Ancestors

Wow, never knew my family was so interesting! I found a relative who was a bodyguard for George Washington. I'm so thankful for my relatives who worked to do all this research.

Feeling under the weather

I hate feeling sick. I woke up yesterday with a sore throat...throughout the day it got a little worse. This morning I woke up around 4:00 a.m. with a worse sore throat and my back was killing me. Tossed and turned for 2 hours before I fell asleep for another hour. Woke up with a sore back and throat and decided I couldn't make it to work.

Laid around all day on a heating pad (I hate winter). Still tired and now the ache is in my neck. Kept thinking I'd go upand scrapbook but....didn't happen. I did get some things done for My Lifetime Story. Still haven't completed my family tree but it is closer to being done. Sent a letter to a cousin I haven't talked to in a couple of years to see if they remember anything about my Dad's side and sent an email to my wonderful aunts on my Mom's side to have them identify pictures. I'm very excited about this project.

I am now a week behind but when it's done I'll be happy with the results. This week's challenge is to put together pages about my parents. I have several old pictures...I better get sorting. Maybe I'll have all this to do at Columbus Scrappers retreat in March - can't wait!

Here's to the weekend coming up! Plan on working on some cards. Pati let me borrow her markers (they are not regular sharpies, they are stamp markers). Can't wait to use them on my stamps and see how they work. I ordered some from Flowers to Flourishes thru Pati and then ordered more from one of my deal-a-day sites.

Gotta work on all my projects - oooohhhh, another project for retreat - playing with all my new toys (dry embossing).

Genealogy

Gotta love the internet! For My Lifestory project, I'm to put together a family tree. I have spent the last week researching the internet and found more pieces to my family tree! Oh how I wish my parents and grandparents were alive. I have so many questions! I'm hoping to find pictures of at least some of these relatives - fortunately I have them from my Mom's side.

Thanks to a cousin in NC, Derick Hartshorn, I have my Mom's Father's family history clear back to the 1700s. My Dad's Dad proved much harder. I can only get back to my great grandmother's name. Very few records to find...can't even find my great-grandfather's name. Sad : (

Hopefully we'll find more info when we visit cemetaries in Wheeling and Van Wert.

If you're parents are still alive (or you're lucky enough to still have grandparents alive) TALK TO THEM. Get as much info as they can remember. Names, dates, whatever. Trust me, you'll be glad for it one day.

Also, a shout-out to one of the guys at work, Ron Johnson. He has given me tips in my search!

Ramblings

Today I got my haircut. I love my hairdresser (is this what they are called?) - Karla. She is a sweetheart and I enjoy visiting with her when she's chopping off my hair. The first thing Brad said was, are you going to be recreate that style? :) Funny - I never can but at least it looks super cute for a day or two!!

Karla was blessed with tons of scrapbooking stuff from a friend who is no longer scrapping. Sad for the friend but super-excited for Karla. I know how much I love when friends go thru their supplies and give me their cast offs. It's fun to go thru and see products you'd never buy or didn't know what to do with.

I have decided that when things settle down at home and we know what direction everything is going, that I'm going to have an electrician come in and put overhead lights in my basement so I can organize it for scrapping parties. Just not sure I want to scrap by myself in the basement :) I will keep thinking this thru (the basement isn't finished but I have a large carpet piece that I can put down). The biggest downfall is that there are no windows - except one small one in the storage area of the basement. Oh well, I'll keep thinking on this (I know, I said I had decided but I think I just talked myself out of it). LOL

On to more exciting things...The Lord called me to get up this morning at 4:00. That's AM. I'm not a morning person and I will admit that I argued with Him for 30 minutes before finally getting up and coming downstairs. I prayed for a little bit and got my Bible to read. I asked, Lord, what is it that I should be reading? And He said, where your book mark is. It was in 1 Tim - talking about elders, deacons, widows. I'm thinking, I got up at 4:30 a.m. to read about this?

Then I prayed some more and God asked me a simple question - what do you want? My answer...I want answers, direction. Brad and I are faced with a circumstance and we aren't really sure what to do. Well, if you know me, you know I know what I want to do...but I want to be sure we do God's will.

In thinking about 1 Timothy, Paul instructed Timothy in his ministry. Paul was giving Timothy counsel. God kept saying to me, seek wise counsel. Not just counsel but wise counsel.

God is so good. I talked with Brad about it and we have a plan (and it is not the path of least resistance). God will be with us and we'll do the right thing and it may hurt...but we'll have victory in the end. So, if we come to mind, pray that we'll hear what He is telling us and we'll have the courage to go that way.

Have a great weekend. I'm off to eat lunch and spend the rest of the day (hopefully) in my scrapbook room.

MY Lifetime Story pages

This is my Title Page

These are my birth pages

Are you worrying or praying?

When the Future seems Uncertain - Purpose Driven Life devotion Posted by Rick Warren

"For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans ... to give you a future and a hope ... You will find me when you seek me, if you look for me in earnest." Jeremiah 29:11, 13 (LB)

No matter what the pollsters, pundits, and prognosticators claim, no one can accurately predict all that is going to happen this year, let alone in the next few weeks. Our best forecasts are just educated guesses.

Change is not only increasing in speed and intensity, but also in unpredictability.

The Bible suggests three timeless principles for facing an uncertain future:

Set goals according to God's directionIt's foolish to make plans without first consulting God. He's the only one who DOES know the future - and he's eager to guide you through it.

The Bible says, "We may make our plans, but God has the last word." (Proverbs 16:1) In other words, planning without praying is presumption. Start by praying, "God, what do YOU want me to do in 2010?"

Live one day at a time -- While you can plan for tomorrow, you can't live it until it arrives. Most people spend so much time regretting the past and worrying about the future, they have no time to enjoy today!

John Lennon once wrote, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." Decide to make the most of each moment this year. Jesus said, "Don't be anxious about tomorrow - God will take care of your tomorrows. Live one day at a time." (Matthew 6:34)

Don't procrtatsinate - DO IT NOW! - "Don't boast about what you're going to do tomorrow, for you don't know what a day may bring forth." (Proverbs 27:1)

Procrastinating is a subtle trap. It wastes today by postponing things until tomorrow. You promise yourself that you'll do it "one of these days." But "one of these days" is usually "none of these days."

What did you plan to get done last year that you didn't do? When do you intend to start working on it?

Friends

I met some ladies for scrapping today. I really do enjoy spending time with other ladies - especially those who share my hobbies! I love my family very much but sometimes (on a regular basis), you need to be with friends.

I'm thankful for a good friend.

FIREARMS REFRESHER COURSE

1. "Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not." ~Thomas Jefferson
2. Those who trade liberty for security have neither. ~John Adams
3. Free men do not ask permission to bear arms

4. An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject.
5. Only a government that is afraid of its citizens tries to control them.
6. Gun control is not about guns; it's about control.
7. You only have the rights you are willing to fight for.
8. Know guns, know peace, know safety. No guns, no peace, no safety.
9. You don't shoot to kill; you shoot to stay alive.
10. Assault is a behavior, not a device.
11. 64,999,987 firearms owners killed no one yesterday.
12. The United States Constitution (c) 1791. All Rights Reserved.
13. The Second Amendment is in place in case the politicians ignore the others.
14. What part of 'shall not be infringed' do you NOT understand?
15. Guns have only two enemies; rust and politicians.
16. When you remove the people's right to bear arms, you create slaves.
17. The American Revolution would never have happened with gun control.
|
| IF YOU AGREE, PASS THIS 'REFRESHER' ON TO TEN FREE CITIZENS.

My Lifetime Story

I'm participating in a challenge to scrap my life story. Mine is called The Journey of My Life. I'm nervous and excited to do this. Some of my past is not so pleasant (I don't look forward to reliving) and some is awesome (which I'm glad to remember). What I'm most looking forward to is seeing God in every step of the journey. I KNOW He was there - even when I didn't want Him to be.

Thank you Father.

BRRRRRRRR

It is cold! But...it is Ohio and it is winter. This is a picture out my back door. It is 3:44 and it has been snowing since maybe 11 or so (I was at work so I'm not sure when it actually started). It is still coming down.

Roads weren't too bad but I imagine they are getting worse. Wish I had a big cup of yummy hot chocolate. Maybe I'll make some coffee with low-fat creamer and sweetner instead :)

resolutions

I didn't make any resolutions for the New Year. But I am trying to get healthy. I'm watching my eating and starting at the Y. Okay, I've gone once, but I had church tonight so I couldn't go anyway. Planning on going tomorrow - even if the snow is bad (we have 4-wheel drive). Want to get to the place where I enjoy going - actually look forward to it!

Eating is getting better. I'm aware of what I'm eating - which is good. Trying to watch portion size - thanks to Smart Ones at lunch this has been somewhat easy.

I also want to be more creative ~ rather spend time more time creating. I saw some really great resolutions to expand their creativity - trying new techniques, etc. I think that's a great idea but for now, I just want to spend more time creating - working on projects.

Nothing earth shattering - but something to work on.

Right now, I'm exhausted and have a horrible headache. I think I'll head to bed. Goodnight all. Be safe tomorrow. Snow may cause driving to be tricky tomorrow and then drifting may make Friday dicey too.

Are you lost?

For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which is lost. (Luke 19:10)

If you are lost, God is seeking you. Actually, He knows right where you are, He wants you to seek Him.

Went to COSI planetarium and watched the "universe" program (my niece narrated it). The program obviously comes from the "big-bang" theory - talking about the creation of our universe out of chaos. All this intricate design - cells in our bodies, flowers of multitude colors and design, animals, bugs, etc - all this complicated process out of chaos and by chance.

I sat there and was overwhelmed again about how awesome God really is. How He must smile at our feeble attempts to explain His incredible design.

taken from Nasa's Hubble Telescope

If you are going thru hell...

I just heard this country song - if you're goin thru hell, just keep on going...face the fight...keep on movin.

I thought about this and realize that it is correct. If your life is going crazy or your going through some tough times or the world is falling apart - KEEP GOING. Don't stop. Keep fighting. And most importantly, keep your eyes focused on the Father.

Wishing you all a most blessed New Year.