For His Service

Gardening is a great picture of faith with feet.  What I mean is ...I take these tiny seeds and spend hours preparing the soil... finding the right spot.... poking the seed the right depth into the ground... TRUSTING that it will grow into a beautiful flower or a delicious vegetable.  That is faith with feet. We do the same in our lives.  We invest in our children, friends, and family... loving, consoling, comforting, giving wisdom, sharing time, etc.... in hopes ..in FAITH ..that our actions will bring forth fruit.  Sometimes it isn't in their lives...but in our own.   Trust in the one that causes the seeds to grow.... Hebrews 11 By Faith 1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. 4 By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain...

  As a family, we have always rooted for the underdog.  If there is a game where a team is NOT expected to win, that's who we cheer for....  Luke is definitely an underdog...   My 13 year old son had to write a true story for school.  Here is Luke's story....  by Noah..                         The Horse With Nine Lives             This is a story about an unlucky, yet in some ways lucky, racehorse named Luke. Luke is a six year old brown horse who used to race in Boston in order to win money for his owners.   Luke’s story might have began at his birth but it took many twist and turns over the past year at a Boston race track, a horse rescue, and a foster home with an unfriendly member.     Luke is an extraordinary horse who was forced to participate in   races,...

Why are there so many cynical people?  Fear?   Cynical people are guarded people. They assume the worse of people so they don't have to be vulnerable and possibly be hurt, again..... .  You have to be very BRAVE not to be cynical. ... because people are going to disappoint you, hurt you, lie to you... not cynical..just truth.  So, what do we do?  We try to give grace and love where we can...as we go about our day to day lives.     We look at the truth... ALL people are just trying to do the best with what they have..with what they know.  Everyone is looking to heal their own hurts/ disappointments... with alcohol, drugs, Internet escapes... over working... or maybe in the only healing way... getting healing in the LORD.  When you get this, it makes it a little easier to put yourself out there for others.  Today, I had to take my dog for a check -up... and I noticed an elderly man in the waiting room...holding his orange tabby c...

Did you know that the   Peachtree Road Race is the largest 10K in the world ?    This year is the   43rd time that this race has been organized.    In so doing, the Peachtree Road Race has become a Fourth of July tradition for thousands of people throughout the metro Atlanta area and surrounding areas.   The 6.2 miles of the AJC Peachtree Road Race takes   its participants from the streets of Buckhead to the corners of Midtown,   while finishing in Atlanta's Piedmont Park.    My favorite part is running through the water mists that are set up every mile of the six miles.   It is HOT in July in Georgia.   ...so we really need those mists.   The only problem... wet socks/ wet shoes      can cause blisters.     Another thing I enjoyed last year was seeing families run it together, seeing people run it in costumes,   and seeing some soldiers run it.   And...it   is so f...

For four or five weeks, we have had several Bible lessons on how to have a marriage that reflects God's Character and love.   Today, our pastor focused on how to resolve conflicts in marriage.... or in any relationship.   After 22 years of marriage, Russell and I have had a few conflicts... and have to FIGHT (ironically enough)  not to ignore conflicts, but to resolve them.  Our pastor took his findings from Ephesians 4:25-32.   Ephesians 4:25-32 25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In your anger do not sin” [ d ] : Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. 29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is help...

For those of you who follow my blog, you know how much Trudy has helped John-Michael and vise-versa.   Here is her story...by Cheryl at the horse rescue.  www.savethehorses.org http://dailynewsatsavethehorses.blogspot.com/2012/03/this-is-trudy.html Through Trudy's Eyes   This is Trudy. This is the better eye. She does have tumors on the third eyelid which will be removed in the scheduled April surgery. Making the best choice for a horse is one of the most gut-wrenching things about being a horse rescuer. After receiving a call, Trudy entered my life in the summer of 1996. Having the mission of a horse rescuer, my phone is constantly ringing, but this call was markedly different. The phone rang on that day with a call like no other call I had received before. I solemnly listened as the caller recounted the story of the Appaloosa mare she was looking to re-home; Trudy. Trudy, the 12 year old mare, must be placed in a special and safe home. As the caller ...

I finally have had a few nights in a row to finish some of my paintings.  The "Act Justly" painting have John-Michael's handprints and feet prints.. I am playing around with two new "house rules"... The dessert paintings were so fun to paint... makes me hungry.   We all need to take a little time for rest and relaxation.. a time to renew ourselves so we have something to give to others.  What is your R & R thing?

So you might wonder, what is the big deal about this bird?  Well, besides birds with albinism being very rare..as they usually don't make it to adulthood... it is even more uncommon for them to find a mate.  She has both, adulthood and a mate....  Here she is ...building her nest in my backyard...right outside my kitchen window.   I think she has so touched me because 1.  Even though she is different from a "normal" robin..I think she is BEAUTIFUL... 2.  She isn't suppose to have a "normal" mate..and she does.    She is a picture..a reminder or my son John-Michael.  He, too, as a genetic disorder, neurofibromatosis...and I try not to dwell on it, but I wonder if he will have a problem finding a wife... will it be more difficult for him or will some woman see him as handsome and kind?   So, she represents hope to me.  It is one of the pains of a mother.  We all want our children to have the best...to have even bet...

  It is the time of year when birds are flocking back to Georgia.   I saw this pretty girl a few weeks ago and was so excited to have several sightings of her this week....in my backyard!  She stayed!  She is nesting somewhere close by.  I have seen her pick up twigs, pits of paper, etc... to carry to her nest.   She has partial leucisim or partial albino.    These birds are rare because they are very noticeable to prey.    These beautiful birds lack their natural colors that would normally protect them from the energy of our sun, keep them safe from inquisitive humans and predators, and  sometimes prevent them from being accepted as a member of their own social group. It isn't uncommon for the parents of baby birds with leucisim will sometimes shy away from their offspring if they’re too far off their "normal" appearance. Once an albino robin beg...

 Apparently, 75 degrees is just the right temperature for the zoo animals to sleep in the sun. Most of them were sun bathing as we went to visit.  Another fun day at Zoo Atlanta.      John-Michael saying hello to a goat.  My three birds in a nest...

John-Michael is doing well..all indications state. He sees Dr. Boydston, his neurosurgeon, in June and his NF specialist, Kim Uhauss in July. We will know them if the cyst inside his spinal cord has dissolved and if the tumor by his spine is stable. I think it will be because he has had such little nerve pain in his legs since his surgery in July. Today, we made a trip to our new favorite place... SaveTheHorses. (Www.savethehorses) is a horse rescue in Canton, GA. Each horse has a special story, but perhaps the most special is Trudy. Trudy suffered the worst imaginable torture at human hands..almost 15 years ago.   You can read about part of her story here... http://inhonoroftheking.blogspot.com/2012/02/feeding-trudy-abused-horse.html She was rendered blind..but the emotional scars it left were much worse. It is the stuff nightmares are made of. Yesterday, Trudy had her own surgery, to remove one of her eyes which is believed to be cancerous. John-Michael bucket fed her tod...