Shine!

  Happy Valentine's Day! I love today.😊❤️ It is such a wonderful time to celebrate love and share it with others! The world focuses mainly on romantic love on this day, but God's agape - selfless, sacrificial, unconditional -  love is so much greater...it was so great that He sent His Son to die in agony on a rugged cross to pay for our sins.  "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins."  - 1 John 4:10  "What manner of love the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called children of God!"   - 1 John 3:1 God calls us to love Him above all else, and love others as He has loved us. "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."  - 1 John 4:7,11 "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends."  - John ...

This past week has been very busy for me, but fun! John, Amanda, and Sarah made a trip to Alabama for several days which left just myself, Jared, and the parents at home. I soloed the cleaning jobs we girls normally do as teams, and tried to keep the house in order while not going to events like a baby shower and a political dinner and a concert.😅 I told my mom that the next time some of the fam leaves and the house is a little quieter, that I will take at least one day to enjoy it instead of going 100 mph every day like I did this time.😉 We have been trying out some new recipes and this is one of them - teriyaki meatballs w/ rice, brocoli, green beans & garlic bread. I am not a fan of strong sauces like teriyaki so it wasn't a big favorite for me.🙃 We had this meal Friday night (Reagan's b-day) so we also had cookie bars and watched one of his movies.😁 Jared and I attended Columbia County's Lincoln Day Dinner. Jared had been to a couple before but this was my first...

Today marks the anniversary of the 115th birthday of President Ronald Reagan. He was one of America's greatest presidents, outspoken for faith and freedom, and one of my favorite actors(his movies are the best!). I wanted to make this post today and honor his memory. Here are several of his quotes: "If we ever forget that we are one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under." "It's been written that the most sublime figure in American history was George Washington on his knees in the snow at Valley Forge. He personified a people who knew that it was not enough to depend on their own courage and goodness, that they must also seek help from God - their Father and preserver. Where did we begin to lose sight of that noble beginning, of our conviction that standards of right and wrong do exist and must be lived up to? Do we really think that we can have it both ways, that God will protect us in a time of crisis even as we turn away from Him in our day to d...

Happy Monday! When I first started my blog, I used a website called Follow.It for my subscriber form. I was made aware recently that Follow.It was including adds at the bottom of their email notifications, which I wasn't happy with. I did some research and found another website that does not include adds. I have now taken off the Follow.It form and added in the new subscriber form that you can find by clicking the three bars in the top left corner of the home page. You will still receive emails from Follow.It until you unsubscribe from them(that option is at the bottom of the emails they send). I am using MailerLite now and am really excited about using it in the future! ~Grace