Please Pray For A Dear Blogging Friend, Denise

God allows us the privilege to hold one another

up in prayer.

May I ask you to pray for a dear blogging friend?

Denise, over at Just Me being Me

is going through some tough times right now.

She either has or may be having

open heart surgery and needs our prayers.

God's Word tells us in the book of James

to pray one for another.

~**~**~

"Confess your faults one to another,

and pray one for another,

that ye may be healed.

The effectual fervent prayer 

of a righteous man

availeth much."

~ James 5:16 ~

God tells us to "ask in faith."

"But let him ask in faith,

with NO doubting,

for he who doubts

is like a wave of the sea

driven and tossed by the wind."
~ James 1:6 ~

~**~**~

Let us go before the throne of grace

and hold this dear sister up in prayer.

Let we ask in faith, believing

that our GREAT God

will hear,  answer and heal Denise. 

Bless you!

~**~**~

Our Gracious Heavenly Father.

We come before Your throne

and lift up to You

our dear friend and sister in Christ,

asking that You would place Your 

healing hand upon her.

Touch her sick body,

comfort her,

and give her Your peace

which passes all understanding.

Amen.

~ Be Blessed ~

Debbie 

Friendships Through Blogging

"The only way to have a friend is to be one." ~ Emerson ~

~**~

"Hello" only lasts for a minute,

it's a short, brisk, queer little word.

But, say! there's a lot of cheer in it:

It's like the first chirp of a bird

in spring, when the hilltops are greening,

right after the cold and the snow.

I think when it comes to real meaning,

there isn't a word quite like "hello!"
~ Unknown ~

~**~

Hello! My dear friends here in my blogging community.

"Blessed be the Lord,

for He has shown me His

marvelous kindness."

~ Psalm 31:21 ~

My heart has been greatly blessed,
and the Lord has graced me with His kindness

through the friendships I have made
and come to love

through blogging.

You dear ladies amaze me with your sweet lives

and the love you so graciously give.

Emerson, said it well,

"the only way to have a friend is to be one."
And that, you have all been! :)

~**~

I believe that is true even with our blogging friends.
To have a friend, we must be one.

That is the very reason I am writing this post.

For the past few months

I have been extremely busy

taking care of my parents and their many needs

leaving me with very little time to stop by

and say "hello"
or even be a good friend.

~**~

Until life slows down

I am planning on taking a break

from my blog.

I really have no idea how long I will be away.

I know I will not be posting,

but you may see me around the neighborhood

from time to time.

Of course ~ I will be in  my dear

Stephanie's neighborhood,

as she inspires my heart
 and right now, I need it.

~**~

BEAUTY HINT NO.2~Said Mrs. 

Browning, the poet, to Charles Kingsley,

the novelist. "What is the secret of your

life? Tell me, that I may make mine beautiful also."

Thinking a moment, the beloved

old author replied, "I had a friend."

Charles Kingsley knew of friendships, didn't he?

I want to thank you dear ladies for your friendship
and for gracing me with your kind visits
when I have not been so faithful.

You have made my life beautiful.
Sweet blessings to each one of you
and Lord willing, I will see you soon!

~**~

Our Precious Heavenly Father,

thank you for the friends You bring into our lives.

Help us to show ourselves friendly

in ways that bring honor and glory

to You and You alone.

Give us the spirit of loveliness

so we may pass it on to others

for Your name sake.

Amen.

~ Be Lovely ~

Debbie

The computer is the bridge that connects our hearts and lives

Joy In A Book Exchange

" May you be blessed by the Lord,

the maker of heaven and earth. "

{ Psalm 115:15 }

~

This was the beautiful verse on my card

that was sent with my delightful

care package from Diane

through the book exchange that was 

so beautifully arranged by Stephanie at

http://theenchantingrose.blogspot.com/
~
This was Stephanie's first book exchange,
and what a wonderful way for us ladies to meet new friends.
Diane graciously blessed my heart
with three delightful gifts.
"A Woman After God's Own Heart"
By Elizabeth George
has been one of my all time favorite books
that God has used to change my heart in many ways as a woman.
I look forward to reading this
"Updated and Expanded" version.
In fact... prior to receiving my gift package from Diane,
I had nearly pulled my old tattered book
off of the book shelf to read again,
so it was the perfect book.
~
Diane also blessed my heart with the little book
" A Woman's Journey... With God"
By Mary Prince
A celebration of the Christian life
from childhood to maturity.
Doesn't that sound just wonderful!
Here are a few of the chapters
to give you an idea of the beauty in this little book.
*The journey of trust
*The journey of Strength
*The journey of contentment
*The journey of relationships
~
The work of her hands...
I received a beautiful hand stitched sachet
filled with an aroma that has left my
"little space" with a fragrance that is soft and feminine.
What a delight!
~
Thank you again, Diane, for your sweet kindness.
~*~
I had the joy of sending my care package to
Deborah Montgomery at
http://thebeautifulmatters.blogspot.com
~
I want to thank my dear Stephanie,
for all the love and care she has put into
this wonderful book exchange.
Such a lovely idea!
~
Our Precious Heavenly Father,
thank you for Your goodness to us
through the lives of others.
May our hearts desire be to love others,
as long as You give us life.
Amen.

~Be Lovely~
Debbie

My Beautiful Mug

Stephanie, my daughter, over at The Enchanting Rose

blessed us again with a mug exchange.

I am not normally one to use a mug

as china tea cups are my delight.

But I wanted to participate in the exchange,

because each and every time I join in on these exchanges

I meet the loveliest ladies, and a friendship begins.

I love making friends, and I love being a friend.

There is such joy in friendships, isn't there?

~

I was blessed to share a gift package

with Ida at Wishes Dreams & Other Things.

I prayerfully put her gift box together

knowing that I knew nothing about her,

but God did.

What fun I had searching for that special mug!

~

For me... Betty blessed me with a beautiful colored mug,
which by the way, is perfect in size.

The funny thing is, this color has been the color of my choice

in many articles I have bought for myself this year. 

It's bright~fun and youthful, at least that's what I think. :)

Along with my mug was a beautiful

hand stitched tea towel.

The work of dear Betty's hands is quite lovely,

and the pattern is one of my favorites.

Betty does not have a blog, but oh what a delight to have met her

through this mug exchange.

Thank you again, dear Betty!

~

Thank you Stephanie, for all the work I know you do

in putting these exchanges together.

You do an amazing job in matching ladies up.
 Such a gifted talent that you are using for the glory of the Lord.
~
Thank you Heavenly Father,
for the opportunity we, as ladies have
through these beautiful exchanges,
to meet and share with one another.
As friendships grow, I pray that You
would be glorified in and through them.
~
~Be Lovely~
Debbie 

Goodness Multiplied

 Years ago when I lived in Canada 

and worked with Para- Med Health Services,

I had a dear client from the Ukraine,

and this dear women showed me through daffodils

 the gift of giving and multiplying through God's goodness.

~

In her good sized yard she grew daffodils

all around the perimeter

that were amazingly thick and lush.

They were absolutely beautiful!

~

One day after my visit with her," she asked if she could walk me to my car?"

She was rather frail and weak,  living in God's grace on hospice,

but was insistent to go out with me on this particular day.

With scissors and a mason jar in hand,

we headed to her garden where she snipped

a huge bouquet, just for me.

"These are for your enjoyment" 

she said with the sweetest smile on her face.

"Oh no, I replied! I could never take from your

beautiful garden. Why, it must have taken you

years to grow these daffodils?"

~

"God has multiplied the goodness of this garden" she replied.

"When we give and share God's goodness with others,

He blesses us in greater abundance."

"This garden belongs to God,

His desire is for me to share it with others."

And that she did!
It was the most beautiful daffodil

patch I have ever seen in a private yard.

~

I have never forgotten the lesson God had for me

over 20 years ago through this precious women's 

walk with the Lord, and her garden that belonged to her God.
She was gracious in her giving.
She was willing to share with others what God had blessed her with,
rather than selfishly keep for herself.
And in doing so, God multiplied her garden of daffodils to overflowing.

We have an area near our home that reminds me of that very garden,

only in a smaller version.

As I drove by this garden the other day, I couldn't help but 

reminisce back to the delightful times

 with this precious women of God.

~

Memories... Beautiful memories...
As I was driving home, I began to thank the Lord,

for all the lessons I have learned over the years

through other ladies whom He has used in my life.

Ladies, who represented their Savior.
Ladies who loved their Lord, and were willing to share His goodness with me.

 I too, am blessed and privileged to represent

my Savior, the Lord of my life,

through the goodness of giving and sharing with others.

~

"But the fruit of the Spirit is

love, joy, peace, longsuffering,

gentleness, goodness, faith."

(Galatians 5:22)

 ~

Goodness,  is one of the "fruits of the Spirit". 

It is an outward quality that the Holy Spirit

produces in the believers life.

Our fruit is God's. It is produced by His grace

and it glorifies Him.

So as we draw near to God,

His Spirit can bear the fruit of goodness in us for all to enjoy.

~

"As we have therefore opportunity,

let us do good unto all men, 

especially unto them who are of the household of faith."

(Galatians 6:10)

~

Goodness in character naturally leads to goodness in deeds.

Goodness is a readiness to do good unto all men.

Goodness puts love into action.

~

Jesus modeled love in action,

and we are to be like Him.

We are to live our lives modeled after Christ Jesus,

through His Word and by the power of His Spirit,

that dwells within us.

~

"What? Know ye not that your body

is the temple of the Holy Spirit

which is in you, which ye have of God,

and ye are not your own?"

(1Corinthians 6:19)

~

There should never be a person whom we refuse to love.

In any and every case, we are to love friend and enemy

alike by our acts of goodness.

Praise God, that He can help us fulfill this assignment

by filling us with His goodness,

so that we have HIS goodness to give to others!

~

Our precious Heavenly Father.

Thank you for Your Word that teaches us

how to be more like You.

Help us I pray to show forth Your love

to others, through the goodness You have bestowed 

upon us so graciously. 

May we never refuse to love and to do good

unto ALL men.

Amen.

~Be Lovely~

Debbie