a life blessed

              The Potter's Hand Beautiful Lord, Wonderful savior I know for sure all of my days are held in your hands Crafted into your perfect plans You gently called me into your presence Guiding me by Your Holy Spirit Teach me dear Lord to live all of my life Through your eyes I'm captured by your holy calling Set me apart. I know you're drawing me to yourself lead me, Lord. I pray Oh Take me, mold me, use me, fill me I give my life to the potter's hand Oh Call me, guide me, lead me, walk beside me I give my life to the potter's hand You gently call me into your presence Guiding me by your holy spirit Teach me dear lord to live all of my life through your eyes I'm captured by your holy calling Set me apart. I know you're drawing me to yourself lead me, Lord. I pray Oh Take me, mold me, use me, fill me I give my life to the potter's hand Oh Call me, guide me, lead me, walk beside me I gi...

     Recently I ran into someone I had not seen in years.  Our paths crossed in many areas which kept conversation going between the two of us on a somewhat regular basis, even if in passing.  I see her around town from time to time but never within talking distance, and it's usually while we are in transit on the highways and byways.  This is a lady who has had a very rough life from the beginning, and it just seems to continue following her throughout her life.  In spite of all the trials she has been through, and many of them somewhat life-threatening, she always seemed to have a positive frame of mind.  For every challenge she had been through and shared with me, she always seemed to have a "But God....." following and seemed to maintain a certain sparkle in her eye, especially when referring to God and her faith in Him.  This was something that always made me smile about her....that ...

I have always been a sucker for studying the lives of 'real' people.  I would rather learn about the real lives of others than to sit with a good fiction book anyday.  To see what inspires others,  and how they live and love always catches my attention.  With this in mind, I will tell you that I have absolutely fallen in love with a blog I recently stumbled upon.  The author's knack for wording, humor, insights, and outlook on life truly intrigue me, not to mention the author's family as seen through the blog photos is most intriguing as well.  Being a self-professed professional amateur photographer, the author's photos speak volumes.   I am drawn to it.  I eagerly await each new blog post as if it were my next meal, secretly wishing for a camera just as the one the author uses so I myself can become a self-professed professional amateur photographer!; and secretly wishing for the a...

I dream of simple things.  I enjoy the simple things....a simple life.  In a life full of chaos and running to & fro, the simple things are what we lack the most.  Or...it's actually what we fail to recognize, I suppose.  It's hard to savor these moments when you feel like you are running so fast that you feel as if you are in survival mode.  Well...I am trying to savor these moments as best I can, trying to hold on to every ounce of familiarity before it turns into a memory of past. Simple things. Things that instantly make your lips curl up into a smile without even a moment's notice.   Things that give you warm fuzzies from head to toe....that make you capture the moment and savor it for the split second in which it happens in hopes that there will be many more to come.  A hot cup of coffee with just the right amount of cream 1st thing in the morning... A hot cup of coffee with just the right a...

Are you a perfectionist? If so, you may be headed down a road of disappointment. "If your identity is wrapped in the magnificent things you're destined to achieve - as a great writer, musician, scientist, politician, chef - the thought that you might produce something mediocre can be devastating." ~Laura Fraser Do you have to do something great? Can you be happy to do something really good? Do you expect nothing but perfection from yourself? From your children? We must be careful how we teach our children to use their gifts and what it is to expect from those gifts. Don't forget...children learn most by our actions rather than our words, so if you expect perfection from yourself, they will feel you expect it from them as well.  One of my favorite quotes is 'actions speak louder than words.' There is a monumental difference between talent and having a clue what to do with it. "Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, i...

He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands, and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing." For though you might have forgotten God, He has not forgotten you. While you have busied yourselves with your daily occupations, He has still been occupied with you. Little children, you cannot weary His love. You may grieve His heart, but His love is changeless, infinite. He longs for you to turn to Him. His hands are full of blessings that He desires to give you. He longs to hear your voice. You speak much with others - O speak to Him! He has so much to tell you. Have you forgotten that He made you in His own image and likeness? It is not that He is as you, but you are like Him. Do not let material and physical elements destroy your comprehension of Him as a person. "Touch Me and handle Me," He told Thomas (John 20:27). To you He says: Cast yourself upon Him; pour your love...

There are songs that just meet you where you are and, therefore, usually create sort of a landmark for that certain era of your spiritual journey so that when you look back on it you are brought back to the memories and emotions of that particular time in your journey. As I am focusing on God's unfailing love, there is a song that will probalby serve as one of those spiritual landmarks for me.....it brings me to my knees in tears almost every time I listen to it. I would like to share the words to that song in hopes that it reaches you to the core as it does to me every time I hear it. I would suggest that you buy the album! Please don't skip over the Choruses....all 3 are different.... "Time In Between" by Francesca Battistelli You were there when your Father said, Let there be light You obeyed when He whispered 'Son, You have to leave tonight to spend 9 months in a mother's womb, 3 days in a borrowed tomb" (Chorus 1) But its the time ...