Writing Letters ~

Grandma Maxie with two of her sons ~ my precious dad is sitting next to grandma
Uncle Spike was instrumental in my salvation and my personal relationship with Jesus


 My mother was going through her things doing some more purging
when she came across some old hand written letters by
my Grandmother (dads mother).
She asked if I would like them and happily, I said yes!
Grandma always began her letters with ~ Good Morning,
 as she was an early riser and made her way out to her little 
"Rancho Chico" as soon as she was able.
Grandma loved the outdoors and played on her little ranch with delight.
I'm pretty sure I took after Grandma Maxie in that respect, why,
once the weather is warm I absolutely DO NOT want to be inside!
I believe Grandma knew that if she didn't write her letters 
first thing in the morning, then they would never be written.
Hand written letters are becoming a lost art, yet, 
I think we can all say that we enjoy a hand written letter
delivered to us in our mail box now and then, don't we?
I actually enjoy writing personal words to others either 
in a card or on pretty stationary, which is hard to find these days.

☆ ☆ ~ ♡ ♡ ~ ☆ ☆

In one of my daily Devotional readings the topic was on ~
"Writing Letters" 
quite fitting I thought as I had just received my Grandmother's letters.
2 Corinthians 3:2
"Ye are our epistle written in our hearts,
known and read of all men."
♡♡♡
The apostle Paul's words ~ "that those who follow Jesus
are "a letter from Christ," who were 
"written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God."
2 Corinthians 3:3
"Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the
epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink,
but with the Spirit of the living God;
not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart."
♡♡♡
Paul encouraged the church in Corinth to keep on following 
the true and living God as he had previously taught. 
In doing so, he memorably described the believers as Christ's letter.
Their transformed lives were a more powerful witness to the 
Spirit's work than any written letter could be.
God's Spirit in us writes a story of grace and redemption!
It is our lives that are best witness to the truth of the Gospel,
for they speak volumes through our compassion,
service, gratitude, and joy.
What message might you send today?
Please know that as it states in John 17:3 ~ It is never too late
to enter into a personal relationship with God thru His Son, Jesus Christ.
Open your heart to Him!
"And this is the life eternal, that they might know thee
the only true God, and Jesus Christ,
whom thou has sent."

☆ ☆ ~ ♡ ♡ ~ ☆ ☆

The time has arrived for mom to return home, 
so Arizona, here we come!
I will be driving "Miss Daisy" back home
and staying in Arizona for a few weeks in order to
get mom and her home up and running after being away over the Summer.
Mom will have hand surgery while I'm with her
so I will be able to look after her needs.
Once again ~ may I ask for your prayers as we travel and for her surgery?
There is great peace in knowing others are in prayer with you
and I certainly covet your prayers. ♡

Joy!
Debbie

One Year Ago ~

A big HELLO to you my dear and faithful blogging friends!

I trust you have been enjoying the beauty

of Summer right where God has planted you.

We couldn't ask for a nicer Summer than what we have had.

Yes, our Spring was long and wet with an awful lot of snow,

but boy did it ever help in yielding the most luscious, green Summer.

This past week as I've gone out and taken my daily walks with sweet Donatella,

each day is showing evidence that our Summer is soon coming to an end.

These photos I'm sharing are signs of what has arrived and what's around the corner.

The daisies are in their assortment of color

along with the light shades of grasses mixed with horse tails,
or cat tails as some call them.

August can be cooler with rain here in the Rocky mountains,
my husband's favorite month ~ maybe it's because his Birthday is this month? 😊

September can bring with it an awesome Indian Summer, 
but then the dreary month of October arrives with little to no color at all.

I'm the type of person who takes each day as they are given to me

from our Great God, and I enjoy them all.

It was one year ago when I had my total knee replacement 

and when I saw my Orthopedic surgeon he was delighted with my results.

My x-ray was perfect with nothing showing scar tissue or arthritis

and my bend as well as how straight I am able to put my leg

was awesome according to the Doctor.

I was told to keep doing what I've been doing as it appears to be working.

I've been faithful in massaging my knee with cocoa butter daily

praying that it will help with the scar tissue 

as I've heard it can creep in quickly.

My therapist told me that I was to ride my stationary bike 

 20 minutes a day for the rest of my life.

I guess I had better obey. 😉

Exercise...Mmm ...that's not every one's most favorite thing to do 

but we all know how important it is for our health and heart.

My new knee holds me accountable these days,

and for that, I am very thankful.
I'm reminded of these Scriptures ~
"Exercise thyself rather unto godliness"
~ 1 Timothy 4:7b ~
"For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness
is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life
that now is, and of that which is to come."
~ 1 Timothy 4:8 ~
Exercise is important, because the body is God's temple.
"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit 
of God dwelleth in you?
If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy;
for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are."
~ 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 ~

 Exercising unto godliness is profitable both now and in eternity. 
We would be foolish if we took care of our decaying bodies 
while ignoring our spiritual lives, which will last 
into eternity and which can be renewed day by day.
"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 12:2 ~
"For which cause we faint not;
but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man
is renewed day by day."
~ 2 Corinthians 4:16 ~

Like physical fitness, godliness is not developed by being passive 
and does not just happen; it requires effort and is 
maximized through our daily exercise (spiritual discipline).
As much as I love the Lord with all my heart, soul and mind,
disciplining myself  in exercise both for my soul and body,
ISN'T EASY!

I think we all know deep down the importance of  exercise,
but unfortunately it's easy to find a reason not to exercise.
Years ago, I read somewhere on the topic of exercise
and it has stayed with me, though I may fail at times,
it's still in the back of my mind.
It was something like this, and so true ~
Knowing we should exercise regularly but not doing it can create negative feelings 
toward ourselves, and that is an energy drain.
The way this happens is every time you think of exercise,
all day, if you haven't done it yet, you say to yourself, 
" Well, I haven't done any yet today,
and I probably won't be able to later, so I'll do it tomorrow."
Meanwhile you can't help feeling guilty.
However, if you exercise first thing in the morning, 
then every time you think of exercise during the day,
it's with a feeling like "Yeah! I've already exercised!"
It fills you with a fantastic positive feeling for yourself,
and these feelings spill over into other areas of our life.
Everything is enhanced.
Once we get into the habit of exercising every morning,
we'll get to the point where we'll actually feel disappointed 
if we miss a day.
And that my friends, goes for bodily as well as spiritual exercise.

~ ~ ❤  ❤ ❤ ~ ~

"Horses sweat, men perspire, and women glow."
I like that!
As women, we glow when we exercise, but don't you find 
that we have a godly glow after we have been with Jesus?

Be Lovely!
Debbie