their first Christmas with their Heavenly Father , I want to share a poem that was shared with me. I don't know the author, but if anyone reading this does, if you'll let me know, I'll be glad to give credit to them.

My First Christmas In Heaven

I see the countless Christmas trees around the world below

With tiny lights, like Heaven's stars, reflecting on the snow.

The sight is so spectacular, please wipe away the tear

For I am spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.

I hear the many Christmas songs that people hold so dear

But the sounds of music can't compare with the Christmas choir up here.

I have no words to tell you, the joy their voices bring,

For it is beyond description, to hear the angels sing.

I know how much you miss me, I see the pain inside your heart

But I am not so far away, We really aren't apart.

So be happy for me, dear ones, You know I hold you dear

And be glad I'm spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.

I sent you each a special gift, from my heavenly home above

I sent you each a memory of my undying love.

After all, love is a gift more precious than pure gold

It was always most important in the stories Jesus told.

Please love and keep each other, as my Father said to do

For I can't count the blessings or love he has for each of you.

So have a Merry Christmas and wipe away that tear

Remember, I am spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.

I pray you've all had a blessed Christmas and will have an even better new year!

I don't like change....

Call me dull...boring...set in my ways! But I don't like change. But God uses different things in our lives to bring about growth and to keep us on our knees! I'm at that place in my life where I'm

" changing places" with my parents! My dad is in the last stages of his life after battling with heart disease for more than 25 years. Open heart surgery, 3 heart attacks, and 3 pacemakers in all of those years. Now he's pretty much bedfast. So....I am closing down my daycare to help my mom take care of him.

I have been doing daycare for the most of the last 30 years and it will be difficult to not have children around me every day Monday through Friday. But, I really don't have a choice at this point. With my brother's death last year , I'm all they have left. It's not that I don't love them or don't want to take care of them. I just hate losing my kids and I love being at home. I'm an introvert, I guess you might say. I prefer keeping to myself alot. Not to the point of it being unhealthy. I do love being around other people as well. My parents, my kids and grandkids, the people in our church, and most of all my husband. I just love being in my own home.

But they need me right now. They've always been there for me, and now I want to be there for them. And....if my mom doesn't have some help she'll soon be down and then I'll have both of them to take care of...which will probably mean the nursing home. And I don't want that to happen if we can aviod it.

So...change is necessary at this point. And I'll deal with it. God will give me the grace and strength I need to face each day. He has never failed me. I trust Him with everything I have and every member of my family. I don't know what tomorrow holds, but I do know Who holds tomorrow!

Whew! Busy week!

But a good week! We had our " Save the Planet" Crusade with Jamey Ragle! He is sooooooo good! If you're reading this ( I feel like I'm talking to myself here all the time) and you ever have the opportunity to hear this man take it! He is so blessed by God with the ability to communicate to others the truths of God's Word! Especially the youth. And can do it quite comically, too. We had a three night crusade and I was wishing it could have gone on all week( even as tired as I was).

Then yesterday my mom calls and says my dad seems to be getting worse. He has battled heart disease for more than 20 yrs. now and is going downhill pretty quickly the past few months. He had the new pacemaker/defibrilator put in in March and it has been a downhill battle ever since. But he did want some fish yesterday and his appetite seems to still be pretty good. Husband and I went by the fish and steak house and got plates for him, my mom and the two of us. He seemed to really enjoy his. Then I took my mom to the drugstore for refills on their meds and she needed to do grocery shopping as well, so we did that, too. Husband stayed with my dad. We'll be going back over this afternoon to check on them and do a few more things for them. We've got to figure out how to rearrange their living room furniture so my mom can order a hospital bed for him. It will help her that she won't have to be pulling on him to help him get in and out of bed.

We've been getting lots of peas from the garden. I've put 78 bags in the freezer. That will be more than enough for us. Took some to 2 of our ladies in the church. There are some that need picking this morning, but husband is gone with our youngest son to pick up a dog and I have far too much to do inside the house today. We've offered them to some of the neighbors, but they don't want to pick them, so I guess they'll just dry up. Nah.....husband will most likely get out there when he gets back and pick them to give to someone.

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Isaiah 41:10~ Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

The Lord's Day!

I love Sundays and being able to gather with other believers in God's House! My pastor husband brought a wonderful message this morning entitled " Is Your All on the Altar?" . His scripture reading was from Romans 12:1 - " I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."

Do we even consider that God holds our very breath in His hands? What kinds of sacrifices are we willing to make to see the Kingdom of God move forward?

As my dh preached this morning....God wants our 'firstfruits' not our 'leftovers'. He wants first place in our lives. He must come before husband, wife, children, mother, father, brother, sisters....serving Him must come before attending that family reunion, or Sunday dinner at Grandma's. When revival efforts are going on in your church, He must come before that tv program you would like to stay home and watch. When it comes time to go back for the Sunday night services, forget that skiing trip you had planned!

We have 6 days a week....more than 300 days a year that we can do the things we enjoy. There are 144 hours in a week. Surely we can sacrifice 5 or 6 of those to attend the Sunday morning, evening and mid week services in the church of our choice. Surely we can sacrifice 30 minutes or an hour a day for personal Bible study and prayer. Surely out of the 24,365 hours we have in a year we can take a few minutes here and there to speak to someone about their eternal destiny.

He took a beating and sacrificed His own life so that we might have a way to spend eternity with Him one day. We can't work for our salvation, but when we become a child of the King, we can surely let Him know how much we love Him by serving Him faithfully!

Remember ....He gave the very best thing He had....his own precious Son...so that you might escape the horrors of hell. Give Him the best of yourself! When you fail to serve Him with all your heart, soul, and mind, you break His heart.

A pastor gets discouraged when every message God gives him seems to fall on deaf ears. You expect your pastor to be faithful in the calling God has placed on his life. You have a calling on yours as well. Step up and place your all on the altar. Be all that He calls you to be! He loves you so much!!

God bless you as you serve him!

Days off begins!

Thank You, Lord, for time off! I am so tired and need a break from the daycare kiddies! Thankfully my 9 days off has officially begun. They'll all be back on the 9th.

I have so many things I need to accomplish while they are not here....not sure how much of it will get done, but nevertheless...it all needs doing.

I'm trying hard to get myself back in action around here. I've been bogged down too long and need to pull my feet out of the mud and get busy. I can't remember the last time I was caught up on everything here.

I'll probably post a little of what I'm doing sometime next week, so stay tuned!

My first blog!!

Wow! I have been so inspired by so many other women's blogs I decided " Why not have one of you own!" Now I know nothing about creating anything on the world wide web! but hey! You never know what something simple might do for someone else! My prayer is that God will always shine through anything He puts in my heart and mind to do! He is our Creator and when we give Him our lives it is supposed to be for whatever purpose He wants to use us for, right?!

I have been so blessed with all the wonderful friends I've "met" online! So many precious godly women that are so talented and blessed with gifts that He has given them to bless others!

So we shall see where this leads and my prayer is that He will use it to glorify Himself!

May God richly bless you today!

Janice ( NHizName)