From our family to yours: Merry Christmas! May you have a blessed and joyous day as we celebrate the birth our Lord Jesus Christ, the best gift ever. May we experience peace on earth and good will towards everyone every day of the year from this day forward. image courtesy of  Olena Bohovyk via Unsplash Blessings, Patricia

October Leaf Peeping Enjoying an autumn drive I know autumn isn't a holiday, but it got me out of the house for a couple of days. It's still fairly warm here in the afternoons even though we're well over a month into this beautiful season, so I actually grilled hamburgers one night. And we went leaf peeping one afternoon. See the pictures below of some of the beauty I captured with my camera as we drove around. Beautiful sun in the clear October sky Autumn in the backyard We don't have to drive anywhere to experience the beauty of autumn though. I love our backyard . I tell my family I would miss our backyard and large deck more than anything if we had to move. One of life's secrets is having a nice place to get away from the daily grind. My place for that just happens to be our backyard. Even when the roses slowly stop blooming, the hummingbird feeders come down, and the other birds stop nesting, I still enjoy spending time on the deck or in the backyard. The pink...

On the third day, Jesus rose from His grave (Luke 24:6). We call this day Easter. He died on a cross and a few days later, he was alive once more - resurrected. How grateful I am for that, because that means I, too, will rise from my grave to live with Jesus and God once my life here is over. We must also remember the beauty in that promise He made to bring us to live with Him (John 14:1-4). But that isn't all. image courtesy of Kelly Sikkema via Unsplash Before He was crucified, Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 16:27 that He would return with the angels one day and repay each of us for what we have done - good for good, bad for bad. So, the Rapture and Judgment Day are coming. This means we will get to see Jesus ourselves. And Jesus adds more details in Matthew 24 about that day of Rapture when he will return for those of us who have lived for Him. He tells us to be prepared. He tells us how bad the world will look just before He comes back. If you watch the news at all, you ...

Happy New Year to all of my beautiful readers. I've been praying for peace for all of you. I want everyone who reads this post to have a fresh start this new year. First of all, ask God to forgive you for known and unknown sins in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, who died for our sins. Ask Him for strength to do His will. Doing God's will is a process. It may not happen immediately. But by 2025, you will be able to see your progress. I promise to be here to help you through that process.   image courtesy of  Sincerely Media  via Unsplash Often, change has to occur inside us for change to happen around us. There are so many hurting people in the world. We have to let go of past hurts and forgive those people who have hurt us. Next, we should ask God to forgive those who have hurt us, because that's what Jesus did when He was hanging on the cross. Forgiving doesn't mean returning to a toxic relationship. It just means we aren't holding grudges, and we can move on wi...

Jesus, our Savior , was born a little over 2023 years ago. Because of His birth, the world has a new way of counting years - A.D. or Anno Domini (in the year of our Lord). It's no longer the years when certain kings ruled or of a  conflict era or of what country is ruling. Each year is now the year of our Lord, Jesus Christ. And we can even count backwards from His birth now and call those years B.C. - Before Christ. He simplified dates. He helped us to understand the Bible better by becoming the Word in flesh. You could say that He simplified life. He taught us to obey and trust the Father and to love the Father and others. That's pretty simple, yet, we seem to mess it up anyway.  That's why He suffered and died on a cross for us. He was as gentle as a lamb and was sacrificed like 1 too. He knew we wouldn't get everything right all of the time. So, He died for our sins. Then He rose 3 days later. He made it easier to understand God and God's teachings before He lef...

Today , I'm going to share my easy homemade creamed corn recipe with you. My family loves it, and I think yours will too! The recipe below feeds up to 8 people. And this is soooo much better than canned creamed corn, which I will not eat at all. Sorry Green Giant et al.  Patricia's Creamed Corn Recipe To begin with, you'll need 15 to 20 ears of corn . Next,  clean the corn . After cleaning, cut off the kernels. As the kernels are removed, slide the edge of the knife down each cob to extract the remaining juices. 😉This part can be a bit messy but it's worth it. In the skillet, melt 2 sticks of margarine on high. It will melt faster if you cut each stick into 4 or 5 smaller sections. Put your corn kernels and extracted juices in the skillet once the margarine has melted. Stir until the corn is coated with the butter.  Pour in a full can of evaporated milk ( shake well before opening). Bring to a boil, then turn down to medium heat. Cook at this setting until the marg...

It's Independence Day and a  beloved holiday in the United States. As we gather around for picnics and cookouts today to celebrate our independence in the U.S., let's remember where our true freedom comes from. It comes from God above. Many have gone into battle to gain and preserve this freedom. Many of you reading this are fortunate to also live in countries that allow you to have our independent lives with laws, of course, to govern that this independence remains stable. The Bible also speaks of freedom and liberty for all who believe and call upon the name of Jesus Christ for salvation. Being a child of Christ is freedom, because regardless of the problems and chaos of this world, there will be a day when all of this will pass away. All of our problems will be forgotten when we enter heaven to live with him. While we're here, though, we have to make the best of it that we can. God's Word helps us with that.  Read a few Scriptures  from the Bible that declare this f...

Memorial Day is a day we remember those we have lost - parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, and others we love. This year, though, it's more special because there is so much grief around the world. And people are struggling with personal griefs as well - such as domestic violence. I was hoping that Covid would make us all realize how precious life is, learn to love more and hate less. Even if no one you know or love has died from Covid, you have watched those death numbers rise each day. Now we're watching as monkeypox cases rise.  On top of these plagues, Russia started a war with Ukraine earlier this year, and other controversies between countries have started. I think we can be almost certain that more worldwide plagues and controversies are on the way.  Let's not forget the victims of natural disasters. Fires, floods, volcanic eruptions, tornadoes, earthquakes, and other disasters have taken countless lives as well. But the saddest news of all is the hate crimes t...