Wednesday, August 25, 2010

A Good Piece of Advice!!!!!

I got this in an email this morning......thought provoking! Hope you like it!



You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now having cancer and him having 'wealth' from the book sales. This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren, 'Purpose Driven Life ' author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California .



In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:


People ask me, What is the purpose of life?


And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.


One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me.


I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity..


We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.


Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.


The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort; God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.


We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.


This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.


I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore.


Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life..


No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.


And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.


You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems:


If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness, which is my problem, my issues, my pain.' But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.


We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her- It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.


You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.


Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.


It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease.


So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72.


First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit.. We made no major purchases.


Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.


Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.


Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.


We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?


Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?


When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do.


That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.


Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.


Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.


Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.


Painful moments, TRUST GOD.


Every moment, THANK GOD..




God's Blessings,



HE ARRIVED THIS MORNING, WE HAD PRAYER; SPENT SOME TIME JUST TALKING, AND HE HELD ME FOR AWHILE BECAUSE I WAS HAVING A BAD MORNING.. THEN, HE WAS ON HIS WAY TO YOUR PLACE.

You may copy this and send it to your friends...I just did!!!

I think this has a good message and I hope it made you think about how you are living.....

What do you think????????

Blessings my friends,





Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Morning Coffee With ME!!!!!!!....

Hi Everyone!
I'm glad you stopped by for Tablescape Thursday! Would you like some morning coffee with me? As you know, we are selling our house and moving to West Virginia. I am very excited to go on a new adventure and see where God takes me. I am also feeling bittersweet about my house or should I say my favorite spot in my house. So today, I am going to share my favorite place with you. I hope you will sit down and enjoy coffee with me at my favorite spot! It's not that you haven't seen it before.......you have...I am just showing you a little more of who I am!




I love this spot!!!! I love the big windows and how bright and cheery my yard looks during the year.  In the spring I like to watch how the pond progresses to summer and then in the fall I like to see the color changes around the pond and the rest of the yard. While drinking coffee in the winter I love to watch the snow fall ever so gently like diamonds out of the sky .... I like how I can sit here and have coffee forever .... I do my prayer time in my spot! It reminds me how GREAT God is every time I look out my window. I have breakfast here every morning. I use my computer here at this table. I talk on the phone while sitting here. I just sit here and gaze out my window for no reason at all. Just thinking.............
What a  wonderful life God gave ME!

                                          I wonder how long it will take me to find a new spot?????
             
                                         I Wonder.....

These cups were a Christmas gift from a friend, Rutha.



For now, I just want to remember how it is and not think of a new beginning. I know it will be wonderful and beautiful. God promises me that. I am truly blessed... I know the Father and HE knows me and my spot. He will find me another .....a better one!









I wondered as I was sitting in my spot if I need to share my whole room with you????? I think I have said my spot is in my family room. Behind me sits "Chicken" our bird and our fireplace. I have four dogs, one is just in spirit. He sits in the little box on the mantle watching us as we busily get ready to have breakfast. Princess Penelope Peanut is in the picture. Believe me she is a Princess!!! We have many discussions on who is the QUEEN around here!!!! Ceasar...well....you'll see him in a minute.



Peanut is a Japanese Chin and is 10 yrs. old.

                                        

                                                           Our Family Room

  





Ceasar is busy sleeping on the couch without a care about the commotion around him. He is safe and happy with his blanket! Chloe is at the spa getting pretty, so she is missing all the hustle and bustle of the day. I brought her at 8am this morning.


                                                    Ceasar is a Japanese Chin and 8 yrs. old.


Hopefully in the coming weeks, I can share more of the house I have to leave behind with you. It's OK mind you, I know God provides and it's always good. Because He is good! I just wanted to sit down, have coffee with you and  share my spot. I hope you as you drank your coffee and looked outside you had a chance to dream a bit........ I did!





Meanwhile, I will wait on God to show me my NEW spot ! I promise I will share it with you.




Thank you for coming to coffee at my favorite spot today.

Please make sure you visit all the other Tablescapes on Between Naps On The Porch and leave comments!

You are welcome here anytime and bring a friend!


BLESSINGS my dear friends,



Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Welcome to Tablescape Thursday

I missed writing to you all..... 
Since we are selling our house, I decided to do a tablescape in our family room on our round table over looking our pond. It is very simple but I really like the homey feeling it gives that room!




Did you notice something in the picture?????
As I was taking the picture, one of our bunnies came to visit.


Isn't he cute! We have lots of bunnies and birds in our yard.





This is my tablescape for this week!




I think this plate is so pretty.
 I bought a whole set of 8 plates, cups & saucers at Goodwill last week.

I love the gold scalloped rim... of course, I used my goldware. The dishes are United Utilities Corp.



The salad plate has roses all over. It is glass. I bought them at the Dollar Store years ago!




This is a pretty butter dish I picked up years ago from a barn sale. I just buy what I like. It just has to speak to me! I love glass!






One of my Dale Tiffany lamps.


I really like this picture!

I'd love to take night shots... I just can't stay up long enough to take them! LOL



These are gold rimmed glasses...
one is from the Dollar Store and the other is crystal bought at Tuesday Morning.
Can you guess which one?
I'll never tell!
Well, maybe in a few days! Check back to see if you are right,


I love to tablescape and I can't wait until tomorrow to see yours.
Make sure you all visit Between Naps on the Porch!
Thank You Susan!!!
Have a great week!
Blessings My Friends,