Fall morning and quiet time

My morning routine usually starts at 4:30 a.m. I didn't even realize this was possible until my 7 year old niece came to live with us back in February.  However, when you have to get up and get ready for work and then get a child ready for school, you do what you must in order to make the morning run as peaceful as possible...if you're not a morning person. Here's how it goes; the alarm goes off, I hit snooze for 7 minutes and slumber a while longer; the alarm goes off, I hit snooze for 7 minutes and slumber a while longer , the alarm goes off, I hit snooze for 7 more minutes and then realize I am approaching the point of rushing thru my morning and I must get up...because I'm not a morning person and don't rush the process. I get up, go press the start button on the coffee pot and head towards the shower where I often times shower with my eyes closed (still trying to wake up). We have two sets of lights in our bathroom; the big Hollywood lights (hate) and a lovely can light over the bathtub (also hate).  I choose to shower with the less of the two evil set of lights; the can light.  Once I'm done with my shower my brain is more awake and I can tolerate the bright Hollywood lights (that I hate). I lotion up, put my deodorant on, facial moisturizer and get dressed in my "put make-up on attire" (grubby t-shirt and shorts, I know, sexy).  I saunter to the kitchen to let the dogs outside, pour my coffee, prepare dogs food, let dogs back inside, feed dogs and now, my morning routine has officially begun. For the next hour (yes, I said hour...don't judge) I get ready with makeup and hair. Once this task has been completed I go wake precious Natalie up with a tickle and a song (most days that is...until I've hit the snooze button one too many times).  Once she's dressed and ready we're out the door.  All these things take place in the time span of about 2.5 hours (no judgement I said). By 7:30 we are rushing out the door (literally) in order to avoid the "drop-off" traffic of her school. That is my "normal" morning routine, Monday thru Sunday (weekends can vary by activity, but my mornings are always time driven).  Until today.

Today is Tuesday, November 23, 2010, the sky is clear, the air is a crisp 68 degrees and the winds are calm.  Today, I got to sleep in until 7:30 and Natalie is still asleep because I let her stay up an hour later than her normal bedtime of 8:30.  Why? Because I am officially on vacation. Today, I finally got to go at my pace which is somewhat equivalent to that of a turtle.  I know, turtle doesn't quite have the appeal of a snail for "snails pace", but I move just a tad quicker than a snail in the morning.  Sorry, I digressed. So this morning, I got to enjoy "my" breakfast that "I" got to make in my "own" kitchen. I love breakfast, it is by far my favorite meal.  Sorry, again I digressed.  After I enjoy my breakfast and some quite time with "Time" magazine, I poured my favorite cup of coffee; Einstein's Vanilla Hazelnut, flavored just right with French Vanilla Creamer and three teaspoons of sugar (don't judge).  Suddenly an idea; go grab your big fluffy, warm hot pink robe that hubby bought me for Christmas and sip coffee outside and enjoy the "morning". What's that you say? I said, enjoy the morning...outside.  So I did.

I wrapped myself up in my warm, fluffy, hot pink robe, grabbed my perfectly made cup of Joe and took all three of our lovely dogs outside.  I pulled up a chair, sat down and began to sip.  As I enjoyed this blissful moment of quiet and peace I looked up and started taking it all in. The cool crisp air of fall, the beautiful gold and red colors of the leaves, the birds flying up above and my cup of Joe.  Why do they call it Joe by the way? Hmmm...another entry for another day.  Today, God gave me a gift.  The beautiful gift of quiet and peace, cool air and precious dogs...and still, Natalie is asleep.  Awe...morning never tasted so good.  Thank you Lord for this very rare, very quiet, very special moment.  A moment that only you can give dear Lord.  A moment I that will soon pass come Monday morning, but a moment nonetheless, made by you. Thank you Lord for this moment; my fall morning and quiet time. Peace.

GoD And DoG by Wendy J Francisco

For all you God followers and Dog lovers; enjoy. So precious and sweet.

Sidewalk Prophets - You Love Me Anyway [Lyrics]

Blessings from the Lord

Isaiah 26:3 You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.

Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus

Matthew 11:28-29 ²⁸"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Hebrews 3:7-8 Today, if you hear his voice, ⁸do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
   on the day of testing in the wilderness

Jeremiah 17

⁵ This is what the LORD says:
       "Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
       who depends on flesh for his strength
       and whose heart turns away from the LORD.

 ⁶ He will be like a bush in the wastelands;
       he will not see prosperity when it comes.
       He will dwell in the parched places of the desert,
       in a salt land where no one lives.

 ⁷ "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
       whose confidence is in him.

 ⁸ He will be like a tree planted by the water
       that sends out its roots by the stream.
       It does not fear when heat comes;
       its leaves are always green.
       It has no worries in a year of drought
       and never fails to bear fruit."

Psalm 16:8-11 (NAS)

    ⁸I have set the LORD continually before me;
         Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
    ⁹Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices;
         My flesh also will dwell securely.
    ¹⁰For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol;
         Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.
    ¹¹You will make known to me the path of life;
         In Your presence is fullness of joy;
         In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

Kari Jobe Healer

"Jesus you're all I need"...may this always be my prayer no matter how hard life gets, no matter how many dark days may come, may this always, always be my prayer.

DESERT SONG ( HILLSONG)

This is where God has me right now and I love it.

Hillsong United - Age to Age (His Glory Appears) HQ

Knowing Jesus

What do you know about Jesus? Who is he to you? Is he just a man? Maybe he's just a name you've heard in conversations or is he someone deeper to you? For me, he is everything.  He is my savior and the reason I am who I am today.  He is also the reason that I continue to understand what my purpose is in life.  I am also gaining a deeper understanding of who God is and why he loves us so much.  After all, He did create us so why wouldn't he love us?

Tonight, I am at home alone and I am at peace.  My 6 year old niece, whom we are currently raising, is with her father (my brother) for the weekend and my husband is at a golf tournament.  There is a quiet peacefullness in our home.  I needed this.  I've needed this quiet time for so long and here I have it, given to me by God.  Coindidence? No.  That's God.  Because He is so big and He knows our every need.  So, tonight...he gave me peace, quiet and time alone...with Him.  He also gave me music, something I love and something that has been a part of my life since I was a child.  Growing up I watched my parents communicate thru music; they would share songs they each loved that spoke to them about how they loved one another.  I believe God has given me this as His way of speaking to me, because I understand it.  And tonight, in my quiet, he gave me a song...a gentle reminder if you will.  The song is called Age to Age, His Glory Appears, by Hillsong; I've included it above.  The lyrics pearced my heart and I was reminded, yet again, in the stillness of my home, of His love...the love that only a father can give; Jesus.

At the Cross, where you died for me.

1 Corinthians 15:3-4 "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was bured, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures." How deep is the Father's love?

The story of Vanilla Bridge

Welcome to Vanilla Bridge! And so the story goes; my great grandmother Walker lived on a farm up in rural Fannin County in a town called Bonham, TX. We had moved to Texas in 1970 and had begun making our trek from the Mesquite area to see my great-grandmother from time to time. I absolutely loved going there! I could smell them now! Warm Vanilla Cookies.  Oh, how the senses raced just knowing that some good ole'southern country cookin was waiting and warm vanilla cookies. 

 However, getting those cookies meant going across...[insert scary music] "the bridge".  

(this is not the actual bridge and it

 doesn't even come close to how scary it was)

I can still see it now, off in the distance, looming, creaking, shifting! Never mind that it had these huge massive steal supports! You know the kind you can literally count on! Nope, never mind that, because as night fall fell, my dad would get the biggest kick out of stopping on that bridge, turning the car off and the lights too!!! My sister and I would let out the loudest, blood curdling screams you could ever imagine! The kind of screams, I'm sure, that would make your skin crawl; hey...ours was! After a few minutes of torture and laughter by my dad, he would turn the car lights back on and away we would go; off to my great-grandmother's house...and those warm vanilla cookies.

I hope you enjoy my blog. While I realize I'm probably a minority here, what, being over the age of 40 and all. I felt I needed to create a place for my stories, thoughts or just silly rants. I promise to keep things real and to try really hard not to get too sweet. Life is real, life is hard, but our "joy comes in the morning".

Love to all,

VirnaLisa