Tag Archives: http://www.amazon.com/Christine-Hornback/e/B00J43R78C/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Cleaning out the Old to make room for New!

8 Oct

 

Cleaning out the Old to make room for New!

Have you ever wanted to just make over a room in your house, or just do something different to change it up a bit?

“Hey let’s put down hardwood floors” I pleaded with my husband. For years I begged, “Let’s get rid of the carpet, it will help the whole family breathe better!”  Well finally a few weeks ago, we went and purchased flooring.  We ordered a huge pallet of flooring and brought it home on Saturday.  Yay!  I am so excited! Well, since we decided to change out the floor, of course I purchased paint for the walls, and bought paint for a few other projects that I want to do to coordinate with the walls and flooring!  I’ve got just one more stop at my local home decor store to purchase draperies and a few other little accessories to bring it all together!

Well the whole idea sounded wonderful, so this blog is to remind myself that “It will be worth it after I go through all the stuff! My Living room will be beautiful once everything is finished!”  Call me naïve but I had no clue what tearing up carpet would be like!  I knew it would be a dirty job of course, I wasn’t totally oblivious!  After all we’ve had the same carpet down for fourteen years.  However, those big ol’ two pronged staples in the padding, that had to be pried up out of the plywood floor, well let’s just say “Pain in the Neck and a few other places, literally!”   After crawling on all fours, cutting carpet, prying, pulling, sweeping, vacuuming, and pulling some more, let me just say, “UGH! But it will be worth it when the remodeling is complete!”

As I was thinking of all of cleaning out of the old to make room for the new, I really became inspired! Isn’t this really what life is about?  I am constantly ministering to others who are really going through rough times!  I always tell them “Whatever you are going through will pass!  It did not come to stay!”  This is not just a little quick fix thing that I tell them.  No I realize depending on the circumstances that they are going through, sometimes it takes a long time for something to pass or to change!  This applies to good or bad things in our lives.  Life is a series of change!  Change has to take place to cause us to be what God the creator created us to be!

A picture comes to mind of a beautiful butterfly! The butterfly begins its life cycle as an egg, then larva (caterpillar), pupa (cocoon) and then finally when it goes through complete metamorphosis or change the adult butterfly struggles to emerge!  Wow, how beautiful that adult butterfly is!   I love this picture as it holds in my opinion just a true picture of all God’s creation.  We as humans are in a constant mode of change!  This is why we should never judge others! God’s not through with them yet, or with you or me!  That person that you may think will never amount to anything may be on their road to becoming the greatest Evangelist,  President,  Teacher, Mother, Nobel Peace Prize winner…they may be the ones who have the answers to cure cancers or other diseases!  The point being, they are in a state of change, even though  your  first impressions of  them  may be that act like “Hellions!”  They are not going to be like they are forever!  The Bible says that if we are in Christ that we are being changed from faith to faith and from glory to glory!

Butterfly

 

Yes, I am cleaning out the old to make room for the new in my home, but spiritually God is constantly helping me to do the same in my life. I am going through some remodeling! I think the main thing to remember is that we need to constantly be aware of the changing process.  We need to learn how to enjoy our journey and become excited about the changes especially if we are Christians!  If we are Christians then we know that we have a Heavenly Father that only has our best interest at heart and is always for us. He sees the beginning from the end and everything in between!  I am a firm believer in the saying that “If He takes you to it, He will take you through it!”  As I stated at the beginning of this blog, “It will be worth it after I go through all of the stuff!   It will be worth it after the remodeling is complete!  I encourage you my friend, it will be worth it!

 

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Distractions!

1 Oct

Distractions!.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Good-Bye Summer!

4 Sep

Good-Bye Summer!

Fall leaf that is dying

 James 1:17 (KJV) Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

Good morning! As I sit on my front porch sipping my morning cup of coffee, there is a very warm breeze gently blowing.  Obviously, the heat of summer has not yet realized that we have gone through the Labor Day Weekend which is the general consensus that summer is officially over!  Saying good-bye to the summer is not something I am actually relishing at the moment! The summer season of warm weather actually never lasted very long in Georgia this year as we had a really long, cold winter and mild summer! Somehow, my mind does not want to focus on our beautiful fall seasons, but rather, the thoughts of going into another long winter which is not really appealing to me if you know what I mean.  As usual, though, we will suck it up and deal with it when it comes!  The key is knowing that God is always trying to bless us as we let go of the old and embrace the new!

I do love the fall season in Georgia, the weather is spectacular and the North Georgia Mountains are breathtaking when they are in full color!  I love cooking hearty soups and bake goods for my family.  I especially love making pumpkin rolls, and homemade Apple butter.  As I look out past my front yard today, I do believe we are having an early fall season in Georgia this year.   Already the Dogwood leaves in the past week or so have turned to a light golden and orange.  There is something about the seasons changing that causes anticipation in me to know that seasons in my life are changing as well.   One thing I have learned, whether things are good or bad, they will pass.  The key is to know when to let the change happen.  When do we let things fall away from our lives like the fall leaves that tumble down ever  so gracefully? I believe we know when things must fall.  We become very discontent and begin searching for newness.   It amazes me that even when things seem wonderful, that the Lord is always trying to bless us with better. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to hold on to things that are dead or dying like fall leaves, but rather I want the Lord to be able to bless me with newness!

 

Tags: , , , , ,

A Little Kindness Goes a Long Way!

27 Aug

A Little Kindness Goes a Long Way!

1 John 3:17 (KJV) But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?

Recently I was privileged to watch a video that showed a gentleman simply helping people in his neighborhood.  I loved the video because the gentleman wasn’t rich but yet he would give some money to a little girl and her mother who begged on the street every day.  He gave food to his elderly neighbor and to a little dog that came to visit him every day.  He used common sense as water was pouring from a spout onto the street every day, but he would place trees under the spout so that they could be watered and the water would not go to waste. He would also help a little lady who had a heavy food cart, push her cart over this one hump every day. He would also give his seat to a woman who stood on the bus each day!  In the meantime, there was an old man who watched him and would just shake his head in a disapproving manner.

What is so wonderful about this video is that eventually because of just one man’s help people’s lives were being changed.  The trees and other plants he placed under the spout grew beautifully and bloomed! One day as he went to give money again to the mother and her little girl, who begged on the street, the little girl wasn’t there.   As he looked at the mother, he was afraid that something bad had happened to her, but just when he didn’t expect it, the little girl walks toward him completely dressed in a school uniform and smiling!  The old woman that he gave food to invites him in to share it with here and gives him a huge hug.  The dog follows him around everywhere, and the lady who owns the food cart begins feeding people who cannot afford it.  The look on the old disapproving gentleman’s face was priceless as he realized that one person can make such a difference!

In the video of course the gentleman gets to see the fruit of all that he gave into, and unfortunately we may not always see the fruit of sewing into some bodies life, especially on this side of heaven, but we will see it!  I wanted to share what happened in the video because it was so inspiring!  I know there is a movement called “Pay it forward!”  However, this concept is not new as the Lord as always asked up to “pay it forward!” It is such an awesome opportunity, however, to give.   Do you know if you did just one kind thing a day for someone, you would do 365 kind things a year!  Think about it!  It doesn’t always require giving money or some grand gesture! It could be as simple as smiling at someone who thinks that they are all alone in the world!  Do you know what that smile everyday could do to help them know that they are worthy of a smile every day?  It may seem like a small thing, but it could make such a difference in someone’s life!

I am not trying to boast or to brag but I am going to share a true story about something that happened to my son and I every week.  This happened several years ago when I used to do the books for my church.   Every Monday morning I would go to the bank to do the church’s deposit!  Next door to the bank was a huge parking lot for some businesses but it had a concrete lamp-post toward the street.  There was a little lady who sat on the base of the concrete lamp-post every Monday when I went to the bank and she would have a sign up asking for help.  I knew by her appearance that her little face wasn’t developed correctly and she wore extra thick glasses.  It would be the middle of summer and she wore a huge overcoat and had a small little gym bag of sorts placed safely beside her.  I knew that I couldn’t do much, but every Monday I began giving her at least enough money for lunch.  Eventually, we learned her named and befriended her.  I had even driven her a few places when she needed me to. Every Monday, before we ever got to the bank to make the deposit, my son began asking me if I had money for this little lady!  This went on for many Mondays, until one day we drove to the bank and there was a little memorial set up at the lamp-post for her.  We were heartbroken as she had passed away.  The only comfort that I had, was  that my son learned such a valuable lesson in giving to those that were less fortunate than we were.  He was four at the time and couldn’t wait to give her the money we gave her each week!

I don’t know necessarily how that little bit of money each week really changed her life, but I know it changed mine and my son’s life.   I was so grateful to have done something for her when I saw that little memorial set up for her!  I wished that I could have done more, but I gave her what I had!  I didn’t do this for a reward.  However you can’t give to others that you yourself will not be blessed because of it!  I hope that this will inspire you to do something! This is all the Lord requires of us!  Do what we can do to help others and let Him do the rest!

Tags: , , ,

%d bloggers like this: