Everyday Blessings...

Good morning! I wanted to share an email that my sister sent me yesterday. I thought it had some good points to think about for the holidays starting with Thanksgiving. Blessings on the rest of your week and I am thankful for your friendship. Which Holiday Is This? By Rubel Shelly Michelle asked the children in her class about the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. She thought it might be effective to inch toward its meaning by having them playfully correct some wrong ideas. "Now let me think," she began. "Thanksgiving. That's the day when we think about all the stuff we have. And how we want more things than anybody else has. And how we don't care about anybody but ourselves. And . . ." "No!" the preschool kids were starting to chorus! "No-o-o!" Then one little guy in the middle of the pack looked up and chirped, "That's not Thanksgiving, Miss Michelle. That's Christmas!" Little children understand that there is something u...

Our youth group went shopping last night for Christmas presents for the Boys Ranch residents. The Boys Ranch is a home for boys from about ages 5 to 18. The state has cut funding for Christmas for the boys, so our church raises money for them to have Christmas. We had about 60 dollars each for our youth to spend on each child this year. Our church has been providing Christmas presents for the boys for the past 2 years. We are so proud of our kids! They pick out the gifts, wrap them and then take them to the Boys Ranch and have a Christmas party with the guys. Awesome!

Thanks Oklahoma, but you did not have to win by THAT much! I found myself feeling just a little sorry for Tech. I guess we will see in the next week how all of this plays out!

Well, the big game between Tech and OU is tonight at 7:00. Sure would help Texas out if OU could win! We will be yelling for the Sooners! Colt for Heisman!

The song that you are hearing is by Nickel Creek. It is an old folk song with the mandolin as the main instrument. It is called Sweet Afton (name of a river) and my Mom said that she used to sing this song when she was a young girl. This song is in honor of Will's new mandolin. Enjoy. Good morning. Here is a picture of the mandolin that Will made in woodshop class this semester. He has a great woodshop teacher. Mr. Carr is so kind and witty and wonderful. Will did not quite finish it on Wed. and was disappointed that he could not bring it home that day. At church on Wed. evening Mr. Carr's wife Kristi handed me a picture of the mandolin and said that Mr. Carr brought it to church to give to Will. What fun! Everyone made a big deal about it and it was fun. I got him a beginning mandolin book and he is ready to go! We already have a song picked out to learn and play at the Blue Haven first session talent show next summer. Michael and I on guitar, Will on mandolin and Wes sing...

Being healthy and well after battling thyroid cancer. For 20 years of wonderful married life with the best guy around. For two boys that love the Lord and want to please Him. For the heritage of faith that our parents have passed on to us. For a warm house to live in and food to put in our mouths. For hugs and kisses and smiles. For God my Father and how He loves me even when I am unloveable. The list goes on and on...

Thank the Good Lord today is here. I have been a big baby the last three weeks. This check up for the thyroid cancer has been a pain. Being on the low iodine diet is the pits and the thyrogen shots are nauseating. I had the last scan this morning and went and got a cappucino. ahh... yes, I have been a baby. I have learned too much about myself these past few weeks. I can be a royal pain and I did not hold up too well under the constant nausea. (It was like pregnancy nausea. Yuck. Too old for that nonsense. ha) Already I am feeling so much better and am thankful for no cancer and for days when I feel great. What a blessing. I got up this morning to the wind howling! I mean screaming! We were being hit by a cold front. I love the winter time. When it is cold we all tend to stay in more and hover around the fire with a cup of coffee. We have already watched Miracle on 34th St. (Is it 34th? or 32nd? Oh... can't remember, but it was good.) I am cherishing every evening that ...

I had another kitty sighting! We have two fluffy long hair, white and gray kittys lurking around in our back yard. Wes is thrilled and is trying to get them to stay and be his pets. He puts milk out for them everyday and hopes that they will decide to live here. I heard a noise a few minutes ago and walked out in the back yard. One of them was hiding in our rose bushes (lots of weeds to hide under unfortunately) and he ran like crazy for the side of the yard when I got close. He is so fluffy and cute. I should try to chase him into the garage to catch that mouse in there that is freaking me out. I hold my breath everytime I walk into the garage thinking he is going to run up my pants leg! eeekk!!!! Critters everywhere.

We are thrilled that Wes' doctor told him today that he will not have to have surgery on his knee. Such great news. He will have a three week rehab and then will be able to play basketball with a brace on. yippee!! Dr. King is a big Tech fan because he was the team doctor for about 20 years. He had to rub it in quite a bit about Texas getting beat. He then admitted in the end that he thought the Raiders just got lucky. He asked us to yell for Tech this weekend against the Sooners but we told him NO WAY! ha. GO SOONERS...just this one game of course. Only one week until the Thanksgiving holidays! I don't know if I can wait. To the ranch we go. Fire in the fireplace, coffee, games, hunting, good food, jigsaw puzzle, watching for deer, Christmas lists, old movies, Underwoods, etc. Sounds so good. I go in for my radio iodine treatment tomorrow and then the two scans the next two days after that. I will be a glad when it is over and pray for great results. Blessings on...

Antonin Gregory Scalia , is an American jurist and the second most senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States . Appointed by Republican President Ronald Reagan , he is considered to be a core member of the conservative wing of the court. Justice Scalia is a vigorous proponent of textualism in statutory interpretation and originalism in constitutional interpretation , and a passionate critic of the idea of a Living Constitution . Last night Sid and I had the blessing of being able to go and hear Judge Scalia in a Law School lecture series. I left there feeling thankful that we have such a conservative judge on our supreme court. Actually, you probably would not call him conservative so much as just an orginalist. He strongly believes that what our forefathers drafted in our constitution should be left alone and not up for changes and someones passionate interpretation of it. His lecture was very interesting and thought provoking. We have moved so far...

A member of a certain church, who previously had been attending services regularly, stopped going. After a few weeks, the preacher decided to visit him. It was a chilly evening. The preacher found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire. Guessing the reason for his preachers visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a comfortable chair near the fireplace and waited. The preacher made himself at home but said nothing. In the grave silence, he contemplated the dance of the flames around the burning logs. After some minutes, the preacher took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone then he sat back in his chair, still silent. The host watched all this in quiet contemplation. As the one lone ember's flame flickered and diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more. Soon it was cold and dead. Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting. The preacher glanced at his watch and...

Wow. Today was sobering. I went in for a shot to get ready for my first yearly thyroid cancer body scan. I have to take three Thyrogen shots and then fast for several days and take a small dose of radio iodine. I then go in for two days and get a full body scan to see if there is any thyroid cancer lurking in my body. I feel confident that there is not and am ready to have this chapter of this cancer story over. The shot made me pretty sick to my stomach but it has eased up a little tonight. I had a quite a thoughtful conversation with God while in the waiting room. This was my first time to be in the main cancer center waiting room. So many sick people. At least half of them have lost their hair because of chemo. I loved watching their husbands and children and wives taking care of them. They all seemed so brave and resigned to the fact that they have a battle to fight. Another thing that I noticed is how nice all of the nurses are in this part of the hospital. They are ext...

Good morning. Will had his last high school football game last night. After six years of organized school football it is over for him. He played very good but we lost against Abernathy. He made 8 nice catches and scored one touchdown. I knew he would be sad when it was over. Something about high school football in Texas. Such a big deal to these boys. He cried a few buckets full as did his other senior team members. It was wonderful to see them comfort each other. I am thankful for the leader that Will has been on this team. I am thankful for his coaches that seem to care most about character over winning. I am so very thankful that he got through this last game without getting hurt again. Thank you Father for answering that prayer. I went out and walked the football field yesterday afternoon and talked to God about these past years and prayed for safety for Will. This passage of football time and school time has gone so fast. Like blinking it has flown by. I have spent so much time pr...

I will extol the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips. My soul will boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; He saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and He delivers them. Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him. Fear the Lord, you His saints, for those who fear Him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who see the Lord lack no good thing. Come my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. The eyes...

This article below details exactly how I feel about this election. Please, Children of God pray. I wanted to ask my friends and family to think about praying and fasting the day before the election and until the final results are in. I have had it on my heart the last few days to do this. Please join me. I know that John McCain does not fully represent Christian ideals, but I feel a deep concern about how much Obama differs from our beliefs and everything that we hold dear. These scriptures below are about fasting. They are concerning different circumstances of God's people in the bible, but I love how the Joel passage is speaking from God Himself. I pray for blessings on the children of God and that we will not lose hope and that He will bless us to claim with boldness and love that we are HIS. I also pray that God will hear and answer our prayers about this election, and that He will move our hearts to speak up and make a difference. I love you guys. Amy Daniel 9:3 So I t...