Today I don't have any particular topic to blog about so I thought I'd just post a picture of my dad and Chris's dad. This is a picture of them after working at the site of the house we built years ago. We have since sold that house, but they both put in alot of time and work over there with us. I am so thankful for memories (and pictures :-) These two sweet daddy's are missed a bunch.

Chris and I were planning to drive to Northside Baptist church in Greenwood tonight to hear Charles Billingsley sing, but Chris is working in Asheville today. I hate for him to be on the road all day then turn around and leave for another hour of driving. I think we'll take advantage of this rainy day and stay in town. Olivia can't wait to spend her allowance so we may go shop. Who knows??? If you live in the Greenwood, SC area and want to hear Charles sing the church website is www.northsidebc.org for more information.

On a side note: according to the weather person my daffodils may have a little snow on them come Sunday night/ Monday morning :-) There is always hope.

Go make fun memories this weekend.

Simple faith

These are all of the daffodils popping up in our yard that I keep talking about. As I walked around in the cold and took these pictures yesterday I was amazed at how such a delicate flower could break through the cold, hard ground. Realistically it doesn't seem possible. I mean if I were to go outside right now and try to push a stick in the ground I would have a difficult time. Tell me then, how it is that a flower stem that is not as sturdy as a stick,can push through that ground and not even damage the delicate frame of the flower? Ok I don't really want your response. It's simple (like everything else viewed from my eyes :-) it's a God thing. He brings those daffodil's through the dirt and then makes a way for them to pop up perfectly. It reminds me of a saying that I hear often these days; If God brings you to it, he'll bring you through it. Why do we worry or concern ourselves with anything? If our great Lord is making a way for the daffodil, don't we know he'll make a way for us?

Luke 12:26-28 says

"If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters?
"Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.
"But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith!

Wow, I can't add to that. Go be a blessing. Do a simple kindness.

The GOAL has been met!!!!

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Wow, what a blessing. We have met our fundraising goal and Chris is set to go to Thailand. We cannot thank you all enough for your support. I never dreamed when I started this fundraiser that we would receive all of the funds needed for his trip. Oh, me of little faith :-) I serve a big God who can do all things. I am in awe. Thanks be to the Lord for his provisions and thanks to you for your willingness to give. Keep us in your prayers as the trip approaches in June. Here are all of the families who helped make this possible:

Rachel Boiter ( my mom :-)
Sylvia Neal (Chris's mom :-)
Granny Quinn
The Gowan family
The Wilde family
The McBride family
The Ford family
The Pitts family
The Neal family
The Duggins family
The Gosnell family
The Anderson family
The Welch family
The Lankford family
The Fowler family
The Georguson family
The Sinderman family
The Hennecy family
The Crocker family
The Loyd family
The Brendle family
Uncle David Neal family
The Johnson family
McAbee, Talbert & Halliday & Company PA
The Cooley family
The Farris family

Thank you, thank you. May the Lord bless you all.

We love you.

Little things mean a lot

When I wrote today's date on a thank you card I had to stop and think; "why is today's date sticking out in my mind?" immediately it came to me, 14 years ago today Chris and I had our first date. He lived alone in a cute rental house that had a back yard full of wild daffodils. He picked a bunch of those daffodils for me and rubber banded them at the top and bottom of the stems to keep them perfectly together. Can't you just see a 25 year old guy out in his back yard picking daffodils? What a guy? Chris has such a caring and thoughtful heart. We were married 15 months after our first date and moved into that cute rental house for 3 years. Now we live in a different home, but amazingly wild daffodils bloom in this yard too. Every time I see one pop up through the ground the memories of that perfect banded bunch he gave me comes to mind. It truly is the little things in life that mean the most. Never be ashamed to do a simple kindness, you never know how big of an impact it will make. No deed is to small.

Ephesians 4:32 "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."

Go be a blessing ... do a good deed ... smile ... love ...

Free Jack Russell

Is there anyone out there reading this who would like a free Jack Russell? Her name is Daisy and we've had her since she was born; July 26, 2006. She is sweet to us and loves my neighbor Fern ( who walks her daily), but there are some folks that she doesn't like. She is all that a Jack Russell is suppose to be; cute, hyper and faster than lightning. We've always taken good care of her and she is up to date with her vet appointments. We realized a long time ago that she is not the dog for us. We need a Golden retriever or a collie (a dog that a child can sit on and not be bitten). If there is anyone who would like to meet Daisy to see if she likes you enough to go home with you, you can have her and all of her toys for free :-) She can't go home with just anyone, she needs some where to run AND she has to be the only dog ( I think). We'd love to find her a new home, but refuse to take her to the shelter. So if you are interested please comment below or email me at susanbneal@gmail.com

Praise, Praise, Praise

I got a call early this morning from Sarah's mom telling me all the tests came back and showed no abnormalities. Praise the Lord for watching over Sarah. I am so thankful for prayer. What a way to wake up!!! Praising the Lord for His wonderful mercy. Thank you sweet Jesus for taking care of us the way you do.

God is good.

Have a great weekend and I'll be back on Monday :-)

Specific prayer needs for today

Already this morning my heart has been crying out to the Lord on behalf of 3 different families. I am a strong believer in prayer so I want to share my concerns right now with you. At 10:30 this morning a dear friend of mine is taking her 7 year old to have an ultrasound of her stomach and kidneys at Spartanburg Regional (pray for peace for Sarah). I used to be a member of Tucapau Baptist church and a lady named Joan was my Sunday school teacher. Joan's mother died this week and her funeral is today at 1:00 (be in prayer for Joan and her family). Just yesterday we received a fundraising letter from a family affected by Cystic Fibrosis. They are walking for a cure on April 18th and are trying to raise $2000. The letter was from the wife of a young man who has CF. His brother lost his battle with Cystic Fibrosis in 2007. This wife is raising money to literally help save her husbands life. We need to pray for a cure for this terrible disease. It is a life-threatening and often fatal genetic disease that affects the respiratory and digestive system of tens of thousands of children and young adults. This family will be walking to raise a cure at Riverfront Park in Columbia. If you'd like to donate to this worthy cause you can go to http://www.cff.org/ I sent our check today to support the Tysinger team. If you can't send money (since I'm good at asking for money ;-) pray. You can pray and prayer is powerful.

On a more personal note I had to take Olivia back to the doctor yesterday. She's had a fever on and off this week and a terrible cough. It turns out she has an ear infection and slighty swollen throat. She was given a new antibiotic and a pass to miss school today. While being examined the doctor noticed a mole on her back that he said needs to be removed soon (as it is getting darker). This news brought tears to her eyes as I had 3 moles removed a few months back and she recalls the shots and stitches I had. So ... please pray for peace for my Olivia.

We are told in Galatians 6:2 Bear one anothers burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. Thank you. Have a blessed weekend.

Getting closer to the goal

I came to the computer to type last night, but blogger.com was down so I couldn't get into my blog to post a new message. It has been down all day today until now; 4:50. I am so glad that I can finally update the fundraiser chart. Chris has received more money for his trip this week and is only $365 dollars away from his goal. What a blessing. We can't thank you enough for your support. A few emails ago I posted the names of those who have contributed. When we reach our goal I am going to post all the names again to semi-publicly thank you all. In case you are wondering what the $2200 is for this is my understanding. It will cover the cost of his flight, breakfast and lunch and lodging. He will pay for his supper and any items he wants to buy while he is there. Several people who have been there before told us that he can get a really nice suit at a good price as well as jewelry. So ... I look forward to seeing what he brings back for me and Olivia :-) She and I both want a native dress. I can see it now, red and gold.

God is so good and we are excited to be a part of this mission. You are a part of it too. Have a great day.

Spring pictures, today???

I can't believe my daughters school is taking spring pictures today. It's 34 degrees, hello ... the only sign of spring are the few daffodils that decided to bloom early. It would not hurt my feelings to see some snow on those daffodils :-)

I haven't been blogging very much lately because I haven't felt well. Olivia got sick on Valentine's day and she and I both missed church Sunday ( she had a fever and was up a good bit of the night). She also missed school yesterday due to a fever and cough with yucky stuff. This morning she said she felt ok and since she had no fever I let her go to school. I still don't feel my best and wonder how her day must be going. I hope she's ok. She's my little girl and I think of her and Chris so much through out the day.

The Lord is lining everything up for Chris' Thailand trip. I am very happy, but the reality of him being gone for 10 days is starting to sink in. What in the world will I do without my Chris for 10 days??? We've been apart before when I stayed in Columbia at the hospital with my dad and he's been to Beaufort on shrimping trips for 3 and 4 days, but 10 days ...that's a long time. With me and Olivia being sick over the weekend, Chris had to go to the store for us and he even cooked supper Sunday night. Oh how I will miss Chris. Y'all stop sending money, I've changed my mind, he can't go to Thailand. LOL, I'm kidding. I wouldn't stop the Lord's work for anything; I couldn't stop the Lords work. I want to ask for your continued prayers and we do thank you for your support. God is so good.

Ok I've got lots to catch up on. Thanks for reading. Have a blessed day.

The Wrong door

As I watched from my kitchen window I observed my neighbors cat sitting by the door of our outbuilding. Granted our outbuilding looks like a 'mini house' with a front porch and rocking chair and even a door mat. It's easy for that cat to believe that someone lives on the other side of the door, but no one does. That cat was sitting there in vain. The cat was waiting for someone to open the door to let him in or better yet feed him, but I knew it would never happen. Don't we act like that cat sometimes? We sit and wait by a door that is not the right one? We think that what we need is on the other side, but it's not. We think if we wait long enough someone will open the door for us. Sometimes we feel like we have all of the answers and we know what is best, but we are told in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work."

You know what that tells me? We can be fooled like that cat or we can seek God's will by reading his word. He will teach us, train us, correct us so that we will be able to do a good work. I am so thankful for the Lord's love and for giving us His Holy word to guide our steps. Have you been sitting outside the wrong door? If so go to His word. It's never to late.

Happy reading.

Happy Valentine's Day early

I hope you and yours have a very Happy Valentine's Day weekend. One of my favorite Bible verses is 1 John 4:11 "Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another." Simple isn't it?

Think for a moment of those who may be getting ready to go through their first Valentine's day without their spouse or family member. The Bible tells us in 1 Timothy 5 to honor our widows. If you know someone who is alone this Valentine's day send them a card to let them know you are thinking of them. Invite them out for a meal or drop off a dessert or a flower. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. We can't go wrong with the Golden Rule.

Many blessings and thanks for your continued support of Chris's Thailand trip. We are getting closer to the goal. God bless you and your day.

With Love,
Susan

What's in a word?

What do you think of when you hear the words "Valentine's Day"? Love, hearts, candy, flowers, cards, jewelry, romance? Or maybe it's a day you dread and would rather not be reminded of. If that is the case let me help. We need to have realistic expectations about Valentine's day. WE do not live in a "TV world". If you view Valentine's day from what the TV says, then we'd all be tall and blonde wearing a tiny black dress in a over-priced restaurant, with our tall, dark and handsome man who would give us more than a dozen long stemmed roses and a huge diamond. After the meal we'd get in a limo, no a convertible sports car and drive to private beach where champagne, strawberries and a fire would await us, blah, blah, blah you get the picture???? Wake up ladies and gentlemen, WE, yes you and me, live in the real world. Let's face it there will be no little black dress, no over priced restaurant, no jewelry, no convertible and no fire by the beach. I'm going to get up on Valentine's day make breakfast for my family, enjoy the card Chris picked out for me and eat from my box of chocolate that he usually buys me. That will be it. BUT you know what that will be perfect, yes I said perfect. Because you know what? I love Chris and he loves me. You see we can't let the "unrealistic" stuff on TV belittle the precious thoughts and kind hearts of those we love. Chris had the oil changed in my car this week, that tells me he loves me. He goes to work every day and allows me to stay home and blog :-) that says, he loves me. He puts up with everything about me, the good and the bad and that says he loves me. He prays for me and that screams he loves me. Forget the stuff you see on TV ... TV isn't real. You may say; Susan me and my spouse plan to do all of the stuff you wrote about, hey that's great. BUT for the rest of us especially you girls who are home with kids, don't beat your guy up if he doesn't go overboard with stuff. Love him for taking care of you. Love him for loving you.

Ok, that's my Valentine soap box. Comments are always welcome.

I'm off to the school to volunteer. I get to help in art today and I am very excited about that :-)

Go bless someone.

Mission trip contributors

I'd like to take a moment to thank those of you who have contributed to Chris's trip. You don't know how much your out pouring of love and generosity means to our family. We feel extremely blessed. I just want to publicly post your last name to say thank you. We have several families who have pledged amounts that they plan to give and we appreciate your support as well. I made an adjustment to the fundraising thermometer to accurately show the amount of money given to the church and Chris so far. The money I subtracted from the total is pledged money (I will add it as it comes in) that makes my records and the church records equal and less confusing. Those who know me well, know that math wasn't my best subject so I need to keep things as simple as possible. LOL

THANK YOU FAMILY AND FRIENDS FOR INVESTING IN THE LORD THROUGH MY CHRIS :-)

The Boiter family
The Gowan family
The Wilde family
The McBride family
The Neal family
Granny Quinn
The Ford family
The Pitts family
The Duggins family
The Gosnell family
The Anderson family
The Welch family
The Lankford family
The Fowler family
The Georguson family
The Sinderman family
The Hennecy family
The Crocker family
The Loyd family
The Brendle family
Uncle David Neal
The Johnson family


Blessings to you all.

Monday, Monday

What a day it has been... to start off Chris's brake lights went out in his truck this weekend. I followed him to the garage and dropped it off earlier. Now he is in my vehicle and I am stranded at home. Don't get me wrong I am busy and have tons to do, but it is the week of Valentines Day and I have much to shop for in the way of Olivia's school party, teacher and friends. I'll be volunteering 3 days this week and I have a repairman coming one day so ... time is of the essence. I figure I'll make the best of it and get more accomplished than I planned. The Lord knew I'd be "stuck" home today so I am trying to be wise with my time.

On another note I forgot to bring the camera Friday when we went to our friends to play with their new Wii. We had a FANTASTIC time!!! My arm was sore Saturday morning from playing. They have 4 controllers (I guess that's what you call those things) and we all bowled and played tennis, fishing, target practice .... I can't remember all the stuff we did. All I know is I want one :-) I think it is great exercise. My daughter asked me if we could start a Wii fundraiser? the innocence of children :-) As much as I wish we could do that, I explained to her that it was not appropriate to ask for money (the Mission trip is the Lord's work). Well, she said we could share the Wii with our friends. Kids .... you gotta love them.

Well, I'm off to be productive. Have a blessed day.

It's Friday

For some reason this has been an extremely long week. I am glad it is Friday. Last Friday we had some friends over for dinner. It was nice cooking and preparing and enjoying their fellowship. Tonight we've been invited over to some other friends house to play their new Wii. Olivia and I are very excited about that. I'm not sure what games they have, but I know it will be a night of fun and laughter. Chris will probably be the one laughing at me. I'll be sure to bring the camera for pictures of our silliness. After a long week it's nice to have fun with sweet friends.

I hope that you will have a great Friday and a blessed weekend. No updates on Thailand. We're just thankful for all that has come in thus far. Happy Birthday goes out to Uncle David :-) Chris' uncle in Florida is still doing well from his open heart surgery earlier this week. Say a special prayer for him today as he is turning 66 ( I believe).

God be with you.

Answered prayers

"I love those who love me; and those who diligently seek me will find me."Proverbs 8:17

"He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him."John 14:21

"Delight yourself in the LORD; and He will give you the desires of your heart."Psalm 37:4

"Just as it is written, "THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND WHICH HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.""1 Corinthians 2:9

God's word is faithful and will never let us down. Meditate on His word and he'll reveal himself to you. I have been praying about some things and today the Lord has given me an answer. I have to say it's not the answer I expected, but His ways are better than mine. As the old hymn goes, "Trust and Obey for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey."

Update: Chris's uncle is doing great from his open heart surgery. We couldn't be more pleased. God is so good. Also Chris is still receiving funds toward his Thailand trip and is closing in on the goal. We feel so blessed by the outpouring of love and generosity. Praise the Lord, he alone deserves all the glory.

I want a real snow day :-)

According to my computer the outside temperature is 19 degrees right now. That is cold ... I heard on the radio, 106.9 The Light about the snow and ice they have in Asheville this morning. It takes no time to drive up there; if it were Saturday we'd go. The pictures I dug up from back in 2006 and posted today are examples of just that. It was March and we had not had any snow that year so when we heard of a good snow in Brevard we loaded up our sled and headed for the mountains. It was a fun day of sledding and goofing off. We went to a quaint looking public school parking lot and enjoyed the big hills. Some of you may be thinking why not just plan a "real" ski trip and go to the higher elevations for your fun? Well, that takes time, money and planning and we are sometimes fly by the seat of our pants kind of people. Why not drive a short distance, enjoy the snow and then come home (it's free and really all the snow we'd care to be in). Oh well... can you tell I'd like a little snow? A girl can dream.

Have a blessed day.

Updates

Hello again, I just have to praise the Lord for the great report Chris's uncle David got on his open heart surgery. He had 5 by-passes yesterday and is able to sit up and eat today. That is an answer to prayer. Thank you.

I just received word that some money was sent to the church for Chris's trip. He is getting closer to his goal. Thank you for your support.

Love is in the air ......

Don't you just love February? I do. It's the month of love. I have always been a big fan of Valentine's day. Growing up as the only girl with 3 older brothers and a daddy who loved me the most :-) (just kidding). I have to say next to my birthday, Valentine's day was the best. My dad always bought mom flowers, candy and a card; which a husband should do for his wife :-)LOL. But dad not only remembered my mom, he always bought me a box of chocolate too. He started out buying me small boxes of chocolate, but as I got older the boxes of chocolate got larger and fancier. He was the best dad. Oh, how I miss him. Fast forward 13 years and Chris is the one buying the chocolates now. In the same sweet fashion as my dad, Chris buys Olivia her own small box. It's not the 4 little pieces of chocolate that matter or even the design on the outside of the box, it's the heart of the man giving the gift. It's the Love that matters. So the next time you think that "little good deed" won't matter, think again. When we act from our heart the love will shine through no matter how "small" the action.

Jesus tells us to love one another, to love our neighbor. In this month of "LOVE"; let's try to practice what Jesus taught us.

If no one has told you today, let me be the first to say; I love you with the love of Jesus. I pray for my blogger friends daily and thank you for reading.

Pray with me today.

For some reason I have been struggling with what to blog about this morning. Usually a story comes to mind that I want to share with you, but today my thoughts are focused on my need to go pray. My heart is heavy with some decisions that I need to make and I don't have a clear answer from the Lord. I am not ready to share my requests at this time, but if you'll pray for me I'd appreciate that. Thank you.

Also at this very moment 9:47 a.m. Eastern time; Chris's uncle David is having open heart surgery in Florida. This is his second open heart surgery. Please pray for the doctors to have wisdom. Pray for uncle David to have a successful procedure and to heal quicker than imagined.

Continue to pray for Chris and the Thailand trip. He is excited and thankful for your support. Pray for our Olivia at school.

One of the best things we can do for each other is to pray. Let us pray now for one another.

"My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be shaken."Psalm 62:5-6

"For the vision is yet for the appointed time; it hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; for it will certainly come, it will not delay."Habakkuk 2:3

If you have a need you'd like me to pray for you about, please email me. God be with you today.