The Caron de Beaumarchais Hotel.....In the Marais

A visit to Paris should be something always remembered.  There are numerous hotels to choose from and it can become quiet overwhelming for first time visitors!  I found this quaint hotel in a magazine a few years ago and I knew it was a hotel that I would love!  I have stayed in this hotel twice and both times the rooms were wonderful and the service was like being in a small Parisian home. This is perhaps because it is a nineteen room treasure right in the Marais district.  It's such a friendly hotel with history and the price is good also.

It is located just a few blocks from the Seine!  This area is extremely popular with locals and with tourists. It is near museums and shopping and the cobbled streets take you back to a time gone by in Paris. Every little street is like a postcard!  You are far removed from the modern day Paris in the quaint place.  The rooms are not large, but adequate and the delicate brocades, gilded mirrors and sconces and antiques greet you like an old friend! Truly beautiful! 

 Breakfast is served in your room or in the beautiful and quaint breakfast room which is on the bottom floor down a winding stairway.  You will find fresh juice, wonderful coffee, and delicious croissants, jams and jellies, a soft boiled egg in a cup, fresh yogurt, fruit, cheese and the morning paper.  Fresh flowers fill all the rooms in small bouquets!  The staff's main goal seems to make you happy!  It's a beautiful place to stay! 

 You can visit their website:

www.carondebeaumarchais.com

More of Paris and Montmarte......

Paris had never looked more beautiful to me than on our last full day together with my friends! Our day began as we walked from our hotel, the quaint Caron de Beaumarchais, in the lively old Marais. It's such a pretty little hotel with history, pretty rooms, and antiques. [more on the hotel tomorrow] we walked along the Seine past Notre Dame and into the long line for tickets to The Louvre. If you are planning to be in Paris several days, I would advise purchasing your museum ticket pass in advance. We purchased the private museum passes in advance but arrived early for the Louvre, so the line moved quickly and we were in! My friends thoroughly enjoyed their time in the museum and were not disappointed! A great time and very relaxed! But then.....could the Louvre ever disappoint? I don't think so!

 We met my daughter outside when we were finished and headed to Montmarte in the 18th district of Paris! What a glorious day to be in Montmarte. The sky was a beautiful blue which was a perfect backdrop for the domed Basilica of the Sacre Coeur. Our taxi driver had taken us up the scenic route past the famous Coco Chanel shop and the Ritz Carlton where she lived. A beautiful high end shopping district where you can find the most beautiful silk scarves in all of Paris [which my daughter gave me as a gift, so sweet of her]! We climbed the steps to the Basilica and once again, I was awed by the beauty inside. No photographs are allowed inside [I had already snapped one when I was nicely told photographs were not allowed] but the image in ones mind remains forever. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are beautifully painted on the dome and the art is magnificent! A must see in my opinion! Once outside, our afternoon was spent in this fun district having lunch at a sidewalk cafe, interacting with the amazing artists selling their artistic talents to the tourists and just having lots of fun and more laughs than we deserved! This district of Paris was home for a while to artist such as Salvador Dali, Claude Monet, Palbo Picasso, and Vincent Van Gogh. Today it's bohemian feel attracts artist of all ages and two of my artistic daughters especially love it. I understand very well why they do.

 Once we finished there, we were back to the Marais district for some final shopping for gifts and dinner near our hotel. This area of cobbled streets and very fashionable boutiques is my favorite. It's a mixture of quaint shops, cafés, people just relaxing and taking in all the culture of a Parisian evening. Paris is simply beautiful. It is charming in a way all it's own and each person who visits or lives there falls in love for life. There is nothing ordinary about Paris! Life should never be ordinary, in my opinion. If you can't travel to Paris or somewhere you may want to go, you can dream and create an environment when life is anything but ordinary. This begins by looking for the beautiful in life. Our Creator has given us a beautiful pallet of colors found in nature. HE wants us to find fulfillment deep inside. HE wants our lives to have purpose and meaning and in The Bible, we find answers and direction for a full and beautiful life! Such travel is fun and being with friends and family is the best but in the end, what matters most is our relationship with God and living a life where others are blessed, served, and loved because we took the time to care for and about them. This was truly my heart as I planned the trip for my dear friends and the steps we would take. I think God gave us His blessings and the beautiful blue sky in a beautiful place on the last day of a Parisian holiday was one I will always cherish! Giving thanks to The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit! xoxo

Summer Time and The Skin.......

I love being outdoors!  It has to be my favorite place just to be!  My daily routine involves a long walk, sometimes a jog, and sometimes paddle boarding.  I love also gardening and making my gardens as lovely as possible.  Summertime is my season! All of this can take a toll on my skin unless I am careful to prepare ahead of time.  Extra exposure to sun can damage our skin and it is hard to turn the clock back once there has been damage. I have learned this the hard way.  Two summers ago, I had a scare with a small basal cell carcinoma!  I was shocked this happened to me because I thought I was being careful.  I have learned sun screen is so very important.  It is very important to even wear sun screen when we drive daily in our cars.  So.....my warning to everyone is:  take care NOW by limiting your exposure and use products that cover for protection.  I use Obagi skin care products and have found these to help in both cleansing and nourishing my skin.  Drinking lots of water also helps keep that glow we all desire! Over the past three years, I have tried to wear less makeup to cover my flaws and enhance the good qualities by using just a little blush and lipstick!   I just cannot  forget my lipstick!!!  Enjoy your summer by the pool, at the beach, or outdoors but be sooooo careful to cover your beautiful skin!!!!

Paris.....The City of Light

Paris....What can be added to these wonderful pictures except to say~perfection!  Paris is known as the city of light for a reason.  I love everything about Paris and do not think I could ever get enough of her!!!!

My grandmother inspired all her grandchildren to see the world!  She did herself.  She traveled and planned and planned for others to travel with her.  This was my mindset when I began planning over a year ago a trip of a lifetime for three of my friends who live in Jackson, Mississippi.  We had a wonderful time together touring England and then passing easily into France via the Eurostar and our destination of course was Paris!  I think the girls had a blast and the walking, the talking, the cafes, the wines, the laughs over words we tried to say in French, the stress (a little bit), the art district, the boat ride on the Seine, the prayers in the great cathedrals, and the taxi rides.....the list goes on.

If you've ever thought of traveling, you should go!  As I said, my grandmother's love for people and her giving spirit of seeing others happy continues to touch my life every single day even though she has been in Heaven three years now.  I would be most happy to help you plan a trip!  You can message me at pbevila@gmail.com and I will gladly share any knowledge about planning a trip abroad.  I can give you tips on how the manage the trains, the museums, the best areas to book your hotels, and the best places to dine!!!

Our journey through life is truly very short. We are given only a select number of years then it's gone. I feel enormously blessed to have found my purpose in life early. Oh there have been times when I have asked The Lord to take me a different direction but He has ordered my steps as he has seen fit. My spiritual ear hums no matter where God allows me to go. You see, early in life I was taught that a relationship with God was a personal one in which He speaks to His children. This speaking comes when we read The Bible and His love and His ways are imprinted on my heart and He has full control in changing my heart from mine to His. The journey of life is so much lighter and so much more beautiful when it is shared each day with HIM! I thank Him for giving me this season in life where I have experienced so much joy in sharing the journey and trip with others! Take time to be with the people you love and care about. It doesn't have to be Paris......it can be your own backyard filled with the pleasures of being with the people you care about! Everyday is a GIFT!!! Have a blessed one my friend!

Real Beauty...and Real Joy!

When a woman has real JOY, it just bubbles out!  JOY has an essence all it's own!!! There is nothing quite like the essence of a woman who is truly filled with this joy, also healthy and next comes what we call......beautiful!  In my many, many years of mothering my daughter's, their overall health and filling their spirits with God's ways was my greatest concern.  We kept them outdoors  a great deal of time. Weather was rarely a factor, because we just changed what we had to wear in order to be outdoors. They all loved sports, well, maybe one a little less but she was really into fitness. There was no striving for perfection but just a desire to be healthy inside and out.  Real beauty emerges from a soul filled with the right things.....like fresh air and nature and a selfless desire to see oneself as a contributing part of the beautiful world God created.  Desiring to give rather than take.....this is what makes one beautiful.  Sometimes this has to be learned through the circumstances one is placed in.  Today good health is closely connected to the quality of our lives and the beauty of  a life well lived. 

Most women desire to be as healthy and lovely and as beautiful as possible.  Poise, grace, goodness, and modesty in dress and style keep a woman looking beautiful and elegant, even when no one else is looking. It seems what we place inside and outside (covering our body) is truly important.  Fashion changes daily or so it seems to me!  The hour glass figure does not last forever (no matter how hard we try) but the beautiful feminine nature IS God-given and it is meant to last the entire duration of ones life.  God, by design, made woman a beautiful creature!

Over the past few days, my readings have taken me to the life of a beautiful woman, Esther.  Esther was an orphaned Jewess who became the Queen of the Persian King, Ahasuerus.  Her life was not always full of joy and honor but she was used by God to preserve His people from ruin.  Yes, God used Esther to save her people, the Jews.  Her story is found in the Old Testamant and during this period in history, palaces and courtyards were used for lavish entertaining.  The references speak of "white and blue linen curtains fastened with cords of fine linen and purple on silver rods and marble pillars; and the couches were of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of alabaster, turoquise, and white and black marble."  Esther 1:6  Any designer would enjoy this description of beauty.  It was just at this palace where Esther first found favor in the sight of all who saw her.

  "The young woman was lovely and beautiful."  Esther 2:7

God opened her destiny for a purpose, perhaps she did not fully understand but her spiritual commitment and her sense of perspective reflected the heart of true inward and outward beauty.  I find it interesting that she was also given beauty preparations and personal care. (We think of cosmetics of something as a current product line)  She was attended by a woman who was the custodian of women. (you know the counter expert at your favorite line of cosmetics :)  Perhaps this person attended her lovingly like a mother would in caring for a daughter.

I like to think that investments in our daughters and even our grandaughters contribute to their inward beauty.....this my friend is what makes a beautiful woman. Outside products can only go so far and then......... the fragance of a beautiful woman fills the room LONG AFTER SHE IS GONE.

There is a purpose for each life, your life!  A beautiful strong and lasting purpose will hopefully touch the ones who come behind you.....something to think about beautiful one!

"Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this."

BATH, ENGLAND, THE PRIORY HOTEL AND SPA, and STOURHEAD

Listening is an attribute that seems to be developed. I admit, I have not always been the best listener but over the years of my life, I am finding this really is one of the cream of the crops of attributes. To hear, to listen, consider, pay attention, to listen carefully and intelligently, to obey. The word conveys a sense of intensity. In the Bible, God commanded Moses to listen attentively and very carefully with a mind to obey what God would say. This listening Moses did brought not only him blessings but an entire nation of people as well. A person who needs one to listen, usually has words or thoughts that are intense and needful in expressing what is in the heart. We all need people who will listen to what we have to say and how we feel. I hope to always be a sensitive listener. You might ask, how does one develop this skill? You might say, my life is so busy and full, there is no time for being in a quiet place where I can hear. We have to get away, even if it's a few minutes in our own home or at the end of a day to listen and hear and restore and refresh. Two weeks ago, I traveled with three friends on a holiday that I had been honored to plan for them over a year. We traveled to some beautiful places and I tried to wisely choose accommodations that would be affordable to all. We shared rooms along the way, which also helped in the cost. We began in London and on day four traveled to Bath, England. I had been to Bath twice before so I knew they would love it also! I researched a beautiful small hotel there and a spa and even asked my daughter, Kara, who lives in London, to go and check it out! She assured me we would love it! So, as our journey began, we traveled by train and arrived about check in time. We were greeted warmly and I was told we had been upgraded to much nicer rooms than I had booked. I was listening, but I could not believe our good blessings to follow. They treated us like we were honored guest in their home. They arranged a driver to take us to Stourhead Landscape Gardens and Home, and he picked us up in a nicer vehicle than any of us owned! He was gracious and kind and shared with us his amazing faith of coming to know The Lord. What a beautiful holiday we had in Bath. A quiet place to restore, refresh, and renew in order to listen again to the sounds and voices around us. You can bet, there was plenty of talking with four women! You see, I prayed for this trip for months, I asked for God's blessings ad favor and His guiding hands. I am humbled and still in awe that HE listened to my prayer and THAT is most humbling in so many ways. His desire to care about the smallest details of life. I Corinthians 2:9 "Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, what God has prepared for those who love Him". Amen and Amen! So thankful for our beautiful journey! P.S. This describes THE PRIORY HOTEL: The Priory is a country house hotel and spa. The rooms are all individually designed and beautifully decorated. The gardens are maintained by a full time Gardner. www.thebathpriory.co.uk

Mother Love and Mother's Day......

In the sweet little children's book, THE LITTLE LAMB, the story begins with a little girl, Emmy, visiting some newborn lambs. As the story begins Emmy becomes an adoptive mother! "Mother sheep usually keep their babies close to them. But one little lamb wandered away from the flock. He seemed to be lost. Baa-baa-baa, he cried. Mrs. Wetherbee asked Emmy if she would like to take care of the lamb until he was big enough to come back to the flock. He had a twin brother and his mother did not have enough milk for two babies. Emmy was so happy she bent over and kissed the little lamb. Then she carried him home". This my friend is precious. The meaning is even more precious behind the words because we do not all come to be mothers in the same way. Emmy was the adoptive mother of this little lamb, but the mother lamb who gave him away was just as much a mother. She trusted another with a most precious gift. These women are priceless, the mothers who give AND the mothers who receive. In the Bible, in the old testament, there is a beautiful and loving story of sacrifice of a Godly woman, Hannah. Her story is found in I Samuel 1-2. The culture of this time in Biblical history allowed Elkanah, her husband, to have two wives. The other wife provoked Hannah cruelly because The Lord had closed Hannah's womb. Year after year this continued to the point of Hannah not eating and weeping to the point of bitterness of soul and weeping in anguish over being barren. In all of this, she continued trusting God through prayer and poured out her heart before the Lord for a child. At long last, she did conceive and receive a child and made a vow that she would give him up to the Lord as a minister, even as a child to be reared in the temple. Because of her faith and trust, this child grew in statue and favor both with men and the Lord. God used him mightily as a prophet during that period of world history. Hannah did have other children whom she mothered later, but her release of her child was to allow her child to live his destiny and purpose. I believe that birth mothers and adoptive mothers are very special before God. Children ARE the fruit of the womb and to be loved and to be treasured......this is what Moms do EVERDAY all around the world.....love children! If you are one of these special people God bless you and keep you and may His grace and His goodness give you everything you need to succeed in this most magnificent profession! Enjoy Mother's Day assured that your little lamb was chosen for you and is precious in God's sight no matter how he or she arrived in your arms. Bless you!!!

Easter Thoughts.....

One of our kids, grown up now, always asked during family devotions, "Can we just not go deep?"  This is still  our "laughter" quote in our family after many, many years! When the conversation goes deep......everybody laughs! These thoughts about Easter are deep! Thoughts that keep me grounded and grateful and looking UP!

The beautiful words from Scripture say, "Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly, does not seek it's own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered" I Corinthians 13:4-5 These words are unselfish, GRACE filled words and beautifully woven into the message of Easter!   Nothing you or I could ever do could keep us from The Heavenly Father's grace and mercy.  When we approach His throne of grace and seek Him in thought and prayer, and TURN to Him,  He comes and meets us. He counsels, He loves, He forgives, He redeems, He restores, He renews!  Our lives can be filled with joy, blessing, and purposeful worth!!!  It is not pleasant to think and reflect on the fact that He was mocked (and still is) and forced to wear a Crown of Thorns. This Mighty One who had come to share and freely give this redeeming love! There is no greater LOVE than the Agape LOVE of Jesus, Great is Thy Faithfulness! Easter is about His love for the world.  He gave His life on The Cross so that we might live, truly live and eternally with Him in Heaven! These thoughts are deep.......JOY DIVINE! I hope your Easter will be filled with a beautiful remembrance of what He did for all the world! Our lives can be inspired by a beautiful LOVE like HIS! He is RISEN!!!  He is RISEN! May we too be filled with the joy of the first followers and be excited as we go and tell and spread His love throughout the world!

The French Nobility........ QUEEN MARIE ANTOINETTE

 These beautiful postcards/photographs of Versailles, just outside of Paris, are from the 1940's.  They were purchased by an American solider stationed in France during WWII.  He purchased several and I was fortunate to receive them from someone who knew I love all things French! 

The beautiful interiors of Versailles remain one of the historical treasures of France! Just to imagine Queen Marie Antoninette walking in the grand rooms and in the gardens remains as a tribute to the life that she led there.....until the sad end!  I have just finished reading  a wonderful book about her life! I place it as one of my all time favorites.  A strong woman always has a story to tell and one we can learn from, both good and not so good! 

Marie Antoinette!  Just say her name and many opinions are formed!  For sure, she was a fascinating person!  At fourteen, she became the Queen of France!  She arrived in France in 1770, naive and hardly more than a child and quite unprepared to become the future queen.  In the beginning, she was adored for her good looks and all of this just because she was the Queen!  However, her pride and her extravagance in her life's choices and entitlement of her position as Queen and her extravagance of her clothing and her friendships outside the chateau made resentment grow toward her.  This resentment grew from the people who were closest to her within Versailles.  They turned against her one at a time and soon, she was forced to take refuge in her own fantasy world within the castle, oblivious to criticism. 

For sure, she was a charming person. Attractive, accomplished, yet married to a man, King Louis XVI, who waited many years to consummate their marriage.  Her life is one, which it seems,  she had little choice in decisions...... from the very beginning.  Who can imagine a daughter leaving home at fourteen to be married in a foreign country to someone they had never met?   There was a small blessing, as she continued her relationship with her mother through letters and guidance in the letters she received from her mother. She adored her children when she was blessed to finally birth them.  She had a mother's heart.  This is so evident to anyone who reads her life's story!  To me, one of the saddest parts of her life were the people who worked for her, these trusted people turned against her one by one.  According to history, the story of "The Diamond Necklace" was the final blow .

 Eventually, this led to the entire country of France turning against her and, she then being led to the guillotine. Such a sad waste of a life that could have counted for good!

In a time of change in France, she played a key role in the progression toward a country without need of a King and Queen.  Today, France has opened the grandest palace in Europe for us all to see the beauty of Versailles, her home and the palace where her days were lived out.  In May, I am planning to go to Versailles with one of my daughters and three of my friends!  I can hardly wait! 

P.S. Here is the famous story of The Diamond Necklace...... The Affair of the Diamond Necklace was an incident in the 1780s at the court of Louis XVI of France involving his wife, Queen Marie Antoinette. The reputation of the Queen, which was already tarnished by gossip, was ruined by the implication that she had participated in a crime to defraud the crown jewellers of the cost of a very expensive diamond necklace. The Affair was historically significant as one of the events that led to the French populace's disillusionment with the monarchy, which, among other causes, eventually culminated in the French Revolution.

It's the Weekend.....relaxation time!

A fresh bouquet of flowers gets the weekend started! Now.....time to relax!

How do you relax?  How do you restore?  How do you refresh?  For sure, today everyone seems to lead such a busy life.  It is still important to have those times of rest and restoration.   In the beautiful little book  Gift from THE SEA ,  Ann Morrow Lindbergh writes how at the beach as one begins to relax, " the tired body takes completely over. As on shipboard, one descends into a deck-chair apathy. One is forced against one's mind, against all tidy resolutions, back into the primeval rhythms of the seashore.  Rollers on the beach, wind in the pines, the slow flapping of herons across sand dunes, drown out the hectic rhythms of city and suburb, time tables and schedules.  One falls under their spell, relaxes, stretches out prone.  One becomes, in fact, like the element on which one lies, flattened by the sea: bare, open empty as the beach, erased by today's tides of all yesterdays's scribblings."   Isn't that what we hope for? To let go is good. She goes on to say as the week at the seashore progresses," we are able to lie open, choiceless as a beach~waiting for a gift from the sea."  Who really knows what God will bring you today?  Let today be a gift!

The Size of Our Portions.....

Which portion would you prefer~a teaspoon or a large generous spoon?

Have you ever yearned for a taste of something delicious and then asked for it and only be given a small, a very small portion?  How does this make us feel?  For me, it makes me want more, immediately!  The opposite can be true, you may have asked for a small portion and the giver was so generous in the serving size, you could live on the serving for a long while!  I suppose it depends upon who is doing the serving AND how much they want to share. I was thinking of this comparison in relation to Easter and how Jesus invited,  with a fervent desire, the twelve closest to eat the last Passover meal with HIM.  He knew the events that were about to unfold. He even gave them instructions on how to divide the meal among themselves.  It wasn't so much about this last meal that he was serving them......as the generous portion of Himself, of which He was about to give TO and FOR them.  With this amazing meal, He was about to forgive them for every sin, every wrong thought they had ever done or ever would do! He was about to lavish them with a LOVE like no other and give them forgiveness for all eternity! He was offering the largest portion ever known!!! Actually, in HIS final week before going to The Cross, many of the twelve closest followers had wronged HIM and even denied Him and lied about HIM, yet even in the desperate hours, HE was able to forgive and extend mercy.

What a beautiful lesson for us on forgiveness and inclusion. How readily do you extend mercy and inclusion toward others when wronged or hurt?  How do you forgive? How do I forgive, I must ask myself?  Is it just enough to "muster" up a smile and pretend to be a friend or is it from the heart?  Psalm 86:5 says beautifully these words:  "For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You".  We can receive God's love and forgiveness and He can enable us to give it also to others just as we have received.  The two virtues - goodness and forgiveness - are attributes birthed by our Heavenly Father and He has desired these to be born in our own lives.  He wants us to forgive others transgressions in the same abundance of mercy He has shown us.  God does not want us to portion out our mercy and forgiveness with teaspoons.  HE is looking for people who will portion out their forgiveness and mercy with HUGE, unlimiting spoons!  


When you sit down for reflection and prayer, God has set a sort of "supper" for you.  Which spoon will you select? Just a small portion OR a generous and large portion to share in goodness and forgiveness.  Easter is about the new birth we receive in Christ, the NEW one He has redeemed  and given in the largest of ways!  He gave everything, His very life for you and for me!  It is my hope,  you will sense His GREAT and GLORIOUS LOVE for you this beautiful Easter season and embrace ALL that HE has for you! Blessings of JOY to you today dear friend! 

The Little French Chair.....

AT Home With White by Atlanta Bartlett is a book I purchased in Savannah a few years ago while visiting one of my daughters who was living there at the time.  It was one of those books that was an impulse purchase but has greatly impacted my design in my own home.  No matter what your personal style, white can work in almost any home.  I wanted a lighter, more contemporary look throughout my home.  So......today, our home is lighter and many of the soft coverings on our pieces of furniture have changed to white or shades of white.  Nothing has pleased me more than this cute little chair my husband brought home.  I loved the French legs,they were so graceful and refined.   For a couple of years, I enjoyed just leaving it as it was found, the the buttons and the fabric needed attention and it was looking its age so, I looked for some new fabric! My husband has lovingly placed his wonderful skills on this, yet another piece of our home! Mixing shades of white in our home has given us a crisp, clean, and new look!  

Praying for Your Children......and their children....

We are blessed with four daughters and one son!  One of our daughter's, Kacie, is celebrating today the birth of her twins six years ago!  She was so blessed to carry the twins to full term with a healthy pregnancy and delivery.  The day the twins were born was such a bright and joyful moment in my life to see my daughter and her wonderful husband experience this awesome miracle.  Twins do not run in our family and she did not take fertility drugs of any sort!  They were just a gift from Heaven!  I remember now looking back, and it is sort of funny how Josh seemed shocked with this new responsibility of provision and taking care of his beautiful wife and his babies.  He too has been a gift for God sent Kacie the most amazing partner to share her life's journey with!  From the time my children were small, I was taught to pray for their life's partner and so I did.  Sometimes, because I was so busy with life in general with our large brood of kids, I prayed on the run or had my closet time in the car while waiting in the school line. I love having fun and I love being active but what gets me through a day is being in touch with my Redeemer!   God, in His grace, answered those humble, heart wrenching prayers and they are still unfolding, one day at a time.  I am so grateful for the births of each baby born into our family.  I just love babies in general.  I think about my children and grandchildren all the time! I would love your's too if I knew them! As a mother or as a father or an aunt or uncle or friend, may I encourage to pray for the children in your own life and the children of the world!  Today and everyday, they need our prayers and we need God's grace and goodness and favor, now more than ever. Childhood is such a brief time!  I remember my dear mother in law would tell me this often and I did not fully understand until all of our children grew up, finished college and found jobs miles and miles away from our home.  God will move Heaven and Earth to answer our prayers on behalf of our children, even after they grow up, we can still be a part of their lives through prayer. Do you want to pray more often for your children?  Here are a few simple steps offered by "Moms in Prayer", a prayer ministry for mothers around the world!  1.  That I would be a woman of prayer.  2.  That I would gain a vision for the power of prayer.  3.  That I would seek to become an intercessor.  4.  That I would begin to practice aggressive praying, taking the initiative to pray with others as a way of life.  5.  That I would learn to pray through the Scriptures.  6.  That I would pray without ceasing.  7.  That I would be able to communicate to others what God is teaching me in prayer.  One of the blessings of being a Christian mother for me has been the honor of praying for my family and with friends and others who see prayer as one of God's highest callings.  Always be certain HE hears your prayers.  It's as simple as believing if  we "Draw near to God, He will draw near to you."  James 4:8  

Beautiful Morning and The Sunshine!

There's the wonder of morning, as seen in the beautiful pictures, and the wonder of sunset at evening.  The wonder of sunrise and morning is my favorite time of day which this picture seems to convey, but the wonder of wonders that thrills my soul is the wonder that God loves us in spite of our human and fragile souls!

J. I. Packer says....."What matters supremely, therefore, is not, in the last analysis, the fact that I know God, but the larger fact which underlies it--the fact that He knows me.  I am graven on the palms of His hands; I am never out of His mind.  All my knowledge of Him depends on His sustained initiative in knowing me.  I know Him because He first knew me and continues to know me."

 Amazing love that God has for people.....all people.  It doesn't matter who you are,  what you've accomplished or still hoping to accomplish, nor where you live,......God loves you.   His desire for you is uniquely expressed in the Psalms and throughout His Word.  His desire is to have a relationship with you and lead you into paths of righteousness.
God is righteous and righteousness involves goodness, uprightness, integrity, morality, and purity.  In the world, it's hard to live that way......but remember, every morning there is the wonder of a new day and a choice to live for Him and for His glory!  May you sense His love and His grace in your life this week!