What a wonderful day today. I went to church as usual this morning, I wasn't really expecting anything. But boy did I get something. I was tired after the few days in the sun that I spent at work doing a tent sale, and then Saturday spending more time in the sun at the lake (not my cup of tea). None the less I was expecting little from the service. I received I believe just what God wanted me to receive.

     After the morning service we gathered at a Spanish speaking church to have a work day a large amount of our people armed with scrapers hammers tools of all kinds, gloves Masks and hard hats yes you heard me correctly Hard Hats....we began to literally destroy this church the sheet rock was molded and the tiles were broken in the sanctuary there were pieces of paneling that bowed out. There were times I just stood back and watched as men and women alike carried pails and tubs of debree from the rooms the Spanish congregation working along side and the cool part was they didn't speak much English and we didn't speak much Spanish yet we worked as a team.

 

     The women of the church prepared food for us while we worked they cooked a Spanish dinner a huge amount of food. our church has a grill ministry where we go out and have these block parties so we had our grill and what was funny to watch we the English speaking made loads of hot dogs and chips and the Spanish church made Mexican foods for us to eat. We ate the Mexican food and the children of the Mexican church ate the hot dogs and chips.

     During the time of eating there was fellowship going on between the two congregations. It was an awesome time.. A lady and man came into the room with a guitar and began to sing the first song they did was this little light of mine..and the rest were done in Spanish. So I didn't know what the words to the songs were. I did know that they were worshiping Jesus. 

     I left that place totally spent...worn out from all the trips up and down the stairs. and completely at peace within myself for not so much being a giver as much as a receiver. This is the rambling rose signing out.

     This week has been a different kind of week for me. I can't quite put my finger on it. But I do know this God is good. He knows what we need before we ever need it. God has a way of placing people in our lives that hold us accountable, not always comfortable but very necessary. Alot of times we tend as human people to be offended and to stay offended. I have a question that was addressed to me one time on that very thing. Who are you that you have the right to hold an offense? Think about this, I have difficulty wrapping my head around this, but think about this A man who had never done anything against anyone but had been a friend to all. He was a friend to all that were in need, He touched people in a way that no one who came before him could do and no one who came after him could do. He turned ordinary water into wine. He opened blind eyes and deaf ears. And what was given to him in return? A beating he was beaten for our transgressions, he was spit upon beaten until his body looked like raw meat...he was made to carry this wooden cross that he would later hang on and die on...Many say he died from the wounds He received that day and many say He died from a broken heart.

     He didn't hold a grudge he forgave he didn't take offense to the men and women gambling for his clothes, He didn't take offense to the false charges, and He didn't take offense to hanging on a tree. So who am I to get offended and take offense. I have a tendency to lash out at others when i am frustrated, I have a tendency to take offense to things people say to me.

     As I sit holding all of my little offenses hanging on to them for dear life, not willing to give them up or give anyone a break because they were wrong they offended the high and mighty sharon....I am becoming not only a miserable person, but I am opening doors for the enemy to walk right into my life to create havoc. That's right I have extended the welcome mat to the enemy of God. I have welcomed him into the situation that I with his help created. 

     If you are holding on to any ole moldy offense or grudge get rid of it....you heard me get rid of it. It isn't worth it the person or persons that committed the offense have moved on already. And you are stuck licking your wounds and holding onto something that is absolutely worthless.

This is the rambling rose signing off. Until we meet again..May God watch over you and keep you in His perfect peace.

A Day In The Life

     What a day today was. Nothing can be said about Oklahoma summers to do them justice. Today was a day with the heat index above the 100 mark, and where was I? Funny you should ask. I was sitting under a huge tent out in the Oklahoma furnace..I was enjoying the company of good friends as we plodded along moving merchandise from one table to another and waiting on these joyous people to come and receive there wondrous bargain in the 100 plus degree weather. 

     For those of you who have never met me I tend to fall on the rather large size of the scale. So there is more of me to be hot. And the joy of this is that I get to do the same thing tomorrow. And the others will continue until Saturday.

     But God is good..He allows me to be able to work in a Christian environment around Christian women and that is the awesome thing. Not only do I learn about the business side of it I get good solid teachings and the seeing the Christian faith lived out before my eyes daily. We do have some that work with us who are a true joy. And some I must admit well I will just leave it there. So tonight I am exhausted so I will leave you for now This is the Rambling Rose signing out....

     Sunday evening and the house is quiet for the first time today. Husband and grand daughter are out in the pool, I opted out to spend some much needed quiet time. I tend to be more drained in the summer time due to the heat, and this summer is no differetempraturestures are expected to hit 105 to 115 this next week. In reading that in the news paper I was thinking we think we are suffering now with the heat can you imagine what hell might possibly be like? Just a thought not that I plan to go there..I have my retirement plan all planned out and I am retiring to a mansion, Planning on walking the streets of Gold not that I will need the exercise anymore or have to worry about weight..Now just that alone will be an awesome thing. 

     Have you ever sat and just imagined what Heaven might be like? I did a study one time that Karen Chaffin wrote on the very subject of Heaven. She said in her book  " Heaven will have all of the comforts of home all the things that we are used to. All of our favorite colors". Well now if that is the case I might want to rethink a bit. My house here on good ole planet U S of A is rather dysfunctional. Let me just elaborate just a bit. 

     First of all I have a cat that has a bad attitude. She isn't a people person she does repay what she thinks are evil deeds done to her. She slaps the dog at every opportunity and she has gone potty in my purse on one occasion I still have not figured out the offense I committed. We also have a dog as I mentioned named Face ( a rescue dog that had the name faith) now due to the inability of the Grand daughter to pronounce her name it was changed. Face is a good dog except she forgets to go outside to potty....and my husband upon many occasions has conferences with the dog asking why? Why did you potty in my floor? Why didn't you go outside? Of course none of these questions have been answered as of yet. My Husband is a good man a hard working man and sometimes a very anal man. But most are.  He over analyzes everything, He cant make a decision and often believes God is an alien. My youngest son has graduated from his views as an atheist to an agnostic. He believes now that God does possibly exist but He personally doesn't understand or want any part of a living God. My oldest son I started raising when he was 4, My Husband having had a previous marriage. I didn't have much of an example of parenting growing up so I raised the boys as best I could, Thank goodness for God's forgiving grace. The oldest son is 28 He moves around alot not by choice, When you don't work and pay the rent you tend to get evicted he hasn't figured that one out yet. He has 5 different children only 2 having the same mother. 

     This leaves only one other in the house and that is Journee, Journee is almost 4 years old. At 50 I didn't plan on starting over and raising children. But here I am. I raised the boys as a non believer. As a believer now I am trying to raise Journee up according to the word of God. Which is difficult at times. Things around here get loud and very confusing. My pastor said this morning in the pulpit that God allows things to happen in our lives, He allows the trials and tribulations to come for one reason to send us running to him. And I run to him as fast as my fat little feet will carry me. The Lord is the only thing that keeps me from going over the edge. 

     So this is the rambling rose signing out....until the next time

     What an interesting day I have had today. Saturday morning started at 7am usual time for me to get up. After having maybe 3 solid hours of sleep, I have never required much sleep but sleeping with a husband who raises up and flips over every 20 minutes or so not to mention that he weighs over 200 pounds so when he flips I tend to flop. Then we have a nearly 4 year old granddaughter that must sleep with us and she flops like a fish just pulled out of a lake. So all of that to say this I was on the tired side this morning and didn't really want to get up I had made a commitment to attend a service called a "Burn" at one of our local churches. This was my first time to attend, so I wasn't sure what to expect. The service is open to all the area churches and some of the worship teams come to minister in music sometimes the service goes for 24 hours but this one started at 9 am and was ending at 9pm.

     I arrived at about 9:15 two gentlemen were playing guitars and worshiping, I felt very much at peace. I sat and it was hard to enter in at first but I soon became focused on the Lord which was the purpose for the service. I am a person who is easily distracted so sitting at the back of the room by the door is not a good place for me. As this service is a come and go type service. 

     Soon I was able to enter in and worship I knew that for me my focus had to be on hearing God because I knew that He had some things he wanted to teach me and some things that He wanted said. I am the type person that sees pictures and how I wish God had given me the ability to draw but alas I missed the boat on that. So I took my notebook out of my Bible and began to write down in word form all of the pictures I was able to see. I wont go into great detail at this time. But I will say that when I left I felt refreshed I had been to the secret place of the most high God. I didn't have to think about the cell phone ringing I left it in the car for the entire time and I didn't tell my family where I was going. I was finally able to put aside all of the distraction's and all the people and just get alone with God. I would love to write down everything I heard and saw this morning but you wouldn't believe it at all. 

     But now it is late and my brain isn't working as well as it could.. So again the rambling rose is signing off.

Beginnings

     I am amazed at the simple things in life that somehow become difficult. As I was deciding to write a blog, I was taken so many different places. The how to section of which I signed up for finding out that was not the place that I could simply put things into words.  Words are a valued commodity..Without them where would we be? We would be walking around making rude gestures to one another. 

     So you are probably wondering by now what exactly this blog is about. It is about putting pen to paper or in this case words to screen, fingers to keyboard anyway that you want to look at it. Sometimes things just roll around in my head and to put them on paper allows me the opportunity to make sense of them. And if you are able to salvage one  thought or word that means something to you then my ramblings are worth while. 

     In the blogs to come by the way that word should be changed to something else it reminds me of someone maybe needing to use the bathroom or something. But as I feel led I will be sharing with you some of the greatness of my Father. Not my earthly Father but my Heavenly Father. 

     So I encourage you to sit back, buckle up, and enjoy the ramblings of an older maybe more experienced person....I would enjoy any feed back not sure if this blog thing has a spot for that but none the less those of you who read and know me can post comments on my face book page...

Until we meet again this is the rambling rose signing off.