23 Things to Remember

1. No one can ruin your day without your permission.2. Most people will be about as happy as they decide to be.3. Others can stop you temporarily, but only you can do it permanently.4. Whatever you are willing to put up with is exactly what you will have.5. Success stops when you do.6. When your ship comes in. ... make sure you are willing to unload it.7. You will never "have it all together."8. Life is a journey...not a destination. Enjoy the trip!9. The biggest lie on the planet: "When I get what I want, I will be happy."10. The best way to escape your problem is to solve it.11. I've learned that ultimately, 'takers' lose and 'givers' win.12. Life's precious moments don't have value, unless they are shared.13. If you don't start it's certain you won't arrive.14. We often fear the thing we want the most.15. He or she who laughs......lasts.16. Yesterday was the deadline for all complaints.17. Look for opportunities...not guarantees.18. Life is what's coming....not what was.19. Success is getting up one more time.20. Now is the most interesting time of all.21. When things go wrong.....don't go with them. 22. Spend your time with the people you love and the people who nuture your soul. 23. Jesus Loves you more than you can ever ever know......rest in that love

Lynda Calling

I have been in a valley lately. Not sure why, but at the same time I know there are several unsettled things on my heart. I did learn from our Thursday night small group that I pray.... or maybe "feel" I pray....over & over & over again to Jesus. Often repating the same request over and over again. I learned that causes anixety in my heart. It's like a catch 22 in my soul. I think, I have to....I need to beso "wordy" with my prayers and go over & over them again and again with Jesus or HE JUST WON'T KNOW, how important they are to me. Yet, at the same time, I feel so depleted by the lack of my focusing alittle on the health of myself that I don't feel the energy to even make the effort of the "lenghty" prayer request (list) I feel I need to give to Jesus on a daily basis. I am so off the mark on this. I know I am. I just need to know that He has heard me, that He hasn't forgotten me, that the needs of my heart are so important to Him and that HE LOVES ME. He may not choose the same outcome for things in my life as I want... but, He still cares and He still loves me and He always wants the best for me. Even when I don't know what the best is. I just need to know that I know that I know that Jesus actually has heard me and that He puts up a finger that says..."shhhhh....wait my child". That would be comfort to me. To know I am heard. So many times I repeat things to my children over & over & over again because I feel that they don't respond......or don't even say "Ok mommy" so at least I KNOW they have heard me...even if they don't make a move yet....I know that they KNOW that I have spoken to them. I guess I pray to God that same way. Also, I feel I need to say over & over & over again things to my children to remind them of what is important to me. So they don't forget what still needs to be focused on. I must be doing that with God too. What I need to learn to do is to lay it all at His feet...at the cross and have faith that He has heard and know His promise and that He does care. This is so very difficult for me though. I feel that in my relationship with God I need to go all the way back to square one and get back to the basics of life. Just make my heart and my requests pure. Bring them to Him, and trust. That is not easy to me because trust has hurt my heart so deeply in the past. One baby step at a time......prayfully I will not stay here in this valley going around and around this mountain any longer. I need to grow in this. I need to know that I know, that I know, He is always there. He always loves me. He always hears my cries. ALWAYS!

Friends are blessings to my heart

Ok so I am new to this "blog" thing. I really don't like the word "blog"...it reminds me of BLOB and I don't think that word is too great either. My BLOB BLOG!!! Anyway.....I haven't posted in days but I don't know the rules yet and anyway if you know me at all you know I am quiet at times. This is my quiet. It is 3am Thursday.....I mean FRIDAY morning and we just had our first Vic. Frazzled small group tonight at my home and what a nice group of Christian ladies. I **love** getting together like this. When it is over and the ladies who have to leave do leave.... I know that Geriann and Melissa stay and talk and those talks always bless my heart. It is when I am tired and when I am more open and the "real" me can just listen and talk and just "be" with my girlfriends. It is special and it makes me feel so good that I have friends that will hang around and share their hearts and just stay up late with me and "talk". It means so much to me because in the craziness of a typical day I get so "busy" I forget to eat (except for junk) much less take time to talk, reflect, share or relate. I love these times with my friends and I count these times as treasures and these friends as "gifts" It's 3:15 am now and Melissa and Geriann stayed till about 3am and I feel like I have been replenished with girl talk and hopes and friendship and bonding and whatever else us girls look for in our friends. I know it's after 3am and I am tired so this BLOB BLOG probably doesn't make much sense...but I just want to say how thankful I am for the precious time my friends share with me. It blesses my heart and gives me strenght, hope and excitement for a new day!! Friends TRULY ARE a gift from God. THANK YOU JESUS!!!!

A night of laughs

Last night Les & I went on a date night at Judson church with some friends. Cindi Goron arranged it and I am so thankful she did. I really like Cindi and it's so fun to be around her. We had a wonderful time with the other 3 couples that were at our table and we laughed and laughed. It felt so good to laugh. It felt so good to be with friends. It felt so good to know that the people we were with loved God too. Lately, I have been getting so lost in "my purpose"...lost in the fact that I don't really make a difference at all. I do nothing that someone else couldn't just step in and do and probably even do better. So, it felt so good to just let that go and laugh and not wonder why or worry that I am no doing enough, that I am not making enough of a difference. I so enjoyed last night. I just feel right now "lost"...kinda like the TV show of the same name that I only watched once cause it bothered me that they were LOST. I think part of it is because I lost control but haven't turned all control over to God. So I don't have control and I haven't given God control (surrender truly) and so I really am LOST. I feel very VERY alien lately........and it makes matters worst what is going on at our church now because that was the one place I felt my Christian family and a bond and the hand of Jesus and now I feel lost there too. So I really needed the night of laughs last night, more than I even knew I needed it. Thanks to Cindi so much for thinking of us. It blesses my heart and I really enjoyed sharing the evening with Sherrie and Gerriann too. Lost...but laughing!

it's a new day

Ok, this is my start to the new year...the new me. The closer walk with Jesus, Lynda.So much has gotten to my heart since Jan 1st 2007. So much reflection on my life.It say what made it all get to me are just a bunch of little things......but one veryprecious little thing mainly...... a sweet baby boy named Noah Steven Graves.Though his mothers blog and her precious and tender and godly heart it openedup a part of my heart that had been tucked away tightly and quietly since the lossof my baby boy David Matthew Bishop. To much to express here right now...butNoah & David are with Jesus now and they are smiling and happy and blessedand playing in Jesus playground up in Heaven. To think that babies which should bein their mommies arms on earth are in Heaven is an aching yet beautiful thought.Nothing could be better that to be in the presence of our Jesus. Yet, the ones left behindstill have huge bruises in their hearts for these babies. With all that in mind......I thought if Noah's mommy could take time to write a beautiful blog and ministerto my heart through all her life lessons from Jesus...I think I can muster up mytime and start to pull the layers off my heart to expose more of what my heart feelsand maybe minister the things Jesus has blessed me with ...both in gifts and in teaching and in helping me tame my free will and humble myself to my Lord, my Jesus.I hope you enjoy this blog. I am new here and I am just learning. Pleasebe patient with me.hugs & blessings~ Lynda