~A Little Break

 I have decided to take a technology break for a few months.  I will start my blog again in August.  There are times when I just long to draw close to the Lord and I find it helps when I limit my use of technology.  There is a beautiful song that I am going to share in case it would be a blessing to someone.  Thank you for visiting my blog and may God keep you in His loving care and bring peace to your heart.  

~A Thought On My Heart

 Today I have been reflecting on how trusting in the Lord is a blessing to our lives.  Jesus said we must become like little children to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.  When we place our total trust in the Lord and know that He will use all that we must walk through for good to those who love Him, with this knowledge there is a peace despite our circumstances, as if we were a child knowing we were safe in our parents care.  We must remember that God knows far more than we do and He is still in control of our world as well as our individual lives. 

We must try to keep an eternal mindset, with the understanding that this life is only a small part of our existence, and eternity is forever.  When I reflect on this truth it helps me to put in perspective how life's storms are truly not all they may seem to be.  Knowing that we belong to the Lord and not to this world helps us to keep a peaceful heart during our trying moments here on our Earthly journey. 

It is good to strive to live our lives in such a way that will please the Lord.  One scripture that speaks to this is 

~2 Corinthians 5:9 Therefore, whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to be pleasing to Him.

I pray that God will make the meditations of my heart pleasing to Him, my words pleasing to Him, and how I live my daily moments of my life pleasing to Him.  I like to think of our daily lives as being a prayer that we can offer to the Lord.  When we can strive to give as much of ourselves to the Lord and to be used for His purposes then I believe it helps us to truly have a closer walk with Him.

These were just some thoughts that have been on my heart and I thought I would share them in case they may be of help to someone who reads my blog.  May God bless you and keep you in His loving care.  Hugs to you.  ~Juli 

I want to apologize for the font being messed up on this post, I'm not quite sure why it did this and am not sure how to fix it. 

~A Thought On My Heart

 Today I have been reflecting on a Bible Verse, it is Philippians 4:6

Don't worry about anything, instead pray about everything.  Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done, then you will experience God's peace which exceeds anything we can understand,  His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

In this life of trouble I believe God wants us to turn our worries into prayer and our fears into faith.  When trouble is all around us coming from every corner we look towards, we must keep our focus on Jesus not the storms.  Some times we may feel we wish the good Lord would just call us home so we could find rest, but we need to know that if we are still here, our service to the Lord is not yet complete.  As believers we are called to do the work the Lord has for us on our Earthly journey and keep our minds focused on the things of God.  We must live in this world, but we do not have to be of the world, our hearts and minds must be on heavenly things and being the hands and feet of Jesus while we are here.

My mother told me that worry is a tool of the Devil.  Worry does not take away problems it only takes away the peace the good Lord intends for you to have.  So it is my prayer that you keep Jesus in the center of your daily lives and focus on the eternal not just the here and now.  My daughter Lauren sent me a beautiful song when I was feeling the weight of this world on my back and I would like to share it with you.

~A Thought On My Heart

Today I would like to share something that has been on my heart.  In life sometimes it seems as if it is one hardship after another.  There are those who let life's storms make them bitter and steel their peace long term, and those who trust in Jesus and quickly gain their peace back shortly after each of life's storms.  When we keep in the front of our minds that God will use all things for good for those who love the lord, it helps us to keep an eternal mindset all the while knowing that this life is only a drop of water in the ocean of eternity.  

One of the ways that our spirits can grow and become more Christ like is by walking through fire.  When we place our trust in Jesus and look to Him for help and comfort, then we grow in our trust for Him, and gain peace even in the mist of a hardship.

There are days I wonder when life will stop throwing curve balls our way, but I surrender my days to the Lord and trust that he will not only get us through the hardship, but also he will help my spirit to become more gentle and humble and to draw close to the Lord.

So today if the weight of the world hangs heavy on your shoulders, please remember to keep the eternal big picture in mind and put your trust in the Lord.  When things happen that hurt our hearts, it should all the more make us want to share God's love to those around us and strive to do His holy will during the time we have on our Earthly journey.

I hope you are finding some time for some cozy activities that can add beauty in your days.  I want to thank you for stopping by my little blog.  May God bless you and keep you in His loving care.  Hugs to you.  ~Juli
 

~A Peek Into Our Weeks

I have been sick with flu like symptoms for a couple of weeks.  I am getting my strength back a little each day, but this illness is quite a nasty one and I will feel so blessed when I am well once again. 

Our grandpuppy is staying with us until my daughter moves into her new house later this month.  Puppy is such a sweet little dog and we love her.

Here is a photo of my daughter Megan on a trip to Dallas that she went on.  

Our granddaughter Mia has learned to sit up and drink water from a sippy cup.  I love being a grandma so very much.  Children are a gift from God.

Before I got sick, I was organizing all of my drawers and closets and such.  This is my vender wax drawer and I think of it like a scent library to choose what I would like to enjoy.

I like my little closet where I keep the clothes I am wearing each season.  

I decorated my planner for Valentines day.  Each valentines I like to reflect on the love I've been given in my life and all of the dear people God has allowed me to know.  

I want to thank you for stopping by my little space.  May God bless you and keep you in His loving care.  Hugs to you.  ~Juli
 

~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