Light, Love, Hope

Unleash Your Weapons

Shirley Insights Into Books That Inspired Me 0

When you feel so incredibly assaulted by the devil, don’t you just want to turn the tables and knock him upside the head or kick him in the gut really hard? How about giving him a sucker punch for coming back around with negative thoughts about yourself or the situation you’re facing? Now is the time to unleash your weapons.

What, exactly, are those weapons? It’s really quite simple.

First, if you absorb scriptures from God’s Word, you will be better equipped to fight those lies when the enemy comes around.

If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples.

And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free.

John 8:31-32

That is one thing about memorizing bible verses. If you tuck God’s words away in your heart, no one will ever be able to strip those from you. I love that my children go to a Christian school where they have a Bible class. They read the word of God and memorize the verses. My children will have these messages from God tucked away in their hearts where they can refer back to them in times of trouble. How refreshing to know that they have one of the weapons right there within them to fight the untruths and lies when the devil comes around.

Want to know something else that will help in combat against the evil one? When we praise GOD! When you feel things coming at you from all angles and feel like you just can’t take any more, break out into praise. Yes, this is some times hard to do, but it is so important that you just praise God. Something I love to do is to sing, and I love lifting my voice up to Heaven in song. I praise God by singing and rejoicing in His goodness.

Something I have told my children is that when they feel scared, instead of allowing fear to consume them, simply speak the name of Jesus. Just the mere mention of His name will bring about peace and will calm your heart. Chat His name a few times, and you will suddenly feel peace come over you. It helps whether they are afraid of the dark and monsters under their bed or when they are much older and are facing situations that trouble them. Just uttering the name of Jesus sends the enemy running and comforts us at the mere mention of His name.

Need another weapon to use? PRAYER! Go to the Lord in prayer. He hears, and He will answer … some times not the way we’d like, and some times not as quickly as we would like … but He hears every single word that we speak. He loves us so much and wants to hear us come to Him with our worries and concerns. Go to God in prayer and kick the devil right in the tail!

If you feel self conscious about praying, just know that you don’t have to say some eloquent speech of a prayer. God just wants to hear from you. Whether you just say a few things or you go into this long, drawn out prayer, it’s just important that you speak straight from your heart to His. If you still feel unsure, check out Psalms as that book of the bible is full of all types of prayers.

Unleash your weapons and fight! You can win this battle with God’s help!

The Battle Is In Our Minds

Shirley Insights Into Books That Inspired Me 0

We all will fight a battle in this life. At some time or another, you will come face to face with the enemy who will fill your head full of all kinds of negative thoughts. You will feel defeated, depressed, worthless, and hopeless. The thing is to recognize that these thoughts are completely false and are 100% from the devil. Realize also that the battle is in our minds.

You may feel like you’re in a no win situation here. Recognize that you cannot do anything of your own strength, but with God on your side, the battle is already won. He will not leave you, EVER! And when you feel weak, He will give you strength. When it looks like the situation is impossible, remember that ALL things are possible with Christ.

In this day and age, we are seeing more and more people that are affected by depression and suicidal thoughts. I just read an article this past weekend on a teenage boy that struggled with a mental illness and thoughts of harming himself. Outwardly, a girl he befriended two to three years ago seemed to be caring and compassionate, meanwhile, she was secretly working to convince this troubled young man to end his life. This is something he had been contemplating, and for whatever reason, this girl encouraged it right up to the point that he took his own life according to text messages that the police recovered. That is something that I am having a difficult time grasping. Why would anyone encourage another to take their own life? The proper thing to do would have been to talk to his parents, an authority figure … some one, any one to help this young man … and try to talk him OUT of it!

Depression does not discriminate. It can affect the old, middle aged, as well as the young. It is heartbreaking to hear of pre-teens and teenagers that are troubled with depression, struggling with their self esteem, and ultimately contemplating whether life is worth living. IT IS!! Oh how I wish I could help each and every person that has ever had thoughts of harming themselves. I know that I don’t possess the powers within me to help everyone. I realize that I cannot save someone that doesn’t want to be saved. But I would use my last breath to encourage someone and talk them out of ending their lives if I could. Sadly, our family was not able to reach my sister before she took her own life in 2001. We did not know that her postpartum depression was as bad as it was. She had just delivered a beautiful baby girl, and two weeks later, we were attending her funeral. Words will never be able to express how our hearts broke that day when we learned of her passing and how our hearts shattered when we were told how it happened. For years we felt such incredible grief … and guilt for not knowing and not being able to prevent her suicide. I wish she had reached out to me that morning, but all the guilt, shame, and blame that we heaped upon ourselves after the fact would never be able to bring her back. Oh how we wish we would have seen the signs beforehand to have prevented this tragedy, but we did not know. We simply did not know!

My sister obviously had a battle going on inside of her mind. Like so many that struggle with depression, these voices in her head convinced her that she would be better off and that those she loved would be better off as well. BUT THEY LIED! Those voices were the biggest liars that I know. Those lies came straight from the pits of HELL, from the devil himself. Oh how I wish she had rebuked the devil that day and sent him back to hell forever.

If adults feel the pressure, stress, and anxiety, imagine how it is magnified for teenagers who haven’t matured enough to handle everything that comes at them and fight those negative voices in their heads. Imagine how overwhelmed they feel when they are struggling at school, among their peers, with their parents, etc. The list goes on and on.

A few years ago, I read Joyce Meyer’s book Battlefield of The Mind. Then I realized that she came out with a book for teens on this subject as well entitled Battlefield of the Mind For Teens: Winning The Battle In Your Mind. I bought this book for my teenage daughter in hopes that she would read it so that it would help her. I’m not sure if she read it or just flipped through it before tucking it under her bed or throwing it on her book shelf. It’s kind of like the saying, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.” I provided the literature for her in hopes that it would help, but no matter the amount of nagging, I could not make her read it! I offered it to her and mentioned it once or twice after that, then I left it alone.

I like self help books, especially Christian ones. I enjoy reading books that have a great take-away message. While others are reading the latest mystery, action, or romance novel, I’m soaking in all that the self help books have to offer. And, I take what I’ve learned and share it on this site to help my readers. I intend to do that with this book in the coming days. I hope you’ll check back to see what goodies I’ve found to share.

When I started writing this post, I did not realize what this day symbolized until my daughter just came in to share with me. Today is Self Harm Awareness Day. How ironic that the topic I chose to write on goes hand in hand with this day. I don’t believe this happened by accident. I believe that the world needs to hear encouraging words to help them hold on and fight this battle against the negative thoughts the devil places in our minds. Let’s bind together against the enemy and the battle that is in our minds. Join me this week as I fight untruths that the devil tells us and share the truth in God’s word!

Visit

Shirley Five Minute Fridays 0

Welcome, Friends! We’re so glad you’re here. Won’t you grab a steaming hot cup of coffee and sit a spell on the overstuffed couch? Just move those pillows out of the way and make yourself comfortable.

Let’s talk into the wee morning hours as we laugh, share, and enjoy our visit together. We can talk about serious issues that have you filled with anxiety and stress, or we can just throw our heads back laughing at the silliest of things. It’s only important that we’re together bonding as friends do.

Looking for something a bit more adventurous for this visit? Grab some tack, and let’s saddle up, partner. Side by side, our horses will walk in unison as we chat and inhale all of the beauty that surrounds us in the middle of the forest. Visit in the forest

Breathe in God’s goodness and let all of your problems go as you exhale. It feels so good when we’re one with nature and God above! We can ride together talking about the good ole days, or we can have our faithful companions carry us on their strong backs, occasionally grasping at stray grass or trees along the way, as we are silent, soaking in the sights and sounds around us, appreciating all that God has given us to feast our eyes upon.

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Let’s make full use of the time we have together and not waste a single minute!

Visit

This post was inspired by the prompt word of VISIT for this edition of Five Minute Friday over at Kate’s virtual house.

God Takes Care of His Children

Shirley God Is Close To The Broken Hearted, Inspiration, My Story 2

God continues to prove this more and more to our family. God takes care of His children!

Less than two weeks ago I posted about how my husband’s company of 17 years laid him off. It was sudden and completely unexpected after he served that company well for all of those years. Shortly thereafter, one of his friends in the business learned of his lay off and offered my husband a temporary position to help the family out. We greatly appreciated this offer and thanked God for blessing us with great people in this line of work that were willing to help out in our time of need. Today, God showed up and blessed us with an even greater offer as my husband has now been given a more permanent position with that company!

Oh, thank you, God!!

I was in tears at this point as my husband gave me all of the details and discussed the different options available to him.

God is SO good, and we give him all of the praise, glory, and honor!

I feel this all has been building for a long time now. You see, my husband’s focus was not what it should have been for years, nor were his priorities in the order that they should have been either. He was a great Project Manager and served that company well. I’m not saying that he wasn’t a model employee because he was. However, there was sin in my husband’s life which we have spoken openly about here on this blog in the category to the right: Men Struggling But Recovering. I feel there is a connection here, so please hear me out.

Since my husband turned away from his sinful ways last year, a lot has changed! First, it makes the enemy angry when we turn from our sin and walk toward God. The enemy will try everything within his power to trip us up and to destroy us, our families, our lives. I feel that when my husband finally broke free from the sin that held him in bondage for so long, it angered the devil even more so and he was determined to take my husband down. He almost destroyed our family. We almost did not make it. There was talk of divorce at one point, and it devastated us both. When it did not look good for us, we know that the devil was falling on the floor on his back laughing the most wicked laughter he possibly could. He thought he ruined our family and had torn us apart, but God reached His hand down in the mist of it all and restored our marriage. It is stronger today than it ever has been in the 12 years that we have been together. It did not happen over night, but God held us through the transformation. Through all of the heartache and pain, God was there holding us tight. We both struggled with sin but in different ways. God restored what we once thought was lost. He strengthened our marriage and gave us such love, devotion, and intimacy as we’ve never experienced before.

Feeling sure that the devil grew more angry at the thought, he attacked yet another area in our lives; my husband’s job. You see, my husband poured all he had into the position that he held at that company of 17 years. That became his identity, and he often placed that job in front of his own family. To him, that needed to be his top priority. That was who he was, and he was proud of it … until it was stripped away.

When he was called into the meeting at his previous place of employment where he would learn the news of his lay off, he grabbed a wooden cross and slipped it into his pocket. This wooden cross had just been given to us at the pre-screening of the movie Do You Believe? which will be in theaters on March 20, 2015. We all know that it isn’t a bed of roses when you are a Christian and are trying to do the right thing. You will be persecuted, and you will struggle. But, you turn to God even more so when it is happening because you know that He will be your strength and He will see you through! Various different things happen in the movie to test people’s faith, too, but they believed in God and held on tight to Him … just as my husband has started learning to do. He believes he was able to retain his composure in the meeting as well as he did due to that little cross in his pocket and having Jesus in his heart.

Deep down my husband is a good person. We’ve all heard how bad things happen to good people all the time. I believe that maybe God allowed this job loss to happen for a specific reason. Maybe God allowed my husband to be stripped from this job because in one way, his sin increased at this job. Not only that, but he idolized that job. He put that job before his own family at times and most certainly before God. That was wrong! I tried to talk to him about this on several occasions, but I could not reach him. Maybe it took God allowing him to be stripped of this position to dispose of ALL of the sin in his life. Maybe, just maybe, it took him hitting rock bottom to realize that God was the rock at the very bottom that he needed to cling to. And so … now he has. My husband felt so very low after what happened last year with our family and now this year when our family was further threatened due to the job loss. We didn’t want to face financial ruins, and yet the healthcare that the government has mandated now has the potential of doing just that as the premiums are so out of reach for the average person. Family coverage was close to $900 a month in premiums. Who can pay that in addition to the regular bills for necessities like food, clothing, a roof over our heads, electricity, etc.? I’m not talking fancy trips, eating out all the time, and enjoying things beyond our means. I’m talking now with the job loss, we feared we could not meet the basic bills to survive.

Were we tested? YOU BET! But, we held on to each other and to GOD! My faith never wavered because I knew that God was going to take care of us. I reminded my husband of what God had just done in restoring our family. God didn’t take us this far to leave us. He would carry us through this storm on to bigger and better things. We just had to wait on God.

And then it happened! God entered the picture riding in on a white horse dressed like a knight in shiny armor once more with the temporary position that he was offered less than two weeks ago … and now with the permanent position he was just offered. Maybe my husband had to be stripped of all of the things due to the sin in his past so that God could start a new work in him. I am a firm believer that God makes all things new – including me and you – so my thinking is that God allowed my husband to be taken down in the area of our marriage and in the area of his job to strip away the sin and make him a new man. God is now rebuilding greater things for our family – our marriage – and his career. All my husband had to do was let go of the sin forever. He had to turn from his sinful ways for God to pour out His blessings. Once my husband was stripped of these things, he changed his focus where it should have been – on God – and on me, his wife.

I have seen changes in my husband. One striking thing that I’ve noticed is that last year he began kneeling down beside our bed every morning to pray. He has done this some times without my knowledge, even kneeling down beside me as I slept. On a few occasions, I woke up to find him kneeling in prayer right there beside me. At other times, he would put his hand on me or slip his hand in my own as he prayed. Then there are times he doesn’t wish to wake me, so he will resume his practice of kneeling to pray while I’m still sleeping. The difference is that he takes time to pray now before rushing into his day. He makes GOD a priority! He realizes that God has blessed us – and even though we struggled after the job loss – God had big plans for our future, something that I also reassured my husband of often when he would get depressed about the situation.

And look what God has done!

Oh thank you, dear God, for restoring our marriage, for giving us a love for each other like never before and for us being committed to making our marriage the best that it can be! AND Thank you, dear God, for blessing us with this new job opportunity at this company. Thank you that doors have swung wide open for my husband and that blessings are coming our way better than we could have ever imagined.

That’s our God!

God takes care of His children!

Snow Day!

Shirley Words of Love To My Babies 0

We had a snow day today in the South. There was a “threat” of snow, sleet, and ice in the forecast yesterday evening for today, so the schools decided to make it a snow day today. Yea!! Snow day!

When I woke up this morning, I ran to the window anticipating to see a dusting of snow. However, none was to be seen in our area today. The only thing we had was rain and a tad bit of ice which did not last long, thankfully.

My daughters and I took advantage of the time together today, though! While my oldest daughter was as snug as a bug in a rug sleeping in until way after noon, my youngest daughter and I baked peanut butter cookies! They have always been one of my favorites, and I have fond memories of making homemade peanut butter cookies with my mom when I was younger. I thought today would be the perfect day to show my youngest daughter how to make them.

I didn’t start with an “instructional” as one would think. Instead, I allowed her to continue watching television in the living room while I got the ingredients out. In my best Julia Childs’ voice, I started speaking as I was preparing to get started. My daughter immediately came into the kichen to inquire as to why I was speaking in such a weird voice, but the moment she saw the cookie sheet, her eyes got wide as the look of delight filled her little angelic face! She almost squealed as she said, “I WANNA HELP!” And I could contain my happiness no longer as I smiled so wide at her eagerness to help!

I preheated the oven as she leveled one cup of sugar in the measuring cup. Then I went in search of the Vanilla Extract in the very back of the cabinet. I could not see it initially, but I knew it was there. Dragging a heavy chair across the kitchen floor, I positioned it just right for us short people to get a good view of all of the contents of the cabinet. There it was, the tiny, thin bottle of goodness waiting for me to grab it and measure a teaspoon full right into the middle of the sugar that my daughter had just poured into the bowl. After putting the chair back in it’s place at the dining room table, I made my way back to my daughter’s side where she was eagerly waiting to crack one pearly white egg. She held this egg in her hand with great determination that SHE had to be the one to add it. And so to my daughter’s delight, she did just that as the egg shell crackled and then cracked open as she struck it against the side of the bowl. She was sure to inspect it so that no egg shell contaminated our other ingredients as she poured it into the bowl. Next up was one heaping cup full of the creamiest peanut butter on the planet – Peter Pan, that is! We added it to the bowl, and she had her little spoon going round and round in the bowl alongside mine as we made mixer noises with our mouths which only made her laugh harder at my silliness!

And there I was, side by side with my princess loving every single minute!

Now for the fun part! ROLLING the cookie dough in our hands! This was her most favorite part! It even far exceeded the excitement that she felt cracking that egg! Yep, this little girl took her teaspoon and scooped up some peanut butter cookie dough and then took it into her tiny hands and rolled it round and round, looking up at me smiling and laughing as she felt the gooey substance and fished around for more to add to it. She thought her work was through until I told her that we get to make designs on them. “DESIGNS?” she asked with her little eyebrows raised and the biggest smile on her angelic face. Yes, designs. I took a fork out of the drawer and showed her how my mother and I used to press the fork on the top of the cookie horizontally and then vertically. She smiled, then held her mouth just right as she had this determined look come over her as she made the perfect design. I nodded my approval, and she went on to the next one. By the time we reached the second dozen, though, she got a little wild and crazy with her own designs, and I just laughed and laughed! When we were finished decorating, we popped those two dozen cookies into the preheated oven and waited for 10 agonizing minutes until they were ready to take out of the oven. The house was smelling really good at about the time we heard the “ding” of the timer as it went off, and I took our goodies out of the oven. But now they had to cool before we could try them! My daughter danced off into the next room where she returned in a few minutes just in time to sample one of our cookies. She was so excited when she took a bite because they were really good! I think she was a tad bit surprised, but she shouldn’t have been for we had the world’s greatest chef in the kitchen – my princess!

Snow Day!1

Much later in the day, our oldest daughter finally woke up and got to sample our tasty treats as well. She missed all the fun, but she sure did enjoy those cookies!

While there was nary a bit of snow in sight today, we still had the best day at home making memories together on this snow day! Thank you, God, for moments like these with my children!

Snow Day!

Love From India

Shirley Cultural Awareness, Inspiration 0

Last week I received an email that has almost rendered me speechless. It was a nice email from a kind soul in India reaching out to let us at Light Love Hope know the impact we have had on their life. They spoke such sweet words asking us to continue to share about God as there is such idolatry in India.

I sat there after receiving this email allowing it all to soak in. Our little blog has traveled the world in the short time it has been in existence. India! Who would have ever thought that it would have been that far reaching and would have left an impact. Yet, from the words written in that precious email, it’s true.

It really struck me that the blog is truly world wide. While we know that people can access it from around the world, to know that it truly has occurred and touched someone’s heart and soul FOR CHRIST … wow. That is humbling in and of itself. Then it makes you really think about the words that you type out on this screen. You can’t take your responsibility lightly here at all when you’re trying to share God’s LIGHT in this dark world … God’s LOVE to those that may not have been told before nor have come to know His unconditional love personally until now … God’s HOPE to hold on to in hard, bitter, and trying times. Oh, the impact this email has had on my heart since receiving it!

We all have a testimony inside of us. We all have stories that matter that are crying out from the depths of our souls to be heard. They all matter. Every single one!

We try to share on this blog and be as authentic as we can about real life matters and things that grip your heart. This isn’t just a feel good blog where we casually write things we pull out of thin air. These things that we’ve written about on the pages of this blog have happened in our lives, our friend’s lives, and our families. It matters. It needs to be told. But what’s more is that God needs to be honored and glorified in all that we say and do because ultimately, it is not about us any way … it is about GOD!

To know that someone in India is begging for more of God … from someone like me that feels so inadequately prepared. I’m not a bible scholar, but then again, maybe I don’t need to be in order for God to use me. Because He has … and He is … and He will continue to as long as I submit to Him and allow Him to work through me and share the words that He gives me. And I will.

This one email sharing how our blog has impacted their life in turn impacted mine. I realize I have a great responsibility now more than ever to speak about God and to share what I know about our Father in Heaven. I can only hope I share enough and word it just so that others may be drawn closer to Him and have that true relationship with Jesus Christ so that they, too, may have the gift of eternal life that is theirs as long as they believe and accept Him into their hearts.

Life changing words of a short email in the form of love from India left a mark upon my heart, and I thank you, Dear Reader. I truly thank you.

Let’s Go To The Movies!

Shirley Food For Thought 0

Valentine’s Weekend had everyone saying, “Let’s go to the movies!”

With Fifty Shades of Grey in theatres, the parking lot was packed in our area! But, my husband and I did not go to the theatre for that movie. Instead, we went to see Old Fashioned. If you haven’t heard of it, let me just share that it is a faith based movie that upholds good morals and values. I encourage you to go to a theatre near you to watch INSTEAD of going to see the other more controversial movie.

In a way, I was saddened by seeing the number of people flocking to see Fifty Shades of Grey. They were even selling alcohol – wine – in our theatre, which they have NEVER done before! Why now? Just because of this movie where the male is supposed to be some high powered executive with jets and an out-of-control fetish? Why roll out the red carpet for that?

No, I have not seen the movie, but I did read the books. That is why I feel I can speak about this with knowledge. I’m not just a Christian passing judgment on something I know nothing about. I admitted in a previous post that I read the books. So, I feel I have a right to express my opinion yet again.

The thing is that there were people by the masses coming out to see this movie. Sex sells. We’ve known that for quite some time. It just saddens me the number of people that could not wait to get in to see a movie that borders on being X-rated. Surely if they had followed the book completely, it WOULD have been rated XXX.

I’m so glad there was an alternative in the theatres for those that wished to see a more refreshing love story. If anything, the main character in Old Fashioned wouldn’t even go into the same room alone with a woman. It wasn’t that he was gay or even a prude. It was that he had a past where he was involved in sin, but he found Jesus through the help of an ex-girlfriend as they were parting ways. She gave him a Bible, and once he began reading this Bible, he could not get it out of his system. It was one thing to not know what the Bible said and to make fun of it just being a combination of “stories” (sadly, I have known people to say this in real life). But, once you read the Word for yourself and it soaks into your being, there is no denying that it impacts your life.

There were a few slow spots in this movie, but all in all, it was a GREAT movie, and I would recommend you go see Old Fashioned before any other movie out there right now. Yes, it was that good!

I won’t spoil it for you. I try never to do that.

What I would like to know is, why didn’t they roll out the red carpet for the Christian movie? While I appreciate the alternative movie they had playing at the theatre, it would have been nice for the Christians to have been catered to the way everyone else was when they rushed to the doors to see the other sex packed movie.

Old Fashioned. I wish we could flood the theatres with people going to see THIS movie. While there was a good crowd in the theatre when we were there for this movie, it wasn’t packed like I had hoped. Maybe we can change that. Care to join in on seeing a wholesome movie? If so, consider Old Fashioned.

Speaking Her Love Language

Shirley Love Languages 0

Guys, are you having trouble speaking her love language? If so, there is a book specifically for men as they seem to need it spelled out for them a little more than women do in this area. The book is by Dr. Gary Chapman entitled The 5 Love Languages For Men. It is similar to the original Love Languages book that Dr. Chapman wrote some time ago, but this lays it all out for us men folk and breaks it down so there is no way possible for us not to “get it” now.

Dr. Chapman breaks it down so that by the time you finish this book, you can speak fluently in Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Gift Giving, Acts of Service, and Physical Touch. Not only that, but there is also a section on working through anger together as well as the art of apologizing, which is huge!

What have I, personally, learned while reading through this book? I now know which items are high on my wife’s list and what makes her feel the most loved, which is of the utmost importance. I used to think that Acts of Service was high on her list, yet now I’ve realized that she really craves Quality Time and Physical Touch the most. In addition, I would surprise her with gifts here and there, and while she does like that, that is lower on her list than I originally thought as well. What surprised me the most is that while Words of Affirmation are high on my list, they are not on my wife’s list. When she prioritized the list so I would know what makes her feel the most loved, Words of Affirmation was LAST on her list. When I asked her about this, she said it is because while you can “say” things to make someone feel loved, actions speak louder than words!

Something that stood out to me was when Dr. Chapman spoke of quality time leaving you with lasting memories. Also, another thing that resonated with me was that people are “listening” but not actually “hearing” what someone is saying. He gave practical tips to get you started so that you focus more on “hearing” what is being said instead of waiting for your chance to respond. Also, don’t do things while your wife is talking. Focus solely on her and let her share about her feelings. Validate her!

If you’re not convinced yet, feel free to comment below if you’d like your very own copy of this book. It’s packed full of useful information on how you can fill up your wife’s love bank. And if you incorporate these things into your marriage, your wife will not be disappointed! This book will ensure that you’re well on your way to speaking her love language!

~Dusty, Shirley’s husband. 🙂

The Sweet Sound of Chaos

Shirley Choose Joy! 0

Monday my children were off from school due to President’s Day. While I had to work that morning, I decided to finish up some things to take off early that afternoon to spend with my girls. It was all but a quiet afternoon at home, though.

Shortly after arriving home, I opened the gate to our pasture to let our five horses roam free over our entire yard. They ran out of the gate so joyfully, kicking their heels up to show how good they were feeling! I also let our goats out and our Pomeranian that is always hyper and loves running around.

I went inside with my girls and had macaroni and cheese that I had going in the crock pot. It was delicious, if I must say so myself.

Later, my youngest daughter and I broke into song to one of Taylor Swift’s latest hits. We sang our hearts out together and laughed so hard as we exaggerated every movement as we danced around the kitchen. I love seeing that sweet smile as her entire face lights up.

My oldest daughter was in her bedroom painting a masterpiece, but she took little breaks to come dancing in the room making her presence known.

My little teacup Yorkie start barking as she wanted attention, and I kept going to the window to check on the horses. Although we have a fenced in yard, I worry when they are out roaming.

Finally, I decided it was time for everyone to go back to their designated areas. I walked out to the pasture with their feed buckets and had five horses in my back pocket! They get a bit territorial when food is involved, so soon I had the bigger, more dominant horses running the little ones off. It was quite the chore getting everyone back in their assigned eating places. Whew!

After getting the horses settled, I let our very big German Shepherd guard dog out of his kennel only to discover, by my youngest daughter running flaring her arms around, that I hadn’t put our big goat up yet! Oh no! We were both scrambling to get the very heavy goat back into her kennel before our German Shepherd realized he could cross over the electric invisible fence boundary into the goat’s area! The goat ran straight to her kennel, then took a turn in the opposite direction almost as if she was saying, “Naaa, I changed my mind … now you can’t catch me!” It was a chore, BUT caught her we did!

When she was safe in her kennel we could breathe easier … until we realized that our Pomeranian was now missing. Oh brother!

Both of my daughters and I then went on a mad search for this little rascal! We called, we sweet talked, we searched high and low … and about the time we were ready to give up our search, the little rascal came running from the other side of the fence. Apparently, she was feeling friendly today and wanted to visit with the neighbors. When she was back home where she belonged and secure, I went into the house to … REST!

As I sat in my recliner letting my mind wander with the news station on in the background mainly for noise, I thought to myself of all of the chaos my afternoon off had held! But, you know what? In a strange sort of way, I LOVE the sweet sound of chaos that comes from the walls of my house that is overflowing with love for our human family members as well as the love that flows over the grass and our entire six acres as we extend these feelings to our furry family members as well.

Yes, the sweet sound of chaos. I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Weekend of Love

Shirley Intentionally Focused 0

How was your weekend of love? Did you do anything special on Valentine’s Day with your sweetheart? Flowers, chocolates, candlelight dinners … they are all so nice! What a way to show your special someone how much you care! But, you know what? They shouldn’t just be “celebrated” one day a year just because that day has been set aside as a lover’s holiday. You should be striving to show your husband or wife DAILY how much they mean to you.

Do you share anything in common with your spouse? Besides children, do you have any thing that you do together? Or, does your spouse have a hobby that is different from your own? If possible, just try something your spouse likes. It will make a difference to them that you’ve shown an interest and are alongside them in their favorite sport or hobby.

For me and my husband, I am thankful to say that we share several of the same interests. From horseback riding, fishing, camping, and things of that nature, we enjoy doing things together side by side. I hear of a lot of couples that go their own way in this area. Some times it works out fine if there is a group of guys that go golfing. However, if there is a lady in the mix that shares the same interests as your husband and ends up spending more time with him than you do, trouble will soon begin to brew. The same can happen if a man shares an interest in an activity that your wife is involved in. You would be surprised to learn the number of affairs that begin with something so simple as a desire to work out, get fit, and become healthier. If you go to the gym alone, you might develop wandering eyes while you’re there. It’s just better to go with your spouse, in my opinion. Find something that the two of you can do together to keep the interest and adventure alive. It will matter if you take an interest in something your spouse enjoys. Think of how you’d feel if your husband took a sudden interest in something you love to do, too. It works both ways.

Our weekend of love was spent together by having dinner and a movie out just the two of us on Friday night. Then Saturday we went horseback riding with our youngest daughter. We all three share the love of horses, and the faster my daughter gets to go on her horse, the more smiles, laughter, and giggles you will get out of her. At one point, we three lined our horses up as if we were going to race, and we had the best time loping across an open field together. With the wind in our hair, feeling as if we were riding the magic carpet each time our horses went into a full gallop, with smiles plastered across all three of our faces.

In between trail riding and galloping our horses, my daughter enjoyed playing on the monkey bars, sliding on the curvy slides, and swinging together on the swing set at the park by the pond.

Later, my daughter’s only request was Subway for dinner. She was easy to please! And so, we had Subway before we headed back home.

Sunday we spent a leisurely day together at home with both daughters. I’m thankful that my 18 year old daughter still likes to hang out with the family. We made potato soup and stayed inside as much as possible since the high was only 37 degrees here in the South!

We enjoyed our weekend of love together as a family. We hope you took time for your family as well this weekend.

As we go forward, make sure to do something daily to let your spouse and your children know that you are thinking of them and love them. Don’t just celebrate them one day a year because you feel obligated to do so. They deserve to be shown your love daily!

Saving Valentine’s Day

Shirley Choose Joy! 0

Thursday afternoon my husband attempted to surprise me by picking me up in his classic 1989 Camaro Iroc-Z. This black beauty of a car has always held a special place in his heart. It is the first car that he purchased with his money “back in the day.”

He held my office door open for me and then escorted me to the passenger side of the car. As he opened the door, I saw a balloon that said “I love you” along with a large box of chocolates and a card! How sweet!

Once inside the sports car, he leaned in to kiss me. This was going to be THE greatest start to Valentine’s Day EVER!

Until …

The roaring thunder of the engine quieted as we began losing power. My husband was embarrassed as his plans, in his mind, were ruined. We coasted into the nearest parking lot which just happened to be by the bank’s ATM machine across the street from my place of employment.

He got out of the car and attempted to find the problem. Although we had just recently put a fuel pump on the car, we feared this was where the problem was stemming from. Since it is a classic, this isn’t a car that we drive every day. Sitting up did not help this car, and unfortunately, this was the result.

My husband became more red faced by the minute as his embarrassment turned to anger. His best laid plans were falling apart at the seams. I tried to reassure him that it still hadn’t ruined what he planned and we just had to make the best of it. Easy for me to say, right? But, it was true. Getting mad wouldn’t do a single thing to solve the situation we were in.

People were waiting in line behind our car, and he waved them past at this point. I was surprised by the lack of people that actually cared and tried to help. There was NO one at first. Then, as he tried to push the heaviest car in the universe out of the exit lane of the bank and into a parking space, someone got out of their vehicle and came running over to try to help him push it. I volunteered, too, but he insisted that I stay inside the vehicle since the car was so heavy. Another gentleman got out of his car at that time and helped push, too. My faith in humanity was restored at that point when those two people tried to help us! The first one worked at a part’s store and suggested what might be the problem, which was the same as my husband suspected; the fuel pump! They suggested that he could beat on it to loosening up any “junk” that had gotten trapped in the fuel pump, so my husband went to the hatchback and pulled out his tools. Nothing seemed to work, so he went to put the tools back in the hatchback only to discover that the hatchback would not close now! Frustration was mounting as he attempted several times to close the hatchback. I tried, in between slams, to ask him to come sit beside me in the car. He would have none of that as he continuously slammed, slammed, and slammed some more with each time feeling as if my ear drums were going to burst as I was still sitting inside the car!

Finally I just yelled over the slams in my sweetest voice ever … “HONEY … we have AAA!”

A look of bewilderment swept over his face as he didn’t seem to really grasp what I said. He paused for a moment, then slammed some more. The hatchback just was not going to close that day!

I took out my cell phone, nervously noticing that the battery was dying! Ugh! Of all days NOT to charge my phone while at work … ah, but I would use it until it stopped working completely.

I dialed the number for AAA roadside assistance, told them of our location, what car we were in, and they reassured me that someone would be there within the hour. I was dreading telling my husband that we would have to wait an hour, but knowing that it was an hour we were together was all that truly mattered! I finally got him to sit down beside me in the car. I hugged him, and despite temperatures in the 40s, I joked that he had worked up quite a sweat! We laughed at that, and then he looked at me almost in disbelief again and asked, “We have AAA?” To which I replied, “Yes, remember I told you that I signed us up last year? It won’t cost us anything to have the Camaro towed.” The look of relief on his face was priceless as he teased, “Why didn’t you just SAY so?!” Um, I TRIED!! We got a good laugh out of this, and within a few minutes my dying cell phone rang. It was the wrecker service calling. They were right down the street from where we were stranded at the bank ATM parking lot. It wouldn’t be an hour after all. Instead, they were going to rescue us in just a few minutes. GREAT NEWS, which I immediately passed on to my husband who was smiling by now.

When the wrecker service arrived we were actually smiling and joking with each other. As they were loading the Camaro on the roll back, I got inside the cab of the wrecker. My husband immediately took a picture of me, and I was quite impressed that my phone hadn’t completely died yet! It was still hanging in there, just like us! My husband later joked that this was my white limousine.

saving valentine's day

Within 20 minutes we were home, and I, of course, had to take a picture to mark the occasion as well. Notice his lip poking out in this picture as his precious Camaro is being lowered off of the roll back.

saving valentine's day lightlovehope

And that, ladies and gentleman, is what you call SAVING VALENTINE’S DAY!

Thank God for AAA!

God’s Favor

Shirley God Is Close To The Broken Hearted, My Story, When Couples Walk Together 0

Last week my husband walked into his office a career man. Six hours later, he was overcome with emotion as he was told that his employer of 17 years was laying him off. Imagine the shock, disbelief, and feelings of betrayal that swept over him in waves as he tried to grasp what they were saying to him. He had been a huge part of the company, a key employee, for the better part of 17 years, and this is the thanks he gets? Laid off?

Oh sure, they reassured him that there wasn’t anything he’d done wrong. It came down to money issues at the company. Although my husband made the company a million dollars in the year 2014, another coworker and project manager lost the company a significant amount of money on another project. Yet, my husband was the one to take the fall for this. No, they didn’t blame it on him as they knew full well who was over that project. But, being as this guy was the vice-president, they certainly weren’t going to can him. Instead, they decided to lay my husband off.

Years ago I told my husband NOT to idolize his job. I remember times that he seemed to put his job before his family. That wasn’t right, and he has since corrected that way of thinking. But, he did love his job so much and enjoyed what he was doing. He served that company well for 17 years! However, one should never put their job so high up on the pedestal thinking that they are untouchable or that they have security in that position. One would think that after 17 years of hard work, loyalty, dedication, and devotion that it would matter a great deal to the company, but in this case, we can all see that, sadly, it did not. My husband was slammed with feelings of betrayal as he gave so much to this company, and yet now he’s being told that his employment has come to an end. He felt stripped of his position, as well as his company truck, and other perks that came along with his job.

I received a text prior to my husband’s meeting with the executives of that company. I could tell he was nervous as any one would be upon getting called into a meeting like this that wasn’t the norm for their line of work. Trying to reassure my husband, I wrote back these words:

God is already there. He knows the outcome of this meeting,

and He is in control. We just have to trust him.

When my husband called shortly thereafter and told me the news last week, I still had peace in my heart as I said:

Oh baby, I’m so sorry. But, I know that God is going to take care of us!

We just have to have faith, even faith as small as a mustard seed.

He responded that he had that, and I reassured him that everything was going to be okay.

Upon arriving home that evening, I hugged my husband and held him close to me. He was wracked with fear and worry. I just looked into his grief stricken eyes and told him again that God is going to take care of us.

We had to go in to his former employer last Friday to clean out his office. As you can imagine, he had a lot of things he accumulated in the past 17 years. His former boss came into his office not expecting to see me there with him, and when he did, the man became visibly nervous stuttering his speech and hands shaking right where he stood. He should have been nervous and shaking because he wasn’t only doing this to my husband, but he was doing this to our entire family. We have two children to provide for! He knew that, too. It didn’t seem to matter until he came face to face with me in that office. He needed to look into my eyes as well to see how this was affecting me, too, as my husband and I are a team. He wasn’t the only one going through this. We all were.

We drove away with the fear of the unknown riding right along with us weighing us down.

And so the job search began. Thankfully, my husband had contacts that he built a friendly working relationship with through the years. They started calling him as they heard the news of his lay off. As the calls started coming in, it was a mixture of disbelief and great sympathy for what our family was now facing. They had a great outpouring of support for my husband, and it touched our hearts and brought tears to our eyes on several occasions. One in particular spoke to me, and he truly felt for us in this situation. This individual gave my husband several job leads, which we greatly appreciated. Several others called him with job leads as well. My husband began contacting the people as suggested but wasn’t sure if there truly was a job need there at these places that were mentioned.

This week was especially difficult as we hadn’t heard anything from the leads from last week. I reminded my husband that it had only been a few days, and it would just take time. In the meantime, he signed up for unemployment benefits.

Along with losing his job, we were losing our health benefits. Sure, they offered COBRA, but no one can afford $1200 a month. Yes, that is per MONTH! How in the world do they expect us to pay that kind of money when he just lost his job? So, that was out of the question. We then had to go in search of affordable health insurance, which was no small task I’ll have you know!

To add to the stress we were all feeling, my oldest daughter went to take a placement test at a technical college, all that we will be able to afford now for sure, and failed that test. She had so much anxiety from everything going on that she got too nervous and just went blank. She felt just terrible afterwards, too, but there is an opportunity to take the test again in the future.

Also at that time, our youngest daughter came down with a 102 degree fever. To say we were stressed to the max is the understatement of the year! We took her to the doctor, and THANK GOD she did NOT have the flu! Whew!

After all of this, my husband finally just lost it. He went out into the yard and vented a little. No one can blame him, really, considering everything that has just happened. The man lost his job of 17 years. He’s entitled to let his feelings out.

He felt like he was hitting rock bottom, but you know what? God was right there at the bottom when he hit, and God lifted him right up. He scooped my husband up into His strong arms and allowed my husband to rest his weary head upon His shoulders.

Later, I told him that his former employer had already taken so much from us. We can’t let them do this to him … to us. We can’t let them dissolve our faith and leave us in a puddle of tears.

He got out his Joel Osteen daily devotional, and it talked of how doors were going to open for him. It was ironic that the message for that day said those words. The words he needed to hear right at that moment!

And what happened next floors us!

He got a call to come in to just talk to see if something could be worked out with a competitor. This guy had a working relationship with my husband in years past, but when he became a competitor, they were then competing against each other in the same line of work. They kept things friendly, but they could no longer speak at length since they were bidding on the same projects!

This call couldn’t have come at a better time! My husband was starting to lose hope very early on in this situation even though I told him repeatedly to cling to Jeremiah 29:11. I even prayed:

Dear Father, we KNOW that you have plans to prosper him and not to harm him. We KNOW that you have plans to give him a hope and a future. We CLAIM this right now in Your Holy Name! Amen

My husband did set up a meeting that afternoon, and he went in to speak at length with them to see how he could help them. He waited on pins and needles for a call back. The very next day, the phone rang, and it was this company saying that although they did not presently have a position open, they would MAKE ONE for him!

Again, we were overcome with shock and disbelief, but in a GOOD way!!!

They offered my husband a position that they are creating to help get caught up on a few projects. If, after a few months, my husband really likes the job and they like him, they will renegotiate for a more permanent position.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this was our GOD at work!

There is no other explanation for things to have transpired the way they did! From my husband being distraught last Wednesday to a week later … A WEEK … receiving a call that they were going to create a temporary position for him. We’ll take it!!! Oh thank you GOD!!!

The guy said that he could imagine the feelings of getting laid off were similar to that of going through a divorce. He said he wanted to help my husband and our family out, and I told my husband that I would hug that man right that minute if I could! 🙂

Immediately upon hearing the news, tears filled my eyes and spilled out all over my face as I praised God and thanked him repeatedly for what he had done for my husband and for our family! My husband said he dropped to his knees to thank God also!

My God answered prayer in lightning speed! And we are SO grateful!

God’s favor. That’s what it was.

God’s favor!

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Light, Love, Hope

Light in the Darkness Surrounded by Love with Hope for those in need.