New Year New direction I hope!

This sunrise greeted me on the way to work this morning and it was like God saying look at all I have waiting for you.  The possibilities are limitless!

What an interesting year.  It has been busy for sure.  Hope it slows down a bit, but then I have been hoping that for a few years now and it just seems to speed up! Lol  I have been spending a lot of time in prayer and asking about what is next.  One thing I am clearly hearing is lay aside all expectations.  Keep focused only on Him.  I had a dream the other night about my Grandma Sockwell.  I won’t go into all the details of the dream but it was interesting and when I woke up I remembered this little plaque she had hanging in her bathroom.  It had the scripture passage “In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He will direct thy path.”  That sign was there for all my childhood and every time I went to the bathroom I read it.  As I thought about that more during the day I came to the realization that she above all other people impacted my life and influenced who I am today in so many ways.  She was always laughing and taught me to have fun.  She loved her family fiercely and truly had the gift of hospitality.  She did not have an easy life by any means but you would have never known it.  I never heard her complain about it.  She always took us to Sunday school when we were there.  I KNEW she loved me, not by what she said but by what she did and how she responded to me.  My Papa was the same way.  So I am asking myself who am I influencing? And the people I have effect on is it for good or bad?  I want to reflect the love of God to all who meet me.  I have a long way to go, so I am asking for His grace and His heart this year. 

Thanksgiving 2010 - But God!

As I sit here this morning thinking of all the things to be thankful for I am simply amazed at the goodness of God. There are some things that have happened recently that could cause me to become angry, depressed and bitter. Truthfully my natural inclination is to do just that, but God! When I think on those things above and not beneath how could I possibly stay angry, bitter and depressed? He has done so much for me and those I hold dear (and some not so dear lol) His nature does not change, He is patient and longsuffering for us. Just thinking about it makes me want to shout from the rooftops His goodness to us.


We planned to pay off the last credit card this month, but God! Instead Sarah has had to have a lot of dental work and car repairs. But God! We didn’t have to use a credit card and we still have some money in savings, thank you for provision. Hopefully the credit card will get paid off next month.

There are a couple of people that have frustrated me and I’m sure I’ve frustrated them. But God! He is helping me to draw healthy boundaries and hopefully lead us all to patient understanding and acceptance of Him first and then each other.

2 of my children and 3 of my grandchildren are not going to be with us today. But God! For someone that wants all her family together in one place that is very hard to take. But thanking God that they are all healthy and celebrating in their own way and again I am just learning more how to let go and let each of them find their own way in this world. Hoping that they come to know Him and love Him as much as I do.

For the past couple of years He has been teaching me to “be” and not “do”. WOW, for a person that wants to “fix” everything and have everything all neat and tidy and wrapped with a pretty little bow beyond hard and frustrating. But God! So today I am focusing on all the positive things He has done in my world and truly rejoicing that He has my best interest at heart and praying that I will reflect His love and mercy as much as I can. Praying that everyone have a joyful and thankful day. Thanking God for the many blessings He has bestowed upon me, even the ones that hurt.

Just a little change

Look how different just rearranging how you put the blocks together make it look.  Totally different feel!  Just like our perspective on events of our lives, step back take another look try a few different angles, whole new look and feel.  Amazing.

Back to the quilt along

My life got incredibly busy this summer and has honestly not slowed down much but I finally was able to get another block finished on the jelly roll quilt along that ended in September.  I have 2 more to do and then put them all together.  I am very happy with how this block turned out.  I have been frustrated because I was not able to finish it on time but as I was working on this block this morning I realized it really doesn't matter that I didn't get it finished by the deadline for the quilt along but it does matter that I finish.  Isn't that how it is with God?  I don't think He cares if we meet our own self imposed deadlines and what not, what matters is are we obedient to what He has given us and will we be faithful to run the race set before us no matter what set backs and obstacles get thrown in our path?

Good times

It has been a good week.  Jeff’s folks came down for a visit and we have had a wonderful time.  We have literally shopped till we dropped.  It is the first time they have been down and we have not had the kids here too.  Bittersweet times, but we have enjoyed them so much and hate to see them go.  I am just itching to get back to quilting.  It has been a very busy time, but I have several projects calling my name so hoping my schedule frees up soon to get back to it.  I am amazed at how blessed I am, God has truly been good to me.

Baseball, Hot Dogs & all that goes with it

The Rangers won!  So exciting.  However, I have mixed feelings about it because you see for 5 years I was the coordinator for a fundraiser for our high school band working Rangers concessions.  We made a lot of money for our kids and the band but whew was it a lot of work.  I have always loved baseball and when I was single I had season tickets.  I have not been to a baseball game since completing my duty as Manager of the concessions fundraiser.  Not sure I will, it just has a whole other meaning now and I can't think of baseball without smelling spilled beer, hundreds of hot dogs and pizza running through my head.  Silly I know but that's just the way it is.  Not only that but they are playing the Yankees in a playoff game!  I can't even imagine, Yankees on a regular game is usually a sold out busier than you can imagine game.  Wow, I will be thinking of my friends working the game but rejoicing that I'm not one of them.!  I'm excited for my Rangers though, way to go and in a very classy way too.  

Musings and Ponderings

It has been a delightful weekend.  Sarah is home for fall break, Stephanie came over yesterday and we all went to a Pottery/Fiddle festival.  One of my cousins was playing fiddle, the pottery was awesome and it was a great family time.  We are also cleaning, sorting and packing getting the house ready to sell.  That has also been an interesting journey for all of us.  I have asked the girls to think about what they might want or need in the near future and pretty much everything else is getting, sold, packed, given away and in some cases trashed.  It can be a bit overwhelming.  We have come to realize we have way too much stuff!  What makes us collect all this?  You know you have too much stuff when you open a drawer or box and go "I completely forgot I had this"!  Then comes the turmoil of discovering a "new" thing and trying to decide what to do with it.  My rational self says you didn't even know you had it why keep it?  The emotional self says but it's so cool!  How many of us are in that place bound by things?  I am praying for grace to be set free from that, and keep the main thing the main thing.  After all when we die we don't take all this stuff with us and then the people left behind have to deal with it.