I've missed participating in Then Sings My Soul Saturday.  So I thought I'd join in with Amy of Signs, Miracles and Wonders since I heard a song this week that really spoke to my heart.

It's called "Trust in Jesus" and it's sung by Third Day.



Have a wonderful weekend.  And remember SONday's coming!

Blessings and love,

Have you ever had a really bad day?  All of your best intentions seem to have fallen apart. By the end of the day, you just want to crawl into bed and be done with this day.

I'm over at Laced with Grace today so to read more click here.

Blessings and love,

Today I have the pleasure of hosting "In Other Words Tuesday".  This is the quote I chose for us to write about:


I made a decision many years ago to begin my day spending time with the Lord.

In some seasons of my life, I had the luxury of spending an hour or more reading my Bible, praying and reading devotionals.  In other seasons, my time was more limited. But I learned an important lesson.

I need to begin my day sitting at His feet.  

When Moses led the Israelites through the wilderness, God provided them with just enough manna for each day.  They had to collect their supply each morning.

That's how I look at my daily quiet time.  It's manna for my day.

It's not something to check off my to-do list.
It's not something I HAVE to do.
It's something I choose to do.

WHY?

It's hard to live a Christian life in a world that doesn't share the same values.  There are so many outside influences.  Not everyone gets to spend all their time with other  Christians.  And we are told to be salt and light to a world that doesn't know Him.  So we are to get out there and not stay in our holy huddles.

I need this daily quiet time.

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God."
Romans 12:1-2 

I memorized these two verses in the King James version as a child.  They are so important to living out the Christian life.

Every day there is a spiritual battle going on.  I have to make a choice.

• Will I listen to that soft still voice of the Holy Spirit?
•  Will I listen to my emotions and give in to what I want and when I want it?

Counting my blessings changes my perspective.  Instead of focusing on problems and disappointments, I'm able to recognize God's blessings in my everyday life.

This past week was the beginning of the new school year at Rancho Solano.  It was exciting to see many of the children from our last year's class.  Some of them were in our summer camp.  But it had been several months since I'd seen many of them and they seemed to have grown during that time.  I had missed them.

We had a classroom of 19 three year old children who were saying goodbye to their mommies for the first time.  Oh there were many tears!

And did I mention that now all of the children at the school wear uniforms; even the Pre-K kids?  They looked too cute!  But they still got to wear their own choice of shoes.

#127  A brand new batch of three year olds to love

#128  Hugs and love from last year's students who are now in the Pre-K 4 classes.

#129  The excitement and smiles of Rachel and Kambria who were so excited to be in the same class

#130 Ishan's smile; he can melt any girl's heart!

Our new class had their first PE class.  It was a bit challenging to teach them how to pass a ball to one another.  But I think they had fun, despite some frustration on the teacher's part.

#128 Three year olds learning to work together

And it was frustrating for a few of the students too.  As you can see, Ava wanted to keep the ball to herself.

I got to attend church with my friend Helen and her family.  We used to go to the same church in central Phoenix but she moved to the northwestern area of town several years ago.  It had been a long time since I had the chance to worship together with her.

#129 Meeting my friend Helen and her husband John and grandson Joseph for church

#130  My mother-in-love was discharged from the Rehab facility after her hip surgery.


My father's cousin in Norway sent me an email with a copy of an article his granddaughter wrote after experiencing the terror on the island of Utoya.  She was hiding in a latrine for two hours during the shootings.

#131  Relief that Kristine is safe and able to talk about her difficult experience of losing many friends

#132  Grateful for Google Translate since it is so helpful to communicate with relatives in Norway

I'm linking up with Ann of A Holy Experience as I continue to count my blessings.

Blessings and love,