Glory Displayed

Glory Displayed is here!

Some of you know that I have been working on developing a website to sell my photography prints and cards. Well, after many hours of work I am ready to reveal my creation...which is actually pictures of God's beautiful creation!

Go to http://www.glorydisplayed.com/ to check out my very own website. There are many more things to be added and I'll get to it slowly but surely. In the meantime, take a look around and see if anything tickles your fancy!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Hello friends! How was your Christmas? I hope you all had a wonderful holiday celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

I had a lovely Christmas this year. There has been so much going on that it really snuck up on me! On Christmas morning I had no idea what I was getting for Christmas. We were all cutting back this year and I wasn't expecting too much. I was just happy to be with my family eat yummy food! Boy oh boy was I surprised when I opened my Christmas present! There were four boxes and I had to open them in order. Number one was a Green Bay Packer bag that I had been eyeing up. It is made out of jersey material and is pretty cool! Box number two contained a white and green Packer zip up hoodie. Another great gift! Box number three, I couldn't figure out. Inside was a pair of binoculars. What could those be for? Box number four was a packet of info with hotel information and two tickets to the Packer game on Sunday! I was SOOOO excited! You see, I love football. I have been watching it with my dad pretty much from birth. I have always wanted to go to a professional game. Every year I bug my dad to take me to a Packer game. I thought this year was out because now it's too cold for me to go. The tickets we got were for club seats...inside where it was nice and warm!

So, the next morning dad and I left for Green Bay. We checked into a hotel next to the stadium and then when over to check things out. We visited the pro shop and the hall of fame. We took a stadium tour and got to go out the tunnel the Packers run out of...they even had the sound of screaming, cheering fans as we walked out of the tunnel so we got an idea of what the players hear when they are coming out! We stood in the end zone out on the field and it was pretty cool! Yes, that's me doing the Lambeau Leap (well, they wouldn't let us do it so that's as close as I got!) After our tour we went back in the Pro Shop and the long line for autographs was gone. So I got to walk right up to the table and get Mark Chimura and George Koonce to sign my new Packer bag! We went back to the hotel, took a nap, had supper at the hotel and tried to sleep over the noise of a hotel filled with Packer fans who had been drinking since who knows when!

Sunday morning we walked over to the stadium, they were not letting anyone in until 10:00 so we wandered over by the fence where there were some people standing. That was where the players were coming in, so we watched them for a while. The only one I recognized was Aaron Rogers (that's him, behind the fence..trust me)! But Amman Green's truck was there and it was huge, jacked up and super sweet! We got in the stadium, found our seats, did some people watching and watched an amazing game from club seats above the end zone. Oh, and the binoculars worked great! It was like they were playing two feet in front of me...amazing! By the way, the Packers beat Seattle 48-10!!! What a great Christmas present!

Oh, and for all you Viking fans...happy new year from the Packer Hall of Fame!

Sorry that I got a little carried away there for you non-football fans! Okay, so what else has been going on? Last time I wrote I was going to have my photography prints and cards in a craft sale at church. That went very well and I am now in the process of developing a website to sell my work. I'll let you know when it's up and running!

Also last time I wrote my grandma (mom's mom) was in the hospital not doing well. Praise the Lord for healing in her life! She was moved to a nursing home for a couple weeks to do therapy and regain her strength and she was able to go back home yesterday. Please be praying for her and grandpa as there are a lot of adjustments to go through will all of these transitions.

As for me, I'm doing pretty good. I've been working a lot and feeling good most days. I would ask you to pray for wisdom and guidance for me as I pray through something. I am sorry I can't go into details at this point, but there is something that I am praying about that I would like to you pray about too. God knows what it is!

One of the things that God has been teaching me is obedience. Day by day obedience. I always had an idea of what my life was going to look like, what I was going to do and how I was going to get there. What I now know is that I don't know anything! I trust that God has something for me to do and I trust that He will enable me to do it and provide the opportunity to do it. God really spoke to me through Luke 1:45. I believe that what the Lord has said to me will be fulfilled. What I am not so sure about is how or when it will be fulfilled! I know, I'm kind of rambling here, but I guess what I am trying to say is that I have thrown out all of my plans and goals. I have a new goal. To become more like Christ every day and to follow Him wherever He leads me...every day. That's it. I don't know where that is going to take me, but I know that it will be good and it probably won't be what I thought it was going to be!

I best cease my ramblings for now and let my fingers warm up. Sometimes I get really cold typing!! I pray that you all have a wonderful 2010 that is full of joy and blessings and growth in your relationship with the Lord. I can't wait to see what He does in my life and in yours this next year! Quigley and I wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Life

Hello dear friends!

First of all, I want to thank you so much for all of your prayers, cards, phone calls, love and support when my grandpa passed away. My family has felt very blessed indeed. Grandpa was a wonderful man who will be missed by many. We were so surprised by how many people came to the visitation and funeral. What a blessing to have that support and to hear the stories as we remember grandpa together. Grandpa was quite mischievous and loved teasing people and playing jokes. That is something that he passed along to my dad and on to me. My grandpa, dad and I were all cut from the same cloth! I think I better get married and have some kids so I can pass along this wonderful mischievous streak!

It has been a hard couple of weeks, but it has also been good. I know I've talked to some of you about this already, but I wanted to share about those last days. We spent them with grandpa in the nursing home. The night he passed away my parents, brother, uncle, grandma and I were all able to be there. When I was rushing back to the nursing home because the end was near I had second thoughts. Did I really want to go back there and watch my grandpa die? I had never seen anyone die before. But I wanted to be there. For myself, to say goodbye and for my grandma, to support her. He went peacefully and after the tears I looked over and I was amazed at what I saw. You see, I know that when a person passes away their soul is gone. It's just a body left. What I didn't know is that I would be able to see that so clearly. When I looked at grandpa after he died, it wasn't grandpa. It was just a body laying there. I could physically see that his spirit was gone. That really hit me. Right then and there, I praised the Lord that grandpa was in heaven. Grandpa knew Jesus and loved Him. He was ready to go and he went peacefully. He didn't have to fight death because he was going to a better place.

So this is my question for you. Do you know Jesus? I don't mean just know who He is and believe that He existed. As it says in James 2:19, "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder." What I mean is do you love Jesus? Have you placed your faith in God, asked Him to forgive you of your sins and are you following Him? Do you love Him? If so I rejoice with you and I'll introduce you to Marlowe Siler from Downsville someday! If you don't, I plead with you to get right with your Maker. Death is a part of life. It can be a beautiful part of life or it can be tragic. I know I might offend some people here, but truth is truth and it must be shared. If you do not have a relationship with God when your day comes and your spirit leaves this world you will go to hell. A place of torment and eternal separation from God. I do not want ANY of you to go there. I want to be reunited with you again someday. The truth of the matter is we will all spend eternity somewhere...forever...it will never end. I want you to spend forever with me and God, not in hell. There is nothing you can do to make God not love you and accept you if you turn to Him...NOTHING. He sent His Son to die for you and it is up to you to accept that or reject Him. Your sins are already covered, but you have to accept that covering. Please friends, don't leave this decision to another day because we don't know how long we will be here. Life is short and death is a part of life. Make it a good thing, something to look forward to, not to fear.

On to a lighter topic...this Saturday, November 21 from 9am until 2pm you are invited to a Craft Fair at the Alliance Church of Menomonie. I will be selling some prints and cards there and if you live close I'd love to see you there. There will be lots of crafts and goodies so come on out and get some Christmas shopping done! This is the first time I am going to try selling my photography so we'll see if anyone buys it!

One last prayer request...my grandma (mom's mom) is in the hospital. She has been having a hard time breathing and has been very weak. I visited her at home earlier today, but after her lips started turning blue grandpa took her into the doctor and they admitted her. They have her hooked up on oxygen and hopefully that will help her breathe easier and get her strength back so she can go home. I know she would appreciate the prayers and I do too!

Thank you for the prayers and the continued prayer. It means more to me than I can ever explain to you! Blessings on you and yours. I hope you have a marvelous Thanksgiving. I know that I am thankful for so much this year. Even in the hard times, there are so many things to be thankful for and ways that I've seen the Lord work. Thank you God!