It's been too many weeks, once again. I can't seem to get my writing mojo going and yet, most of what I think about is writing. I find that I have a lot to say but it doesn't want to come out.

Have you heard just had one of those weeks? Boy, this has been it! I've had a migraine that just doesn't want to go away, my laptop bit the dust, and after buying a new computer and loading it up, locked my keys in the car! Good grief!!

However, I went back to a desktop and while I'll miss certain aspects of the portability, I'm looking forward to more stability.

It's been almost 2 months since I've posted. We've been quite busy. I've joined the Iowa Speedway Ministry and have enjoyed two races thus far.Being a part of the ministry means that we get to go just about anywhere. We are there to minister, to drivers, crews, and fans.The first afternoon, we had a deluge! Totally unexpected!! It made the microphone go out on my phone! We were soaked. I now make sure that I have a poncho with me!
Yes, I was this close to Danika Patrick. I found her to be very focused! She moves fast and stays on task, I suppose that's why some people see her as a bit snotty. I didn't get that impression at all. She was very willing to sign autographs, especially for the kids. We were able to get right up to the pit boxes. This is Helio Castroneves waiting to go out for practice. I was able to get his autograph and talk to him a bit. He's a darling man!

The Iowa gymnast, Shawn Johnson, came to the races on Sunday. She seemed to enjoy herself.I stood right below the flag this past Saturday night, it was a beautiful sight! Sadly, I'm afraid it isn't going to mean much before long.

Wow, it's been several weeks, again!! Life has been full! There have been great things and not so great things, but God is always faithful and He is ALWAYS good!!

My daughter got safely off to Thailand. While she was expecting to be a teacher's aid, instead, she is a teacher! She's doing so well and thoroughly enjoying herself!
This is a picture from the first day of school. It's a beautiful mixture of faces!!

This past weekend she was able to take a visit to a "wat". She enjoyed the trip and the view, but felt so sad for those worshiping a dead idol.
She's beautiful, inside and out!!!!!

My son proposed to his girlfriend on Friday night!! We are so blessed and excited!! She is a beautiful girl--inside and out!!!! She loves the Lord and she loves my son! They balance each other wonderfully.
Today I received a wonderful, exciting, and fun blessing!! I was invited to join the Iowa Speedway ministry. This will give me a focus for the summer, give me the opportunity to meet many people, and have fun!! I'll get to go to all the races and meet the drivers, etc., as well as minister to others! How cool is that!!

Romans 1:16 (NIV)
¹⁶ I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.

2 Timothy 1:12 (NIV)
¹² That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.

It's been a long time since I've wanted to sit down and blog. So much has been going on that sometimes it's just been to overwhelming to decide what to write about. So, here's a bullet point list of some of the highlights...

• After a lot of preparation and fundraising, my middle child will leave for Thailand this coming Sunday. She will be working with SIM and will help out some other missionaries in their school. She will be gone for 6 months. I am humbled to see God working through our daughter in this way and am so excited for her to experience a different culture and that she will have the opportunity to simply focus on doing God's Work without distractions from daily life and the political challenges of our own country. We commissioned her at church yesterday and it was a comforting and powerful time as we prayed for the Holy Spirit to fill her and use her.
• A young woman that I adore and have mentored and her family have also taken the missionary plunge, although they have only gone to Colorado (that's far enough!). They left this past Saturday. I miss them all so much. Her husband has been a joy to watch grow and mature and it is so awesome to see what God has done in and through him. We are looking forward to our summer vacation out to visit them and sit under his preaching at their tiny Colorado church. I know that the Lord will do mighty things through both of them and that my friend will become a wonderful mentor to the women in her new community.
• A young couple that I introduced were married this past Saturday. It was a great wedding, filled with meaning and humor. Light-hearted, yet full of commitment. So much joy!!
• My best friend told me a couple of weeks ago that she was expecting, unfortunately, she lost the little one on Saturday (that was a big day--the wedding, friends leaving, my daughter seeing some people for the last time for 3 months, and losing a baby). She is doing well, but tired.
  
• My son started a new job last week. This one is a big boy job. He's preparing to take some serious steps in his life.
• Our state Supreme Court legalized gay "marriage". I have done a lot of weeping, praying, and even protesting about this subject. Not only that, but our state legislature has run amok, refusing to deal with the people, even shutting them out of a "public" hearing. They are borrowing and spending beyond anything they've ever done before and they are proud of it! I continue to praise God, knowing that He is on His throne and that, despite the fools beliefs, He is in control.

Despite all the craziness, God continues to cling to me and He is holding me through all the ups and downs.

As I watch the awesome miracles and changes that God is working in so many lives, I can't help but be encouraged and strengthened in my own faith.

My friend who just had brain surgery almost died last Thursday as blood clots made their way into his heart (a 7 cm one!) and lungs. If not for the anesthesiologist and the surgeon who "just happened" to on call and available, if not for where he was, Mayo, if not---the list goes on and on, he would not have made it. All the doctors are astonished as the way things keeping "working out". Those of us who have been praying know that God is fully in control and that He is the one working out all the details, bringing glory to Himself and a precious testimony to all those involved. I know that my friend will rise from all of this with a faith so strong that nothing will be able to break it.

This past weekend was spent with a dear friend, laughing, crying, talking. I watched her soften and find hope. What a blessing. She recommitted herself to the Lord on Sunday evening. How awesome is this God I serve!!!

Many other things have been happening also, and I've just been sitting back taking it all in. He is good! It's made me refocus and get busy dealing with some of my own issues--my weight, running to food for every emotion and for no emotion. I need to be running to Him. Praise Him that He is faithful, patient, slow to anger, and mercifully forgiving!!

My friend is doing well following his brain surgery. There are many challenges that lie ahead and many ups and downs (as evidenced by the valleys in the last 12 days or so).

March is just around the corner, always my toughest time of year. I suppose that part of it is SAD, but I don't believe that's all there is to my bouts with anxiety and depression during this time of the year. I am so thankful for all the coping skills the Lord has taught me over the years and I know that I will be able to get through it and the sun will shine again, it's just tough sometimes to face it. I'm praying that spring will come a bit early this year, as winter has been long and cold, thankfully there have been a few thaws this year.

Please be in prayer from a dear old friend, (who happens to be the brother of one of my best friends) Pastor Mike Evans. He will be undergoing brain surgery this morning to remove an AVM the size of a peach. He is a husband and father of 5 children and the pastor of about 150. He is also a writer and writes a column for dads in our statewide homeschool newsletter. His trial (which began before birth but just presented itself last October in the form of a seizure) is causing not only his faith to grow, but his testimony is reaching out all over the world. It is estimated that 150,000 people or so are praying for him. This photo is from 1982, when we shared 6th period Chemistry class. 27 years later, he looks much the same! Thank you for your prayers!!

As I read this morning's new stories and grew more disheartened with each article, I began to really understand how God must have felt in the days of Noah and how sad He must be as He looks down on His creation and sees the utter mess we've made of it. How sad that the world knows Him not and turns their collective back on Him. People honor Him with their lips, but their hearts are far from Him.

Praise God that He does not leave us destitute, He left His throne in Heaven in order to redeem us!

So, as I was lamenting the world's situation, my daily Bible reading took me to Psalm 12. (He is always speaking!!!)

Psalm 12:1-8 (HCSB)
¹ Help, Lord, for no faithful one remains; the loyal have disappeared from the human race.
² They lie to one another; they speak with flattering lips and deceptive hearts.
³ May the Lord cut off all flattering lips and the tongue that speaks boastfully.
⁴ They say, “Through our tongues we have power; our lips are our own—who can be our master?”
⁵ “Because of the oppression of the afflicted and the groaning of the poor, I will now rise up,” says the Lord. “I will put in a safe place the one who longs for it.”
⁶ The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in an earthen furnace, purified seven times.
⁷ You, Lord, will guard us; You will protect us from this generation forever.
⁸ The wicked wander everywhere, and what is worthless is exalted by the human race.

My poor blog has lain dormant for a couple of weeks now. While I enjoyed our holidays, it was nice to have them over with. I'm rethinking how we celebrate Christmas and hope to implement some changes next year. The first change will be celebrating with gifts on a different day. Our family is growing and it's getting a bit more complicated and I don't want to be one who makes it worse. Everyone has agreed to that change and several were relieved. I think we're also going to do a drawing so that no one feels obligated to buy for everyone and we can make it a bit more special that way.

The New Year has also brought me a new perspective. I've chosen to not make resolutions, but, instead, to set small goals for myself, adding one new one each week in order not to overwhelm myself. Then, when I fail, I don't hit the bottom so hard and find it easier to get back up!

I've begun Beth Moore's new Bible study, Esther. They've made it available to download to your PC for just $4.99 a lesson. It's awesome. Stepping Up was the best Bible study I've gone through, outside of P.J's Wednesday night Bible study. It was convicting, encouraging, challenging, and utterly, totally Biblical!!! As I watch the world, and many so-called Christians, going off the deep-end in regards to the authority of Scripture, the Biblical aspect of it is even more important to me now than it used to be.

I believe God is going to use Esther to give me the courage and drive to finish what He placed on my heart sometime ago--my life's story thus far. He keeps bringing my past to the forefront of my thoughts. While I know full-well that I am not who I was, the old is gone, the new is come, I also know that my past helps me to see things differently from many people. It puts God's grace and mercy fully in the spotlight. My past reminds me that it is all about God and not about me. It reminds me that He has had a plan for me from before the beginning.

2 Timothy 1:8-10 (NIV)
⁸ So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God,
⁹ who has saved us and called us to a holy life--not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,
¹⁰ but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

Psalm 40:1-17 (NIV)
¹ I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.
² He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.
³ He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.
⁴ Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.
⁵ Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare.
⁶ Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but my ears you have pierced burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.
⁷ Then I said, "Here I am, I have come-- it is written about me in the scroll.
⁸ I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart."
⁹ I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly; I do not seal my lips, as you know, O LORD.
¹⁰ I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and salvation. I do not conceal your love and your truth from the great assembly.
¹¹ Do not withhold your mercy from me, O LORD; may your love and your truth always protect me.
¹² For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me.
¹³ Be pleased, O LORD, to save me; O LORD, come quickly to help me.
¹⁴ May all who seek to take my life be put to shame and confusion; may all who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace.
¹⁵ May those who say to me, "Aha! Aha!" be appalled at their own shame.
¹⁶ But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation always say, "The LORD be exalted!"
¹⁷ Yet I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer; O my God, do not delay.

And so we come to Christmas Eve.

I've got some wrapping to finish. I'll do that in a few minutes (while one child is at work and the other still sleeps!). If I get a chance, I might make a couple of stocking stuffers for the knitters in my family. Otherwise, I might knit a bit and simply relax. S is going to be working on the baking, so I don't have to worry about that.

I'm quite ready for this holiday to be over. I don't mean to have a downer spirit about the whole thing, it's just that with each passing Christmas, I realize how far we've gotten from what it's really all about. Changes for next year have been swirling around in my head.

Tonight is our Christmas Eve service. It will be the first time that my son won't be with us. He'll be with his girlfriend's family. It will be strange, but we understand and we will get to enjoy her company tomorrow night. She is such a beautiful young lady, in all ways, with the sweetest spirit. We are very thankful for her!

So, as I ponder next year, I've got a bunch of stockings to knit!

I pray that all who read this will have a blessed Christmas. May you choose to accept the gift that means everything--Jesus Christ!

Luke 2:4-20 (NIV)
⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.
⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.
⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,
⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
¹⁰ But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.
¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
¹⁴ "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.
¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,
¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

John 3:3-8 (NIV)
³ In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."
⁴ "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"
⁵ Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.
⁶ Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.
⁷ You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.'
⁸ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

John 3:16-18 (NIV)
¹⁶ "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

It's official!!!!!!

It's another cold, blustery, snowy, and icy day! It seems like our weather systems are setting up much like last year! Who knows, maybe that will change!

I've started a new group on Ravelry, called Solutions. It seems to be going okay. My hope is to keep it positive and work together, despite our differences, to be positive forces in our world. I also want people to see each other individually and not just as members of some ideological group or religion.

I'm behind on stockings, so I'd better get busy!

Winter Wonderland

We woke to a winter wonderland! As fearful as I am about the skies opening this winter and not closing until June, it still is very pretty to see!Liberty says, "Burrrr, it's cold outside!"

Psalm 118:24 (NIV)
²⁴ This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

I am thankful for...

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and it is only fitting that I give thanks...

I am thankful that God is sovereign and is still on His throne.

Psalm 68:20 (NIV)
²⁰ Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign LORD comes escape from death.

Jeremiah 32:17 (NIV)

¹⁷ "Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.

I am thankful that I am not who I was or could have been anymore.

Romans 12:2 (NIV)
² Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.

2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV)
¹⁸ And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

I am thankful that I am forgiven.

1 John 2:12 (NIV)
¹² I write to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.

I am thankful that God Himself is my reward.

Genesis 15:1 (NIV)
¹ After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward."

I am thankful that it's not me, it's Him!

Ephesians 2:8-10 (NIV)
⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--
⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast.
¹⁰ For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

I am thankful that I have power over sin through Jesus.

Romans 6:17-23 (NIV)

¹⁷ But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted.
¹⁸ You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
¹⁹ I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness.
²⁰ When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness.
²¹ What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!
²² But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.
²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I am thankful for my family. I am thankful for my friends.

I am thankful for God's convictions upon my heart. I thank Him for challenging me in areas that I thought were alright. I thank Him for showing me what is important and what is an idol. I thank Him for helping me to keep things in perspective. I thank Him that He puts up with me, that He will never leave me or forsake me, that nothing can separate me from His love, that He is for me, and that someday, I will see Him face to face.

"I lift my eyes unto the hills, where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of Heaven and Earth!"

God is so good! My prayer is that people will wake up to that truth. He is just, but He is good! His commands are not for our bondage, but for our freedom. His Word is life, not death. The world's ways bring bondage and death.

I praise Him because He has saved me from death, but He has also saved me from the "freedoms" that others believe make them free, when, in fact, they take them deeper into bondage and pain.

We can make sin look all pretty and fun, but it's brings pain and death. We can live by our feelings, but they rarely speak truth and will lead us down a path of hurt.

I know what it feels like to be deep in the pit of sin. I know what it feels like to deny that sin, to live by my emotions, to seek after those things that I thought made me feel better.

Now that I've experienced the forgiveness and grace of Jesus Christ, I want that more than anything for all those I love and for all those that I don't even know. I want that for those who don't understand and I want that for those that are hostile to the message. God is good!!

God is pummeling me from every side lately. His message to me--obey me! While that sounds harsh, it is so not. He's also been showing me that He is FOR me!! He loves me with a love that I cannot comprehend. He is my protector, my defender, the Lover of my soul. He is my all and all! Every breath I breathe is a gift from Him!! How could I not want to be obedient and turn to Him for deliverance in those ugly places of my heart that still torment me sometimes.

There is hope! He'll meet you wherever you are!

I know that I've been quiet lately. I think and I ponder and I write posts in my head, but they never seem to make it to blogger.

I do have a lot rattling around in my head. The situation with gay marriage, the Republican party and it's problems, my faith and how that plays out in all of it. Someday, it will come roaring out.

Currently, I've begun working on my annual order of Christmas stockings. I got this cool organizer to hold all my other WIP's from Patternworks, so today I spent quite a bit of time reorganizing my workspace. I feel a bit more functional now.

So, I'm off to enjoy homemade pizza and get back to work on my stockings.

Finally on DVD!!!

My nephew played "Cogsworth" (the clock) in their school play, Beauty and the Beast, last night. He did a phenomenal job!!

Our first snow!!! Not much of one, and it's really not this bright out, it's actually gray and gloomy and cold!

Happy Birthday, Mom!!!