2008 was just the BEGINNING!

In entering a new year & looking back to 2008, I honestly couldn't believe that 2008 was OVER already! I felt disappointed. I had high hopes for 2008. It was the year of NEW BEGINNINGS & RESURRECTION LIFE! I just knew it was going to be such a special year... a year God was going to transform our lives completely in big & amazing ways. We were going to be living completely different by the end of the year.
Well, it's over... 2008 is gone... And..disappointment. UNTIL....
God encouraged me & let me know that 2008 was indeed JUST THE BEGINNING!!! It was completely OK that none of the big things/changes that were started got brought to completion! 2008 was only the BEGINNING! God is going to continue the works He started. I pray that he will put to death any works of the flesh "I" started. So thankful for perspective!

Between Sundays

This book is set in the NFL & is a fictional story about the star quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers and a foster child. This book deals with the foster care system as well. It's a story of finding faith, romance, and what matters most in life. ...And what matters most is who you are, what you do, WHOSE you are, and how you live life "BETWEEN SUNDAYS".

I read this book over the weekend. I feel like one of the "themes" in my life right now is WAITING. (I'll write more about this later.) Another theme has been HOPE. As I was nearing the end of the book, the connection between WAITING and HOPE jumped off the page. The 2 things are connected in a big way!!! I will be researching/exploring this further.

Celebrating 10 Years!!!

It is our 10th anniversary today!!! We had our first date exactly 11 years ago on a Friday night. We were married exactly one year later on January 16, 1999 -- 10 years ago!

It seems like forever ago & just like yesterday.
Our love for each other has grown.
It has not been all peaches & cream... We have had some rough patches... (WHO DOESN'T!)
But the LORD has brought us through!
(Lord, we praise You for being so faithful and keeping us and protecting us!!! You alone have brought us to this point. Your love has sustained us. Thank You for Your amazing love that flows through us to each other.)

This is an "Ebenezer" moment... Like from the hymn Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing "Here I raise my Ebenezer; Here by Thy great help I’ve come!".... Like 1 Samuel 7:12 "Then Samuel [Gen 35:14; Josh 4:9; 24:26] took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it [I.e. The stone of help] Ebenezer, saying, 'Thus far the LORD has helped us.'"

What a 10 years this has been & I know God has good plans for us during the next 10 years! What an adventure!

I LOVE MY WONDERFUL, AMAZING, SEXY, HARDWORKING MAN! YOU ARE THE BEST HUSBAND EVER! YOU ARE MY BEST FRIEND! YOU ARE THE LOVE OF MY LIFE! I love the way you love me. (I know those are words in a song, but I mean them from the bottom of my heart. You know they are true.) You truly love me, just as I truly love you, and you know how to show it! Thank you for not only telling me all the time, but SHOWING it!!! You know how to put a smile on my face when I feel like frowning. You know how to cheer me up. I love it when you are giddy with excitement. I love singing with you and sharing music together. I love dancing with you. I love watching God working in your heart, my reader :-) I love laughing with you. I love BEING with you, even when you are in your "nothing" box :-) I love living life with you. You light up my life. I know this is going to sound random, but thank you for taking me to that book sale a while back. That meant SO much to me! Thank you for all the little things you do to help out the ShuTeam, even the stuff I don't notice or appreciate like I should. Thank you for always extending me grace, my love.
Forever and always,
Shubaby, Precious, Sweet Peach, and J (Only some of my special names, I know, but I'll spare the readers the rest & we'll just leave them between us :-)

Rejoice in Every Day of Life!

Ecclesiastes 11:8 "Rejoice in every day of life."

I had no idea this scripture existed until last Saturday, but I have a feeling the Lord wants me to know it now. I was with my mom on Saturday morning getting ready to start my sewing lesson, when she receives a package. Among the items she had ordered were some file folders with scripture, and this was one of the scriptures. I decided I had to have these file folders, so I immediately ordered these folders for myself :-)

Later that evening, I was at The Open Door Christian Bookstore with Tim's discipleship group that our former pastor (James Black) leads once a month. It was the first "joint" meeting where the ladies were invited as well. I just have to say that I was SO thankful to be there! It was such a privilege... a huge blessing!!! I love James & Judy! And the lesson that night was so timely. Anyway, at the bookstore were 2 small canvas prints that were black & white with a touch of red that were perfect for my home office! The verse on one of them was Ecclesiastes 11:8! I couldn't believe it! I knew the Lord was bringing my attention to this verse. Now it's sitting on my desk where I can be reminded all day long to REJOICE!
Some of the things it means to me already...
Rejoice every day.
Rejoice in the midst of the "dailiness" of life.
Rejoice in every single day regardless of what it holds or how I feel...

To be continued...

Dressed to Kill

I heard about this book months ago when watching an interview with the author Rick Renner on "Life Today" with James & Betty Robison. I FINALLY got it, and just started reading. I'm so excited!
To read his biography, click here.

Books I recently read & LOVED!!!

I need a new background!!!

I can't figure out how to get the "Christmas" background to go away! When I do succeed in hiding it, then my blog list goes away :-( and I can't deal with my blog list being gone! :-) I'm not a good consistent blogger myself (yet), but I do love to keep up with the wonderful blogs on my blog list.
Anyway, hopefully I can take some time to figure this out soon...

Update: I got the Christmas background to go away!!! Yeah!!! :-)