Very encouraging devotional I wanted to share with y'all!!!

In God, Not Out of Trouble

And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the Lord: but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest. – Jer 45:5 KJV

A promise given for hard places, and a promise of safety and life in the midst of tremendous pressure, a life “for a prey.” It may well adjust itself to our own times, which are growing harder as we near the end of the age, and the Tribulation times.

What is the meaning of “a life for a prey”? 

It means a life snatched out of the jaws of the destroyer, as David snatched the lamb from the lion. 

It means not removal from the noise of the battle and the presence of our foes;

 but it means a table in the midst of our enemies, a shelter from the storm, a fortress amid the foe,

 a life preserved in the face of continual pressure:

 Paul’s healing when pressed out of measure so that he despaired of life; 

Paul’s Divine help when the thorn remained, but the power of Christ rested upon him and the grace of Christ was sufficient. 

Lord, give me my life for a prey, and in the hardest places help me today to be victorious. 

—Days of Heaven upon Earth

We often pray to be delivered from calamities; 

we even trust that we shall be; 

but we do not pray to be made what we should be, in the very presence of the calamities;

 to live amid them, as long as they last, in the consciousness that we are, 

held and sheltered by the Lord, and can therefore remain in the midst of them, 

so long as they continue, without any hurt. 

For forty days and nights, the Saviour was kept in the presence of Satan in the wilderness, 

and that, under circumstances of special trial, 

His human nature being weakened by want of food and rest.

 The furnace was heated seven times more than it was wont to be heated, 

but the three Hebrew children were kept a season amid its flames as calm and composed in the presence of the tyrant’s last appliances of torture, 

as they were in the presence of himself before their time of deliverance came. 

And the livelong night did Daniel sit among the lions, and when he was taken up out of the den,

 “no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.” 

They dwelt in the presence of the enemy, because they dwelt in the presence of God.

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving y'all!!! (Yes it was yesterday, I know) hope you had an awesome one!!! 

We are so blessed and have so much to thank the Lord for, 'Even In The Valley God Is Good'!!!

  We stayed home with just the six of us (our lil diva counts too) with Kelsey heading up as main chef and her side-kick Kaitlyn right beside her.(Shania has been fighting a nasty cold) 

 Oh my, thse girls know how to throw down let me tell ya.. Bobby Flay move on over!! 

 Was so megalicious.... just enjoyed each other's company making new memories and thanking the Lord for all the other ones we have together. With the girls getting older we just want to soak it all in. 

  We were blessed to hear from so many of our friends and family, girls face-timed, and just had a great time. We were reflecting on what a great year this has been, even though fierce trials arose over and over... So did our Great Big Moutain moving God!!! He has carried us through each one and we know He is working ALL things for our good and His glory!!! 

 We do have a few pic's so I need to get those and post them for ya.  

    Trust this finds everyone doing well and keep in touch, we love and pray for y'all as JESUS brings you to mind OFTEN!!! Enjoy Black Friday... I know we will.. Plan is to decorate forrrrrr........

       CHRISTmas!!!!!!!! Whooooooooohoooooooo!!!!! 

Soooooo excited... Just don't even know how to express it! Not having been in the house yet last year we missed out on decorating for both Thanksgiving and Christmas.. Surprisingly had things worked out we would already be decorated.. Something that would have been a first for us as I always wait until after Thankssgiving is over, but we are just so ready to celebrate our SAVIOR!!! 

    Until next time... Keep your head up and eyes on Jesus, our soon coming King!!! 

        This could be the year He returns to take us home!!!! 

Oh, what a day that will be... Just soak it in and let all the hoopla of the "none-sales"(mostly) just fade into the background and make some new memories and be content with what you have and enjoy the life God is blessing you with and those in it!! 

Don't Be Offended

And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. – Luke 7:23 KJV

It is sometimes very difficult not to be offended in Jesus Christ. The offenses may be circumstantial. I find myself in a prison-house—a narrow sphere, a sick chamber, an unpopular position—when I had hoped for wide opportunities. Yes, but He knows what is best for me. My environment is of His determining. He means it to intensify my faith, to draw me into nearer communion with Himself, to ripen my power. In the dungeon my soul should prosper.

The offense may be mental. I am haunted by perplexities, questions, which I cannot solve. I had hoped that, when I gave myself to Him, my sky would always be clear; but often it is overspread by mist and cloud. Yet let me believe that, if difficulties remain, it is that I may learn to trust Him all the more implicitly—to trust and not be afraid. Yes, and by my intellectual conflicts, I am trained to be a tutor to other storm-driven men.

The offense may be spiritual. I had fancied that within His fold I should never feel the biting winds of temptation; but it is best as it is. His grace is magnified. My own character is matured. His Heaven is sweeter at the close of the day. There I shall look back on the turnings and trials of the way, and shall sing the praises of my Guide. So, let come what will come, His will is welcome; and I shall refuse to be offended in my loving Lord. —Alexander Smellie

Blessed is he whose faith is not offended, 
When all around his way
The power of God is working out deliverance 
For others day by day;

Though in some prison drear his own soul languish, 
Till life itself be spent,
Yet still can trust his Father’s love and purpose, 
And rest therein content.

Blessed is he, who through long years of suffering, 
Cut off from active toil,
Still shares by prayer and praise the work of others, 
And thus “divides the spoil.” 

Blessed are thou, O child of God, who sufferest,
And canst not understand
The reason for thy pain, yet gladly leavest 
Thy life in His blest Hand.

Yea, blessed art thou whose faith is “not offended”
By trials unexplained,
By mysteries unsolved, past understanding, 
Until the goal is gained. —Freda Hanbury Allen

Still here!!!

I have s few new blog posts I need to finish and get put up here. Been busy and most of it is just medical stuff going on with both hubby and I, but we do have updates to give so hope I can get that done really soon. We do desire your continued prayers.
God is so good to us and we have MANY blessings to thank Him for.

Also, please pray for our dear Pastor and his wife.

Just Mommy & Me Journal!!

Who says we have to stop doing  certain things when we are growing up?

 This worlds culture is just distorted and twisted.. If we don't have the heart of our children while they are growing up, we won't when they leave home!! 

I felt the Lord give me this idea several years ago, it's just a regular notebook repurposed! 

Sure I could go out and buy big fancy journals but it just wouldn't seem as personal and wouldn't mean as much, let me explain. 

This journal in particular is for Kaity & I, so I decorate it to her style with a bit of my flair to it. 

It is a journal for no one else but Kaity and I!! 

The purpose is to write to each other, share our hearts, write to God, journal our thoughts. 

No rules no pressure no time line.... 

We will just go and  get it and write in it and trade it back and forth. 

By Kaity observing me putting forth the effort to make this pretty, it showed her.. I CARE!! 

It's so much deeper than just something to do, it's meant as s tool to be used by God to combat this worlds pull on our hearts during this season of her life and have the freedom and open door to be honest and blunt without judgment or criticism... 

Facts vs. Feelings

(For we walk by faith, not by sight:) – 2 Cor 5:7 KJV

By faith, not appearance; God never wants us to look at our feelings. Self may want us to; and Satan may want us to. But God wants us to face facts, not feelings; the facts of Christ and of His finished and perfect work for us.

When we face these precious facts, and believe them because God says they are facts, God will take care of our feelings.

God never gives feeling to enable us to trust Him; God never gives feeling to encourage us to trust Him; God never gives feeling to show that we have already and utterly trusted Him. 

God gives feeling only when He sees that we trust Him apart from all feeling, resting on His own Word, and on His own faithfulness to His promise.

Never until then can the feeling (which is from God) possibly come; and God will give the feeling in such a measure and at such a time as His love sees best for the individual case.

We must choose between facing toward our feelings and facing toward God’s facts. Our feelings may be as uncertain as the sea or the shifting sands. God’s facts are as certain as the Rock of Ages, even Christ Himself, who is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Jam Time =)

Vanilla Pear Jam! 

Plum Jam

The two "re-purposed" jelly jars are for my Mother&Grandmother to have. 

 From peeling, pitting , cooking/slow-roaster/crock-pot to this....

2 Gallons of the Plum Jam &

1 1/2 Gallons of the Vanilla Pear Jam!!!

Everyone is really enjoying it in our home. 

Used the food saver to seal the jars & we are set on Jam for a VERY LONG time! 

=) 

It was fun doing it together with the Girls. 

This was from last week.