~HAPPY NEW YEAR

 With the passing of 2025 and the New Year of 2026 being here, I am reflecting on my walk with the Lord and how I can draw closer to Him in this year.

It is my hearts goal to be pleasing to Jesus and truly trust in Him with everything that I am and have.

Jesus is my everything, but even so, there are many things I need to shed to have a closer walk with Him.  I have mentioned in the past about my shopping addiction and how I tried and tried to break it, but always ended up falling on my face and doing it again.  I prayed and prayed because I knew that I could not overcome it on my own, and the Lord has helped me and answered my prayer and I have been set free from it at last.  I give all the glory to God for this because He is the one who set me free of this addiction, and my heart has more peace because of it.

I recently had dinner with some of our friends and they were talking about how someone from their church was using bad language in her everyday life and how this did not go with someone who belongs to the Lord.  

Although I don't cuss often if I get hurt or something of that sort happens a cuss word will come out from time to time.  This year I want to rid myself of all the things I do that do not go with who Christ has called for me to be.  It is my desire to be fit to be used by God in what ever way he calls me to and in order to be effective in His calling I must rid myself and my heart of all things that do not please the Lord.

I want to give all that I am and all that I have to do the will of God for my life.  I may plan my days, but I submit all my plans to His holy will and am fine if he changes the direction of my days.  He is my everything and I want nothing more than to please Him and make Him the center of my life each and every day.  

Saying all of this I must remember to be gentle with myself as I am human and far from perfect, but I rest in the peace that there is nothing that the blood Christ shed on the cross doesn't cover.  There is such peace in trusting Jesus and I will forever be thankful for the love of the Father for making a way for each of us to have eternal life with Him.  

This is what is on my heart today, and I thought I would share it.  Thank you for coming to my blog.  God bless you and keep you in His holy care.  Hugs to you.  ~Juli

Christmas Time

Christmas is my favorite holiday, not just because of the cozy feeling it brings, but because it is a time to celebrate the gift of Jesus to our world.  We got our tree up and it is so special to hang the ornaments I got during my childhood, or that a friend who is no longer with us gave to me years ago.  It just brings warmth to my heart.

I have switched guest rooms, so now this little room is my own private space.  This vanity was mine as a young girl and my grandpa refinished it for me, so it is very dear to my heart.

Here is a photo of two of my grandkitties that my son Tristyn sent to me.

We babysat my grand puppy for a week while my daughter had to do a few things out of town.  Justin enjoyed some time with puppy.

I love how my daughter Lauren does a little Christmas display in her window between her kitchen and dining room.

Here are some of my favorite Christmas books that I am going to look at this Christmas season.

We have not allowed this Christmas to become overly busy for us this year. We are going to a Christmas celebration at my parents house this year, but we will be home Christmas day to host our own Christmas lunch.  I want to keep our Christmas Christ centered, so we will read about the birth of Jesus at our little celebration.  I don't want the holiday gifts and such to overshadow the true meaning of Christmas.  The gift of Jesus to the world is truly all that we could ever ask for.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKmUQHhyYwE

This is my favorite song and listening to it truly reminds me what Christmas really means.  So my prayer this year is that we can keep our true focus on God's greatest gift ever given and what it truly means.

Thank you for stopping by my blog.  I hope you have a very blessed Christmas.  Hugs to you.  ~Juli

 

 The past few weeks I have been reflecting on how the Lord sustains us as we walk through the hardships of our lives.  At times my heart feels as if it may break when I see how people around me are suffering and I very much wish that I could take the pain that life throws away from my loved ones.  However, then the Lord reminds my heart that He will use everything (including painful times) for the good of those who love Him.  Hardships are not pleasant, but they are one way the good Lord helps us to mature in Christ.  God wants us to become more like His precious son Jesus, and I believe growth happens at an accelerated rate when we walk through life's fire.

It is so very important to cling to the Lord when life throws us curve balls.  He is our strength and our comfort and He never leaves us to suffer alone, He is with us through it all.  One of the prayers I pray for myself is that the Lord would help me to have a closer walk with Him.  When I draw close to Him through reading my Bible, prayer, listening to Christian music and sermons and doing my daily work as a prayer for Him, then my heart is better equipped to handle life's curve balls.  

So if you find yourself in a place where you feel you are sinking please grab on to Jesus, He alone is our life line.  He spoke on the trouble we would have in this world, but He told us to take heart, because He has overcome it all.  

I just thought I would share what has been on my heart the past few weeks in the hope it may help someone who reads this blog.  Thank you for taking time to come to my space.  May God bless you and keep you in His loving care.  Hugs to you.  ~Juli

~A Peek Into Our Weeks

Here are my sweet little grandchildren.  They are so precious to my heart and I love being their grandma.

I did a junk journal spread with pictures of vintage toys that Amazon sent to us.  Junk journaling is a fun and affordable hobby.  It sparks joy in my inner child to cut and glue and create!

I have been enjoying my Christmas room a lot this last week.  When the weight of the world weighs heavy on my back, I love to go down to our basement and feel cozy and safe from the cares of the world outside.

I am so thankful for our little kitchen, where I can make simple and healthy meals for my family.

I am enjoying the cozy days of Fall.  The crisp cool air is such a blessing to my heart.

I want to thank you for stopping by my little blog.  I pray that you are doing well and enjoying some cozy moments this Fall.  God bless you and keep you in His loving care.  Hugs to you.  ~Juli
 

My parents invited Steven and I to join them in Estes Park, Colorado.  We stayed in a cabin and enjoyed some relaxing days together.  I love my parents so very much.

I loved this vintage inspired radio.

We enjoyed sitting on the deck from time to time enjoying the beauty of God's creation.

This is a picture that Lauren sent to me of Megan and Mia sleeping at our home while we were away.  They look so cute and cozy.  Megan is a wonderful aunt.

This is just a little look at how beautiful it is there, God creates beauty that is truly breathtaking.

I sent my grandson Leo this picture because it looked like Daniel Tiger's trolly, He loved it!

I enjoyed opening the bedroom window and reading one of the newest books in the Sugarcreek Amish Mysteries series that my sweet cousin Teri got for me.

This was the living room in the little cabin that we stayed in.  It was all so simple and relaxing during our stay in Colorado.

 This morning is a beautiful fall morning in Kansas. I love opening the windows and letting the fresh air into our little home.  I want to thank you for stopping by my little blog.  May the good Lord bless you and keep you in His loving care.  Hugs to you.  ~Juli

~A Peek Into Our Weeks

One of my semi new hobbies is junk journaling.  It is fun to collect little things and put them in a journal that evoke memories.  It is such fun!

I always love how pretty apples look in our fruit bowl.

I always look forward to my morning coffee.

I love my little 1960's shelves that are original to our little kitchen, they make my heart happy.

Above the little shelves is where I keep my loose leaf teas.

I am so thankful for our cozy little home.  Home is a place where we can feel safe and our souls can rest.  No matter if our homes are small or large we can make them special for all those who live within our walls.  Taking care of our little home is such a blessing to my heart.

 I am so happy that it is fall!  Fall is my favorite season of all.  I want to thank you for taking time to visit my little blog.  God bless you and keep you in His loving care.  I hope you are finding time for some cozy activities this season.  Hugs to you.  ~Juli

~A Thought On My Heart

As I sit here in our cozy little home, I reflect on the many blessings that God has allowed into my life, The main one being Jesus my precious savior.  With out Jesus my life would be dark and hopeless, but Jesus has given me light in my life with His love and mercy.  The blood Jesus shed for many on the cross has washed away my sins and made me anew by sending the Holy Spirit to dwell within me.  I no longer long for the sinful things this world offers and I try not to sin with all of my heart.  When I do sin, I have a heart that quickly repents and try's not to sin again, all the while resting in the knowledge that I can have peace because of God's mercy and grace and because I belong to Christ. When I look at our world and how so many people seem lost and carry rage and hatred in their hearts these days, I often wonder how we got here and how can we change things.  I believe we should start with prayer for our world, prayer is powerful and truly makes a difference.  I also believe that we must fight the urge to place judgement on one another, because that is a job left to God.  He alone knows the hearts of man and the circumstances of their entire lives.  So I believe we should be kind and loving to each other, even when kindness is with held to us.  As children of God's family we should not allow the yeast of evil in this world to infect us in a way that we do not radiate the love of  the Lord.  I believe we should speak Biblical truth but with a humble heart that has love for our fellow man, and never out of rage.  The saying hate the sin love the sinner is something I think we should follow, even though at times it can be very difficult.  We are called to have a gentle spirit, this is one of the things I pray the God will help me to have, as it can be hard at times when our emotions get in the way. 

When I ponder on how we can truly bring about change in our world the place to start is in our own hearts and minds. 

This is just a thought on my heart that I am sharing in case it may be of help to someone who reads my blog.  God bless you and keep you in His loving care.  Hugs to you.  ~Juli