Please pray for...

the children who were not called home...

the ones who are left here to remember their friends and teachers...

to never forget a day that will change the rest of their lives...

the parents who are burying their children this week...

the siblings who will never ever look at Christmas the same way again...

who will have to walk past a bedroom that no longer is needed...

who will sit and look at an empty chair at the dinner table, day in and day out...

who would give anything to take back the last fight that they had...

the families of the teachers and staff...

a major hole was left there for sure...

the first responders...

they saw things that no one should ever see...

the ones who stepped over bodies looking for survivors...

the ones who bagged those bodies for transport...

whose nights will be filled with reenactments, over and over again...

the coroner staff who had to remove all the bullets for evidence...

the funeral home staff...

the ones who will have to take care of the bodies...

the arrangements...

the families...

the ministers of the local churches who have to find mere words to say what is in all of our hearts...

the citizens of that community who will be forever reminded of that day...

who will have to drive past the school, the homes, the playgrounds and the cemeteries...

the ones who will pick up the broken pieces of their lives and their neighbors' lives and try to put things back together...

for the teachers and staff who have to walk back into that building and make things ok again...

for the students who will go on...

for the laughter to return to them...

for the sun to shine again...

for the tears to be wiped away...

for the pain to lessen...

they need so much...

and God is the only one who can give them what they need...

God knew your pain when it came time to part,

He, too, lost a child, He knows a broken heart.

But He has a bigger plan way beyond our sight,

Flesh is not forever and in Heaven all is right.

Children are His favorite, so they are surely blessed,

They are safe within His arms as He holds them to His chest.

So when you say your prayers before you go to sleep tonight,

Listen very closely and you will hear tiny wings in flight.

I wrote that many years ago, for a friend...

it seems fitting for now, too...

a day of silence...

2 days of silence...

I understand that there is a thing going around blog land for us to remain silent...

but I can't do that...

I used to ask my mom many questions growing up...

and among them was one about death...

My mom always had an answer for everything I asked her and one time I asked her about dying. She said the old must and the young do. I said why does God take babies and small children from their moms and dads? She said that even God loves babies and small children, they are the closest to his heart. From then on, I always pictured God in heaven, sitting on the ground, playing in the dirt with little kids all around Him.

Mom always called babies His best creation. I think she was right about that. As far as this all that has happened, nothing happens without Him allowing it. The only power anyone has, to do good or evil, is what He gives them. That's where choice comes in. Free will. It would be so easy for Him to hold a lightening bolt to our heads and demand we obey, but then that's not what he wants. He wants us to want Him.

He doesn't want people who follow Him with just their minds. He wants us to follow with our hearts.

Hearts are broken and He heals them. He never gives us more than we can bare, ever. He will carry any burden we lay at His feet.

Can you imagine the scene in Heaven when all this happened? How many of those gone went in together? Holding hands, like in line at school. No fear, just love and joy and peace.

It was over quickly, no lingering deaths, no illness and endless hours of pain and suffering. Released from the chains of this world to claim their place beside His throne. To be spending their first Christmas in Heaven with the birthday boy himself? How awesome would that be?

Why did he allow it? For the rest of us to stand up for Him and take a stand against all of this evil and chaos. To declare that He is Christ the Lord and without knowing Him, you will burn in hell for eternity. To take back our homes, our families, our towns, our schools and our country in His name. To put Him back in the center of it all.

We need to become righteous in His name and to understand that the enemy is getting stronger because we lack ethics, morality and spirituality. That is why and how this happened.

And it will get worse. Because all these things must come to pass, for He is coming back and the trumpet could sound at any time.

My prayers are for those left behind, because God has the others covered. What they will have to do to get through the rest of their lives is rely on Him. Some will get closer than they ever have been and some will walk away out of bitterness. Pray for the bitter ones. You and I know that the only way they will ever see those smiling faces again is if they are able to walk through that gate when their walk is done.

May God have mercy on all their souls, for this is a bitter pill.


I cannot be silent...

there is too much at stake...

we must pray like we have never prayed before...

we must love like He told us to...

and we must take a stand against the enemy of the throne...

the change begins inside each one of us...

make the change....

Tori...

what a wonderful smile...

she is wearing one of her hats from a family member...

the amputation went very well...

her bone marrow was clear of cancer cells...

and she is about to start another round of chemo...

on the 19th, I believe...

her cast is off and stitches have been removed and she is wearing a shrinking sock...

anytime now, they will fit her with a prosthetic...

as of right now, she is cancer free...

no cancer at all has been found in her tiny body...

but she still has miles to go and tests after tests to endure...

but its a good sign...

the family thanks everyone for their prayers...

;)

today, in Heaven...

God, have mercy on us, the sinners of this world...

help us find our way out of all of this evil...

send your angels to protect and comfort those caught in the cross fire of the war that has invaded our land, our lives...

and lead us to be your light in this world...

help the families of those called home...

and hold those babies tight until their mommies and daddies can do it again...

amen

simplicity...

I guess I had a date with my husband tonight...

straight from work we headed for town...

had to hit the bank before it closed to make a deposit...

so, since Craig was helping a friend deliver a sofa and chair up north...

it was just my guy and me...

we did the Dollar Tree for a few things...

gift bags, which look better and are a lot cheaper than Walmart...

a few things for Doug...

and a couple more tooth brushes for me since I have thrush so I can change them often...

then we went next door to the Walmart super center for animal food so we don't have to shop this weekend at all...

and even though it didn't look like this...

it felt like this...

remember shopping door to door?

through the snow and wind?

the window fronts and the sound of Christmas carols in the air...

cars passing by...

neighbors shouting Merry Christmas?

we so miss those times...

the magical moments you remember from childhood...

well, I often wondered why there were always so many people at Walmart all the time...

I think because they miss this...

if you checked out the carts of people in there...

most of them had under 3 items in them...

I think they were there just to be there...

to get out...

to mingle...

and we ran into 6 people...

who we haven't seen in person for so long...

and we spent so much time talking and catching up...

more than we spent shopping...

and we left feeling like we had had the best evening out, ever...

the night sky was amazing coming home, so full of stars and crystal clear...

we do not have snow yet...

but the feeling is still there...

we ate supper when we got home and watched a Christmas movie all together...

it seemed like we were normal again...

and I felt apart of it...

that's something that hasn't happened in over 10 years...

and here are a few fun things I have found in the last couple of days...

this is so easy and you can use salt to fill the vases...

we all have bushes we could trim some sprigs from...

easy and elegant...

I love this wreath...

and this just made me smile...

I may be on the look out for red clothes at rummage sales this year to do me a Christmas clothes line...

and this is for you...

sending you the magic of this time of the year...

take the time to find simplicity in the days to come...

take a moment to breathe in all the wonder of the season...

take a look at those around you and be thankful...

feel the season...

Merry Christmas!