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Saturday, January 8, 2011

More Food For Thought

Burdens may be what keeps us going

  An old grandfather clock had stood through three generations in the parlor of a quaint country home.  A great-great-grandson who inherited the property was looking at the clock one day. Amazed that it had never missed a minute, he wondered how the aging timepiece could function so well with the heavy weight attached to a chain in the center.  Hoping to remove a burden from the cherished heirloom, the boy removed the weight.  The clock stopped.  "Why did you remove my weight?" the clock asked.  "To relieve you of your burden," he answered.  "Put it back, please. It's the very thing that keeps me going," the clock replied.  Well, there you have it. Burdens are the very things that give our lives meaning and purpose.

Rita


Food For Thought

A teacher was asked a question by one of his students who had come across Deuteronomy 6:6 that says, "These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts." The student asked, "Why does it say to put God's commandments upon our hearts instead of in our hearts?" The wise teacher responded, "It is not within man's power to deposit truth directly into his heart. All we can do is place truth on the surface of the heart so that when the heart breaks, it will fall in."  

Rita


Friday, January 7, 2011

I made the Stuffed Pepper soup this evening and it was good :) I put the 6 cups of water in and it seemed like I had so much liquid/soup compared to the meaty part of the soup. I think next time I make it I may leave out a cup or two of water or add 1 more cup of rice to it. Ruth and the others that are fasting, that is a great thing you are doing. I don't know if I will join you in the fast but I will join you in prayer. Does anyone have a link, from their church maybe, that has a yearly Bible reading guide on it that I can print out? I used to have a link from our church conference that had one on there but now I can't find it. I wonder if we will wake up to any snow in the morning? It flurried a little today but that was all. Michelle, hope you, Joe and the girls are soaking in all the fun, love and excitement you can :)
Ruth
I'll take that challenge as well.
Janet, it was not for Fayette Co. it was for a job with Brake Supply Co. in the industrial park where Matthew works. He is still praying about it so please continue to pray also. Thanks
Bobbie, I am not going to dictate the type of fast one should go on, because for health reasons, some people might not can go on the same one. Let the Holy Spirit guide you. I am not quite sure what one I will do. According to Jentzen Franklin, there are three Biblical fasts: an absolute fast, a normal fast and a Daniel fast. In his book, he cautions one about an absolute fast, since you can neither eat nor drink, and that would not be healthy for some people who have other health challenges. The Daniel fast is the longest, but it does allow one to eat certain foods and to drink water. Let me know what the Holy Spirit directs you to do.
I will! I'll take that challenge! Is this the Jenson fast? A total fast? For how long?
I feel compelled to go on a fast specifically for our unsaved family members, and I will probably begin it on January 11. (I can't pass up a New Year's dinner on Sunday at Mel and Ina's. They postponed it for us so we could go to West Virginia on New Year's Day. And, it is always sooooo good!). A fast is stronger spiritual warfare than just prayer. And some battles can only be won with prayer AND fasting. (However, I do not know what battles require the fasting also, so the way I figure it, why not fight with both guns blazing!) Anyone want to join me? The way I see it, the more warriors we have, the more likely we are to be victorious. (Fasting without prayer is only a diet, but weight loss seems to be a nice side effect of prayer and fasting, and after all that wonderful food over the holidays, who DOESN'T want to lose a little fat???)
Great Food For Thought.

Food For Thought


From Devotional:
Far too often I seek God's blessings instead of seeking God. I seek His hand instead of His heart. Like a child with a long Christmas list, at times I run to my heavenly Father as if He's a celestial Wal-Mart purposed to satisfy my every want. Instead of leaning in to hear the whispered will of the Lord, I selfishly shout my will - my desires - my demands. I'd rather have relief from life-pressures than gain the strength to endure them and the lessons I'm intended to learn from them. When I'm desperate to fill my over-sized heart-cart with things that I think I need, I rob myself of what really matters: the pursuit of God and the blessings found in Him alone.  God wants your love before your list.
~Rita~

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Teresa~  Would Steve's job be night shift?  Is that the one for FCBOE? 
We will just keep praying for Steve's Job , that something will work out.
Emily thanks for asking about Steve, his interview went really well it lasted 1and a half hours. I sat in the car the whole time I didnt think it would last that long or I would have taken a book. He was offered the job right then and there and the benefits are great the pay he said they could discuss if he decides to take the job, but the hours are horrible 5pm-3:30am. We would never get to see each other because if I get a job I was hoping I could get one with the school system as an aide for the next school year(that was my hopes anyway).
Last night I dreamed Grandma and Grandpa came from Heaven for a visit with us...to come to our New Year's get together. They looked so good! They looked as I remembered them...because they pretty much only looked that way as long as I've been around I guess...though Grandpa did have his cane. They were getting around really good and laughing and talking and hugging...it was nice. I almost asked Grandpa what Heaven was like but decided not to for some reason...I wish I had! I'm curious about what dream Grandpa would have said. =) Then after a while, they both stepped in through a closet door...apparently that's how you get back to Heaven, lol. Nice dream. =)

Teresa, how did Steve's job stuff go?

Janet, sorry about no baby. =( At least Matt is maybe prepared for another now? lol.

Michelle, Joe and girls...if you happen to look at the blog, hope ya'll are having a great time all together!


I have not seen the movie Simon Birch, but I read the book A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving on which it is loosely based, and I really liked it, so I am sure I would like the movie.
Love the golf ball story! You would think the path of no resistance would take it the farthest, but then it would have no character when it got there. And what good would that do anyone!
Janet and Mathew, I was so looking forward to another little one for you guys. Did you ask that Doctor how many times he, himself has been wrong? But God's plan is still best! On a lighter note, Janet this could only happen to you! :) God knows you can handle it! He knows how He made you.
Speaking about God having a plan for us all, has anyone watched the movie Simon Birch yet? You have to see it! Almost forgot my praise! Marleigh went to sleep with a fever of 102.5 last night. I anointed her little head with the sign of the cross in that name above everything else and she awoke this morning just as cool! Good is good ONE MORE time!

Food For Thought

When golf balls were first manufactured, their covers were smooth. Golfers soon discovered that after a ball had been roughed up a bit they were able to get more distance out of it. Manufacturers then began producing golf balls with dimpled covers. Life is a lot like that. It takes some rough spots to make us go our farthest. It takes some storms to teach us that God is faithful. When was the last time you threw a party to celebrate a trial or storm in your life?   

~Rita~

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Janet I'm sorry to hear about you not being pregnant but

I'm also relieved that nothing was wrong with you or what you thought was a baby. You and Matthew will just have to try harder(oh what a shame). Love and prayers to all!

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Teresa Valentine tree!
Sent from my U.S. Cellular BlackBerry® smartphone
Well~  I appreciate your prayers today.  It has certainly been a roller coaster of emotions.  Turns out, I was not even pregnant.  I assumed that once a doctor told me I was~  that was the green light.  I also had several positive tests.  Who knows?  Well, if nothing else "positive" came out of this, Matthew said that he had gotten used to the idea of having a baby:)  

 
Sounds like we need to add everyone to our prayer list.which is a good idea.Don't you think.
Thought some of you might like this recipe. I sent it to some of you already. I made it and it was delicious.

Stuffed Pepper Soup

1 lb. hamburger
1/2 c. onion, chopped
Beef base to taste (I used 4 tsps.)
2 28 oz. cans diced tomatoes (with garlic, oregano and basil)
2 28 oz. cans water
1 c. Uncle Ben's brown rice (instant rice if you want it to cook in 10 minutes)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 large or 2 medium green peppers, chopped
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. paprika

Brown hamburger and onion. Drain grease. Add tomatoes and water. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook approximately 10 minutes or until rice is done. Enjoy!
Julie: Sounds like you are teaching them to back up what they believe by scripture.
Chemo left my bones, legiments and tendons damaged. Now my ankle bones etc. are deteriorating, the legiments/tendons are in permanent sprain at stage 3 out of 4 stages and my shins are in permanent 'shin splint' condition. The braces are forever. I could choose not to wear them but within 2-3 years I would be in a wheel-chair. But the theory is these braces will post pone that for some time.
SS debate? That will be hard to explain, but here goes.
I will write Bible truths on Preteen/Teen issues, Bible truths for salvation and Bible Doctrine VS. the answers the world, eastern religion or humanism give our Youth in schools and colleges . Over a period of 2 months there will be 6 teams made up and divided into Pro and Con teams. They cannot give personal opinions during the debates. It will all have to be based on 'facts' and Biblical truths. At the end of each debate, they will decide what they believe based on information given...as well as... some other material I will collect and give to them. This way they will not be given lectures only on basic beliefs...nor will they be left to just go with what is being taught at school, sex education, college...or... in my class for that matter.
Obviously, these will be bare bone basics...but it will give them some knowledge as to how to reason out what they believe or don't. The questions they've been asking is what tiggered the idea. I will have one leader who is a college student at UF and another leader who is a young Minister in training. I will be the Moderator over each debate.
Do keep us posted about Janet.
Love to all.
Julie
Julie~What are the braces for and how long will you wear them? How do you write a SS debate? Is it for a Sunday School Class? Janet has a Dr. appt at 1:00. Should know more this afternoon.
Rita, I will pray for Janet and baby.
Trish how are you feeling? How much longer will you be having chemo?
I believe Joe got home today so I don't look for Michelle to blog for awhile. I will not attempt to connect with her so as to leave them to 'soak' up time with him. 14 days will go by quickly, I'm sure.
They will have their Christmas today/tomorrow.
Tomorrow I will go to have braces put on my legs. Pray I can adjust quickly to their clumsiness. Rita, Bobbie, my shoes will not compare to your 'sassy' heels now. Ha! They will be tie-ups and they are U-G-L-Y! Oh, well!
Steve you are in our most earnest prayers as well.
Much love is sent to all of you today.
Well, must hush I have a Preteen/teen Sunday School debate to write today.
Love and Prayers,
Julie

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Hey All
I need you all to pray for Janet and the baby. She is having some problems. She called crying and said that, of course, she would always call Grandma at a time like this....

Facebook

Shawn is finally on Facebook but because of his past we had to make a identity that just the family would know. If you get a request from Big Daddy it is him.
Teresa, We will be praying for Steve and his job interview's, That the Lord will lead him to the right one .Thanks Emily for the info on the other blogs, sounds good.Trish, how are you feeling?is the chemo bothering you as much this time as the last? I hope not , and hope it works for you too. We are praying on this end for everyone Love you all.
Hello all!
Since you all seem to have the hang of our blog, I thought I would share some of the other blogs that I read.

This one has a lot of recipes and tons of ways to save money. She shops at Kroger a lot and posts deals and coupons.

Similar to The Big Red Pot.

This one has a lot of healthy recipe ideas, as does this one.


Two things I want to do this year are eat better and save money...these blogs deal with both! Just click the links and click 'follow' on the blog's page if you want to follow it.

I haven't had a whole lot to do over my break....so I've been reading a lot of blogs, lol.

love ya'll!
Steve is on his way to a job interview in Beckley and he also had a call today for a machinist job in Beckley, he also has to go for classes for the Fayette Co. School job this week. Please pray the he will get a good job with good benefits. He is really tired of the lumber mill job and the conditions are terrible. Pray Please that Gods will be done.
I love the picture of the birds! He swoops in and gets his portion, then flies to the power pole to eat it, where the other birds can't bother him. I think the woodpecker is beautiful!
Hershey will get used to Kaiden coming everyday, and Kaiden having Hershey all to himself!
Teresa~  I love those purses that have the kids and names on them:)  I'll be doing some Christmas shopping with you next year!  If this doesn't work out for you, you can always go back to Mary Kay. 

If anyone has or knows of someone that has a crib, mattress, swing, or bouncy we would like to borrow or buy.  I have mine but it is in my best friends house and her baby is due in Feb. What can I say?  I didn't think we were going ot need it:) 

I must say that my little man looks cute! 
That is so sweet of Kadin and Hershey, looks like he has found himself a buddy. and the picture of the birds is really pretty, and yes, I can see the woodpecker's head .We have sunshine and cold today , Just had to go get my license and tabs renewed, and there was about45 people ahead of me , but it only took an hour and a half. so that wasn't too bad.
 

 

Kaiden has made up with Hershey or maybe it's the other way around. Bobbie~You asked me if the Cardinal still comes...everyday. If you look at the top of this one pic, at the top on the telephone pole, you can see the woodpecker's head. Sometimes, I get all kinds at once. I wish I had Emily's camera! I could get my Christmas Card picture. Kaiden and I are going out running around today. Got some errands to run.
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Good one, Rita. Food for thought!
Rita, thanks for the reminder of who is in control, hope you don't mind ,but I put that on face book, so everyone can see it, Spread the word.Amen!!!!!!!

God IS in Control

When God permits His children to go through the furnace, He keeps His eye on the clock and His hand on the thermostat

~Rita~

Monday, January 3, 2011

I loved that news story, how awesome!!! Mark is watching football so I'm going to go clean the kitchen and dining area lol :p
Hey everyone, just wanted to let everyone know that I have decided to start selling Thirty-One which sells purses, wallets, totes, etc. I needed something to do with all my spare time and thought I would try my luck at this, I've tried everything else so why not. You can go online to thirtyonegifts.com to review the catalog and call or email me at treadway.teresa@gmail.com. If you would like to have a party to earn free items just contact me.
Happy Birthday Wendy.and hope you have many many more.
Yea, Bobbie Ruth's head is a little hard I think , but she finally gets it Lol ,But then so is mine
You are right, Bobbie, God talks to me in threes. But I think it is just because I am hard headed! Awesome story!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY WENDY!

We have beautiful bright sunshine in VA today!
That was a wonderful miracle story! "When the prayers go up, His blessing come down." Isn't it Ruth that the Lord works in 3's as well?

Local Nurse receives Medical Miracle from God, Read how God worked

http://www.register-herald.com/todaysfrontpage/x2131361540/BARH-nurse-recovers-from-brain-aneurysm

This lady works at Beckley Appalachian Regional Hospital. You may have to copy and paste into your browser, but this is worth the read. It will make your day! Or you can go to registerherald.com and look for the article on the front page

Sunday, January 2, 2011

We had a wonderful time this weekend visiting with everyone. We missed those who couldn't be there but we were thinking about you :) Zac, you will definitely need to post more videos of those famous chipmunks lol. That was awesome!! Addy, where were the dogs while you were dancing? I thought I saw Fozzie zonked out on the couch. Paul, we are expecting to see you dancing next! Marleigh had a great time at church last night. She clapped to her little heart's content. At the end of service they sang a few more songs while closing and she was clapping some BIG claps. Then she would rub her eyes. Then clap. Then rub her eyes. She slept all the way back to Janet's then slept till 8 this morning. I think she's glad to be back in her own bed tonight though. When I put her to bed she rolled over and didn't make a peep. That will probably be me here in just a few lol!! Steve and Teresa, thanks again for everything, we love you :) If we don't see you before Easter, I guess we'll see you then. Love to all :)
Thanks for all the birthday wishes.

David & Julie-Yes, today was the day so I guess that puts me & your daughter-in-law a day apart.

Rita-Someone said that their was some dirt found somewhere a little while after you was born and no "new" dirt has been reported being found since. Sooooooooo, I guess that makes you "older than dirt"! LOL

Steve-We will take a collection to buy Elliott some tires before his next attempt to the top. Lol

Matt & Janet-Congrats again!!

Emily-It is between you & Kim for the next little one.

Addy & Paul-3rd time is a charm. Although, if I manage to find someone who is giving a tractor or 4-wheeler away, I will make sure that it is on the next truck/trailer to WV. Lol

I grew up watching "Alvin & the Chipmunks". I don't remember the episode where they added 39 more! LOL Good job Zac!!!

Everyone else who was not mentioned in the above, you are a great support cast and none of this weekend could've happened without you. With that said, Lord willing we will see you at the next "chipmunk" gathering.



Good Evening Everyone
We have had a wonderful day of worship in the house of the Lord! Our pastor was much better(he'd been sick) and his message today could not have been any better than it was. His new year's resolution is to take us all into the presence of the Lord with him. A place no one else can go for you. You must go for yourself. It was great! And so true!
Amy I hear you are returning to work tomorrow!(Like growing babies and teaching them to walk and talk is not work!!!!!!)Dah :) We wish you well and I just wanted to tell you that you will forever be the pumpkin roll story lady in my mind! And when I think of how you pulled that story together for us to remember, I know you will be a force to be reckoned with as a lawyer or judge or where ever the Lord takes you. And you were so right! It was good but it was different!
Steve and Teresa, we add our thanks as well for the beautiful, festive home to have our gathering in! I heard lots of complimentary words of praise in your honor! Thanks again
I think Easter comes at the end of April this year. Maybe it will be warm and we can do something outside!
Happy Birthday Mark! If today is the day, then you and Wendy (our daughter-in-law) nearly share one. Hers is tomorrow. Thank you for posting those videos. They were terrific. We laughed at the chipmunks. Stroke of genius to put it on at that speed. Trish was that your idea? When Devin and Kiera come over tomorrow we let them watch it and they will crack up I am sure. Daddy would have been proud of the song 'Oh Beautiful Star of Bethlehem", he loved that one so much. Congratulations Janet and Matt. But you both are spoiling Rita by giving her those beautiful grandchildren. I hope you realize that!
Glad that everyone was able to get together. Yes, Vonda, Daniel and I missed being there but Trish your Blogsite makes it possible for us all to be a part of the gatherings no matter how many miles separate us.
Love you
Happy, Happy, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARK!!! Are you older than dirt????
I had a great time yesterday and enjoyed the food and fellowship. This is what it is all about. This is why we moved back, it was worth the sacrifice. We love and enjoy being with family.
Rita, I didnt mind the moving of furniture or anything, things like that are no big deal. Hope everyone that was traveling made it back safely.
I wish everyone could have been here to enjoy the day with us. We miss you all!!!
Wow, Wow, It looks like you all had a wonderful time , just wish I could have been there to join you all,Those videos were the bomb.lol especially the 12 days of Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!! All you needed was your costumes of the chipmunks, that was great one to remember.And all the pictures were beautiful too. Congrats Rita on being a Nana Again, And Congrats to Janet and Matt. What does Olivia and Kadin think about that?And Marliegh looked like she was having a ball.So glad you all had a good time at church.I think you All did Mom and Dad very proud, I am sure they were watching, and wondering if those people were kin to them lol.Just wish I could have joined in on the celebration.Love you all.
Well, I see you all were up late last night. But we are up early this morning. ruth got up before 6. Church was really good last night. You should'a been there. We had a really good time yesterday. Teresa and Steve, Thank you for opening your home to the whole bunch of us and letting us take over. LOL...You know, moving the furniture and all...! I think we have some hidden talent in our family, especially that Partridge in a Pear Tree and those 5 Golden Rings...And maybe those 3 French Hens.
Oh, And did I tell you that we're going to be Nana and Papaw again!! When I said we were getting a new addition to the family (meaning the dog) I just didn't realize what I was saying, did I? I wonder who will be next year.
You guys should have seen Marleigh in church. I believe she is practicing to be a Worship leader! She is so animated.
Thanks Zac, for the videos. Everybody has a gift and I think that is yours.