Hello, everyone.  It's been quite a while since I last blogged.  As my last entry read, I attended the funeral of a very dear friend last week.  After a long 23 year battle with cancer, my friend, Kathy, went home to be with the Lord.  It was a sweet gathering of old friends as fourteen of our former youth group met at Kathy's parents' home to mourn and celebrate her life and our memories of our times together.  Ironically, Kathy's homeplace was our favorite meeting place as we would all form a big circle in the living room with Kathy's mom, Betty, sitting in a rocking chair chatting and sharing with all the young people.

Kathy's funeral was full of hope and the promises of our Lord that this earthly existence is not our final home.  If you know the music of Carmen, you will realize that having his songs played made so many of us want to jump up and praise the Lord in celebration of a grave that couldn't hold Him and because of His sacrifice, it can't hold us either!

I also had the opportunity last weekend on April 26th to celebrate my mom's 87th birthday!  God has been good and I'm very fortunate to have both of my parents still enjoying each morning sun.  They are part of a strong legacy of faith, prayer and belief in Almighty God.  I appreciate God's blessing of their physical presence in my life and their continued daily uplifting prayers for every member of our family.

Please continue to remember the Lillard-Smith family in your prayers.  We will all miss her smile, her laugh, her love of life and joy of the Lord in her conversations. 

Please write when you get a chance!

Hi Everyone....well, at 1:30 p.m. my dear friend, Kathy Lillard Smith was ushered into her new heavenly home...I'm sure the angels were singing as she jumped into the arms of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.   Wait until her alto voice joins the chorus to praise our Father forevermore!  Heaven is becoming sweeter as the days go by....

Hello, everyone.  It's Sunday night and time is moving right along.  It's been a great weekend in the south suburbs of Pittsburgh.  We actually experienced three straight days of sunshine and warm temperatures!  It was truly a blessing to ride my bike again after a long winter break.  My husband is finally surfacing from income tax returns and for that I am extremely grateful.

I would ask your continued prayers for my sweet friend in Virginia who is struggling with cancer.  Monday will be a decision day for her family and the decisions they will be asked to make are tough ones.  Please pray for their guidance and peace.  Also, my dad who is 83 years old is suffering with a bad cold and cough.  Although he's been to the doctor, he is still not feeling well at all.  I would ask for your prayers for the doctor's wisdom as my dad visits the office again on Monday. 

Thanks for much for your continued support of my little website.  I so appreciate your comments and emails.  Have a great start of the week and God bless you!

Happy Friday to everyone!  I just love Fridays, don't you?  It's going to be a sunshine filled day with warm temps in Western Pennsylvania...my kind of day!  I want to thank each one of you who are reading the website.  I have discovered a tool of this website that allows me to track the "hits" the site has been receiving.  This simply means I can view the number of people reading the site each day.  I am so appreciative of each one of you!  Please write to me if the Lord moves you to do so and may God bless you with a day filled with "nuggets" of knowledge and gifts of contentment and happiness from your Heavenly Father.

This post is written to those who may read this blog today and feel lost, alone and wonder where God is in the midst of turmoil.  God is still on His throne.  He is still the Almighty and He is still in control.  This world is not our final home, it's a stop on the highway to eternity.  Remember sin is in the world and Satan is causing as much chaotic disruption possible.  Questioning God is high on Satan's list.  Cling to the Lord, read His Holy Word and the Holy Spirit will surround you with the presence of our Heavenly Father.  God bless.

Hello, friends!  It's April 15th and for those of you who are related to individuals filling out tax returns, it's a marvelous day!  My husband, Gary, IS one of those individuals who have many clients that he aids with income tax returns.  He affectionately calls me his "tax widow" from January until the middle of April, but we are happily counting the hours when life might get back to normal...whatever that may be!

My thoughts and prayers are continually with my friends in Virginia.  One of my dearest friends is battling cancer and I've been thinking about the family so much and pray for them every time they cross my mind.  It's difficult to watch one we love experience pain and confusion, but God is ever present and Jesus is holding her hand while the Holy Spirit is filling the room with the fragrance of His love.  Hallelujah!

Good Morning everyone!  I am hoping that all of you enjoyed your Easter weekend.  We had a wonderful time of celebration at our church on Sunday morning.  The music, the sermon, the food...yes, food was freely offered, and the opportunity to visit with many friends made the morning especially meaningful.

Our son, daughter and future son-in-law was with us and after worship we enjoyed an Italian dinner of eggplant parmesan and all the trimmings!  Although all of these factors made the sunshiny day even more special, the main purpose of our celebration was the sacrificial offering of the perfect Lamb of God for all our sins.  Thank you, Jesus, for loving us so much!

My prayer this morning is for all of us to remember that sacrifice throughout this coming year and spend time with our Heavenly Father each day.  My thoughts and prayers continue to be with my friends in Virginia.  May God surround each of you with peace, strength and comfort and the blessing of the Great Physician.

For those of you who faithfully check the devotional thought a new one will be posted later today.  It's been especially difficult to write this week, but I am still praying the Holy Spirit will enlighten me with the words that need to be shared this week.  God Bless!

It's been quite a while since my last blog.  My daughter, Kimberly, and I took a road trip to Virginia to enjoy her first bridal shower!  It was wonderful to see family and old friends again and to celebrate this upcoming joyous event with them.  In addition, we spent time with my mom and dad and it was simply great to be in Virginia in the Springtime!

A shout out to my nephew, Rob, who has always wanted to see his name in lights....well, in a blog that goes out to friends all over!  If you ever need a neat sounding Christian rock band let me know....Rob's a dedicated musician of the Christian genre.

Also, a prayer goes out each and every day to my dear friend in Virginia who is recuperating from pneumonia.  I think about you all the time, dear one.

There has been many deaths since my last post and sweet ones who are struggling with the empty space left behind.  Praise God those who have passed on have joined Christ for Easter this year.  May God give comfort, peace and assurance to carry on until He carries us home!  God bless each one of you during this weekend as we mourn His death and rejoice that death could not hold Him!

 

Happy Birthday to my dear friend, Suzie Q!!!  You are my "oldest" friend, but never fear my birthday will be right around the corner!  Looking forward to seeing you this weekend.  Blessings on all my dear friends reading this entry.  Have a wonderful weekend and I'll be "blogging" again when I return from my Virginia trip.

I can't believe we're in April!  We just returned from a lovely trip to Tennessee.  I visited with an "old" friend...not in age, mind you, and had a wonderful time.  I was able to join her for a morning Bible study on "The Bad Girls of the Bible" and meet with sisters in Christ over coffee, treats and the Word of God!  Isn't it awesome that no matter where we live there are Christian sisters everywhere??

Now I'm back in the saddle planning for my daughter's wedding and getting ready to head out to Virginia on Saturday.  "Our" first bridal shower is on Sunday and we're both getting so excited!  Blessings on an absolutely fabulous day..