Good Advice

The Princess and Helen, these two have been friends since kindergarten. These kinds of friendships are to be treasured. They have both already told each other that they will be standing up in each other's weddings! Tomorrow they are going out to dinner to celebrate the Princess's seventeenth birthday!

We have another picture just like this, but both of them have their eyes open! I loaded the wrong one!

I am just amazed when I settle down to spend some time with God and I read exactly what I needed to hear at that particular time. This happened again last night. The Princess and I were discussing different things, things that we don't quite agree on! Tomorrow she will be seventeen. I am still the Mom, she is still the child, but our relationship is definately changing. Not in a bad way at all, I would say we are changing from the mother/daughter relationship into a friendship. We were having one of those times when I am quite sure I know what is best for her, but it is not at all a situation where I have to tell her "I am the Mom and this is what you will do". Sometimes (most times) it is hard for me to keep my mouth shut and not tell my children what or how they should be handling their lives. I also realize as they are quickly becoming adults, I need to fix how I handle this! Are you still following all of this? I know many of you have already gone through these days!

I wanted to say all of that to show you how God used a devotion to help me last night.

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they simply are! Think of the sea, the air, the sun, the stars and the moon - all these are, and what a ministration they exert. So often we mar God's designed influence through us by our self-conscious effort to be consistent and useful. Jesus says that there is only one way to develop spiritually, and that is by concentration on God. "Do not bother about being of use to others; believe on Me" - pay attention to the Source, and out of you will flow rivers of living water. We cannot get at the springs of our natural life by common sense, and Jesus is teaching that growth in spiritual life does not depend on our watching it, but on concentration on our Father in heaven. Our heavenly Father knows the circumstances we are in, and if we keep concentrated on Him we will grow spiritually as the lilies.

The people who influence us most are not those who buttonhole us and talk to us, but those who live their lives like the stars in heaven and the lilies in the field, perfectly, simply and unaffectedly. Those are the lives that mold us.

If you want to be of use to God, get rightly related to Jesus Christ and He will make you of use unconsciously every minute you live.

~ Oswald Chambers in My Utmost For His Highest

Ever since the day our Princess was born, my prayer has been that I would be a godly example to my children. Oswald Chambers words really nailed what I was thinking about.

Precious

pic courtesy of allposters.com

Just after we started singing the first song in church yesterday, I happened to look over to my left and saw a young Mom holding her two or three year old girl. One look at the little girl and you knew she didn’t feel well. Her little cheeks were flushed, her eyes had a glassy look to them and her tiny nose was all red. If that wasn’t enough to let anyone know she was sick the fact that Mom was holding a Kleenex in her other hand was a sure give-away. I felt sorry for the Mom and the little girl, we have all been there.

A few songs later I looked at them again and the little girl was sound asleep. What a relief for the Mom. How comfortable, safe and secure that young child must have felt in her Mama’s arms; listening to her Mom singing praises to Jesus in her ears.

I wonder if that little girl will remember being held in church as a wee one by her parents when she grows older. I wonder if my own children remember that. I will have to ask them tonight. Do they remember sitting on my lap playing with my fingers and rings because they were bored, but at least they were quiet and sitting still. I wonder if they remember a few times when they weren’t sitting still or being quiet and we had to go remedy the situation?!! A quick trip to the washroom always made a child sit very quiet and still in church for the next several months!

Seeing that Mom hold her little girl made me think of a verse in Proverbs. Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.

~ Proverbs 22:6 nlt I hope and pray that my own children, along with other young children that are raised to love Jesus, will not leave that path. I want my children to get plugged into a church and follow Christ when they are adults. I pray that they will raise their children in a church where the Gospel is preached. I hope to one day see my own children hold their babies during church services just as their Dad and I held them.

I know I missed the point of a few messages as I was holding one of my babies. I was too busy looking and thinking about the gift God had given me rather than on what the pastor was saying!

God's Timing

The Princess doing some painting for the new office!

I love God’s timing. Well, sometimes I love it. When I am waiting for things, then I have to remind myself that I love it! When a situation is over and I understand His timing – then I love it! For over a year I have been filling out job applications, sending in resumes and doing interviews. Some of the jobs I was interested in and some I wasn’t interested in; but we needed to do something. At least I thought we needed to do something for some additional income. On the other hand, I wasn’t always sure about what I wanted. I have loved being home with the kids while they are growing up. Trucker still does not have his license, so I didn’t want him stuck home, alone, all day, every day, during the summer. He is old enough and I trust him completely, but did not want that for him.

I prayed many times for the right job, the timing of it and that I could be a light for Christ in whatever job I ended up with. Between talking with friends and e-mailing with them (you know who you are!!); I was able to get a part time job that I can do from our home! Is that perfect or what? God does know what He is doing! Obviously I am thanking God now for the job, but still praying that I can be a light for Him. Maybe the fact that he provided me with a job that I can do from our house means I need to be more of a light to my own immediate family.

I did not have a place to work at in our home that was quiet and I would be left alone. That meant changing some rooms around. What a job that is! If we didn’t have so much junk it would be much easier and quicker. We do have a small room in our house that we think was a nursery many years ago and we have kept our weight bench, extra weights, hunting stuff, rod hockey games (yes, more than one rod hockey game) and all kinds of other “things” in there over the years. That room is now my office. Well, not yet, but by the end of the weekend I am hoping it will be.

The whole family has chipped in to help with the room project. We all hauled junk out. The hunters of the family hauled out their treasures and put them in a closet. Why we always put the hunting stuff all over I never knew, but now it is organized. The weights now share space in the sewing room/Trucker’s homework center.

Princess picked out paint and a border for the office. She painted on Wednesday; I pulled off the baseboards and ripped up the old flooring. We assume the room was a nursery at one time because the linoleum was very old and had lambs and little yellow birds all over it. The King took yesterday off of work and laid new flooring down for me. I stained new trim. Today or tomorrow the King and Trucker are going to build me a make-do desk for the time being. Then I can set up the new computer and printer! It is actually starting to feel like I have a real job and a real place to do it in!

I am thankful to friends who helped me get this job. And so very thankful to God who knew my desire to earn some extra income and yet still wanted to be home all the time, too.

I will post a picture of the office when we have it completed.

Happy Late Valentine's Day

The Princess, a friend of hers and I went to Mom and Marv’s for a long weekend. We did some prom dress shopping and hit up Mall of America twice in two days! We were able to find a prom dress for our Princess, but still need to find one for Helen. So hard to believe it is their Junior Prom. It seems like it was only a few years ago I was sitting on the floor with them on their first day of kindergarten! They were cute little girls then, now seeing them trying on formal dresses reminded me again what beautiful young ladies they have grown into.

When we got home yesterday, these flowers were waiting for me on the table from my Valentine! What I guy I got! What a Dad he is, too, he also had a vase of roses waiting for our Princess. I love it that he does stuff like that for our daughter. I pray that these random acts of kindness along with the love that he shows her will teach her what she wants in a husband some day. I’m not saying in any way that her husband needs to get her flowers on a regular basis (although that never hurts!), but a man that does not treat her the way God wants a man to treat his wife will be unacceptable in her eyes. I pray that she will not settle for anything less. I feel that the way a Mom treats her son and the way a Dad treats his daughter has alot to do with the kind of spouse they will look for. If your Dad never shows you much love and you don't see that he cares for you, you assume this is how all men are. You may not expect more than that. However, if you are raised with lots of love and care from your Dad (or Mom, if you are a male) you will expect that. You will think that is how the opposite sex is supposed to treat you. You will be able to spot a loser a mile away!

I already, and have for years, pray for our children’s spouses. I pray that they will marry godly people and raise their children to know and love Jesus.

Skippin' Out!

Shirley and the Princess.

Did you ever skip out of school? Or play hookey? Or blow off a day of school? Or whatever it was called when you were in school? I did once in a while, usually with Grampy’s consent, though. There was that one time I skipped out without telling him, he found out, I got in trouble. I let the Princess and Trucker blow off two days a year, if they are maintaining an A or B average. If your not getting all A’s or B’s, then you can’t afford to skip out a day. I figure when they are adults, out there in the real world, they will hopefully have a job that will provide them with some personal days or vacation days, so I let them practice using them now!!

All of that to say I am skipping out right now. I should be in Bible study. I love Bible study, but tonight the house is very quiet with no one around but me, two dogs and a cat. And I was enjoying a good book. I don’t even feel guilty about skipping out, well, not guilty enough to go.

Trucker always uses his two “free days” for hunting. His days are already used up for this school year. This year he used them both in November for deer hunting. Some years he uses them for deer hunting and other years he has used them for turkey hunting. I personally think skipping out of school to go sledding with a bunch of friends, shopping or spending the day with the King made better use of a day then hunting, but we all are entitled to our own opinions. Some how I can’t picture Trucker skipping out of school to go shopping for a whole day!

The Princess always uses ½ day to go to Green Bay for Districts. That is a Christian youth conference that lasts the whole weekend, from Friday evening until Sunday noon. The adults that go along as chaperones usually go home feeling quite whooped after Districts. Those teenagers have a lot more energy than we do and can go on a lot less sleep, along with a real varied diet. Diets consisting of soda, smoothies, skittles, chips, cookies, crackers, maybe an orange or some pizza thrown in to make it sound good when you talk to Mom and Dad!

Last weekend was Districts ’10. Our youth pastor, his wife, and two other adults from our church loaded up two vans and took down several students for the weekend. I love these people. I love the fact that they are willing to give up their own weekend to spend it with our daughter and several other teens. I love the fact that they are reinforcing the morals and values that we try to teach our children at home. Rob, Shirley, Dan and Dennise; thank you so much for giving up your weekend to serve God and help thousands of young people learn about living for Christ, also. Thank you for the example that you always set for them. May God bless you!

Never Lonely, Never Want Sympathy?

pic courtesy of Mom
She took this picture while we were going for a ride over Christmas break, one of our favorite ways to spend time together.

This year for my quiet time with the Lord, I am using the devotional book My Utmost for His Highest. This is one of the all time classics, but I have never read it. The language is tougher for me to understand. I don’t know what my problem is, but if you don’t talk just like I do, I have a terrible time understanding you. Same thing with reading, so I have to concentrate and think about what Oswald Chambers is saying.

One sentence I did not have to think about to grasp its meaning yesterday was, “When once we get intimate with Jesus we are never lonely, we never need sympathy, we can pour out all the time without being pathetic”. Wow. That is something for me to think about for a while. I do have to say I am very happy with where God has me at in life. It’s not often that I get lonely or want sympathy…but once in a while. Last month when I was laying on the bathroom floor in the middle of the night with the stomach flu, a little sympathy might’ve been nice! Instead everyone else was sleeping and didn’t even know I could use a pillow and blanket. That is what I was thinking at the time. Now when I look back at it, I know I prefer to be left alone when I am sick. That, however, is not the kind of sympathy I think Mr. Chambers was speaking of.

I think he was speaking of a deep down hurt, that won’t go away and you can’t get away from it. I don’t know if I am to that point in my relationship with Christ. As of right now, I can say that I am, but I have not experienced any deep pains for several years. Don’t get me wrong, I am not praying to find out about this either!

We all know that pains and troubles do come our way, though. I just hope that I am able to have an intimate relationship with Christ all of my days so that no matter comes my way, I will be able to cope. In all big temptations, big and small, or whatever may happen in the future, I have to remember 1Corinthians 10:13.

The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. nlt

This verse is referring to falling into sin that you struggle with. I believe it can also speak to a person who is going through some major physical or emotional struggles. He will not allow you to go through more of those kinds of trials than you can handle, either. However, they may be very tough and they will require that you trust in Him lots. A side note…it took me forever to find this verse. I knew what verse I was looking for, but for some reason I thought it was in James! Doesn’t it sound like something James would say? Or is it just me?!!

Full Circle

The King and Toad; relaxed and reading Louis L'amour over Christmas vacation. And he tells me he never lets the dog on the furniture!

Trucker with a can of duct tape spray. Everybody needs a can of that! That's my Mom sitting next to him, wishing she had a can of duct tape spray!

I called a friend today who celebrated her 81st birthday yesterday. Yesterday I blogged about time going faster as you get older and how slow it seems to go sometimes when you are young. As most other things, this must go in a full circle. Glady said that time isn’t moving to fast for her the last few days. She lost her husband last month. She just spent her first Christmas without him; she was alone on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Her husband was quite ill the last ten years of his life, so she did not have much time for any thing other than caring for him. Now that he is gone, she says she has lots she should be doing, but not the energy. I told her that is understandable; for one thing because she is 81 years old and for another thing she is missing her husband. I cannot imagine moving on in life after losing your best friend of fifty some years. Time would stand still.

I asked her how Christmas went for her, and she had the sweetest story. A young man, 24 years old, used to live a few houses away from her. In the past, they would make cookies together once in a while. Now this same young man is not her neighbor any more. He has purchased a home out in the country, but has not forgot about her. He called her Christmas day to see what she was doing. When he found out she was sitting home alone, he went to the store, bought a tube of cookie dough, some popcorn and rented a movie. He then spent the whole afternoon with her; they made cookies, popped popcorn and watched a movie. As soon as we were done talking I prayed that my Princess and Trucker will be that thoughtful when they are young adults. I also prayed that I would bless other people in that same way. I have never met this young man, but he and his parents should get a big pat on the back for a job well done!

While talking to her about Christmas; it reminded me of a Christmas several years ago. When the Princess and Trucker were pre-schoolers, my Dad called his Grandma on Christmas to see how she was spending the day. She was sitting in her apartment alone, waiting for her daughter to come and pick her up. Her daughter was going to take Grandma to their house for Christmas dinner. Dad told her that our kids were up at the crack of dawn to open presents, play a new game they had got on Christmas Eve and read a few new books. He also told her that I was on my second round of dishes and we hadn’t even had dinner yet. She told him to tell me to enjoy doing all of those dishes, cleaning up the wrapping paper, reading the new books and doing a ton of cooking because the day would come when I would be sitting in a chair by myself thinking of past Christmases and wondering where the time went. Now my great-Grandma celebrates Christmas with Jesus, her husband and a daughter that died as a young girl, but I remember her words of wisdom every year.

Thinking about Glady and Grandma made me remember to take care of each day as it comes. Don’t worry about tomorrow. Enjoy each day as it comes. "That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life – whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?" Matthew7:25-27 nlt

Blessed With Family and Friends

The Christmas season is certainly here. Dan arrived Saturday. We have been able to spend some time with him, worship with him and go sledding with him. He is leaving tomorrow to join his family in Illinois for Christmas.

Another one of the youth group students who is now in college, Aaron, got back in town Friday. We got to spend most of Saturday with him. He and Trucker spent the majority of the day playing video games. He joined us for some sledding fun Sunday afternoon, too.

Sunday, a day I will always be thankful for. Not only did we get to see several of the youth students again, but the Princess was baptized. It was a beautiful service. We sang some Christmas songs, then the Princess and two other young ladies were baptized, and more Christmas carols to follow. Seeing all three girls get baptized was special; one was a good friend of the Princess’s (we have known her since she was a baby) and the other young lady just married one of the youth students who is now all grown up. He used to spend a lot of time at our house, so even though we don’t know his wife real well yet, it has been nice to see her grow in Christ. I am looking forward to getting to know her better!

The Christmas cookies are all in containers or on plates to give to friends and family. We will be delivering those tomorrow after work. Wednesday we will be celebrating Christmas with Grampy and Miss Joy. The Princess is making us homemade raviolis (sp?) for that dinner! It is always enjoyable to spend time with them.

Wednesday Mom and Marv will get here. Thursday Mom and I will make a batch of cutout cookies. Well, actually, I will make them, she will frost and decorate them! I don’t like that part. Thursday night we will enjoy a candle light service together at church. Friday we will spend the day together, making memories.

I have certainly been blessed with a wonderful family. I love these days. Thank you God.

I have some sledding pictures to show - but blogger is taking way too long. I will save them for another day.

Time To Get Going!

What? Christmas is less than two weeks away? I still have stuff I want to get done before then. Last week got me behind schedule on what I wanted to bake and when. The Princess was sick last Monday night and Tuesday, then, being the loving daughter that she is – she shared it with me. I got sick Thursday. Yuck, no fun. Then the King was sick on Saturday. Saturday we had to go to a memorial service in Wausau.

While none of us enjoy funerals or memorial services, this one was pleasant. Three pastors conducted the service. All of them knew Gene very well and had many stories to share about his life. Several people got up and shared memories that they shared with Gene. You could not leave there thinking about the huge impact he had on other people’s lives. We heard hunting stories, fishing stories, skiing stories and stories about his faith and courage. Knowing that he is spending his eternity with Christ made for fewer tears at his service. We shared a ride there with Chuck. Thanks for the laughs and great conversation, Chuck. Trucker commented on what fun stories you tell!

Now I am hoping that everyone is back to being healthy. I have lots I want to get done this week. Lots of baking, wrapping presents, pick up a few stocking stuffers yet and spruce up the house! The maraschino cherries are in the fridge, draining, waiting for me to make chocolate covered cherries. Those will be done on Friday. I have chopped pecans waiting on the counter to be made into pecan tassies. I have several other cookie recipes marked I want to bake, too. We will see how it goes.

The house is decorated, though. The tree is up. The presents are bought or made. As I am thinking of all the things I want to get done yet, I can’t help but think about Mary. Was she scurrying around trying to get ready for the birth of her son? Was she relaxed and taking things day by day? How would she feel and what would she be thinking if she could see all of us now getting ready for the birthday of her son? Would she be happy that we celebrate? Or would she be sad that so much goes into Christmas, but in some homes so little thought goes into the son that she bore and watched die for us? I do enjoy the Christmas season, I pray I never lose focus of why we have a Christmas to celebrate.

Things to be Thankful For

A few things I am thinking of to be thankful for during the first half of this week.

Sunday School Blooper ~ I was with the 3rd – 5th graders Sunday. We are reading in Joshua 7 about Achan and his sin. The children and I are taking turns reading and one of the girls had a little trouble. Well, she didn’t know she was having trouble; she didn’t realize what she had said. “Go consecrate the people. Tell them, ‘Consecrate yourselves in perspiration for tomorrow’!” Perspiration? Too funny! I did not correct her, I was afraid I would bust out laughing and embarrass her, besides the rest of the students did not catch it. The verse should read “Go consecrate the people. Tell them, ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: That which is devoted is among you, O Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove it. Joshua 7:13 niv

I mentioned last week that one of our soldiers was returning from Afghanistan. Obviously I am thankful he returned home safely. It was great to see him walk into our church Sunday morning. When this young man was growing up, he spent a lot of time at our home. We had a lot of fun together and many good laughs both in our home and in a boat. I saw him walk into the church and talk to a few people, and then he came over to me and gave me the biggest hug you can imagine. I had to catch my breath for a minute to keep from crying before I could say, “Welcome home.”

Sunday night we had Senior High Bible Study at our house. I am thankful that our church has a youth pastor that pours his love into our teens. Thankful that we could host Bible Study at our house. After study we spent a couple of hours playing Apples to Apples and Yahtzee. Being able to play games with those students was a blast.

Last night two other Moms and their teenage daughters came to our house for supper. Just as we finished eating, two more of their daughters drove in. They just got back in town from college. All eight of us then went to see The Blind Side. The movie is worth seeing. Seeing it with my own Princess plus all the rest of the ladies made it a perfect night.

It is amazing how many things we can find to be thankful for if we stop and look for them. I am also thankful for the obvious; my family, my home and the King’s job. I have been focusing on things out of the ordinary to be thankful for this week.

I will be spending time with family the rest of this week, so will not be blogging any more; although I have not been too good about blogging this week anyway. I will try to improve on that next week!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Next Opportunity?

Our Princess!

Last night I read another verse that I have read several times before, but never thought about it. Luke chapter 4 starts out with Jesus being tempted by the devil three times. Jesus never fell into the temptations. He did not commit one sin His entire life! Luke 4:13 is the verse that got my attention last night. When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left Him until the next opportunity came. Luke 4:13 nlt Jesus lived as a man, so I know he faced the same temptations that we all face today, but I guess I never thought about it much until I read “until the next opportunity came”.

The devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 1Peter 5:8 nlt The devil worked the same in Jesus’ day as he does now. He is waiting for his next opportunity. We need to beware of this. Quite often we can avoid giving him a chance. We all have different areas where we know we are tempted; we need to stay away from those situations.

Sometimes we end up in a sinful way before we even realize what we have gotten into. That is how the devil likes to work. He is a cagey character. He is waiting for his next opportunity. The fact that he waits tells me he is patient. That also tells me we need to be on our toes at all times.

I don’t want to give him an opportunity, but some how he finds his way into my life and takes them, though. Good thing we have a Savior, Jesus, who will not allow us to be tempted more than we can handle! Even when we do fall into the temptation, He still loves us and pursues us. Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life…Psalm 23:6a nlt

Great Oak Tree

I don't know if there is an oak tree in this picture or not, but I figured there must be at least one in there!
Pic courtesy of Mom

Tonight was Bible study night. We studied Isaiah 61:1 – 3, the last part of verse 3 stood out to me. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for His own glory. nlt

What do you think of when you think of a great oak? I think of strong, mighty, and hard to take down. Then to think that God makes us like great oaks for His glory is another great thought. He created us that way. Whether we think of ourselves as strong and mighty does not matter; we are created for His glory.

One of the ladies in Bible study commented that she once heard the saying, “An oak tree is an acorn that stood his ground.” I liked that saying.

Sometimes it is hard to stand your ground. Sometimes it is even harder to know when you need to stand your ground. Through Him we can be strong and mighty. The times when we feel weak, He is still there for us and He is strong and mighty. During those times we can rely on His strength and might.

Dinner Dates With God

I know Halloween is over, but I never showed you a picture of the King's pumpkin puking up his guts. He thought this was quite funny. It is that weird sense of humor again!

I was able to spend the weekend with Mom and Marv again. While I was lying in bed Friday morning, in their spare bedroom, waiting for someone to get up, my mind was wandering. I was thinking about being glad I was at their house and anticipating what we were going to do once we were all up and moving. That led me to thinking about spending time with Mom, which led me to thinking about spending time with my kids, which led me to thinking about spending time with my Heavenly Father.

Mom knew we were coming down and she had some of our favorite food in the fridge and pantry, just waiting for us to devour it. If she knew we were going to be down there every Friday, she would probably have our favorite food there every Friday. It would not be a job to her, she would look forward to it. Maybe she would have our favorite desserts ready, or have the table set nice with her best dishes and a vanilla scented candle burning. I don’t know who would enjoy this time together more, her or I.

If every now and then I was not able to make a Friday night dinner date with her, she would be bummed out, but she would cope. If I started ignoring her every Friday night to go do other things, she would be hurt. I am an adult though, so she probably would not say much to me. The first few Friday nights I did not show up, she would have supper on the table hoping that I would join her. After several nights of me not showing up, she would not stop loving me. She would continue to love me and hope that I would decide to show up on the coming Friday.

I wonder if this is how it is for God. He wants to meet with us on a regular basis, whether it is in church, during a time of prayer or while you are spending time in the Word. I think God looks forward to meeting with us; He wants us to be there. He already did all the work for us when He died on the cross. He just wants us to show up and spend time with Him. He is excited that we want to spend time with Him. Once in a while if we do not make church, Bible study, or some other meeting place with Him, I think He is hurt, but He copes with it. If we start blowing him off all the time and never show up, I think He is hurt. He wants to visit with us. He wants to know how we are doing, how He can help us and hear what we are thankful for.

Hopefully I will remember these thoughts the next time I am tempted to choose something else over God.

Pumpkin Carving Night

H., the King and the Princess

Tonight was pumpkin carving night at our house! H. took her pumpkin home with her. The King’s pumpkin and the Princess’s pumpkin are sitting outside, waiting to be lit.

Don’t be harsh or impatient with an older man. Talk to him as you would your own father, and to the younger men as your brothers. Reverently honor an older woman as you would your mother, and the younger women as sisters.

~1Timothy 5:1-2 The Message

While growing up, respecting my elders was pounded into my head. I don’t think there was a quicker way to get bapped up along side the head than talking back to an adult. As a young child I knew to respect adults. That was Mom and Dad’s rule. At the time I did not know that was God’s rule.

I enjoy spending time with elderly people. Once in a while I can be in a hurry in a grocery store, post office or bank and ignore an old man or lady. I certainly am not rude to them, but I don’t always take the time to help them. Maybe they don’t need help, but a smile and a kind word might make their day. Walking right by them certainly is not the way I would treat my Mom or Dad if I saw them in the store, post office or bank. This was a good reminder to me to take the time to show Christ's love to others.

Dreary Day

This little light of mine
I’m gonna let it shine
Let it shine
Let it shine
Let it shine

This song keeps going through my mind today. Good thing, too, because it is dreary outside. It is raining, which we need, but it is about as light out now as it was at 7:00 this morning. I did not get the job I interviewed for two weeks ago. There are two job openings in the help wanted section of our little newspaper. Neither of them are jobs I am qualified for. I just finished talking to an elderly friend on the phone who is watching her husband suffer. She feels he is at the end of his life. Yet she still wonders, how much more can he endure, how much more will she have to watch him suffer. She is handling it like a trooper, though. During thirty minutes of conversation she cried about thirty seconds. I would be a blubbering mess. She says she has cried so much she does not have many tears left. Maybe that is true. I heard that from one other lady one time when her husband died. She was in her seventies at the time of this death and life had not been kind to her. She had seen the death of two children when they were not yet adults.

Talking to my friend today and thinking of the other lady helps put things in perspective. What should we do on days like these? Let our light shine. I lit a candle on our table, but that is not the kind of light I am talking about.

Days like this make me think about Christ’s love for us all the more. He knows why my friend is suffering. He is in control. He knows why I have not found a job yet. He is in control. He knows we need the rain, so it is raining today! He is in control.

Days like this also make me stop and think about all the things I have to be thankful for. There are so many reasons to be thankful, but a couple come to mind immediately. The Princess is done with soccer now. That means she is home right after school instead of some where between 6:30pm and midnight. The last few nights all four of us sat down to the table (at the same time) to pray and have supper together.

Another thing to be thankful for is safety while driving. Saturday night was Homecoming for our high school. After the dance two different students from the Princess’s class were involved in accidents. Thankfully no one was hurt.

On dreary days we need to pull ourselves up by the boot straps. Think about all the things we have to be thankful for. Thank God for those things. Think about all the people who have things so much worse than we do. Pray for those people and those situations. Then take time to listen to what He has to say to you about your own situations!

Back to Work

The Princess at the Brewer game - with the sausages!
Pic courtesy of J.


When I was pregnant with the Princess we knew that we wanted me to be a stay at home Mom. This is how I wanted life to be ever since I was a little girl. The King was fine with this. Our plan was for me to go back to work when our children started school. When both of the kids were in school, I started subbing in the school. My first year of subbing I was able to do a long term sub (two years) in the library. This worked out pretty well for us. I continued subbing hoping to get a regular job with the school district.





Last year was my eighth year of subbing. Public schools are having budget issues just like many businesses and individuals are at this time. To help meet their budget, the school will not be using many subs any more. They will still have teacher subs, but not subs in the offices or for paraprofessionals (teacher's aides). I understand why they have to do this, but it does not help our situation.





I also work part time in our church office. It started out as 12-15 hours/week, due to the budget that has now been cut to 5-6 hours/week. This is understandable, too.





I have been praying about a job. What does God want us doing now? Does He want me to go back to work full time? Does He still want me to hold out and hope for a job at the school? Does He want me to continue working part time at the church and maybe get a few days over the school year of subbing?





The idea of working full time, year round does not thrill me at this time. I don't mind the idea of working outside of the home, but wonder what Trucker would do all day, every day next summer home by himself. He will be fifteen years old, so I know he is more than capable of taking care of himself. He will not have a drivers license yet though, so that will make it harder for him to get a summer job. He is an excellent young man, but I have read about some young people getting themselves into trouble when they have the house to themselves on a regular basis.

All of these ideas running through my mind. Lots of prayers being prayed while I am going about doing whatever I am doing. What would you have me do, Lord? During the summer a few unexpected doctor bills came in. Between doctor bills coming in, my hours being cut at church and school and a couple of other things; I think God is telling me to look for a job. Give yourselves to the service of the Lord, and decide to obey him...Jeremiah 4:4

I have started looking for a job. Now I am praying that God will give me wisdom as to what job He would have me working. I don't know if a part time job will come along and I can work that and continue working at church. Maybe a full time job will come along that will work for us. Maybe something at the school will open up. A few ladies I know have jobs where they are able to work from their homes. I have turned my resume and application in to five or six places around town and have been interviewed by one place. It seems to me working at the school or being able to work from home would be the best situation for us at this time. I also know that His ways are not my ways and that He has plans to prosper us. (I cannot think of those verses right now! That is bad!) I will keep looking for a job and see what He brings my way. Another journey to trust Him with!

I will keep you posted as to what happens. How was this for some rambling? Whew! I just tired myself out reading my own post. I will be surprised if any of you read this to the end.

Ladies Bible Study

pic courtesy of Mom

We have ladies Bible study at our church on Thursday evenings. I was a part of this study for a couple of years, then dropped out because Thursday nights did not work for me. Now that the Princess has her license, I am not needed as chauffeur on Thursday nights. So, I decided to get back into Thursday night Bible study.

We are just starting a new study on Psalm 23. Last Thursday night we did not discuss Psalm 23 much, but caught up with each other as the rest of the ladies had taken the summer off. I did not realize how much I missed spending time with those special ladies. Not only will we be studying together, but we have much to be praying about for one another, also.

One of the ladies has her mother-in-law (who is suffering from dementia) living with her, we will be praying for patience, peace and understanding for her. One of the other ladies has a daughter getting married in less than two weeks, we all know she can use some prayer now! That is a very exciting time, but it can also be stressful. Another lady's Mom has been diagnosed with cancer and given a year to live. Other needs were mentioned, and I'm sure some needs were kept quiet.

So many needs, so thankful we have a Father who wants to hear from us about our wants, needs and desires.

Tumbledown Shack or Nagging Spouse?

Better to live alone in a tumbledown shack than share a mansion with a nagging spouse. Proverbs 25:24 The Message

Home?

pic courtesy of Mom

While driving around the country side last week with Mom and Marv we drove by this house. Do you ever wonder about places like this? Was it a happy home at one time? Have the walls of this house heard the pitter patter of little feet? Have there been Christmas dinners spent with family here? Obviously at one time someone wanted this home and wanted to be in this area. What happened?

Could they not make a living and had to leave for another area for a different job? Were they farmers and needed to find more fertile ground? Maybe a family was here for quite some time, but as the children grew up they left the area. Ma and Pa were left holding down the fort. When they passed away or were no longer able to care for themselves - there wasn't anyone who wanted the home any more. Maybe they do still want the old homestead, but they live far away and are not able to maintain the home any more.

What will happen to this house? Does someone still own the property or does it belong to the state by now? We found another house in the same condition, but it had many out buildings; barn, tool shed, garage and another building we did not know for sure what it had been. It may have been the original house before a bigger one was built. I'll show you pics of that place another day.

I like to look at places like this. I wonder about places like this. Will our home ever be like that? We have a very happy home. One hundred years from now could someone drive by our house and wonder what happened to it? They may not know that we had little tykes chasing cats and dogs around. That we had a little boy driving Tonka trunks all over the house and yard. That we had a little girl who loved to sit on the counter while I cooked and watched my every move. They won't know that we ate well, had plenty of clothes to wear and lots of love to share. They won't know all four of us would bring our blankets into the living room and have sleep overs on the living room floor by the Christmas tree or watching Bugs Bunny cartoons all night. Yes, one weekend in June one of the cable channels used to have June Bugs and they would air Bugs Bunny re-runs all night long! Our tradition for that Friday night would be to have plenty of snacks and blankets in the living room and spend the night in there!

On the other hand, one hundred years from now I won't care about this house. As much as I love our home and the fun we have in it, one hundred years from now I will be in a different home, enjoying the company of many more people!

"Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father's home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know the way to where I am going." ~Jesus Christ

I will always wonder about abandoned homes, but I need to focus more on my future home!

Charleston

John Jakes is one of my all time favorite authors. When I was just a youngster I remember Mom and Dad reading a series of books by him. They kept telling me at the time that I was to young to read those books. When I was a teenager, I noticed the whole series on one of Mom's book shelves. I borrowed them from her and have been hooked ever since!

This book, Charleston, did not let me down. It is a historical fiction writing. This novel followed the generations of one family from pre-Revolutionary War until just after the Civil War. You got an understanding of how families could be ripped apart because of differing opinions about major events that happen in our lives, in our country or concerning political issues. Things we hope our families never have to go through.

Sad as it is, many families are estranged today for one reason or another. Sometimes it can be generations later, nobody even remembers or knows what the original feud was about. Time, prayer and forgiveness can work wonders in these kind of situations. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control will help avoid family feuds to begin with! No doubt we will still have obstacles to overcome as a family, but relying on God will help us through them.