If you don't have anything nice to say, DON'T say ANYTHING!!!!!

From time to time in my blog I may refer to, "Honeyisms".  Honey was my grandmother on my mom's side and she was a wealth of knowledge and wisdom. If you don't have anything nice... was one she would use frequently.  It is no wonder that she was so loved by all those who met her.  Why in this crazy upside down world is there so much anger, hatred and jealousy?  I seriously don't get it.  Let's just cheer for others and be happy for them and their accomplishments.  Why are we so quick to criticize? How about when you haven''t seen a friend in 20 years? What do you say when you see them? " WOW, great to see ALL of you.  The LAST time I saw you, you looked great.  Yeah, you weren't fat and bald like you are now." ARE YOU SERIOUS??? A few years ago, I actually ran into someone whom I HAD a lot of respect for at one time, and she said to me, "You sure gained a lot of weight".   Not, "Nice to see you!" or, "How have you been?". If I see someone after 20 years, and they have gained weight or got old, or bald, I would never reference that. (Even if it was true.) What do you say under those circumstances?   If you once were friends, it would be easy to say, "It is GREAT to see you.", or, "How long has it been?". Another thing to say would be, "Remember when we..." and fill in the blanks.  I am sure if you were friends, you have a few fond memories to recollect.  Lord please help us to be happy, and positive in our dealings with others.  Please let us focus on the positive side of people. I ask this in Jesus name.

1.) John F. Kennedy inaugural address, 2.) Steven Tyler

What do these things have in common?  They were both on the Google trends list this morning and they have both asked for God's blessing.  I was grateful to see that JFK was volcanic and the new American Idol judge Steven Tyler was just spicy.  Don't get me wrong, I am a big Aerosmith fan from the past and I applaud Steven for his sobriety of 20 years. I know he fell off a couple of times, but recognized it and fixed it. He rocked God Bless America @ Fenway last year and JFK reveals God in his inaugural address.  This is the final paragraph of that speech:

Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.

GOD PLEASE BLESS OUR NATION: ALL of the politicians, rock stars, entertainers, our friends, our families, co-workers, and all of those in Your need, I ask for this in Jesus name.

Regis Philbin - Birthday August 25, 1931 - RETIRES

I heard this yesterday and thought, OK, it's about time. Then I thought about retirement  and decided that I should look it up in the Bible and see what It said there.  Numbers 8:24-25 - "This applies to the Levites: Men twenty-five years old or more shall come to take part in the work at the Tent of Meeting, but at the age of fifty, they must retire from their regular service and work no longer.  I found the other references to retirement were about, going away from a place; eg. "the shadows retire", or like retiring to bed. Who ever said we had to retire? Why do people work so hard to retire?  If you have found the gifts God has given you, and you are sharing them with the world, chances are you are happy, so why retire?  Anyway it is your choice, but I have come to find out in my world, the elderly have so much wisdom to offer.  We seem to sweep older folks under the carpet or put them on a shelf somewhere. Try asking someone over 75 about their life sometime. Do not interrupt, just listen. There are some pretty amazing stories out there if we would just listen.

Lord, please give us the humility and courage to be still and listen to the elderly and You, in Jesus name, AMEN!

LET'S TALK ABOUT REINCARNATION...

OK, let's not. I just wanted to get your attention so we could talk about some other stuff.  Please read.  Anything!! I was randomly looking at statistics again today and found this:

Illiteracy Statistics

• 42 million American adults can't read at all; 50 million are unable to read at a higher level that is expected of a fourth or fifth grader.
• The number of adults that are classified as functionally illiterate increases by about 2.25 million each year.
• 20 percent of high school seniors can be classified as being functionally illiterate at the time they graduate.

Source: National Right to Read Foundation

I started writing my blog as a way to start every ones day off in a kind of cool way, thinking about things they may not think of.  I was trying to get different topics out there and have fun thinking of things randomly.  When I came across these statistics, I stopped dead in my tracks.  It was kind of selfish at first thinking, "That is 42 million adults that can't read my blog."  OMG!!!  I am going to pray to God for the state of our country.  Lord PLEASE help those who cannot read to drop their pride and get help.  Reading is so important. Lord, if there are some out there who I can help, please send them to me and give me the guidance to know how and where to find help for them.  Thank you for my life and thank you for the gift of reading.



Help stamp out Biblical illiteracy

LET FREEDOM RING....... excerpts from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's, "I Have a Dream", speech.........

Happy anniversary Mom and Dad!!
Godspeed everyone.  I believe that everyone is very familiar with Dr. King's speech but have actually never read it.  The "I Have a Dream..." portion of the speech is fantastic, but the rest of it is pretty amazing as well, and that is why I chose these excerpts to share! Enjoy your day off and "Let Freedom Ring!!
...we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition...Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of  racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children... and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together... With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.  This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."...And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

The chorus to this song is fantastic!! Take a listen...

Martin Luther King Day 2011

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day is tomorrow.  What a great man.  He was a baptist minister, and in 1964 became the youngest person ever to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.  His work and hope to end racial segregation was unparalleled. He was a gentle spirit and his, "I Have a Dream" speech will be remembered throughout history as one of the greatest speeches even given.  Honestly I never gave him much thought in my life until the last few years.  I was 8 when he died.  I was probably outside playing and didn't realize what was happening. After some reading and research, I began to realize what an impact he had on our culture and the world.  Today, Lord I pray in Jesus Name that we all have the heart of that great man and continue his work as peacemakers.  Thank you for making me color blind and please do that for others!!

FLOODS, HURRICANES, TORNADOES, VOLCANOES ERUPTING.....

.....and the list goes on.  These disasters are going on worldwide.  2010 was a record-breaking year for natural disasters. It was also a record-breaking year for death caused by all of these natural disasters.I am having a ball on the computer looking up stats and I am coming to see that all of these things occurred in biblical times, as well. The only difference between now and then is, NOW, we can look anywhere in the world to see it happening in real time.  It's actually kind of scary and overwhelming.  My husband and I just spent a wonderful evening with 2 special people in our lives.  One is 88 and her brother just celebrated his 100th birthday in December.  I had more fun just talking and listening to them than I have had in a long time. SO when I asked myself the question, "what should I really be doing with my spare time?", keep working on the computer or go visiting? I came to the conclusion: BOTH!! Read the Bible & world statistics, but most importantly, don't forget to connect with people.  They are so special and if you don't connect regularly, you might forget how special they are. You don't know if one of those natural disasters is comin' to your town.  If it does, remember James. It says.....to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. Lord thank you for technology, but most of all thank you for friends.

TGIF !!! - THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY !! - Really, Thank HIM!

Have you ever been so far down that it didn't seem like you you were going to get up? How about Job in the Bible? Wow what a life. I am loving my new spirit in Christ as He has shared with me the wisdom of the ages through the Bible.  I have read more about suffering and gratitude, gratitude in suffering and gratefulness in general.  When I woke up this morning my first thought was TGIF.  How many times have we said that in life?  In doing research about TGIF, I found the  Thessalonians (give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus)  to be the most understanding of gratitude.  Don't forget to give thanks every day and in every circumstance and to the people that help you.  Remember everything on this earth is passing and we own none of it.  Be grateful to God for everything he has given you.  All of the hard work, even if the hard work is just trying to stay above water.  That is very stressful and in these times it is easy to forget that all things are temporary.  Thank you friends who have been there for me and thank you Lord for all of the trials and tribulations in my life so I can become stronger every day. 

Author, Author, ...

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith... The references I found in the Bible on authors refer to Jesus mostly. Cool huh? Are you an author?  Are you trying to write? Do you have important things to say? I am a firm believer that you just need to start writing if that was what you were meant to do.  Write on paper, on your computer, with a crayon, a pen, anything.  JUST START!!!  I am blogging to try and start everyones day off right with either a little humor, or a little God, or just some interesting tidbit of information and/or inspiration of some sort.  I love Jesus, my family (new found, and old), friends, all people  and I love kids. I hope to pass on something to someone somewhere.   I began my blog on Halloween and I just want to pause to thank those of you who have taken the time to read my ramblings.   Sincerely, Heidi

AMAZING GRACE!!

I am jumping for joy today as Christ has revealed himself again!!  Our eldest son is on a trip of Faith, and I am proud of him.  Our younger son is on a trip of Hope, and I am proud of him.  My husband is on a trip of Charity, and I am proud of him.  I am on a trip of Love and it feels good again.  I have forgotten how nice it is to just love unconditionally and share that with the world.  I really needed to crash my computer to remind me of the wonderful life God has put in front of us!! We have no money, but...Thank you Lord for all of our Blessings and I will try to continue to do your will. AMEN!!!

My computer is dying a slowwww death......

I have been trying so hard to monetize my blog, that I think I killed my computer. (Thank you son for the use of your computer.)  Originally  I wanted to share God's word and I have been writing faithfully since Halloween, EVERY day.  Haven't missed a day, and when I went to turn my computer on this morning, NOTHING!! Oh well. I guess, trying to make money was becoming more important than God's word.   I am sorry if I have offended You and I pray for Your forgiveness in Jesus' name.

Desperate housewives read this...

What are you desperate for?  Figure out what you are in need of in your life and ask God directly to change your life.  Just like our earthly fathers, God only wants what is best for us.  If you don't have an earthly father even more important, go directly to The Father himself.  If you find it hard to pray, it's OK. Write down your petitions and ask for God's blessings on them in Jesus name. You will be surprised how your life will begin to change if you start focusing on the solution and get your mind off of the problem.  Only with the Father's help will we see a real difference!!

HEEEELLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPPPP!! I am drowning!!

I have fallen and I can't get up!! I am drowning in the abyss of the Internet. Who do you really ask advise from?  I cannot decipher who wants to help you, and is real, from: who is real, but could care less about you and only want your money???  Seriously. I am usually a very good judge of character (in person).  On the Internet I feel scammed and taken advantage of and I know it is my naivety and lack of experience with the WWW.  In Jesus time it was great because you had to be in person to buy sell or trade and with that I would have been fine. Please pray for me and everyone in the same predicament for insight, wisdom, and patience to continue to strive onward to figure out this vast uncharted area!! I ask this in Jesus name, Amen.

FUN, FUN, FUN !!! JOY, JOY. JOY !!!

I found that fun is referenced 55 times in the Bible !!! 29 of those are referring to "Making Fun of" which really stinks.  I thought that we could just have fun today after a long tiring week.  I got sad after reading all of those bad comments about "making fun of" in the Bible.  I was looking for permission to have fun and didn't find it there. So I thought, "Wow! I will look for Joy in the Bible and guess what? I found it 524 times!!!! Yippee!!! I guess I can be joyful today but maybe I shouldn't have fun. God, please give us all joy in our lives and also allow us to have some fun!! In Jesus name, AMEN.
I thought that I  would try and give you some games to play today just in case you are in need of a "FUN" fix.

Disciples 418 - Apostles 1040 - WHO WINS? We all do!!

Apostles referenced in the Bible - 1040 times, 
Disciples referenced in the Bible - 418 times!!

 All apostles are disciples; not all disciples become apostles.

After doing some research and reading, this is what I found in a secular dictionary:

DISCIPLE: a person who is a pupil or an adherent of the doctrines of another; follower: e.g.  disciple of Jesus.

APOSTLE: any of the original 12 disciples called by Jesus to preach the gospel: Simon Peter,the brothers James and John, Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew,Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alpheus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot, Judas Iscariot. 

I love having theological discussions with my 17 year old before bed because that gets me thinking overnight sometimes about what kind of Christian I would like to be.  Wow!! I have come to the conclusion I think would like to be an Apostle but believe I am a Disciple right now. Lord give me the wisdom and strength to make right decisions, and get off of the fence. I ask this in Jesus name.

Enoch Brown School Massacre, (1764), Columbine High School Massacre, (1999), Millard South High School Killing, (2011)

These are all headlines from various periodicals over the years. I could not believe another school killing has occurred.  I love kids so much and this week I am teaching  Jr. High School.  The kids  are so innocent and endearing and how any adult or child could do this is so far beyond my comprehension.  I started looking up when school killings started being reported and the 1st one I found was 1764 in Franklin County , PA. I never realized how long this had been going on until I started to research it.  When you have a family of your own you begin to look at life a little differently.  I would like to pray for all of the schools and teachers and children of the world today directly from 1 John 3: How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! ...
...Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous...  
...The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work...
... We should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother...
...Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth
...believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.
AMEN

Whores, profanity, murder, disease, pestilence...

It's everywhere!!!  IN the BIBLE, on the INTERNET. I went to look up something on the Internet this morning and the name of the website that came up was so profane and anti-president, that I could not believe that someone actually used it and someone else allowed that for a domain name!!!!!!! ARGH!!!! "What is this world coming to?", I thought.  So I said to myself, "self, why don't you just do some Bible reading and you will calm down."  Guess what?  It was all over the Bible also!!! I am no saint by any means and have had my own dealings with these things in the past, but I really am surprised that the information out there in an innocent search is so readily available for little eyes to see.  I pray for a more innocent time and pray for the little ones coming up in this world that God protects them from all that is SO easily accessible today, in Jesus name.

DANCE, DANCE, DANCE

I found 25 references to "Dance" in the Bible. Dance for joy, let them praise his name in the dance, praise him with tambourines and dance, the young women will dance for joy, wild goats will go there to dance, and sadly enough, our dance is turned into mourning.  My favorite is in Ecclesiastes 3.  There is even a song that was written about it. Great message and really great video I would like to share. Have a blessed day!

New Years Resolutions...

I resolve to stop eating broccoli, Brussels sprouts, liver, Limburger cheese, and Ghost peppers. Does that sound like a few of your resolutions for the year??  Look below.  I found this 1915 New Years Resolution postcard on Wikipedia.  These resolutions actually seem like a great way to live your life and I hope you enjoy it.



 I should now get back to my own :  I resolve to do everything in moderation, to be a better mother and wife, to pray to God every morning in Jesus' name and love my life no matter what.

Read between the lines .......

.....so you understand the difference between listening to the words and hearing what is said.  SO often we say we are listening to each other, but when asked to repeat what a person said, many times we cannot even grasp the subject properly.  What ever happened to taking turns talking?  What ever happened to discussions without the use of cell phones, computers, TV, radio or other worldly distractions?  My friend told me his favorite time was after WW II when all of the houses had porches and everyone used to sit on the porch and talk.  Neighbors would come by and visit.  You didn't need a holiday or an event to come together and talk.  For 2011, I am going to make a conscious effort to visit with people without bringing my phone to text someone else. I am going to try to let someone else talk until they are done trying to get their complete message out without interrupting or sitting on the edge of my chair waiting until they are finished so I can put in my 2 cents. These are acquired skills and I must confess that my skills need a little polishing.  I pray that everyone has a GREAT New Year and we can come together as friends, family, and community. Let's relax and start enjoying all of the people in our lives, LISTEN to each other, and stop worrying. "Don't sweat the small stuff and remember EVERYTHING is small stuff"!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! We made it through another year WHEW!!!!.

Lets start the new year with off with an,

 ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE !!!!

THANK YOU LORD !!!!

 For giving us ....

....love,

....friendship,

....family,

.... a sense of humor,

....food,

....shelter,

....health,

....prosperity...... and the list goes on.

These are just a few of the things that I am grateful for!!! Make your own gratitude list and see how your disposition can change.  May the Lord bless you with all of these things and more in the New Year!!