An Award and a Win

I can't even begin to share how much I have enjoyed this bloggy world. I have won contests, giveaways, plus, gleened wisdom and Insight from sooo many! But I have found some of the Most PRECIOUS friendships and Prayer Warriors! If you would have sat me down a few mongths ago and said "Loren, start a blog ~ seriously, you will have new friends that will teach you every day about the Lord, being a parent. They will make you laugh with their posts, dig deep and ask some serious questions of yourself, and yet they will cover you in prayer and be a treasure to you." I don't think I would have believed you. But....It is true! These relationships are truly a Gift from the Lord at a time in my life, that only He knew how much they would mean to me! One of these precious friendships is from Mary @ PILEofSMILES. Ohhhhh, how I love Mary! Upon arriving at her blog you instantly see her sweet face and for me I KNEW I had a friend. She LOVES the LORD like I do and always points me to HIM and HIS WORD! She is a doer of the Word, a mentor and loves, comforts and prays for all those she meets in her blog! Mary blessed me with this LOVE YA Award. Thankyou Mary! I am honored to be your friend!! Now, It is my turn to pass this on :)

Rules of this award are:


The "Love Ya" Award states: These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to other bloggers who must choose to pass it on and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award!

Nicole at Taulman Times, she is my friend and the one who introduced me to blogging. She is one of the most honest, transparent people I know. She inspires so many and the best is yet to come :)

Lori at Girly Muse, she is a beautiful writer, mother and will inspire you to see the Lord in ALL things!

Jennifer at Studio JRU. I met her through a blog contest and won her beautiful faith inspired art and gained a Friend! She is such a gifted artist so visit her Artfire Studio too!

Stephanie at stephtmomof3. Steph is a bloggy friend and a personal one. We have known each other for a long time. She loves Jesus, her family and will always bring a smile to your face and heart!

Kim at Homesteaders Heart. Oh how this girl makes me laugh! EVERYDAY! She is so funny and has a heart as big as the Florida Sunshine!

and last but certainly not LEAST, is my friend Clif at Musings of a Minister. He is an independent book reader, a lover of the LORD, and will make you laugh on days, look within at times, and even cry every once in a while!

Please go visit my friends, they are all precious to me and more precious to our Father! Friendship is a Gift from above....treasure each and everyone!


My win!!!! I entered a book giveaway at Clif's Musings of a Minister and won! This book is called Jantsens Gift by Pam Cope. It immediately caught my eye because my sons name if Jantzen. Pam was a hairstylist, so am (or was) I! I am looking forward to reading this book! It is a deeply moving account of loss and recovery. It is Pam's story of losing her 15 yr old son and turning that pain into glory for the Lord and helping children and making a difference in the world!

Thankyou Clif!!

June 16, 2009

For Today...

Outside my window... The Sun is Shining Bright and Beautiful but my heart is heavy

I am thinking... about my Dad. It was confirmed that he has Lung Cancer. My quiet time in the Word yesterday was in Psalm 23. I felt the Holy Spirit with me and somehow knew this is what I would hear.


I am thankful for... The Strength, Love, and comfort from the Lord


I am wearing... Shorts and a tank top

I am reading... 1 Samuel, Psalms, "Leota's Garden" by Francine Rivers, &
"That's My Son" by Rick Johnson

I am hoping... they will be able to operate on my dad. At this point that is "if-y" because of the location of the tumor, BUT~ God can do ANYTHING. He finds out Friday.


I am praying... for my Dad, my Nana, who is alone and dealing with all of this, Lori and family, Heydon and Jennifer,and Mary my sweet sweet friend! Another Bloggy friend whose husband is also having serious health issues too.

Around the house... a Peace that Passes all Understanding

One of my favorite things... at dusk, watching the Lightning bugs dance across my yard, the beautiful family of Deer that come to graze in our back yard, spending time with my kids and Rylee, my sweet grand-daughter. The love and support my husband pours into me during this difficult time and seeing Gods hand so powerfully on my family right now

A few plans for the rest of the week... Jantzen finishes cooking school this week, My husband and I are taking a cooking class together on Thursday ~ yum ~ (wings, brats, shrimp dip)

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...

ME AND MY SWEET DADDY

Family Meetings

This is the first Motivate Me Monday with Composing Hallelujahs and I am so excited for Dana to be the new Vessel for this wonderful Post!

I would like to share with you the idea of Family Meetings. Years ago we began seeing a Life Coach. She really taught us (our family) how we are a TEAM! Her company name is Creative Teambuilders and she works with families, corporate teams etc. She introduced us to Family Meetings.

Each week (Same day every week) we meet together with our calendars (in whatever form that means~phone, dayplanner etc) and we share our events with one another inputing them into our schedules. We also plan menus ~ each person chooses a meal they would like to have and it works great! My favorite part of the meeting is when we share prayer needs with one another or when we share what the Lord has done or said to us that particular week. Sometimes, we will have our family bible study or study a book together and love the questions that arise and/or that are shared. We also play games that will bring out questions from the kids....The Ungame, great board game that initiates emotions and questions for all players. This can be found at any local Christian Bookstore. Cardversation, 104 Questions for Youth to deal with ~ these cards are great for kids of all ages and also have it clear which are for older youth and which are for younger kids. These also can be found at any Christian bookstore. We also play a game called "Empty the Bucket" this uses 4 words ~ MAD, SAD, GLAD AND AFRAID, WOW! This one is really good and the Lord works powerfully here! Talking to your kids is so very important! Keeping dialogue open and asking purposeful questions and opening the door to their hearts and minds is key these days! Reminding them that you are their biggest cheerleader and their safe place along with teaching them the ways of the Lord brings peace and security.

How about you~ What do you share at your family meetings?

Spiritual Sundays

12 Honor your father and mother so that you'll live a long time in the land that God, your God, is giving you. Exodus 20:12

This is the 5th commandment. It is also the only commandment with a promise.
So that we may live long in the land the Lord gives us.


In Dennis Rainey's book "The Best Gift You can ever give your Parents" he points out this in regards to this commandment:

"Look carefully at the commandment again: Whom did God command us to honor? Only perfect parents? Only Christian parents? Parents who are spiritually mature and insightful? Only those who never made major mistakes rearing us?

No, God commands us to honor our parents regardless of their performance, behavior or dysfunction. Why? Because honoring parents demands that we live by faith in God."

This is a wonderful book for all people, believers and/or non-believers. A friend of mine was asking me how my dad was doing and then told me she had something for me. It was this book. I devoured it and am so looking forward to writing the tribute to my parents. I just wanted to share this on Spiritual Sundays and for anyone who would be interested in honoring their parents and obeying the Lord. This is just a tool that will shed new light on the wonderful commandment.

For other stories please go here and thankyou Charlotte and Ginger for this wonderful blog!

TGIF

My mom showed me this: Enjoy :) Have a Fabulous Friday. Go see Kim for more Friday Funnies

Give Thanks

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever

I see alot of posts with catchy phrases according to the day of the week;

Menu Plan Monday
Motivate Me Monday
Tasteful Tuesday
Friday Funnies :)
Spiritual Sunday


I love them all and have done most but this particular one I hadn't seen so I thought I would join in on the fun!


** My family operating in the Gifts and Callings that God has for each of us!
My daughter has a prophetic gift. I love watching her share that gift with others and when she shares something the Lord has given her with someone it truly blesses all involved!

** My dad. He is so strong and I see God moving in His life so powerfully!! My dad's heart is opening to so many people around him and for this I will forever be grateful!

** My husband and his new job. It literally took 2 yrs for the sale of my husbands company to take place and when it did, it was soo fast! He learned so much during those 2 yrs and we continually asked the Lord during that time, "Please show us all that you want us to know/understand for everyday life and spiritually speaking." My husband was the general manager of the previous company. Now with the new company, his title remains the same, but he is able to operate as a true GM and has such a heart for these people that he has worked with for 30+yrs. He is flourishing and we both know THIS truly is a gift from the Lord!

What are you thankful for today? Is it your husband? Have you told him lately how much you appreciate him? What about your parents? Do they know how grateful you are for all they have done, taught, shared or sacrificed? Your friends, kids, coworkers, maybe even the convenience store clerk that you see everyday. Do they know how thankful you are for them? If not, give them thanks today! Share your heart with the Lord for it is true...He IS GOOD, and His love endures forever!

Attention Ladies

I have been following this blog this past week and I am loving this series! It's about Loving Our Men, so go check it out ~ The series started June 1 so you can easily catch up and see what you think! Come back and let me know ok :)

Tagged....AGAIN

I was given ORDERS to complete this and share 6 Unimportant things that make me Happy by my friend Nicole.

1. Drinking my coffee out of a certain cup so that it stays warm.

2. The toilet paper roll going over and not under.

3. My Iphone.

4. summertime laundry ~ it is sooo much better than winter time laundry.

5. Reading Facebook Statuses

6. Having completed this post.

Now here is where I am suppose to tag 6 people but I am going to say if you would like to do this go for it, mention my blog/name in your post and have fun: This is harder than you think! :) Blessings!!

June 9, 2009

For Today...

Outside my window... Sunny and Hot :) Just the way I like it!

I am thinking... How much I love being a NONI (grandma)


I am thankful for... The news my dad received for at least one of his tests, whatever this is in his body has at least NOT SPREAD :) THANKYOU LORD

From the kitchen... Fresh fruits, veggies and anything that can be grilled

I am wearing... my hair has decided in my old age to be curly (how does this happen?)
my jean shorts and my cute tank top

I am reading... piles of goodstuff


I am praying... for my Dad, my brother, for my bloggy friend Lori and her family and friends, and other friends as well

Around the house... We love SUMMER! Sitting outside at night talking, reading, being lazy if we want to ~hey it's summer!

One of my favorite things... Seeing the fruit of working with a life coach over the past few years and being able to help others in situations in their marriage or life circumstances.

A few plans for the rest of the week... Dr. appt tomorrow to see if I need shoulder surgery, my son is in Cooking School this week and loves it and Friday with mom and all the grandkids will be over here making something for Fathers Day for my DH and my brother. It's going to be so much fun :)

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you

Our precious grandaughter Rylee

Motivation

I just have to thank Sarah Mae for her Motivate Me Mondays! I found her blog a few months ago and this was a post I participated in some, and gleened so much more from.
She has decided to say good-bye to this particular post and to pass the torch to her friend Dana @ Composing Halleluahs. Today Sarah Mae shared with us about Moving On, not being afraid of the risks! That is just one of the things I love about this bloggy world ~ most everyone works together, helps each other out, lifts each other up in prayer, or with encouraging comments. That motivates me ya'll, doesn't it you? Isn't that what we are called to do?

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
Heb 10:24

If Love was the root of all our motivation, or loving our neighbor like we love ourselves hmmmm .....If we weren't afraid of what others thought or if Sarah Mae was worried that Dana just might do better with this than she did, but she didn't. She freely and gladly gave with the hopes that new life would be put into it! Sounds just like some ONE we all know and love! What are we holding on to? What are we afraid to let go of? Where can we love or encourage today?

For more motivate me mondays go here