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.