Cardboard Testimonies

I know that this has been shown before - I apologize - I don't know who to give credit to for showing this in the first place. Every time I see this I am amazed at God's grace in dealing with me - a wretched sinner saved by the Grace Of our Heavenly Father! I hope that if you have not seen this before - that it touches you - as it has touched me!

God is such a beautiful forgiving Lord! If you do not know Him - turn to His Word and start today - it is never too late to feel His wonderful forgiving LOVE wash over you!! If you are seeing this for the first time and would like prayer - please leave me a comment - I would LOVE to pray for you!



Blessings to you,

What A Beautiful God!

12Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it.
13For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live,
14because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
15For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father."
16The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.
17Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
Romans 8:12-17
NIV

Have a blessed day today,

Comings and Goings

I have been a VERY bad blogger of late! I have neglected to blog about the revolving door that has been happening here this summer. We have been blessed to have several of our children come to visit us and I have been so busy I haven't been able to blog about it! Because this is my journal of sorts, I better get to it!

As many of you know we have one of our sons living with us again. He is one of our twin boys - the other twin had decided to stay in Washington to live with his mom. They are the youngest of our 7 children - they are 16 years old now - my, how time flies!

Anyway, we have been enjoying BOTH of the boys this summer - they have both been here with us during the summer break which has been so much fun! I forgot how much teenage boys can eat! My food bill has doubled (tripled actually) since they have been home. I am definitely not complaining though - it has been lots of fun to bake for them as they LOVE to eat my homecooked meals! My son "A" who lives with us, is back in school now and the other twin doesn't start school until September. I can't believe our summer is almost at an end "P" will be leaving to go back home on Sunday. I will miss him so much when he leaves! It has been great fun to have them both here with us again.

Their older sister Ashley came to visit during this time too. Ashley lives in California. As you can tell - my kids are spread out all over the place. Three of them live in Washington, two live in California, one lives in Alaska and one now lives with us here in Georgia. (did I miss anybody? ~smile~)

Ashley was only able to stay here with us for a week and it flew by so fast! I feel like she didn't get much attention from me while she was here because I needed to work and go to school in the evenings - but we did manage to do a few fun things while she was here.

We spent one day at Stone Mountain.

I found this cool aerial view of Stone Mountain on Google images.

It has this beautiful carving in the side of it, but we were not able to get out of our car to take pictures of this side of the mountain because it was so crowded and we could not find a parking space! After driving around for what seemed forever, we decided to give up and try another day. This park is VERY popular year round.

Here is Wickipedia's description of this beautiful mountain:

"Stone Mountain is a granite dome monadnock in Stone Mountain, Georgia. At its summit, the elevation is 1,686 feet (513 m) amsl and 825 feet (251.5 m) above the surrounding area. Stone Mountain granite extends underground 9 miles (14 km) at its longest point into Gwinnett County. Numerous reference books and Georgia literature have dubbed Stone Mountain as “the largest exposed piece of granite in the world". This misnomer is most likely a result of advertisement by granite companies and early park administration. In actuality, there are larger exposed granite landscapes throughout the world including the Sierra Nevada mountain range in the Western United States. Stone Mountain is also a quartz monzonite rock when described in geologic terms and is therefore not technically granite. Stone Mountain is well-known not only for its geology, but also for the enormous bas-relief on its north face, the largest bas-relief in the world.[1] Three figures of the Confederate States of America are carved there: Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and Jefferson Davis"

We were able to go on a hike up to the top of Stone Mountain and see the beautiful view of Atlanta in the distance. It was a fun hike up the mountain although it was VERY humid that day! I forgot to bring some water, so thankfully there was a small store at the top that you could purchase refreshments for the long walk down. I can't believe I actually went on a hike.... in Georgia..... in the summer.... in the extreme humidity....AND FORGOT TO BRING WATER! ~Sigh~ Needless to say, I won't be doing THAT again!

I am sure this would be a beautiful hike in the Spring and summer- with all of the different colors of the flowers and the trees.










Beautiful Picture of my wonderful kids!


I had to say goodbye to Ashley before I was ready. I miss you already sweetheart!








Now - my OLDEST daughter - Brandy will be coming to see me for a week! She is arriving this evening and I am so excited! I am loving this revolving door!









Isn't she beautiful? Can't wait to see her!
Brandy has always been my child that has made me laugh. She has such a great sense of humor and when we are together we laugh so much! I have been so immersed in "life" lately, that I am looking forward to great belly laughs again!




She will probably hate me putting this picture of her here- but hey - it's my blog right? This picture was taken a few years ago at my son's graduation and we were trying desperately to get a good picture of the two of us. Brandy was "cheesing" for the camera and we had to take so many pictures to get a good shot because she kept doing this. By the time we were through we were laughing so hard! This picture has turned out to be one of my favorites because it shows her silliness. I Love it!

This picture was taken last year at the Georgia Aquarium while she was here visiting us. NOT my favorite picture of me - don't know why I have a double chin thing going on, but I LOVE the picture of us together. She is a lot taller then me and had to bend down to get closer to her "little mommy" as she likes to call me.

We will drive out this evening to pick her up, and we will drive out to the airport on Sunday to drop off my son "P" who will be leaving us and flying back home to Washington.


I HATE goodbyes! I will miss you so much when you leave "P"! Thankfully God has been so gracious to allow me these visits. Even though they seem so far and inbetween, I cherish the time that I DO have with all of them.

Somebody ELSE gets so excited to see the kids when they come. Ginger thinks they are coming JUST to see her. She will be dancing this evening when her Brandy gets here!

Blessings,

Feels Like I'm Born Again!

Thanks to Charlotte and Ginger for organizing this awesome event each week! To view other uplifting posts for the day please join us here.

I wanted to share this amazing song with you today. Let God's amazing love wash over you as you listen!

Blessings to all of you - my wonderful friends who join me here each week! I love to share this day with you and if I am not always able to get back to you as often as I would like to, please know that I appreciate the time you give to leave me such wonderful comments and encouragement! Please know that I WILL come to visit you as soon as I can! My time has been severely limited due to my schoolwork, but I do try to check in as often as I am able.

If you have the time, please stop by and read the post that I wrote on Friday. I have a "guest speaker" for the day and I know that she would love to hear that you have read her sweet little commentary as she steps out in serving the Lord with gladness. I am trying to encourage the next generation to have a heart for outreach into the community. I know that all of your comments are very appreciated and I hope that it will encourage her to continue in her walk of service for the Lord!
((Hugs to ALL of you!))
Kymber

Raising Up The Next Generation

I would like to introduce you to an amazing young lady. This is "M". She has agreed to be a guest writer for me today! She is a beautiful 6 year old girl who has a great heart for the Lord and a very giving spirit! Let me explain:

Back in April, I wrote a post about a ministry that helps the homeless and low income families here in Georgia, called "Must Ministries". Our church has been actively serving them in small ways and a few weeks ago we were able to help out the Summer Lunch Program which I wrote about here.

I wish I had taken pictures and written a post about the day that we all got together to put the lunches together - but due to the harried schedule I have been keeping lately, I haven't been able to keep up with it all! In a nutshell, we as a congregation were able to raise the money necessary to provide 300 lunches for these very special children, through various fundraising efforts. We gathered together one day after our Sunday service to form an assembly line to put the lunches together. We had so many people involved with this! Our Sunday School children took the brown paper bags and decorated them with crayons and encouraging words like "You are loved" and "You are special to God". We had a wonderful lady in our congregation who isn't able to do certain things due to physical limitations - she copied off a colorful picture of Jesus with little children and a Bible verse which she then glued on each bag.

We had a very special lady - the mother of our guest speaker today - who did most of the organizing and did all of the necessary shopping for this event. We had so many people there that day to gather in the assembly line to put the lunches together and then ladies who gave of their time the next day for delivery.

This year we were just getting our feet wet to see what we could handle as a group and I know that next year - we are going to do it on a much larger scale. It was so amazing to watch God's hand at work when we had set our goal at 300 and we were VERY unsure if we could reach that goal. God not only MET the goal - He surpassed it! We have money left over in our treasury for the NEXT big Outreach project!

Through all of this we have had little eyes watching our actions. One special young lady who I am pleased to introduce you to today has been by her mother's side helping from the beginning. She has been taught by mom that this is a wonderful way to give service to those who are God's children - just like she is and are in great need right now. She has been watching and learning and GROWING through this experience and I feel so blessed to be able to watch how God is using her to teach others through her simple faith.

"M" was shopping with her mother the other day for Must Ministries. Her mother had decided to take some groceries to the Food Bank and "M" decided it would be a good idea to do a news article about it and give it out to people in our congregation to show them by example the gift of service to others. She handed out her newsletter to everyone at our ongoing Bake Sale that we have been having after Sunday Services - proceeds that directly benefit Must Ministry events throughout the year.

Keep in mind that this beautiful young lady is 6 years old and in the first grade. She took her pad and paper out at the grocery store - carefully noting all of the various items her mother was purchasing, so that she could write her news article accurately! How cute is that!

I now introduce you to our guest speaker "M". Here is her news article in it's entirety:

Charity Day
Name withheld to protect her identity
First Grade
"On August 6, my mom, my sister "K", and I decided to have a Charity Day. The Bible says to “Love thy neighbor as thyself” (Lev. 19:18).
First, we went to WalMart and bought Pork n’ Beans, Macaroni and Cheese, Tuna, Cereal, Peanut Butter and Jelly, Powdered Milk, and Spaghetti and Sauce, and Ravioli. After we paid for it, we loaded it all into the car and took it to MUST Ministries. When we got there, Miss Victoria helped us unload the car and we put it all in a shopping cart. Then we took it inside, where they could put it away.
I hope the people who get the food like it!"

How stinking cute is that! Oh how I adore this little girl! She has a heart of pure gold! I wish I would have done things like this with MY children when they were younger - they are always carefully watching us as parents - what a wonderful "gift" this mother has given this young lady - the gift of service to those who are in need of our help. God tells us to be servants to those who have less than we do - and "M" is learning early the joy of doing God's work for others!

I know Miss "M" would love to hear comments about her first newsletter. Hopefully she will continue to be a reporter for future ministry opportunities for our church! Please join with me in helping to encourage this special lady - she is representing the next generation! Maybe - this will encourage her to start her OWN blog!

I hope this will encourage all young parents reading this - what a fun way to share God's love with your kids!
Blessings to you all,
Kymber

Worry

I encourage you to stop by and visit all of the participants of Spiritual Sundays. Such an uplifting way to spend a Sunday! Read a variety of wonderful devotions, Bible passages, and listen to edifying music while praising the Lord on His special day of rest for your soul. A special thank you to Charlotte and Ginger for organizing this awesome event for us each week!

As the new week approaches, worry is starting to set in. I will be beginning my Orientation for my new job tomorrow and even though I am VERY excited, I am also very nervous! Why is my faith so frail at times... what began as a step out in faith, has turned into fretting and apprehension!

On Friday I went to the hospital to finish up some paperwork, had my physical and updated my immunizations. As I signed some final paperwork, I happened to read that my shiftwork is to be second shift instead of first shift like I had assumed it to be! I began to panic and quickly started to doubt my course of action in taking this PRN (as needed) position. I asked the gal helping me to please clarify what I had read and she told me that they couldn't guarantee the hours I am to work, it would all depend on where and when I was needed. I took this job to try to get my foot in the door - which God graciously provided for me, why am I now unhappy with the outcome?

When I lived in Washington, my husband and I were always apart. He traveled all of the time and therefore we communicated mainly by telephone. For three long years we were apart more than we were together. That can be very hard on a marriage! I moved here to Georgia so that we would have a chance to renew our relationship and have the evenings to spend together after our long days at work. My first job that I got here in Georgia was working second shift (3:00-11:00pm) Now- here I am again - faced with working second shift! My class is ALSO in the evenings - two days a week........

I see a lesson in all of this - do I pray for God to use me and then tell Him that I don't like HOW he wants to use me? Am I to question His answer or am I to faithfully carry out the work set before me? Am I to worry constantly and strive for things to be different? Am I now to question whether this is all God's will for me - or just my striving for change?

I need to learn to have faith in GOD'S direction that He wants for my life and stop the constant protesting when it doesn't align with what I want!

In my Bible studies for this morning I read some things that God shouted out to me:

Why do you say, O Jacob,
and complain, O Israel,
"My way is hidden from the Lord;
my cause is disregarded by my God"?
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the Everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and His understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:27-31

All of my worry about whether I will make enough money to help my husband and if I will have enough time to spend with my husband to try and strengthen our marriage - all of that WILL be worked out by the Lord who provided the work for me to do in the first place! I HAVE to have faith and believe this!

Another devotion that I read this morning spoke loudly to my heart:

"God does not grant the necessary grace before the trial. He builds the bridge when we reach the river. We often fear that we shall sink under the fiery trials that we see others endure. We see in the distance and are afraid of the mystery and anguish of what is to befall us; but we have not yet reached the crises, and grace is not vouchsafed before it is needed, 'Jesus comes with our distress' " - Mrs. Charles E. Cowman.

"The chains which bound Peter when he was in prison were struck off. He followed the angel sent to help him. On the way out of the prison they came to an impossible barrier, the iron gate leading into the city. But that "opened to them of his own accord" (Acts 12:10). "If you will do all the possible things, God will take care of the impossible." God did nothing for Peter that night, that Peter could do for himself. If the iron gate is locked and barred and staring you in the face, God's call is to do for yourself whatever He has asked you to do, and trust Him to do the rest.

The Lord in that great Sermon on the Mount said, "Be not therefore anxious for the morrow; for the morrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."

While we let ourselves worry, we are not trusting. But still it is the habit of ours to worry. Bishop Quayle had a sense of humor concerning himself. So he tells humorously of a time when he sat in his study worrying over many things. He relates that finally the Lord came to him and said Quayle, you go to bed; I'll sit up the rest of the night."
Streams in the Desert Volume Two Mrs. Charles E. Cowman

I have been forcing myself to get up in the morning and devote my first hour to the Lord. I have been reading my Bible faithfully and praying for those that God has put on my heart. I truly feel that God has used this time to clearly guide me in the way that I should go. Do I feel that God is speaking to my heart through my Bible study time? Absolutely! It practically jumps off the page when I read it! I am trying to do all things in faith- now I must rest in that faith!

I will rest in His will -I WILL trust....

I hope this has helped YOU today as it has helped me! Many of you also struggle with stress and worry - turn ALL of your cares over to Him and let HIM stay up all night and worry FOR you! Be faithful in the little things and let God carry the rest!
Blessings to all of you this day and always,
Kymber

Treasure Hunting

I have been trying to get into the swing of going back to school - now my whole life seems to revolve around studying which has been a real adjustment! I am doing very well in my class so far - but I need a life again! If I sit down too long I feel guilty -I feel like I need to study.

I decided it was time to get away from it all for awhile and take advantage of some retail therapy. Time to go to one of my favorite places to hunt for treasures - Goodwill!

I can't wait to show you my pretty finds for the day!

I immediately fell in love with these unique plates. I bought two of them - the blue one will go in my dining room and the green one in my guest bedroom. They were only $1.99 a piece!

There were a lot of these for sale - in all different colors -




I am always on the lookout for green and blue items for my dining room now - I LOVE this little plate! Is it my imagination - or are prices going up at the Goodwill and other thrift stores? I think they finally caught on to our love of all things old and are raising the prices. This beauty was $3.50 - still a good deal, but I ended up having to put a few items back - I could have done some serious damage to my pocketbook this day!

I debated on whether I really wanted this or not - I decided it was too cute to pass up. Glad it came home with me!

Sorry for the fuzzy picture - I am not sure if this will be the pear's final resting place - I am not too good at putting things together. Should I elevate the pear? What do you think I should put inside my little birdcage - it needs something...just not sure what. Should I put some hydrangea blooms in there - maybe in greens and blues to tie it all together? I will be sure to take a better picture to show you when I find that special something to balance it all out.

I love this pretty picture although I will definitely be painting the frame. I may just get a new frame for it altogether. I will put this in my guest room - I am happy with the pretty things I am finding for that room - can't wait to show you the finished results! We have both of our boys here (our twins) with us for the summer - so our guest room is stripped of all its frilliness for now. When one son goes back home at the end of the month - I will put all of my pink things back into his room.

Here is another plate that I found for my guest room. I almost squealed when I spotted it! Isn't it pretty? I am amazed at the beautiful things that people get rid of! Their loss my gain right?




Aren't these candlesticks perfect for my blue and yellow kitchen? I thought so too!

I hope you enjoyed looking at my new treasures. It was great fun to get away from it all for a bit and now I am refreshed and ready to get back to the books!

Till next time...

Blessings to you,

Kymber

Surrender

I encourage you to stop by and visit all of the participants of Spiritual Sundays. Such an uplifting way to spend a Sunday! Read a variety of wonderful devotions, Bible passages, and listen to edifying music while praising the Lord on His special day of rest for your soul. A special thank you to Charlotte and Ginger for organizing this awesome event for us each week!

Christ's Bondservant

Make me a captive, Lord,

and then I shall be free;

Force me to render up my sword,

and I shall conqueror be.

I sink in life's alarms

when by myself I stand;

Imprison me within Thine arms,

and strong shall be my hand.

My heart is weak and poor

until its master find;

It has no spring of action sure-

it varies with the wind:

It cannot freely move

Till Thou hast wrought its chain;

Enslave it with Thy matchless love,

and deathless it shall reign.

My power is faint and low

till I have learned to serve:

It wants the needed fire to glow,

it wants the breeze to nerve;

It cannot drive the world

Until itself is driven;

Its flag can only be unfurled

When Thou shalt breathe from heaven.

My will is not my own

Till Thou hast made it Thine;

If it would reach a monarch's throne

It must its crown resign:

It only stands unbent

Amid the clashing strife,

When on Thy bosom it has leant

And found in Thee its life

George Mathieson - quoted from the book "The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart by Charles Swindoll"

Blessings on you this week as you surrender it all to the Lord!

Kymber