Thankful for Family...

Saturday afternoon, we traveled to West Burlington for our great-nephew's

1st Birthday Party...HAPPY BIRTHDAY BECKETT!!

Beckett REALLY enjoyed his BIRTHDAY CAKE...YUM!

And our great-niece, Lucy, enjoyed licking

the frosting off the cake-topper TOO!

You could say it was a "green frosting" BIRTHDAY kind of DAY!

I had the pleasure of spending most of my time 

at the party with another one of our great-nieces...Miss Molly!

 

Molly has become my new BFF at our latest family gatherings.

As with all of these little ones, she is such a JOY!

Steve and Molly had a little "bubble action"

while Beckett was opening his gifts!

Our nephew and his wife, Tim and Meredith (Beckett's mommy & daddy)

live in West Burlington and Tim is the Pastor of

The West Burlington United Methodist Church.

Tim took us on the "grand tour" of the church...it's beautiful!

Our great-nephew, Parker (Tim and Meredith's other son)

also took the liberty to show us around...such a cutie!

God has lead Tim and his family to this church for a reason...

 

Tim is such a blessing to our family and we are very proud

of the husband, father and Pastor that he has become!

Spending time with family is so important.

Steve and I continue to learn this more and more

as the years go by...

God is GOOD and life is good when you take the time

to realize just how blessed you are for what you have.

A Psalm for giving thanks...

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!

     Serve the Lord with gladness!
     Come into his presence with singing!

  Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
    we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!

For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.

Psalm 100:1-5



Growing Together...

My daily devotional from Friday....

 

 

"Press on sisters.  Keep the faith."

"Yes, you really are making a difference."

 

Beautiful encouragement as I planned to meet

with Women's Ministry Team from my church that evening

to pray and coordinate our "Steel Magnolia" Groups.

 

 

What is "Steel Magnolias" you might ask?

 

Reflecting "The Essence of True Womanhood"...

Melding "Beauty with Perseverance,

Softness with Backbone,

Delicacy with Durability,

Sweetness with Stamina, and

Gentleness with Gumption."

(True Woman 101, by Mary Kassian & Nancy Leigh DeMoss)

 

 

Steel Magnolia groups are small groups of women

who desire to grow together in the area of Biblical Womanhood

in a setting of accountability and encouragement.

 

 

Growing Together...

 

God created women for a unique and gender-specific purpose. 

The problem is, the cultural ideals for women are often misguided

and much different than God's plan. 

 

Our Steel Magnolia Groups are forming to teach God's design

for women through a series of Biblical Study Curriculum.

 

Our prayer is that these studies challenge us to diligently apply

the truth of God's word to our everyday lives. 

 

 

 

Picture yourself standing arm-in-arm with another woman.

Sometimes she's a woman you are learning from.

Sometimes she's a woman you are passing things on to.

As much as we can, we should be standing arm-in arm.

 

Our groups are beginning to form....

...I am praying that lives will be transformed for God's Glory

through the journey that lies ahead for all of these women.

 

Beautiful Blossoms...All for His Glory. 

 

Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth

so that you have sincere love for each other,

love one another deeply from the heart.

1 Peter 1:22

 

 

 

 



Love is Kind....Valentine's Weekend 2013

Steve and I just got home from our "Valentine's Weekend Away" and

I am SO thankful for such a loving and KIND husband! 

 

 

The word "Kind" is the next word for me to pray and ponder from our wedding verse,

1 Corinthians 13:4-8. 

 

The definition of Kind...Having or showing a friendly generous and considerate nature. 

Steve is such a good example of this, especially when we travel! 

 

 

We left our home Friday and our first stop was

in Cascade at "Chuck & Edna's Maid-Rite Diner for lunch!

 

 

After lunch we headed to one of my favorite Antique stores in Cascade...

 

 

Steve is ALWAYS so kind and patient when it comes to me wanting to "stop along the way" when we are traveling...it may take us twice as long to get somewhere,

but it's ok with him....what a blessing!

 

 

I just LOVE browsing through places like this

and I am thankful that Steve doesn't mind it either...

 

 

 

Before arriving in Dubuque, we stopped at the mall to do a little "clothes shopping" for our weekend....laughing about some of the "items" we tried on!

 

 

We arrived at our "home away from home" The Hancock House Bed & Breakfast in Dubuque...and were greeted by one of the kindest couples we know...

...the owners and inn-keepers, Chuck and Susan!

 

 

We have been staying at The Hancock House for special occasions since 1996 and this time we stayed in "The Dollroom' which has a fabulous

whirlpool that overlooks Downtown Dubuque....what a wonderful view!

 

 

Each room has a journal and while getting ready for our "Friday Night Out"

to the Diamond Jo Casino and Woodfire Grill for dinner,

I found our journal entry from our stay in the same room in 2011....

...such a blessing to create these beautiful memories with Steve!

 

 

It was an early night as we were both getting over being sick from last week, but we gambled just a little and had a nice dinner...

...then tucked ourselves into bed in preparation for our "Saturday trip to Galena!"

 

 

After a wonderful Saturday morning breakfast at The Hancock House

we headed to Galena for some "fun shopping!"

 

 

I am truly blessed for Steve's patience and kindness when it comes to shopping.  I am not a big spender, but it's such a joy that we can relax and take our time "browsing together!"

 

 

Downtown Galena is "a ton of FUN" with all of the shops and restaurants...

...I recommend it to anyone wanting a place to "escape"

to do some shopping and to relax and ENJOY time with the ones you LOVE!

 

 

We decided to stay in Saturday night and enjoy the beauty of The Hancock House and our room...got up Sunday morning and I wrote a new journal entry that will be waiting for us to read on our next adventure to Dubuque...

 

 

We got home this afternoon back to "Miss Daisy" who had been spoiled and taken care of by our dear neighbor-friends, Chris and London while we were away! 

A BIG THANK YOU for taking care of our baby girl!

 

Daisy was excited to get a "new toy" that we picked up for her

and is very happy that Mommy & Daddy are HOME!

 

 

Love is KIND....like a candle to make a house a HOME...

...like a marriage that God leads to the oneness He desires.....Love is KIND!

 

 

Thank you, Steve, for such a beautiful "Valentine's Weekend AWAY!" 

I am so blessed and thankful to have your friendship, KINDNESS and LOVE!

 

"Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." Ephesians 4:32

 

 

Love is Patient...

After reflecting and praying about my word "love" for the year,

God has put it in my heart to take hold of our wedding verse (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

and spend time focusing on "what love is" according to this scripture.

The first line of the verse reads, "Love is Patient" and for some reason I felt like starting with this photo of Miss Daisy and her "furry friend" as they patiently say good-bye to me as I head back to the office from my lunch hour. 

The definition of patience...

"The ability to wait without becoming annoyed or anxious"

(Daisy is doing a fabulous job of this as you can see!)

 

Waiting with Patience...

A lot of time in our lives is spent waiting and change is a process.  People want change, but they don't want to go through the waiting process.

The truth is, waiting is a given...we are going to wait. 

The question is, are we going to wait the wrong or right way?

If we wait the wrong way, we'll be miserable; but if we decide to wait God's way, we can become patient and enjoy the wait. 

It takes practice, but as we let God help us in each situation, we develop patience.

Patience is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22).  It's developed only under trial, so we must not run from difficult situations.

There will be times in your life when you will want to run from difficult situations.  May I encourage you to trust God and know that Patience is a Fruit of the Spirit that can bring Hope to all of us in the midst of trials.

 

 

"But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfectly and fully developed, lacking in nothing." James 1:4



Happy Valentine's Day..Marriage & Cookies?

 

Valentine's Day is here and this afternoon I took some time to reflect, pray and plan to show Steve how much I am thankful for his LOVE!  I had given Steve this card above a few days ago and here's how it reads on the inside...

 

 

A funny card, yes...but this card does bring up a very important point. 

In marriage, you will have times in which one of you may feel "at fault."

 

Thankfully we have a forgiving God that loves us very much and

He wants us to be compassionate towards each others faults and

trust in Him to help our marriage grow into the oneness He desires. 

 

 

In order to show my appreciation to my loving and forgiving

husband who has stood by my side through all our "faults" together,

I decided to bake him some cookies this afternoon for Valentine's Day. 

 

As I prepared the cookies, I thought to myself....

marriage is a little bit like baking cookies.

 

 

You start out with all of the yummy "ingredients" that need to come

together in a marriage like romance, balancing careers, home and family, etc.

 

 

Just when you have all of the "ingredients together"

nicely formed on the pan, then comes "the oven"...

 

 

...."the oven" could be those trials in life in which you feel like

"in the heat of the moment" things are going to get

too "hot" or too difficult to handle and fall apart.

 

 

Thankfully we have the wonderful gift of "time" that brings patience, peace, understanding, communication, prayer....all of these aspects of love that help you move forward together through the trials of life.

 

 

Over the years, I have kept all of the cards that Steve and I have bought for each other for birthdays and holidays.  It's fun reading through all of them and it also makes the holiday feel even more special.

 

 

Well, the "ingredients" came together...and survived the "time in the oven!"

With all of the Valentine cards and a splash of candle light...

...I would say it's a beautiful creation!

 

 

Happy Valentine's Day Steve!  Thank you for being the "light of my life" and for loving me for better or worse.  You are a beautiful example of God's love and I know that He has a good plan to see our marriage and faith grow. 

 

 

 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:2-3