The Day After Turkey Day !

Another Thanksgiving Day in the book of my life, leftovers in the frig for today and tomorrow. Spent the day with 20 plus members of my Ohio Family, great to be with them, but also miss my Texas Clan ! My Daughter said this week after the long trip back to Texas from Grandpa Miller's Celebration of Life she wished the two states were closer together. My sentiments for 39 years. On to get ready for Christmas, I am making a few changes this year, little to no shopping. There are now 50 plus in my immediate Family, I am taking my Christmas money and going on a cruise to the Bahamas in the Spring. Today on my "to do" list, putting away Fall Decorations, dust, move furniture in preparation for the tree. I did little Christmas decorating last year as I left for Texas on the 26th to spend the winter. I am attempting to brave the cold snowy winter in Ohio this time except for a couple of weeks in Florida with Family and Friends.We had a light snow during the night, all is bright white out this morning, so pretty !

 The Turkey below leaves us with this message for the upcoming Christmas Feast !!

Thanksgiving Morning !


A little sad this morning, missing my Husband,Bobby and Son, Jason Dean Runnion ! Praying for all those who will be celebrating this year with empty places around their table.We will have an empty chair at our table this year, Dad is celebrating his first Thanksgiving in Heaven !  Cherish every moment with your loved ones, for we are not promised tomorrow. Make each day count and be thankful everyday, not just at Thanksgiving ! We take so much for granted never realizing how fragile life is, eternity is just around the corner. Are you prepared to meet God ? Have you sent your RSVP to reserve your place ? I know this is not the normal Thanksgiving message, but this is on my heart today !
There is always something to be thankful for !

1. Spending the day with my Family
2. Finances that enable me to travel Ohio to Texas
3 . 4 Healthy Great Grand Babies this year
4. Getting settled in Killbuck,Oh, making new Friends
5. Especially thankful that God has been with me through all the changes these past 2 1/2 years

Want to share this writing from my beach vacation at Pine Knoll Shores in North Carolina this past summer. I hope this ministers to you in that place in Life that you now find yourself. I have returned to this little piece several time since writing it and it does lift me each time. I pray it also does you.


After a restless night having a nightmare from my Domestic Violence Marriage of many years ago, I woke early and had an urge to walk the beach alone as everyone but my Nephew was still sleeping. So tea mug in hand I started out, it was just as high tide was going out, still some pretty strong waves coming in. The Holy spirit began showing me how the waves coming in from the ocean are so like our lives. I walked along a few paces in the smooth sand where the waves had rolled out, suddenly a larger wave swept in and would have knocked me off my feet, IF I had not dug my feet into the sand. God said this is how life is, you are going along everything is going fairly well and suddenly something in your life tries to knock you down, IF you do not stand firm in me you will be swept a place you really do not want to go. When you stand firm on My Word, trust and look to me life will smooth out, You may get tossed around a little but, you will remain upright. There are several places where large deposits of shell have been deposited when high tide is coming in, God said these are graveyards of shells that have become stranded on land, you will see some that are crushed or broken, then you will find one that has little damage, once in awhile you will find one almost perfect. These shells are likened to my Children's lives, some are battered, bruised, and broken while others are deposited on the shore still beautiful with little outward showing of there time of being tossed and rolled in the waves for years. What makes one shell more resilient to the waves I do not know, but in my life I know my relationship with Jesus Christ has changed my life for the better. Yesterday as we walked on the beach I mentioned to my Sister, Kathy I had never found a large Conch Shell in all my years of beach walking and shell hunting, as I walked this morning in the middle of one of the “Shell Graveyards” there was a top of a Conch sticking up surrounded by piles of broken pieces of shell, I almost walked on by thinking it was most likely a broken one as nothing very large had been seen deposited on our walk yesterday. Tiptoeing across the broken bed of shells I reached down and pulled out a large Conch shell, tears came to my eyes as I looked at it. It was not quite perfect but it was a whole shell, there is a piece of the outside layer peeled away, there are a few cracks , chips and crevices, but it is a whole intact shell. I turned it over and on the inside it is beautiful. The Holy Spirit spoke these words to me in my spirit, “This shell is like your life, on the outside you have a few layers missing from being, battered and bruised by life, but on the inside where My Spirit resides you are beautiful”. This has ministered to me so much this morning, the last 2 years have put some cracks and crevices in my shell, but on the inside I am trusting that I will continue to look to Jesus and remain faithful to the calling on my life. I was deposited on the graveyard of life for a time, not swept away. I dug my feet in and stood firm even in the greatest time of loss in my life. God has been faithful, given me the time I needed to heal, I thank Him for His Grace and Mercy that keeps me standing in the sands of Life ! 
 

Can not believe I have not posted here since July 2011, so much has changed in my life since that time. Just a couple of the life changing happenings, my Son died in Feb. 2012, Husband in 2013, moved back to my birth state of Ohio in June 2013. Life is so full of loss and sadness, but God will walk it out with us if we allow him to. Not saying it is easy ! This past week I lost my 93 year old Dad after declining health for a couple of years ! He lived a long life, had an awesome testimony of the Power of a Living God to change a Life for the good !  I am going to attempt to begin posting on here again, I no longer have a Ministry or a Husband to care for. More time to do a few things, I have been traveling back and forth between Ohio and Texas. Weddings and new Babies give happiness along with the sadness, attempting to make a new life for myself at 71 has not been easy, but then Jesus told us life would not be easy. Until next time, "Keep Your Eyes On Jesus" !