Counting Blessings in 2014

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Smoking Hot

One year ago today, January 2, 2015 Mike and Barb arrived in Mexico. What a fantastic adventure it has been to move to a new culture, community, country and church!!! Today we celebrate our first year in Mexico with a BBQ in our lushly green patio. Mike was surprised and delighted by his 2014 Christmas gift. A stainless steel grill that is fed fuel from our gas supply tank on the roof! Our Char Broil TRU Infrared gas grill heats up to a smoking hot 700 degrees. Infared energy is comprised of those frequencies beyond visible light. Traditional grills heat with hot air which drys out meats. The Infared energy strikes the food and causes the

molecules to vibrate, and cook meats quickly. Infared is the technology that fine restaurants have used for years. As per directions, we seasoned our grill grates, like a cast iron skillet, this optimized our grills performance. Brushing the meat and grates with peanut oil, we sizzled up a couple of thick pork chops in just 6 minutes!! We enjoyed juicy delicious chops lightly topped with a brush of apple-cinnamon jam, served with garlic mashed potatoes, green beans, and a fresh avacadoe. 2015 will be especially tasty and wonder filled as we now have all our construction projects completed. In 2014 we installed a water purifier system, new wiring, a fireplace, a screened in patio, got the waterfall working, landscaped the front and back patio areas, painted interior and exterior, purchased a new car and established ourselves with a local doctor and dentist as Permanent Residents in Jalisco, Mexico.

DELIGHTED to LAUGH

1. She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. PRV 31:25
2. Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” G 17:17
3. So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?” G 18:12
4. He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy. JOB 8:21
5. A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance  ECC 3:4
6. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. LUKE 6:21

7.      “The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, though they cannot compare with the wings and feathers of the stork. She lays her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand, unmindful that a foot may crush them, that some wild animal may trample them. She treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers;  she cares not that her labor was in vain, for God did not endow her with wisdom or give her a share of good sense.

Yet when she spreads her feathers to run, she laughs at horse and rider. “Do you give the horse its strength or clothe its neck with a flowing mane? Do you make it leap like a locust, striking terror with its proud snorting?  It paws fiercely, rejoicing in its strength, and charges into the fray. It laughs at fear, afraid of nothing; it does not shy away from the sword. JOB 39  ~ Just as fathers and mothers delight in the laughter of their kids, so does our Father, our Lord Jesus delight in our laughter! A cheerful dispostion

is great for your health. “ A cheerful heart is good medicine,

but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” Proverbs 17:22 ~ The news of gloom and doom leave you bone-tired.  Laughter and giggling at myself, or with others lifts my spirit and gives my Father pleasure.  Share an embarassing moment with someone, rejoice in what strikes you funny!  You know what I am talking about, those times when hilarity got you snorting and unable to speak without bursting into tears.  JOY comes in the morning, the evening, or anytime during the day, if you allow it!  During your next laugh fest, talk to God and give Him thanks for your funny bone!  God has a sense of humor,  He created us with the ability to laugh in situations that might cause the lost to worry or cry. WHY, because we have HOPE in the One who is unseen, and in the future He promised.  Laughter is good medicine for the soul, cuz the Holy living Word of God says so!  

Oh wonderful  Father, I thank You for laughter, Joy, and Peace. Thank You Lord for creating us to laugh that we can be refreshed in the midst of difficult times. (Psalm 30:5 ) For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning!”  Lord my goal is to delight in You and give You great pleasure, in my obedience to LAUGH more and worry less!  If I could see myself as You see me, I certainly would lighten up and LAUGH at the days to come!  Thank You for filling us with Your Joy, and I ask that it overflows into the lives of those You bring into my space!  Lord let our laughter be an encouragement to all! In Jesus name I pray, Amen 

RUMINATE THE JOY

Are you a happy or a sad person? Where does your mind tend to go automatically?  Do you rejoice in your past victories, or do you continually mull over what you should have done? Emotional disorders such as depression, anxiety and self-hate are associated with a heightened sense of regret. People with high neuroticism – are those with the tendency to return to the negative, the bad experience.  NOT forgetting the past, and looking forward to employing lessons learned, their minds go up and down like a merry-go-round of what SHOULD have been. There is a brain map, a groove created by positive and negative memories. We must decide to interrupt the pattern of sad thinking in order to positively change our mood. People MUST choose to get off the roller coaster and walk with determination to NOT repeat their sad story, in their mind, or to other ears. People use effective strategies to regulate their emotions when calling to mind sadly negative auto-biographical childhood memories. Choosing to capture each thought and creatively re-framing it while seeking a NEW perspective is healthy. There is a blessing, a lesson from God tucked inside each experience. Choosing to NOT be a victim, we thank God for His way of building character in us.  We remember Him and all He suffered and we count our blessings. Common lessons found in hardship are:  patience, endurance, increased faith, and the SERENITY found in CONTENTMENT in this world, as it is, NOT as I would have it. It is GOOD or BAD according to our FREE CHOICE.  Letting go of the past, and expecting better things today, with HOPE for a greater eternal destiny, this choice gives troubled people peace and joy. Research finds a marked improvement for depressed people who work to challenge each negative memory.  Analysis of clinical studies revealed that both men and women who were high in extroversion (gregarious, assertive, stimulus-seeking) tended to remember more positive than negative life events. Neurotic people recall a greater proportion of bad memories and their minds are stuck in returning to the same negative memories again and again, a process called rumination. Rumination is known to be associated with depression. Depressed people maintain negative memories and as a result they feel sad. Feeling sad increases the tendency to have more negative memories. It is a vicious circle. None of the study subjects were diagnosed with depression, however, both male and female participants were likely to experience a lower mood after recalling negative autobiographical memories. Previous research has shown that being able to call up concrete, detailed memories that are positive or self-affirming can help to boost positive mood for people with a history of depression. SIMPLY PUT without extensive clinical research MEMORIZE this scripture and PRACTICE or RUMINATE on it daily. “Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends! ~ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:1-9 ~ Sad people are encouraged to increase current social activity to replace old memory patterns. PLAN a happy event to RUMINATE in the future.  PRAISE God in ALL things ALWAYS, I say it again, seek God with all your heart, and you will find Him in the midst, beckoning you "Come to Me all ye who are heavy ladened and I will give you rest!" AMEN

Chapala to Puerto Vallarta

Mikey liked driving Suzie through GUAD at 5:00 AM to Nogales/Tepic on HWY 15 to miss the traffic.  All LEFT LANES through GUAD until you see the RIU hotel on the right. GET INTO RIGHT LANE.  EXIT to DETOUR 15D to Puerto Vallarta. Drive in right hand lane along 15 frontage road, past the RIU. RIGHT turn at LIGHT when GPS speaks. GET in LEFT lane, follow to the dead end, turn LEFT onto 15 D to PV.  AGAIN stay in LEFT lane towards JALA, NAYARIT.  Pass through (3) toll roads for total fees of 250 pesos one way.  Follow EXIT 15D to HWY 200 to Chapallia.  OXXO rest and bathroom stop.  Follow 200 to Compostela. Follow signs to Puerto Vallarta.  Through PV on 200, at the end of the city park, turn left, then follow road until you see LIBRAMIENTO, turn LEFT --- then RIGHT at the LIGHT, over bridge to GARZA. Life is great, retirement in Mexico makes road trips to exotic places a treat! More terrific adventures with friends coming up in November and December, we are thrilled to practice Spanish as we delight in this rich culture.
View Garza Blanca Preserve PV in a larger map

ONION MAGNETS

In 1919 when the flu killed 40 million people there was this Doctor who visited many farmers to see if he could help them combat the flu. Many of the farmers and their families had contracted the flu and many had died. The doctor came upon this one farmer and, to his surprise, all were very healthy. When the doctor asked the farmer what he was doing that was different, the wife replied she placed an unpeeled onion in a dish in the rooms of the home.  The doctor couldn't believe what he heard.  The doc examined the onions under the microscope.  The doctor found the flu virus in the onion.  It obviously had absorbed the bacteria, therefore, keeping the family healthy.  ANOTHER ONION experience:  Several years ago, many employees  and customers of a beauty salon were coming down with the flu. The shop owner placed several bowls,

containing onions, around in her shop.  To her surprise, none of her staff got sick.  Many have proven that setting a bowl of onions our during flu season actually kept them from getting sick. Simply cut off both ends of a white onion and place it in an empty jar, at night place the jar in the room of a sick person.  The onion will be black in the morning from absorbing the germs.  The onion will be a mess, but the patient with the flu, a cold, pneumonia will feel better. Families that placed onions and garlic  around the house saved many lives during the black plague years ago. Both onion and garlic have powerful antibacterial, antiseptic properties.  Many times when a person has tummy upsets, or rumblings

down in the GI, people consider all that they have eaten and don't know what to blame. Maybe it's the onions that cause the rumble!  The reason onions are so good  at preventing us from getting colds, and flu, is that onions absorb bacteria.  This is also the reason we should not eat an onion that has sat for a time after it's been cut open.  How about those onions in the salad at your local buffet?  How long have they been sitting out?  LEFT  OVER  ONIONS  ARE  POISONOUS.   A tour through Mullins Food Products, makers of mayonnaise, revealed much about food poisoning. A chemist named Ed was the wiz kid who demonstrated various dangers with regard to exposed foods. Most people worry that mayonnaise will spoil.  Ed said all commercially made mayo is completely safe.  Mayo does NOT have to be refrigerated.  No cause for alarm or harm by refrigerating it, but it's not really necessary.  The pH in mayo is set at a point that bacteria could not survive in that environment.  The summer picnic bowl of potato salad sitting on the table, did not cause upset tummys!   ONIONS were in the potato salad!  Onions are a magnet for bacteria, especially uncooked onions. Never eat a portion of a sliced leftover onion.  Putting onions in a zip-lock bag in the fridge does not protect you from the sliced contamination of the onion that magnetized bacteria.  Onions on hotdogs at the baseball park or at Costco can cause you tummy rumbling. Leftover onions that are cooked like crazy are okay. Dogs should never eat onions. Their stomachs cannot metabolize onions.  It is dangerous to cut an onion and plan to cook it the next day.  The onion becomes highly poisonous, even after a single night, and creates toxic bacteria.  The bacteria may cause adverse stomach infections because of excess bile secretions and even food poisoning.

STOP WORRYING

SPEAK THE TRUTH in love.  This is a command, a word from God that gives us peace, only if we obey.  Withholding frustrations, not speaking the truth will fester and cause distance in our relationship to God, our mate, our kids, or with the person whose behavior is the cause of our inability to love, forgive or rest in peace. The dis-ease, the guilt, the shame, the anger, needs to be vocalized in a way that honors the feeling nature that God gave each of us. Taking responsibility for the way we choose to feel is to honor God.  Thanking God for the difficulty and rejoicing in the opportunity to connect more deeply with His purpose, ushers in the Holy Spirit Who is ever ready to help us, to commune in us, His wisdom, His understanding, His peace, and give us the words to speak.  Taking the time to be alone with God, to write a memo, to outline exactly what is robbing us of our joy, peace and ability to forgive, this exercise is how David worked through his various struggles which turned into Psalms, his praise to God for the grace, restoration and His mercy. Prayer is crying out to God, and God wants us to be honest. To speak the truth to Him, we first must be honest with ourself. The people He places in our lives is His will and way of propsering us. God grows us into the person He created us to be by removing all people or ways we rely upon besides Him.  His holy perfect purpose is that we become more like Jesus, and less like who we were before we met Jesus.

Do you quietly lie awake at night contemplating how you would feel; IF ONLY THEY would…..?  Do your thoughts include whispers from the Lord, or the enemy?  How can you tell what voice you are listening to?  IF the impulse is to give up, to walk out or to blame someone for how you feel…then that voice is not from God.  Being honest takes courage and in our weakness is when the Holy Spirit shows up strong!  Having second thoughts, is a gift from God.  It is His tug on our heart to face the truth of how we feel and consider God’s word, His ways, His will above our own.  God’s word encourages us to confess our sin of unbelief in His power to change us. Remaining in denial and to say "Everything is fine" when it is NOT, is a LIE. Our obedience to fess up to what is bothering us, brings us closer to God, and He heals us. Getting out of denial is the first step to recovery, and the return of God’s peace.  Group support is available in every church. Talking to others who have the same issue, or a similar situation gives us the opportunity to air out our frustrations, and thereby begin to understand that you are not alone, that your feelings are valued, validated and worthy of opening up to God and others for a healing, for a solution.

A new father was distraught with thoughts of abandoning his wife and 2-year-old with Down syndrome. But after voicing his truth with others who had kids with disabilities, he found the strength to go home and face another day. IF you truly want peace, then do something, take positive steps towards God, admit your struggle, be honest, pour out your heart and then LISTEN while you read the Psalms. Following Jesus, means doing what He did.  He removed Himself from the crowds, He got alone with His Father and poured out His heart, then He walked courageously, not blaming anyone for the rejection, ridicule and trials He faced. Gain as much knowledge as you can about the saints that have journeyed before you. Next, begin to speak honest words of thanksgiving for all the good in your life. Discipline your thoughts, and force yourself to make eye contact and interact with the person who does not behave in the manner in which you desire. People are desperate to be loved “as they are” not as we would like them to be.  Jesus loves all of us “as we are”. The greatest commandment, not suggestion from God, but holy instruction is that we LOVE ourselves as we are loved, unconditionally.  Then with His love overflowing in us, we can love and forgive others as we love and forgive ourselves. Accept others, appreciate their God given differences, disabilities, and difficulties. God is the One who changes people, He will take our hardened hearts and make them soft.  He will soften our hearts towards those who are not like us.  He will

increase our faith in Him to do all things through Christ Jesus, as we call on Him to change us by filling us with the desire to be more like Jesus. The only thing keeping us from loving others as we are loved is our ignorance or resistance to accept all the love God has for us. Once we overcome our own selfish expectations for others to behave in acceptable manners, only then will we see the beauty in them that Jesus sees. Talk to God just like He is sitting in a chair beside you. Be honest with God throughout the entire process of finding His peace in the midst of any chaos, frustration or undesired outcome. Healing is a process and a journey. Experience the life-changing transformation  that comes by speaking the truth in love. The truth is life is hard, but without Jesus, it is impossible to possess joy, even when times are tough.  He never changes, but we must in order to rest in peace.  Let us settle the fact that GOD IS GOOD and that

you trust Him with your life, your situation, your frustrations. We all makes mistakes, we all fall short, and we all struggle to accept our own imperfections. All people grow and develop character by the trials that life brings so praise God for all your character building days!  God's amazing grace is a GIFT.  From God to you through Jesus.  Jesus marvels at two things.  Great faith and a lack of faith.  Even those who walked with Jesus daily had bad days, moments of doubt, and many frustrations.  Fishing all night and catching nothing, is to work all day and not get paid. On one famous journey out to sea, a wild storm arose and the followers of Jesus woke up a sleeping Jesus and asked Him "Don't You care?"  There is NO human being  in this world that cares more than Jesus.  The disciples had personally witnessed Jesus give a blind man sight because He cared deeply. Our self-relainace, or our ways of toiling on our own without Jesus is disobedience.  Jesus tells us "Do not worrry" In other words STOP worrying.  If we remain sleepless, toiling in worry, we are

sinning. James, the brother of Jesus, doubted Jesus and his letter to us all reminds us "Confess your sin (of disbelief, lack of trust) to one another and be healed." Admit the time you spent worrying did not add a single inch to your character,or stature. REPENT, turn around, face Jesus and ask Him to forgive your unbelief, your doubt, your pride, that you "got this".  Let us make our Father happy and trust Him with all our concerns, consternatins, frustrations.  Let us lean on Him and not our understanding.  Our Father cared enough to send His son, to deliver us from the fear of death, and the disappointments that challenge our human capacity to live life on our own.  The content of our mind and heart are known by He who stilled the storm. His grace is sufficient, His grace caught the fish, and His grace provides for all our spiritual, physical and financial needs.  Everyday take up the habit of praising God for all things, the good, the bad, the hard and the easy! Thank You Jesus for Your mercy, Your patience.  Your ways are perfect and I thank you for each trial, for every lesson, and for the change of heart You accomplished in me!