SHOW-N-TELL Club

This morning as I was reading Philippians 4:4, "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say REJOICE!" I was reminded that life should be filled with JOY.

It should be about refusing to let life's circumstances dictate our attitudes.


Believe me, I am the first one to get impatient with an overly energetic child bouncing off the deck and on the furniture as he is getting the dogs completly wound up AT dinner time, and we have had our share of life-altering situations that will be part of who we are for the rest of our lives.

Life should be about looking at things from a different perspective. Not our perspective, but through God's perspective.

When was the last time you remember being joyful? Not happy. JOYFUL?

We are fully aware that life is tough. Not a day goes by that we are not ALL reminded of that. Marriages are on the rocks, innocent children and soldiers are dying, babies in orphanages are not being held and cuddled, hearts are broken, jobs are far and few between, and those who have never dealt with addictions are turning to them to "cope and deal" with life.

Here is a quote I LOVE: Joyful people stay riveted to the present-the here and now, not the then and never...Swindoll

"I was regretting the past
And fearing the future...
Suddenly my Lord was speaking:
"MY NAME IS I AM." He paused.
I waited. He continued,

"WHEN YOU LIVE IN THE PAST,
WITH ITS MISTAKES AND REGRETS,
IT IS HARD. I AM NOT THERE.
MY NAME IS NOT I WAS.

"WHEN YOU LIVE IN THE FUTURE,
WITH ITS PROBLEMS AND FEARS,
IT IS HARD. I AM NOT THERE.
MY NAME IS NOT I WILL BE.

"WHEN YOU LIVE IN THIS MOMENT,
IT IS NOT HARD.
I AM HERE. MY NAME IS "I AM"

HELEN MALLICOAT

...AND THAT is how we can have joy. Knowing that our life is in God's very capable, loving hands. Despite our fears, worries and everyday stresses only HE can give us joy. Maybe we have had joy in the past. Maybe not. Maybe we are thinking that in the future we will have joy when the children are older, when the baby is sleeping through the night, when morning sickness is gone, after the house sells...etc. WHAT about today? God is there for YOU TODAY. This very second.

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I have talked about my friends Linda and Julie before. We are the three that get together for Show-n-Tell once a month.

When we first started getting together we would talk about food and direct sales. As our friendship has grown we now talk about food, food carts, aging, fun walks to take, culture, children, barns, shoes, buying in bulk etc.

Julie is Vegan, I am "pretty much a vegetarian" {chicken once in awhile and love seafood}. Linda eats and likes just about everything...so it is alot of fun chatting about our different recipes and tweaking them to suit our eating habits.

This last month, Linda took the bull by the horns and gave us a date, time and place. No questions asked. That is the way it works! We met at PF CHANGS.

*Julie's Show-n-Tell: Her new hairdo, new lipstick...{she got off the hook a bit since she is working on finishing up a new cookbook!}

*Linda's Show-n-Tell: Dove Chocolate Discoveries catalogs. Since we all met through Direct Sales, we were all OKAY with it. She is hosting a party, and we are all attending. No way around it. She is so excited! We all trust Linda. If she thinks it is good. It is going to be! The catalogs are TO.DIE.FOR. Think White Chocolate Cream-filled Cupcakes,Triple Cream Fudge Cake and Frosted Espresso-glazed Brownies! I KNOOOOW!!!

*my Show-n-Tell: A bit of the loot I received from Garnish. We thought of a million and one ways to package and display different foods!

We ate our lunch and then unanimously decided to finish our date at CASH-N-CARRY!

We packed in several more important topics which included ice cream scoops...the good ones that will last forever and the ones that don't last one run through the dishwasher...and yet another reason to carry feminine products in your purse.*** {Mom, if you are reading this, STOP.RIGHT.NOW!}...

***{My hubby had taken me out to a fancy schmancy dinner auction and I was chewing gum. I had cleaned out my purse. No receipts, no appointment cards, nothing except my wallet, lipstick and feminine paper products in the zippered part. {Because that is the decent place to carry them!} Well, there were cloth napkins and no sugar packets {usually my back up} sooo, my hubby asked what I was doing {the table was filled with other people} I told him I needed to spit my gum out! I had my purse on my lap and tore the paper off THE PRODUCT and wadded my gum up in it. Well, my hubby needed to spit his gum out, too. So, he asked for a piece of paper. I obliged. The submissive wife that I am... :) OH.MY. HE WAS COMPLETELY mortified. We laughed so hard!}

So, all I am saying is this: LAUGH! Ask God to give you joy...in the midst of the storm or laughter while it is smooth sailing!

*Do you have friends you can laugh with?

*Are you able to find the humor in the everyday?

Today, I am grateful for friends. {No particular order} The friends who live far away, my closest friends that hold my heart, friends that encourage the deepest part of who I am, My daughter..., adopted "moms", the best mother-in-law EVER, my kindred-spirits, friends I only see once-in-a-blue moon, my twinsie who knows all my secrets, and the friends I have never met and the ones I have yet to meet and my Momma who loves me the way I am and who will still be pulling my skirt down, suggesting I wear a cami and reminding me to turn down the water until I'm 101! I LOVE YOU ALL...and you bring me OUTRAGIOUS JOY!

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