“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
(Romans 8:37-39 ESV)

Last week I had shared with my readers that I had ‘A Perfect Day’. Let me share a little more with you how it came to pass and how it ended up a day of unexpected blessings.

You see, since I am not a US Citizen (by choice I keep my German citizenship), I have to renew my ‘green’ card every ten years. Honestly, I was a little nervous; much has changed over the past 10 years. Since 9/11/2001 (the year I renewed last) as you can imagine, applications to stay in this country as a foreigner have become more complicated.

The biggest changes were put in place last year with a new law on how you have to renew your ‘green’ card. You no longer can go to the local office; you have to fill out a form online to receive an appointment for the local office.

On my appointment day I was so nervous, I sent a couple of text messages to some very close friends to pray for me. On the way to Phoenix I thought my husband would have to pull over; I was sick to my stomach. My heart knew that everything would be fine, but I could not get my tummy to follow my heart.

When we got to the USCIS office in Phoenix, I was still nervous.  I noticed that I was not the only one how had butterflies in the tummy …I have to say, the employees at the USCIS office were the nicest people. There were many people with appointments that morning, but I was done within 45 minutes (fingerprints, photo etc). I almost skipped out of the office.

As I mentioned, my husband went with me and we took the opportunity to stay for almost 3 hours in Phoenix. We had a wonderful lunch and took a walk, photographing. I had a smile on my face all afternoon (the weather was perfect too). I told my husband at least a hundred times how much I enjoyed spending the day with him.

By the way, we even found a parking spot we didn’t have to pay for (long story for another day )

You see, sometimes God blesses us unexpectedly. Even if a day does not start out to promising, God will give us something to remember. I sure will remember the day I had to renew my green card for years to come…and will be smiling.

Thanks for stopping by.

Love and peace,
Iris

Current Mood: Blessed †

Please remember that in the month of October, my dear friend Lynn is hosting Thankful Thursday at Spiritually Unequal Marriage.

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” ~ Romans 12:2 (ESV emphasis mine)

It was nice to have time off from the daily hustle and bustle at work. As I celebrated my 51st birthday yesterday, I reflected on what life is truly about.

I have some wonderful friends here and online who celebrated with me. It was really nice to hear from my sisters at Laced with Grace that God used my words to encourage them. Isn’t that what life is all about? Not to always seek our own pleasure, but let God use us in any shape or form? We might never know who we impacted with our words this side of heaven; but that should not stop us sharing hope and love!

The time off also gave me the opportunity to have some quality time with my beloved husband. We are both so busy when working, exhausted when we get home, we don’t talk much about what really is going on in our lives. Yes, it is wrong, but we just want to relax when we get home and not always share our frustrations we encountered throughout the day.

The past three days I also reflected on the relationship I have with my son. Even though he is 26 and 6’10, he is the most kindhearted son a mother can wish for. Yes, I am proud of him and how he is handling life.

I am thankful for the life God has blessed me with, even if I am living out Plan B and not the dreams I once had.

What are you thankful for this week? Please do share with us by leaving a link to your TT post below.

Thank you for stopping by today. Remember: living in a “Plan B” life, does not mean that God will not use you for His purpose.

Love and peace,
Iris

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Current Mood: Blessed † & Thankful

You know, I so love blessing other people with my little giveaways. Sure, they might be not huge [in dollar value], but they are to me in a different sense.

You see, our God truly has blessed my life. I am not saying that the journey this side of heaven is easy, but nonetheless, I am blessed beyond measure. I am redeemed by Christ’s blood, I have a wonderful family, incredible friends, a roof over my head. What else do I need? That is why I want to give little blessings here and there through my giveaways…

Have a super blessed weekend…

Current Mood: Blessed † & Forgiven †

“Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!
Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!”
~ Psalm 144:15 (ESV)

One of the most peaceful things is the time I spend in the morning and evening with the Lord. What a blessing to sit down in the morning with a cup of coffee, reading devotions and Bible passages. I think I had mentioned last year that I ordered a German devotional and Bible. Oh, it has been so nice to read the Bible again in my mother-tongue. Believe it or not, but sometimes I have to consult my English Bible to make sure I read it correctly – funny how that changed.

One of the daily things I have also added is praying for others. Although I have always prayed for others (family, friends, strangers), but I make it now a daily intentional activity. That is one of the many little daily blessings I am thankful for.

I really enjoy being back on a almost daily blogging schedule. I didn’t realize how much I have missed being blessed by women around the globe. There is so much love, wisdom, laughter, and sometimes sadness other women share. It is such a blessing to be connected to my sisters in Christ. We all have our challenges so the encouragement we give each other is amazing. Thank you for allowing me part of this beautiful community.

What are you thankful for this week? I would love for you to share with a link below. Hopefully you have time to visit a few others this upcoming week.

Thank you for stopping by today. Remember: blessings come in large and small sizes, be thankful for either size

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Current Mood: Blessed † & Thankful

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.”
~ Psalm 28:7 (ESV – emphasis mine)

I have to be honest, I take often the ‘little’ things for granted. So this week, I thought I will share a list of the ‘everyday-stuff’ that I usually take for granted…

• Lord, I am thankful that I can come to You every.single.day — every hour of the day/night to bring before You my prayers…
• I am thankful for my beloved. Although some days I do not understand him, I am thankful that God placed him by my side. I am very blessed…
• I am thankful that our son still needs me once in a while. Although he no longer lives at home, he calls when he is sick. Makes me feel that I am still needed by him …
• I am thankful for my job. Although some days I have to talk myself into getting out of bed to go to work, I do have an income. There are so many in the US right now that do not have a steady income…
• I am thankful that I am healthy enough to get up every day. There are many who struggle with health issues (um…my beloved). My little aches and pains I experience are only from my age …
• I am thankful for friends who, at the drop of a note from me, pray for my personal needs. You know, I often feel like I should not put my own needs before the throne of grace…I know silly, but I rather pray for others…
• I am thankful for supermarkets. There are many people in the world who do not have that blessing to shop for groceries in a store; they have to grow their own food supplies…
• I am thankful for coffee…I don’t think that I would make it through a day without a cup, or two, or three…
• And last, but not the least, I am thankful for my Bible. I can read first-hand the accounts of my Lord and Savior. How He lived, why He came, how he died. There is nothing better than to sit down with the written Word to read the promises of God…

What are you thankful for this week? Please do share with us in leaving your link below (Thankful Thursdayers only please).

Thank you for stopping by today. Remember: don’t take anything for granted — be thankful for the ‘little’ things in your life.

Blessings to you always…

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Current Mood: Blessed † & Thankful

Hop on over to Laurel’s blog “Laurel Wreaths Reflections” to wish her a happy birthday …

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Current Mood: Playful