Have you heard the latest about MckLinky? MckLinky is having a blog hop and ...you're invited. The theme for this month is to simply INTRODUCE YOUR BLOG. Easy enough?

The focus of my blog Heart Choices is that your day to day choices will determine what your tomorrows will become. And those choices impact your body, mind and spirit. I share from my experience of 25 years as a cardiovascular nurse but more importantly ...as a Christian who loves the Lord.

Today I am joining Lynn at Spiritually Unequal Marriage for Thankful Thursday. I'm a bit late in adding my post but I felt I still needed to write on thankfulness today. It's too easy to get caught up in the 'woe is me attitude' and I won't do that. Lynn chose the topic of freedom for today.

How perfect with the 4th of July almost here!

I don't ever want to take for granted the freedom that I have living in the US. I want to always be able to worship God without government interference. I want to be able to speak the Truth and not go to jail for that. I want to be able to share the love of Jesus with others without ...worrying about breaking a law.

Right now it seems that a few of our freedoms might come under attack more and more. I don't like that. Our country was actually founded by people who came here so they could have freedom of religion. I do not want to impose my beliefs on anyone else. I simply want all to have the ability to choose to worship in freedom.

So, thank you Lord that you have given us the freedom to choose. You don't force us to do anything. You offer the freedom to choose. If we didn't have the choice, it wouldn't really be love. You know what's best for us but you don't impose it on us. I'm so grateful and thankful for that. Help me to never take these freedoms for granted.

Check out Lynn's blog for other Thankful Thursday posts.

(photo credit: Teleflora)

I know, I know. You have to be careful on the internet. Some people might be skeptical but he's the real deal.

Bill Sumstad had family photos. And we were able to compare details. He lives near Seattle, WA with his wife Sharon. Check out the photo with their grandchild. And he put me in touch with other family members, including Ogee who lives in Oslo, Norway. How cool is that?

Do you know what else has brought me joy from this? My niece Katie Sumstad wrote something on my Facebook wall that made me smile. She wrote that she actually reads my Wednesday posts ...because she enjoys learning new things about our family!

She hasn't left a comment YET but I'm just glad that she reads it. Thank you Katie! Love you!

What they may not know is that Sumstad is the name of a little town in northern Norway. My family name was Hagen. It was common for people who left and immigrated to the US to take on the name of the town. So, Henrik Hagen became Henry Sumstad, my grandpa.

The map on the right shows Norway and the red A is where Sumstad is located. I was thrilled to spend time in Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim and then ...Sumstad. My dad's cousin Kjell took us for the long drive to the family farm.

Ogee is another newly discovered family member. He lives in Oslo, Norway and he sent me a few photos. He recently had the opportunity to visit Sumstad and sent this one on the left. It's a very peaceful place to visit.

The photo on the right is the original house. I think that must have been where my grandfather lived growing up.

This is the grave stone of my grandfather's mother and father. His mother was Helga and his dad was Kristian.

Do you want God's best for you? I know that I do. But how often have you heard people say "He'll probably send me off to Africa and I really don't want to go there"?

I think it helps to remember who God is. He is sovereign, the creator, knows everything, sees everything (yes, everything), is perfect love, full of grace and is perfectly holy. And I question whether He knows what's best for me?

I believe it comes down to dealing with our flesh. When you become a Christian, your spirit is alive but you still have to deal with your flesh. It doesn't go away this side of eternity. One day but not yet. And in the meantime ...we have moment by moment choices to make.

Satisfy the flesh or live by the Spirit?

When we live by the Spirit and abide in Christ, He leads us to His best for us.

When we satisfy our flesh, we do what feels good or what we want now instead of ...God's best.

It comes down to a matter of trust. Do you believe God has your best interests at heart? Or do you think you know better because who can you really trust?

I encourage you to take the time to link to Scraps and Snippets to find other participating blog posts on this quote.

Farrah Fawcett; how well I remember when I got my hair cut to hopefully look just a bit like Farrah (yeah right, wishful thinking). In the 70's, Farrah's famous poster was displayed on many young men's walls, including my brother's garage. She was gorgeous and that smile and perfect teeth! I always remembered her birthday because she was born one day after me; February 2nd. However, she was six years older than me.

But this Texas beauty became a woman that girls wanted to look like. I was surprised to read that she was only on Charlie's Angels for one season. I guess she made quite an impact. I thought she did a great job in the movie, The Burning Bed and it was obvious she could act. I think she didn't want to be known only as a pretty face. But Farrah lost her battle with cancer, just like many other women. It's sad because she still had much life in her.

Michael Jackson; I like to remember him as he looked in this photo. I remember when Michael used to sing with his brothers. This little dynamo was so talented and sang so beautifully and definitely stood out. He was a force to be reckoned with. And what a creative genius. He contributed so much to the music industry and ...also to dance. He was definitely unique!

I remember his Thriller album in particular. Greg and I were newly married and we had a boat on Lake Powell. We would play this album as we water skiied and drove around this enormous and beautiful lake. Michael Jackson music brings back memories of those days. I also loved his Man in the Mirror video; very memorable.

While both Farrah and Michael had issues in life that were broadcast all over the world, they were individuals too. I think fame seems to bring more opportunities for good or ...for bad. I'm sure there are more temptations too.

But whenever I hear of someone dying, do you know what is the first thought that goes through my head? I wonder if they knew Jesus.

Because at the end of our lives, that is the only thing that is important. Not how many awards you receive. Not how much money you have. Not how many children you adopted. Not how much money you donated to charity. But what did you do with Jesus?

I want to leave you with a link to Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Connection. There was an interesting article about Michael Jackson. I hope you'll take the time to read it.

Only God knows our hearts intimately. My hope is that I will not only talk about my faith but live it out IN LOVE. After all, I want to allow God to work in and through me for His purposes.