The Year in Review.........

This past year I experienced so many wonderful blessings. 

It was a year for new jobs,

new ministries,

the loss of someone close,

a new home and lots of new challenges.

We bought our "new-old house" and quickly began to work, work, work, work!

 We still have lots to do.  It may not be much but it is ours.

Inside our new home................

Our "new-old home" is closer to all of our children.

 Which means we had lots of fun with the Grand kids this past year. 

At times we were exhausted with all the fun.......

 It was such a blessing having them closer.

  Our "new-old home" sits on a very large lot. 

So I planted a garden that included veggies and flowers.

Some day maybe I will have some chickens.......

I turned 50..........

Lots of bike rides for me and Poppy and lots of short rides for the Grand kids........

Lots of celebrating birthdays and holidays with lots of good food which graciously gave me a few extra pounds....but it was all sooooo good!

This year has come and gone.

I look back and have to wonder.........

 did I do enough for the kingdom of God.

Did others see Jesus in me as I went about my daily activities.

I feel I slacked on my prayer life and my Bible study.

Looking at the pictures everything looks great,

but there was so much I did not do.

I want this upcoming year to be one of sharing.

Sharing the Love of Jesus.

Sharing my time and means to those in need.

Sharing my faith to the lost.

I want to be faithful in the things that make a difference.

May the upcoming year be one of peace and joy to all!

A heartful thanks to all who stopped by my blog

and to those who follow along.

It was greatly appreciated.

Blessings to all!

Happy New Year!

Patty

Sweet Scripture Sunday!!!

This weekend I had the great privilege of being part of a group

that does prison ministry

called "Residents encounter Christ", REC for short. 

The purpose of this group is to take the Good News of Christ

to those incarcerated in the Federal and State Prisons.

The theme was "Choices".

Several of the team shared "talks" (as REC calls them) on the subject of Choices with

a biblical perspective and how the choices they have made has affected their lives.

Everyone who shared did such a wonderful job.

I was blessed with the opportunity

to be a group leader and to share a few songs with the men.

We saw many give their lives to Christ.

As we enter this Christmas season I am reminded

to the real reason for this season.

It is found in Luke 4:17-19.

The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. unrolling it,

he found the place where it is written:

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,"

because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners,

and recovery of sight for the blind,

to release the oppressed,

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.

Let us not forget, Christmas is a time to remember why Christ came.

Christ came for a ministry of preaching and healing. 

He came to meet every human need.

As believers, we are to follow his example.

Take time this season to be Jesus to someone!

May the light of Christmas shine brighter than ever

and may it shine through us!

Christmas Blessings to all!

Patty

Sweet Scripture Sunday!!!

The Nativity is up!

Let the Christmas Season Begin......

"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son,

and they will call him Immanuel-which means,

"God with us."

Matt 1:23

"the Holy Spirit will come upon you,

and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.

So the holy one to be born

will be called the Son of God.

Luke 1:35

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby,

keeping watch over their flocks at night.

An Angel of the Lord appeared to them,

 and the glory

of the Lord shone around them,

and they were terrified,

But the angel said to them,

"Do not be afraid.

I bring you good news of great joy

that will be for all people. 

Today in the town of David

 a Savior has been born to you,

He is Christ the Lord.

This will be a sign to you:

You will find the baby wrapped in cloths lying in a manger."

Luke 2: 8-12

When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.

On coming to the house,

they saw the child with his mother Mary,

and they bowed down and worshiped him.

Then they opened their treasures

and presented him with gifts

of gold and of incense and of myrrh.

Matt 2:10-12

Let us be reminded as we decorate, buy gifts,

go to parties and celebrate this Season;

the "Reason for the Season"...............

JESUS!

May you be blessed with all the Peace and Joy

 only HE can give!

Blessings!

Patty

Sweet Scripture Sunday!!!

Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life,

to mind your own business and to work with your hands,

 just as we told you,

 so that your daily life

may win the respect of outsiders

and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.

I Thessalonians 4:11

I have had a productive and quiet Sunday.

After Church this morning I decided (since I was home alone)

to finish several painting projects that I had on hold for the past several months.

Actually, several of the plates I have had

 for a few years...

so, I started painting and before I knew it.....

Well, let me just show you.

five painted plates....

Two painted shovels........

Twelve Old decorated Spoons.......

16 handpainted signs..........

Another View.......

More..............

All of these are going to the my Boothe at the Vendor's Mall.

I have made enough money at the vendors mall to buy all the supplies needed

for my new bath in the Master bath.

Pay off some bills.

Buy some molding for several of our rooms.

A new couch and love seat for our small family room area.

Again,. the Word of God is prevalent for every part of our life.

If we are productive; we have what we need

If we are idle; we will always be in need.

"live in such a way

that those who know you

but do not know God

will come to know God because they know you.......

May your upcoming week be productive and may your life win the respect

of others........

Be Blessed!!!!

Patty

An early Christmas Present......

Our daughter requested for Christmas from her

Mom and Dad

 a new built-in entertainment system. 

What? 

Right in the middle of building and re-doing here at the "old-new" Home,

someone has the audacity to request something to be built for Christmas....

the nerve! 

 Being the good Mom and Dad we are.....

of course we said yes. 

We spent part of our 3 days off last week at our daughters

 building her Christmas present. 

We actually completed the project in 1 1/2 days

and I must say....

it is beautiful.

Step one:  We started things off by painting the background which would be the actual size of the system.

Step Two:  My husband built the lower cabinets for each side.

Step three:  He then built the Tall upper cabinets which were placed over the lower cabinets.

Step Four:  He added some molding.....

it really made the whole thing come together.

A closer look at the molding.....

Of course the mantel needed a little more molding and work.....

this is before the caulking and painting, of which was my job.

 ( Have I told you how tired I am of painting...blah!)

The Last Step:  Adding the cabinet doors:

This is how the finished product looks from the upstairs area:

I think it looks great!

One gift done and many others to go....

Merry Christmas Whitney and Brett.

Oh ya, our oldest daughter has requested something to be "built" for her daughters.

oh well......

Blessings  to ya"all and May your gifts be many.

Patty

Sweet Scripture Sunday!!!

Gray hair is a crown of splendor;

it is attained by a righteous life.

Proverbs 16:31

The glory of young men is their strength,

gray hair the splendor of the old.

Proverbs 20:29

Why is it we fight so hard against the very things that God says are okay?

Gray hair............Blah....

According to scripture, it is a good thing.

According to the world........not so good.

Growing old in the eyes of God

 places us in a position that is to be respected.

As you can see my husband has embraced

 the "gray" cycle of his life.

He always remarks, "I have earned everyone of them".....

Me.....not so much.

I am finding the "battle of the dark hair"

 to be time consuming and expensive.

Still, I am not ready.

How about you?

Just a light note to remind us the Word of God has an answer to everything in Life.

Are you finding your answers in the Word of God?

Take time to read it daily.

It contains all the wisdom and guidance

that we need
for everyday life.

Blessings!

Patty

Whats in the Bag??????

This past Saturday I had the pleasure of getting to visit

my wonderful blogger friend Betty

 at one of her favorite shops,

 "The Speckled Hen". 

Betty blogged about the open house they were having this past weekend,. 

You can read about it here:

 http://bettyjcrowe-throughmybackdoor.blogspot.com/2011/10/company-coming-down-road-other.html

After reading her post I knew I must go and visit. 

 I looked up the address

and found it was a mere 1 1/2 hours from my home. 

 I talked my sister into going with me on Saturday

and off we went!

It was a beautiful day.

My sister drove her truck (since we are avid junkers)

in case we found a garage sale or two....lol 

Of course, we did! 

By the time we made it to the shop

we were loaded with all sorts of goodies.

When we finally arrived at the shop Miss Betty standing behind the counter. 

We had never met in person and she did not know I was coming. 

Needless to say there was lots of hugging and excitement.

We shopped for a few hours....lol 

 For all you "prim sisters" this shop is a must.

Take a look at all my goodies.

Take a look at this adorable little candy canes. 

They were only $1 for the small bundles

and $2 for the large. 

 I am definitely going to make some more of these.

A closer look......

These cute little grungy bags...only $1.50 each.

Don't you just love this little prim light.....

This was my splurge item.

Of course I bought an assortment of wonderful  bulbs

look at these cute little snowman bulbs....to cute!

Could not leave without some wonderful dried scented items.

The Last little ornament says it all.

"Its the most wonderful time of the year"

As you can see my bag was full of wonderful treasures.

 I can't wait to place each one in a new and wonderful place

in my new "old" home.

Thanks to Miss Betty and all the wonderful ladies at the Speckled Hen.......

and blessings to all my wonderful Blog Sisters!

Patty

"Happiness is time spent with a friend and looking foward to sharing time with them again."
- Lee Wilkinson

Sweet Scripture Sunday!!!

MATTHEW 5:14-17

YOU ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. 

A CITY ON A HILL CANNOT BE HIDDEN.

NEITHER DO PEOPLE LIGHT A LAMP

 AND PUT IT UNDER A BOWL. 

INSTEAD THEY PUT IT ON ITS STAND,

AND IT GIVES LIGHT TO EVERYONE IN THE HOUSE. 

IN THE SAME WAY,

LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE BEFORE MEN,

THAT THEY MAY SEE YOUR GOOD DEEDS

 AND PRAISE YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN.

MAY THE LOVE OF JESUS SHINE THROUGH YOU TODAY!

BLESSINGS!

PATTY

I am so excited to share with you in a few days

the details of my visit with Miss Betty from

over at "Through my back door" . 

 I will be posting details in a few days.   

You will not want to miss this.

you'all come back now, ya hear!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Happy Halloween!

May your candy be sweet

and your trick or treaters be plenty.

Be Blessed and enjoy your evening!

Patty

I'm Back.........

It has been such a long time since we have talked.

I must admit I have been super busy and our

new "old" home project is becoming

more like home everyday.

We have torn out walls.

Rebuilt floors.

Moved doorways and windows.

Sanded, painted and painted and painted and by the way,

"did I say we have painted"? 

Boy, have we painted!!!!

This has not been an easy project, but the end result

is very satisfying.

My husband has settled into his new

postion as Chaplain

at the federal prison and I am at home

in between filling my

boothe at the local vendor's mall.  Yes, I had so

much stuff get rid of due to the "down sizing"

that I thought a boothe would 

be a great way to do it.

I will be sharing pics in the coming days of

our new home......stay tuned.

Meanwhile, please accept my apololgy for lack of posts

 and

please stop by and visit as I share all the wonderful blessings

God sends our way!

May you be blessed as I count my blessings!

Patty

Sweet Scripture Sunday!!!

As for man his days are like grass,

he flourishes like a flower of the field;

the winds blows over it and it is gone,

and its place remembers it no more.

But from everlasting to everlasting,

the Lord's love is with those who fear him,

and his righteousness with

their chidren's children-

with those who keep his covenant

and remember to obey his precepts.

Psalm 103:15-18

What a wonderful Bible Promise!

Be blessed today!

Patty

Sweet Scripture Sunday!!!

My Granddaughters came in yesterday with a tomato in hand. 

 They were so excited, yet a little disappointed at finding only one tomato! 

 One beautiful red tomato sits alone on the shelf over my sink. 

The plants are hanging full of fruit, but only one tomato was ripe and ready! 

How much longer before they are ready? 

 Can we eat the green ones?

Will they be ready tomorrow, Nana?

Trying to explain to them things like this take time was not an easy task. 

 I am sure they will go to the garden each day (while they are here) to see if another tomato is ready.

In Galatians Chapter 6 verses 9 and 10.

 Paul reminds us that things or people do not always change overnight (as we want them to). 

  

 "Let us not grow weary in doing good,

for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 

 Therefore, as we have opportunity,

let us do good to all people,

especially to those who belong to the family of believers."

Gardening is such a busy job and requires much work. 

We plant.,

 we weed,

 we water,

 we weed,

  we water,

and just when you are ready to give up.......

.....then comes the harvest.

Much the same way is our labor for the Kingdom,

with one exception, we do not always get to reap the harvest,

 yet, we are still to do the work.

The ministry I have had part in over the past several years

can be very stressful and tiring.

 Pouring your life into individuals

who time and time again walk back to the ways of the world (drugs, alcohol, poverty).

and then.......

You see it.....

Or hear of it.......

After hours and days of labor......

They get it!

They want it!

A life changes in an instant.

Just like that one beautiful red tomato on my shelf,

the harvest of a soul is a beautiful thing.

A display of God's love and Power!

Even though you did not get reap the harvest you know your labor was not in vain.

To all my blogger friends.

Never give up!

Do not grow Weary.

Keep on doing good.

and in due season the harvest will come.

Given to me by the family of a 17 year old who was to addicted to heroin. 

I spent so much time and effort with her and almost gave up so many times.

Today, she is a Christian and is clean!!!! Yahoooo!

I am glad I continued to labor for her soul.

A harvest for the Kingdom.

Blessings!

Patty