101 Things in 1001 Days

My latest updates to my Day Zero List .  redone yet again. I do love this list. It is the ultimate list!!

And now that you've had a peek at my plans I must admit that I still have more to add ..  🤣😌🙃

L4C

Ramblings as I Chug Along . . .

Good morning, all!! Hope you're doing well and your day is blessed. . . . I have been missing our rambling chats so thought I'd share today . . . I really am hoping to participate in "Stream of Conscience Saturday" #SOCS as well as simply rambling any day I feel like chatting ..  .

Hey, been praying/thinking a lot about church. It is so important to be in the right place for wholesome teaching that lines up with the Word.  . . I once had a pastor, Kevin Comfort, who carefully advised the congregation on a regular basis to never just take his word about what the Bible says or it's meaning. He heartily encouraged us to each 

🙏take notes during sermons/teaching 

🙏look up each verse at home 

🙏then read the entire chapter to make sure it wasn't taken out of context 

🙏ask God for discernment 

This remarkable pastor actually encouraged us to question his teaching!! He knew that, by doing this, he asked us to hold him accountable for leading us responsibly and he had us in the Word and praying more. He created an atmosphere of trust and further Bible study. 

I have had other pastors who felt we'd better accept their teaching as the final say on what's correct and never ever double-check it much less ask about contradictions. To me that's scary. 

We are all human, pastors included. 

We all make mistakes. 

If I, for example, look up a topic in my Bible it will point me to specific verses. This is all well and good, but, when taken in the context of the entire chapter it may very well have an entirely different meaning. 

Taking a verse out of context and using it to prove a point is twisting the Word of God. 

That's dangerous!! 

Then there was Pastor Frank L. Wallace who has such in-depth Bible knowledge and took us verse by verse through the Bible making sure we thoroughly understood. He also expected us to come to Bible classes with questions. He told us that if we didn't come in with questions he knew we hadn't been reading our Bibles!! It was so nice to be able to write down any questions and arrive at church anticipating thorough answers. I can truly say I learned more there than anywhere else so far. And, yes, every now and then he made a mistake and would come to Bible class, admit the error and fix it! Now, that's a man of God who can admit mistakes publicly!! 
So, where are we for church right now? 
Good question . . 
Both of those churches are in Joliet, Illinois and Matt and I now live in Toledo, Ohio . . 
Looking for a combination of Pastor Kevin Comfort and Pastor Wallace . . preferably an Apostolic or United Pentecostal Church . . 
And I've cut my hair and started wearing jeans so am starting over working on my  obedience issues . . need a church patient as we grow in Him!! 

1 Corinthians 13:1-3

13 If I speak in tongues of human beings and of angels but I don’t have love, I’m a clanging gong or a clashing cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and I know all the mysteries and everything else, and if I have such complete faith that I can move mountains but I don’t have love, I’m nothing. ³ If I give away everything that I have and hand over my own body to feel good about what I’ve done but I don’t have love, I receive no benefit whatsoever. 

Love 

The ability to reach out open arms sincerely despite past injustice .. 

To offer a heartfelt hug as a response to a verbal slap in the face . . 

I want my home and my life to be one of love, welcoming even those who have hurt me deeply . . maybe welcoming them more than those who are kind to me is really what it's all about. 

"Quick" Update

Hey, friends, sorry I have been only posting minimally. Not sure if you're noticing but I really haven't just posted, rambled, poured my heart and soul into simply sharing with you . . 

I So Miss That! 

I am finding more and more that I need that quiet time of journalling here and on my Patreon blog . . Sharing with all of you the little things, my dreams, quiet plans . . 

I dearly love writing so miss this so much. 

So, my allergies have been attacking . . my job has stressed me out . . and I am trying to make huge huge positive changes in our lives with a negligible local support system. 

So I am starting the whole process of major major life changes over almost from the beginning . . 

Changes absolutely have to be made . . the unacceptable must be replaced . . 

We have a right to feel secure, be happy and have personal peace. 

I am working towards those goals. 

A lot of what I am doing (things you might not see here) is over at www.patreon.com/karenjoyce 

Some posts are free 

Some (a LOT) $1/month 

Some $2+/mo 

It depends on how personal the info is and how far ahead I'm sharing. 

Also, I'd seriously like to be able to shift more and more to full time writing so having patrons support my writing helps. If you choose to pledge look at it as an online magazine subscription! But, rather than paying yearly you pay monthly and can stop at any time. How cool is that!?!??! 

For right now most of my paid posts are at the $1/mo level as that's where my current patron, the lovely @Morgaine620, is pledging. Slowly I am also adding posts at the other levels. 
Now, as you look at the list of posts ignore for a minute the "Become a Patron" button that seems, to me, to be on attack mode😂 
Instead, very slowly scroll through and look at what's free (some of these were released days earlier to my patron only), look at the photos, titles . . Are there any locked posts you wish you could read? Maybe you'd like to try becoming a patron at that level for one (1) month. That allows you the opportunity to view all posts at that level or lower.  . . time to assess ..  do you want to continue as a patron? At the same level? I really am completely fine with people randomly changing levels. 
Then, at some point 
[need all new tires on your car . .?] 
you may want to pause your subscription for a while. 
Please , come back when you can! 
Even if you pop in/out and switch levels you still have access to all past posts and can catch up easily!! 
Okay, so what's up here?? 
Well, I am reassessing so much . .and making huge changes .. huge! 
We have to move . . it's become so nonnegotiable to Matt and I. Yes, the landlord wants us to stay . . even agreed to a 1 1/2 year lease vs standard yearly ..  but we have to go . . I will be detailing why once we have moved . . but all the really good pics and info will probably be on my Patreon blog. I will give you general details here though. 
We have a place set up to move to!! 
So exciting!! 
I prayed and prayed ..  
Our home needs to be like a resort/vacation home/off-grid/homestead 
So I prayed . .
 We needed a home that: 
*Backs up to woods 
*Waterfront 
*On a hill
*Where we'll be accepted as we are 
And God led me . . He'd been trying to tell me for a while ..  the perfect place was waiting for us!! 
And I paid my deposit!! 
🎉WooHoo 🤣
Yes, my lease expires October 25th . . and we know we have a place to go . . 
The owner and manager are super nice and friendly 😊 

Obedience to God in Our Relationships

^{Malachi 2:13-16} 

¹³ You should do this as well:
        cover the altar of the Lord with tears, weeping, and groaning
            because there is still no divine favor for your offering or favorable regard
            for anything from your hand.
¹⁴ But you say, "Why?"
    Because the Lord testifies about you
            and the wife of your youth against whom you cheated.
    She is your partner,
            the wife of your covenant.
¹⁵ Didn't he make her the one
¹³ You should do this as well:
        cover the altar of the Lord with tears, weeping, and groaning
            because there is still no divine favor for your offering or favorable regard
            for anything from your hand.
¹⁴ But you say, “Why?”
    Because the Lord testifies about you
            and the wife of your youth against whom you cheated.
    She is your partner,
            the wife of your covenant.
¹⁵ Didn’t he make her the one
and the remnant of his spirit?What is the one?
        The one seeking godly offspring.
You should guard your own spirit.
        Don’t cheat on the wife of your youth
¹⁶         because he hates divorce,
says the Lord God of Israel,
            and he also hates the one covering his garment with violence,
says the Lord of heavenly forces.
        Guard your own life, and don’t cheat.

God specifically commands us not to cheat on our spouses. To Him our spouse is the one He has given us for a life-companion, someone to walk our life's journey and share in each ministry He gives us. This spouse is a blessing and a gift from God to be treasured. 

🎉Joy Dare 🤗 March 19-31, 2019🎊

🐇19th~ 3 gifts eaten ..
☕coffee
🍔cheeseburger
🥛sweet tea

🐇20th~ 3 gifts that made you laugh. .
👴🏾fun client
👨chatting with Matt
🙏prayers answered

🐇21st~ a gift salty, sweet, just right . .
👵 caramel yogurt from Mom
☕fresh hot coffee
🌃evening at home

🐇22nd~ 3 gifts found in His word . .
📖life lessons
📖His rules
📖comfort

🐇23rd~ 3 gifts found in women today ..
👵strength
🙏prayerful
📖well read

🐇24th~ 3 gifts spoken . .
👨soft voices of 3 polite young men
👨hearing their plans/hopes
👨soft evening chat with Matt

🐇25th~ a gift sung, written, painted  . .
🎶"Thy will be done . ."
📱blogs
🚃bright future

🐇26th~ 3 gifts almost gone . .
🏢time there/lessons learned
👩‍🎓time till I go back to school
⏳time for getting right with God

🐇27th~ 3 gifts redeemed ..
😣my bad attitude for His loving attitude 😊
🚃blessings for obedience
🙌hooe for fear🤔

🐇28th~ 3 gifts entwined .  .
✝️trusting Him
🙏prayers
📖His promises

🐇29th~ 3 gifts of His promises . .
✝️salvation
📖 safety
🙏grace

🐇30th~ 3 gifts uncovered .  . .
😊 trust
🌱new Avon client
⏳time

🐇31st~ a gift heard, held, hoped for . .
🗨️her answers
🤗His plan
🍹new patron

Sunrise over the Old West End

God's love and hope shines as the sun rises . . just as it did when His son rose!!

                      💗✝️💗

🚿 Wow, a HOT Shower!! 🤣

Hi!! 

I'm back . . 

Something about a hot shower and rich soapy bubbles . . 

Now I'm plopped happily on my bed with coffee, raw almonds, coconut chips, pretzels and black licorice twizzlers . . 

☕🌴🌰 

"War Room" is in the Blu-ray player and it's time for me to do a bit of Bible study  . . 

Life is good and we are blessed .  

💤 No Sleep .

Okay, so 2 long nights with no sleep (not God keeping me up) .  slept most of the day today . . so glad I was off work!! Gonna get a shower, do serious Bible study and clean.
{The reason I was up cannot be shared yet, but makes no sense at this point .  other than I am going deeper with prayer and Bible study so could simply be stressing Satan . . that guy needs a vacation and a prayer life!! 🙏}
I'll be writing more in a bit, but it may not necessarily all be visible right away as I tend to schedule some things days into the future. (That gives me a cushion in case I get overly busy or sick)
TTYL 😘

Genesis 1

World’s creation in seven days

1 When God began to create the heavens and the earth— ² the earth was without shape or form, it was dark over the deep sea, and God’s wind swept over the waters—³ God said, “Let there be light.” And so light appeared. ⁴ God saw how good the light was. God separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God named the light Day and the darkness Night.

There was evening and there was morning: the first day.

⁶ God said, “Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters to separate the waters from each other.” ⁷ God made the dome and separated the waters under the dome from the waters above the dome. And it happened in that way. ⁸ God named the dome Sky.

There was evening and there was morning: the second day.

⁹ God said, “Let the waters under the sky come together into one place so that the dry land can appear.” And that’s what happened. ¹⁰ God named the dry land Earth, and he named the gathered waters Seas. God saw how good it was. ¹¹ God said, “Let the earth grow plant life: plants yielding seeds and fruit trees bearing fruit with seeds inside it, each according to its kind throughout the earth.” And that’s what happened. ¹² The earth produced plant life: plants yielding seeds, each according to its kind, and trees bearing fruit with seeds inside it, each according to its kind. God saw how good it was.

¹³ There was evening and there was morning: the third day.

¹⁴ God said, “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night. They will mark events, sacred seasons, days, and years. ¹⁵ They will be lights in the dome of the sky to shine on the earth.” And that’s what happened.¹⁶ God made the stars and two great lights: the larger light to rule over the day and the smaller light to rule over the night. ¹⁷ God put them in the dome of the sky to shine on the earth, ¹⁸ to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw how good it was.

¹⁹ There was evening and there was morning: the fourth day.

²⁰ God said, “Let the waters swarm with living things, and let birds fly above the earth up in the dome of the sky.” ²¹ God created the great sea animals and all the tiny living things that swarm in the waters, each according to its kind, and all the winged birds, each according to its kind. God saw how good it was.²² Then God blessed them: “Be fertile and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.”

²³ There was evening and there was morning: the fifth day.

²⁴ God said, “Let the earth produce every kind of living thing: livestock, crawling things, and wildlife.” And that’s what happened. ²⁵ God made every kind of wildlife, every kind of livestock, and every kind of creature that crawls on the ground. God saw how good it was. ²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make humanity in our image to resemble us so that they may take charge of the fish of the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and all the crawling things on earth.”

²⁷ God created humanity in God’s own image,
        in the divine image God created them,
            male and female God created them.

²⁸ God blessed them and said to them, “Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and master it. Take charge of the fish of the sea, the birds in the sky, and everything crawling on the ground.” ²⁹ Then God said, “I now give to you all the plants on the earth that yield seeds and all the trees whose fruit produces its seeds within it. These will be your food.³⁰ To all wildlife, to all the birds in the sky, and to everything crawling on the ground—to everything that breathes—I give all the green grasses for food.” And that’s what happened. ³¹ God saw everything he had made: it was supremely good.

There was evening and there was morning: the sixth day . 

Hi there! I've gotten a new Bible, a Common English Bible, and am now rereading. 
The reason for switching Bibles? I had heard from several sources that the KJV Bible was inaccurate. King James VIII added 14 verses primarily to uplift the status of Kings and bishops as well as to downgrade women's rights. I would seriously suggest you each Google it and read any articles you can find on the matter (there are plenty to choose from). It is so important to know for sure that your Bible study resources are accurate. Having an accurate unaltered "not one tittle" changed Bible is so critical to understanding God's true will and plan for our lives!! 📖 
Okay, so I am switching to this Bible and really really finally enjoying just sitting and reading . . Yea!!! 🙌  
Chapter 1 ..  our beginning . . His desire to create a planet, creatures .  then to create.us.in.His.image!! 
Like when we get married and desire a houseful of children that look like ourselves and our spouse. 
          💗We are His beloved children . . 
                 and always have been!! 💗 


www.CommonEnglishBible.com

Wander or Obey

KJVA Bible. Jeremiah 17:9

[9]The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? 

It is so easy to simply wander wherever our hearts lead us . . and it will lead us . . here and there . . down random roads . . through romances that seem promising..

But, our hearts are truly deceitful and will lead us away from God's will for sure! It can lead us to look for greener pastures vs staying put, sticking it out and fighting to keep our families together . . 

Why wander lost in the woods when we can simply obey God and have peace?!! 

Our Spouse's Needs Over Ours

KJVA Bible. Hebrews 10:24

[24]And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 

Still praying through the Love Dare . . it is amazing how this process has made me grow! 

Yes, it is a Dare to love our spouse/ex-spouse unconditionally and to pray for them in an unceasing manner . . and many go into this process hoping to change their spouse, I know I did . . 

But, really, this process changes the reader. 

Going through each chapter/day and looking up each Bible verse as we prayerfully consider the day's lesson can't help but force us to grow. We may not be looking for personal change but reading and rereading what God is asking of us has a way of backing us into a corner where we absolutely must face our attitudes/behaviors good and bad then change appropriately. 

And so . . 

It is much better to look lovingly on our spouses and think of their needs than our own. 

💤Joy Dare 🕊️ February 4-7, 2019 🤔

4th~ 3 gifts hard to give thanks for . . 
      💤 Total and utter exhaustion 
       💸 Budgetary confinements 
       🏢 Tiny tiny apartment 

5th~ 3 gifts found .  . 
       🕊️ Peace in knowing He leads me 
        💃 My happy place 
       🎮 Control 

6th~ a gift bent, broken, beautiful ..  
        😌 My ability to wait 
         🤔 Thinking 
        💋 Avon samples arrived❣️❣️ 

7th~ 3 gifts in the kitchen  . . 
         🍶 Vinegar water 
          🥛 Milk 
         🍌 Peanut butter and banana w/ghee 

😊 Joy Dare ❣️ February 1-3, 2019 🚗

🚗 1st~ 3 gifts at 3pm ..
        *Unexpected road trip
         *Truth about some people
        *His answers
🌳2nd~ 3 gifts green . .
         *Spring is coming
        *Garden thoughts
         *Bright future
🙏3rd~ 3 gifts wore . .
         *Humble stance
          *Prayerful mind
         *His agape love

While I Wait . . and Wait . .

While I wait . . and wait . . yes, it does sometimes seem like forever .. and He used to show me visions of what life would be like once my marriage was restored . . and He hasn't shown me any for a while . . maybe because I need to stand on what He showed me and have a little faith . . LOL 

But, seriously, the waiting can be hard and get so so discouraging .. and not everyone is going to be all, "yippee, you're praying for your ex-husband!"  So all the Debbie-downers are going to want to have their say/offer unsolicited advice and therapy to help you move on. . . and then there's his new gf who calls you up to tell you off and call you so many 'interesting' names because you are praying  .  . . . 

But the peace from following Him and learning to lean into Him and trust His plan . . that makes the waiting time a blessing! 😇 

This morning I stopped by the BTG YouTube to get some encouragement from Sheila . . watching and seeing how her walk and her waiting looked blesses me. This was my comment on her video: [see above]  

We each are solely responsible for listening for His voice and following His lead in our lives. For me this is learning to be more trusting of God  . . I will continue to pray as I wait for God to heal what is still hurting and place more of a burden for obedience to the Bible in both our hearts while He continues to soften our hearts towards each other . . 

                                   🙏

"If God is for you, who can be against you .. " 

                    

Because I am His. . .

Because I am His, 

  I prayerfully wait . . 

Because I am his, 

  I trust God for us . . 

Because I am His, 

  I quietly prepare . . 

Because I am his, 

  I feel his pain . . 

Because I am His, 

I prayerfully wait. 

Spiral Hope Quilt Top

I'm hurrying to finish so I can tie on the back and begin adding the binding!! 

💞#whatif Prompt for 2.11.19🍽️

Today's prompt:

     Secret ingredients

   

Feel free to respond in your favorite way whether it be a poem, short story, photo, video . . however you best relate to the prompt. Simply post your ideas, create a ping-back and use the hashtag #whatif.

*How to link* 

Copy url from this post. 

Paste it on your post. 

*Easy-Beasy*

📦#whatif Prompt for 2.5.19

Today's prompt:

   📦 How to fortify a cardboard box 📦

   

Feel free to respond in your favorite way whether it be a poem, short story, photo, video . . however you best relate to the prompt. Simply post your ideas, create a ping-back and use the hashtag #whatif.

*How to link* 

Copy url from this post. 

Paste it on your post. 

*Easy-Beasy*