Month: January 2022

Tot and I are ready to greet before church today:

She shines like the SON! All love to be greeted by her.

Onto church:

Dr. Darryl Delhousaye preached this morning, and oh was it delightful. He spoke on Ecclesiastes 3 as Solomon talks about there being a time for everything. Things don’t always turn out the way we want, do they? Let’s suffice it to say, we shouldn’t be surprised. We are not God. We are not in control of this society or really our own lives when it comes to it all working it justly. Nope. But, after all is said and done, we await the 2nd Christmas. (300 times in the NT this is promised) Jesus will return, and when He does judgment will occur and all the bends will be straightened. All the wrong will be righted.

Then, what does it say in the meantime to do? Ecc. 12 says it: “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.

So, should we just wait and be sad boohooing? NO WAY! We look for the GOOD in all we do. We switch our perspective! We don’t feel sorry for ourselves or complain about the wrongs of this world. We understand it and then we say, “Yes, this is true, but I choose to be THANKFUL IN ALL THINGS: Paul said it in 1 These 5:18: “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” YES. IN ALL THINGS GOD WORKS FOR THE GOOD for those who love HIm. (Rom 8:28) There is good in everything. We just have to look.

Oh, heartburn. No fun. Tot seemed to have a trifecta tonight: Stomach, heart, and head all aching.

A gave her a Gas X.

And at 9, she finally did it. I had to turn around so I wouldn’t watch, but she was so proud to announce: I DID IT!

Now, let’s get ready of the gassy pains, my dear. I’m so sorry this is happening tonight. I don’t ever want you to experience what I have had for so long. I LOVE YOU

Up at 6:30am, Tatum and I have been enjoying our Bible Study and learning a QT routine. (We are on day 5)

Today’s topic was Worship, and she enjoyed singing the song: God is SO GOOD!)

Here are some of the days’ entries: (Day 4, Day 5)

And, I tested her on the memory verse. She got it!

Luke 6:27-31

It came in with a roar, this new day. 1/1/22. We are so grateful, and we are ready for 2022!

In the meantime, I look forward to a new year because of all I learned this last year.

I would never have experienced true love. It takes conflict in some form to bring out the best or worst in someone. For our family, we grew immensely. You either became BITTER or BETTER through hard times. For me, my health took a downturn, and it forced our family to literally nest (and become BETTER!). I became unpredictable in my ability to plan things because I had so many gut issues that it was so hard to go places. This meant my family would suffer also because they would stay home with me. But what else did it mean? My family would spend a lot more time together. Good? Well, it was amazing because we spent so much time in prayer and focus on HIM> They would pray over me constantly, and my health would be a conduit to a closer relationship for all of us. (to God and to each other)

I also experienced the POWER of the Holy Spirit. I am tapping into His power more than ever; it’s changed me. I’ve learned how much I am loved and how I am truly HIS child. No more self deprecating thoughts. No more, putdowns to myself.

Finally, I’ve learned to be content with so little. Just the daily sunrise; the smell of our fresh flowers; the cloud formations; the meals to savor. So many LITTLE things I have taken for granted in the past. No more “future” living. No. I want to live in the present of HIS presence. Now that is a present for the NEW YEAR!

See my smile? This is now my new normal. Keep smiling, fighting, and living in love.

Gratitude day. Our family met early for a mini-meeting so we could talk about our final day.

First, we are grateful for new friends. Across the street, there is a lovely family, and Tatum has befriended the two boys, Hussein and Ali.

Later, I attempted to make fortune cookies. Not because of the “fortune” part, but because of the note inside part.

Again, attempted. Here are the notes they found in them.

I showed my family our gratitude box with notes inside.

Now, we fill out anytime we want to just express our gratitude. This year, we are going to focus on THE GOOD (Romans 8:28)