Ruth - A Woman of Virtue

source: https://encrypted-tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRN3jUs7rwS_GbICBj8rSZKJ2OHaYHqWt52TTjiK-BLPRScyTdiww

I love reading and hearing about the story of Ruth in the Bible. (The book comes after the book of Judges and before 1 Samuel in the Old Testament) Ruth is an interesting character for so many reasons. I think I am drawn to her for her wonderful faith, character, and determination. These things I know about Ruth:

•   Faithful: Ruth was not, by bloodline, a Jew.  However, she was the wife of a Jew (Ruth 1:1-5). Yet, in faith she became a believer of God, instead of the god’s the Moabites had. As her mother-in-law quickly pointed out, she had many reasons and opportunities to leave and go back to her people and their gods.(Ruth 1:11-15)
•  Loyal: There are several times in this story where we see the loyalty of Ruth shine through. Ruth clung to Naomi, here mother-in-law. 
• Hard Worker: Ruth gleaned in the fields all day,(2:1-7; 2:14-15; 2:17,23) so that Naomi and she would have something to eat. Solomon writes, "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." (Eccl 9:10, KJV)
• Had a Good Reputation:  (Seen in 2:11,  3:11, and then in 4:11-12.)   This she earned by her decent and caring lifestyle and decisions. She was humble and called herself a servant to others (2:10,11,13; 3:9)

The story of Ruth and Boaz is also a "romance of redemption" of sorts (and since I am a romantic at heart, her love-life grabs my attention, as well.)

source: http://www.bibleprophecyupdate.com/http:/www.bibleprophecyupdate.com/controversial_subjects/is_the_bible_the_word_of_god/ruth-a-prophetic-romance-of-redemption/

Upon returning to Bethlehem, Ruth encounters the hero of this tale, the handsome landowner, Boaz. He save the day by becoming a "Kinsman-Redeemer" to both Ruth and Naomi, by purchasing the land owned by their husbands and marrying Ruth. This love story is a beautiful depiction of how Jesus loves us, and how much God wants to bless us. Ruth's persistence and obedience to Naomi's instructions also became a prophetic story that lead to the bloodline of the Messiah.


Let us all strive to be like Ruth and declare ourselves of virtue by following in the
same qualities as Ruth.

Sharing the many graces God has shown me as I continue to take part in the Joy Dare.

A gift found on a paper, in a person, in a picture. 

    429. A homemade thank you card from a new friend

    430. That friend, being my son's girlfriend.

    431. The two playing/singing together at the local coffee house.

 

    A gift at 11:30, 2:30, and 6:30

    432. Some quiet time in Bible study

    433. Meeting up with my hubby when he gets off work.

    434. A wonderful healthy light dinner - clam chowder and salad.

    Three things overheard today, all gifts.

    435. Someone speaking kindly about another church member and sister in Christ.

    436. A mother talking to her infant and the baby babbling back.

    437. Small talk in the coffee house - people caring about other people.

    3 gifts found in writing

    438. Reading about the story of Ruth
439. Words of encouragement from other bloggers on the internet. 
440. A text message from my friend I miss, who is on vacation.

    3 gifts found when bent down

    441. Closeness to God (on my knees in prayer)

    442. Reflections in a puddle of water

           

    443. A cracked paved road(reminds me of my 'cracked' life before I knew Jesus)

      

    One gift stitched, hammered, woven

    444. An antique family quilt

    445. A bridge for my garden (my husband and son built)

    446. Psalm 139:15 "My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth."

                     linking over at these blogs:

A Pause in the Path

 

Barking Spiders and Other Funny Poems

A joyful heart is good medicine...

(Proverbs 17:22a)

 A 'real' spider from my garden.

Sometimes it's just fun (and good for us) to laugh a little bit! I found this children's author/poet  (CJ Heck) who writes some cute and fun poems specifically geared for kids. The title of two of her books have a specific theme that caught my attention. . . they're about 'barking spiders'. Have you ever heard about barking spiders? My first memory of hearing about them was through my dad. My father was always kind of a quiet, serious guy. Most of the time he was all business, probably because he had to raise a family of 4 kids on a home-owned and run business that wasn't the biggest success in our small town. He was a very hard worker, though. So when he mentioned to us kids that there were barking spiders nearby, that got our attention. We soon learned what it meant and would go running the opposite direction, as to not get a "whiff" of these invisible arachnids!

Barking Spiders
by CJ Heck

The barking spiders all march in
just past dinnertime.
Some big, some small, they come to call
 floating on the wind behind.

Each is clearly noticed,
although they can't be seen.
You're positive they're there though,
'cause your nose is very keen.

You know you can't outrun 'em
and a net won't get 'em caught.
Your friends laugh 'cause they're funny ...
Your mom yells 'cause they're not.

So open all the windows!
Crack the vents real fast!
'Cause these aren't normal spiders 
...barking spiders are just gas.

 

 Barking Spiders in Church
Those pesky barking spiders
followed me to church Sunday.
I tried to make them stay at home,
but they came anyway.

Then I did something naughty
'cause they were being bad.
When people turned and looked at me,
I pointed at my dad.

Here are some more funny poems this author wrote that I just thought were cute. . .

 Toe Jam
Can anybody tell me
what's that stuff between my toes?
My daddy says it's 'toe jam'
but I don't think he really knows.

It's icky and it's fuzzy
and I think I'll tell my dad ...
I wouldn't put it on MY bread
if it was the ONLY jam we had.

Wedgies 
You know what makes me laugh
and puts me into stitches?
It's when I grab ahold and pull
the waist of someone's britches.

It’s fun.  It's called a WEDGIE
and what a super name,
just pull and yell out WEDGIE!
It‘s really the coolest game.

Hmmm ... who should I get,
lil sissy or my big brother?
Or maybe I should get my dad
but definitely NOT my mother!

And you NEVER do grandmas and grandpas.
To do that you‘d have to be nuts
('cause everyone knows that old people
don't even have any butts).

 Take some time to just laugh throughout your day! It's good medicine! (It's also cheaper and tastes better than most medicines.)

Linking up at:
Brag on God Friday
In Search of Beauty

Ugly-Beautiful Graces = Real Life

“Words can never adequately convey the incredible impact of our attitudes toward life. The longer I live the more convinced I become that life is 10 percent what happens to us and 90 percent how we respond to it.” ~ Chuck Swindoll

Today, I was thinking about a small, but loaded two-word phrase – “REAL LIFE”. What does real life mean to me? Well, I discovered that looking each word up in the dictionary made it difficult to describe, since both had more than 15-28 different definitions.(Wow!)  So, I just kind of meditated for a few minutes on the phrase and considered what real life means to me.  A few words that came to mind

•  Imperfect

• Transparent

• Difficult

• Harsh

•  “A daily joy struggle . . . a battle between grudgery & gratitude.” (words from Ann Voskamp)

• . . .it’s not really what we make of it. . .but what we make of God (our relationship with Him)

•  An endless cycle of mistakes and graces

• Living forgiven

• Ugly-beautiful

I stressed the last one because that really does describe it to a “T”.  Real life can be pretty ugly most days. If it weren’t for God’s grace and mercy, life would stay pretty ugly. But because He chose to die for each of us, life is beautiful! Yes, it is! Even when it’s not good, I can find the beauty through Him.  When my focus is on my Lord and Savior, “I can do all things through Him, who gives me strength.”(Philippians 4:13)

A lot of people would like to have everyone believe that their life is perfect. When we talk to different people we come in contact with throughout the day (in person, on the phone, or on the internet), we usually don’t talk about the REAL things they are struggling with or see their “real life” hurts. Sometimes we tend to think we are the only ones that have it rough, but in reality (real life), we all have hardships and live the consequences from bad decisions in our lives. Nobody’s life is perfect. I think that’s the biggest thing I want everyone to know from my blog. . . we all hurt. We all have ugly parts of our lives. But I hope that those who need encouragement can feel they are accepted and understood here; that there is hope for a better day; that through Christ there is a beautiful side of ugly.

 linking on over to;

Winsome Wednesday at "My Daily Walk in His Grace"

 Word-Filled Wednesday at "Internet Cafe' "

Gathering at the Grace Cafe' over at 'Reflections of His Grace"

JamWithMe Thursdays at "Faith Barista"

Bible Love Notes: Bless a Blogger Friday

Made to Crave at "A Journey of Love"

Tea for Two. . . Something Beautiful

Well, it's finally here!!

(Actually, it's more like it's here ALREADY!)

Twenty-five years ago today

I married my very best friend!

I promised you a little surprise today.

Here is a slideshow I made of my hubby and me  from our "single" days to the present. Some photos include his two children from a previous marriage and our son in the picture with us. I found that most older pictures had at least one of our kids in them with us when we were younger. And there literally were NO videos of just Ken and I, so I just added a few from a recent vacation we took to the Carolinas.

(remember to mute the music from my playlist in the right sidebar) 
It might also take a few seconds to download, so be patient. Hopefully it works correctly for you. Unfortunately, this site (Masher) has been very temperamental lately.
go to this site. . .
 music/photo/video slideshow

glitter-graphics.com

  One by one each year flew by,
Since we both said “I do"
25 years of memories,
Shared by us two.
From big events and holidays
To simple daily pleasures,
Some tearful times along life’s way,
Some joys that can’t be measured
One by one each year now gone,
But still they’re ours forever
Each and every memory,
Of a quarter Century together!

 Because our anniversary is 2 weeks before Valentine's Day, it's always easy to find things with hearts and romance to share with my hubby for our special day. But after 25 years, unique ideas are starting to be more of a challenge to find. As I was thinking about talking about tea in today's post, I thought about having an anniversary tea for two party with my hubby. I decided to google it and see what I came up with. These pictures are great ideas for a romantic rondevu, since we have a fireplace in our home. I may surprise him with this, when he comes home from work today.

Tea by the fire

Source: tea-party-circle.com via Ann on Pinterest

candlelight and hearts

Source: teaandtalk.blogspot.com via Ann on Pinterest

Sweets for my Sweetheart - Cream Cheese Tarts

Source: preparedpantry.com via Ann on Pinterest

 Rooibos, called red tea, is a good choice for a romantic tea for two

with it's naturally sweet taste and red hue.

A little romantic music would be nice.
These two songs were played at our wedding on January 31, 1987

We are planning on taking an anniversary vacation, but wanted to wait till summer, when the weather is more pleasant, as we want to renew our wedding vow on an ocean beachfront! Can't wait for that!

Linking over at:

On Your Heart Tuesdays

Tea Time Tuesday

Artful Affirmations

Best Posts of the Week

Pinning and Singing

Anticipation, Excitement, and Walking in the Unknown (No Worries)

Have you ever had lots of exciting (but kinda scary) things happening around you all at once and you try to not think too much about it, but it seems like things are happening so fast and your emotions are everywhere? Well, I'm definitely feeling that way!

Source: Uploaded by user via Ann on Pinterest

For the past week or so, there have been lots of changes in our homelife. And more changes are right around the corner! I wrote a few posts ago about being on an adventure, and it sure feels like this adventure is in full speed! Part of being in an adventure is that there is lots of excitement and anticipation of what is ahead. Part of it requires faith and trust, as often we don't know what God really has planned for us. This also is a time when Satan wants to sneak in there and cause us to worry about the unknown. That's kind of the battle my hubby and I have been struggling with the past few days. 

Source: derias.se via Ann on Pinterest

 For several months we had known we would probably be moving to a new house on a lake. Our house was sold, but the buyer had to sell their house first. In the meantime, we had found a cute little cottage on a lake and made an offer, which was accepted, pending our house sale went through. Well, a few weeks ago, things started happening. Our buyer sold their house, so we contacted the realtor of the house we were wanting. There were several things in our agreement with the seller of the lakehouse that they committed to fixing, but have not even done anything on our list. So, we were a little hesitant about re-signing with them(our contract had run out on our bid on the lakehouse, but we haven't re-signed with them yet, so we do have the option to not buy it). Our concern is they won't do what they promised on the house before we have to move in. We also have a concern about this being a wise choice as a retirement home for us. There are a lot of stairs in this cottage house and it would be difficult to put in ramps or a stair chairlift if either of us had issues with stairs. Plus both of our parents are getting older and having them visit would be a difficulty. *Wow! I must be getting old, to think about these issues :- /    Anyways, we now are looking at other possible lake houses to move to, since moving to a lake is one of the main reason we wanted to move. It's been kind of a scramble, as the people buying our house are eager to move in!

It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. 

Do not fear or be dismayed. (Deuteronomy 31:8)

 Those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. (Psalm 34:10b)

I've been praying about direction with where God wants us to be. I have prayed this before, but in the past several months, kind of backed off of praying, since I thought it was going to be an easy transition, once things started to move. For the last week, I started to second guess myself. Maybe I wasn't hearing God's direction. Maybe, I'm being selfish about my heart's desire and wanting what He wants. I need to work on praying with my hubby, too, (we're in this together) for God's leading, but also for us to remember God is in control and I shouldn't worry or panic (which was my first response to this). My heart wants to jump with excitement, as I think about where we may be in the next few months! I  am waiting with anticipation, but not anxiousness. I will choose to walk with God into the unknown territory! No worries!!!!!!

  

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 

in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Another change (blessing) in our household is that our 19 yr. old son got a full-time job. . . something we have been praying for a long time for! The timing was great, as the house we plan on eventually moving into will be smaller than our current home and he will soon be able to move out with friends on his own. We will officially be "empty-nesters".

I am continuing to count God's graces in my life and taking part in the Joy Dare:

• 3 gifts found in Christ

408. New life

   409. Hope

410. Joy

• 3 things blue

411. clear skies

412. Fresh Blueberries

  Source

413. Some of my favorite Dutch teapots and plates.

• One grace borrowed, one grace found, one grace inherited

414. Borrowed - a book from a friend.

   415. Found – Great scarf on sale, while shopping (I love scarves!)

    416. Inherited – physical ailments from my parent’s gene-pool (an ugly-beautiful grace)

• A gift before 9 a.m., gift before noon, gift before dark.

417. Taking an extra-long hot shower.

    418. A call from my hubby on his break. (Every time he calls he tells me I’m so beautiful. He is so amazing!)

    419. My two dogs wanting to play 

• 3 gifts that might never have been. 

     420. My family having the opportunity to live in a beautiful neighborhood.

     421. Our current house being sold so easily in such a bad market.

     422. My son getting a full-time job through some connections (friend who knew the owners)

• 3 graces found in your friends 

    423. A listening ear and attentive heart

    424. A timeless and distance-less kindred spirit!

    425. Fun shopping trips/coffee shop talks

•  A song heard, a soft word, where you saw light

     426. "You Are All I'm After"

     427. peace John 16:33 NKJV "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace.

     428. at the end of the tunnel. . .God is carrying through some unknown and unique times.

Linking on over at:

Hear It/Use It

Multitude on Mondays

Sharing His Beauty

Be of Good Cheer

Source: sunsurfer.tumblr.com via Ann on Pinterest

(John 16:33 NKJV) "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
 

Linking over at these blog parties:

In Search of Beauty
Fresh Brewed Sundays

Jumping Tandem Sunday 

75 Years Young

My mom turns 75 years old today! You wouldn't know it, though, by watching her get around! That doesn't mean that she hasn't had her share of physical setbacks (she's had double knee replacement surgery, shoulder surgery, a hysterectomy, has osteoarthritis, and takes medication for high cholesterol).

Mom's high school senior picture

The thing is, she doesn't let any of that stop her from having fun! She recently retired, after 45 years as a beautician, running a small beauty-shop by herself out of the back of our home.

Mom and dad their first year of marriage.

She also faithfully cared for my dad, who for several years suffered with Alzheimer's disease, before he passed away in 2004.

 Here is a picture of mom and me enjoying a hug

She remarried in 2006. She and my stepfather are "snowbirds" and go to Florida every winter to enjoy the warm weather and time with their southern friends. They also take various trips in their large camper throughout the year.

Family picture when I was about in my sophomore year in high school (1978) . I am the one next to my mom, behind my little sister.

She is also very involved in her local church, helping with vacation Bible school, fundraisers, and special programs. Every week she hosts a card-game/dinner party with sometimes up to 40 guests at her house. (She's an awesome cook and quite the hostess!). And her house is usually spotless!

My mom on Easter, 2011

Every time I talk to her, she has a full schedule and is either going somewhere or making more plans! I've always said I hope I have her energy when I'm her age. (I think it may be too late, already, though.I don't have half her energy and I'm 50)

Our family took mom out for her 75th birthday for dinner.(L-R my hubby, Ken; son's girlfriend, my son, Tyler; my nephew, my niece's husband, my niece, my brother, my sister-in-law, MOM, and step-dad)

 I'm so thankful for my mom! God truly blessed me with two very loving parents!  She's an inspiration to me to never let life get you down!! Love ya, mom!

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY" !

 

 Linking up over at:
Brag on God Friday
Best Posts of the Week