{ Wednesday's Words - Rotten Fruit }

Our pastor's message SONday morning was concerning the fruits of the Spirit as described in Galatians 5:22-23.....

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: 

love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 

 gentleness, and self-control. 

There is no law against these things!

He pointed out something that I'd never heard before, that there are 3 focus fruits.....

Love, Patience and Faithfulness, 

and the others stem from those three.

Love = Joy and Peace

Patience = Kindness and Goodness

Faithfulness = Gentleness and Self-Control

I was very convicted by his message, as his focus was on "Gentleness".  
Since gentleness is one of the fruits that is a by-product of my faithfulness, well.......
I realized I was carrying around inside of me some rotten, spoiling, stinky fruits.

And, since God obviously knows me sooooo well......
guess what verses my Monday morning devotional contained.  
Yep.....
Galatians 5:22-23.

I'm so glad He loves me enough to convict my heart and keep on until He has my attention.
I stand in need of prayer, sweet Ladies.
I'm struggling.
I'm allowing the burdens and things of this world to overwhelm me.

Thank you in advance for your prayers.

See y'all Friday.

{ My pity pot }

Do any of you ever sit down on your pity pot and feel sorry for yourself and refuse to get off because things just continually seem to go wrong?  Well, I'm gonna be honest here and just admit that I've been sitting on mine a bit recently because of.....

well, things that really don't amount to a hill of beans compared to what others are going through.

I have some friends at church who are TRULY struggling with health issues which include dialysis, waiting on a new kidney and possible loss of eye sight due to glaucoma and diabetes.  Then, I get this e-mail requesting prayer because somebody has been given just a short amount of time to live.  I cannot even imagine what she and her family are going through.  I mean I cried when I read the e-mail and had chills and also felt immense conviction for being so prideful and self-absorbed for the trivial things I waste time worrying about.  I also realized that it was simply Satan who put me on that pot and was keeping me there.  

Please pray for these friends who are in such desperate need of strength and courage and peace and comfort.

Luke 4:8

And Jesus answered and said unto him, 

Get thee behind me, Satan: 

for it is written, 

Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, 

and him only shalt thou serve.

Breathing in Grace,

Spiritual Mothers.....

There are women God places in our lives at just the right time whom I've heard referred to as "Spiritual Mothers".  These are women that fit the description found in Titus 2. They are mentors to us, give us advice and most importantly pray for us.  I've had those women in my own life and wouldn't trade the friendship with these ladies for anything in the world.  One such woman is my special, precious friend, Ms. Thelma.  We haven't seen each other in a couple of years, but we talk on the phone frequently.  She and her husband moved to a city about two hours away to be closer to a VA hospital and we did travel up and visit them once since they moved.....

and hope to get to go again very soon.

I'm asking for prayer for my friend.

She's been experiencing some numbness and tingling in her hands and an MRI found that she has 3 discs in her back that are compressing on her spinal cord.  This is very serious and once the diagnosis was made, surgery was scheduled as soon as possible.  She was told that she had to be very careful prior to the surgery because if she happened to be in a car accident or even fall it could cause complete paralysis.

My precious friend will be having surgery this morning.

PLEASE pray for Ms. Thelma and her surgeon and her family,

especially for her husband, Mr. Ken.

She is scheduled to be at the hospital at 10 this morning with surgery at 11.

Breathing in Grace,

Prayer request.....

Update on my brother:

Y'all aren't gonna even believe what happened.
My brother's surgery was scheduled for 2:00 this afternoon,
but he was told to be there at 12:30.
We got there early and they took him back to the "holding area" around 12:30.....
and he kept laying there until his friend asked what the delay was.
The lady who did the scheduling in the office had made a mistake.....
his surgery isn't until this Friday at 2:00!!!
He was finally "released" around 3:00!
He remained calm as a cucumber.....
which was better than his older sister!
I know it happened for a reason.....
'cause everything does!!!
But.....
I'm old and I was freezing cold and it was raining monsoon proportions and I had a headache.....
and we have to go back and do it all over Friday.....
and I'm only human!
I told him the least they could have done was given him a tad of the "happy juice".....LOL!!

Continue to pray for him.....
and maybe say a little one for me, too!!!
;-)





About a week ago, on a Friday afternoon, I got a call from my brother asking me to come to where he's building a house, that he had gotten hurt.  I fully expected to see lots of blood and him laying on the ground when I got there, but that wasn't the case.  He was trying to hang sheet rock.....all by himself.....and felt something "pop" in the bicep of his right arm and was in terrible pain.  He was taken to the ER and found that he pulled a ligament.  After a trip to an orthopedic surgeon last week, he will be having surgery to repair the tear today (I won't even go into detail as to how it will be repaired.....ouch!) The surgery itself will take about 1.5 hours (much more extensive than I would have thought).

Thanks, sweet readers, for your prayers!!!

2 Chronicles 6:19

.....listen to my prayer and my plea,

 O Lord my God. 

Hear the cry and the prayer 

that your servant is making to you.

Breathing in Grace,

Let there be light.....

One of my best friends has cancer.
She's had tummy troubles for the greater part of her adult life and has been sick, in and out of the hospital, since January with severe bouts of pancreatitis.  She went to the ER at Vanderbilt about six weeks ago and was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and it's also in her lung (she's never smoked).  

Please pray for her.....
she began her chemo last week.
Prayers that the tumor in her pancreas will shrink so that surgery can be performed.  Prayers that whatever she goes thru, that God will get the glory.

She's one of the most faith-filled women I've ever met.
If you ask her if you can do anything for her.....
her answer is always the same.....
PRAY!!!

Breathing in Jesus,

Deb

Special, Personal Prayer Request!!

I wasn't allowed to share about our kids until now.

Their journey in Uganda started when they left on 12-12-12 (a date we'll never forget) and if all goes according to plan...God's plan...they will return home Saturday night. Satan has thrown roadblocks all over the place for them, but they have kept strong in their faith. This experience has been life changing for all of us....especially Jess, Brant and the boys. We are so excited to get to welcome Miss Ruby Kate into our family...'cause she's already stolen Pappy and Nannie's hearts, just like our boys have.

I'll share more later....

....but for now....

PLEASE....help pray our kids home!!!

In HIS Most Precious L♥ve....and with mine, too!!!

Blessings,

Deb

Special Prayer Request!

I'm calling on all my precious Prayer Warriors to offer up prayer 
for our nephew, Rob.  He has heart problems and  I just learned that he is in the hospital.  
I don't have any other details.

Please pray for him and his daughter and grand-daughter....
....and also for our sister.

Thanks so much, Sweet Readers!!!

In HIS Most Precious Love....and with mine!!!

Sweet, sweet Spirit!!!

Yesterday, I became overwhelmed....

....with fear....because of a lot of "what if's"!!!

I don't even like to admit that happens to me....a CHRISTian....who has the love of God in her heart....and tries so hard to be strong!  I think the emotion of almost loosing my Momma....and watching her struggle to regain her strength....finding out that my precious Pappy has several health concerns....and add to that he is loosing his job soon....well, it just all hit me like a ton of bricks and I HAD to do something that I find so difficult to do.
I had to ask y'all to pray for me!  

In case some of you are going thru something difficult....and you know the outcome is going to be okay because of your belief in an all-knowing, all powerful Savior....but you allow the devil to convince you that there is no way you can handle everything life is throwing at you (and Satan is sooooo good at that)....and in a weak moment you just give into that doubt and fear.  If that's where you find yourself sometimes, too....well, I want to share some of the verses of scripture that you all left for me yesterday....because these along with your prayers and precious thoughts....brought about such a sweetness in my spirit!!!

Isaiah 43:1-3

  But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you.  O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters, I will be with you.  When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown.    When you walk through the fire of oppression,
      you will not be burned up;  the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God,  the Holy One of Israel, your Savior." 

Psalm 103:17

But the love of the Lord remains forever

      with those who fear him.

   His salvation extends to the children’s children.

Isaiah 55:8-9

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.   For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts."

Isaiah 26:3

You will keep in perfect peace
      all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!

Isaiah 41 
(emphasis on verse 10)
Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
      Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.
   I will strengthen you and help you.
      I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

And, my best friend....Ms. Dawn....

....texted me this one earlier this week....

Psalm 31:24

Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart,  
all ye that hope in the Lord.

Here is my verse right back to all of you, 

my Sweet Readers.... 

Philippians 1:3

Every time I think of you, 

I give thanks to my God.

HOPE you have a weekend full of sweet blessings!!!

In HIS Most Precious Love....and with mine!!!

P.S....I have to share this with y'all.
As I was writing this, I read the "verse of the day" at the top of my blog for Thursday....which I hadn't done first thing in the morning like I obviously should have.  Here is what God had to say....

Matthew 16:20

“Get away from me, Satan! 

You are a dangerous trap to me. 

You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.” 

WOW!!!

Ain't  God good?

Oh, yes HE most certainly is!!!

Prayers, please!!!

My precious, Sweet Readers!!!

I'm standing in need of your prayers.  

I don't usually ask for prayers for myself....but I am. I can't go into detail right now....but I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed because of the situation with my Mom and some other medical issues we are facing with another family member.  I've already asked for HIM to calm me and send HIS peace upon me....would you join me in praying that same prayer!

 James 5:16b

The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

Thank you, Prayer Warriors!!!

In HIS Most Precious Love....and with mine!!!

Special Prayer Request!

Good Evening, Sweet Readers!

We have a very special prayer request for Ms. Audry Baker, the great-grandmother of our niece, Cortney.  Ms. Baker has double pneumonia and is in the hospital in West Virginia.  Please keep her and her family in your thoughts and prayers that she will recover completely and get back to work 

(yes...she's a hairdresser and was working up until a few days ago!!!)

Thanks so much, Prayer Warriors!!!

In His Most Precious Love....and with mine!!!

Special Prayer Request

Ms. Catalina at Up the Hill has asked us to pray for some friends of hers who run an orphanage in Ethiopia.  You can read more about them at

Drawn From Water.

Please take the time to visit this site, and also Catalina's.....

.....your heart will be touched!!!

In His Most Precious Love....and with mine!!!

Special Prayer Request

I find that my heart is somewhat heavy today.....

with so many people who are sick and suffering....no only physically, but emotionally....and especially spiritually.  There's really nothing that I can do for them....

....except PRAY!!!

Do you all realize what power there is in PRAYER?!?!?  Even many doctors are acknowledging that they are seeing miraculous recoveries in their patients who have people praying for them!!!

So....my precious readers....I have a very special prayer request for you today.

Would you please add our sister....not only Pappy's and my sister....but your sister in Christ....would you please add her to your prayer list?

Her name is Ms. Betty....and she is suffering from terrible pain as a result of an injury.  She has undergone surgery....but is facing the possibility of more surgery in her future.  Also....please ask our precious Lord to give her discernment in decisions that need to be made.

I sincerely HOPE that she knows....how much she's loved!!!

Thank you, Prayer Warriors!!!

You're the greatest!!!

In His Most Precious Love....and with mine!!!

Special Prayer Request

Ms. Lee Ann has asked all Prayer Warriors to pray for a gentleman by the name of Mr. J. R. Oliver who has suffered a massive stroke.  

You can read more details on Ms. Lee Ann's blog

Sewing and Other Fun Things.

Let's band together to pray for this brother in Christ....

....and for his wife and family!

In His Most Precious Love....and with mine!!!

Prayer Request

Ms. Catalina left a comment on my blog asking for prayer for a little 4 year old boy who accidentally caught himself on fire playing with a lighter.  You can read about this tragedy on her blog, Up the Hill, Both Ways.  

Please keep this little boy and his family in your thoughts and prayers!

In His Most Precious Love....and with mine!!!

Special Prayer Request

I have a very special prayer request to ask of you, Prayer Warriors.  My sister-in-law, Pappy's oldest sister....Ms. Betty....will be having a major surgery tomorrow around 1:00.  She has a hamstring tear caused by a fall and the orthopedic doctor who is the doc for the University of Tennessee....says this is the worst he's ever seen. There are 3 degrees of hamstring tears....and Ms. Betty's is worse than the worse.  She will be in the hospital for at least a week, then in rehab for an additional 2 weeks.  This is a major surgery, as they have to pull the tendons and nerves back up and reattach to her hip....not to mention how painful it is.  And, not to mention that after the surgery, she won't be able to sit....only lay and stand....until it heals.  

I'm asking all of you to start praying now, please. 

Pray that God will lay His mighty hand of healing on her....starting NOW....and that the surgeon will find that it is not nearly as bad as the MRI's showed....pray for her recovery and that God will lessen her pain.  

We serve THE GREAT PHYSICIAN!

I know that I can count on y'all to offer Ms. Betty up in prayer.  As much as we love her....HE loves her more!!!

HOPE your SON-day is blessed!!!

In His Most Precious Love....and with mine!!!

A quick update....and a thank you!!!

Just wanted to give an update to those of you who have told me you're praying for our daughter, Jess....she's doing so well.  Her throat is very, very sore, of course....but I think she's doing great!!!  

Thank all of you so very much for your precious words and e-mails and comments.  I told her this morning that I feel it would have been so much worse if there hadn't been so many people praying for her!!!

It's wonderful to be able to call on people to pray....even those we don't really know.  

But....I believe that some day....we'll all know each other in heaven!!!

In His Most Precious Love....and with mine!!!

Sweet rewards!!!

 1)  Look what I won.....

My blogging friend, Ms. Jacki @ Christie Cottage had a give-a-way....

and I won this adorable change purse.

Check out her site...she has a new give-a-way every single week!!!

In case you're interested in purchasing one of your own....here's the info on the sweet lady who makes 'em!!!

 2) And....speaking of winning....I also won this precious little book from 

Ms. Janet @ Along the Way.

You've gotta check out her site....she has lots of book give-a-ways!!!

3)  Remember these Dollar Store hurricanes I made?

Well....they were featured @ House of Hepworths.

What an honor!!

4)  Last week in Sunday school....Ms. Mary handed me a little red gift bag....and look what was inside....

Notice what she's holding in her hands.....yes, a cardinal!!!  

Ms. Mary said when she saw it she felt God prompting her to buy it for me!!!

Ain't God good?

Oh, yes He is!!!

Well....that's about it for now!!

I do want to remind y'all to please continue to pray for our daughter.  
She will be having a tonsillectomy and a bilateral sinus wash on Monday morning.  If you should leave a comment on my blog....or send me a message....it might be a few days before I can respond....as I'll be helping out with either the GRAND-sons....or our girl!!!

HOPE each of you have a very safe and happy Halloween....but more importantly....a Sunday full of blessings!!!

In His Most Precious Love...and with mine!!!

Special Prayer Request

Good Morning Precious Readers!

I have a very special prayer request this morning.  

My cousin, Stephanie, had her baby boy on Saturday via emergency C-section.  Owen weighed ten pounds and one ounce.  He is in NICU because of some digestive problems.  Would you please add baby Owen to your prayer list that God will heal his little digestive system so that he can keep down his milk?  Also, please pray for healing for Stephanie and for God's grace and peace to abound in and around this family.

Thank you all so very much for your care and concern....and especially your prayers!!!

In His Most Precious Love...and with mine!!!

Special Prayer Request

I found out early Easter morning that a tragic accident had taken the life of the daughter of a man who works for the company I used to work for.  Please keep this family in your thoughts and prayers as they struggle with the loss of their 14 year old daughter.  I can't even begin to realize the pain of loosing a child.

But....don't you think it's an "it's not odd, it's God" thing....that this tragic loss came during the time that we celebrate the death, burial and resurrection of God's Only Son?

Who else can better understand their loss....and comfort them in His everlasting, loving arms?!?

The obituary of Jordan Alexis Dwomick

Thank you so much, precious Prayer Warriors!!

Blessings to you!!!

In His Most Precious Love....and with mine!!!

Extra Special Prayer Request

I have a very special prayer request that is a personal one. 

Please keep my Mamaw in your thoughts and prayers.  She's not doing well right now.  Also, if you could remember my Mom and Aunt who are her caretakers.  I so admire them for all they've done for Mamaw....even the ER doctor told them he could tell how well she's been taken care of.

Thank you, precious Prayer Warriors!!!

Blessings to you!!!

In His Most Precious Love....and with mine!!!