Wait 'till You See What I've Done With The Place

Hey there friend!

Some changes are coming to my place here in bloggy land!
Oh boy! I've got the decorating bug again.

And guess what friend?! My hubby has given me a blog makeover for my birthday!

Wooo Hooooo!

He is so good to me. He loves me and wants to make me happy. He knows redecorating (after chocolate and the beach) is one of my favorite things and brings me joy.

{ shhhh.}

Now don't say anything but, I think it's also because he knows it would take me hours and hours on many many evenings to do it myself.  It would take me a gazillion tries to design it all and have it turn out just right.

I'm thinking another reason might be that he's not wanting to experience any outbursts of frustration mixed with tears. Maybe even a threat or two. No, no -  not towards my wonderful hubby, but the dumb computer.

Probably the sweetest reason for his gift is he just wants me to himself in the evenings. That's his favorite time of day - when we just relax, talk, and watch TV. Yep, my guy is a bit more romantic and sentimental than me.

Anyways - about this makeover -

Did you notice how bare my "walls" are? I've been doing some house blog cleaning to prepare for the makeover.

Maybe that seems a bit silly. You know- like dusting before the cleaning lady shows up.

Well no, all I'm doing is fixing up my place a bit before Rhonda, the fabulous make-over gal, arrives and takes it all apart. Ummmm.... yea..... OK I guess it's the same thing. So I'm silly. {but we all knew that already}

I'm totally in love with the new design!

After looking at many, many designs, colors and styles on quite a few web and etsy sites I kept coming back to two of Rhonda's designs.

With hubby's help I finally decided on one. Yay!
It's one of  my favorite colors.
It's simple and oh so pretty.
And I think it's a design that won't be dated any time soon. 

I'm having the work done by Rhonda Jai.

She has been so very kind with her quick responses to all my questions.

Once everything is finalized she'll  stop by to work her magic and make this place look all new and beautiful.

It's so exciting. Sometimes it's just the little things that can bring me joy.

Sorry, but I'm not gonna say anything more until my big reveal.

You'll just need to stop by again soon and see what I've done with the place. 

God's Favorite Day of the Week

Hey there friend!

Just a thought here -
Do you know what God's favorite day of the week is?


I think I do.

Not that God has actually told me what His favorite day of the week is. But, just maybe I've figured it out.

It's Sunday!

Yea, you probably thought that's what I'd say. You know with Sunday being the Lord's day, the day as Christians we attend chuch, etc.


But, can you guess why I think it's Sunday?


Well, one Sunday morning while sitting in church I got to thinking about how God must just love Sundays. {I'm sure this was not during the sermon. Must have been during the announcements}

And the more I thought about it, I realized He must love the whole day.

The way I'm seeing it is - 
that it isn't just during my 11 am to noon EST in the USA time frame.

No, I'm thinking as in the whole one-time-around-the-sun type of day. Like in all time zones.

Remember when on January 1, 2000  we were all waiting to see what was gonna happen?

We watched as people celebrated one minute after midnight. As one country after another celebrated the New Year. All around the globe - one after another and from one time zone onto the next.

So, I think that's how Sundays are for God.

One church, one city, one country, one continent and one time zone after another.

I'm not talking about the magnificent fireworks we watched on 01/01/2000.

No, it's the praise we offer to God in song and worship each Sunday.

Think of it friend -
~ voices in any and all languages
~ all styles of song - contemporary, hymns, gospel, choruses
~ with music - piano, organ, guitars, drums, harp, bongos
~ or without any musical accompaniment
~ while sitting, standing, kneeling
~ people clapping, not moving, swaying, dancing, raising hands
It's all for Him and to Him. 


Better than any fireworks display this world has to offer. Don't you agree?

So friend what do you think? Do I have it figured out?

Since today is Sunday, and even if you went to church already today, how about we each take a few moments to offer Him praise. Right there at your computer. Right now.  He loves it so when we do.


Thanking you for stopping by today friend. 
And lifting praises to Jesus right along with you. 

"Make a joyful noise unto God, all the earth;
Sing forth the honor and glory of His name;
make His praise glorious!"
^{Psalm 66:1}

FOLLOW : Step Two ~ What Defines You?

Hey there friend!

The first Sunday of the New Year we had a guest musician at our church. He played the saxophone in a jazzy/bluesy sort of way.

I  LOVED it!!

After playing the first song he made a point of telling us that his saxophone, his talent, his music did not define him. What defined him was who he was in Christ.

Wow! That spoke to me somewhere deep inside.

And it......
... wasn't really an "Amen brother"
.... nor was it an "Ouch"
.... it was more like an "Aha"

Even though I was saved as a teenager (that's a loooong time ago folks) and I've always tried to live my life to be a light for Jesus, that simple statement really spoke to my heart.

For so many years what defined me - as in gave me joy, purpose and fulfillment - was being T.J. and Kyle's mom. Those were the best years of my life!

That time is over and has been over for a number of years. T.J. is married to a wonderful gal and is a Youth Pastor. Thankfully TJ and his wonderful wife live less than an hour away.  Kyle lives in heaven with Jesus.


So that leaves me with ...????? 


I'm thinking that in order to follow I need to go back to the starting line.

At first I thought this One Word journey was gonna be all about finding what my new purpose is. To know  how to reach my goals and achieve my dreams. To know how to get that same feeling of fulfillment that I had as a mom to my two boys.

I see now, at least to begin, it's not going to be about that at all.


It's not a heavenly GPS. {Step One}


Nope. This journey is about so much more and it's so much deeper.

It's not about what gives me purpose. It's about Who. 

I became more sure of this a few days later as I  read my daily Bible devotional.
The main verse for this particular day was written by Paul to the Galatians. 

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20


That's it! Of course!


That's what should define me. That's where I need to start as I seek to follow and figure out this stage of my life.

First and foremost it's that Christ lives in me. My life is to be lived by faith in Jesus. He loved me and gave Himself for me.

So my friend, may I ask you - what defines you? Or better yet - Who?


 *Today I'm linking up with Melanie's One Word party over at Only A Breath. You may want to visit and if you have a blog link-up, too.