a Heart's Ramblings.

“OH, WE’VE RECEIVED THOSE OCCASIONAL PHONE CALLS AND EMAILS OVER THE YEARS AS VISITORS TO A NEW CHURCH; BUT WHO ACTUALLY SITS DOWN AND HAND-WRITES LOVE LETTERS TO STRANGERS? HENRY’S WIDOW DOES; AND APPARENTLY, QUITE OFTEN — SEEKING THEM OUT IN THE SANCTUARY EACH SUNDAY LIKE AN ANGEL ON A MISSION OF MERCY — POLITELY ACQUIRING A MAILING ADDRESS AND THEN PORTIONING OUT A GENEROUS PIECE OF HER OWN HEART AND SOUL WITH A THOUGHTFUL PEN ON A LOVELY CARD, SO THAT VISITORS LIKE US WILL NEVER FEEL LIKE STRANGERS IN HER CHURCH AGAIN." The Lost Art of the Written Note http://www.deeprootsathome.com/the-lost-art-of-the-written-note/

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” ―  Theodore Roosevelt When it's all been said and done, There is just one thing that matters Did I do my best to live for truth? Did I live my life for you? (Don Moen)

When  you entered into solemn covenant with the Lord, you consecrated your whole being to His service. Your time, then, is not your own, but the Lord’s. If you waste it, or spend it unprofitably, you rob God; for it is one of the talents which He has intrusted to you as His steward. You are not at liberty even to employ it exclusively for yourself; but you must glorify God in the use of it, which you will do by employing it in the way that will be most beneficial to your whole being, and to your fellow-creatures. Harvey Newcomb, from the book   YOUNG LADY’S GUIDE to the Harmonious Development of Christian Character Blessed are the single-hearted,  for they shall enjoy much peace. If you refuse to be hurried and pressed,  if you  stay your soul  on God,  nothing can keep you from that clearness of spirit which is life and peace.  In that stillness you will know what  His will is. -Amy Carmichael

I was a young girl.  I read stories, studied history, and formed my opinions of the way life should work – the romance I would find, the adventures I would have, the people I would meet, and the differences I would make in the world.  All my “when I was younger, I…” dreams all started and ended here. I was Cinderella.  A princess in an apron who sang while she scrubbed floors, made friends in the mice and the blue birds that shared her attic as a home, and won the Prince’s heart in glass slippers and a make-believe dress before the strike of midnight. I was Florence Nightingale.  A woman who had strength enough to decline a life of pleasure and ease to fight dirt, death, and disease – all the while misunderstood by those she loved.  “The lady of the lamp”, walking the halls of hospitals in the night. I was Anna, who traveled to Siam to teach the royal children in the King’s palace, teaching them of the world they didn’t know existed and introducing th...

What if we learn to be present WITH God in the midst of the quiet moments  as well as the busy times?  What if we learn the secret of living WITH God, rather than working  for  God? (Ginger Harrington)  

~      2016      ~ He's given me a new day.   And PRAISE HIM, "His steadfast love never ceases".  "His mercies never come to an end".  Those mercies are new to cover my shamefulness every single new morning,  and no matter where my heart wanders... GREAT is HIS faithfulness. (Lam 3:22-23) Personal: Driving license By February... have parking/night hrs by then. Read Finish Chuck Colson's 'How Then Shall We Live?' for starts; Finish 1776? *Listen to books/sermons on audio while cleaning.  Make a youtube playlist. Earlier mornings Use laptop alarm Keep a calendar Be on time. Sew skirts? w/ Liv? Using freshmodesty pattern? Get a lunch plan down. Camera? Also sell old 5d camera - think of ways to do this? Financial Peace Course? Taxes, etc. would be good to understand better Blog more photography/thoughts? Spiritual: More "Word-saturated" Write out a verse in the morning to keep with me throughout the...

Surely woman should bring the best she has, whatever that is, to the work of God's world...  For what are they, both of them, the one just as much as the other, but listening to 'what the people will say', to opinion, to the 'voices from without?'   And as a wise man has said, no one has ever done anything great or useful  by listening to the voices from without. And now, you think these things trifles, or at least exaggerated.   But what you 'think' or what I 'think' matters little.   Let us see what God thinks of them.  God always justifies His ways. Oh, go your way straight to God's work,  in simplicity and singleness of heart. (Florence Nightingale, Notes on Nursing)