A Thankful Heart

happy Friday everyone!! It is a dreary, rainy, Friday here at the simple gift today. I am NOT complaining. We need the rain. It has been warm here this week. Last night, it was muggy.. It is hard to believe today is November 1st..... This year has went by so quick. I am thankful for everything that has happened this year. I know everything happens for a reason. The beginning of this year started rough for our family... but God knew.. HE had a plan.

MY FRONT DOOR

I  know it will soon be time for everyone to start planning their big Thanksgiving feast.... I love it.. Even if I do have to work... lol  I love the fun fellowship with family that we do not get to be around everyday. You never need to take that for granted.. one day you may not have that.... we lost the last grandparent between the two of us last month.. Now, we have no grandparents left.. Cherish those special times with them... I have beautiful , fond memories of them all... so Thankful for that.. I hope to ALWAYS  have a Thankful heart. It is so easy to get caught up in everyday life that we forget the simple blessings.. Even being able to type this post right now, is a blessing..  So, it is imperative to always remember to thank God, even for the little things...

SWEET BUDDY KEEPING WATCH

 

HAPPY FALL YALL

A THANKFUL HEART

 

TAKE NOTHING FOR GRANTED, FOR WHENEVER YOU DO,

THE ''JOY OF ENJOYING'' IS LESSENED IN YOU.

FOR WE ROB  
 
 
OUR OWN LIVES MUCH MORE THAN WE KNOW,

WEN WE FAIL TO RESPOND OR IN ANY WAY SHOW,

OUR THANKS FOR THE BLESSINGS THAT DAILY ARE OURS,

THE WARMTH OF THE SUN, THE FRAGRANCE OF FLOWERS,

THE BEAUTY OF TWILIGHT, THE FRESHNESS OF DAWN,

THE COOLNESS OF DEW ON A GREEN VELVET LAWN.

THE KIND LITTLE DEEDS SO THOUGHTFULLY DONE,

THE FAVORS OF FRIENDS AND THE LOVE THAT SOMEONE

UNSELFISHLY GIVES US

IN A MYRIAD OF WAYS.

EXPECTING NO PAYMENT, AND NO WORDS OF PRAISE,

OH, GREAT IS OUR LOSS WHEN WE NO LONGER FIND,

FOR THE JOY OF ENJOYING AND THE FULLNESS OF LIVING,

ARE FOUND IN THE HEART THAT IS FILLED WITH

THANKSGIVING!!! -----HELEN STEINER RICEH

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Hand Over Mouth

Psalms 141:3 Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.

 

Words.... we use them everyday. Some can be used as an encouragement. Some can be used to be hurtful. Has anyone ever said anything to you, and you were left with your jaw to the floor...??? Have you ever read something in the newspaper or seen something on facebook about you or someone else and you could not believe what the person was saying about that person..????? WOW, words hurt!!!

 

Sometimes, words can be used as a cutdown or to destroy one's character if they are said about someone. I was talking with someone the other day. We were discussing something that had been going on lately. One person's life has been taken, simply because she could not take people bullying her or words that were said about her or her family!!! WOW, words hurt!!!!!!

 

I , as a child,  had a so called ''friend'' who I thought was a friend.. Little did I know... She said hurtful ,cruel, things to me and about me that I will NEVER forget... AND encouraged others to join in... Name calling, and performing bully acts is something that happens all the time.. In HIS own time, God took care of this, in HIS own way!!!! Have I forgave that?? YES, but it is something that you will remember FOREVER!!! WOW, words hurt!!!!

 

Sometimes people can say things not about you, but can say other things about somebody or thinking they can be ''showing off in front of others''... Words can hurt!! Some can have their little group of friends, which is usually just TROUBLE to begin with. They can destroy someone and think they are HOLIER THAN THOU...Sometimes, these people can make you unhappy , and they start to ''rub off'' on you.. You act just like them.. In these cases, you just have go on... without those kind of people.. sad, but true!! WOW, words hurt!!

 

I have a problem of sometimes speaking before thinking.. I can't help sometimes that what comes up, comes out. I need to be more careful of this.. I need to guard my mouth.. I need to not be so quick to speak of things sometime... and also, NOT listen to it either... put my hand over my mouth if it helps!!!! LOL

Got Lucky

 We just returned from a lovely visit to Destin, Florida. Deemed the ''Luckiest Fishing Village'', we definitely had to try our luck there.. I am proud to say we got lucky. We both caught big red drum fish. The measurements to ''keep'' them, are 17-27''. we did NOT get to keep them..this was my Only disappointment, because they were TOO BIG!! but anyway,. mine was 33, his was 31. yay!!!! I beat him, mine was bigger!!! We spent 12 big days there.. We both enjoyed the laid back feeling.. I looked a little rough in these fishing pics, but ''Karen'' was trying to visit, and she brought the wind with her..  I TOOK  ALOT OF PICS, BUT THESE ARE SOME I WILL SHARE WITH YOU TODAY..Anyhow, it was fabulous. We had a great time with the people at EMERALD BEACH.!! They were all very nice. We had a great Seafood Festival, enjoyed fishing off of the pier, had beautiful weather.. just loved it all.. We would love to visit again...

 Me with my Big Red Drum, 33 inches

 We had a yummy seafood boil and great ice cream sundays!!

 This is a selfie, but it was a little hazy on this night from the sun.

 The pier at the park.. this was so relaxing.. looking out on the Santa Rosa Sound

 Buddy with his 31 inch red drum

 We grilled yummy burgers and delicious homemade fries!!

 Relaxation at it's best

 Caught a bunch of these ugly things.. Remora fish

 This is absolutely beautiful.. This is the sand dunes, but the sand is so white, it looks like snow dunes!!

 He caught a Hard tail...used this to catch the big one!!

 Navarre pier view.. awesome and the water is so clear and turquoise

 

Had a blast celebrating our11th wedding anniversary!!! love him so much!!



True HEROES

the most famous question asked on this day is this..

September 11, 2001

WHERE WERE YOU WHEN THE ATTACKS HAPPENED??????

 for me, I was a young twenty something lady who had just became engaged about 4 weeks before that... I was standing in my kitchen at home making me some breakfast... I remember the news was on, but it was kind of just ''noise'' I was hearing.. but what caught my attention was the news caster saying that it was going to some news they had heard of a plane crash into the world trade center... WHAT?? now, that will make you head straight to the tv to see for yourself... and that is what I did... I could not believe my eyes.... Watching the second one fly directly into the 2nd one on LIVE TV... this was awful.. all I could think of was ALL of the people that had went into eternity... just right there..  I IMMEDIATELY called my FIREFIGHTER.. I wanted to talk to him.. To make sure this was true, and to say ''I love you!!''

This day changed so many things FOREVER... it changed security FOREVER, it changed the meaning of family time FOREVER.. it changed my RESPECT for all of the Military, EMS, POLICE,AND  my fav, Firefighters FOREVER..

I am grateful for all the sacrifices all of these people made on that day. I am heartbroken  for the families who NEVER got to speak to their loved one again, or got ANY of their remains.. I am grateful for the passengers of those planes who did what they could to save their lives and risked their lives for the others.. THEY ARE TRUE HEROES IN MY BOOK..  So, on this day, 12 years later, I want to remember all the lives lost on this day, and pray for our nation , more than ever.. I want to thank all of the public workers . They are true heroes too, everyday to me, not just on 9-11.

Sunny and Bright

I just love sunflowers. They are , I think, my most favorite flower, besides palms, or roses.. A bouquet of these things would be much more appreciated than roses, to me. I love how they are big, and bright, and how the bumblebees flock to them.. hmmm.. Looking at a sunflower always puts a SMILE on my face.. I thought of having sunflowers in my wedding, but kind of changed my mind at the last minute...

 

 

Sunflowers remind me of JOY. AND SIMPLE HAPPINESS.... Joy that Jesus can bring. They are big, and tall, and strong, just like HE is. They are bright and you can see them.. Jesus' light shines through them.. They are beautiful. Jesus brings a song to your heart   They can take the heat, that is what they do best in... .Sometimes, we lose our song, it is not as loud as it once was.. We have to ''come home'', to regain our song.. get it back. If we don't have a song in our heart, we are NOT joyful like a sunflower. Just like a sunflower, we can be tall, bright, and beautiful for the Lord. We can be joyful LOOKING for the Lord, just like a sunflower is JOYFUL looking.

 James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

 

We love to grow sunflowers.. I had some real tall ones last year in the garden... THEY WERE HUGE!! They attracted so many bees...

 

 

Just like a sunflower's shape depicts the sun, we can depict the SON too.. The sunflower can bring a smile to your heart, and a spring in your step... JESUS CAN TOO.Sometimes, I know I am guilty of this... Not happy when things DO NOT go as I plan... but that's where I have it wrong..IT is not up to me, for things to go as I plan... HE HAS IT ALL IN HIS HANDS!!!! HIS PLAN, HIS TIMING, HIS WILL.. not mine!!
Just like the verse says, humble yourself... humble yourself before God .. We are nothing without HIM.... He will lift us up..lift us up out of that sickness, pain, uneasy feeling, bad thought, sin...
So thankful for this today.. Sunny and bright for Him... NOW, I am ready to go buy me some sunflowers...... Haha!!

My sunflowers in  my garden last year

A Servant's Heart

hello bloggerland, it is a dark, cloudy ,rainy Saturday here at the Simple Gift. We are being a bit lazy, but trying to be productive too at the same time. I have already put on some things for Sunday Lunch, and we have had our lunch, loaded the dishwasher, and folded and put away some clothes, worked on some more laundry and such. Our plans were to do some'' around the house stuff'' today, outside.. but God decided that we should have rain instead, so, WE are thankful for the rain anyway..

we had a fun time last night celebrating JULY birthdays.. our Brother in law, Scott, nephew, Ethan, and Nephew, Drake all have July birthdays.. We usually do them separate, but Scott has recently been in the hospital with chest pain, so we just then got to celebrating the birthdays.. We had a yummy supper of Steak/ Gravy, Baked Potatoes, Salad, and Biscuits.. and Birthday Cake, and HOMEMADE BUTTER PECAN AND VANILLA ICE CREAM!!!! yummmm!! We always enjoy our family time..

Dear Sweet Lady

Proverbs 29:23 A man's pride shall bring him low; but honour  shall uphold the humble in spirit.

Having a servant's heart. That's something I desire, and something we all need to have..We need to be willing to help others who are in need. YOU may be the person that can help that ''one person'' for the day. That's something that I have to remind myself of everyday. YOU may have those exact words a person needs to hear, a prayer, or just being there to let that other person know you care. I am convicted of this, as I write.. I am sometimes too busy with things in my own life that I neglect this area, and I know I need to work on this area.

Having a servant's heart requires yielding yourself to God, and letting Him use you for HIS honor and Glory..NOT expecting anything in return. That includes anything YOU may want, not  ''making deals with God'', and NOT worried about you getting the crcdit for it.. I believe the Lord TRULY BLESSES THOSE WITH A TRUE SERVANT'S HEART!!!

I had the privilege of visiting a dear Saint in a nearby Hospice Home yesterday. It blessed my heart to see her family surround her with love,and giving her love and encouragement during her final days here.. They know she is going to a much better place and NO MORE STROKE!! AMEN. As I was visiting this lady with my sisters and mama, I couldn't help but think back upon this dear lady's life. As a child, and even on up to my early 20's, I use to watch this dear lady get up in Church, and testify as to how the Lord has blessed her and her family, how she was thankful for HIS goodness, and how she was thankful for her Salvation, BUT she always ended with asking for Prayer, for SOMEONE in her family. She was concerned about her family. That was and is still such a blessing to me. She loved to hear her family sing and play in the Gospel/Bluegrass group at the Church. This was such a blessing. She always put herself above others. She took care of her family, she definitely had a servant's heart.. The Lord has truly blessed her life and her family through the years. Through several generations, the Lord has brought great Men of God up in her family to preach the WORD, Praise the Lord!!What a blessing to have a grandson, and 2 great grandsons that are Preachers, and Grandaughters being used as Sunday School Teachers/ Deacon's wives.. Thank the Lord. She is ready to meet the Lord anytime. What a blessing. A great testimony of The Lord's goodness.
I hope I can always have a servant's heart, and I desire that He will use me for that.

***BEING A SERVANT HAS MANY REWARDS. MANY TIMES, IN OUR SERVING, WE RECIEVE MUCH MORE THAN WE EVER GAVE AWAY.***

beach bumzz

 well, we, the beach bummz have returned. we have had tons of fun, quality family time together, and some good food... we made our famous jambalaya, ate some yummy burgers, and some fun in the sun!!

 Ben and girlfriend, Madison.. so glad they finally joined our clan on Saturday, after already being there a week with her family!!

 Our niece, Corrie, and boyfriend, Kevin  ALL SMILES!!

 LOVE THIS VIEW!

 and all the boats coming in to the marina

 sister Lorieann and nephew Drake

 this was a beautiful day at the beach

 loved the cool fireworks, and this reminded me of something like pixie dust in the sky!!

sister Angie, and nephew Ethan and wife Hailey came too.. oh, and Baby Cooper in there too!!!

 

 

We enjoyed our family time, but it was NOT complete, because my mommy and daddy did NOT come!!! oh well, hopefully next time!!

 

****ALWAYS enjoy family time!! NEVER take it for granted!! Memories are WORTH making!!!****