Christ in the Clouds

Hello everyone! It's a busy week for me, so this will be a short post, but I wanted to list my gifts of His blessings in my life. I'm so excited! I am VERY close to listing 1,000 gifts/blessings! I recently watched this video again.....it's such a great reminder that we need to slow down and pay attention to even the simple moments we live!!! So I wanted to share it with you again, too! Enjoy!(It's best, when seen in full screen, go to the small square next to the YouTube words.) Have a wonderful week! Counting my gifts with the September Joy Dare : The joys of lake life: 3 gifts ugly-beautiful 961. Raw emotions can be so painful, but also help me experience life to it's fullest! 962. When I'm too busy, God slows me down by allowing obstacles to come into my life, often obstacles I don't like. 963. It seems like life speeds up when I'm doing fun things and slows down when I'm doing something I dislike doing! A gift...

Lying.  From early childhood we are taught that it is wrong, that we need to tell the truth to our parents. Then, as we got older, we were taught that little white lies were okay, so as not to hurt someone's feelings or if it could get you into a bad situation. “A lie that is half-truth is the darkest of all lies.” ― Alfred Tennyson Lies. So often we believe our own lies. To ourselves and to others. “The worst lies are the lies we tell ourselves. We live in denial of what we do, even what we think. We do this because we're afraid. We fear we will not find love, and when we find it we fear we'll lose it. We fear that if we do not have love we will be unhappy.” Richard Bach Our Common Self-Lies —God only helps those who help themselves —God’s love must be earned —God understands that’s just the way I am. After all, He made me this way.(Living in sin ) —God does not know or see what I’m doing —God sees things the way I do —God is appeased b...

 The Oxford Dictionary defines a friend as : a person who feels mutual affection and regard for another; a helper; a person who is not an enemy .( source ) I have lots of friends, but only a few "good" friends, and only one "best" friend. What's the difference? There are many different kinds of friends. In fact when I Googled "kinds of friends" there were so many different lists and categories, if I listed them all, I'd have to write a short book on that subject alone. So I just cut it down to 3 catagories: 1: Acquaintances, friends of friends, co-workers, etc . The one thing that separates this kind of friend from a good friend is the lack of being totally transparent with each other. We tend to put on a happy face for these kind of friends or at least hold back our true feelings and/or don't share our personal life experiences. We may enjoy doing things with them or just a brief conversation at the store or church events. These friends...

I was reading Job 37, as I watched a storm front come through my Indiana town. This chapter was so good, I couldn't pick just one verse, but the one above pretty much says it all! I also found a site with amazing storm photos. To see them all you can go to    http://triggerpit.com/2011/07/21/extreme-instability-scary-weather-incredible-shots/ I decided to post all of the chapter with some of the intermittent pictures. “At this my heart pounds      and leaps from its place. 2  Listen! Listen to the roar of his voice,      to the rumbling that comes from his mouth. 3  He unleashes his lightning beneath the whole heaven      and sends it to the ends of the earth.   4  After that comes the sound of his roar;      he thunders with his majestic voice. When his voice resounds,      he holds nothing back. 5  God’s voice thunders in marvelous ...

How is it that I can be living in such beauty, yet feel so lost and alone? How can I look out my window and see a gorgeous sunrise almost every morning, find peace and quiet when sitting on my sun porch,  and at the same time ache and hurt and feel sad? I walk from our breathtaking views of the lake into a messy living room and my outlook on life turns instantly from joy to downtrodden.  Emotions can be so confusing sometimes. What I see with my eyes and hear with my ears can be so different from how I am feeling. Aren't you glad that this isn't how God looks at each of us?....He sees such beauty, in each of us, in spite of the mess of our sinfulness and of the unwise choices we make. He takes all the ugliness we have, that is so evident every day of our lives, and turns it into something so beautiful. He sees the beauty He created in us, even though we know we have sinned and disappointed Him many times over. I am so glad our Lord doesn't let emotions or circ...

Well, we're are finally all moved into our new lakehouse cottage! It was a rough few weeks, but we are settling in quite well, here....even the dogs are finding the views agreeable! :) The sunrises are beautiful... The evenings are peaceful... And wildlife abundant... I am truly thankful for all God has done in my life!  God is So Good! How great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast stored up for those who fear Thee, which Thou hast wrought for those who take refuge in Thee, before the sons of men! ( Psalms 31:19 ). Linking over at these blog parties:  Sharing His Beauty (Beauty In His Grip) Thankful Thursday(Grace Alone) Graceful Summer (Graceful) (Heart Reflected) Faith Filled Friday(Beholding Glory) Finding Favorite Things (Finding Joy) Weekend Whatever (Creative Christian Mama) Life in Bloom(Denise in Bloom) Thursday Favorite Things(Katherine's Corner) Fresh Brewed Sundays (My Freshly Br...