Naples Is Nice

My husband and I are having a great time on our "run away from the snow" trip to Florida for the month of February. Naples is a beautiful town. We are staying in a friend's house this week across the street from beautiful Vanderbilt Beach. For Valentine's Day we walked across and down the street for a lovely lunch on a patio overlooking the beach. The weather has been picture perfect. Between 70-80 degrees with sunshine and blue cloudless skies. Every day I'm amazed at the beauty of God's creation. He really is the most amazing artist. Nature is so beautiful that it cries out "God did this! God did this!" until we're knocked to our knees in awe at the wonder of it all. I hope you all had a wonderful day with your husbands and sweethearts. By God's grace my husband and I still enjoy each other's company. This trip has been a test of this because some of the time we have been sleeping in a van size RV and that is up close And personal living arrangements. But so far we are getting along and having fun. All praise goes to God on this Valentine's Day for His Love, His Grace and His Goodness. Have a Happy Day!

Sanibel, Seashells & Sunshine

My husband and I are a week into our month of February "escape to the sun" trip. We are staying in Ft. Myers Beach. Today we went to Sanibel Island and collected shells along the beach in the bright sunshine. It is wonderful to be taking lots of walks in this warm weather. I'm feeling much better. God is so good. And His creation is never more beautiful than around the ocean. There were pink and dotted and all kinds of lovely shells in the sand. And we saw several unusual sea creatures that had washed ashore. My granddaughter identified them for me. At 7 years old she's something of an authority on sea creatures.
I can't believe it's been a year since I started my blog. Sometimes I think I should quit writing it because not many people read it. But then God reminds me that I'm doing it for Him and it's between Him and me & I do it because He told me to & I want to honor Him. It's not about anything else. And I enjoy doing it for God who has done so much for me. I'll post pictures of my trip if I can figure out how to do it from my iPad. I love all the friends I've made doing this-an unexpected bonus. "Wish you were here"!

Snowbirds

My husband and I are officially becoming Snowbirds Thursday. We are heading south to the beach for the month of February. I am so looking forward to it. I hope to get my walking program going and strt feeling better in the warmer temperatures. I'll keep you posted, providing I can figure out how to blog from my iPad.

Three Promises

 I'm trying to control my constant back pain with the exercise and walking program my doctor has put me on.
So far, there's been no change in the pain. Thank you, sweet friends, for your prayers and please keep praying for me.

I'm resolved to not let this get me down. My pastor gave a sermon Sunday on Jeremiah 15 that I'm claiming for myself. There are three promises that God gave to Jeremiah in Chapter 15:

1. verse 11-"I will take care of you". I know God will take care of me through this as He has through all the other things I've been through in my life. He loves me. That's the bottom line. And He wants the best for me. As I surrender this to Him, He will provide me with everything I need.

2. verse 19-"I will restore you". I don't believe Jesus wants me to live halfway alive. He wants me fully alive, complete, and whole. His death on the cross 2000 years ago accomplished salvation for me. And He has the power to see that it's worked out in my life.

3. verse 21-"I will keep you safe". Satan wants nothing more than to trip me up over my health problem so that I'll plunge headlong back into depression. But God is my protector, rescuer, and helper. The One who is in me is greater than the one that is in the world. I put my trust in Him.

Heaven-Born Faith

My blog posts have been sporadic to nonexistant lately. I have been in severe back pain that is getting worse, for six months. When I am in pain, that is all I can think about. I got a diagnosis yesterday from a spine specialist. I have cervical spondylosis which is a fancy term for degenerative arthritis in my neck and bone spurs that are pressing on nerves. This is causing pain in my upper mid back, my right arm and right side. He put me on an exercise, traction and walking program. The other option is surgery which neither my doctor nor I want.

I have been really down and feeling hopeless and frustrated and like I will never feel good again. The best thing about my diagnosis is that several weeks ago I woke up one morning and the first word that came to my mind was spondylosis. I wonderd where in the world that came from so I googled it and when I saw what it was I thought "Jesus is telling me what is wrong with me". When the doctor gave me the same diagnosis it made me feel so good that Jesus does love me and that He does care about what I am going through.

Heaven-born faith is what I want regardless of my circumstances or how I feel. Charles Spurgeon explains what that is: "It is a poor faith which can only trust God when friends are true, the body full of health, and the business profitable; but it is true faith which holds by the Lord's faithfulness when friends are gone, when the body is sick, when spirits are depressed, and the lift of our Father's countenance is hidden. A faith which can say in the direst trouble "Tho He slay me, yet will I trust in Him" is heaven-born faith".

Please pray for me that I will have faith that does not waver through my pain, that I will start feeling better, and that my pain will subside. Thanks so much! I've missed you.

I Resolve

In 2012, I resolve to yield my heart to Jesus, in the words of Charles Spurgeon, "as a highway made ready by His grace, that he might make a triumphal progress through the utmost bounds of my soul, from the beginning of this year even to the end of it".

And in the words of my pastor Sunday, I resolve to:
*Do more than exist, LIVE.
*Do more than touch, FEEL.
*Do more than look, OBSERVE.
*Do more than hear, LISTEN.
*Do more than listen, UNDERSTAND.
*Do more than think, REFLECT.
*Do more than just talk, SAY SOMETHING.
*Do more than read, ABSORB.. 

A New Year

*Jesus is the Creator of new life.

*Jesus is the Author of new stories.

*Jesus is the Timekeeper of new starts.

*Jesus is the Instigator of new beginnings.

*Jesus is the Promise Giver of new creations.

*Jesus is the Transformer of new hearts.

*Jesus is the Renewer of new thoughts.

*Jesus is the Remedy for new attitudes.

May we all be the recipients of Jesus' newness in this new year. Praying for a happy and healthy new year for all of you. Peggy