Sometimes an ending is a perfect way to have a beautiful beginning...

Thursday, May 6, 2010

National Day of Pray

Dear Heavenly Father, Our Lord Jesus Christ,
Lord, I pray, on this our National Day of Pray for our country. I pray for our president. Lord, give him wisdom to turn to You for strength and knowledge. Lord, I pray that he knows You and if he doesn't that he will come to know You through people he comes in contact with. Father, please send people to be an influence on our president's life; remind him that America is indeed a Christian nation and to never turn his back on Christianity and therefore You, again. Please protect his family and cause them to have a relationship with You.
Father, I pray for those men and women serving our country in wars right now. Lord, please protect them, give them strength to get through their difficult tasks. Cause them to turn to You for strength and protection and for a relationship with You. Please be with their families as they are separated and concerned for each other. Come alongside these families and be there for them filling their needs during such a difficult time.
Lord, I pray for the citizens of America. Lord, so many have turned from You or never have even known You. I pray for this to change! Lord, cause our citizens to want a relationship with You! You have promised that if America would change her ways You would be faithful to forgive her. We need this now. Heal our relationship with You for we were indeed founded on Christian principles with You as our backbone. Forgive us for taking You out of our schools, courts and other institutions. Please heal our financial state and to, from this point on, handle our country's finances the way You would have us.
Father, please strengthen the American family. The state of the family shows the state of this country and Lord, our families need You. Without strong, healthy, two-parent families this country fails. We are in a crisis because of the state of our families. Divorce is at an all-time high, children are being born out of wedlock, even our country's leaders are redefining what a family is, allowing even same-sex marriage. Lord, we need to turn from our evil ways! Please forgive us for such sins. Marriage is Your institution and You designed it for a man and a woman, only. Forgive those of us who even have a relationship with You and yet say nothing as our country descends into such debauchery.
Lord, I pray for this country, my home. I love my country. Please be with her in this age and forever. Change us. Strengthen us. I pray America comes to know You as her Lord and Savior. Amen.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

An Apron, A Garden, a New Show

Hello? Anyone home? You whoooo? Can I come in? Don't worry about the house... it's just me!
Well hey there! I've missed you all, again. Yep, it's my own fault... I know it is. But I'm here now!
Life has been crazy and good but busy! I've got 'company' comin' out a my eyeballs! Hubby's Dad and step-mom were here last week and we had a great visit with them. This week his Mom and step-dad are here! What a blast! I do love 'company'! Gives me a good reason to scrub the house. Once they're here, though, I don't stress about it. If they saw it clean when they first got here, well that's good enough!
This is mine and Bethany's birthday month along with Mother's Day, my mother-in-law's birthday, my dear friend Linda's birthday, my parents anniversary and of course, don't you know, I just had to be a May bride! May breaks our bank! Last weekend Mom and I celebrated Mother's Day by going to an event at church. We had a great time! I love some good worship time, great food, good messages, and even shopping! There were about 12 vendors selling their wares! Mom bought be a cutie-patootie apron for Mother's Day. I am an apron girl! I wear them all the time to cover spills, dirt, cleaning products, and, um, diaper stuff. I wear them when I'm entertaining and have even been know to forget to take them off when I pick Savannah up from school, which produces the mortifying sound, "Moooom! How could you forget to take it off?!" So, thanks, Mom! Your granddaughter will love it!!!
Yesterday I bought flowers for the front yard (petunias are the best for our area) and then vegetable plants for our garden. I have a garden every year, in every house we've lived in. I love getting out there and planting, pulling weeds, and watering. I love to teach my girls about life through the garden. A garden shows God's provision for us! This year we got a late start so instead of using seeds (my preferred method) I had to use the plants that are ready to go. I am so late because our weather has been so weird! Really, we had snow in the first week of April!
We have had a new family program we are all enjoying immensely! It's called America: The Story of Us. It's on the History channel on Sunday nights. We make Savannah sit and watch with us. (she really enjoys it too!) It's about the founding of our country from the very beginning. We're up to the beginning of the Civil War. Of course, the program showed the horrors of slavery. At this point Savannah could barely stomach it. She was shocked that this once happened in our country. She knew about slavery but the show really replayed so many injustices and, as she thought of all of her African American friends, it made her cry. She didn't want to watch. We made her and told her we all need to know what happened so it is never repeated. She learned about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad, about Frederick Douglas and his slim escape on a train to freedom. I highly recommend America: The Story of Us.
Hope you all have a fantastic weekend and to all the mothers out there, Happy Mother's Day!