Got the Green Light!

Just can't wait for 2010 to roll around...

Starting today, starting right now,

I rededicate myself to staying in shape and eating right

Just threw out the cookies, bagels and pies...

Heading to the gym...

Happy New Year!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PS:Great article on fiber rich foods.....here!

In The First Light

Luke 2

The Birth of Jesus

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.

(This was the first census that took place

while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)

And everyone went to his own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David,

because he belonged to the house and line of David.

He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,

and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby,

keeping watch over their flocks at night.

An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid.

I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you;

he is Christ the Lord.

This will be a sign to you:

You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel,

praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven,

the shepherds said to one another,

"Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened,

which the Lord has told us about."

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him,

they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,

and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Praise God we have a Saviour!!

Rejoice!!

Big Hills....

The calender on my desk says we have 10 more days until January 1, 2010.

Another new beginning....

another chance.

I'm taking this time to write down some goals for the new year.

The first one will be to forgive myself

~~~~not perfect yet~~~

never will be.

I can be better...do more

(I took this photo yesterday with my NEW Camera!!!!!)

This biker is a tiny dot in the first picture

Not a tiny feat...big hill

It took this rider a good while to make it to the top

no time to glide back down....

then he would head back up again, and again

Such a good feeling to accomplish a goal!

I'm dedicated to my goal of keeping my weight down

and trying to make wise choices

Still, I can do more...

"I can do all things though Christ

who strengthens me"...

A brand new year...

Fresh beginnings...do overs...

Good feeling!

Winter Snow

Still hanging out at the beach in Sandestin....
having a great time with the Mr....;-)
God is good!

Cleaning House 2009

Just received this from my friend Nancy....

Last Week I threw out worrying,

it was getting old and in the way.

It kept me from being me;

I couldn't do things God's way.

I threw out a book on MY PAST

(Didn't have time to read it anyway).

Replaced it with NEW GOALS,

started reading it today.

I threw out hate and bad memories,

(Remember how I treasured them so)?

Got me a NEW PHILOSOPHY too,

threw out the one from long ago.

Brought in some new books too,

called I CAN, I WILL, and I MUST.

Threw out I might, I think and I ought.

WOW, you should've seen the dust.

I ran across an OLD FRIEND,

I hadn't talked to in a while.

His name is GOD the Father,

and I really like His style.

He helped me to do some cleaning

and added some things Himself.

Like PRAYER, HOPE, FAITH and LOVE,

Yes... I placed them right on the shelf.

I picked up this special thing

and placed it at the front door..

I FOUND IT-

it's called PEACE..

Nothing gets me down anymore.

Yes, I've got my house looking nice.

Looks good around the place.

For things like Worry and Trouble

there just isn't any space.

It's good to do a little house cleaning,

Get rid of the things on the shelf.

It sure makes things brighter;

maybe you should

TRY IT YOURSELF..
BE BLESSED AND BE A BLESSING TO SOMEONE ELSE!!!!

May the Lord open the windows

of heaven and pour
out a blessing

that you will not have room enough to receive it all.

May the Lord bless you

exceedingly abundantly

above all you could ever hope for.

Packin my bags.....

Here we come.....
Destin awaits!

~~~~~~~~~~~Home will be waiting too~~~~~~~~

Fom My Home to yours....

Merry Christmas!!

Give This Christmas away...

Amy Grant & Matthew West

Samaritans Purse

Big Idea

Seems like I'm the video queen lately....

I've had so much to say and no time to say it!

I believe in Christmas....

I see it in my grand children's eyes

Warm hugs from friends

Handel's Hallelujah Chorus from the Messiah

Silent Nights....

A store clerk looking me in the eye and saying "Merry Christmas!" with feeling

Familiar ornaments and decorations...the Creche...baby Jesus

I believe in Christmas

Christ birth...

The Angel

The Virgin

The Stable

The Star

The Shepherds

The Wise Men

I Believe!

Forgiven

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,

he is a new creation;

the old has gone,

the new has come!

A Strange Way to Save The World...

Our God is a God who saves....Psalm 68:20

Thanksgiving Memories...

Sis took this shot of our Thanksgiving table...

The red polka dot fork would be our new

Pottery Barn kids silverware...adorable.

Also adorable were three of my grandchildren

around the table.

Leah is an old hat at Thanksgiving....

Kate and Jack celebrated for the first time....

After the food, fun and dishes were done I settled in the kids bedroom

for some one on one with my Kate....we were listening to

Somewhere over the rainbow and having tea.

The photo on the little chest is of Leah and the little prayer books are her favorites

Happy and content is how one facebook friend said I looked.....I was

Love spending precious time with my family!

~~~~~~

This is the third Thanksgiving we have celebrated since we all started counting calories on http://www.thedailyplate.com/

We have all changed in so many ways for the good

during these past couple of years

At Talbot's the other day, a clerk that knew me during the fat years,

made mention how much happier I seem,

carry myself differently, hair, attitude all better.

All I know is..... I sure feel great!

~~~~~~~

Liz Curtis Higgs said this moring on facebook,

"Ready for some good news?

The Lord offers grace instead of condemnation.

Life instead of law.

Freedom instead of bondage.

Hope instead of despair.

Oh, happy day!"

Amen!

Healer..

1 Peter 2:24

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree,

so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness;

by his wounds you have been healed.
.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I like your Christ,
I do not like your Christians.
Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."
- -- Mahatma Gandhi

Kyle Idleman our teaching pastor at church really hit the nail on the head this past weekend.
So many people have been judged and abused by our church's.


Podcast from last weekend at church

Southeast Christian Church, Louisville, KY

We Gather together....soon

We Gather Together

We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing;

He chastens and hastens his will to make known;

The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing,

Sing praises to his name:

He forgets not his own.

Beside us to guide us,

our God with us joining,

Ordaining,

maintaining his kingdom divine;

So from the beginning the fight we were winning;

Thou, Lord, wast at our side,

All glory be thine!

We all do extol thee,

thou leader triumphant,

And pray that thou still our defender wilt be.

Let thy congregation escape tribulation;

Thy name be ever praised!

O Lord, make us free!

Amen

---Traditional Thanksgiving Hymn---

(A translation by Theodore Baker: 1851-1934)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Love, Maree

What Faith Can do....

Kutless

1 Peter 1:6-9

In this you greatly rejoice,

though now for a little while

you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.

These have come so that your faith—

of greater worth than gold,

which perishes even though refined by fire—

may be proved genuine and may result in praise,

glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Though you have not seen him,

you love him;

and even though you do not see him now,

you believe in him

and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,

for you are receiving the goal of your faith,

the salvation of your souls.

Let's see, if I tweak a few things I can look five years younger....

When My dad was in the service during World War 11 he was stationed in Jacksonville Florida, dad was a flight instructor. My mom desperately wanted to be a WAVE but my dad said no to that, so she worked on base selling shoes. They loved living in Jacksonville and made friends there for life.

We traveled to Jacksonville one summer when I was quite small to visit friends they had made during their time in the service. My mom was happy about that, but could not hide her excitement about going to visit the Fountain of Youth to get a drink from it. I picked up on that excitement and was intrigued to say the least. "Why did momma think that was gonna work?" I thought to myself. When I was 6 or 7 the fountain was huge and important looking.

Years later we took the kids to visit the Fountain of Youth and as an adult I was taken back how very small the fountain was and really unimpressive...once again I thought, " Why did momma think that was going to work?"....

Can we really get our youth back again or even stay youthful?

Maybe a sip from the fountain can't hurt but...

I believe yes, we can if we work at it!

Here's an article copied from Vibrant Nation about ways to look 5 years younger, I liked it..

I'm always eager to learn ways to look younger. That's why I was keenly interested in the beauty feature in this month's InStyle magazine on "10 Ways to Look 5 Years Younger." So, what did the 10 beauty tips say?

1. Brighten Up with Concealer - According to the makeup artist Mally Roncal, who is quoted in the story, if you use concealer "People will start asking who your surgeon was." (Yes, I do use concealer under my eyes every day. However, no one has ever asked me who my surgeon was...which is good because I don't have one.)

2. Be Careful With Color - By color, they mean hair color. According to New York colorist Louis Licari, who is quoted in the story, "If you over-highlight your blond hair, you lose the golden tones that keep it looking youthful and pretty. And hair that is dyed too dark is unnatural." (I am careful with my hair color. I have a fabulous colorist who puts just the right amount of highlights in my hair and doesn't dye my hair too dark either. Ah, glad I am complying with Lou's suggestions.I agree with you Lou. I do. I do.)

3. Perk Up A Saggy Butt - This tip says that 'our bottoms tend to be less buoyant as we age...gravity pulls them down.' Susie Crippen of J Brand, says to "check the label of every pair of jeans before buying to make sure they have at least 2 percent stretch, like Lycra. Pants with more than 98 percent cotton can stretch out as soon as you wear them." (Wait, J Brand is the brand of jeans that my daughter A raves about. I should listen to Susie, she must be smart when it comes to perking up saggy butts. I do love my Not Your Daughter's Jeans which also perk up my butt.)

4. Shine On - This tip says that years of blow-drying and styling our hair can leave it lackluster...that adding conditioning gloss or a shine serum can help hair sparkle. (I'll have to try the conditioning gloss. As for the shine serum, I already have that product in my repertoire of haircare products and it seems to weigh my hair down rather than sparkle it up.)

5. Find the Perfect Bra - According to New York stylist Annabel Tollman, "A good bra elevates your chest to a higher altitude, giving you a longer, slimmer-looking waist." (Hmm, hmm, maybe I will have to listen to Annabel and go to Victoria's Secret and buy one of those new Miraculous bras.)

6. Give Some Lip Service - This tip says that our lips lose volume as we get older and that dark matte lipsticks accentuate our aging lips. It says to switch to pink gloss to look younger. (Okay, after I go to Victoria's Secret to get my new perfect bra, I'm going to go to MAC and buy some 'pink gloss' for my lips.)

7. Fake An Eye Lift - Ooh, ooh, I think I am practicing this tip already. Yes, I am. I put my eye makeup on just like the tip that N.Y.C. makeup artist Paula Dorf says. Sorry Paula, I learned this tip from the MAC makeup lady when she did my colors several years ago. I think it was when I was 5 years younger and I'm still practicing this tip. I do 'use a light-colored shadow near my lash line and a deeper shade in an arc above the crease where my lid is dropping.'

8. Get A Little Cheeky - The Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Gabriel Chiu says that "as we age the fat pads in our cheeks fall" and that to defy nature you can either get a filler or you can use a bright pink blush, which illuminates the cheekbone and draws the eye upward." (No fillers for me. I'm not putting any fillers in my cheekbones. And I've tried bright pink blush once before and it doesn't look good on my cheeks. Guess I won't be practicing this tip. I wonder, if each tip is worth .5 years and I practice all the other nine tips, will I look 4.5 years younger? You think?)

9. Lose the Powder Makeup - Paula Dorf says that "As you get older and your skin produces less oil, dewy makeup is more flattering." (No wonder why the makeup artist at Bobbie Brown recommended that I start using an oil based foundation when I had my 50th birthday makeover. It's been almost two years since I had my 50th birthday makeover and I've been practicing this tip ever since.)

10. Mix Things Up - This final tip says to "always throw in something unexpected, like messy hair, a casual jacket, or flats with a fancy dress." (I can do messy hair, I have several casual jackets in my closet. I don't like flats with a fancy dress, they tend to make my pear-shaped body look more hippy. Personally, I like pumps with a fancy dress or a sandal.)

My yoga teacher N, also had a few yogi cures for aging that she shared with us during tonight's yoga class:

Yogi cure #1 - The first yogi cure for aging is to do a 10 minute inversion every day. An inversion can be a head stand, or a hand stand, or the dead bug pose (which is my favorite. I look like an upside down dead cockroach when I do this pose.)

Yogi cure #2 - Massage your face outward every night. Start at the top or bottom of your face and stimulate your skin and then put your moisturizer on your face. Stretch out your neck too by pulling your face forward. (This will add an extra step to my evening skincare ritual, but I'll try it if it will help me stay forever young.)

If I can find 10 more beauty tips to help me look younger, I wonder if I can look 10 years younger? Wait a minute...wait a minute. How does the chorus in the "Forever Young" song go? Think I need to stop, breathe, and sing...

Forever young,
I wanna be forever young
Do you really want to live forever?
Forever and ever
Forever young I wanna be
Forever young
Do you really want to live forever?
Forever, forever

I'm so very grateful...

I am on my knees grateful today.

My Lord loves me with unfailing love

He's crazy about me...

you too.

How can I not be grateful for that?

Psalm 36:7

How priceless is your unfailing love!

Both high and low among men

find refuge in the shadow of your wings.

Angel Time....

It's production time at my house...

promised my friend Cindy I would make 30 angels for her patients...

she's a nurse and really cares for each and everyone of her aging patients

Cindy gives a big part of herself each day she is with them

I wanted to do something to help her cheer their day.

They are made of paper ribbon

At one time I had a craft business

made dried flower wreaths, hats, baskets and such.

I prayed one night for God to give me just one thing I could make because

I needed to simplify

Sat down the next day and started forming these little girls...

I've made hundreds

It's my prayer that these little angels will bring joy

they are made with love.

Promised I"d have them done by this Wednesday...

gotta get busy! ;-)

He Is....

Revelations 1: 7-8

Look, he is coming with the clouds,
and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him;
and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him.

So shall it be! Amen.

"I am the Alpha and the Omega,"

says the Lord God,

"who is, and who was, and who is to come,

the Almighty."
~~~~~~~~~~~

Story behind the song

~~~~~~~~~~~

Well...I'm Shrinking...In More Ways Than One.

All my adult life I've been 5' 7 1/4......

more than 40 years I'd say.

Just found out yesterday at the doctors office

I'm 5' 6 1/2...

made the poor assistant measure me twice,

but there it was,

five six and one half...sigh.
Oh yeah...I weighed 10 pounds less than I thought! JOY!!

Hopefully, this will help me with my plea to Dick to join a gym. We walk about 4.5 miles a day, but that is it....we really need to be doing more strength training. He has resisted I believe because for years we paid good money to a gym, used it, but never lost a pound. Now I have proof I need strength resistance training or I'm going to end up like Edith Ann! ;-)

All in all though, I found out I'm in good health...

it's been a very stressful year ....

the state of my life

could have been so much worse

than loosing three quarters of an inch.
Trusting God, eating right, exercising and loving life has paid off.
I'm a happy girl!
Speaking of being a happy girl,
check out these photo's of my girls!

Over the Moon about these new photos Sis captured of Jackson....

Well, she did it again....topped herself.

Sis and her family traveled to Tennessee

this past weekend to visit Jack, Rachel and Rich.

I knew Sis would be taking pictures...that's a given,

all I can say is wow!

Jackson Wyatt will be 5 months on the 20th...

he's got the best little personality!

Be still my beating heart is this cute or what!

When Rich was a little guy he loved Chucks...

had a pair of orange ones...sweet memories

We are having so much fun watching this little guy learn and grow.

Jack, Pop Pop and Gramma Re love you so very much!

If you'd like to check out Sis's professional website it's

Over The Moon Photography

Click on the rss feed next to the facebook feed to see some amazing photo's

Also here on facebook