JOY

I read a newsletter from a dear friend, Yvonne Barrage who shared the acronym for JOY. She said it was something she learned as a youngster from her parents. I am fond of acronyms and want to not only to share it with my grandchildren, but with you also. I created a little image using a great website: Canva. It helps you create design easily. You can sign up for free! Check out my "JOY" design below. I was able to save the design as an image or pdf. Thank you +YvonneBarrage for sharing your thoughts and inspiring this design. You can catch her blog here: Grace Bound

Advantages of Google +

I have really enjoyed using Google + and the ease in connecting with like-minded people. Love how you can post to certain circles without all the Facebook issues. One example of the advantage of using Google + is how I became acquainted with Phil Wagner. I discovered his blog called, "God's Gymnasium" and was blown away by the wonderful suggestion he gave on memorizing scripture. I actually experienced this first hand by joining Beth Moore's Siesta Scripture Memory Team (SSMT) that she holds every other year. It was my first year and I was amazed what I gained from memorizing bible verses during the year. We liked it so much; that we formed a Facebook group to continue called "The Refuge". I hope you take to time to read Phil's blog post, because I plan to check out his helpful suggestions to memorize more verses. Love the link to Gateway's 100 most popular bible verses. Wouldn't that be a fantastic challenge? Memorize all 100 verses! Think we can do this? Sure we can!

We Need to Hear, See, Internalize This: I AM GOD!

Take a short 2 1/2 minute break from your day to watch this powerful video. I am glad I did and hope you will share it too. I located it from +Phil Wagner in California on Google+ Love how small the world seems when we share across the world with others.

I Am a Christian

When I say that "I am a Christian," I am not shouting that "I am clean living." I'm whispering "I was lost, but now I'm found and forgiven."

When I say "I am a Christian," I don't speak of this with pride. I'm confessing that I stumbled and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say "I am a Christian," I'm not trying to be strong. I'm professing that I'm weak and need His strength to carry on.

When I say "I am a Christian," I'm not bragging of success. I'm admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.

When I say "I am a Christian," I'm not claiming to be perfect. My flaws are far too visible, but God believes I am worth it.

When I say "I am a Christian," I still feel the sting of pain. I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name.

When I say "I am a Christian," I'm not holier than thou. I'm just a simple sinner who received God's good grace, somehow!
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I took a snapshot of this poem in a nurse's office while waiting to see a doctor in Beaumont. I can't remember the name of the nurse, but appreciate that she allowed me to take the picture. She did not know the author, but hope you like it as much as I did.

10 Things God Won't Ask You

When you die, 10 things GOD won't ask you: 

1..... God won't ask what kind of car you drove. He'll ask how many people you drove who didn't have transportation..
2..... God won't ask the square footage of your house, He'll ask how many people you welcomed into your home.
3..... God won't ask about the clothes you had in your closet, He'll ask how many you helped clothe. 4..... God won't ask what your highest salary was. He'll ask if you compromised your character to obtain it.
5..... God won't ask what your job title was. He'll ask if you performed your job to the best of your ability.
6..... God won't ask how many friends you had. He'll ask how many people to whom you were a friend.
7..... God won't ask in what neighborhood you lived, He'll ask how you treated your neighbors.
8..... God won't ask about the color of your skin, He'll ask about the content of your character.
9..... God won't ask why it took you so long to find Him and ask Him into your house, He'll lovingly take you to heaven and not to the gates of Hell.

10..... God won't have to ask how many people you forwarded this to, He already knows your decision.

Hobby Lobby Closing Stores on Principles

Hobby Lobby Founder-May Close ALL Stores The wisdom that comes from above is first, pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruit, without uncertainty or insincerity. James 3:17 By David Green, the founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. When my family and I started our company 40 years ago, we were working out of a garage on a $600 bank loan, assembling miniature picture frames. Our first retail store wasn't much bigger than most people's living rooms, but we had faith that we would succeed if we lived and worked according to God's word. From there, Hobby Lobby has become one of the nation's largest arts and crafts retailers, with more than 500 locations in 41 states. Our children grew up into fine business leaders, and today we run Hobby Lobby together, as a family. We're Christians, and we run our business on Christian principles. I've always said that the first two goals of our business are (1) to run our business in harmony with God's laws, and (2) to focus on people more than money. And that's what we've tried to do. We close early so our employees can see their families at night. We keep our stores closed on Sundays, one of the week's biggest shopping days, so that our workers and their families can enjoy a day of rest. We believe that it is by God's grace that Hobby Lobby has endured, and he has blessed us and our employees. We've not only added jobs in a weak economy, we've raised wages for the past four years in a row. Our full-time employees start at 80% above minimum wage. But now, our government threatens to change all of that. A new government healthcare mandate says that our family business MUST provide what I believe are abortion-causing drugs as part of our health insurance. Being Christians, we don't pay for drugs that might cause abortions, which means that we don't cover emergency contraception, the morning-after pill or the week-after pill. We believe doing so might end a life after the moment of conception, something that is contrary to our most important beliefs. It goes against the Biblical principles on which we have run this company since day one. If we refuse to comply, we could face $1.3 million PER DAY in government fines. Our government threatens to fine job creators in a bad economy. Our government threatens to fine a company that's raised wages four years running. Our government threatens to fine a family for running its business according to its beliefs. It's not right. I know people will say we ought to follow the rules; that it's the same for everybody. But that's not true. The government has exempted thousands of companies from this mandate, for reasons of convenience or cost. But it won't exempt them for reasons of religious belief. So, Hobby Lobby and my family are forced to make a choice. With great reluctance, we filed a lawsuit today, represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, asking a federal court to stop this mandate before it hurts our business. We don't like to go running into court, but we no longer have a choice. We believe people are more important than the bottom line and that honoring God is more important than turning a profit. My family has lived the American dream. We want to continue growing our company and providing great jobs for thousands of employees, but the government is going to make that much more difficult. The government is forcing us to choose between following our faith and following the law. I say that's a choice no American and no American business should have to make. The government cannot force you to follow laws that go against your fundamental religious belief. They have exempted thousands of companies but will not except Christian organizations including the Catholic church. Since you will not see this in the liberal media, please pass this on to all your contacts. Sincerely, David Green CEO and Founder of Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. Did you ever think we would be discussing something like this in the land of free and home of the brave? "Freedom is not free . . . but the U.S. Militar

Four Valuable Things My Daughter Learned From Playing With American Girl Dolls

Four Valuable Things My Daughter Learned From Playing With American Girl Dolls Wow, great article on the positive things about your little ones playing with the American Dolls!