Color Your Blues Away

Okay...so you may not really be able to color your blues away.

 But you can get out your crayons or markers and maybe not think about them for a little while!
I wouldn't consider myself one who gets the blues often,
 but we all have stress from one thing or another in our daily lives...am I right?

~

I suppose you would have to be living in a cave not to notice them...
...these new adult coloring books are everywhere you look these days.
I can't help but snicker...adult coloring books...when I first heard of them I wondered to myself,
just what kind of pictures are in those books anyway?!

 Well, I surely don't know about all of them,
but I found so many which were just full of beautiful illustrations and intricate designs.
 I purchased a couple for my DILs for Christmas and they were just thrilled with them.

I liked them so much that I had to get one for myself too!
This one is filled with lovely worshipful thoughts, quotes and hymn lyrics.

 I really couldn't tell you the last time I colored.

It really is quite relaxing and eases the mind...



...and when you concentrate on the message, it can also become a form of worship.



Who would have ever thought that a coloring book could do that?

Some of the messages really hit home.
Lord knows, I really could stand to camp on this page a while...



...oh yes, and this one too.
Do I have any fellow worry warts out there?

I also found this one marked down just after Christmas and couldn't resist it.

I was going to just put it away with all of my Christmas stuff and get it out next year,
but after paging through, found a design I just had to act on. {{smile}}
~
I do think these coloring books need to come with a warning printed on them...
...right on the front in big letters...

WARNING:
The use of these books may be hazardous to your housework. 
They may also become addictive.
Use with caution.

Now I will be the first one to admit that I don't need another time waster... 

...but if you are looking for something to achieve this,
 it certainly is a great way to do it!

Sharing at:
Mosaic Monday
Roses of Inspiration
Grace at Home

January Skies

It seems like the sky is just so amazing this time of year...



 ...especially as I'm driving home from work.



My drive home is a short one...only about seven miles or so...



...and I sometimes find myself pulling off the road to capture the spectacular views.

Like here, across from this water tower...

...where I sat in the parking lot of a nursing home...oohing and ahhing...and snapping away.

Today, as I was looking back through some of my older photos, 

I realized that it was in January of 2014 when I posted about another particular drive home.

There must be something extra special about the atmosphere in January.

This next group was taken on my way to church a couple of Sunday evenings ago.
I followed this sun dog for a while until I was able to find a place to stop.



I remembered the cemetery on the hill with the big cross so I pulled in there.



Seeing the sun dog was a thrill and I got there just before it faded away,
You can still see it if you look to the lower right of the photo.
I drove back down toward the entrance, knowing I better be heading on to church,
and when I looked back up one more time as I sat in my car at the foot of the hill,
the view outstretched before me nearly took my breath away.

I got out and I just stood there for a little while, drinking in all of the majesty.

The church down the road could wait.

I was having church right here.

I'm linking up with:

Mosaic Monday

Roses of Inspiration

Smoky Mountain Fences

So we traveled to the Smoky Mountains at Christmastime.

I posted a few photos from Gatlinburg and the mountains in a previous post

but I saved the fences to share over at the Run-A-Round Ranch.

I hope you enjoy them.

~
Just a short drive up from Gatlinburg and into the Smoky Mountain National Forest,
we came to a place where Carrie, my DIL wanted to stop...Chimney Tops Trail.
It was mid-morning and was still quite cool in the mountains and misting rain.



This was our view as we exited the car and began the easy hike down to the river below.

I really liked this rustic old fence that lined the walkway down to the river.



This is actually looking back up the stone walkway that makes it's way down to the bridge.



I was really was taken by the serenity of this quiet trail.



And then finally, coming to this bridge crossing the Little Pigeon River.

source

While I was preparing this post and googling the area, I came across an interesting fact.
During the winter of 2013, the old bridge was completely destroyed by flood waters.
(You can click on the source link to read about it.)

I am thinking the new bridge does look a bit more sturdy.
What do you think?



The river that morning was quite ear shattering as it raged underneath our feet.

 

Some of us were braver than others and chose to leave the safety of the bridge.

And speaking of the bridge...

...a bridge is really just a couple of fences with a floor, right?

Then on up the mountain we went and the sun started to pop through the fog.

We all know how hard it is to take just one photo when we are faced with such a view as this.

So I did just what any good blogger would do...
...I just kept snapping away.

There's a verse from my most favorite hymn that states:

When through the woods and forest glades I wander
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees,
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur,
And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze...

...and I can't help but be reminded of it when I come to a place like this.
So, while we're at it, let's sing the refrain...

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee:
How great thou art! How great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee:
How great thou art! How great thou art!

Have a lovely weekend, my friends!

FYI: Google changes are a'comin'..and SOON!

 

 

 

Changes are coming VERY SOON to how some of your friends are following you.

 

Click on the link below to read all about it.

 

 

http://buzz.blogger.com/2015/12/an-update-on-google-friend-connect.html

 

Just so you know :)

 



My Grateful Jar: Take 2...er...3

Okay, I'm going to try this again.

You may remember this post from last year.

I was so proud of my sweet little Grateful Jar sitting on my kitchen counter.
After I hit that little rough patch in the beginning (you'll need to read the first post to get it)
I was doing better for a little while.....again.

Then I got really behind.

So I took about a week's worth of papers at a time and retraced my steps of the previous week.

I did that a couple of times, actually.
Okay, more than a couple.

Then those moments became fewer and farther between.

I even went so far as to just write something like "I'm grateful for Your love"

on a whole bunch of them at once to get caught up since the days had run all together.

The days turned into weeks, the weeks into months and before I knew it,

I was just too far behind to try to catch up, although I thought about it a lot.

Wow...it hurts to even admit that...let alone blog about it.

The amount of time it would take for me to add a little note to the jar was minuscule.

It was sitting right there on my counter top near the coffee pot.

It's not like it was out of sight, out of mind or anything...

...or like I had to make much of an effort...at all.

******************************** 

ungrateful
[uhn-greyt-fuhl]

adjective

1. unappreciative; not displaying gratitude;

not giving due return or recompense for benefits conferred:

ungrateful heirs.

2. unpleasant; distasteful; repellent:

an ungrateful task.

********************************

Am I a dissatisfied, thankless person that doesn't have anything to be grateful for?

No...not by any means!

Doesn't the Lord always give me something to be grateful for...every single day?

Yes...He absolutely does!

Then why wasn't I able to accomplish this very simple task?

Discipline...or the lack thereof.

Discipline.

The same thing I don't have when I fail to keep up with my healthy eating plan...

...the same thing I don't have at the start of every new year when I vow to start exercising...

...the same thing I don't have when I should be vacuuming but choose to work on a project instead...

...the same thing I don't have when I turn on the TV...or open my laptop...

...instead of opening my Bible.

Just being real here, folks....
...I don't mean to be a Debby Downer (pun intended).

Discipline.

I need it like I need oxygen.

I crave it like I crave chocolate or pizza love...peace...acceptance.
I desire it like nothing else...because I know that as a daughter of the King I should have it.

But I fail at it so much of the time... miserably.

Only Jesus can help me.

So that is my word for 2016...discipline.
I've never done the word-for-the-year thing before...
...and I don't really think that declaring that I have one will necessarily make me do better.
What I do know is that it will take spending more time in God's word...and a lot of prayer.

I'll let you know next year how it's working for me.

So today, I removed all of the little pieces of paper from my jar and started fresh.

For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, 
but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Hebrews 12:11

I'm only four days behind :)

Looking Back: Reflections of 2015

Wait...wasn't it just a few months ago that I was writing a re-cap of 2014??

I have stopped trying to figure out how time flies by so quickly.

All I know is this...

...there are the same amount of hours and days as there were last year and years before that.

We just seem to get so busy, don't we?

January found me starting over, as usual and craving a fresh new beginning for the fresh new year.

I don't know when I've ever started a new year without making a resolution of some kind...

...although I have to admit keeping them is usually quite a different story :(

I'm still working on that.

~

February took us to Tennessee for a week to care for those sweet youngins,

 as their mom and dad went off on a cruise to celebrate their 10th anniversary...

...and a little DIY project was completed as a surprise for them on returning home.

~

March came in like a lion, blessing us with a beautiful blanket of snow.

There you would find me tromping through the yard, carrying my camera and a vase of flowers...

...you know the rest :) 

And as predicted, it went out like a lamb as we flew to San Destin, Florida,

  a birthday surprise for Jim's older sister for her 75th birthday.

Sadly, we lost our precious Hunter the day before we were to leave.

Needless to say, we began our trip with heavy hearts.

April brought a special delivery as I was blessed to receive one of Stephanie's lovely giveaways

and spring arrived in all of it's splendor and the many photo ops that accompany it.

I also reconnected with an old friend from junior high on facebook...

...she actually had the other half of these photo booth pictures!

~

In May, I finally got up the nerve (and energy) to paint my kitchen cabinets...whew!

I was quite proud and relieved at the same time that I didn't make a big mess out of them!

~

And the month of June found me traipsing through the fields of thistle 

and dreaming of fried green tomatoes :)

Home improvement was the name of the game as July descended upon us...

...and it is to this day, still a work in not-so-much progress.

Don't even get me started on this subject :(

~

In July we returned to our Old Kentucky Home and then on to Ohio for my family reunion.

It was a joy to see all of my siblings and meet up with an old friend from childhood!

~

The old glider got a facelift in August and our brown house became red...with a new front porch.

And of course, I found a few moments to chase a butterfly or two.

~

I turned another year older in September and spent some time on the road less traveled,

thanking the Lord along the way for his goodness, grace and mercy...

...and for the many other gifts he has given to me.

And then it was October...aahh...my favorite month of the year...

...and time for some yummy soup after a long, hot summer.

 I also participated in Stephanie's tea cup exchange for the first time and it was so much fun.

~

When I think of November, this is what comes to mind...

...from brokenness to blessed.

God is so good.

~

El Niño has created many strange weather patterns for us this December

and Christmas Day was unbelievably warm...almost hot.

And speaking of hot, we did a good job of keeping the roads hot as well...

...celebrating a family Christmas on the run!

~

The Lord has certainly had his hand on my family in 2015

and there just really aren't enough words to express my gratitude.

I do want to say thank you to any and all who read my simple words.

Your expressions of encouragement and kindness fill my heart

and I am blessed to "know" each and every one of you!

~

It is my prayer that your 2016 will be filled with God's love, peace and grace.

Happy New Year, friends!