it's late... or early...

what a joy to hear my grandson singing praise to God!

when my grandkids stay overnite, i play worship music as they sleep. well, tonite, Gabriel awoke and just missed making it to the potty. when he went back to bed, i thought he had gone back to sleep. but then i heard a voice coming from where he was sleeping. at first i thought he was talking to his brother, which is a no no when they should be sleeping, but his brother was asleep. he was singing praise to God in a language i can not understand. but the joy in my heart and the smile on my face reflects of how proud i am of him. i sit here listening to him praise God. it is really beautiful to hear him sing, even if he can't sing at all. his praise is music to God's ears. i am at peace with Gabriel singing his praise to Him.

out of the mouths of babes, Your praises r heard. i am blessed to hear that praise sung to God by my grandson. i can only hope that God's praise becomes his life. after all, he is named after God's messenger angel.

grandchildren bring such joy into our lives. they really r blessings that we get to enjoy in our old age.

I LOVE MY GRANDBABIES!!!

still in shock...

tonite, at 1749 hours, i received a call from Serene's son. he called to let me know that his mom's surgery went well and she was doin' really good. he then asked if i had heard about what happened b4 Serene went in to surgery. i replied i had not. he then told me that her husband had passed away. they r having an autopsy done to find out why.

when i heard it, i was in total shock. i just couldn't believe it. even now, at 2150 hrs, i am still in shock.

i met Serene a few years ago thru a game i play on the internet called FLYFF. we became friends over the last few yrs. we chatted often in game and she helped me lvl a few of my characters. when she told me how she was limited by how she was cared for in her daughter's home, i hurt for her. i did my best to encourage her. she became a good friend pretty fast as did a few others. we would go in game just to chat many times. we skyped with the guild and others on FLYFF. good fun and smiles, we also shared when we were down and were soon brought to smiles and laughter by the others. some really good people in the game of FLYFF. a few others we both know r Cyclades, Vorosh, Alberto, Crazy, Shay'd, Bluberri, PuppyLove, BruisedKnuckles.

not long ago, Serene, made the move here to Texas with her son Damon moving in with a man that became her husband. his name, Brad. he was a really nice guy. he was injured on the job if i remember correctly so he was on disability. he had already had several surgeries. but he wanted to make a special person in his life very happy by helping her out and asking her to marry him. for a while, it was a long distance relationship. but that didn't bother them. they felt like it was worth it. and it was worth it. it helped to keep Serene's spirit up in a place that tried to suppress it. Brad was sunshine in her day.

finally in Texas, i got to meet her face to face as they traveled with all the stuff from Louisiana. it was a nice visit. i was sure i wanted to keep in contact with Serene. we chatted often on skype and on FLYFF. then the chatting all but stopped. came to find out she was goin' in and out of hospital for a few months. this past Christmas she had a difficult time. and then in February they saw 3 fatty tumors. she was told their removal was an elective surgery. so the search was on for a surgeon who would remove them. she called me on 08 March 2017 as she waited to be prepped for surgery that morning.

to say the least, i was shocked but glad she skyped me. i had left short messages with no response. so i was glad to know she was alive and doin' well. i replied i would be praying for her. when i sent a short message later in the afternoon. she responded saying the surgeon had an emergency surgery and hers would be postponed until the 09th of March at 1400 hrs. bummer!! but that's how it goes sometimes. she spent the nite in hospital.

around 0900 hrs i got a text telling me she was being prepped for the surgery. did not hear anything more until the phone call from Damon.

please pray for Damon and Serene as they now need to find the money to stay where they r. by no means is Damon moving back to Louisiana. he said that emphatically to me. i know i will be praying that God draws both of them to Himself as He helps them walk this difficult road. Serene is hurting as she just lost the love of her life. even tho it was only a short time they shared together, they were just perfect for each other.

life - our jigsaw puzzle

06 March 2017: Morning

EVERYWHERE I GO:

Romans 8:28 NASB

[28] And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

THE BIG PICTURE

Romans 8:28 may be the most often quoted and misunderstood verse in all of the New Testament. It must be taken as a whole, not in pieces, for its truth to be rightly applied.

For many Christmases, my wife bought one of those 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzles as a family holiday project. We would get out a little card table, dump the box out, and get to the task of putting that puzzle together. I don't know if any of our boys particularly liked jigsaw puzzles, but we managed to make it into a sort of competition somehow, and they did like that.

When you're working a puzzle that size, it helps to find the corners, then fill in the outer edge, then the interior. I can't tell you the number of times one of us said, "There has to be a piece missing. I've touched every piece on this table, and not one of them fits this space."

A lot of us view life like a jigsaw puzzle. It's as if God has handed us the pieces and we struggle to make them fit. But God does not see it that way. In this puzzle we call life, He sees the whole even as we fumble with the pieces, and He causes it all to work together for our good and His glory for those who love Him, and are called according to His purpose.

my thoughts:

looking at life from a jigsaw puzzle:

it helps to find the corners:

locating a corner makes it easier to see the shape of the piece needed.

Christ is the cornerstone needed to begin putting our life together.

then fill in the outer edge:

as each outer edge is put in place, glimpses of what it is inside can be seen.

after Christ is established as the cornerstone, our outer edging which includes friends and activities r cleaned up and made straiter.

then the interior:

with the corners and edges in place, the more difficult task of putting the interior of the puzzle together begins in earnest.

now that Christ is firmly established as the cornerstone and our outward life is reflecting that, our more hidden interior is now being worked on. each piece that once was hidden in the mass of puzzle pieces can now be seen but not yet fit into the puzzle. this is where we find out that God works all things. He it is that configures our life to fit perfectly in the mix of all the other pieces.

there is no other that can fit ur puzzle perfectly together and have it display properly.

each of us must come to a point in life that we surrender all that is holding us back. when we do, the puzzle is no longer a mass of unfittable pieces but a beautiful work of art that cannot be duplicated