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I had  a lot of thoughts about what I wanted today's blog to look like but as I was out walking my little friend Phoenix - God gave me a different story to tell. Sort of a year in review! I have so much to be thankful for - a wonderful family - husband, children and grandchildren. This year we were blessed with a new addition to our family! God has truly blessed us, sometimes I have to pinch myself. In 2013... I started this blog not really knowing where to start but here I am. Then I discovered there are a lot of great blogs. You will find some of my favorites listed below. I participated in my first online Bible Study with Proverbs 31 ministries and I'm signed up to participate in another - "Made to Crave". Just follow the link above to sign up & join me. I love the blog hops and the Twitter Parties! I learned how to do "verse mapping" a neat little tool to help you dig deeper into the bible verses and also with your quiet time. Here...

Today I would like to wish everyone reading my blog a very Merry Christmas. As you send time with family and friends, as much as we like to get the gifts and the presents, not to mention the food. God gave us the best gift of all His Son - Jesus Christ (found in the Story of Christmas ).   As you opening those gift and presents, why not make some create some new, fun Christmas traditions - memories that will last a lifetime. Invest time with the people you love. Here's some clipart and pictures that have been posted on Facebook and sent to me in text messages. Enjoy!   God, thank you for reminding us of the perfect gift - Your Son. The love You've shown us through His Birth. All the glory, honor and praise. Amen       Jesus is the Reason for the Season and there is Christ in Christ-mas!!!

    The Christmas story can be found in the New Testament books of Matthew   and Luke   in the Bible.  Matthew 1:18-25; Matthew 2:1-12; Luke 1:26-38; Luke 2:1-20.   Isaiah 7:14 - Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (KJV) Matthew 1:23 - Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. (KJV) The Birth of Jesus: While Mary was still engaged to Joseph, she miraculously became pregnant through the Holy Spirit, as foretold to her by the angel. When Mary told Joseph she was pregnant, he had every right to feel disgraced. He knew the child was not his own, and Mary's apparent unfaithfulness carried a grave social stigma. Joseph not only had the right to divorce Mary, under Jewish law she could be put to death by stoning. Although Jos...

12 Dimensions of Leadership Integrity: Leading through honesty and acceptance of personal responsibility Self-Renewal: Flexible, responsive leadership that makes good use of experience Fortitude: Acting with courage and confidence in the face of challenges Perceiving: Looking beyond current details to the big picture Judgment: Knowing what needs to be done and accurately anticipating consequences Performing: Getting results by overcoming barriers to effectiveness Boldness: An uncompromising approach that involves facing problems head-on Team Building: Accomplishing results through others by getting them to work together Collaboration: Sharing rewards and responsibility with others in the group Inspiring: Energizing, motivating, and encouraging others to pursue leader-defined goals Serving: Taking cues from followers and providing assistance that others can't get on their own Enthusiasm: pursuing objectives with passion and optimism, and attracting others to the cau...

Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you.  Isaiah 30:18   God often DELAYS IN ANSWERING PRAYER. We have several instances of this in sacred Scripture. Jacob did not get the blessing from the angel until near the dawn of day—he had to wrestle all night for it. The poor woman of Syrophenicia was answered not a word for a long while. Paul besought the Lord thrice that “the thorn in the flesh” might be taken from him, and he received no assurance that it should be taken away, but instead thereof a promise that God’s grace should be sufficient for him. If thou hast been knocking at the gate of mercy, and hast received no answer, shall I tell thee why the mighty Maker hath not opened the door and let thee in? Our Father has reasons peculiar to himself for thus keeping us waiting. Sometimes it is to show his power and his sovereignty, that men may know that Jehovah has a right to give or to withhold. More frequently the delay is fo...

Religion vs Relationship with Jesus Christ Religion can be very different than having a Relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Religions are manmade, and are based on trying to get to God through rules and regulations and works. Man made religions all are based on people's efforts at reaching God and being made right with Him through their own efforts. God's plan for man's salvation and for being right with Him is told throughout the Bible, in the Old Testament and the New Testament. God's plan is not based on people's efforts and good works, but is based on His amazing Love and amazing Grace for us; His plan involved His precious Son Jesus paying the price and cost for our sins on the cross. You need to put ALL of your trust and faith in Jesus and in what He did for us on the cross, and not in any religion or in your own efforts. Simply put all of your trust and faith in Jesus, and accept His gift of salvation and eternal life, and experience the joy of h...

Creating Orbs Before today, I did not know what an ORB was. An ORB is defined as a spherical body or globe. So the goal is to turn a photo into a photographic globe...and it's easy. Today as I was going through of few of the photographer business cards I had collected at various events, I came across one I thought I had lost - Vinny Colucci. He and his wife Annette had led a photography education walk at the Orlando Wetlands earlier this year. I read Annette's blog and she outlined "How to Create a Photo Orb - defined as a spherical body or globe. The instructions were simple and easy - just the way I like it! So here's what an Orb looks like... This is my an awful picture I took of my grandson.     Tu rned into this.    This     ...became this     ...and this     became this!        Here's how it's done - Choose and image, select the  area you want ...

For the next twelve plus hours I will be exposed to the day's demands. It is now that I must make a choice. Because of Calvary, I'm free to choose. And so I choose. I choose love. No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love. Today I will love God and what God loves. I choose joy. I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance. I choose peace. I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may. I choose patience. I will overlook the inconveniences of the world. instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I'll invite him to do so. I choose kindness. I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. Kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me. I choose goodness. I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one. I choose faithfulness Today I will keep my promises. I choose gentleness. Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. I choose self-contr...

Hebrews Chapter 11 The Old Testament heroes provided examples of faith and obedience to God. Acronym for “ FAITH ” F orwarding A ll I ssues T o H eaven Faith is more than a belief in God. It is also a way of life. Heroes of faith, although imperfect trusted God and gave their lives to Him. Faith is the belief that God is real and that God is good. It is a choice to believe that the One who made it all hasn’t left it all and that He still sends light into the shadows and responds to gestures of faith. Faith is the belief that God will do what is right. Faith rejoices without seeing or understanding what God is doing. God’s help is near and always available, but we must seek it – nothing results from apathy… The term “faith” is used more than 24 times in this chapter – focuses on the idea of faithfulness – active obedience rather than trust. Encouraging faithfulness in the Christian life & follow the example of the OT heroes and heroines ...

 Have Faith-Filled Big Dreams! Inactivity is the dark room where negativity is born. Act your way back into action. When faith and hard work collide miracles happen and God is glorified. Choose to work toward your goals everyday. Do a little everyday and not a lot every 10 days or more. Keep your plane in the air. It's easier to keep momentum going rather than restart and build up momentum again. A daily decision - push through and work through. Work with excellence every day. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

Two unlikely friends! I took this picture today of the alligator and turtle at the Viera Wetlands. I love going out there because there's almost always some great birding photo opportunities. It got me to thinking what is a friend ? Dictionary.com defines friend as a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard. These two guys seem to be attached but I'm not sure it it's either of the above descriptions. Proverbs 27:10 says do not forsake your friend and the friend of your father. Long-term friendship is precious indeed. We cannot choose our brothers and sisters, but a friend, freely chosen, can sometimes be closer than a blood relative. Many of us have relatives, even children, who live far away but often our friends or friend is nearby. Who do you call friend? I am blessed to have several close and dear friends! Jesus called His disciples "friend." Luke 12:4, John 21:5 We are like the 5 people we hang around the most (not in...

Well - I made it all 31 Days! Yeah!!! Halloween is not a holiday that I celebrate but I do enjoy seeing all the children dressed in their costumes. My husband gets a kick out of giving out the candy and my dog runs and hides because he doesn't like to dressed in his little costume. This year he was a dinosaur but he wouldn't sit still long enough for me to take a good picture. The effect of this picture happened totally by accident! :-) October 31st - means it's time to pull out my fall decorations and Christmas is just around the corner! So I thought I end this 31 day blogging challenge with a few of my favorites quotes and acronyms that I've collected - I don't know where they all originated; plus a few scriptures from my journal. I hope you'll enjoy them. So, here we go... "Don't expect your life to change if you aren't willing to change how you live" "We need to allow God's Word to do a powerful work in us that thr...