From my youth....

"O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come. Your righteousness O God, reaches the high heavens! You have done great things. O God who is like you?"

This morning I read this passage during my time with the Lord and it blessed me. Yes, from a very young age, I have been taught of the Lord...and now that I have had another birthday, and entered into another decade of life...I reflect on the awesomeness of the great God I serve. O my! How He has blessed me.

We live in a beautiful land. Texas is so blessed to have wildflowers that just seem to abound. The first...the clover...is just blooming...the fruit trees are flowering, the red buds are bursting forth with their crimson branches and even the dogwoods have begun to bloom. The country side is aglow with color- every shade of green as the trees are leafing out and the flowering bushes and trees adding the whites, reds and purples to make for a beautiful drive to Teen Mania and to Lindale!

We are blessed to be able to be with our children and grandchildren and have seen all of them several times this month. I was treated royally on my birthday thanks to the planning of my daughter-in-laws (Lisa and Beth). We had an adult dinner at Red Lobster one night which is where I was given the certificate for "Girls Day Out" which Lisa had planned. It began the next morning with fruit and cinnamon rolls at her house. The next stop was the Nail Salon where Beth, Kelly, Lisa and I all had manicures and pedicures. What a treat! The four of us piled into the car and headed for Dallas- where we met up with Amy and had afternoon tea in a Tea Room there- so special! We topped it off by shopping at Ikea and then Sam Moons. What a fun day. I felt so honored. The following day- Sunday- Most all the family gathered at our home for a Mexican dinner brought in by all the families. Beth and Nikki had to miss out due to Nikie being sick- and Caitlin had to stay home and study for mid-terms- but the rest of us (24) enjoyed the day together. I am so blessed! God...you have blessed me over and above what I could have ever asked or thought and I love you so much!
We have been out camping already with Jon and Kelly. We are looking forward to Easter weekend camping with Jon, Sam and maybe Amy and families.
Dave has been working hard all winter on the boat remodel and is about ready for the big launch. He took out all the seats- rebuilt those needing repair- replaced all the carpet- installed a live well- and we have a "new" boat. I am so proud of him and the great job he did.
This week Dave had a cancerous growth removed from his arm- we are trusting God for a good report from the pathologist on Monday that they got it all.
I have been inspired and challenged by messages from Mike Bickle on IHOP'S website. Messages on the End Times-The Omega Series- prayer- The Cost of Discipleship by Steven Venable! These have me digging deeper into the Word and pressing in even harder to God in prayer. All of this came about from David and Beth attending One Thing and Jon-relaying to us the content of the book RADICAL- during a camping trip! The events of the past week- the earthquake and tsunami in Japan...Libya...Egypt...Iran...The Emergent Church and the great falling away...all make me want to be prepared for the last days. Even so...come Lord Jesus!