Jenny's American Slice

***This is a good article about finding the good in life's storms. Not always easy, I'll admit! Sudden storms are a lot like life. We’re going along fine, and then, all of a sudden, BAM! But storms don’t last forever. And we can even discover some lovely things about them. The winds get rid of debris that would have piled up in the trees. The rain waters the flowers, and leaves everything freshly-washed. It’s the same with our souls. Instead of focusing on the hardships of life’s storms, what if we looked for the good things? Storms can strengthen us. They cleanse our souls. They can get rid of debris, the things that don’t need to be in our lives. Storms are great reminders that even when we’re being pounded, we always have the assurance that God will be with us for every difficult moment. The God who made the storm can certainly calm it, and He will stay with us until those storms are over. During the bad times I'm so thankful for the peace that comes with...

***There is nothing worse than knowing someone you love is lost. Not just lost, but actively mocking your faith. When I see something like that on Facebook, or anywhere else, it just kills me - I know what they're missing, and worse, I know the end result if there is no change of heart in their lives. 2 Peter 3:9 King James Version (KJV) 9  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 1 Thessalonians 5:8-10 King James Version (KJV) 8  But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. 9  For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, 10  Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Such wonderful promises. It's hard to express the peace that comes ...

***This is a great article I came across in a businessbroker.net email. Where you are in your life is a result of your habits. Will Durant (not Aristotle) said it best: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” I think that’s also true for the  opposite of excellence. Mediocrity is a result of mediocre habits. That means we can go from mediocrity to excellence by changing our habits. But how do you do that? Before we get into that, I want to clarify my statement: Habits change your life, but they do not guarantee success.'' This guy doesn't pull any punches. Worth the read. *** Three ways to set your day up for success. Different plants require different nutrients. Fertilizers come labeled with ratios of potassium, nitrogen and other nutrients that specific plants need. If we feed a plant with the wrong fertilizer, our efforts can backfire, burning roots and stunting growth. Ask yourself, what do I need today...

***Well, our second week in business was better! People are finding out about us and coming to see the shop. By the way, our web site address is https://www.halohandmadeinc.com/ and our Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/HALOspecialtygifts/. Check us out! We're having fun with it. :-) ***Another great, informative sermon by James this morning on the Holy Spirit. I'm really enjoying this sermon series. ***An Unsung Hero Who Serves With Grace. Great story over at Focus on the Family. This amazing lady shifts in and out of her sometimes-single-parent role with grace and grit. And when it comes to living out powerful faith, she’s the person I think of first. She’s learned how to live with peace despite her circumstances. The first thing she does is lean on God, and the second is that she allows her faith community to be His arms and legs. So often when we face challenging circumstances we get the first part right—taking our troubles to God. But we forget to all...

***We're going to give being open on Sunday a few more weeks, but it's pretty slow. We didn' realize that all of the restaurants around here except for Roscoe's are closed on Sunday. That certainly cuts down the traffic. We may rethink this Sunday thing. :-) ***Great sermon by James today on the Holy Spirit. As he says, there is so much confusion regarding the Holy Spirit and he is taking a step by step, Biblical approach to the subject. For the record, I believe as he does, that we are filled with the Holy Spirit when we are saved and we never need any more. We may not yield to His urging or follow His direction, but He's there. That's my 2 cents worth. ***If you've lost your mom, what do you remember most about her? With mine, it was her unconditional love. No matter what I did or how mad I made her, I never doubted her love for me. That was a wonderful feeling. :-) *** THE NEED NEVER GOES AWAY by Saman Rahman, Peshawar, Pakistan “Mommy, you are ...

***Today is our third day open - lots of browsers today! Quite a bit of downtime too - guess people are still finding out about us. I'm confident we will pick up. We're getting lots of compliments on the store, kinda fun to be here and talk to the customers that come in. What a difference from how I was spending my days before! *** The Rise of the Rural Creative Class. This is interesting. One of the most persistent myths in America today is that urban areas are innovative and rural areas are not. While it is overwhelmingly clear that innovation and creativity tend to cluster in a small number of cities and metropolitan areas, it’s a big mistake to think that they somehow skip over rural America. A series of studies from Tim Wojan and his colleagues at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service documents the drivers of rural innovation. Their findings draw on a variety of data sets, including a large-scale survey that compares innovation in ...

***Well, tomorrow's the big day! We've really been working hard this week, the store looks great if I do say so myself! Anxious and nervous about the Grand Opening tomorrow! Emily will be here - not sure about Johnny or Peter, I sure hope they can get off work! We have so many beautiful things on display, I know where I'll be doing my gift shopping from now on! I'm staying late at the store tonight because one of my vendors is coming to finish up her booth. Not a problem, there seems to still be plenty to do. ***Here's a timely article, "Nine Ways to Pray for Our Troops." 1)  Pray for safety. That was always my number one worry while our son was deployed. I asked everyone to pray for his physical safety and for his mental safety. I had weight-loss surgery recently and I developed a stubborn infection that turned a one-day hospital visit into a two-week stay. My family and friends rallied around me. Still, I was frightened. I asked everyone ...