Blessings, Suzanne

" He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. " Revelation 21:4 Inside of Card says "Is this really happening!" My sis in law Paige picks out the best cards (from 2009) It has just been one of those weeks. I would say that if I am in tears over my dryer not working, it's been a doozy. It's almost comical and I have held my own at laughing through some of it but today I had had enough! I used a borrowed term to describe diagnose myself. "Battle fatigue." One right after the other, all knowing that it is not me needing to fight.  The battle is the Lord's. Yet I allowed my armor to get heavy. Exercising this afternoon allowed me to quiet my thoughts and listen to praise music. These lyrics hit me like a ton of bricks. "All I know is I'm not home yet ,this is not where I belong, take this world and give me Jesus, this is not whe

"You are my hiding place' You shall preserve me from trouble;  You shall surround me with songs of deliverance."  Psalm 32:7 Day#119 Surrounded by songs of deliverance Blessings, Suzanne

Psalm 93 1  The  Lord  reigns,  he is robed in majesty;      the  Lord  is robed in majesty and armed with strength;      indeed, the world is established,  firm and secure. 2  Your throne was established  long ago;      you are from all eternity. 3  The seas  have lifted up,  Lord ,      the seas have lifted up their voice;      the seas have lifted up their pounding waves. 4  Mightier than the thunder  of the great waters,     mightier than the breakers  of the sea—      the  Lord  on high is mighty. 5  Your statutes,  Lord , stand firm;      holiness  adorns your house      for endless days. Day#118 The Lord is mightier than....(fill in your blank) Blessings, Suzanne

"For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways." Psalm 91:11 "Healing Angel" painting by Gladys Morris Have you ever been told that Psalm 91 is the safety Psalm? When I opened up my bible to read yesterday morning, there it was, perfect timing. There have been times in life when I have read it for days on end! The familiar words sunk in but took on different meaning this time. Just to know that I am in the safety of the Lord's plan is enough. To dwell. For eternity. Day#117 Dwell Blessings, Suzanne p.s. Read Psalm 91 :))

"For in the day of trouble He shall hide me in His pavillion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock."  Psalm 27:5 Our front window box is really blooming this year I spent almost the entire Saturday working on the windows in my bedroom. It was quite a project, but the day flew by cleaning, scraping old paint, priming and painting.  Three windows. Lots of panes.  In the quietness of my room, I focused solely on the task at hand.  And by 6:00, I was ready for a hot bath (covered in paint!) and to make dinner. Project Complete.  By the time I went to bed, the paint was dry and  I drew the blinds which covered up all my hard work. All that work, no one else would even notice. But I knew it needed to be done and felt good about it. In fact, I hadn't even noticed myself that they needed attention until Friday. While walking through the backyard I glanced in and oh wow, clearly I had not raised the blinds in

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6 Abby and I in December 2014 Writing is one of my favorite things in the world to do. When I set out on this journey this year to write on the blog every day I did not realize that I would wait until bedtime to begin a post (almost every day). Umm, that is not my best time to write. I am writing the posts or ideas in my head all day long and when I get to this point, as it is tonight, dog tired...I have missed the mark.  Lesson learned. Tomorrow I gotta start earlier. A shift in the plan.  There are many shifts in plans going on right now. Therefore there is much more "trusting in the Lord" required. Just making sure there is no shifting sands..smile! Having a house on the market, I am learning, is a growing process in itself:) Keeping my eyes on Him and a firm foundation every step of

"For where two or three gather in my name, there I am with them." Matthew 18:20 My post-it reminder with water stains:) Day#114 Praying without ceasing Blessings, Suzanne

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." Mark 12:30 Reggie and Luke after a workout today Our Tuesday and Thursdays have a new twist..Luke and I head to Godspeed Elite Sports Academy for a 5:00-6:00 workout. Let me rephrase that, Luke works out, I walk/run on the treadmill at TherapySouth Valleydale/Riverchase clinic, how convenient! I am usually multi-tasking and finishing up a few things for work while I walk or talk to whomever is left at the clinic..smile! Walk or talk the story of my life..haha! When we had the open house for both our clinic and Godspeed I learned about the STAQ (Strength/Technique/Agility/Quickness) performance training. At the time, Luke was trying to bring up his math grade.  I got the idea to motivate him by helping him  set the goal for an A in math and earning some training.  HE DID IT!!! Way to go, Luke! So he started  STAQ  last month and is really enj

"You, O God, sent a plentiful rain, whereby, you confirmed your inheritance." Psalm 68:9 With so much going on lately...house on the market, activities, travel, I have been off track with my daily walks! I left after dinner tonight and did not get back until the moon was coming out! It sure was nice to see the pink azaelas and all the other flowers in bloom. I even met a new friend because I added a street to extend the walk. What a blessing! I must confess I have been too busy. Rolling my eyes. Abby was telling me a story as we pulled in the driveway from school and totally busted me when she said "are you even listening to me?" I got it all wrong. She was right, I was distracted and on to the next thing. Moving the tree limbs from the side of the house which required that I go borrow Nonna's truck and come back.  Mind racing. Stop, just stop a minute! Do you ever get this way? The turn around comes only when I go to the truth of God's word and

"Let us not become weary in doing good,  for at the proper time we will reap a harvest  if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9 Day#111 Thank the Lord for Change Blessings, Suzanne

"But Jesus looked at them and said to them 'with men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26 Abby and Luke picked this out for Jeff a few years ago With God, all things are possible. Oh the possibilities....especially when what you are looking at seems impossible. When you look at it with the eyes of Christ you see the opportunity for testimony (which means tests) and to point to His Glory (because only He could bring it to pass:))! Day #110 It's possible with God Blessings,  Suzanne

" They go from Strength to Strength;  Everyone of them appears before God in Zion."  Psalm 84:7 Home Sweet Home! Wonderful Weekend and  now glad to be back at home with the fam..smile! Day#109 Time to begin again Blessings, Suzanne

                           "Take these thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:5 Day #108 Think with the mind of Christ Blessings, Suzanne

"By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us, O God of our salvation, You who are the confidence of all ends of the earth, and of the face off seas." Psalm 65:5 Sharla, Mary and I before dinner It has been a very good day at the office! Day#107 Surround yourself with those who work as a team Blessings, Suzanne

" Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men" Colossians 3:23 Allison and I are room mates again...!! Short and sweet tonight as we have just arrived at the Beach for a work meeting/retreat..  So blessed to work with such a great group at TherapySouth!!! "   Day#106 So thankful for my coworkers  Blessings,  Suzanne

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not to your own understanding but acknowledge him in all your ways and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6 Do you have a life verse?  A verse that you always refer to or go to in good times and bad? Proverbs 3:5-6 is mine for sure! Day#105 Say your life verse daily Blessings, Suzanne

"Devote yourselves to prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving." Colossians 4:2 Luke's room is tucked in the middle of our room and Abby's room and has two big closets! He was ready for a change from a bunk bed to a full size bed and a more middle school look. Green like the astro turf on a football field, is the color of choice for his room! I had picked out the khaki and blue striped duvet from Pottery Barn and orange made the perfect accent color. He's the only Auburn fan in the house and sticking to it! I got the  pillow shams and orange pillow  at Ikea (love) and the big fish pillow came from Nonna a few years ago! We are still needing a headboard in here! The nightstand is a yard sale find that I painted and added new pulls.  One of Luke's favorite sayings is "Good times, Good times" so I hung the sign in his room:) Along with some license plates from Papa's collection, a Vestavia Rebels and a Bo Jackson quote plates.

"He has made everything beautiful in its time.  Also, he has put eternity into man's heart,  yet so that he cannot find out what  God has done from the beginning to the end."  Ecclesiastes 3:11 Day#103 God knows best Blessings, Suzanne

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is  good, his love endures forever." Psalm 107:1  So much has happened in such a short time last week. I am so thankful and so tired..haha.  Tonight I am taking a little mental break and remembering our spring break...only a week ago but feels like a month! Abby and Sophia before they hit the slopes! It was such a different trip because they were able to eat lunch on their own, call us to come get them and even walked home one day in the snow! And it was a plus to have the room with twin beds on the top floor all to themselves!   Luke and Nick on the last day sporting their flat bill hats backwards (which they wore all day through the airports:)) Looking at the latest strategy on whatever game it is they were playing. There. I feel better. I just had to rewind and go to that happy place for a minute. We had such a relaxing vacation. I was recharged and ready...and all the good God blessed us with this week...beyond words

"Take delight in the LORD,  and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4  We redecorated Abby's room in 2013..for the fourth time, in this home!  It started out as a horse theme but now just kinda feels rustic. She picked the color and loves it. Mom made the lined panels from chocolate chevron fabric for her. I found these three hanging wood-like pieces from Target in a set.  The built-in was reconfigured, taking off the corner counter top and and making a matching alcove for twin beds! I painted it the same tan color as the bookcase in the den and we added cabinet doors to the shelves! This picture was taken just as we were putting the room together. My favorite is the handmade wood headboards. Our friends, who happen to be great carpenters, did a fantastic job pulling this off to look like a barn door. They turned out better than I could have imagined and she will have these for a while for sure! And now she has a

"Now to Him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of His glory, blameless and with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever. Amen." Jude 1:24-25 Three offers the first day of showings, contract on the third day!Only God! Day#100 Stay on the fast track for now.. Blessings,  Suzanne P.S. Have a great weekend!

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."  James 1:17 February 2011 Mercedes Marathon I remember how eager Luke was to run his first mile in the Mercedes Marathon. Even as long ago as it was ( and as little as he was), it is still a vivid memory. We were rushing to get downtown and not quite sure where I was going or where to park, we ended up running to the race. It's kinda funny now. Not so much then. I will never forget how excited I was to see those little legs crossing the finish line where the parents were all waiting! He still has his medal hanging in his room..makes me smile. I kinda feel that same way right now, looking for a house. Eager, rushed, but ready! And I know the the Lord will be right there at the finish line as well.  Day#99 Waiting while God is working Blessings,  Suzanne

"For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.  As in all the churches of the saints." 1 Corinthians 14:33 Day#98 Peace Blessings, Suzanne

It says "Just Listed" now..... "Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain."  Psalm 127:1 Whhhhaaat? Yes, you read it right, we listed our house on the market Sunday night! That's my big surprise..although many of you knew it already! We have loved this house for more than thirteen years and are now ready for the next chapter in a new home. We are staying in the area, just looking for a different floor plan. I started praying about a move a few years ago, but the timing has not been right until now. The Lord put on my heart this theme of "getting my house in order" towards the end of 2014. All the cleaning out and cleaning up has certainly lead to this moment. It is one of the reasons why lately I have been writing so much about each room.  I want to have it documented. This is the only house Luke has known and Abby was two years old when we moved here. I

"Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation;  Preserve my life from fear of the enemy." Psalm 64:1 Dr Cara Bondly and me at my five year check-up..Milestone It's been a year since I have seen her. It felt like a vacation in itself, to not have to go to the doctor for  a cancer check-up! One  whole year! Though I will be happy to see my oncologist, Dr Cara Bondly, I would prefer in the hall at the hospital. But then again, I come to my senses and I begin to thank the Great and Mighty God for His Glory, that has touched lives that otherwise never could have been reached, through the pain and suffering. After all, His own Son died on the cross for our sins, after much rejection, pain and suffering. This takes the "me" out it. It isn't about me. So the day after Easter, I am still fixed upon the cross!  And even six years down the road, He uses this part of my story, almost daily. Old Cancer Treatment where I had mine It will be

Easter 2015 "With great power the apostles  continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,  and much grace was upon them all." Acts 4:33 Day#95 Testify with great power Blessings,  Suzanne

"If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. " Romans 10:9 Our first Easter in 2001..Abby dying eggs  The kitchen it truly the heart of the home and in our case, right in the center of everything! I remember looking at this house for the first time and deciding this was it because of this kitchen (and the hall bathroom). The galley style has served us well. It has been painted three times in thirteen years..terrecotta/gold, green and now the off white (wool skein). I love to cook and most of the time, have always had one or both children in there with me while I prepare meals. When we bought this house, I was so sure those hunter green counter tops would be replaced within a year. They matched the Ivy wallpaper that I covered with sheet rock mud to give the stucco look. But we waited eleven years. Timing is everything and many other things came before that expense. We appreciate