Step Behind the Shield. Take Your Emotions With You. Then Hold God's Hand.

Psalm 118: 1, 5-7, 11-14, 19-21, 24, 28-29. 
"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.
In my anguish I cried to the Lord and he answered by setting me free.
The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
The Lord is with me; he is my helper. I will look in triumph on my enemies.
They surrounded me on every side, but in the name of the Lord I cut them off.
They swarmed around me like bees, but they died out as quickly as burning thorns; in the name of the Lord I cut them off.
I was pushed back and about to fall, but the Lord helped me.
The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.
Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.
This is the gate of the Lord through which the righteous may enter.
I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation.
This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God and I will exalt you.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever."

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1. BIRTH FAMILY = I'm thankful for them.

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3. MEN = As young girls, most of us have formulated our dream man and he was perfect. He knew how to love and cherish us, was kind and gracious to us, took care of us and instinctively knew what we needed before we even asked. 

So going into marriage, we took our dream man with us, thinking that our marriage partner resembled him a little bit and if he didn't, then we could mold him into one like our DM.

Wake up, gal! You aren't married to your dream man -- he's a puff of your imagination! Let him go! The man of your reality will NEVER measure up to your expectations. He's still hanging around because of his love for you and HOPE -- hope that someday you will let go of your dream man and welcome him, warts and all into your heart. He may be a little rough around the edges, but he yearns for your admiration and love and daily wants to hear praise (compliments) and gratitude (thank you's) from you for the things he's done right. A wise woman builds up her house! "By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures." ~Proverbs 24:3,4. Treasure your reality man! 

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3. HEALTH NUT = I loved what Stephanie Ackerman said today in her video about crafting everyday -- "Think of crafting as the dessert to our day." Nice thought, Steph! 💖

My homework for this week is to practice using "I" statements, listening skills and reflective statements. And next month we will be talking about boundaries, so a new book that was gifted to my Google library, thanks to JD, came at the right time!

Some friends of mine have had their doctors recommend the Mediterranean diet to them. We have quite a few restaurants in this area that we can eat at with them that cater to that lifestyle of eating.  I wonder what Jesus ate? It would be part of the Mediterranean diet as well!

My husband and I have purchased several packages of heat (microwave) and serve sweet potatoes. Yum!  He has missed his sweet potato casserole though all covered with marshmallow and maple syrup goo on top, so I was looking around for a substitute since refined sugar is out! And I think I've found one that gives a little oomph to the root veggie along with pats of butter! 

I went to Walmart and bought a white plastic flour and spice shaker! 

And then measured 1/2 cup of stevia powder and 1/2 cup of cinnamon powder into a bowl and mixed the two and then scooped  the mixture into the flour shaker. I tried it last night and it was yummy! 


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4. OUR FIRST PREGNANCY = My husband and I tried for several years to have children. And when I finally did get pregnant, I miscarried my very-much wanted child in my first trimester and had to have an emergency D&C to stop the bleeding as it was an incomplete miscarriage. I never knew the child and never knew the sex of it, but the thing that brought me the most comfort was thinking that my baby was in the arms of Jesus. I can't imagine the grief of parents who knew and loved and lost a child through death.  THANK YOU JESUS for taking in and caring for our first child in heaven! Hope to meet him or her some day there! I wonder if that child knows (s)he has a brother? He was born in the succeeding  year following the death of our first. 
I was reminded of our loss talking to someone at Find-a-grave. I always try to leave a flower at children's memorials there.  

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5. TORNADO SEASON = Has begun with a bang! I had just climbed out of the pickup and was on the sidewalk leading up to our front porch when the tornado sirens went off. I immediately began praying, "Lord, protect us!" And he did! We're safe and sound. Thank you, Dad! 👼

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6. GRATITUDE goes a long way towards developing good relationships. Even if it seems silly, say it: "THANK YOU" or "I APPRECIATE YOU FOR. . ." and then tell them why. It may be the only kind thing a person hears all day! And you can bet, they will remember you for that! 

MARK LOWRY had some  good advice in a recent video: "You will always learn if you are a looking and a thinking. #1. Don't ever use a line you used in high school on a Gaither crowd and 

#2. If you can't see the audience, you don't talk to the audience." He said if someone starts heckling him from the audience, he'll put an overhead spot-light on them instead of answering them back."