Faith

faith

/fāTH/

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1. 1. 

   complete trust or confidence in someone or something.

   
   

   
   

Hey, Y’all. Our church services the past 2 weeks have been awesome! Last Sunday, when our pastor said this phrase to us, a memory immediately flooded into my mind.

My uncle, whom we just lost, always had such an impact on my life. From the first time I met him. One of my first memories of him was him saying to me, “Fall back and I’ll catch you!” Well, if you know me, you KNOW what a cautious person I am. I’ve always been that way. Careful. At first, I wouldn’t do it… I’d say, “No… “ but he kept on… “Come on! I PROMISE I’ll catch you! I won’t let you fall!” And finally, I guess I believed it enough and finally said “…okay.” I DID IT! And he caught me! I ended up having so much fun that I’m pretty sure he was sorry he started it. I did it ALL. THE. TIME! 😂

I don’t know if it was his intent or not, but this built my trust in my uncle. Trust is an issue with me. It goes along with me being a cautious person. But you know who is one person that I never doubted in my entire LIFE? You guessed it — my uncle! He proved himself at the very beginning of our relationship. From that very young girl to the woman I am today I always knew I could trust him. And I was right.

God is just like that. And this is what He wants of us. He wants our unconditional, uninhibited trust! He wants us to fall back and let Him catch us! He wants us to trust Him with everything in our lives. That doesn’t mean that just because we believe and have faith that God will do a thing, that He automatically will. We did lose my uncle and we prayed like crazy with faith and trust for God to heal him. It didn’t cause me or my family to lose our trust in God. We realize, in our faith, that God knows best and does best.

First, He wants your trust to become your Savior. And then He wants your trust to be in your life. Always.

Photo property of: Crossroads Grace Church, Manteca, CA

www.crossroadsgrace.org

remembering...

Sadly, at the end of July we lost my uncle. Such a loved and dear man. There are so many things about Uncle George to love: his joy (you can see it in his face!), his love for people, his Godly life, his service to others, his big laugh, his kindness... I could go on and on.

He came into our family in the early 1970's. I was a young kid and the only grandchild on this side of my family. Well, needless-to-say, he doted on me. And I LOVED IT! Most of my family did, as well, but it was neat to have a new person who loved me and played games with me tirelessly!

Uncle George was one of the best men I've ever known. He was patient, kind, considerate, a servant, honest, true to his beliefs and he loved his family and lived for God and them.

I am sad not to be able to attend his funeral, but I know he would understand. Yeah... he was understanding too. He didn't get offended by things most of us would. There are many lessons to be learned by looking back at his life and I hope that I continue to do that. My main goal is to be like Jesus, more and more all the time. But many of the things in Uncle George's life WERE like Jesus.

I know he knows I love him. And I'll continue to miss him until I see him again. ♥️♥️

...but the greatest of these is love.

I am a firm believer in justice.  Doing right was instilled in me as a child, from my earliest memories. I understand that, in some cases, "doing right" can have different meanings. Not all things are black and white. But regarding the behaviors that are, I believe people should be held accountable for their wrong-doing and suffer the consequences of those decisions.

Justice is very definitely needed in our society. It’s what helps us to feel safe and live lives we love, free of fear. That principle is in the Bible. You know what else is in the Bible? Grace, Compassion, Mercy. Grace, compassion and mercy are surely just as needed and a lot more of them.  Recently, I've become more cognizant of the fact that I’m not the best when it comes to showing mercy to others who don’t do what I think they should do. And many times I don’t show compassion to people who often need it. And when I'm not compassionate, I am not being like Jesus. Being like Him is what I am called to be. It's what I want to be. It's what Christianity is all about. It is the basis for everything in my life. And that foundation comes from His Word, The Holy Bible.

I am praying for the Lord to do a mighty work in my life and my heart and give me the grace, compassion and mercy I need to show to others.  I know He can. If I am willing.

“…but the greatest of these is love.”

I Corinthians 13

saying goodbye...

It's a tough thing to say goodbye.  Most of our goodbyes are temporary. They can still be hard and bring sadness and tears, even though we're thankful we'll see our loved ones again. Here. On Earth.

Some goodbyes feel worse and are longer. Those goodbyes are the ones when we lose someone to death.  Those are tougher and more challenging.  But they can also bring inspiration to our lives. They give us opportunity to grow and make changes or, at the very least, evaluate to be sure we are making the right choices in our lives.

I'm especially sad today for a little family who is losing their 2-year-old angel baby to cancer.  They have fought valiantly and faithfully to save this little doll. They are coming to the end. They weren't able to experience the joy that her healing would have brought. So, they have the horrible path of losing her. They know they will see her again and she will no longer be in pain. We have prayed for healing for dear little Bailey. Now we pray for comfort for her family: dad, mom and brother.

While death is sad and difficult, it can bring relief. Sweet Bailey won't be in pain any longer. She will be brand new in her glorified body. We say goodbye, knowing we will see them again.

I want to thank God for opportunities and for these things that inspire us to keep on and keep loving. I hope that because of the lives of ones I've known of or loved I can be better. I pray that I will be thankful for my life and all who are in it and that I can love with the love of God.

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.

For with the heart one believes unto righteousness,

and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Romans 10:9-10

no motivation

hey. it's been a while. a long while.

it seems i just haven't been motivated to write anything for a while. thing is, i WANT to write. i just haven't felt anything pulling at me lately.

i saw a quote that i really like today. i think i'll share it with you.

NO MORE

EXCUSES!

time to

LOVE

the heck

out of

LIFE

i thought of some people who i wish loved their life more. but now i'm thinking i can take that thought and apply it to my life too. some of the most precious gifts we're given are our family and friends and our LIFE!

even on bad days, painful days, difficult days we can find something good. i need to be reminded of this so often. at times i seem to wallow in the bad things more than i should. but i don't have to. and i need to focus on that more.

so let me leave you with this little thought from a famous person who had a difficult end to her life:

life does

not have

to be

perfect

to be

wonderful

~annette funicello

hello, autumn! (and instafriday)

Well, the weather has finally started to cool down. I cannot tell you how much that thrills me! I have 3 favorite seasons in California. And summer -- not one of them. ;)

There have been some exciting changes over the past few months. We had a new grandson arrive in August. Madison is beginning to talk. And let me tell you... it's pretty cute!

David is staying WAY TOO VERY busy with maintenance these days. It seems that everything has decided to break down. (i.e.: kids' cars, faucet, water heater, etc., and etc.) Thankfully, his job is going pretty well right now and he's got a bit of work there too. But that only adds more to his plate. So thankful for a hard-working, handy man!!

Here are some pictures of our week.

This is an old pic of me and my grandpa. Miss him!

Me this week. Trying out the new front-facing iPhone camera.

Madison, my little punkin'. Adorable, sweet little face!

Cutie to-go cup with Snapple Mango Madness. Yum.

Daddy-daughter cuteness.

Mommy-daughter - Star Wars shirts!

Adorable Max. This is a low-light pic with the iPhone.

Cracker Lover. Ritz. 'Nuff said.

My buddy. Sun bathing.

My other buddy. Working hard, as usual. Our water

heater is going out. Ugh.

And a little book worm. She loves books.

And last, but not least... sleepy pic of little Gunnar. :)

~~~

Linking up with Jeanett.

okay, summer. we're done.

Now before I start this post, let me just let you know that I KNOW this is the epitome of "spoiled".

But I just want to break up with Summer and start going with Autumn. I HATE the heat!! And it's beginning to actually make me sick. I think. At least, that's how I feel. :) I HATE IT! I wish it would move somewhere else so I don't have to see it again.

That having been said, I'll leave  you with some pictures of this summer. And, yes, you'll think I'm crazy after that. ;)

Hope you're enjoying your summer. But if not, I completely understand. 😩

this little light of mine.

David plays the drums for a choir performance every August. Every year, there are blessings. Every year, there are some not-so-great-things too. But THERE ARE BLESSINGS!

One of the blessings for me (although I don't tell him often) is seeing my husband IN HIS ELEMENT. He loves to play the drums, but even more so when he's doing it for the glory of God. My heart swells with pride in his awesomeness every year. But this year is most recent and I remember the feeling vividly. Shame on me for forgetting to tell him afterwards. That was a huge blessing to both of us.

One of the songs the ensemble sang was "This Little Light of Mine". I've had this song in my head ALL DAY LONG and I've been humming it non-stop. The soloist's mother had just committed suicide a few weeks before the performance. After I found this out, I watched the girl every time she sang. For some reason I felt that if I could watch her hard enough, I could be a help her by praying her through it. I wanted to help her. So, I watched. And I saw an amazing thing in her face: determination. I could see that this song, this solo, had become her mantra. Her goal. That even though a horrible thing happened in her life, in her view even, she had determined that she would STILL LET IT SHINE!

Part of the song lyrics:

This little light of mine,
I'm gonna let it shine.
This little light of mine,
I'm gonna let it shine.

My God gave it to me,
I'm gonna let it shine.

Let it shine,
Let it shine,
Let it shine.

Well, obviously, it's a very simple little song. I've sung it most of my life. My wonderful grandmother gave me a record with the song on it and I played it and sang it so much! But this weekend, it wasn't a child's song. I was "our" song in some crazy way, mine and Savannah's. She stirred my heart with her solo. It's also become a mantra, of sorts, to me too.

THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE, I'M GONNA LET IT SHINE!!