GCR Women

We started off this year talking about the value of reading and memorizing the Word of God.  We often judge the value of how we spend our time by what we get out of it - our return on investment.  This year, did you get a good return?  Did you end the year richer in the knowledge and understanding of God's Word than you started it?  Only you can say. Part of this year, I devoted more of myself and my time to God's Word; part of it, less.  I wish I had been more faithful and consistent.  But the year seemed to fly by.  I felt like I was running to catch up and never got there.  I'd tell myself:  "OK.  I'm going to get it together and when I do, I'm going to have daily time in the Word."  But I let things get in the way and never got it together. So what now?  I'd like to do better.  To do better, I have to make my actions match my desires.  So, rather than waiting to get my life perfectly in control and in order, ...

We did it!  We finally emptied out the storage unit we've been renting for about ten years.  It's taken us three separate Saturdays to accomplish it, but now, the unit is empty and swept clean.  We never have to go back there to search through all those boxes. Unfortunately, we didn't get rid of all the stuff.  Nope.  We just brought it home and put it in our garage. Yes, it's all still with me, right there close by in our garage, right where our cars should be. When it was at the storage unit, I could forget about it and just keep going happily about my life as if I didn't have a pile of unfinished work to do.  With it just a few steps away where I live, where I will see it all the time, will I keep on ignoring it?  Will I finally deal with it all?  I wish I'd taken the time to sort through it, keeping the good and discarding the junk, years ago.  If only I'd dealt with each item in every box right away instead of hiding it!  If on...

It stormed something fierce here over the weekend.  The wind blew and the rain fell.  It was a powerful storm. My littlest granddaughter, Vivienne, was frightened by the fury of the storm, so her daddy, my son, picked her up and took her to the window and explained it to her - at least as much as you can to a toddler who's just a few months shy of her second birthday. He held her closely and pointed to the rain and said, "It's water."  In the safety of her daddy's arms, she took it all in and finally yelled, "It's okay!  It's wawa!" What a precious scene I conjured up as imagined the two of them standing there looking at the rain!  Her trust in her daddy conquered her fears and gave her the courage to shout the storm down. What storms am I facing that make me afraid?  Are troubles pouring down?  Are worries blowing me around? Oh, that I would let my Father take me into His arms and reassure me that I'm safe in His care, that He is ...

It's difficult to believe that it's been almost four weeks since we left on our fall trip and more than two weeks since we returned.  And what a trip it was!  We traveled to places we'd never been to before and experienced new things along the way. The sights!  Imagine sand dunes along the seashore two stories tall and a snow-capped mountain in a neighboring state visible from nearly 100 miles away.  We watched swirling waters caught in a reversing tide in one location and that same tide leaving fishing boats high and dry at low tide causing the water to retreat and reveal the ocean floor with its hidden treasures of smooth stones and sea glass. On another rocky shore guarded by a stately white lighthouse, the powerful waves could drench the sunlit rocks without warning and sweep the unwary out to sea. A quiet hillside cemetery served as the final resting place for townsfolk as well as strangers who'd been victims of the tragic sinking of the Titanic.  And th...

By the time you read this, we'll be gone.  We're going on a long-planned trip to new places with new adventures.  I wonder what we'll see, what we'll discover.... You'd think we were moving instead of just travelling.  I tried on almost every article of clothing I own, rejecting most and finally settling on the ones that seemed best suited for what we plan to do where we plan to go.  Three suitcases and two carry-ons later, we're packed. You, know, Abraham set out on a trip.  His Travel Agent told him to pack up his tent, his wife, his family, his belongings and go.  He didn't even know where he was going.  He was told to go and he went.  He listened to God's voice and obeyed God's command and he pulled up stakes and went. His immediate destination was not always clear, but his heart told him "You're not there yet.  Keep moving."  His Travelling Companion stopped by or checked in now and then.  And he collected the most amazi...

I hope you were able to view the lunar eclipse in September - the blood moon.  It was spectacular!  I got to watch it with my husband in the mountains near Ruidoso. When the eclipse was at its peak, the moon was dark reddish orange, the night sky was aglow with more starlight than I had seen in some time.  The Milky Way was visible overhead and I counted four shooting stars. The heavens proclaimed God's glory. Some friends were watching along with me even though they were in West Texas and we'd text back and forth, each exclaiming on the display before us.  We sat in awed amazement at God's majestic creation doing just what it was created to do.  That night, the intricacies of God's plan shouted His praises without saying a word. And I couldn't help but wonder: what have we been created to do?  Are we doing it?  Do our lives proclaim God's glory?  Do our lives witness to His plan?  Do we consider the message we're giving the world? ...

Yesterday, I had a skin cancer removed from my nose.  It was my first personal experience with skin cancer and its removal.  A very talented doctor, Dr. Russell Akin, performed Mohs surgery on my beak to clear it of the parasitic enemy.  The procedure is 98%-99% effective and Dr. Akin is highly skilled, so I'm very hopeful that his work will indeed prove to be successful. I knew I was in the right place when I heard Christian music playing over the office's sound system.  I had asked God to take control of my situation and provide the best results possible.  I told Him that whatever He allows, I will accept and I still stand on that.  But right now, I feel the favor of God on me as the cancer was removed in one pass and the doctor was able to close the wound with stitches and no skin graft was needed.  Remarkable!  Praiseworthy! Yes, praise God for His tender mercies and constant care. Skin cancer is a devious little beast.  It can appear ...