~~Recipe for a NEW YEAR~~

Good evening, I apologize for not having a morning post nor my lunchtime food for thought, I found to day that I have had the stomach flu or medically termed the norovirus gastroenteritis. I promise you it is not a fun time in the old city! My Wayde is still in bed on day number 3 and I have been from the bed to the couch to the bed again. I am sorry to say I had to miss out on one of the most important things I have ever been invited to do, I was supposed to get to see my unborn grandbaby on sonogram tomorrow and me and only me was going to get to know the sex and not share this with my daughter or her hubby until Feb 4th for a birthday present to her. This sickness has not only cost us extra money for but also would have been to dangerous for me to be with her, I would have been in fear of passing it on to her or Derek or both. So my heart is broken and I cannot seem to stop the flow of tears! I know all things happen for a reason, I just wish I knew what the reason is. 

In prayer this evening I asked God to bless me and mine with health, I asked Him to wrap his arms around me and hold me as I sit and weep over missing the special day tomorrow and I ask him to bless my baby with her thoughts being laid calm regarding the health of her baby! I asked God to continue to bless each of you with his love, his peace, his calm and his comfort. I asked God to hold my sister's father in law in his loving arms, to comfort him as he is going through his physical medical struggles and if it be His will to wax him strong enough to pull through and make a full recovery, if it be His will to call him home, to comfort him, to ease any fear he may have and to surround him with all of those who have gone before him to include his beautiful wife. Father comfort his family and bless them with calm and comfort as they stand in wait. I ask all of the blessings and mercies in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen

I came across this sweet little recipe for a Happy New Year and thought it was one to share,  hope that you enjoy it and I pray that you will take it and use it in your new year! 

Recipe for a Happy New Year

  Anonymous

    Take twelve fine, full-grown months; see that these are thoroughly free from old memories of bitterness, rancor and hate, cleanse them completely from every clinging spite; pick off all specks of pettiness and littleness; in short, see that these months are freed from all the past—have them fresh and clean as when they first came from the great storehouse of Time. Cut these months into thirty or thirty-one equal parts. Do not attempt to make up the whole batch at one time (so many persons spoil the entire lot this way) but prepare one day at a time.

    Into each day put equal parts of faith, patience, courage, work (some people omit this ingredient and so spoil the flavor of the rest), hope, fidelity, liberality, kindness, rest (leaving this out is like leaving the oil out of the salad dressing— don’t do it), prayer, meditation, and one well-selected resolution. Put in about one teaspoonful of good spirits, a dash of fun, a pinch of folly, a sprinkling of play, and a heaping cupful of good humor.

Does God have a headache?

 

  Aww, the wonderful chill of an early fall! 70 degrees with a crisp, cool, breeze. A cloudless sky and the sunshine is amazing! I continue to pray for all of those in need of rain, cooler temperatures, and relief from all of the negative juju that seem to have taken up residence over your home states!
     This morning in prayer as I sat chatting with our Father in Heaven I felt peace, a different peace than I normally feel, I felt that God was telling me that it was going to be okay, that whatever he has been waiting for has be done so now he can begin with the blessings he has in store for us! I felt that their was satisfaction in his "peace" that he had been waiting on something or someone and whatever it was has done what they needed to do to accept him into their hearts, or maybe already had accepted him but had struggled in really "accepting him" I don't know exactly what it was, but I know what passed over  my heart and I know it was "GOOD" I saw a picture posted the other day that asked a question..."I wonder sometimes if we ever give God a headache?" I had to laugh because I know my daughter has given me a headache or twenty:) I am sure God gets frustrated with us, when our children were small and we were trying to teach them right from wrong...we got frustrated and then when they finally "got it" we felt such pleasure and were so relieved! Why would God feel any different, we are his children, he is our teacher and we seem to keep "not getting it" He does not ask for much from us, less than we expect from our own children in fact. God only asks that we follow the commandments, that we love without condition, that we have faith in him and that we seek to follow in Christ's footsteps as our guide! How can we expect our children to be obedient if we are not being proper roll models....why would we expect our children to keep a clean room if we do not clean our homes, why would we expect our children not to use drugs and alcohol if we partake of them? Why do we expect so much when we are not willing to be examples of "right'? God gave us the example of what he wants us to mirror, Jesus Christ, but still we refuse as little children do, to follow the example. Sometimes he has to put us in "time out" not to hurt us, but to give us time to realize that we need to make some changes, that we need to make different choices and that we need to fall upon our knees and pray for forgiveness and strength!
     Today my prayer for you is that you slow down, that you get "on bended knees" and you look into God's eyes and see what he is in need of from you! We all know when we are doing wrong, we know when we are not pleasing him, I think sometimes we get so far off of the footsteps that we are lost and cannot find our way back...today I pray that you look for those footsteps, if you need counsel to find your way back ask for it, if you need special prayer ask for it, if you need someone to talk to, find someone! I pray that you not sit in your glass house any longer, we all make mistakes, we all break the rules and we all need guidance at some point in our lives! It takes more strength to say " Father I need you" than it does to just continue on in the path you are taking! God is love, he is forgiving and he is waiting on each and every one of us to dedicate ourselves to him, he gave his son for us, can't we simply obey his rules? I pray you take some special time with him today, find a quiet place and speak to him as a child to a father,  he wants to hear your heart, not a bunch of words that are meaningless! He has his arms outstretched and waiting for you to call on him, for you to weep and fall into them, for you to feel his love and know that his blessings are many and he has them waiting just for you! I love you all and pray that today you feel the peace I feel in my heart, that you open your eyes to the "son" and know that with him and God in your corner you will never lose! Pray for peace, for calm, for comfort and for strength, believe in his word and refuse to let satan become your tour guide!

Story

“Charlotte had come to a hard time in her life. She was filled with discontent. Everything seemed wrong. … Her friends were commonplace; her home unattractive; her own personality unlovely, as she was well aware. The problem was too much for Charlotte.

To obtain help, Charlotte went to Margaret Ames, a lady who was leading the kind of life that Charlotte wanted to lead. “Charlotte poured out the story of her heartache over her frustrated, unhappy life. … Margaret after a gentle word of sympathy said, ‘You can change all that if you really have the will to do it.’ …

“[To begin the new life, Mrs. Ames suggested to Charlotte]: ‘Live for twenty-four hours as if Christ were right beside you, seeing everything that you do. Then come to me again, and we’ll talk it over. Will you do that?’

“… Somewhat … doubtful, she answered, ‘Yes, Mrs. Ames.’ …

“It was late afternoon when Charlotte went home. She knew that she was expected to help get the supper onto the table. She went to the drawer and took out a wrinkled tablecloth. When she spread it on the table, she noticed several soiled spots. And here she had her first thought of change.

“ ‘If Christ were going to eat with us, I wouldn’t put on a soiled cloth,’ she said to herself.

“She got a fresh cloth. And with the same thought she brought in a small bowl of flowers from the yard. She put the butter on a fresh plate instead of on the soiled one. She cut the bread with care. …

“ ‘Company tonight?’ asked her father. …

“ ‘Just you, Daddy,’ smiled Charlotte. …

“Her mother, worn and hot, … sat down, saying, ‘I don’t know what’s got into her to fix up so just for us. I suppose she’s expecting someone to drop in before we’re done.’ …

“… ‘I don’t know of anyone I’d rather fix things up for than our own folks,’ she said.

“The family simply stared for a minute. That wasn’t like Charlotte. …

“In the living room [after dinner] Charlotte slipped a magazine out from the bottom of the pile and began to read. She had brought the magazine home herself, and she kept it [hidden]. After a few minutes she put it down. … ‘I wouldn’t be reading this if Christ were sitting where he could read with me,’ she thought. And she carried it out, and put it in the wastepaper bag. …

“[The next day Charlotte] went to work again. … She disliked her job very much. …

“ ‘Christ beside me,’ she thought as she walked into the store. … She said good morning smilingly to all she met.

“… She was even able to solve problems with rude customers as she reminded herself of how she would act if Christ were beside her. That evening she returned to Margaret Ames’s home to discuss the experiment.

“… ‘I tried it, Mrs. Ames, just as well as I could, and—well, it made everything different. I think I can see what you mean. Of course, it didn’t change the things that are bothering me. I’m still poor, and can’t go to school, and I live in an ugly house. …’

“ ‘Ah, my dear! But you only started the seed-sowing twenty-four hours ago. … Can you keep on as you’ve begun? … You have the [key] word. It is Christ. Fretting … doesn’t change things very much; but Christ does. Just remember to keep your daily walk very close to him.’

As always, if you have need for special prayer let us know, if you have a special prayer and want to share leave it here, if you would like for us to pray with you or for you we stand in the light of Christ ready to pray, pray, pray. If you cannot leave a comment feel free to email me at dawfor@msn.com,  it is my honor to lift you and yours in prayer! God bless you all:) 

Call to Prayer, please join me if you will:)

Tonight  I come to you Lord with a heavy heat, with sadness at hearing of the loss of a 5 year old child, a friend has suffered the loss of a nephew father and is in need of your compassion and your comfort. Please be with her and her family as they travel cross country to be with the parents of this sweet baby.  Father I ask that you be with the family of this little one, that you wrap your arms around each of them, that you allow them to know that through you, they will get through this, father let them fall in to you, allow them to lay their heads upon your chest and know that you are there to carry them in all that they will go through in the coming days, please allow the veil to be thin so that they might be comforted with his little spirit! Another friend is filled with pain this evening as she is fervently praying for a niece who was involved in an auto accident today, as we speak the young lady is going through surgery, please Lord be the hands that perform the surgery and save her arm, be with this young lady through all she is having done, hold her tonight and comfort her from the pain of surgery, be with her in the long days ahead giving her strength to rehab and recover. Others are facing the news of terminal illnesses, financial woes, broken relationships, separations with their children, battling rebuilds from the storms, fighting the raging fires, facing floods,  many are in fear of their soldiers who are on the front lines, Father there is so much grief and fear, so much worry and anxiety...tonight I ask that you breath your calm on each and every one of us and those we ask mercies for, hold us tight, wrap us in the blanket of your love and let us dream of times that were not so sad, times that were filled with laughter, allow us to sleep with no sadness, only your pure true love. God we know how powerful you are, we have seen your work with our very eyes, we have stood witness to miracle upon miracle and we know as long as we are "on bended knees" and that we truly believe and cling tight to our faith, you will be in all that we do. God I ask that you be with my friends and my precious family, keep them safe from harm and each day touch them in a way that they continue to hold you at the very top of their lives. I ask these mercies with love in my heart father, in Jesus' beautiful name, amen.

Prayer time, are you with me???

Father God, I come to you tonight, "on bended knees" with so much love in my heart, I thank you for giving me breath for yet another day, for allowing me to be who I am, for allowing me the freedoms to be able to speak your name with no fears of punishment. I ask that you continue to bless those who I have prayed for in the past, that I have asked mercies for today and for the ones that will come in prayer tomorrow. Father, you are love, you are mercy and you are grace, all things are possible through you, by your hand and I know that your will be done. Lord, be with my friends and family where ever they go this evening, be a shield for them that might be near danger, be a healing hand for those that are not healthy, be a light for those lost in the storms of life, be breath for those who feel they can take no more. God fill them with love, calm, peace and comfort this night. I ask that you continue to be the strength that our soldiers need to keep them safe from harm, that you allow each of them to come home safely and that the unrest in foreign countries be calmed by your hands. I ask that you continue to bless our brothers and sisters in Christ who have been affected by the destruction of storms, that you blanket those in the path of danger and that you always allow us to feel your presence. I love you with every bit of me, my soul is yours father and I will do my best to follow your lead in all of my doings. Thank  you for all of the blessings in my life, thank you for the gifts that you have given me and thank you Lord for the great sacrifice so that this life can be mine! In the name of my Savior I pray these things, amen.

A letter from heaven, may it bring comfort, peace, and calm.

2 Corinthians 1:3-5

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.

When I am sad and missing someone who has made their heavenly journey home, when I am lost and feeling alone, I turn to this poem, I let my mind wonder and allow the words to come from the mouth of the one I am missing, I know that time is the only thing that heals us, I know that many people try to place an amount on that time, we heal at our own pace, we heal with God's grace, however long it takes. I know that the ultimate blessing is living in our heavenly father's house, I know that when our spirit leaves our bodies and transition into heaven that there is no more pain and suffering, no more worry and stress, that are bodies are made new and whole again, I think sometimes I allow my pain to overshadow my knowledge. May you read this today, allow yourself to imagine the one you love and miss, saying these very words to you, may it bring comfort into your heart, may it allow you to begin to move forward in your earthly doings and may it give peace and calm where there has been angst and woe! Love in Christ on this beautiful Monday:) 

TO MY DEAREST FAMILY

There are some things I'd like to say, but first I want to tell you that I arrived okay!

I'm writing this from Heaven where I dwell with God above. Where there are no more tears or sadness, there is just eternal love.

Please do not be unhappy, just because I am out of site, remember that I'm with you every morning, noon and night! That day I had to leave you, when my life on earth was through, God picked me up and hugged me and said "I welcome you"

"Its good to have you back again, you were missed while you were gone, as for your dearest family, they'll be here later on."

"I need you here so badly, as part of my big plan, there's so much that we have to do to help out mortal man!"

Then God gave me a list of things he wished for me to do, and foremost on that list of mine is to watch and care for you.

And I will be beside you, every day and week and year, and when you're sad I'm standing there, to wipe away your tears.

And when you lie in bed at night, the day's chores put to flight, God and I are closest to you in the middle of the night. When you think of my life on earth and all those loving years, because you're only human, they are bound to bring you tears.

But do not be afraid to cray, it does remove the pain, remember there would be no flowers unless there was some rain.

I wish that I could tell you all that God has planned, but if I were to tell you, you wouldn't understand, but one thing is for certain thought my life on earth is o'er, I am closer to you now than I ever was before.

And to my very many friends, trust God knows what is best, I'm still not far away from you I'm just beyond the crest.

There are rocky roads ahead of you and many hills to climb but together we can do it, taking one day at a time. It was always my philosophy and I'd like it for you too, that as you give unto the world so the world will give to you.

If you can help somebody who's in sorrow or in pain, then you can say to God at night my day was not in vain!

And now I am contented that my life it was worthwhile. Knowing as I passed along the way, I made somebody smile.

So if you meet somebody who is down and feeling low, Just lend a hand to pick them up as on your way you go.

When you are walking down the street and you've got me on your mind, I'm walking in your footsteps only half a step behind.

And when you feel that gentle breeze or the wind upon your face, that's me giving you a great big hug or just a soft embrace.

And when it's time for you to go from that body to be free, remember you're not going your are coming here to me!

And I will always love you from the land way up above, we'll be in touch again soon.

P.S. God sends his LOVE!!!