tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90240182024-03-19T01:06:27.688-04:00As I See It NowThe Adventures of Tom and Debra (And the Lessons We Learned Along The Way)Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08894174653208070320noreply@blogger.comBlogger3596125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024018.post-77972630156886341232024-03-15T08:07:00.014-04:002024-03-15T16:25:32.355-04:00When You Believe A Wrong Thing--Or--Will She Be a Cat Lady In Heaven?"Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." --- John 8:12, John 1:5*****(While reading this I hope you'll ask yourself, "Am I believing something not true?")***On Monday we lost Charlie Cat. Days beforeDebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08894174653208070320noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024018.post-40055610378576453012024-03-06T10:58:00.032-05:002024-03-08T07:22:47.246-05:00The Good News. The Bad News. The Free Chandelier.You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed upon you because he trusts in you.******It's wild how emptying our head of complaints can create tons of room instead for creative ideas. I like to imagine it as the axiom we learned in school--... two bodies cannot occupy the same space at the same time.That chandelier I showed you? Just one idea which arrived only after I gave-up (Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08894174653208070320noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024018.post-58349835068743999192024-02-19T09:27:00.035-05:002024-02-24T10:26:05.360-05:00$1,000 For Groceries Every Month?!"Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. ..." ---&Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08894174653208070320noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024018.post-1611588549259508132024-02-14T10:20:00.011-05:002024-02-15T19:21:04.565-05:00What Are You Believing For? And What Are You Doing About It?"I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live..." --- Ecclesiastes 3:12******Since early, dark, last December mornings, I've whispered to God, "I believe at least 4 good things will happen today."Those whispers, that believing, is changing my life.Oh, when I began doing this (this started as a Joyce Meyer idea), I thought Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08894174653208070320noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024018.post-27327978675395952532024-02-07T09:46:00.033-05:002024-02-10T11:02:52.225-05:00What Is Alive For You?"... I came that they may have Life and have it abundantly... Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits" --- John 10:10, Psalm 103:2*****Guess who sat outside yesterday in 42 (F.) sunny degrees while clearing her tiniest flower beds? And who even relaxed on the porch on a 30 degree morning in 4 layers of tops because the sun poured down upon her (and she's aDebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08894174653208070320noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024018.post-28540062083441640322024-01-31T09:00:00.032-05:002024-02-02T08:48:27.762-05:00When You Must Create Your Own Sunshine"The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied... Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might." --- Proverbs 13:4, Ecclesiastes 9:10*******This is one of our greyest, darkest Winters, ever. Ugh.Barely are my usual Winter survival tactics working: time with God, reading at windows, burning candles, watching Youtube Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08894174653208070320noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024018.post-44299868047629275642024-01-24T09:55:00.016-05:002024-01-25T07:07:19.820-05:00January This And ThatKeep it new. Keep it alive. Keep it fresh, interesting and fun.*****1.) Last year I kept a simple reading journal.On the first page I wrote, "Books Read In January," then after finishing a book, I'd write the title, then these:Author:Reaction:Form:The reaction I kept short, usually, "Loved it," "Enjoyed it," or "Good, but not great."For 'Form' I'd write, "Hardcover, own it," or "Paperback, own itDebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08894174653208070320noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024018.post-65013763134176078762024-01-15T11:23:00.035-05:002024-01-18T06:03:53.318-05:00Adventure Is Where--And When--We Find It" ... but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment." ... 1 Timothy 6:17*******Today it's popular (for younger folks, especially) to live all minimalistic stuff-wise and to quip at Youtube, "You'll live a happier, better Life if you go out and have adventures rather than staying home collecting (and enjoying) your stuff."Well Honey, today we'reDebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08894174653208070320noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024018.post-71736212105158136952024-01-08T09:55:00.033-05:002024-01-30T09:27:55.856-05:00Where She's Practicing For Heaven (And So Can You)"Your kingdom come, your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven." --- Matthew 6:10"Heaven on Earth is a choice we must make, not a place we must find." --- Wayne Dyer*******The first book I read this new year? Intra Muros (My Dream of Heaven) by Rebecca Springer. Probably my 10th time reading this.Back in the late 1800's, God gave Rebecca an incredible dream (while she was Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08894174653208070320noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024018.post-41022462177918114002024-01-02T08:46:00.040-05:002024-01-03T06:52:29.116-05:00New Year's Resolutions and How I Kind-Of Cheat At Them :)"You can do all (God-inspired) things through Christ who strengthens you. With Jesus you are stronger than you think."Newness of Life! I love how every year God provides for us newness of Life.*******2024! Well, it's gonna be exciting (you'll see) and color me thankful we're going through this together, you and me.Now. I realize various Christians say the oddest, defeatist, most hopeless things Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08894174653208070320noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024018.post-20488215883054721732023-12-25T10:08:00.031-05:002023-12-27T07:25:45.039-05:00A Christmas Chat And a Few Gifts"Behold, I will do a new thing; now it will spring forth; will you not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert." --- Isaiah 43:19*******Read here long? Then you know I'm no huge fan of Christmas-as-usual, the frenzied way most folks treat it, that is.I'd rather have Christmas the other 11 months of the year. The calm way, rather like this:But here Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08894174653208070320noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024018.post-57919971705935278652023-12-18T10:24:00.009-05:002023-12-18T16:46:20.438-05:00Are We Loving This Life God Gave Us?"So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." --- 1 Corinthians 10:31*******One of my few fears? That I'd ever share those Facebook memes which (pretty much) state--"Just leave me alone at home with my coffee/books/dog/cat because people are mean and I don't like them."Oh, the temptation of fiesty me to read those then ask my friends, "Where's the Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08894174653208070320noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024018.post-62955258223435544922023-12-14T10:11:00.017-05:002023-12-15T07:15:58.232-05:00Let's Pause From Christmas and Look at Books, Movies, TV, Videos, Instead :) " ... put (your) hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment." --- 1 Timothy 6:17******So is anyone else always searching for interesting, morally-decent, new-to-you books, movies, tv, and videos? Yeah, thought so. シ1.) Last week I discovered the Sparks and Joy cozy mystery book series via Kindle (only 99 cents!). Loved the first book (Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08894174653208070320noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024018.post-42928733848497462932023-12-12T14:40:00.017-05:002023-12-13T08:07:32.426-05:00When God Asks Us to Move Forward--And We Finally Do"And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony." --- Colossians 3:14*******Still here! Just needed a break. December and all that. ツRemember when, for 8 years, we had that 100 foot hedge around two sides of Hobbit Cottage? We kept it so to gain some privacy for our open-yard corner lot.Privacy shmivancy.Man, after yanking those 6 foot tall Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08894174653208070320noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024018.post-74159575387173822562023-11-28T13:17:00.023-05:002023-11-30T07:13:48.234-05:00Do This And You May Just Feel Better"Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness." --- Romans 12:6-8******So I watched a Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08894174653208070320noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024018.post-35911595376335310152023-11-25T10:27:00.020-05:002023-11-28T06:01:12.865-05:00When You Think You Can't--But You CanI can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, even releasing what I love if He asks me.******In March of 2019, I felt God asking me to give away 350 of my books."Whaaat?" I asked. "Three hundred and fifty? That's probably nearly half of all my books." (It was.) "You know how much I love these books I've collected for 35 years. Most libraries don't even still offer many of these! I don't Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08894174653208070320noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024018.post-45496345558742912522023-11-23T11:37:00.016-05:002023-11-25T07:43:50.479-05:00Thanksgiving Notes"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." --- 1 Thessaloninas 5:18*******Thanksgiving! We vowed to make 2023 a whole entire year of Thanksgiving and what we got? Eight months of one bad circumstance after another.Oh Honey.But color me extra grateful today that we made it through. That with God pulling us along and reminding us of Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08894174653208070320noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024018.post-86723615027926945542023-11-13T09:38:00.033-05:002023-11-21T04:36:25.657-05:00When You're Living An Impossible Life"Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all." --- 2 Thessalonians 3:16*******So in the midst of a current worldly chaos, I'm watching cottagecore videos and 'soft life' (or slow living) ones with lovely homemakers living beautifully.They take autumnal walks through forests, return home and decorate with found foliage, then bakeDebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08894174653208070320noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024018.post-23106717762663335282023-11-07T11:20:00.025-05:002023-11-10T03:49:40.323-05:00November This and That"For we walk by faith, not by sight... " --- 2 Corinthians 5:7 (Or... don't be blown away by the news!)******1.) So Tom brought home a dozen new, tiny canning jars from Goodwill, not even knowing I needed them for storing my air-dried garden herbs.I'd placed the washed herbs on sandwich plates (after snipping the leaves) and paper towels upstairs on top of my waist-high white Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08894174653208070320noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024018.post-29273570454046400992023-11-01T10:52:00.012-04:002023-11-03T06:07:54.794-04:00Where She Finally Drove To the Library, But Then --“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." ---Isaiah 43:18,19******So last Thursday I actually drove the few (cloud-eerie, but tree-gorgeous) blocks to Dollar Tree. Pushing my cart down the kitchen aisle, I thought, "Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08894174653208070320noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024018.post-19099144832420260262023-10-24T10:59:00.016-04:002023-10-25T08:12:00.116-04:00If I'm No Longer Having Adventures, Whose Fault Is It?"Behold I am doing a new thing. Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? ... If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land--" --- Isaiah 43:19, Isaiah 1:19******Perhaps you've noticed I've not visited the neighborhood coffee shop in, like, a year and a half. Remember when I'd sit there with my books 2 or 3 times weekly?I've not stepped into our local Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08894174653208070320noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024018.post-26920049882814164342023-10-19T10:45:00.028-04:002023-10-20T06:58:46.387-04:00What I Thought On My Autumn Vacation People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. --- Mark 7:37*******Of course, God is always good, but this Autumn He especially is around Hobbit Cottage.Charlie the Cat doesn't jump and skitter away when I approach him, his frustrating food-finicky-ness is fading (kinda) and he actually snuggles up against me on the red couch.Ahh, the necessityDebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08894174653208070320noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024018.post-31310016629794803842023-10-10T10:29:00.012-04:002023-10-11T03:09:09.843-04:00October This And That1.) Well, I'm on a journey to live a new way inside my same old house. Part of that involves not just making things prettier, but easier on this aging ol' body of mine. ツSo rather than repainting, every 3 years, this kitchen dresser top, I placed my marble cutting boards together, creating (what feels like) a new countertop--This feels niftier, covers the scuffed top, although technically, Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08894174653208070320noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024018.post-73679419502861068452023-10-05T11:29:00.023-04:002023-10-06T09:55:53.482-04:00Ways Heaven Is Changing My Days"I am already in eternity." --- John Fenn*******One of the books I'm reading during my morning quiet times? Susan Branch's, Autumn From The Heart of Home. Today I read this quote (and swooned) --"All the way to Heaven is Heaven." --- St. Catherine of SienaI think that appeared nearly in bold type to me because lately I've also thought much about this--"Your kingdom come, Your will be Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08894174653208070320noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024018.post-8413996739755638122023-09-28T11:40:00.031-04:002023-09-30T06:57:23.275-04:00My Early Autumn Days"As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace...... “that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.”" --- 1 Peter 4:10, 1 Timothy 6:18******So I'm watching Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08894174653208070320noreply@blogger.com3