God is Good...ALL the time

God is good ALL the time. Did you get that? I said ALL the time!!! At times we feel He is not allowing anything good to happen. But, the truth of the matter is God is still being good during those difficult times, in His work in our lives. I'll give you an example, an example of how God has been extremely good in the life of someone who is so dear and special to me....my step-daughter. And let me tell you "step" is just a word I'm using so you know which "child" this involves. "Step" means nothing to me in terms of the two "children" (grown and adults now) I have had for the past 11 years as a result of my marriage to Bill. Steph and Stephen ARE my children; I love them with all of my heart and my being....just as I love my two biological children.

So now, back to how God is good....ALL the time. My daughter has had her share of ups and downs; the pre-teen and teen years were not very easy for her, including a teen pregnancy (she gave birth to my beautiful and wonderful grandson, Jayden) Through all of this we stood by her letting her know that we were there for her and encouraged her to "change" (my thought for her in regards to changing meant finding God) But the main thing I did for the past several years.....I prayed! I prayed that through all of the difficulties she endured (and there were more to come) that God would reveal himself to her, making himself real in her heart, allowing her to see that the only way "up from the bottom" was through Jesus Christ himself. I prayed that she would see that He loves her No Matter What, and that through forgiveness and through her accepting Him, she would find a peace like she's never known.....one I'm sure searched for but never found.

Well, as I said before...God is Good....ALL the time. Steph accepted Jesus Christ as her personal Savior this past Friday evening. During all that she has gone through God had never forsaken her. He was waiting for His perfect timing to draw her unto Himself. His Good plan would come together and reveal his goodness when He (and she) was ready....And Friday, she was finally ready!

What peace and joy a parent feels when they have the assurance of knowing that their child(ren) is saved by God's grace and that she/he has accepted Him into their heart as their Savior. It is also a relief to know that your child's eternal future is secured with God in heaven. It is an unexplainable comfort to know that your child is no longer lost but has been found by the One who can turn even their darkest and loneliest moments around for His good(and theirs).

This whole experience has been incredibly good. Her knew-found faith has shown me that, while I've been a Christian for almost 30 years, I need to have the faith, and all that goes with it, as that of a new believer. Because of God's work in my daughter's life, He has made himself very clear and real to me once again, and has drawn me back closer to Him and has made me want to be as free, happy and eager to serve Him in every area of my life as she is desiring. So for that, I thank you Stephanie, but most of all.....for ALL of this, I thank you God.

God Is GOOD....ALL The Time!!!!!!

Let's Try This Again...

After having just watched the movie "Julie & Julia" I'm feeling very inspired. No, not to blog about cooking "Julia Child's" recipes, but to pick up my blog where I left off almost a year ago. The question for me is, What am I going to share?

I think the biggest thing of this past year, for me, was finding a job back in the medical field. I missed not doing on a daily basis what it was, I felt, God had called me to do...help people. I work for a physician in a small close-knit two-physician medical practice, and I love it! It feels great to again be contributing to my household and coming home at the end of the day, some quite long, knowing that I made a difference! God has blessed me by putting me where I feel he wanted me to be and with a great group of people who are more like family than co-workers. The sad part of all of this; I only worked there for four and a half months before God decided, for reasons I may never know, that he was going to "shake things up" a bit.

I injured my back while at work, and while thinking I'd only be off a few days, set-back after set-back, STILL has me off. I thank God that, Lord-willing, I will be back doing what I love in 11 days:) God has shown me quite a few things in the two months off. The first being that He will NEVER leave me or forsake me...this includes financially. He continued to meet all of our needs; maybe not the way we are accustomed too, But He did! He also showed me yet again (it seems I am one of those people who need frequent reminders) that ALL THINGS happen for a reason even if we never do find out what that reason was. Thirdly, and this may be the biggest lesson learned and the one I feel the most important, is to NEVER assume tomorrow will happen and that the plans you have made for yourself will take place. No one knows this for sure; no one except God! "For I know the plans I have for you", he says, and His plans for me the past two months were definitely different than the plans I had for myself.

I never really grasped why my grandma used to always say, "Lord-willing" whenever she described the plans she had made. I now fully understand what she meant and have begun taking on this frame of mind as well. So.....Lord-willing, I will be back again tomorrow blogging!

"Let's Go Steelers...Let's Go!!!"

Let the new NFL season begin!! Finally, it is football season, once again. It seems like both a long time, and a short time, since they last played. So far, this first pre-season game is uneventful. Team is looking good though. If we ever had a chance at going to the Superbowl it would be again this season. "Our schedule is SO easy...our biggest challenge will be the "Ratbirds" (my daughter's name for them)...aka...Ravens. Bring it on!!!

Just now...50yd field goal...Jeff Reed..."and it's...GOOD", and with that I say...

"Here we go Steelers, here we go!"

Dinner at Shady Maple Smorgasbord

Yesterday we went to Shady Maple, my choice, with Bill's sister Robin, her husband Kerry and their daughter Kayla. We went out to dinner as our Anniversary dinner because we didn't get a chance to on our actually anniversary. It has been a year and a half since we last went. I've always loved going there, as I have fond memories of going with my grandma and pop-pop when I was younger. The food is incredible there and really tastes like it would if you made it in your own kitchen. Why can't we get awesome home-made food like that around here! We all left feeling like "stuffed pigs"...why do we always stuff ourselves at buffets? The company of us all together was just as good as the food and we all enjoyed ourselves.

Happy 10th Anniversary!

Wow! It is so hard to believe that Bill and I have been married for 10 years. Where has the time gone? In so many ways it seems like we were just married a couple years ago...but when I look at our children, and how they've grown, I know it's been longer. We have come a long way in the last 10 years. I love my husband more today than I did then...and I would bet that he'd say the same thing. We've had our struggles...physically, emotionally, financially, but we've survived and we are much better off now physically, emotionally, and financially.

This year, I decided I'd get him a funny anniversary card; I always buy the long and serious ones. As I was picking the card out, my son Brady said, "Watch dad buy you are serious card this year" and sure enough, he bought me, for once, a serious card that brought tears to my eyes.

I am blessed to have him in my life and I thank God for bringing us together and for giving us these past 10 years. As Bill said in my card, "I can't wait for our next 10 years"...I agree!! Happy Anniversary Honey!!! I love you!

Feel The Burn

It's been a while since I've "blogged" so I thought I'd update tonight. Summer is flying by so quickly...where does the time go? We had a wonderful July 4th, as a family. KateLynne's boyfriend, Dakota came over...he's such an awesome kid! We then all went to the fireworks at the York Fair. The were awesome this year, especially the finale. It was a great day!

Since moving to our new home, Bill and I have wanted to buy bikes for us and KateLynne, Brady has one, so that we can all ride the Rail Trail, for exercise and because it's a great way to do something together as a family. Well, Bill and I got our bikes on Friday; KateLynne didn't get hers yet. Brady and I went on "the trail" Friday evening for a total of two miles, and let me tell you, I Quickly realized I am out of shape!! Boy oh boy did I "Feel The Burn"!! I was a good feeling not only because I know I'm doing a good thing for my body but also, and maybe even mostly, because it was a bonding time with my son! Last night we biked a total of four miles, stopped to take some pictures and sat on the one bench taking in the sights and smells and enjoying the peacefulness. I still felt "the burn" last night, but just one day made a difference. The "burn" wasn't quite as bad nor did I feel as whipped by a simple task of riding bike as I did the night before; it felt good! We even detoured off the trail to hit Rutter's to get some much needed water...from now on, I'll be sure to take some with us. We even got caught in the rain which made the experience even more enjoying not to mention the fact that the rain felt great!

I'm not riding tonight because my riding partner is at grandma and grandpa's for the night, and I haven't convinced KateLynne to let us get her a bike so she can join in on the fun. Also, Bill's knee is bothering him so he is out of commission, for right now. He is upset that he hasn't been able to ride with me yet. Maybe tomorrow??...I hope!

Death Does Happen in "3's"

Let me tell you...death really happens in "3's". I saw it all the time in the nursing home I worked at. This week was no different. We lost "3" icons this week, Ed McMahon; Farrah Fawcitt; and now, Michael Jackson. I can't say I remember McMahon from what most of the nation is remembering him for...I'm too young. I remember him from "Star Search" and "Publisher's Clearing House". Farrah, doesn't everyone know she was from "Charlie's Angels", I'm kind of too young for that too...however, I do remember watching the show...it was good. In my mind, I remember her from her most recent endeavors. Two of my favorites were the "Burning Bed" and the 1994 movie "The Substitute Wife"...a pioneer movie that I loved. She died from a terrible form of cancer, all forms are terrible, but she had anal cancer, and because of her celebrity she has shed light on the awareness of this form of cancer. The good thing about her passing is that she is no longer in pain, that is...if she's in heaven, otherwise, she is suffering from a pain greater than she, or any of us, could ever possibly imagine. For her sake, I hope she is "above" and not "below". As for Michael on where he is...I cannot speculate based on the things he did and didn't do in his past...only God is the judge and knows where he is...same for McMahon.

I wish all of their families God's comfort and peace.