The Worth of a Man

It is not what he has, nor even what he does, which directly expresses the worth of a man, but what he is.
Henry Frederic Amiel

He is a child of God.  He is my son.  I am honored to be his mother.  He is in his final days at home before leaving for USAF Basic Training.  He sings in the church choir.  He is an Eagle Scout.  He is 19 years old.  He is the next generation.   He is loving.  He is my only son.  He is honorable.  And the list goes on.
He is John......

The creative juices are flowing this morning.  This message is where my heart is at the moment.  Where is your heart right now?  On what are you focused?  Are your thoughts focused on something worthy or something useless?  I'm sure you remember the old commercial "The mind is a terrible thing to waste."  Don't waste one precious minute of your life on useless nonsense thinking.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable -- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy -- think about such things.  Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice.  And the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 4:8-9

You remain in my thoughts and prayers.  Love, Nan

The Power of Our Words

Sometimes the most powerful words are the ones we withhold.
Sharon Jaynes from her book entitled The Power of a Woman's Words

Remember, there is a time to be silent and a time to speak.  My words here at Nan's Calendar have been few and far between of late.  I hope you have continued to visit the site and browse through the archives in my absence.  When you visit and don't see a recent message, say a prayer for me, then pray for someone else and pray for yourself.

Lord, please lead us, guide us, and direct us in all we say and do today so that our words and our actions will be pleasing unto You.  In Jesus' name we pray.  Amen

I only write what I know in my heart is true for me.  Each one of you will decide for yourselves what you believe to be true.

The one thing I want to leave for you today is this:

Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.  ~ Mark 11:24

Have a wonderful day in the Lord! Love, Nan

Time Management

Hi! I didn't fall off the face of the earth since the last time I wrote to you!  There are always so many factors involved that make for a very interesting life and time management is so important.  Allen and I exercise together regularly and I take time to meditate most mornings.  I'm very involved in my Nan's good will bears project.  To make a long story short, I was at my dry cleaners shop on Saturday and cleaned 62 bears as part of a United Methodist Church community wide volunteer day.  Since this teddy project is a community service project and the kids can't receive a bear until it has been professionally cleaned, I decided to render my volunteer services by going through the proper channels and spent three hours cleaning the bears to help Jeff, my cleaner, as he has a full time business to operate.  The supply of bears in the ER had gone down to only two available a week ago.  So you see how important it was to get ahead of the curve.
Our son, John is at the one month mark now.  He leaves for USAF Basic Training in San Antonio, TX on November 8th.  Allen and I spend as much time as possible with him making memories.  We are happy for him and support his decision.
You are close in thought even when days go by before you hear from me.  Pray for each other, give freely of yourselves, smile often.  Take care and have a wonderful day.  Love, Nan

I know, but......

NOTE: this message isn't intended for every person who reads it today.  If you know someone who may benefit from it, please feel free to pass it along...... and do it with a happy heart.

things at rest tend to stay at rest
things in motion tend to stay in motion
it takes more energy to get things moving
than to keep them moving
change is difficult      author unknown

inert - 1) without power to move or to resist 2) inactive; dull, slow 3) exhibiting little or no chemical activity

God didn't design us as inert objects!  He designed us to move!

I know, but......

no buts about it!  Do it, whatever it is you are supposed to do, and as I have raised our children to believe, "....... and do it with a happy heart!"  (As I say this, I am wearing a warm smile and with positive energy).  Get off your buts and use the power God gave you!  Remember, it doesn't matter how slow you go as long as you do not give up.  Pace yourself.  I pray you will have a wonderfully productive day today!  I love you.  Nan

Awesome birthday week in review

Wow! Last week was such a great week!  Highlights.... Ashley started my birthday week with a beautiful scarf she knitted for me.  Teddy bears continue to come in from all directions for my Nan's good will bears project with the IMH ER for the children.  Thursday afternoon, I took select teddies to my bank, RBC Centura for a bake sale fundraiser (their suggestion) for the bear project.  The bake sale was held on Friday.  The teddies made great visuals to get people talking about the project.  On Friday we had a special birthday lunch at Red Lobster (my office family and Ashley).  Then, Ashley spent the afternoon with me.  We went to the bank to check on the bake sale and took some wonderful cinnamon pecan coffee cake to sell.  Went by the dry cleaners to pick up a dozen bears and took them to the hospital.  The staff, in return, brought me a dozen bears they had collected for the project.  We went back to the bank at the end of the day and much to my surprise they had raised $100.00!!  Let me tell you, I can buy a lot of teddy bears with $100.00!!!!  My brother in law asked me a few weeks ago, "how long are you going to do this?"  I said, "as long as God continues to put teddy bears in my hands."  An OR nurse at church said on Sunday that the children who need surgery are allowed to take their teddy bear in with them for their surgery.  That's so awesome!
Allen and I spent the afternoon on Sat. cruising around looking at cars.  Yes, there is another car in my near future!  I've been driving my awesome Honda Accord '92 since we bought it new when John was a tiny baby.  He's 19 now and the car has 311,000 + miles on it!
Allen, John and I went out to dinner with Ashley and Kris Sat. night (great time!).  Pastor Mike gave what I thought was his best sermon ever on Sunday.  Then we had lunch with family and John surprised me with a beautiful birthday cake!!  Then, add to all that, my family and friends sent me birthday greetings throughout the day from facebook, text messages and phone calls!  I love you, one and all!!!!  God is good all the time and all the time God is good!!  Take care and have a wonderful day.  Don't waste one minute of the life God gave you!  Your life is precious and your time is valuable!  Love always, Nan

Still Goin' Strong

I want you to open your Bible and read the first ten verses of Galatians, Chapter Six.

There are so many important messages contained within these ten verses.  I could sit here a long time and elaborate on each one, but I know that you are very smart and you will pick up on them as quickly and easily as I did.  That being said, these are the verses God wants you to absorb today.

I could go on and on, but I have to get up and get ready for work.  You are in my thoughts and prayers.  I love you.  Nan

Just Believe

Believe - to have trust, faith, or confidence

".......blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."  Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.  But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
John 20:29-31  New International Version

I believe, therefore, I do not worry.  I trust.  I have faith.  I have confidence.  In the times we experience a perceived trial we have a choice.  We always have a choice.  These times of trial are opportunities to exercise our trust, our faith, and our confidence in the Lord and in things yet unseen.   It's really just that simple.  We tend to make things more complicated than necessary.  We tend to over dramatize and exaggerate the situation.  Why? We see things differently when we realize we are spiritual beings having human experiences, rather than human beings having (or not having) spiritual experiences.
Jesus is alive and well today and is still performing miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples who are living and breathing today.  Will you be on the receiving end of a miracle today or will you be the disciple who is the vessel God can use to bring a miracle to one of His people?  Either way I think about it, I am excited about the new day ahead of me and the wonderful ways Jesus presents Himself to us.
Keep your eyes and ears open and tuned in to the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in your life today. You will be amazed!  Take care and have a wonderful day and just believe!  Love, Nan