Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life:
no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 14:6

January 2026 January has always been an exciting time for me, And not just because I was born in this month (although that may be part of it!) But more importantly, January represents a new year, new beginnings, a fresh start. Someone once said a new year is like a blank book full of 365 pages, and we get to choose what we write on each page. Every day we can choose what our story will say. We may not be able to control all the things that happen to us, but we can choose how we respond to our circumstances. We can choose to trust God, whatever happens. This year started in a way I had never expected to be starting, on a pathway I never would have chosen to take. After being a wife for more more than 50 years, I am facing this New Year as a widow, without the love, companionship, and support of my dear husband. There are difficulties I never expected to face, both physical and emotional. I've lost a part of myself, part of my identity, and the pain is sometimes overwhelming. Being a Christian does not mean we'll always have smooth sailing. It doesn't somehow keep us from all the trials and heartaches of life. It could be very easy for me to fall into self-pity; for my loss, for my circumstances, for the unexpected turn my life took. It could be easy to fill the pages of this new book with my feelings of grief, depression, sadness, anxiety, and other negative emotions. But I can choose what I write. And so I choose to trust God, even while I'm hurting. I choose to praise Him in this storm. I choose to believe His word. His word says He is with me, even in this dark valley, and will comfort me. (Psalm23:4-5) He is near to the broken-hearted. (Psalm 34:18) His word that says weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. (Psalm 30:5) His word that says He Himelf will one day dry all my tears, and there will be no more death, sadness, crying, and pain. (Rev. 21:4) And I choose to believe that, because what Jesus Christ did for me when He saved me, really and truly: Updated September 22, 2025 Bible Studies     Thirty Names Of God     - And Where To Find Them     Psalms Of Ascent, Part One     Psalms 120-127     Psalms Of Ascent, Part Two     Psalms 128-134 Memorials     In Loving Memory Of My Husband         Love Is Forever         For My Favorite Fisherman         Dad's First Birthday In Heaven     SITEMAP Visit The Chapel Memorial Chapel I Am A Survivor! Showers Of Blessings Archives July 25, 2025 My grandmother used to say "You never know when you wake up in the morning what you may face before you go to sleep that night." When I updated this page at the beginning of July, I was still celebrating the 25th anniversary of this website. Little did I know that my whole life was about to change drastically; that only 10 days later, I would lose my beloved husband of 52 years, very suddenly and unexpectedly, but thankfully, very peacefully. There were no warnings, no signs; he was healthy, not having any kind of health issues. He simply got up and got dressed that morning, then sat down and closed his eyes for the final time. What a comfort it is to know beyond a doubt that when he closed his eyes here on earth, he opened them in heaven with our Lord and Savior. And I know that when my turn comes, he'll be standing right there with Jesus, waiting for me. We were so blessed to have 52 wonderful years together, more than many people ever have, and yet, it still feels like it wasn't enough. There were still so many things we wanted to do together. We had just returned from a lifelong dream of visiting Alaska, and I am so thankful we got to do that! The past few years we have taken some really great vacations that we always dreamed of: driving down Route 66, going up to Cape Cod and Maine, the Grand Canyon, and Yellowstone National Park. We were planning to take our youngest grandchild to Disney this year, and hoping to one day be blessed with a great-grandchild to love. I am so glad I'll always have these and so many other precious memories. In Memory Of The Love Of My Life: Harold Eugene Brandon July 16, 1947 - July 10, 2025 July 1, 2025 July already! It's hard to believe this year is half-gone! Time sure goes by fast, doesn't it? Seems like it was just last week I was celebrating the 25th anniversary of starting my own website. I just continue to thank God for all that He has enabled me to do here. I started my website in January 2000 on a free hosting service, Angelfire, which no longer exists. My first site was called Sharing The Word, and I am still amazed and grateful that God has allowed me to do this, and I give Him all the glory. I had no idea what I was doing when I first started, and certainly no idea that it would still be going strong after twenty five years. This is my personal, non-commercial website. I make no profit in any way from this site; I take no donations, sell nothing, and do not run ads. To give you some perspective on how unusual it is for a personal website to be around for 25 years, let me just say that almost every single graphics site that I have gotten these beautiful websets from over the years is now defunct. Likewise, all the beautiful awards this website has been given over the years are from websites that no longer exist. But I am still here, praise God, and all glory goes to Him for what He has allowed me to do here! My goal now is the same as it was when I first started this site: to share God's word with as many people as possible, to uplift, strengthen, and encourage other Christians in their walk, and to encourage everyone who visits this site to receive the precious gift of salvation by inviting Jesus into their hearts to be their own Lord and Savior. It is only through Jesus that we can have eternal life, and be assured of spending eternity in heaven. Eternity is too long to be wrong! I beg of you, please receive the love and grace and mercy Jesus so freely offers, because really and truly,                       ~ LEGAL NOTICES ~ Due to the ever-increasing number of spammers who post all sorts of inappropriate things in the Guestbook, I have had to change the settings to where I am the only one who can see the Guestbook. However, please be assured that I DO read all your comments, and appreciate you taking the time to sign my Guestbook! There is an automated form that goes out to everyone who signs my Guestbook, and I do sometimes give a personal reply as well. However, it is not required that you enter your email address to sign the Guestbook. All of the graphics used to make my pages are copyrighted by their designers. Please do not take any of these graphics from my website. Instead, please visit the individual designer's websites and follow their terms of use. Likewise, please do not use any poetry from this site without permission from the original author. I cannot give permission for you to use anything you see on this website except my own original poetry, and you must have my consent before using that. See "What Is COPYRIGHT?" If you see any text or graphics on my website that are copyrighted and published here without permission, please let me know and I will either remove it immediately or get the owner's permission, whichever is desired. I will never deliberately publish anyone else's work without giving them the proper credit. Also, if you find any broken links, please drop me a note and let me know so I can fix them! Thank you! Click here to read my PRIVACY STATEMENT This site is rated safe for viewing by children, grandmothers, and the preacher!            (Note: The ICRA (Internet Content Rating Association) safety rating was part of the Family Online Safety Institute. Regretfully, FOSI's Board of Directors discontinued the ICRA labeling engine. However, I've kept the icon to let viewers know that this site passed their standards for family viewing.)