Category Archives: Hearts Filled With Joy

Mustard Seed Faith illuminations

21 Monday May 2012

Posted by in cookout by the creek, faith, fun stuff for grandparents, Fun stuff for kids, health, Hearts Filled With Joy, mustard seed faith, shingles, spring flowers, wisdom and understanding, worry

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“Because you have so little faith.  I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move.  Nothing will be impossible for you.”    Matthew 17:20  Faith Failure:

Have you ever had a faith failure?  About a year ago I found out that Marathon Oil was going to put in a pipeline across our land and I became so upset, it made me sick.  A week later I came down with a terrible case of shingles that lasted for weeks.  I called it the worry disease because every time I would start to worry, it became worse and hurt more.

We were informed that we had no choice but to sign the papers agreeing for them to take a 100 foot right away because if we didn’t sign them, the land would be seized anyway.  They said they were willing to pay us for the value of the land.  But how could they know what the value of the land was worth to me?  To them it  was farm land and not worth very much. But what is the value of a tree that is more than 5 feet in diameter and probably more than 100 years old?  And how do you count the cost of wildflowers and daffodils that bloom in the woods every spring?

They were planning to go straight across our woods and creek  and their bulldozers would plow down all the beautiful shade trees as they went.

This was the place where our children had loved playing each summer.  They had floated in boats and inner-tubes, played imagination games on the rocks at pirate’s cove, made trails through the woods and swung on vines hanging from the trees.  Under the big tree we had held Sunday School cookouts by the creek and in the meadow we played games and kickball with the children. 

In the field the kids were also treated to hayrides.  After we finished eating as the sun was setting, we made a big camp fire and roasted marshmallows making s’mores for dessert. 

Then someone played the guitar and we sat around the fire singing songs until after dark.  We always ended with a prayer followed by singing one of my favorite songs, “Cum Ba Ya, My Lord,” and I know He was there because I could feel His Very Presence.

But even though we were informed we had no choice about allowing them to cross our land, what they didn’t figure on was the power of prayer!  When my mind finally quieted and I stopped asking “why Lord,” I began to pray.  I asked God to not let them cut down our trees and cross our land at our favorite spot for picnics and fun.  And each time I prayed I could almost audibly here my Lord say, “Just trust me, just trust me.”  “But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love.”    Psalm 33:18

to be continued…….

My Blessing List illuminations

14 Monday May 2012

Posted by in beach sunsets, Hearts Filled With Joy, horses, mountains, wisdom and understanding

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“Many, O LORD my God are the wonders you have done.  The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare.”     Psalm 40:5  When life deals you a bitter blow and you can’t sleep because your mind is filled with worries and whys that whirl around in your head like a swarm of gnats that won’t let you rest then deliberately change your focus from the present to the blessings from God in the past.  A few years ago I decided to make a list of some of the best blessings that I have known and am thankful for.  Yet each time I would try to make a list I found like David said in his psalm that “they would be too many to declare.”  Now when I feel stressed and anxious about the future just reading my list relaxes me and fills me with peace knowing that my God is a great and awesome God whose love never fails.

At the top of my list of blessings would have to be my personal relationship with Jesus who is my Best Friend and Savior.  I am also so very blessed to have 4 children and 8 grandchildren which my dear husband and I get to enjoy most every week.  And now to the list I would like to include some of the precious memories of times I have spent with them.

1.  When my daughter was only four, I helped her plant a tiny twig of a pine tree. When she turned seven, she helped me plant more than 200 tiny pine tree twigs and together we loved and cared for them through flood and drought.  It doesn’t seem so long ago and yet now they have become a fragrant forest and she is a beautiful young woman with little children of her own.

2.  I have watched my grandchildren sleep snuggled close to me and listened to them giggle when they’re tickled.  And I have heard them pray and talk to God with childlike  faith knowing that their heavenly Father will care for them just like a loving Daddy. 

3.  I’ve seen the beauty of a deer followed by her fawn crossing our back yard and once my grandchildren found a baby fawn.  In springtime tiny waterfalls bring music to my secret garden in the woods and I have listened to the crickets sing and watched the evening fireflies rise up spreading over meadow mists like a million tiny Christmas lights.  And with my children I have  watched the stars come out while making wishes and hoping for a shooting star.

4.  I’ve pulled the sack from a newborn pup and watched its mother lick and warm it into life.  And I have seen a newborn colt stand up on wobbly legs and later  dance across the grass to the music of the wind. 

5.  I found a Sea Horse near the shore and I carried it out to the deep and watched it swim away and I’ve rescued many starfish stranded on the beach.  I’ve seen a double rainbow and the unfailing love of God in wing like clouds that overshadow me as I travel down life’s way.  6.  At midnight I have rafted down a river in Alaska and seen a glorious sunset reflected in my true love’s eyes as we watched eagles flying home.  And I have seen the majesty and splendor of the snow capped mountains and heard the mighty roar of giant waterfalls.  I have watched as storms rolled in across the  ocean and felt the gale force winds and heard the  crash of giant waves.  And I have also listened for the still small voice of God and been rewarded in the silence.

7.  I have felt the power of the Holy Spirit in my life and praying for a miracle discovered that what seems to be impossible is possible with God.  And I have seen the glory of God from sunrise to sunset and felt the joy of His Presence deep within my heart and soul and know that I’ve been blessed. 

“If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”                            Psalm 139:9,10

A few weeks ago I was honored by being nominated for the Versatile Blogger award and I first of all want to thank my friend at newviewfromhere.wordpress.com for his kind words and nomination.  In receiving this award, I have been asked to: (and the same goes for you)

  • In a post on your blog, nominate up to 15 more fellow bloggers for The Versatile Blogger Award.
  • In the same post, add the Versatile Blogger Award.
  • Thank the blogger who nominated you and link back to them in this post.
  • Share 7 things about yourself that most people don’t know.
  • In the same post, include this set of rules.
  • Inform each nominated blogger of their nomination by posting a comment on each of their blogs.

I have decided to nominate 7 blogs for the Versatile Blogger Award because each of these 8 have blessed my heart over and over again with their posts.  There are many other blogs that I love reading as well, but I think most of them have already received this award or do not have the time to follow the list of instructions that go with it.  I have included a list of blogs that I follow at the top of this post.

Here is a list of my nominees: 

  1. altarofheaven.wordpress.com
  2. charinabrooks.wordpress.com
  3. godthang.wordpress.com
  4. jadedbygrace.wordpress.com
  5. mychainsrgone.wordpress.com
  6. malouprestado.com
  7. onemoremorning.wordpress.com

And what about you dear reader.  Have you made a blessing list?  I would love to hear about it.

Wise and Foolish illuminations

24 Tuesday Apr 2012

Posted by in beach sunsets, beauty, Christianity, Fun stuff for kids, Hearts Filled With Joy, lakes, mountains, streams, wisdom and understanding

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“Where then does wisdom come from?

Where does understanding dwell?”  Job 28:20 

“God understands the way to it and he alone knows where it dwells, for he views the ends of the earth

and sees everything under the heavens.”  Job 28:23 

“But it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding.”  Job 32:8  ‘”Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?”  declares the LORD.’  Isaiah 66:2a 

“This is the one I esteem:  he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.”  Isaiah 66:2b

“But every one who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.”  Matthew 7:26

“The rain came down, the streams rose and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”  Matthew 7:27

“And he said to man, ‘The fear of the Lord-that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.'”  Job 28:28 

Make-Believe illuminations

16 Monday Apr 2012

Posted by in beauty, Christianity, fun stuff for grandparents, Fun stuff for kids, Hearts Filled With Joy

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“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes.  Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”  I Peter 3:3,4

Who Am I?  Daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt, grandmother, friend, child of God.  Sometimes I hardly know how to sign my name on a birthday card because I wear so many different hats.

I love this picture taken of three of my children and a friend playing dress up.. Little girls love to dress up and little brothers sometimes enjoy it too.  At least until later when they are teenagers and see the pictures.

Little girls love to dress up like a princess or a fairy.  The imagination is a wonderful thing given to us by God.  Ballet costumes are so pretty and dancing all dressed up in one is the dream of many a little girl.  I remember the very first time I danced with my father at the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago with a live orchestra playing after dinner music.  I felt very grand and so grown up even though I was only in grade school.  How very special one feels when a daddy or grandfather dances with us for the very first time.

Even grown up girls love to dress up and look like someone different from who we really are most of the time.  I think every girl deserves to go out on a special date all dressed up and feeling special now and then.  I told a girl friend of mine that we should dress up in our best dresses and big hats and go out for a special Kentucky Derby luncheon this spring.  I am getting tired of wearing blue jeans and sweatshirts even though I love to be comfortable.  I see nothing wrong with dressing up as long as we remember that God is looking at our heart and as a child of God I want my appearance to be pleasing to Him.

What about you?  Have you dressed up for something special lately?  I would love to hear from you.

Hearts Filled With Joy

09 Monday Apr 2012

Posted by in Amazing Grace, beach sunsets, beauty, Christianity, Easter, favorite songs, Hearts Filled With Joy

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“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me. ‘”

Last night we were so blessed as we listened to “Amazing Grace” played on bag pipes as the sun went down by a man standing out in the ocean on the sandbar.  Adults as well as children all along the beach stopped what they were doing and stood still, listening until the last note was played and the sun dipped into the water and disappeared.  Then everyone began clapping many with tears in their eyes.  It was the perfect ending to a beautiful Easter Sunday.

“AMAZING GRACE”

“Amazing Grace.”  This hymn has touched people’s lives for close to 250 years, yet it is as fresh and meaningful today as the day it was first written.  We hear it everywhere…in church services, radio, movies and television.  It always evokes the deepest personal emotions.

 But, who wrote it?  And, under what circumstances?  It is truly astonishing that it was written by John Newton, a self-confessed sinner with no equal in debauchery and blasphemy.

 John’s life was cruelly changed with the loss of his loving and religious mother at age six.  His father, a famous sea captain, ignored him then left him with a substitute mother who hated him.  She put him away in a boarding school where he was mistreated and abused.

 Captain Newton took John to sea as a common sailor when John was only eleven years old.  He was forced to live with the sailors in the hold of the ship who taught him every vice known to man.  John reveled in it and quickly lost the religious qualities his mother had tried so hard to instill in him.

 His life took another turn when he was introduced into the family life of the Cattletts, dear friends of his late mother.  There he met Polly, who was destined to become the love of his life.  She was only fourteen and John had not secured any position worthy of asking for a young girl’s hand in marriage.  He was rebuffed by Polly and her parents.

 On a return trip to visit Polly, he was pressed into the British Navy and was forced to fight in naval battles.

 John’s conduct worsened.  In his journal he wrote, “I was the chief of all sinners and if I had my way, I would have taken the whole human race to hell with me!”  He deserted the ship only to be caught and returned.  He was punished severely by the whip and keelhauling.  Eventually the Captain tired of his conduct and traded him off to a slave ship on its way to Africa.  There he was enslaved by slave traders who treated him the same as their African slaves.  He remained a slave for two years until he was rescued by a friend of his father.

 On the return trip to England, which took 4 months, the ship was caught in a terrible storm and the ship was in grave danger of sinking.  John, on deck, was swept toward the sea and realizing that his life was at an end, cried out to God, “Lord save me!!”  Miraculously a huge wave knocked him back into the ship and he was saved.  The ship limped back into Ireland with John a completely changed man.

 He married Polly and became a minister.  He was asked to speak to Parliament by Prime Minister Wilberforce against slavery.  It was his influence that resulted in England outlawing slavery over a hundred years before it was outlawed in the United States.  He wrote over 300 hymns and was one of the first ministers in England to make hymn singing a part of regular worship.  His most famous was…”Amazing Grace.”

 At one of his last sermons in his old age he stated…

 “They tell me I’m getting old and perhaps I am.  But the one true thing that I know is that I’m a great sinner and God is a great Savior.”

        Amazing Grace

“Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me….
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now, I see.

T’was Grace that taught…
my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear…
the hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares…
we have already come.
T’was Grace that brought us safe thus far…
and Grace will lead us home.

The Lord has promised good to me…
His word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be…
as long as life endures.

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
and mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess within the veil,
a life of joy and peace.

When we’ve been there ten thousand years…
bright shining as the sun.
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise…
than when we first begun.

And our hearts were filled with joy!

Glorious illuminations part II

03 Tuesday Apr 2012

Posted by in adoreable puppies, beauty, Best Friend Dogs, Christianity, crafts, Easter, flower gardens, Fun stuff for kids, health, Hearts Filled With Joy, therapy dogs

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“Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”            John 11:40

You may not think caterpillars are beautiful.  Many have stripes or spots that help protect them from birds and other predators by breaking up their body’s outline.  This coloration also blends well with the plants upon which the caterpillar eats.    They crawl slowly in a wave-like motion using three pairs of true legs, and as many as five pairs of “pro-legs” which function the same as the true legs.  The true legs later develop into the legs of the adult butterfly, while the pro-legs are lost during metamorphosis.  The caterpillar’s feet are capable of wrapping around and grasping the branches and stems of the plants they like to eat.

Obviously, God’s purpose was not to make the caterpillar attractive but to protect it from danger.  But how beautiful is God’s purpose when we see his entire plan.  He chose to use a miracle to transform an ugly earth bound caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly that can fly.  What a great illustration of what happens to us when we die.  Death is not the end, but a beautiful new beginning.  We are much like the caterpillar with no beauty of our own until God transforms us by His grace giving us new life and beauty when we place our trust in Jesus who died for our sins so that we might have eternal life.

Fun stuff for Kids

Caterpillar Craft (for a younger child)

You will need

  • 5 fuzzy balls,(one color or a rainbow of colors)
  • one large fuzzy ball
  • Strip of poster board, 1,2 inch by 5 inches
  • a set of googly eyes
  • glue stick or hot glue gun(for adult use)

Fold poster board strip like an accordion and glue on small fuzzy ball with large one for the head.  Let glue set.  Glue on googly eyes.

Cocoon For Your Caterpillar

Use an ordinary bathroom toilet paper holder and wrap it with green or brown peel and stick foam.  Fold the end of it together to form the top of the cocoon and add a thin strip of cut foam to wrap your cocoon around a branch.

Butterfly Craft

You will need a large white paper coffee filter, washable markers, a wood clothes pin, pipe cleaner, spray bottle, Elmer’s white glue, googly eyes.

  • Spread newspaper or a plastic table cloth over work space.
  • Color coffee filter with markers using several different colors.
  • Fill spray bottle with water and lightly mist coffee filter so colors run together.  Let dry.
  • Put a little glue on inside of the clothespin and carefully insert coffee filter.
  • Cut a pipe cleaner in half and wrap it around the neck curling it up behind the head to form antennas.
  • Glue on googly eyes.

Easter Egg Coloring Fun

The Coming of Sunshine

Sunshine was born on Easter Sunday and it was love at first sight.  She was the sweetest puppy and never caused a bit of trouble.  It was almost like she was a gift from God because she came into my life at a time when I was feeling very blue.  Some dogs are wonderful therapy and Sunshine reflected her name and always brought me happiness.

Beauty Tip

As you appreciate the beauty of a garden of flowers, take deep life giving breaths of the flower perfumed air and gaze at the amazing beauty of a flower until it sinks deep within your spirit and soul and you reflect that beauty and the love God has poured into his wondrous creation.  You may not see the beauty when you look in the mirror, but you will be reflecting it to others in a smile or kind deed that lights up your countenance with God’s love.


 

The Easter Lily

The beautiful white flowers of the Easter Lily symbolize purity, hope, love and life which is the spiritual significance of Easter.  Lilies were found growing in the garden of Gethsemane after the Crucifixion.  They were said to have sprung up when drops of Christ’s sweat fell to the ground in his final hours of sorrow and distress.  At Easter time churches bank their altars with masses of Easter lilies to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the hope of everlasting life.

Health Tip

Eternal life is not just life everlasting up in heaven, it is youth giving, revitalizing, joy producing, purpose filled life here on earth.

The Garden of Gethsemane

Just before Jesus was arrested he and His disciples went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”  He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled.  “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them.  “Stay here and keep watch.”

Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him.  “Abba. Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you.  Take this cup from me.  Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping.  “Simon,” he said to Peter, “Could you not keep watch for one hour?  Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.  The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”                          Mark 14:32-38

What a wonderful Savior we have in Jesus!  

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”   John 3:16

Glorious illuminations part I

26 Monday Mar 2012

Posted by in beach sunsets, crafts, fun stuff for grandparents, Fun stuff for kids, Hearts Filled With Joy

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“For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.  II Corinthians 4:6

I love to go shell hunting with my grandchildren.  The tiny little Coquina butterfly shells that come in so many beautiful colors are among our favorites to collect and admire.  But finding sand dollars are the best of all because they tell the story of Christ.  They are imprinted with a flower-like design on the top of the dollar that resembles the Easter Lily and on the back of the shell is a Poinsettia- the Christmas flower.

The five holes represent the five wounds borne by Christ when He hung on the cross.  The five pointed star in the center represents the star of Bethlehem that guided the Wise Men.

When the sand dollar shell is broken open five tiny white doves are found- the Doves of Peace which represent the hope of eternal life that Christ, God’s beloved and only Son gives to each of us who believe.

Fun Stuff For Kids and Grandparents

One week around Thanksgiving I found so many sand dollars on the beach that I decided to turn them into Christmas ornaments by mixing two parts Elmer’s glue and one part water together and carefully brushing about three coats on each side of the sand dollar, letting it dry between each coat.  Then I tied a pretty red Christmas ribbon on each and included the story of Christ that the sand dollar represents.  A friend of mine later told me that her daughter after seeing the sand dollar ornament on her tree decided to give sand dollars away to all the guests at her wedding.  Isn’t it amazing what God can do if we will just listen to him and find out his plan for our life and follow it.

Our beach neighbor loves to make a shell garden each year for his grand kids.  Our grandchildren like to see and admire the many wonderful varieties of shells that Bob finds on the beach and displays in his garden.

More Fun Stuff For Kids or Adults

I decided to make a shell covered treasure box with some of the shells I have collected on the beach.  I bought peel and stick, glitter foam that comes in 10 assorted colors and only costs about $5.00 at Walmart.  I cut out pieces from one of the sheets to cover a tiny treasure box that I bought from a beach gift shop for only $2.99.

Next I glued an assortment of small shells to the lid with Elmer’s glue.  The glue took quite a while to dry but it did stick the small shells to the top of the box.  A hot glue gun might have been faster, but I wanted to see if I could use this craft later with the grand kids.

The box was already lined with a black velvet material, but if it hadn’t been I would have cut more glitter foam in a contrasting color to line it with.  It is always fun to find a useful way to use our collections.  Enjoy!

Beach Friends

This morning I met up with two of my sweet beach friends as I was out walking.  Louise was in a terrible auto accident months ago and now is overjoyed to be able to be back walking the beach again.  Her friend Dino came to the hospital and stayed with her night and day the first couple of days after the accident.  That kind of friendship is very special.  It reminds me of the verse in Proverbs 17:17:  “A friend loves at all times…”

Jesus asks us to leave all and follow Him.  But what those who refuse never find out is that by leaving those things we think will give happiness, we discover the delights that God offers and which bring lasting joy.  As we walk out of the darkness and gloom into the light of His presence, he places a new song in our heart.  That song is a song of joy that only the love of Christ can give.

No matter how tired and exhausted we feel when facing great difficulties, by coming to the LORD and crying out to Him, we discover that our strength is renewed like the eagle who is lifted by the wind currents.  And there in His Presence , as we place our trust in Him the joy of the LORD becomes our strength.

When my mother died, after suffering with Alzheimer’s disease for 3 years followed by a stroke that took away her ability to walk and talk, my spirit was weary and downcast and I felt very sad.  But as always my wonderful Savior gave me words of comfort in my devotions and bible reading.   The following morning I read:

“But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”  Isaiah 40:31

I began to visualize my mother happily walking the beach with her beloved Savior singing hymns of praise the way she always did.  She looked just like Helen Hayes with her lovely white hair and she was always out on the beach before dawn so she could watch the sunrise.  She had a soft, sweet voice and people called her the singing beach lady. I am confident that if God can create such beauty in our world here on earth with gardens of flowers and birds, sunsets and beaches, mountains and forests;  then heaven must be all that and even more glorious.

“Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O LORD.”  Psalm 89:15

Each evening after dinner we all go out to the beach to watch the sunset.  Often the beach is very wide and it is possible to walk along the sandbar and discover many sand dollars and other treasures.  Children develop a real sense of appreciation for beauty at the beach.  Shepherd, our two year old grandson, will sit spellbound beside us in the sand watching the big red ball of the sun go down and dip into the ocean.  God in His wisdom has planned so many beautiful things for us to enjoy!  How important it is for us to keep our spirit alive and see His creation with the eyes of our heart as we teach our children and grandchildren to know Him and develop a close relationship with Him.