Such turmoil!

There appears to be lots and lots of turmoil over the election. Look folks, it is what it is and there is absolutely nothing we can do to change the results. If you voted, your voice was heard. We do not need to be posting on Facebook ugly remarks about one party or the other OR one man or the other. It is what it is and it will be what it will be. Whether or not I agree with the countries choice for our leader for the next four years, I can PRAY to our Heavenly Father to watch over us and guide our leaders in a way pleasing to HIM! He will determine the courses of our futures. If we will all pray and return to the old paths, He will set our way straight.

Please pray for our country, our leaders and our friends and loved ones. Remember the Jaggers, Priddy and Wolf families in your prayers. Remember me. I will remember you.

Keep posting "Thankful For" posts! Love reading them!

I love all y'all!
To be continued........

Did you vote today?

I am thankful I live in a place where we have the freedom to vote for our choice for different offices. It is not that way in many countries. Leaders are born to lead or are put there by force or violence or other means. I am grateful we have election day. Whatever your choice, I hope you exercised your right to vote! Please, no political comments on the blog. I'm not talking about who you voted for! Just that your voted!

I believe our thankful for posts are going well! I am enjoying reading the posts! I am also blessed by them and by the comments made by some of the participants at how they are being blessed by the posts. We could not have asked for more!

I love all y'all!
To be continued........

Day Five

Tonight I am thankful for the "Thankful For" posts! Today at work one of my friends told me something. She said: "you blessed my heart yesterday." I asked her if she would tell me how since I hadn't seen her in a few days. She told me. Yesterday I posted the words to a song we sing at church. The song "I Am Blessed" says a lot. If you don't know it, I would recommend you you tube it.  The words follow:

I Am Blessed lyrics 

Through the sunshine and rain, 

Even sorrow and pain, 

Jesus still is my comfort and guide.

And His love comforts me, 

And His grace has set me free, 

And some day I shall stand by His side.

Chorus:

I am blessed. I am blessed.

Every day that I live, I am blessed.

When I wake up in the morning

Till I lay my head to rest, 

I am blessed. I am blessed. 

I have shoes for my feet, 

I have plenty to eat, 

And a home up in Heaven bye and bye.

Brothers and Sisters on this earth; 

They are mine through my New Birth, 

And we'll share in that Home beyond the sky. 

I am blessed. I am blessed.

[From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/n/new-birth-lyrics/i-am-blessed-lyrics.html]

Every day that I live, I am blessed.

When I wake up in the morning

Till I lay my head to rest, 

I am blessed. I am blessed.

When I wake up in the morning

Till I lay my head to rest, 

I am blessed. I am blessed.

That really made my day! I had quite a day today. That helped me get through the rest of it.

Keep posting. I love all y'all! I didn't get to read all the posts today. That part makes me sad.


Please continue to remember the Priddy, Wolf and Jaggers families in your prayers.

I love all y'all!
To be continued......

Day Four

I want to purpose in my heart to be thankful and grateful every day for the blessings God bestows on this so unworthy person. I am human. I make mistakes daily. Sometimes hourly. I hope that I can continue these "Thankful For's" after November and into the new year and beyond, maybe not on Facebook but in my heart to God. He surely deserves all the glory and thanks. I could thank Him every second of every minute of every hour of every day for the rest of my life and would not put a dent in what I owe to Him. I do believe I thought this over last year. I didn't go too far with it and got in a mess. He got me out. I owe Him so much. Christmas Eve 2008 around midnight with a 2 1/2 month old October Rose sleeping in my arms God promised He would save her when it's time. I hold on to that hope. I still hear Him whisper "trust Me" in the lonely hours of the night. Or when things are so tough I don't know how I can go another step. I hear His voice speak to my heart as only He can do. And, oh, I know it's Him. He put a white stone with a new name that only He knows and I know when He calls it. If you have one, you know too when He calls yours.

I have been so blessed by the posts so far. Y'all are great! Today, people were catching up. It's ok if you miss a day. You can catch up if you want, or just post from that day. But how I love the catching up....

I love all y'all!
To be continued...

Philippians 4:8
King James Version (KJV)
⁸ Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Third day

Today is the third day of the "Thankful For" posts on Facebook. I remain in awe of all the posts. I was looking at Valarie's Facebook (OK, honestly I was on there to play FV2) and noticed many on her friends list are posting too. I just think it is awesome! Keep up the good work!

I am still thinking about something that was said about our posts this year. Yes, we should all be thankful every day for everything we have. And I think we are, we just take things for granted because we are human. I believe it's not that we aren't thankful for what we are given, but that we accept God's grace daily without even thinking about it. It's not that we aren't appreciative of it. It is just that because we are human, we don't really think about things until we are asked to. I say we here, I should say I because I am the only person I can speak for actually.  Last year there were a few status updates by friends "poking fun" at our Thankful For posts. I won't say what was said, don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. I am thankful we live in a place where we have a right to post our "Thankful For's" and the folks who don't want to participate for whatever reason have the right not to. Period.

It is a beautiful day in the neighborhood. Get out and enjoy it! Today is the benefit for the Wolf Family at South Edmonson Elementary. If you can get out to it, please go! Help a family hit with tragedy. That is part of what we are here for, helping our friends and neighbors!

Please remember your friends in your prayers! I know I can use them! Please especially remember the Jaggers, Wolf and Priddy families!

I love all y'all! 
To be continued.............

Day 2 going well!

Today has been a good day. Busy at work. I got a chance at lunch to review some of the "Thankful For" posts. I am in awe of the response. I was looking at the "invite list" from where I created the event. There are people who were invited by more than one person. There are many, many folks that were invited by friends and friends of friends. I do believe we have caught on to something! Love it! By the by, I didn't create the event so to speak last year. I heard about other's doing this and thought we should to. And this year, I thought we should make it an annual tradition. If you know me, you know I love traditions!

It has been said that we shouldn't only be thankful during November but every day. While I agree 100% with the gist of that statement, that wasn't the intent of "30 days of Thankful."  I am thankful every day for everything I have been given and allowed to work for. What I don't do is intentionally say it. This is a place for me to learn to do that. Remember. Post what you feel. There is no right or wrong answer. There is no right or wrong format. It's not too late to join in. You can make a "catch up post" as I read tonight, or simply begin. The only rule is be nice when your friend posts something. No ugly remarks. That's it. Don't make someone feel awkward about their post.

Please remember your friends and neighbors in your prayers. Remember me. I will remember you. Please remember the folks who have lost loved ones recently. Remember those who have loved ones sick in the hospital. Remember the ones who have loved ones who are terminal. Yes, we will all die at some time, but knowing something like cancer will take someone you love and knowing that end is near hurts your heart. The hearts need prayer. Prayer for peace and acceptance. And it is so difficult to accept.  Remember the Jaggers family, the Priddys and the Wolfs just to name a few.

I love all y'all!
To be continued......

November begins.....

So November is finally here! It is almost holiday time. Three weeks from today is Thanksgiving. It is very difficult to believe. While my favorite time of year is near, it is also a very difficult month for me. It always has been. There has been a lot of loss in my family and friends in this month. My aunt passed away this 28 years ago this month, my daughter is named after her. We went through the first of four miscarriages in November 1986. Valarie was 10 months old. Both my James grandparents died in November. Papaw in 1981, Mammaw in 1994. And probably the most devastating thing that has ever happened to date was November 23, 2009 when we were kicked in the chest with cleats, the day Rick's brain tumor was discovered. But November also brings joy. It begins the holiday season. Thanksgiving is a very meaningful time for me. My family has always celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas together. My Papaw James was always very insistent about that. So while November brings some sadness, it also brings joy. Joy in the Precious Memories from all my 53 years during this time of year. There are many, many excellent memories from this time of year. All the Thanksgivings growing up waking that morning to the aroma of a roasting turkey with breakfast on the table. The anticipation of the holiday meal that was to come and the joy when my grandparents would arrive. Some years, we would go to their house. We would get there early and help Mamaw finish cooking. While we were waiting, Papaw would sit in his chair and peel yellow delicious apples. We would take turns getting to get the peelings and throw them onto the fire. The crackling of the coal fire and scent of that burning peel is as fresh in my memory as I write this as it was 40 years ago. Even as teenagers, we enjoyed doing that so much. 

Memories of my first Thanksgiving as a nurse:  I worked the night before and was glad to be home to enjoy Thanksgiving with my family. It is also the day I moved out from my parents house to being a roommate with 2 other girls .We had a three bedroom trailer. One friend's mom said: "she won't last a month on her own" - I have never moved back into my parents house since that day in 1978. 

Our first Thanksgiving in Massachusetts was in 1987, but we were able to fly home for 2 or 3 days and had a good time. Our last Thanksgiving in MA was 1989. We went to bed Wednesday night to a starry sky and woke to about a foot of snow Thanksgiving morning. Reo and Pam Davis who were GM folks from Cave City who also had moved to MA for work then on to Saturn and Jack and Aurora Little joined us at 30 Warren Avenue Marlboro MA for a big turkey dinner that day. I will never forget. Reo had worked the night before and Pam and I were finishing up cooking. Reo was lying on the couch napping. Rick went to the door, thought it was Jack and Aurora. It was Jehovah's Witnesses out soliciting. He was listening intently to their promotion. I went out and interrupted, I needed his help. They went on their way. Our next Thanksgiving, Nick was 2 months old. We were Thankful to be back home even if we actually lived in TN at that time. 

Even through difficult times and sorrowful times, there is always something to be thankful for. Sometimes we just have to look a little more closely at it. Even when the tumor was diagnosed, we could be thankful for so much: that he never suffered a seizure, he never suffered pain, even after surgery, that we had as many years together as we did, that we had two beautiful grandbabies, (really had 3 more we didn't know about yet) we had our family, the list goes on and on. 

If you decide to participate in the November Thankful For posts, please remember your posts are your own. No one is here to judge what you are thankful for. It is each persons decision what to post. You might look at other posts to get ideas if you'd like, or just think about it. There is no format, no right or wrong way to post. Just post, read and enjoy. You will be blessed! 

Last year, our posts were so heartwarming and I was blessed every day to read them! I expect no less this year! 

I love all y'all!

To be continued...........

I've Got So Much to Thank Him For

WHEN I LOOK AROUND AND SEE

THE GOOD THINGS HE DOES FOR ME

I KNOW I’M UNWORTHY OF THEM ALL

BUT HIS BLESSINGS HE FREELY GIVES

I OWE MY LIFE TO HIM

I’VE GOT SO MUCH TO THINK HIM FOR.

CHORUS :

AND I’VE GOT SO MUCH TO THANK HIM FOR

SO MUCH TO PRAISE HIM FOR

WELL YOU SEE NOW HE HAS BEEN SO GOOD TO ME

AND WHEN I THINK OF WHAT HE’S DONE

AND WHERE HE BROUGHT ME FROM

I’VE GOT SO MUCH TO THANK HIM FOR

VERSE 2 :

AND SOMETIMES WHILE ON THIS WAY

I KNEEL AND I STOP AND SAY

LORD THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU’VE DONE FOR ME

AND ONE DAY I’LL REACH HEAVENS SHORE

OH PLEASE LET ME KNEEL ONCE MORE

I’VE GOT SO MUCH TO THANK YOU FOR

REPEAT CHORUS ONCE + TAG 1 & 2 :

TAG 1 & 2 :

AND WHEN I THINK OF WHAT HE’S DONE

AND WHERE HE BROUGHT ME FROM

I’VE GOT SO MUCH TO THANK HIM FOR

2 : THANK HIM FOR