If Creation Praises God...I will Too

For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: Isaiah 43:3

Missouri is lush and green this time of year. I love the green, green grass of my home sweet home. The Holy One of Israel is an amazing Creator. I can't help but praise God this beautiful morning along with all Creation.  

Did you know that God is called the Holy One of Israel 25 times in the book of Isaiah and it is the main name of God used throughout this book? The word "holy" describes the Lord's absolute moral purity and it declares that He is far greater than all of the Creation. 

If all of Creation praises God~ than I will too.  Have a sunshiny day!

Where Have I Been?

Photo Credit~ Gypsy Girl

Missouri State Capital 

Life... oh, life! I am not sure where the time has gone. I have often been so disappointed when I have shared life with a blog friend, prayed together, encouraged each other and became friends just to have them disappear without a trace. It makes your heart sad. You wonder if they are ok... are they well? You think of them often. I have received sweet notes, cards, and gifts from such people. With that being said... I am sorry I have been absent. I have been doing life and doing it rather big.  After another email today asking where I have been, I have decided it was high time to check in with my blog friends.

 "Down on the Farm" and  "Farming On Faith" 

Robbin and Carrie 

Have you ever wondered just how neat it would be to meet your special blog friends? Well, most of you know that a couple of years ago we moved to our little capital city of Missouri. And that very thing happened. I will never forget the day my husband dropped me off at "Down On Farm." He reminded me that I had never met her in person. Her daughter told her that this meeting was so "sketch." Yet, here we are, alive to tell about it. After seven years of blogging, we now live about 20 minutes apart but work in the same town. Recently, Robbin joined me at my first Women's Retreat as a Women's Ministry Director. We had a great weekend together. We sneak away for Diet Coke and lunch when we can find the time, which needs to be more often. 

The joyful days of Summer are calling and I plan on cutting back a little and enjoying some "Central Dairy" ice cream and lazy days by the pool.  So come on by and I will meet you at the best place in Missouri for ice cream ~ fresh as a Missouri morning. 

I have missed you ~ leave me a little note so I can stop by and catch up with you. Especially for my friends who have moved here on this little world of "Blog Land."  I plan on taking time this summer to get back to blogging~ so let's connect. 

I Know I Am Just A Little Late

Oh-my-goodness! I have started the new year a little late. Blame it on the sickies that I caught the week of Thanksgiving that just kept on giving and giving until New Year's Day. We just celebrated Christmas this past Saturday with our out of town family and so I am just now planning my new year.  I am starting the year off behind already. I am just a little late. But I am so thankful to be well. 

If you are like me you don't want to make resolutions because you don't keep them anyway. But I feel like that is the oldest and lamest excuse for not making myself reach beyond my normal and set some goals for myself. Like maybe stick with my low-carb, no sugar and no grain diet so my Lupus stays quiet. Or maybe strength train my body so I feel good. Maybe ~ control my schedule so it doesn't control me. And oh yeah.... there is that 15 pounds I want to lose. You know what I mean?

But maybe this year I will ask the Holy Spirit what is in my life that I need to let go of and what does He want out of my life in 2018. Have you ever thought of asking God to set your goals?

As we stand at the starting line of a brand new year I am asking myself what really matters? Maybe it is a great time to ask God to help me decipher what my priorities need to be and what are things that I need to let go. We were made for intimacy with our Creator. Yet~ many days I find my schedule too jammed packed for that. This is not a negotiable in my life. I already made up my mind. So why do I continue to race through my day on my own?

What have I been chasing that really doesn't matter? What family and friends and ministry have I neglected because of my busyness? This year I am setting a goal to make more time for what really matters....God...people and eternity. My goal this year is to passionately chase what matters.

 Happy New Year my blog friends ~ may we all seek to follow God's calling.

Micah 6:8  He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

Are You Fearful?

Fear not! Are you fearful today? Most women struggle with fear in some fashion or another. Even Mary, the woman chosen by God to bear His Son, struggled with fear. I have battled with fear my entire life. It truly is the thorn in my flesh and has been since I was a small child. Yet~ God does not give us the spirit of fear.

When we accept Jesus Christ into our life as our Saviour~ we are looked at by God with favor. That is something to celebrate on this beautiful December morning. "Fear not, _________: for thou hast found favour with God." Just put your name right in that blank. Rest in that thought today as you face the busyness of trying to get it all done. Rest in that thought as you may have fear or anxiety today. Rest in your Father's arms and fear not!

Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

Luke 1:30-33 KJV

Christmas At Grey Sage Book Review ~

CHRISTMAS AT GREY SAGE BY PHYLLIS CLARK NICHOLS | BLOG TOUR AND 5-BOOK GIVEAWAY

Sometimes we all need a little hope at Christmas. If you are looking for a different kind of fiction this Christmas ~ this is a good read for you. The owners of the Grey Sage Inn are Maude and Silas Thornhill have had a deep sorrow they had carried for so long. And ~ it wasn't until a group of unusual strangers and a big storm bring them together to share their stories that the healing begins.

This is a sweet story that is a wonderful Christmas read but would be a great story of redemption just any old time. 

This book was provided to me in exchange for my honest review, 

Enter to win a copy of Christmas at Grey Sage. Five winners will be chosen! Click the image below to enter to win. The winners will be announced December 13 on the Litfuse blog!

{MORE ABOUT CHRISTMAS AT GREY SAGE}

Christmas at Grey Sage(Gilead Publishing, October 2017)

This Christmas, there’s plenty of room at the inn.

Nestled in the snow-covered Sangre de Cristo Mountains near Santa Fe, the Grey Sage Inn looks like the perfect place for weary travelers to escape the craziness of the Christmas season. There’s plenty to see in historic Santa Fe during the day, and the inn’s owners, Maude and Silas Thornhill, are happy to spend their evenings hosting this year’s guests from across the country.

But an unusual snowstorm throws a wrench in the festive mood. The sprawling inn becomes close quarters as stranded guests discover this Christmas won’t be the relaxed vacation they expected. Tension and fear mount as the storm worsens, and Silas, a retired doctor, is called away in the middle of the night to care for a neighbor. The snow and stress unlocks tongues–and in the unexpected conversation that follows, secrets and pasts are revealed, and hearts are healed.

In the midst of snowdrifts and fireside conversations, of tales of days gone by, the warmth of Christmas brings a renewed hope as these trapped strangers become friends–proof again that the joy, hope, peace, and love of Christmas can be experienced no matter where you are.

Learn more and purchase a copy.

{MORE ABOUT PHYLLIS CLARK NICHOLS}

Phyllis Clark Nichols believes everyone could use a little more hope and light. Her character-driven Southern fiction explores profound human questions from within the simple lives of small town communities you just know you’ve visited before. With a love for nature, art, faith and ordinary people, she tells redemptive tales of loss and recovery, estrangement and connection, longing and fulfillment, often through surprisingly serendipitous events. Phyllis grew up in the deep shade of magnolia trees in South Georgia. Now she lives in the Texas Hill Country with her portrait-artist husband, where red birds and axis deer are her ever-ravenous neighbors. She is an English major and classically-trained musician, seminary graduate, concert artist and co-founder of a national cable network for the health and disability-related programming. After retiring as a cable network executive, Phyllis began leading mission teams to orphanages in Guatemala and now serves on three non-profit boards where she works with others who are equally passionate about bringing hope and light to those who need it most.

Find out more about Phyllis at http://www.phyllisclarknichols.com.