Blessed

Today's post is very simple. I am blessed. I am beyond thankful today as I reflect on the many blessings in my life.  Without a doubt, I an grateful for an amazing husband, 4 beautiful children whom are compassionate and passionate and who serve the Lord in every aspect of their lives.

Of course I am grateful for an amazing, smart, handsome, funny, perfect grandson. ( I could go on, but I'll try to show some restraint)

I am grateful for an amazing family, who stands together through thick and thin.

I am grateful for a just, merciful and faithful God and I am grateful that I can have a personal relationship with Him.

I am grateful to live in a country that is FREE.

What are you grateful for today?

I know that life is challenging and I know that there are stresses around every corner. It is easy to get caught up in "what I don't have". When we compare ourselves to others, isn't it funny how we usually "compare up". We see what we don't have compared to others, we feel sorry for ourselves, or we feel angry at the situation, or we feel that life just is not fair.

Guess what? you are correct, life is not fair!!

Use this list to make your comparison......



If you have food in your fridge, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep you are richer than 75% of the world.
If you have money in the bank, your wallet, and some spare change you are among the top 8% of the wordl’s wealthy.
If you woke up this morning with more health than illness you are more blessed than the million people who will not survive this week.
If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the agony of imprisonment or torture, or the horrible pangs of starvation vou are luckier than 500 million people alive and suffering.
If you can read this message you are more fortunate than 3 billion people in the world who cannot read it at all.


Now, readjust your mindset and spend today giving thanks, really giving thanks!!

You are Blessed!!

Happy Thanksgiving,
Shelly

LOAVES & FISHES

Aren't these the most beautiful loaves of bread and baskets of fish?

I know what you're thinking.......8 posts and she's already lost her mind. Well, that's not too far from the truth....I mean the part about losing my mind.

Seriously, to me these are loaves and fishes. They may look like backpacks and blankets but they are a true sign of God's faithfulness, same as that famous lunch of "bread and sushi"

Here's the story.......I have 7 family members who will be spending the Thanksgiving holiday in Guatemala. They are going as short-term missionaries, taking time to give of themselves to meet the needs of others. Well, as you know from previous posts... I am all about that.

So, I was sitting here in my humble abode and I was spending some alone time with God, and I felt compelled to do something for the people of Guatemala. I really felt a tug on my heart to give a monetary donation.  We are not wealthy people, and it is not always easy to give, especially financially, especially this time of the year. Regardless, I dropped a note and a small check into a card and sent it off to my family who would be going on the trip.

I didn't give it much thought, until I received this photo as a text message. At first, I had no idea what it was. The message said "Call me" So guess what I did, I called my aunt. Turns out that this is a picture  of 16 backpacks, 15 blankets, 20 cooking utensils ( while in Guatemala they are going to be installing stoves for some families), and 8 reusable shopping bags. 

OK.....cool? Not sure why she was so excited until she told me. These items were what she had purchased with the check I had sent to her. She had decided to take the money and to buy the things that the people of this country would need. She wanted me to "see" what my gift was going to do for those people.

What I really saw, was how faithful our God is. He took the small gift that I had given and He multiplied it, over and over.

Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed them, and broke them, and kept giving them to the disciples to set before the people...Luke9:16

They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.....Luke 9:17 The most amazing words in these 2 verses..."He blessed them". God performed a miracle right there in the midst of the multitudes. He took the lunch of a young boy and he blessed it and multiplied it. Because that young man gave with an open hand and an open heart, the masses were fed that day, both physically and spiritually. Did I mention how much $$ I actually gave in that check?? How much do you think that it took to purchase enough items to bless 59 people??? $100...... Yep that's it. I wrote a check for $100, I sent it off and I forgot all about it. The Lord took that small amount and he multiplied it. He took my meager donation and used it to bless the multitudes. To begin, 59 people of Guatemala will receive a gift from the American Missionaries, but then I believe that there will be a "ripple effect". Each of those recipients will tell other's about the blessings and so on...and so on. I am in awe of how God can take a little and make it more than enough. In that story, we notice that God not only feeds the masses, there's 12 basketfuls of leftovers....Haha I love this, He doesn't just provide enough, He even provides leftovers!! I am keeping this photo on my phone, it's a reminder to me that He can do so much with so little. Whether you are giving your time. your talents or your finances, keep this thought in mind. No matter how insignificant you may feel your gift is, when it is given with an open hand and an open heart, it will be blessed by God......there will even be leftovers!!!!! Now, go back and take a look at the photo, do you see the bread and fish? Amazed and In Awe, Shelly

Thankful???????

    I am sure that this will not be my most popular blog. Let me apologize in advance.... actually, I will not apologize, the Lord  has laid this on my heart so I am going to share it!! Here goes......

 Let me begin by saying that I am a shopper. When I say shopper, I mean I LOVE to shop, I LOVE to find bargains and I love stuff!!! I am also a giver, I love to give to others, especially my children and my precious grandson!!!

So you are thinking, wow she is a giver, that's a good thing!!!!

Is it?

I find myself in the Holiday Mode. I am making lists and crunching numbers and trying to find a way to get everyone everything that they could ever want. In most cases, even things that they have no idea that they want. WHY? so that I can feel good about myself. I have to admit, it puffs me up a little bit to know that I was able to give my kids everything they could ever imagine. What a fabulous mom that makes me.

So basically, this giving is self-serving.....hmmmm.....

Don't get me wrong, my kids love what they receive and they are always grateful. However, if I were to ask them what was their favorite gift from last year, I'm not sure that they would remember. You know why, because it was just stuff.

Well. this morning on the news I heard that some major department stores are now opening on Thanksgiving day. Actually, 8pm on Thanksgiving. Why you ask, because that's what the customers want.

Honestly??????

On the one day of the year that is set aside merely as a day to give thanks for our abundant blessings, we would rather go get more stuff???

Now, I am guilty of being the crazy woman who is standing in line on Black Friday, waiting for the 4am opening. I am even a little ashamed to say that I find it exhilarating.  This year I really feel differently about this.

 It seems that we live in a country that believes that the more you have, the more you are. It's very easy to fall into this line of thinking. While I was having a little R&R in Chicago. My aunt and I drove around through her suburb and looked at the new homes. I am not even sure that home is the appropriate word. These residences were large enough to be a hotel. They were single family homes.
Colleen and I were talking and when you see these places, you wonder how family life is inside. These houses are large enough that every member of the family could have their own wing. Do they even speak to one another. Obviously, they are able to have everyTHING that they could want, but is it just about the things. This is not how life used to be.

My Mom was the oldest of 5 children and she grew up in a 3 bedroom home. That's how it was back then, you know something?? her and her siblings talk everyday , my aunts, uncles and cousins are like sisters and brothers to me. She certainly did not grow up with many things, but she grew up with love and family and a sense of security and belonging. For my grandparents. it was never about stuff.

The question is, does more stuff = better quality of life?

I think the overwhelming answer is NO. I think more stuff = the desire for more stuff,
the desire for more stuff becomes a consuming passion, that consuming passion leads us to greed. When who we are, is defined by what we have, we will never be satisfied because we will never have enough.

That is why the Lord tell us:

The greedy bring ruin to their households, but the one who hates bribes will live...Proverbs 15:27

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs....I Timothy 6:10

Eventually. the love of stuff could become what you serve. Taking the place of God in your heart.

Let me tell you, you don't have to be rich for this word to apply to you. You don't have to be the one living in the "hotel size homes". If you are striving to acquire more stuff, striving to fit into a social status or striving to be perceived as successful because of what you have,this could be you. It has definitely been me.

I don't know about you, but I don't want anything to take the place of my faith.

This year, I really want to check myself. I don't want the holidays to be about stuff.

I want to start by making Thanksgiving, just that. a day to be thankful

That doesn't mean that I won't be out there on Friday, fighting the crowds with the best of them. But, I do know that I am going to be more aware when I give. I don't want my gifts to be given with a spirit of self-serving. I don't need to give a large pile of presents to feel adequate.

The greatest gift I can give is Thanks.

From a very thankful heart,
Shelly

Stormy Weather

So, I am not a traveler. Seriously, the last time that I have been away, was August 2011 when we took Taylor 1300 miles away to school! I am a "stay-at-home" mom and I mean that literally!!

Well, a couple of weeks ago, my Aunt COLLEEN ( she's the same one who did the cookbook , there's your shout out) called and invited me to her home in Chicago for a weekend away. Really? A weekend just for me? Of course, I jumped at the chance.

I boarded the plane on Thursday and thought to myself, ' Ahh four days of R&R, no worries, no responsibilities, just FUN!!

 Of course, prior to my leaving, I was like a madwoman. I had ironed all the clothes for my husband and my son. I hung them in the empty closet with notes hanging from them, telling them which clothes were for which day. I had made lunches and left them in the fridge, ready to go. On the coffee table were 3 pages of notes, very clearly explaining the morning and evening schedule, hour by hour.

Anyway, I boarded that plane and thought, NOW I can begin my vacation. not a person to worry about but me!!

Can you say SANDY.....

No sooner did I arrive in Chicago, when I realized that Sandy was on her way. The storm was expected to hit upstate NY. As a matter of fact, my area was listed on the map as "Very Likely" to lose power.
This was not the rest and relaxation I was expecting. Immediately, I started to worry. I called my husband to be sure he was preparing for the storm. I told him to be sure we had water, milk, bread, flashlights, etc... I was a little panicked. ( needless to say he was not panicked and to be honest, I don't know if he ever did get those items). I was 700 miles away and I was trying to orchestrate efforts at home. I was making myself crazy. Then out of nowhere I heard...

PEACE BE STILL

It's amazing the power those 3 words had on me. What choice did I really have? First of all,I had no control over the storm. Secondly, even if I did, I was 700 miles away! I was wasting my time fretting over something that I could do nothing about.
 Have you ever been there?


Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm...Mark 4:39

I love this verse, it shows the awesome power of the Lord. He was asleep on the boat while everyone else was fretting about the storm. He woke up, said 3 words, and it was done, finished, the end!!!

OK, I want this type of intervention during the storms of my life. I want the Lord to step in, say 3 words and BOOM!!, problem solved.

Well, after he spoke those words and calmed the seas , he asked this..

 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”....Mark4:40

Wow, I don't know about you, but I never want God to ask me why I have no faith. However, I have to admit that there are times when I am in the eye of the storm, worrying and fretting and I call on Jesus and then I just keep "freaking out". That is not faith. That is not expecting God to show up. That's  like sending him an invitation, but locking the door. I want to leave the door wide open, so that He may enter into my storms, speak 3 words and calm the seas.

I am thrilled to report that Sandy had very little impact on my hometown, but it had a huge impact on me, personally. It brought those 3 words to life for me.

When you are facing the storms in your life, remember that Jesus calmed the storm with a command of 3 short words. Don't leave him asking if you have faith in Him and his abilities. Take him at his word.
He will not only calm the storm, he will bring you through it and you will be stronger on the other side.

By the way, I ended up extending my little getaway by 3 days and you know something? My son and my husband did just fine without me. They didn't starve, they didn't go to school/work unclothed and when I returned home, my house was CLEAN!!!! I think that there is another lesson in there for me, but that's for another blog.

Peace to you,
Shelly