Yeah for Mystery Parties!

I am happy to say that the party Hubby and I had on Saturday night was a huge success! I had so much fun! The people who came are so great. They each did a wonderful job with the characters of the party and seemed to have a great time. (Only next time Jed Manlowe will have alot of people to talk to.) Hubby and I are already planning parties for Dec and Jan. We don't want to have a mystery party in December. I think that it would be fun to go Christmas caroling. I don't know how parents can take their children from door-to-door on Halloween and ask for candy and not at all be concerned about bothering their neighbors, but do not take their children caroling. Of course, it is much more fun in a group. Hubby and I do want to have a New Year's Eve murder mystery. Wouldn't it be fun to have a western theme? I would love to give each character a different position in the house to set up. For example, the store-keeper and his apprentice would be in one room "selling their wares" they would work together to find clues. That way, characters would have to circulate. One room would, of course, be the saloon - where a great game of poker would be going on. Hopefully we will invite more people next time. Hubby wants to dress up like Wyatt Earp, and I would love to wear a long dress.
It's funny how much my life has changed since I got married. It's only been 3 mos, but, then again, we only met last February. In fact, February 13th will mark one year of really knowing each other. Now, I can't imagine life without him. The past year has brought so much change. I feel myself more settled than I have ever been. So many good things have happened. When I look back in preparation for Thanksgiving Day, I see so many blessings that I have received. Daily, I feel myself growing stronger in God's Word. I am glad that Hubby and I met, fell in love, and married rather quickly. It just shows the providence of God. Truly His plan is the best. If you think about it, the One who sent His Son to die for our sins would never do anything to maliciously hurt us. So why don't more people just run to Him and trust Him? Probably because people are on a constant quest for wordly happiness. They think that God is obligated to make us happy. But it's not that way at all. He never said that we would never feel pain or loss or suffering. In fact, He said just the opposite. What He offers us is a way to deal with hurt and pain and loss and suffering and our own mortality. God wants us to know that this life here is just a fleeting, imperfect, short-lived glimpse of what is in store. This life is not what we are living to enjoy. One day, our popular culture is going to be forgotten. We will be just a blurb in some history book. Our thought and feelings, opinions and ideas will be generalized, exaggerated, and condensed into several meaningless paragraphs. It doesn't matter if you live in a big house, or which political party you vote for, or even how many friends you have. Everything will be forgotten in a short amount of time after your death. And, really, does it matter if anyone remembers? You will not be around to know the difference. So, what is important is how we live our lives and how we communicate with God. He is the only One Who's opinion counts. No, He does not promise us happiness. Yes, He does promise us His joy. There is a difference. If you want to know what the difference is, you would have to ask God. The only way that you could know the exact definition of joy is to experience it. It is the feeling that you can smile even while feeling that your heart is being pulled out of your body by overwhelming sorrow because God is Sovereign. It is the ability to know that you don't have to worry anymore. It is the knowledge that nothing matters more than the fact that God is God.
God, surround me with Your joy. Thank You for Your blessings. And despite anything that happens in my life, You deserve praise because You alone are Holy.