What a Merry Christmas!

What a merry Christmas we had. Having precious baby Kate with us this year made it so special and blessed. What a sweet, precious little baby and she is such a good little baby. Always happy and smiling - only cranky when she is tired or hungry - just like her mama used to be. Nathan, Jen & Kate spent Christmas Eve night here...we opened some gifts Christmas Eve, then opened the rest Christmas morning.

Ripped apart

I have been ministering to a couple of ladies at church going through divorce and my heart breaks for them watching the pain they are going through, having gone thru it myself not so long ago. . I read a quote the other day and it describes the pain of divorce in such a clear way: "Divorce is like trying to pull apart two pieces of paper which have been glued together for years and years. It's impossible to this without tearing them both apart." It's what Jesus talks about in Mark - "the two becoming one flesh - what God has joined together, let no man rip apart."

I'm baaaaaaaaack!!!!!!!!

I have been SO busy for the past month.

Recovered from the bronchitis - however, the asthma is still hanging on. Am still using the inhaler off and on, so I guess I will have to see the allergist and find out what is going on. I have never had asthma before now.

Jen and I went to the Miami Mart the first of October. It was different as we took Baby Kate for the first time. I think we have decided to fly in the future and probably will do Atlanta from now on instead.

I spent the next two weeks getting ready for the Open House. The entire house is decorated for Christmas! We had 8 vendors here this past weekend and everyone had a really good time.

Two weekends ago I went on the "Ropes Challenge" Facilitator Retreat at Lake Yale. What an awesome experience. I will blog more about it later.

So now things have slowed down and I am going to chill for a bit. Since I am ready for the Holidays I am going to finish wrapping my gifts and baking. Also I have a lot of books to read...so I am just going to sit by the fire with a cup of hot chocolate, look at my Christmas lights and listen to carols! And it's only October!!!

Thanks to all the young women in the BF class I taught yesterday - you were so supportive - it was an awesome experience! God is stretching me and it is fascinating to see what He is doing!

Will write more later - I am still playing catch-up from the past weekend.

Little Angel

I babysat twice today!!! WooHoo!
We had so much fun...Kate is adorable and just a little angel!

Psalm 128:6"May you live to enjoy your grandchildren..."

Am I enjoying Kate!!!

www.jkate.com

My first Bible

I was going through some files today and found this that I wrote several years ago:


"In 1956, when I was 5 years old, I received my first Bible from my grandmother, who also happened to be my Sunday School teacher at the time. On the inside page, in her handwriting she wrote, "given to Jackie by her grandmother and Sunday School teacher for learning the Ten Commandments." I remember that the prize for learning the Ten Commandments and saying them in front of the church was a beautiful, white, illustrated, King James "Holy Bible," with gilded pages that you could enclose by zipping the entire Bible shut with a shiny gold cross zipper pull. I also remember that I did memorize the Ten Commandments, but was too shy to get up in front of the entire church and say them, so my grandmother let me recite them to her and she awarded the Bible to me anyway. Inside were beautiful color pictures - and a place to record family births, deaths and marriages - and there in the center of that Bible, in my childish handwriting, is recorded the death of my parakeet Cindy and my cat Smoky… and my mother.I used this Bible throughout my childhood and well into my adult years, finally storing it away as it was literally falling to pieces. With the passage of time and much use, the white leather turned yellow, the gold cross zipper pull tarnished and all the gold wore off the pages. But I will always treasure it - and to me it is priceless. It reminds me of a godly heritage - of two Christian women who taught me about God and Jesus and the Bible. I treasure it because my grandmother gave it to me - and, because my mother used it, also. I remember my mother reading to me each morning before school from this same Bible. My mother had made notes in the margins and underlined passages and this makes it all the more special to me because she died when I was only 13. I do not remember a lot about her, but these notes and underlined passages give me some insight into who she was and what scriptures were meaningful to her.

I am being still...

I am SO sick! I don't know if I didn't get over my cold from a few weeks ago or if I picked up a new virus...but I have ended up with bronchitis.

I guess I needed more time to be still...

Pursued by God

Yesterday the valve on the main water pipe into the house burst. I went out to get the newspaper in the am and there was water all over the driveway. (Thank goodness the water was outside not inside!) I called the plumber and he couldn't come until the afternoon, so I shut the water off at the main valve and waited. I was so frustrated; I was to go to lunch and the mall with Jen and Kate and now I had to forego that fun time and sit here and wait on the plumber. I couldn't shower, do the dishes or flush - it is amazing how dependent we are on the convenience of plumbing and take it for granted until it's not there.

Fearfully & wonderfully made

We went Monday to the Bodies exhibit at MOSI. It absolutely left me in awe.

"I am fearfully and wonderfully made!"

I came home and re-read Psalm 139. After viewing this exhibit, I was overcome with emotion. To see the intricacy and interworking of all the systems of the human body, only affirms my belief that an Almighty God created man - the creative genius of the human body could not have just evolved from a "big bang.""God did form my inward parts! He did weave me in my mother's womb! My frame was not hidden from Him when I was made in secret and skillfully wrought. His eyes did see my unformed substance and in His books are written all the days He has ordained for me!"

Rest

"Rest is a spiritual disciple. It's something we must make room for. "

Someone just shared a devotion on rest with me just now and thought I would pass on some of the verses and the link to the devotion:
http://www.crosswalk.com/faith/devotionals/encouragement/

"…Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me – watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace." Matthew 11:27-28 (MSG)
Deuteronomy 33:12, "Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in Him, for He shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between His shoulders." (NIV)

Friends

Continuing in Psalm 119, verse 63 spoke to my heart this am: "I am a friend to all who fear You, to all who follow your precepts."
How important to have godly friends who share your faith. Friends that you can count on to always point you to God's truth, even when it might be a difficult thing to do. I am so thankful for my friends who hold me accountable, pray for me, correct me, sit with me through hard times, laugh with me, cry with me...friends who are vulnerable and transparent...friends who would rather risk offending me than let me wander down a path that might not according to God's Word.

Treasures

Today God lead me to Psalm 119. What a powerful psalm - so long!!! and so full of truth. I have written next to it in my Bible "1999;" I remember reading it back then and God so speaking to me through it at that time - I have many notations and notes from that reading then. I have read it so many times since and God always has something new and fresh for me each time I read it. The theme of this psalm is that the Word of God contains everything we need to know. And we can't know God without knowing His Word. (I see that this is becoming a theme for me personally this week.)
I read through the whole psalm this am, but want to spend a while in it, dissecting each verse and seeing what God has to say to me thru each one.

Verse 162 popped out today - "I rejoice at Thy Word, as one who finds great spoil."

Be strong & courageous

Reading in Deuteronomy this morning, I am reminded of God's words to Israel and to me - "be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble...for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you." Again, in Joshua 1 , God tells them 3 more times: "be strong and courageous." How are they/we to be strong and courageous? God adds: " be careful to do according to the Law which my servant Moses commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go...this book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have success." In verse 13 He tells them again, "remember the Word."
How well do I know God's Word? Have I "hidden it in my heart" (memorized it) so I can recall it at a moment's notice when I need it? Sometimes I hear a noise in the night and feel afraid - but then I recall God's promise that He gave me years ago after my husband left: "I will both lay me down in peace and sleep, for Thou Lord maketh me to dwell in safety." Oh, that I would have His Word so etched upon my heart and brain that I could always recall just the right verse for any circumstance I find myself in. I am convicted this morning about spending more time reading His Word and meditating on it and memorizing it than I do. As I said the other day, I can be so easily distracted by the things and people of the "world."
He has proven to me time and time again, His Word is true and His Word instructs and guides and heals and cleanses and soothes and gives peace...
Dear God, forgive my distractions and lack of time spent in your Word. Help me to crave it like food and living water so necessary for my spiritual life. Help me to write it on the "doorpost" of my heart. Help me to memorize it so I can recall it when I am afraid or need direction - to tell it to my grandchildren.
There is an answer for every question, directions for every circumstance in your Word.
May I always look there first - not to a friend - not on Google, but in Your Word.
Thank you for giving us Your Word and help us to always appreciate it and cling to it.
Today I feel grateful - for You and Your Word.

He delights in me!

"He brought me out into a spacious place;
He rescued me because He delighted in me."

We are studying II Samuel in BF and yesterday we began studying chapter 22 which is almost identical to Psalm 18. What an awesome verse - to know that the King of Glory and Creator of the universe delights in me. I can't even begin to fathom such a love.
In my quiet time this am, I was just marveling at His love and His forgiveness - amazed that He delights in me!

This am I also read I John. Verses 15-17 really spoke to me: "Do not love the world nor the things of the world...for all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world; and the world is passing away, and also its lusts, but the one who does the will of God abides forever." My prayer to God this am is to please forgive me for loving anything the world has to offer more than I love Him. I never, ever want anyone or anything before Him. I want to delight in Him as much as He delights in me. The last verse in I John says "little children, guard yourselves from idols." My prayer this am is just that - that I never again put anyone or anything before God - because that is idolatry. May He always be my first love. I claim the verse that says to seek HIm first and His righteousness and all these things (the desires of my heart) will be added to it. He doesn't want to deny me the desires of my heart. He is a loving, good Father who wants to give me good gifts. But I don't ever want those good gifts or my desires more than I want Him.

This also reminds me of the verses in Phillipians that God gave me when I was going thru a very difficult time:
"I once thought all these things were so very important, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I may have Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own goodness or my ability to obey God's law, but I trust Christ to save me. For God's way of making us right with himself depends on faith. As a result, I can really know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I can learn what it means to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that, somehow, I can experience the resurrection from the dead!
I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection! But I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be. No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven.Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example. For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. Their future is eternal destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and all they think about is this life here on earth. But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take these weak mortal bodies of ours and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same mighty power that he will use to conquer everything, everywhere."

I love how God speaks to us thru His Word - how He ties it all together - and how He points us to exactly what we need to hear from Him thru it.

Today I hear HIm telling me to seek Him above all else and that NOTHING the world has to offer compares to that!
May I always delight in Him.

I have a hope and a future

Jeremiah 29:11-14
I shared with someone this week the significance of this verse in my life and how God used it to minister hope and healing to me at a time when I thought I had no hope and no future. But God showed me He loves me - He is going to take care of me - He won't abandon me... His Word tells me He will NEVER leave me or forsake me. He has my life all planned out and those plans include the future I had always hoped for. I love the rest of the verse - He promises if I call on Him, He WILL listen to me. And if I seek Him with my WHOLE heart, He will let me find Him. I had to confess as I read this just now, I am guilty of sometimes being so distracted by people and things and activities, etc. and I pray I will never, ever put anyone or anything above my precious Jesus and I will be disciplined and seek Him above all else with my whole heart.

How awesome is He to love me so much to take the mess of my life and to restore it and give me a hope and a future. How loving and kind to give me that promise - to heal my heart a little more by showing me - I can have all that I had hoped for - even tho it seems like my dreams have been shattered - He promises to restore my hopes and my dreams - He will bring to pass that which I always had wanted in His way and in His time. When I seek Him and call on Him and listen to HIm - He WILL guide me into the perfect plan He has for my future. How awesome is that?!

I am feeling so full of joy today.

Something good is about to happen!

There is a Christian song from maybe 25 years ago and it just popped into my mind this am and this is how I am feeling today:

"I just feel like something good is about to happen!"

I have learned in all that happens, just to praise Him
For I know He's working all things for my good
Every tear I shed is worth all the investment
For I know He'll see me through, He said He would

CHORUS
I just feel like something good is about to happen
I just feel like something good is on it's way
He has promised that He'd open all of Heaven
And, brother, it could happen any day
I've never been more thrilled about tomorrow
Sunshine's always bursting through skies of gray
I just feel like something good is about to happen
And, brother, it could be
this very day!

I am feeling so happy and so anticipatory - His Word is true - He keeps His promises - He Loves ME! He rejoices over me with singing!!! WOW!! He wants to be my friend and He wants me to be His! He is my Father! He is my Husband! He is in control. I CAN cast all my fears on HIm because He DOES care for me! I DO have a hope and a future! He has me inscribed on the palms of His Hands!!! He thinks about me! He made a way for me to be with Him forever. He speaks to me - He guides me - He protects me - He provides for me - He has given me peace and joy!

He has bestowed on me a crown of beauty instead of ashes,

the oil of gladness instead of mourning,

and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.

I will be called an oak of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.

Isa 61:3

WOW!

I'm in love!

Wow! It has been 3 months since I last posted. I have been enjoying Kate so much - she is a gift from God to all of us - a precious little blessing. She is, of course, the cutest, smartest, most precious baby girl ever born!!!I am in love and could just look at her and hold her and kiss her 24/7. She is holding her head up so well...she tries to talk to you and makes sounds and tries to mimic you...she loves her toys and loves to look at her books...and she just put both hands on her bottle the other night!
I am loving babysitting on Monday nites when Jen and Nathan go to a group at church. And, we have started a new tradition "Lunch at Grandma's" on Sundays after church.
She is the light of our lives...and I thank God for her every day.
God is really blessing me in so many other ways. I am so thankful for His presence, His guidance, His love and His protection and provision. He is teaching me so much and I am loving HIm more and more each day.
I am thankful for my family, my friends, my health and my church.
He is leading me into some new areas, enlarging my territory, opening doors in new directions and prodding me out of my comfort zone. There are new heights He wants to take me to - and sometimes I feel like Moses saying "send Aaron," but I know if He is leading, there will be joy in the following.
I love Him so much!
God is good...all the time!

Jacqueline Kate

She is enchanting...

Kate's Here!!!

Kate was born May 19, 2006 at 9:22pm
She weighs 6 lbs. 10 oz. and is 19 1/2 inches long.
Mother and daugter are doing fine.
Nathan, Jay and I were in the delivery room and it was an awesome thing to witness.
She is so precious and so beautiful.
Will post photos when I get them from Jen's camera.
I am just overwhelmed with emotions right now - what a day!
Will post more later - gotta go see Kate!

Kate is Coming!!!

Jennifer is in labor! She called early this am...went to the hospital about 3pm. They checked her out, didn't admit her yet and have her walking the parking lot to speed it along. I am sitting here waiting for word that it is time to head over the hospital. I am so excited I can't eat - that's not a bad thing!All day I have been praying for them off and on...every time the telephone rings I jump! Will write more once she's here.
I'm gonna be a grandma! My baby is going to be a mother!
Whohoo!!! God is good! All the time!

Waiting for Kate

Thinking about Kate...it could be any day now. I cannot wait to meet her. Praying for Jennifer and her - for health, and a safe, easy delivery. It takes me back to my own labor and delivery. With the first, you have no idea what is about to happen - the change in your life that is enormous - the love that seems to come out of nowhere and consumes you. It is a love like no other - mother for child. It is a good life.
Hurry, Kate...we are all waiting for you!

Welcome!

With the soon arrival of the first grandchild, I thought I would try my hand at "blogging" and leave a trace of me, Granny-Ma GiGi and my life and my thoughts... for her and future generations...Since I love genealogy and "looking back," it is only fitting that I "look forward," too. Maybe one day, a great-great-great-great grand-child will have inherited my inquisitive, investigative gene and want to know something about her ancestral past. So, for him or her, I leave a trace...