Sunday, December 20, 2009

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas from my blog to yours!
I pray that you are experiencing the true spirit of Christmas with the peace and joy of Jesus Christ! I pray that you all will have a delightful time with your families!
The house is all decorated, cards have been sent, there are presents under the tree, yummy treats abound and we've had some wonderful gatherings with family and friends. It has been a very lovely Christmas season so far, and we are still looking forward to more fun things this week!

Please do not give up on me! I am enjoying my blogging break, but I also am missing it very much. I will be back up and running sometime in January of 2010 with a little surprise!!! Until then, I'm wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

"Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, "Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,"which translated means, "God with us." Matthew 1:22-23

Love, Sharon

Friday, December 4, 2009

Happy Birthday Grayson!!!

Today is my son Grayson's 19th birthday!!! I wanted to wish him a very special day!

He has brought such happiness and joy to our lives!
We are so very proud of him and so thankful for him!!!
He is an awesome person who loves the Lord, has good character, is a hard worker, is responsible, funny and is a very kind person! Who could ask for more in a son!
I hope you have the best year ever Grayson! I love you!

I am still on my blogging break, I just wanted to wish my son a happy birthday today! Things have been very busy around here, but life has been very good. Thank you for the well wishes for Thanksgiving! We had a beautiful day with the family. I hope that all of you had great Thanksgiving days too. I have the whole house decorated for Christmas and the front porch too. We still need the tree, which we are getting today and Eric will put the house lights up this weekend. Basketball season has started for Hayden, so that's two nights a week we will be going to games. All my kids are doing well and work has been really good, so I have much to be thankful for. I still feel overwhelmed sometimes with the things of life, but I really feel like the Lord is teaching me so much about trusting Him and it's a nice place to be. I hope all of you are doing well and enjoying this season as we celebrate our Saviour's birth!

Merry Christmas and God bless us everyone! :0)

"I thank my God every time I remember you." Philippians 1:3

Love, Sharon

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Exercise quiet, sweet, diligence in your work...

I have been feeling really overwhelmed lately. This year has been a stressful year for me. Although I have had many blessings and many good happy times, I have also had many things that have burdened me. On top of some of my stressors, I have been trying to organize my whole house by cleaning cabinets and closets, moving things around and throwing things out. Then, right around the corner, is Christmas and all that that entails! I am feeling like the lady above.
I feel like I am doing a lot of things, but I am not doing anything well. I have not been happy with myself. I feel like the girl above, I look fine on the outside, but inside, I'm feeling out of control, a little angry and not happy. I'm not trusting God.

Any way, I was feeling down this morning and started praying. I got down on my knees and prayed in the spirit. I just gave all of my troubles to Him. When I was done praying I opened my little devotional book called Streams in the Dessert and this is what I read:

Talk to God about whatever may be pressuring you

and then commit the entire matter into His hands.

Do so to be free from the conflicts and cares that fill the world today.

In fact, anytime you are undergoing some trial or

simply pursuing your normal business, tell the Father about it.

Acquaint Him with it; yes, even burden Him with it,

and you will have put the concerns and cares behind you.

From that point forward, exercise quiet, sweet, diligence in your work, recognizing your dependence on Him to carry the matter for you.”

R. Leighton, Streams in the Dessert, 11-21, edited

What stood out to me is the part that says after we give the Lord our burdens this is what we need to do:

From that point forward, exercise quiet, sweet, diligence in your work

So that is what I'm going to do. I have decided that although there are some stressful things in my life that I cannot control, one thing I can control is giving it all to the Lord. Then I need to continue to do the work that the Lord has put upon me, which is being a good wife and mother and making my home a wonderful cozy sanctuary for my family with yummy meals and fresh baked sweets. This is the true desire of my heart anyway and I keep letting other things get in my way. I also have been called to work outside my home at my little part-time job and I need to work there with the same heart and same attitude. That little book just hit me when it said to give it all to the Lord and just continue to work, but not just work, exercise quiet, sweet, diligence in my work! This little passage was just a gift from God this morning.
I believe that we are not fighting a battle of flesh and blood, it is a spiritual battle. I feel that in my Christian walk, I just go up and down all the time. Good news than bad news. I know this is how life is, but I do believe the enemy is trying to rob me of my joy. Although it is true that 2009 has brought some big issues on the old stress test, the Lord also has answered so many prayers for us and I'm talking amazing prayers and long term prayers that I never thought would get answered! He is so good! Why do I let things get to me? Where's my faith? I feel like I am such a light-weight Christian. I want to be strong like my Grandma Ethel and my Grandma Margaret. I need to continue to get on my knees and give all of it to Him and keep trusting.
From that point forward, exercise quiet, sweet, diligence in your work
I have concluded that the beginning steps to exercising quiet, sweet diligence in my work, I need to be a better steward with my time. I have decided to quit blogging for a bit. I am not sure for how long, perhaps a month or two with perhaps a few little posts in between. I will just see how the Lord directs me. I will miss all of you, but I will be checking your blogs often to keep up on your lives.

I also want to be more thankful for all my blessings. I am going to start a thankful journal and list all my many blessings. Our pastor said if you list all the things you are grateful for you won't have any time left to dwell on the negative things!
This is how I want to be, carefree, joyful, happy and trusting in the Lord! I pray the same for all of you.

I would like to wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving, a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

May the Lord richly bless you!

"Commit your way to the Lord." Psalm 37:5

Love, Sharon

Friday, November 20, 2009

Voice to Spirit Concert!


This is my son, Mackenzie, and his gorgeous wife, Brittany. They have created a musical group together called Voice to Spirit. They perform electronica worship music and they are really, really good! She sings and writes songs and he plays all the instruments, sings and writes songs. They are so talented and I am so very proud of them!
A few weeks ago they had a concert and my family attended. I took pictures of us "with the band" before the concert! We know people in high places! LOL! Here's my Dad and Hayden standing with them.
And here's my Dad and me standing with them. My hubby, Eric, was there too and also our other sons, Cameron and Grayson, but I didn't get pictures of them. :0(
My sisters and their kids showed up too!
They did such a great job!
They sang many songs from their first album........
.....and sang a few new songs, which were soooo good!
I wish you could hear them, the music is so amazing and Brittany's voice is so beautiful.
I am so proud of my kids because they are using their talents to bless the Lord and to minister to people. This is an answer to Mackenzie's prayers. He has been interested in creating music since he was in middle school and it is so neat that the Lord brought him a wife who is so musically talented and that they create it together and perform together!!!

"Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty expanse. Praise Him for His mighty deeds; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness. Praise Him with trumpet sound; Praise Him with harp and lyre. Praise Him with timbrel and dancing; Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe. Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!" Psalm 150

Love, Sharon

P.S. Thank you everyone for your words of encouragement. I am feeling better and getting back into my routine. You are all so sweet and kind. I would like to come and visit all of you this weekend.

As far as my blog being slow, I think it must be because I have nearly 800 posts. I think I need to open up a second blog and will be looking into that soon. I will probably call it Rose of Sharon II or Roses of Sharon.......do you guys have any good suggestions?

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

I want to go back.....

Knott's Berry Farm at Night
November 2009

I want to go back on vacation! Since I've been back there's been drama at work, trouble with my parents and my brother, sad news about a niece, sad news about a friend, disappointing news about a house for sale, and it's been pouring down rain. I want to go back to the sunshine and back to being carefree on vacation.

I have today off and my day is loaded with plans including cleaning, going to the store, going through a lot of paperwork, making phone calls, writing and sending out Christmas party invitations, making a good dinner, making cookies etc. I am hoping to have a few hours this afternoon to catch up with my blogging. I love to blog, but I need more hours in my day! I have heard from a few of you that my blog has been slow to load. I do not know why, I have not done anything differently. I went in and changed it from loading ten pages to just five, so hopefully that will speed things up. Please let me know if you're still having trouble.

Hope you have a great day!

"He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak." Isaiah 40:29

Love, Sharon