January 24, 2011

I lift up my eyes to the hills-- from where will my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.

The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore. Psalm 121

This was the scripture in today's Upper Room. Comforting words for everyone.

January 20, 2011.

A lot going on lately. And not all good. A much loved member of our church has passed away. He has been ill for quite some time, so his pain and suffering is now over. I only knew this man since he had become ill. His wife has told me several times, the man he has been in the last four years was not the man she married. I would have liked to have met him prior to his illness...everyone just speaks so wonderfully of him. Even in his suffering, though, you could still catch glimpses of the sense of humor he had.

Then, some other good friends of ours are going through a very tough time. The husband has lost his job after 24 years. Before this they were having some financial struggles and then after he lost his job...someone stole money from a purse that got left accidentally in a store bathroom.

I so want to help them...not sure how. Chris and I have been having our own financial struggles. It almost seems like the devil is done tormenting us..and has moved on to our friends.

I know we should rely on God and let him handle all our worries and troubles. But, it can be so hard sometimes!!!

January 14, 2011

I've been feeling a little out-of-sorts the past couple of days. I don't really know why, nothing new is happening in my life. It's just been business as usual. I just have an uneasy feeling and don't know what is causing it. I don't know if God is trying to tell me something, or if it'sthe Devil is just playing with my mind.

Tonight is Family Fun Night at church. I completely forgot about it till this afternoon and realized I didn't have anything to take for the meal. So, I made these cookies that you make with cake mix and requires only 3 ingredients. They are fast to whip up, and not too bad. They aren't as good as a true homemade from scratch cookie, but for something made in a pinch they are not bad. I'll have to watch for boxed cake mix to be on sale and keep a box or two on hand for fast cookies in the future. If you are interested here is what you need.

1 box of cake mix.
2 eggs
half cup of oil.

Mix it up, bake at 350 degrees for 7 minutes or so. They are a cakey-type of cookie. You can use any flavor cake mix. I used yellow cake mix cause it's what I had on hand. But, I bet strawberry cake mix would taste really good for these.

January 11, 2011.

But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." Jeremiah 17:7-8

January 11, 2011.

Yesterday Chris did his first church service. It wasn't a full-fledged service that you would get in church, rather a shortened version done for some residents of a local nursing facility. We sang a couple hymns, then Chris preached for about 5 minutes. Then, we sang about 3 more hymns. He did a pretty good job for his first time. He asked me later how he did. I told him he did a good job, just don't end so abruptly and say..."Ok, that's all I have!" I chuckled at that, luckily our own minister was there so he stepped in and got a couple more hymns going for the residents, then closed with a prayer.

I can imagine it must be very difficult to preach, especially for the very first time. I have trouble just speaking in front of the church, let alone preach. I suppose, though, it will be like anything else and get easier with practice and over time. Hopefully, if his work schedule works out we can do it again next month.

January 5, 2011.

Wow, it's 2011!!! Boy, did that ever creep up fast. 2010 came and went in a blink. I won't miss the year 2010, it was kinda rough. I so welcome 2011!!! But time sure is passing by fast. This year I will turn 47 and Chris will turn 49. His birthday is actually next month. I'm not ready for us to be getting so close to 50! It seems like just yesterday that we were dating and getting married.

I did not make any New Years resolutions. I used to, but never kept them. I always made the usual ones. Lose weight, exercise more type ones and only kept at them for a short time. I am just hoping for a peaceful year and happy year 2011.

Chris is feeling a calling of going into the ministry. I am curious as to what that holds for us. It still seems kind of strange and foreign, but he is really passionate about it so I will support him in this. I fear it may mean us moving sometime in the future. This has me a bit afraid. I do not like change and I especially don't want to leave all my new friends here in Rensselaer. That is a bridge I will cross when it arrives and I pray the Lord will guide us in the right direction.

January 5, 2011.

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. Psalm 19:12


This was posted in today's Upper Room reading. I also realize this is my first post in my blog for the year 2011!