Haven’t been here for awhile.  When I come to look back, I am amazed at all that is here.  So many memories!  I am thankful for this place.  Blessings

“Character — the willingness to accept responsibility for one’s own life — is the source from which self-respect springs.” – Joan Didio

I am more aware than ever before what creates good self worth in a person. A person must approve of himself by overcoming and doing hard things.

If I do hard things this will improve my self worth and keep me humble at the same time. Remembering it is the narrow road that leads to life (few go this way) and the broad road that leads to death (many there are who go there).

Another thing I was taught long ago that has been a help to me is this: If I am hard on myself, God will go easy on me. Saying that, I must also say that I cannot change myself. My Lord is the one who changes me as I lend my members to Him to use for His good pleasure. He is love!

   My husband has mandatory 58+ hour work weeks all summer long.  That is five 10 hour days and an 8 hour day each week.  He gets paid straight time for the overtime.  This week he may even need to work on Sunday.  I am working a lot now too!  It is good in that we are reaching the end of our days in the sense of being productive young workers and the extra money could be saved to help in time of need for the future.  It looks like in the not too distant future we will be lacking work so it would be prudent for us to save for the pending ”rainy day”.

   In a nut shell, we do not have a summer this year.  We cannot take our motorhome, which sits idle in our driveway, and go anywhere.  We are tired and would love a break… but this is not our decision to make, if we value our livelihood.  I am not meaning to complain, but rather make a point.

   The thing that plagues me is that this extra income could bump us up into a higher tax bracket.  That means the reward for all the hard work is diminished.  It would be rewarding for us to be able to direct which way our own money is spent. (I realize in actuality every thing belongs to God.)

   I resent being penalized and losing our summer too!  I do not have to let this consume me, but it serves to make the point I think is very important.  Our society should be structured so that hard work, sacrifice, savings, being generous is rewarded and laziness, selfishness, reckless spending, and greediness is punished.  Not that anyone punishes or rewards us, but that things are structured to allow the rewards or punishment to come as a natural outcome of our doings.  Kind of like, you reap what you sow…. and the prudent man seeing trouble coming hides from it!  (or….prepares for it!)

   I want our freedom back!!!!! 

PS  Thanks for taking the time to read my thoughts.  Your thoughts are welcome. 

   The Awesome Lord of me has been speaking to me about mirrors lately.  He has been giving me insights into how we see ourselves and how that affects our self image, the way we feel and behave.  The mirrors in my house are different.  My favorite mirror is the one on our old dresser.  It slims whomever it sees.  The one on the wall in our room, on the other hand is more accurate and always says “lose it baby!”  We have one mirror upstairs that is very distorted.  It has bothered me from the first day I saw it, but others (the males) didn’t seem to care.  The Lord has put it on my heart to replace it with one that doesn’t distort. 

   I cannot really speak about mirrors without acknowledging the fact that we are also mirrors.  We are supposed to mirror our Creator, but we have distortions which give out a distorted image of Him.  He is so gracious.  Yet we know from His Word that we are His workmanship.  He is the potter and we are the clay.  He is the machinist and we are the machine.  Our job is to present ourselves, in faith, resting upon His altar where He “alters” us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, and offering praise with thanksgiving to the only One truly worthy of our praise. 

   While on this subject, I must also remind myself that the offenses of others are offenses to me because they are mirroring back to me a distortion or flaw in myself.  This should automatically direct me back to the Creator, for repairs or alterations on His Altar.  We are to strive to enter His rest, not strive to change ourselves.  Therefore there will be no boasting in His presence because He is the one who did the changing.  But He is such a gracious gentleman that He only works on us when we allow Him.  (However, He loves us so much that He does arrange for things in our lives which help make us long for His involvement in our lives.)  Another thing I have come to know, is that He likes to work on us.  He “likes us” as well as loving us.  So I say, climb up on that altar and rest in Him, while He alters you.

   Feedback please… discussion table is open… may I get you a beverage?       

Perhaps I need to change my name to something more positive, like ButterflyKathy or Hummingbird Kathy!  Any suggestions???

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuLvOCv43gY

Below is the Motorhome we bought.  Yiphee!  I think!

In Surprise AZ, we found another Calvary Chapel Pastor with a Flat Top kinda like Mitch.