Where Oh Where

Where oh where does the time go?? This is a question I ask myself alot lately..and it scares me to be honest....sometimes it scares me alot...just in the last couple of weeks...we went to Branson seems we head out and before I can blink we are on our way back...just a few days ago I was looking forward to 5 days off and now I am down to 1 day and then back to work...

Sometimes I think that we wish life away..at work we look forward to quitting time, then by Tuesday we start looking forward to the week-end now in Dec I will be looking forward to the Christmas shutdown..when oh when may I ask will I be happy in the right now and not looking forward but being content with it being now..why do I always look ahead...(better ahead then behind I think)...it won't be to long and my life as I know it won't be anymore..the older we get the more everyday things change, I know they can change when your young too, health, accidents etc..but we don't expect them as much then as we do when we get older..not that I am old yet, but getting closer each day...but now having said all that I do thank God for each and every day that He has given me and also the health that Everett and I have..I really don't mean to sound ungrateful because I am not...just thinking about how fast everything goes by....

Reminds me now of some sayings...

Only one life and it will soon be past..
Only what's done for Christ will last...

Today is the first day of the rest of your life...

Cherish each moment we never know when it will be our last...

This is the day that the Lord has made I will rejoice and be glad in it...

There is no time like the present...to tell someone you love them...lend a helping hand...or to just sit at the feet of God and reflect on what He has done for you...

This Thanksgiving I am so filled...Thank you Jesus for what you have done for me!!

Excited

Recently my oldest son called me one morning and asked me what was the most exciting moment of my life...at the time I could not pin point one thing in particular aside from marring Everett and when each of the children were born and all of the grandchildren.

I think that when I was little it had to be Christmas eve...Christmas eve is the most wonderful time of the year...the anticipation all the beautiful gifts and wondering what in the world could be in them...that was more exciting then opening them up...when the children were little and they would be down at 4am and I was so excited to see their reaction to what we had bought them...sometimes great disappointment..not getting that special something that they had been hoping for...sometimes really, really excited because they did get just what they wanted...

A couple of years ago our oldest granddaughter got married in our back yard that was such an exciting time for me and such a honor just because she wanted to have her special day here at Grandma's house...and such an exciting time for her and Jeff..

Taking each of the grandkiddos to Branson now each year...each one getting their turn to go with us to our special place that we love to go and sharing that with them...no parents just us doing what we want to do...so much fun....

The twins being born...how exciting...two little ones..what a blessing they are..(along with all the others grandchildren too...)

Now each year starting 3 yrs ago we take everyone to Great Wolf lodge in Kansas City for a week-end...right now this is one of the most exciting times for them...they start talking about this in the fall....family time together...so much fun for them..

Now as I ponder all of this, the most exciting time in our lives should be when we accept Jesus as our personal savior..resting in His gift of salvation because He loved us so much that He bore all the sin of the whole world and took it all to the cross and shed His blood for us...and HE was buried..but didn't stay in the grave on the 3rd day He rose again and is sitting at the right hand of our Father...but we must be born again...confess with our mouth and believe in our heart that Jesus died and was buried and rose again..now that IS something to get excited about!!!

Focus

The question I have been asking myself lately is "What am I focused on?"

Am I focused on things of this world...my job...my position in life..what do I look like, my house, now that Christmas is coming up will I be consumed with all of that..
am I focused on caring if others like me, totally on my self and trying to satisfy what I want...

I could answer yes to all the above...but in my heart none of the above is what I want my focus to be on...

Apostle Paul said it best when he said in Romans 7:19 For the good I do is not the good I want to do, no the evil I do not want to do....But then in Philippians 4:13 Paul states I can do everything through Him who strengtens me..It has to be of God and listening to the Holy Spirit and being in God's word or we will not be able to overcome these fleshly desires that we all have...

Hebrews 12 is about running the race and not letting things of this world hinder us..we must not look to the stands to see who is watching nor should we look behind and let our past and our failures slow us down in this race that we are in but must keep our eyes on the finish line and there is our Savior Jesus Christ...we must walk(run)everyday of our life with our eyes toward Jesus..it is when my eyes come off of Him and I want to start letting things of this world take ahold, many things may not even be bad but they are hindering me from looking ahead...is when my focus is on the wrong place...

I am thankful this Thanksgiving season that I live in a country where I can still express my love for the Lord and go to the House of Worship in freedom..but it is also something that we should never take for granted, one day it may not be possible to do this even here in the great USA...God please bless America once again!!

November, 10 1986

I remember it like it was yesterday...my little girl was about to have her first baby. I had just gotten to work when Randy called and said that Steph was going to the hospital..that's all it took off to Mac I was...waited and waited...so excited, so scared, so worried that everything would be alright...then around noon here she came the most beautiful baby I had ever seen....so perfect, so precious, couldn't get enough of her...I stayed at the hospital all day came and got Everett and went back to the hospital again...had a horrible headache when I came home from all the exctitment...could hardly take it all in that I was a grandma....loved it...when I was sad I thought of that little baby and she cheered me up...
I stayed at your house for a whole week, helping with you, your mom would come and lay you on my tummy after your 4 o'clock feeding...you would sleep like that until the next feeding...you have been such a blessing to me...I love you my first born grandchild...you have truly grown up to be a beautiful lady...college graduate on to getting your Masters...have so enjoyed watching you grow, being a part of all your life, swimming team, debate, music programs...prom dates...staying at my house..and then you chose to have your wedding in my back yard...what that meant to me you will never know...
Have a great birthday Abby Jo...I love you now as I loved you then...so pretty, so sweet, and oh so precious!!
A gift from God...thank you for Abby's life!

SING

My Granddaughter who by the way is an art major at K-State painted on our dining room wall last year "Sing as if no one is listening"...

Recently one of my friend's and former co-worker's husband got sick..really sick..he is now in the hospital in ICU in a drug induced coma...has been for now over a week..my friend sits there day in and day out by his bedside faithfully awaiting for his body to heal...I went to see them last night..made me think alot today and since this has happened to how my life is being lived and what am I doing now..while I am in good health and also Everett...what is my life reflecting...if this was to happen to me am I ready, ready to leave this world into eternity, I don't want to sound morbid here but that is where we are all heading..and I ask myself what really matters now...not what I want it to be like someday when I may think that I have it all figured out(because I will never live that long) but how do I want my life to be now..I think that most of us could actually look around us and we should start right now, and Thank God for what he has given us and the blessing He surrounds us with everyday of our life...when I want to grumble I am so ashamed..I know it is human nature, to complain, look around and compare, thinking that others have it so much better then we do..but you can always find a whole lot more people that have it so much worse...I want to live my days that God grants me from here on out being thankful for what I do have and not focus on the could of beens or what I don't have..He has given me so much...I could never thank Him enough...we are entering a season (even though it should be everyday) of Thanksgiving...let's start looking at what we can be and should be thankful for and not what we don't have and live each day to the fullest....and remember to watch what we say..words hurt...especially to those that are closest to us, we never do know when they will be the last words they hear us say...now then...
"SING AS IF NO ONE IS LISTENING"....