Happy New Year!

Can't believe another year has come and gone.

Just a few photos from the year. Hope 

everyone has enjoyed their holidays. Have a

very happy and prosperous new year!

A Family Christmas

Christmas is the season of joy, of holiday

greetings exchanged, of gift-giving, and 

of families united. ~Norman Vincent Peale

A family is a place where principles are

hammered and honed on the anvil of

everyday living. ~Charles Swindoll

Choose for yourselves today the one you will worship....

As for me and my family, we will worship the Lord. ~Joshua 24:15

Christmas Is...

Christmas is not just a day of the year. 

It is also...and more importantly...

a condition of the heart. ~Marie T. Freeman

If Christmas is about anything, Christmas 

is the story of God changing worlds and

putting limitations upon Himself. It's the

story of a baby born in Bethlehem, who was

much more powerful than the Roman

Empire that existed that day. ~John Maxwell

The Lord reigns; let the earth rejoice. ~Psalm 97:1

A Little Christmas Cheer

A smile is the light in the window of your face that tells people you're at home. ~Barbara Johnson

Life goes on. Keep on smiling and the whole

world smiles with you. ~Dennis Swanberg

These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may 

remain in you, and that your joy may be full. ~John 15:11

Spirit of Christmas

The simple shepherds heard the voice of an angel 

and found their Lamb; the wise men saw 

the light of a star and found their Wisdom. ~Fulton Sheen

I truly believe that if we keep telling the Christmas story, singing the Christmas songs, and living the Christmas spirit, we can bring joy and happiness and peace to this world. ~Norman Vincent Peale

"And they shall call His name Immanuel," 

which is translated, "God with us." ~Matthew 1:23

Christmas Prayer

When will we realize that we're not troubling God 

with our questions and concerns? His heart is open 

to hear us ---his touch nearer than our next thought

---as if no one in the world existed but us. 

Our very personal God wants 

to hear from us personally. ~Gigi Graham Tchividjian

God makes prayer as easy as possible for us.

He's completely approachable and available,

and He'll never mock or upbraid us for

bringing our needs before Him. ~Shirley Dobson

Keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, 

and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will 

be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives,

and the one who searches finds, and to the one 

who knocks, the door will be opened. ~Matthew 7:7-8

Christmas Giving

This is Christmas, the real meaning of it: God loving, searching, giving Himself to us; man needing, receiving, giving himself to God. Redemption's glorious exchange of gifts, without which we cannot live, without which we cannot give to those we love anything of lasting value. This is the meaning of Christmas, the wonder and glory of it. ~Ruth Bell Graham

Let us give according to our incomes, lest God make our incomes match our gifts. ~Peter Marshall

The righteous give and don't hold back.  ~Proverbs 21:26

The Heart of Christmas

Let us remember that the Christmas heart is a giving heart, a wide-open heart that thinks of others first. The birth of the baby Jesus stands as the most significant event in all history because it has meant the pouring into a sick world of the healing medicine of love which has transformed all manner of hearts for almost 2000 years. ~George Matthew Adams

To celebrate the heart of Christmas is to forget ourselves in the service of others. ~Henry C. Link

Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me. ~Matthew 25:40

Overcome the Obstacles

The most authentic thing about us is our capacity 

to create, to overcome, to endure, to transform, 

to love and to be greater than our suffering. ~Ben Okri

We acquire the strength 

we have overcome. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Triumph Over Adversity

Joy is of the will which labors, which overcomes obstacles, which knows triumph. ~William Butler Yeats

Always seek out the seed of triumph 

in every adversity. ~Og Mandino

A Little Optimism Goes a Long Way

Few things in the world are more powerful

than a positive push. A smile. A world of 

optimism and hope. A "you can do it" when

things are tough. ~Richard M. DeVos

Optimism is essential to achievement and 

it is also the foundation of courage 

and true progress. ~Nicholas M. Butler

Believe Your Dream

I believe that a simple and unassuming

manner of life is best for everyone, best both

for the body and the mind. ~Albert Einstein

To accomplish great things, we must not

only act, but also dream; not only plan, 

but also believe. ~Anatole France

Blossom Today

And the day came when the risk to remain

tight in a bud was more painful 

than the risk it took to blossom. ~Anais Nin

There are always flowers for those 

who want to see them. ~Henri Matisse

Out of the Shadows

The work of art is but a shadow 

of the divine perfection. ~Michelangelo

Hope is like the sun, which, as we 

journey toward it, casts the shadow 

of our burden behind us. ~Samuel Smiles

Shine Your Light

It is during our darkest moments that we

must focus to see the light. ~Aristotle Onassis

Faith is the strength by which a shattered

world shall emerge into the light. ~Helen Keller

Finding Strength

A hero is an ordinary individual who finds

the strength to persevere and endure in spite

of overwhelming obstacles. ~Christopher Reeve

Give us grace and strength to forbear and 

to persevere. Give us courage and gaiety 

and the quiet mind, spare to us our friends,

soften to us our enemies. ~Robert Louis Stevenson

Dreaming Dreams

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before. ~Edgar Allan Poe

He conquers who endures. ~Aulus Persius Flaccus

Never Give Up

Never give in and never give up. ~Hubert H. Humphrey

I came, I saw, I conquered. ~Julius Caesar

Keep Climbing

That's the reason they're called lessons,

because they lesson from day to day. ~Lewis Carroll

Always continue to climb. It is possible for you to do whatever you choose, if you first get to know who you are and are willing to work with a power that is greater than ourselves to do it. ~Ella Wheeler Wilcox

After the Storm

After a storm comes a calm. ~Matthew Henry

With the new day comes new strength 

and new thoughts. ~Eleanor Roosevelt

The Great Puzzle

Who in the world am I? Ah, that's 

the great puzzle.  ~Lewis Carroll

Epilepsy is a disease in the shadows. 

Patients are often reluctant to admit their condition - even to close family, friends or co-workers - 

because there's still a great deal 

of stigma and mystery surrounding the disease that plagued such historical figures as Julius Caesar, Edgar Allan Poe and Lewis Carroll. ~Lynda Resnick

Go Live Life

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. 

Live the life you have imagined.~Henry David Thoreau

To me, every hour of the day and night is 

an unspeakably perfect miracle. ~Walt Whitman

Transformed Hope

I have seen what a laugh can do. It can

transform almost unbearable tears into

something bearable, even hopeful. ~Bob Hope

There never was any heart truly great 

and generous, that was not also tender 

and compassionate. ~Robert Frost

Hopeful Heart

I believe a leaf of grass in no less than the

journey-work of the stars. ~Walt Whitman

Every heart that has beat strongly and

cheerfully has left a hopeful impulse behind 

it in the world, and bettered the 

tradition of mankind. ~Robert Louis Stevenson

Purple Hope

November is epilepsy 

awareness month! 

       I am honoring my 20-year-old cousin, Ashley. She battles this baffling disorder everyday. Her strength and courage are amazing. She is blessed with a wonderful family and an extraordinary 4-legged companion named Tucker.  
     We hold out hope that there will be a cure in her lifetime.

Hope is some extraordinary spiritual grace

that God gives us to control our fears,

 not to oust them. ~Vincent McNabb

Leap of Faith

Things can fall apart, or threaten to, for many

reasons, and then there's got to be a leap of faith. 

Ultimately, when you're at the edge, you have to 

go forward or backward; if you go forward,

you have to jump together. ~Yo-Yo Ma

Faith is the first factor in a life devoted to

service. Without it, nothing is possible. With

it, nothing is impossible. ~Mary McLeod Bethune

Abiding Faith

Amidst the confusion of the times, the

conflicts of conscience, and turmoil of

daily living, an abiding faith becomes 

an anchor to our lives. ~Thomas S. Monson

All the world is made of faith, 

and trust, and pixie-dust. ~J.M. Barrie

Faith Liberation

Keep your dreams alive. Understand to

achieve anything requires faith and belief in

yourself, vision, hard work, determination,

and dedication. Remember all things are

possible for those who believe. ~Gail Devers

Fear clogs; faith liberates. ~Elbert Hubbard

Faith Vision

Love, hope, fear, faith - these make humanity; 

These are its sign and note and character. ~Robert Browning

It takes vision and courage to create - 

it takes faith and courage to prove. ~Owen D. Young

Strength of Faith

Faith is the strength by which a shattered

world shall emerge into the light. ~Helen Keller

Faith is a knowledge within the heart,

beyond the reach of proof. ~Khalil Gibran

Believe... Faith... Strength...

Faith consists in believing when it is beyond

the power of reason to believe. ~Voltaire

Be faithful in small things because it is in

them that your strength lies. ~Mother Teresa

Personal Courage

Someone once told me the one thread that

runs through them all is a premium on

personal courage - not intellectual courage,

but just plain physical courage. ~Walter Lord

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. ~Steve Jobs 

Courage Conquers...

Courage is the price that life exacts 

for granting peace. ~Amelia Earhart

Courage conquers all things: it even 

gives strength to the body. ~Ovid