In The In Between

Think on These Things

You will go where your thoughts lead you. Our loving Father in Heaven reminds us to "renew our minds with the washing of the Word" and to "hold every thought captive". So much in scripture has to do with our thoughts. "As a man thinks, so is he".  It is no wonder that people can be influenced by mind control, brainwashing, mental illness. Our mind is so powerful that our own thoughts can make us believe lies about who we really are. Like it or not, we are constantly being controlled. The more important question is, who are we allowing to form our thoughts? Who have we given our attention to, our ear, our heart? The Bible says, "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God". If faith comes by hearing, then doesn't it stand to reason that we should be so very careful about the source of what we allow to enter our ears? If we are hearing the Word, our Godly faith will be alive. If we lend our ear to anything that contradicts the Word, our faith will be in something other than God.

 

Whatever is 

true

noble 

right

pure 

lovely

admirable

excellent 

or 

praiseworthy 

think about such things. 

If we keep reading in this same chapter, Paul writes, 

"The things which you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things [in daily life], and the God [who is the source] of peace and well-being will be with you."(Philippians 4:9 AMP)

When God is our source, peace and well-being will be with us. These attributes that we are urged to think on, come straight from God and His Word.

To what have you been listening?

To whom do you lend your ear?

If your peace and well-being are absent, how wonderful that we can return to the Source and start fresh!

 

Home

 

All the previous photos were taken by my extremely talented sister, Mary Kellish Poston.

This photo and the one below are circa 1989 from a photography class I took in Highschool.

Sometimes it feels like a beautiful dream. Often it seems just like yesterday. So many years of life, laughter, love. Hundreds of steps on this beautiful land. Thousands of memories that will last for eternity. Generations past, present and future who all hold this small piece of heaven close to their hearts. The woods. The gulley. The sixteen acre field. The big rock. The petrified forest. The forts. The creek. The cabin. The old indian burial ground. The weeds. The split tree. The pond. The cow path. The swamp. The deer grass. The blackberries. The vegetable gardens. But as precious as this land is, it was the people on it who made it so special. Grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, sisters and brothers, nieces and nephews, grandchildren, greatgrands, cousins, husbands and wives, children, friends. Without the love of those around us over the years, it would just be another ordinary plot of land. It is love that gave us this gift, and made it our home. The sweet memories will stay with us, and be a part of us, forever.

49 and holding!

 Well, it's my birthday. My last official birthday. This is as old as I go. Haha. I remeber when I was young and 49 seemed so old. Foolish child! 😄

Well, my birthday started with my sweet Luis making me breakfast. He needed some assistance from Jonathan to toast a bagel, but my coffee was just the way I like it!

We played some games and I tried my hand at making tamales....still cooking. Birthday cake still to come. We didn't make it to church but opted to watch online. With the Covid cases on the rise, it seemed like the right choice for our family. 

And we are all excited for Christmas. 

All in all, thankful for another year of life that I have been given. Grateful for my family whom I love, and most of all for the Lord who sustains us each day.

🎂❤🎂

 

Christmastime is here...

 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here. 2020 has been a crazy year, but we are determined to make the best of it. Josh is home from college, Luis and I have taken a couple weeks off from work, and we are just planning to slow down amd enjoy life. We are missing those far away, and Covid has made a mess of our travel plans, but we know the Lord is still on the throne and we are grateful for all of the blessings from 2020 even in the middle of a pandemic.

It is still my favorite time of the year! Even though the kids are older amd it is not the same as it was years ago, there is still beauty to be found in this season.

September Update

 School is back in session and Jonathan and Lily are attending face-to-face classes in spite of the Covid-19 issues. Jon is a 10th grader and Lily, a 5th grader.

Here are some things that we are soooo sick of:

1. Wearing masks, rememering to bring masks everywhere, trying to breathe, speak, function with a mask, basically, just masks in general. Highly overrated. So done with MASKS! (Yes, I still wear a mask...)

2. Hearing the phrase, "new normal". Admittedly, I have said it myself, once or twice, but it even makes me cringe when I say it...

3. Arrows on the floors in grocery aisles. First of all, if masks truly work, then why do I need "one-way" signs in every aisle? And why is it that I always need something at the wrong way end of an aisle? It is wrong to go backwards down the wrong way? Half the time, I don't even realize there IS an arrow on the floor because my mask blocks my periferral vision down below my nose. Halfway down the aisle, I realize that I am going against the flow of traffic and I am greeted by not-so-friendly stares and mask-muffled insults. (Ah, back to the masks again!)

4. Social Distancing. So let me preface this one by saying I actually don't mind this as much as 1-3. I mean, I like my space, my "bubble", if you will. But sometimes, it is taken to the extreme. Like today, for instance. We were travelling for a 2-day Rock Hill soccer tournament and the team decided to go to a nice little pizzeria downtown between games. We showed up a little late as we wanted to check in to our hotel early (which they didn't let us do-boo!). When we arrived to the pizzeria, people were waiting to be seated. When we walked up to the hostess, she said we would have to wait at least 15 minutes. Knowing we had another game soon,  I asked if my son could go sit with his teammates who were already seated at a large table. She said they had a "new system" and she didn't think he could. Wait, what? So these kids, who just played a soccer game together, sat next to each other without a mask at halftime and "high-fived" everyone after their game are now being restricted from sitting together? Ummm...ok 🙄 

All in all, I am thankful that we are all healthy and able to work and go to school. I know the virus has effected so many adversly, and we are very fortunate that things have stayed relatively the same throughout these last 6 months.

Josh absolutely loves college. We got to see him very briefly on the way to the tournament this weekend. I miss him terribly, but he is so happy. 

Lily had her first soccer game of the season this weekend too. She scored her first goal and was so excited. I hated that I missed it, and can't wait for her next game!

Ending this post with some of Jonathan's artwork. He impresses me with his talent!!

On the Road Again

 Our middle son has begun the permit driving adventure...so far, so good! He is such a cutie!!

BHP Senior Parade

Joshua Parra Senior Year 2020

Choose Life

What a beautiful truth.

Choice.

I was unexpected, not in the "plan". Money was tight. There were already 6 children. Dispair asked the doctor to discuss "options" with my mother. Options between life or death. Between living or dying. God had a plan. His plan was for good and not evil. To give me a future and a hope. She chose LIFE. Thank you Mom for keeping me. Inspite of the hardship, the fears, the uncertanty. Thank you for following God's plan and not man's. I am eternally grateful.

And while she carried me inside, with all of her emotions of fear and dispair, a search began that changed the course of her destiny forever. Not only her life, but of all those around her. While laying in bed, pregnant with the life she chose to keep, she heard a man on the radio explain about Someone that would change her life forever. One who would never leave her or forsake her. One who could take hard times and turn them into good. One who could forgive her of her sins, love her unconditionally, walk with her through anything. Jesus.

Her tough decision led her straight into the best choice she could ever make. Forgiveness. Freedom. Transformation. A new creation. It was contagious, and spread over time. Her mother, her sister, her brother-in-law. Her husband, her children. Her grandchildren. Her nieces and nephews. Even her hard-hearted father. She met the One who chose her from before time was. He accepted her just as she was. And she was forever grateful for the new life He gave.

So many lives touched and changed for all eternity by the choice of one mother who chose life. Both the life of the one she carried, and New life in Christ.

"This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live." Deuteronomy 30:19