Banana Nut JOY

Oh, the aroma that is wafting through my home! Sweet, yummy smells! Marissa is a 12 year old Patissier extraordinaire! She loves to bake and cook and we LOVE to eat whatever she makes!

Today, she is making Banana Nut Bread and I can't wait for the finished product!!!!! It is amazing watching her as she reasons out how to measure the ingredients, what size bowl she should use, and think that this is my child who struggles with self esteem! She is so sure of herself as she creates her masterpieces and yet, take her out of the kitchen and she starts questioning her ability to do anything. The scripture that says "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" is a mantra in her life! I pray that she will see begin to realize that everyone has different abilities and learn to find JOY in who God made HER to be!

Here she is baking her masterpiece dessert and a picture of the finished product. Sorry, but by the time you read this, there won't be any left to share! :)

Phillipians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Isaiah 4:2 Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the
womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and
thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen.

Blogger and Craigslist Joys

This is definitely going to be a much more interesting year than last! Since I started blogging and bartering, selling, and buying from Craigslist, I am meeting people and getting to know others soooo much better than in the past!

I love getting little notes from my friends about my comments here on my blog! Especially from a wonderful lady that I have looked up to for 11 years now! Can you believe how fast time has flown, Sister Buxton? When we moved to Rialto eleven years ago, my daughter was only 10 months old! And now I have 3 children and my oldest is in the Youth group!!! Where did the time go?

I am also getting to know Sis. Allard better! Wow! What a trip! My namesake! LOL And to be honest, we are quite a bit alike. Singing, singing, singing, bragging on our kids, CHURCH, CHURCH, CHURCH, bragging on our kids. LOL

Just today I met a lady via Craigslist who is an Apostolic, One God, Tongue Talking, musician like myself. My hubby so kindly advertised piano lessons on Craigslist for me to teach. I received an email from a lady who is a 2nd year student and plays for her church. I replied to her email and asked if I could know what kind of church she attended. LO and BEHOLD, she knows several people from ILC and used to attend Bro. Stratton's. She and her husband are now pastoring a Spanish work somewhere in the area! Isn't God great? I get to help a fellow saint of God and make a new friend and all because of a posting on the web!!

Thank you, Lord, for all my friends, new and old, and for this opportunity to share Your blessings in my life with people who may read this feeble attempt at blogging!

P.S. KMB, you are NOT forgotten here. You bring JOY to my life as a confidante and continued blessing in my life! Thank you for hanging in there with me!!!! So very glad that God put us together to encourage each other through our trials and tribulations! Love ya bunches!!!

The Joy of Planning

Wow, the year has come and gone and here I am, sitting at the table, thinking of what needs to be accomplished in 2007. There have been tears and laughter in 2006, but in retrospect, I see that we didn't do a lot of the things we planned to do. We didn't travel to visit family like we have in the past. We didn't go camping like we said we were going to do this summer. We didn't succeed in a lot of things! But oh, what a JOY it is to know that even though we failed to do some things, we didn't give up!! And we jumped right back in with both feet to plan for another year. This time though, I really do hope that we will actually do more of what is planned and less regrouping!!!

My kids are growing up soooo quickly and I look back at my childhood and see a lot of things that they have missed out on doing. Like a yearly rendezvous in the Ozarks for a week! Camping by the bank of Lake Oauachita, fishing in the ice cold water, and listening to the river flow by as we drifted off to sleep, nestled snuggly in our sleeping bags. There are pictures of my little brother, sister and I, playing in the water, fishing off logs, swimming in cow ponds, and helping to wash the dishes after the nightly fish fry. I fondly recall the VERY first time we went down a water slide. What JOYous fun! But here we are, running the rat race to pay the next bill and my children don't know what it is to feel the mud ooze up between your toes, or to dip your feet in a hot mineral spring.

So, what do I plan to do about this? Well, I am determined that we will go camping at least once this year and that we will spend some quality time with our precious babies and teach them how to just relax and let go of the worries of school work, pleasing friends, or even pleasing yourself. Perhaps, they will grow to look back fondly on their childhood and will remember lessons learned from nature and how majestic God's creation truly is! And if we fail to follow through with these plans, God forgive us and help us to get back up and start over again!
Oh, Lord, let these JOYful days of the new year carry over into each new day and may we always turn to YOU the true source of our JOY!!!!

This is a simple little chorus God gave me at 12:15 AM, January 1st, 2006:

"It's a new day, a new day, let the Lord change your life. It's a new day, a new day, when He frees you from sin and strife. Just open your heart. Let the healing start. Let go of your sinful past. For it's a new day when you surrender to God"