Are You Rich?

Posting on the blogsite this morning has become somewhat of a problem and I probably should just leave it be and forget the whole venture! I already botched up one attempt and now here I am, trying again.... its just my stubborn nature!! Anyway, what I had planned to post (actually, I didn't have a clue) was something about wealth pretaining to what the bible says about riches.... Often we are led to think that being wealthy and having many possessions is a sign of selfishness and greed and in no way is part of God's plan for us...I turned on the tube this morning and was listening to a popular preacher's wife and this was her topic..I hadn't heard her before, but had listened to her husband quite a bit and although she wasn't as gifted a preacher as her husband, she brought out some good points. First and foremost, she said that everything we own already belongs to God...He just allows us to use it and leaves it up to us as to how we use it. Some have more than others and some put what God gives them to better use than others. That is common knowledge.
If we are going to view wealth as to material things, its easy to see who has what and how much and so on. I want to look upon wealth in another sense this morning.............I want to ask "What spiritual wealth do you possess?" To me, having spiritual wealth is of utmost importance...having the knowledge that we are in God's care and that he values us as His means more to me than anything that I can put my hands on or count in my bank account..Scripture tells us not to build up treasures here, but to put our stock in the things of eternity...every material possession we own on this earth will mean nothing to us when we leave our earthly bodies...............but everything we store in our spirits, such as love, kindness, mercy, and all good things God has put into our hearts will remain with us and will be "stored up" for us when we reach our destination...........that is true wealth....There's nothing wrong with having "stuff" and you can be rich in one sense and poor in another..........It is my wish to have spiritual wealth first and trust God to bless me with things I need to sustain me here. How about you?

Rain and Boredom

There's nothing new on the blogsites this morning, its raining out(wouldn't you just know, because its my day off!) So, what do I do? Jose took the dogs out in the backyard...I'll bet Josie is thrilled!
Kramer is tougher than her so he doesn't care about rain and probably wants to walk! I decided I'd just blog this morning even though I don't have the vaguest idea about what! I don't want the day to be boring and I can think of several things here at the house that need attending to. But, somehow staying home all day just doesn't get it for me. There are a few things I can think of that will require me to go out today also....so what I will do is take care of the things here in a hurry -up type fashion so I can escape and do my usual running around (as Jose calls them) things that I normally do on my day off! Sounds like a plan to me!
We had company yesterday. Some friends of ours that used to live in town stopped by. The guy used to work with Jose and is very computer literate, so sometimes when he is in town he comes over to "clean up" our computer. He told me how much junk was in it (as if I really wanted to know!) and ran the cleaner. Actually the thing is running much faster and even though I gave the poor guy a hard time, he did a good job...so Thanks, Pedro! His wife and I are good friends, and I really enjoyed getting to visit with her. They have a little boy who is about three and Kramer wasn't very nice to him and he got so scared when the dogs started barking at him....so we had to put both dogs outside! This was shocking to me, because Kramer is usually very gentle. Since he was almost two years old before we took him in, I believe he may have had a bad experience with kids in his past...so now we have to be really careful when we have small children here!
It's approaching eight a.m., so I really should be getting on about the day. The dogs are back in and I'll bet they are hungry...........and if I'm going to escape boredom today I'd better get to movin'! My little calendar for today says: "Nothing is impossible---except dribbling a football."
There you are folks, something to ponder on today! (you couldn't dribble a bowling ball either)
Dodge the raindrops and try not to let boredom creep into your day!

What do ya do with a stubborn Dackel?

FYI, dackel is the German word for dachshund. The one I will be refering to is, of course, my Josie! She is our baby, but has a stubborn steak in her that surfaced this morning. Jose has been faithfully walking Kramer almost every morning, so I thought I would take Josie for a stroll this morning. I didn't get around in time to leave with Jose and Kramer, so I got her all ready and started out with Miss Stubborn. She barely made it a half a block before she stopped dead in her tracks and refused to budge....then preceeded to turn around to head back to the house....well, I thought I could trick her into thinking we were going in the direction of home and just not make the turn and keep going on down the street! That girl knows where she lives and she turned and headed towards home without hesitation! Oh well, I decided I wasn't carrying an overweight dackel down the street, so here I am....defeated, and she's zonked out on the couch (her favorite place to be). I did mix up a mixture of birdseed, peanutbutter and apple for the birds and filled the birdfeeder this morning so I guess I did accomplish something!
Jose's back with Kramer and Josie was happy to see them and even got down off the couch to greet them, but it didn't take her long to hop back up on the couch and resume her nap!
Sorry to have to bore you all with the life and trials of a stubborn dackel, but that's the best I can do this morning folks! Now, don't forget, it's Sunday and you know that's it's the Lord's Day and in all due respect we should acknowledge that by attending chuch and giving Him the praise he so rightly deserves! Give thanks to Him and rejoice in this day! Make it a good day!
reet them, but promptly snuggled down next to Jose on the couch and continued her slumber!

Posting in the P.M.

It seems rather strange to be sitting at the computer at this hour, since I usually do this in the morning! We were sitting out in the backyard, enjoying the cool evening, with the aide of some mosquito repellent. Those things are viscious and I'm paranoid with all the talk of West Nile in Illinois! I called my brother in Council Bluffs on the cellphone and caught up on what's been going on with him. He and his wife were eating icecream.......he, like me, is an icecream fiend. I remember when I was a kid and my Dad would stop at the Dairy Queen and buy us icecream...I always insisted on getting the biggest cone.....at that time a large cone was really big and only cost 25 cents. Of course, my eyes were bigger than my belly, and Dad would usually wind up having to finish it for me! Summers were neat back then. We didn't have airconditioning and would sit outside at night and burn old tires in the driveway to keep the mosquitoes away. We lived in a rather run down house in the country and didn't miss all the modern conveniences we take for granted today. Today our family would be labled "underprivileged" and perhaps we were, but I wouldn't change those early years of my life for anything. Because I grew up without a lot of the finer things in life, I've learned to appreciate everything that I have today.
I am thankful for the roof over my head and food on the table and having employment to keep the lights on and the water running! When I think back on my upbringing, I realize how much more simple life was back then. I was probably about ten before we had television and even older before we got a phone..........would you believe our electricity bill was rarely over 20.00 and the phone was about 5.00 or 6.00 a month . Gas was really cheap...sometimes there would be "gas wars" and it would be 12 or 13 cents a gallon! Candy bars were 5 cents and pop was 10 cents a bottle............I didn't get pop very often...as I recall my brother loved 7-up and I didn't care for it at all..cause whenever I did get to drink a bottle, the carbonation would make me feel like I was going to explode! My favorite things to consume were candy and icecream! We would shop at a small town grocery store and the proprietor would give me bags of candy almost everytime we shopped there. My mom made the oldfashioned fudge around Chrismas time that was nothing but sugar and cocoa...I loved it!
Don't know what brought on all the reminissin'.......I guess it's good to look back on your past once in a while. It lets you know how far you've come and what you've managed to make it through! Somtimes, I miss those days. They may not have been the best of days......but they brought me to where I am today and I like where I am and who I am! And, Lord willing, I'll choose to stick around as long as I'm allowed to! God bless!

Melancholy Morning

You know, I had to look up the definition of "melancholy" in Webster's....its a word I've heard a lot and even used but never really knew the exact meaning of. Well, it turns out that it means kind of what I thought it meant. Webster states that it means: causing or tending to cause sadness or depression of mind or spirit, words synonomous would be dejected or sad. Well, although I'm not totally down in the dumps this morning, (my way of saying "melancholy") I did experience a wave of sadness when I thought of my cousin who has been having problems with depression. I finally received an e-mail from him and he seems to be doing somewhat better, but I could tell he is still struggling to rid himself of the depression that has wrecked havoc on his life in the past few monthes. I could only encourage him to seek shelter in God's care and trust that sometimes, when we see only failure in our efforts, that He never fails and can change our lives around if we will just seek His council! Even though sadness overwhelms me sometimes when I think of the messes we can let our lives become, I refuse to dwell on the negative, because negative thoughts only breed more negative thoughts. I try my best to channel those thoughts in a different direction and see things in a more positive light. That light comes from a source we can all tap into: It comes from the Supplier of all hope, grace, love and redemption...........Jesus Christ. Even though tears may abound this morning when I think of someone who is hurting, I know that God is watching over him and that he's going to be okay!

Rearrangin"

It's such a nice day today and this morning I decided to do some rearranging of the flowers that are in planters and tidied up the backyard a bit....sometimes its good to move things around a bit and see them in a different spot! My neighbor made me the neatest bird feeder from a log. He drilled holes for seeds mixed with peanut butter and put little perches below the holes for the birds to perch on while they dine. I think its the neatest thing and this morning I filled the holes with the mixture and the birds are feasting! The best part is that I can look out the window of this very room and see the birds............I am now officially a birdwatcher! I'm a dogwatcher too, because my two little darlins' are perched out there on Jose's lounge chair having their morning siesta in the sun. The grass is still wet, so Miss Josie will be there for a while, cause she hates water! Kramer, is just keeping her company cause he is such a gentleman! The only thing that will bring them down from there would be a squirrel or a stranger passing by.
When I think about rearranging things, it reminds me that sometimes we need to rearrange the priorities in our lives, not just the objects that surround us. If we had the urge to rearrange our thoughts and place things in the order of their importance as often as we choose to rearrange our funiture or yard ornaments we may surprise ourselves at how much our lives can become disorderly when we put the wrong things as top priority and the right things get shuffled to the bottom of the pile! I won't go any further into detail....if we stop and think we're all smart enough to know what should be on the top of the list and it just may have something to do with who and what we put our faith and trust in....hint, hint..........need I say more! God bless each and every one of you today and enjoy the beauty of nature, as it is one of many of God's gifts.

Seek, Find, Follow

It will be my attempt this morning to relay the importance of these three rather simple words in our quest to be true to our faith in Christ. I'm currently reading a book entitled; Following Christ. It was written by Joseph M. Stowell about ten years ago, but everything in the book, so far, holds true to today's society....the author stresses the importance of being a follower of Christ...in today's world so much importance is put upon leadership and many are led to believe that being a follower would indicate weakness. Of course, there are many who are following the wrong cause and it is my intent here to refer only to following Christ.
The first step being to seek Christ. It is common knowledge that anything that is to be found must first be sought! You must first have the desire to seek Him. This would involve an interest in the things that would bring you closer to the Lord, such as reading your Bible, going to church, possibly studying the Word with others who are also seeking the knowledge obtained from His Word. I have found that I really ran after the Lord as my interest grew to learn about Him....make that desire first and foremost in your life, because it is the most important desire you will ever have!
You may ask: Where do I find Christ? Well, folks, its like this; If you are truly seeking Him, you won't have to worry about finding Him..........He'll find you! You must start with a sincere heart that wants to know Him in a personal way. He must be your very best friend and confidante. Tell Him about what's bothering you and give him all your burdens, and most importantly; trust Him! He's smarter than Dr. Phil., Oprah and any of the other popular advise givers all put together! He picked the most knowledgable people to write His book and we can trust that he inspired every word they put in it!
Now, here comes probably the hardest part.......following Christ. Pray for yourself and others on this one, folks, because there are more stubbling blocks that will stand in your path here than anywhere else. It doesn't have to be that way though! As I was reading that book last nite, I highlited a part I would like to share with you all. It is a quote from a missionary to India named E. Stanley Jones. He said, " I can't handle this self of mine. Take me as I am, and make me as I ought to be. I give myself and my sins and my problems to Thee; but
myself first and foremost. I've been ' in myself' ; now I am "in Thee". We lose ourselves, and to our astonishment, find ourselves. We live when we live "in Him." There's your answer, and very well put, I might add! He also stated in a previous chapter that the unsurrendered self is a disease. It's kind of harsh to view ourselves that way but it is the reality of what we are, apart from Christ. We are disease ridden and suffering and lost and wondering around without purpose and fulfillment in our lives.... Does that sound like where you want to be?...........Something to think about today, folks. Christ has been refered to as The Hound of Heaven......and literally He is liken to a bloodhound, on the trail of lost souls........persistent and relentless .
I will conclude with another quote from Following Christ: No one yet who has authentically followed Him without compromise has become disillusioned or found His way to be disappointing. The keyword here is "compromise". If we are to follow Christ, we cannot compromise His will to our wills and the ways of the world..we must hold steadfast and true to His will and His alone! Thanks for taking time out to visit my site and have a great day!

Had Enough Rain?

Here it is saturday morning and I'm wondering if it's gonna rain more. The neighbor said we've had a little over one half inch.... I'd say that's enough for a while. I would prefer some sun today as my plans didn't include dodging raindrops all day! But, regardless of the weather , I'll make the best of it and take on the day with a smile! My granddaugher (yesterday's birthday girl) is sleeping on the couch and I know she has high expectations of spending her birthday cash, so if it does rain we can always SHOP!!
I was up late last nite. I took Amber and a friend of hers skating and had to pick them up at 11 and it was so foggy I could barely see where I was going! When I got back home, I stayed up and cruised through a few blogsites on the computer and then decided to go to bed. Even if I stay up late, I usually get up around the same time every morning and rarely sleep past seven.
Sleeping beauty awaketh, and wants to watch tv...........just for a while and then its time to get a shower and get ready for the day! She is much too fond of tv and has an aversion to soap and water! Does that sound like any 1o year olds you know? Sometimes she wins the battle, but Grandma wins the war!!! and she will get a shower this morning!!
The dogs are outside and even Jose is up and perking this morning and the coffee is flowing free, so it's time to get on with the morning and leave this posting for another day.. God bless you all today, rain or shine..........make the best of the day and enjoy the blessings our dear Lord has bestowed upon us!

Happy Birthday, AMP

I was thinking of my youngest granddaughter this morning and realized that her initials spell amp! She certainly is an energy charged girl, so that is most appropriate! Today is her 10th birthday....now if her first name had stared with an I, that would fit her too! Just kiddin' sweetie.
This past year she has growed so much....she's going to be a tall girl.........and a charmer with the big blue eyes and the blond hair. Okay, that's enough flattering. Happy Birthday, Ashley! We're gonna do something fun with you this weekend. Grandma isn't quite sure what it is yet, but you can bet we won't forget you on your special day!
Folks, I have a confession to make....if you recall a post about weeds several week ago, you'll know what I'm referring to. Well, I didn't quite learn my lesson....yesterday morning I had the urge to do some weeding in the front flower garden....and guess what? Later on in the house, Jose says to me "what happened to my tomato plant out there?" So I say, "What tomato plant, I didn't see any tomato plant out there! I don't know what you're talkin' about!" And wouldn't you know that the tomato plant he was referring to was a tomatia (mexican tomato) plant that was flourishing in that very flower bed that I weeded! Well, I just busted out laughing and vowed never to pull another "weed" the rest of the summer! Fortunately my husband is good natured and wasn't that upset............does anyone out there have a book for garden dummies!
Gotta go............time to get ready for work! Have a good day and hope for a dry weekend!!

A day without postin' is----------------------

Hadn't really planned on posting anything today, but it gets to where you think you should whether you really want to or not. It's been a rather uneventful morning. Jose didn't feel up to walking Kramer this morning, but the ol' boy had his heart set on going, so I took him out for his morning stroll. I took a different route than Jose does, along the railroad tracks. Kramer had to stop and sniff out rabbits every five seconds, it seemed, so I finally just shortened the leash and made him keep moving! There were several others out walking this morning, a mother and her son, an older Chinese gentleman who we have met several times on that route and another guy who has a huge lab named Jake who fortunately is very friendly or I would be intimitated by him!
Just me, not Kramer, of course....he sees any dog as his best friend or wants to pick a fight, depending on the size of the other dog...........I think he wants to be Jake's friend!
After I got home and had my coffee, I checked to see if the peaches Jose had peeled yesterday for me to do something with were still there! Sure enough, they were in the bowl, waiting for me to make something good. Since the baking fairy hadn't come during the nite and taken care of that for me, I got busy and stirred up a dessert that is now sitting on the kitchen table looking rather tasty! That's going to be good with a big scoop of vanilla icecream!
I know this is short, but times' awastin' folks and I have to get with the program and get ready to head for work........I hope you all have a pleasant day(the weather is still in our favor) and remember this little quote from Barb's calendar: Horse sense is what keeps horses from betting on what people will do...........ya gotta kinda think about that one a while! Adious.

The Traveler Returns!

About 5:30 pm on sunday, my brother rolled into town from the Alaska vacation....he was none the worst for wear, but the bike could stand a trip to the shop for a few repairs. He said the last hundred miles were a bit slower than what his usual speed is! I won't say what that is cause I wouldn't want to get him in trouble! I really haven't had much of a chance to discuss Alaska with him as we haven't had much time to spend together as yesterday was a busy day for him and as you know from my last post, I was preoccupied with shopping for bargains. However, we're going to get together soon and go out to eat (on him), as he promised to take us out in return of Jose taking care of his yard and houseplants while he was gone. He did tell a story about Jacksonhole, Wyoming that was rather interesting.........had something to do with that being a place where the most beautiful women in the country are!!! Have any of you ever heard that? I haven't...but Bob said it was so!
I must say, I admire my brother for his adventursome spirit............how many guys in the _0's would get on a motorcycle and travel that far by themselves? (note, I didn't give away his age cause he may see this and be upset) I doubt it, but I'm just playing it safe!
Some day I will have to devote an entire post to Bob because he really is an amazing person and a firm believer in God.....he has been an inspiration to me and has encouraged my faith more than he knows and I'm truly thankful to him for that. He has never hesitated to share his belief in God with others and to me that is a very important quality of a christian!
That's what's on my mind today, folks. Be thankful for each and every member of your family, whether they are close or not so close, you have a bond with them. I have a special place in my heart for each and every member of my family, the ones remaining and the ones who are no longer with me.
Have a wonderful day, enjoy this beautiful weather we're having, and be kind to your kinfolk!!!

Easy, Breezy Day

It's a bit overcast today, but we can't complain, as it is nice and cool out and so far its been a good day for me. My granddaughter spent the nite last nite but she was a bit under the weather this morning and didn't want to go thrift shopping with grandma and her friend! So, I met my friend at the downtown thrift shop that I frequent on a regular basis . Amber hates the store, so she chose to sit in the car. I hadn't planned on staying very long, but it was red bag day and every thing you could stuff into a big red bag was only two bucks.... I hesitated to buy one as the store looked pretty bare, but I figured, "what the heck" might as well check out what's left..........Well, needless to say, there wasn't much left! But I managed to fill the bag with various items of clothing and some books that I will get around to reading sometime within this lifetime! My friend found one thing and I told her to just stuff it in my bag. Time to exit! Poor Amber was out in the car, not so patiently waiting. So, my friend opted to let me drive and we took Amber home and went on our merry way! Next stop, Salvation Army....nothing against Sal's folks, but the place just doesn't get it for me, but my pal insisted and I consented to go. I did manage to find a few goodies so I guess it wasn't time totally wasted!
Now, its getting close to time to eat...I never miss a meal, you know, so It's a question of where we're putting on the feed bag today. I wanted to go one place and she wanted to go where she could smoke.............I tried to convince her that she could do without smoking today, but that was a failure! so, we wound up going to a nice place downtown that we both agreed on. Then we had to pick a spot to sit...........first booth, music was blaring, neither one of us could hack that so we moved to another. I think we moved three different times before we found one that was satisfactory! Well, I won't bore you with any more mindless details........lunch was just okay and then we decided we'd had enough fun for one day and I dropped her off at her car and proceeded to go home to show off all my "treasures" to Jose. Believe me , folks, he wasn't nearly as thrilled with them as I was!
Well, that about raps it up covering my day so far. I'm havin' a good time and that's what day's off are for......I actually work in some chores around the house as I go, but mainly, I feel as though I should get to have some fun on my days off from work and today was especially fun because I didn't spend too much money and I got to spend some time with a friend that I don't get to see too often...........hope you can all do the same on your nonworking day........catch ya next post!

It's Sunday Again!

I can't believe how fast the weeks are going.........here it is sunday again and it seems like last sunday was yesterday!!! Anyway, I'm glad it's sunday, my day off from work and that last week is behind me! It's a gorgeous day and I'm looking forward to enjoying it. The dogs are in the backyard and my little one (Josie) is crying to get in the house! I shouldn't even be on this computer, I should be getting ready for church! I will attempt to make this a short post!
I spoke with brother Bob on the cell last nite and he is going to leave Council Bluffs today because there is rain forcasted monday. also, my sister-in - law keeps her air at about 60 degrees and is freezing him out and his sinuses are going crazy....that could have something to do with his early departure! I just hope he has a safe trip and he should be home later this afternoon.
Jose is talking to family in Mexico...he received word yesterday that his sister and brother-in-law are not doing well and is concerned about them. Their daughter (Jose's neice) lives in Chicago and cannot be with her parents and is very worried about them. Jose is very close to his family, the miles separate them but his heart is right there in Mexico with all his brothers and sisters, neices and nephews of which there are many!
Well, folks, the old clock keeps ticking and tells me its time to get my rear in gear and get off this contraption------------more important things are on the agenda this morning..........Adious........have a good day and please visit your church today!

Exsaspiration at it's Finest

Folks, I'm fumin' this morning thanks to my computer illiteracy! I just lost a post that I really liked because I went to preview it and then did something to lose the whole post!!!! I don't think I can recover it as I have tried.... well, they say everything happens for a reason, but all I can say is ,Why???????????? Any way, I'll do the best I can to bring back what I so diligently tried to post this morning!
It was titled "Just Browsin" and I was saying how I just got on the computer in the morning and browsed all the sites to see what's on everyone's mind. Sometimes there's nothing much there and I can relate to that because I'm not alway inspired to post every single day. But the real purpose of that post was to tell everyone that we need to share our thoughts in person with someone and that our computers become somewhat of a comfort zone and that it would be great if we could be as thought provoking and inspiring in person as we are on our blogs. We need to be able to voice our faith and our belief in God to actual people in our lives....I'm guilty and I think we all are of not sharing our faith with others outside of our "comfort zone." Don't let your computer become your comfort zone. We are here for a purpose and although the computer is a wonderful medium to express ourselves, we need to go outside of it and actually speak to someone! I was really upset when I lost that post, but I felt that what I had to say was important enough to try again. Our faith is that important and we should always keep in mind that God never gives up on us and that we are constantly in His sight and that He inspired a whole Book just for us to get to know Him!!! We just need to do our part and let everyone know about Him and that Book! I have received a lot of information from all the blogsites and a lot of good has come from reading what you all have to say, and I'm glad that I can visit everyday...but I still want to express the importance of speaking to someone in person and sharing the wonderful knowledge of the One who died so that we can live!!! Thanks for reading and have a great day!!

Ho Hum!

Have you ever been tired of being tired? This has been an exhausting week! And it's not even over yet! I have three more work days to go before a day off. I don't think that it has been just the job that has got me down this week... I've had bad news three different times in the last week. An old friend of mine passed away, who was younger than me, I just happened upon her obituary in the paper the other day. My cousin in California has been having serious emotional problems and today I found out that a good friend of mine from several years ago , who is also younger than me is in a nursing home and is very sick. I don't want anymore bad news!
I did finally hear from my brother....he was getting ready to cross Colorado on his motorcycle when I spoke with him last night. He is eventually going to visit our brother in Council Bluffs, Iowa before returning home sometime around the middle of this month.
Haven't spoke of the dogs in a while. The neighbor's dog didn't like a chew bone he got for her, so he gave it to Jose to give to Josie and Kramer. To avoid a big hassle, Jose cut it in half and gave each dog a piece of the bone.... and it was a pretty good size piece. Josie just wanted to sit next to her's and guard it...Kramer, on the other hand, made short work of his and ate the whole thing! When it came time to come in, Josie refused to move away from her portion, so I just left her alone(I wouldn't put it past her to bite) and came in the house. Well, Jose wanted me to take her bone away cause he thought if she ate the whole thing, she'd get sick. I thought , if you're so worried about it, you take it away from her! But I went back outside to get her and her bone. She had either ate it or hid it cause it was gone when I got outside!
As I am typing this my phone rang, it was my brother. He is in Council Bluffs already! He covered over 400 miles today. Well, I'm glad he's there and okay and he only has about 500 more miles to go and plans on leaving there Monday to return home.
That's it for me tonite.........catch you all later!

Wordless

I haven't posted for a few days, quite frankly, because I just haven't had anything to say! Unusual for me, but true! I'm kinda bummed that I'm working both 8 hour shifts this weekend, I miss my weekend day off. I get one next week tho and my Saturday is an 8 to 3 shift which I prefer for the weekend.
Amber called me last nite about 11pm from her hosts' house in Champaign.. I thought when the phone rang it was my brother, since I haven't heard from him since right before he left Alaska and I'm just a little concerned about him as he hasn't returned my message I left on his cell. Anyway. back to Amber. She was facinated by the house where she was staying (a doctor and family live there), said it was huge and that their kitchen was bigger than her apartment and their living room bigger than my whole house! I'm thinkin' , those doctors make big bucks, so it's not surprising they live in BIG houses! I was glad to hear from her, but felt as though she wanted to tell me something and didn't. She comes back tonite so she'll be telling me all about her OAFC expierence, as she is always excited when she gets home and can't wait to tell about it! I'm just glad that she gets to go. The family that coordinates the trips are so nice and when this trip almost had to be canceled they volunteered to pick up the slack financially just so the kids could go because they were counting on going.
Recently, I have been e-mailing a cousin of mine that I have never met who lives in California. Her mother is my mother's half-sister and my only living aunt. Aunt Betty lives in Oceanside, California and is well into her seventies. I met her ten years ago when Jose and I and Tony took the train to California to see Jose's sister and her family. Anyway, out of the cousins that I have, I have only met two and all the girl cousins(Betty has three daughters) and I have one other girl cousin, are still strangers to me! So I'm excited to be able to corresponde with Lydia.... She is about my age. She sent me pictures of her sister and her husband in Israel and pictures of her niece and nephew. Alyce, her sister and her husband, took trip to Israel back in March, before things got bad over there. It's neat to get to see family you know you have but have never met!
Well, folks, for being "Wordless", I guess I did okay..............I know I sort of rambled, but that's the best I can do this morning! Have a great day------------------don't forget to go to church and if you can't make it find a good preacher on tv....I like Carl Stanley and T.D. Jakes on TBN is quite entertaining!!! He is truly ON FIRE!!!

Did I Forget Something?

Sometimes, I just turn off my cellphone and toss it in a drawer, but this morning I thought I'd turn it on to see if there were any messages on it. Immediately it did the buzzing thing(must have had it on manner mode) so, mostly out of curiousity I checked the message. A stange voice came on to tell me that "we have your envelope here but there's nothing in it! Would you please stop by or give us a call." Duh!! Well, I dropped off my "payment" envelope the other day minus the check.
Hmmmm-what's up with that? I usually check things out like that but I guess I had more confidence in myself than usual that day! Fortunately, I turned on the phone and found out my little mistake (or, big, depending on how you look at it!) before they shut me off completely!
Any of you ever done anything like that? Gee, I hope I'm not the only one!!
Kinda reminds me of how sometimes we think we are all caught up with what we owe our Creator and that we never forget to give Him what is due Him. Then, all of a sudden we're reminded--------Have you given Him what you owe Him today? Oops! Did we forget to praise Him today? Did we forget to tell Him how thankful we are for what He has given us and that we are forever indebted to Him for all He has brought us through? Jesus won't send a bill or he won't leave us a message on our phones, but He is ever present in our lives, even when we forget to acknowledge Him. It was silly of me to drop off my cellphone bill without a check in the envelope, but it's worse to forget to give our Lord what we owe Him. I can take a check to the cellphone company today and everything will be okay, but if I don't give my Lord what I owe Him.............things won't be okay.........I'd much rather be in good standing with Him than U.S. Cellular!

The Right Addiction

I woke up really early this morning, which isn't unusual for me...Kramer has trained me well!!!
Anyway, for some reason the word "Addiction" was the first thing to pop into my mind. I thought this rather strange, as I couldn't think of a reason to dwell on this subject so early in the morning!
But, naturally when you are trying to chase a thought out of your head, it seems to be even more determined to dominate your mind! So be it. The more I thought of addiction, the more I realized that there was message these thoughts were filtering into my head. We are faced every day with some type of addiction in our lives, be it a good one or a bad one. Addiction can be viewed as a serious problem, according to what the person is addicted to. Alchohol, drugs, pornography and overeating are a few addictions that are bad and most suffering from these need help to recover.
I want to address an addiction today that is a good addiction and one that we can be proud to have and one that requires a daily regimen to develope to full potential!!! Are you ready, folks?
I think we all need to be addicted to Jesus! We need to be craving His approval and longing to know Him in a personal way and have the desire to tell others of His love and constant care for us. To keep this addiction alive and thriving there are things we need to do every day. One would be to read His Word and to encourage others to do the same. Addictions are catching, you know, so we need to be sure and expose everyone we know to our addiction in hope that they will become addicted and pass it on to their friends! Next, we must evaluate the status of our addiction on a weekly basis by attending church and praying that our addiction will only become worse and that we crave to attend every week instead of just once in a while when we feel like we need a little dose of faith. Last, once the addiction to Jesus is rooted well into our systems, we need to cultivate the growth by daily praying for ourselves and others to seek His Love, His Kindness and His Saving Grace in order for an epidemic to break out and then we can only hope that a cure is never found and that we will forever be addicted to The True Love of our lives!
That's it for today, folks..........thanks for your time and have a good day!