The Thanksgiving Proclamation

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly implore his protection and favor -- and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me "to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness."
Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be -- That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks -- for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation -- for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experiences in the tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed -- for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted -- for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.
And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions -- to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually -- to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed -- to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness onto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord -- To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and us -- and generally to grant unto all Mankind such degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best. Go. Washington

The Thanksgiving Proclamation --
New York, 3 October 1789
President George Washington
By the President of the United States of America.
A Proclamation.

Take up your cross = Spiritual Energy

My house is a wreck; my morning is off to a shaky start. I need to focus, be still, quiet this chaos that is inside and around me. Enter Angel Ministries devo for today -- Galatians 6:14 (NLT) "As for me, God forbid that I should boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world died long ago, and the world's interest in me is also long dead." In the devo, which comes from her book The Joy of My Heart, she says:
"The cross is my daily decision to
deny myself,
my rights,
my wants,
my dreams,
my plans,
my goals
and deliberately,
wholeheartedly,
unreservedly live out my commitment to
His will and
His way and
His Word and
His wisdom.
The cross is my decision to live for Jesus.

Period. No 'ifs,' 'ands,' buts,' or 'maybes.'
Will I take up my cross, ... everyday ..., and follow Him?" italic and emphasis mine

Then I took My Utmost for His Highest and found Oswald Chambers talks about this passage on November 26 & 27. Two things stood out to me. 1. He says we lose power if we do not concentrate on the right thing. Can I get an 'Amen' on that?! 2. He says consecration is our part, sanctification is God's part; and we have deliberately to determine to be interested only in that in which God is interested. WOW -- that's just about all I can say, WOW! Any of you familiar with Lily's Purple Plastic Purse should recognize that line. (Ok, so the picture is at the top and not here -- oh well!)

I think my word for today is "deliberately." The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, which I have had since I was in school, copyrighted in 1974!, gives the definition for deliberate as

1. determined after careful thought

2. careful and slow in deciding

3. UNHURRIED, SLOW

This is an adjective -- so does this describe me? LOL!

Now my word is in the adverb form, so do this word describe my actions? Not this morning, but now, yes, when I am having my quiet time. The trick is for me to be deliberate when all is CHAOS around me.

Which leads me to my last thought, David Jeremiah's new book, Living with Confidence in a Chaotic World, is coming out soon. Anyone want to read it with me? Maybe have a book club or discussion group? This is his follow up to What in the World is Going On?.

Cousins or Sisters?

Libby, July 4, 2009, age 5

Historic Rock Castle, Nashville, TN

with Macy, almost 8

Libby found this tree and came up with this pose

I love the ones of them laughing!

My sis-in-law took these awesome pictures!!

Libby's favorite saying when she is done: "I'm outta here!"

Check out my new blog

Hi, ya'll! I know I haven't posted anything in awhile but soon -- I promise. After returning from Dallas and the Let's Do Tea conference, I decided to start a business blog: www.MRSkrisTEAna.blogspot.com Check that out and let me know what you think. My next task is to start facebook. I have only been on a few times. I need to figure how the two work together. Libby has Spanish camp the last two weeks of July and then starts Kindergarten August 12. So soon I will have some time! Happy Birthday, America! Enjoy your holiday weekend everyone, kristina

President's Day

Good morning! Libby does not have Great Escape today so we decided to homeschool instead. First she wanted to do the map. She loves looking at the states. Snuggled in bed, we looked over the poster I bought at the Dollar Tree. "What are you going to tell me about the states?" she said. Thinking fast, I turned over the poster and there were six questions on the back:
1. Name the Great Lakes.
2. Name the two largest bodies of water bordering the U.S.
3. What river borders TN, KY, and IL?
4. What is the largest state in the U.S.?
5. Which state is a peninsula?
6. Which state is all islands?
Pretty good geography lesson!

Then she sat down at her desk, ready for something else. We got out her Kumon cutting book. #15 was a chocolate bar. She cut that out fast! How many pieces? 18 Then I asked her to get two friends and share the candy with them. She gave each one piece, so we practiced counting by threes. Then I had her get three more friends, for a total of six friends. Last we added three more friends, nine altogether. We talked about when there were just three of you, you had six pieces of candy. Then when you had six people, you only got three pieces of candy. She was getting tired at this point but we finished up with nine friends only getting two pieces of candy.

She wanted to play with her magnets: numbers, letters, pictures, dress-up dolls. I have them on the side of the filing cabinet. So I thought I would blog for all my friends who were tired of looking at the Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse entry. We all had a good time at Kimberly's Friday night at Bunco. Then Saturday, Carrie invited me to a Valentine's Day Tea. We drank Earl Grey Black Tea, Pomegrante Black Tea, Peach Apricot Black Tea and Strawberry Cream (decaf) Black Tea. All delicious and the Tomato Basil soup was my favorite dish! Amy, Amy and I had such a great time that we have decided to do it again. So girls, if you are reading this, I think I will have my Let's Do Tea Spring Tea Party on Saturday, March 21. We will try three teas: Blossoms of Spring Green Tea, Spring Black Tea and Spring Blast Rooibos Tea. Carrie set a high standard with the food so I will be working on the menu!

Valentine's Day continued at my mom and dad's watching the UK game. Again Jodie Meeks had a great game fortunately since Pat Pat was out. Libby fell asleep there so Bobby and I took in a movie, The International. I would recommend it!

Sunday we went to church then Bobby went to work and Libby and I picked up Granny to go antiquing. We went down to Manchester Street to An Antique Affair. We are looking for Dixie Bell and Mohney glass milk bottles. His grandparents owned those and we like to decorate the kitchen with them. No luck but I found a few old Bible textbooks and Libby found some McDonald's breakfast food for her kitchen. It was a little long for Libby but we had a good time. Laura and Caleb met us at Max & Erma's for dinner where Libby entertained us all!

Hope you all had a fun, family & friend filled weekend like I enjoyed! K