Favor Mentality

Today's Scripture “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life...” (Psalm 23:6). Today's Word (from Joel Osteen Ministries) Do you know what goodness is? It’s God’s favor. In the above verse, David was saying, “Favor follows me everywhere I go.” David knew he had an advantage. He knew God would assist him. He knew he could expect preferential treatment. David had this favor mentality. All through the Psalms, he constantly talks about God’s favor. You see, something is going to follow you throughout life. If you go around thinking, “Nothing good ever happens to me. I never get any breaks.” Then you’re going to have defeat, mediocrity, and lack following you around. But if you’ll switch over into this favor mentality and say, “God’s favor gives me an advantage. God’s favor is bringing success. God’s favor is making my crooked places straight...” then you’ll have blessings chasing you down! You’ll walk in promotion! You’ll experience increase! You will be destined for success! Choose to have a favor mentality today so you can enjoy the goodness and mercy God has stored up for you! A Prayer for Today Heavenly Father, thank you for your grace and mercy. Thank you for showing me your goodness. Thank you for showing me your favor. I accept your promises for me today and let go of every negative thought. Thank you for your peace today. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Blessed Be The Balanced

Today's Scripture "Be well-balanced, for your enemy goes about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour." (I Peter 5:8 AMP) Today's Word (from Joel Osteen Ministries) God wants you to experience victory in every area of your life–physically, spiritually, emotionally, financially, and relationally. Living a well-balanced life is the key! Excess is the enemy's playground. He knows that if he can get you over into extremes in any area, then he can keep you from experiencing God's best. When you get out of balance, you give the enemy a foothold. But when you have your priorities in order, there's security, protection, and safety. When you are taking care of yourself, your family, and your relationship with God, you are going to be strong and healthy and the enemy won't have a chance! I encourage you to examine your heart and life today. Ask the Lord to show you if there are areas where you may be out of balance. Ask Him to help you make the right adjustments so that you are able to be effective in every area of your life. As you work towards balance, you will walk in the abundant life that God has prepared for you! A Prayer for Today God, reveal to me the areas in my life that are out of balance. I may be spending too much time and energy on my job, a relationship, a leisure activity, or everyday distractions. Whatever it is that is preventing me from experiencing victory, help me to prioritize and live a more balanced life. In Jesus' name – Amen.

What Kind of English Do You Speak?

Your Linguistic Profile: 60% General American English 20% Yankee 15% Upper Midwestern 5% Midwestern 0% Dixie What kind of American English Do You Speak? The above results are true for me! Want to take the test? Tell me what kind YOU speak! :)

Get Your Hopes Up!

Today's Scripture "But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope." Galatians 5:5 Today's Word (from Joel Osteen Ministries) What are you expecting in life–good things? Bad things? Big things? Little things? Anything at all? God wants you to get your hopes up! The Bible says, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for." One definition of hope is confident expectancy. Did you know you can't even have faith if you don't first have hope? Your expectations set the limits for your life. If you never expect anything good, you're never going to receive anything good. If you don't expect things to get better, then nothing will get better. God promises to meet you at your level of expectancy. That's why Jesus said in Matthew 9:29: "According to your faith be it done unto you." One translation simply says: "Have what your faith expects." Make the decision to expect the favor of God in your life! Start expecting to overcome every challenge you face! Start expecting God to meet all of your needs! Live every day of your life filled with anticipation that God is going to bless you exceedingly, abundantly above and beyond your wildest dreams! A Prayer for Today God, I want to grow in my faith this year. I believe that You want the best for me. Help me learn to expect to be blessed and to face challenges with the confidence that You will see me through. In Jesus' name – Amen.

SATURDAY SCAVENGER HUNT

Grab the Photo Hunt code. Join the blogroll. Visit participants. SATURDAY'S PHOTO SCAVENGER HUNTTHEME: "Silly" So who's being silly now?! :)

THURSDAY THIRTEEN

Feather's 13 Rules Of Chocolates: 1. If you get melted chocolate all over your hands, you're eating it too slowly. 2. Chocolate covered raisins, cherries, orange slices and strawberries all count as fruit, so eat as many as you want. 3. The problem: How to get two pounds of chocolate home from the store in a hot car. 4. The solution: Eat it in the parking lot. 5. Diet tip: Eat a chocolate bar before each meal. It'll take the edge off your appetite and you'll eat less. 6. A nice box of chocolates can provide your total daily intake of calories in one place. Isn't that handy? 7. If you can't eat all your chocolate, it will keep in the freezer. But if you can't eat all your chocolate, what's wrong with you? 8. If calories are an issue, store your chocolate on top of the fridge. Calories are afraid of heights, and they will jump out of the chocolate to protect themselves. 9. Money talks. Chocolate sings. 10. Chocolate has many preservatives. Preservatives make you look younger. 11. Why is there no such organization as Chocoholics Anonymous? Because no one wants to quit. 12. Put "eat chocolate" at the top of your list of things to do today. That way, at least you'll get one thing done. 13. Chocolate is a health food. Chocolate is derived from cacao beans. Bean = vegetable. Sugar is derived either from sugar beets or cane, both vegetables. And, of course, the milk/cream is dairy. So eat more chocolate to meet the dietary requirements for daily vegetable and dairy intake. Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted! View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

10 Simple Pleasures

I was tagged by Meow, for this meme (thanks Meow! :) ... it is all about 10 SIMPLE PLEASURES ... Name ten of life's simple pleasures that you like most, then pick ten people to do the same. Try to be original and creative and not to use things that someone else has already used. Here is my list: 1. Wonderful memories of my childhood and family. 2. Cuddling with my birds, and loving the softness of their feathers. 3. A walk in the woods, enjoying nature. 4. Flying a kite on the beach. 5. The summer breeze brushing against your skin. 6. Driving down a scenic country road. 7. Bird songs in the early morning. 8. Seeing a rainbow after a thunderstorm. 9. The aroma of a home cooked meal. 10. Snuggling with a puppy or a kitten. ***I am not going to choose ten people, but would love anyone who would like to join in, to post your answers, or add yours to this list! :)

God Fixes Computers Too

The title of this post might sound funny, but it is true. If you would have been here last night you would know exactly what I am talking about. I have only had this computer for a few months, I bought a new one with all the bells and whistles right after I was laid off from my job - figured at least I deserved that, right? My last computer has faithfully lasted for almost 5 years, and I had hoped the new one would last more than a few months without problems - especially since I will be paying it off until I am 100 years old. Wrong. I am VERY careful what I put on this computer, I don't mess with places in it that I don't know what I am doing in, and don't tinker where I shouldn't be a tinkerin'. This one runs Windows XP, and every now and then it downloads the newest updates for various applications and programs, I figure it knows what it is doing, right? Wrong. Everything was going along hunky dory when I was notified of a new update, waiting to be downloaded. So I OK'd it and went about my business. Shortly after it was installed, all hell broke loose. All of a sudden none of the windows would open, all sorts of error windows were popping up, I could not access the internet, and if I could get a window to open, it immediately locked up. If I had a dollar for every time I shut down and rebooted I would be rich. I tried everything to remove the update, tried downloading the old version of it, tried to return the computer to the way it was a day ago, not one single thing worked. I was so ticked off and frustrated I almost started crying. So I finally just gave up and went to bed. The last thing I need right now is a service call to Geek Squad to the tune of who knows how many hundred dollars to fix this thing. Especially after all the $$$$$ I spent on vet bills for my bird last month. Of course I tried it again first thing this morning to see if it had magically repaired itself. Nice try, but no dice. Guess the computer fairy was in service somewhere else this morning. In the meantime I had to go to the Post Office and run some errands. While we were in the car, my hubby and I were having a discussion on a religious show we had watched recently. It's topic was how God tests you over and over until you pass the test and move on to a new level. Apparently the subject we were being tested on today was patience. From my computer woes, to the mile long line at the Post Office, to crazy road-raged drivers everywhere, to a gaggle of little old ladies coffee-klatching in the aisles of the grocery store, making sure to block everyone from getting past them, and then a surly checker lady. I am happy to say we must have passed these tests (it was not easy though) and our tempers were kept intact, and we remained in good cheer. On the way home I mentioned to the hubby that it would take an act of God to get this computer running - I have tried everything on earth to fix it, and although I was not pleased it was not working, I was resigned to the fact that it is what it is and I will get it fixed when I am able. I just accepted it without getting angry. I will just have to use the old computer that pokes along like a dinosaur and still uses dial-up. Uggghhhhhhh. I even ventured the thought that maybe it was God's way of telling me I am spending too much time on the 'puter - too much Ebay perhaps??? Too much blogging??? Hmmmmmm...... So when we got home I sat right back down and tried the exact same things I had tried 20 million times already - and this time it worked!!!! I kid you not, everything is fixed and I am in utter amazement, because I KNOW that God took care of the problem! And he did not even send me a bill! :) I sat right down and prayed my thanks to the good Lord, and am again reminded that all things are possible in God! Thank you dear Lord!

I've Been Tagged!

I've been Tagged by Reverberate58, (thanks Reverb! :) and here are my answers: 4 Jobs I've Had in my life: - Executive Secretary - Office Manager - Retail Store Manager - Dog Groomer/Pet Sitter (I loved this job the most! :) 4 Movies I could watch over and over: - Wizard of Oz - A Christmas Story - Nobody's Fool (1986 movie with Rosanna Arquette & Eric Roberts) - Poltergeist (original movie, not the sequels - still scares me!) 4 Websites I visit regularly: - Weather Channel - Ebay (I'm addicted to Ebay!) - Checkfree, to pay all my bills - All my Blogroll of blogging buddies 4 Favorite Foods: - Guacamole and Chips - Chiles Rellenos - Moo Shu Pork - Mongolian Beef 4 Places I'd rather be right now: - Australia - A slow trip down all of Route 66 - Tahiti - California 4 Books I could read over and over: - Any book by Joyce Meyer - The Bible - All my Country Decorating magazines - Collectible & Crafting books/magazines 4 Songs I could Listen to over and over: - Most Christmas songs - Harp music, it is so soothing and relaxing - Any of the Ultra Lounge CD's I have - Most anything from the 60's oldies, especially Paul Revere and the Raiders :) 4 Reasons Why I Blog: - To make friends and meet people - To read about other people, and learn about them - To relax - To be creative and express myself I am going to tag DayByDay and BarBarA to join in the fun! :)

HAPPY EASTER TO ALL

SATURDAY SCAVENGER HUNT

Grab the Photo Hunt code. Join the blogroll. Visit participants. SATURDAY'S PHOTO SCAVENGER HUNTTHEME: "Feet" Here are four cute feet, lookin' right at ya! :)

THURSDAY THIRTEEN

Thirteen Smells FEATHERS Loves! 1. Cookies or Bread baking in the oven 2. Honeysuckle wafting in the summer breeze 3. Fresh earthy smell of a greenhouse 4. Wonderful smell right after a thunderstorm 5. My birds' feathers 6. A gardenia, it is heavenly 7. Freshly brewed coffee 8. My hubby's cologne 9. A new book 10. A new box of crayons 11. Lilies of the Valley 12. A real Christmas tree 13. A freshly picked tomato ***And 2 more I can't leave off: 14. The smell of a new car 15. Popcorn popping Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted! View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

:: My Question Of The Day

What one toiletry item could you never live without?

Saturday's Photo Scavenger Hunt

Grab the Photo Hunt code. Join the blogroll. Visit participants. SATURDAY'S PHOTO SCAVENGER HUNT THEME: "Round" Here is a pic of my little Peach Front Conure, playing with her new toy, which just happens to be round :)

He's Not A Happy Camper

Just thought I would send you an update on my big feathered boy - we went back to the Vet yesterday for the 2 week follow up, and although he is much better, HE AIN'T HAPPY! The Dr. had to put an extension on his protective collar, because my boy was able to somehow crane his neck over and pick at the wound. So now he is going to have to wear this contraption for another 10 days. They did some follow-up tests and he is not responding to the medication they had him on for a bacterial infection, so they changed the meds. But the good news is that he has not lost any weight, and is healthy in all other areas. I can't wait until this is all over and done with, it is a constant struggle to get him to take the oral meds. He acts like he is taking them, but when I open his beak to make sure he swallowed them, he has most of it hidden under his tongue. Arggghhhhhh. He knows how to play mommy but good, my bird is the master of The Guilt Trip. He is perfectly able to climb around and eat on his own, but the minute I come in the room he just sits on his perch and looks pitiful. Never mind the fact that when I leave the room, and then peek in the crack of the door and I see him come right back out of his cage and climb around and play. He is determined to make mommy pay for taking him to the big, bad doctor. He is also perfectly able to eat from his own dish, I have given him everything under the sun that he loves, and adjusted his food bowl so he has no problem getting to it, but NO - he will not eat unless I stand there and hand feed him every single piece of food. Ohhhhh, these are going to be the longest 10 days until we go back to the Vet. And yesterday's office visit cost another $150 - so I think my bill so far is over $1200. See, here is my boy sitting by mommy's computer, wanting YOU to feel sorry for him too! :)

THURSDAY THIRTEEN

Thirteen Foods FEATHERS Loves! 1. Guacamole and Chips 2. Chiles Rellenos 3. Bacardi Rum Cake 4. Corn on the Cob with Butter 5. Shrimp Toast 6. Egg Foo Young 7. Pot Stickers 8. Pad Thai 9. Frozen Custard 10. Cookie Dough :) 11. Homemade Bread, right out of the oven 12. Crispy Fried Chicken 13. Egg Rolls ***I could have listed lots more, but these are my very favorite ones - yummmmmmmy!! Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!) Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted! View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

The Fruits of My Labor

Do you ever find yourself with lots of small amounts of leftover food items, and don't want to throw them out, but there is not enough of them to make any complete meal with? Well I found myself in that predicament today. I started a simple task which was to clean out the refrigerator and freezer, then reorganize them. No such luck. Here I find a smallish piece of Italian Sausage, there is a partial pack of frozen ground round, I got too many yellow peppers, a few slices of leftover tomatoes, a cup of cottage cheese, a bit of milk left in the carton, half a can of corn - so I put my thinking cap on to come up with a way to use up all of this stuff. We went to the grocery the other day, and I got a great deal on a 5 lb. container of ricotta cheese. It was like $5 or something like that, really cheap. I bought it, and figured I would find a use for it at some point. So I'm thinking.....hmmmmm.....maybe I can make some lasagna if I improvise. I did not have lasagna noodles handy, but did have a box of those cute bow-tie pasta. So then out comes hubby and he wants to help. Oh boy. Usually I would welcome the help, but we are both kinda "territorial" when we are cooking in the kitchen. So I put him to work at the stove, while I took over the chopping duties. This worked out very well. He cooked the ground beef and the Italian sausage, then sauteed the onions and yellow peppers, and then I added the spaghetti sauce to it. He had already made the pasta. Now we can put to use some of the ricotta cheese. Yummmmm. Well we wound up with so much sauce we had enough to make 3 medium pans full of it. First a layer of pasta, then the meat sauce, then ricotta and cottage cheese, and repeat. Then I topped it off with lots of mozzarella cheese. Here is a pic of the finished product, the other one is still baking, but you get the drift: Now we need something to go with it, so I got out a box of corn muffin mix. In this I added the leftover corn I had, and chopped up some cheddar cheese bits to mix in the batter. This came out really well. So we still had lots of time left and a big tub of ricotta cheese. Hubby saw something on Martha Stewart the other day about a Ricotta Cheesecake. So I found the recipe on the 'net, and off we go to make this thing. The biggest problem I had was finding my springform pan. But we finally found it. Amen. Now the recipe called for raisins and the zest of oranges and lemons, but I didn't have any handy. So we figure we will improvise and make it a different way. We had a package of Oreo cookies (actually it was my secret stash) but I was willing to give them up this time. After I snuck a few out for myself :) So what we did was take some of the outer cookie, crush them up and coat the sides and bottom of the pan with them. Then took more of my beloved Oreos and made chunks out of them to mix in the batter. The original recipe for the Cheesecake is HERE but I think the way we made it came out so much better! Here are some pix of my finished dishes, I was so proud of them, plus I used up all the extra leftover things from my fridge. Here is the cheesecake and the cornbread, hot out of the oven: Here is the Oreo cheesecake: And here is a plate for YOU! :) Enjoy!

I Got the INDIE VIRUS!

Well so far this year I have managed to keep well and not come down with anything that will make me chuck up half a lung. But.......I am tickled to tell you that I have been infected with the Indie Virus. Reverberate58 was sweet enough to pass this virus on to me. This is a virus you WANT to catch! :) The Finer Points The experiment, henceforth referred to as "The Indie Virus," has two goals: To bring exposure to lesser known blogs (especially those outside of Technorati's top 100) To explore the metrics behind a viral linking campaign launched by the "little guys" (less popular blogs) Instead of rehashing the ideas here, I'll send you on over to Copyblogger to see how this thing progressed in the comments. I think people are skeptical, but the bottom line is that this is just a casual experiment. Launching it doesn't really cost a thing, so why not try it? I'm just hoping for enough results that I'll be able to crunch a few numbers. Consider it an experiment in marketing with blogs. The Rules Participating in The Indie Virus is easy. All you've got to do is link to lesser known blogs from within a post (or two, or eleventeen), but you have to make sure that the anchor text of your link is The Indie Virus. This is critical, because in order to track the experiment, I'll be searching for the phrase "The indie Virus" on common engines like Technorati, Google, and Yahoo! Oh, and also, make sure that you link directly to a post WITH A TRACKBACK and not to the site itself - it speaks louder! This is a virus..... a very contagious virus. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Here is who I am infecting with this virus... (Fellow Bloggers who bring a smile to my face: DayByDay4 Today, you now have the Indie Virus. Your Blog inspires me with your strength, and your creativity. Susie, at My Gobhole, I have spread the Indie Virus to you. You are a Hoot! I am always guaranteed a good laugh when I read your Blog, you are truly one of a kind. Meow, I have now given you the Indie Virus. You are a wonderful person, I love your Blog, and you always take the time to say something cheerful to others. Barbara, at Ramble On, you now have been infected with the Indie Virus. Your thought-provoking questions make me stop and think, and allow your visitors to get to know each other better. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Now you must go to Pearsonified to find out how to infect others with this blog virus! Reverb, I hope I did this right also. This is great way to pass around germs.