Christian Encouragers ~ JUNE
 

:angel: Welcome Friends :angel:
--------------------------


You've found a great place to come
and vent, share or ask for prayer support.
This is a great group who will be very
encouraging, caring and loving....
....anyone is welcome to join!

A Servant's Prayer --

Jesus, My Jesus....How marvelous are your ways....
Far more splendid than my mind can envision.
What an honor to be chosen by you.
A lowly child I am, but empowered by the Holy Spirit
to fulfill the great hope to which you have called me.
I give myself totally to you, Lord.
Take my imperfect heart and make it perfect.
Peel away the hardness.
Close the doors I have opened to the temptations of this world.
Gently remove the roots of painful memories, sins, doubts and fears.
Discard anything that separates me from you.
Lord, fill the emptiness with the light of your love
that I might be a beacon calling the lost back to you.

To love as you love.....
To serve as you serve.....
To forgive as you forgive.....
Always mindful of my nothingness while doing great
and marvelous things in your name and for your glory.
This I pray, Jesus, in YOUR name ...
Amen.


:angel:

I just realized when I was posting in the May thread that today is actually the first of June, so it's time to start a new thread. So here it is ... I think I will start it off with that nice Youtube I posted there; a great way to initiate this new month, I think.

At 53 y/y; this is my life! I was just telling some of my family today that I have been dreaming of putting a recliner in our bathroom. ;) Enjoy ...


http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/6dbBfXCMbH4?rel=0

That is great ! I'll tell my older friends about it.LOL!

Angie and I got a kick out of that ROSEBUD...Thank-You!

I loved that!! I laughed out loud when I saw the keys in the fridge...because I do that...on purpose, to "remind" me...to take my lunch to work!:rofl: That was funny, thought provoking and so relevant to us of a certain age! Thanks for the post:cp:

My Mom is much better and I am so thankful for all the prayers...God heard and answered. She's eating again, staying awake and alert more, using her walker and sounds stronger. Her nurse will be back Tuesday and bring the therapist then. He didn't get to come on Friday. I'm taking her my walker to try out and I found her a potty chair, almost new, at Goodwill so am taking that too.

God had to help me get it in the trunk of my car this morning as I was taking it in for an oil change and inspection before work and uhm...didn't want it flopping around in the back seat. God has been my strength every day and for every task...and I praise Him for new mercies each morning!

I'll be going over to Mom's tomorrow after work and stay until Wednesday. I am looking forward to it. It's been a long week (co-worker on vacation) but it's been a great one, considering!
I have loads of posting/filing to do and want to clear my desk by 5:00...I love my job and I have an opportunity to pray for others, as needs are brought to my attention...and even if I don't know what they are...God does...like one little fellow this morning..he's having to go to Dallas three times a week for dialysis..another is having colon surgery the 8th...I am blessed to be here...and to work for a Christian family.

Be blessed this coming week everyone...you'll be in my thoughts and prayers daily!:grouphug:Bren

Here are the pics of the new kitchen ~

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/gene...gger-rack.html

Diabetes and eating out of control
 

Here I am, desperate with 225 blood sugar reading and that's with insulin and a pill..All prayers are welcome and I look forward to getting to know everyone..Tomorrow is the day I start a new healthy lifestyle..Pray that I can get through tomorrow..Debra

Hi Y'all! I'm a new chickie and really enjoying this web site. I was glad to find this Christian Encourager forum. It's always nice to find other believers to connect with. Rosebud, I really got a kick out of that video. At age 52, I just begun to experience some of those issues. Having a sense of humor about helps everything :lol:. Thanks for being here and I look forward to getting to know everyone. :wave:

Good morning all....
Welcome debra and melodyjoy...Debra, I am with you on the challenges of diabetes control and will definately have you on my prayer list. I have the same issues and am still on just pills, but have poor control. I know this is doable...I just haven't done it yet.
melodyjoy...I fully agree...humor is a gift and I am so glad for it. It's one of many ways God lightens our load and brightens our day.

I have laundry in and will get my cleaning done before work...and pack for Mom's. I'll "see" you all when I return. I'm going to go check out the kitchen now!
Blessings to all...
Bren

Welcome , melodyjoy and debra, you have come to a great place for inspiration.debra, praying that you will be able to get your diabetes under control.

Another newbie!
 

I am so excited to have a Christian support group for this! Debra55, I have the SAME issues and tomorrow is my DAY ONE. I am one of those people who have to get myself in the "mindset" in order to lose weight. I have lost small amounts in the past, but now I am much more vested in achieving this goal. My sugars are out of control (my fault!) and I am sick and tired of being sick and tired!! I have got to get things under control. I love to shop and I hate trying on clothes anymore. Can I stuff it all in and still LOOK decent? is a question that I don't want to answer anymore. I ask that you all pray for me as I work towards this goal. I know it CAN be done! Thanks!!

terilaine, welcome and good luck with getting your sugar under control. A great deal of controlling diabetes is by diet and exercise .
Praying for all who are fighting this disease, I have it in my family , also.

:hug:Welcome terilaine and honey, you have good company in this boat...We have the tools for survival and God's wisdom and grace so we can step up, grab an oar and start rowing! You'll be in my prayers also:cheer3:

Yippee! I got in the pool for the first time and got to play all by myself. I loved it. I take my noodle to the deep end so I can exercise the feet and arms and just hang around.:swim:It felt wonderful~ I didn't get in it at all last year because of the heat. We had over 100 temps for 72 days in a row. Breathing was a chore. BUT...there are those in places much hotter...Arizona for example and I just thank God for AC every day. I didn't have a suit anyway, since I'd put my best one in the Goodwill box I guess and gave it away.:?::rollpin: Yep, I was gonna lose the weight and wouldn't need it anymore...:rofl:This is a NEW year and I am NOT giving up...
I did buy two new suits so that wasn't an excuse this year. I told myself I may not be "cute" but I'm getting in that pool!:carrot:

:welcome: DEBRA, MELODYJOY, and TERILAINE ~ Yes, diabetes and pre-diabetes runs in our family too; that's why my last doctor wanted to help me get things under control (about 1/2 dozen years ago when I first joined this site) to avoid it getting worse. I was on Metformin pills for about 3 years while I worked on the diet and exercise. I have been off the meds for about 3 years now and doing fine.

Will gladly send up some ^prayers^ for you ladies as you work on a healthier lifestyle. Just remember to take it one-day-at-a-time: it's not about over-restriction and perfection -- just practicing how to make better choices. You will make some mistakes: so just try to learn from them and keep going. Aim for about 75-90% success, which is very doable; and with PRACTICE, you'll get better over time.

BLONDEE ~ good for you braving the swimming pool -- glad you had some fun. Have a good time visiting with your mother this weekend.

GARY ~ as stated in your "other" thread, loved the renovations in the kitchen (house); you all did a superb job!!! Love it.

Glad you all enjoyed that video; my Aunt sent it to me, and I have been passing it along. There is nothing like "a sense of humor" to help us through difficult times (esp as we age) -- I tell that to my DH all the time. GOD must have a marvellous sense of humor becuz he created us, and gave us that wonderful gift!

We are having turkey thighs with sweet potatoes, and a mix of other veggies for dinner tonight. Plus, I will be baking Dh some Oatmeal muffins and banana loaves for his snacks this afternoon. We have had :rain: here all weekend, so staying indoors pretty much. Have a Super Serene Sunday everyone ... :flow2:

Most basic and central to the Christian truth is the affirmation of one God who reveals Himself to us in the Three Persons of the Trinity--the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

This is the great mystery of the faith and one in which we confess not by reason of our understanding but by reason of God's clear revelation in the Scriptures. Because we live in such a diverse age, it is even more important to us that we join the faithful confession of the Holy trinity.

This truth is often misunderstood but is part of the essential revelation of God that Jesus has made known to us. Apart from this God there is no other.

Well, June is here and GOD has sent us some nice June-like temps to go with it -- in the 70's F today and that is expected for the whole week. We actually had a tiny sprinkle of :rain: earlier too. It is strange to be :sunny: one minute, then have some :rain: the next, and guess what? It's :sunny: again! But it is kinda neato as well.

We picked up some more berry plants on sale this week -- 3 blueberry and 3 blackberry, so that should round out my berry patch nicely. The wind knocked over my 2-year blueberry bush but it is A-OK. We hope to transplant them all this week, if the night temps stay above freezing long enuff.

DH finally found my garden stuff, including my implements and last year's seed. Now I have a big stock up, but will try to grow some in planters to use them up. One of my friends grew dozens of pots one year and did very well.
I planted the front gardens yesterday afternoon, and we'll do the barrels tomorrow AM, if the weather is nice enuff. It should be cooler then anyways.

My eating has been really good this week; very glad for that. Hope everyone is having a great first week of June out there; take care ... :flow2:

Wow June is already a week old and I'm just finding the June thread. I was excited to see some new folks and I hope that they along with us all, can move forward to a more healthy tomorrow.

I have been watching my calories closer, unfortunately that doesn't always equal eating balanced meals, but I have lost a pound and a half in the last 2 weeks, which may or may not mean a thing, so I am waiting to see if it is just a fluctuation.

Our rain has quit again and the heat is back. Our garden won't make it much longer without more rain :( Gotta run for now.

NELLY ~ One time DH and I lived on my DAD's farm for about 3 years. We had no well or water source there except for Mother Nature. We had eavestroughs on two sides of the little cottage that we rented there; and the rain gathered in the barrels at each end. We used this for washing, cleaning, and watering our garden. Sometimes, I would even stand under it and have a shower (not in my buff; I wore a light shift). ;)

Then we hired a man to dig us a cistern right beside our garden: this is a rectangle hole like a mini man-made pond, but it's very deep in the center; and here they are called "shallow wells". Whenever it rained, the cistern would fill up (it also had overflow trenches: one towards the garden and one away). We only used this to water our garden and greenhouse, and it never ran out of water. We used a pail on a rope to pull the water up, and it worked marvellously for us. The guy only charged us $40 bucks to dig it with his backhoe. Then we put a fence around it (for safety) with wood poles (cores & slats) that a local company gave us for free.

I had forgotten about that until you mentioned that you needed rain again. Just another true story from our homesteading days. Still sending up ^prayers^ that GOD will send more rain to the mid-west U.S. :D

I remember my grandmother talking about using rainwater for washing and bathing. She said there was nothing like it for shampooing you hair, it is soft water and as you say collected in a rain barel.

This is Day 1 for me. I know what I should be doing health-wise, but have trouble sticking with it. God's response to my faith crisis was to find a support group. I am looking forward to the encouragement of 3FC.

Welcome and good luck ! You will find a great group here.

:welcome: ROSE ~ ya, that's the hard part all right -- sticking with the plan, but with practice and time ... it can get better. We'll try to support you as much as we can ... :D

BARGOO ~ oh yes, rain water is fabulous for washing your hair; I used that all the time there.

We've had a very busy day today. This AM, DH and I built our own water hose rack -- I designed it and then we built together. I learned "how" to use a skill saw today but DH did the final sawing as he was concerned. ;) That took us to about 1 pm, but we saved ourselves over $50.00 by making our own. We just used some leftover pieces of lumber that we had from our deck.

Then some good old friends from out of town came over to visit for the evening. They used to live here but moved away. It was really nice to see them again, and we had a happy time reminiscing. It was :hot: and :sunny: here all day but it started pouring :rain: here late this evening, so our friends had to grab a taxi, as they had to walk to the other side of town where they are staying. Better than getting drenched. ;)

Hope you all have a fabulous Friday tomorrow ... :flow2:

Originally Posted by bargoo:
Welcome and good luck ! You will find a great group here.

Thanks!:flow1:

Originally Posted by Justwant2Bhealthy:
:welcome: ROSE ~ ya, that's the hard part all right -- sticking with the plan, but with practice and time ... it can get better. We'll try to support you as much as we can ... :D

BARGOO ~ oh yes, rain water is fabulous for washing your hair; I used that all the time there.

We've had a very busy day today. This AM, DH and I built our own water hose rack -- I designed it and then we built together. I learned "how" to use a skill saw today but DH did the final sawing as he was concerned. ;) That took us to about 1 pm, but we saved ourselves over $50.00 by making our own. We just used some leftover pieces of lumber that we had from our deck.

Then some good old friends from out of town came over to visit for the evening. They used to live here but moved away. It was really nice to see them again, and we had a happy time reminiscing. It was :hot: and :sunny: here all day but it started pouring :rain: here late this evening, so our friends had to grab a taxi, as they had to walk to the other side of town where they are staying. Better than getting drenched. ;)

Hope you all have a fabulous Friday tomorrow ... :flow2:

Thanks! I'm loving this beautiful Friday morning~TGIF! :dancer:

Added on to the new kitchen this morning ;)

Assembled by Ta Taw and decal'd by Nonni :)

http://s1235.photobucket.com/albums/...3DIMG_4474.jpg

Ahhh ... that's very cute, GARY! I bet the grand-daughters will :love: it ... :D

Thanks Ladies :hug:

I can't wait for them to see it :)

ROSE CENTERED My GRANDdaughters are KAIA FAITH...aka GRANDdaughter1 who is almost 15 months old. Daughter of my son and his wife, they live 1.5 miles from me and I see her often. GRANDdaughter2...aka Claire Elaine is the daughter of my daughter and her husband...aka...kidnapper ;) She will be 3 months old today! They live about 35 miles from me, an area that can be very busy with traffic, I don't get to see her as often :(

I hope to be back this week-end to finally catch up!

Be good :)

Hi Ladies :)

Taking a few minutes to catch up while Angie and I wait for GRANDdaughter1 to come over. She and Angie will be planting some herbs in the garden :)

Angie and I planted some tomatoes and zucchini in the garden after church this afternoon. Of course we just had to save some for you know who to help ;) Angie picked up a small watering can for her yesterday and a crab garden decoration :D When we ask her what does a crab do she holds her little hands out, open and closing them, saying peench-peench :)

Angie and Lara had their last bell choir performance at church until school starts up again. The bell and music choirs run the same as our school schedules and take summers off. We still have music but less of it. Of course we still have the organ and our traditional hymns every service. We don't always applause, we do so as the Spirit moves us...of course we want to every time but then that gets a little too much...and they know their performance isn't about them. But today they rocked it and got loud applause after 2 of the 3 songs...a very nice send-off for the summer.

I haven't been too busy with work the last couple of weeks. Prior to that I was going strong with work and if I had any time it was taken up with this kitchen remodel and other changes we did in the house. We are now settling in and have almost everything put back where it belongs. Angie is having a big garage sale next Saturday, what doesn't sell will do down the Amvets.

Since I wasn't busy last week with work I was able to babysit GRANDdaughter1 2 days by myself and go and visit GRANDdaughter2 and her mommy 3 days and they came up here one day. An awesome week for me!!!

Yesterday we spent the early part of the afternoon at a wedding celebration for a young man that grew up in our church. Quite fun and a lot of people from church. I have known the boy, young man now...28...since he was 7. A very nice DJ that played current songs that Angie and I listen to...yes, we listen to popular music :D The young woman, 1/2 of the DJ duo, sang some songs too. The first one was for the first dance for the bride and groom...her partner announced she would sing "AT LAST"...I cringed...thinking "OH NO!" how does a 22 yr. old, very petite, WHITE girl pull that off? :D She rocked :carrot: it!!

After that party we went to a local restaurant with about 25 family members (ours and her husbands) for a birthday party for my niece. It was cool and us guys had a good view of the TV's for the baseball, hockey and basketball games ;) But boy did I have too much food for the day! The wedding party was amazing appetizers and finger foods and plenty of them and the restaurant we ate at, Angie and I always get the salad bar, all-you-can-eat, for a couple of bucks with our entrees. We eat all we want salad bar then get leftover containers to bring home our main meals for dinner the next night :) They have no problem with you bringing home leftovers of the entree but you are not allowed to bring home salad bar stuff. I was plenty full from the all you can eat salad bar, taco bar, wings and mac and cheese bar and soups! Going to have nice dinner of rice pilaf and sirloin beef tips tonight :T already paid for :carrot:

While I was typing this Angie showed me the video of the "flash mob" dance that her and about 20 teachers did at school for the kids last week...very cool. They had a couple of practices. I would post it but it's private. My wife is an excellent dancer and can hang right in their with the youngsters! As for me....3 left feet! ;) And that's no :joker: joke :rofl:

Well, I better wrap this up and get ready for the mini-HERicane ;)

:wave: WOW GARY ~ that's a very generous salad bar you have there for a few bucks. We don't have anything like that here; you are blessed indeedy. We do have Chinese Food Bar nights/lunches: you pay one price for all you can eat. Have fun with the little Her-ricane ... ;)

Well, we also have been spending lots of time with the gardening stuff here. My salad garden stuff is all coming up already; and I have some cherry tomatoes too (not ripe yet though). My snowballs on my Hydrangea Bush are getting bigger and whiter. I was very pleased to see that my Yellow Cinquefoil Bush has survived the late move & winter; I thought it was a gonner -- but that's one tough little bush apparently.

My Sandcherry Bush made it too, but it needs to be moved to a better place now; that's the hard part -- figuring out where everything should go. My Yellow Daylily survived too, but it was accidently chopped off (oops, got a little too aggressive with the weeding :lol:); but that has happened before and they will bounce back ... thank goodness!

I'm delaying the berry transplants to later this week trying to avoid some low night temps; don't want to take a chance to lose them. Plus, I am going to plant some more veggies seeds over the next two weeks to spread them out (so they'll be ready at different times).

It was about 94 F here today; so we just did watering very early this AM. I've been hybernating indoors with the fans all day. I got my new camera working and am trying to take some pics for a before and after transitions thing; and trying to decide which ones to show you all. All that editing is hard work and takes a lot of time ... ;)

So I'm back in the pic bus; maybe -- as my programs were giving me grief last night; waited all that time to upload & select through 900+ pics and lost it in the end -- arrgh!!! Then they said it had glitches/errors, so I have to start all over again; that will be for another day, I think ... :dizzy:

Anywho, hope all our friends here had a Super Serene Sunday today; have a great week coming up too ... :flow1:

Mondays are for optimism
 

Hope EZMONEY (or do I call you Gary?) had a great visit with his little :queen::queen: yesterday. Bet they loved the house.

Justwant2Bhealthy ~ it's warm weather to be gardening for long. Wish I could take the heat better; I do prefer to walk outside when it's nice, rather than use the :tread: indoors.

Rather warm at worship service yesterday, too. I was assisting communion so had to wear (polyester) robe. Even w/ A/C it gets pretty uncomfortable. 'Course the rest of my family was cold, sitting under the cold blast. Hard to keep everyone happy!

At our weekly Via de Cristo reunions we talk about our "closest moments to God" during the past week. I can always tell whether I've been reading daily devotions/the Bible/praying--or not--by the # of times I have felt close to God. Good thing He's there, even when I don't feel it.

I pray that y'all have a good week, both health-wise and spirit-wise!
:goodvibes

ROSE You may call me EZ or Gary :)

I had to laugh about the cold church :D

Our seems like most of the elders set the AC up too high. We sit in a row that has a vent at the end of it. We also have real trees, some kind of palm, that are in the outside asiles...those branches are always moving from the air!

Angie is always cold at church, a few weeks ago I told her that she is NOT ALLOWED to complain about being cold unless she has brought in a blanket! I'm serious...it's an every week thing! She hasn't said a word since...but she has been cold ;)

You think we would shut the air off! (hope that doesn't happen!) our last few monthly electrical bills have been over $4,000.00!

That is not a misprint!

Hard to feel close to God unless we are feeding ourselves with the WORD :)

Happy gardening all!

Well, I got really brave this past week and posted some transition pictures of myself, including a couple of what I look like now. Heck, I think these will even inspire me ... ;)


http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/look...ml#post4361876

Awesome rosebud!!!

Rosebud ~ I am truly inspired! I'm hoping you feel as good as you look. ;)

Speaking of feeling...
It should be against the law to leave left-over sheet cake up for grabs (with lots of rich frosting) in the refrigerator at work! Yesterday started off good but quickly went downhill after the cake incident.
I know, I know, I'm the one responsible for my actions. :(

Anyway, I am feeling very lethargic today. I just wish I could remember what happens when I give in to rich, sweet food! :ink:
Dear Lord, please remove these temptations...at least till I'm a little stronger!

Have a blessed Tuesday, folks!

:bday2you: HAPPY BIRTHDAY WILMA :bday2you:

Hope you are lovin' up those grandbabies ;)

Happy Birthday, Wilma !

Thank you so much for the birthday wishes. It makes me feel special!

Rosebud: Thank you for posting the pics. You can really see the changes. It's also nice to have a face to put with the name!

I had a neat thing happen last week. I was out for coffee with a friend and we were talking about how we both struggle with weight issues and how hard it is to do something about it. I jokingly said "Wanna be my diet buddy?" and she said she has always wanted one. So now we message each other every evening to say what we ate during the day. Having someone accountable is so good for me especially in the snacking area. It's so easy to have just one more but now I think twice because I have to not only write it down but "confess" it also. I consider this an answer to a prayer I had quit praying. :)

Have a great day!

Wilma
:carrot:Happy Birthday! I'm so glad to hear about your diet buddy! Being accountable daily with someone you know sounds like a great idea. You'll let us know how it goes, won't you?

It's been a week and I've lost 4 lbs!! I know this is because I've made some changes but hopefully it keeps going. I have added more veggies to my dinners and cut down my portion size. I also will not have anything after 8 p.m. unless I'm really hungry. So far I haven't felt the hunger pangs even though I have cut down my portions. I did go out for dinner with DH on my birthday and ate more than I should have but got right back at it on Thursday.