Louder Than the Voices

 Happy Saturday from St. Louis! I love quick getaways and was really excited when it worked out that we could go to the Muny and get a little mini vacation in. Things didn't turn out as planned and the rain ran us out of the play but we got Ted Drewes, so the night was saved, lol.  I am looking forward to our plans for today and hopefully they all go well.  This weeks Bible Study takes us a little further into James Chapter 1. We are looking at verses 19-21 this week. 19  My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,   20  because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.   21  Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. So, using our HEAR method, Verse 19 Highlight = everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to beco...

 It is Saturday once again. It has been another busy week but I look back and lots has been accomplished. My living room and dining room are still all messed up because of the attic project but I know that is to be expected. My plans for today is to get a quick run in and then work on the next 6 rafters of stuff, and hopefully have it all sorted by 3 and then use the spare bedroom to store everything that is left down here to take back. I have never had sections in my attic the way I wanted to, and I am going to try very hard to do that this time. I am hoping it keeps being as easy to get rid of most stuff as it has been so far. I am just sick of the clutter. The verses today remind me that clutter isn't good in any area of our lives. It stands in our way from letting us be the best version of ourselves for Him. You go up in my attic and it is hard to walk through because of the messes. You almost have to crawl over stuff to get to the one thing you want. My goal is, by the time I ...

 Happy Saturday! We made it once again! What is going on at your house today? We have a workday and I am dreading the work but excited about the possibilities of what we are going to get done. Our carport is a disaster, I have some touchup work to do on the paint in the family room, I bought a new table that needs put together and I want cup hooks put in my coffee cabinet. Praying we get it all done today! This week's Bible study fits in really well with trying to be healthy, we are talking about temptation. We are ready for James 1, verses 12-15. 12  Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. 13  When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;  14  but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.  15...

 Happy Saturday morning! Safely through another week. I have had a really awesome week. I got to spend the week at the National Energy Assistance and Utility Coalition (NEUAC) conference with around 700 other people who are in the business of helping people with their utility bills. I was officially elected to the governing board this week, which is something I have wanted to do for a long time but never really figured a girl from a town of 2100 people in Southcentral Illinois could accomplish. We also got to see a project that I had been involved in since last October get off the ground, a LIHEAP white paper that helps tell the full story of what LIHEAP does to help people and change lives. I don't know how many community action agencies there are nationwide, there are 33 in Illinois, so I would say several 100. One agency from little old Southcentral Illinois was featured in that publication and it was ERBA. Again, the overwhelming sense of gratitude when I look at the things God...

 Happy Saturday! What a week it has been! Of course, I started out the week with a major check off my bucket list, ziplining! I had wanted to do this for so long and had been way over the weight limit, but Monday was awesome. I do know that there would have been no way I could have done this 2 years ago. I was very happy with the way my body reacted to everything, the ziplines, the suspension bridges, the climbing the rocky terrain, I kept up. During flight school, our guide was teaching everyone how to pull themselves in if they came up short, he said to me, don't worry about it, if you come up short, I will throw you a bag and pull you in. My first thought was, he is treating me differently because I am fat. but then I realized that wasn't it at all, he was treating me differently because I was at least 20 years older than all the others there! Funny thing was, I did ziplining really well and never came up short or overshot the platform. Everyone has asked if it was scary, no...

 Good morning beautiful people! Happy Saturday! I hope your day is filled with lots of good things and if you are going through a trial right now, I hope you can find one good thing to learn today. If nothing else, know that God is working something through you.  This Saturday finds my house getting ready to paint our family room. I am not a great painter, thank the Lord, that He sent me a man who is. Andrew may not love to paint but he makes things look so professionally done and I am always excited about what the end result is going to be. Bless his heart, I love how he goes along with my ideas, especially when he knows it means more work for him. This all started because before we had the roof replace, we had damage done to the ceiling and one wall in our family room. It was on my list for him to get that fixed and he did but then I realized, it had been 20 years since we had painted and I rag rolled the paint so I know if we just tried to paint the repair, we would always ...

 Good morning everyone! I hope everyone has had a great week! I have. We pulled off a great eclipse event in Jasper County on Monday and yesterday I got to spend the day with my mom, with no doctor visits involved! We were still on a mission, but it was an adventure. I treasure the days I get to spend with my mom. I also treasure days I get to spend with my son and some conversations I have had this week has brought me to this post. Until Robert was almost 7, I was a stay-at-home mom. That wasn't the original plan but it was God's plan and that was what was important. When we moved to Pennsylvania 6 weeks before he was born, I knew I wasn't gong to trust anyone enough to take care of him. Especially when the first news we heard when we got the tv hooked up was how a babysitter had put a baby in a dryer and killed him.  I am so glad I had the opportunity and I treasure that as I know there are a lot of families out there that it just can't happen for anymore. I was also ...