Hi, Everyone! I just was talking with a dear friend of mine. She’s having some upcoming neck surgery. She posted on a website to family and friends. 

My friend Judy said: “Greetings Friends and Family. Just posting a note to let all y’all know that I will be having neck surgery on Wednesday.Got injured at work some months ago and now that my tests, labs, paperwork are completed and approved. I’ve finally got the green light to get’er done. I’ve got several disks in my neck impinging on my spinal cord. I will be having a lumbar fusion to correct and protect my next from further injury. I’ll be in the hospital a few days (no visitors please; the surgeon will be going in the side of the throat, so I won’t feel like talking) But your prayers and well wishes are appreciated. Thanks!” 

I said “I’ll be there visiting you, you won’t see me but you’ll know I’m there in spirit praying for you, giving hugs and encouragement when needed. I will be making you laugh ~ ok smile because of something funny just because you’re special!! Love ya my dear sweet friend. I myself am having back surgery Friday then again next Thursday. They’re breaking it up to make certain what they’re doing will work for me considering my bone disease. Ahh, there’s my Bluetooth keyboard... it deserted me mid thought ~ how dare it do that!! Know that I will be praying for you! 

Judy then responded back “Wow! You take those punches like a champ! I hope I can keep my spirits up like you. You’re an amazing woman, Leah! 

I wrote back Thank you, Judy!! Let’s take the punches together!! Let’s show the enemy who’s boss~ we will do this together!! You’re an amazing woman too, Judy!! Taking the punches isn’t always easy, but we have to take a stand and we ca get those punches and conquer!

I wrote this because I was blessed by her response, but more importantly I wanted her to know that I would be there with her in spirit lifting her in prayer that I would stand in the gap for her. Friends are treasures. We need to care for our friends. I am thankful for the ones that God has placed in my life.

Have a great day Moms!!

Good Evening Everyone!! I hope you were able to enjoy your day. I did enjoy mine; the sunshine, just the warmth of it all. The gentle breeze, the coolness of the air. Watching the birds and animals playing around outside in the beautiful day. 

I want to tell you just how important friendship is and how you build and keep your friendship when trials come. I say this because I just went through a very trying time with a friend. I say this because friends are very important in our lives; how we continue our friendships really matter. I got to thinking about this being Friendship Sunday and with the events of this week I have to say that I am thankful, grateful that I still have my friend even with the hard time that we just went through.

I would like to open this with many of our issues were misunderstandings. Sometimes when we would disagree on things much hurt went between us. This was difficult to recover from sometimes. Now things have changed between us, we have agreed how we would communicate with one another.   Today we had a conversation that was going well then something was said that my first reaction was to get angry and let my friend know I was very hurt by what was said. I didn’t do that though. I paused, took a step back and answered my friend, but I did let her know that I was hurt by what she said. I was hurt by what it implied of me. She also paused before answering me; she said she was asking a question, nothing else and also said she was sorry I felt hurt. I told her I was hurt by the way it came across or was assumed. I took a moment to stop, wait do not react to what she’s saying. I had to tell myself not to jump in, but to wait, let her talk more. I did just that and even though she asked me to forgive her I said no need to forgive. I felt this was a matter of misunderstanding and rather than she and I to argue through the conversation we talked through the conversation. Now, we have agreed this approach to when things hurt us, we misunderstand or it makes us want to “attack” with words we now pause, wait until what is said is said then read it. Again pause before responding back right away this way there is less arguments and hurt feelings. This approach is different for her and I,  but this is going to the best way. I can say that it will make our friendship stronger for that. I give her Biggest Hugs for standing by me in our friendship to take us on a closer journey as friends.

I hope that this has and will help many of you that may have a friendship that has bumps in the road. Please take the time to really appreciate and talk with your friend when you hit one of these bumps. Do not let a bump cause a roadblock or a destruction in your friendship. Stay close to the Lord, dig in His Word. Look to Him when you have a bump in your friendship and your life He will get you through even when you feel all alone. I can tell you there have been times I have felt alone; not until later did I realize that He was carrying me when I was at my weakest.

I will close this with next Sunday, October 15th is Friendship Sunday be sure to invite your friends to church with you. You will have something else to talk about. A new subject, how great is that? 

Have a great day Moms!!

Hi, Everyone!! Hope you're having a wonderful weekend! Feeling blessed to have a nice warm sunny summer day without the rain.  We've had several days this month already with rain and many of us are dealing with flooding. Those that are dealing with the flooding be safe. I pray that you will get through this. Our Lord is amazing! He may bring us to things, but He doesn't let us go them alone. He's right there by our side. He's holding our hand, walking with us through our challenges, trials, difficult times. We may shed many tears, tears of sadness, tears of feeling overwhelmed; there are many types of tears we may shed, but our Lord is there holding us up, wrapping his arms around us. When I think about that this verse comes to mind from Psalm 91:4 "He will cover you with His feathers. He will shelter you with His wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection." The reason I think of this verse is how much our loving Lord protects us His children. When we are weak He is there to lift us up. In Him we need not be afraid as He is our refuge. We can take refuge in Him.

Another great passage that comes to mind a wonderful friend shared with me. We have made it our friendship verse. These verses are from I Thessalonians 5:16-19. "Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. Do not stifle the Holy Spirit." I am thankful that the Lord put Mary in my life. She sent me a great message the day that we laid our beloved Aunt Cora to rest. In Mary's message she said that she felt she needed to pray for me, but didn't know why. When we chatted later I told her that we were traveling as a family about an hour away for the funeral of our beloved Aunt. She then knew why the God put me on her heart. Just as Mary praying for me and my family I do the same when God puts someone on my heart. I immediately stop what I am doing and spend time in prayer. While we don't always know why we are praying for the one that God laid on our heart He guides us through our prayer for them and for their need. He already knows what their need is or are He gets His prayer warriors praying for His children. I am so glad He does. I have prayed for family and friends this way and when I talk to them later I sometimes find out that they were in a difficult situation or something was happening that they needed prayer, but didn't reach out to anyone for prayer. I love when God does this in His own way. I feel He let's us see these moments to encourage us to take it on and heed His guiding us in prayer when He lays someone on our hearts - so don't shy away from being a blessing to someone who needs someone to pray for them. 

Have a great day Moms!!

Hi, Everyone! Hope you're having a great day. I had an early start to my day. The alarm went off promptly at 5:30 am. I got up got myself ready as usual. I then made a light breakfast. I then got into my area that I love in my living room and spent some time with the Lord there. I got into the Word, then started thinking of songs to have ready for "Rockin' it Out Time" with my great friend Bev. She's a Godly Mom, Sister in the Lord, Co-Conspirator, now that last one that's a good one. She is because we are usually teaming up on our men. We love them, but when they need to straighten up we are on it. We have fun at it and they don't see it coming. We also will plan meals and other fun things right in front of them at times and they miss it. I love Bev because she will talk to me about things, she will get with me on the scriptures. While at times I may shed a tear, she may push me, I most likely won't like it, but I know it's for the best. I love when she brings things to me that I need to hear, need to read, or even just a hug she brings to me and that's all I need. 

You ask about this Rockin' it Out Time. Well, here's the low down on that. This is how we got it started. I had gone to physical therapy for my back. The doctor prescribed aquatic therapy due to my bone disease, Osteogenesis. He didn't feel that regular therapy would be the best option as weight bearing could cause more injury because of the fragility of my bones.  They're compromised because of the bone disease. I was injured during aquatic therapy which landed me three days to the hospital of which by the time I was released I could not walk. I then spent the next three months learning to walk and care for myself again. Bev was one of the loving ladies that came over to help me through this injury. She would talk to me about the sermon our Pastor was bringing to us each Sunday. She would talk to me about a devotion she read, but one of the important times was when she brought me a book Red Sea Rules. This was a very good book and it helped me so much during the healing through my injury. If you'd like to get a copy of Red Sea Rules just click the link.  There were so many lessons learned during this time and with reading this book. We also would spend time watching DVD's of The Gaither's and many others that she'd bring over. We would crank the volume on the television to sing out the hymns and other music choices we would play. Now that I am doing better Bev isn't here every week like she was early on in the recovery of my injury. Now we look at our calendars and plan a day that we can rock out to music and learn some stories behind the most cherished hymns that we grew up on and grew to love. Today was one of our "Rockin' Out Days"; I love the time with her. I know these are memories that I will carry with me forever. 

I must get going now is time to make preparations for supper. 

Have a great day Moms!!