Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Make it count.

Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Make it count.

Today I wrote that in a small pocket Bible and left it on someone's car.....
I hope the driver of that car, realizes that thier past doesn't have to define who they are...

I hope the driver of the car realizes that Jesus can renew thier lives and thier days can start counting towards something real and hopeful and positive.

Take a deep breath...the past doesn't matter. What's done is done. I am moving forward. You can too.

It seems that these past few weeks have been a mixture of bittersweetness...

Sometimes I feel as if I'm not doing enough for the Kingdom of God.
Every day counts. Every moment counts. Sometimes I feel guilty for choosing to laze around on my days off.

This week my focus has been on decorating my room. I bought some lavendar paint, an eggplant bedspread, and a pretty painting of a cafe in Paris...with a lot of purple tones...

I began to feel a little guilty and self indulgent...wondering if I was being selfish thinking of myself...I was praying one night...I looked down at my floor..and I saw a tiny cross etched in the wood. This may sound strange, but I don't remember ever seeing that cross before. I may have etched it years ago....without thinking.....

As I was praying, I asked Jesus if He was angry at me for my inaction...

As soon as I looked up from my prayer...I saw this tiny, yet perfectly formed cross...
And I knew that Jesus loves me...
Yes, it is important to go and to do, but Jesus loves us....even when we falter...He loves us even when we forget about Him...
That is His Beauty and Splendor..His ablitity to love, even those that don't seem deserving of that love.

I bought a cd recently. I follow a blog that I stumbled across one night. ....I have received so many blessing from reading this blog....It's almost as if I can hold a mirror to the writings...so many of them resemble my very own life.
The blog is written by a lady by the name of Stephanie Cherry. Her husband, Denbeigh, just completed his second cd. It's called "Warfare Anthology" and it has blessed me immensely.

I love it. Each song speaks to me in great ways.... As I have read through Stepanie Cherry's blogs, dating back to 2006, I feel as if I know this family.

I remember one night reading and I thought, "these people have the perfect life." They are so content. So at peace. They are living thier faith in amazing ways..."

As I read further back.....I learned that Stephanie had lost two brothers to addiction. Her blog reveals 6 miscarriages....

I was so sad....but I was amazed at how, through it all, they still press forward. This family has been an inspiration to me in so many ways.

My sister in law, Melonie, has also been an inspiration to me. She recently lost her mother. Her mother was murdered. Melonie still sings in church every Sunday. She sometimes posts notes on facebook. I'm going to ask her permission to post some on this blog.
She is handling the situation with grace and perserverance.

I only hope that I could have the same grace if I were ever faced with such an unimaginable tragedy.

As it stands, there are so many things that I don't understand. So many things that are beyond my comprehension. But I still love God. His love is all I have.
His love is all I cling to....

He is the hope for me and for my family.
He is the only hope for this nation...even though it seems to be going in the toilet...
He is still a Hope.

God Bless those that inspire. God Bless those that persevere.
God Bless Melonie and Stephanie Cherry and her family...

God Bless whoever is reading this....

Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Make it count.