For My "Little Sister"

Sissy, We know God will get you through this. Praying for Him to completely erase away this awful cancer and I know He will. I love you, Baby Sissy.

This Little Prayer of Mine

This Little Prayer of Mine by Anthony DeStefano

If you have small children or grandchildren this is the perfect book to explain prayer to them. It is beautifully written and illustrated and is a perfect bedtime story. I read it to my one year old grandson, and while I know he didn't understand right now, he was captivated by the lovely illustrations. I will continue to read it to him as he gets older. This would also be a good pre-teen read as it explains in verse form that God hears all their prayers and they need not be long drawn out. Sometimes children hear the adults pray in Sunday School or in church and they think they need to use the same kind of 'grown-up' words in order for God to hear them. This book lets them know that God hears all prayers both big and small.

Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes.

Book Review- Max On Life

I loved this new Max Lucado book "Max On Life". 172 Questions that I'm sure many of us have but may have been afraid to ask. Afraid that if we asked, someone may doubt our faith; someone may think 'what a dumb question'; someone may think, I thought you were a christian and yet you are asking this'. Max takes on these questions and while he may not have all the answers, he gives insight. I particularly like the topic index and the Scripture index in the back of the book. Definitely one of his best works.
*Disclaimer: This book was provided free to me by the publisher , through booksneeze.com, in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review..simply an honest one.

The Final Summit

I love to read and was very pleased to find a sight like booksneeze.com. They send you a complimentary copy of a new book of your choosing and in exchange you give an honest review. The books are spiritual, inspirational, Christian, fiction and non-fiction.

My first choice was The Final Summit by Andy Andrews and what a great first choice it turned out to be. The story captured my interest from the very first page. The Final Summit, as it turns out, is held for one immensely important(and I can't stress those words enough) question to be answered. You will be amazed when you discover who has called this summit and even more amazed at who is in attendance. David Ponder is summoned to head up the summit and has at his disposal some of the most awesome personalities one could ever imagine to aid him in his quest for the all important answer he must come up with. With only five chances to get it right, what happens if he fails? Time is running out. Is it even possible for this question to have a correct answer? What does one do when all seems hopeless?

This book had me on the edge of my seat all the way through it. I found myself guessing who was going to appear next by the description the author gave. I was correct on two occasions. I found myself wanting to enter the book and take part in the summit, or at least be able to talk with the people there. This book is suspenseful, entertaining,and enlightening. It gives me cause to stop and think about life and what it means. To quote one nationally syndicated radio host.."Andy Andrews is no ordinary author. He is a Life Whisperer." I will definitely be reading more of his books.

*Disclaimer: This book was provided free to me by the publisher , through booksneeze.com, in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review..simply an honest one.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JESUS !!

Please remember to turn off the playlist at the bottom of this page.

Wishing all my dear friends and family a very blessed Christmas. I love you all !

I hope you are as blessed as I am by this song.

Please remember to turn off playlist at bottom of page, then enjoy and be blessed!

Missing you, Mommy, on this Mother's Day and every day. I miss our nightly phone conversations. My heart breaks when I think of the last conversations we had...the ones when you sometimes didn't know who I was; even the ones when you didn't remember we were talking and you would lay the phone down, not realizing that I was still on the line. I remember just holding the phone and listening to the background noise because I knew you were there even if you couldn't understand it all. I miss you so much, Mommy. But in my heart, I know you are happy now in Heaven where everything makes perfect sense to you and you are no longer in pain. And one sweet day, I will join you and we will stroll through Heaven together. I LOVE YOU MOMMY.

Because He Lives

We all have children, grandchildren or nieces and nephews. This season is almost as much fun for them as Christmas. We love to see their faces when they see their Easter baskets filled with chocolate bunnies and colored eggs, and to see them dressed up in their new outfits for Easter.

I remember Easters from my childhood and each year as I grew older, I learned more and more about the true meaning of Easter. At first, in my child mind, it made me sad that Jesus had to die, but the older I got, the more I understood the reason. And I learned that He arose from the grave and He Lives!

During this season, I watch the movie "The Passion Of The Christ" and it gives me a feeling of renewal, a reminder of what Jesus did for me and for you. I hope everyone remembers, amid all the fun and family gatherings, to thank Jesus for giving us Eternal Life.
May you and your families have a very blessed Easter.

Background paper by SparkleScraps. Song by Bill Gaither.

Before my parents went on to be with Jesus, we made many road trips from TN to AZ. Sometimes taking the southern route and sometimes taking the northern route (I-40). Along the northern route there is this spectacular sight. You can see it about 20 miles before you actually get to it. Last year when we were coming home after my Dad had passed away, we stopped to get a closer look at it. This little town is Groom, TX. just outside Amarillo. The cross stands 190 feet tall and the smaller pictures are actually life size bronze statues (the little dark areas around the cross are the statues, to give you an idea of just how large this cross is. This is truly an amazing sight and if you are ever in the area I'm sure you will be blessed if you take the time to stop and look at it, we certainly were, especially considering the circumstances of the trip. I have posted this page on my other blog, but now that Easter is coming up I wanted to post it again here. I hope you are blessed on this Holy Day.

The New Year

Resolutions...do you make them? I used to but stopped years ago when I figured out that it was a waste of my time. I never, or hardly ever, followed up on them. Examples: 1. Stop smoking (nope, not yet) 2. Watch my weight..ok, I'm doing that one, watching it creep slowly upward. 3. Exercise more..yeah, right! Just a few examples and the list went on and on. As this new year approaches, I am going to make one resolution and really try to stick to it. MAKE TIME DAILY ALONE WITH GOD.

Now, I know He is always with me, we have an open line of communication. Really, I talk to him several times a day. Here's the scenario: I get up,I make coffee, take coffee to "my room", turn TV on to Headline News to see what's happening in the world..then my conversation with God begins, often going something like this: "God, what is this world coming to?" ..."Thank you, God, that I don't live there."; "Bless those poor people, God, they must be devastated." And through out the day it goes; "God, my back and shoulder are really hurting." "Lord, please be with the kids today and keep them safe." And He hears all these comments, even though most of them aren't said aloud. They are said from my heart and He knows my heart.

However, I really think He'd like it if I devoted some "alone" time with Him daily,(without the TV in the background, or without me doing daily chores.) Time when I just sit, read some scripture and reflect on it. Listen to Him with my heart, cause that's how He speaks to us you know. Oh, I read my Bible, but I must admit sometimes I do it more out of a sense of obligation and that's definitely not how it should be. So my resolution is to try my very hardest to be how He wants me to be, closer.

The title of this blog is Just A Closer Walk...He's waiting for me to take that first step every day. That's how my "closer walk" will take place. He gives us free will, to walk or stay put...I want to walk, how about you?

I pray you are blessed.
Jude

THE REASON FOR THE SEASON

Wishing you all a very Merry CHRISTmas.

I Pray You Will Be Blessed

PLEASE REMEMBER TO TURN OFF MY PLAYLIST AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE,then sit back, relax, and be blessed. Sheri Easter is my favorite gospel singer and she does such a beautiful job on this song. I know, we all feel like there are times when we need God to send his angels. I pray you'll be blessed.
Love, hugs and prayers,
Jude

Faith

This is one of my favorite quotes. It is on a page of a perpetual desk calendar that my mom sent to me when I had my heart attack in 1997. I still keep that calendar on my desk.

The pictures are of the church that I grew up in. The first picture is the way the church looks now. The second picture is my cousin, Dixie, and me. (no, we did not wear shorts to church, lol) The picture was taken one summer day when we were with our aunt just driving around. Dixie and I were very close growing up, as close as sisters. I think God knew that my real little sister and I would not be able to grow up together so he placed Dixie,(who was also adopted) and me together. My dear cousin was taken to her Heavenly home earlier this year. I miss her, but I know we will be together again some sweet day.

Church played such an important part in our lives. As I said, we grew up there. All our cousins, aunts, uncles and other relatives went to this church. We were there for every service, unless you were really really sick, you better be ready for church. Some really wonderful childhood memories come from this church; Bible school, Sunday school, Homecoming dinners, Baptist Young Peoples meetings, revivals. It was in this church that I learned of God's loving grace, of Jesus' love for all of us. Here, on a Saturday night, during revival, when I was 13 years old, I prayed at the alter and accepted Jesus as my saviour. Has my life been perfect since that time? No, of course not. Life will not be perfect on this earth. But, I am promised a perfect eternal life in Heaven one day. So no matter what comes my way, between now and my last day of life, I will hold fast to my faith and in the knowledge that God has it all under control.

Kit is "Jesus is our Saviour" by HBFaithInChrist designs.

Great song if you need some inspiration for the day.

I know I have this as the first song on my playlist, but it seems to have a little more effect on me if I watch this video. I love Sherri Easter and she just makes this song touch your heart. Often, if I'm feeling a little down, I watch this and take it to heart. Talk to God..he'll take your pain, trouble or whatever is bothering you. Hope you are blessed by this. Remember to turn off the playlist at the bottom of this page first.
Blessings my friends,
Jude

ACLU: Prayer Held Before Gate City-Sullivan South Football Game Unconstitutional

This is the headline of a local newspaper just a few days ago. It's time to get on my soapbox! The prayer was offered in memory of a Sullivan South football player who died during a game a couple of weeks ago. He was a 6-foot-4, 250-pound defensive linemen who was considered one of the best lineman in the state and was an All-Northeast Tennessee pick. He helped the Rebels win their fourth consecutive Mountain Lakes Conference title.

This prayer was given by a student from the opposing team! What a true show of sportsmanship, not to mention christian love, care and concern for the family, teammates and friends of the player.

The story behind the headlines goes on to say that the ACLU was notified by ONE person. Apparently, if anyone else was offended by this, they at least had the common decency and respect to keep their mouth shut.

As a Christian, I have had it up to my eyeballs with the ACLU lurking around waiting to hear someone say the name God or Jesus in public so they can jump in with both feet. Christians need to take a stand, we are Americans, we have civil liberties also. It's time to stand up. Actually, it's past time. We stood idly by and watched as prayer was taken out of our schools. As a child, I remember when the Children's Bible Ministry visited all schools in our area, once a month. We looked forward to it. I think it made us better adults and parents. It instilled family and moral values in us. Each school day was started by the Pledge of Allegiance (including the words 'one nation, under God'), the Lord's Prayer, and someone was lucky enough to get to read their favorite Bible verse.

Big trouble at school, back then, was when you didn't finish your homework, you were caught chewing gum in class or passing notes to your friends, and the biggest one of all..cheating on a test. Those were the "good ole days".

Now, when you send a child to school, you just pray that they get there and back safely. I wonder where the ACLU was during the Columbine shootings, and all the other school tragedies. Is it them who are trying to make sure our schools are safe? Where are they when gangs are taking over neighborhoods, innocent people losing their lives from gangs fighting over 'territory' that doesn't even belong to them?

I suppose I've said enough for one night..oh, believe me, I could go on and on! I'll just close with this plea...don't let some group or even our own government, lead you in the wrong direction. I know, in the end, Christians will be persecuted, (we are now) but, it will get worse. I'm prepared for that, because I know where I'm going when my time here is over. And whether you are a born again Christian or not, I'll be praying for you. If anyone is offended by my little soapbox rant... I do not apologize, I can't. I must stand up for what I believe in.
Blessings,
Jude (Miss Scarlett)

My All Time Favorite Hymn

Remember to turn off my playlist at the bottom of this page.

I love this song, always have. I wake up daily with the intention of walking closer to Him, once in a great while I succeed. Most days I fail miserably. Daily "stuff" often gets in my path and in my effort to kick it out of the way, I usually manage to kick it into something else that proceeds to fall on my path, most times that something is stuck to something else and before I know it, I've wasted the entire day just kicking things out of the way to be able to "walk closer". Am I making sense here? Surely, I'm not the only one who does this. What I should do is ask God to take these stumbling blocks out of my path. Oh, I pray every morning, usually asking God to watch over my family and keep them safe. I ask for forgiveness, thank Him for my many blessings and ask Him to bless those who are less fortunate. But at some point during my day, I miss the opportunity to do more to walk closer. Kinda like with this blog, I know there aren't many people who see it, still, I don't know who may stumble upon it. I started it with the intention of "walking closer", maybe just planting a seed so someone would be blessed. Then, I get started on something else and just like now, I see it's been a couple of weeks since I've posted here. But, you know the wonderful thing is...at the end of the day...God knows I'm still only human and He loves me anyway!Just like when our children get a little off track every now and then...we still love them dearly and we gently try to guide them back on track. We never give up on them and best of all...God never gives up on us!

Be Blessed

Gary and I are so blessed and our hearts are so touched by this song, that I wanted to share it with you all. You will need to go to the bottom of the page and turn off my playlist first. Then just listen to the words of this song and the beautiful voice of Gordon Mote. I pray you are as blessed by it as we are.

Love hugs and prayers,

Jude

Sit a spell, and be comforted

One of my favorite verses, Mark 4:39, and one of my favorite places, Watauga Lake so close to our home. The verse contains the words "Peace, Be Still" and at church we sing the song

with that title: "He says peace, peace be still, lifts His hands, peace be still; like a child my heart obeys Him, when He says, Peace, Be Still." It's such a comforting song and a comforting feeling to know that no matter what we are facing, God has it all under control.

I pray you are blessed with the knowledge that, even if it doesn't appear so in our human minds,..all is well as long as we believe and let Him take control.

My Beautiful TN Mountains

I am so abundantly blessed. I have a loving family, friends that I cherish, a sister who is so close in heart that we could be twins, the promise of eternal life when my life here is over, in the meantime God provides my every need and gives me this beautiful view to enjoy daily. Yes, I consider myself truly blessed.

Kit is Angelscrapper's new "Fall Splendor". The frame, I've had for sometime now and don't recall where I found it.