JusticeMom's Xanga

THANKFULNESS!

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 04:33:27 GMT

"Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." IThessalonians 5:16-18 (KJV)

I'm thinking about Thanksgiving. It's almost here! It is one of two times per year that we plan to travel across two states to spend a few days with my parents, sisters, & other family and friends. The year 2009 has gone by so rapidly! As I begin thinking of the special holiday, I decided to just quickly remember to say "Thank You" to God right now, since thankgiving should be a continual exercise, not just a once-a-year special occasion.

I am thankful for family.... both in the physical sense as well as in the spiritual sense.
I'm thankful for my church home. I have been a member of my church since I was a freshman in college -- in fact, 38 years ago, when I went back to my parents' home for Christmas break, I told them that I had found a church home in Ohio just up the road from my college, and I was encouraged to join it, which I did in January of 1972.
I am thankful for our church leadership team.
I am thankful for dear friends.
I am thankful for good health.
I am thankful for God's care daily in ~ OH, SO VERY MANY WAYS!
I am thankful for a good job -- right in my home.
I am thankful for music ~ so easily accessible!
I am thankful for God's Word!
I am thankful for my computer, by which I do much of my work, am inspired through music, am able to read the Bible in many different versions, as well as do studies, read and write devotionals, do correspondence, blog, FB, and send out lots more cards and notes than I would be able to do if I had to put a stamp on everything.
There are so many things for which to be thankful that I can never be done giving thanks... which brings me back to the verse at the very beginning of my blog!

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (Amp.)

"Be happy [in your faith] and rejoice and be glad-hearted continually (always); Be unceasing in prayer [praying perseveringly]; Thank [God] in everything [no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks], for this is the will of God for you [who are] in Christ Jesus [the Revealer and Mediator of that will].

Just in case I don't make it around to everyone on time ~

and

TRIPLES with EMMA

HAPPY 40th ANNIVERSARY TO SESAME STREET

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 05:32:19 GMT

Ah yes, confessions of a kid at heart... I do enjoy Sesame Street. I became hooked on Sesame Street back when our sons were infants/toddlers. As they got older, they lost interest in the delightful antics of the Muppets, but their dad and I remained Muppets fans. Mike especially enjoyed the two grouchy old men who sat in the balcony of the theater and cracked jokes about the talent on stage or in the orchestra.This whole week has been in celebration of Sesame Street's 40th. Now I don't watch TV much, including Sesame Street or the Muppet Show, but once in awhile, I'll listen and watch some Muppet "stuff" on You Tube while I do lesson plans, do e-mails, etc. So today my student and I dressed in honor of "Sesame Street's 40th." Actually, all we did was dress in the colors of certain muppets. Since she was dressing in honor of Cookie Monster, she was in blue. My favorite muppet is Kermit, but I didn't have much by way of green, and so I dressed in pink, in honor of his Muppet G.F. ~ Miss Piggy. So now just for the fun, I am sharing with you a few of my favorite songs from Sesame Street and the Muppets Show. Enjoy if you wish.

¹ There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: ⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
Ecclesiastes 3: 1 & 4

TRIPLES with EMMA

LOOKING BACK . . . WITH THANKFULNESS!

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 09:00:24 GMT

I was trying to remember when I started on Xanga. So, I just took a look back into my archives, and discovered several interesting things. I joined Xanga Community back on November 19, 2005. I started out not knowing how to do much of anything on blogging, posting pictures, putting backgrounds, links, etc. But being a researcher, and having friends who knew more than I, and experiencing the education from trial-and-error, I eventually learned what I know now (& I am still learning)!

I thought I would put the apple theme up, because tomorrow I am going to try out 2 new recipes with apples ~ one from a book given to me by the lady who actually got me into Xanga! Thanks, Betsy! Please pray for her and her husband; as well as her older daughter, SIL, & 2 grandsons who are temporarily living with them -- all sick with upper respiratory junk. (Oh, did I mention? That SIL & daughter would be our senior pastor and family, too.)
I may write blogs more often again-- by dipping into my archives. I thought that might be kind of fun. A few of you might remember some of my old posts (not that they were all very memorable!), but I've gained so many more friends over the years, so for most of you, the material will be new. And of course, I'll still add new pictures and news .

The new profile picture is of our younger son (Tristen's Daddy) from when Mike and I went to her 5th birthday party 3 weeks ago. Those of you who are on Facebook may recognize that picture as already having been posted as the profile there -- just with Shaun cropped off.

The first person that I met on Xanga who was a completely new contact not related to anyone that I knew -- except most definitely a Christian sister ~ was this lady ~ Paula, who is a most popular lady throughout Xanga & Facebook networking because of the encouraging, godly person that she is to so many people. She just hopped on over on Jan. 14, 2006, with these words: "Hey...Just stopping by to say HOWDY from Texas! I am in the DESIRING GOD blogring that you are in, too. I loved your pictures from Christmas...Your grandbaby is absolutely precious!! God bless you! Paula"

Both of these ladies had the very same philosophy of purpose on Xanga ~ we wanted to be used by God to minister in the lives of others on Xanga. So I like to make it a habit to share something that God has been impressing upon me, or a special blessing, etc. So in keeping with that aim, I am sharing a song that I first shared in those first few months that I was on Xanga (lyrics included on the video). It is one of my favorites by Larnelle Harris. I trust that you are blessed by the truth of them, too.

TRIPLES with EMMA

SHARING SOME BLESSINGS OF FRIENDS

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:00:00 GMT

I am blogging this just to share the special blessings three of my friends from church gave me by way of gifts Sunday. I have so many dear friends, and I am blessed just by having each one in my life. Gifts are not a necessity! But they do have a way of cheering a person up at times!

This morning I planned to make myself a cup of coffee to take with me to sip on during Sunday School. But that plan went by the wayside when I had one of "those" moments-- I dropped the old coffee filter and had a mess to clean up, which used up the time I'd have used to make myself a cup.

When Mike and I arrived at Sunday School, my friend Ruth was sitting in the row behind me, and offered (as she so often does) to get me a cup of coffee from the church kitchen. She gave it to me with a kiss on the cheek. Thank you, Ruthie! (And yes, we have known each other practically forever!)

During the break between Sunday School and church, my friend Tess - aka my "kapatid na babae" -- or "sister" handed me a bag with a special gift that she brought back from her birthday holiday in Hawaii with some of her family who live there.

After church, my friend Marceil brought to me a gift bag. I could not even begin to think what this was all about. As she handed it to me, I was more or less stuttering "wha-? what's this about?"As I opened it, I was simply overwhelmed by the loving, gracious, personal gift of this lovely lady! She had made me a beautiful pillow which she had embroidered with flowers, and with a poem. She pointed it out to me (since I was overwhelmed by this whole thing) that it was my poem. Some of you have already seen it, but I will reprint it below. We were studying various Psalms earlier this year, and my favorite Sunday School teacher (my brother, Don) had given us an assignment to write our own Psalm to God. So I did. Later, Marceil had asked me for a copy of it, which I gave to her.
Here you see the back of the pillow blue with white flowers, the lace, the floral embroidery, and the poem.

Thank you God for friends!I am so blessed to have so many dear ones, many who are just now reading this blog.Bless each one of them as they read this.Amen. Here's the poem, which is (as you will see) a prayer psalm.

A PSALM

1 Here I am again, Lord; You’ve seen me here before.

2 In my heart I long to be the one You desire me to be.

3 And yet each time I come to You, confessing my lack of true love as shown by my choosing other things over precious time with You.

4 Each time I come like this I think how tired You must be of me and my flimsy excuses, and that You will not want to forgive me yet another time.

^{5 Yet I know that You are The Perfect Father, Who always seeks after your wayward child.
6 You await me with Your heart full of infinite mercy and grace.
7 You invite me with completely open arms into Your Loving, Holy Presence
8 not because of who I am, nor because of what you might receive from me, but because of Who You are!
^{9 I love You, Lord; I love Your Word. I wait before You in awe, as I bask in the forgiveness and love You give to Your unworthy child.
10 Here I am again, Lord. You've seen me here before.}}

TRIPLES with EMMA

FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 03:27:22 GMT

This evening, Mike and I attended a fund-raising banquet for our local PRC~ Pregnancy Resource Center. We enjoyed a delicious meal as well as some fellowship with some friends who sat at our table. Then we were privileged to hear tremendous testimonies of God's great love and forgiveness, and enablement to go one . . . whether one has made a choice to keep a "crisis-pregnancy" or to end the life of the unborn child. In both instances, God's mercy and grace has made the individuals into His shining lights as they share their testimonies and counsel others in similar situations to those that they faced.We were able to be privileged to see videos of the ultrasounds of babies as young as 22 days (with just their heart beating), to seeing the movement of arms, legs, heads, mouths, & whole bodies. We even got to see twins each in their own sac.The featured speaker was Pastor Herb Lusk, a former NFL player for the Philadelphia Eagles. He was nationally-recognized as the "Praying Tail Back" for his customary kneeling in the end zone after each touchdown, giving the honor and glory to God. He is now the Senior Pastor of Greater Exodus Baptist Church in Philadelphia. He was an excellent speaker, and shared on the theme: "Pressing on Toward the Goal." The collage shows people who sat at our table (one of the few that wasn't full or mostly full), and the front of the program as well as the speaker's picture from inside the program (a better picture than my far-off attempt to get him sharing on the platform. I found on YouTube, the song below which is a beautiful montage of precious children as a young girl sings the song "Fearfully and Wonderfully Made."

PSALM 139:13-18 (NLT)You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up, you are still with me!

Thank you for all of you who have been praying for me. I am much better now; I am still coughing and congested, but I think I can see the "end of the bronchitis-tunnel!"

TRIPLES with EMMA