Glory Bee Attitudes

80 Degrees and gorgeous. That's how to describe this fine April day. There's a front moving in and rainy weather on the way. But the earlier part of the day was just right for gardening. We enjoyed the time together as we pruned and clipped and weeded. We found little treasures hiding here and there. What a wonderful way to spend a few hours with my DH who less than a week ago was pretty darn sick. Thank You God for bringing him back and thank You for this day! =

With Mothers' Day just around the corner, I wanted to post on this topic now. I don't like to take away from the joy of Mothers' Day because there are so many wonderful mothers to celebrate. For those of us who have never been able to have children, it can be a difficult day however. The following is an answer I posted in response to a woman who had asked for prayer that her daughter would have a baby. I am happy to report at this time that the daughter is blissfully in her 2nd trimester: I will pray for your daughter. We will all believe the best and positively focus on what God can do. However, as someone who for years battled infertility, I do believe that it is important to be prepared that God doesn't give a baby to every woman who asks. People often refer to women of the Bible who asked for children and were granted their wishes. This is wonderful news. God can and will often provide a child. But we live in human bodies that often have frailties, one of wh

Okay, so maybe you’re not Al Gore. Or maybe you are. You might be looking to save the planet but you can also save a few bucks. Go out on a limb and check out those hybrids. I did and am I ever glad. My Prius is roomy, fun to drive, quiet, interesting, and of course fuel-efficient. This is a good time as the new models are out and the older modles are being reduced in order to move them. I put off buying a new car for a bit and then I wasn’t so sure what I wanted. Everyone worries about the batteries. Toyota guarantees them for 8 years or 100,000 miles. Isn’t it kind of like saying you don’t want to buy a an automatic because you are afraid the transmission will break? See more progress on: own a hybrid car

Well, the long story is that I was overweight 7 months ago and decided to do something about it. I went to Weight Watchers. I weighed in that first night at 144.5. I’m happy to say I’m now down to 132. My most immediate goal is to lose 1 more pound so that I will be at my 10% loss. Then my second goal is to “see the 2 in digit 2” – meaning 129. My goal weight is actually 128 but seeing that 2 will mean so much, even if the last pound takes a bit. I’ve been taking weight off the way I put it on which is slowly in small amounts. But I have made some important lifestyle changes and that makes me feel very, very good. The next thing to work on is moving (a euphimism for exercising) more and eating more fruits and veggies… but I’m doing so much better than I was. I no longer chomp on chocolate like there’s no tomorrow or pound down potato chips as if I still had the metabolism of my fourteen year old self. See more progress on: lose 5 more pounds

Walk with me through our yard today and marvel at the beauty of spring. I snapped these photos today about an hour before the storm. The flowering trees are in bloom. The wisteria is on the arbor. The pergola and front porch are welcoming spring. Even the dandelions are there to remind me that a gardener's work is never done. I hope the neighbors like wisteria (forgot to prune and it's overhanging into their yard) The bottle brush will soon be blooming This is where we spend many a summer moment. I love to read in the hammock on lazy afternoons. Below the candy tuft is coming alive in the wheelbarrow If you look closely you can see the first rosebud of the season. It won't be long before the roses are in full bloom. Ah, spring! I wish I could share the fragrance online As I was saying.... there's STILL work to be done! But oh darn, I can't do it now.... Here comes the rain! It's a good thing I picked some of the beauty to adorn the inside.

The day turned out differently than we planned. I had expected to go out for breakfast with a friend to a favorite little place. Then I was coming home to help Lloyd with some yardwork and in the evening we had dinner plans with some friends from my work. But we ended up in the ER today and my DH was admitted. I have great peace about things. I'm sure he will be fine. They are keeping him to make sure there is nothing life-threatening but so far all tests look pretty good. So often things don't happen the way we think they will. But as I was sitting next to my honey holding his hand while we waited between tests, I was reminded of what I already knew - that the things that really matter are not really things.

It was a beautiful day here in the Mid-Atlantic. We had unseasonably high temps and it was a day for spring fever. Sometimes on days like this when all seems right in my world I wonder how it gets any better than this. I think back to all the springs in my life. I remember times I took a mental health day just to feel the newness of the season. I recall a lilac dress I had when I was a senior in high school and how I felt like spring personified. I recollect writing poetry and being in love and just feeling like I was walking on air. Here's my joy list from today: The high clouds in the bright blue sky The scent of the spring blooms The pretty tulips out front at the building where I work Flowering trees along the highway The feel of the sun The flower sale we had as a fundraiser and the pretty begonias I bought Seeing everyone break out their warm season clothes Knowing our dear little cat was spending most of the day on his favorite perch on the sun porch Thinking about the u

I was just looking up the lyrics to a worship song. There are a lot of websites that have misleading popups but it seems that sites that contain lyrics (of any sort) are the worst offenders. To the uninitiated these popups look like bona fide MS windows messages. They say things like "browser refresh recommended" or "do you want to prevent spam?" or "Initiate virus checker?" and they have yes/no buttons that when pressed usually run a script that can at best be cookies or spyware and at worst a malicious virus. Even with a popup blocker a lot of these seem to sneak through. It reminded me of how 2 Corinthians 11:14 says that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. It is sometimes difficult to tell the genuine from the impostor if we are not Spirit led. We need to ask for discernment and we need to study the Word of God. Proverbs 3:21 says we should preserve sound judgment and discernment and not let them out of our sight. The Matthew Henr

Every night before we go to bed we set the security alarm in our home. Because it would be so easy to forget that the alarm is on and to inadvertently open the door, we have devised a reminder system. It beats having to remember our secret passcode in the middle of the night or worse, have the police show up, scaring the daylight out of us. With a dog in the house, the likelihood of having to open the door during the course of the night is higher and so is the probability of setting off the screaming intrusion signal. So our method is to take a two of the many baseball hats we have around the house and put them on the doorknob whenever we set the alarm from the inside. Before we reach for the knob we see that there is something in the way and we think twice about opening that door. On more than one occasion I have put the hats on the door but forgot to set the alarm. This makes the hats meaningless symbols and creates a false sense of security. While we won't be setting off a

Some photos of our two darling "boys". Wuzzy is the 3 year old male cat. Yogi is the 13 year old shih tzu. They get along quite well. Which makes me think that if a dog and a cat can get along, why can't the Baptists and the Pentacostals or the Catholics and the Methodists or the Independents and the Episcopalians...... or, well you get the picture. Is the difference because we have a volition? But we are also intelligent and can reason. So why don't we reason that we may not agree on all points but the important thing is who Christ is and what He has done?

Some notes from this morning's church service: Ezekiel 36:26 - He gives us a new heart and a new spririt. A believer can have a stony heart. Hebrews 3:8 says do not harden your heart. In verse 10 we grieve Him with our erring hearts. In Jjeemiah 7:5-9 it speaks of a deceitful heart. But He gave us a new spirit and a new heart. 2 Peter 1:4 Divine power is given unto us. This is theantric action (from theos = God and anthropos = man). In John 15 He is the vine and we are the branches. The new heart and the new spirit know the ways of God. We were raised form the dead in Him. He didn't just fix our hearts. He gave us new ones. We are new creatures (2 Corinthians 5:17). 1 Corinthians 2:14-15, 3:1. Types of people: 1) The natural (soulish) 2) The spritual (knows all things as God reveals 1 John 2:20) 3) The carnal (fleshly, not currently operating in the spirit or partaking of divine nature in his experience). Ephesians 5:18 Be filled with The Spirit. Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:8. The s

DH, Lloyd, and I had a terrific day today. It's still pretty early spring but it was an unseasonably warm day. We went out for lunch to one of our favorite eateries, The Open Door Cafe. Then we did some shopping together. We met a wonderful saleswoman at Macy's. It turns out she is a Christian. She's from Massachusetts where Lloyd used to hang out as a young man. Her husband is a dentist. His practice is not too far from where we live so we might give him a try. Then we drove about a bit and took the long way home down the back roads. When we came home we spent about two hours out in the yard, mostly cleaning up in preparation for the days ahead. We love spending time in our pergola in the summer. There's always lots of old dead growth to get rid of. We deadheaded the Rose of Sharon, pulled up some weeds, took the slime off the pond plants, fed the fish, etc. Just before the cooler air came in followed by the rain, we had time to grill and enjoy dinner on the deck. What

I'm not feeling so well tonight and I'm also very weary. So I thought I'd post some verses and songs and quotes on healing. I know that God still heals for I have seen it and experienced it. Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and healing shall spring up quickly. Isaiah 58:8 Whatever you ask for in Prayer with faith you will receive. Matthew 21:22 Heal me, O Lord and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved; for thou art my praise. Jeremiah 17:14 Daughter your faith has made you well, go in peace,And be Healed of your disease. Mark 5:34 He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. Psalm 107:20 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint Isa. 40:31 Hanging By A Threadby Jeff and Sheri Easter A woman needed healing,Of that dreaded disease. Her money brought physicians,But only Jesus could br

Tonight I've been paying bills. It's a tiresome job but someone's got to do it. Thank God for His provisions in terms of a job and finances. Sometimes we struggle but He never lets us down. I like to use an online bill paying system. I don't have to worry about getting cash or writing and mailing checks. I just enter the payee and the amount and it is taken care of. Ah, yes, I thank God too for modern conveniences like this. I got to thinking about imputed righteousness. When I make a payment, my account is debited, but someone gets a credit. And when my employer pays me, it is a direct deposit and in that case I receive the credit. Romans 4 says of Abraham: 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22 This is why "it was credited to him as righteousness." Because we believe the promises of God, He credit

Just thinking today of some church signs I've seen: 7 Days without prayer makes one weak No Jesus - No Peace, Know Jesus, Know Peace Going in the wrong direction? God allows U-Turns Sign broken. Come inside for the message Here are some web links to funny church signs: http://wilk4.com/humor/humorc13.htm http://www.oddee.com/item_86516.aspx http://www.divinecaroline.com/article/22326/41760-funny-church-signs http://www.slate.com/id/2167297/

I'm reading a novel about a murder trial. The lawyers frequently make outrageous speculations or badger the witnesses. The opposing counsel will shout "Objection!" often the judge will rule "sustained". The lawyer will then say "withdrawn". But the damage has already been done. You can't put the words back in your mouth or hit the rewind button and erase what a jury has heard. On television you will sometimes hear a judge say "the jury will disregard the remarks...." How do you disregard something that has already made an impression on you? Ephesians 4:29 says that we are to let no corrupt communication proceed out of our mouths. What does something corrupt do? It usually corrupts what's around it. But the admonition in the same verse is to instead concentrate on "that which is good to the use of edifying". What does something edifying do? It builds up like an edifice higher and higher. The result is at the end o

I belong to some online groups that are designed to share special interests like reading, cooking, travel, etc. Often replies to a post will get off on a tangent and before you know it, the subject is changed to begin with "OT" for "off topic". In some groups members or moderators will try to abolish off topic posts in order to keep down volume and to keep the posts related to the subject of the mail group. But it's comforting to know that nothing is OT with God. We can go to Him in prayer and pour out our hearts. We can approach Him about anything and everything in our lives and He listens. We don't have to have a religious formula for prayer. If we read something from a prayer book that's okay too if it expresses our hearts. But if the prayer is "HELP" or "God, I can't go on" or even if we lash out in fear or anger, it's okay. It doesn't change the way He feels about us. He loves us unconditionally. He is looking for us

I've been pondering the notion that Christians will cast their crowns at the feet of Jesus. When I think of our reaction to meeting the King Of Kings when we are in Heaven, I am bowled over. He will reward us with crowns for the lives that we lived here on earth. But we will take those very crowns and give them back. When I heard this as a child, I thought it signified ungratefulness. I mean, why return a gift? But as I grew in the grace and knowledge of Our Lord, I realized that we will be responding to His Holiness. As we grasp the true meaning of grace and mercy and love, we will know in a beautiful response of humility that He is the one who made it all possible. We will give back the trophies that represent what He did for us. Love Divine by Charles Wesley Love divine, all loves excelling, joy of heaven, to earth come down; Fix in us thy humble dwelling; all thy faithful mercies crown! Jesus thou art all compassion, pure, unbounded love thou art; Visit us with thy salvat