concern

Do you ever get down hearted? Just worried & concerned about your family, your finances, your health? Not to mention loved ones around you. It’s the holidays, y’all. I don’t know about you, but sometimes it seems those are the times we get anxious. We also have a lot of reasons to miss those who have passed on. I know I miss my mama & grandparents more than ever this time of year. On another hand, it’s so easy to get caught up in a friend’s well being, or how about the world around us? I promise, I stopped watching the news on t.v. awhile ago. It’s just too much, sometimes. For one thing, it’s depressing. So many terrible things are happening all around us. The shootings, drugs, and just in general how people are turning away from God. It makes you think everyone is bad & wonder where is God when you need Him? If you are like me, you pray & you wait. Then, when things just don’t work out, like I think they should, I start to doubt. I doubt my prayers. I doubt my thoughts. I doubt how things are playing out in my life. I wonder if the Lord is even listening? Or if He has time, with all the other foolishness all around, to even care about my problems. That’s when I have to stop myself, dead in my tracks, & remember Who, the God I pray to, is.

The God I pray to is the same God that created Adam from the dust of the ground. Just made a real, living, breathing, human being straight out of dirt. (Genesis 1:26)

He’s the One who promised Abraham & Sarah a child in their old age. And you know what? Issac was born. (Genesis 17:19)

He’s the One who had never let rain fall on the Earth & promised Noah, if he would go out and build a boat, he would save him. Noah didn’t even know what rain was, but since God said do it, he did & boy, I bet he was proud he did. (Genesis 6: 13-22)

God is the One that promised to send a savior, and then sent Jesus. Not in a big braggadocious, royalty like way. But to a common, every day mom & dad. (Luke 2: 4-7)

The Lord raised people from the dead, made people whole that could not be healed by anyone else on Earth, put the stars in the sky, and made a donkey talk. (Numbers 22: 28)

For one second, I should never think He ain’t able to help me. Sometimes, I have to remind myself Who I am talking to. Because He can do more than I could ever think or imagine. All He needs from me, as a Christian, is to believe He can. Then, He will.

Matthew 21:22 And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive

The same God that can create a universe out of nothing, can answer my prayers. Just knowing that should make my faith big. When I get to feeling things are hopeless, I think about how the Lord has a way of working things out in our lives. We may not understand what is happening, at the time. However, the Lord has always provided for me & my family. Even when I didn’t know what the outcome would be, He was right on time. He will do the same for you. Don’t ever doubt it. Things are going to happen to us. We are going to have to deal with things, we wish we didn’t. However, with God, you never have to worry.

Isaiah 54:17 says:

No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment
You shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
And their righteousness is from Me,”
Says the Lord.

It does not say weapons (problems) will never form. Problems will arise. However, God will not let them prosper (continue). Our job is to keep a Christ like attitude about it, pray about it, & wait for God to work it out.

I love this saying:

I hope everyone has had a wonderful week. Are you ready for the big day on Thursday? I know we are so excited to be with family and friends over Thanksgiving. This is one of my most favorite holidays. My daddy called me last night & we planned what we were going to have for breakfast that day. Y’all eating is very serious with us. I just cannot wait to get all my people in my house. Those guys are pretty important to me. And I love, love, love being in their company. Family, friends, & eating too much. My favorite. I hope you have a truly wonderful Thanksgiving. As for me, I must be going, because I should be washing clothes.

Behind these sweet smiles were some cold girls!

Parade time! We love a parade!

Miss Neenee enjoyed her birthday cookies. Since she loves to cook, it was only fitting she had cooking themed cookies.

Look how cute! These were made by Meg Makes and Bakes. They tasted as good as they were pretty!

On an unrelated note, I almost had bread crumbs for breakfast instead of oatmeal the other morning. Darn those same looking containers. And my old eyes.

photo credit: Amazon, Pinterest

Memory loss is a major concern in our society. Why, there are pills boasting improved focus & mental faculty. Medicines to improve short term & long term memory loss are in abundance. Remembering how to complete daily tasks is essential in life. When you are having a conversation with someone, it’s especially helpful if you can remember what the subject is. Just the other night my husband & I were talking. Our Miss Neenee came in the living room, where we were. She asked a question, then went back to her room. We looked at each other for a moment. Then, my honey said,

“What were we talking about?”

I paused for a moment & said, “ I haven’t got a clue.”

Those are probably times you want to be able to recall what’s a goin’ on. Other things that I do, that are a smidge aggravating, which is caused by lapses in memory, are:

Losing my keys. Which are always in the last place I look. Funny how that works out.
Forgetting to put in my contacts. On my drive in to work: “Is that a police car? Are those lights on top of that car? No, that’s a luggage rack. Whew.”
Forgetting to take my hormone replacement. Which is specifically only good for no one around me.
Misplacing bills. Not just your regular ol’ I can pay any time in the month bill. The water bill is my most popular misplaced bill. Luckily, I have made friends with a lady in the office, at the water department. Bless my heart.
Losing my phone. More often than not, Miss Neenee gently says, “Mama, it’s in your hand.” Hey, those things can sneak up on you.
Forgetting what I am doing. I’m making a sandwich. I go to the pantry to get the bread. I look into the laundry room. I forgot to put the clothes in the dryer. I go to putting the clothes in the dryer & I pick through the clothes to leave out some things that need to be hung up to dry. I don’t have a hanger. So, I go back to my closet to get one. On the way, I walk through my bedroom. There’s that bill I was looking for. I go back to the kitchen to get an envelope to put it in. Wait, why is there lunch meat sitting on the bar? Oh yeah, I’m making a sandwich. Sheesh.

As much as I need to remember things, the apostle Paul says there are some things we need to not remember at all.

Phillipians 3:13 …but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, (NKJV)

Things that have happened to us in a negative way, are not worth remembering. We need to forget how rude, stubborn, & hateful people can be. Sunday, our preacher, Bro. Brad said that people who are know it alls, hard headed, & can’t get along with types will experience much heartache & difficulty in life. They don’t think they have anything to learn. They don’t see themselves as needing any improvement in their lives. They never really realize how their ways keep them from healthy relationships. They are never ready to accept their own part of their issues. Because hey, how could anything ever be their fault? The situation is always somebody else’s doing. They miss out on the happiness, that being around others, can bring. They miss out on all the richness God would add to their lives, only if they would humble themselves. All because being judgmental, hard headed, & above their fellow man, are qualities they practice frequently.

We must strive to be humble, gracious folks. We have to know that we can just as easily not have enough – than have plenty.

James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. (NKJV)

What if the Lord only blessed you with what you were thankful for? What if you were the only thing that was holding you back from true blessings & riches from the Lord? According to James, first you do your part, then the Lord will do His. So, you kinda are. Let’s make sure we forget to be stubborn.

Not a real good way to be humble.

You never know what life is going to throw at you. We must understand we must react with love & concern for others. And always be mindful that God doesn’t owe us anything. He gives good to us, however, can take it away, as well.

Job 1:21 And he said:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

We need to forget to have a hard heart. No matter how people treat us. We have to be what God wants us to be regardless. We need to forget to be resentful. We need to forget to have hatred in our hearts. It’s just not worth the blessings you will miss- without all that there.

I am so very glad you came by to visit today. I got an exciting call from my aunt today. She said she had picked a big bucket of okra for me! All I have to do is go get it after work. I sure hope I don’t forget it. 😉 Until then, I have to be going because I should be washing clothes.

photo creds: michaelkonick.com, zazzle,

Attitudes are contagious. Is yours worth catching?