Joyfull Living

"Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones." Proverbs 16:24 This has always been a favorite reminder to me to use "sweet words" in my conversations. I am by nature a very shy person who doesn't do a lot of talking. But, I understand the importance of good communication and to show love to others, it is important to be genuine in your words and to be friendly. It takes some effort for shy people to come out and be more talkative. Yesterday I found a book at a consignment shop (for $.50 yeah!!) about how to communicate more effictively. Then today, I found some great tips in my email inbox on how to converse brilliantly! Here is a highlighted version of the list: How to be a Brilliant Conversationalist Ask Questions Most people prefer to talk about themselves rather than hear about you, so asking questions is a great way to start and to refresh conversations. By asking questions you draw other people in and engage...

Today will be a pretty busy day with not a lot of posting, so I won't be participating in Word Filled Wednesday today. But, I wanted to share a quick thought from an adorable book I found at a yard sale - "P.S. I Love You- When Mom Wrote She Always Saved the Best For Last". The book is filled with cute sayings for children with love from their moms. Here are a few of these writings: What you are becoming is more important than what you are accomplishing. Our character is what we do when we think no one is looking. Don't brag, it's not the whistle that moves the train. Sometimes the heart sees what is invisible to the eye. I love you, Mom May your day be blessed and full of the goodness of God!

Ok , I know I promised not to bombard you with photos from our recent vacation, but if you will just indulge me, I will get it out of my system and move on to other blogging subjects! We had such a wonderful time and some great photos were caught. Here is my youngest: All the boys loved walking through mountain trails and bridges: See this? It's called Clingman's Dome, guess how you get there? You walk, walk and walk! Here are my guys and I: The rocks and creeks were their favorite: Our family portrait: This my youngest and I: Here are my favorite guys: Thanks for bearing with me, I have developed a passion for photographing and certainly needed an outlet! What a better background that God's glorious creation?

Today's At the Well is being hosted by Lisa over at A Second Generation of Homeschooling The Topic For Today Is: Arise and Shine: Being an Exceptional Mother in the Midst of the Ordinary Discussion Questions: 1. What daily tasks seem mundane or monotonous to you? 2. How can we change our outlook when completing these tasks? 3. What impact do these tasks have on our husband and children? How does it make a difference in their lives? 4. Is it okay to focus on earthly recognition when completing these tasks for our loved ones, or is receiving an eternal reward sufficient? What does Jesus think is more important? Should that be our focus, as well? Wow! This is sure to be an interesting topic. As women usually the daily tasks of the home fall upon us. The cleaning, the cooking, the dishes, the laundry, keeping order in the home etc. Most of these tasks are done over and over, the same things day after day and can seem mundane or monotonous . But, our outlook is the key here. The tasks H...

Spiritual Sundays is a gathering over at Blogger Spirit to share inspirational posts. My purpose in posting is to prepare my heart for worship on Sunday. Usually after a busy week, it takes a deliberate effort to focus on the things of the Lord and a time of preparation for my heart to be ready to receive God's Word on Sunday. Our hearts are like the soil of the ground and sometimes need a little tilling or churning up for the seed to be planted and grow. It is a blessing to use this time to turn my thoughts and heart toward the things of the Lord and get ready to worship Him. Psalms 33 & 34 are psalms full of wisdom and praise. As I was reading through these this week there were several verses to reflect and grasp hold of in our heart as we face the uncertainty of our current times. Here are a few highlighted verses: I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord. I sought the Lord and He hear...

We just returned from a quick vacation and it was absolutely wonderful. Are there any words which can describe the feeling of relaxation while on vacation? Is it the cool, brisk wind which accompanied perfect weather or gazing up at the clear, bright, blue sky? Or staring with awe at mountain peaks and valleys knowing the Creator of everything is still in control today? Is it the joy of relaxing and just enjoying one another? Is it the feeling of not having to be a certain place and looking forward with anticipation to going on a short day trip where all you do is look around and enjoy God's creation. I think the best part is just being relaxed and happy! Smiling at one another, taking time to love and appreciate each other. These are the moments I will try to capture as we return to our everyday lives. Of course I took lots of pictures...but I won't overwhelm you...yet. Here is a sunrise in the Smokey Mountains: This is taken off the deck of our cabin: Here is a patch of glo...

Week of October 24-30 Luke 12:54: Pray that God's man and our nation will be discerning and do what is right.

Someone recently gave me a "word of mouth" recipe. A recipe that was told to me and it sounded so good, it wasn't wrote down, but remembered and tried. This one is a winner. 1 apple cored, peeled and sliced into 8 pieces 1 can Crescent rolls 1 cup orange juice 1/4 cup brown sugar 1 tablespoon butter 1 tsp cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger splash of allspice ( optional) Take and wrap each crescent triangle (there are 8) around an apple slice. Place in a greased small baking pan. In a small saucepan, put orange juice, sugar and spices and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes and spoon over the wrapped apples. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes or until brown and flaky.

Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name. Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us. Just as we hope in You. Psalms 33:20-22

Prayer Guide for the Presidential Election It is critical that Christians pray for the coming presidential election. There is amazing power in united prayer. Pray with others whenever possible. The power of prayer can overcome any obstacle or ungodly influence and, indeed, do great things! 10/17- 10/23 – Acts 17:30 Pray for repentance for yourself and for our nation. "Truly these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent."

Our family will be leaving this weekend for a few days in the mountains. We are so excited to enjoy a time of relaxation and fun while enjoying the splendor of God's creation! I've scheduled a few posts through the week, so please stop by and visit!

In the turbulent times we are living in, where there is no sure help, isn't it wonderful to know that the Lord is our helper and we can safely abide in the shadow of His wings? May your Word Filled Wednesday be blessed!

Here is my little bow hunter, out in the yard shooting arrows. I must add at no particular target. Look hard now, there is a red arrow dangling from this high branch. Although the not intended target, this is where the arrow landed. Well, well, we have come up with a solution: Big brother and his super football arm: What do you know: SUCCESS!!!! Boys can do nothing without their dog, even celebrate!

Today At the Well is being hosted by Lori at I Will Take It Lord ... and the topic is " Interruptions, Delays and Inconveniences". This discussion is about how Titus 2 reminds us to ..."to be kind," but are we really as kind as we can be in our daily lives or are we so focused that we only see the interruptions, delays and inconveniences as frustrations instead of the opportunities that lie in them for God to reveal Himself. The questions are: How do you handle interruptions in your days? Do you plow right on over them missing opportunities God has placed on your path? What interruptions frustrate you the most? How are you working to overcome that? Let me quickly confess with my answers: I do not handle interruptions well, and yes, I plow right over God given opportunities and almost any interruption frustrates me. There, I feel better! Now, what am I doing to overcome this? As Chelsea mentioned in her post on this topic, I am a firstborn, firstborns are wired ...

Over at Blogger Spirit, it is Spiritual Sundays! This is a chance to post and to read inspirational posts and prepare our hearts for worship. Have you ever felt "give out"? Where you seem to give and give of yourself. This week has been a challenging week like that. At home my husband was sick, we adjusted to his new shift, at work things were stressful. It sometime seemed like everyone needed something from me. When Friday night came, I was "give out". But I awoke Saturday and after a good night sleep and a leisurely morning I am refreshed! A verse I read this week is found in Psalms 29:1,2 - "Give unto the Lord, O you mighty ones, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name. Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." Thinking of "giving", I realized that there is some action involved to giving unto the Lord. When we go to church, it is so easy to sit back and relax and look to be blesse...

In our area it is almost deer hunting season. Some of the men around here live, breathe and sleep hunting for a few months. Thankfully, mine only have a mild interest, not an obsession with hunting. The other day the oldest son whose usual around the house attire is shorts and flip flops, was headed out the door in jeans and boots. Naturally I noticed that this was not to be just a walk outside, I asked him what he was doing. "Just messing with my tree stand" he told me. Later son #2 came into the house to get the camera. My curiosity was peaked by then! Shortly after they came a back in and I took at peek at the camera to see what they were doing: "Messing with the deer stand" to me meant giving it a good look over etc., Apparently it has a deeper meaning: It means, climbing up a tree testing it out: This must have been so much fun son #2 gave it a try: Sometimes there are just things a mother doesn't need to watch and this is indeed one of them! ...

Here is a prayer for husbands from "The Power of a Praying Wife" daily prayer calendar. It is a simple prayer, but one that will produce bountiful blessings! "Pray that your husband's heart becomes pure, because the Bible promises a person who has a pure heart will see God (Matthew 5:8) and have a cheerful countenance (Proverbs 15:13). Who doesn't wish her husband could see God and have a cheerful countenance?

At the Well is a place where women gather to discuss and encourage one another on a particular topic each week. This week At the Well is being hosted by Chelsea at Joyfully Living For His Glory The topic for today: Keeping the Home Discussion Questions: We are taking a look at the mandate in Titus 2 to be "a keeper at home". Only, this time, we are looking at the practical side of things - keeping a clean and tidy home. Let' s get a little vulnerable hear ladies - do you keep a neat and tidy home? If so, what do you do to keep on top of this? Schedules? Routines? If you have children at home, do they get involved? If you are lacking in this area, why do you think that is? Give any practical hints or advice that work well in your home and that might could bless someone else! This is a subject I love reading about and one that is dear to my heart. For the most part, my home is neat and tidy, but that is mainly due to the fact that my husband and I are complete ...

Spiritual Sundays is a place to gather to read inspirational devotions and to help prepare your heart for Sunday worship. Spiritual Sundays is hosted over at BloggerSpirit . A verse that has captured my heart this week is found in Romans 10:8 "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart." This is followed by the glorious truth that "if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." This brought me to ponder the power of words. Mainly the power of God's Words. If we read God's Word, it will be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. There is everything that we need in the Word of God. It contains help, hope, comfort, encouragement, admonition, direction about everything. And..it is near us and if we spend time in it, in our heart and in our mouth. The Psalms and Proverbs are wonderful book to read and say aloud in prayer to God. The Psalms is full of majest...

Our family is so blessed to have a husband and father who is a hard worker. He is diligent to do a good job in all that he does and carries himself with integrity at all times. When our children were young, it was a priority for us for me to stay at home and care for them. What a blessing that was and a time I will always treasure in my heart. So now that they are all in school, I have a part time job which works around the school hours, but DH (dear husband) is the main breadwinner. The job area has came with challenges through the years for DH. He has never had an "easy" job and has suffered through difficult people, circumstances, lay offs, trainings etc., but he has always continued forward and has always been a great provider. One area which affects our family the most is shift work. When daddy is on shift work, the whole family is on shift work. Dinners, sleep and activities all must rotate around daddy's shift. At his job, DH was moved to a day shift positi...

Word Filled Wednesday is a great way to fill up and be encouraged with God's Word. Over at The160 AcreWoods there are many who share in Word Filled Wednesday and you will be blessed by your visit there. Fall is a glorious time of the year. It is my favorite time of the year, as it is for many. This verse is a reminder that the earth is filled with God's glory - everyday. I guess in this season it just jumps out at you! God's creation speaks of His glory and His beauty, the changing weather, the beautiful colors, the crispness of the air during the fall season seem to all come together and stir our hearts to thankfulness to the Creator. May your day be blessed as you behold the beauty and glory of the Lord!