Yesterday, my husband received a phone call from Publishing Clearing House. He won 7.5 million dollars. All he had to do to receive it was to pay $1,700.00. Registration fee.
For decades, my husband bought magazines he never read in hopes of winning a million dollars. So, when he received that call yesterday, he lit up like a Christmas Tree! It took my son and me both to convince him that it was a scam.
It made me realize, though, that getting rich was never one of our goals when we got married. Building relationships, spending time with each other, and being there for our son was our greatest investment.
I’m grateful for our growing family, for the fun and laughter we share together, and for the love, peace, and joy that comes through building healthy relationships. Being happy from the inside out is worth more than millions of dollars to me.
It was my husband’s birthday. Rascal, our beloved pet, died a few weeks before, and hubby was having a hard time getting over the loss. I didn’t want another dog to fall in love with; saying goodbye is just too hard. But seeing my husband moping around the house was even worse.
The dog pound is depressing, but here we are, eyes wet with tears, looking for the right dog to take home.
Rascal was special. We didn’t choose him, he chose us. He was the puppy next door; a beautiful Australian Shepherd mix, with tiger stripes and a silky white chest. Before we knew it, he was sleeping on our front porch, and then, living in our house. The grandkids loved him and he loved them. The kids at Pet Smart loved wrapping their arms around his furry neck. He even allowed grownups to pet him. But, on his own turf? Not a chance. He wouldn’t even let them in the house. PERIOD! But children were always safe. He was their dad, their best friend, their best-ever playmate. Always. Any time, any day or night.
After three times around the kennel, we were feeling hopeless about finding the perfect dog. There was one, though; a hound mix. That skinny, brown, short-haired dog with long legs and floppy ears. I didn’t want a hound. Buck didn’t care what kind of dog it was, he just wanted a dog. So, a hound dog is what we got.
She is the strangest dog we’ve ever had. After eight years, she’s still jumpy, as hardheaded as a bull, and as stubborn as a mule. She licks everything, barks at everything, and thinks all babies are hers by pushing their moms away.
She is definitely my husband’s dog. She sleeps with him and wakes him up whenever he stops breathing or has one of his recurring nightmares. She’s never been trained to do that, she just does it. She is an amazing dog. We fell in love with her and her quirky personality. That’s what makes her Bella!
One God One Father One Son One Holy Spirit Only One
One Creator One Garden of Eden One Forbidden Tree One Deadly Bite Only One
One Virgin Mother One Babe in a Manger One Carpenter One Teacher Only One
One Cross One Crown of Thorns One Savior One Resurrection Only One
One Way One Truth One Life One Light Only One
One Government One Leader One Ruler One King Only One
One Life on Earth One Physical Death One Way to Heaven One Way to Hell Only One
John 14:6 I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 8:12 I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, thatwhoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. Revelation 22:12 Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have down. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
As I sit alone in the stillness Beneath the starry sky I release my soul through the darkness In search for the reasons why
Why are hearts so arrogant Why do they starve for love Why do they break so easily Why do they push and shove
Why do they feel so empty Why can’t anything fill the void Why are they ever restless So anxious and annoyed
Why do they burn with anger When another disagrees Why are they never satisfied Why do they lust and greed
My soul returns from the darkness Revealing whispers of the night Of where wayward hearts went wrong And how to make them right
They abandoned their Great Creator And went their separate ways Down a dangerous slippery slope Not counting the price they’d pay.
They surrendered to the Evil One They believed and trusted his lies And followed him through the gates of Hell Where his laughter smothered their cries
The Evil One hates the Creator And all that He has made He prowls about in the darkness Corrupting hearts easily swayed
But there is healing for every heart Broken and tortured by sin When asking the Great Creator To make it whole again
So guard your heart with open eyes Never sleeping on the job And be not fooled by the Evil One He only seeks to rob
She could not tolerate broken things So she decided to fix it Every tear Every bleeding heart Little Miss Fix-it could fix it
She was the queen of her realm Commander and chief She had everything under control But in the process of trying to fix the world The world ended up breaking her soul
Little Miss Fix-it was easy prey For ravenous wolves in sheep’s clothing Her heart was devoured Her soul was crushed Her mind was mauled by confusion
Her heart was too broken To fix on her own Too distrusting and disbelieving So the only thing left for her to do Was entrusting it to God for healing
Little Miss Fix-it is much wiser now From the hard lessons she has learned She stopped playing God Jumped off the Throne And ran through the gates of freedom
The moral of Little Miss Fix-it’s story is Be careful of the choices you make Stop believing the lies you’ve been told Live only the life that is yours And leave all the fixin’ to God
Like an explosive volcanic eruption Angry words spewed across the page Vile Hateful Slanderous As if the Devil himself penned the words They pierced the heart Crushed the soul Provoked a storm within Revenge! The raging heart screamed An Eye for an eye A word for a word I will have the last say Then my heart remembered The treaty it signed To lay down the weapons To rid the armor of pride And put on the shield of Forgiveness How the heart struggled How it longed to get even But amid the hurt and anger Arose a heart of victory And all that remains of the letter Is ashes in the wind
Genesis 5:24 NIV Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more because God took him home.
Heaven is looking brighter and clearer every day And the more wicked this world gets The more ready I am to leave How I loathe the hatred and lies The shootings and killings The butchering of babies still in the womb Where does this sense of entitlement come from? Where is the remorse? The shame? When was a lie ever the truth? Who opened the door to the pit of Hell? Do my prayers and tears reach Heaven? Has God turned His back on His creation? Or is He waiting for one more soul to believe in Him? The world has become a giant monster of evil I don’t want to be here anymore I’ve seen and heard enough I’m old and tired My feet are bruised and sore My legs tremble in weakness The walk has been long and arduous But I continue pushing forward Continue trusting and believing That at the end of the road Jesus is waiting to carry me home And I’m excited about that!
Straight From the Heart 