Saturday, November 27, 2010

Greensboro Family Cemetery


















































































The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Ps 34:18

All I can say is the Lord was close to me today as I do not think I would ever be ready to
bury my sweet Mell's ashes. " The Lord Gives and the Lord takes away" "Blessed be the name
of the Lord" Job

I will continue to bless His name until the end…Nothing can separate me from His love…this
world may have temporarily separated me from Mell….but NOTHING can separate me from
the Love of God! and I hang on to that!

We had lots of support and love from all the family today…I am truly BLESSED…thanks to all…
and Thanks to Rebecca(5 yrs old) we now know what ellipsis is...

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Give Thanks








Florence Italy















Venice Italy










































Ragghianti Family Reunion
with some of my cousins
and Lucca Italy with my cousin Grazia
11/24/10


Regret, Remorse and Change...

Gen 32:3 Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. 4 He instructed them: “This is what you are to say to my lord Esau: ‘Your servant Jacob says, I have been staying with Laban and have remained there till now. 5 I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, male and female servants. Now I am sending this message to my lord, that I may find favor in your eyes.’”


Jacob was asking for favor....forgiveness...I believe he had regret over taking Esau’s blessing and wanted his brothers favor again.


I believe we must be sorry enough to be humble for a change.

be sorry enough to change.

Redeem what we can and release what you can’t change.


I have had to do some hard things..the hardest was to release Mell to be with the Lord...it has taken me weeks to write this.


I can’t change that he is in his eternal home...but I want everyone to be there with me and him!


Recently God has been dealing with me to change....to allow the Holy Spirit to be my comforter. I have been wrestling with Him that I need to comfort myself with my glass of wine. It is something we Italians love to do! Good Food and Good Wine!


He has said “ I will give you new wine”

Genesis 27:37
Isaac answered Esau, “I have made him lord over you and have made all his relatives his servants, and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. So what can I possibly do for you, my son?

Pastor Kevin was asking “ What do you regret?” He went through a list of things....when he got to “it may be grieving the Holy Spirit”


(Earlier I had been reading a book called “The forgotten God” and in there it was talking about grieving the Holy Spirit. I began to think about “Grief” and the pain of it...it hurt me just thinking that I was hurting the Holy Spirit like the pain that I feel.)


Something inside of me just broke and I knew what the Lord was saying to me. I had grieved Him by not letting Him comfort me in my grief....This is BIG....because it has been three weeks now and I actually have PEACE in my pain....there is a calming in my spirit I cannot explain....My friends in the “Grief Share” group have even noticed it.


I believe that humility is one of the hardest things we learn in life here on earth.


We must humble ourselves before God...be sorry enough to Change.


What is it you regret? What is it you are wrestling with God about?


Repentance is “Sorry enough to change” Let God Bless you!


Give in to His Spirit...Jacob wrestled with God...Father God let him win...He blessed him...That is the kind of God we serve...a loving father...who wants to bless us...in my case He wants to be a comforter to me in my grief...Will I let Him?


What ever it is you are wrestling with...Will you let God bless you?

He leaves the choice up to you...


Give Him Thanks this Thanksgiving Day...for He is GOOD!



Jacob Wrestles With God

22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. 24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

27 The man asked him, “What is your name?”

“Jacob,” he answered.

28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel,[f] because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”

29 Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”

But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.

30 So Jacob called the place Peniel,[g] saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”





Monday, November 22, 2010

Dirt Road


Here I am in Barrow County driving
a Transit bus(Flat nose) as they call it, down a dirt road.
I told Tammy this was the first time
I had driven a bus down a dirt road!
She couldn't believe it!

First Helicopter Flight








































































Mell's friend Ron took me up for my first Helicopter flight…it was Avi's first Flight! She loved it! A beautiful day around Stone Mountain and the fall colors were still bright!

Mell and I usually would do a fall color flight... so it was amazing and I felt like He was right there with me! I could never thank Ron enough…I really miss being up there with Mell …
I think flying makes me feel close to him somehow.

Monday, November 15, 2010

The Memory Tree



























This year I have decided to have an empty
Christmas tree…as my heart is empty without Mell.

I would like for all family and friends who want to
participate to bring a Christmas ornament in
memory of my sweet Mell. Something that may remind
you of him and what he meant to you.

The tree will remain empty and we will decorate
it Christmas eve at the family gathering.

I can't imagine Christmas without him…but its
gonna happen…and I just want all of us to remember him and what he meant to all of us.

You can write stories about him that I may not know about, if you like…and send them to me...I love this…it means soooo much to me…whatever you feel in your heart to do that will make it easier this Christmas without him for me and all of the family.

My love to all who loved Mell!

My address is 2379 Pine Stream Ct.
Lawerenceville, GA 30043

Friday, November 5, 2010

Change…Change and more Change


11/5/10


For four weeks now I have been training for the new job in Barrow county as a school bus driver.


I have come from fearful to hopeful...


To the fearful change means: things could get worse...


To the hopeful change means: things could get better.


To the confident change means: its a

challenge to make things better


I am now hopeful that this change in my life will make things

better for me.


I honestly do not see it as of yet...but am hopeful this is true. Eventually I would like to see myself the confident again!


It has been a real challenge for me...and extremely hard...but again I am doing it...”the hard thing” and I will not allow fear to keep me from doing what I need to do.


My destination was to be married to Mell the rest of my life...


I have to release Mell to be with the Lord...


I am having to change my destination. I may not be going to Alaska but I am going somewhere. The best is yet to come….so they say...


But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid" (John 14:26-27).