Jonathan's Artwork

This is acrylic on canvas. He received a grade of 105 on this one and his art teachers said "this is one to frame", so I did! It is in the livingroom where I will enjoy it every day. 

Josh turns 19

 So glad we got to see Josh for his birthday weekend. It was a short visit, but a sweet one! He requested chicken enchiladas and of course we had his favorite carrot cake. Last teen year for my first born!

Happy New Year - goodbye 2020!

Well, we are back to "normal"...as normal as you get with a Pandemic and our country in political chaos...but God is still on His throne, and He still has a plan!! Luis and I went back to work last week, Jon an Lily went back to school and Josh returned to college yesterday. We had so much fun during our 2 week vacation with everyone home. We went sledding (well, I watched), and we went ice skating (again, I watched!), played games, had a beautiful Christmas and just enjoyed some down time together. Poor Josh finally recovered from having his wisdom teeth removed...I will remember never to schedule that over Christmas break again-torturous to see all the Christmas goodies that you can't eat! Jonathan made Renaissance (which is equivalent to honor roll) and Josh made Honor Roll at college (earning greater than a GPA of 3.2 his first semester. Smarty pants Lily continues to get straight A's (smart like her Mama! haha) 😄 Here are some pictures of our life from December - January.

Nice close-up of my gray hairs at the skating rink with Jonathan!! Turned 49 this year....I think I'll stop there. 😄

 

Josh has grown since college started...or else Luis has shrunk! 

Still under the effects of the anesthesia 😆😀

Sledding somewhere near Asheville, North Carolina 

Ice Skating in Anderson, South Carolina...it wasn't really ice, more like some plastic substance, but same effect, without losing the feeling in your toes from the bitter cold....

These kids of mine are growing so fast...trying to soak up every minute I can while they are still in the nest, or at least partially in the nest! 🐣🐤🐥

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!