What Makes a House a Home??

So many times we here say "oh have you seen the house down the street that is for sale?" or do you know that the boese's bought the jone's house and it is such a beautiful place. or did you know that the walker's are building a new house? But do we think about what it takes to make that house a home? A haven of rest when we are tired. A place to come back to when we have been on vacation and saying "oh man it is so good to be home." First and foremost our home should be a place where God is the center. My bible that I am showing here was my probably my great, great grandfather's I really am not sure I just remember it sitting on the top shelf  above the stairway of my parents home. I was so happy to get this. By the looks of this it has been read alot. now it sits on my parlor table I can hardly touch it because it is falling apart. I love this old Bible and wonder about the hands that use to hold it and read it and I wonder what kind of walk they had with God. Another thing that I think makes a house a home of course is LOVE but also homemade things. Things that family or friends have made for you, to take the time and think about something that you would like and then to make it. The pictures and art work above the black dresser here my Granddaughter Annie made for us. I love them. The cross on the board Everett made for me. With the thorns on top of the cross.

I have lots of homemade things in my home and just really think they give the home a cozy feeling. Another thing that I love and feel like brings warmth into the home are candles and I am forever burning candles. Also I love lamps. The soft lights of the lamps. I can not have to many lamps and I have a lot. The smell of coffee brewing, roast cooking in the oven, bacon frying are all fragrance's that remind me of home. There are a lot of different things we can think of but tonight these are just some that came to my mind. The comforts of home. Some say home is where the heart is I say home is where God is...

Neither Here Nor There

Last week we had one of the biggest snow storms that we have had in a very, very long time. It was a beautiful snow and aside from the fact that it was also bitterly cold I loved it. I loved snuggling in at night when I got home, getting stuck, plowing threw the first streets of the early morning, there is just something so pure about newly fallen snow. Just makes me wonder how each tiny snow flake can mount up to 17 inches of snow...

The pictures are my home last week with the snow storm that we had. The one is of our back yard and the other one is of my flower pots on the front porch. One is of our bird bath that Everett puts a heater in so the birds can have their water.

The other 2 pictures are of my house in the spring, summer. The front pot with flowers in and the back deck that is decorated and waiting for our Granddaughters wedding. Abby got married in our back yard. It was a beautiful wedding and I will cherish that day forever. It was so much fun getting ready for her wedding.

Ok now the freshly beautiful snow, so pure and so fresh...just as pretty as the flowers of spring. Each picture has a beauty all it's own.

The pure fallen snow can remind us of a young beautiful bride, all dressed in white, pure awaiting her soon to be husband..beautiful...that is what God intented.

The beautiful spring time...flowers blooming, like life, beginning with wonderful expectations, new home, getting to know one another, then children all fresh and new experience's. How exciting....

As life goes on, things happen, some not so great...our dreams and hopes can shatter, kinda like the snow when we start to trample in it, drive in it, it gets dirty, not so pretty anymore and we just want it to go away...life can get that way, sickness may set in, families may not get along, abuse, death...sometimes we just want it to go away....

Flowers fade, they die, they welt, they disappear, at the end of summer they just don't look so pretty anymore,and we await to pull them out and clean out our flower pots...

Again, in life we get older we fade, people don't listen to us as they once did...sometimes we can just disappear...not so pretty anymore...so again we await...

But then we know that Jesus came, and He came to clean us up, our dirty hearts, our dirty spirits, He comes in like the freshly fallen snow and washes our hearts that pure and white...like a bride awaiting her husband, to care, love her, to stand by her,to help her.. For that is what we are as Believers in Christ we are His Bride. That is what Christ wants to do for us...to care for us, to love us, protect us....Come to me all you that are heavy laden and I will give you rest...That is what HE says....

Above and Beyond our call of Duty

Can we go above and beyond our call of duty if we are a Christian. I would say not. I believe that if God lays something on our heart to do and we do not do it, it is sin. James 4:17 Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins. That is what the Bible says. It doesn't say even if we think that person doesn't deserve it, or that person never does anything for me why should I help them or do something for them, the Bible calls us to serve.

Just as Jesus came to serve, how He washed His disciples dirty feet, we too, are called to do just that.

When God lays on our heart an act of kindness, a deed or maybe being a helping hand, phone call, card sent, a kind word and we ignore it, that is sin.

We must walk the extra mile, giving more then we receive...and God's blessings come forth.

The last couple of weeks I have had several that have walked that extra mile for me...went out of their way to serve, to be there and I am so thankful for them and want them to know how much I appreciate them. A meal was cooked by a busy mom....phone calls, to see how I was....prayers, many prayers, children's love and support and a hubby that stood by with kindness...girls at work that got everything done...took the responsibilty in my absence that I didn't have to worry about work. Even though what I had done was not major by a long shot, my friends and family were there and I pray that I would do the same.

Now having said that many, many times I have failed, and I have sinned by not doing what I ought to have done. Thoughts came in my head to do something and I didn't respond...who did I hurt....the one I could of helped...and me....but most of all God...His disappointment...in me to be obedient to him. MATT 25 Jesus talks about feeding the hungry, clothing the poor, giving drink to the thirsty, visiting those in prison and then replies when asked "I tell you the truth whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."

What did I do for Him today? Somtimes my heart is heavy, because my answer is "not nearly enough".

What did Christ do for me.... He loved me so much...He died....so that I can live...

Curves in Life

This summer Everett and I took a few little trips. One of them was a few days in Colorado. My favorite place, besides Branson. We rented a little cabin and spent our days driving in the mountains, renting bikes and found some little out of the ordinary coffee houses. I love that, and out of the ordinary cafes.

We had so much fun, walking, biking, shopping and just hanging out. We even visited this really old cemetery. People were buried according to what religion they were. I kid you not, the areas were labeled, Lutheran, Catholic, Jews etc and they had rod iron fences around them. Very unique head stones. It was in a ghost town. We drove on some very back roads to get there.

We also traveled on some very curvy mountain roads. Didn't even want to look down.
Tonight as I sit here blogging I think of the curves that life throws at us. When things come up that we would rather not have happen. Such as the flu, my daughter-in-law just had strep. Falls, it is so icy and snowy now a lot of people fall and break hips, legs etc. Just throws our life out of zinc for awhile. Some of the curves are alot sharper then others. Some curves we can take at a pretty good speed without slowing down so much but then others we have to almost come to a complete stop to make it around the bend so to speak. Maybe a death in the family, news of cancer, or loss of a job to some maybe a divorce, bad news of some sort always causes the heart to ache. I have a niece and nephew that seem to have a lot of these sharp curves in their lives, it makes me sad....Tomorrow I have a curve, it's not a sharp curve but none the less a curve.

1 Kings 12:24 " This thing is from me."

My Child, I have a message for you today; let me whisper it in your ear, that it may gild with glory any storm clouds which may arise, and smooth the rough places upon which you may have to tread. It is short, only five words, but let them sink into your inmost soul; use them as a pillow upon which to rest your weary head...This thing is from me. What comfort to know that God has already trod every place that I need to go, and now I will take His hand and let Him lead me, no matter where He takes me and I know that I will be super duper fine!!