Why I Count it ALL JOY :)

Today is our JOY day and I am thrilled to join w/Angel and many others to spread some JOY!!

I am filled with JOY because my sweet daughter returned home yesterday, safe and sound, from spending the last 5 days with her friend on vacation and I missed her sooo very much!!

I am filled with JOY because instead of spending Tuesday with us this week our grandaughter Rylee will come on Thursday and spend 2 ~ yes TWO nights with us!!! ♥

I am filled with JOY because I have the SWEETEST Husband ever! Even when I am cranky, irritable, grouchy, and just plain ol' mean HE loves me anyway!! (& trust me I have been all of these lately!!)

I am filled with JOY because being in Gods presence fills me with JOY! Knowing that I am under HIS continual care and HIS watchful eye ALL.THE.TIME brings me Peace and JOY!!


Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.

Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Psalm 100

May you all be Filled with JOY today! I ♥ You all!

Helping out some Friends

My Wonderful and Oh so Famous Friend Lori Sabin AKA "Girly Muse" has one of the most amazing voices you will EVER hear! She also has one of the sweetest Hearts I have EVER KNOWN! I had the privelege of meeting Lori last year and felt like I have known her all my life! She captured my heart that day and I am sooo thankful the Lord has blessed me w/her friendship!

So Lori has a friend named Staci Frenes. Any friend of Lori's is a friend of mine :) Staci has come out with a new CD and has asked for help in sharing this WONDERFUL NEWS!

You can go here and listen (& "like") to some of the songs on her Facebook page


If you would like to PreOrder this Fabulous CD ~ go to STACI'S LINK here

Here is a quick note from Staci and a bit about the CD
Thanks so much for helping spread the word about my new CD, Snapshots! :) As an independent artist, I don’t have the kind of marketing budgets the big labels have, so I’m grateful for the press. This project is a unique thing....it’s a collection of demos I’ve done for film/TV, other artists, etc....super fun, hooky songs more in the mainstream than CCM vein.

The CD will be ready to ship (around) the end of July....so right now we’re offering PERKS (free shipping and and a signed CD) for anyone who pre-orders at this PayPal (link listed above!) The CD is on $7.99!!!!! That is awesome so please help out Staci and pre-order today :)

4th of July & and Papa's bday :)

I pray everyone had a blessed and safe 4th of July! We had a wonderful time filled with Family, Food and LOTS of FUN! :)

Everyone came over to our house and we cooked out, shot off fireworks and celebrated my StepDads 60th birthday! It was soo much fun! We missed our daughters and grandbaby though! Krista, Casey and Rylee all went to the lake with her mom and our Jenna was with a friend in Branson! They all had a wonderful time but were soo very missed!!

Here are just a few pics from our day! I am soooo happy my DH has today off and we are planning to just..... CHILLAX!!


My Red, White and Blue centerpiece


Playing volleyball w/Don :)


cousins


My Momma, Aunt Lynette, Uncle John and his girlfriend Aranka, and my Brothers girlfriend Tami


Michael and his chocolate cake! (and some cookies too)


the other table

Spiritual Sundays ~ Independence Day

Jesus and the 4th of July

The stars and stripes spell freedom

She waves upon the breeze

While bursts of colors can be seen

Above the towering trees.



This is all quite wonderful

We revel in delight

But God above in divine love

Has brought this day to light.



With just a stroke of liberty

A touch of His great hand

He gave democracy to us

And helped this country stand.



The stripes upon our stately flag

Were touched by His sweet grace

Each star of white that shines so bright

Reflects His loving face.



So as you turn to face the flag

For battles that were fought

Be filled with pride for those who died

And freedoms that were bought.



But don’t forget to thank the One

That gives the bright display

The reason why we paint the sky

On Independence Day

written by Marilyn Ferguson.


I pray everyone has a blessed 4th of July ! Remembering those who are serving and sacrificing for Our Freedom ~ those who have served or even those that are getting ready to serve ~ We thank you all ~ YOU and Your families!

You can join in with Spiritual Sundays here

TGIF ~ MEN vs. WOMEN

Men can FIX ANYTHING











BUT then again..... So can WE









HAPPY FRIDAY MY FRIENDS :)

Join in Friday Funnies Here

Faithful Bloggers project

Courtney with Faithful Bloggers has a challenge and project for us @ Faithful Bloggers! She has shared Psalm 23 and asked us to share our hearts in regards to that specific verse

I chose

He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

To me ~ I know that my life without HIM is nothing! I also know that because of HIM I have been made righteous and am not worthy of what HE has done for me. I heard this song (by Leeland) one night years ago, and it touched me so deeply! This song is a story of all of us....He made a table and welcomed each one of us! He feeds us with HIS Word, He offers HIS Love, He restores us in HIS Presence, He leads us each and everyday and longs to have Fellowship with us!



Thank you Courtney for encouraging us to share this project with others! Sharing HIM is what blogging is all about!

Others will be submitting their thoughts on Psalm 23 so go here to see more on others thoughts

Counting It All Joy

Joy and Angel just go together I think! :) She hosts this Wonderful meme "Counting It All Joy" so join us won't you!

I am filled w/JOY because Me and my kids were able to spend the day w/Angel and her precious kids and grandaughter Ella ~ swimming, sunshine, friends, & family! Pure JOY

I am filled w/JOY because Ella had previously called me an Old Lady before she met me and today after seeing me ~ she said I wasn't old ;) GOOD ANSWER ELLA ~ LOL

I am filled w/Joy because when we lost my Daddy my Son Jantzen inherited his Telescope and while we live "out of town" the stars are just so Vast! To watch my Son and my DH google the planets checking to see how far it would be to travel to the Sun or look @ all the dips in the Moon brings me sooo much JOY! Thank you Daddy!
I miss you so much!

I am filled w/Joy because anyday you get to hear the words "I love you" from your grandchild it fills your heart with JOY!

I am filled w/Joy because my husband has this Friday and next Monday off !! WOOHOO!!

I am filled w/Joy because I am Redeemed!! Psalm 71:23 My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you— I, whom you have redeemed Thank you Lord!

Our Fallen Soldier

I am beyond blessed to be a part of this wonderful community ! This small town we live in isn't quite so small anymore but we have maintained the closeness and feel as well!

Monday was a sad reminder of this War that is going on. How many times have I heard on the news about the story of a Fallen Soldier?

Today ~ we honored one of our own.

SPC ANDREW LOONEY served and fought for our Freedom and sadly, He was killed in Afghanistan by a suicide bomber. For some horrible reason we were notified of a church who would be protesting AT HIS FUNERAL. ( Here is the HORRIBLE flyer notifying people to protest.)

We were not going to allow these mean spirited people this opportunity!!! NO WAY NO HOW!

People lined 2 of our major Intersections wearing RED, WHITE AND BLUE and everyone carried a Flag. It was as if September 11 had happened all over again. Some came in their Military Uniforms, Veterans were there and passing out flags to all, Moms, Dads and children lined the streets! All came to tell this Family "Thank you and we are praying for you!" Some of the local businesses put up messages for all to see and letting his family know We are Family!

It was sooo overwhelming to see the sea of Flags flying in each hand until you couldn't see any further and then to FEEL the LOVE in the ATMOSPHERE....It was such a beautiful and solemn experience. It truly shows that in ALL things God works things for Good!






















God bless this family and SPC Andrew Looney ~ "Thank you for fighting for MY Freedom"

Giving Thanks a little early in the week :)

Last week I shared with you all that I was hoping to get the new IPHONE4 right! Well, the night that we were planning on waking up @4am. to go get in line @ AT&T, both of our kids went to spend the night w/someone. Well, that is VERY RARE!! Jenna went to our oldest daughters house to stay, and about 3:30 she woke up having a cramp. She got up to get a drink of water and passed out!! Krista heard something hit the floor and found Jenna in the floor and had to help carry her back to bed. She started experiencing tingly arms and something was going on with her neck @ back as well. She texted her Daddy and he woke me up and we immediately drove together to get her because we certainly didn't want her driving home. I drove her Jeep WHILE she rode with her Daddy and as we were driving home Brian told me we needed to take her to the Emergency Room because she was barely responding and something wasn't right! When we arrived they ran a bunch of tests and determined she was DEHYDRATED. Thank goodness for the easy fix!!! We are making sure she is drinking Lots and Lots of Water and eating healthy!! Thank you Jesus!!

After all of the Prayers and things calmed down and we were on our way home I drove by the At&t store just to see if people were still in line and they had a sign on the door that because of the unprecedented number of Pre-Orders they were not even able to sell them and ONLY Apple would be selling the phones. I did not even have the energy to go the 30 min. to town and then stand in line so I just went home and snuggled my kids as we slept for most of the morning. BUT my Sweet Husband called Apple and asked them what the scoop was and they shared that the phones they had at present were for those who were currently in line and any pre-orders that were to be picked up on that day and anyone who did NOT pick theres up would lose it and those phones would be available tomorrow which was Friday. So He woke up early (AGAIN) and stood in line! Do you know that He got the last phone available!!!! It was sooooo very worth it because the Phone is truly Awesome!!!! Thank you Jesus!! and Thank you Honey! He (my Dh) continued to tell me from the git-go to have Faith ~ that I would get one and I did :) YAY

I have noticed that all over people are sharing how very HOT it is so remember to HYDRATE and drink Lots of Water OK :)

Have a blessed week my friends! May you experience Gods Love, Grace and Peace anew this day! I love you ALL!

Spiritual Sundays

Charlotte and Ginger host Spiritual Sundays. I have been a part of this wonderful group of bloggers for quite some time now and as I sought the Lord as to what to post I just felt a deep gratefulness for this group of bloggers and for these women who faithfully lead us each week. My heart in blogging and the Scripture that I live by is ~ Let us Spur One Another on towards Love and Good Deeds ~ Hebrews 10:24 and isn't that just exactly what this group of believers does each and every week!

When we need prayer ~ this group is by your side and one their knees
When we need encouragement ~ you will have countless words of encouragment in your comments or email
When we need wisdom ~ we will find a post sharing wisdom or insight

I am so thankful for these women and this wonderful place called Spiritual Sundays but mostly I am thankful for the Lord who blesses us each and every week as HE shines in each person who plays their role as they post and share HIS Words, His Ways, and HIS Love, HIS Hope, HIS Joy, HIS Encouragement, HIS Peace, HIS Patience, HIS Kindness, and HIS Goodness!

Thank you Lord and Thankyou every Spiritual Sunday blogger! You bless me soooo very much each and every week!

To join this wonderful group go here

To us, family means putting your arms around each other and being there.
-- Barbara Bush