Answered Prayers

I have noticed most of my blogging friends are quite these days.  We have all suffered a very sad loss in our lives - Cohen Marshall, 12 days old, went to the arms of Jesus a few days ago and it has just really affected us all.  For 12 days, we posted on facebook prayer request; sent prayer request to our Sunday School classes and our churches; messages were forwarded all over the world, literally, and prayers and petitions were made to our Lord and Savior on Cohen's behalf by friends, family and total strangers.  Never have I been a part of such a large prayer effort!  It was amazing seeing the comments every few minutes of how people were praying for Cohen and his parents.  We prayed for miracles and healing and I believe the Lord answered our prayers.  It may not be the answer that we had in our minds for physical healing on this earth so we could hold, love and cherish this dear sweet baby, but it was the ultimate healing that the Lord gave Cohen.  He has been made perfect and when it comes down to it, isn't this what we prayed for.  We wanted nothing but the best for Cohen and what can be better than for him than to be with Jesus?  Yes, it is the hardest thing we have ever experienced and yes, it hurts and hurts a lot.  Our hearts are deeply burdened for Brent and Megan.  I cannot even begin to fathom the pain they are dealing with.  If we could ease their pain, we certainly would do it, but only the Lord and time can heal this pain.  We will be there for them, but we can't take the hurt away.  That is the toughest thing a parent has to do in life - watch their children suffer and there be nothing we can really do for them.  We can love them through it and pray for them. 

There is good that comes from everything.  Sometimes it takes time to find it.  In this case, we all came closer to the Lord - that is a good thing.  God used a small baby to bring us closer to Himself.  The girls and their close friendships were such a testimony to so many.  In a world of so much bad, we were able to see what the love of great friends can really be like.  My goodness - the way Brent and Megan conducted themselves, kept us updated, documented every detail they went through no matter how hard or how painful - that was absolutely amazing and will be such a help for future families who go through this same thing. And it will be exciting to hear one day what the doctors may have learned from this experience that will help other babies.  Think of the counseling Brent and Megan will be able to give other parents that you and I would have no clue what to say.  They are both such wonderful and loving people and will be such a positive influence on others.  Wouldn't it be interesting if we could have everyone that kept up with this experience write how it changed their lives!  That would be an awesome story!  This is not the first time God used a baby to touch lives and if Cohen brought one person closer to God, then we have truly been blessed.
Have a Blessed day!

Miracles Today!

Wow!  What a day this has been!  Do you believe in miracles?  If not, I will have to pray for you because they really do exist.  Today we have experienced two miracles.  The first is the miracle of birth - not just any birth, but the birth of a dear baby with four heart defects and the stomach and liver on the wrong side of the body.  He came into this world "screaming and kicking."  That is truly a miracle from the Lord.  The second miracle was when they tested and he had his two pulmonary veins and they were not obstructed!  For the longest time, it was never certain that these veins had developed.  They are there and working!  Praise Jesus!  It seemed the whole world was praying today.  What a testimony.

     This is a priceless picture.......

Daddy, Mommy and sweet baby Cohen.  It has been a long hard nine months and this is only the beginning, but today brought hope.  Megan and Brent have been real troopers!  They have tried to stay positive and upbeat throughout this whole ordeal.  I so admire them for that.  They have drawn strength from their family, friends and most importantly, the Lord.  They have gotten their priorities straight.  Something a lot of us could learn from them.  To read more go to http://www.inthiswonderfullife.com/

And then there is this picture.....

I know it is small....but it says so much.  Where would we be without friends?  We all need someone to be there when the going gets rough.  This group of gals made a pact upon graduation to stay close and it has been 8 years and here they are all together through thick and thin.  They came from Fayetteville, Texarkana, Little Rock and Oklahoma City to be there for Megan in Dallas.  They kept the world posted on the happenings of the day on Facebook and blogs and texting.  They are truly Blessed to have each other.  That is what friends are for. 

We are not promised that life will be easy; we are promised that God will be there with us through the tough times and the good times.  We seem to call on him more when it is a tough time.  I heard one preacher say that he prayed for tough times so he would draw close to God.  I have never had the nerve to pray that prayer, but isn't it so.  We draw close when we can't do it on our own. 

Thank you God for this day of miracles!  ThankYou for this opportunity to see first hand what You are about.  Forgive us when we fail You and drift from You.  Bless Cohen as he has the surgeries his little body needs.  Thank you for miracles!

We did truly have a Blessed Day!

Some of Life's Lessons This Week

I must be getting really old cause I keep seeing lessons in everything I read and do.  I may be slowing down way tooooo much and smelling way toooo many roses! ha  Oh well, maybe you can reap something from my reflections. :)
In Sunday school we are studying the book of Leviticus - one of those Law books.  Most of the verses last Sunday started with DO NOT......and ended with OR YOU SHALL BE PUT TO DEATH.  Some were strange like do not wear two different kinds of cloth - I wonder what they do about blended fabrics we have now!  Then there was do not sleep with your relatives, your neighbors wife, another man, .... or you shall be put to death.  The punishment seemed a little harsh, but then the real lesson I gleaned from all of these DO NOTS is what one class member pointed out.  We raise our children these days that it is ok to experiment and try things for themselves - make their own decisions.  We don't give them imperatives like the DO NOT's in life.  Are we doing them justice by not setting standards and requiring them to follow them and if they DO NOT, they WILL be punished.  It is easier to let them explore and over look most of the things they do that we really don't like, because we don't want to rock the boat.  We want them to like us and think we are cool parents.  Maybe that is why so many of our children's generation lacks motivation to do good; have low standards for themselves; are under achievers and do not seek God's will for their lives.  It is much harder to be strict parents where the child knows what is expected of him.  So for you young couples starting on raising families, I know it is hard, but be your child's parent not just their friend.  Of course, there are loving ways to accomplish this.  Awesome responsibility!!

The second thing I realized this week was that it is common to hear the phrase, well nothing surprises me anymore.  That is a sad commentary on our society.  Things should surprise us.  We should be shocked.  If our standards were higher, maybe less of the bad in our world would be happening.  If you knew that your world would be shocked if you did something wrong, it might deter us.  We have become a numb society.  Sad.

And, the last lesson I learned came from the book by David Jeremiah called What In The World Is Going On?.  In biblical times, when someone left the table and had their napkin crumpled, it meant they were finished and not coming back.  If they left the table and folded their napkin neatly and laid it beside their plate, that meant they would return so do not disturb their place.  Now I honestly don't think many waiters in our day would know this tidbit, so you might not want to go to the restroom and leave you half finished plate of food with a neatly folded napkin beside your plate.  However, the interesting thing I read, was that when Jesus was in the tomb for three days and He arose, the clothes that were wrapped around His body were not disturbed (they still had the shape of his body) but the cloth used on His head was neatly folded and laying to the side of the other clothes.  This meant He would return representing the fact that He will return one day and we need to have our hearts prepared for His return.  What a glorious time that will be!  Are you ready?
Have a Blessed Day!

Blackberry Cobbler

I made a wonderful cobbler a couple of weeks ago and wanted to let you in on it.  To see the original recipe, you can go to the Pioneer Woman's website Here.  I did double the amount of blackberries.  I was using frozen blackberries and 2 cups just looked skimpy so I used the whole bag from Wal-Mart.  It was just the right amount in my opinion.

For those of you that have been around our family for at least the last three years, you may remember the story of Whitney cooking her first meal for Matt when they had just started dating.  She made peach cobbler by a recipe almost identical (our family recipe doesn't use self rising flour - it uses regular flour and baking powder and salt).  When you read salt, surely you remember the salt story! haha  The recipe called for 1/2 teaspoon of salt.  She was doubling the recipe so that would have been 1 teaspoon to most people.  But to Whitney's inexperienced cooking self, that turned out to be 1 CUP of salt.  The logic behind that was that everything else was in cups so she was thinking cups instead of teaspoons.  Was she just a little nervous or what?!?!!?    Needless to say, the cobbler was thrown out and I made them another one while they went to the movies that night.  That wasn't the end of the story.  For one of their wedding showers, they had a stock the pantry shower.  Well, each hostess brought her salt as a gift (along with a lot of other wonderful things to cook with.)  She still, 3 years later, has salt in her pantry!

By the way, this recipe can be used with peaches and is absolutely wonderful too!  Nothing like Southern cooking.  Thanks Pioneer Woman!

Ingredients

1 stick Butter

1-¼ cup Sugar

1 cup Self-Rising Flour

1 cup Milk

2 cups Blackberries (frozen Or Fresh)

Preparation Instructions

Melt butter in a microwavable dish. Pour 1 cup of sugar and flour into a mixing bowl, whisking in milk. Mix well. Then, pour in melted butter and whisk it all well together. Butter a baking dish.

Now rinse and pat dry the blackberries. Pour the batter into the buttered baking dish. Sprinkle blackberries over the top of the batter; distributing evenly. Sprinkle ¼ cup sugar over the top.

Bake in the oven at 350 degrees

Have a Blessed Day!

All About Reactions

Came across a very interesting way to handle obstinate husbands today! haha  Maybe you young gals don't have those, but we older women all agree that we do! ha  I was reading another great book.....I hope you don't get tired of me telling you lessons I learn from good novels....and I read something that I have to share with you. 

This book is by an author I have written about before in another blog, Debbie Macomber.  Her newest book is "Hannah's List". A great book and an easy read.  It wasn't until almost the end of the book that I really got enlightened on how to deal with conflict in marriages and relationships.  Two of the characters in the book really love each other, but they can't stand to be around each other because it always turns into an argument.  Now, I know this never happens in your marriage, but SHOULD it ever happen, I want you to think about using this technique to work through your problems.  :) 
Take a sheet of paper and draw a line down the middle from top to bottom.  On the left side, list all the things that totally make you mad about your significant other.  The girl in the story listed when her boyfriend came home from a bad day at work, he was moody and took it out on her; when she cooked him a great meal, he always stood up to eat it - never sat down to savor the meal (he was a chef); he was an untidy person and then accuses her of hiding his things; and, he thought he was a better chef than she was.  You get the idea.  Be very honest with yourself about this.
Then you would think on the right hand side of the paper you would list the things about him that you love - WRONG!  There might not be many things you can think of after making that list! ha  So, on the right hand side of the paper, list how you respond or react to each thing on the left hand side of the paper.  When he comes in moody and gripes, she argues back at him and they fight because she doesn't deserve how he treats her; when he won't sit down to eat, she insists that he does, and they fight; etc, etc.
As the character reads the list and how she reacts, she realizes that she was a part of the problem as much as the boyfriend.  The one helping her to see this about herself tells of how her husband responded when she came home all upset and ranting and raving.  He would calmly listen to her problems and when she was done, he would wrap his arms around her, give her a big hug and tell her how much he loved her.  This only happened after the husband made his own list and they worked through the things that upset them about each other.  It is all about REACTION.  If your husband comes home tired and grouchy, remember he loves you and is needing your love right then.  He isn't needing someone to fight with.  Listen to his complaints, wrap your arms around him and tell him you love him and he is wonderful.  WOW!  That could change the whole evening.  Even if he doesn't want to make his own list, start with yours and change your reactions.  That might eliminate the length of his list one day! ha 
I wish I had someone to tell me stuff like this when I was younger - not that Gary would ever cause me any grief! LOL  Gary's favorite line is none of us are perfect - there was only One perfect person, and we crucified Him.  Truer words were never spoken.
Have a Blessed Day!

Masters and Paintings

Not a very good picture since I saved it from Facebook.....but it is a picture of a very good girl! ha  We are so proud of Whitney getting her master's degree in education.  Now she is a fully licensed teacher and will even be earning a better salary since she has her master's degree!  Dad and I and Matt are very happy about that! ha  But having a masters doesn't mean you are totally smart and always think clearly.

After graduation, Whitney and I went shopping.  I had decided that would be our gift to her for her accomplishment.  We had a full afternoon of shopping and got lots done.  Maybe she will post pictures of her two new dining chairs we got for their table and the neat vase and live bamboo for the centerpiece.  Then we had to buy groceries for the Mother's Day meal so we were pooped!  She called in pizzas for us to pick up on the way home in the next town over from Carlisle.  I asked her at the stop light should I take the service road and she said, "Oh no, just go straight."  Well, straight was the entrance to I-40 and she realized that there was no entrance to the pizza place the way we were going.  So I pulled over to the shoulder of the road and she had to hop out, run across the grass between the road we were on and the service road to get our pizza.  She was totally embarrassed!  That was a "duh" moment in life.  Had she not done this, it would have been 10 miles to Carlisle and then 10 miles back to Lonoke.  Not good for two tired women with two husbands at home waiting on dinner.  Thankfully, I remembered to get the old camera out so I could let you all know about it! :)

When Gary and I got back home Sunday evening, I had a package waiting for me.  A few weeks ago I ordered a painting from Trish Jones at Old Post Road.   I love her little paintings with the scriptures on them. 

I hung this just to the left of my computer.  How nice to look at it while I work and to be constantly reminded to "Be joyful always; Pray continually; Give thanks in all circumstances."  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.  That could change the world if we all would live those verses out daily in our lives and,  think how much brighter my days will be because this painting is there!  You can order off her Etsy site or do as I did and have her custom make you exactly what you want.  Thanks, Trish!  I absolutely love it!

Have a Blessed Day!

Something To Make You Smile

It seems like this past week or so, there are many of us going through some tough times in relationships, whether it is family, friends or business.  Seems like everyone I know has told me something that they are trying to "get through".  I read another good book that would put all of these things in perspective called "Safely Home" (I don't know how to underline on here - maybe someone can tell me) by Randy Alcorn, but this isn't going to be another post about a great book.  Instead, I have some pictures that would make most of those following this blog at least chuckle, if not laugh right out loud since most of you know my husband.  For those that do not, well what can I say, maybe that you are missing something (I won't say what) in your lives! ha  Love you darling and I was just kidding.  He is a wonderful man, (worries to much), and is about 6' tall to put these pictures into perspective, but does know how to have fun and let people laugh at him.  I think you will see from the following pictures why I say this.  Let me preface these pictures with a note that I know the quality is awful.  The blurriness comes because the parties in the pictures are moving and I was using my cell phone that was only a week old, so I did good to get these pictures at all.  I sooooo wish I had remembered I had video capabilities on the phone.  It would have been so much better.  Maybe this will take away some of the bad that seems to beset us lately.  Enjoy.  ( He is the passenger - not the driver)

Needless to say, they drew a large crowd of spectators at the car show!  They took this little three wheeled vehicle for about a 15 minute drive and there were even more people there to watch them get OUT of the car.  He said it really wasn't that uncomfortable but for $35,000 he really wouldn't want to take it around town to check on the houses he is building! ha  I think he prefers his King Ranch for that.

Have a Blessed Day!