Monday, March 31, 2008

Tea is steeping!

I love showing off my fine China. The top shelf is reserved for Bone China cups and saucers. Most of them came from my mother. Some are my own. My mother is now 94 years old! The middle shelf has mainly cut glass, all the same pattern, all gifts at our wedding nearly 49 years ago! The bottom shelf here, on the left has a place setting of a set of dishes that belonged to my great grandmother. The place setting on the right is from a set of English China that my dad bought for my mother back in the early 50's while he was in Canada. They were shipped to our house in Waterloo, Iowa. It was like Christmas for my mother and me! Such an exciting day! Now the set is mine, given to me just a few years ago. The china cabinet, itself, was given to us by the mother of our next door neighbor about 30 years ago! It was in her upstairs filled with books! You can't see it in the picture but it has glass on three sides. There's one more shelf I didn't show here. It's well worth more than an overly packed book case!
This china cabinet matches our dining table. It holds my tea pots and some special plates. One plate you can see is from our 25th anniversary almost 24 years ago! So, please, come and share some tea with me. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together..., but let us encourage one another... Hebrews 10:24, 25.

Oh Dear!

I'm getting comments anonymously with no name or initials. All comments come to me by e-mail so I can monitor them (because I got some that were not acceptable), if I can't identify who they are from I hesitate to accept them. Please, include your first name or your initials. Okay? Thanks. Thank you, Lord, for friends and family. I love to dialog with them but You know my hesitation in accepting any that I don't know who the person is. I'm thankful that You know all things.

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Today

This has been a good day. This morning the worship service was mainly a communion service and that's always good. Then this evening we went to a Community Hymn Sing and that was so good. Special guests were there, George & Roberta Kraft, she plays piano and he sings. Oh, does he sing! The whole program was just great! They only played and sang hymns. In fact, the name of the program was Hymns My Mother Taught Me. And Can It Be; Worthy is the Lamb That was Slain; Blessed Assurance; Redeemed; To God Be The Glory; It Is Well With My Soul; Let The Lower Lights Be Burning; The Ninty and Nine; No One Ever Cared For Me Like Jesus; His Eye Is On The Sparrow, etc. Some songs he sang as solo's, he has a beautiful baratone voice. Some songs we sang as a congregation, and some Roberta played on the piano. Heavenly Father, I praise You because You are Worthy to be Praised. I praise You because You are Love. Thank you for this day when I have felt You so close.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Work

Oh boy, have we worked today! Because we had paint left over we decided to paint upstairs in the loft. So that was our big project today. We're done with the painting and have the furniture moved back but...while the big ladder is upstairs I want to wash the fan and the window. I'm afraid they'll have to wait til Monday. I'm tired. I told you I'm getting old! It's so good to get this cleaning done. I hadn't even thought about spring house cleaning yet but that's what I'm doing! And even though I'm very tired it seems so good to know spring house cleaning is being done. Thank you, Father, for giving us strength to do these heavy cleaning jobs. Thank you for our home and for all of your blessings to us. I love You, Lord.

Friday, March 28, 2008

All Finished...again!





Here is the sitting/ reading/ sleeping room or the kid's room! Freshly painted and all cleaned. The books are all sorted and put in alphabetical order by author. That's never happened before! Well, the top shelf isn't but the rest are. So it's ready for company! Lord, thank you for your blessings to us. Thank you for being our strength.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Improving!

The little three year old girl who was critically injured in a head-on collision Tuesday has improved somewhat today. She has opened her eyes! That's about all I know but that's something. Thank you, Heavenly Father, for being with this little girl. Please continue to touch her, help her little body to respond to whatever the doctors feel is right for her.

Welcome!


Welcome to the Sitting/Reading/Sleeping...I mean Kid's Room! Haleigh made this sign and taped it to the door. I think it's cute! She likes the room and she hasn't even seen it painted yet. I hope she'll like the color. When I told her we were going to paint the walls, she said, "Not white, Grandma!" So, no, they're not white. I've started putting the books back on the shelves but I've developed a back ache so I've quit for the day. Lord, thank You for all we accomplished today! Please touch my back so I can finish moving back in tomorrow. I praise You because You are my Healer.

Finished

We have finished painting the sitting/reading/sleeping room! It looks good! The color is called Gentle Doe! Doesn't that sound pretty? This afternoon we'll start moving things + books back in. That's a job in itself! Then we'll go to buy another klik/klak. We need to buy a new bed for the guest room so I think I'm going to insist that we also paint that room. I can sure tell we aging! Oh well... Thank you, Lord, for helping us get this work done. Thank you for giving us the strength to complete the task.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Door of Freedom




This evening at church we had a very interesting time. It started out with the Light team of which Haleigh is a member! They did a really nice job! Then we listened as four different people came and talked about their lives and how frustrated they are. Then each one walked through the door to spiritual freedom. It was very good. The first man is a policeman and was critical and had no respect for people with problems. Then he told of a boy who was brought in to the police department because he was causing a problem. When this policeman asked him questions like where he lived, who his parents were, should he call them, etc. He discovered the boy really had no one who cared about him. He felt God talking to him and he walked through the door and the Lord helped him to change into a caring person. The next was a woman who was a successful lawyer. She had everything she wanted and needed. But something was wrong...she was empty. Her friend was always happy and excited about life. She finally walked through the door and accepted Jesus into her life. The third one was a funny guy, always telling jokes and making people laugh. But he was empty inside. No one knew that because he was always the funny guy. Then he walked through the door and Jesus filled his life with joy. He was no longer empty! The fourth person was losing her dad and felt so alone. Jesus came along side of her as she walked through the door. It was a very effective lesson for everyone there.
A side line about the door. It has served its purpose well. It was our back door at our former house until we did some remodeling, here at this house we used it for the gazebo until we turned it into a sun room and put windows in and a new door. Now it was used to show how we can be set free by simply walking through the door when we hear Jesus knocking. Jerry had to do some work on it to make it presentable and durable to be opened and closed so many times. Thank you, Lord, for knocking at our heart's door and coming in when we respond to You. Thank you, for illustrations like we had this evening. Thank you for letting us be a part of this good evening, both ahead of time, behind the scenes, and being in the audience to see how You make us come alive as we respond to You. I love You, Lord.

Head-on collison

Yesterday I wrote about seeing and hearing ambulances. In today's paper it tells that it was a head-on collision. There's a photo showing the two cars butting up against each other. The drivers were taken to the hospital but they're okay now. Critically hurt was a little three year old girl. One of the cars was a Buick Rendezvous almost like ours! Lord, please touch this little girl. Help the doctors as they treat her. Give them wisdom. Help her body to respond to whatever treatment they decide on. Be with her family. Be with the others who were in the accident. I praise You because You are our Healer.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Accident

This afternoon we heard sirens going down the road that runs north & south. Three ambulances and one police car; they were really speeding, sirens screaming! We couldn't see them slow down any so we wondered how far they were going. Well, we finally heard from Betty, who has a police radio and hears all the news. She told us the names of the two roads that intersect that were reported on the radio. It's probably about eight miles from here so they had quite a distance to go. It must have been a terrible car accident. I always pray when I hear a siren; for whomever is having a problem, whether an accident, fire, heart attack, whatever. We'll probably know tomorrow what happened today. Heavenly Father, You know what happened today to need three ambulances! You know how badly folks were injured...or, maybe not at all. From our view point it sounds really bad. Thank God, You know all about it. Please be near whomever the ambulances were for. Be with family members who are hurting for the ones who were hurt. Please touch them all. Be their strength. If they don't know You help them to reach out to You. Reveal Yourself to them. Thank You, Father.

Winter?

Is winter back? We have a fresh layer of snow this morning and it spits more snow every little while. It's very cloudy and gray. The wind is blowing very hard and also gusting. We were so hopeful for spring. What a let down. This is the day the Lord has made...this is the day the Lord has made...I will be glad and rejoice in it...I will be glad and rejoice in it...

Easter Egg Tree






This is not a very good picture because the window is behind but you can at least see what the Easter egg tree looked like. The eggs have pictures of my kids, when they were kids, and my grandkids, inside them. Instead of going out and finding a tree that would work we simply used one of the Hibiscus plants. It'll get more leaves soon but for this it was perfect! Some bunnies even found the tree and climbed right up! The girls were supposed to take them home but forgot them when they got ready to go. They posed beside the tree but my camera wouldn't take their picture! It's becoming very tempermental! It also refused to take Tyler's picture after the Passion Play! He did such a good job and I wanted to take his picture while he was still dressed in his clothes as a shepherd. Lord, thank you for what Easter is all about: Jesus's death and resurrection! Thank you for Jesus. Help us as we try to teach our grandchildren. Thank you also, for fun times. Thank you for our grandchildren.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Where do I live?

One of my blogging friends has asked a couple of times where I live now. So...let me see, how can I say without saying too much?! I live in our dream home. Eleven years ago our dream became reality! I live in a woods. I live next door to our youngest son, daughter-in-law, and two grandchidren. I live in the middle of Michigan. I live in the same small city I have lived in since I married Jerry almost 49 years ago! So, stop in and visit next time you come to Michigan! By the way, this isn't really meant to be a riddle! Lord, thank you for friends. They are one of your gifts to us!

Sunset in the pacific northwest!

When you open my blog now, you see a beautiful sunset! I took that picture from Lorraine's deck at her apartment when she lived on Camino Island, Washington last year. In fact, I took several pictures because the view kept changing every few seconds! It was like the Master Creator was at work as we watched! Heavenly Father, I praise You because You are our Creator.

What a job!

Are we nuts? I can't believe we're doing this!!! When we bought the new klik-klak for the new sitting/reading/sleeping room I regretted the fact that we moved it in without painting the room first. Oh well...I thought. We had decided to also buy a day bed for the loft. But...we like the klik-klak so well we've decided to buy another one for the loft, instead of a day bed! Well, yesterday Jerry got the idea to move the one downstairs to the loft while he had two strapping sons here to help! Actually it took Ted, Rob, Jessica, and Jerry to get it upstairs! So now the room downstairs is empty again! Well, I have to do it this time. I'm going to paint. Oh, what a job! You know I love to read...I've got two walls covered with book shelves, all loaded with books. Jerry looked in and just shook his head...again. I simply said, "You know I love books!" Well, they're all moved out...I'm determined! So we'll be all finished in a couple of days and have a second klik-klak and a very clean, newly painted sitting/reading/sleeping room! Dear Lord, thank you for your blessings to us. Thank you for helping us to get some heavy cleaning done this week. Thank you for sons and a daughter-in-law who were willing to help out when the work was too much for us. Please give us strength to do this extra cleaning and painting. Our house is Your house. I love You, Lord.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Initiation


Our new sitting/reading/sleeping room has now been initiated! Haleigh and Sydney slept in there last night for the first time! They laid in bed and watched a dvd before going to sleep. They woke up this morning feeling fine! The fish on Haleigh's blanket look happy! Lord, thank you for our granddaughter's. Thank you for the comforts we have in our home. We are so blest!

Easter week

This has been one of the best Easter weeks we ever experienced! It started out, of course, on Palm Sunday. After an excellent morning worship service we enjoyed the fellowship of the senior's from our church family at our monthly senior fellowship luncheon. Then to end the day, it was small group day. We meet twice a month on the 1st and 3rd Sundays. We have such a good time, discussing the sermon's our pastor brings and how they affect us. We pray together, laugh together, hug!, discuss together, and eat together! Wednesday we went to church and took part in a Bible lesson from Matthew on Jesus's last days of ministry. Pastor Shane is a wonderful teacher. Thursday we took part in a Seder Supper. It was as close to the Passover Supper as could be today. It had so much meaning. We left in awe. Friday was Good Friday. I already wrote about that wonderful service. Saturday we went to see the Passion Play. It was done so professionally and yet was performed by folks from our town! One of our grandsons was in it! Tyler did an excellent job! I'm very proud of him! We met our small group friends there and sat together. Ted and his girls came just in time so they also went with us. I had gotten tickets for them so we hoped they'd arrive in time. I really wanted Sydney and Bella to be able to see it so they'd know the full meaning of Easter...not just easter eggs and bunnies and easter egg hunts, etc. They're a little young, especially Bella, but we talked later and I don't think she'll forget it. When Jesus died on the cross the lightning flashed and thunder shook the whole building! It was so real! Sydney buried her head against Ted but Bella sat there and stared, taking it all in. I had my arm around her and I could feel her heart just pounding! She had a hard time separating reality from acting. So we had a good long discussion before she went to bed. Now today is Easter. Our pastor preached a wonderful sermon, as usual. Then we had a family dinner with Ted, Sydney, Bella, Rob, Jessica, Haleigh, and Jerry and me. Now it's very quiet...only Jerry and me here. It got very noisey and active for a while with Easter baskets and an Easter egg hunt. I decided to go ahead and have the hunt even with snow! It was okay and the girls had fun! Heavenly Father, I praise you! You are the same, yesterday, today, and forever! Forgive me for taking You for granted. I don't mean to but in the business of everyday, I forget. Help me. Thank you for giving Your Son for me. Thank you for this wonderful Easter week we've just gone through. Thank you for my wonderful family. Thank you for my good Christian husband. Help me to take time alone with You more. I love You.

Friday, March 21, 2008

Spring?

The calendar says it's spring. It has even felt a little fresh outside and not been quite so cold. Our snow is going down more everyday. We still have too much though to have an Easter egg hunt! Ted, Sydney, and Isabella were coming here today for the weekend so I've been getting ready for them. After lunch Ted called (he had to work this morning) and asked if it's snowing here! I said, "No, it's not snowing! Why?" Well, it was snowing where he lives and snowing hard! He didn't even want to try driving here. He said it's supposed to warm up tomorrow so hopefully it'll melt and they can come tomorrow. Well, I love snow, but not in spring! Now I want warm weather, flowers blooming, birds singing, etc. Lord, please help Ted and his girls to be able to come tomorrow and to get here safely. I praise you because You are In Control. "All things work together for good to those who love the Lord..." Romans 8:28 So if it's Your Will help them to come safely tomorrow.

Deaths Elsewhere

I always read the obituaries in our local newspaper (that's a sign of aging!) and I always check the 'Death Elsewhere' column. I seldom know anyone in that column but once in a while I recognize a name. Today is a name I know well. Jacob Daniel DeShazer, 95 yrs. I had already read about his death in the Missions News that I get on-line from our church headquarters in Indianapolis, so I wasn't surprised at his death but I was pleasantly surprised to read about it in our local newspaper. My parents and Jake and Florence were friends from clear back in the 40's. I remember praying for Jake when I was a child. He was one of the Doolittle raiders, and was in a Japanese prison camp for 40 months during WWII. Even though he was brought up in a Christian home he wasn't a Christian, himself, when he was captured by the Japanese. He hated the guards of the prison, he and the others were treated so badly. One day he was given a Bible to read, while he was reading God revealed Himself to Jake. He prayed for forgiveness for his sins and was changed into a new man. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come. II Corinthians 5:17. Jake was a new man. He now loved the guards! After he was released from prison he went home and enrolled in college. After graduating he took his wife and baby son to Japan as missionaries to the Japanese people. Now this little death notice in today's paper doesn't tell all that but it does say that he went to Japan to convert the people to Christianity. It also says that in over 30 years he started 23 churches. So it's an okay article. There is quite a story to Jake's life and it's been written in a couple of books and has also been made into a movie and is available on DVD. Heavenly Father, thank you for men like Jacob Deshazer. Thank you for your saving grace. Thank you for the ministry Jake had in Japan and for the influence he had on thousands of people, both in Japan, and here, in the USA.

Good Friday

Today is Good Friday. We went to church at noon. It was a very simple, yet effective, service. It was less than an hour long so working folks could come on their lunch hour. We sang some hymns and then the pastor simply read the story of the crucifixtion from the Bible while the dulcimer was played very softly as background music. It was very effective. The reading began with the disciples falling asleep while Jesus prayed and ended with the darkness as Jesus died on the cross. So we were kind of left hanging and that's how it should be today. Easter is coming! I praise You, Heavenly Father, because you are the Alpha and the Omega. You are Love. Forgive me for being selfish and thoughtless. Thank you for Jesus's willingness to die on the cross for me. Help me to be worthy of Your Love. Help me to show others Your Love. I love you Father.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Cook supper?

Can you believe it? I had to cook supper tonight! Saturday I made pizza; Sunday we went to the senior fellowship luncheon; Monday we went to the neighbor's for the St Patrick's Day supper; Tuesday we went to Logan's for their special. So today I had to cook supper! Oh boy, what to fix... I finally decided on salmon patties (they turned out perfect!), red potatoes that are cut in small pieces and baked or broiled with olive oil, salt/pepper/seasoning, so good! (I learned this from my friend, Kathy, last summer in Sask. I don't know what they're called); green beans, cole slaw and cake. It all turned out very good. God is great. God is good. Let us thank Him for this food. By His Hand we all are fed, give us, Lord, our daily bread. Amen.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

St Patrick's Day supper

Yesterday we had a St Patrick's Day supper with the folks behind us and the folks who live on the other side. It was a delightful time. We started out with 7-up colored green! They also had beer but no one drank any! We had corned beef and cabbage, of course, cooked carrots and red potatoes, a special kind of bread (with raisins, I don't eat raisins). Cupcakes, decorated for the day, and mint chocolate chip ice cream, and of course, coffee. It was all very good and we all relaxed and enjoyed the company of each other. When we went over at 5:55 we just walked through our back yard and into theirs. When we came home it was about 8:30 and dark out. But there was a good sized moon, not full, but getting close, so with the moon shining on the snow we could see just fine! Lord, thank you for friends and neighbors and for good times.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Jerry and I both have Irish in our genealogy on our father's sides of the families; Irish and Scottish. We've been invited to our neighbor's for supper. There will be 3 couples there. It should be fun. Neither one of us is wearing green, I hope that won't matter! Dear Lord, thank you for the Irish people. Thank you for Ireland and Scotland. Thank you for the bravery of our ancestors to cross the huge ocean, and come to America to start a new life.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Mother! Today you're 94 years old! Wow! I treasure the stories you have written about your childhood. I wish we had more, but I'm thankful for the ones we have. I hope you have a wonderful day with sons and daughters-in-law, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I'm sure your brunch which Richard cooked up was delicious! I wish we could have been there to help celebrate your big day! Happy, happy birthday! Dear Lord, thank you for Mother. She's been a loving mother to all of us, through good times and hard times. Please keep your hand upon her now in her senior years. I love her but You love her more!

Saturday, March 15, 2008

The Wrestling Match!



Bella, Sydney, and Haleigh are having a wrestling match with Matthew and they are winning! Can you see him? He's there! Only his hands show! Thank you, Lord, for good clean fun! For cousins and sisters and plain ole fun kids!

Friday, March 14, 2008

Tea bags!

Today Jerry and I went to a Chinese restuarant for supper. We ordered our dinner and then asked for a pot of tea to go with it. We've always done this. The waitress smiled and said, "Sorry, we don't serve tea with dinners anymore. I can bring you a pot of hot water and an assortment of tea bags, if you'd like." I told her I couldn't believe it! A Chinese restuarant doesn't serve tea? She apologized and said she knew what I meant but she couldn't do anything about it! Lord, help me to be patient when things don't go my way!

Cousins

#1 Sydney, Haleigh, & Isabella #2 Sydney, Matthew, Haleigh, & Bella. The girls love pestering Matthew! #3 All the nieces love Auntie Pam! Syd, Auntie Pam, Haleigh, & Bella.
Thank you, Lord, for happy cousins and a loving aunt.

Smiley Face



This happy, smiling cake was for Pam's birthday. I wrote about meeting them at Ted's last Sunday. We had a fun time together. Thank you, Lord, for birthday's and for family.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Modeling Malaysian gifts




Syd and Bella showing off their new shirts from Malaysia and modeling a Malaysian sun hat. You can barely see the embroidery work on their shirts. On Bella's it's kind of orange. On Sydney's the embroidery work is white so you can't see it at all, but it's very nice. Pam is also modeling the sun hat. It folds up small and can also be used as a fan! Very clever! Thank you, Lord, for good times.

Shoes



These four feet in these four shoes took these two girls to church last Sunday! There is such a contrast I had to take a picture! I laughed and laughed! Now, when my girls were young I would have had a fit and made them go change. But I've learned a lot since those days. I'm now free to be me. I don't have to have everything perfect...I don't have to worry about what other folks think! I now can enjoy life and my grandchildren. Some issues I stand firm on but shoes? No. Thank you, Lord, for freeing me. Thank you for my grandchildren. Thank you for their feet, which are normal!

Hide & Seek?

I found Isabella! She's hiding in the entertainment center! Always smiling, she's a little sweety! Thank you, Lord, for Bella! Please keep Your Hand upon her as she grows. I love her and You love her more!

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Prayer

So many things are happening right now I find myself praying constantly. --Pam and her foot problems. --Tim and Rob getting teeth pulled. --Ted and his situation. --Christy and her family. --Three friends are in Haiti at the moment. Two just arrived and one is leading a group of 19 college students and will come back on Thursday. This is not a good time to go to Haiti: Mardi Gras. So they are constantly in my prayers. --Last week a friend died, I wrote about her in my blog. This week her son died, we think of an overdose. His dad is constantly in my prayers, as well as his aunt. --My sister was in an accident and her car is a total loss. She bruised her leg and had some shock but otherwise seems okay. She was alone in the car, thank goodness. So she has a lot to deal with now, and with no husband that's not easy. --My mom and her concerns. (She turns 94 this week!) ((Would you believe it's snowing hard out right now!!!)) --My younger brother has a mri this week on his neck. --Three friends, Lori; Kathy; and Joy. --Then there are some other things that I won't bother you with. The list goes on and on and on...

There are some good things happening too. --Jerry and Rob are getting a lot of work done on remodeling their bedrooms to make three out of two. A friend of Rob's, Matt, is also helping. This is in preparation for getting their two adopted children from Haiti. --Richard has two articles being published in magazines! Good Old Days April issue and later, American Legion Magazine. I'm going to Barnes and Noble tomorrow to buy Good Old Days. The other article won't be out for a while, I'll let you know when. I'm very proud of Richard! He's my big brother!

So, Heavenly Father, I praise you because You are Sovereign. You are all knowing. You are In Control! I praise You because of Who You Are! Please forgive me for worrying and fretting. Thank you for all You've done for me. Thank you for your Grace! Thank You for dying on the cross for me! Thank you for my family and my friends. What would I do without them? Thank you for helping Jerry and Rob and Matt to get work accomplished on the house. Thank you for the articles Richard has written and that they are being published. Thank you for his writing ability. Please touch Pam's feet and help her to get relief. Be with both Tim and Rob as they have teeth pulled prior to getting braces. Help Ted to lean upon You for strength. Bless Christy as she takes care of her beautiful family. Please be with our friends in Haiti, those who are Haitian, and those who have gone down to help. Please be with Bob, two deaths in the family within a week of each other is too much for a person to bear. Please wrap your arms around him and let him know You love him. Please be with Lorraine as she deals with bruises, etc. from her accident and all the details now of getting another car, etc. Help her to lean on You for strength and thank you for keeping her from being seriously hurt. Be with my mom, help her to have a good happy birthday. Touch her physically, mentally, and spiritually. Touch Bill as he goes to the doctor this week. Give the doctor wisdom to know how to help Bill with the pain he deals with almost constantly. Please be with Lori as she deals with a lot of stress. Lord, help Kathy to lean on you as she deals with situations and work, etc. Be with Joy too. Help her to lean on You for her strength. And then the issues I've not written about...please be in control and take care of them as You want them to go. Have Your way in all things. I love you, Father.

Monday, March 10, 2008

Weekend

Saturday afternoon we drove over to Ted’s, a three hour drive. We took Haleigh with us so she could have fun with her cousins and the rest of the family. Then yesterday Pam and Gene and Matthew also drove to Ted’s from the opposite direction but also a three hour drive! Yesterday was Pam’s birthday so we all wanted to help her celebrate and we did. We didn’t do anything spectacular but we were all together and that was good.
I’m always on the lookout for nature as we travel. Well, on this weekend I saw the usual: deer, turkeys, an eagle!... and hawks. Hawks aren’t unusual but I saw something I’ve never seen before. I’m even wondering if they were really hawks. You’ve all seen a hawk up in a tree or on a post, always alone, watching for some food to come along. Well, yesterday I saw two hawks sitting in a tree side-by-side! Now, that was strange! Maybe they weren’t hawks...but then... what were they? Well, I’ll never know...
Sunday morning we went to Ted’s church. It’s a mega church, thousands of members and attendees. We’ve been there maybe five times altogether and we love going there! The music is inspiring, the building, which is new is phenomenal. The stage is huge. A choir was behind an orchestra, which was in a pit that came to the surface and then went back down when they were finished playing! The drummer was in a completely glassed in box just for him! We could hear him but he wasn't too loud! Two large screens showed what was going on on the stage so everyone could see. We were in the balcony and could see fine. An assistant pastor preached and he was as good as if he was the senior pastor. It was a very worshipful service. The foyer of the building is huge, probably as big or bigger than our sanctuary! When we entered we noticed a grand piano sitting out in the foyer. Well, after our service a man played beautiful hymns on the piano between services! Two of our granddaughters got separated from us when we were going down the stairs from the balcony. We waited and watched for them for a while and then I finally went to the welcome center to report two missing girls. While I standing there a woman came up with Haleigh and Sydney. They had the sense to tell a man they were lost and he took them to a woman who brought them to the welcome center! They were as glad to see me as I was to see them! There is a bonus to this story! Because we were there longer than normal we got to hear the man playing the piano! I love piano music and he was sooooo good! Going to this church was a highlight of our weekend.

This is the first time we’ve seen Pam and Gene since their trip to Malaysia and so Pam brought gifts to us! Sydney and Isabella each received a white long sleeved shirt with embroidery on the front. Very nice. Haleigh was given a nice bracelet. Jerry got a clear glass paper weight with the Lord’s Supper inside. It’s very unique. He put it in the window so the sun shines through it. It’s very nice. They gave me...you almost guessed it! Three middle eastern wise men! They couldn’t find a complete nativity set but did find the magi. They are very nice. I’m very happy with them. Now I have three sets of just wise men! A tall white ceramic set, a small Mexican set, and now a middle east set. So you can see this was a very good day! Thank you, Lord, for family, for good times, for birthday celebrations, for safe driving, for good weather! Thank you, Lord.

Sunday, March 09, 2008

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Pam! We've both arrived home after spending a few hours together today on your birthday! Things didn't go exactly as we had planned...KFC instead of eating out! We were together, and that's what counts. You surprised us with Matthew being with you and we surprised you with Haleigh being with us! Meeting at Ted's is such a good half way meeting place! You are a very special aunt to all your nieces and today Sydney, Bella, and Haleigh loved being with you! Happy, Happy Birthday to you! Heavenly Father, thank you for Pam. She's a wonderful daughter, wife, mother, sister, aunt, niece, granddaughter, and friend! Thank you for entrusting her to us as our first child. Bless her with your presence.

Thursday, March 06, 2008

DVD

This evening our small group met again but the purpose of the seven of us (one was missing)getting together was so we could watch the DVD, The Star of Bethleham. We had all watched it at Christmas time but we watched it in two different evenings a week apart and we all wanted to watch it in one sitting. It's very good and makes a good deal of sense, but it's very overwhelming. But, as overwhelming as it is, it's still worth watching. If you have the opportunity to watch it, do! Then let me know. I praise You, Lord, because you are the Creator and You are In Control. Your timing is perfect and consistant. I'm in awe of Who You Are.

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Hillaire















Hillaire is pronounced something like E laire (long e).
This handsome young man has been our boy, and Pam's and Gene's, since he was about 1 year old! He grew up in an orphanage in Haiti. We co-sponsored him and now he's all grown up. A doctor friend of ours goes to Haiti every year on a medical mission. She just came back and gave these pictures to me, she took them herself. She said he insisted on wearing his Sunday best. He's now 21 years old and is studying to be a lab tech. I went to Haiti to the orphanage where he lived when he was about 10 or 11. We spent as much time together as we could and cried when I left to come back home. He's a wonderful Christian young man. Thank you, Lord, for Hillaire. Thank you for the privelege of investing in his life. Thank you for the orphanage where he grew up. Please continue to be with him, guide him, give him a loving Christian wife, help him in his schooling, keep him safe and well and close to you. I love you, Father.

Love Lines

Seven of us got together this morning to make greeting cards. It was such a nice time together. From left to right: Naomi, Rose, Mary, Jane, Wilma, Marian, and myself. The cards are called Love Lines and are on a table in the foyer of our church. The cost is a donation of a dollar per card. All the money made goes to help Haiti babies. Heavenly Father, thank you for the fun of making these cards this morning. Bless these little babies with the necessities that they so desperately need.

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Joe and Drougy!


A few blogs ago (a few days ago) I wrote about my grand-nephew, Joe. Here's a picture of Joe and my sister, Lorraine, his grandmother. Looks like they're having fun. If you didn't read about Joe treating Lorraine on her birthday, you might want to scroll down and read it. He's quite a boy. Thank you for Joe and for Lorraine. I love them but You love them more!


Sunday, March 02, 2008

Chit Chat II

More chit chat! The Eastern Bluebirds seem to be gone now. They were migrating north so I guess they figured it was time to move on. We certainly enjoyed them while they were here! But this is the third day we’ve not seen them. They were here for about a week.
Yesterday we went to a memorial service for a friend, Marcelle, who died very suddenly, probably a heart attach. Her former husband and now best friend played the piano and sang, he also played an instrument that has a key board. He blew into it like a trumpet. I love to hear Bob play the piano. There were lots of folks there that we hadn’t seen in years. So the dinner afterwards was a very interesting time. Years ago I sang in a trio and Bob was our pianist. Well, yesterday all three of us were there, Ruth, Barb, and myself, and Bob. It was a nice reunion. The first thing Ruth said when I walked in the door was: “We’re singing today!” I said, “Yeah, right.” Barb said, “You’re kidding, right?” Yes, of course, she was but it was fun just to reminisce. And Bob was just as happy to see all of us too. Our pastor spoke at the memorial service and did a great job. He never knew Marcelle so he was honest and said he never knew her but he does know the God who knew her and he could talk about Him. It was really good.
This evening we had small group at our house. Seven of us discussed the sermons from last Sunday and today. It was very interesting and enlightening. We’re all at different stages of our Christian walk so we’re all learning. We’re also all becoming very good friends. Lord, thank you for Who You Are. I praise You because You are Sovereign. Thank you for friends.