Everyday Answers

Be Positive by Joyce Meyer

We have thought of Your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of Your temple. 
—Psalm 48:9

Positive minds—minds full of faith and hope—produce positive lives. Negative minds—minds full of fear and doubt—produce negative lives. In Matthew 8:13, Jesus tells us that it will be done for us as we

have believed. This doesn’t mean that you and I can get anything we want by just thinking about it. God has a perfect plan for each of us, and we can’t control Him with our thoughts and words, but if we want His plan, we should think and speak in agreement with His will and plan for us.

I encourage you to think positively about your life and be thankful for the good things God is doing and going to do. Practice staying positive in every situation that arises; even if you’re going through a difficult situation, stand in faith, believing God will bring good out of it as He has promised in His Word.

Prayer of Thanks: Father, help me to keep my thoughts and my words focused on You. I thank You that You have good things in store for my life. I trust You today.

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From the book The Power of Being Thankful by Joyce Meyer. 

Update - Ellison Bay Mansion, largest in Wisconsin, Sold

What is believed to be the largest single-family home in Wisconsin, located in Ellison Bay, sold in December.  The approximately 35,000-square-foot mansion was built by philanthropist Judith Blazer, whose grandfather founded Miller Electric. Miller Electric is now part of Illinois Tool Works.  

The home was completed in 1996 and is located at 2177 Porcupine Bay Road in Ellison Bay. In 2005...

Frank Spitzer of Huntington Park, Calif., bought the mansion for about $20 million.  True North Real Estate in Fish Creek handled the sale. The real estate company had the home listed for 256 days before the sale was finalized Dec. 15.

The massive two-story library at what has in recent years been called Ellison Bay manor. Photo courtesy Jameson Sotheby's International Realty in Chicago. Credit: USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

Door County Land Records lists the accessed value of the home at $7.085 million. According to someone with knowledge of the sale, the home sold for $2.7 million. The asking price for the 43-room mansion was $2.9 million.

The Door County online land records database lists the previous owner of the property as the Frank Spitzer Estate. The new owner is identified in records as New North Realty LLC.

By Samantha Hernandez, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

You can read my Original Post and see all of the photos of this magnificent Mansion Here! 

Onion Burgers with Green Bean Salad

This combination was a delightful dinner - I made both the Burgers & the Bean Salad and it was Fabulous!

Thanks for stopping by...Jan

Weekend Work on the Garden Wall

A little over a year ago, I was getting little to no exercise.  That's right.  Unless you count blogging, checking my email, visiting internet friends, shopping and playing games on-line exercising...like this little cartoon [by the way, click on the photo to enlarge it] I found...LOL!!  Then, I was thrust into doing everything around the house - inside and out - myself.  That was ALOT to someone not getting much physical exercise...believe you me!!  I've lost 65# and kept it off...and feel pretty darn good.  Then in February, during a particularly windy night [gusts up to 65mph] blew down my garden wall...and the REAL work and exercise began.  It will continue on for
quite a while longer.  There is alot more to do.  I had one woman stop by my house, when she saw me out and asked what I was doing - what happened to my hydrangeas and when I told her...she asked "Don't you have a husband to do all of that?  I just laughed and said, "NO!" and turned and walked back to the wall and got back to work!

Here are 3 photos from the work I did on Saturday - April 16th.  Since then, I've either been busy with other things [Grooming & Bathing all 3 Pups], [taking things to Goodwill] or [cooking some good meals].  Oh...trying to stay out of the sun isn't easy either - medication I take says avoid sunlight, so on warm days that are sunny, I can't work out there - cool and sunny days are GREAT - can wear a long sleeve shirt and my big hat!  Now it's time to run between raindrops...with alot of rain forecast for my area.  So, who knows when I'll post more photos of the wall.

Re-Building My 2016 Garden Wall

 After 2 1/2 hours outside, I was done today.  The new medicine I've been taking, has really fatigued me.  I hate taking medication!  But, I did make progress.  Click on that photo over there to the left and you'll see it enlarged...and you'll be able to read the caption on it...or scroll down to see it larger already!  I managed to lift and move a TON - that's 2000 pounds of those concrete blocks today and dig up the 4 huge Hostas...

Those Hosta Plants were awful...the bases measure approx 30" across. I can turn them over in the holes...but can't lift them. HELP!! :D  

If you've missed the posts I've done about the Garden and why I am having to do all of this work, you can read about it Here.

Tomorrow I need to be remove the blocks where you see their holes [2 layers] and level them and then re-build the wall. Don't you just LOVE the overhead photos from my Sitting Room window?

April Snow Brings May Flowers?

Yesterday afternoon, we began seeing snowflakes...really HUGE ones.  The Pups wanted to go outside alot more often, so that they could try to scoop up the big flakes of snow as they jumped around the courtyard.  They ran and ran and jumped and jumped.  The weatherman forecasted snow already back on Tuesday when an ALERT day was scheduled for us for today and tonight.  As night began to fall, snow began falling in earnest and when the Pups

went out before going to bed, there was about an inch of snow.

But, by morning...we had the biggest snowfall of 2015-2016 winter...6 1/2" measured right on my courtyard wall.  Can you believe it?  How many of you received snow too?

This photo of the trees is in the backyard of another neighbor.  It's so calm outside...and when I saw the snow still on the trees, I just had to snap it!

Now...I really do hope the snow is done for this season.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Daring to Stand for Truth

The complainer is further embarassed by the moral company in which he finds himself. His is a spiritual affinity with some pretty shady characters: Cain, Korah, the sulky elder brother, the petulant Jews of the Book of Malachi who answered every fatherly admonition of God with an ill-humored "Wherefore have we? Wherein have we?" These are but a few faces that stand out in the picture of the disgruntled followers of the religious way. And the complaining Christian, if he but looks closely, will see his own face peering out at him from the background. Lastly,

the believer who complains against the difficulties of the way proves that he has never felt or known the sorrows which broke over the head of Christ when He was here among men. After one look at Gethsemane or Calvary, the Christian can never again believe that his own path is a hard one. We dare not compare our trifling pains with the sublime passion endured for our salvation. Any comparison would itself be the supreme argument against our complaints, for what sorrow is like unto His? After saying all this we are yet sure that no one can be reasoned out of the habit of complaining. That habit is more than a habit--it is a disease of the soul, and as such, it will never yield to mere logic. The only cure is cleansing in the blood of the Lamb.

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Verse

Korah son of Izhar, the sons of Kohath, . . . and certain Reubenites . . . became insolent and rose up against Moses. With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council.

Numbers 16:1-2

Thought

Korah and members of the council challenged Moses' leadership. They experienced God's judgment as a result. Are there churches experiencing God's judgment because of grumbling and complaint against God-appointed leaders? It is far easier to criticize leaders.

Prayer

Lord, I find it far easier to grumble and complain against leaders than to graciously submit to them. May I faithfully pray for my leaders.

Time Has Flown

It seems almost impossible that an entire year has slipped by already.  A year ago this past Sunday, April 3, 2015, was when my husband moved out of our home.  At the time I thought I'd be just fine.  But, underneath, I also thought it would be quite difficult.  Both were pretty much true.

There were plenty of things to keep me busy...like all the un-done chores and painting and setting up a daily schedule for Chores and my huge To Do List.  There was time I took just for myself...to heal my heart.  There was time that I devoted to my 3 Pups...to get them through the first couple of months of them missing their "daddy"...and driving me crazy every single time they heard a noise and thought it was him.

I wasn't at my best when he left...overweight, by quite a bit...weak, dragging butt to do anything, even the slightest thing around the house.  Sure, I had bursts of energy and got some things done, but on an every day basis...I didn't have the energy I needed.

All these many months later, I'm many pounds lighter...actually 67#.  I'm able to do alot more without getting tired.  I've had rough days...and lots of good ones too.

Am I fine?  No.

Oh yeah, I'm doing OK...but not truly over everything.  I don't have closure.  There's that word so many people throw around.  Closure.  

I'm still married.  But, I feel like a widow, since my husband was here one day and gone the next.  We don't talk, I haven't seen him since he left and said he'd be back home in a few weeks.  It's like he's gone POOF!

Today I saw the new Doctor, mainly to see if I could get a medical excuse to not have to be on Jury Duty in Detroit, of all places.  Not only did I get that excuse, which she faxed to the Court...but I got a lot more.  She could see how stressed I was...not only in my face...but my blood pressure.  So, now I will be taking blood pressure medication.  Hopefully, with more weight loss and the pills, it will make a big difference.  Like they always say, people who have high blood pressure don't feel ill.  I certainly didn't.  I also go back to see her in a few weeks...for fasting blood work.  Oh yippee!

I guess all of that comes as we get older and we're under stress.  

She asked me alot of questions today, which I really appreciated.  And after hearing some of the things that have transpired in the past year, she asked if I was in counseling.  I said no, that I was doing well.  But, I've been thinking...maybe it would be a good thing to see someone, join a church group or something...just to help me adjust a bit more...to get me off to a good start in the 2nd year of my life...on my own.

Some of you may remember my posts on Domestic Violence.  I did those a few years ago, for quite some time...and then abruptly stopped doing them.  I suffered at the hands of an abuser, who beat me many years ago.  ONCE!  That was it!  I left him.  Didn't take phone calls from him or anything.  I shared that here.   The reason for the end of my posts on the subject of Domestic Violence?  I felt awful posting about it and suggesting those suffering to get help...when I was suffering myself...and NOT getting help.  

With Alzheimer's, comes lots of symptoms.  Lots of symptoms.  I'd been emotionally beaten down...and physically injured as well, by the man I loved and was married to.  But, I didn't feel I could LEAVE him...because this was caused by a medical condition...and he wasn't himself any longer.  I'm thankful [I know that sounds odd] that he left - for both of our sakes.  I have forgiven him for all of the things that transpired between us.  I wish him well.  Being able to do that, was a gift from God.

But...there is still "stuff" that bothers me...upsets me...makes me wonder if I'll ever have a life again, if I will ever be the outwardly active person I was before all of this.  So, maybe I will seek out someplace where I can get some help...like a group at church.

I'm healing my body, now I need to continue healing my mind and spirit as well.

Please, include me in your prayers...I appreciate them so much.

Hugs,

Jan

The Illogic of Complaining

Among those sins most exquisitely fitted to injure the soul and destroy the testimony, few can equal the sin of complaining. Yet the habit is so widespread that we hardly notice it among us. The complaining heart never lacks for occasion. It can always find reason enough to be unhappy. The object of its censure may be almost anything: the weather, the church, the difficulties of the way, other Christians or even God Himself. A complaining Christian puts himself in a position morally untenable. The simple logic of his professed discipleship is against

him with an unanswerable argument. Its reasoning runs like this: First, he is a Christian because he chose to be. There are no conscripts in the army of God. He is, therefore, in the awkward position of complaining against the very conditions he brought himself into by his own free choice. Secondly, he can quit any time he desires. No Christian wears a chain on his leg. Yet he still continues on, grumbling as he goes, and for such conduct he has no defense.

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Verse

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation.Philippians 2:14-15

Thought

The cause for complaint is often a God-given opportunity for growth and praise. What at first appear to be thorns may prove to be divine prods that move us closer to God.

Prayer

Deliver me from complaining, Lord. Rather, teach me to praise You and thank You for the opportunities to grow.

Staying with the Clear Teaching of Scripture

Every believer as well as every minister of Christ must decide whether he will put his emphasis upon the majors or the minors. He must decide whether he will stay by the sober truths which constitute the beating heart of the Scriptures or turn his attention to those marginal doctrines which always bring division and which, at their best could not help us much on our way to the Celestial City. No man has any moral right to propound any teaching about which there is not full agreement among Bible Christians until he has made himself familiar with church history and with the development of Christian doctrine through the centuries.
The historic approach is best. After we have discovered what holy men believed, what great reformers and saints taught, what the purest souls and mightiest workers held to be important for holy living and dying--then we are in a fair position to appraise our own teaching. Humility is the only state of mind in which to approach the Scriptures. The Spirit will teach the humble soul those things that make for his salvation and for a holy walk and fruitful service here below. And little else matters.
Verse - Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, 'Do not go beyond what is written.' Then you will not take pride in one man over against another.
Thought - There is the danger of embellishing the written, even ranging beyond it, in order to serve up the new, the exotic, the innovative. Oh, for preachers who open to us the meat of God's Word with contextual accuracy, clarity, sound exegesis and meaningful application.
Prayer - Thank You for access to Your Word, Lord. There are many in the world without the Word in their language. May I receive it and live it to Your glory. Amen.
 A. W. Tozer, a modern day prophet, was a key figure in The Christian and Missionary Alliance. His legacy reaches through time and has impacted countless millions. A prolific author and pastor, Tozer was known for his emphasis on the deeper life movement. His message, informed as it was by A.B. Simpson the founder of The Alliance, brought the missionary call to a massive audience.

Did You Know?

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland-based Sherwin-Williams Co. has announced it is acquiring the Valspar Corp., a Minneapolis-based global paints and coatings company, in an all-cash deal for $113 per share, or about $11.3 billion.

The transaction, the biggest acquisition in Sherwin-Williams' 150-year-history, would create a global paint company with combined revenues of about $15.6 billion, adjusted earnings of $2.8 billion, and about 58,000 employees.

By Janet H. Cho, The Plain Dealer 

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on March 20, 2016 at 1:29 PM, updated March 21, 2016 at 2:46 PM

Sherwin-Williams Co. President and Chief Executive Officer John G. Morikis announced on Sunday that the Cleveland-based paint company is acquiring the Valspar Corp., a Minneapolis-based global paints and coatings company, in an all-cash deal for $113 per share, or about $11.3 billion. (Lisa DeJong, Plain Dealer file) (Lisa DeJong, Plain Dealer file)

Those figures include estimated annual synergies of $280 million in sourcing, selling, general and administrative expenses, and process and efficiency savings within two years, after the deal closes.

Read entire article Here