A Nice Sunday

It was a good day in church today. We had both a Gideon speaker and a guest preacher. The Gideon guy was pretty good and also had a short video. The catch on the video was to imagine singing "Jesus Loves Me" without using His name or the Bible's name. Interesting! Then Richard Ryan Jr. preached, son of church member and fellow LifeWay worker Richard Sr. and son-in-law of our dear passed Bro. Glenn. Richard's message was good, as always. It was so appropriate to hear him today, this being Memorial Day weekend. Richard is an active Navy chaplain and Irag veteran.

We did some great music today. We did a patriotic piece that our Keith Christopher arranged. Senator Orrin Hatch was one of the lyricists. The name of it was "Blades of Grass and Pure White Stone." It has an accompanying video and was very nice. We also did the "Praise the Lord" piece from our presentation last month. I do enjoy that song, especially the last 16 measures or so. And when several folks rose to their feet at that point, it just blessed me so! I could have really cried a bit!

Lunch today was one of our favs: Demos. Just can't beat it! We had a good time and had good food too!

Natalie and I went shopping again, but only because I started to have second thoughts about the sweater set I bought yesterday. So we ran over to Cato after finishing lunch. We both tried on several things. She had more luck at finding some decent stuff, but didn't buy anything. I found a couple of pretty blouses, but didn't care for them after all. I did find another royal blue sweater that both looked better and felt better on. The only glitch was that it needed a camisole, and I found a black one that will work fine. This royal blue is almost electric, but still very pretty. It will be nice to have something new. I enjoy wearing colors that make me feel good!

Tonight I wrestled with the idiotic chair that I had to cane. I was happy to help Ms. Frances from the senior apartment complex, but I'll never do another chair like that again. I hate doing pressed cane seats, much less a rounded back, in an irregular shape, on a chair with wheels.

Also, I spent some time studying the VBS stuff. Either I am missing some stuff and/or things are more complicated than they need to be. Suddenly I'm not just a helper, but leading the thing. Not what I volunteered for. I hope it will come together soon!

It is midnight already! I do like staying up late when I don't have to get up early in the morning! And I didn't take a nap today, either, so I'm ready.

We're running over to Robin's tomorrow to help them move a few things...not that I'm that much help to anyone!

Today I found a blog for a missionary family in Mexico. Not sure who their sponsoring agency is. But they have 11 children. The newest is only about 6 weeks old, and the dad just had emergency surgery for possible cancer. It is hard enough to imagine living on the mission field, but with 11 children? and with a life-threatening emergency? They can surely use our prayers.

I am thankful for my great church! I love feeling the Spirit move, amidst the large variety of music styles and worship preferences! We are so blessed there!

Till later!

A Beautiful Saturday

What a nice day! Natalie and began the day with Starbucks and a visit to Jason and Shelley's giant yard sale. I found a great footstool: cherry cabriole legs with a blue toile slipcover over an older upholstered cushion. It totally matches my bedroom and will go with the chair I don't have yet.

Then Nat and I went clothes shopping. Though I wasn't terribly thrilled with the choices, I did find a sweater set in royal. I do enjoy jewel tones! The cardigan is short-sleeved with some laciness, over a spaghetti-strapped camisole. Definitely a little different for me, but I think it will work.

The rest of the day was about a trip to Walmart and working on the teaching plans for middle school camp. Still have a little more work to do on that. And I didn't get to touch the chair caning job. Tomorrow!

In this blog I will reflect on some of my earliest memories. While I can't remember the first house my family lived in, I do remember living near a large church that had kindergarten or day care. I went to VBS one year and saw little pallets in the room, for when the children taught in that room got to take a nap. I remember thinking how cool that was! I wanted to take a nap at church!

That house was on a dead-end street, that backed up to Shelby Park. Just before I turned four, we moved to the house of most of my early memories. Rita was born soon after. The front and side yard were bordered by hedges of shrubbery, with little branches that were easily stripped of their leaves to become switches for paddling my legs! I also remember playing on the swing set in the backyard, picking strawberries from the small patch, finding an old 45 record near the garbage can, and the time when bagworms were so bad on the trees the worms were all over the house. This house was heated by a ooal furnace, and had a little square door on the side of the house where the coal truck would deliver loads of coal. That experience was always noisy and a little scary. Rita and I played in the basement a lot. She rode her tricycle all around, and we'd play Lord's Supper with our metal toy dishes, crumbled saltines, and Welch's. This house is where we lived when I had measles and mumps, where we hatched duck eggs, and where I got my first bike, first Barbie, and first watch. The tiny house became even tinier on school nights when I'd have to go to bed early, but the rest of the family stayed up to watch TV and eat popcorn! So sad! Oh well, I survived!! :)

Enough memories for now. I pray for Zach who is seeing God do some things in his life. He makes me proud!

Till next time!

It's a holiday weekend! Woo Hoo!

I found this photo this week on Facebook. Mike McClanahan posted it among others he took on a trip to Ireland. I just love this scene! Ireland is a place I'd like to visit!

Yes, this is one of my favorite times of the year: the afternoon at the beginning of a long holiday weekend!

Natalie had some good news yesterday and today. She had a callback from a job lead, and waits to hear about an interview. Then today she received a call about a job at a doctor's office where she had dropped a resume two months ago. They didn't have an opening then, but do now! So she has an interview on Wednesday!

Our friends Jason and Shelly are having a giant garage sale tomorrow to raise money to adopt two children from Ethiopia. I found a couple of things to give them that I was going to put on Craigslist. Zach heard from the Lord and gave them a couple of his prized possessions with significant value. Jason and Shelly were overwhelmed. He said that God told him to do it. I'm so proud of him and how God is using him.

The weekend will probably be very busy. I still have a chair to finish caning, after much trouble ripping out the old. Then I've got some writing and studying to do for church projects.

Work will be really hectic next week. I'll be out some the next week with VBS at church, then there's four days the next week in Indianapolis at the SBC meeting. That will be my second time at the SBC, though this time to work for LifeWay and not as a seminary student being a page for the meeting. I'm looking forward to it. David is going to drive up with me, then go on to NKY to visit with family those four days.

It is a very sad time for the Steven Curtis Chapman family. They lost their 5-year-old daughter in a tragic accident when her brother backed down the driveway and hit her. We must remember them in prayer. Also, a friend at church lost his father yesterday to cancer.

I am thankful for small surprises, and how God drops one or two in your lap every now and then. I hope to elaborate more later.

Blessings to all! Later!

It was a great Mother's Day!

Yes, again I am behind writing! Sorry!

Last weekend was a very nice Mother's Day. On Saturday we drove the 2 hours to Dover to spend part of the day with Mom. Natalie went with us, but Zach had something he was doing that night.

For lunch we four went to our favorite Dover restaurant, Cindy's. This renown fried fish place is known for their fresh fish, primarily. But they have a remarkable hamburger, as well as a chef salad. Best anywhere! Natalie and I usually get burgers, but this time Mom and I both got salads. We ordered half salads, and it was still larger than we could eat!

Then we went back to Mom's house and David did a few chores for her, such as hanging some pictures. Even though that isn't his favorite thing to do, he did it cheerfully! Mom made a fresh strawberry pie and we all enjoyed that. Unfortunately, we all got a little sleepy and took naps! But that's part of being "home!"

Sunday morning was a good normal day at church, then the fam took me to Demos's, one of my favorites! We had a great time! Then we came home for the homemade cheesecake David made! It was the best, the real thing! He is so good! I received several nice gifts and cards: a large pot of purple flowers for the front porch and a Lane Bryant gift card from David; a Bath Junkie gift card from Zach; and a personalized thermal coffee mug and a Godiva white chocolate bar from Natalie! I am blessed!

The week was fairly uneventful. Nothing too outstanding to report.

It is now Friday and I'm am thrilled. I don't have much planned for the weekend, except to catch up. I've got the chair to cane (the supplies finally arrived), Kindergarten VBS to prepare for, some writing to do for Women's Ministry, and teaching plans to write for the middle school summer camp. I've taken on too much, I think!

I am thankful for a peaceful week and my family's health.

I am praying for the Pollock family in Florida. They lost their dad and 13-year-old son/brother this week when dad's small plane crashed in NC. He was the pastor of a large Baptist church in Brandon, and leaves his wife and five other children.

Till next time!

Been Too Long!

Yes, I've been a slacker at writing. It hasn't been that I've not had anything to say; I've just had too much to say to write.

Even though work has been hectic as normal, the week has gone fairly fast. I've had several meetings all week, plus plenty to do in between. That's probably why.

I had a good meeting at church Monday night. I'm working with a few others to create some Bible studies for middle school camp this summer. It should go well.

I suppose stress is manifesting itself in my health a little more these days. I couldn't fall asleep Sunday night until nearly 1 a.m. Then it happened again last night. So I'm dragging tonight. Headed to bed as soon as Lost is over. I try to watch the caffeine, so it must be stress.

We're headed to Mom's on Saturday. It will be great to spend the day with her and hang out the day before Mother's Day!

I'm thankful tonight for family! And I'm praying for those families who've lost someone and are learning how to live without their loved one.

Till next time!