To Heal Our Country

We live in a great country. The United States of America

was founded on Godly principles. I'm very grateful for the

the founders of this country.

And though our government is less than just at times and the

imperfections of this land run deep,

we are blessed with and

enjoy tremendous freedoms here in this vast country.

As always, where there is greatness, there is the opportunity

for corruption. The power hungry will always be with us

and those who have their personal agendas in first place,

will find their way into positions of authority.

It's easy to criticize and complain.

And I do that sometimes. I shouldn't. 

Am I doing my part?

*Being a Godly example.

*Exercising my right to vote

*Contacting congressmen

Another way to see

the changes we want to see in our country is

to lift our nation up to God

through prayer.

Will you join me? Not just on this Independence Day.

Will you make a commitment to lift up

the needs of our country on a regular basis?

I want to be an example of this scripture and humble myself and walk in Godly

integrity that God will hear my prayers concerning this great land.

Then if my people who are called by my name will humble

 themselves and pray

and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and

will forgive their sins and restore their land.

II Chronicles 7:14

~ With my freedom comes responsibility ~

Far Above Rubies: How to Increase Traffic to Your Blog

My sister just started a blog. She expressed a desire to increase her traffic. She asked what
I knew about it. I don't know a lot and what I do know I have worked only minimally at
applying. I have only 12 followers and most of them are family! I rarely get more than 10
pageviews/day unless I link up with another blog. I haven't been doing that either. Building my
content has been my focus and my design was too cluttered.

There is some information that I have gleaned and applied as I can. This is one of the articles that
I read. It was helpful, encouraging and friendly. I think you'll find it to be a blessing.

I would like to thank Jasmine from Far Above Rubies for all of her hard work and so graciously sharing her information and allowing me to share it others. It truly is a blessing to glean from
those who go ahead of us and are so willing to share what they've learned! Thank you so much.

                             
                                     

 
Far Above Rubies: How to Increase Traffic to your Blog: Since many of my readers are bloggers, I hope
 to bring monthly blogging tips that will prove beneificial in learning the essentials of blog...

Black Fades to Gray

These past months have been so enlightening and liberating. During this time, I have come to
realize that many areas of my life have been out of balance for a very long time. Many of them
relate to my beliefs.

One of the things that I attribute these imbalances to is this. Though I had a father
and a mother, and they were both present physically most of the time, they were unable
to be a presence in my life. Their own circumstances were overwhelming. My mother was
in and out of mental institutions before I was 8 years old. My father worked construction
and he drove long distances to the sites where he was a Master Mechanic. Usually an
hour to two hours one way.

I am not blaming my parents. These are just the facts. They did what they knew. They were
just trying to move ahead and do the best they could with the very difficult circumstances that surrounded them.  Life is not always fair and blaming circumstances or people only makes
one weak. However, it does help to reflect and understand.

I remember feeling very alone and that my life was icky. Just messy. And I always felt like
I was odd and stupid. My family wasn't like other families whose
parents did things with the kids. They talked about things. I remember taking a walk with
my older sister once and talking about life and how good that felt to me. It hit the spot way
down deep in my hungry heart. As I look back I understand that these feelings were all related
to a life that felt very much out of control.


I made a decision to live for God when I was 10. But I never felt good enough. And this
began a very long journey for me. A journey of trying to do right to feel loved and accepted
by the One who created me.

Through the many years on the road to living close to God and trying to please Him, I took
many different paths. All of them supposedly the "right" one. There were truths that were
definitely come to and clarified. But my search for the "perfect" path was not to be found.

Being of the "black and white" personality made that very difficult for me. I was very
determined. And so I tried so hard to make things make sense. I needed a box for all
my activities, beliefs and philosophies to fit neatly into. This was a place of comfort a
and ease.

All the while, He was waiting for me to come to the end of this road that I thought was
leading me into the right.

The accepting of the gray has been extremely liberating. At times, however, freedom can
bring a lot of questions and a feeling of insecurity. Not having the answers can be
intimidating and leave a person feel vulnerable.  My understanding of  "the way things work"
has gone from nothing to a little bit to a little bit more.

For the first time in my life, I am at peace with not knowing. I believe in the past, my
insecurities, and my need to belong always kept me stirred up and anxious. I am so glad to
be ok with what I don't know and who I don't fit in with. I am free to be me. To live. To love.
My husband says that I have come out of my cocoon. I am like a transformed butterfly.

I am so thankful that God didn't forsake me during my searching and questioning. I never felt abandoned or rejected. He has once again, proven Himself so loving and real.( It sounds as if
my journey is over. It's not. There is still healing to be done. Questions will still arise and
more is to be revealed. But the peace I have is lasting. )

His Goodness~

The Lord is faithful to all His promises

and loving toward

all He has made.

We can rest in Him.

The Lord upholds all those who fall

and lifts up all who

are bowed down.

The eyes of all look to you,

and you give them their food at the

proper time.

Such a bountiful provision.

You open your hand

and satisfy the desires of

every living thing.

God's word is so full of promises

that will encourage us, light our way

and strengthen our hearts~

Have a blessed day.

Our Dog ~ Liberty

This is one of the sweetest things.

She works so hard at pleasing us.

There is definitely the element of protection in her

little dog heart.

I don't believe there is anything this little

bit of a dog wouldn't do for us if she had the chance.

She is a whole lot of love wrapped up in a fur body.

The neighbors cat moved here just to be with
'Miss Liberty.'   Mr. Kitty snuggles with her every chance he gets!

 Here is a little story that I love to tell about her:

One day Liberty and I were taking a walk. It was a little cool so I had

worn my down vest. It warmed up rather quickly and so I hung my vest

in a bush along the road.

Somehow, Liberty and I got separated and I couldn't find her. She usually comes

with a whistle. But not this time. The walk takes about an hour.

After walking to the turn-a-round and back, I was approaching

the hill back to the house. And still, no sign of the dog.

As I drew nearer to the top of the hill, I saw something laying near the

bush where I had hung my vest. It was Liberty!

After we had gotten separated, she had gone back to the place

where my vest was.  I was very surprised. I thought

that was SO smart and it showed her loyalty.

She surely has won our hearts in various ways. Doing her tricks,

trying to get the other cats to like her. ( She licks them and lays on

her back close by to show her submision. It's so cute.)

She gives hugs by pushing between our knees when we're standing

or by crawling behind our legs if we're sitting. And she gives

LOTS of kisses.

Pets add such a special dimension to family life as they offer their

 devotion and teach us about unconditional love.