Thanksgiving

"Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise, give thanks to Him and praise His name". ~Psalm 100:4

What a wonderful verse! Not only for this wonderful holiday of the year...but throughout the years as well. We are so blessed friends.

I am thankful for:

The ups - the easy parts of life, in which I feel as though I am a bird...simply gliding across a beautiful sky that the Lord has made just for me.

The downs - the harder parts of life in which the Lord is teaching me a valuable lesson, that will make me more like Him...perhaps bring me closer to Him.

The middle roads - the parts of life that are even keel...I'm growing even then!

Let us really sit down and reflect on our blessings...as a nation, as mothers, fathers, friends, families...individuals. I am thankful for each one of you!

Godspeed-

Kasey

JFK

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them". -JFK

What a wonderful concept...how many times do we utter words and just say them...with the "do as I say, not as I do" attitude? Know anybody like that...a friend, relative...perhaps thyself? These words are so very true...even if spoken by a democrat...LOL people! (smiles and chuckles) I remember being a child and my parent's telling me, "because I said so". I was like...what the heck, man? Give me a reason...let me see you walk that talk. And you know what? My parents did. They walked that talk. They were not perfect by any means...but...who is here on earth? No one. The only perfect person that ever walked on earth was Jesus Christ and He rose from the grave and now sits at the right hand of God the Father in Heaven...and I do know Him...and He is in my heart...and I know I will meet Him one day. I am grateful for my parents and their witness to me. I am trying to be that witness for my children these days too...it is hard...harder now today than it was then for my parents...but...I just remember...it is all about Him...and not me and He will guide my steps. I want my children to know that too. I love the quotes from us humans...that I feel are sent to us to be inspirations from God our Father...

Goodnight, friends!

xoxo -

Kasey

Grandma Moses

"Life is what you make of it. Always has been. Always will be." ~ Grandma Moses

My mother has a large print of one of Grandma Moses' works of art in her home. I love it because it is very simple, and it reminds me of simpler days gone by. Believe it or not, Grandma Moses started painting in her 70's - how cool is that? She started painting, because arthritis was getting in the way of her love for embroidery. Her birth name was Anna Mary Robertson, she lived a long and blessed life passing away at the age of 101. One of her most famous pieces, "Sugaring Off" (1943)...{the one shown in the picture} is one of my favorites and sold in 2006 for 1.2 million - what would she have thought of that??

I really admire this lady...not only because in her 70's she had the desire take up the art of painting, but the quote above is just as simple as her paintings...and I just feel that she was a wise, happy little lady (like I hope to one day be).

Here's to making the most of life and giving more than we receive!

xoxo -

Kasey

Life and Time

Ahhh...life and time...they seem to be going by so very quickly for me these days...I feel the rush of the holidays setting in...and even though it gets hectic...I still get a shrill of excitement...butterflies even - in my belly. I absolutely love this time of year...I savor it...and I am one of those who gets depressed when Dec. 26 rolls around...thank goodness New Years Eve comes right around the corner from that...it always seems to zap my post holiday "depression" and put me in a good mood for the upcoming year...which will most assuredly fly by like the past one...it's so funny when you think about it; our Lives...and "Time" itself. What the world has seen throughout the ages...what the world will see in the future...holidays past and present. It wasn't that long ago that I was my children's age...enjoying Santa and the delights of the holiday season...it seemed to go by much slower then...dragging really. My, oh my!! The realization of time passing and what is yet to come. I am thankful to be happy where I am, and thankful for my friends and family...and where the Lord has me...I thank Him for His never ending, unconditional love and His infinite wisdom that I can't even fathom...

I will end with this verse from Proverbs 24:14. "Know also that wisdom is sweet to your soul, if you find it, there is a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off."
xoxo -

Kasey

Soup Kitchen

So...I went and volunteered with some of my friends at the Uptown Soup Kitchen last week...and what an experience. This is the 5th year we've done this, and every year it is different...but yet the same. I see some of the same faces over and over...many of these folks, I can tell have severe emotional and psychological issues. Some have a harshness about them...you can tell with a single glance that their souls are dark. Others have a calming, peacefulness about them...very endearing...very thankful for what we are doing and that we are there. Some will tell you their life's story...others won't even meet your gaze.

We are always in charge of the drink to go with lunch. They like Kool-Aide...and they like it SWEET. I'll put it this way...we put into a large steel pot...two and a half of the x-tra large, HUGE, Kool-Aide round jar mixes that are pre-sweetened...and added a half a x-tra large bag of Domino sugar! EEEK - I just don't think I could get it down that sweet...nonetheless...that is how we make it...because that is how they love it.

It always strikes me who is at peace and who is happy and who is absolutely miserable. Happy you ask? Yes...I've met folks (albeit, they have some mental issues and that is clear)...but despite this...they are happy. They seem sweet and very humble and thankful. Still other folks...yes...mental issues and sometimes not...are miserable and dark. I pray for these people when I see them. Sometimes I wonder if they see me...because they won't look at me...they look in my direction, like they can tell I am (or someone is) standing there...but never directly at me. It is very interesting and makes me think of spiritual warfare.

Each year I am touched and blessed. I look forward to the times that I can share this with my children so that they will know what giving means...what compassion and love, truly mean.

Friends, we are so blessed, do we even realize it? I want to share this verse that I posted on my friend Joy's blog just yesterday. Jesus says in Matthew 25:40 "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me".

xoxo -

Kasey