I Take Comfort in These Words….

Edited to add and explain a little bit.
A totally stranger decided to talk about me and my love for the LORD in his blog. He talked about my husband as well. He had nothing better to do but to get on my blog and then go put me down on his blog. I had never seen this blog before. Sorry, but it's not the type of blog I'd follow. I was shocked. A total stranger who has nothing better to do but put other people down.

Matthew Chapter 5 Verse 10 - 12

10 Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for my sake: 12 Be glad and rejoice for your reward is very great in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets that were before you.

Why do I take comfort in these words? There are some people who will persecute me (us) because of our belief in God…..because we are Christians. It’s ok. I have my reward in heaven. You (you know who you are) go right ahead and keep making fun.

I am a bit upset that some people can be so low as to put others down. To down right disrespect others. Low self esteem maybe? I have no idea. I will have to remind myself that just because I wouldn’t think of doing that, does not mean that everyone else is like that.

To all of my blogger friends. Forgive me for not going into details :( but I just had to get this out.

Have a wonderful Sunday.

Sandra

Thanksgiving Blessings.

May all of you have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving Day.  May you have a day full of love, warmth, laughter, and fellowship, with family and friends. 

For All that You Give Us

Dear Lord,
On this Thanksgiving Day,
we are thankful
for all that You give us,
for all that You do for us,
for all that You teach us.
Thank You for guiding us
to live our lives
in Your will,
in Your purpose,
in Your plan for us.
Thank You for Your protection
from worldly influence and danger.
Thank You for bringing us gently
to a deeper knowledge of You
and what You want from us,
with Your love, mercy,
compassion and grace.
And thank you, Lord,
for the blessings
we are experiencing right now
at this very moment--
the food,
and the precious people
who are with us
to enjoy this meal
and this day.
Thank You, Lord. Amen.

By Joanna Fchs.

Have a wonderful and Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Sandra

Yummy Smoothie!

At least that is what I am telling myself.  I have decided to eat more veggies and fruits and what better way than to make smoothies.  I have also decided to include beets in my smoothies because they are healthy and very good for you.   Beets have a taste that is definitely acquired over time though.  If you’ve never eaten beets, it is better to start slowly.  Beet juice is EXTREMELY strong and powerful!  Beet juice is so potent that it may cause some dizziness during cleansing as toxins are being eliminated.  

I added spinach leaves, one beet, two oranges, one apple, and a handful of blueberries. :)   I just found out that I can add carrots to make the smoothie have a milder taste. I will definitely do that next time. 

So here’s to our health.   “Clink Clink”  

Blessings,

Sandra

Lady Dy..Thank You!

I want to thank you for the lovely giveaway I won. :)  The box arrived today and my twins were just as excited as I was to open it. :)  The trivets are so pretty as are the candle holders, the little acorns, the book, and especially the heart ornament.  Thank you!

Please visit Lady Dy @ http://rosescakespearls.blogspot.com/  She has such a lovely blog. 

Have a wonderful and blessed Monday!

Sandra

First Things First

I am getting the “time to decorate for Christmas” spirit.  I am soooo excited to start!  But…..First Things First.  I must clean my house.  Is anyone else like me?  hee hee!  I need my house to be clean before I decorate. :)  This morning I started by mopping.

What product do I use to mop and make my floor shiny, you ask?

Look at that shine!  I mop first with Armstrong Floor Cleaner and then I use this product to make it shiny.

I’ll be ready to start my Christmas decorating on Monday.  Stay tuned! :)  Have a wonderful Saturday!

Sandra

So Thankful

A message to my oldest son.  Congratulations on the scholarship you were just awarded!  We are very proud of you!  You are realizing your dream!  I know it’s hard to be away from the family, son.  We are just a telephone call away and if needed I will get right on a plane and be there quickly.  We love you!

A little bit of details…..

My oldest son is currently in his first semester of medical school in Houston.   He applied for a scholarship a month ago and he just found out that he was accepted!  He was accepted for a $12,000 scholarship!  Yes twelve thousand dollars!    I am proud to say that he has other scholarships as well.  It definitely does help.  Hopefully, by the time he is finished with med. school, there will not be a huge school loan to pay back. 

I wanted to share a picture of him when we moved him to Houston.  This is at the housing for med. students.  His apartment is nice and spacey. 

I hope you all are having a wonderful Friday.  Thank you for visiting my blog.  I am truly touched. :) 

Sandra

I’m having blogging withdrawals!

Hello to my friends!  I have not been able to get on the internet since last Thursday!  The area that I live at has been without land-line phone and internet!  Someone cut a cable (underground) and this is the reason why.  It affected over a hundred customers.  It is supposed to be all fixed by Tuesday Nov 17th.  I hope so!  I am having such a hard time being away from all my blogging friends.  I’ve been thinking of everyone that I follow…wondering how they’re doing, etc.  I’ve been wondering about Ashley at Too Jazzed to Sleep….wondering how she is doing.  I’ve been wondering about Ceekay too.  Oh gosh, I’ve missed reading everyone’s blogs, you wonderful people! 

I am able to get on my iPhone a little bit but it’s not the same at all.  :(

I look forward to catching up on days and days of posts from everyone I follow. 

I’m also getting ready for another giveaway just because I miss you all!  I really treasure your wonderful blogging friendships. 

I MISS YOU ALL!!!!!!!!

 

Some Words of Wisdom….

I’d like to share some words of wisdom that came from one of my twins.  Austin is only nine years old but these words made such a huge impact.  These words really touched my heart.  Even now as I type this I am tearful.  He had a headache and I told him to lay by me and just close his eyes and meditate on the goodness of the Lord.  He laid down and then he told me “Isn’t it sad when people don’t believe in God?”  I told him that we need to pray for those that don’t believe.  He told me “I have a friend at school who told me that he has no religion and that he doesn’t believe in God”  Oh my.  A child:(  

Father, I ask that you send blessings to this child and that his parents get a yearning to seek YOU. 

Thank you Father for giving us so many blessings that if we were to not be blessed any more, we have already had more than enough blessings. 

I love you Abba. 

 

My Cottage-looking Wind Chime.

A few days ago, I went to Hobby Lobby and look what I found!  I couldn’t just leave it there.  It looks so cottagy ! (is that a word?)  I thought it was the perfect addition to my kitchen. I had to have this little pretty!  I didn’t know where I was going to put it, but I knew that I’d find a place!  And of course I found a place!   It hangs right as you come into the kitchen and when the fan is on, I can hear it chiming away. :) 

I love the detail on the teapot. :)

the little cups and two spoons.

Oh the little things that make us smile> :) 

Blessings,

Sandra

My Fireplace Makeover!

Hi everyone!  I hope y’all are having a wonderful Sunday evening.  We made hamburgers at my in-laws’ home.  It is so nice to spend time with family. :) I will be linking this post to Susan @ Between Naps On The Porch for Met Monday

and Kimba @ http://asoftplace.net/ for Tuesday. 

I hope I am not breaking any blogger rules by linking on two different days.  *blush*

I am so excited to show you all my fireplace!  This is what it looked like before……http://mybellarose.blogspot.com/2009/09/say-cheese.html  It used to be red!

Drum roll please!!!  This is what it looks like now!  As you can see, I still need to finish the bottom part.  That won’t take but a few minutes. 

I used a color for the base called Wilmington Tan from Behr.  I also bought a pint of paint called Fudge Truffle from Behr as well and a glaze in Mocha.  I painted the fireplace in Wilmington Tan first.  I then got my sponge and applied Fudge Truffle.  I also used the Mocha glaze in between each brick.  I used the sponge and a rag to blend the two darker colors.  It gave me a shaded effect.  Can you see the shaded effect?

The pictures I placed above the mantle used to have gold frames.

I spray painted the frames in one of my favorite color…..Oil Rubbed Bronze. :)  I love that color! 

The finials used to be white but I spray painted them in more of an ivory color.   I also spray painted the candle holders in the Oil Rubbed Bronze.  Love it!  They used to be brass!

The fireplace area used to be brassy and ugly looking.  I painted it satin black. 

I changed out the table runner.  As you can see the runner is now a zebra print.  Love it!  I had my zebra print runner in another area but thought it would look better here.  :)  Isn’t it awesome when you can just shop in your own house? hee hee!

As soon as I finish my living room, I’ll make sure and post pictures for my blogger friends. :)  I promise. :)

Thank you so much for visiting my blog! As always, have a wonderful day full of love and happiness. :)

Sandra

How about some banana bread?

Good morning to all my blogger friends!   I hope everyone is doing well.  I on the other hand, am coming down with a cold….more like a head cold?  I need to take my vitamin C and fight this cold. 

So with that said, I’ll have a piece of banana bread but not with milk.  Maybe coffee instead?  :)  Something warm for me.

How about you?

Banana Bread

1/2 cup margarine
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
4 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon. baking powder
pinch of salt
3 ripe mashed bananas
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Mix wet ingredients together then combine with the dry. Fold in bananas and walnuts. Pour into a greased and floured loaf pan. Bake at 350 for approximately 1 hour.

I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday. 

With Love,

Sandra

Christmas Decor

Hi y’all!  Oh my, isn’t anyone else already getting ready with their Christmas decor?  I am getting excited here!  I just read http://lizssavvyseasons.blogspot.com/2009/11/sneak-peak-christmas-decorating-has.html and she tells us that she decorates eight trees!  :)  I decorate one main one and a smaller one.  *blush* 

I found these pictures of my main tree last year. 

This picture looks a little blurry but hopefully you get the idea. :) I no longer have that entertainment center in my living room. 

  I love decorating my tree in red and gold.  Those are the main colors.  What colors do you use?

Oh my…..the days are passing so quick.  I think it’s time to shop for Christmas!  hee hee! 

Have a wonderful day!

Sandra

I’ve Changed My Layout

Hi everyone. :)  I hope you guys had a wonderful weekend.

So I got tired of my layout and changed it up a bit this evening.  What do you guys think?  Whew!  And now it’s time to get my beauty sleep. *yawn*  hee hee

Let me know what you think of my new layout.  Have a good night sweet people. :)

Sandra