Joyfull Living

Warmest wishes for a wonderful Thanksgiving for you and your family! I will be taking a blogging break as many of you are to enjoy the holiday. "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His mercy endures forever."

Today's At the Well is hosted over at Women Taking A Stand. Today the discussion centers around Having A Thankful Heart - In the Midst of Difficult Times. Some questions we are discussing are: How do you give thanks during a difficult time? Share a testimony of how God helped you through a difficult time. Share a memorable Thanksgiving. We all know how easy it is to be thankful when things are going well. During these times we thank God for all that He has given us, all He does for us etc. I find that when things are not so good, when we have a serious need or situation, that thankfulness does not seem to flow so well. It takes some digging deep to get past the thoughts of what I need NOW(!), to find piled underneath is the realization that even though things are bad, there is still much to be thankful for. When my feelings fail me, God's Word brings my heart back around to the truth that God loves me and cares for me and in every situation, He has an answer. Many times ...

This week I was reading in Psalms 50 and it is such an appropriate Psalm for Thanksgiving week. In this Psalm the Lord was talking to the people of Israel. He spoke about the sacrifices that were made and although the people had lost sight of the godly purpose of sacrifice. The Lord designed the sacrificial system as the means whereby He would shower His mercy on those He loves. The ultimate sacrifice - Jesus would come later as the ultimate means of showing His love to us. The Lord reminded the people that he did not need anything, He had created it all. What He desired was the sacrifice of praise,thanksgiving and obedience: "Offer to God thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High. Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me." Following this there is a section where He addresses the wicked who merit judgement. These have blatantly forsook the teachings of God and did evil. He tells them: "Whoever offers praise glori...

Please forgive the repeat photo from an earlier post this week. Our family enjoyed a Thanksgiving lunch with some extended family and our hosts owned a dairy. We went on a tour of the dairy and I saw this cutie patiently waiting to be fed. This little calf was so adorable, I just had to show him off for Photo Friday!

Today is Word Filled Wednesday where God's Word is shared in picture and verse over at The160AcreWooods . Seeing and reading the beauty of God's Word is a great blessing for the middle of the week! Lately I have been stirred to dig deeper into God's Word. Not just to read it, but to meditate and think it over all through the day. God's Word teaches us about Him and His ways, when the Word is in our hearts we can have that respect or obedience to it. I love this picture, it makes me want to just stop and sit and observe the beauty of this season! May your Word Filled Wednesday be blessed!

Last weekend our family met with some extended family we don't see very often for a Thanksgiving lunch. It was a great time of fellowship and fun seeing one another and enjoying a fantastic meal. The event was hosted by my cousin who with her husband own a family dairy. They took the children of the families for a tour and I tagged along also with my camera! Here are a few of the dairy cows in the field This Mama cow gave birth to these babies a few hours before we came Here are the newborns: The kids got a demonstration of how the dairy works Here is where the fresh milk is stored, they all got to climb the ladder and look inside Here is a feeding pen where the cows gather They had some calves separated and we visited them also This baby calf was my favorite, isn't it beautiful? Some of these calves needed to be bottle fed, to the delight of some of the children! This is where the feed for the cows is kept, the kids got a close up look! More feed, more fun! The best part...

Today At the Well is being hosted at Joyfully Living For His Glory . The topic for the day is Standing For Your Marriage. Some discussion starter questions are: What does commitment in marriage mean? What kind of wife are we called to be to our husbands? What are ways that we can Biblically stand for our marriage? Chelsey opened this subject with a fantastic post about some of the difficulties marriages face, she brought out a lot of serious situations. that many marriages face She gave some excellent advice and encouragement for difficult marriages. I wasn't sure how to post on this subject, as I have been blessed not to have faced these serious situations in my marriage. While no marriage is perfect, I consider myself blessed beyond measure to have the husband God gave to me. But I want to share briefly about my parent's marriage which has impacted my marriage and the answers to the above questions. As a young child, it seemed my family was perfect. I was loved and sec...

Some things our family has talked about this week to be thankful for are Family, God's Word and Creation. These things are so dear to us and sometimes they are easy to take for granted. Family: This week our family lost a great aunt suddenly. It was a stark reminder of the fragility of life. Today my family will enjoy a Thanksgiving lunch with some distant family we don't see very often. These are the moments to treasure and a way to stop and be thankful for family. God's Word: God's Word will always guide us, comfort us and give us hope. It is a Living Word where much treasure is found by seeking for it. Thank God that He gave us His Word and we have the freedom and opportunity to read it and learn more about Him. Creation: Each day we are blessed with sunrise, sunset, birds flying and the beauty of nature all around us. It only takes a look around to see a beautiful creation which come from a wonderful God. May we always be thankful for His creation. Hope that your we...

Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road? SARAH PALIN: Before it got to the other side, I shot the chicken, cleaned and dressed it, and had chicken burgers for lunch. BARACK OBAMA: The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a change! The chicken wanted change! JOHN MC CAIN: My friends that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road. HILLARY CLINTON: When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure right from Day One that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn’t about me. GEORGE W. BUSH: We don’t really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here. DICK CHENEY: Where’s my gun? COLIN POWELL: Now...

One of the advantages that women of long ago had in meeting at the well, was the friendships and community that was developed. That is the concept of At the Well - to form friendships and get to know others through different discussions. Today, we're getting a bit personal! So.... today is an opportunity to share about ourselves - to give others a glimpse of our lives. So.... Things like this always make me nervous and I don't like talking about myself too much, but as I read the other posts, it was so much fun getting to know the others better, so I will give it a shot! My name is Joyce and I live in Florida. My family means everything to me and is comprised of a great husband of 19 years and three sons ages 17,14 and7. We live in the country and enjoy a simple life mainly centered around home, church and Wal Mart since it is the biggest store in our town! I met my husband on the school bus and we dated for 5 years. ( I was only 14, so our "dating" consis...

A thought for this week to stir up the thankfulness of our hearts and home is - FAITH: Thank you Lord, that I don't have to earn my way to heaven. Thank you for the gift of faith. I know that I have been made right with You because of my faith in You. In Jesus Christ, my salvation is secure. Galatians 2:16, John 3:16

This week as our nation elected a new president this event marks a new direction for our country, I am a bit anxious. Anxious in whether the godly principles our country was founded on are alive and well, anxious about the shift in priorities and morals (or lack of) our people are headed to. In Lamentations 3 Jeremiah is in anguish over his country. In verse19 and 20 he thinks about the troubles and past experiences and was losing hope. Then in verse 21 he resolves to put into his mind God's faithfulness and this gave him renewed hope. In our day and time, it is so easy to grumble and despair and feel consumed by circumstances, but it is not until we put our focus on the Lord that we can rise above the challenges we face and place our faith in the one true, sure, faithful God, who alone is in charge. Lamentations 3:19 - 26 "Remember my affliction and roaming, the wormwood and the gall. My soul still remembers and sinks within me. This I recall to my mind, therefore...

What could capture the beauty of fall better than sitting by the creek with the best husband in the world!

But only at this store: Here is the king shopper - Dad: Look what an intent shopper he is: Check out those details! This shopper spent more time posing with the props that come in a store like this: Here are some live fish in the middle of the store! It is a fisherman's dream store More great outdoor props! Watch out for the turkey! We don't have a Bass Pro Shop near us, but we stopped at one on our return trip from the mountains. This is truly my guys favorite store!