Deuteronomey 28:1-14

The Bible mentions "blessings" repeatedly. I love Deuteronomey 28:1-14 - I think it in itself is a blessing! Enjoy the verse below.

Deuteronomy 28:1-14
1 If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God: 3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. 4 The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock--the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. 5 Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. 6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. 7 The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven. 8 The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you. 9 The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the Lord your God and walk in his ways. 10 Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will fear you. 11 The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity--in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground--in the land he swore to your forefathers to give you. 12 The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. 13 The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. 14 Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them.

A New Church

My church, The Word, is a fairly new church, only in existence for about four years now. When we first started going to The Word I was little reluctant. Although I knew Pastor Buz for quite a while through a college age group that he use to run called The Bridge, I was a little hesitant to go there because things weren't established. Having been raised in the Catholic church, I was use to things being set in stone. Now I was considering going to a non-denominational church that was just finding its way.

Then I realized that that's what makes the church such a blessing. We're able to create new programs and ministries that weren't in existence before. And there is very little criticism because it's never been done before so there is no comparisons. I am able to step forward and help with things or take the lead on things without being told, "No, that's not the way we do things." In my opinion, that's a great benefit to the congregation. I am glad to be a part of The Word!

Wishing you "Blessings from Above,"
Denise

Got your health? You got it all

Two years ago I suffered from depression. I'd swing back and forth between high panic attacks that had me pacing the floor to low depression that prevented me from getting out of bed some days. It was scary and lonely. I thought for sure I was losing my mind.

Fortunately with the help of intelligent doctors, much needed medication, and of course, prayer, I am better. Ok, I have my days - we all do, but now I can step back and smell the roses, as they say, a little more. I have more of a "just do it" attitude because I can do it. If I feel up to it I might as well visit that attraction I've been interested in seeing, tackle that hobby I've been curious about, make a new friend, since there was a time I couldn't. That horrible time in my life has helped me to appreciate life, and my health, so much more.

Wishing you good health and "Blessings from Above,"
Denise

Tapper II

Those who know me, know I LOVE my precious, Tapper, a sweet fuzzy little bunny rabbit, so it's no surprise that I am writing about him for a second time. And I hate to say it, but you'll be hearing about him again and again.

I can't help it. He makes me laugh and cheers me up when I am feeling a little down. I mean, how many rabbits do you know of that hop up on the couch or jump in the toilet just to see what's in there? Rabbits don't take baths so you can imagine his reaction that first time when he felt water on his fur. He jumped out just as fast as he jumped in the toilet and let me tell ya, there was water everywhere as he tried to shake it off him. Then there was the "puberty period" when he found "romance" on my wrist, my bathrobe, a decorative teddy bear and just about anything he could climb up on. Boy does his tail wiggle fast when he is excited!

Of course it is so sweet when I make kissy noises which prompts him to lick my face, my nose, my arm or whatever. He almost does it on command now. And then there is the bunny sprints and leaps he does in the air when he is out of his cage having a good time.

Tapper is such a joy to have around. He really brightens my day. I have an angel living in my house and he has fur!

Wishing you "Blessings from Above,"
Denise

Lost skills found

I always get upset over my paternal grandmother moving and then passing away so early on in my life. She was an Italian woman with a lot of talents. She could cook a delicious meal for an army in a half-an-hour or less and I still have all the blankets she crocheted and the Christening gown she made for me 33 years ago. Not only do I miss her, but I feel like I could have learned so many of these wonderful things from her in my adult years.

Three years ago this March I took on a new job at a local University. I thought the only benefit was going to be earning cash to pay the bills. It turned out to be much more than that. I make money, friends, and learn new things to help me in my job and my personal life.

Three of my co-workers and I have become good friends. We've spent many evenings in the Sahm Craft studio eating, drinking wine, and learning new things. They've taught me all kinds of things from creating beautiful stained glass pieces, to scrap booking techniques, and crocheting. Not only do I bond and make memories with them, I am able to learn the things that my grandmother was never able to teach me and turn around and use it for good. Right now I am crocheting a blanket to keep the animals warm at the animal shelter and I hope to teach others my new skill when I get a little better at it.

Wishing you "Blessings from Above,"
Denise

Tapper

As soon as I walked through the door, I saw them. Sitting in a cage with a bright light on them were three of the cutest, fluffiest lop-eared bunnies that I had ever seen. "Aaaaaaaaaaawwwwww," was the first thing out of my mouth. I knew one of these Holland Lop rabbits were coming home with me it was just a matter of which one. I stepped up to the cage, put my hand in, and began to pet them. The first one didn't have much of a personality. The second sniffed me for a moment but wasn't really all that interested in being bothered. The third little guy, however, was climbing over the others backs to get a lick of my wrist. It was as if he was saying, "Pick me! Pick me!" I took him out of the cage and played with him for a while. He licked me to death! It wasn't long before I realized that he was "the one." We brought him home a little over a year ago in a laundry basket and drove him home in our Corvette. The poor thing sat still for the entire two hour ride (Yep! We drove that far for him!) and shook from the idling of the car when we stopped at traffic lights.

The breeder we bought him from said that pets sometimes pick their owners but she's never seen anything like the way our little bunny "demanded" to be taken home. I am glad "Tapper" picked us. His mere being is such a blessing. What a little joy! You'll hear plenty more about him in future posts.

Wishing you "Blessings from Above,"
Denise

Bibles

There are six Bibles in my house and only two people live here. Think how fortunate we are to have one Bible, let alone six. People in other countries are often persecuted if found with God's Word. Add to that the fact that I can read it because of a good education and have the willingness to accept what it says, you can see how lucky I am.

Although I've yet to read the Bible from cover-to-cover yet, I plan on it. For now, I read it in bits and pieces, grateful for it's words. A verse that I came upon recently is a favorite: "The Lord bless you all the days of your life." Psalm 128.5 I truly wish that for you and your family (and mine too!)

Wishing you "Blessings from Above,"
Denise

Steven Curtis Chapman

Steven Curtis Chapman, a Christian singer, is one of me and my husband Nick's favorite singers. His songs are always upbeat and positive. For Nick's birthday I bought him Chapman's new CD and surprised him with tickets to his concert a few weeks later. While we were at the concert, Chapman talked about adoption, a topic close to his heart since he adopted several Chinese girls. During the show, he casually asked that we drop change in designated buckets if we wanted to - all proceeds would go towards adoptions. What we didn't know until the end of the concert was that the money we raised that night would go to a family in Lancaster, PA (where the concert was) that Chapman had already selected. They had applied for his grant that would help them with the fees of adopting their baby boy and show-goers would be a part of helping. Chapman brought the couple, their children, and the one month old on stage and announced that we helped to raise $2,000 that night. Chapman would do the rest.

Not only was I impressed with Chapman's singing, I was impressed by his compassion. I felt touched that night as I realized that there are still caring people in the world. Now that baby boy has a family - now that's a blessing.

Wishing you "Blessings from Above,"
Denise

Clothes

Sorting through my laundry, separating the colors from the whites, I let out a groan. There was so many loads of laundry to be done and I had a full basket of winter clothes, that had yet to make their appearance this season, waiting for me in the basement. A mound of shirts and sweaters seemed to have taken up permanent residency on my dresser as they waited to be mended. And the ironing board had, what seemed like, a closet full of clothes hanging from it. All these garments could easily take me all day to deal with. I had so many other fun things I'd rather be doing.

I motivated myself with the thought that people less fortunate then myself would be thrilled to have such "problems." Some have one outfit to wear and they wear it until its worn out. Others have holes in their shoes or don't have shoes at all, when I have an entire closet of clothes including sneakers for the sole purpose of walking around in our muddy back yard.

That day I reminded myself, and will continue to do so every time I am irritable about laundry, that I am fortunate to have such an extensive wardrobe.

Wishing you "Blessings from Above,"
Denise

Blessings at Barnes and Noble?

Happy New Year all! My New Year started off a little rocky as I sat in the cafe at Barnes and Noble sipping on their infamous white hot chocolate and munching down a tasty red velvet cake as I chatted with my cousin. About an hour into our philosophizing about life, my cousin jumped when she felt something touch her side. It wasn't long before she put together that the wallet hanging out of her purse meant that the guy behind her was pick pocketing her. She confronted him with a loud, "Excuse me?" and before we knew it he was quickly exiting the store. She followed him while I called 9-1-1. Of course the guy took off before the cops came and we soon realized that his companion at the table did too. She's probably the one who had my cousin's missing credit card. How smart? He made a scene so all eyes were on him while his companion quietly left the store, probably sporting my cousin's credit card.

So why in the world would I put this unsettling incident up on a blog full of blessings? Consider this:

• The guy could have shot or stabbed us.
• The guy could have gotten my cousin's entire wallet taking all valuable things including her identity.
• This incident could have never happen, leaving us off guard and open to something much worse. Now that our guard is up, we may avoid something else in the future.

Fortunately, the manager at B&N let my cousin use the phone to report her stolen credit card immediately and nothing else was taken. Since the thief won't be able to use her credit card for anything, it looks like he messed with the wrong gals.

Wishing you "Blessings from Above,"
Denise