Do You Listen?

A sunny, but cold day here...I'm thankful just to see the sun! I should be doing anything but this...but since I already started...I must finish....right? It's so good not to Have to do anything....and even my poor dogs know that they are of little priority this morning as it is almost nine and they have not ate yet! The looks I am getting from them!!! MY MY! The neighbor's dog........who is of the dachshund persuasion also is out and barking his head off....these two are so spoiled....Oscar is a tough one and stays out in the weather a lot longer than our mutts.....they need to toughen up and be more like their buddy next door...except for the barking part....he gets carried away in that department! It is awfully quiet here right now and if it weren't for the tv ...complete silence would prevail~ One click of a button fixed that! Sometimes its nice to have quiet...gives your mind a rest and your ears! Sometimes we need to just be silent and let our innermost thoughts dominate for a while! It is hard to think when there are so many distractions....I think many of us purposely allow things outside of our heads to keep us from thinking...I call it avoidance! We avoid that little voice in our heads that tries to direct us in the right direction... and we clutter our lives with noise of all kinds...whether it be...tv, music, sports, any number of things that will rob us of our own thoughts and reflections. There is nothing wrong with any of these things....they are all good in moderation...but when they are allowed to dominate our lives and clutter our thoughts continuously....there is a problem.
The time you spend alone with your own thoughts can be rewarding and can bring cleansing of the mind to be more open to good things.....by this I mean...to be still and listen to a voice that may be small...but very mighty in importance....that would be the voice of God! That may shock some of you....and how many of you actually believe that God does indeed talk to us? I would say...probably not that many....but it's true...He talks to us in so many ways.....through His word...through other people who love Him and just by being ever present in our lives.....He knows your every thought, He knows all about you and even things you don't even know yet about yourself! Take time to listen to Him........His may be the most important voice you will hear today!

Free.....Free at Last!

Today kicks off the first day of my vacation,and ,although the weather picture is rather bleak...I am glad that I am free of the demands of the workplace for ten whole days and that I will actually be leaving the home front to spend time at the Eagles Wings Conference in Powder Springs, Ga. This is a real Event for me as I rarely travel, and I am looking forward to getting out of Dodge! I have the usual travel concerns..what to take and what not to...but have confidence that it will all work out and I will be ready to "All Aboard!" when the time comes to head out!.....Gotta get me some new shoes and possibly some other items......just don't want to go overboard shopping!
The poor dogs are outside this morning...the man of the house ousted them from their slumber to the backyard which is a mixture of snow, ice, icewater and fallen limbs..poor Josie is crying at the gate already to come back inside to her nice warm bed! It's hard to say what Kramer is doing...probably a dog paddle! He is not near as timid as his little girlfriend! I am so going to miss my doggies..if anyone has any suggestions of how to smuggle a fat weiner dog send it to the e-mail at the top of this page! Of course, I am only joking...If Josie ever got to where the weather was warmer...the little renegade would not want to come back! She would be scouting for a new mommy and daddy!
I am hearing rumors that church has been canceled due to foul weather....I must go about finding out for sure if this be true! I sure hope not because church is the highlight of every Sunday for me...catch you all next time around the blog scene!

Listen up!

Hey there! Tis me again! I have a whole half hour before I have to start getting ready for work, so to me this is a challenge to get a blog on in a short period of time! Clueless that I am, I am up to the challenge this morning!
Don't even want to mention our weather conditions...they are simply horrible,...I looked for a better word to describe them....but, to be totally honest with you, I couldn't spell any of them so just went with "horrible"!
This being my last work day before I start a ten-day vacation, I must say, I am looking forward to not facing that evil timeclock (which, by the way, has not been operating properly of late!) When I come back, I am expecting to see a brand new one...that at least records the time you enter!
I'm trying my best to dredge up a timely message this morning and the only thing I can come up with is some encouragement that may help you face the everyday hang-ups that face you! Since I have been going to church on a more regular basis...this meaning whenever possible and hanging out with people who follow Christ..I have found myself to be much happier and contented. If you are wondering why, I can only say that it is amazing how faith can renew a person and change your views of people and the world....without faith this world would present a pretty bleak picture and some people would appear irreproachable and just downright scary...but when you believe that Jesus Christ is your Savior and that he holds your fate in His hands....you can rest assured that there are better days ahead! If I haven't convinced you....check out the source...a book called The Holy Bible..it
will give you all the instructions you need to find out how to follow a Leader who won't lead you in the wrong direction! He will direct your path to a better life here and to an even greater life when you leave this one behind!
I have satisfied my goal to send out a message this morning in a mere twenty minutes with ten to spare! Here's hoping you all have a great day and I will visit you all again soon!

A Day I Could Replay!

Sometimes a day comes along you wish you could stretch it out into a whole other day, just so it could last longer...today was such a day! I got to spend much time with two of my best buddies in the whole world....my two granddaughters! We got a fairly early start and did some fun things that wouldn't be all that special to just anybody..but, because it was us.....we had a great time!
Lunch was McDonald's.....the new one....we each had our favorite.....chicken nuggets for Amber, cheeseburger happy meal for Ashley and I tried one of the chicken clubs...which was pretty good..we loaded up on ketchup for the fries and proceeded to make short work of the meal, grabbed drink refills and headed downtown to the Antique Mall. Amber and I have been there together several times, but I think today was the first time for Ashley...we cased out the first floor and then went to the second floor to see all the treasures displayed there! There is everything from antiques to jewelry and furniture and each time we go, there is always something different that wasn't there the time before! We spent quite a while there and when we decided we had seen about all there was to see, decided it was time to head elsewhere....but as we got to the car I discovered that the car was locked and the keys were not with me! Yikes.. and it was only 2:30 and my husband would not be home for another hour! What to do? Well, what can you do?..So,we walked back to one of my favorite haunts (thrift store) and killed some time! Little hangup here....Amber hates the thrift store, Ashley likes it cause they have a bunch of books and she loves to pick out ones she would like to read! Didn't last long in there...Amber ruled, so we left and went to the coffee shop that is right across from where the car is parked! I had left a message on the house phone for my husband to bring the keys and called a few times until I finally reached him. In the meantime...had a coffee, Amber had iced tea and Ash got a hot chocolate. There went the better part of a ten! Pricy place!.....didn't have to worry about a refill on anything...refills are nonexistent here! Fortunately, my prince charming came to the rescue with my keys....Josie and Kramer rode along in the truck with him and were super delighted to see us!
We topped off the day with a purse-shopping venture that involved a rather lengthy search that ended with a sweet little black number for Amber that she was happy with after visiting at least four stores! A fun day complete....I took them home and took me home and that was the end of an almost perfect day!

Happy Chinese New Year!

Have you ever tried to change a password on one of your accounts! It is a challenge, believe me! And, heaven forbid, you should ever forget one! That's my problem...too many to remember! I have about four different passwords to keep track of and keeping them all intact in my memory is indeed exasperating..but I think I am good now for the moment anyway...they tell you not to write down your password or share it with anyone..well, I cheated and wrote the dang thing down somewhere....so there! I can't help it I don't have a photostatic memory! But it will be my luck that I will forget where I wrote it down at and have to start all over again!
So much for the woes of operating your internet accounts...what did we ever do without them to begin with? It was not that long ago that I never had the slightest clue of what to do with a computer, let alone use all the tools available over the net!
Did you all know that this is the start of the Chinese New Year...I'll be honest, I wouldn't have except one of my co-workers is Korean and another is Chinese and one is taking a vacation just for the purpose of celebrating The Chinese New Year! So, I asked him yesterday..(trying to be cute!) What do you do?...drink lots of Saki!" Well, don't think he found that amusing...but he did tell me something about the holiday and said that there is much food and what they are celebrating is mostly their heritage and have a long sheet of paper that names all their ancestors way back when! I found that rather interesting and think that its neat they know so much about their history and their ancestors before them! But as far as celebrating the Chinese New Year...I will leave that up to those folks and have my co-worker tell me all about it when he returns from his vacation!
It being Sunday morning, I must scram from here and get on with the morning ahead..my plans include attending church and haven't made other plans as of yet...so off I go into the day....You all have a good one!

In With the New!

I switched to the new version of blogger and haven't tried it yet...so now is as good a time as any! I got to see if it's as good as the old version, better than the old version or outstanding! It is super cold out tonight and my little weiner friend Josie broke all records for the quickest potty trip to the backyard ever! And Kramer was running a close second! Living proof that this weather is not fit for man nor beast!
Our church hosted an awesome prayer meeting tonite...there are just no words to describe it! When God's people gather together and seek Him.....only good things can happen. I truly believe that! It wasn't a big crowd.............but the Bible tells us that when two or more are gathered to worship.......the Holy Spirit dwells amidst them! It was a great experience and I am so glad I was able to be there!
It has been a rather long day for me.......so, I'm making this a short entry and will close with one of my favorite flippy calendar messages.....this one came from yesterday.....Sweethearts Day..."A friend is one who knows who you are, understands where you've been, accepts who you've become.......and still gently invites you to grow."...........Sweet dreams, my friends.

A Special Thank You

The last few days have been trying for me to say the least...I will spare everyone the grim details of what's going on ,but would ask that you all keep me in prayer that better days are ahead...I struggle with issues that I have no control over and at times things just get the best of me as you may have guessed from my last entry..but I must keep my faith strong and when I am reinforced by friends who care enough to give me some good advice...I am sincerely appreciative! I am not a very social being so I tend to spend a lot of time at home and when I am not at home I'm working. I do get to church as much as possible. I truly think that those times are what keeps me together!
I am so thankful to have my church family and want them to know how much they mean...and I'm not saying that just for the heck of it..I really mean it! This is just my way of saying Thanks! You are all wonderful people and are doing a great job of showing God's love in your actions!

Solitude

I'm finished with Friday....the work day has ended and for me that's all today was...a work day and now that it's over...there is nothing...I came home to a cold and empty house, cept for the dogs and it is really quiet....one message on my answering machine to call a friend...did that and now what?
I do this..this blogging thing that I've grown rather fond of doing..and check to see if there is anyone "online"....I am too tired to go anywhere...there is really nowhere I want to go and I don't even want to turn on the tv....not now anyway....maybe later, as a last resort to quench the boredom! Thoughts are scrambled tonite...I review a few past posts and see if anyone has posted anything new....wondering what everyone else has contributed to the blog world.....do people ever connect anymore or do we just read each other and think "awesome!" or "yeah, that's just the way I feel!" Yes, we do connect on here...but do we impact each others lives and are we afraid of giving away all our thoughts? Some thoughts I have shared I would never have spoken....and so I'm glad I put them here. It's a start...first here and then maybe actually tell someone! Now I have only to choose....publish post or delete...................why not?

Need a Friend?

It is extremely cold here in Galesburg, Illinois this morning...and even that is an understatement! It is a good enough adjective as far as I am concerned and that's all I have to say about our frigid city! I know we are not suffering alone....the whole midwest is in the deep freeze of winter and I hope that blasted groundhog was right about only six weeks left of this bitter cold weather!
As usual...I am entering into this blog thing without a clue as to where I am going with my thoughts, and this is not out of the ordinary for me....I am clueless most of the time! Just kidding, folks....knew that would get your attention!
I appreciate the fact that I am not at the workplace today and sympathize with those who are! I will be back at it tomorrow tho, so I am taking advantage of the day off to the best of my abilities!
My ability to be a lazy bum and spend the better part of the day goofing off and doing just barely the necessary things that have to be done to make my humble abode presentable to the man of the house....anybody get that? I am in the pause mode and not very productive today!
It is so quiet here....some people would have the tv blasting or have their favorite tunes playing ...but not me..I enjoy the silence and solitude of the moment and have no desire to clutter it up with racket of any sort! I call it peaceful time and time to reflect on what's going on in my life and maybe even what's going on in the world!
I try not to get too caught up into the affairs of the world.....however, in this day and age it pays to know what's going on around us! There is just so much happening and some of it is good and then some of it is not so good! Our world changes from day to day to the point that it is impossible to know all the changes taking place!
The one thing that never changes and we can be so glad of it, is the Word of God! And HE never changes...we can count on Him just as much today as yesterday and know He will be there tomorrow and the day after! I think you all get the picture! Wouldn't it be neat if all our friends were that kind of friends! I know some of our friends are pretty close to being that way....but its still good to know that He is a friend that is always there! I take comfort in that knowledge and it keeps me going from day to day! I get discouraged and disgusted about the world situations and about what's happening in my life from time to time and I know all of us do........but things are so much better when I know that I don't have to face anything alone! I know that I have a Friend who will listen to me no matter how petty others think my problem is.....I can take it up with Him and He will help me out......no condemnation, no ridiculing............just kindness and understanding and offering me His mercy and grace.......I love Him! And I am so thankful He's my friend!

Pinwheels

I guess in computer terms...I had a "pop-up" this morning....a little thought in my head that just won't leave! I'm up early, contemplating another day at work and wondering will it be hectic or smooth sailing. Yesterday was rather hectic..due to special sales for the big weekend... and it was pinwheel Thursday..we make and sell these round things that look like cinnamon rolls, but instead of cinnamon and sugar...they have pepperoni and cheese rolled up in them and are mighty tasty! We sell them two for a dollar only on Thursday and they have really caught on! I usually put them out early and have to make several batches throughout the day!
There is one lady who comes in almost every Thursday and especially likes the pepperoni pinwheels and orders a whole dozen...she is such a nice lady and I know she is a Christian because she has shared with me her love for Christ and always wishes me "A blessed day"! I spotted her in the store yesterday and before she could even ask..I asked her if she were in the market for pinwheels today....this brought a big smile and "of course!" I was very busy and if it were anyone else I probably would have kept still, but this lady's personality just draws people....and I realized that it is not just her personality that is so attractive...it is her love for the Lord and her faith that make her shine! As busy as I was, I wanted to make those pinwheels for her, because she is so appreciative and such a nice person...I don't even know her first name...but I know who she is by her persona...and it's people like her who make my day! I look forward to seeing her on Thursday afternoon and am always glad to make those pinwheels for her.........she graciously thanks me and wishes me a blessed day and this may sound silly...but I do have a blessed day!