Everyday Blessings...

Could it be that simple? Jesus says two important things: Come to Me and then Go out to others. We seem to get so distracted by side church issues that we lose our focus on what is most important. I think that is probably the way that the evil one crafts his plans and smirks at his success in our distraction. Love God. Love people. Make disciples. Simple and hard and so worth our focus. Luke 10:27 He answered, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" Loving God is the start.  Be in the Word.  Talk to Him.  Listen to Him.  Be led by Him. He helps us to be molded into people with hearts that can love the world around us with unselfishness and abandon. Most of us stop there. I sure have. When we get to the making disciples part we slow down and shake and make excuses and look away. But, the more I dwell in His...

We took off for West Texas a week or so ago seeking solitude and clearing of our minds. We were looking for time to just be together while drinking good coffee and warming in front of crackling fireplaces. The sun on our shoulders in the afternoons and bare feet in sandals after the winter was a nice bonus. Personally, I was hoping for the viewing of gorgeous quiet sunrises and sunsets.  God did not disappoint. Finding peace and quiet and down time is so important. Putting some distance in between the craziness and concerns in our lives and stepping back to breathe deeply is healing. Time to focus on Who calms our hearts and gives meaning in a world that screams chaos is mandatory. I want to have that margin in my everyday life. Trying to find the quiet and balance in our day to day schedules is a challenge, but a must. I need to open my eyes and notice every day that our own front yard sunsets are pretty fantastic. That might be a start. The lovely Rio Grande in Bi...

And I will pray for you. This prayer. What if we all diligently prayed this prayer for one another? This would be a world changing prayer. "I pray that you will be blessed by God that whenever you speak that He will give you the words to lovingly and fearlessly make known the mystery and hope of the gospel of Jesus."  What a prayer. Really, what if we did? Blessings! Amy

Just a thought that came to mind this morning. You are documenting hope for future generations when you write down your Jesus thoughts and life experiences and scriptures that are dear to your heart.  I have already had one of our boys ask about wanting to have his grandmother's bible someday. I pray that there will be a day that our children will treasure the bible I read from because it will have drawings and words written down that meant something to me and that helped me live the life God called me to. I believe that the scriptures that we write down and journal will be invaluable to our children in the future. They will be a great witness to what we felt life was about and a timetable of living for God and for His Kingdom. I know that it takes time and it is more work than pulling scripture up on your phone quickly but there is something about even just taking 30 minutes of slow dwelling with God in a Bible that you hold in your hands and taking the time to write about Hi...

Good morning! I have been making this scrumptious granola for several years. It is my sister in law's recipe and so many people have asked for it that I thought I would post on here and direct people to the blog to copy.  Beware though...this stuff is quite addicting. My sweet sister Jan...the master cook, wise nurse, camp secretary that holds all things CBH together, exemplary mama, etc. I love her. You can see how "loved" this recipe has been. :) I hope that you can read it cause today there is no time to type it out. Sorry!! You have to work hard to see the recipe to gain the mouth watering goodness. Ha! Or, something like that. I need to make a batch of it for comfort food today as I pull out all of our tax papers to start working on them. Oh happy day. Not. So, there you go! Enjoy! Here is some more inspiration straight from the Word of God. Love this verse. It sure was a comfort to read this morning. God gives true joy to His people through the hope in Je...

The verse I read today from the daily Bible reading was this:  Jesus gave us His life to save our lives.  We also witnessed new life coming into the world this week.  Sweet Saylor was born early Wed. morning.   We are thrilled with the addition of another precious granddaughter.  There is a sweet God story that we were blessed to witness that night.  Our daughter in love was having pretty good contractions but not regular and the nurse was saying that she would have to go home from the hospital and wait it out there because she was not dilating quickly enough.  She was concerned at how she would know when to come back and was already in a lot of pain. So, our son laid his hands on her and the baby and prayed that God would please speed this up and make more happen because we felt she absolutely did not need to go back home at this point. No kidding, she had two more contractions and her water broke probably 8 minutes after that...

Last weekend I had a special few days with my Mom and Dad. It was their birthday weekend.  My Dad turned 85. He is still going strong and working hard. Amazes me. He survived a terrible tractor accident a few years ago and managed to heal and get back to hard work.  He sure loves the farm life. Mom turned 83 and is doing good. What a joy to spend time with them.  I love this tin wall. I would love to use some of it in my house! So cool.  Sugar. The best dog around.  We love you Mom and Dad!  Happy Birthday! Sweet granddaughter hugs are the BEST!   The sun creeping out as I was leaving Sunday morning. Always lovely viewing the sunrise on their porch. As we are about to add more children to this big family I spend a lot of time being thankful for the heritage of faith passed down and taught by our parents and the leadership and love for God they have shown. I pray that we can continue to tell the stories of th...