BE STILL AND KNOW

I was reading Psalms 46:10 and I started thinking about "be still and know that I am God". Have you ever thought about being "still"? Be still. Sometimes I cannot bring my body to a stopping point that it is absolutely still. It seems to have a mind of its own...the more I try to be still, the more agitated my limbs become. My feet rub together; I, all of a sudden, have itchy spots that have to be scratched; my nose will tickle and I start sneezing; A leg will cramp and any number of things happen to keep me from being physically still.
Be still. Then I try to get my mind still so I can focus on God. At this time everything that has happened lately pops into my mind. Every worry that has cropped up becomes the focal point of my mind. All the plans that have been made for the day, or week, or month suddenly become the focus of this mind.
Be still. Then I try to get my soul to be still and open up to my Lord and Savior. That is the easiest part. Opening up to Him and letting Him into my soul, where He dwells anyway as the Holy Spirit, becomes the quickest part of being still.
Be still. Once in a while all three parts coordinate and I really do become still. My whole being is attuned to my God. That is when real communication with Him begins and I am so moved there are often tears...some of joy and others of awe. And I know that He is God. How I wish I could reach that place every time I come to Him!
But there are times when I cannot still all the parts of my body and even though I know that God hears my prayers, I can't hear Him. I can't still all the fears, all the worries, all the interference of this world and I can't hear Him. At these times I take the sure knowledge that God has heard me and loves me even when I can't hear Him speak to my heart. He know that I have tried but just couldn't get there. I often wonder if those are the times that Satan has caused my disorder so I couldn't hear God's voice. If so, then I need to be stronger in my faith so I can block out Satan with the help of the Holy Spirit, when my soul is in disorder.
Christmas is the time when we often become closer to the ones we love, the very ones that we don't focus on during the rest of the year in trying to make a living or dealing with raising children (or both), or becoming so involved with our bad selves that we wander around in this life forgetting that there are those who are waiting for our attention, our love, our concern and caring. What if we carried the love of this season to our everyday lives throughout the year! What a different place this world would be! People would feel loved, there would be less depression, fewer painful hearts, suicides would disappear, school shootings would become a part of the past, the reason for gangs would be less important. If we touch just one person and change their lives by telling them about Jesus and helping them come to a real personal knowledge and relationship with Him and that person does the same.....just think what a difference it would make in this world!
I am not so naive that I think that Satan will not begin to bombard us even harder to try to separate us from God, but if we have the armor of God on then the devil's chances are slim to none to being able to take our assurance of belonging to God away from us.
Most of my life I believed I was a Christian. I would have told you I was. But I was only a head Christian...I knew who Jesus was and knew He is the Son of God, but only with my head. Then I became a heart Christian and, praise God, I know Him with my heart...I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that He is in complete control of my life (for which I thank Him daily!), that I can come to Him at any time, day or night, and I know that He hears me and listens to my heart. Knowing about Jesus became knowing Jesus personally. On that day and every day since I am so thankful to know Him and have Him with me every second of every day, I only have talk with Him, to be still and know that He is there.
Whew! This was so heavy on my heart that I had to get up and write about this right away. Now when I get where I can't get still, I can come and read this and remind myself what the verse means, leading to the quiet place where I can be still, hear Him speak to my heart, and know that He is GOD!
May He bless every eye that reads this and may He become a close friend of yours, one you speak with often, during times when you are happy, sad, hurting or praising Him, thankful that He is your God too.
PS: This is the first time that I have written here that I didn't misspell any words in spell check! WOW!

Awesome news!!!

At church today, we had a vote as to whether to buy some property with an unfinished building on it for our new church.....the vote was 70 yes, 0 no...that is a church committed to growing and reaching out to a new community where we will be located!!! PRAISE GOD!!!!! Can you tell that I am excited? There was an air of excitement and exuberant emotions after the service! We needed something to get us going and I believe this is it! Pastor Ken is going to lead us in God's direction and we will be blessed and will bless others along the way. We are small but mighty in spirit! And I know we will grow fast now that we are united and have a purpose laid out for us. Just wish I could participate more and help the growth get going. But right now, I have to concentrate on getting these knees in the best shape they can be in and helping Jill day to day, as she has gone backwards in her physical strength in the last several months. I want to do for her but I know she has to do for herself if she is to regain her strength. It is hard to know where to stop and when to go.
Thanksgiving was a treat with my daughter, her kids and several of her longtime friends over at my house. We all cooked food and put it together. Charlie made a cherry cheesecake....yummmmm! Pam kept the kitchen clean and washed the dishes by hand....whew...there was a lot of dishes!
Christian spent the last several days with me and I enjoyed every minute! He is a joy to be with and I love him dearly! Wish Tore could have been with us too but she did spend it with Heather and her family.
Well, 4 more days until surgery....and I have a lot to get done! Christmas has to be finished since I will not be able to shop . Hmmmmm....puts me under the gun! But I hope I will be able to crochet more after surgery too.
I am so thankful for the people in my life! Jill makes me humble, Margaret makes me challenged spiritually, Nicole blesses me with her service, Phoebe makes me count my blessings in having my family close, Mom is an awesome mother, James is an exceptional brother, my grands are the best in the world!, Barbara and the Sisters are my spiritual net, and my church family is the greatest! I have no complaints! God blesses me with the people in my life and with His continuing Love and Strength.
Paperback swap is a really great site! If you like to read, join and get books that you may have been looking for by trading books you no longer have a use for. I am getting some books that keep me busy reading and sharing with Jill. We also get books from Goodwill and Salvation Army.
Well, I will close for now. God bless each and every one of you always in all ways.

WHEEEEE!!!!!!

Hi All! I have been gone for a while to Illinois and it was fun! Really great seeing my granddaughter and getting to meet her new friends. There is a couple, Heather and Ira, and their children that have become her military family for now. They are great! Spending time getting to know them was wonderful and Heather is the best cook! Her breakfast burritos are to die for! I look forward to our next visit. Of course, I had to cook several southern dishes for them, and they were appropriately consumed in short order! What a compliment! While there I had no access to the computer since my granddaughter was in the process of getting ready to move to base housing. I went into complete withdrawal! No TV either! Thank the stars that I took enough crochet stuff and books to keep busy!
When I came home (ahhh, bliss! My bed!) things got back to normal really fast. Jill had a really bad time while I was gone. Her hemoglobin dropped to 8 and had to have several units of blood. She slept most of the time due to no energy. She was supposed to have a mass removed from her left breast but her platelets are too low. So she has been on medication over the last few days and will get a blood test again today. If the platelet level has risen to over 100 then she will be eligible for a new drug therapy they are running to see if the results will be beneficial to her. If not (the count up) then she will have the platelets IV and will have the mass removed and then she will get the chemo. The doctor said she has many masses in her bones making it impossible for her body to produce useful blood cells on its own. It breaks my heart that she has to go through all this and I moan about all the surgeries I have to have. She is 38, I am 62. Her attitude is great and I put her up there as one of my heroes....don't tell her that though, there will be no living with her!
I have read recently two books by Christina Dodd, Scent of Darkness and Touch of Darkness, which I have thoroughly enjoyed. I believe this is a new branch in her writing tree and I hope to see more! (not that the branched there are not great too!)
I am supposed to have surgery on the 29th on my right knee and will be in a long-leg cast for 6-8 weeks. When that gets removed and the leg is strong, then I will be having the left one fixed. When that one gets well then we move onto the shoulder.....I only have one limb that is functioning anywhere near normal at this time...LOL Talk about the turtle on its back...it brings to mind the old commercial, "Help! I have fallen and I can't get up!"
Well, I will close for now...getting all the letters mixed up while typing this so I will write more later.
God bless you all and be with you in all things.

Birthday week!!!

Thanks to Jill (and my wonderful friends and family) , I have had the most awesome birthday week! I am lucky to have a birthday day celebration! She has given me small gifts each day of my birthday week and cooked me dinner for my birthday and given me carte blanche on where we might go...woo, woo!!! And Mom took me out for lunch (red lobster!!) and gave me money for a pair of Merrel shoes! My brother gave me a Target credit card (a BIG blessing), my Sisters (bible study group) took me out to supper (red lobster), my friends gave me various gift cards, Joelle gave me a camera, Sydney gave me a wonderful card she made herself and took me to the movies, Jill gave me a (what else) red lobster gift card (getting the message here? LOL) Nichole gave me a beautiful bouquet of flowers that still looks great! I received many cards and best wishes.....God has blessed me with amazing people in my life! (Now if only I could get a newer van in the near future.....)

On the 8th of October I will be going to visit my granddaughter in Illinois and I am so excited!!! I have missed Tore sooo much in the last few years. First she lived in Germany and then she went in the Air Force and will be moving around a lot! She is an amazing girl and I love to be with her at any time! Of course, all my grands are amazing, but she has lived with me off and on most of her life and I feel like she is mine.....and Jordan, Sydney and Christian too. Life is so unpredictable and sometimes that makes for good times and sometimes not so good. Some of my grands I have not been able to keep in touch with and I miss knowing about them and their lives, their likes and dislikes, their dreams and aspirations, who they are.

But I can still pray for them and hope they know the Lord and live in His Will and Love.

I will be putting some crochet links on here to patterns and maybe some patterns of my own from time to time. Right now I am madly crocheting Christmas presents and birthday presents too. Whew! Talk about cramps! Fingers, arm, shoulders, hands...even my mouth which I have to hold a certain way to get the stitches even and figuring out the patterns...LOL

I just got a sweater done for my granddaughter, Faith, (Tore's sister) who will be 4 on the 3rd of October. And I also have three new babies coming to crochet for....hmmmm, I need a crochet income!

I hope all of you will have a blessed day! And may God bless you always in all ways!

Crochet, crochet, crochet!

I am trying to get ready for Christmas early by making things but birthdays are getting in the way! But I am making things anyway and enjoying the creation of...oops!..."stuff". (Can't give away the surprise!) In October I am visiting my granddaughter in Illinois and really looking forward to spending time with her! She will soon be 20 and is in the Air Force. I have loved her dearly ever since she was a red-faced newborn, angry because she had the hiccups! She has made me so proud of her in so many ways! Her self confidence and poise are unusual in one so young.
We will visit St. Louis while I am there...looking forward to that too!!! But my yarn, hooks and patterns will go with me so I can continue the present making while she is at work.
Jill is going to keep my cats fed and my plants watered while I am gone...I will have to get her something special to thank her!
I will get back to this later...Right now I have to get back to work!
God bless you all in all ways!

God's blessings

I have been so blessed in so many ways! I now have a scooter and an electric lift for my car...I am a free woman...hear me roar! Now I can go where and when I want! Yippppeeeee!!!!!!!
And my brother filled my freezer for the second time in the last few weeks! I sure won't go hungry!
I have the most awesome friends and family!!!! Jill keeps me in line, most of my other friends keep me in their prayers and give me support when I need it. My church is the greatest! I can get all the hugs I want every Sunday (and, of course, I want lots!)
Tuesday morning I begin crochet classes again...sure have missed my ladies!
The temperature has finally dropped below the 100s and we got some much needed rain...it will be nice when we have a rainy day and not a thunderstorm downpour but who's complaining? My grass is dancing around out there! My tomatoes are a lost cause this year...I am putting them in the ground next year....no more pots.
I will have to have surgery on my knee in November and we agree this will probably be the last one on this (left) knee.....if this one fails, I will go to a wheelchair....hey, they told me by the time I was 40 I would be in a w/c full time and here I am at 62 and still walking by the grace of God! (and Dr. Voss)
I hope you all have a safe and fun-filled Labor Day weekend! God bless you always in all ways!

Where does the time go?

As I get older time seems to have sped up! It is almost September...yay...birthday month! I will be 62 and I want to know where the time went?!? At times I think about my life and wonder if I have done even a smidgen of the things God put me here for. It is too bad we don't have a guide when we are born telling us what we need to do in life to be pleasing to Him. I wonder if we would heed it if we did have one....probably not.
I really dislike listening to the news...it consists of murders, car accidents, death in so many ways! I feel so much for the parents of small children in these times. They have so much to be afraid of and have to teach their children to be afraid and watchful all the time! I wish things could have stayed the way they were when I was growing up. We could play outside from morning to dark and not be afraid of anyone doing bad things to us... we made toys out of what nature provided for us, we had few real toys, we had to use our imagination to play. Only grownups had cars and could drive...we walked everywhere we wanted to go. There were no fast food drive-ins until A&W opened theirs. It was a real treat to go there and get a frosted mug of root beer! With a nickle we could get 5 pieces of candy at the neighborhood shop. We never realized how good life was then. Moms were home when we got out of school...with freshly baked cookies and milk. We had chores to do before we could play and everyone pitched in to get things done....without an allowance. We were a family...where we always sat down for dinner together and said a prayer of thanks for our food and our being together. I'm not saying that everything was perfect....but is there perfection here on earth? At least we always felt safe. I wonder what we are doing to our children today when we teach them to be afraid? When we give them everything they want? When, by the time they are 13, they pretty much know everything good and bad and have done pretty much everything too? What do they have to look forward to?
It is so hard to instill in them the love for God and to follow Jesus' teachings. They are badly influenced by the music, movies, television, the computer and each other. They have ready access to liquor, drugs and sex. And the parents are both working and have little time with their children to teach them what they need to know. Schools are given no control over the kids, daycare is not the place to learn God's principles, God is being taken out of everything possible so no one is offended. Well, I am offended that God is being put "out to pasture" until something awful happens like 9/11 and then everyone wants to know where He was? This nation has been so blessed by God over time and now we want Him out of the way so we can continue doing all the things we want to do that would make us ashamed in His presence. If they only knew!!!! In the past when people abandoned God He allowed pain and suffering for His people to bring them back to Him.....is that what we want? We better wake up soon or all will be lost....this nation of unbelievers that worship money, power and possessions, that practices every vice known to man, will be brought down . I hope I am with Him before this happens. But I am very worried about our children. They have inherited what their parents have conceived and are not given good role models to learn from.
OK...I will get off my soapbox.
Hope everyone has a wonderful day and god-filled purpose!

HOT!!!!!

The temperature here for the last 10 days has reached over 100 each day with the heat index around 110-114......yuck! So I have been staying in my air-conditioned house (praise God for cool air!) and reading and crocheting. Francine Rivers wrote a series of books on the women of the Bible that were in the line of Jesus lineage. First there was Tamar, then Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba and Mary. They are fictional accounts based on the information given in the Bible about them and at the end of each is a digging deeper section that makes you think about their decisions and our own that we make all the time. It was fun and informational reading these accounts of their lives. I love her books! I also read a book by Nora Roberts that had me giggling during the book....First Impressions. It was a cute light reading and I loved the female character.
Mom continues to get better or, I should say, maintaining status quo. Still hurting but off the narcotics and trying to establish a non-narcotic route to alleviating the pain to bearable stage.
One of my best friends' husband had a heart attack last week and was not looking good for a couple of days. He is in his 70s and has Alzheimer's disease too. There was a lot of damage to his heart but he has rallied to the point of coming home. My prayers have been and continue to be with this family.
I have been praying for financial relief and for a part time job to help get by each month.....I know that the Lord will provide this soon. First I have to get past the knee surgery and then I can do something positive. Meanwhile, I just keep on crocheting. Now if I could sell my crochet items then I could make money and stay home! But usually I have more invested in the yarn than someone wants to pay for the finished product. Bummer! So I continue to give them away to the people that I love!
Jill hasn't been doing well the last week or so....she sleeps most of the time and feels really blah the rest of the time.
Of course, Christian continues to make my life enjoyable...he gives me lots of kisses that go straight to my heart and fills it up until the next time I see him. And then we spend time with all the transformers...he knows all the names of the decepticons, autobots, minicoms etc. And how to transform each of them...I am lost! We spend time browsing the web for all the new ones they have for sale so he can keep up with them. Now if only he applies that brain of his when he starts school in a couple of weeks! His first year in school (kindergarten) may be hard for him...he couldn't care less about learning letters and numbers. Can they make the numbers into transformers? LOL
Jordan, 14, my older grandson and Christian's brother, fell off his bicycle and broke his wrist and cracked several ribs. He is in a blue cast and gets to start 9th grade soon. Sydney, their 12yo sister, is starting 7th grade. She does pretty well in school so I don't worry about her grades. Her dark tan sets off her hazel eyes...she swims all the time.
Tore, my 19yo granddaughter, is still in Illinois and becoming proficient in her chosen field of dental assistant in the Air Force. I am so proud of her! She makes very mature decisions for her age and will go a long way as long as she doesn't let other people influence her too much. She wants the good opinion of her family but we can't decide what is right for her...sometimes she gets pulled in too many directions by what we all say and gets stymied about what to do. I just want her to be happy no matter what she wants to do. She, like all the rest of us, will make good and bad decisions during her lifetime and hopefully learn from them. I'm still learning! Her fiance, Dan, is a really nice guy that loves her but he is immature and needs to grow up a lot before they settle down. OK Tore, if you are reading this, please have confidence in yourself and your decisions...second guessing all the time just leads to confusion and doubt. Your instincts are good...go with them..God will lead you the right way! I love you!!!
Hope you all have a blessed day and may God grant you your blessings in abundance!

August is here!

In a Bible study that some dear friends and I have been doing, I learned several things about myself. One, I have to forgive myself for the things that I can't change and to let my children live their own lives even if I see hurt in their future. Two, new Christians tend to get bogged down in the old testament and get confused about the laws. My advice, (learned by experience), is to study the new testament, learn about this God and Jesus that we are professing to follow.....we have to get to know who Jesus is before we can become more like Him. Once we come to know Him personally, then we can study the old testament and pull everything together. The old testament teaches us about all the things man cannot do for himself and why we needed Jesus to come and sacrifice Himself for our salvation. Man couldn't keep all God's laws by himself. Man cannot do enough "good things" to enter into heaven for we have sinful natures since Adam and Eve. We serve a great and loving God who cannot abide sin. The blood of Jesus cleansed us and continues to cleanse us every second that we are alive once we accept Him as the Son of God and ask Him to forgive us of our sins. If you haven't done so, please study the new testament starting in the book of John and learn about this awesome God who created us to have fellowship with us. Then when you know Him, accept Him as your Savior, ask Him to forgive your sins, and then start living your new life patterned after Jesus. We will never be like Him but we can do the best we can. He is always there in the form of the Holy Spirit that dwells in each of us when we follow Christ. Since He only wants what is best for us, when we give up control of our lives to Him, our lives become a testament to Him. We can talk all we want about being Christians but if we don't live the talk our lives are ineffective and not pleasing to God. When we live the life that God meant for us to live and follow Him, peace that you have never known becomes yours even through the tough times we all have.
On another note, I am crocheting like crazy lately....Christmas will be here before I know it and as usual I will be behind. But at least I am getting started earlier than I usually do...LOL There is a really cute crocheted hoodie that I found that I want to share with you. It is on the bernat yarn site where I found lots of new cute patterns. Enjoy!

Goodbye July!!!

This month hasn't been the best month this year by a long shot. Mom had unrelenting back pain, finally relieved. Jill had two cats die in ten days. I lost my balance, hit the table with my elbow and forearm and re tore the muscle the doctor just fixed. Now I am looking at another shoulder surgery AND the knee surgery. The Lord is testing me for sure!
On the bright side, Mom is feeling much better, I am hosting a short Bible study on forgiveness, Jill is feeling better, my cats are just fine, and my brother, James, filled my freezer with food! God is so good, all the time! He has given me a wonderful family, great friends, an awesome church family and good health except for the joints in my body....could be a whole lot worse!
Now if I could only sleep! For some reason I can't get more than 5-6 hours of sleep and I am getting tired! At least I get worn out and then get a good night's sleep every few days. Not being able to move much or exercise restricts my metabolism so I sit and get fluffier. LOL
My granddaughter, Tore, is in the Air Force and is learning dental technology. She is going through a bumpy time in the road of life right now. I guess this is a toughening experience for her. Unfortunately, there are a lot of those in life. But there are also the mountain tops to keep you going.
My little grandson, Christian, will be going to school for the first time this year, into kindergarten. He has no desire whatsoever to learn letters or numbers. I can see him now clinging to the car refusing to go in! LOL Maybe no that bad since he loves to be with other kids. Maybe they can get him to learn what he has to in class. Now ask him about transformers and he can tell you who they are, whether they are decepticons or autobots, what they transform into and the complete story line!
Well it is time for me to close for now....God bless you everyone!

So Much Pain

It seems like everywhere I go and to whomever I speak there is so much pain in this world! Spiritual and physical!
My mother is in such pain in her back and it has not been relieved yet with all the pain medications she has been on. I am a firm believer that all things are possible in Christ our Lord and I am lifting her up to Him daily. She is 80 years old and I would like for her to be able to enjoy the winter of her life on earth. But I do know that she will be with Jesus whenever He calls her home to suffer no more. Selfishly, I hope it is not anytime soon!
Others, that have such good loving hearts, have been hurt by people they had faith in. It seems to be that Satan is rampant in the world now more than ever...we have to be more diligent than ever to don the armor of God to survive and stay faithful to Him.
If no one ever reads these pages it is still very good for me to be able to put down my thoughts and feelings where I can address them one by one.
If anyone is reading these pages, bless you! Please have patience with someone who is trying to make sense of this life on earth!
I was given a recipe for great coconut cake and chock full of those dreaded things called.....CALORIES!
Bake a white cake mix as directed. While hot, poke lots of holes in it with a fork or toothpick. Mix one can of coconut cream and one can of sweetened condensed milk, pour over hot cake. Layer with fresh coconut flakes, top with Kool Whip and then another layer of fresh coconut flakes. Mmmmmmmmmmmm! Delicious! Refrigerate to keep and enjoy!!!
That is it for today! We are having a Bible study here today based on forgiveness....have to get through forgiveness to get past the emotional pain we carry with us.
God bless everyone of you in a special way!

Freaky Friday!

I decided not to go on my trip and am staying home.....maybe a great decision but it led to moving my furniture around....yuck! My bedroom is now upside down and I had to take a break. The furniture looks better, not so crammed, but the "stuff" is everywhere looking for a home. That will take longer as I sort through it. As I sort, I am also washing clothes....nothing like trying to do a weeks worth of work all in one day!
But that is the story of my life...overdoing! Thank heavens that I have the weekend to recuperate!
My arm is still in the sling...will start back to physical therapy on Monday. Hope it is better and I won't have to have the surgery all over again.
It is overcast and cooler today...YAY! And it is good sleeping weather. Hmmmmm....a nap sounds wonderful! Maybe after the "stuff" finds it's place.
God is so good! He is the stabilizing force in my life. He answers prayers so often and not always the way I want them but in the best way for me. I am 61 years old and still not sure of anything in this world.
Guess I will get back to work. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend doing what you like best. God bless you!

Life is so unpredictable!

There are so many things in this world that we can say for sure are going to happen but life isn't one of them! Because of other people's actions your own life may be turned upside down. That is the case here. At 61, I have to leave my settled life here for an indetermined length of time. But it is for a good cause so I will be talking to you from another location for a while. But the good/bad news is that my grandson is finally home! It felt so good to hold that little body in my arms again! And now I have to leave him!
Jill and I went to see TRANSFORMERS on Tuesday with Christian, Sydney, Joelle, Jordan, and Maurice, Joelle's boyfriend. Christian was sooooo excited! He has been waiting for a year to see this movie and for a five year old that is an eternity!!! He sat in my lap the whole movie and explained all about the transformer's (autobots and decepticons) names and purposes. It was a joy to watch his excitement and enjoyment of the movie!
Sydney, Jill and I also saw Ratatuoille on Saturday...it was a cute movie! Very good for children or adults (the child in some of us anyway!)
I guess this will be very hard on Jill as well as myself (my leaving here for a while). We have become dependent on each other...if not for her I would have not recovered from the shoulder surgery so fast. She also brings a child-like positive attitude and laughter to my life. We do laugh a lot and that is a good thing. But I will not lose touch for however long I am gone.
Hear that Jill!???! You have it in writing!
God has a purpose in everything that happens and I look forward to seeing the purpose in this. I will miss my family, friends, church-family and personal things for a while but I will be back (soon, I hope). It is strange how set in our ways we can be at times.
God be with you today and always in all ways!

Book lovers everywhere

I have discovered a site that is wonderful! It is a paperback swap site, very well set up and works great! You even print out the postal service paper with all the info you need to send your book.....so much fun to browse and ask for. Of course you have to post books too to earn credits to get books. That is also easy...just put in the ISBN number! Here is the site so you can look for yourself.

http://www.paperbackswap.com/index.php

If you love to read, take a look.
I am looking forward to seeing Evan Almighty....it looks hilarious! Maybe one afternoon this week if I can fit it in between all the therapy and doctor visits this week! Jill is worn out from taking care of me and I can't wait until I get the go-ahead from the doctor to get rid of this sling. Being one-handed and one-legged is quite a feat to pull off and remain in the vertical position! I should have taken up yoga! LOL
I hope you all have a blessed Sunday and that you talk with the Lord daily. He is waiting and listening for you!

Quietly enjoying my Saturday

This is fun! I don't have to go to therapy or any doctor until Monday! I hope I can make it to church this Sunday....depends on Jill since I can't drive yet. She has been in her sleep mode lately.
Joelle came over and planted Jill's flowers for her yesterday. She brought Sydney and Jordan with her. We watched Bridge to Tarabithia...an excellent movie!...and I gave her a cake for her birthday that she requested. It was a blueberry pound cake that is delicious. I found it in a Light Cooking magazine and it has cream cheese and lemon yogurt in it...yummmmmmm.
It has been drought season here...we need rain!!! The grass is getting brown, the bushes are sparse instead of full and lush. We have had several afternoon thunderstorms but they seem to pass us by. Guess I will have to take out a loan to pay the water bill!!! LOL
My shoulder is coming along very well...I just chafe at the slowness of it but I have to take it slow due to all the reconstruction the doctor had to do this time. Now if I can just stay on my feet instead of meeting the floor at inopportune times, I just might get it strong before I have the knee surgery coming up. As I have mentioned before, I tend to overdo every thing I take on. I heard from my son in Florida last week...he seems to be doing fine. He has been dating a young lady by the name of Annette, who seems to be very good for him. She accepts him the way he is and can deal with his ADD...wonders never cease! I hope this relationship works out so Wayne can experience the joy of a real relationship based on giving by both parties.
Heather, my youngest, moved to Myrtle beach with her daughter, Jenny, for the summer. If it works out she may stay down there. I pray for her to come to terms with life the way it is and also find God in her life. Jenny was involved in a car accident last fall which broke her back. After two surgeries and two rods placed in her lower spine, she seems to be getting along very well. She just turned 18...so she will have to deal with this all her life.
I guess I better close for now...it is time to do my exercises....then to crochet!
God bless you all!

Missing my heart

My 5 year old grandson has been visiting his other grandparents in Ohio since the first part of May. He won't return until the 16th of July. Since he stays with me a lot I miss him terribly! Part of me is happy for him and his other grandparents but the other part is grieving over his absence. It is such a wonderful thing to be a grandparent! You can give unconditional love and enjoy them the way most of us don't get to enjoy their parents, being involved in the day to day trials of earning a living and trying to guide them to being the best that they can be. Oh, what fun we have playing games together, making up stories to tell each other, snuggling, gathering all those kisses that go straight to our hearts, having special little things that are ours alone. Watching them grow and seeing the world again through their eyes is so special! My grands range in age from 20 to 3. It has been quite a ride but one I would not have missed for the world! God has truly blessed me in so many ways and this one just keeps on growing!
I have four children, Wayne, 41, Woody, 39, Joelle, 38, and Heather, 37.
That story is long and filled with many smiles and heartaches. My biggest want for them all is to become the people God put them on this earth to be. None of them have found their way yet but I'm not giving up hope! I lift them up to God daily, sometimes multiple times. God can and will accomplish that which I never could. He brought me to my knees so I could see that He is Lord and giving Him my whole life and soul and control of my life has been the best thing I have ever done.
My grands are: Shane, Ashley, Cory, Jordan, Sydney, Christian, Kayla, Jenny, Bristtle, Tore and Faith. I will be talking about them at various times so now you know who they are.
Have a wonderful Christ-filled day!

Contemplating.....

After listening to Dr. Charles Stanley this morning, I began roaming my memories of my children growing up and what I should have done better...first and foremost, I wish I had taught my children to pray always and to depend on God for everything. In this short life we have been given we are to accomplish our God-given purposes. Maybe mine was to make all these mistakes so that when I am ministering to others I can speak with personal experience.
One of my favorite things to do is to pray for others. When we are out and I see someone having a bad day, I offer to pray with them or for them, however they are more comfortable. Touching is another thing I love to do...just a touch on the hand and a sincere concern can open the person to sharing their problems and getting a fresh aspect of their worries. Offering to pray for them often brings a real smile to their faces and maybe a warm feeling that someone cares. The Holy Spirit guides me in this and it is Him working through me. Am I special? NO! I only open up myself to Him to work through me. It is only by God's grace that I come in contact with whomever He wants me to speak to. If you have never experienced this I beg you to open yourself to God to take over your life so you can experience his peace, joy and sense of security, things that no human. no matter how good-intentioned, can provide. All I bring to this blog is given to me by His promises in his Word, the Bible. God has a perfect plan that we cannot possibly fathom for each of us and since He is a perfect God, makes no mistakes. Therefore, whatever has occurred in your life, bad and good, can be used for His purpose. He loves us unconditionally! WOW! So when we go to him in prayer and ask for forgiveness if we are truly penitent, He forgives! Isn't that awesome???
I pray that everyone finds their purpose and just sit back and see the wonders God will do in yours and others lives. God bless you everyone!

Wonderful people in my life

I have already mentioned Jill and her unceasing overseeing of my continued recovery from shoulder surgery, but I neglected to include my praise for several other people who mean the world to me...Nicole, my aide/adopted daughter ( I love to "adopt" the awesome girls that God has put in my life) goes way beyond her job description in caring for her patients. She helps me put things in the attic (even in the sweltering summer!), she often brings me treats in the morning, she brings her precious pup (lol) Misha, a pomeranian/daschund mix little boy with her so I get to love on him for a couple of hours. Her personality is awesome...we giggle like two girls and talk non-stop when we get together every morning. Compassion is her middle name! I love her dearly...as I said, God blessed me richly when He brought her into my life. Her daughter, Zarra, is 2 and a precocious little girl...soooo cute and way ahead of her age. So I gained another granddaughter too!
My 12 year old granddaughter, Sydney, has also been great..she has come and stayed with me twice lately. She is on the swim team and greatly enjoys it. Are all 12 yo girls going on 30? Tuesday we made Shepherd's pie for dinner...an easy recipe for it. Her favorite tv channel is the food channel.
If you would like, here is the recipe I use to make Shepherd's pie.

5- lbs white potatoes
2 pounds ground beef (or turkey if you prefer)
2 large cans tomatoe soup
1 large can green beans
2 beef boullion cubes
2 lbs shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 sticks margarine or butter
1/4 cup milk

Peel and slice potatoes in thin pieces, cover with water, add salt to taste, and boil until tender. Keep in hot water until the rest of the ingredients are ready to mix.
Drain can of beans, place beans in saucepan with one cube boullion, simmer for 30 mins to 1 hour, depending on how much you like southern beans( cooked to death).
When beans are almost done, in skillet cook hamburger with one cube boullion until done, drain grease.
Add tomato soup heat until hot.

Drain potatoes. Place in mixing bowl with two sticks of butter, mix on high until smooth. Add about 1/4 cup milk and beat on low until mixed.

Have oven preheated to 400F. Place meat/tomatoe mixture in large baking dish or pan, at least 9x13. Add beans and mix. Place mashed potatoes on top of mixture, spreading to cover all over. Sprinkle the cheddar cheese over the potatoes until well covered.

Place in preheated oven (400F) and bake about 20-30 mins until the cheese melts. serve with veggie salad or fruit salad. Enjoy!

I guess I have rambled on enough for now, so I wish you all a blessed day!

Sunday, Sunday!

I love the Lord's day! This is the day that I concentrate only on Him for a good portion of the day...and give thanks for all the things again that He has done for me in the past week. It gives me time to reflect on His many blessings and the love He has for each one of us.

My shoulder is healing well and due to the diligence of Jill, I am recuperating well also. If I don't do what I am supposed to do (or rather do what I am NOT supposed to do) I get the "mommy" finger. She has given up much of the past two weeks to care for me.

A little about Jill...she is my neighbor in a duplex we live in. We met last fall and have become very close in a short time. Jill has bone cancer, in remission at this time, and is a lovely person. She has a wonderful outlook on life and lives each day to the fullest as far as her health lets her. I love her dearly and hope soon that she will accept Jesus as her Savior. That way she will know that after death (which claims all of us at some point) she will spend eternity with our Lord!

Her opt0mystic attitude and goofy ways make being around her a delight.

Like all of us she lives with pain and sorrow about past deeds or missed opportunities and has not had the "perfect parents" or people to teach her the things she needed to have to make wiser decisions. Some are blessed with Christian parents who guide their children in the ways of God and teach their children the strengths they need to have to make it in this life:



1)faith in God

2)obedience to God

3)self discipline

4)respect for authority

5)always striving to do our best, not outdo someone else

6)avoid gossip

7)be content with doing our best even if it doesn't measure up to someone else

8)take the "me" out of our thoughts and replace it with "others"

9)awareness of other people's problems

10)obey the Golden Rule...do to others as you would like them to do to you

11)ask God to pick our spouse

12)give without wanting to receive, or get recognition

13)love people the way they are and respect the fact that life has gotten them where they are...they may not have had moral support or even familial or financial support in their lives.

14)never try to seek revenge...it will hurt y0u much more than the recipient. Each time you cause hurt to someone you die a little inside.

15)go into marriage with the recognition that it is a job for both of you...both work at it or it will fail

16)choose a job that you love...you will be spending much time there.

17)make God the center of your life and you will always have Someone there to look after you, give you support, love you and want the best for you...how could one be lonely?



I wish I had absorbed all of these ideas as a child and had them to guide my life. I spent so much wasted time seeking my own way and making horrible decisions that not only I but my children and family have had to deal with too. But now I trust in God for each and every need, for the joy in each day, for the strength to face life's problems, and for the thankfulness to appreciate the many gifts He gives every day.

May you find this fulfillment in your lives if you don't already have them.

Teenagers!

Friday has arrived in a hurry this week. Between shoulder exercises, crocheting and reading time goes by in a hurry,
Today I talked with my grandson who in going into the 9th grade. Why is it that when we are young we have no patience when things aren't going our way? That we fight for our way constantly and have resigned ourselves that no matter what, we are not going to enjoy anything unless it is on our terms. In this case he is going to the lake with his mother and her not so well liked (by her older two kids) boyfriend to camp for the weekend. His I-pod isn't working so he has to listen" to their weird music", he has to sit squashed into the small back seat of a truck along with his smaller sister and the boyfriend's dog. I understand the problem, and even sympathized with him for the discomfort. When I pointed out that it would only be for a short time (about 45 mins) and then he could enjoy the cookouts, swimming, fishing, etc., he was already determined he was going to have a lousy time.
As I am writing this I realize that even as adults we often sabotage ourselves by making up our minds in advance we aren't going to like something instead of going into every situation with a good attitude and finding something to enjoy in most situations. Oh, well, I better take my own advice. But I am so thankful I never have to be a teenager again!!!! So emotional and dramatic!
This will be a quiet weekend, which is good, as I tend to overdo everything I do. So I will write again soon and until we meet again, God bless you.

Waaaaaay Behind!!!!

I have been negligent in writing in my blog...not good. A lot of time has passed and a lot of things have happened...some wonderful, some not so great. But that is life isn't it?
Crocheting is one of my passions and I love to make up some patterns for different things...not too complicated..but fun. Right now I am making some purses for my 12 year old granddaughter and her friends. Clothes for some of the babies in my church are another project, shawls for the prayer ministry, well, this could go on all day.
As before stated, reading is another passion. I finished all the books by Joel C Rosenberg, even the non-fiction EPICENTER. They are great! They pertain to the situation in Israel as predicted in Ezekiel 38, 39 and in Revelations. Very interesting reading and nerve wracking situations!
On the home front, I am recuperating from shoulder surgery and doing great! I have a neighbor/daughter who has taken so very good care of me! Her name is Jill and will figure prominently in my meanderings here in this blog.
Last weekend Jill, Sydney (my granddaughter) and I went to see Pirates of the Carribean III...it was long but fun. Of course, looking at Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom wasn't any hardship (pun intended) even if the movie wasn't any good. LOL
While I was recuperating, the wonderful ladies at my church have brought such wonderful meals and desserts that I am sitting here stuffing myself like a piggy getting ready for market. I tease my doctor that performs all the knee surgeries that I have, that I am like an old car...have to order parts, replace bushings, clean out the plugs...shall I go on? About ready for the junk yard! LOL
Ya'll have a wonderful blessed day!