if

IF WHEN AN ANSWER I DID NOT EXPECT

COMES TO A PRAYER WHICH I BELIEVED I

TRULY MEANT, I SHRINK BACK FROM IT;

IF THE BURDEN MY LORD ASKS ME TO BEAR

BE NOT THE BURDEN OF MY HEART'S CHOICE,

AND I FRET INWARDLY AND DO NOT

WELCOME HIS WILL,

THEN I KNOW NOTHING OF

CALVARY LOVE.

BY AMY CHARMICHAEL

Jesus Loves Me for Jack sung by emma

for jack

i'm dedicating this post to our grandson jack. he and i have been spending everyday together. these days i'll cherish for the rest of my life. he is the most precious thing in this world to us. he is a happy baby, so smiley and easy to care for. i'm tired and achy today but i must admit it's a good kind of tired. seeing his cherub features every day so chunky and soft is such a blessing unlike anything else. my husband delays going to work in the morning so he can see him and hold him a little while. jack has taken to his grandpa very much. grandpa has made some plans already for future things they can do together. i have a few of my own. we loved our children but this grandparent thing is entirely different. i know the importance of moments and time more than ever. so this song is dedicated to you jack. grandma and grandpa sing it to you while we hold you as you go to sleep and one day you will sing it with us and we will teach you what it means. you will have our love always. grandma and grandpa

friday "f"iesta

fun - played peek a boo, read books, gave grandma kisses, and rocked jack to sleep

feast - stoufers skillets chicken and pasta - trying it for the first time

fashion- had on gray sweats all day

farm - made every farm animal sound for jack of course

faith - prayed mostly for my daughter who is learning a new job

factual - i set easter cards at work tomorrow and really don't want to

fade - my color and hightlights are crying out for help

filthy - my floors are in dire need of a good cleaning - clean floors make me feel good, quirky

fragrance - i love sarah jessica parker's lovely

funnel - never ever ate a funnel cake

fruit - fantastic fresh florida strawberries also for dinner

fabulous - my wishes for your weekend



and this came from
FUN, FANTASTIC, FAITHFUL FRIEND
JENNY

happy valentines day

happy valentines day to you all.

i count each one of you as a gift from God.

on this day that love is shared may you be filled with the love of the Father who gives it without measure.

~janel

precision - updated

this belongs with the post below somehow i keep making it disappear.

precision - updated

i remember helping my kids make a machine as their fourth grade project. they had to use pulleys, fulcrums, wedges, etc. ours didn't look like this baby. i am amazed when i look at this creative piece of work. the first thing i thought of was life never runs this smoothly. there is always something going on to test our faith. i thought but this does depict God's Word. true, precice, exact, perfectly timed and also the Church each one playing a vital and equally important part all working towards that final destination. if you see a life lesson in this video whether it be serious or funny let me know. (please don't think i am endorsing this product, i just liked the video)

UPDATE: i was reading in the book of Romans today (tuesday) and this is what i read (nas)

romans 12:5-8 (i stopped at 8 but the rest is awesome to read)

for just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. and since we have gifts that differ ACCORDing to the grace given to us, let each excercise them ACCORDingly; if prophecy, ACCORDing to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality he who leads with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. (this is still not an endorsement)

i thought this was too cute. gave me a chuckle. had to share it.

CECE WINANS - I PRAY

we have much love to share

i'm off to help my mom finish up navy bean soup for dinner. she makes the best. she boils a ham bone in chicken broth for her stock, adds small pieces of ham, small potatoes and shredded carrot. she's having corn bread and brownies with ice cream. perfect for this chilly, damp weather.

random thought: how much long-term comfort are we willing to deny ourselves if the soul of another is at stake? i have been thinking about that alot and my answer scares the bejeebers out of me. how about you?

i have a request. please show some love to our friend kathy at daybyday. we all know how much it means to us when we receive comments...ALOT. we are all on this journey together, dealt with different hands but our Jesus binds us together and that thread is eternal and cannot be broken.

secondly, i promised my friend maria at jubilee on earth to mention her Bible give away. she would love to put it in someone's hands. for those of you who don't read her blog, she is a very interesting new Christian who because of how the tone of her blog has changed to now talk about her Jesus, her readership is crying "foul" they are telling her that she will lose readership because of it. so maybe it will increase not decrease.

lots of love ~janel

i sold my soul on ebay and other purchases

thanks to those who stopped by to check on me. your comments left meant so much on those days. it was a mixed week. busyness and fatigue got the worst of me. i stopped by to visit blogs and if it took too much brain power i just read and moved on. i hope you understand. i hope to have a better blogging week this week. you all mean so much to me.

i sold my soul on ebay is the name of the latest book i purchased. i had a barnes and noble gift card from my daughter for almost a year now, how bad is that. the author is hemant mehta. he is an atheist who auctioned off the opportunity to the winning bidder to send him to church. a former pastor won the auction. he describes in this book how the gospel is being presented in churches and how it affected his belief system. i think at the end of the book he is still an atheist. i first saw him on Life Today and his story interested me.

i also bought when the darkness will not lift by john piper sub title: doing what we can while we wait for God-and joy. here is a quote from the back cover "it is utterly crucial that in our darkness we affirm the wise, strong hand of God to hold us, even when we have no strength to hold Him". it is a quick read 79 short pages but if you know piper it will be jam packed with biblical truth. as a side note, his annual pastors conference is this monday and tuesday and it is dedicated to his own father who went home this last year as my dad did. my dear brother will be there, still raw from my dad's home going. i pray he will find comfort there.

lastly, i bought shepherd's notes on c.s.lewis mere christianity. it says it is the most concise and accurate way to grasp the essentials. i want to read this book as i know most of you have and i want to get the most out of it that i can. it looked interesting so i picked it up.

if i were to give this main stream bookstore a grade on their christian book section i would probably give them a "c". not so surprising, i know. they did have a decent christian representation in this section. hey they had piper, that surprised me some.

i then had to venture to the cookbook section. i love to read cookbooks. it is hopeless. i love to read them, buy them and occassionally make something but reading them and looking at the pictures is what i mostly do. i don't know what that says about me, well i sort of do and i don't care i love to look at cookbooks. i'll buy a cookbook for only one or two recipes. i saw the most amazing breakfast something in this book. it looked like an open crepe in a pan filled with berries sitting in a custardy something. this is on my ongoing amazon wish list. when i do buy this book i will make this good looking berry "something" and let you know.

thanks for stopping by. have a blessed sunday in the Lord. may our worship and praise be found worthy. ~janel