♥

Psalm 139 . . . STILL one of my FAVORITE passages in the BIBLE!

And tonight, sweet Renee sent me an e-mail . . . "Hi Sheila,  Just wanting to let you know I will be praying for you and the girls tomorrow.  I will be praying that you feel God's presence ... and then she inserted Psalm 139:1-13 ..."!!

Yes, tomorrow is the 5th of the month.  Thankfully there is only one 5th of the month - as opposed to the Saturday's that come 4 or 5 times a month ... yet, the day comes.  I know it's coming.  I think about it coming.  I remember WHAT I was doing 4 months ago RIGHT now . . . I remember.  The remembering seems to be getting "sweeter" though.  The horror of November 5 is, and I'm sure will always be there, yet, I'm able to remember more of all of the GOOD that "was".  I don't remember "just" the "sharp-ness" of that day.  God gently gives me good memories to hang on to, funny stories, happy moments, silly jokes, reminders from the girls, and other friends who loved Rick along with me!  Stories about "beautiful" chicken coops, and mounted deer heads.  Stories and memories that bring a smile to my face!  Memories, stories, and more importantly, GOOD FRIENDS!  Good friends who, in spite of me being "prickly" at times, listen to me, hear me through my ramblings that sometimes are a little irrational, and LOVE me anyway!  The love me enough to send me e-mails, and texts and Facebook messages.  They love me IN SPITE of me!

Today, the sermon at church was about the community of LOVE that the church must be.  It was SO GOOD!  And since I CAN'T fit Pastor Fred's TWO HOUR (!!) sermon here, you'll just have to take my word for it, OR you can click HERE and choose "Pastor Fred sermons" - Core Value 3 COMMUNITY Living in Love 3-4-12 and listen to it yourself! (It wasn't REALLY 2 hours long!)  

In a "nutshell", I have felt "unloved" at times over the past 4 months, and have tried to share my feelings with others, sometimes unsuccessfully - mostly because I didn't express myself real well, OR with LOVE!  I have come to realize though, that I don't "love well" either.  So, along with ALL the other lessons that I have learned from Rick, through his life and his death, I'm working on loving better . . . a lesson we all need to learn.  Life is so much better if we can just do this.  Love each other as CHRIST loved us.  Love EAGERLY!  No, not always easy, but commanded over and over in scripture. And a wonderful lesson to learn and cling to.  For in LOVING, we are BLESSED! 

So, tonight, I'd like to thank all of the people who HAVE loved me (us) SO WELL for the past 4 months!  THANK YOU for the love, prayers, hugs, words of encouragement, fun memories you share of Rick, the meals, offers of help, gift cards, flowers, cards, texts, e-mails, Facebook messages . . . for ALL of it . . . THANK YOU!

As I work on LOVING better, life becomes more peaceful, I have more joy, I am more thankful . . . GOD is more glorified!

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

And, speaking of loving and being loved . . . below is the picture of the "beautiful" chicken coop mentioned earlier this week!  I'll be printing this picture and keeping it on my desk at work, and maybe on my fridge at home . . . as a reminder of the fact that others loved Rick and are missing him too, and that in that, they are LOVING us through this "leg" of our journey!

p.s. . . . please remember to keep VOTING - through WEDNESDAY 3/7! ♥