Almost a New Year

So hard to believe that it is almost a brand new year. Lots has happened in 2009....
Wayne lost his job
Wayne completed EMT training and started a job as an EMT
We visited Florida and Texas
We changed Churches
Our oldest is in his last year of school
WE have two drivers in our house
We started Hope Blooms Ministry

Just to name a few things....change, everything changes. Christmas as we once knew it is changing. The boys visit with girlfriends at Christmas. So they are not only with just US. That seems weird. I hear about how marriages for boys also change the holidays. It seems as if the "girls" rule and mom's of boys don't get to see those families as much. You spend 18 years raising young men, only to not see them as much. Makes me remember to pray for my future daughter's in love now. I understand the importance of equal time with in laws, which has come from maturity. I didn't always feel that way....Life, a time for growth.

Well, I am excited for 2009 to start. Hope Blooms will hopefully, God willing blossom into a great ministry. Sometimes I am already tired from thinking and dreaming about how it will be. But I am so eager to bless some children's socks off of them!

Jesus with skin on.....

Blessings
Shannon

Thoughts...

Sometimes I'd like to ask God why He allows poverty, famine and injustice when He could do something about it. But I'm afraid God might ask me the same question.

Found the above quote on a blog. Not sure who wrote it originally, but when I read it...Wow.

Wayne and I have struggled financially almost all of our married life. If it weren't for good ole uncle sam and income tax time giving us quite a chunk, we wouldn't go on vacation. We work for what we have. We have little debt, and try to be humble. It is a priority for us to spend time as a family on vacation. Getting away from responsibilities at home helps us to spend quality time together.

I would love to help others. I know there are many ways to help others. I just read on a blog that a family loves to give to others anonymously. They hear a need and send a gift card, or drop off food. But usually no one knows who did it. WE have been blessed by this kindness from someone in our area. Out of the blue we get a money order for several hundred dollars. I so want to pay it forward someday.

My main goal with Hope Blooms is to help children. They are so young, and should be innocent to life's dangers. They should be protected. Hope Blooms will also create employment for me, which in turn will hopefully give us a way to help others as we have been helped. Anonymously. When I hear a need, I can do something about it. I just can hardly stand the thought of being able to do that.

God is Good, I continue to pray for His abundance with Hope Blooms.

Blessings all

Shannon

And the Winner is...

So far, I have won from Renee Swope! I won a book...am hoping to win the girls get a away in Houston! But who knows. Time will tell she is posting today sometime!

Did you win anything? Leave a comment. I would love to hear what everyone has won!




Timestamp: 2008-12-09 14:24:45 UTC
4 Angela Congrats~

Christmas Give away!

Thanks for visiting this weekend for the Christmas give away! I have a passion for helping children. Currently I am working on starting a non-profit to help young children in the foster care system. My husband, mom and I are working to build a community of homes to help foster parents to have a home ready to do foster care. They can live in the homes with reduced rent, be in a community with other foster parents, and utilize a community center. We are just in the beginning stages. Feel free to visit our website! http://www.hopebloomsmn.org/

OK, for the give away....

Your choice of either a Star Bucks or Target 10$ Gift card, and a surprise book that I know you will enjoy!

Leave a comment below, and I will draw the winner at the end of the contest!

I will draw the winner on Monday afternoon sometime! See keep posting away!

Thanks everyone
Shannon


http://lysaterkeurst.blogspot.com/2008/12/cool-christmas-giveaway-day.html

A Christmas Give Away

I am trying to change my blog to match for tomorrow's Christmas give away...but for some reason I cannot get rid of the turkeys! Sooo, I will be back later to try yet again...I have the perfect background picked out, but cannot get it to go.....

Anyway, check back tomorrow for one cool Christmas give away...hosted by Lysa TerKeurst. Head on over to her site and click on other links to participate in other bloggy give aways!

Enjoy...until tomorrow.

Shannon

Dis-heartening....

Just heard about a story of a little girl in Massachusetts. Her mother abused her, so she ended up in the foster care system. She evidently was adopted by her foster parent(s). They in turn abused her also. She ended up so badly hurt that she had to be taken to the hospital, where she was in a coma, not doing very well. The social service system then went to court to try to have this little girl, human life, Euthanased. This little girl quickly made a turn around, and it doing better. She has a long way to go.

A few thoughts on this...
1. Why is there abuse going on? It is one thing to have adults abusing each other...that's another can of worms that I won't go into. But innocent children's lives. They have no say what so ever in the home they will grow up in. At Birthline I notice how normal some pretty yucky stuff is to young people. It is normal to have parents married and divorced multiple times. It is normal to be pregnant at 16. It is normal to move from one house to another, then to another. Whoever will take them in. It is normal to have a boyfriend in jail. It is normal for me and my boyfriend to not have jobs. What is all this normal stuff. What happened to growing up, going to college, finding someone you want to marry, then having having s#x, then children. Being mature enough to care enough, to love enough, and not abusing innocent lives...

2. Why is a foster parent, who is adopting abusing children? There are thousands of people waiting to have children, and they won't abuse. What thrill do these people get from abuse? It is just a viscious cycle that needs to end.

3. Why are social service employees making a decision to kill young children. Is that not what they are suppose to save these children from? Who gave them this right? Why are we taking God out of our decisions? The God I talk about it the God from the Bible. A baby whose birth we will celebrate in a little over a month.

4. Father forgive them for they no not what they are doing...

Until later
Shannon

New Book

http://www.thomasnelson.com/consumer/product_detail.asp?sku=1400313457