I Have Been Tagged

Thanks to Karen at Karen's Korner I have been tagged to tell you 7 random things about myself. Also, I was to tag 7 other individuals, but I have forgotten how to link to their blogs. So I will do part of the tag.

1. I attended Lincoln Christian College in Lincoln. Illinois in the late 60's and met my hubby there.
2. Thirty some years later I decided to change my life and went back to college and took 8 years to obtain a diploma from Purdue North Central and now waiting for God's answer for a job.
3. Hubby and I were married about 10 years before our two daughters were born.
4. I was 31 with the first daughter was born January 23, 1979 and 32 when the second daughter was born August 27, 1980 and they are 19 months apart in age. Figure that one out.
5. I am a very social person and I am finding another social group of individuals I may never meet in person in our life times.
6. I hate to clean the house. I would like to be doing anything else.
7. I love to eat out in restaurants and let someone wait on me. Also, I love travel and the opportunity to stay in motels.

Sorry Karen, I have not linked to anyone, but the ones I would I know will not be able to participate because of other obligations this week. I will have to learn how to put the links on my post so others can get to them.

This is New Year's Eve and I want to wish everyone a Happy New Years. I pray that if you are planning to be one the roads tonight that all will have safe travel and a good time where ever you go. We are going to a party at out Church and munch all kinds of salty and sugary snacks and watch movies to welcome in the new year.

Lord Prop Us Up

LORD, PROP US
UP On the Leaning side!

Every time I am asked to pray, I think of the old deacon who always prayed,
"Lord, prop us up on our leanin' side."

After hearing him pray that prayer many times, someone asked him why he
prayed that prayer so fervently.

He answered, "Well sir, you see, it's like this....I got an old barn out
back. It's been there a long time, it's withstood a lot of weather, it's
gone through a lot of storms, and it's stood for many years. It's still
standing, but one day I noticed it was leaning to one side a bit. So I went and got
some pine poles and propped it up on its leaning side so it wouldn't fall.

Then I got to thinking 'bout that and how much I was like that old barn.
I've been around a long time, I've withstood a lot of life's storms, I've
withstood a lot of bad weather in life, I've withstood a lot of hard times,
and I'm still standing too. But I find myself leaning to one side from time
to time, so I like to ask the Lord to prop us up on our leaning side, 'cause
I figure a lot of us get to leaning, at times."

Sometime we get to leaning toward anger, leaning toward bitterness, leaning
toward hatred, leaning toward cussing, leaning toward a lot of things that
we shouldn't, so we need to pray, "Lord, prop us up on our leaning side,"
so we will stand straight and tall again, to glorify the Lord.
(Author Unknown)

This was an e-mail from a cousin of mine. What a thought to take us in the the year of 2008. We do need to be propped up when we lean toward what is not of the Lord. Only the Lord can prop us up to stand straight and tall and when we are we can glorify the wonderful name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

A V 8 MOMENT

Plans have a way of changing on what I wanted to say on this post. I want to thank everyone who make comments to what I have to ramble about. Wonderful words concerning my graduation and looking for a job, as well as other words of encouragement. One blog friend commented that maybe God had plans for a ministry. I could have put it off but that comment is the third stated to me by different individuals in different situations. Each time I state yes sounds good, but I have a large student loan to pay off. What a lame statement on my part. No thought that God will find the funds, which He can and will as soon as I ask Him.

Then another beautiful women said, pray for the boss I would have when I found a job. That hit me on the head just like the V8 commercial. The concept had never entered my mind. I then began remembering other bosses and realized that I am compelled to pray for a person I have no idea who it is. Pray has no boundaries. I begin today.

This past fall I realized to stop praying about what I wanted and say "Your Will Not Mine". My pray now is God what you want me to do I will do it and know that You will be with me through it all. I know the answer to my pray of 14 years ago is still being answered and I can not wait for what you have in store for me. The year 2008 that is a few days away is the beginning of the rest of my life. All my blog friends please pray that I keep my eyes on God and not of this world we live in. Thank You

This and That Friday

Hello to all. I am looking out my front room window and see that it is snowing and the temperature is 31. So glad that I don't have to talk today. Last night hubby and I attended a Holiday tournament at our High School. Both girls teams played Argos and had the fight of their lives. Sorry to say they lost, but they did the best they could do with poor refs. I yelled like I was running livestock and lost my voice. Tonight the boys play so tomorrow I won't even whisper.

Head us on a give away. Go done to my most used links and press Laced With Grace and enter.

As I said in another post we gave Matt and Michelle a set of china for Christmas. Long story short I bought an 8 piece set of English china at a house hold sell last summer for $30. Wednesday night Michelle decided to go on line and try to date the set. She found out that they could be worth $300 and about 80 years old. I guess the dishes are going to set on a shelf and be looked at, but not used. I just liked the pattern of the dishes. Who knew.

Thankful Thursday, December 27, 2007

As I was checking what was going on with a few blog friends one reminded me what day of the week it was. I do not know if it is age or that life is so busy that I as a person forgets what day of the week it is. Five days left in the year 2007. I can remember what happened 50 years ago, but can not remember what happened yesterday. Well, enough rambling.

Today is Thursday and I am thankful for life. The year of 2007 was the fist year I can say I was in the best health I had been in a number of years. Praise the Lord.
God has been so good to me in His plan to keep me living through good and bad times.

Patience I can say is not one of my good points, but God is teaching the lesson to me, as I wait for Him to lead me to the next period of my life. I have the faith to know there is a job out there for me so I wait on the Lord. The waiting began May 19,2007 on the day of graduation from college. At times it is so hard to know what God wants, but as I look back I see His plan. To wait is not so bad.

Blessings come when we least expect them. Carrie on Christmas day asked all of us to write down our blessings for the past year. She then rolled them up, tied them in beautiful ribbon and put them on her tree. Next year she said we will open them as we write down our blessing for 2008. My blessings consist of good health and graduating from college.

This is the last Thursday for the year 2007. In our lives what is the last of for us? The years are flying by and 2008 will be another surprise in my life and I for one can not wait to see and experience what is ahead for me and mine. Until Thursday January 3, 2008 keep warm, healthy, happy, and enjoy life from a woman who is still a Creation In Progress.

The Day After

What do you do on the day after Christmas? For me, it was spent on travelling leisurely home from Rives Junction, Michigan. John stopped at 2 different implement lots and stopped to ask questions about a tractor He recently acquired. Christmas day travel was sun shine and no snow. Sorry for those of you that wanted snow. I am so full of food that I will not eat until tomorrow. Carrie had a brunch of sausage gravy and biscuits, fried potatoes, and bacon which we shared near noon.

I have a daughter who loves Christmas and opening presents. We held her off until 3:00 PM. John and I were surprised with tickets to a Pacers's basketball game. The game is for March 28th so you will hear about it when the day comes.They decided on that date because that is the end of John's selling season and the paper work that is done for selling Crop Insurance and right before Spring work begins in our part of the state. Michelle and Matt received from us an 8 piece set of English china and a bird house. We surprised Carrie with a sweatshirt from the University of Michigan. She is a graduate of Purdue so I made her promise to send a picture the first time she wears it, if she will ever wear it.

Christmas dinner's menu consisted of Barbecued short ribs in a sauce, mashed potatoes with the skins on, green bean casserole, corn, and Christmas cookies for desert. The rib sauce consisted of a bottle of barbecue sauce and a can of apple pie filling and cooked all day at 200 degrees. They were so good. The ribs had an apple taste and the apples had a rib taste. Try it if you like.

Christmas Eve

While sitting looking out my front room and looking at the wind blow the pine trees and thinking I am glad I do not have to go outside in a cold blustery day. Procrastination is a word used to describe that presents have not been wrapped. Presents to wrap is number one on my list of things to do before we leave for our oldest daughters home in Michigan for our family Christmas. Also, I have been pondering what to say to my friends I have met while blogging. First I want to wish all who visit a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. If any of you are traveling please have safe travel.
I found a poem written by Charles W. Swisher, a former resident of Medaryville and I want to share it with you as my Christmas Card to all.

A CHRISTMAS WISH
The store today was crowded
With the rush that always comes,
When the first snow of the season
Sends the shoppers on the run.
The music of the carols
Could be heard above the sound
Of the hustle and the bustle
Of the crowds a-millin' 'round.
The line kept growin' longer
For the one they'd come to see,
Some a-laughin'-some a-cryin'
As they sat there on his knee.
Then I heard one little feller
Turn to Santa Claus an' say...
"Could Christmas Eve be every night
An' Christmas every day?"

I got t'thinikin' what a world
It'd be for me an' you,
If the wish this little feller had
Could somehow just come true.
If everybody...every day
Would be as good an' kind,
An'think o'other people
Like we do at Christmas time.
If all the people 'round the world
Could only have an' share
The love that came at Christmas
In the little manger there.
Then wars an' such would be no more
An' peace would come to stay...
"If Christmas Eve was every night
An' Christmas every day."

"MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD DAY"

I AM NOT ALONE

Yesterday was a day that I have ever so often. Here we had a lot of fog and could not see to the road. I was feeling like the only human being alive. I started feeling lonely and in pray my words were to the effect that the feeling had to leave. The TV was on to a PBS station and the Gathers were showing one of their Home Comings. All the music was an answerer to pray. God and His Holy Spirit were in my presents healing me of the loneliness. One song that stayed in my heart was sung by Natalie Grant by the title of I Am Not Alone. Sharing the words with you which I found at christianlyricsite.com.is a joy to share.

Natalie Grant - I Am Not Alone
You're Here
In My Heart
You're the Light
That Guides Me Through The Dark

You Walk Beside Me
The Night Seems Cold
Each Time I Fall
Your Arms Are There To Hold

Chorus:
You Walk Beside Me
Giving Strength I've Never Known
I Am Not Alone
You Walk Beside Me

You're Here
In My Mind
I talk To You
And All My Fears Unwind
I Know I'm Loved For who I am
You Make Me Wanna Be The Best I can

Repeat Chorus

And I rely on your patience
When I face the unknown
and because of you
I am not alone

In the sun, In the rain
Through the good times and the pain
I reach out for your hand
I know that you understand

Awards

I want to thank Karen from Karen's Kroner for two more awards and to Hootin Anni for one. Ladies I really am thankful for your thoughtfulness.

Christmas Pageant

All of us have been and will be at Christmas Pageants some time in the next 5 days. We will attend as parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters and friends of the family. I heard this story on the radio last year and just today received it as an e-mail from a friend a felt like sharing it with all. Enjoy, try not to cry while reading it. All of you have good times at any or all Christmas pageants you will attend this year.

"The Christmas Invitation"

It was the biggest night of the year in a little town called Cornwall.
It was the night of the annual Christmas pageant. It's an especially big
deal for the children in town -- they get to try out for the roles in
the Christmas story. Everybody wants a part.

Which leads us to the problem of Harold. Harold really wanted to be in
the play, too, but he was - well, he was kind of a slow and simple kid.
The directors were ambivalent - I mean, they knew Harold would be
crushed if he didn't have a part, but they were afraid he might mess up
the town's magic moment. Finally, they decided to cast Harold as the
innkeeper - the one who turns Mary and Joseph away the night Jesus is to
be born. He had only one line - "I'm sorry, we have no room." Well, no
one could imagine what that one line was going to do to everyone's
Christmas.

The night of the pageant the church was packed, as usual. The Christmas
story unfolded according to plan - angels singing, Joseph's dream, and
the trip to Bethlehem. Finally, Joseph and Mary arrived at the door of
the Bethlehem inn, looking appropriately tired. Joseph knocked on the
inn door, and Harold was there to open the door.

Joseph asked his question on cue - "Do you have a room for the night?"
Harold froze. After a long pause, Harold mumbled his line, "I'm sorry
we have no room." And, with a little coaching, he shut the door. The
directors heaved a sigh of relief - prematurely. As Mary and Joseph
disappeared into the night, the set suddenly started shaking again and
the door opened. Harold was back! And then, in an unrehearsed moment
that folks would not soon forget, Harold went running after the young
couple, shouting as loud as he could -- "Wait! Don't go Joseph. Bring
Mary back! You can have MY room!"

I think little Harold may have understood the real issue of Christmas
better than anyone else there that night. How can you leave Jesus
outside? You have to make room for Jesus. And that may be the issue for
you this Christmas. What will you do with this Son of God who came to
earth to find you?

Jesus is the One who trades a throne room for a stable, and the praise
of angels for human mockery. This is the Creator who gives Himself on a
cross! The Bible gives us the only appropriate response: "The life I now
live I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for
me." (Gal. 2:20) You look at what Jesus did to pay for your sin on that
cross, and you say those life-changing words - "For me."

Jesus is at YOUR door this Christmas. Maybe He's been knocking for a
long time. Maybe He won't keep knocking much longer. All your life
even the events of the last few months - have been to prepare you for
this crossroads moment with Jesus your Savior. Don't leave Him outside
any longer. Open the door this Christmas Day. "Jesus, I cannot keep You
out any longer. Come on in. You can have my room . . . my life."

A Pray for A Child

I pray that - James - be given the gift of joy. Let the spirit of joy rise up in his heart this day and may he know the fullness of joy that is found only in Your presence. Help him to understand that true happiness and joy are found only in You.

You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Psalm 16:11

His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.
Psalm 30:5

A Thankfilled Thursday

First I want to thank Karen of Karen's Kroner for my very first blog award. I am thankful that she sent me instructions on how to move the award. I am surprised in myself that the job got done and you can see the end product.

So any of you have to go over the day, the day before, and tomorrow before you can fall to sleep at night? Well, I am one of those and I was deciding what I would post today. Now I can't remember what I decided. So here goes with what I am thankful for on this Thursday 5 days before we celebrate the birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ from the top of my head. To begin with I am thankful for the birth in a stable, death on a cross, and resurrection from a burial cave of my Jesus. Then I am thankful for a pray being answered 41 years ago and that was that I would meet the man Jesus wanted me to marry. Next, for having the help from wonderful women in my church to help me raise 2 beautiful, intelligent, daughters who have the Lord in their hearts. Then I am thankful to the Lord for saving my life twice in the past 3 years. And I am very thankful for meeting so many wonderful individuals through my blog adventure. For all the fantastic comments from those people who stop by from all over the world. There are many more things I am thankful for and they will be talked about in the future.

Please if you have the opportunity tell someone about Jesus and what He means to you. Pray for chance to meet someone who if you had the chance you would walk past, but be willing to stop and say something, even if it is only Hi. Pray for military individuals by name. Pray for the good things and the bad things that are happening at this time. Know that I am as human as you and what I have just written has to be done by me also.

A Thanksgiving For The Birth Of Jesus

Six days until the day we wish for, plan for, pray for, give thanks for, get panic stricken for, loose sleep for, and on and on. What does December 25, 2007 mean to you? I will be honest with you and say that Christmas was not one of my favorite holidays as it was celebrated in my home as a child. Even in my early married life it was not a favorite, then 11 years ago I saw Christmas in the eyes and sound of many young children and their Moms and Dads that was held in my In-laws home that we were renting to a young couple with young children. My husband, daughters, and I, as well as, another young couple with children were invited to celebrate Christmas in the home my husband was raised in. The attention of all who were present , as the story of the birth of Jesus read by our oldest daughter was a healing of my heart and the first time to be heard by the young children. For me, that was the beginning of knowing what day it was and how through small children Christmas how the blessed day was to be thought of and celebrated. In the 11 years since, the children have grown into teenagers, but the story is now read in that home by parents who are learning who Jesus is and what He can do for them in their lives. I give thanks to the living Jesus who can heal a heart even if I did not know it needed healing. In my home our daughters are grown and on their own and our Christmas Day will be spent in the home of our oldest daughter. My heart is soaring and so happy I can celebrate with a heart that loves the day and what that day means to my family.

I pray that the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus will be a blessing to all and a day that memories are made to be remembered for the rest of our lives. Merry Christmas to all of you.

In Other Words For Tuesday

"Don't blame suffering in the world on the anger of God. He's not mad; he didn't mess up. Follow our troubles to their headwaters, and you won't find any angry or befuddled God. But you will find a sovereign God.
Your pain has a purpose. Your problems, struggles, heartaches, and hassles cooperate toward one end -- the glory of God."


~Max Lucado, It's Not About Me~

This is the quote for In Other Words for Tuesday. As a Christian I can not in my mind blame my suffering on the anger of God, who am I kidding. God took it and took it from me for 11 years as I grieved over the death of a child I had wanted for 5 years and lost on her 8th days of life. I blamed God, hated God, cried feeling God did not love me anymore. The baby girl was an answerer to pray. I ask why to a number of Christians and over the 11 years got wonderful answers that God would forgive me for hating Him, for blaming Him, and for thinking He did not love me anymore. God loved me so much He waited through my grief to say to me in an almost audible voice that I was loved and He cried with me each time I cried in grief. I should have realized He cried because on the way to the hospital in an ambulance on the night of Lynn's death, it snowed. On the 12th year God helped me forget the day of Lynn's birth and the day of her death. In fact, I did not remember anything about it for over 2 weeks. God is sovereign and I now do not blame Him for any of the problems I have had in the past 22 years. God answeres prayers and when we allow it He heals us.

What a gift God gave us by allowing His Only Begotten Son to be born a baby in a manger in a cave with animals as witnesses. God loves us He does not hate us or disciplines us in anger. Love Love Love that is all there is.

Old Music for Christmas

Good morning all. Sitting here trying to stay warm and found an old English song on www.carols.org.uk and want to share it with you. I do remember hearing the song, but many years ago.
"The origins of I saw three ships are unknown but it is believed to be an English carol from the Victorian era. The theme for I saw three ships is extremely optimistic and the repetition rate of the chorus lines of I Saw three ships ensure that the carol will be well remembered. Author of the lyrics and composer of the music for I saw three ships is unknown."

I SAW THREE SHIPS

I saw three ships come sailing in
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day;
I saw three ship come sailing in
On Christmas Day in the morning.

And what was in those ships all three,
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day?
And what was in those ships all three,
On Christmas Day in the morning?

The Virgin Mary and Christ were there,
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day;
The Virgin Mary and Christ were there,
On Christmas Day in the morning.

Pray, wither sailed those ships all three.
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day;
Pray, wither sailed those ships all three.
On Christmas Day in the morning?

O they sailed into Bethlehem,
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day;
O they sailed into Bethlehem,
On Christmas Day in the morning.

And all the bells, on earth shall ring,
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day;
And all the bells on earth shall ring.
On Christmas Day in the morning.

And all the Angels in Heaven shall sing,
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day;
And all the Angels in Heaven shall sing.
On Christmas Day in the morning.

And all the souls on earth shall sing,
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day;
And all the souls on earth shall sing.
On Christmas Day in the morning.

Then let us all rejoice again,
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day;
Then let us all rejoice again.
On Christmas Day in the morning.

Sunday Birthday For Jesus

I am sitting here at my computer and looking out my living room window and marveling at a large flock of Canadian geese. They have no idea there is 10 inches of snow on the ground and the wind is blowing the snow all over the place. What a beautiful site to behold. Across the road there is a group of pine trees covered in snow and just breathtaking. How remarkable is God when He slows us down to see what is before our eyes. The county I live in has been shut down and most all Church services are cancelled for today. I praise the Lord that we still have our electricity. Our road is know being plowed so my husband has shoveled our drive to take a drive to our other farm to check on the livestock and the family who lives in the farm house. Today is a day of turning on the oven and putting in a pork roast and smelling the aroma of cooked pork and enjoying the heat of the oven.

A lot of women love to burn candles and I have a few tips on candle burning which I found in Country Woman Christmas, 2006 page 7 and want to share with you.
1. Keep the wick trimmed to 1/4 inch from the top of the candle.
2. Light and then immediately extinguish candles when using them for the fist time. They will light easier and burn more evenly when lit the second time.
3. To extend the life of decorated pillar candles, place a tea light in the hollow of the candle and burn the tea light instead.
4. Space taper candles at least 2 inches apart to prevent side wall burnout.
5. Keep wick trimmings, matches and foreign objects out of the candle wax.
6. Use a candle snuffer to put out candles to avoid spattering hot wax.
7. Store candles in a cold, dry, dark place. Candles will fade if left in strong light for an extended period of time.
8. Store tapers flat to prevent warping.
9. Wrap stored candles in waxed paper to prevent color transfer and sticking.

I hope these tips will help you extend the life of candles you use in your home.

Birthday Celebration Party for Jesus

According to www.californiamall.com "Christmas is Britain's most popular holiday and is characterized by traditions which date back hundreds of years. Many Christmas customs which originated in Britain have been adopted in the United States." I come from an English background and one of the traditions I remember is a pudding made by an Aunt and was the main dessert. As I recall, I never tasted this pudding. It looked like mud to me and did not smell appetising. Following is the recipe and is a tradition from England. My great-great-great brought this recipe with him in 1876 when he migrated to the United States and became an indentured servant for 7 years near Chicago.

CHRISTMAS PUDDING

This pudding dates back to the late 19th century. This pudding should be made well in advance, but it is possible to make it on Christmas Eve.
8 oz. currants
8 oz. sultanas
8 oz. stoned raisins
8 oz. Barbados sugar
4 oz. grated beef suet
4 0z. fresh breadcrumbs
4 0z. ground almonds
4 0z. blanched almonds, chopped
4 oz. mixed candied peel
6 oz. cooked apple, peeled and finely chopped
8 oz. plain flour
Finely grated rind of 1 lemon
Finely grated rind of 1 orange
2 tbsp. lemon juice
3 fI. oz. stout
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 oz. ground minced spice
1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
5 tbsp. brandy

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl with 2 tbsp. of the brandy. Pour the mixture into a greased 3 1/2 pint pudding basin and cover with a double layer of greased, greaseproof paper or aluminum foil--pleated in the middle to allow for expansion. Tie string under the rim and across the top to make a handle. Place a trivet in the base of a large saucepan. Lower the pudding into the saucepan and fill with enough boiling water to come two-thirds of the way up the sides of the basin. Pour in more boiling water if necessary.

When the Pudding is cooked, pour the remaining brandy over the surface and re-cover. To reheat, boil gently for 3-4 hours.

For our tradition one pudding was made without the brandy and one with the brandy. My Aunt would save about 1/2 of the brandy and 2 Aunts and my Mother would share the brandy in a little room off the kitchen of my Aunts house.

Another Birthday for Jesus

The day around here is sun shiny with a temperture of 26 and the propect of snow later tonight with 2-4 inches. It will make our area look a lot more like Christmas.

I would like to share with you something a friend sent to me, please enjoy.

God grant you the light in Christmas,
which is faith;
the warmth of Christmas, which is love;....
the belief in Christmas, which is truth;
the all of Christmas, which is Christ.
Wishing you a blessed Christmas and a great New Year!

Happy Birthday Jesus, Day 1

I would like to share a poem with you from Charles W. Swisher who was born and raised in Medaryville and is the Author of "Reflections in Verse for my first Happy Birthday to Jesus. Enjoy as you read.

I WOULD LIKED TO HAVE WALKED WITH THE SHEPHERDS

"I would liked to have walked with the shepherds
To Bethlehem that night,
And shared in their watching and wonder
As the walked toward that heavenly light.
Cross the hills and the plains of Judea
To the star in the East as it led,
And stood over Joseph and Mary
And the Saviour in His manger bed.
I would liked to have heard from the heavens
The words of the angel, "Behold!
This day a Saviour is born unto you",
The birth that the prophet foretold.
As oft' as I read the old story
And think of their joy and delight,
I would like to have walked with the shepherds
To Bethlehem's manger that night.

I would like to have walked with the shepherds
And yet, in the scriptures I see,
As the light from the Star guided them on that night
The light of His word guided me.
A star in the night, a light to my path,
A lamp to my wandering feet,
Then follow I will, thought the valley and hill
And someday my Saviour I'll meet.
Not as then will I see Him, is swaddling clothes
In the manger that welcomed His birth,
But on high, where He sits at the right hand of God
And rules over heaven and earth.
I would liked to have walked with the shepherds
But now, with His word as my light,
I can walk with the Shepherd of shepherds...
Who was born in the manger that night."

I Am lesson eight

1. Have you ever been in a situation where you had to 'go back' to a place of shame or ridicule? Yes How did that make you feel? Afterwards I felt relieved and blessed from the experiences.

2. Is there any circumstance in your life that still has you running for cover? Share if you feel comfortable. Sorry, I can not at this time.

3. When is the last time you felt like an overcomer? August of 2006, after being diagnose with congestive heart failure and knowing that God saved my life.

4. If you have not yet taken the serpent by the tail, are you willing to stop running, take hold and trust God to transform it into a tool for wonders? For me I stop running the second I realize the lie that the serpent is trying to get me to believe, but I know the serpent is a liar and all it wants is to take me over, but it is not going to happen. I do trust God to transform me into a tool of wonders.

5. I would like for you to write down this statement based on 1 John 2:14 somewhere you will see it often this week: "I am strong, the Word of God abides in me, and I have overcome the evil one." Memorize it. Say it over and over until you believe it. Will you do this?? Most of the time, there are no right or wrong answers, but on this one, I'm expecting a 'yes'! Oh, yes I will. I know I am strong with God abiding in me and I have overcome many things.

This or That

This will be a this or that day. A lot of rambling. First, my birthday meal happened at lunch time because of the country roads were not the best from an ice storm on Sunday. I did not get the prime rib, but had a delicious New York steak which I could almost cut with a fork.

Second, check out the Birthday Party for Jesus button and if you feel like participating go for it. I found it on my daughters blog. As creative as she is her blog will be spectacular to behold.

Third, I want to tell you about Youth Haven. It is a camp for at risk children, who many of them, live in Foster homes, single partent homes, or in homes with abuse going on daily. Many of their Moms and Dads drink or take drugs. There are gangs in most of the cities they live in. These children more than likely get their meals at school only. They come from many towns and cities of Michigan and other states. Youth Haven by it's name is a place where children can come, be safe, and learn about God and that He is a haven for them any where they are. Children come for free from donations from Churches and individuals. The camp does not get any funding from any government agency. There web site is: www.youthhaven.org, feel free to check it out and if you feel led tell others about it and your church. The camp runs year around with a staff of individuals who love kids and love what they are doing.

Finally, I want everyone to have the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. To know Him as a friend everyday, every night, and every where and forever.

Tuesday

Good Afternoon, Tuesday again. It is 36 and raining and not melting any of the snow and ice. When the temp drops we will be getting ice. I am praying for those who are still out of electricity because of the ice storms this past weekend.

Here is a quote for Tuesday In Other Words.

"Be such a person and live such a life,
That if every person,
Was a person like you, and every life a life like yours,
This Earth would be God's Paradise."
~Phillips Brooks~

I read this quote and my first thoughts were please do not have any one else like this sin stain woman. Then I read a couple of blogs and my thoughts began to change. I have been working to become a women according to Paul as He talks to the aged women in Titus 2:3-5

"The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers not given to much wine, teachers of good things: That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good obedient to their own husbands that the word of God be not blasphemed." (KJ version)

I saw these words in two wonderful women in the Church I attend, who were my mentors. One taught me how to cook, clean, and love my husband more and more each day. The other lady assisted me in raising my 2 girls into adulthood. As I have aged I have helped out a few young women as my examples taught me and from what Paul had to say. Can I become a women who can assist in making this earth God's Paradise? Yes, I can and will continue to each day of the rest of my life.

What A Weekend

To begin! Where? At the beginning I guess. At 11:45 AM we picked up 2 young people and started a 3 1/2 drive to Youth Haven Camp in Rives Junction, Michigan. A camp for at rick children in a 200 acre woods in near the center of Michigan. The words were good and we arrived safely at our destination. (Only one stop at Mc.D's for lunch)We arrived at 3:30 PM, unloaded the car and said good by to my husband who was turning around to make the trip back home. My daughter is the cook at the camp and I was going to spend the weekend watching and listening and working and crying for 70 kids, from the age of 7 to 12, who needed a safe place, if only for a weekend. I boned 4 turkeys, stirred chili, washed many, many, pots and pans and most of all watched my girl in action. I was so proud of her, for I know she loves the kids and has a passion to make it easier for them and to tell them about God and the haven He is in their daily existence.

On Friday evening during chapel I heard praises going upward to the God of us all. One song I want to share with you. It was the last song and I cried when I felt the Holy Spirit in Holy goosebumps. The song for me is a prayer and after they sang it many times I could not help but cry. I hope it will be a prayer for you.

Come and make my heart your home
Come and be everything I am and all I know
Search me through and through
Until my heart becomes a home for You
I Home for you Lord
A Home for you Lord
Let everything I do, open up the door for You to come through
that my heart may be a place that you want to be.

The staff put on a skit for 5 Chapel services on the birth of Christ in the setting of a news broadcast.

Saturday night the 70 young people enjoyed a full Christmas meal, with white table cloths and green and red place mats. The surprise I heard in their voices made all the preparations a piece of cake. To know that most of them will not be getting a Christmas meal on Christmas Day brought a lump in my throat. The four turkeys and all the fixings were devoured and enjoyed by all.

Sunday they received donuts and milk in bed. A treat. After lunch the children were taken to what is called the Hay Loft on the camp grounds for a Christmas party. There they sang Christmas songs, quoted scripture, heard the final story about Jesus, and were given a huge shopping bag of Christmas gifts. I heard one little 7 year old boy say "Is all of this for Me" Again the tears were flowing.

We arrived home to ice, but the trip was good. The 2 young people we took was in heaven on the way home. I could hear their chatter all the way home. Arrived home at 8:30 PM.

My daughter has help from LIT's (Leaders In Training) for serving and clean up from each meal. I met and fell in love with 5 of the most adorable boys and girls who want to give back to a place where they had attended as a younger child. Their sweet personalities won my heart. The hugs were heart felt as I said good by to each of them and wished them a good life.

Now for the birthday. Turning 60 was not the end of the world after all. My family played it very low keyed. My other daughter and her husband surprised me at the camp on Sunday morning. They gave me a plant in a box. It was so good to see them and see them jump in and help clean the kitchen so the cook could be at the Christmas party. The cook gave me my most favorite candy, sugar free taffy. Today my husband is taking me out for my most favorite meal of prime rid, backed potatoes, and the most melt in your mouth roils in an inn along the Kankakee river.

This is the end. Love and Hugs to all who sent birthday wishes to me.

Two Days

Two days and I can start getting discounts to eat out. I have a short time before we leave to go to Michigan. Carrie called and asked if we could stop at a Gordon's and get 2 gallons of milk and 2 packages of potato pearls and 4 turkeys. She has done this before to ask her Dad to stop for something that she needs when we are coming up. She knows Dad will do anything for her. In fact, He is bringing her car home to change the oil for her and bring it back on Sunday when He comes to pick me and the kids up. What a Dad. The Lord has blessed this trip and made it possible to have dry roads for a safe trip. On Monday I will tell you all about the weekend.

Happy Birthday

This is 3 days early, but I will be out of town and I want to celebrate a little. I am going up to help my daughter, who is the Camp Cook, at Youth Haven at Rives Junction, Michigan. During the month of December the camp has Christmas for as many at risk children as they can. The children are introduced to good meals for the weekend, play time on snow covered hills,lessons on how Jesus is a haven for them, the story of Christ and His birth, and a well filled garbage bag of Christmas gifts. My husband and I are taking 2 young people up from our area and I am going to stay the weekend and help in the kitchen.

About my birthday. I will be 60 years old. This Sunday is the day and I always feel that this day is more special to celebrate then any other day of the week.

Candle Give Away

Hello all, another blog friend invited me to enter for a candle and I would like to pass the invitation along to those who are interested. Here name is heather and I have a link to her site on my favorite links. She has an interesting site.

Christmas Meme

For the holiday season,Hootin' Anni has started a meme. "The Twelve Questions of Christmas" If you'd like to participate, I'd be honored to have you to go down to the Over 50 list and join in the fun. Here are my answers

1. Christmas is. [fill in the blank with ONE WORD] Children

2. In memories, what was the best part of your Christmases past? When I was 11 my parents bought us a record player and each went out to buy records and came back with the same ones. The one set we gave to cousins of ours for their Christmas.

3. Was Santa ever good to you? [describe how and what] Christmas as a child was not one of my favorite holidays. I was scared of Santa and ran when I saw one.

4. Do you open gifts on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, or both? For us when the girls were home they got to open one on Christmas Eve and it usually was the one from an older lady who had adopted them as grandchildren and the ones from us on Christmas morning.

5. Is there something you make each and every year? [craft or recipe] Not really, I am not a crafty person

6. What is your favorite five[5] Christmas songs/hymns?
1. Silent Night
2. O Holy Night
3. Ring The Bells
4. Mary Did You Know by Mark Lowery
5. We Three Kings

7. Is there a new tradition for Christmas since your childhood days? While the girls were at home we set aside Christmas Eve day as a day to make no baked treats to give to friends and family the evening of Christmas Eve.

8. Describe one of your Christmas trips. [whether it's across town or across country]
This was across town. (Three brothers married three sisters, one set were my parents) All three set had Christmas with the rest of my Dad's family and my Mom and Aunts would have to make English pudding that took a brandy sauce to go over the top for the desert. I remember my mom and her sisters going into a room off the kitchen of my aunts house and they would finish off the rest of the bottle during the day. My Grand Father never caught on what his daughter-in-laws were doing. We cousins always had fun making up a play to present in the afternoon after all the adults got done playing cards. This happened for many years as we were growing up.

9. Do you have a special Christmas outfit to wear for the day? Not really.

10. Have YOU or any of your family members sat on Santa's lap? Yes, we have many pictures of our girls setting on Santa's lap.

11. What is/or will be on your Christmas tree this year? On one will be angles. On another will be all the ornaments that the girls made at school or Sunday school. and one will have an English theme

12. Do you/or have you decorated your yard for Christmas? No, for many years we lived in a basement home in the side of a hill and in the last 10 years are living in the upstairs that we built over the basement.

Answering these questions brought back some very pleasant memories and I hope you will go to Hottin' Anni's site and read hers and maybe do something like this on your blog. All have a very blessed Christmas.

Fun Was Had

I finally have time to tell all of you about the romantic weekend my husband and I had. It was a Christmas party for the insurance office He works out of. Dick, His boss treated us to a two day visit to Shipshewana, an Amish community in Northern Indiana which began on Friday. We stayed in Home Stead Inn and what a beautiful room we had. On Friday evening we were treated to an Amish home style dinner of a garden salad with home made dressings, fried chicken and roast beef, home made mash potatoes and gravy, home made noddles, green beans, and for dessert a choice of 5 different kinds of pies at the Blue Gate Restaurant. The restaurant was decorated for Christmas and was breath taking. After a delicious meal we were entertained in the Blue Gate Theater by David Pendleton, a ventriloquist from Urbana, Ohio. I wish I could relate a few of his jokes and stories told by 4 different wooden figures, but sorry I can not. His figures consisted of a young man named Otis, Aunt Tilly (who was designed and made after his 95 year old Grand Mother), a sad-eyed dog named Buford, and a very rude vulture named Vern. I watched David closely and it was impossible to detect any movement of his lips as he skipped deftly from one voice to another. After the show we were to take a carriage ride, but it was to cold to bring out the horses so we have a ticket that can be used in the next 7 months. Saturday morning we enjoyed breakfast as a group at the inn and the rest of the day could be spent in shopping in downtown Shipshewana. They have one building that is built with a live tree as their center and goes through the roof three stories high with a basement. We did not do much shopping since we are in the area many times during the year. Driving home was enjoyable and we made it home as it began to snow. On Saturday night we had snow then sleet then ice. I recommend any one to take a vacation in the area. There are events that go on year around and what ever you are interested in you can enjoy. Feel free to search on the Internet and see what is available.

Marriage Monday

What makes a marriage Christian? My husband and I have been working on our marriage for over 38 years and it takes 24/7, 30 days a month, and 12 months a year to make it work. My favorite Bible verse is Philippians 4:13. I can do all things through Christ who strengths me. (my words) That verse has kept me in line for the 40 years I have know my husband. I am a sinful person who only by the grace of God makes it in the day to day existence. It takes both partners in a marriage to make it Christian. For me it helped that my other half was also a Christian from the first day we met.

For the past 2 months God has convicted me to study the 5th chapter of Ephesians and especially verses 21-27. The word submitting was a bad word for me in the past few years. I was getting hooked on the worlds view of a women being free to be free, to be able to do what I wanted not what we wanted. I praise God that we were led to a Small Group Bible Study on marriage in the past few months. My other half had no clue what I was thinking so to tell him was eye opening and healing for me. Through God I am coming back to a true partnership of a Christian marriage and working on submitting to a man who loves God first and has put God at the head of our house hold.

I am not perfect and God has and is there to put me back on track. Our marriage is not perfect and I don't want anyone to think it is. Work has and is being done to make it what God sees as good.

For all I believe in a Christian marriage not the shack up kind of living together. It takes work and the prize is eternal life.

Hope

This was suppose to be a Sunday Seven, but this morning during our Church service, the person who gave the Communion meditation gave a testimony of his past year and the verses that keep Him smiling through it all. The verses filled my heart and I feel I need to share them.

1Jo 2: 15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

1Jo 2:16 For everything in the world–the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does–comes not from the Father but from the world.

1Jo 2:17 The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. (NIV)(Blue Letter Bible.com)

He particularly spoke on 1 John 2:17 that it dose not matter what the world presents to us, what makes all the difference is when a man does the will of God we will live for eternity in a place we can not imagine and dream of. This is the HOPE all of us has and what a HOPE. All we have to do is not to love anything of this world we live in. How simple is that? Can I achieve it? I do not know. I am working on it, but it is so hard. We all have to face it on our own.

Hand Writing

For all of you be glad you do not receive hand written notes from me. You need to take the hand writing quiz and see what it may say about you. Latter today we are traveling to Amish country of Northeast Indiana for a Christmas party for the office my husband works in. The boss is paying for an over night stay in the Home Stead Inn, a dinner and show at the Blue Gate Restaurant, and a carriage ride from the motel to the restaurant and back to the motel after the show. Very romantic. Hope to take pictures and then learn how to put them on this blog. If you would like just goggle and see for yourself what the area is like.

Every Day to Give Thanks

We are to be thankful everyday of our life, but reality hits and problems in our life come and I don't feel like saying thank you for what hits me. I am glad God allows me to look back and to see how I am to be thankful for what every it was. A friend sent me this poem in an e-mail and I felt I needed to share it so show us how God is protecting us and for that I am very thankful. I believe each of us knows someone in the military, they may be family or a friend or a friend of someone we know. Please share with me in saying thank you to God and to each and every person that is protecting the shores of the United States and is working to keep the Stars and Strips flying.

A Different Christmas Poem
The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the
sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.

My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,

I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."

"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,

I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."

My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.

Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.

I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..

Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."
"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."

"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.

For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

PLEASE, Would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many people as
you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our
U.S.service men and women for our being able to celebrate these festivities. Let's
try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people stop and
think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us.

LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN
30th Naval Construction Regiment
OIC, Logistics Cell One

A Verse for Wednesday

Withold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O Lord: let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually perserve me. Pslms 40:11 (KJV)

I believe this verse says what this story is protraying. A friend sent this to me and I want to pass it on. I believe it is a type of Christmas story.

RED MARBLES
I was at the corner grocery store buying some early potatoes.

I noticed a small boy, delicate of bone and feature, ragged but
clean, hungrily apprizing a basket of freshly picked green peas.

I paid for my potatoes, but was also drawn to the display of fresh
green peas.

I am a pushover for creamed peas and new potatoes. Pondering the
peas, I couldn't help overhearing the conversation between Mr. Miller
(the store owner) and the ragged boy next to me.

'Hello Barry, how are you today?'

'H'lo, Mr. Miller. Fine, thank ya. Jus' admirin' them peas. They
sure look good.'

'They are good, Barry. How's your Ma?'

'Fine. Gittin' stronger alla' time.'

'Good. Anything I can help you with?'

'No, Sir. Jus' admirin' them peas.'

'Would you like take some home?' asked Mr. Miller.

'No, Sir. Got nuthin' to pay for 'em with.'

'Well, what have you to trade me for some of those peas?'

'All I got's my prize marble here.'

'Is that right? Let me see it' said Miller.

'Here 'tis. She's a dandy.'

'I can see that. Hmmmmm, only thing is this one is blue and I sort
of go for red. Do you have a red one like this at home?' the store owner
asked.

'Not zackley but almost.'

'Tell you what. Take this sack of peas home with you and next trip
this way let me look at that red marble', Mr. Miller told the boy.

'Sure will. Thanks Mr. Miller.'

Mrs. Miller, who had been standing nearby, came over to help me.

With a smile said, 'There are two other boys like him in our
community, all three are in very poor circumstances. Jim just loves to
bargain with them for peas, apples, tomatoes, or whatever.

When they come back with their red marbles, and they always do, he
decides he doesn't like red after all and he sends them home with a bag
of produce for a green marble or an orange one, when they come on their
next trip to the store.'

I left the store smiling to myself, impressed with this man.

A short time later I moved to Colorado , but I never forgot the
story of this man, the boys, and their bartering for marbles.

Several years went by, each more rapid than the previous one.

Just recently I had occasion to visit some old friends in that
Idaho community and while I was there learned that Mr. Miller had died.

They were having his visitation that evening and knowing my
friends wanted to go, I agreed to accompany them.

Upon arrival at the mortuary we fell into line to meet the
relatives of the deceased and to offer whatever words of comfort we
could.

Ahead of us in line were three young men.

One was in an army uniform and the other two wore nice haircuts,
dark suits and white shirts...all very professional looking.

They approached Mrs. Miller, standing composed and smiling by her
husband's casket.

Each of the young men hugged her, kissed her on the cheek, spoke
briefly with her and moved on to the casket.

Her misty light blue eyes followed them as, one by one, each young
man stopped briefly and placed his own warm hand over the cold pale hand
in the casket.

Each left the mortuary awkwardly, wiping his eyes.

Our turn came to meet Mrs. Miller. I told her who I was and
reminded her of the story from those many years ago and what she had told
me about
her husband's bartering for marbles.

With her eyes glistening, she took my hand and led me to the
casket.

'Those three young men who just left were the boys I told you
about.
They just told me how they appreciated the things Jim 'traded' them.

Now, at last, when Jim could not change his mind about color or
size...they came to pay their debt.'

'We've never had a great deal of the wealth of this world,' she
confided, 'but right now, Jim would consider himself the richest man in
Idaho.

With loving gentleness she lifted the lifeless fingers of her
deceased husband. Resting underneath were three exquisitely shined red
marbles.

The Moral : We will not be remembered by our words, but by our
kind deeds. Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the
moments that take our breath.

Tuesday

"One reason we are so harried and hurried is that we make yesterday and tomorrow our business, when all that legitimately concerns us is today. If we really have too much to do, there are some items on the agenda which God did not put there. Let us submit the list to Him and ask Him to indicate which items we must delete. There is always time to do the will of God. If we are too busy to do that, we are too busy."

~ Elisabeth Elliott ~

I didn't think I was going to have time to look and see what the quote of the week would be and then I though I hope it is something I could relate to. Well today I will be traveling with my husband to Northeastern Indiana on business and I was remembering what was going on a year ago after I read the quote. I was nearing the end of a semester in college and had only two weeks to get three projects done and write out two presentations that were to be given on the same day. On top of that final exams would be going on and I had a Trig final to take and I had to pass it so I could pass the class which this was the third time I had taken it.

Today I am thankful and glad God was with me a year ago as He is today. If I had not lived through many semesters of projects and knew that God did listen to me rattle off the list of must do things, I might have fallen flat on my face. God filtered the list and put items in order and through out the ones that could wait for another day or week or never. I can't say that I am perfect, but I can say that through Christ I will have the strength to do what has to be done when I put God first.

I never try to be to busy to do God's will, but I am human I make lists and God gets put in the background and then maybe some thing happens to make me sit and bring God to the fore front again and throw out the list of what makes me to busy to do the will of God.

Prayer

Last night our Church held the Hanging of the Greens. I would like to share the closing pray that the congregation said in unison.

"Dear Heavenly Father, we really want the simple beauty of Christmas; we want the carols and songs to remind us of that great miracle when our God, who created all things, came to earth as a baby, to know and love us exactly as we are.

It is hard to understand why You love us, but we want to follow the example of the Wise Men and the Shepherds and give You the gift of our love. Sometimes our gifts just don't seem to be exactly right, but this Christmas, we pray that You will receive our gift of live and make our gift right, pure, and real the way it should be. We give you thanks for every token of Your love."

May this pray be yours this Holiday Season as we celebrate the birth of Jesus.

A Sunday Seven

The Seven items I am going to write about comes with great enthusiasm. The week turned out to be very busy, but enjoyable.

1. Sunday was an after noon of food and fellowship at our annual Harvest dinner at our Church after Church services.
2. Monday a day to spend at home to wash and hanging clothes on a cloth line and enjoy the sweet smell of fall.
3. Tuesday was a day of sunshine. My husband picked corn and took a load to the elevator. Then in the evening we attended a girls basketball game and our girls won both games.
4. Wednesday was a day of providing food for a family so they could have a Thanksgiving dinner and delivering to a very surprised family of six individuals. Then in the evening to attend a Thanksgiving service at our Church.
5. Thursday was a day of driving and visiting our two daughters and one son-in-law in Michigan near the thumb of Lake Huron. The roads were an answer to pray that there was not very much snow on the roads. Great day of fellowship.
6. Friday was a day of driving home a different way than we went so my husband could stop and see a few farmers that are his clients for Crop Insurance. Fellowship and a safe drive home was had.
7. Saturday was a day of basketball for us. In the afternoon we attended a girls game and in the evening we attended a boys basketball game. All four of the games were won by our boys and girls teams.

Black Friday

I am here to say I was not involved with Black Friday. I tried that once and no more. I hope all had a wonderful Turkey day. My husband and I started out at 9:30 A.M. Thursday morning to drive for 5 hours to reach a daughter's home for a wonderful supper. The weather was not as bad, but it took 30 more minutes to reach our destination. You see that for the 3 years we have been driving in Michigan and have experienced snow every Thanksgiving. Two years ago it took us 10 hours to get there. This year we prayed for good driving and the pray was answered, only about 20 miles of snowy roads and only saw 3 spin offs. We had a wonderful time of hugs, laughs, and food. There are 5 of us until grandchildren and I do not get to see my girls very ofter; so to spend an afternoon to Friday morning to get a lot of girl talk done was so enjoyable. My husband and son-in-law are still getting to know each other so they did some guy talk. We had beef and noodles with mashed potatoes and green bean casserole. My oldest made cookies and we brought a store bought pumpkin pie. I am not a pie baker.

My oldest is a cook at a camp for at risk kids and for the next 6 weeks she will be making turkey dinners for a meal since most of the kids don't get a meal on Christmas. (That is why no turkey for our meal.)She has to cook 5 large turkeys every Wednesday to feed everyone. The guys and girls who also work with the kids tell them the story of the birth of Jesus and then pass out Christmas gifts in the largest garbage bags that are made.

Well I will close and end my senseless rambling for this evening.

Thankfulness

I am combining Word Filled Wednesday with Thankful Thursday today with a verse I would like to share to explain why I am so thankful.

Romans 8:28 King James Version
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.

Why this verse. It is not a Thanksgiving verse, but for me and a friend it created two beautiful young adults. To begin, 33 years ago on November 22, 1974 a beautiful girl was born to John and Joyce at 11:30 P.M. in Jasper County Hospital Indiana. Her name was Lynn Marie and weighed 6lb 7oz. and was 20 inches long with a head of brown hair and the fore head of her Grandfather Poisel.(this description is from memory since we do not have any pictures of her) Then on November 30, 1974 at around 8:00 P.M. she died and from the atrophy it was determined it was SIDS. (Today in 2007 it is still not know why this kind of death happens.) This began for me 11 years of HELL. I was angry at God for taking a child I had waited for over 5 years. Then I felt guilty that I might have killed her. Then through many wonderful individuals I began to heal, they listened and answered questions. God did give me 2 beautiful, intelligent, humble, hardworking, and simply wonderful girls who were born in 1979 and 1980. These two were part of the healing that was provided by a wonderful God who loves His children.

God gave me the most understanding man to marry. John put his grief in the back ground to take care of me and lift me up hourly, then daily, then weekly, then monthly, and finally yearly until I could heal and come back to the loving arms of God. I love God most for giving me this man.

On a beautiful June Saturday in 1979 a friend and I were talking on her back porch step as her husband and mine were working on a tractor. About 6 months before this conversation she had lost a baby of 5 months to a heart problem. When this son was born, she was told by her Dr. that she would be unable to have any more children. She had 2 older sons so she was resigned to what the Dr. had to say. God is so good. He does make something that is bad work together for good. During this conversation I suggested that she find a different Dr. and explain everything and see what he might have to say. Well, from that conversation 2 children have been born to their family, a boy and a girl. The boy was born 2 weeks after my youngest and they have been friends for along time.

When a birthday is celebrated on a Sunday or a holiday it is to me more special. So tomorrow I will be celebrating Thanksgiving in Michigan with my two daughters and rejoicing and remembering 33 years ago and praise God for his arms lifting me up and healing my heart and giving me 22 years of happiness and wonderful memories of a daughter I was privileged to hold for 8 glorious days. There may be tears, but they will be of joy not sadness.

So you see why Romans 8:28 is a Thanksgiving verse. For anyone grieving a child, healing comes and the memories are always there. Know that God cries along with you and smiles when you smile and laughs when you laugh. This is the first time I have been able to write about Lynn and what her birth and death has done in my life. To find God again has brought me to a time in my life that I can hear Him and thank Him for his patiences to wait on me to come back into His loving arms. Please have the most beutiful and enjoyable Thansgiving of November 22, 2007.

A Different Tuesday

"The purpose of Christianity is not to avoid difficulty, but to produce a character adequate to meet it when it comes. It does not make life easy; rather it tries to make us great enough for life."
~ James L. Christensen ~

This is the quote for The Word For Tuesday, but I am going a different direction for this post. This year I am really looking forward to Thanksgiving Day. It is a special one for me which I will explain in the next day or two. So today I would like for you to read Psalms 100 and think of Thanksgiving

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord all ye lands.
Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves:we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
For the Lord is good: his mercy is everlasting: and his truth endureth to all generations.

Prayer for Thanksgiving

This is Marriage Monday and I am going to stray from my usual writing to talk about Thanksgiving and what it means to me. I love studying History and as I was doing some research on Thanksgiving I came across a pray of the Iroquois Indians. The pray was found on http://www.2020tech.com/thanks/temp.html. If you would like to do your own search start here. I am thankful for the Indians who gave up their lands so the white man could live in what has become the United States of America.

A THANKSGIVING PRAYER FROM THE IROQUOIS (SENECA) PEOPLE
Gwa! Gwa! Gwa!
Now the time has come!
Hear us, Lord of the Sky!
We are here to speak the truth,
for you do not hear lies,
We are your children, Lord of the Sky.

Now begins the Gayant' gogwus
This sacred fire and sacred tobacco
And through this smoke
We offer our prayers
We are your children, Lord of the Sky.

Now in the beginning of all things
You provided that we inherit your creation
You said: I shall make the earth
on which people shall live
And they shall look to the earth as their mother
And they shall say, "It is she who supports us."
You said that we should always be thankful
For our earth and for each other
So it is that we are gathered here
We are your children, Lord of the Sky.

Now again the smoke rises
And again we offer prayers
You said that food should be placed beside us
And it should be ours in exchange for our labor.
You thought that ours should be a world
where green grass of many kinds should grow
You said that some should be medicines
And that one should be Ona'o
the sacred food, our sister corn
You gave to her two clinging sisters
beautiful Oa'geta, our sister beans
and bountiful Nyo'sowane, our sister squash
The three sacred sisters; they who sustain us.

This is what you thought, Lord of the Sky.
Thus did you think to provide for us
And you ordered that when the warm season comes,
That we should see the return of life
And remember you, and be thankful,
and gather here by the sacred fire.
So now again the smoke arises
We the people offer our prayers
We speak to you through the rising smoke
We are thankful, Lord of the Sky.

(Liberally translated)
Chuck Larsen, Seneca

Hymns for a Sunday Seven

This morning in a quite time before the Preacher's sermon I started looking through our Church hymnal and decided to look up seven hymns that have the words King, Lord, and God. It did not take long and her are the first seven I found. As I was writing down the titles I noticed praise, everlasting glory, worship, our help, who reigns above, and bless. Words we are to do for and what God does for us. These titles were found in the first thirty pages. Maybe if you have a quite time you can look and see many more with more words for God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Enjoy!!

1. O Worship the King
2. Lord We Praise You
3. God of Everlasting Glory
4. The Lord is in His Holy Temple
5. Praise the Lord Who Reigns Above
6. O God, Our Help in Ages Past
7. Bless The Lord

Prayer For A YOUNG MAN

Give __James__ a good mind, a teachable spirit, and an ability to learn. Instill in them a desire to attain knowledge and skill, and may they have joy in the process. Above all, I pray that they will be taught by You, for Your Word says that when our children are taught by You they are guaranteed peace. You have also said, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction" (Proverbs 1:7). May they never be a fool and turn away from learning, but rather may they turn to You for the knowledge they need.

All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children. Isaiah 54:13

A wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel. Proverbs 1:5

James is a teenager who got into some trouble for the third or fourth time and a judge put him in a secured home for boys with counselors. He has an anger in him that needs to come out. I am praying that he will trust one of the counselors enough to tell what is really the problem and get it worked out. I know he can become a wonderful young man and do great things in and with his life. If you know of a teen in trouble please pray for them.

A Thursday to answer questions

Today I am thankful for The Preacher's Wife. She has a Bible Study on Moses on her blog and today I am going to answer questions from her study.

1. How current is your God? Is he up to date on all your issues or do you have old hurts you still hold behind your back? Until you asked I was pretending that yes I am up to date with issues, but I am still holding behind my back a hurt or two.

2. Has the enemy ever told you there are situations that are 'old news' that are better left stuffed down? Or perhaps because they were so long ago they can't possibly be affecting you now? Yes the devil has told me that and today one of them has come back to mind. I have known for along time the the enemy lies and thinks nothing of it, but at times I still listen.

3. In the matter of established authority, does God truly reign in your life? Where are you when He calls your name? Oh, yes God reigns in my life and any where or any time I am there to listen.

4. Do you ever feel God has forgotten you in your 'west side of the wilderness'?
I did about 3 years ago when I was going through an infection that I could not get cleared up and before I would listen I almost died. God was there all the time, but I was not listening. God sent me to a different Dr. who was up to date on this kind of womans problems.

5. Have you ever experienced a time of cleansing where God has illuminated and rejuvenated you? When God answered my pray for healing from that infection. He brought so much joy and bounce in my feet that I was almost to the stars some days. I even got to meet 3 non traditional individuals that I was able to encourage to stay in collage through the long time it would take to make it to their goal of getting a degree and doing what they want to do with it. If not, do you find you are in need of this now?

Word Filled Wednesday

I, Joyce, commit to living a life marked by grace, available to me by my faith in Jesus Christ as Lord, who died for the forgiveness of my sins through the shedding of His blood on the cross. His death, followed by His resurrection on the third day, provided the one and only sacrifice needed for my sins.

As I live a life marked by His grace, I will strive to recognize my own sin, seeking forgiveness from the Lord, including myself and others if necessary, and readily accept God's forgiveness. I will commit to practicing forgiveness with others and myself.

In His grace, I will move forward resolving to live rightly, with right thinking based on the Scriptures, again and again. Instead of wallowing in my sin and being held captive by my guilt or pride, I will repent and live free, redeemed in Christ.

2 Corinthians 12:9
Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.

This commitment and Scripture come from extravagantgrace.net that you can find from my side bar. You will find the site very insightful and heart warming. I felt that I needed to post it here to be accountable for the words of the commitment.

A Word for a Tuesday

"Love is beautiful, but it is also terrible--terrible in its determination to allow nothing blemished or unworthy to remain in the beloved."

~ Hannah Hurnard ~

Early this morning I saw this quote, but nothing came to mine and I was just not going to post anything today. Well, this afternoon I was reading a post and the writer was talking about missing children who were at a Youth outing. That got me to thinking about my grown daughters who I miss and the quote. Love is beautiful when a Mom like me who can listen to a daughter on the phone tell about a cooking class she is giving to teens from her church and be content that I can not be there to see her in action. Then it can be so terrible when another daughter calls just before Christmas to tell me that her boyfriend of 5 years just broke up with her. It was terrible love when I could not be there to hold her in my arms and let her cry. Love for this daughter who can state in her blog the real reason for the break up for her blog friends to see. Terrible in its determination to allow nothing blemished or unworthy to remain in the beloved means to me that God wants me to come to him clean of sin. We can come to him clean as white snow after our water baptism like a hymen says "Whiter that Snow"

Veterans Day, Sunday

This is a Sunday Seven concerning Veterans Day November 11, 2007. I believe when a celebrated day comes on Sunday it is a little bit more special.

1. Thankfulness for all of those men and women who have fought for the freedom for all of the citizens of the United States. Starting with the fight against the English in the middle 17 hundreds

2. Thankful for my father, Kenneth Burton, who fought in WW II in the Philippians as a transport person. He enlisted in the Army in 1941 and was to begin his first leave on December 15, 1941; instead he waited for word where He would be stationed. He did not talked often about his time in the Army and the war. One time I remember he talked about floating in the Pacific and seeing giant turtles and Dad showed us the coins of the region.

3. Jack Jensen was a classmate of mine who fought in Viet Nam and died in 2006 from the after effects of Agent Orange. I am also thankful for all my classmates who fought in Viet Nam.

4. Thankful for the young men and women who are fighting at this time in the Far East for freedom from terrorist throughout the world. One young lady from our area just returned from Iraq, Emily Boresma, is in the National Guard. Trey Wright is in the Army and will be going to Afghanistan on December 1st.

5. Thankful for the Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Navy, Marines, Army Reserves, and National Guard of today and yesterday that was honored at our local High School on Friday November 9, 2007.

6. Thankful for all individuals I did not know who fought for my freedom in all of the Armed Forces in each and every war and conflict.

7. Finally, I am thankful for the Lord Jesus Christ who is the ultimate person for freedom and the Chaplains who have been there for each and every person who needed to talk and pray. The minister of our Church was in the Air Force and is now a Chaplin for the Army. He has gone to Iraq, San Diego, California, and Texas to counsel the burn victims of bombings.

I would like to continue talking about Veterans Day. Today in Church Captain Donald Herchel of the 283rd spoke and showed pictures of his time in Afghanistan. He was thanking the Lord for saving his life time after time. An example, as Captain he felt he should be at the front of the line in a trip and each time they were out on patrol and drove over a mine, but it was the next truck that was hit and killed 5 individuals. He has written a small book on His time in the Far East and the name of it is ANGLE ON MY SHOULDER. I am not for sure where you can buy it so search and I hope you will find it.

In our bulletin the following article was added:
VETERAN'S DAY 2007 LEST WE FORGET

Let us remember with grateful hearts those who have served our country, past and present, in order to preserve our many God given freedoms.

In remembrance, the following poem commemorates the fallen of the "Great War" and brings to mind the poppies we wear on veteran's Day each year.

IN FLANDERS FIELDS

In Flanders fields the poppies grow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Jesus Loves Me

We all know the song. Some know all the verses. Well as I was reading a farm related news paper I saw this poem and it pricked my heart. I would like to share it with you.

JESUS LOVES ME
Author Unknown

Jesus loves me this I know
Though my hair is white as snow
Though my sight is growing dim
Sill He bids me trust in Him.

Though my steps are oh so slow,
With my hand in His I'll go
On through life, let come what may,
He'll be there to lead the way.

Though I am no longer young,
I have much which He's begun.
Let me serve Christ with a smile,
Go with others the extra mile.

When the nights are dark and long,
In my heart He puts a song.
Telling me in words so clear
"Have no fear, for I am near."

I love Jesus, does He know?
Have I ever told Him so?
Jesus loves to hear me say
That I love Him every day.

The Farmer's Exchange

Not Forgotten

Thankful Thursday was not forgotten, but delayed a day so I could go on a day trip with my husband. He is a Crop Insurance Agent and has clients in many counties of Indiana. So yesterday, Thursday, we traveled to Morgan and Putman counties to see five of his clients. I am thankful for the warm day of travel, for the color of the leaves, for a safe journey down and home again, and for the fellowship my husband had with the farmers. Most of all, a day of good conversation with a man I have known for nearly 41 years.

Word Filled Wednesday

Hello, I would like to discuss interceding in pray for our children. I totally believe in pray for my children. I have done it from the first time I learned I was pregnant with our first children to today 33 later. Today my children are in their mid twenties and out on their own in jobs they went to college for. Like most Mothers I want to be there when the good happen, as well as, the bad times, but I can not. Going to God in pray is the next best thing to being there. He knows and helps, sends individuals, and speak to my girls when I can not. You will see a link to Interceding for our Children and would recommend you click on it and check it out. If you are a mother of small children or a mother of grown children, take it upon yourself to pray for them when you think of them and when you don't have them in your thoughts.

In Other Words

Quote
"In our lives the darkest times, the days that are bleak and black, add depth to every other experience. Like the dark bits of color in a mosaic, they add the contrast and shadows that give beauty to the whole, but they are just a small part of the big picture."
~Amy Grant~
Mosaic: Pieces of My Life so Far


I read the quote for the Tuesday In Other Words and liked it, but I received the following and felt that I needed to add it today. It may go along with the thoughts of the quote or not.

Malachi 3:3

"He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study. That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it" If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you. Pass this on right now. This very moment, someone needs to know that God is watching over them. And, whatever they're going through, they'll be a better person in the end. "Life is a coin. You can spend it anyway you wish, but you can only spend it once."

About Submission

How the Lord works is so amazing. He has a way of talking to individuals such as I. About 4 weeks ago My husband and I attended a Revival and Tommy Oaks spoke on the topic for 3 services. He talked mostly to the men, but he was telling us women to listen so we could make it easier for our mates to understand why and how I to continue to submit to my husband as he submits to God. I need to first submit to God and then it will be extremely easier to submit to my husband. Now 4 weeks later I am beginning to understand why I am to submit. God is forever and He is the head of our marriage and both of us as we submit to God then we will and do have a marriage that has and is sustaing the trials of a life together for the past 38 years and will continue to be the head for the rest of our lives together. Submission to and for a mate is the most important for my marriage.

Hugs for a Monday

If I could catch a rainbow
I would do it just for you
And share with you its beauty
On the days you're feeling blue.

If I could build a mountain
You could call your very own;
A place to find serenity,
A place to be alone.

If I could take your troubles
I would toss them in the sea,
But all these things I'm finding
Are impossible for me.

I cannot build a mountain
Or catch a rainbow fair,
But let me be what I know best,
A friend who's always there.

This is a Hug Certificate!!

LOVE OF GOD

Here are seven scriptures on love of God from the King James Bible

1. Romans 5:5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

2. II Corinthians 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all.

3. I John 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

4. I John 2:5 But whoso keepeh his work, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

5. I John 3:17 But whoso hath this world's good, and seethe his brother have need, and shutteh up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him.

6. I John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments and his commandments are not grievous.

7. John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (The ultimate Love of God)

Faith Filled Friday

Today in faith I am going to bring up a subject that I feel is important to pass along. This was a topic that was addressed in my oldest daughters blog. She was listing to her local Christan radio station and the topic came up with a web site to visit and was the first time she had heard about it. Without going into much this is something my daughter has come in contact with from an x-boyfriend who has the problem. She would encourage everyone to support and pray for this cause.

White Ribbons Against Pornography (WRAP) Week 10/26/2007

Washington, D.C. — The 20th annual White Ribbons Against Pornography (WRAP) Week begins this Sunday, October 28 to raise awareness of the harmful affects of pornography. Concerned Women for America (CWA) joins the national campaign to provide opportunities to fight pornography and sexual addictions and call for a respect for sexual virtue.

WRAP Week began in 1987 as a result of one woman, Norma Norris, who sought to sensitize the public to the magnitude of the pornography problem in everyday life. For one week, people are asked to wear or display a white ribbon in solidarity against pornography.

The Supreme Court determined in 1973 that the First Amendment does not protect “obscene material” (hardcore pornography). People can complain to businesses that distribute pornography, write letters to the editor, distribute information to the community, educate community leaders about the negative effects of pornography, ask pastors to address the sin of pornography, support those who are on the “front lines” of the fight against pornography, contact their State Prosecutor and U.S. Attorney to complain about violations of state obscenity laws, and ask state and local legislators to curtail “sexually oriented businesses.” More information regarding particular state laws and ordinances is available at www.moralityinmedia.org and www.obscenitycrimes.org.

To schedule an interview with one of our spokespeople, please contact Natalie Bell at 202-488-7000 x126.

Wendy Wright, President of CWA
Wendy Wright notes that “75 percent of convicted rapists admit they were acting out what they had seen in pornography, and 80 percent of child molesters admit their spiral down began with pornography.”

Janice Crouse, Ph.D, Director and Senior Fellow, Beverly LaHaye Institute
Dr. Crouse is an expert on the effect of pornography on relationships affecting women and children and on the link between pornography and sex trafficking.

Matt Barber, Policy Director for Cultural Issues
Mr. Barber said “Many people think that pornography is victimless. They don’t realize that many forms of widely accepted pornography are in fact a direct violation of federal and state obscenity laws. These laws should and must be enforced. Ultimately, it is women and children who are most victimized by pornography and the lack of obscenity law enforcement.”

CWA State Directors and Leaders are also available to provide local viewpoints and activities

For Information Contact:
Natalie Bell
(202) 488-7000
media.cwfa.org

Feel free to investigate this web site.

Concerned Women for America
1015 Fifteenth St. N.W., Suite 1100
Washington, D.C. 20005
Phone: (202) 488-7000
Fax: (202) 488-0806
E-mail: mail@cwfa.org

Thusday Bible History

The following was sent to me by a friend. I needed a good laugh after a long day on the road and thought others would enjoy it also. This is a Thankful Thursday.

In the beginning, which occurred near the start, there was nothing but
God, darkness, and some gas. The Bible says, 'The Lord thy God is one,'
butI think He must be a lot older than that. Anyway, God said, 'Give me a
light!' and someone did. Then God made the world.

He split the Adam and made Eve. Adam and Eve were naked, but they
weren't embarrassed because mirrors hadn't been invented yet. Adam and Eve
disobeyed God by eating one bad apple, so they were driven from the Garden
of Eden. I'm not sure what they were driven in though, because they didn't
have cars.

Adam and Eve had a son, Cain, who hated his brother as long as he was
Abel. Pretty soon all of the early people died off, except for
Methuselah, who lived to be like a million or something.

One of the next important people was Noah, who was a good guy, but one
of his kids was kind of a ham. Noah built a large boat, and put his family
and some animals on it. He asked some other people to join him, but they
said they would have to take a rain check.

After Noah came Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jacob was more famous than
his brother, Esau, because Esau sold Jacob his birthmark in exchange for
some pot roast. Jacob had a son named Joseph who wore a really loud sports
coat.

Another important Bible guy is Moses, whose real name was Charlton
Heston.&nb sp; Moses led the Israel Lights out of Egypt and away from the
evil Pharaoh after God sent ten plagues on Pharaoh's people. These
plagues included frogs, mice, lice, bowels, and no cable. God fed the Israel
Lights every day with manicotti. Then He gave them His top ten Commandments. These
include don't lie, cheat, smoke, dance, or covet your neighbor's bottom (the
Bible uses a bad word for bottom that I'm not supposed to say, but my Dad
uses it sometimes when he talks about the President). Oh, yeah, I just
thought of one more: Humor they father and they mother.

One of Moses' best helpers was Joshua who was the first Bible guy to
use spies. Joshua fought the battle of Geritol and the fence fell over on the
town.

After Joshua came David. He got to be king by killing a giant with a
slingshot. He had a son named Solomon who had about 300 wives and 500
porcupines. My teacher says he was wise, but that doesn't sound very wise
to me. After Solomon there were a bunch of major league prophets. One of
these was Jonah, who was swallowed by a big whale and then barfed up on
the shore.

There were also some minor league prophets, but I guess we don't have
to worry about them.

After the Old Testament came the New Testament. Jesus is the star of
the New Testament. He was born in Bethlehem in a barn. (I wish I had been
born in a barn, too, because my mom is always saying to me, 'Close the door!
Were you born in a barn?' It would be nice to say, 'As a matter of fact, I
was!')

During His life, Jesus had many arguments with sinners like the
Pharisees and the Republicans. Jesus also had twelve opossums. The worst
one was Judas Asparagus. Judas was so evil that they named a terrible
vegetable after him. Jesus was a great man. He healed many leopards and even preached to some Germans on the Mount. But the Republicans and all those guys put Jesus on trial before Pontius the Pilot. Pilot didn't stick up for Jesus. He just
washed his hands,instead.

Anyway, Jesus died for our sins, then came back to life again. He went
up to Heaven, but will be back at the end of the Aluminum. His return is
foretold in the book of Revolution.

Wonderful Wednesday

This day is turning out to be a wonderful word filled Wednesday. First I made a telephone call to a friend at the college I attended and she told me about 2 jobs that will be posted in the next day or two. I have calcification's for both of them. I will apply and see what happens. Next I was reading a post from a friend I have made and she had a web site that if you like cooking and baking for Christmas this is a site to visit and can get it from my list of links. It is called North Pole. Then I heard the sound of a combine. Our neighbor has a huge John Deere combine in a very small field of corn. It will only take him a round and a half to get it. It will take just a few minutes to pick but 10 minutes to turn it around to finish the field.

Today's holiday is not one of my favorite days, but it has turned out to be a wonderful fall day so the children will have a safe Trick or Treating evening in our small town. Our Church is hosting a party for the kids of the town for an alternative. Good knows how to brighten up a day that starts our cold and gray.

Submission

For two weeks now the Lord has been leading me to the book of Ephesians and the chapter and verses concerning submission of a wife to her husband. In the two weeks I have read different devotions on the subject that has been leading up to today. Today in the Ladies Bible Study I attend we discussed Sarah and what joys came to her when she submitted totally to God. Between Genesis and Ephesians I have finally realized something, for God to answer a pray of mine I must fully submit to my husband. When I do that I believe God will answer the pray and wonderful joys will come my way.

Wash Day

As a young girl I was told that Monday is to be set a side for wash day. I remember my Mom washing with a wringer washing machine. I liked to help and one day I stuck my hand through the wringer, Mom came running and fell spraining her ankle to get to me she forgot her pain and shut the washer off and took my hand out. Our Dr. lived at the end of our block so Mom hobbles down with me to make sure I had not broken anything. Thank the Lord she just had a small sprain and I had not broken anything so the wash was finished and hung on the line.

So 55 years later I have a washer and dryer that is up to date with the times. I still hang clothes on the line in good weather so today that is what I have been doing. I can not wait to smell the clothes as I take them off the line. How God has helped in the inventions of different generations to make it easier for the cleaning of clothes. What will our grandchildren have to wash their clothes? I can not wait to see.