Have any of you read the book "The Shack"? I highly recommend it! It may stretch your thinking of God a little but there's more truth in it than some want to admit. We all tend to put God in a box of some sort.

Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there,to serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson,or to help you figure out who you are or who you want to become. You never know who these people may be possibly your roommate, neighbor, professor, long lost friend, lover, or even a complete stranger), but when you lock eyes with them, you know at that very moment they will affect your life in some profound way.And sometimes things happen to you that may seem horrible, painful, and unfair at first, but in reflection you find that without overcoming those obstacles you would have never realized your potential, strength, willpower, or heart.

Everything happens for a reason. Nothing happens by chance or by means of good luck. Illness, injury, love, lost moments of true greatness, and sheer stupidity all occur to test the limits of your soul. Without these small tests, whatever they may be,
life would be like a smoothly paved, straight, flat road to nowhere. It would be safe and comfortable, but dull and utterly pointless.

The people you meet who affect your life, and the success and downfalls you experience, help to create who you are and who you become. Even the bad experiences can be learned from. In fact, they are probably the most poignant and important ones.

If someone hurts you, betrays you, or breaks your heart forgive them, for they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious to when you open your heart. If someone loves you, love them back unconditionally, not only because they love you, but because in a way, they are teaching you to love and how to open your heart and eyes to things.

Make every day count...

Appreciate every moment and take from those moments everything that you possibly can for you may never be able to experience it again. Talk to people that you have never talked to before, and actually listen. Let yourself fall in love, break free, and set your sights high. Hold your head up because you have every right to. Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself, for if you don't believe in yourself, it will be hard for others to believe in you. You can make of your life anything you wish.

Create your own life and then go out and live it with absolutely no regrets.
Most importantly, if you love someone tell them, for you never know what tomorrow may have in store. And learn a lesson in life each day you live.

by Unknown

  Working in the garden....

My favorite foot ware for work...

The little machine I use almost every morning....

One of my little flower pots....

Honey patterning his shotgun...

Yet another project that I would like to have done by the middle of May. 

This is really random and not all that I would like to have done but that's all folks......

There is a God by 33 Mile

There is a beauty to the dawn, a rhythm to the rain
A silence in the soul that I just can't explain
There is a breath of life I breathe, a beating in my heart
A magnificence, a scary sense of what lies past the stars
Beyond what we can see behind the mystery
I know that it could only be

There is a debt that has been paid, a grace that I've been shown
A hope that I've been given that I have never known
There is a love that conquers darkness a piece of life in me
There is a life that is not just here and now but for eternity
Beyond what we can see behind the mystery
I know that it could only be that

There is a God; this is the proof
That all around the evidence is speaking the truth
From the center of my soul to the edge of the universe
Creation is crying out believe it or not
There is a God

I believe it; I believe it
There is a God
I can feel it; I can feel it
There is a God
And the more I find the less I need to see
I've never been so sure, so sure of anything

I am sure you all have heard this song before but for me it's what Christmas is all about.

The Christmas Shoes

It was almost Christmas time, there I stood in another line
Tryin' to buy that last gift or two, not really in the Christmas mood
Standing right in front of me was a little boy waiting anxiously
Pacing 'round like little boys do
And in his hands he held a pair of shoes

His clothes were worn and old, he was dirty from head to toe
And when it came his time to pay
I couldn't believe what I heard him say

Sir, I want to buy these shoes for my Mama, please
It's Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her size
Could you hurry, sir, Daddy says there's not much time
You see she's been sick for quite a while
And I know these shoes would make her smile
And I want her to look beautiful if Mama meets Jesus tonight

He counted pennies for what seemed like years
Then the cashier said, "Son, there's not enough here"
He searched his pockets frantically
Then he turned and he looked at me
He said Mama made Christmas good at our house Though most years she just did without
Tell me Sir, what am I going to do,
Somehow I've got to buy her these Christmas shoes

So I laid the money down, I just had to help him out
I'll never forget the look on his face when he said
Mama's gonna look so great

I knew I'd caught a glimpse of heaven's love
As he thanked me and ran out
I knew that God had sent that little boy
To remind me just what Christmas is all about.


Merry Christmas!

  Mmmmm..........a coffee shop, my brother, my husband, a beautiful fall day.......it's a good day!

Random Pictures

the view from Raven's Roost  the fall display in our front yard 

at Loren's wedding    the shoes my husband surprised me with

along with the roses.....:)                  Have a wonderful weekend!!!!!