Tuesday 4~ How?

This is a cute house...no, it's not the
house I live in, but I really love it. It has a lot
of character!

How?

Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4...continued in Toni Taddeo's memory.

Let's jump right in...

"King" Blackie, making himself right at home.

1. How did you end up in the place where you are living?

Long story, but after our son got married and moved to this town, we started coming here to go to church on Sunday at the sweet little church where they were married. We fell in love with the church, the people, the small town and its affordability. We were living about 30 minutes away, in the middle of the Ocala National Forest, and far from "civilization", so to speak. The now much too large house was suddenly empty and there was nothing to hold us there, so we put our house up for sale and started looking in this town where we now live. It took about 9 months to sell our house and move here, and we are very thankful for how the Lord put it all together perfectly for us.
HERE is a link to a post I wrote just after moving into our current home.

Sunrise Monday morning...

Closer view of the sunrise through those trees...it was golden bright, for certain!

2. How did you end up with the job you have/had?

I'll go with the last job I held until I retired. Due to some unpleasant circumstances at a previous job, I had left there when things got beyond what I could "live with", and then unfortunately I was unemployed for about nine months before I could find another job that was right for me. After many interviews and even some second interviews for jobs that I thought would be good, nothing seemed to be working out. Then one day I intereviewed for an office position at a large church, which I thought with my background in churches and church offices I would be a "shoo-in", but unfortunately I was not chosen for that position. I was getting very discouraged, when about 3 weeks later the office manager from that church called me and asked if I was still available, and if I would be interested in a different position in that church office. I asked what position, and she said "Mine".  She was leaving to go somewhere else, and her position as the Financial Administrator for the church was open and she and the Pastor of the church both thought I would be a good fit for it. It was a much bigger and better paying position than the one I had previously interviewed for. Of course I said yes that I would be interested, and so not long after I was hired and began my work there. I had no idea what a mess I was stepping into. The woman who was leaving the position had not done a very good job of bookkeeping, and there were a LOT of big messes to clean up in every aspect of that job. I honestly thought I had made a huge mistake once I saw the magnitude of what I was going to have to do. But God was with me, and He guided me through it one step at a time, and eventually everything that needed to be "fixed" was fixed and things worked out very well from then on. It was still an extremely challenging position, but I thank God for His guidance and constant support throughout my 6 years there until I was able to retire.

Click HERE for a link to the day I retired.

3. How did you end up with your life partner?

This picture was taken after we were engaged.

Long story short...We met while attending a community college near my home. We were introduced by a fellow whom I had dated briefly, but we were just good friends and had graduated high school together. He introduced me to my future hubby at lunch one day in the college dining room, and from then on we became inseperable...and we got married about 10 months later...and we've been together ever since...it will be 57 years of marriage this coming August!  I believe it was definitely a "God-thing"...a "match made in heaven".  Not saying everything has been perfect all these years...no, that would definitely not be true, but God had a plan for our lives, and He has been the glue that has held us together in spite of sorrows and trials and tribulations and many many moves.  Without Jesus Christ at the center of our home and marriage, I don't know if we could've survived.  And that's the honest truth! But I am VERY thankful for the life we have had together, and I wouldn't have wanted it to be any other way.  Well,  maybe less trials and tribulations...but those things helped us to grow stronger.

Ecclesiastes 4:11-13 NKJV

11 Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm;

But how can one be warm alone?

12 Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.

And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Link to when we were engaged ,   And another link about our marriage

Song of Solomon 2:10-13

10 My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.

11 For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;

12 The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;

13 The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.

Leaving for our honeymoon right after our wedding. My dress sure was short! LOL.

I picked some of our azaleas and my little favorite "fairy flowers" this morning.

And I picked one of the roses on the new rosebush that we planted over the weekend. 

It smells SO good!!!

4. How did your weekend go and how is the week ahead looking?

This past weekend was great. You can read more about that in the last post I wrote. The week ahead...well, I guess I need to look at one of my many calendars...actually we don't have too much planned, but that's always subject to change! I had Ladies' Bible Study on Monday afternoon, and I will have choir practice Tuesday night. We are practicing for our Easter Cantata, and it's sounding pretty good so far!  Other than that, the rest of the week is kind of "up for grabs". Somehow the days always manage to get filled up.

Thank you, Annie, for being our hostess each week here on Tuesday 4.  If you'd like to join in the fun, click HERE to add your post and/or read other posts.

 To end this post, I wanted to share this song "My Tribute" by Andre' Crouch.  It kind of answers all the questions about "HOW".  

"How can I say thanks

For all the things You've done for me?

Things so undeserved

Yet You gave to prove Your love to me

The voices of a million angels

Could not express my gratitude

All that I am

And ever hope to be

I owe it all to Thee

To God...

Be the glory

To God...

Be the glory

To God...

Be the glory

For the things He has done.

With His Blood

 He has saved me

 with His power

 He has raised me

 to God

 be the glory

For the things He has done

Just let me live my life

And let it pleasing, Lord to Thee

And should I gain any praise

Let it go to Calvary

With His Blood

 He has saved me

with His power

He has raised me

To God

 glory

For the things He has done"

Source: Musixmatch

Amen.

An Offering of Praise

Remember This post from last November? (Click HERE)   Remember the clues with this picture?

Well, I am back here to tell you how God is blessing this "Open Window" of new opportunity and ministry...

Go back to the Acts chapter two story of the first Christians in the first "church"...

"And they continued steadfastly 

in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship,

in the

BREAKING OF BREAD,

and in PRAYERS.

Then fear came upon every soul, 

and many wonders and signs were done

through the apostles.

Now all who believed were together,

and had all things in common,

and sold their possessions and goods,

and divided them among all,

as anyone had need.

So continuing daily with one accord in the temple,

and

BREAKING BREAD FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE,

they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,

PRAISING GOD AND HAVING FAVOR WITH ALL THE PEOPLE.

And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved."

Acts 2:42-47

Back in November of 2014 we started a home Bible fellowship in our home.  In the beginning there was just one other couple and us...along with my mother in law as she is usually staying with us on the weekends...and our son if he is available...but that was it...two neighbors and our own family.  We believed that God was leading us to do this by faith...and to trust Him for the growth of our fellowship.

Today was a special day...we had our first after worship "pot luck" dinner...something all good church people do very well...and my heart has been so full of the joy of how God is blessing.  Here's a few pictures of the friends gathered here...sorry they are a little blurry...but you'll get the idea:

I think the thing that is so exciting to me is that when we moved to this house exactly three years ago, we didn't know what or how God was going to use this home, but we knew in our hearts that He had a plan,  Click HERE for the first post written from this home in 2012, we just didn't know what or when.

Today we exclaimed joyfully that we are seeing God's hand at work in our midst...bringing people into our lives that we could never have known before coming here, and blessing the faith venture of opening our home for worship and Bible study in ways that we could not have foreseen.  Little by little God is putting it all together.  We don't know where it will lead, but we are content and thankful for how it has developed thus far.  Time will tell what the next phase will be.

One of our new friends has a very lovely singing voice, and she so desires to use it for God's glory.  We were all awestruck as she sang "The Lord's Prayer" for the blessing for our meal today. It was almost too holy of a moment to even think about eating after that wonderful gift from her heart rendered to the Lord.  It dovetailed so beautifully with our lesson today from John 12:1-8, where Mary of Bethany anointed the feet of Jesus with a very costly gift of fragrant oil, and wiped His feet with her hair.  Jesus said that her gift was anointing Him for the day of His burial...as He was going to be crucified just a week later...although the disciples did not know that at the time.  It was a pure gift of love from her heart...and that is how we felt after our friend sang "The Lord's Prayer" so fervently and perfectly today.  An offering of humility and love for our Savior...preparing our hearts for the gift that He gave for us...His very life.

What a marvelous way to enter into the holy season of the Passion of the Christ...Easter...His death, burial, and resurrection...all done for us because He loves us so much...and He wants to spend eternity with us.

Lord, how can I say thanks for the things you've done for me?  "To God Be the Glory"..."My Tribute", written by Andrae' Crouch....this song expresses it beautifully.  

What is your offering of praise to the Lord for the things He has done for you? What a wonderful time to think about this...and to offer our thanksgiving to Him.